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January 29-31, 2021

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January 29-31, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

NPP lawmakers question legality of public hearing on Electoral Code

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he Electoral Affairs Committee of the island House of Representatives held a hearing Thursday on amendments to the Electoral Code amid an angry dispute over the hearing’s legality.

New Progressive Party (NPP) lawmakers questioned the hearing’s legality because the rules of the committee had yet to be approved. As a result, they also said the summoning of State Elections Commission (SEC) Chairman Francisco Rosado Colomer was not carried out in a legal fashion.

The hearing was held on House Bill (HB) 114, which seeks to maintain the representation of minority parties in the SEC, and HB 4, which would repeal the 2018 Law to Guarantee the Presidential Vote for all Resident American Citizens in Puerto Rico, but most of the discussion centered on amendments to the Electoral Code, which the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) majority wants to repeal.

NPP Rep. Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló said the hearing was illegal because the committee rules have yet to be approved and sent to the House floor for a vote. The legislative session began on Feb. 2.

Rodríguez Aguiló described the hearing as a “show” by the PDP. Electoral Affairs Committee Chairman José “Conny” Varela moved the hearing forward despite NPP objections, noting that the hearing was legal under the House rules of operations approved this week.

“I declare there is no place [for objection], since we are using the regulations of the House of Representatives approved on Monday,” he said.

“Those regulations do not say that public hearings cannot be held or that committees cannot continue to operate.”

Varela defended the hearing by indicating that it will serve to lay the groundwork for electoral reform.

“My intention is to know what the major failures [of the existing Electoral Code] were,” he said.

“The primaries, for instance, had to be held twice because of problems with the process. The hearing is slated to continue Friday [today].”

During the hearing, the SEC chairman left to the discretion of the Legislature the possibility of amending the Electoral Code of 2020, and only said that “every legal body must be evaluated.”

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NPP Rep. Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló said the hearing was illegal because the committee rules have yet to be approved and sent to the House floor for a vote.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Public health experts: ‘Too soon’ for less strict COVID-related executive Islanders advised to ‘raise their guard’ against coronavirus

By PEDRO CORREA HENRY Twitter: @pete_r_correa Special to The Star

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fter scientists from INNO Diagnostics and Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) of Ponce Research Institute, a scientific research center that is part of Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU), detected the UK B.1.1.7 variant in three positive COVID-19 tests conducted in Puerto Rico, PHSU President Dr. Kenira Thompson told the STAR on Thursday that it would be premature for the local government to ease restrictions in the next executive order addressing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic because “we need more vaccinated people and a healthy population” in order to reopen.

Thompson also urged citizens to keep practicing safety measures such as the proper use of face masks, hand washing, and physical distancing as the island’s vaccination campaign “remains at an early stage.”

“We have only been vaccinating for a month and there is still a long way to go,” Thompson said. “And the fact that we have this strain running around the island, which can potentially be transmitted faster, certainly poses a danger to the public health of the country.”

Thompson added that, from a scientific perspective, it would not be prudent to add more flexibility to anti-virus protocols because it could have complicated implications down the road that could delay efforts such as reopening schools in March, which she said is “completely important for our children.”

Likewise, the public health expert told the STAR that as positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have begun to reduce “little by little,” having a coronavirus hotspot with this strain “could lead to inexplicable outbreaks.”

“The virus is not more pathogenic now, it will not cause a more severe disease; it’s not a variant that would result in more hospitalizations and increased mortality,” she said. “However, what concerns us is that [the coronavirus] could spread quite easily and we could find multiple outbreaks in schools and other places, taking into account that we still have vulnerable people who have not been vaccinated, elderly people who have not been vaccinated, people with chronic diseases who have not been vaccinated, and it is necessary to procure vaccines for them.”

“Furthermore, our children, due to the vaccines’ nature, will not be inoculated for now,” Thompson added. “We can’t think that there are only three cases.”

The PHSU president said the detection of the variant was confirmed Wednesday when PHSU scientists identified the 69-70 deletion in three test results. The deletion is the same one present in the variant detected in the United Kingdom on Dec. 20, and which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had detected in 315 cases across the U.S. at press time.

“It was only a question of time that this would arrive on our island as there’s so much traffic between Puerto Rico and the U.S.,” Thompson said. “It was inevitable.”

As for using two face masks, a method that Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he has been practicing in his personal life, Thompson said that although the practice can provide double protection against the coronavirus, citizens still face limitations in purchasing proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and most “do not have access to two KN95 masks.”

“What matters the most is for people to use their face masks,” she said. “If people have cloth masks, wash them; you cannot use the same mask for an entire week or month because it defeats the purpose of protecting yourself against the virus.”

“Try not to put face masks on surfaces after they’ve been worn, as it promotes the spreading of the virus,” she added. “Have a plastic bag with you to put [the mask] away. Find a way to keep your [living] spaces as clean as possible to prevent cross-contamination.”

‘Not the time to ease COVID restrictions’ Puerto Rico Public Health Trust (PRPHT) Executive Director Dr. José Rodríguez Orengo said meanwhile that the next executive order related to the coronavirus pandemic on the island “should remain as is.” He suggested that positive COVID cases must continue to decline “if we want to reopen schools.”

“Our priorities should continue to be reducing COVID cases enough to begin reopening

schools partially, with a hybrid course system and a solid contact tracing system,” Rodríguez Orengo said.

He said further that even if COVID hospitalizations and deaths have declined compared to numbers reported in December, data from the island Health Department currently projects an average of 500 cases and eight deaths per day.

“We had a similar situation back in September, when we had around 300 cases and seven casualties, and later we faced a day when the Health Department reported more than 1,100 cases in one day,” the PRPHT executive director said. “To say now that we have only 500 daily cases and that we are doing well, I am not sure about that.”

“Think of Puerto Rico as a field and imagine the coronavirus as a wildfire, if Puerto Rico were to face a wildfire, Puerto Rico has a lot of space to combust,” Rodríguez Orengo added. “With this analogy, what I want to say is that there are a lot of people who haven’t been infected with the coronavirus; therefore, the following measures should help the firefighters, both public health officers and the government in our case, to keep that fire from spreading.”

Like Thompson, he also urged Puerto Rico residents to keep practicing safety measures against the coronavirus. Beyond that, he suggested that, if possible, people use surgical, N95, or KN95 masks because “cloth masks only provide 50% protection from the coronavirus.”

Rodríguez Orengo called on islanders to “not lower their guard, but rather raise it,” including the elderly, who he reiterated are still more at risk of dying after contracting the coronavirus.

“The reasons [for deaths among the elderly] remain the same; it’s an 80-20% situation,” he said. “The number of people who contract the virus and are younger than 60 is around 80%.

However, the number of people who die [from COVID-19] in Puerto Rico, and who are older than 60, is 80-90% depending on the week.”

“I’ve seen that most of our elderly don’t wear their masks over their nose and mouth or don’t cover properly,” he added.

As for what’s next for the island, Puerto Rico Physicians & Surgeons Association (CMCPR by its Spanish initials) President Víctor Ramos said monitoring the coronavirus variant’s trajectory and current federal restrictions declared by President Joe Biden “will help to keep the virus in control.”

“As President Biden has pledged to purchase more COVID vaccines, this could help as it strengthens our inoculation efforts around the island,” Ramos said.

Moreover, he urged citizens to be aware if establishments they visit enforce proper safety

Governor Pedro Pierluisi said at a press conference to not be considering new restrictions for the next order, but to be “easing restrictions just a little.” measures and to keep informed on where sudden case spikes are taking place.

“If businesses are not enforcing any safety measures, the most proper thing would be to report it to the authorities, but if you don’t do that, [at least] do not stay in that place because you could contract the virus,” Ramos told the STAR. As for being in favor or against fewer restrictions in the next COVID-related executive order, he said that as a member of Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia’s scientific coalition he will defer to the governor’s decision, but added that the coalition will submit their recommendations.

Pierluisi, meanwhile, said at a press conference Thursday that he wasn’t considering new restrictions for the next order, but was looking at “easing restrictions just a little.”

“There are about three confirmed cases, there are about 16 or 17 suspicious [cases of the UK coronavirus variant]. They are in the process of investigation,” the governor said. “Of course, we are an island with approximately 3.2 million people. So we have to monitor it. But to the question of if I foresee any new restrictions, the answer is no.”

Early Thursday, soon after PHSU reported the detection of the UK coronavirus variant on the island, the STAR requested an interview with Health Secretary Carlos Mellado López.

However, the spokesperson for Mellado López said he would not be making any statements in the morning, and at press time no statement from the Health chief had been issued.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

5

Union: Pavía Hospital aims to fire more than a dozen nurses

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

T

he Employees Union of Pavía Hospital Hato Rey on Thursday accused the hospital administration of intending to fire more than a dozen nurses on Monday, Feb. 1 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The management of the Pavia Hospital notified us by letter of the dismissal of 16 nurses and other effective personnel next Monday with the justification of a decrease in the patients they are treating as a result of COVID-19,” said Desiré López, international representative of the Employees Union’s affiliate, the United Auto Workers (UAW). “For us this is no justification since we know first-hand that there is a shortage of nurses in this hospital. These nurses and hospital employees who are going to be laid off have provided a service to the country, to the hospital, they have gone the extra mile during this pandemic, risking their lives and that of their families, while we were all quarantined in our homes and now they repay them by firing them.”

The union leader questioned the dismissal of the staff just when the Pavía Hospital announced its new service offer for the year, which included the hiring of

medical personnel.

“How is it possible that Jonathan Román Aponte, executive director of the hospital, notified us that they will lay off employees and three days later the lawyer himself published in the media that the hospital has increased its offer of specialized services and its medical faculty?” López said. “Something does not add up here.”

López added that, in addition to the dismissal of nurses, the hospital intends to fire all the nutrition services (Departamento de Dietas) personnel in March and subcontract a private company to provide the services.

“There is no way to understand these movements of

the hospital. They intend to dismiss all the diet personnel to hire a private company. This does not make any sense,” she said. “The personnel who are already hired can continue to do the work and there is no need to subcontract the service, and in order to do this, the collective bargaining agreement indicates that the hospital has to sit at the negotiating table.”

The UAW hopes to meet in the next few days with Pavia Hospital management to prevent the layoffs of the nursing staff and the subcontracting of a private company to supply the nutrition service.

“Our goal is to meet with the hospital administration to exchange positions and present alternatives that meet the needs of our clients and avoid the dismissal of these personnel who do such an important job for the country and more in the midst of this pandemic,” López said.

“We also request the intervention of the governor so that these dismissals are not allowed, and even more so that a bill is introduced [in the Puerto Rico Legislature] where alternatives are encouraged or sought so that these health professionals do not continue to leave the country in search of better benefits since here there are none,” she added. “We have to do something to stop the flight of these professionals.”

Senator files bill to assist deaf community in wake of young mother’s suicide

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

S

en. Elizabeth Rosa Vélez recently filed Senate Resolution 68, which orders the committees for Social Welfare and Aging Affairs, and for Education, Tourism and Culture, to conduct an investigation into compliance with existing laws that assist the deaf community in Puerto Rico.

“The unfortunate story of Ms. Janet Viera Grau (RIP) [a young deaf woman from Vega Alta who committed suicide earlier this month] shows us that, despite great medical, audiological, technical and educational advances, many deaf children leave school without having the necessary tools for a social and community life,” said

Janet Viera Grau

the freshman senator from District 3 (Arecibo). “Communication to participate in society, whether through the teaching of sign or oral language, is necessary to allow more effective integration and participation in their environment. For this reason, it is meritorious that this Legislative Assembly investigates and determines the fulfillment of all the laws and regulations that exist in the government to guarantee the access of this community to public services.”

According to local press reports, Viera Grau took her own life after the island Family Department removed her two young children from the home.

There are an estimated 218,000 deaf citizens on the island, which is equivalent to 6.83% of the population who live with some hearing disability.

Rosa Vélez, also a clinical social worker, added that “[o]ver the years, the deaf community in Puerto Rico has had difficulty with access to public services that we all enjoy.”

“Since the early 1990s, a series of legislative initiatives have been adopted that, although not entirely sufficient, serve to raise awareness for the benefit of the hearingimpaired population,” she said. “However, the problem seems to be in compliance with public policies by the agencies of the government of Puerto Rico.”

It is precisely from this concern that the senator’s initiative arises, to ascertain the level of compliance and

see how it can be enforced. Rosa Vélez said “the time has come to reflect on whether the legislation is being complied with and whether it really protects the rights of the deaf community in general,” adding that there is a clear need to work with the deaf community from an individual-psychological perspective to promote equal opportunities.

“We recognize that in the government there is a problem of compliance and accountability and we have to move to comply with the laws and that government entities adapt to the needs of the deaf community in general and not the other way around,” she said.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Son of ex-Treasury chief denies involvement in extortion scheme

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

R

aúl “Rauli” Maldonado Nieves, son of Raúl Maldonado Gautier, who served as Treasury secretary in the administration of former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares, denied on Thursday having participated in any extortion scheme.

“As I had already mentioned in July of last year, I did not extort money, they tried to bribe me,” Maldonado said in his Facebook account.

“I received a call in which they offered me $300,000 and they told me that the money came from Maceira [Anthony Omy Maceira Zayas, then the secretary of public affairs at Rosselló’s La Fortaleza]. I told him NO!, that they messed with my family and money was not my interest.”

“That another person would like to take advantage [of his position] denotes little intellectual capacity, both of he who tried and the one who believed it,” the attorney added. “I remind you that when I speak it is because I

have evidence to substantiate it.”

“Lastly, this is my only social media account. All the others are false,” Maldonado wrote. “Apparently it is not the first time that people have tried to speak for me.”

As reported in the STAR, a federal grand jury on Wednesday charged former media producer Sixto Jorge Díaz Colón, better known as Sixto George, with extortion and obstruction of justice in relation to the controversial Telegram chat messages that led to the resignations of Rosselló and a group of his close advisers during the summer of 2019.

It was the first arrest related to the controversial Telegram chat.

Díaz Colón, 52, was charged with three counts of extortion and obstruction of justice for trying to extort a public official in the Puerto Rico government on June 20, 2019 to secure $300,000 and government contracts in exchange for preventing the publication of Telegram messages.

“He [Díaz Colón] threatened to use his influence as a member of the media and on

behalf of two public relations firms to destroy the reputations of public officials if they did not comply with his requests,” said Stephen Muldrow, the federal prosecutor for the District of Puerto Rico, in a written statement. “Make no mistake, the United States Attorney’s Office and our partner agencies will prosecute those who attempt to extort money from others and obstruct justice to the full extent of the law.”

According to the indictment, Díaz Colón tried to obtain a payment of $300,000 and other things of value from the official in exchange for the guarantee that certain Telegram messages that contained damaging information about various public government officials would not be publicly disclosed. When the FBI approached him on July 26, 2019, Díaz Colón is alleged to have deleted the Telegram messages that contained information about his participation in the plan, before handing over his cell phone to the authorities.

“As the indictment alleges, the defendant sought to extort money from a public official of the government of Puerto Rico for his own

financial gain, and then aggravated his crime by allegedly destroying evidence of his participation in the plan when approached by the FBI,” said Nicholas McQuaid, acting assistant attorney general for the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to preserving the public’s trust in our government and protecting public and private citizens alike from the types of criminal exploitation posed by the defendant.”

The case is being investigated by the FBI and is being processed by Criminal Chief Timothy Henwood and Division Chief Myriam Fernández González of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and Trial Attorney Michael Lang of the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division (PIN). Former PIN trial attorney James Pearce also assisted in the investigation.

As the STAR reported Thursday, the federal magistrate Bruce McGiverin imposed a bail of $15,000 on the radio producer, of which $10,000 can be deferred with properties. A formal arraignment hearing was scheduled for Feb. 9.

P3A chief challenges PREPA consumer rep’s allegations regarding LUMA deal

By THE STAR STAFF

P

ublic Private Partnership Authority (P3A) Executive Director Fermín Fontanés on Thursday disputed certain remarks made by the consumer representative to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) governing board, Tomás Torres Placa, who had charged that the cost control, contract termination and financing of PREPA’s 15-year contract with LUMA Energy to manage the utility’s transmission and distribution system are detrimental to consumers.

Torres said LUMA is billing an average of $7.8 million in reimbursable expenses monthly, in addition to its fixed billing of $5 million.

“Since the signing of the contract at the end of June 2020, as of December, LUMA has invoiced $46.9 million in reimbursable expenses without including time sheets, purchase receipts and information necessary for evaluation,” Torres said. “For this period, its fixed billing was $31.5 million.”

“These reimbursable expenses need to be analyzed with public data open to the consumer, including all the information necessary to be evaluated,” the consumer rep added.

Fontanés replied that it was important to point out that it is a complex contract, “that we are aware that there are still questions about it, and that we want to answer them so that everyone is sure that it is a transaction for the benefit of the island, in order to achieve better electric power service.”

“It must be emphasized that LUMA has encountered the reality of an operation even more deteriorated than what we knew in the

Electric Power Authority, which has required a great undertaking of organization and analysis as part of the development of an optimization plan for the system,” Fontanés said. “LUMA is charging for the work it is doing. Likewise, it must be remembered that PREPA has a deficit of $9.2 billion and is undergoing a debt restructuring, and that its administration and operation is subject to Title III processes.”

Torres said Section 3.9 of the contract provides that for each year that the term of LUMA’s contract is reduced from 15 years, LUMA is compensated $100 million annually at the rate of $8.3 million per month because of a federal provision that requires a contract term in proportion to the useful life of the property to be managed, in this case the island electrical system’s cables.

“The LUMA contract should not have been signed for a 15-year term, especially when there is a clause that requires LUMA to be compensated for each year that its term is reduced because of the useful life of the equipment,” Torres stressed. “This is of utmost importance given that, after Hurricane Maria, the transmission and distribution system collapsed, the transmission system was partially repaired and the distribution system was patched. Under the current contract, if it is shown that the useful life is shorter than originally estimated, it is required to review the term of the contract and compensate LUMA for each year that its term is reduced. For example, if the term of LUMA’s contract is reduced by five years, LUMA must be compensated for $500 million.”

The engineer said another deficiency is the financing of LUMA’s operations, according to

Section 7.5 of the contract. Financing for the LUMA contract costs $904 million. During December, the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board published a document detailing the amounts required to finance the LUMA contract. The document indicates that $904 million is required to finance operational expenses, purchase of fuel and energy, and capital expenses.

“This high financing cost is due to the fact that all of PREPA’s faculties and powers are transferred to LUMA, with the exception of generation, as specially described in sections 5.2 and 5.6 of the contract,” Torres said. “This has serious implications for the consumer and the future of the electrical system in Puerto Rico. In addition to the cost that this entails, there is the question of who supervises an entity to which all the faculties and powers of PREPA are transferred. Therefore, it is necessary to review the concept of this contract, which clearly goes beyond the duties of an operator of the transmission and distribution system.”

Torres emphasized that, regardless of LUMA’s ability to operate PREPA’s transmission and distribution system, the contract has serious deficiencies to the detriment of the consumer, which require urgent review.

Regarding the issue of LUMA’s monthly billing, during the transition phase, which began last July and will culminate in May, Fontanés said the contract establishes a fixed compensation of up to $60 million. This equates to some $5 million per month for a fixed fee.

As of December, LUMA had invoiced $31.5 million for a fixed fee, the P3A chief said.

Regarding reimbursable expenses, in its

proposal LUMA estimated that it would incur around $70 million in expenses during the transition period. To date, LUMA has invoiced $47.3 million for reimbursable expenses.

Fontanés said LUMA has stayed within its assigned budget.

“As we approach the final months of the transition, we will see a reduction in billing,” he said.

LUMA invoices are public documents that are accessible to citizens by virtue of the Public-Private Partnerships Law (Law No. 29) and the Transparency and Expedited Procedure for Access to Public Information Law (Law No. 141).

Regarding the 15-year term of the contract, Fontanés said the transformation of the energy transmission and distribution system requires continuity to achieve real, effective and efficient optimization. The 15-year term was based on a useful life study prepared by PREPA, which established that the useful life of the electrical system is greater than 15 years. Once the system transformation work begins, he said, its useful life will increase.

Regarding the proposition that LUMA costs $904 million to finance, Fontanés said the amount only serves the purpose of guaranteeing the financial and operational stability of the electricity system, in order to achieve transformation goals, regardless of other factors that may put PREPA’s fiscal stability at stake. It is money that will not be used to pay LUMA, he said.

Fontanés said that once LUMA takes control of PREPA, his agency will continue to manage the contract but the company will have to answer to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

7

Biden advisers say U.S. will remain vulnerable to COVID unless Congress acts

By SHERIL GAY STOLBERG

P

resident Joe Biden’s coronavirus czar said Wednesday that the United States was woefully behind other nations in tracking potentially dangerous variants of the virus, and used the first White House public health briefing to issue a stark warning that Americans will remain vulnerable to the deadly pandemic unless Congress acts.

“We are 43rd in the world in genomic sequencing — totally unacceptable,” said Biden’s COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeffrey Zients, citing December data from the GISAID Initiative, which provides a global database of coronavirus genomes. In a brief interview later, he corrected himself, saying he had since learned that the United States was now behind 31 other nations.

Biden has repeatedly promised that his administration will conduct regular briefings and be transparent about its efforts to fight the virus, and Wednesday’s virtual meeting was an effort to make good on the president’s pledge. But it was troubled by technical difficulties, with the audio cutting out intermittently.

During the hourlong session, which drew 500 participants, Zients also warned that the federal government still faced shortages of personal protective gear and other essential supplies that it would not be able to buy if Congress did not pass Biden’s coronavirus relief plan. His pleas for more money were echoed

by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The White House has dispatched Zients and other top officials to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill as they try to wrangle support for a sweeping $1.9 trillion package that would

Rosario Sabio receives a coronavirus vaccine at a vaccination site in San Diego, Calif., Jan. 27, 2021. provide billions of dollars for vaccine distribution, schools, unemployment benefits and another round of direct payments.

Top Democrats have said they hope to approve another package with bipartisan support.

But with several senators already balking at the scope and size of the package, Democrats are leaving open the possibility of using a legislative process, known as budget reconciliation, that would allow the legislation to become law with a simple majority rather than by the usual 60-vote threshold.

Scientists have warned that, with no robust system to identify genetic variations of the coronavirus, the United States is ill equipped to track dangerous new mutations, leaving health officials blind as they try to combat the grave threat.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert

and Biden’s chief medical adviser for the pandemic, said the National Institutes of Health was working with the CDC on research aimed at adapting vaccines so that they “have on the ability to neutralize these mutants.” One coronavirus variant, which has surged in Britain and burdened its hospitals with cases, has been increasingly detected in the United States.

Federal health officials have warned that this variant, which is more contagious, could become the dominant source of infection in the United States by March, and would most likely lead to a wrenching surge in cases and deaths that would further overwhelm hospitals. Other variants spreading in South Africa and Brazil have also caused concern.

“I look at the data from the U.K. and how quickly it got really bad in terms of its contagiousness, and how much it could cause a spike, and I am really worried about that,” said Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, in an interview on Tuesday. “It’s also widespread across the U.S. — 20 some odd states have already identified it. That is the big one that I worry about.”

The CDC said Wednesday that about 20.7 million people have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and that about 3.8 million people have been fully vaccinated. More than 1 million people a day, on average, have received a shot to help protect them against COVID-19 in the United States over the past week.

As the vaccine rollout accelerates, the number of daily new cases in the United States, which has the worst outbreak in the world, has been on the decline in recent weeks. American deaths, though, remain high, numbering more than 3,000 per day on average in recent days.

Biden plans to reopen Obamacare exchanges in many states

By MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

T

he Biden administration plans to reopen enrollment in many of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, both to help those who may have lost health insurance during the pandemic and to offer coverage to those who did not have any and now want it. The move will be announced Thursday as part of an executive order describing administration policies on shoring up health insurance coverage, according to three people familiar with the details.

The so-called special enrollment period is intended to help people who have lost coverage in the past year, but it will be open to those who want health insurance for any reason, in the 36 states that use Healthcare.gov. The decision was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

Typically, Americans without a special circumstance can buy Obamacare insurance only during a six-week period in the fall, a restriction meant to encourage people to hold coverage even when they are healthy. The sign-up period for this year’s coverage ended in mid-December, with enrollments only slightly higher than they were last year. But the Trump administration

did little to advertise it. The Biden administration plans to have a large marketing campaign to announce the new opportunity and encourage people to enroll in health plans, two of the people said.

The insurance industry, which usually supports tight limits on insurance enrollments, is backing the extra enrollment period.

Around 15 million Americans are uninsured and eligible for marketplace coverage, according to a recent analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Most would qualify for some form of financial assistance if they bought such coverage — and about 4 million could sign up for a high-deductible plan that would cost them nothing in premiums.

“For the 4 million people who could be getting free coverage who are instead uninsured — that, to me, is screaming out for outreach,” said Cynthia Cox, a vice president at the foundation and a co-author of the analysis.

It remains unclear how many people lost health insurance last year because of the pandemic, but most working-age Americans receive coverage through their employers, and millions have lost jobs.

Enrollment in Medicaid, the public health insurance program for the poor and disabled, has grown substantially during

the pandemic. And consumer advocates say there are also many Americans who were uninsured before but might want coverage now because of the public health crisis. Several states that run their own marketplaces established special enrollment periods last year and saw increased sign-ups.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Why Pennsylvania Republican leaders are all-in for Trump more than ever

By TRIP GABRIEL

A

s a second impeachment trial for Donald Trump approaches next month, Republicans in states across the country are lining up behind the former president with unwavering support.

Perhaps no state has demonstrated its fealty as tenaciously as Pennsylvania, where Republican officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep Trumpism at the center of their message as they bolster the president’s false claims of a “stolen” election.

Eight of nine Republicans in Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation voted to throw out their state’s own electoral votes for President Joe Biden on Jan. 6, just hours after a mob had stormed the Capitol.

A majority of Republicans in the state Legislature had endorsed that effort.

And one House member from the state, Scott Perry, was instrumental in promoting a plan in which Trump would fire the acting attorney general in an effort to stay in office.

In the weeks since the Nov. 3 election, Republicans in Pennsylvania have made loyalty to the defeated ex-president the sole organizing principle of the party, the latest chapter in a rightward populist march repeated across other states. As elsewhere, the Pennsylvania GOP was once led by mainstream conservatives, but it is now defined almost exclusively by Trumpism. It faces major statewide races in 2022, for offices including governor and the Senate, with an electorate that just rejected Trump in favor of Biden.

Far from engaging in self-examina-

Supporters of President Donald Trump march around the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., as state electors meet to cast their Electoral College votes on Dec. 14, 2020. Perhaps no state’s Republican politicians have demonstrated fealty to Trump as tenaciously as Pennsylvania’s, where they have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep Trumpism at the center of their message. tion, Pennsylvania Republicans are already jockeying before the 2022 primaries to prove that they fought the hardest for Trump, who, in spite of the losses by his party in the White House, the Senate and the House, still exerts a strong grip over elected Republicans and grassroots voters.

As the Republican base has shifted — suburbanites leaning more Democratic and rural white voters lining up behind Republicans over culture-war issues — GOP leaders recognize the extent to which the former president unleashed waves of support for their party. In Pennsylvania, just as in some Midwestern states, a surge of new Republican voters with grievances about a changing America was triggered

by Trump, and only Trump.

“Donald Trump’s presidency and his popularity has been a big win for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania,” said Rob Gleason, a former chair of the state GOP. Even though numerous state and federal courts rejected the Trump campaign’s baseless claims of voter fraud, Gleason said the belief that the voting was rigged “lingers in the minds of a lot of people.”

He predicted it would drive Republican turnout in upcoming races. He said he had met this week with a prosecutor who “feels the election was stolen” and was pondering a run for a statewide judge-

ship this year.

Other Republicans are more skeptical that lock-step support of the former president is the best path forward in Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state that is likely to be up for grabs in the next several election cycles.

“We have become, over four years, the party of Trump, and it has been one test after the other,” said Ryan Costello, a former GOP House member from the Philadelphia suburbs who has been critical of Trump and is exploring a run for Senate.

“It is not a sustainable growth strategy to double and triple and quadruple down on Trump when he gets divisive.”

Despite Costello’s apprehension, most Republicans thought to be mulling runs for Senate or governor have made it clear that they are prepared to pass a Trump loyalty test.

They include members of the Republican congressional delegation, hard-line members of the Legislature, and even Donald Trump Jr. The president’s oldest son is the subject of persistent rumors that he will run for high office in the state — mostly because of his ties to Pennsylvania, where he went to prep school and college. The Trump family spent an enormous amount of time campaigning in Pennsylvania in 2020, and as it seeks its next political

stage, the state remains a big one.

Apart from the House delegation, much of the Trumpist takeover in Pennsylvania has occurred in the Legislature, where Republicans held their majorities in both chambers in November (a result that the party fails to mention in its vehement claims of election fraud in the presidential race).

In contrast to states such as Georgia and Arizona, where top Republican officials debunked disinformation from Trump and his allies, in Pennsylvania no senior Republicans in Harrisburg pushed back on false claims about election results, some of them created by lawmakers themselves or by Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

A majority of Republicans in the General Assembly urged the state’s congressional delegation in December to reject the state’s 20 electoral votes for Biden after the results were legally certified. Such was the pressure from grassroots Trump supporters that the majority leader of the state Senate, Kim Ward, said in an interview last month that if she refused to sign on to such an effort, “I’d get my house bombed tonight.”

Republicans in the state House are seeking to change how judges are elected to ensure a Republican majority on the state Supreme Court, after the current court, with a Democratic lean, ruled against claims in election fraud cases last year.

Republican lawmakers have also plunged into a lengthy examination of the November election, even though no evidence of more than trivial fraud has surfaced, and courts rejected claims that election officials overstepped their legal mandates.

Republicans announced 14 hearings in the House. Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar, a Democrat, was grilled in the first one last week. Dismissing the series of hearings as a “charade,” she called on Republicans not to sow further distrust in the integrity of the state’s election, which drew a record 71% turnout despite a pandemic.

“We need to stand together as Americans,” Boockvar said in an interview, “and tell the voters these were lies, that your votes counted, they were checked, they were audited, they were recounted many places, and the numbers added up and they were certified.”

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

9

Harvey Weinstein accusers agree to $17 million settlement

By MELENA RYZIK and CARA BUCKLEY

N

early four years after the first claims against Harvey Weinstein made their way into the court system, some of the many women who sued him on sexual assault and harassment grounds may be close to getting financial compensation.

On Monday, a bankruptcy court judge in Delaware confirmed the settlement deal, clearing the way for dozens of women who say they were sexually assaulted or harassed

by Weinstein to receive a portion of the $17 million victims fund, largely by ending their civil claims against him.

“Eighty-three percent of the victims have expressed very loudly that they want closure through acceptance of this plan,” the bankruptcy judge, Mary Walrath, said in a hearing.

Nearly 40 women voted last month to accept the terms of the settlement, which would allow their claims to be evaluated and paid out using a point system, potentially putting an end to a lengthy and anguishing process to determine how the numerous women who accused Weinstein of misconduct might find restitution.

Weinstein, 68, was sentenced last March to 23 years in prison after being convicted of rape and another felony sex crime in a criminal trial in New York.

“My clients are so relieved,” said Genie Harrison, a lawyer who represents five women who voted to be part of the settlement. “They wanted an outcome, not another promise of years of additional litigation, with them being the targets — and that’s the way cases like this are.” Some women could stand to receive five-figure payouts from the fund, which was set aside — and then whittled down — as part of a liquidation plan after The Weinstein Co. filed for bankruptcy in 2018.

Lawyers for The Weinstein Co. did not respond to emails and voice messages.

The settlement agreement offers different payment levels to women based on whether they want to release Weinstein from any future lawsuits. An accuser who chooses to release Weinstein from such claims is provided a full settlement share.

Those who leave open the possibility of additional legal action against him would only get 25% of their settlement share, with the rest going to insurance companies.

While they can still sue Weinstein, all parties who agree to the deal are required to release The Weinstein Co., its directors and executives — including Bob Weinstein, Harvey’s brother and a company co-founder — from any liability.

Some of the women who declined to join the settlement

said they were upset that it released The Weinstein Co. and Bob Weinstein from liability. Several have previously charged in court papers that the company and Bob Weinstein were negligent and knew of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior.

“My goal was to hold Bob Weinstein and the board of directors accountable as well as the perpetrator,” said Dominique Huett, who accused Harvey Weinstein in a 2017 civil suit — the first filed against him after women began to come forward with accusations of sexual misconduct — of forcibly performing oral sex on her in a Los Angeles hotel room in 2010. She opposed the settlement deal. “Everyone was let out of any liability,” she said.

Lawyers for Huett — a model, actress and gender rights advocate — and a handful of other women who voted against the settlement said they are considering appeal. They do not wish to bar any survivors from participating in the deal, they said, but have also objected to the grouping of women with allegations of rape and whose cases are within the statute of limitations alongside people who say they experienced harassment years ago.

The victims should have been divided into classes depending on the severity of their allegations, said Thomas Giuffra, a lawyer involved in the case. Otherwise, “somebody who’s been raped has the same vote as somebody who Harvey Weinstein screamed in their face,” which the producer was known to do regularly to men and women.

Giuffra’s client, Alexandra Canosa, whose suit accused Weinstein of raping her, was in the midst of a nine-hour deposition in her case when the bankruptcy court ruling came down, he said. A deposition for Bob Weinstein was scheduled for Wednesday, but the district judge in the case canceled it, asking that Canosa make an immediate decision about whether to join the settlement, Giuffra said — a fast turnaround that he called “frankly shocking to all of us.”

Giuffra said that, as of now, his client would not take part in the settlement, in part because its outcome is still unclear.

“She doesn’t know what she’s getting, and she won’t know until she goes through the claims process,” he said. “How can you say you’ll accept something before you know what that something is?”

Beth Fegan, a lawyer for several women who supported the settlement, said in a statement that Harvey Weinstein “caused irremediable harm with his decadeslong, predatory sexual abuse.” The fund allows her clients — Louisette Geiss, Sarah Ann Masse and Melissa Thompson — to “apply for meaningful monetary compensation for their injuries in a

confidential process.”

A prior class action settlement in the cases brought by women against Weinstein was rejected by a federal judge in New York last summer. The current plan is separate and part of a larger bankruptcy proceeding for The Weinstein Co. The $35.2 million total bankruptcy settlement will be covered entirely by insurers: $17 million will go to the sexual misconduct claims fund, $8.4 million to other creditors, and $9.7 million to cover half of the defense costs through April 2019.

Imran Ansari, a lawyer for Harvey Weinstein, said a substantive difference between the two plans was that the current one allows a plaintiff to collect some funds and still sue Weinstein.

“That would be a fool’s errand because his financial state is not great,” Ansari said. “This is the most sure bet to get some compensation, if they have a claim.”

Weinstein has maintained that all his sexual encounters were consensual. He is awaiting extradition for another criminal trial in Los Angeles on multiple counts of sexual felonies.

Ansari said that he was representing Weinstein in roughly 10 other civil cases rooted in sexual misconduct complaints and that Weinstein intends to defend the cases that proceed against him in court.

As part of a bankruptcy court settlement, dozens of women who had sued Harvey Weinstein and accused him of sexual abuse will be eligible to share in $17 million in compensation.

10

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

4 Things to know about the GameStop insanity

By MATT PHILLIPS

T

he internet and stock market are aflame over GameStop, the video game retailer whose stock is suddenly the darling of day traders who are putting the squeeze on Wall Street’s big players.

The stakes are enormous: The surge in trading has driven GameStop’s value up by $10 billion. Since Tuesday.

GameStop — that feature of malls and shopping centers across the country — was worth about $2 billion in December. Now it is worth $24 billion, roughly the same as the meat giant Tyson and the fuel refiner Valero Energy.

On paper, at least.

Exactly why has to do with a mix of traditional investing, rampant enthusiasm, stock-market mechanics and the belief that anyone with a Robinhood account can meme a fortune into existence.

What’s going on?

It’s called a short squeeze, and it involves investors betting on which way a stock will go — up or down. These bets are placed by buying stock options, which we’ll grossly oversimplify here.

Options allow an investor to make money even if the stock itself loses value. Investors who bet against a stock are called “shorts.” In GameStop’s case, the shorts include at least two big hedge funds.

Shorting a stock essentially means borrowing shares from a broker and selling them, with the agreement you’ll return the shares later. When the price falls, you buy back the shares and pocket the difference. But shorting a stock is risky — if the price rises, you can lose big.

Sometimes you just make a bad bet. But you can also lose if someone tries to push up the price by buying lots of shares, even though the company isn’t doing anything different.

This is the squeeze.

Shorts have to close their position — that is, buy up the shares they owe their brokers and return them. This demand kicks the stock higher, and a short who acts too late could be ruined.

A GameStop store in Manhattan on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. GameStop shares have soared 1,500 percent as millions of small investors, egged on by social media, employ a classic Wall Street tactic to put the squeeze — on Wall Street.

Usually, these kinds of standoffs involve sophisticated Wall Street investors, for example when Bill Ackman squared off against two other billionaires — Daniel Loeb and Carl Icahn — over the dietary supplement maker Herbalife.

Why did GameStop’s stock start rising?

The amateurs started driving up the price.

Over the past year, armchair traders have surged into the market. Some smelled opportunity after stocks tumbled last spring, some were trying to scratch a gambling itch after sports leagues shut down, and for some it’s just a game — trying to ring up dollars instead of points.

All this has been made easier by the free trades available through platforms like Robinhood and E-Trade.

Some of these enthusiastic amateurs are buying shares of GameStop, but many are placing their own options bets, on the opposite side of the shorts.

These bets involve contracts that give them the option to buy a stock at a certain price in the future. If the price rises, the trader can buy the stock at a bargain and sell it for a profit. (In practice, lots of traders just sell the options

contract itself for a profit or loss instead of actually buying the shares, but this description suffices for our purposes.)

The brokers that sell the options contracts have to provide the shares if the trader wants to exercise the option.

To mitigate their risk, they buy some of the shares they’d need. Normally, this small amount of demand doesn’t do much to the price.

But if enough traders bet big, the demand can push the stock up. If it goes high enough, the brokers who would be on the hook have to buy more shares, lest they get stuck having to buy a lot of expensive shares all at once.

That increases demand, which increases the stock’s price. Which means the brokers have to buy more shares, which means … You get the idea.

OK, but why GameStop?

You can put some of the blame on Reddit’s Wall Street Bets forum, one of the weirder places on the internet. Wall Street Bets, or WSB, is where armchair traders gather to share memes, commiserate over losses and share more memes. But they also trade tips and analysis that can go on for pages.

GameStop’s shares started to rise in

December, after the founder of the petsupply site Chewy.com bought a stake in the company and got a spot on its board.

Slowly, the company gained the attention of WSB and traders who frequent the gamer-friendly social media service Discord.

The traders’ motivations vary widely. Some reason that GameStop’s shares are a good value. Others are just riding the wave. And others want to squeeze Melvin Capital, a hedge fund that was shorting GameStop. They’re the ones quoting Heath Ledger’s Joker character from “The Dark Knight”: “It’s not about the money, it’s about sending a message.”

But the aggressive maneuvers against the shorts aren’t necessarily limited to the amateurs. Wall Street’s big players know a good opportunity when they see it.

How does the GameStop squeeze end?

Nobody knows.

A spokesperson for Melvin Capital — which needed a $2.75 billion cash injection Monday because of the squeeze — said the firm had closed out of its short position. Andrew Left of Citron Research, another short, said he had covered the majority of his short position “at a loss, 100%.”

There’s a catch: GameStop, as a company, is not noticeably different from a month ago. By any conventional measure, its share price wildly inflated — and extremely risky for whoever owns its shares.

But this isn’t just about GameStop anymore. Enthusiastic amateurs are also bidding up the prices of other struggling stocks, like movie theater chain AMC and smartphone maker BlackBerry.

This weird little bubble doesn’t just affect the bettors, though. If big investors on the losing side of these trades have to raise money to cover their losses, it could mean dumping enough shares to hurt the prices of otherwise solid stocks.

If the sell-off is big enough, it could have a cascading effect that leads to broader losses for investors who have never bought or sold a share of GameStop.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

11 Stocks

“GameStop effect” could ripple further as Wall Street eyes short squeeze candidates

T

he Dow and the S&P 500 slid more than 1% on Wednesday as Boeing slumped on posting a record annual loss, while declines were exacerbated by hedge funds selling off long positions to cover a short squeeze sparked by a sharp rally in GameStop and AMC. Shares of videogame retailer GameStop Corp and movie theater operator AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc each more than doubled on Wednesday as amateur investors again piled into the stocks, forcing short-sellers such as Citron to abandon their losing bets.

“As weird as that may sound, what is partially responsible for what’s going on today in the market is that there’s a lot of selling going on to raise cash to cover some of these big shorts that are just getting pummeled,” said Sean O’Hara, president of Pacer ETF Distributors in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Focus later in the day will be on the Federal Reserve’s statement after a two-day policy meeting. The central bank is expected to keep monetary policy locked in crisis-fighting mode, with investors also looking forward to relief from ongoing vaccination programs and new fiscal spending plans.

Meanwhile, Boeing Co fell 3.1% and was among the top drags on the Dow Jones Industrial Average after the planemaker took a hefty $6.5 billion charge on its all-new 777X jetliner due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of a two-year safety crisis over its 737 MAX. In a week packed with quarterly earnings from mega-cap companies, Microsoft Corp rose 1.9% after its results as the software maker continues to benefit from remote working and learning trends globally.

Microsoft’s results set a positive precedent for other technology-related companies including Apple Inc, Tesla Inc and Facebook Inc, which are set to report quarterly numbers later in the day.

These heavyweight majors have recently come back into favor after blowout results from streaming giant Netflix Inc, and as investors dumped economy-linked banks, energy and small-cap stocks.

However, concerns about heightened stock market valuations, raging coronavirus cases and any potential disruption to vaccine rollouts have spooked investors about a pullback and increase in volatility in the near-term.

Shares of Apple were up 0.2% by mid-day, while Tesla and Facebook were down 0.6% and 2.4%, respectively.

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12

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Britain will make citizens quarantine at hotels at their own expense

A hotel at Heathrow Airport in London on Tuesday.

By MARK LANDLER and STEPHEN CASTLE

B

ritain, swamped by a fast-spreading coronavirus variant and desperate to keep other mutations out of the country, tightened its travel restrictions Wednesday, requiring British citizens arriving from 22 high-risk countries to quarantine in hotels for 10 days at their own expense.

The policy edges Britain closer to the strict hotel quarantines imposed by Australia and several Asian countries. But it falls short of a blanket requirement, drawing criticism that it will not seal off the country from dangerous new variants, even as it cripples the already

wounded travel and aviation industries.

“There are still too many people coming in and out of our country every day,” Priti Patel, the home secretary, said in Parliament, announcing the new measures, which are also designed to stop Britons from leaving the country.

“Going on holiday is not an exemption,” Patel added, noting there were reports of people turning up at St. Pancras Station in London, lugging their skis, to board the Eurostar train on their way to Alpine ski resorts.

For now, the hotel quarantine restrictions will be limited to countries already deemed to be high-risk because of the emergence of va-

riants — like South Africa and Brazil, and other South American countries. But Patel said the government could expand the list to include other countries with a prevalence of new variants of the virus.

Under the new rules, arriving passengers would be taken from the airport to nearby hotels, where they would be required to isolate in their rooms for 10 days at their own expense. With a few exceptions, non-British citizens from these 22 countries are already banned from traveling to Britain. Departing travelers would need to provide a reason for their trip and could be turned away at the airport or train station.

Public health experts said the plan had too many loopholes, especially given London’s status as an international hub. “It won’t be effective because people will just connect in other countries to avoid quarantine,” said Devi Sridhar, head of the global public health program at the University of Edinburgh.

The debate over how sweeping to make the policy and whether to include all those arriving in Britain divided the Cabinet of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. British newspapers reported that Patel was among those ministers who argued for going further but was overruled by Johnson — a divide that was picked up by the opposition parties.

In a tense exchange Tuesday, Joanna Cherry, a lawmaker from the Scottish National Party, asked Patel why she had not acted until now, given that she publicly acknowledged that it would have been a good idea to close borders earlier.

“What stopped her?” Cherry asked. “Was it her Cabinet colleagues, and if so, why didn’t

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she resign and speak out, given the risk of increased transmission from people entering the country?”

Britain’s new travel policy came on a day when the prime minister offered a tentative road map for emerging from the third national lockdown since the onset of the pandemic last March but made clear there would be no relaxation in February. Johnson warned that schools would not reopen until March 8 — and then only if Britain controls hospital admissions and achieves its target of vaccinating 15 million of the country’s most vulnerable people by the middle of February.

That message was a disappointment to parents who had hoped schools might reopen after a midterm break in February. And it underscored how dire the situation is in Britain, with more than 37,000 people in hospitals with COVID-19, nearly twice the number of patients as during the first peak of the pandemic last spring.

Opposition leaders accused the government of sending mixed messages — a recurring failure that they said was part of the reason Britain had run up the highest death toll in Europe, with more than 100,000 fatalities. On Wednesday, Britain reported 1,725 additional deaths, making it the second-deadliest day of the pandemic.

“Our schools are closed, and our borders are open,” the Labour Party leader, Keir Starmer, declared to Parliament, speaking on a video link from home where he was self-isolating, “and my biggest concern is that the prime minister still has not learned the lessons of last year. I fear that as a result we will see more tragedy and more grim milestones.”

Puedes obtener una cubierta de seguro que puede ayudarte económicamente, si estuvieras hospitalizado o en gastos funebres. ¡TODO DESDE LA COMODIDAD DE SU HOGAR!

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

13

Near-total abortion ban takes effect in Poland, and thousands protest

By ISABELLA KWAI, MONIKA PRONCZUK and ANATOL MAGDZIARZ

A

contentious near-total ban on abortion in Poland went into effect late Wednesday, despite rampant opposition from hundreds of thousands of Poles who began protesting in the fall in the largest demonstrations in the country since the 1989 collapse of communism.

Thousands of outraged women, teenagers and allies returned to the streets Wednesday night bundled up against the cold after word that a ruling that halts the termination of pregnancies for fetal abnormalities — virtually the only kind of abortion performed in Poland — would come into force.

The decision had been made in October by the Constitutional Tribunal, but its implementation was delayed after it prompted a month of protests. On Wednesday, the government abruptly announced that the ruling was being published in the government’s journal, meaning it would come into effect.

The protesters chanted slogans like “I think, I feel, I decide!” and “Freedom of choice instead of terror!” In Warsaw, they marched to the headquarters of the governing Law and Justice Party to songs including “I Will Survive.”

“We are dealing with incompetence, corruption, a total decay of the state, so these men are doing what they know best — taking away rights and freedoms from the citizens,” Marta Lempart, a protest organizer, told television station TVN24 on Wednesday. “This is about women but also about all other minorities and majorities that Law and Justice hates.”

Opposition lawmakers Wednesday criticized the decision to suddenly an-

Thousands of protesters returned to the streets Wednesday night bundled up against the cold, after word that a ruling that halts the termination of pregnancies for fetal abnormalities would come into force. nounce that the ruling would be published in the Official Journal. The government had previously delayed publication of the ruling in an apparent answer to the protests, a move that legal experts have called unconstitutional.

“It’s not only women whom you’re bringing to the streets, it’s the whole nation that has had enough,” said Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw, adding the decision to publish the ruling “against the will of Poles” was a “conscious and calculated acting to the detriment of the state.”

Others did not mince words in their discontent. “Bastards. #pseudo-ruling #pseudo-tribunal,” Barbara Nowacka, a center-left opposition lawmaker, said on Twitter.

The decision by thousands to protest, despite a surge in coronavirus cases, was

another sign of discontent from a wide array of groups that believe human freedoms are being eroded under the Law and Justice Party, which is growing increasingly autocratic. It also comes as public anger is rising over the government’s handling of the pandemic — extending restrictions to the end of January — and a sluggish vaccination rollout.

Poland already had one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, with the pro-

cedure legal in only three instances: fetal abnormalities, pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, and threats to a woman’s life.

The latter two remain legal. But with 1,074 of 1,100 abortions performed in the country last year because of fetal abnormalities, the ban would outlaw abortion in most cases, and critics say many women will resort to illegal procedures or travel abroad to obtain abortions.

Even without the ruling in force, some hospitals had preemptively instructed doctors to stop performing abortions for fetal abnormalities, fearing the legal ramifications for their doctors, according to local media.

European lawmakers, who have accused the government of influencing the court’s decision, also criticized the announcement.

“Many of us cannot be in the streets with you to march in defense of our fundamental rights,” Terry Reintke, a Green lawmaker from Germany who is in the European Parliament, said on Twitter. “But know this: In every village, in every city in Europe there are women following your struggle.

Never forget you are standing on the shoulders of brave and courageous women who have fought this fight for many years.”

“For them it is not about protecting life,” said Donald Tusk, an opposition Polish lawmaker and former president of the European Council, of the Law and Justice Party.

“Under their rule more and more Poles are dying, and less are being born.”

14

January 29-31, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

EU border agency pulls out of Hungary over rights abuses

People cross the border between Hungary and Serbia with a fence under construction in the background outside Roszke, Hungary, Sept. 13, 2015. Frontex, the European Union agency responsible for monitoring the bloc’s external borders, announced on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, that it was suspending operations in Hungary, which has ignored a court order to bring its asylum practices in line with European Union law.

By MONIKA PRONCZUK and BENJAMIN NOVAK

F

rontex, the European Union agency responsible for monitoring the bloc’s external borders, announced Wednesday that it was suspending operations in Hungary, which has ignored a court order to bring its asylum practices in line with EU law.

In a December ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union determined that the Hungarian practice of denying asylum-seekers protection and removing them to Serbia violated EU law.

But Hungary has refused to end its policy, known as “pushback,” and the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights group based in Budapest, estimates that nearly 4,500 people have been expelled from the country since last month, in direct defiance of the court’s ruling.

Amid this standoff, Frontex decided to pull out of Hun-

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gary, the first time the agency has left an EU member state.

“Frontex has suspended all its operational activities on the ground in Hungary,” the agency said in a statement to The New York Times. “Our common efforts to protect the EU external borders can only be successful if we ensure that our cooperation and activities are fully in line with EU laws.”

The government of Hungary has employed the so-called pushback policy for years, putting the country at loggerheads with the bloc.

Since the pushback practice was adopted by the Hungarian government in 2016, more than 50,000 asylum-seekers have been ejected, with most sent back to Serbia, according to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee. Many asylum-seekers first arrive to Europe in Greece, then make their way to Serbia to try gain entry to Western Europe via Hungary. The Hungarian government has declared Serbia to be a safe country for asylumseekers.

“This is not happening in the shadows, it’s happening out in the open,” said Andras Lederer, a senior advocacy officer with the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, adding that Hungarian law enforcement has publicly shared statistical data of its pushback efforts since the high court’s ruling.

The 27-nation European Union has itself struggled to develop a coherent joint policy on migration, one of the most contentious issues in European politics since the 2015 refugee crisis, when the arrival of more than 1 million Syrian refugees fleeing war at home set off political crises in many EU countries and was used as a political tool by the far right.

The migration issue became a lightning rod in intensifying culture wars in Europe, which right-wing populist leaders have

relished fighting; no one more so than Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, who emerged as an anti-migration firebrand at the back of the 2015 crisis.

Orban’s government erected an electrified razor-wire fence along Hungary’s southern border with Serbia, and pursued a range of policies that made Hungary an inhospitable destination for those seeking asylum. These included detaining asylum-seekers in metal containers and automatically rejecting them if they left the guarded zones they inhabited while their asylum applications were pending, a practice struck down by the EU’s high court last May. The prime minister has also pushed a narrative that Europe’s response to the migration crisis is part of a conspiracy by the billionaire George Soros and Brussels, and has implied that the goal is to replace Europe’s white, Christian population with Muslims.

The prime minister’s office did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday’s decision by Frontex.

In late December, a top domestic security adviser to Orban defended the country’s approach.

“Despite the many political attacks that Hungary has faced because of its actions in protecting the border, the government has, in the interest of the nation and with the support of the Hungarian population, consistently represented the migration policy it has pursued since 2015,” said the adviser, Gyorgy Bakondi.

Frontex informed the European Commission on Wednesday afternoon that it was suspending its operations in Hungary, according to a spokesman for the commission, the bloc’s executive branch. According to the EU regulations, the decision to suspend operations rests entirely with Frontex, and can be made if there is a strong reason to believe that illegal actions are taking place in the member country.

The Warsaw-based agency is in the process of deploying the bloc’s first joint border guard force, and it buys and leases high-tech equipment, including drones, that allow EU countries to monitor their borders. But its most visible current work is tapping a pool of border guard teams from around the bloc and deploying them under its command to other EU nations’ borders, when they require help.

Wednesday’s decision means that Frontex officers will no longer assist their Hungarian counterparts.

The agency, which has in recent years emerged as one of the best-funded in the bloc, itself faces a growing internal crisis as mounting evidence shows that it has been complicit in large-scale human-rights violations in Greece, where the agency maintains a strong presence.

Its leadership has come under severe criticism from the bloc’s institutions, and it is being investigated by the EU antifraud agency, following allegations of harassment, misallocation of funds and misconduct that have led to a growing staff exodus.

An internal investigation regarding the agency’s participation in Greece’s pushbacks of asylum-seekers to Turkey is continuing.

Frontex’s decision to suspend operations in Hungary is only the latest in a string of confrontations between the European Union and Orban, who has demonstrated a certain prowess in parrying the bloc’s efforts to sanction his government over rule-of-law abuses.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

15

Pandemic rescue: It’s ‘and’ not ‘or’

By PAUL KRUGMAN

P

resident Joe Biden is proposing a large relief package to deal with the continuing fallout from the coronavirus. The package is expansive, as it should be. But it is, predictably, facing demands that it be scaled back. Which, if any, of these demands have some validity?

We can discount opposition from Republican leaders who have suddenly decided, after years of enabling deficits under Trump, that federal debt is a terrible thing. We’ve seen this movie before, during the Obama years: Republicans oppose economic aid not because they believe it will fail but because they fear it might succeed, both helping Democrats’ political prospects and legitimizing an expanded role for government.

But there are also some good-faith objections to parts of the Biden proposal, coming from Democrats like Joe Manchin and progressive economic commentators like Larry Summers. What these commentators object to, mainly, are plans for broadly distributed “stimulus checks” (they aren’t checks and they aren’t stimulus, but never mind): payments of $1,400 to many families.

I’m posting this note to explain why I believe that these objections are wrong. To be more precise, I’d argue that these critics are giving the right answer to the wrong question.

Let’s start from common ground: The main purpose of the proposed plan isn’t stimulus, it’s disaster relief. The U.S. eco-

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nomy will remain depressed as long as the pandemic is rampant, so the goal is to help those parts of our society hit hard by the constrained economy to make it through with minimum damage. This includes families with unemployed workers, state and local governments that can’t run deficits and are taking a financial hit, and businesses hurt by lockdown.

The core of the package, then, is aid to these afflicted groups — enhanced unemployment benefits, aid to state and local governments, and business financial relief. And these things, along with specific pandemic and vaccine funding, account for most of the proposed outlays.

The controversial part is those broad-based grants to families, many of which would go to Americans who are doing OK. And the critics are right to say that many of those who would receive payment wouldn’t need the money.

Where they go wrong is in assuming that the stimulus checks (I’ll call them that, since everyone else does) are in competition with the other parts of the package.

The fact is that the U.S. government is not financially constrained. It has no trouble borrowing, and borrowing is very cheap, with the 10-year interest rate barely above 1%.

This interest rate is far below the economy’s expected growth rate. The Congressional Budget Office expects the dollar value of potential GDP — output at full employment — to grow at an annual rate of 3.7% over the next decade. What this means is that borrowing now will not store up big burdens for the future: Any debt we incur will tend to melt away as a share of GDP over time.

So there isn’t a relevant dollar limit on the amount we can spend on economic rescue. The constraints are, instead, political: The crucial thing is to build enough support for aid to those who do need it.

And stimulus checks would help build that

support, for two reasons.

One is that the checks would play a useful role. Unemployment benefits won’t reach everyone hurt by the pandemic, so some of the outlays on broad payments would reach people who need help. They wouldn’t be as well targeted as other aid, but again, money is not the constraint here.

The other is that stimulus checks are both very popular and something Democrats have promised. So why not honor that promise and do something that builds support for all the measures in the rescue package?

Put it this way: Given the economic and political situation we’re in, stimulus checks are an “and,” not an “or.” They’re complementary to other emergency relief, not in competition with it.

What about concerns that we’ll end up providing too much aid and that it will be inflationary?

I’m actually an optimist about near-term economic prospects. There’s a quite good chance that the economy will come roaring back late this year, once vaccinations have produced herd immunity and Americans can resume normal life. If and when that happens, the economy won’t need whatever stimulus the rescue package is still providing.

But so what? We’ll be coming out of the pandemic with inflation still below the Fed’s target, and it would do little harm to overshoot that target and run the economy hot, leading to a bit of excess inflation — and a bit is all that would happen, because inflation responds slowly to economic conditions. If the boom gets big enough and goes on long enough that inflation actually starts to look like a concern, the Fed can always rein it in by modestly raising interest rates.

We need to remember the lesson of the 2009 stimulus: The risks of doing too little are much bigger than the risks of doing too much. Do too little, and you probably won’t get a second chance; do too much, and the Fed can easily contain any pickup in inflation.

So please, don’t nitpick this plan. Not every dollar has to be spent in the best possible way. Speed, simplicity and broad support, not purity, are of the essence.

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Brenda Gruver, who was laid off when the pandemic hit, waited in line for food in Springettsbury Township, Pa., last month.

16

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Manuel Natal presenta fundamentos que justifican su impugnación a la elección de San Juan Por THE STAR

E

l candidato a la alcaldía de San Juan por el Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC), Manuel Natal Alvelo, anunció el jueves que Miguel Romero Lugo no contestó una demanda de impugnación de la elección de San Juan dentro del término establecido por el Código Electoral, lo cual tiene el efecto de dar por cierta la impugnación presentada.

“Miguel Romero ha evitado contestar sobre las serias irregularidades que ocurrieron en la elección de San Juan, particularmente en el voto adelantado. Es un hecho admitido por la propia Comisión Estatal de Elecciones que existen más papeletas que votantes en la famosa Unidad 77. Reiteramos nuestro compromiso con la transparencia y la democracia y ante la negativa del senador Romero de entrar en los méritos de nuestra impugnación, la celebración de una nueva elección en la Unidad 77 es el único remedio posible. Después de todo, la verdad siempre prevalece y en este caso, la mayoría de la gente ya la conoce: San Juan votó por un cambio, y nosotros nos vamos a asegurar que ese cambio llegue”, expresó Natal Alvelo en conferencia de prensa.

Explicó que el recurso legal presentado el 14 de enero de 2021 y notificado personalmente a Romero el 17 de enero de 2021, impugna la elección de San Juan y presenta un desglose de irregularidades que ocurrieron en la Junta Administrativa del Voto Adelantado y Voto Ausente (JAVAA), incluyendo más de 6,550 papeletas municipales ilegales en la Unidad 77.

Mencionó que “el Artículo 10.15 del Código Electoral establece que un candidato que impugne la elección de otro, debe presentar un escrito bajo juramento dentro de los 10 días de haberse emitido el certificado de elección, en donde establezca las razones sobre las cual fundamenta su impugnación. Copia del escrito tiene que ser notificada personalmente al candidato impugnado dentro de 5 días de haberse presentado la impugnación”.

“El candidato impugnado tiene un término de 10 días para contestar bajo juramento el escrito de impugnación y certificar haber notificado y entregado copia de su contestación al candidato que impugna la elección.

Según el mencionado artículo, si el candidato impugnado no contesta dentro de dicho término, se entenderá que acepta la impugnación como cierta”, concluyó.

Fondo del Seguro del Estado desembolsa $25 millones para Retiro y sobre $700 mil para pago de electricidad Por THE STAR

E

l Administrador de la Corporación del Fondo del Seguro del Estado (CFSE), Juan Carlos Benítez Chacón, anunció el jueves que la entidad gubernamental que dirige hizo un pago millonario para eliminar la deuda corriente con la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) y la Administración de los Sistemas de Retiro.

Benítez Chacón dijo que el pago hecho a la AEE el pasado viernes ascendió a $792,754.

“Luego de recibir información por parte de la oficina de finanzas de la Corporación sobre la deuda que sostenía la CFSE con la AEE, solicité de manera inmediata que se realizara el pago correspondiente a la deuda para ponernos al día”, expresó el Administrador de la CFSE en una declaración escrita.

Benítez Chacón añadió además que

“al momento la Corporación no tiene deuda corriente con la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica”. Explicó que se encuentran “en un proceso de revisión por una facturación que se nos realizó que corresponde al periodo que estuvimos sin servicio eléctrico luego del paso del huracán María, lo que representa una deuda de sobre un millón de dólares según se reseñó en la prensa la pasada semana”.

Del mismo modo, el titular de la CFSE informó que la corporación también realizó un pago de $25 millones a la Administración de los Sistemas de Retiro, para el pago de sus pensionados.

“De manera ordinaria la CFSE emite los pagos según nos van llegando las facturas por parte de Retiro, tomando en cuenta que no siempre esas facturas llegan a tiempo, queremos que nuestros pensionados tengan la tranquilidad de que estamos al pendiente de su retiro”.

“Nuestro compromiso siempre ha sido mantener todas nuestras cuentas al día, y emitir los pagos correspondientes para que podamos continuar brindando el

servicio de excelencia que nuestra corporación ofrece diariamente a los lesionados y patronos que nos visitan”, finalizó Benitez Chacón.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

17

The Oscars are a mess. Let’s make them messier.

By A.O. SCOTT

T

he 92nd Oscars took place a little less than a year ago, on Feb. 9, 2020, making them one of the last normal public events of the past year. A whole lot of people thronged — maskless!

— into an indoor space, sang songs and made speeches, spraying aerosols every which way, and then piled into limousines and headed to unsocially distanced parties. Can you imagine? Many of the rest of us gathered at parties of our own, having seen at least a few of the nominated films in actual movie theaters.

Whatever happens at the Dolby Theater on April 25, it won’t be anything like that. Even if the most optimistic pandemic projections come to pass, the road to this year’s Academy Awards is all but unrecognizable. The Cannes Film Festival, where last year’s best-picture winner (Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” in case you forgot) made its debut, didn’t quite happen in 2020. Neither did Telluride, one of the autumnal springboards for Oscar contenders. The other major fall festivals, Venice and Toronto, were shadows of their usual bustling selves.

The kinds of movies that traditionally contend for awards — mid-budget dramas with recognizable stars and respectable historical subjects or social themes — were thin on the ground throughout the year, although a handful did show up on Netflix. The audience and the industry floated in a strange pandemic limbo. There were a lot of movies to see, on streaming platforms or video on demand and even, for intrepid or irresponsible cinephiles, in cinemas. But the usual cycles of buzz and backlash, the word-of-mouth and blaring hype that have defined awards season for better and for worse over the years, didn’t materialize. As a result, nobody knows quite what to expect, and even the most brazen professional prognosticators are holding their tongues.

Of course, it’s possible that the producers of the broadcast and the voting members of the academy will cobble together some version of show business as usual, on the theory that it’s what the people want. They are professional pedd-

lers of make-believe, after all, and an understandable response to the current situation would be to try to make us all believe, once again, in the old-time religion — in the glamour of stars, in the power of Hollywood, in the magic of movies.

I hope not. It would be a shame if the academy let this crisis go to waste. As in so many other areas of contemporary life, the desire for a return to normalcy can be a mechanism for nostalgia and outright denial, an excuse for papering over what was wrong with the old normal in the first place. And let’s face it: Before the coronavirus turned everything upside down, the Oscars were a mess.

Yes, I know. There were moments of real delight — the “Parasite” victories, the “Moonlight” win in 2017, the serial triumphs of the Three Amigos — but they always arrived on a tide of expected disappointment. For at least a decade, the awards have struggled to fulfill an array of increasingly incompatible imperatives.

The broadcast itself is supposed to appeal to a global audience, to stand as one of the last and proudest real-time, mass-viewing events in an increasingly fragmented and asynchronous universe of cultural consumption. At the same time, it is supposed to glorify a specifically American ideal of cultural production — popular and commercial but also high-quality and high-minded, not narrowly nationalistic but welcoming. The academy upholds a friendly, inclusive imperialism, built on a cheerful consensus.

Recently, cracks in the surface and the foundation of the edifice became more and more apparent. Viewership has crept steadily downward, and various fixes have been tried. Old hosts, new hosts, no hosts, two hosts. (Although not in that order.) Acceptance speeches got shorter, although somehow the show never did.

The emcee gig became a brier patch for celebrities rather than a feather in their caps. They were either too provocative or too tame, too weird or too bland, too political or not political enough.

But it wasn’t just the long spectacle — an increasingly awkward throwback to a form of entertainment nobody really remembered or ever much liked in the first place — that had trouble finding a groove.

The awards themselves have been whipsawed by competing demands. As the industry has invested more and more of its talent and capital in franchises, its prestige products have gotten more specialized.

The budgets and box-office revenues of Oscar-worthy movies have shrunk, a fact that is often blamed for the telecast’s decline in ratings and the perceived loss of relevance.

A few years ago the academy tried to address this problem by floating a new

best-popular-film category. That was quickly abandoned, amid widespread ridicule.

But the actual best-picture winners have been a mixed bag. The category has provided a few bright spots and breakthroughs (“Moonlight” and “Parasite”) as well as occasions for puzzlement and exasperation. The chaotic denouement of the 2017 show — it’s “La La Land”! No, wait, it’s “Moonlight”! — can be taken as a metaphor. A clueless old guard, a bungled bureaucratic procedure, a moment of unclarity charged with half-acknowledged racial and generational politics: everything the Oscars kept getting wrong and trying to make right.

The new was struggling to be born, but the old wasn’t ready to go away. The academy’s effort to make its membership more youthful and more diverse seemed to be vindicated by the “Moonlight” victory, but two years later the triumph of “Green Book” felt like regression, if not outright backlash. In between, “The Shape of Water” felt like a strange compromise — I liked that movie, but I’m still not quite sure what it was. And then “Parasite” swung the pendulum in a radically new direction, without necessarily fixing the underlying structural problems.

Bong Joon Ho winning best picture for “Parasite” last year. The victory should be treated as a harbinger.

18 So now what? The prestige and authority of the Academy Awards have always rested on two fundamental assumptions: that film is the flagship of the popular arts and that the eternal capital of the cinema is Hollywood. Maybe these axioms were always arguable, but in 2021 they are selfevidently untrue.

I don’t mean to revisit stale arguments about the aesthetic merits of television, to pine for the lost pleasures of moviegoing, or to lament lost golden ages, but simply to state the facts. Feature films, now and henceforth, compete for attention with myriad other forms of visual narrative, many of them delivered via the same devices — and by the same corporations — that bring us the movies. But those corporate entities aren’t what they used to be. Some of the old studio nameplates that still exist (Disney, Warner Bros.) have been folded into multiplatform agglomerations (Disney+, HBO Max) that treat movies as one type of content among many.

These outfits and the other surviving studios must compete with — and according to rules largely created by — companies like Netflix, Amazon and Apple, all of which bring the monopolistic DNA of the tech world into the old-school oligopoly of Hollywood. And Hollywood is rapidly losing its geographical and imaginative pride of place as the global center of cultural gravity splits and shifts. Whatever the art of cinema may be, it and its audience are radically decentralized. Movie love may be stronger and more widespread than ever, but it can’t be captured in a night spent swooning over a handful of films and a roomful of stars.

Why pretend otherwise? Why act as if the center could somehow hold, as if the right mix of same-old and not-quite-new

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

faces and stories could do justice to a protean art form and a disunited public?

It’s time to tear up the blueprints and start again.

What does that mean, in practice?

For one thing, it means continuing to expand academy membership in the interests of geographical, generational and cultural diversity. The more voters, the better. For another, I think it means treating the “Parasite” victory not as an outlier but as a harbinger. That movie, a twisty, impeccably directed, brilliantly acted thriller laced with stinging, humanistic social criticism, fulfilled the Oscar ideal better than any mainstream Hollywood production since, I don’t know, “Silence of the Lambs”? “The Apartment”? “Casablanca”? And there are more where it came from, by which I don’t just mean South Korea or Bong’s dazzling imagination. The academy should abolish the best international feature ghetto, with its arcane rules of entry and its dubious reliance on the tastes of government functionaries, and make best picture an explicitly international category.

Or else — and in addition — find new ways of designating excellence. Get smaller and bigger at the same time, by giving space and attention to the odd, the experimental and the handmade as well as the gaudy and the grand. Undo the stultifying hierarchy of genres that routinely excludes comedy, horror, action and art. This could involve a simple change in attitude or taste, but it might require a formal change of rules. What if there were genre- or budgetlevel categories (best comic-book film; best million-dollar movie), and those films were also eligible for best picture? What if the Oscars took inspiration from bracketology and list-obsessed media to open up voters’ thinking? Millions of movie fans cast fake

Alex Hibbert, left, and Mahershala Ali in “Moonlight,” which won best picture in 2017, a breakthrough moment for the academy. ballots every year. What if there were a way to make those ballots real?

I don’t know if any of those ideas would work, or if they’re good ideas. The point, in any case, is to stop holding movies up to a vague, sentimental standard of what they once were and try to understand them as they actually are. The Oscars take themselves too seriously, and as a result they don’t take movies seriously enough, don’t fully acknowledge their power, variety and capacity for change. We should worry less about continuity and tradition, about preserving old folkways and narrow canons, and more about illuminating and exploring a history that is still unfamiliar to many movie lovers and still very much up for grabs even as it is part of a widely shared inheritance.

The academy started out as something like a small-town trade association, and an embrace of its pragmatic, parochial origins doesn’t contradict a wider, more cosmopolitan scope. On the contrary. Hollywood in

its early years, including in the first decade of the Oscars, was less the capital of a global empire than a crossroads and a refuge, a place where talent from elsewhere — from Middle America and Central Europe, especially — could find a place to flower.

Los Angeles isn’t the only city where this happens, and its local creative economy thrives on the strength of its connection to other such places.

The Dolby Theater isn’t a temple. It’s a bazaar. And the answer to the Oscars’ decadelong malaise may be more emphasis on commerce, rather than less, if we understand commerce to mean not the passive consumption of dead commodities but the lively exchange of ideas and information. When I said the Oscars are a mess, I guess what I meant is that they aren’t messy enough, that they have projected a bland, consensus image of cinema that is increasingly at odds with the anarchy that is cinema’s only hope for survival. We’ve had the fairy tale. We need the train wreck.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

19

The best time of day to exercise

By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

I

s it better for our bodies to work out at certain times of day?

A useful new study of exercise timing and metabolic health suggests that, at least for some people, the answer is a qualified yes. The study, which looked at men at high risk for Type 2 diabetes, found that those who completed afternoon workouts upped their metabolic health far more than those who performed the same exercise earlier in the day. The results add to growing evidence that when we exercise may alter how we benefit from that exercise.

Scientists have known for some time that the chronology of our days influences the quality of our health. Studies in both animals and people indicate that every tissue in our bodies contains a kind of molecular clock that chimes, in part, in response to biological messages related to our daily exposure to light, food and sleep.

These cellular clocks then help to calibrate when our cells divide, fuel up, express genes and otherwise go about their normal biological work. Tuned by our lifestyles, these clocks create multiple circadian rhythms inside of us that prompt our bodies’ temperatures, hormone levels, blood sugar, blood pressure, muscular strength and other biological systems to dip and crest throughout the day.

Circadian science also shows that disrupting normal, 24-hour circadian patterns can impair our health. People working overnight shifts, for instance, whose sleep habits are upended, tend to be at high risk for metabolic problems such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes. The same is true for people who eat late at night, outside usual dinner hours. More encouraging research suggests, though, that manipulating the timing of sleep and meals can improve metabolic health.

But much of this research focused on when we eat or go to bed. Whether, and how, exercise timing might influence metabolic health has been less clear, and the results of past experiments have not always agreed. Some suggest that morning workouts, for instance, amplify fat burning and weight loss.

But those experiments often manip-

ulated the timing of breakfast and other meals, as well as exercise, making it difficult to tease out the particular, circadian effects of workouts. They also typically involved healthy volunteers, without metabolic problems.

A much-discussed 2019 study, on the other hand, found that men with Type 2 diabetes who completed a few minutes of high-intensity interval sessions in the afternoon substantially improved their blood-sugar control after two weeks. If they did the same, intense workouts in the morning, however, their blood-sugar levels actually spiked in an unhealthy fashion.

Patrick Schrauwen, a professor of nutrition and movement sciences at Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands, read that 2019 study with interest. He and his colleagues had been studying moderate exercise in people with Type 2 diabetes, but in their research, they had not considered the possible role of timing. Now, seeing the varying effects of the intense workouts, he wondered if the timing of moderate workouts might likewise affect how the workouts changed people’s metabolisms.

Fortuitously, he and his colleagues had a ready-made source of data, in their own prior experiment. Several years earlier, they had asked adult men at high risk for Type 2 diabetes to ride stationary bicycles at the lab three times a week for 12 weeks, while the researchers tracked their metabolic health. The scientists also, incidentally, had noted when the riders showed up for their workouts.

Now, Schrauwen and his colleagues pulled data for the 12 men who consistently had worked out between 8 and 10 a.m. and compared them with another 20 who always exercised between 3 and 6 p.m. They found that the benefits of afternoon workouts decisively trumped those of morning exercise.

After 12 weeks, the men who had pedaled in the afternoon displayed significantly better average insulin sensitivity than the morning exercisers, resulting in a greater ability to control blood sugar.

They also had dropped somewhat more fat from around their middles than the morning riders, even though everyone’s exercise routines had been identical.

“I believe that doing exercise is better than not doing exercise, irrespective of timing,” Schrauwen says. “However, this study does suggest that afternoon exercise may be more beneficial” for people with disrupted metabolisms than the same exercise done earlier.

The study, in Physiological Reports, involved only men, though. Women’s metabolisms might respond differently.

The researchers also did not delve into why the later workouts might affect metabolism differently than earlier ones. But Schrauwen says he believes moderate afternoon exercise may have an effect on the foods we consume later in the evening and “help to faster metabolize people’s last meals” before they go to sleep. This effect could leave our

bodies in a fasted state overnight, which may better synchronize body clocks and metabolisms and fine-tune health.

He and his colleagues hope to explore the underlying molecular effects in future studies, as well as whether the timing of lunch and dinner alters those results. The team also hopes to look into whether evening workouts might amplify the benefits of afternoon exertion, or perhaps undercut them, by worsening sleep.

Ultimately, Schrauwen says, the particular, most effective exercise regimen for each of us will align “with our daily routines” and exercise inclinations. Because exercise is good for us at any time of day — but only if we opt to keep doing it.

20 LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, as certificate trustee on behalf of Bosco Credit II Trust Series 2017-1 Demandante vs.

FRANCISCO XAVIER BURGOS FIGUEROA; JOHANAH NATER VAZQUEZ

Demandados CIVIL NÚM: DCD2013-0567 (502). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria).

EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: FRANCISCO XAVIER BURGOS FIGUEROA; JOHANAH NATER VAZQUEZ; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, por tener embargos anotados a su favor por las sumas de $7,546.43 y $10,278.46

Yo, MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 10 de febrero de 2021 a la 1:30 de la tarde en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón en la Sala 503, Quinto Piso, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 18 de febrero de 2021, a la 1:30 de la tarde; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 25 de febrero de 2021, a la 1:30 de la tarde en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como

@

sigue: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento residencial identificado con el número Seis guión Doscientos Siete (6-207), localizado en el segundo piso del edificio número Seis (6) del complejo conocido como Veredas del Mar, ubicado en el Barrio Yeguada del término municipal de Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Tiene un área superficial de MIL CIENTO DIECISEIS PUNTO CINCUENTA (1,116.50) PIES CUADRADOS, equivalentes a CIENTO TRES PUNTO SETENTA Y TRES (103.73) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, con espacio abierto; por el SUR, con espacio abierto; por el OESTE, con apartamento número Seis guión Doscientos Seis (6-206); y por el ESTE, con el apartamento número Seis guión Doscientos Ocho (6-208). Su puerta principal de acceso se encuentra localizada en su lado Este, mirando hacia el Sur, la cual se comunica con el pasillo del segundo piso.

Contiene tres cuartos dormitorios, dos baños, un “walk-incloset”, dos closets y un closet de pasillo “linen”, sala-comedor, “family”, cocina, “laundry” y un balcón. Le pertenece el uso y disfrute exclusivo de un espacio de estacionamiento para dos vehículos identificados con el número Seis guión Doscientos Siete (6-207) en el Plano. Le corresponde a este apartamento en los elementos comunes generales una participación de Cero punto Siete Uno Uno Cuatro Cinco Uno Nueve por ciento (0.7114519%). La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al sistema Karibe de Vega Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta, finca número 33,307, inscripción segunda. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Condominio Veredas del Mar, Apartamento 6-207, Segundo Piso, Edificio Número 6, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $143,914.44 de principal, intereses a 7% anual desde el día 1ro. de mayo de 2011, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $14,990.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será la suma de $149,900.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $99,933.33 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $74,950.00. La propiedad

se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: Embargo Federal, contra Francisco X. Burgos Figueroa, seguro social xxx-xx-5749, por la suma de $7,546.43, notificación número 660800310, presentado el día 9 de junio de 2010 anotado al folio 128, Asiento 1 del libro de Embargos Federales, número 2, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta. Embargo Federal, contra Francisco X. Burgos Figueroa, seguro social xxx-xx-5749, por la suma de $10,278.46, notificación número 822077611, presentado el día 25 de octubre de 2011 anotado al folio 48, Asiento 1 del libro de Embargos Federales, número 3, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 10 de diciembre de 2020. MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA 735, ALGUACIL, DIVISIÓN DE EJECUCION DE SENTENCIAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante vs.

NORMA RAMIREZ MELENDEZ

Demandada CIVIL NÚM: PO2019CV02349 (406). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: NORMA RAMIREZ MELENDEZ; RG PREMIER BANK OF PUERTO RICO y/o Sucesor en derecho por tener Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

su favor por la suma de $18,000.00 y Aviso de Demanda anotado a su favor por la suma de $14,670.45.

Yo, MIGUEL A. TORRES AYALA, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 11 de febrero de 2021 a las 2:15 de la tarde en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Ponce durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el 18 de febrero de 2021, a las 2:15 de la tarde y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el 25 de febrero de 2021, a las 2:15 de la tarde en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado.

La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el No. 220 del Bloque UM25 del plano de inscripción de la Travesia JAIME L. DREW, radicado en el Municipio de Ponce, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial útil de 292.62 metros cuadrados. En linderos: Norte, con el solar No. 221, distancia de 24.74 metros; por el Sur, con solar No. 219, distancia de 24.77 metros; por el Este, con la Calle No. 7, distancia de 11.74 metros; y por el Oeste, con la Sucesión Emilio Pagot, distancia de 11.96 metros. Consta enclavada una estructura de dos niveles, construida en hormigón, dedicada a vivienda unifamiliar.

La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 46vto. del tomo 1096 de Ponce Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca número 24775, inscripción Quinta. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Jaime L. Drew, Solar 220, Bloque UM-25, St. 7, Ponce, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $53,244.22 de principal,

(787) 743-3346

The San Juan Daily Star

Friday, January 29, 2021 intereses al 6.375% anual, desde el día 1ro. de noviembre de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $7,200.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $72,000.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $48,000.00 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $36,000.00. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que todo licitador acepta como suficiente la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública Subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor de RG Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $18,000.00, con intereses al 7.15% anual, vencedero el día 1ro. de mayo de 2021, según consta de la Escritura Número 57, otorgada en Ponce, Puerto Rico, el día 6 de abril de 2006, ante el Notario Público Gerardo De León Ramos; inscrita al folio 47 del tomo 1096 de Ponce, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca 24,775, inscripción 6ta. Aviso de Demanda, del día 5 de julio de 2019, expedida en el Centro Judicial de Ponce, en el Caso Civil número PO2019CV00272, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, mediante se solicita el pago de la deuda garantizada con hipoteca de la inscripción 6ta. reducida a la suma de $14,670.45, más costas, gastos e intereses, anotado el día 17 de marzo de 2019, al tomo Karibe de Ponce, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca número 24,775 de Ponce Sur,

Anotación A. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, a 4 de enero de 2021.

MIGUEL A. TORRES AYALA, ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, as certificate trustee on behalf of BOSCO CREDIT II TRUST SERIES 2017-1 Demandante vs.

JOSE LUIS GALARZA GARCIA

Demandado CIVIL NÚM. JCD2009-0547 (406). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: JOSE LUIS GALARZA GARCIA

Yo, MIGUEL A. TORRES AYALA, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 11 de febrero de 2021, a las 2:45 de la tarde en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certifi-

cado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Ponce durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 18 de febrero de 2021, a las 2:45 de la tarde y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 25 de febrero de 2021, a las 2:45 de la tarde en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Estancias del Golf Club, localizado en el Barrio Magueyes del término municipal de Ponce, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de inscripción con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: Número del solar: Veintinueve (29) del Bloque DA, Area del solar: TRESCIENTOS VEINTICINCO PUNTO CERO CERO (325.00) METROS CUADRADOS, que consta de TRESCIENTOS DIECISIETE PUNTO CUARENTA Y SEIS (317.46) METROS CUADRADOS de área plana y SIETE PUNTO CINCUENTA Y CUATRO (7.54) METROS CUADRADOS de área escarpada. Colinda: por el NORTE, en trece punto cero cero (13.00) metros lineales, con la Calle D guión Siete (D-7); por el SUR, en trece punto cero cero (13.00) metros lineales, con la Avenida Exterior; por el ESTE, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros lineales, con el solar número DA guión Treinta (DA30); y por el OESTE, en veinticinco punto cero cero (25.00) metros lineales, con el solar número DA guión veintiocho (DA-28). Contiene una casa de concreto de dos (2) plantas.

La primera planta se compone de maquesina doble techada, cocina con su alacena, salacomedor, medio baño, escalera que da acceso a la segunda planta. La segunda planta se compone de tres (3) dormitorios con sus closets, salón de estar (family room) y tres (3) baños completos. Está afecto a una servidumbre soterrada de paso de líneas telefónicas de cinco (5) pies de ancho a todo lo largo de su colindancia Norte con la calle número D guión Siete (D7). La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 142 del tomo 1174 de Ponce Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Ponce, Sección Segunda, finca número 27,304, inscripción segunda. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es:

Urbanización Estancias del Golf Club, Solar 29, Bloque DA, Ponce, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $209,618.95 de principal, intereses al 6.875% anual desde el 1ro. de febrero de 2017 y los que se devenguen hasta su total y completo pago, más los cargos por demora devengados hasta esta fecha y los que se devenguen hasta el total y completo pago de la deuda, cualesquiera adelantos hechos por el demandante para el pago de primas de seguro y contribuciones y la suma de $24,500.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado del demandantes según pactados en el pagaré, así como en el contrato de hipoteca y cualesquiera otros adelantos para contribuciones y pólizas de seguro hechos por el demandante, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $245,000.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $163,333.33 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $122,500.00.

La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, a 4 de enero de 2021. MIGUEL A. TORRES AYALA, PLACA 560, ALGUACIL, DIVISIÓN DE EJECUCION DE SENTENCIAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante vs.

SUCESION DE ROBERTO ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ GARCIA, compuesta por FULANO DE TAL y

The San Juan Daily Star

ZUTANO DE TAL como herederos desconocidos con posible interés; YOLANDA RODRIGUEZ RODRIGUEZ, por sí y en cuanto a la cuota viudal usufructuaria; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. SJ2018CV10474 (506). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: A LA PARTE DEMANDADA; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, por tener Embargos anotados a su favor por las sumas de $49,182.77 y $14,943.94 y ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, por tener Embargos anotados a su favor por las sumas de $198,212.93 y $171,035.47.

Yo, PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, Alguacil, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 16 de febrero de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de San Juan durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 23 de febrero de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 3 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado.

La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar radicado en la URBANIZACIÓN CIUDAD NUEVA del Barrio de Hato Rey, del término municipal de Río Piedras, Puerto Rico que mide QUINIENTOS CUATRO PUNTO CERO CERO (504.00) METROS CUADRADOS, colindando por el NORTE, en DIECIOCHO PUNTO CERO

CERO (18.00) METROS, con Avenida Campos Eliseos; por el SUR, en DIECIOCHO PUNTO CERO CERO (18.00) METROS, con solar vendido a John Mc.Adams; por el ESTE, en VEINTIOCHO PUNTO CERO CERO (28.00) METROS, con Calle número Dos (2) a construirse; y por el OESTE, en VEINTIOCHO PUNTO CERO CERO (28.00) METROS, con solar vendido a los esposos Agustín Echevarría y Conchita Zeno. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 166 del tomo 1556 de Río Piedras Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Segunda, finca número 276-Bis, inscripción vigésima. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Ciudad Nueva, ahora Urbanización Floral Park, Número 124, Calle Paris, San Juan, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $179,572.55 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tio de 4.0% anual, desde el 1ro. de abril de 2018 y hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $20,465.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $204,650.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $136,433.33 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $102,325.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: Embargo Federal, por la suma de $49,182.77 contra R. Rodríguez García & Y. Rodríguez, Seguro Social número xxxxx-7183, Notificación número 169466615, presentado el día 11 de agosto de 2015, renovable el día 23 de julio de 2024, anotado al folio 10, Asiento 2, del libro de Embargos Federales Número 15. Registro de la Propiedad de SanJuan, Sección Segunda. Embargo a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por la suma de $198,212.93 contra Roberto A. Rodríguez García, Seguro

Friday, January 29, 2021 Social número xxx-xx-7183, embargo número BAY-16-0006, Certificación del 2 de agosto de 2016, al asiento 2016-007909EST del Sistema Karibe. Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Segunda. Embargo a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por la suma de $171,035.47 contra Roberto A. Rodríguez, Seguro Social número xxx-xx-6115, embargo número SJU-18-270, Certificación del 22 de febrero de 2018, al asiento 2018001150-EST del Sistema Karibe. Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Segunda.

Embargo Federal, por la suma de $14,943.94 contra Roberto A. Rodríguez, dirección 626, Calle Elma, San Juan, PR 00920-4718, seguro social número xxx-xx-2912, Notificación número 382116819, Certificación del día 17 de septiembre de 2019, anotado el día 30 de septiembre de 2019, al Asiento 2019-009460-FED, del Sistema Karibe. Registro de la Propiedad de SanJuan, Sección Segunda. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 8 de enero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, Alguacil, DIVISIÓN DE EJECUCION DE SENTENCIAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN. ****

LEGAL NOTICE

M&T 481032 ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR.

Apex Bank

Demandante v.

Angel Pérez León t/c/c Angel Francisco Pérez León, Albanitzy Rosado Western t/c/c Albanity Rosado Western t/c/c Albanitzay Rosado Western y la sociedad legal de bienes gananciales compuesta por ambos; Luis Pérez Martínez, María León Colón y la sociedad legal de bienes gananciales compuesta por ambos

Demandados CIVIL NÚM: CG2020CV01464.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil

que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor quién pagará de contado y en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, giro postal o por cheque de gerente a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia el día 03 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en C-05 Terrazas De Borinquen, Caguas, PR 00726 y que se describe a continuación: Urbana: Solar marcado con el número Cinco del Bloque C (C-5) de la Urbanización Terrazas de Borinquen, localizada en el Barrio Borinquen del término municipal de Caguas, Puerto Rico, con cabida superficial de doscientos setenta y seis metros cuadrados (276.00). Colinda por el Norte, con el lote número seis del Bloque C (C-6), en una distancia de veintitrés metros lineales (23.00); por el Sur, con el lote número cuatro del Bloque C (C-4), en una distancia de veintitrés metros lineales (23.00); por el Este, con la Calle Piñuela, en una distancia de doce metros lineales (12.00); y por el Oeste, con el lote número once del Bloque A (A-11), en una distancia de doce metros lineales (12.00). Contiene una casa de concreto diseñada para una sola familia. A lo largo de la colindancia Este del solar y dentro del mismo, existe un conducto soterrado para alambrado telefónico que discurre por una faja de terreno de uno punto cinco dos (1.52) metros de ancho, sobre la cual está prohibido todo tipo de construcción o limitación a su acceso y a la cual todo propietario u ocupante del presente inmueble está comprometido y obligado a dar acceso para obras de mantenimiento y/o reparación de dicho conducto para alambrado telefónico. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita en el Tomo de Karibe de Caguas, finca número 62888, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Primera.

El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $126,113.00.

Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 10 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras

partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $84,075.33. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 17 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana.

Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $63,056.50. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 69, otorgada el día 19 de diciembre de 2003, ante el Notario Carmen Sánchez Ríos y consta inscrita en el Tomo de Karibe de Caguas, finca número 62888, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Primera, inscripción segunda. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma de $119,366.94 por concepto de principal, más intereses al tipo pactado de 5.500% anual desde el día 1 de octubre de 2007. Dichos intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Se pagarán también los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.000% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha vencimiento, la suma de $12,611.30 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, la suma de $12,611.30para cubrir los intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley y la suma de $12,611.30 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca, más intereses según provisto por la Regla 44.3 de las de Procedimiento Civil.

Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante

21

o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la alcaldía, el Tribunal y la colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado mediante edictos dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores sujeto a lo dispuesto en los Artículos 113 al 116 de la Ley 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015, según aplique. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de ENERO de 2021. FDO. ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA 593, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de AGUADILLA.

INMOBILIARIA J.A.C. INC Demandante V.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL

Demandado(a) Civil: AG2020CV00913. Sobre: CANCELACION DE PAGARE HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: FULANO DE TAL y SUTANO DE TAL DIRECCION-SE DESCONOCE P/C LCDO. RAMON H. BANUCHI EURITE PO BOX 475 ISABELA PR 00662

(Nombre de las partes a las que se lo notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que 15 de enero de 2021 , este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente

registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 19 de enero de 2021. En AGUADILLA,, Puerto Rico, el 19 de enero de 2021. SARAHI REYES PEREZ, Secretario(a).

ARLENE GUZMAN PABON, Secretario(a) Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal Supremo Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de HUMACAO.

MICHAEL YUZ, SU ESPOSA ELAINE YUZ, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS, EUGENE DMITRY FRUMKIN TAMBIEN CONOCIDO COMO EUGENE FRUMKIN, SU ESPOSA IRINA FRUMKIN Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

damente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 19 de enero de 2021. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, el 19 de enero de 2021.

DOMINGA GOMEZ FUSTER, Secretaria. f/DALISSA REYES DE LEON, Sec Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de TOA ALTA.

JENNIFER ROSA CONCEPCION RIVERA Y OTROS Demandante vs.

MIDWEST FUNDING CORP Y OTROS

Demandados Caso Civil Núm.

TB2020CV00279. Sobre: CANCELACION DE PAGARE EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACION DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: MIDWEST FUNDING CORP, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO (A) que susFULANO DE TAL Y cribe le notifica a usted que el MENGANO DE TAL 20 de ENERO de 2021, este Demandado(a) Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Civil: Núm. HU2020CV00925. Sentencia Parcial o Resolución Sobre: CANCELACION DE en este caso, que ha sido debiPAGARE EXTRAVIADO. NO- damente registrada y archivada TIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA en autos donde podrá usted enPOR EDICTO. terarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta noA: FULANO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL, tificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulaEN SU CONDICION DE ción general en la Isla de PuerPOSIBLES TENEDORES to Rico, dentro de los (10) días siguientes a su notificación. Y, DEL PAGARE A siendo o representando usted FAVOR DE EUGENE una parte en el procedimiento DMITRY FRUMKIN, sujeta a los términos de la SenTAMBIEN CONOCIDO tencia, Sentencia Parcial o ReCOMO EUGENE solución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o FRUMKIN E IRINA FRUMKIN; DIRECCION: apelación dentro del término de (30) días contados a partir de la DESCONOCIDA publicación por edicto de esta (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notificación, dirijo a usted esta notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus- notificación que se considerará cribe le notifica a usted que hecha en la fecha de la publiel 15 de enero de 2021, este cación de este edicto. Copia de Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, esta notificación ha sido archiSentencia Parcial o Resolución vada en los autos de este caso, en este caso, que ha sido debi- con fecha de 21 de ENERO de En TOA ALTA, Puerto Rico, el Demandante V.

22 21 de ENERO de 2021.

(Cayman) ASSET cc: LCDO. RAÚL RIVERA BURGOSCOMPANY URBANIZACION ESTANCIAS SAN Demandante V. FERNANDO, CALLE 4 NUMERO A-35, CAROUNA, PUERTO RICO, 00985 FULANO DE TAL y LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SANMENGANO DEL CUAL CHEZ, Secretario (a) Regional.

Demandado(a) LIRIAM M. HERNANDEZ OTECivil: CG2020CV02427. Sobre: RO, Sec Auxiliar.

SUSTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. LEGAL NOTICE NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENEstado Libre Asociado de CIA POR EDICTO. Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENEA: FULANO DE TAL y RAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de MENGANO DEL CUAL Primera Instancia Sala Superior (Nombre de las partes a las que se lo de BAYAMON. notifican la sentencia por edicto) RAFAEL ANTONIO RIOS EL SECRETARIO(A) que susGARCIA Y LYMARIS cribe le notifica a usted que 20 de noviembre de 2020 , este RIVERA MARRERO Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Demandante V. DORAL MORTGAGE LLC., Sentencia Parcial o Resoluen este caso, que ha sido SUCESOR EN INTERES ción debidamente registrada y arDE SANA INVESTMENT chivada en autos donde podrá MORTGAGE BANKERS, usted enterarse detalladamente JOHN DOE Y RICHARD de los términos de la misma.

Esta notificación se publicará ROE una sola vez en un periódico de Demandado(a) circulación general en la Isla de Civil: TB2020CV00278. SALA: Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 703. Sobre: CANCELACION días siguientes a su notificaDE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. ción. Y, siendo o representando NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENusted una parte en el procediCIA POR EDICTO. miento sujeta a los términos de A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial ROE O SEA, LAS o Resolución, de la cual puede PERSONAS IGNORADAS establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del QUE PUEDEN SER término de 30 días contados a TENEDORES DEL partir de la publicación por edicPAGARE EXTRAVIADO to de esta notificación, dirijo a (Nombre de las partes a las que se lo usted esta notificación que se notifican la sentencia por edicto) considerará hecha en la fecha EL SECRETARIO(A) que susde la publicación de este ediccribe le notifica a usted que 22 to. Copia de esta notificación de enero de 2021, este Tribunal ha sido archivada en los autos ha dictado Sentencia, Sentende este caso, con fecha de 25 cia Parcial o Resolución en este de enero de 202, En CAGUAS , caso, que ha sido debidamente Puerto Rico, el 25 de enero de registrada y archivada en autos 2021. CARMEN ANA PEREIdonde podrá usted enterarse RA ORTIZ, Secretario(a). LILI detalladamente de los términos RODRIGUEZ RODRIGUEZ, de la misma. Esta notificación Secretario(a) Auxiliar. se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación geLEGAL NOTICE neral en la Isla de Puerto Rico, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO dentro de los 10 días siguientes DE PUERTO TRIBUNAL DE a su notificación. Y, siendo o PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA representando usted una parte SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO. en el procedimiento sujeta a ORIENTAL BANK los términos de la Sentencia, Demandante v.

Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse YIRALIZ DAMAR REYES recurso de revisión o apelación MÁRQUEZ T/C/C YIRALIS dentro del término de 30 días REYES MÁRQUEZ contados a partir de la publicaDemandado ción por edicto de esta notificaCIVIL NÚM: HU2019CV00425. ción, dirijo a usted esta notificaSOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO ción que se considerará hecha Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTEen la fecha de la publicación CA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE de este edicto. Copia de esta AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE notificación ha sido archivada DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS en los autos de este caso, con ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO fecha de 25 de enero de 202, DE PUERTO RICO. SS. EDICEn BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, el TO DE SUBASTA. Yo Maria del 25 de enero de 2021. LCDA. Pilar Rivera Rivera, Alguacil del LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Secretario(a). F/MARIA EL COSala Superior de Humacao, al LLAZO, Secretario(a) Auxiliar. público en general. CERTIFICO Y HAGO SABER: Que en cumLEGAL NOTICE plimiento de un Mandamiento Estado Libre Asociado de de Ejecución de Sentencia fePuerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENE- chado el 14 de noviembre de RAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de 2019, que me ha sido dirigido Primera Instancia Sala Superior por la Secretaría del Tribunal de CAGUAS. de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, en el ACM CCSC OB VII caso arriba indicado, venderé

The San Juan Daily Star

Friday, January 29, 2021

en la fecha o fechas que más adelante se indican, en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal, en mi oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el Centro Judicial de Humacao, Puerto Rico, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada, en el inmueble que se describe a continuación, propiedad de la parte demandada, Yiraliz Damar Reyes Márquez t/c/c Yiralis Reyes Márquez. Dirección Física: Urb. Ciudad Cristiana, Q-10, Ave. 3, Humacao, Puerto Rico 00791. Finca 16,040, al folio 50 del tomo 368 de Humacao, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Humacao.

URBANA: Solar marcado con el número diez (10) del Bloque Q de la Urbanización “Ciudad Cristiana”, localizada en el Barrio Río Abajo del término municipal de Humacao, Puerto Rico, con un área de doscientos cuarenta y dos punto treinta y dos (244.32) metros cuadrados, en lindes por el NORTE, con un canal “channel”, en una distancia de diez punto dieciocho (10.18) metros; por el SUR, con la Avenida número tres (3), distancia de diez punto dieciocho (10.18) metros; por el ESTE, con el solar once guion Q (11-Q) distancia de veinticuatro (24.00) metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar nueve guion Q (9-Q) distancia de veinticuatro (24.00) metros. Enclava una casa. Finca 16,040. Por su procedencia está: a. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales de Puerto Rico. b. Servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company. c. Condiciones restrictivas sobre edificación de uso.

Por sí está afecta a: a. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de RG Mortgage Corp., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $51,176.00, con intereses al 7% anual, vencedero el día 1 de abril de 2029, constituida mediante la escritura número 156, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 4 de marzo de 1999, ante el notario Gamalier Oliveras Álvarez, e inscrita al folio 52 vuelto del tomo 368 de Humacao, finca número 16,040, inscripción 4ta. b. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de RG Premier Bank o a su orden, por la suma principal de $70,560.00, con intereses al 5 7/8% anual, vencedero el día 1 de septiembre de 2034, constituida mediante la escritura número 209, no expresa lugar de otorgamiento, el día 23 de agosto de 2004, ante la notario Gloria Rivera Carrero, e inscrita al folio 53 vuelto del tomo 368 de Humacao, finca número 16,040, inscripción 5ta y última, como Asiento Abreviado extendida las líneas el día 22 de febrero de 2012, en virtud de la Ley número 216 del día 27 de diciembre de 2010.

(Fue presentado el día 22 de septiembre de 2004 al Asiento

1222 del Diario 865). c. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 1 de abril de 2019, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, en el Caso Civil número HU2019CV00425, seguido por Scotiabank Puerto Rico, contra Yiraliz Damar Reyes Marquez también conocida como Yiralis Damar Reyes Marquez, por la suma de $50,274.32, más intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 31 de julio de 2019, al tomo Karibe de Humacao, finca número 16,040, Anotación “B”. d. AL ASIENTO 2020-047026-HU01 DEL SISTEMA KARIBE, se presentó el día 22 de julio de 2020, Sentencia de fecha 30 de octubre de 2019; Orden de fecha 30 de marzo de 2020 y Mandamiento de fecha 2 de abril de 2020, expedidos en el Tribunal General de Justicia, Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, en el Caso Civil número HU2019CV00917, mediante la cual se cancela la hipoteca por la suma de $51,176.00, que refiere la inscripción 4ta., por haberse extraviado el Pagaré hipotecario. El precio mínimo de este remate con relación a la Finca 16,040 antes descrita y la fecha de cada subasta serán la siguiente: Primera Subasta: 3 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $70,560.00, Hipoteca: Escritura Número 209, sobre Hipoteca, otorgada el 23 de agosto de 2004, ante la Notario Gloria Rivera Carrero.

Segunda Subasta: 10 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $47,040.00.

Tercera Subasta: 17 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $35,280.00. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación que se transmite y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y las preferentes, si las hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismas, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

Conforme a la Sentencia dictada el día 5 de agosto de 2019, notificada el 7 de agosto de 2019 y publicada el 14 de agosto de 2019, la anterior venta se hará para satisfacer las sumas adeudadas por concepto del préstamo garantizado por la hipoteca antes mencionada y las sumas que se mencionan a continuación: La suma principal de $50,274.32, más intereses a razón de 5.875%, desde el 1 de agosto de 2018, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de $62.61 por cargos por mora, más la suma de $527.89 en conexión con la cuenta de reserva, más la suma de $7,056.00 por concepto de costas, gastos

y honorarios de abogado hipotecariamente asegurados. Se notifica por la presente a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los inmuebles a ser subastados con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen del ejecutante descrito anteriormente, o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubieren pospuesto al gravamen del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizado hipotecariamente con posterioridad al gravamen del actor para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si así lo interesan o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogado, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y, para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general, y para su publicación de acuerdo con la ley en un periódico de circulación general de la isla de Puerto Rico y en tres sitios públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada, expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy día 8 de diciembre de 2020. MARIA DEL PILAR RIVERA RIVERA, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

RAFAEL ENRIQUE COTTO GUERRIDO t/c/c RAFAEL E. COTTO GUERRIDO t/c/c RAFAEL COTTO GUERRIDO; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA representado por el SECRETARIO DE LA VIVIENDA Y DESARROLLO URBANO (HUD)

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. CA2019CV01096.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 8 de agosto de 2019,

la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 4 de noviembre de 2019 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 13 de noviembre de 2019 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 4 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:00 de la mañana, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, Carretera Número Tres (3) Km. 11.7, Avenida 65 de Infantería, Intersección Carr. Núm. 853, Entrada Urb. Lomas de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: Parcela de terreno de forma irregular radicado en la Urbanización Extensión de Round Hill, Barrio Las Cuevas del término municipal de Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico una cabida superficial de 1,308.63 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 33 centésimas de una cuerda. En lindes por el NORTE, en dos alineaciones distintas de 18.87 metros y 24.19 metros, con los solares número 17 y 44 de la manzana BB; por el SUR, en dos alineaciones distintas de 7.62 metros y 33.69 metros, con terrenos propiedad del señor Abraham Bermúdez, por el ESTE, en una distancia de 34.32 metros, con la calle número 4 de la Urbanización Extensión Round Hill; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 25.80 metros, con el solar número 16-BB de la urbanización. Extensión Round Hill. La propiedad consta inscrita al Folio 37 del Tomo 118 de Trujillo Alto, Finca Número 6055, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al Folio 88 del Tomo 909 de Trujillo Alto, Finca Número 6055, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. Inscripción décimo quinta. La escritura de modificación consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Trujillo Alto, Finca Número 6055, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. Inscripción décimo sexta.

DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: URB ROUND HILLS 234 CALLE ALFA TRUJILLO ALTO, PR 00976-2707. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $121,460.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:00 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $80,973.33. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 18 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:00 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $60,730.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se

adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente.

Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por $120,978.37 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 4.5% anual desde el 1 de septiembre de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $236.32 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $15,130.20 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo, evidenciado por el pagaré que suscribió Rafael Enrique Cotto Guerrido t/c/c Rafael E. Cotto Guerrido t/c/c Rafael Cotto Guerrido en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 1 de mayo de 2015 y a su vez quedó garantizado por la Escritura Número 96, en esa misma fecha, ante la notario Rosa E. Permuy Calderón; modificada el 31 de mayo de 2017 para un nuevo principal de $121,460.00, intereses al 4.50% y vencedera el 1 de junio de 2047 según Escritura Número 329, otorgada en San Juan ante el notario Roberto Luis Varela Ríos. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesan los siguientes gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: A) Hipoteca: Constituida por Rafael Enrique Cotto Guerrido (soltero), en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development, o a su orden, por la suma de $44,906.11, sin intereses y vencedero el 1 de junio de 2047, según consta de la Escritura Número 330, otorgada en San Juan, el 31 de mayo de 2017, ante el Notario Roberto L. Varela Ríos. Inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Trujillo Alto, finca número 6055. Inscripción décima séptima. Nota: No surgen condiciones. B) Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs. Rafael Enrique Cotto Guerrido también conocido como Rafael E. Cotto Guerrido y como Rafael Cotto Guerrido, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Trujillo Alto, en el caso civil número FECL 2016-00739, sobre Cobro de Dinero, Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de la hipoteca por la suma $150,125.65 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 8 de junio de 2016. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Trujillo Alto. Anotación C. C) Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs. Rafael Enrique Cotto Guerrido también conocido como Rafael E. Cotto Guerrido y como Rafael Cotto Guerrido, Estados Unidos de América representada por HUD, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Supe-

rior de Carolina, en el caso civil número CA2019-CV01096, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $120,978.37 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 2 de abril de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Trujillo Alto. Anotación D. D) Presentación: AL ASIENTO 2019-037834-SJ04, el 12 de abril de 2019, Orden y Mandamiento de fecha 1 de mayo de 2008, dictados por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, en el caso civil número FCD 07-1909 (406), para que se cancele el Aviso de Demanda, por la suma de $305,455.45.

Pendiente de cancelación. Notificado el 4 de mayo de 2020 y Retirado el 8 de julio de 2020.

Nota: Dicha Demanda ya fue cancelada mediante Orden y Mandamiento de fecha 7 de mayo de 2008 por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en el caso civil número FCD07‑1909 inscrita al folio 49 vuelto del tomo 752 de Trujillo Alto. Nota marginal, Anotación A. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm.

210-2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de enero de 2021.

Manuel Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO

The San Juan Daily Star DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE AGUAS BUENAS Demandante Vs.

SUCESION ADNAN ABDEL HAMID; TOMASA GARCIA NEVAREZ; HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS ABC

Demandados CASO NÚM: CG2019CV02503.

SALÓN NÚM. SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. AVISO DE SUBASTA.

A: SUCESION ADNAN ABDEL HAMID; TOMASA GARCIA NEVAREZ; HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS ABC

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, hago saber a la parte demandada, que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 30 de enero de 2020, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la siguiente propiedad: [Calle Luis Lugo #10, Urbanización Fernández, Cidra, PR 00739 ]; FINCA: Número 3713, inscrito al folio 137 del tomo 82 de Cidra, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Caguas. URBANA: Solar en el Barrio Bayamón del término municipal de Cidra, marcado en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Fernández, con el número Diez, compuesto de trescientos ochenta y cinco metros y cincuenta y cuatro centímetros cuadrados, que mide y colinda por el NORTE, en catorce metros y ochenta centímetros, con terrenos de la compañía de Fomento de Puerto Rico; por el ESTE, en veintiséis metros cinco centímetros, con el solar número once de dicha urbanización; por el SUR, su frente en catorce metros y ochenta centímetros, con la calle B de la propia urbanización; y por el OESTE, en veinte y seis metros y cinco centímetros, con el solar número nueve de la propia urbanización Fernández.

Enclava casa. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 30 de septiembre de 2019 en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $52,910.03 de principal, más los intereses sobre dicha suma al 6% anual que al día de hoy suma $4,444.44, hasta su completo pago, recargos por demora por la cantidad al presente de $1,108.38, y cualesquiera otras cantidades pactadas en la escritura de primera hipoteca, desde la fecha antes mencionada y hasta la fecha del total pago de las mismas, más la suma

de $8,800.00 para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogados.

La venta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posteriores que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA subasta, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectico (moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA subasta se llevará a efecto el día 24 DE FEBRERO DE 2021, A LAS 10:15 AM, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $88,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 4 DE MARZO DE 2021, A LAS 10:15 AM, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $58,666.66, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2021, A LAS 10:15 AM, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $44,000.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Cuando se declare desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Todas las subastas deberán ser acordadas y celebradas según lo ordenado por el Tribunal. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el

Friday, January 29, 2021 Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes.

Se entenderá, que el remanente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. Se les advierte a todos los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como de la subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados en la Secretaría de este Tribunal, durante las horas laborables, todo esto en virtud del artículo 102 de la Ley Número 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 mejor conocida como la Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria de Puerto Rico.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 20 de enero de 2021. ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, ALGUACIL SUPERIOR, DIVISION DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE CAGUAS Demandante Vs.

RAFAEL RIVERA MARTINEZ; OLGA IVETTE OJEDA COLON y LA SOCIEDAD DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados CASO NÚM: TA2019CV01024.

SALÓN NÚM. SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. AVISO DE SUBASTA.

A: RAFAEL RIVERA MARTINEZ; OLGA IVETTE OJEDA COLON y LA SOCIEDAD DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, hago saber a la parte demandada, que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 5 de noviembre de 2019, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la siguiente propiedad [Jardínes Mediterráneo #428, Jardín Habana St., Toa Alta, PR 00953-3647]: FINCA: No. 20295, inscrita al folio 286 del tomo 400 de Toa Alta, Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Tercera de Bayamón. URBA-

NA: Solar radicado en la URBANIZACIÓN JARDINES DE LA FUENTE, sección Jardines Mediterráneos, localizada en el Barrio Mucarabones del término municipal de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de inscripción con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: Número del solar: 8 del bloque W, Área del solar: 351.00 metros cuadrados, en lindes por el NORTE en distancia de 13.00 metros lineales, con el solar número 35 del bloque X; por el SUR en distancia de 13.00 metros lineales, con la calle número 13 de la urbanización; por el ESTE en distancia de 27.00 metros lineales, con el solar número 9 del mismo bloque y por el OESTE en distancia de 27.00 metros lineales, con el solar número 7 del mismo bloque. Enclava casa de concreto para fines residenciales. Se halla afecto a servidumbre telefónica: Franja de terreno de 1.52 metros de ancho por 13.00 metros de largo, localizada en u colindancia Sur. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 7 de mayo de 2019 en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $143,163.49 de principal, más los intereses sobre dicha suma al 7% anual que al día de hoy suma $15,144.96, hasta su completo pago, recargos por demora por la cantidad al presente de $964.08, más las primas de seguro hipotecario y riesgo ‘Escrow’ por la cantidad de $590.94 y cualesquiera otras cantidades pactadas en la escritura de primera hipoteca, desde la fecha antes mencionada y hasta la fecha del total pago de las mismas, más la suma de $16,100.00 para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogados. La venta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posteriores que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA subasta, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectico (moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA subasta se llevará a efecto el día 25 DE FEBRERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 AM, en la Sala 503 localizada en el Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $161,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 8 DE MARZO DE 2021, A LAS

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PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior MUNICIPAL DE CAROLINA. CLAUDIA I. DIAZ VELEZ de Arecibo, en el caso arriba indicado, venderé en la fecha Peticionaria Vs o fechas que más adelante se JEAN P. indican, en pública subasta al LOZADA FERREIRA mejor postor, en moneda legal Peticionario de los Estados Unidos de AméCIVIL NUMERO: OPA 2020- rica, en efectivo, cheque certifi01070. SALA ESPECIALIZA- cado o giro postal, en mi oficina DA DE VIOLENCIA DOMES- sita en el local que ocupa en TICA. SOBRE: ORDEN DE el Centro Judicial de Arecibo, PROTECCION, LEY 54-1989, Puerto Rico, todo derecho, títuVIOLENCIA DOMESTICA. NO- lo e interés que tenga la parte TIFICACION MEDIANTE EDIC- demandada, en el inmueble TO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE que se describe a continuación, AMERICA, EL PRESIDENTE propiedad de la parte demandaDE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO da, Jhoselyn Ramos Santiago.

LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PR. SS. Dirección Física: F-9 Calle 5, A: JEAN P. Urb. Vegas de Florida, Florida, Puerto Rico 00650. Finca 411, LOZADAFERREIRA 3920 Sutton Place Blvd. inscrita al folio 50 del tomo 9 de Florida, Registro de la ProApt. 116 piedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Winter Park, Fl 32972 USA Manatí. URBANA: Solar radicaSe le notifica por medio de este do en el Barrio Florida afuera, edicto que, el 16 de diciembre término municipal de Barcelode 2020, el Tribunal expido neta, Puerto Rico, antes, hoy una orden de protección en el nuevo municipio de Florida este caso al amparo de la Ley del Estado Libre Asociado de 54-1989, que ha sido debida- Puerto Rico, marcado con el mente registrada y archivada número nueve del Bloque F en autos donde podrá usted de la Urbanización Vegas de enterarse detalladamente de Florida, Puerto Rico, con un sus términos. Esta notificación área superficial de doscientos se publicara una sola vez en un setenta y siete metros cuadraperiódico de circulación general dos con veinte centésimas de en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro metro cuadrado (277.20 m.c.) de los 10 días siguientes a su y colinda por el NORTE, con el notificación. Siendo o represen- solar número ocho, en una lontado usted una parte en el pro- gitud de veintidós metros; por el cedimiento sujeta a los términos SUR, con el solar número diez, de la orden o resolución del que en una longitud de veintidós puede establecerse un recurso metros; por el ESTE, con terrede revisión o apelación en el nos de José Hernández Méntermino de 30 días contados a dez, en una longitud de doce partir de la publicación por edic- metros sesenta centímetros; y to de esta notificación, le dirijo por el OESTE, con la Calle núa usted esta notificación que se mero cinco, en una longitud de considerara hecha en la fecha doce metros con sesenta cende la publicación de este edicto. tímetros. Enclava una casa de Expedida bajo mi firma y sello hormigón y madera. Finca 411. de este Tribunal, hoy 5 de di- Por su procedencia está afecta ciembre de 2020. Lcda. Marilyn a: a. Servidumbre a favor de la Aponte Rodriguez, Secretaria Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales Regional. H. Sanchez Santos, de Puerto Rico. b. Mención de Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal. servidumbre de paso. c. Servidumbre a favor de la Puerto LEGAL NOTICE Rico Telephone Company. Por ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO sí está afecta a: a. Condiciones DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- de uso y edificación a favor de NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA la Corporación de Renovación SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECI- Urbana y Vivienda de Puerto BO. Rico, por el término de 30 años, ORIENTAL BANK constituidas mediante la escriDemandante v. tura número 263, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día JHOSELYN 4 de diciembre de 1978, ante el RAMOS SANTIAGO notario Rafael Oller Monclova, Demandado e inscrita al folio 50 del tomo 9 CIVIL NÚM: AR2019CV01300. de Florida, finca número 411, al SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO margen de la inscripción 1ra. b.

Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANHipoteca en garantía de un paTÍAS. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE garé a favor de Scotiabank de AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS suma principal de $96,900.00, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO con intereses al 4.50% anual, DE PUERTO RICO. EDICTO vencedero el día 1 de febrero DE SUBASTA. SS. Yo Ismael de 2044, constituida mediante Serrano Cardona, Alguacil del la escritura número 28, otorgaTribunal de Primera Instancia, da en Manatí, Puerto Rico, el Sala Superior de Arecibo, al día 31 de enero de 2014, ante público en general. CERTIFICO el notario Héctor Moyano NorieY HAGO SABER. Que en cumga, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de plimiento de un Mandamiento Florida, finca número 411, insde Ejecución de Sentencia feLEGAL NOTICE cripción 5ta. c. Aviso de Demanchado el 13 de febrero de 2020, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO que me ha sido dirigido por la da de fecha 15 de julio de 2019, expedido en el Tribunal de DE PUERTO TRIBUNAL DE

11:30 AM, en la sala antes mencionada. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $107,333.33, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 15 DE MARZO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 AM, en la sala antes mencionada. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $83,500.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Cuando se declare desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Todas las subastas deberán ser acordadas y celebradas según lo ordenado por el Tribunal. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes.

Se entenderá, que el remanente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. Se les advierte a todos los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como de la subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados en la Secretaría de este Tribunal, durante las horas laborables, todo esto en virtud del artículo 102 de la Ley Número 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 mejor conocida como la Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria de Puerto Rico.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de enero de 2021. JOSE F. MARRERO ROBLES #131, ALGUACIL SUPERIOR, DIVISION DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, en el Caso Civil número AR2019CV01300, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Garantías, seguido por Scotiabank de Puerto Rico versus Jhoselyn Ramos Santiago, por la suma de $89,896.81, más intereses y otras sumas adicionales, anotado el dia 2 de octube de 2020, al tomo Karibe de Florida, finca número 411, Anotación “A”. El precio mínimo de este remate con relación a la Finca 411 antes descrita y la fecha de cada subasta serán la siguiente: Primera Subasta: 4 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $96,900.00, Hipoteca: Escritura Número 28 sobre Primera Hipoteca, otorgada el día 31 de enero de 2014, ante el notario Héctor Moyano Noriega. Segunda Subasta: 11 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $64,600.00. Tercera Subasta: 18 de marzo de 2021, Hora: 11:00am, Precio Minimo: $48,450.00. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación que se transmite y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y las preferentes, si las hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismas, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

Conforme a la Sentencia dictada el día 24 de octubre de 2019 y archivada en los autos el 31 de octubre de 2019 y publicada el 8 de noviembre de 2019, la anterior venta se hará para satisfacer las sumas adeudadas por concepto del préstamo garantizado por la hipoteca antes mencionada y las sumas que se mencionan a continuación: La suma principal de $89,896.81, más intereses a razón de 4.5%, desde el 1 de abril de 2018, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de $117.84 por cargos por mora, más la suma de $371.29 en conexión con la cuenta de reserva, más la suma de $9,690.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hipotecariamente asegurados. Se notifica por la presente a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los inmuebles a ser subastados con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen del ejecutante descrito anteriormente, o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubieren pospuesto al gravamen del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizado hipotecariamente con posterioridad al gravamen del actor para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si así lo interesan o satisfacer

24 antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogado, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y, para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general, y para su publicación de acuerdo con la ley en un periódico de circulación general de la isla de Puerto Rico y en tres sitios públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada, expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal en Arecibo, Puerto Rico, hoy día _ 15 de diciembre de 2020. WILFREDO OLMO SALAZAR, ALGUACIL SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO. ISMAEL SERRANO CARDONA, Alguacil #795.

Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial .pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, el Lcdo.

José F. Aguilar Vélez cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 -8518 , teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jose.aguilar@orl-law. com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com. EXTENDlDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy dia 14 de enero de 2021. En Bayamón, Puerto LEGAL NOTICE Rico, el 14 de enero de 2021.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANDE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- CHEZ, Sec Regional. Sandra I NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Cruz Vazquez, Sec Serv a Sala.

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYALEGAL NOTICE MÓN. IN THE UNITED STATES DISPR RECOVERY ANO COURT FOR THE DISDEVELOPMENT JV, LLC TRICT TRICT OF PUERTO RICO. DEMANDANTE VS.

BAUTISTA REO PR CORP. ALEJANDRO Plaintiff, v.

FARINACCI FONTECHA, MIRNA DÍAZ CRUZ, FULANA DE TAL & LA and THE UNITED STATES SOCIEDAD LEGAL OF AMERICA DE GANANCIALES Defendants COMPUESTA POR Civil No. 17-1910 (GAG). COLLECTION OF MONIES AND AMBOS

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NÚM : BY2020CV03016.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO - INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: ALEJANDRO FARINACCI PONTECHA, POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES/ Urbanización Río Hondo 3 CE 25 Calle Eucaliptos Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00961- 3423 A: FULANA DE TAL, POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES / Urbanización Río Hondo 3 CE 25 Calle Eucaliptos Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00961-3423

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que co n teste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y

FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE AND PLEDGE. NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: DEFENDANT AND GENERAL PUBLIC

Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff, as of December 1, 2019, in the total amount of $205,303.76 in principal; plus interests in the amount of $40,557.00, which continue to accrue daily, even post-judgment as per the agreement of the parties, at a rate of $29.94, until full payment of the debt; plus accrued late charges in the amount of $2,574.19; plus $4,222.72 of escrow balance; plus any other advance, charge, fee or disbursements made by Bautista on behalf of Defendant in accordance with Promissory Notes I, II and III, the Mortgage Note, the Loan Agreement, as well as under the other loan documents; plus $27,609.02 in accordance with the Promissory Note IV, the Loan Agreement, as well as under the other loan documents; plus costs and agreed attorney’s fees under the Mortgage Note in the amount of $25,000.00. Pursuant to the said judgment and/or the Order of Execution of Judgment, the undersigned appointed Special Master was ordered

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Friday, January 29, 2021

to sell, at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check, without appraisement or right to redemption, to the highest bidder, at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 - Federal Building, Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, or at any other place designated by said Clerk, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property: URBAN: Lot of land marked with # 4 of block DA of Residential Bairoa Development, located at Bairoa Ward of Caguas, with a surface area of 305.89 square meters. Its boundaries are: by the NORTH, with lot #3, in a distance of 21.00 meters; by the SOUTH, with lot #5, in a distance of 21.00 meters; by the EAST, with España Street, in a distance of 2.286 meters and 12.004 meters in an arch; and by the WEST, with Eugenio Astel Avenue, in a distance of 2.286 meters and 12.557 meters in an arch. It contains a concrete dwelling for a single family. The property described above is recorded at page 40 of volume 973 of Caguas, property number 32,049, Registry of Property of Caguas, First Section.

The Property is described in the Spanish language as follows: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Residencial Bairoa situada en el Barrio Bairoa del término municipal de Caguas, Puerto Rico que se describe con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: número del solar: Cuatro (4) de la Manzana “DA”, con un área del solar: trescientos cinco punto ochenta y nueve (305.89) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con el solar número tres (3) en una distancias de veintiún (21.00) metros; por el Sur, con el solar número Cinco (5) en una distancia de veintiún (21.00) metros; por el Este, con la Calle España, en una distancia de dos punto doscientos ochenta y seis (2.286) metros y doce punto cero cero cuatro (12.004) metros en arco; por el Oeste, con la Avenida Eugenio Astel, en una distancia de dos punto doscientos ochenta y seis (2.286) metros y doce punto quinientos cincuenta y siete (12.557) metros en arco. Enclava una casa. The property described above is recorded at page 40 of volume 973 of Caguas, property number 32,049, Registry of Property of Caguas, First Section. The property is subject to the following liens: BY ITS ORIGIN: To the charges that are extensively related in the inscription 1 of property #6461, registered to page 1 of volume 943 of Caguas. By itself: MORTGAGE in guarantee of note in favor of Doral Mortgage Corporation, or to its order, in the principal amount of$ 250,000.00, with a yearly interest rate of 6.95%, due on April 01, 2014, as per Deed No. 37, executed in Guayama, Puerto

Rico, on March 19, 2004 before Notary Public Ivelisse Toro Zambrana, recorded at page 166 of volume 1788 of Caguas, property #1788, 4th inscription, entry extended on August 20, 2015 under Law 216 of December 27, 2010. LIENS in favor of BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, plaintiff vs. MYRNA DIAZ CRUZ, (thus arises), defendant, to answer for: A) First cause of Action (VISA NOVEL Card) for $47,443.37 plus interest from filing of the lawsuit until its total and complete payment, plus the costs that this litigation avoids as well as the attorneys’ fees for (VISA NOVEL Card) $4,744.33. B) Of the first cause of Action for (VISA NOVEL Card) the sum of $36,992.64 more for (VISA NOVEL card) for$ 3,699.26. C) 1st inscription cause of action (for charges to the American Express Ultra Card) for $37,011.31; (for American Express Ultra card charges) for the amount of $3,701.13. D) of the registration 1st cause of action (for Reserve account) for $ 4,473.98; (for Reserve account) for the sum of $447.39. Preventive Annotation is extended according to the Order of February 3, 2012, COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE, CAGUAS ROOM, Civil Case #ECD-2011-0010 on MONEY COLLECTION. Noted on August 20, 2015. Recorded at page 166 of volume 1788 of CAGUAS, property # 32049, Annotation A and LAST. Entry. 1259 to Daily 1175, of August 2, 2013, as per deed# 671, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 28, 2013, before the notary public Gadiel O. Rosario Rivera, through the which Doral Bank and Mirna Díaz Cruz appear and modify the mortgage that arises from the 4th inscription regarding the following: The new principal will be$ 218,017.47, which will be divided into 3 amounts of: A. $198,000.00 with a monthly payment of $ 1,093.36; B. $ 4,017.00 with a monthly payment of$ 22.18; and C. $ 16,000.47 with a monthly payment of $ 88.36; and to expire on June 28, 2016, with a final Ballon payment of principal owed and interest due; interest A, B and Cat 6.25%. The mortgage note is partially canceled for$ 31,982.53. Entry 2017075184-CA01, of July 5, 2017, FILE OF DEMAND filed on July 3, 2017, by United States District Court, for the District of Puerto Rico, by Baptist Cayman Asset Company, plaintiff Vs Mirna Diaz Cruz plus The United States of America; civil case #Case 3: 17-CV-01910-GAG on MONEY COLLECTION AND MORTGAGE EXECUTION, for the following amounts: $ 205,303.76 of principal and other sums, related to 1 to 3; $ 27,609.02 related to # 4 payments; in addition to $ 25,000.00 of costs and attorney cost agreements. Potential bidders are advised to verify the

extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal), shall continue in effect. It being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. The liens executed are over the property, and for the purposes of the first judicial sale the minimum bid amount is as follows: The amount of $250,000.00, as set forth in the mortgage deed, as amended, shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the first public sale. Should the first public sale fail to produce an award or adjudication, twothirds of the aforementioned total amount or $166,666.67, shall serve as the minimum bidding amount for the second public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the second public sale, the minimum bidding amount for the third public sale shall be $125,000.00.

Said sale to be made by the appointed Special Master is subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property may be executed and delivered after the judicial sale. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued canceling all junior liens.

THEREFORE, public notice is hereby given that the appointed Special Master, pursuant to the provisions of the Judgment herein before referred to, will, on the 12th day of March, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., on the sidewalk in front of the main gate entrance of the United States District Court, Federal Building, 350 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder the property described herein, the proceeds of said sale to be applied in the manner and form provided by the Court’s Judgment. Should the first judicial sale set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the second judicial sale of the property described in this Notice will be held on the 19th day of March, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., on the sidewalk in front of the main gate entrance of the United States District Court, Federal Building, 350 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

Should the second judicial sale set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the third judicial sale of the property described in this Notice will be held on the 26th day of March, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. on the sidewalk in front of the main gate entrance of the United States District Court, Federal Building, 350 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.

The records of the case and of these proceedings may be exa-

mined by the parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Federal Building, Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 22th day of January, 2021. ÁGUEDO DE LA TORRE.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO, INC. Demandante v.

JOSÉ JAVIER HERNÁNDEZ CARABALLO; SU ESPOSA JACQUELINE PADILLA VALENTÍN Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados CIVIL NUM.: ECD2017-0585.

SALA: 802. SOBRE: IN REM. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PUBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 21 de noviembre de 2019, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número #41 de la Urbanización Los Paisajes de Ciudad Jardín, localizada en el Barrio Hato Nuevo del Municipio de Gurabo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial en letra expresa cuarentaisiete punto setecientos setentaisiete y en número expresa 645.77 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 23.817 metros, con la Calle Orquídea; por el SUR, en una distancia de 18.382 metros, con el lote número 40; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 30.879 metros, con la Calle Jardín y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 27.866 metros, con el lote número #42. Enclava una casa de concreto diseñada para una sola familia construida de acuerdo con planos y especificaciones sometido y aprobados por las agencias pertinentes.

Inscrito al Tomo Karibe de Gurabo, finca número #19,444 Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Segunda de Caguas. La propiedad ubica en: Calle Orquídea 41 Los Paisajes Ciudad Jardín, Gurabo, PR. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al

demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 8 de agosto de 2019 y notificada el 20 de agosto de 2019, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $317,177.22 por concepto de principal; $1,845.31 por concepto de intereses acumulados, $7,483.52 por concepto de cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito; y la suma $32,500.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA subasta se llevará a efecto el día 4 DE MARZO DE 2021 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $325,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2021 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $216,666.66, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 18 DE MARZO DE 2021 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA,, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $162,500.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de con-

formidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a.

Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes.

Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de enero de 2021. ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, Alguacil, División de Subastas, Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

SUCESIÓN de EVANGELINA RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA GONZÁLEZ compuesta por FULANO DE TAL posible heredero desconocido; SUCESIÓN de FERNANDO GONZÁLEZ CLAUDIO compuesta por MAYRA JANET GONZÁLEZ AYALA, MENGANO DE TAL posible heredero desconocido; SUCESIÓN de ADA IRIS GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ compuesta por RAMÓN LUIS MELÉNDEZ GONZÁLEZ, IRIS FÁTIMA RIVERA GONZÁLEZ, SUTANO

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DE TAL posible heredero desconocido; MANUEL GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ y LUIS REINALDO GONZÁLEZ GONZÁLEZ, herederos de la SUCESIÓN de FERNANDO GONZÁLEZ CLAUDIO y de la SUCESIÓN de EVANGELINA RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA RIVERA HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA GONZÁLEZ HERNÁNDEZ t/c/c EVANGELISTA GONZÁLEZ; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA POR CONDUCTO DE LA DIVISIÓN DE CAUDALES RELICTOS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. CA2019CV01428.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 31 de diciembre de 2019, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 7 de diciembre de 2020 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 8 de diciembre de 2020 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 4 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, Carretera Número Tres (3) Km. 11.7, Avenida 65 de Infantería, Intersección Carr. Núm. 853, Entrada Urb. Lomas de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Country Club, Cuarta Extensión, situada en el Barrio Sabana Abajo de Carolina, marcado con el número 14 del Bloque “OR”, con una cabida superficial de 382.67 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 17.86 metros con los solares 12 y 13; por el SUR, en 12.43 metros, con la Calle número 522; por el ESTE, en 23.00 metros, con el Solar 15; y por el OESTE, en 19.94 metros, con la Calle número 515; por el SUROESTE, en 5.16 metros, con intersección de las Calles número 515 y 522. La propie-

dad consta inscrita al Folio 97 del Tomo 214 de Carolina, Finca Número 7966, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección I. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al Folio 111 del Tomo 939 de Carolina, Finca Número 7699, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección I. Inscripción novena. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: URB. COUNTRY CLUB OR 14 CALLE 522 CAROLINA, PR 00982-1913. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $158,700.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 11 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $105,800.00 De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 18 DE MARZO DE 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $79,350.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por $123,667.89 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 6.5% anual desde el 1 de diciembre de 2015 hasta su completo pago, más $1,150.09 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $15,870.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: A) Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs. La Sucesión de Evangelina Rivera Hernández también conocida como Evangelista Rivera Hernández, como Evangelista González Hernández, y como Evangelista González, compuesta por Fulano de Tal, posible heredero desconocido, La Sucesión de Fernando González Claudio, compuesta por Mayra Janet González Ayala, Mengano de tal, posible herederos desconocido, La Sucesión de Ada Iris González González compuesta por Ramón Luis Meléndez González, Iris Fátima Rivera González, Sutano de tal posible heredero desconocido, Manuel González González y Luis Reinaldo González González herederos de la Sucesión de Fernando González Claudio y de la Sucesión de Evangelina Rivera Her-

Friday, January 29, 2021 nández también conocida como Evangelista Rivera Hernández, Evangelista González Hernández y Evangelista González, Departamento de Hacienda por conducto de la División de Caudales Relictos, Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM), ante el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Carolina, en el caso civil número CA2019CV01428, Sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $123,667.89 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 26 de abril de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Carolina, Finca Número 7966. Anotación A, el 19 de junio de 2019.

Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 210-2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de enero de 2021. Manuel Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

BIENES GANANCIALES, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado CIVIL NÚM: CG2019CV03027.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Yo, ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, al público en general. CERTIFICO Y HAGO SABER. Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia fechado el 15 de diciembre de 2020, que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, en el caso arriba indicado, venderé en la fecha o fechas que más adelante se indican, en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal, en mi oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Puerto Rico, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada, en el inmueble que se describe a continuación, propiedad de la parte demandada, ARNALDO TORRES DREGO, EVELYN AFANADOR MEJIAS Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS. Dirección Física: S-17 (15) Calle Brillante, Urb. Villa Blanca, Caguas, Puerto Rico 00725. Finca 8,848, al folio 57 del tomo 320 de Caguas, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Caguas. URBANA: Solar marcado con el Número Diez y Siete (17) del Bloque “S” del plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Reparto Villa Blanca, radicada en el Barrio Bairoa del término municipal de Caguas, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de trescientos treinta y siete metros cuadrados con cincuenta centímetros cuadrados. En lindes: por el NORTE, en trece metros con cincuenta centésimas del otro, con el solar número ocho del Bloque “S” del mencionado plano; por el SUR, en trece metros con cincuenta centésimas del otro, con la calle número catorce del mencionado plano; por el OESTE, en veinticinco metros con el solar número diez y seis LEGAL NOTICE del Bloque “S” del mencionado ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO plano; por el ESTE, en veinte DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL y cinco metros con el solar número diez y ocho del Bloque “S” DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CA- del mencionado plano. Finca 8,848. Por su procedencia está: GUAS. Servidumbre a favor de la BANCO POPULAR DE a.

Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales PUERTO RICO de Puerto Rico. b. Condiciones Demandante v. restrictivas sobre edificación ARNALDO TORRES de uso. Por sí está afecta a: a.

Hipoteca en garantía de un paDEGRO, EVELYN AFANADOR MEJIAS Y LA garé a favor de Doral Mortgage LLC, o a su orden, por la suma SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE principal de $178,825.00, con

intereses al 5% anual, vencedero el día 1 de mayo de 2039, constituida mediante la escritura número 174, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2009, ante el notario Félix Javier Santiago García, e inscrita al folio 178 del tomo 1742 de Caguas, finca número 8,848, inscripción 11ma. b. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 19 de agosto de 2019, expedido por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, en el Caso Civil CG2019CV03027, seguido por el Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Arnaldo Torres Degro, Evelyn Afanador Mejías y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales, se solicita el pago de la deuda o la venta en pública subasta, por la suma de $152,215.16, anotado el 19 de diciembre de 2019, al tomo Karibe de Caguas, finca número 8,848, Anotación A. El precio mínimo de este remate con relación a la Finca 8,848 antes descrita y la fecha de cada subasta serán la siguiente: Primera Subasta: 6 de abril de 2021, Hora: 10:45am, Precio Mínimo: $178,825.00, Hipoteca: Escritura Número 174, sobre Hipoteca, otorgada el 30 de abril de 2009, ante el Notario Félix Javier Santiago García.

Segunda Subasta: 13 de abril de 2021, Hora: 10:45am, Precio Mínimo: $119,216.67. Tercera Subasta: 20 de abril de 2021, Hora: 10:45am, Precio Mínimo: $89,412.50. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación que se transmite y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y las preferentes, si las hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismas, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Conforme a la Sentencia dictada el día 13 de enero de 2020 y notificada el 21 de enero de 2020 y publicada el 30 de enero de 2020, la anterior venta se hará para satisfacer las sumas adeudadas por concepto del préstamo garantizado por la hipoteca antes mencionada y las sumas que se mencionan a continuación: La suma principal de $152,215.16, más intereses a razón de 5%, desde el 1 de septiembre de 2017, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de $592.24 por cargos por mora, más la suma de $17,882.50, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hipotecariamente asegurados. Se notifica por la presente a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los inmuebles a ser subastados con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen del ejecutante descrito anteriormente, o acreedores de

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cargas o derechos reales que los hubieren pospuesto al gravamen del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizado hipotecariamente con posterioridad al gravamen del actor para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si así lo interesan o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogado, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y, para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general, y para su publicación de acuerdo con la ley en un periódico de circulación general de la isla de Puerto Rico y en tres sitios públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada, expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 20 de enero de 2021. ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, ALGUACIL SUBASTA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

JULIO QUIÑONES SANTIAGO

Demandado CIVIL NÚM: CG2019CV01444 (SALÓN 704). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Yo ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, al público en general. CERTIFICO Y HAGO SABER: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia fechado el 23 de diciembre de 2019 que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, en el caso arriba indicado, venderé en la fecha o fechas que más adelante se indican, en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal, en mi oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Puerto Rico, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada, en el inmueble

que se describe a continuación, propiedad de la parte demandada, Julio Quiñones Santiago.

Dirección Física: Urb. Boneville Heights, B-2, Calle 3 Rey Gaspar, Caguas, PR 00725. Finca 25,435, al folio 225 del tomo 780 de Caguas, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Caguas. URBANA: Solar número dos “B” (2-B) en el Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización Bonneville Heights, Sección dos “B” (2-B), en el Barrio Cañabón y Cañaboncito del Municipio de Caguas, Puerto Rico, con la siguiente cabida y colindancias: ciento cuarenta y cinco punto doscientos veintisiete (145.227) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número uno “B” (1-B); por el SUR, con el solar número tres “B” (3-B); por el ESTE, con la Calle número tres (3); y por el OESTE, con el solar número dos “A” (2-A).

Finca 25,435. Por su procedencia está afecta a: a. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de Puerto Rico. b. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales de Puerto Rico. c.

Servidumbre a favor de la Sociedad Anónima de Sucreries de Saint Jean. d. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Comunicaciones de Puerto Rico. e.

Servidumbre a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. f. Condiciones restrictivas sobre edificación y uso. g. Servidumbre a favor del Municipio de Caguas. Por sí está afecta a: a. a.

Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Preferred Mortgage Corp., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $108,007.00, con intereses al 5.50% anual, vencedero el día 1 de marzo de 2040, constituida mediante la escritura número 236, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 25 de febrero de 2010, ante la notaria Lesbia Hernández Miranda, e inscrita al folio 230 vuelto del tomo 780 de Caguas, finca número 25,435, inscripción 9na. b. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 26 de abril de 2019, expedida en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, en el Caso Civil número CG2019CV01444, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Julio Quiñones Santiago, por la suma de $ 95,754.01, anotado el día 6 de mayo de 2020, al tomo Karibe de Caguas, finca número 25,435, Anotación A. El precio mínimo de este remate con relación a la Finca 25,435 antes descrita y la fecha de cada subasta serán la siguiente: Primera Subasta: 6 de abril de 2021, Hora: 10:30am, Precio Mínimo: $108,007.00, Hipoteca: Escritura Número 236 sobre Primera Hipoteca, otorgada el día 25 de febrero de 2010, ante la notaria Lesbia Hernández Miranda. Segunda Subasta: 13 de abril de 2021, Hora: 10:30am, Precio Mínimo: $72,004.67.

Tercera Subasta: 20 de abril de

2021, Hora: 10:30am, Precio Mínimo: $54,003.50. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación que se transmite y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y las preferentes, si las hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismas, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

Conforme a la Sentencia dictada el día 18 de octubre de 2019, notificada el 21 de octubre de 2019 y publicada el 24 de octubre de 2019, la anterior venta se hará para satisfacer las sumas adeudadas por concepto del préstamo garantizado por la hipoteca antes mencionada y las sumas que se mencionan a continuación: La suma principal de $95,754.01, más intereses a razón de 5.5%, desde el 1 de abril de 2017, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de $81.60 por cargos por mora, más la suma de $10,800.70 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hipotecariamente asegurados. Se notifica por la presente a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los inmuebles a ser subastados con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen del ejecutante descrito anteriormente, o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubieren pospuesto al gravamen del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizado hipotecariamente con posterioridad al gravamen del actor para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si así lo interesan o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogado, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y, para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general, y para su publicación de acuerdo con la ley en un periódico de circulación general de la isla de Puerto Rico y en tres sitios públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada, expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 20 de enero de 2021. ANGEL GOMEZ GOMEZ, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

George Springer chose Toronto because ‘this team is built to win’

By DAVID WALDSTEIN

T

here is a long list of reasons that the top free agents in baseball have often ignored Toronto. In most years, the Blue Jays were not willing to spend enough money to entice the players; the tax rate tends to be higher than in many U.S. states; ordinary travel is complicated by border crossings; and, ultimately, the team just was not very good.

Last week, George Springer and the Blue Jays found a way to get past all of those perceived obstacles, and Springer agreed to a six-year, $150 million deal, the largest contract in Blue Jays history.

Toronto has had many great players, including Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, José Bautista and Troy Tulowitzki. But the team had never signed the biggest freeagent position player on the market until Springer, the former Houston Astro outfielder, committed to a young Blue Jays club that is rising fast.

“When you play against this team like I have, you can see the talent and the potential in their lineup, their staff and their arms,” Springer said Wednesday during a video news conference with reporters. “This team is built to win, and they’re going to be built to win for a long time.”

Getting Springer, 31, to choose Toronto was a coup for the Blue Jays, who finished 32-28 in the abbreviated 2020 season, only one game behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. With a core of talented young players that includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio, the Blue Jays sought a veteran star through free agency. They had their eyes set on Springer for quite a while.

“Our attraction to George Springer was several years ago, where it began,” said Ross Atkins, the Blue Jays general manager. “I think any executive in baseball who has watched George play for some time would love to talk about how he would fit onto your team.”

Of course, money is often the main factor for players. In this case, many observers assumed that Springer, who grew up in Connecticut and attended

The Toronto Blue Jays cited George Springer’s postseason success as one of the reasons they pursued him in free agency. Springer, formerly of the Houston Astros, was the most valuable player of the 2017 World Series. the University of Connecticut, might be enticed to sign with a team closer to his home — a team like the New York Mets, whose new owner, Steven A. Cohen, offers the financial wherewithal to sign top players.

Springer would not discuss interest from the Mets, or from any other team.

But over seven years playing in Houston, plus three in the minor leagues, Springer has shown he is more than capable of thriving at a considerable distance from his home state.

“It’s only a short plane flight away, if I really, really want to,” he said of going to Connecticut. “And we play in the AL East, and that’s pretty close to home.

But at the end of the day, I wanted to go to where I believed I was going to be happy, and I believe I am.”

Last year, the Blue Jays played their home games in Buffalo after Canada restricted travel across the border because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The same is likely to hold true in 2021, at least for the beginning of the season, and it is unclear yet where the Blue Jays will play home games. Springer dis-

missed that as a concern, along with the other issues that have led elite free agents to sign elsewhere.

“You hear a lot about the travel and all that stuff,” he said. “But the reality of it is, it honestly didn’t bother me one bit.”

In Springer, the Blue Jays are getting one of the most complete outfielders in the game at a time when the club is looking to challenge the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays in their division. In his seven years in Houston, Springer never led the league in any of the top offensive categories, at least not until the postseason, when he has shone.

He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2017 World Series, in which he batted .379 with five home runs and three doubles as the Astros won their first title. In 63 postseason games overall, Springer has 19 home runs, tied with Albert Pujols for fourth on the career postseason homer list.

His ability to produce when the stakes are highest is something the Blue Jays see as more than a fluke. While recent analyses of players tend to focus more

on their production over the long haul of a full, 162-game regular season, the Blue Jays noted that they placed a high value on Springer’s strong record in October.

“Players who are prepared and embrace competition, and have an elite desire to win, will fall back on preparation and rise to the occasion,” Atkins said. “George has done that, and that was exceptionally attractive to us.”

Springer said the current core of rising stars in Toronto reminded him of the Astros a half decade ago, before the team had become world champions and playoff perennials with him, Carlos Correa, José Altuve and Alex Bregman.

That team was found to have illicitly used technology to steal pitching signs from other teams during its championship season, but few would question their talent.

Toronto hopes that it is at the same stage now that Houston was in 2016, and that the addition of Springer, and Marcus Semien, an infielder who agreed to a one-year, $18 million deal Tuesday, will help create a winning atmosphere that compels legions of Blue Jays fans across Canada to tune in and eventually show up at the ballpark. Then the Jays can add even more proven players, to complement Springer and his young teammates in the future.

“This signing is a reflection of the plan,” said Mark Shapiro, the president of the Blue Jays. “That plan is that we will continue to win and as we win, the revenues will increase, and where those dollars go, I think there’s no limit to what this market can be.”

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

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Zack Scott elevated to acting general manager of the Mets

By JAMES WAGNER

T

he New York Mets have elevated Zack Scott to acting general manager, filling a void left by Jared Porter, who was fired last week after the revelation of his lewd harassment of a female reporter 4 1/2 years ago.

Scott, 43, had been a runner-up for the Mets’ general manager position, which ultimately went to Porter, an executive with the Arizona Diamondbacks, in December.

After deciding on Porter, the Mets hired Scott, who had spent the previous 17 years with the Boston Red Sox as their senior vice president and assistant general manager.

“Zack has plenty of championship experience to draw upon,” Sandy Alderson, the Mets’ president, said in a statement Wednesday. “He has been an integral part of our decision-making processes since his arrival. The entire baseball operations staff, including myself, will continue to work collaboratively.”

The Mets’ new owner, Steven Cohen, dismissed Porter, 41, the morning after ESPN reported that Porter had sent more than 60 unsolicited text messages and photos, including one of a penis, to a female baseball reporter in June 2016 when he worked for the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs and Major League Baseball said then that they would investigate Porter’s conduct.

Alderson said last week that the Mets would not hire Porter’s replacement from outside the organization and would instead lean on the personnel in place, himself included. Alderson was the team’s general manager from 2010-18.

Porter and Scott were interns with the Red Sox in 2004. Porter left in 2015 and rose through the ranks with the Cubs and the Diamondbacks. Scott remained with the Red Sox until last season.

Scott had his hands in roster construction, payroll management, contract analysis, scouting and, most of all, analytics.

His final two years in Boston were spent as an assistant general manager overseeing the club’s analytics, baseball systems and the advance and professional scouting departments. Before joining the Red Sox, he worked at a baseball simulation software company.

Zack Scott started his front office career with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. He will serve as acting general manager of the Mets.

The front office news for the Mets on Wednesday came on the same day that Porter’s predecessor, Brodie Van Wagenen, was announced as the new chief operating officer and head of strategy and business development for Roc Nation Sports.

Van Wagenen returns to the world of player representation after spending two years as the Mets’ general manager. The club’s previous owners, the Wilpon family, surprised many in baseball in 2018 when they hired Van Wagenen, who had no previous front office experience. Complicating matters was Van Wagenen’s being the agent for Mets players such as pitcher Jacob deGrom, outfielder Yoenis Céspedes and infielder Todd Frazier.

The Mets were 112-110 under Van Wagenen, failing to make the playoffs in both years. Hours after Cohen closed on

his purchase of the Mets in November, he cleaned house in the front office and fired Van Wagenen.

Van Wagenen will work with all the athletes at Roc Nation, not just those in baseball, and report directly to Jay-Z, the entertainment company’s founder, and Juan Pérez, the sports agency’s president.

“Brodie’s knowledge of the business is indisputable and unparalleled,” Jay-Z said in a statement. “Since we first worked with Brodie, we realized the shared commitment to athletes both on and off the field. He’s always been extended family, and now it’s official.”

Van Wagenen, previously an agent at IMG and Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has a history with Roc Nation Sports.

When the agency was started in 2013, it partnered with Van Wagenen and CAA to

represent Robinson Canó and Céspedes, who remain Roc Nation clients.

Canó signed a 10-year, $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners in 2013, was acquired by the Mets in 2018 under Van Wagenen and was suspended for the entire 2021 season by MLB for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug a second time. Céspedes signed a four-year, $110 million deal with the Mets in 2016, missed nearly two seasons with baseball and nonbaseball injuries, and opted out of most of the 2020 season because of the pandemic after a spat with the team.

Roc Nation Sports also represents, among others, Saquon Barkley (football), Kyrie Irving (basketball), Skylar Diggins-Smith (basketball), Kevin De Bruyne (soccer), Marcus Rashford (soccer) and Mets first baseman Dominic Smith.

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

Is the salary cap a myth?

By MIKE TANIER

K

ansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ listed base salary for the 2020 season is $825,000, a princely sum for ordinary folks but $85,000 less than the base salary of his teammate James Winchester, a valuable but obscure long snapper.

Tom Brady’s 2020 base salary of $15 million for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is more in line with expectations for an NFL quarterback, if not for a six-time Super Bowl champion and era-defining player.

For example, Jimmy Garoppolo, Brady’s backup when they played for the New England Patriots, earned a base salary of $23.8 million for an injury-plagued and disappointing 2020 season for the San Francisco 49ers, while Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had a base salary of $18.9 million for another season of his established late-model family sedan caliber play.

This season’s Super Bowl matchup should not be fiscally possible on paper. The NFL’s salary cap was supposed to have torn the Chiefs’ roster apart after their Super Bowl victory last season; Mahomes’ performance would command a contract that by itself had the potential to force the team into receivership.

Similarly, the Buccaneers’ star-studded lineup of Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Ndamukong Suh, Antonio Brown and Jason Pierre-Paul — each a market-setter at his position at some point in his career — should be so prohibitively expensive as to force the team to fill the lower half of its roster with temps and interns.

The fact that the Chiefs and the Buccaneers kept their rosters intact appears to support the popular theory that the salary cap is a myth, a fiction used by franchises as an excuse to cut unwanted veterans, pinch pennies and fall short of expectations. The cap is in fact very real, but its arcane rules about bonuses, incentives and proration make NFL cap management more like sorcery than an art or a science. And the voodoo economics the Chiefs and the Buccaneers are dabbling in could someday come with a steep price.

Mahomes, as you may recall, signed a reported 10-year, $477 million con-

tract extension in July. It was the sort of contract that would force a mortgage lender to accept a plea bargain — full of deferred bonuses, staggered guarantees and balloon payments designed to forestall Mahomes’ biggest paydays until 2023 and beyond. As a result, his 2020 compensation (base salary plus bonuses) counted for just $5.34 million against the salary cap, which allowed the Chiefs to re-sign important players like Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones despite little apparent maneuvering room in their theoretical budget. Even Mahomes’ future compensation will come mostly in the form of bonuses instead of salary, allowing for further feats of accounting magical realism.

Mahomes can afford to wait on his $40-plus million paydays because he is in high demand as an advertising pitchman, and successful quarterbacks are all but guaranteed long, lucrative careers. Brady is also a brand unto himself (and, as the spouse of an international celebrity, Gisele Bündchen, he brings in his household’s second income), but he has taken the opposite approach throughout his career by accepting short contracts full of guaranteed money. Lesser quarterbacks earn more than Brady in any given year, but he is always near the top of the NFL’s wage earners and rarely more than a year away from another renegotiation and raise.

The Brady and Mahomes situations illustrate that salary cap alchemy typically boils down to compensating the superstar quarterback first, then fitting the rest of the budget around him. With a relatively affordable Brady in the fold, the Buccaneers could extend one-year offers to Brown, Gronkowski and Suh, veterans willing to sign for less than their market value to join forces with Brady and pursue a championship.

Similarly, important role players like Sammy Watkins and Bashaud Breeland, who re-signed with the Chiefs, and Le’Veon Bell, who signed as a free agent, were given one-year contracts made possible because Mahomes is being paid in tomorrow bucks. The appeal of a likely Super Bowl run couldn’t have hurt, either.

Even the cleverest cap model can backfire if a team cannot use success to sustain success. The New Orleans Saints

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is always near the top of the N.F.L.’s highest paid players in part because of the strength of his brand. used reverse mortgage “die broke” tactics to pay Drew Brees through many years of Super Bowl near misses. With Brees’ retirement imminent, the Saints are so deep in deferred cap debt (an estimated $112 million) that they may be forced to pad their 2021 roster with season-ticket holders. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams overpaid quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Jared Goff (plus other top veterans) after trips to the Super Bowl in the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Eagles are now facing an existential crisis, while the Rams are subsisting on the cap equivalent of maxed-out credit cards.

After the Super Bowl, a long list of in-house free agents (including starters like Lavonte David, Shaquil Barrett and Chris Godwin, plus the aforementioned mercenaries) will be vying for the Buccaneers’ very limited cap space while Brady, who turns 44 in August, prepares to once again play chess with his own mortality.

Even with all of their finagling, the Chiefs will enter the offseason an estimated $18 million over the cap, meaning that next season’s Chiefs probably won’t be as good as this season’s Chiefs. Both teams in this Super Bowl needed to get there to justify their efforts to stay one step ahead of the collection agency.

There is much more to “salary cap-enomics” than finding innovative ways to squeeze a Mahomes or a Brady into a budget — from extending in-house contracts before valued veterans reach free agency to avoiding spending sprees at positions like running back, where talent is plentiful and replaceable. Mostly, however, there’s no mystery to cap management, just the question of whether a team chooses to pay for its Super Bowl run today, tomorrow or by tacking almost a half-billion dollars onto the back end. Age and deferred debt eventually catch up to everyone. Even Tom Brady. Someday. Probably.

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

29

Sudoku How to Play: Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

GAMES

HOROSCOPE Aries

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The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

(Mar 21-April 20)

Expect a touch of drama, with the Leo Full Moon encouraging you to vent if something isn’t quite to your liking. Yet it is said that it’s the squeaky hinge that gets the oil, so by making your displeasure clear, you likely will get results. An intense aspect might enhance the desire for instant results. You may be tempted to manipulate a situation Aries, but it could backfire.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

It may be only midweek, but there’s a party vibe in the air, or at least a desire to let your hair down. If you can’t get out and have a ball, then how about a make-shift boogie at home. Put some music on and dance your heart out, and if someone can join you, then so much the better. Still, feelings might be intense, and if you have something to share, doing so could be a relief.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

All the world is a stage, and today’s Full Moon may find you eager to make a big splash. Yet home and family affairs might become a priority, just when you have something important to accomplish. Emotions could run high, and you might need to placate someone with a promise just so that you can move ahead with your other plans. If you simplify matters, this will help.

The writing is on the wall, so whatever needs to be known will be talked about widely, as the Full Moon takes place in your sector of communication. Matters that may have been swept under the carpet could come out into the open, making this a time for animated discussion. However, there is a chance of you or others overreacting to certain news, and being rather too hasty.

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

A financial issue may require attention, as today’s powerful lunar phase in your money zone, could push you to act. Although you might need to scramble to sort this out, you can learn something that benefits you along the way. On a more passionate note, an ardent Venus/Pluto tie hints at an intensity of emotions that may compel you to share how you feel. Is it wise though?

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

Today’s dramatic Full Moon in your sign could rampup the drama, as a situation that’s been simmering away comes to a head. If you know what this is, then acting sooner rather than later to resolve it might help lessen any fall out. Mind, although events can disrupt plans, clearing the air may be a relief, leaving you free to move ahead, and your relationship could improve no end.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

All you want is some peace and quiet, and yet you might be busier than ever, Virgo. If your to-do list is taller than you, then something certainly needs to change. This could be a precursor of things to come unless you can find a way to get your schedule better organized. Do you have too many projects on the go at once? If so, learning how to multi-task may be crucial to you.

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Ready for your place in the spotlight? Today’s lunar phase in your sector of reputation can make you stand out, whether you want this or not. If you have something to promote, then you could get a very enthusiastic response. But if you need to share something delicate, this too may soon be doing the rounds. Choose your words carefully, as they will be noticed by all kinds of people.

As sweet Venus aligns with powerbroker Pluto, your desire for an item or experience can ramp-up considerably. If it’s something you could buy, then you may be willing to pay a high price to own it. Under this intense influence, you might feel compelled to make a purchase, but once you have it, it may lose its appeal. Deep down though, it can be comfort or friendship you need.

Sometimes it can be liberating to share your feelings, but consider the effect it might have on others. While Venus aligns with Pluto in your sign, she could encourage a no-nonsense approach. Need to talk? Put yourself in their shoes first, as this may help you tailor your words to their situation. On a social note, this aspect can assist you in making some powerful friends.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Today’s Full Moon in your sector of relating, can fuel relationship dramas and coincide with intense interactions. It’s one of those times when the smallest thing could trigger a meltdown, especially if a matter has been a point of tension for a while. There is a chance to clear the air, but unless you do so completely, you might find that those edgy feelings linger on.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Lunar ties to Saturn and Uranus, can encourage you to draw closer to someone because of the chemistry you have with them. This could be a romantic bond, but it might also be a developing friendship where you feel good in this person’s company, and enjoy their riveting and original ideas. Ready to connect further? You may have a spiritual rapport as well as a practical one.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

The San Juan Daily Star

January 29-31, 2021

31

CARTOONS

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

Herman

Ziggy

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January 29-31, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star