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We’ll Get Through This Together As the Island Recovers from Hurricane Maria and Earthquakes, and Faces a Pandemic, Tropical Storm Isaias Hits in an Unexpected Way Oversight Board Approves Use of Emergency Reserve Fund

Endless Rains Just a Short-Term Solution for Carraízo, Other Island Reservoirs

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NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 19

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US Dept. of Justice: No Money for ‘Yes or No’ Plebiscite

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July 31-August 2, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

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July 31 - August 2, 2020

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.

US Justice Dept. rejects release of funds for ‘Yes or No’ plebiscite

By THE STAR STAFF

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INDEX Local 3 Mainland 7 Business 10 International 11 Viewpoint 21 Noticias en Español 22 Entertainment 23

Wine Legals Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons

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he U.S. Justice Department in a letter to the State Elections Commission (SEC) has rejected releasing to Puerto Rico federal funds that were appropriated six years ago by the U.S. Congress to hold a status vote that will ask voters whether Puerto Rico should be immediately admitted into the union as a state.

The information is contained in a letter made public by reporter and analyst Jay Fonseca on his social media page.

The vote was slated to be held along with the November general election. The island government requested $2.5 million assigned in a 2014 appropriations law by Congress for an “objective, nonpartisan voter education about a status plebiscite, on options that would resolve Puerto Rico’s political status.”

In a letter dated July 19 to SEC Chairman Juan E. Dávila, U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen cited several reasons for not issuing the funds that were requested by the government last month.

The federal Justice Department said, firstly, that it did not have sufficient time to complete the multi-layered process it must follow before releasing the funds by a June 30 deadline established in Law 51 of 2020, which authorized the status vote. The department did not meet the deadline.

Second, Rosen expressed concerns about the materials that will be used for the vote because they approach the question of Puerto Rico’s status from a pro-statehood and antiterritorial point of view.

“In that context, the Department approval and funding of the plebiscite may be seen as an endorsement of these views and a rejection of the others available,” the letter states.

The plebiscite also appears to be based in part on a determination by the Puerto Rico Legislature that status votes held in 2012 and

in 2017 constituted a direct rejection of the current territorial status and options. Rosen noted that the results of those votes were the subject of controversy.

Rosen also said the materials to be used in the vote may cause voters to misperceive the effect of a majority vote in favor of statehood, noting that a majority “yes” vote would not lead automatically to admission as a state.

“The fear of voter confusion is compounded by statements that compared the plebiscite to those held in Alaska and Hawaii immediately before their admission to the union,” he said.

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July 31- August 2, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

PR Farm Bureau to farmers: ‘Don’t give up, we’ll get through this’ Calls for documentation and reports on damages after Tropical Storm Isaias

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

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s Tropical Storm Isaias dumped copious amounts of rain on the island early Thursday, Puerto Rico Farm Bureau (PRFB) Programming Director Vanessa Piñeiro Solano called for farmers to fill out a digital form by which the non-governmental organization (NGO) will collect information on how much harm the climatic event did to local agriculture.

The digital form, which is available on PRFB’s Facebook page, asks for essential information, such as name, e-mail address, phone number, city, affected produce, loss of sales value, structural damages, number of workers, if the applicant has insurance with the Agricultural Insurance Corp. and/or the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency, and more. Piñeiro Solano said that as the island was hit by a storm weaker than a hurricane, the NGO will compile as much information as possible to develop a loss report for state and federal agencies and assist farmers in mitigating damages caused by Isaias.

“This loss inventory will help us determine what happened in each municipality and with each agricultural sector.

I’m aware that many farmers have not gotten the opportunity to get back to their farms. Others, due to the rain, have not been able to count their losses because they have many

acres of land,” Piñeiro Solano said via Facebook. “When we receive all the inventory, we will be able to hand this information over to different agencies so they are aware of how much this storm harmed us.”

Piñeiro Solano told The Star that although it was too soon to get a complete picture of the amount of damage done by the storm, members of the Puerto Rico Young Farmers and

Ranchers, which consists of 100 agriculturists from the ages of 18 to 25, shared pictures of their crops in the aftermath via WhatsApp, which she described as “terrible.”

She added that she feared seeing the aftermath at her banana plantation, Finca Sangre Verde.

“It has been a hard day for us farmers,” Piñeiro Solano said. “It is important for people to acknowledge that, once you’re in this business, it’s a challenge every day.”

Meanwhile, she reiterated her call for farmers to get to the PRFB Facebook page and fill out the digital form.

Likewise, she told her colleagues not to give up and to remember the faith and hope that drives them to produce.

“Don’t give up farmers, we’ll get through this. We cut and cut through vines and weeds to move onward,” she said.

“Farmers are some of the most faithful and hopeful beings on the planet, as we put any seed in the ground and hope for something to come out of it.”

Agricultural losses reported in southern and eastern PR Meanwhile, PRFB Executive Director José López told the Star that, at the moment, mostly farmers from Caguas, Utuado, Barranquitas and Adjuntas have reported losses.

Others, meanwhile, have reported “great amounts of damage” to their structures.

“As for produce, there have been loss reports on bananas, plantains and vegetables,” López said. “At the same time we have seen hydroponic farmers lose their shading structures, which consist of a semicircular scaffold that provides for controlled planting.”

López also insisted that farmers must document everything they can and take pictures of what they lost, as this provides enough evidence to the local and federal agencies to provide recovery assistance.

Soderberg: ‘I regret seeing this rain water go to waste’

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

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s Puerto Rico is getting enough rain to fill the island’s water reservoirs due to Tropical Storm Isaias, former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Caribbean Environmental Protection Division Director Carl Soderberg said on Thursday that this is a short-term solution as the water could go to waste due to the reservoirs’ “compromised” storage capacity.

Soderberg said that although the rain that fell during the storm could help Puerto Rico residents have more potable water available in the short term, in the long run, the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) must be proactive in maximizing the reservoirs’ storage capacity to prevent more adversity due to droughts.

When The Star asked about his opinion of PRASA opening up three dams from the Carraízo reservoir, the former EPA official said that if the reservoir had more space to store water, the agency could have preserved more.

“I regret seeing this rainwater go to waste; we won’t be able to fully take advantage of this as more than a half of our reservoirs are compromised with sediment,” Soderberg said.

“If there would have been some dredging done beforehand, I think that PRASA would not have to open the dams so soon.”

The Committee of Experts and Advisers on Climate Change member said further that although the copious amounts of rain from Isaias would help other water bodies such as Dos

Bocas Lake, their storage capacity is compromised around 60 percent with sediment. He said the situation is not getting enough exposure from news outlets.

“One of the other reservoirs that needs more attention is Dos Bocas Lake, which supplies the Superacueducto Water Treatment Plant, and which, before Hurricane Maria, was already 63 percent sediment,” Soderberg said. “After the hurricane, it could have gone up to 73 percent compromised.”

However, according to a 2018 declaration that the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, a U.S. Forest Service program, published in the Los Angeles Times, Puerto Rico lost 480 million trees after the 2017 hurricane, which equates to a third of the forests on the island. Soderberg said the local government has only replanted around 200,000 trees, which represents 0.0004 percent of the loss. The lack of forestation on the island promotes more sedimentation in reservoirs.

“Until those trees are planted once again, our soil will still end up in our lakes, causing more sedimentation and occupying our lakes’ storage capacity,” he said. “Puerto Rico needs a more intense reforestation program.”

Meanwhile, Soderberg also called for news outlets to pay more attention to Guayabal Lake in Villalba and Juana Díaz, which supplies the island’s Southern Aquifer, the condition of which was classified as critical by the commonwealth Department of Natural and Environmental Resources after the 2015 drought. As the lake started drying up and saline levels rose in the aquifer, it led municipalities in southern Puerto Rico to declare a closed season on construction sites in order

to safeguard potable water for their citizens. Soderberg said that although the recent rain will benefit those towns, their leaders should develop more forceful measures to stimulate their economies.

“If there’s no water, there’s no economic development,” he said. “Municipalities in the south cannot waste a droplet of water on buildings as they were short on fresh water. Although the rains are great for now as they diminish the drought, they don’t have any monitoring system in the aquifer to detect saltwater. It’s important to not mix these two up.”

The U.S. Drought Monitor released a report on Thursday morning that said drought severity in Puerto Rico decreased between July 21 and July 28. All the same, the rainfall and gusting winds from Tropical Storm Isaias brought adversity to various municipalities, such as Mayagüez, Cabo Rojo, San Juan, Rincón and Vieques.

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31- August 2, 2020

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Fiscal board approves use of Emergency Reserve Fund amid tropical storm emergency

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

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he Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) approved on Thursday the use of the Emergency Reserve Fund for 15 days to cover expenses from Tropical Storm Isaias.

In a brief letter that was posted on social media platforms, FOMB Executive Director Natalie Jaresko approved Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority Executive Director Omar Marrero’s request to access the Emergency Reserve Fund for a period of 15 days to cover any expenses incurred in the tropical storm emergency.

The request was subject to pre-authorization by the island Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

“The 15-day period expires on August 13, 2020.

Once the access period to the Emergency Reserve has ended, the OMB must submit to the Oversight Board a detail of the expenditures incurred during the emergency,” Jaresko said in the letter. “We look forward to working with you to accomplish the requirements and

goals of PROMESA [the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act] for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico.”

Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced, meanwhile, visited the municipalities of Las Piedras, Naguabo, Humacao, Yabucoa and Maunabo on Thursday in response to the weather emergency. Earlier that day, she thanked citizens for staying inside their homes and other safe places during the emergency.

“It’s important for citizens to stay in a safe place,” Vázquez said. “Remain inside your residences; do not go out unless it is for an essential matter.”

As for interruptions in service from the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) and the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, the governor said both will be back again “as soon as possible, as soon as the weather conditions allow it.”

At press time, 58 people were staying in some 33 shelters, while 65 refuge centers were open and available upon mayors’ requests. Meanwhile, more than 400,000 PREPA clients had no electric power and the authority only had 200 workers available to work with a distribution system that has 900,000 utility poles.

Funding hike for Martín Peña Channel dredging clears US House

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

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esident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced the approval in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week of legislation that increases the amount of authorized funds for the dredging of Caño Martín Peña (Martín Peña Channel).

“This is a great advance as the budget limit is increased to $232,430,000 to continue developing this project that is so important for the communities surrounding Caño,” the resident commissioner said Wednesday in a written statement.

The draft Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), approved in Wednesday’s session, also includes language to address the projects for flood control in several other island rivers -- Río Grande de Manatí, Río Guayanilla and Río Culebrinas. The Senate approved its version of the legislation, which requires a

conference process to reconcile both versions, González Colón said.

“The projects of the Caño Martín Peña, the Culebrinas River, the Grande de Manatí River and the Guayanilla River are crucial for the development of infrastructure on the island and the safety of the residents where these projects are located,” the resident commissioner said. “I thank my colleagues in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the Lower House for accepting my measures to promote these projects; I will continue working from Congress so that Puerto Rico has a safe and resilient water infrastructure.”

In the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Law, the resident commissioner raised funds to follow up on various water body management projects being carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on the island.

Among them were $3 million for the Río Guayanilla, $400,000 for the Río Culebrinas in Aguada and Aguadilla, and $1.2 million for the Río Grande de Manatí in Ciales, for the study stage of the flood control projects, all three of which are pending the completion of the chief engineer’s report.

The WRDA bill approved Wednesday includes expedited attention to the three flood control projects.

WRDA gives USACE authority to carry out water resources and infrastructure development studies and projects, as well as operational reforms. The WRDA legislation authorizes nationwide, including Puerto Rico, 35 feasibility studies by USACE and the construction

of 34 other proposed projects that are pending chief engineer’s reports.

Projects include works to improve or allow navigation, flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, shoreline protection and ecosystem restoration.

Operational reforms include expanding the agency’s flexibility in calculating cost-benefit for its projects, which can be of great advantage to rural and disadvantaged communities.

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July 31- August 2, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Housing chief: Mayors are overstating lack of shelter space, not using available funds

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

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sland Housing Secretary Luis Fernández Trinchet remarked on Thursday on the condition of some shelters serving as refuges such as in the Municipality of Bayamón, where it was said some shelters do not have the space to comply with the demands of physical distancing.

Mayor Ramón Luis Rivera Cruz repurposed Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum as a refuge after it was alleged that the Housing Department facility in Bayamón did not have the space to comply with physical distancing requirements.

“What is strange to me with this whole issue of our shelters is that so far there are 58 people,” Fernández Trinchet said in response to questions from the press.

“Of the 324 shelters in Puerto Rico, there are 116 that have a generator and a cistern. We have the same example yesterday in Guayanilla, that the mayor wanted to find another refuge and yet the school that is being used will fit almost 400 people with social distancing and was in perfect condition.”

The secretary insisted that with the shelters avail-

able, there is enough space to accommodate refugees in an emergency.

“There is space for about 14,000 people there; that is, there is more than enough space to deal with this crisis,” Fernández Trinchet said. “To think that we are going to have the 324 ready with everything is an ideal world, and I would love it to be there.”

“We cannot complain about the lack of shelter,” he added. “Food is held by people, they have all the protective equipment, protocols are established. Mayors or their assistants were trained. We cannot say that the mayors have not been offered options.”

Fernández Trinchet criticized the fact that only seven of the island’s 78 municipalities have requested funds from the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program that they could use, among other things, to enable shelters in urban areas.

“Another thing that has not happened, and we were offering it to the mayors from the beginning, was the repossessed houses of the AFV [Housing Finance Authority], so that they could donate them to various people in need,” he added.

Fernández Trinchet said that at the moment only Ponce andYauco have requested the repossessed homes.

Housing Secretary Luis Fernández Trinchet

Bond insurers may sue gov’t debt underwriters in local court

By THE STAR STAFF

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U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain

n what has been viewed as a major victory by bondholders, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled this week that Puerto Rico’s bond insurers may sue underwriters of government debt in commonwealth court, overruling the underwriters, who were battling to keep the proceedings in the island’s bankruptcy process.

Swain, who is overseeing Puerto Rico’s bankruptcies under the federal Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (widely known as PROMESA), reverted back to the local courts two suits -- one brought

by National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. and MBIA, the other by Ambac Assurance -- alleging underwriters of Puerto Rico bonds failed to investigate whether the commonwealth was telling the truth in its financial disclosures containing information on the bond issuances.

The cases were filed in the commonwealth court but were remanded to the U.S. District Court at the request of the underwriters.

The bond insurers said they wanted their cases to be sent back to the local courts because they were using remedies or arguments that are not available in the federal system.

Their arguments are based on the doctrine of actos propios and the unilateral declaration of will, two legal concepts that don’t exist in U.S. common law, or in the federal system.

The concepts are based on civil law like that used in Puerto Rico and apply when there is no direct law that applies to a situation. The civil laws require courts to decide “with equity,

which means natural justice,” whether an offense has been committed. In federal laws, actions are either legal or illegal.

The bond underwriters, for their part, told Swain that the federal court could also rule on the matter because the bond insurers ultimately want a ruling on whether the underwriters complied with their due diligence under federal securities law. They said the case also asks whether Puerto Rico withheld information in its disclosure statements that could impact the bankruptcy cases.

Peter Neiman, attorney for the underwriters, argued that if underwriters have to pay the defaulted debt, then Puerto Rico does not, reducing its liabilities. If underwriters win, it may show that Puerto Rico could legally divert money away from the debt. Those issues are best handled by the Title III court, he said.

The bond insurers are seeking payments on the money they had to put forward because of Puerto Rico’s default.

National’s case could cost underwriters $720 million in damages while Ambac is suing for $234 million.

Judge Swain found that while the ruling in the case could have an impact on the amount owed, it would not impact other aspects of the administration of the case. She found that the case was based on Puerto Rico law, and on balance it would be better if the commonwealth court heard the case.

The insurers sued bond underwriters including UBS Financial, Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs & Co., Morgan Stanley & Co., Merrill Lynch, Pierce Fenner & Smith, RBC Capital Markets and Santander Securities.

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

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Johnson & Johnson’s Coronavirus vaccine protects Monkeys, study finds

By CARL ZIMMER

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n experimental coronavirus vaccine developed

by Johnson & Johnson protected monkeys from infection in a new study. It is the second vaccine candidate to show promising results in monkeys this week.

The company recently began a clinical trial in Europe and the United States to test its vaccine in people.

It is one of more than 30 human trials for coronavirus vaccines underway across the world. But until these trials are complete — which will probably take several months — the monkey data offers the best clues to whether the vaccines will work.

“This week has been good — now we have two vaccines that work in monkeys,” said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University who was not involved in the studies. “It’s nice to be upbeat for a change.”

But she cautioned that the new results shouldn’t be used to rush large-scale trials in humans. “We just can’t take shortcuts,” she said.

Unlike many other vaccines in development that might require two injections, the Johnson & Johnson candidate shielded the monkeys with just one dose, according to a study published on Thursday in Nature.

“It’s a very reassuring level of protection we saw,” said Dr. Dan Barouch, a virologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and a co-author of the new study.

The study comes just two days after a similar one was published on a vaccine tested by Moderna and the National Institutes of Health.

But the two vaccines work in very different ways.

The Moderna vaccine delivers a kind of genetic material called “messenger RNA” into cells.

The cells use the vaccine RNA to produce a protein found on the surface of the coronavirus, called spike protein, which then hopefully prompts an immune response.

RNA-based vaccines are being tested for a number of diseases, but none have yet been licensed for use in people.

In the Moderna study, researchers vaccinated monkeys by giving them two shots spaced over four weeks.

A month later, they infected the animals with the coronavirus. In some of the vaccinated monkeys, researchers could not detect the virus in the nose or lungs. In others, the virus replicated slowly before disappearing.

Moderna began Phase 3 trials of its mRNA vaccine on Monday, as did Pfizer, which is testing its own mRNA vaccine.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, in contrast, is based on a virus called Ad26, which researchers have modified so that it carries the coronavirus spike protein gene. The Ad26 virus can slip into human cells, but cannot replicate once inside them. Its host cell then uses the spike gene to make the coronavirus proteins.

This month, European regulators approved Johnson

Marinela Kirilova conducting research on the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine at the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. & Johnson’s Ad26 vaccine for Ebola. It was the first time this kind of virus-assisted gene delivery was approved for any disease.

In March, Barouch and his colleagues designed seven variants of an Ad26 vaccine for the coronavirus.

They made tiny changes to the spike gene to see whether they could get cells to make more copies of the viral protein. They also tested variants that would make the spike protein more stable, which might prompt a stronger immune response.

Based on earlier research, Barouch and his colleagues suspected that the Ad26 vaccine would be very potent.

They decided to run their experiment using just one dose, to see whether that was enough to provide immunity.

After a single injection of the vaccine, they waited six weeks and then infected the animals with the coronavirus.

Six of the seven vaccine variants offered monkeys partial protection against the coronavirus, meaning that the virus replicated only at low levels in the animals.

The seventh version proved more powerful than the rest: Five out of six monkeys that received it had no detectable viruses at all. The sixth had only low levels in its nose.

“The fact that we could protect with a single shot in

animal models was quite a positive surprise to us,” said Dr. Paul Stoffels, the chief scientific officer of Johnson & Johnson.

It was this best-performing vaccine that Johnson & Johnson used last week to begin its first human safety trial, a so-called Phase 1 trial. If it goes well, the company hopes

by September to enter Phase 3 trials, which test not only whether the vaccine is safe, but also whether it works.

The company plans on testing both single and double doses. Rasmussen said that a vaccine that proved effective with a single dose would make it far easier to treat the billions of people who need it. “Theoretically, you would need less of it, so you give it to more people more quickly,” she said.

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have developed a vaccine based on yet another type of modified virus, called ChAdOx1. In May, they posted promising results in monkeys, and now they are running Phase 3 trials in people. They may get results by October.

“It’s exciting to see the number of platforms that are showing promise for a vaccine,” said Stacey L. SchultzCherry, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, who was not involved in any of the trials.

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The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

Atlanta mourns John Lewis and ponders carrying on with ‘good trouble’

By RICK ROJAS and RICHARD FAUSSET

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motorcade Wednesday led John Lewis on one final tour of Atlanta, the city he represented in Congress for more than three decades and a place he helped establish as the spiritual home of a nonviolent movement to protest racism.

But on this ultimate journey, the hearse carrying the body of the congressman and civil rights leader traversed a city that in recent weeks has been racked by turmoil. It drove down streets where scores of demonstrators have marched this summer to protest police violence, including the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old Black man who was killed by a white police officer last month.

Lewis’ death July 17 came amid a moment of unrest across America, with the nation again wrestling with its troubled racial history. And in the days since, at memorial events in Alabama and Washington, one person after the next has invoked Lewis’ credo of getting into “good trouble.” As a young man — and for the rest of his life — he defined it as a moral call to rebel through nonviolent means against injustices, even if the consequences were perilous.

The conversations about Lewis’ legacy, with some of his colleagues calling him the “conscience of Congress,” have pushed many activists and others to consider how his message of nonviolent resistance has endured and evolved for a new generation carrying on the fight.

“It’s easy to go violence on violence,” David Parker, an Army veteran who works for a courier company, said Wednesday as he stood in a long line at the Statehouse to bid Lewis farewell. “The hard part is peace.

“You go the other way,” Parker, 54, said, “you’re going to blow up the country.”

With the Supreme Court building in the background, the flag-draped casket of the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), is carried by a military honor guard from the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday, July 29, 2020.

After Lewis’ coffin was situated under the dome of the Georgia Capitol on Wednesday, Gov. Brian Kemp praised Lewis’ achievements during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, describing him as a titan and “a friend to all who sought a better, fairer, more united society.”

“He built quite a reputation along the way,” said Kemp, a Republican, referring to the “good trouble that led to real change, inspired a country and changed this world.”

Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta’s mayor, drew a parallel between the efforts of the 1960s and the present, contending that many of the demonstrators who had taken to the streets in Atlanta and across the country this year had

similar intentions as Lewis and his cohort.

“So, governor, when the good trouble continues,” she said, offering a subtle rebuke of Kemp, who had declared an emergency over the unrest in recent weeks, “know that it is with the blessings of Congressman Lewis.”

The body of Lewis arrived in Atlanta on Wednesday, on a sweltering afternoon, the final leg of a journey that followed the trajectory of his life.

It started Saturday in Alabama, with stops in Troy, a city near the cotton farm where he was raised, and then Selma, where his body was carried across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which he and many activists had crossed in

March 1965 despite being bombarded with tear gas and state troopers wielding clubs. His body then went to Washington, where he was the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

He will be buried Thursday in Atlanta after a funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church, the pastoral home of Martin Luther King Jr., and where Lewis was a parishioner. Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to deliver a eulogy.

Before it arrived at the state Capitol, the hearse paused at an intersection in the midtown neighborhood where crosswalks are painted in rainbow colors, a nod to Lewis’ support of the LGBTQ community, and drove down John Lewis Freedom Parkway, a major thoroughfare named for him in 2018. He was also taken past a 65-foot mural that covers the side of a downtown building, an image of him with a single word: “Hero.”

The tour through the city was a reminder of the impression Lewis had left on Atlanta — and the impression Atlanta had made on him.

In some ways, his Atlanta story is a familiar one: a young person who had grown up in humble conditions in the South, drawn by the promise of the big city.

In his case, he moved to Atlanta at 23, becoming chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He served on the City Council and then in Congress for more than 30 years. For many, he was more than a distant or historical figure on a pedestal; he was a working lawmaker who stayed close to his constituency.

“What a loss,” Toni Hackney, a military veteran, said after she saluted Lewis’ coffin.

Hackney, who had met him several times, rattled off a list of his attributes: “Down to earth.

Loving of all. A man with principles and who held fast to his principles.”

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

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Trump plays on racist fears of terrorized suburbs to court white voters

By ANNIE KARNI, MAGGIE HABERMAN and SYDNEY EMBER

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resident Donald Trump vowed Wednesday to protect suburbanites from low-income housing being built in their neighborhoods, making an appeal to white suburban voters by trying to stir up racist fears about affordable housing and the people who live there.

In a tweet and later in remarks during a visit to Texas, Trump painted a false picture of the suburbs as under siege and ravaged by crime, using fearmongering language that has become something of a rhetorical flourish in his general election campaign against the presumptive Democratic nominee, Joe Biden.

Trump said on Twitter that “people living their Suburban Lifestyle Dream” would “no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood.” The president was referring to the administration’s decision last week to roll back an Obama-era program intended to combat racial segregation in suburban housing.

The program expanded provisions in the Fair Housing Act to encourage diversification and “foster inclusive communities.”

“Your housing prices will go up based on the market, and crime will go down,” he wrote, even though there was no evidence that the program led to an increase in crime.

The tweet, sent from aboard Air Force One as Trump traveled to Texas, was the latest example of the president stoking racial division as he seeks to win over voters in his bid for reelection. White suburban voters, particularly women, were key to his victory in 2016 but are slipping away from him.

The remarks also came just days after aides had convinced the president that his best reelection strategy was to demonstrate that he was focused on a comprehensive response to the surging coronavirus pandemic. In recent weeks, as the president’s poll numbers have tumbled, some of his advisers have told Trump to try to convince a skeptical nation that he has been effective in managing the virus crisis and is taking it seriously.

Last week, Trump resuscitated the White House briefings focused on the pandemic, keeping them shorter and more focused than the ones he conducted in March, when he often rambled in his comments, sparred with the news media and engaged in fanciful speculation, including that injecting disinfectant into the human body could help fend off the virus.

He also changed his stance on face masks, calling it “patriotic” to wear one and even appearing in public with one on. On Monday, Trump promoted what he claimed was quick progress on a vaccine during a trip to North Carolina to visit a plant working on one.

But since he took office, Trump’s presidency has unfolded along two tracks: the scripted one, which he sticks to for hours or sometimes days at a time, and the one guided by his own instincts, often revealed on Twitter. Trump has been more eager to talk about culture wars and draw attention to

President Donald Trump, wearing a face mask, tours the Bioprocess Innovation Center at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies in Morrisville, N.C., on Monday, July 27, 2020. images of unrest on the streets of cities led by Democratic politicians than to stay focused on the virus.

And his tweet Wednesday was further evidence that he inevitably reverts to his instinct to play to his base when campaigning under pressure.

During his remarks in West Texas later Wednesday, Trump bragged again that he had ended a government program that tries to reduce segregation in suburban areas.

“People fight all of their lives to get into the suburbs and have a beautiful home,” he said. “There will be no more low-income housing forced into the suburbs.

“It’s been hell for suburbia,” he added, before telling the audience to “enjoy your life, ladies and gentlemen.”

Trump has also invoked the suburbs to try to increase apprehension about Biden. Last week he provocatively tweeted directly to “the Suburban Housewives of America,” warning, “Biden will destroy your neighborhood and your American Dream.”

Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Biden, the former vice president, accused Trump of trying to further divide the country.

“Instead of finally leading, Donald Trump is yet again attempting to distract from his catastrophic failed response to the pandemic by trying to divide our nation,” Bates said. “Turning Americans against each other with total lies is unacceptable for a commander-in-chief at any time, but it’s especially heinous to do so in a moment of worsening crisis.”

The Biden campaign said that as president, Biden

would reinstate the program expanding provisions in the Fair Housing Act. Trump and his father, Fred Trump, were sued by the Justice Department in the 1970s for their company’s practice of discriminating against Black tenants.

Trump’s view of the makeup of the American suburbs also appears to be frozen in time. In 2018, support from suburban voters helped Democrats retake the House of Representatives.

The following year, they helped Democrats win governorships in reliably red states like Kentucky and Louisiana.

Trump’s support among women and among independent voters has suffered as he has repeatedly made divisive entreaties based on race or retweeted inflammatory Twitter posts. His mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic has also contributed to his falloff in the polls.

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July 31- August 2, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Federal Reserve leaves rates near zero as recovery sputters

By JEANNA SMIALEK

T

he Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero on Wednesday and Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, predicted a long road ahead as a recent spike in virus cases saps momentum from the nascent economic recovery.

“The path forward for the economy is extraordinarily uncertain and will depend in large part on our success in keeping the virus in check,” Powell said at a news conference following the Fed’s two-day meeting, noting that infections have surged since late June and the “pace of recovery looks like it has slowed.”

Powell said policymakers needed more data before drawing firm conclusions about the scope of the pullback, but he noted that debit and credit card spending were slowing and labor market indicators suggested that recent job gains might be weakening. More than 14 million people who held jobs in February are no longer employed, Powell said, warning that it will take a while for workers in certain industries, like restaurants, hotels and travel, to find new jobs.

“There’s probably going to be a long tail where a large number of people are struggling to get back to work,” he said, adding that the Fed was “not even thinking about thinking about thinking about” raising rates.

The labor market rebound “is going to take a while,” he said, and “we’re going to be there for all of that.”

While the Fed took no major actions on Wednesday, Powell’s comments underlined both the peril ahead for American workers and the reality that interest rates are likely to be very low — making money cheap to borrow — for an extended period of time. Stock prices climbed following his remarks as investors took heart in the Fed’s patient stance.

Ahead of Powell’s comments, the central bank reiterated in its post-meeting statement that the Fed would keep low rates in place “until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events.”

The Fed’s announcement came as another round of tense negotiations continued in Congress over providing more support to workers and businesses still struggling amid the pandemic, including whether to extend an extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits that is set to expire this week.

Powell said the support lawmakers had already provided had been critical for workers and businesses and, in turn, the economy. While he did not weigh in on how high unemployment insurance benefits should be set, he said it would be important to help the large number of workers who were likely to be displaced even if the economy reopened successfully.

“There won’t be enough jobs for them — those people will need support,” he said, noting that government policy so far has “kept people in their homes, it’s kept businesses in business.”

The Fed said on Wednesday that it would also extend its programs meant to keep dollar funding readily available to foreign central banks through March.

Powell said it was important that the facilities stay in place “until we’re very confident that the turmoil from the

The Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero on Wednesday and pledged to keep supporting the United States economy as the pandemic continues to depress economic growth and sideline millions of workers. pandemic and the economic fallout are behind us.”

That could take time. The unemployment rate, while falling, remains historically high at 11.1%. Initial jobless claims ticked up last week after months of gradual improvement, stoking concerns that the economy might be backsliding.

Data suggest that many businesses are beginning to close permanently.

The job losses are hitting disadvantaged communities particularly hard. The Fed’s own surveys have shown that poorer people were more likely to lose jobs, and those with less education often did not have the option to work from home. The jobless rate for Black workers has skyrocketed to more than 15%, and the unemployment rate for Black men continued to tick up in June even as the rate for other racial and gender groups began to fall.

Powell acknowledged the unequal brunt of the pandemic on Wednesday, and said that what the Fed can do is focus on fostering a strong labor market.

“What we’re trying to do is create an environment, in the financial markets and in the economy, where those people have the best chance they can have to go back to work to their old job or to a new job,” Powell said.

While Fed officials’ June economic projections suggested that they expected unemployment to fall below 10% by the end of the year, based on the central forecast,

policymakers made it clear that conditions were extremely uncertain. The recent surge in infections could temper the more optimistic takes.

The central bank’s policies do seem to be offering support, at least around the edges. House buying has ticked up, fueled by cheap mortgage rates, and the U.S. homeownership rate is now at levels last seen before the 2008 financial crisis.

Key credit markets have calmed down after a disorderly March and April, as has the market for U.S. government debt.

While investors expect the Fed to eventually make a more concrete commitment to maintaining low rates for months or years — by pegging them to the unemployment or inflation rate, or by pledging to keep rates low until a calendar date — Powell said on Wednesday that conversations about such approaches would continue at future meetings.

He also said the Federal Open Market Committee’s longer-run framework review, which could guide the central bank’s strategies, would be completed in the near future.

Some economists took that news to mean that more action is coming at the Fed’s Sept. 15-16 meeting.

“The July FOMC meeting was expected to be a placeholder event until more important decisions are made at the next meeting in September,” Michael Feroli, the chief U.S. economist at J.P. Morgan, said in a note. “The committee met those expectations.”

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

11

Latin America is facing a ‘decline of democracy’ under the pandemic

By ANATOLY KURMANAEV

P

ostponed elections. Sidelined courts.

A persecuted opposition.

As the coronavirus pandemic tears through Latin America and the Caribbean, killing more than 180,000 and destroying the livelihoods of tens of millions in the region, it is also undermining democratic norms that were already under strain.

Leaders ranging from the centerright to the far-left have used the crisis as justification to extend their time in office, weaken oversight of government actions and silence critics — actions that under different circumstances would be described as authoritarian and anti-democratic but are now being billed as lifesaving measures to curb the spread of the disease.

The gradual undermining of democratic rules during an economic crisis and a public health catastrophe could leave Latin America primed for slower growth and an increase in corruption and human rights abuses, experts warned. This is particularly true in places where political rights and accountability were already in steep decline.

“It’s not a matter of left or right; it’s a general decline of democracy across the region,” said Alessandra Pinna, a Latin America researcher at Freedom House, an independent Washington-based research organization that measures global political liberties.

There are now five Latin American and Caribbean nations with recent democratic histories — Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guyana, Bolivia and Haiti — where governments weren’t chosen in free and fair elections or have overstayed their time in office. That is the highest number since the late 1980s, when the Cold War receded and several countries in the grip of civil war or military dictatorships transitioned to peace and democracy.

Most of those leaders were already bending the rules of democracy to stay in power before the pandemic but seized on emergency conditions created by the spread of the virus to strengthen their position.

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has detained or conducted home raids against dozens of journalists, social activists and opposition leaders for questioning the government’s dubious coronavirus

The coffins of demonstrators killed in clashes between protesters and government forces are carried during a funeral procession and protest march in La Paz, Bolivia, Nov. 21, 2019. figures.

In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega released thousands of inmates because of the threat posed by the virus but kept political prisoners behind bars, while in Guyana, a lockdown thwarted protests against the government’s attempt to stay in power despite having lost an election.

In Bolivia, a caretaker government has used the pandemic to postpone elections, tap into emergency aid to bolster its electoral campaign and threaten to ban the main opposition candidate from running.

And in the island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the government imposed a strict lockdown on its 50,000 people during the campaign for general elections in June, hampering opposition efforts to meet voters while also keeping international election observers from traveling to the country.

It was the first time in recent history that a host country withdrew its invitation to the Organization of American States, a regional group that promotes democracy, to observe elections.

The loss of public trust in governments in Latin America is not new, but the erosion of democratic norms in the pandemic arrived at a time when the region’s economic growth and social progress were already unraveling, leaving many uncertain

about the ability of democratic leaders to solve entrenched problems such as inequality, crime and corruption.

By 2018, only 1 in 4 people in Latin America said they were satisfied with democracy — the lowest number since Latinobarómetro, a regional polling company, began asking that question 25 years ago.

Discontent with the political establishment led to a wave of populist victories in recent years, including those of President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, who is on the farright, and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico, who is on the left. It also led to mass street protests in several Latin American countries last year.

The pandemic, hitting during this time of political upheaval, has plunged the region into the deepest recession in its history, exacerbating weaknesses in health and welfare systems and highlighting the ways in which many leaders are unable to meet public demands.

“All the things that Latin Americans have already been clamoring for — greater equality, better services — have been dramatically worsened by the pandemic,” said Cynthia Arnson, Latin America program director at the Wilson Center, a think tank in Washington. “The economic pain is dramatic, and it’s putting additional strain on the

already weak institutions.”

It has also put a strain on the region’s struggling health care systems. Latin America has become a global hot spot for the virus, with Brazil, Mexico and Peru among the 10 nations with the highest numbers of deaths. And according to the United Nations, about 16 million people in Latin America are expected to fall into extreme poverty this year, reversing nearly all of the gains made by the region this century.

Adding to those challenges, democracy in Latin America has also lost a champion in the United States, which had played an important role in promoting democracy after the end of the Cold War by financing good governance programs and calling out authoritarian abuses.

Under President Donald Trump, the United States has mostly focused regional policy on opposing left-wing autocrats in Venezuela and Cuba and curbing immigration, making aid to Central American nations, among the region’s poorest, contingent on cooperating with the administration on immigration.

In the few democratic strongholds in Latin America, such as Uruguay and Costa Rica, leaders responded to the pandemic with efficiency and transparency, bolstering public trust in the government. In the Dominican Republic and Suriname, incumbent presidents recently bowed out of power after losing elections that were held despite the pandemic.

In many instances, judges and civil servants have resisted the attacks on democratic institutions during the pandemic, said Javier Corrales, a professor of Latin American studies at Amherst College in Massachusetts. “The defenders of liberal democracy in Latin America are not defeated,” Corrales said. “It’s not an open terrain for would-be authoritarians.”

Yet in most Latin American nations, the coronavirus accelerated an existing democratic decline by exposing the weakness and corruption of governments in the face of the catastrophe.

“When confronted with an existential threat, countries that did not already have deep democratic systems are choosing tactics that help leaders consolidate their power,” said John Polga-Hecimovich, a political scientist at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.

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The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

Mysterious Coronavirus outbreak catches Vietnam by surprise

A street in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital. People there are returning to the practice of wearing protective face masks with an alarming coronavirus outbreak.

By HANNAH BEECH and CHAU DOAN

I

n a world plagued by pandemic, Vietnam seemed like a miracle. As months went by without a single recorded coronavirus death, or even a confirmed case of local transmission, residents began leaving their face masks at home.

Noodle shops resounded with the clack of chopsticks and sipped broth. Schools opened. And lured by good deals, Vietnamese tourists began taking vacations again, crowding the coastal city of Danang, with its golden beaches and plentiful seafood.

But over the weekend, Vietnam, which had gone about 100 days without a single confirmed case of local transmission, announced that the virus was lurking in the country after all — and it was spreading.

First, a 57-year-old man from Danang tested positive for the virus and is now on life support.

Then clusters quickly emerged in five hospitals. By Wednesday, the virus had spread north to Hanoi, the capital, south to Ho Chi Minh City and afflicted two provinces in central Vietnam, as well as the remote Central Highlands.

The surge of the coronavirus in Vietnam, which has so far recorded fewer than 450 cases, revealed the dangers of the virus even in places that appeared to have done most everything right in their battle against contagion.

Japan, China, Australia and South Korea, all of which seemed to have their outbreaks reasonably under control, recorded spikes Wednesday.

In the Australian state of Victoria, authorities announced 295 new cases Wednesday, along with nine new deaths.

Hong Kong, which kept its caseload low for months, is now racing against a wave of new infections, sickening about 100 people a day. With infections turning up in nursing homes and restaurants, Carrie Lam, the territory’s chief executive, warned Tuesday that Hong Kong was “on the verge of a large-scale community outbreak.”

Although Vietnam, a nation of 95 million people, remains the largest country in the world to have not confirmed a single fatality from the coronavirus, the mystery surrounding the infections popping up across the country has spooked medical experts and residents alike.

“In my opinion, this outbreak is more danger-

ous than the previous one because it is happening at the same time in many places,” said Nguyen Huy Nga, dean of public health and nursing at Quang Trung University in Binh Dinh province. “We do not know the source of disease, especially with tens of thousands of tourists flocking to Danang.”

Vietnamese authorities have reacted to the latest wave of cases with the kind of fast and forceful response that characterized their actions in the early days of the pandemic.

Hours after clusters of cases were confirmed in Danang hospitals earlier this week, officials said they would be shutting the city’s airport. Up to 80,000 local tourists who had flooded the city for a summer break would be evacuated, authorities said.

Since then, several provinces have instituted quarantines for arrivals from Danang, and the dragnet has already turned up positive cases. A waiter at a pizzeria in Hanoi tested positive for the coronavirus after visiting Danang with his family, local news media reported. On Wednesday, the pizzeria was sprayed down with disinfectant by workers in protective gear, according to a video released by local news media.

In the Central Highlands, a 21-year-old woman who had been studying in Danang and returned home by car also tested positive.

In Danang, a normally bustling city popular with tourists and traders alike, restaurants and bars are closed. Face masks are mandatory again. With holiday swimming in the sea banned by local authorities, the city’s famous beaches were deserted Wednesday, residents said.

“My family and I are not in the area where people are infected, but I am very worried,” said Le Thi Thuy Vi, a grocer in Danang. “I decided today that the whole family should stay at home.”

As the coronavirus began radiating out from the Chinese city of Wuhan in January, Vietnam, which shares a border and a governing ideology with China but remains wary of its northern neighbor, moved swiftly. The country had learned from previous outbreaks of novel contagions, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and H1N1 influenza.

By late January, Vietnam had shut its schools.

A bureaucracy well-equipped to track the local

populace turned its attention to comprehensive contact tracing. Most Vietnamese, already conditioned to wearing face masks because of air pollution, saw the value in protecting themselves from airborne viral droplets.

After a woman returned from the fashion shows in Europe and helped to spread the coronavirus at home, Vietnam stopped nearly all international flights in March, and returning nationals have to undergo quarantine in government facilities.

With no clarity as to the source of the outbreak in Danang, which has infected at least 26 people there, medical authorities were racing to figure out how cases were proliferating in a supposedly closed country.

The health ministry said that the strain of virus detected in Danang is different from ones that circulated during the earlier round of local transmission.

“This is imported,” said Nga, the public health expert at Quang Trung University. “A virus cannot survive for three months in a community without causing illness.”

Nga said he thought the virus likely arrived in Vietnam in late June or early July.

In Danang, police fanned out across the city, trying to locate outsiders who might have brought the virus with them. On Saturday, police apprehended nine Chinese nationals who had sneaked into Vietnam illegally, local authorities said. Dozens more Chinese who had entered the country illegally were nabbed earlier this month in central Vietnam. A Chinese man, whom police said had set up an illegal immigration network, was arrested Monday.

The Chinese who were caught were either put in quarantine camps or isolated in hospitals, police said.

Across Vietnam, hospitals were getting beds ready to handle a rise in cases. Nga noted that ventilators and other equipment needed in the fight against the coronavirus are limited in Vietnam.

People, he said, had become complacent.

“After 100 days with no outbreaks, people weren’t taking precautions anymore,” Nga said.

“They weren’t wearing masks or cleaning their hand with soap. People were going to crowded places.”

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

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16 EDITORIAL SEMANA, INC • Jueves, 30 de julio de 2020 July 31-August 2, 2020

Primarias 2020 Discípula de Miranda Marín

The San Juan Daily Star

Adelante para el Senado por Humacao – Caguas Nina Valedón, joven cagüeña que comenzó su carrera de la mano del fenecido Alcalde de Caguas, William Miranda Marín, figura con el #4 en la primaria popular para el Senado por el Distrito de Humacao–Caguas. Valedón fue Asistente del Alcalde y Presidenta de la Juventud Popular de Caguas bajo Miranda Marín.

“Don William fue mi mentor. Su ejemplo de excelencia, arrojo y entrega al servicio me inspiraron como joven y me sirven de guía. Así como él transformó la Ciudad con la gente, yo quiero que la gente del Distrito de Humacao, transformemos la región en un lugar de oportunidades para todos. Para eso vamos a fortalecer municipios y comunidades. Trabajaremos un Plan Regional de Desarrollo Social y Económico Sostenible, donde cada grupo participe y las diferentes visiones sirvan para convertir los retos en oportunidades para todos. Estoy convencida de que si el Distrito de Humacao es la primera región del País en organizar sus servicios al ciudadano y su economía, seremos la región más próspera y con mejor calidad de vida.”

Valedón, quien fue Portavoz Alterno de la Legislatura Municipal de Caguas y posteriormente Ayudante del Alcalde William Miranda Torres, recibió una Beca Especial de Mérito en Brown University, siendo la primera puertorriqueña en ser aceptada en uno de los mejores programas

de Maestría en Asuntos Públicos de los Estados Unidos.

“Luego de haber estudiado Derecho y trabajado en Caguas sentía que había más que aprender. Fui a Brown con la meta de traer conocimientos nuevos para mi región.

Visité India y varios estados, y vi proyectos que pueden ser exitosos en Puerto Rico, como la Corte Comunitaria de Harlem donde la comunidad y los jueces trabajan juntos para que las personas que salen de la cárcel logren re integrarse a la comunidad de manera positiva”, resaltó la también líder cívica de Caguas.

Estando en Estados Unidos Valedón se integró a la campaña de Hillary Clinton a la Presidencia en 2016. Allí trabajó directamente con la diáspora boricua en la Florida.

“En Florida pude ver que para muchos puertorriqueños ya no había esperanza en la isla, y pude entender por qué preferían dar luchas difíciles en suelo ajeno a quedarse acá. Viendo eso recordé mucho mi historia familiar, como mi abuela de Patillas venció la pobreza extrema gracias a los proyectos del Partido Popular. Volví a mi región y decidí aspirar al Senado. Por eso insisto en que tenemos que ser la fuerza de cambio que traiga oportunidades para todos. Yo estoy en la política no por tradición sino por convicción, porque estoy segura de que la política bien utilizada puede cambiar la vida de las personas.

Valedón cuenta con el respaldo de numerosos líderes del PPD, incluyendo a 9 de los 10 alcaldes y presidentes municipales del Distrito Senatorial, entre el liderato cagüeño se destacan el Alcalde William Miranda Torres, los representantes Jesús Santa y Conny Varela, el senador Jose Luis Dalmau, el Presidente de la Legislatura Municipal José Torres Torres, y el Ex Vicealcalde Wilfredo Puig.

The San Juan Daily Star

Primarias 2020

“A la Asamblea Legislativa se viene a trabajar, no a improvisar ni politiquear”

Con esta afirmación, el representante del Distrito 31 de Caguas y Gurabo, Jesús Santa Rodríguez, ha enmarcado su trayectoria en el servicio público como legislador.

Desde su incursión en el escenario público como funcionario electo en 2012, Santa Rodríguez ha asumido la presidencia de varias comisiones y encomiendas abarcadoras desde la Asamblea Legislativa que han tenido impacto dentro de su distrito y en todo el país, ganándose el respeto y reconocimiento de sus constituyentes y de la gente de toda la isla.

Su desempeño como funcionario público no comenzó cuando fue electo representante. Desde 1997, y durante trece años, fue legislador de Caguas, ocupando la portavocía de la mayoría parlamentaria de este cuerpo legislativo municipal, adelantando el plan de trabajo que impulsó el alcalde William Miranda Marín para la ciudad criolla.

Desde su escaño en Caguas, trabajó junto a Miranda Marín, gestor de muchos de los logros que catapultaron a la Ciudad Criolla hacia una era de gran desarrollo económico y social, impulsando una agenda enfocada en la creación de política pública para darle apoderamiento a la gente, ayudando a las comunidades a identificar soluciones a las necesidades específicas en colaboración con el gobi-

erno municipal, a través de programas dirigidos a la autogestión y la gobernanza democrática.

Bajo el mandato del actual alcalde William Miranda Torres, fungió como su Ayudante Ejecutivo para dar continuidad al emblemático Proyecto C3Tec, que abrió un espacio para nuestros niños y jóvenes con énfasis en el estudio de la ciencia y la tecnología.

Santa Rodríguez no solo ha dedicado muchos años de su vida al servicio público. Como ingeniero químico egresado del Recinto de Universitario de Mayagüez de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, se abrió paso en la industria farmacéutica donde fue gerente en áreas específicas de la manufactura de productos farmacológicos.

Esta jornada profesional está complementada por su liderato en varias áreas de voluntariado, entre ellas: miembro de la Comisión de Seguridad en el Tránsito, en representación de la juventud; miembro del Consejo de la Industria Privada del Consorcio Caguas Guayama; miembro de la Junta Asesora de la Escuela de Ingeniería de la Universidad del Turabo; presidente del Club de Natación de Caguas, logrando tres campeonatos y un subcampeonato en 2006; presidente del Comité de Polo Acuático de Puerto Rico, logrando Medalla de Oro en los Juegos Centroamericanos en su primera incumbencia; y Vicepresidente de la Federación de Natación de Puerto Rico, entre otra actividades dentro de varias Organizaciones No Gubernamentales.

El compromiso de Santa Rodríguez es continuar luchando por la equidad y el bienestar de toda la gente de Caguas y Gurabo desde la Asamblea Legislativa, garantizado por una trayectoria intachable de respeto en el servicio público, colaborando con todos los miembros de la Asamblea Legislativa, gracias a la colaboración con Secretarios, compañeros legisladores, alcaldes y otros funcionarios, sin importar su ideología política. Para dar continuidad a una representación de altura en la Cámara de Representantes, este 9 de agosto vota por Jesús Santa Rodríguez.

July 31-August 2, 2020

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EDITORIAL SEMANA, INC • Jueves, 30 de julio de 2020

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July 31-August 2, 2020 18 EDITORIAL SEMANA, INC • Jueves, 30 de julio de 2020

Primarias 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Charlie Delgado: Propone gobernar para transformar

El precandidato a la gobernación y vicepresidente del Partido Popular Democrático, Charlie Delgado Altieri, expresó sentirse confiado en que el pueblo le otorgará el mandato para gobernar a Puerto Rico y de esta forma iniciar lo que ha denominado una segunda transformación del país.

“Puerto Rico necesita una segunda transformación. No es solo una frase de campaña: es la realidad. La gente lo sabe, no podemos continuar el rumbo que llevamos. Más criminalidad, falta de acción ante la pandemia, menos atenciones médicas para la gente y una corrupción en niveles nunca vistos. El dinero que se supone le llegue a la gente no llega porque la mala administración del gobierno PNP y una clase política que representa más de lo mismo, permite que la corrupción nos robe ese país de oportunidades y de desarrollo económico, social y moral en el que todos aspiramos vivir”, expuso Delgado Altieri.

Sobre las razones que lo llevaron a aspirar a la candidatura a la gobernación por el PPD, Delgado Altieri, quien prefiere ser llamado por su apodo “Charlie”, dijo: “Luego de haber servido como alcalde durante 20 años, de haber logrado en Isabela el mayor superávit de todos los municipios y de que nuestra administración sea reconocida como una transparente y de alta calidad, quiero ser gobernador para lograr una transformación en la administración pública. Para establecer un nuevo paradigma, que lleve al gobierno más cerca de las necesidades de la gente y que permita encarrilarnos en un desarrollo económico que beneficie a todas las regiones del país”.

“Nuestro pueblo ha enfrentado los huracanes, terremotos y la pandemia y, como si eso no fuera suficiente, hemos tenido que sufrir los desastres ocasionados por la insensibilidad de quienes han estado al mando del gobierno durante estos cuatro años. Hemos tenido que vivir en un país cuyo gobierno carece de estructura, empatía y de sana administración. En arroz y habichuelas: un gobierno al garete”, afirmó Delgado Altieri.

Sobre sus propuestas, Charlie Delgado dijo: “Esta segunda transformación va a atacar de inmediato el germen que ha

destruido el buen nombre de Puerto Rico: la corrupción gubernamental y el guiso con los contratos. Para ello vamos a contar con una estructura operacional que estará monitoreando de principio a fin los contratos gubernamentales, mayores de cinco millones de dólares, para evitar los desastres administrativos y la corrupción rampante que hemos visto durante este cuatrienio”.

“Además transformaremos uno de los pilares de la sociedad: el sistema de educación. Yo no creo en privatizar las escuelas públicas ni la UPR. Estudié en escuela pública y me gradué de la UPR. Creo en el sistema Montesori y estaremos implementándolo en todo el país. El presupuesto del Departamento de Educación es de casi cuatro mil millones de dólares, ese dinero lo vamos a administrar bien para que llegue al salón de clases, al maestro, al estudiante y a sus necesidades, no se repartirá en contratos para unos pocos como ocurre actualmente. En cuanto a la UPR: reestructuraremos la fórmula actual, para asegurarnos que los recursos lleguen a los recintos. Así devolveremos a la universidad los cientos de millones de dólares que se le han quitado durante los pasados años. Es imposible adelantar como sociedad sin un sistema educativo robusto y eficaz”, enfatizó Charlie Delgado.

Otra área de importancia que incluye Delgado Altieri en sus prioridades son el desarrollo económico y los municipios. “Aquí hay una realidad: los municipios son la primera línea de servicio y atención al ciudadano tanto en el día a día como ante emergencias como las que hemos tenido que enfrentar.

Propongo dotar a los municipios de las herramientas que ahora no tienen, para ser más efectivos y rápidos en servicios que hoy están en manos del gobierno central y lamentablemente no son de la calidad que

merece nuestra gente. Además, nuestra propuesta de desarrollo económico tiene un elemento muy importante y es que fomentaremos polos de desarrollo económico en las distintas regiones del país, de esta forma provocaremos movimiento social y económico en toda la isla, enfatizando en los atractivos, beneficios y potencial de cada región del país para desarrollarlos en favor de la gente”.

En cuanto al tema de salud dijo, “Creo en un sistema de salud universal que le brinde cubierta médica a los sobre 300,000 puertorriqueños que hoy no cualifican para el plan de salud del gobierno, pero que tampoco pueden pagar uno privado. Y además hay que poner en manos de los médicos las determinaciones médicas y no en manos de las aseguradoras como ocurre ahora, que se le niegan los tratamientos y medicamentos a la gente por razones puramente económicas. Eso lo vamos a transformar también”.

Sobre la seguridad, Charlie Delgado aseguró que eliminará el Departamento de Seguridad Pública (DSP), “El DSP no funciona. Dotaremos de tecnología y mayores recursos a los policías y demás miembros del componente de seguridad del país. Pero soy creyente de que a través de una buena base y educación podemos evitar que los jóvenes caigan en los caminos de la criminalidad y el bajo mundo, así que por ahí también atacaremos la criminalidad: educando y formando ciudadanos de bien”.

Finalmente dijo, “Está en las manos de cada ciudadano seleccionar a las personas que van a dirigir el país. Le pido a los que no dejen que otros decidan por ellos: hay que salir a votar, primero en la primaria el 9 de agosto y luego en la elección general en noviembre. Yo propongo una segunda transformación del país, mi gobierno será uno sensible a las necesidades de nuestra gente, es necesario cambiar el rumbo de Puerto Rico, pido tu confianza para juntos transformar nuestra patria.”

The San Juan Daily Star

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July 31-August 2, de 2020 EDITORIAL SEMANA, INC • Jueves, 30 de julio 2020

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July 31-August 2, 2020 20 EDITORIAL SEMANA, INC • Jueves, 30 de julio de 2020

Por una Cámara de Representantes recta, de oportunidades para las mujeres y comprometida con la familia

The San Juan Daily Star

Primarias 2020

Aspira a ser primera mujer Representante en su Distrito 35

Seré la primera mujer en ocupar ese escaño con el favor de Dios

Anuncio político pagado por Comité Amigos Sol Higgins

Sol Yamiz Higgins Cuadrado, es hija de Juan M. Higgins ex alcalde, y Gerardina Cuadrado enfermera, que en paz descansen. Tiene 43 años, madre de Alexsia de 9 años, y Alexis Miguel de 3 años. Actualmente es ayudante del alcalde en el CDT de Humacao. Los temas de más relevancia en su campaña son la salud y la familia, enfocándose en las personas de la tercera edad que viven solos para que tengan una vida digna. “Con la pandemia hemos vivido días muy difíciles y no he dejado de trabajar ni un solo día. He estado ahí para las familia del distrito, en estos momentos. Trabajaré por la familia del distrito así como lo hago por la mía.

Soy administradora de profesión con un bachillerato en administración y 18 años de experiencia, he manejado presupuestos y nunca he tenido un señalamiento” categorizó Higgins.

Entre su experiencia laboral se encuentra: 2003-Programa Federal Welfare to Work Consorcio Surese.

2004-Programa Ayuda a jóvenes universitarios próximos a graduarse, Oficina Asuntos de la Juventud y Directora del Programa de Jóvenes del Consorcio Sureste.

2005-Directora Oficina Central del Consorcio AL Sureste Humacao.

2013-Ayudante Especial del Alcalde Marcelo Trujillo Panisse, en el Centro se Diagnóstico y Tratamiento CDT Humacao.

La Dra. Keren Riquelme aparecerá en dos papeletas en las primarias del Partido Nuevo Progresista En las primarias del 9 de agosto, la Dra. Keren Riquelme hace historia al aparecer en dos papeletas, ocupa el número 7 en la contienda para Senadores por Acumulación y es la única mujer en la papeleta para llenar la vacante del exsenador, Larry

Seilhamer en el Senado, por el Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP).

La Dra. Keren Riquelme ha sido catedrática asociada de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, conferencista y activista en favor de las comunidades desventajadas, de los adultos mayores, y de la niñez. Es la autora del libro: Tus Palabras se hacen camino y Mujer por qué lloras. Se describe así misma como una mujer de familia, de valores cristianos, sensible y de carácter probado.

Creyente en la estadidad para Puerto Rico como vehículo de justicia social, Riquelme ha visitado junto a su familia el Congreso de Estados Unidos para cabildear en reclamo de la igualdad para los residentes en la isla. De igual modo, participó activamente en la mesa por la Democracia en la Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA). Dicha participación produjo la redacción de un Manifiesto por la Estadidad presentado en Asamblea General de la OEA celebrada en Washington D.C.

The San Juan Daily Star

Hija del fenecido alcalde de Humacao, Marcelo Trujillo Panisse corre por un escaño en el Senado Rosamar Trujillo Plumey, hija del fenecido alcalde de Humacao, Marcelo Trujillo Panisse corre por el escaño del Senado por el Distrito de Humacao. Tras la salida de José Luis Dalmau por el Distrito y correr por acumulación, dejó la vacante abierta. Rosamar Trujillo decide correr para rescatar nuevamente el Distrito de Humacao, un distrito que por mucho tiempo estuvo dominado por el Partido Popular Democrático. Rosamar viene de una familia de servidores públicos, su padre el fenecido alcalde de Humacao, Don Marcelo Trujillo Panisse que estuvo en la poltrona municipal por 19 años. Rosamar tiene una maestría en Trabajo Social, como servidora pública lleva alrededor de 20 años. Dentro de sus planes propone legislación para la descentralización de servicios en el gobierno central, pasando los poderes y recursos a los municipios y sus alcaldes, “creo firmemente en la descentralización de servicios del gobierno central, los alcaldes son la primera linea de respuesta a los ciudadanos, lo hemos visto en huracanes, terremotos y ahora mismo en la pandemia. Los recursos tienen que estar accesibles a la gente y ellos son los que pueden hacer el trabajo directo con el pueblo” comento Trujillo Plumey.

Además propone legislación para crear mayores oportunidades para los jóvenes y legislación para mayores recursos a nuestros adultos mayores. “por muchos años he trabajado muy de cerca con jóvenes y adultos mayores, se de primera mano la necesidad en esa población, cuando gane las elecciones generales, trabajaré por ellos y para ellos, solo pido ese voto de confianza para lograr devolverle el respeto que ha perdido el Senado de Puerto Rico bajo la actual administración”.

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Primarias 2020

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The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

21

The tanned man has a green monster

By CHARLES M. BLOW

D

r. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease specialist and a leading voice in our battle against COVID-19, has gotten under Donald Trump’s skin.

He won’t lie to make Trump look better or cover for the lies Trump tells. He won’t paint a rosy portrait of our prospects during the pandemic or offer excuses for the Trump administration’s failed response and all the thousands of lives needlessly lost.

Fauci insists on following the science and telling the truth about it, and that means that the American people trust and respect him for it.

But, this — being more popular and well-regarded than Trump — is heresy in this White House. There is but one king in that palace and all his dogs wear his collars. In that conception, Fauci is off the leash.

Trump is a man ruled by jealousies and insecurities.

In his mind he is the greater, the best, the supreme, even when he obviously is not. All of which presents him with an ever recurring quandary: How precisely is it that a lying, lecherous, anti-intellectual grifter doesn’t enjoy the same high standing as the honorable and the honest, the well-read and well-behaved?

Tuesday, Trump bemoaned aloud the fact that Fauci enjoys a higher public approval rating than his own, even though as Trump put it: “He’s working for this administration.

He’s working with us, John. We could have gotten other people. We could have gotten somebody else. It didn’t have to be Dr. Fauci.”

So, if Trump isn’t high enough to stand shoulder to shoulder, he’ll do his best to cut you off at the knees.

The Trump administration has tried to undermine Fauci and has even attacked him. Trump himself has openly undercut Fauci and questioned his judgment.

Trump’s jealousies are so petty that when Fauci threw out the first pitch at Major League Baseball’s opening day at Nationals Park, Trump lied and said that he had been invited to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium on Aug. 15.

As this newspaper reported: “There was one problem: Mr. Trump had not actually been invited on that day by the Yankees, according to one person with knowledge of Mr. Trump’s schedule. His announcement surprised both Yankees officials and the White House staff.”

Fauci is now in danger of being lumped into Trump’s envelope of envy, the same place in which Trump has placed Barack Obama, a space in which you must endure Trump’s endless attacks because you are something that he could never be: an accomplished person who is also decent.

Obama attended Occidental College, Columbia and Harvard. Trump in one breath cast doubt that Obama actually attended those schools, saying, “The people that went to school with him, they never saw him, they don’t know

President Trump and Dr. Anthony Fauci during a press conference in the Rose Garden in March. who he is,” and also suggesting that Obama wasn’t smart enough to go to those schools, saying: “I heard he was a terrible student, terrible. How does a bad student go to Columbia and then to Harvard?”

Apparently Mary Trump, the president’s niece, may know the answer to a similar question. Trump has touted his attendance of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School as “super genius stuff,” but not only did the admission officer who interviewed Trump tell The Washington Post: “I certainly was not struck by any sense that I’m sitting before a genius. Certainly not a super genius.” But also, Mary Trump writes in her recently published book: “Donald worried that his grade-point average, which put him far from the top of his class, would scuttle his efforts to get accepted. To hedge his bets he enlisted Joe Shapiro, a smart kid with a reputation for being a good test taker, to take his SATs for him.”

There is no way to independently verify the claim, but it would most certainly jibe with Trump’s lifelong record of fraudulence and fakery.

By the way, in 2017 The Daily Pennsylvanian published an article titled “Many of Trump’s Wharton classmates don’t remember him,” that included this passage: “Out of the 269 people The Daily Pennsylvanian contacted while researching this story, 74 of Trump’s classmates responded. Sixty-eight of those alumni said they had never encountered Trump at Penn. Four shared classes with him and two declined to comment.”

As is usual from the king of projection: That for which he condemns another is often an indictment of self.

Trump, who falsely claimed to have written his book

“The Art of the Deal,” (it was actually ghostwritten by Tony Schwartz), has accused Obama of having his book “Dreams of My Father” ghostwritten by Obama’s friend Bill Ayers, a white man. As Trump put it: “Bill Ayers was a super-genius. And a lot of people have said he wrote the book. Well recently, as you know last week, Bill Ayers came out and said he did write the book. Barack Obama wouldn’t be president — and, you know, I wrote many bestsellers, and also, No. 1 bestsellers, including ‘The Art of the Deal.’ So I know something about writing. And I want to tell you, the guy that wrote the first book didn’t write the second book.”

Obama received a Nobel Peace Prize; Trump desperately wanted the same recognition and claims that the only reason he hasn’t gotten it is that the awarding system is rigged against him.

Trump’s jealousy of Obama is now legendary. Trump’s entire presidency is a stand against Obama’s legacy, to knock it down, to erase it.

And when the history is written about America’s response to the pandemic, the story will have two leading men, Fauci and Trump, one in the right and one in the wrong, one working to save lives and one needlessly costing them.

Fauci will be the hero and Trump the villain. This is a Trump nightmare, a logical impossibility. He simply can’t see it this way because as writer Christopher Vogler once wrote, “a villain is the hero of his own myth.”

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July 31-August 2, 2020

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Representante pide ayuda al gobierno central ante situación precaria en Mayagüez Por THE STAR

S

obre 70 sectores de Mayagüez no tienen el servicio eléctrico y cientos de personas están incomunicadas ante sendas inundaciones en sectores urbano y rurales. Ante este panorama, la representante Maricarmen Mas Rodríguez solicitó el jueves al gobierno central que envíe a esta ciudad, y de manera expedita, brigadas de agencias como los departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas y Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, al igual que de la Autoridad de Energía Eléc-

trica (AEE) para atender la crisis.

“Mayagüez ha sufrido mucho el paso de este fenómeno atmosférico. En estos momentos, tenemos unos 70 sectores de nuestra ciudad sin servicio eléctrico. Existen múltiples comunidades bajo agua ante las inundaciones causadas por esta fuerte onda tropical y muchos caminos municipales, al igual que carreteras estatales, cerrados por deslizamiento de terrenos. Por eso, estamos pidiendo que se despache para Mayagüez, de forma urgente, brigadas de DTOP y otras agencias para ayudar con los trabajos de re-

Globo de Jayuya queda destruido por el viento de la tormenta Isaías Por THE STAR

E

l globo de Jayuya resultó destruido por el viento de la tormenta Isaías, confirmó el alcalde de ese pueblo, Georgie González, en un Facebook Live.

El globo ha sido un atractivo turístico en Jayuya, atrayendo gente que auspicia la economía municipal.

“Queremos notificar que a consecuencia de los fuertes vientos aquí en el barrio Mameyes, Cerro Cumbre Alta (donde se encuentra el globo), tenemos la mala noticia de que el globo desapareció” dijo el primer ejecutivo municipal.

El globo opera desde hace más de dos años. La compra e instalación del aparato ascendió a unos $1.5 millones.

cuperación”, señaló la representante en comunicación escrita.

La legisladora del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP) discutió la precaria situación esta mañana con el presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Carlos ‘Johnny’ Méndez Núñez.

Entre los sectores sin electricidad se encuentran Aguilar Arriba, los barrios Algarrobo, Bateyes, Cambalache. El Seco, La Quinta, Miradero, Naranjales, Quemado, Río Canas Abajo, Leguisamo, Consumo y Dulces Labios, entre otros.

Según explicó la también presidenta de la Comisión para el Desarrollo Integrado de la Región Oeste, los sectores de Trastalleres, Buena Vista, Río Hondo, entre otros, en Mayagüez están seriamente afectado por inundaciones que, en algunos casos, superan los cuatro pies de profundidad.

Mientras que áreas un poco más rurales, sectores completos están casi sin comunicación ante el cierre de carreteras y caminos.

“Ahora mismo tenemos muchas familias incomunicadas por grandes deslizamientos de terrenos en áreas como el Barrio Quebrada Grande, donde residen sobre 5,500 personas. Sectores a lo largo de la carretera estatal PR-349 también están sufriendo profundos deslizamientos. Es una situación muy difícil para cientos de nuestros residentes.

Esto, sin decir nada de las residencias que se han pedido a consecuencia de estos deslizamientos y las fuertes lluvias. Eso estamos ahora contabilizando los daños. Estamos en la calle verificando y evaluando, pero esto es fuerte”, añadió Mas Rodríguez.

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

23

The Go-Go’s made history 38 years ago. There’s still more to their story.

By LINDSAY ZOLADZ

I

n March 1982, “Beauty and the Beat” — that classic, effervescent, catch-a-wave-of-pink-champagne debut by Los Angeles band the Go-Go’s — made history: It became the first record by an all-female group who wrote its own songs and played its own instruments to hit No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. Thirty-eight years later, it’s hard to decide what’s more of a shock: that it took so long to happen or that it hasn’t happened since.

“People automatically assume we were probably put together by some guy,” lead singer Belinda Carlisle said in Alison Ellwood’s spirited new documentary “The Go-Go’s,” which airs on Showtime this weekend. “But we did it all ourselves.”

Of course, the Go-Go’s were hardly the music industry’s first commercially dominant girl group (with their dozen No. 1 singles, the Supremes rivaled the Beatles’ popularity in the mid1960s), nor were they the first gang of guitar-slinging women to “do it all themselves” (hippie-rockers Fanny and British punks the Slits were just a few of the feminist-minded bands forging disparate paths in the 1970s). But the Go-Go’s fused those two impulses together most seamlessly for mass consumption. “Beauty and the Beat” was, in the words of bassist Kathy Valentine, “a pop record with a punk rock ethic.”

The “pop” part of the Go-Go’s equation is what’s stayed freshest in our cultural imagination, thanks to the glistening sheen of timeless, still-ubiquitous tunes like “Our Lips Are Sealed,” “We Got the Beat” and “Vacation.” (They were the soundtrack to a Broadway musical in 2018.) What’s compelling about Ellwood’s documentary, though, is how thoroughly it excavates the group’s early punk bona fides.

“There never would have been the Go-Go’s without the punk rock scene in Los Angeles,” guitarist Jane Wiedlin said, placing the group within the context of local peers like X, Bags and the Eyes (the band that a mop-topped blonde named Charlotte Caffey would eventually leave to join the Go-Go’s.) While honing their chops, the Go-Go’s toured the United Kingdom opening for underground heroes Madness and the Specials, braving the jeers and spit of angry skinheads. When we first meet Carlisle in the doc, she’s not wearing cheery MTV-ready pastels but a caustic-Elvis sneer and a plastic garbage bag as a dress.

Caffey was “terrified” when she first brought the group a demo tape of a little ditty she’d written called “We Got the Beat”: “I was thinking, man, these girls are going to throw me out of this band, because it was a pop song.” But her bandmates knew a great tune when they heard one, and the track’s aerodynamic momentum perfectly matched the Go-Go’s increasingly skyward ambitions. (The film is a treasure trove of archival footage; one memorable clip shows Carlisle singing an early, punky version of “We Got the Beat” in a dingy club and taunting the crowd to dance: “Come on, don’t be too cool.”)

Plenty of journalists fixated on the creation myth that the Go-Go’s “couldn’t play their instruments” when they started out — though the same sort of scrappy, do-it-yourself energy was often seen as a sign of authenticity for male punk bands.

And it wasn’t entirely true: Caffey was an accomplished multiinstrumentalist who’d studied classical piano in college; tough-

From left: Belinda Carlisle, Kathy Valentine, Charlotte Caffey, Gina Schock and Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s a few years after “Beauty and the Beat” made history. talking Baltimore transplant Gina Schock — the group’s insistent, thumping heartbeat — was a drummer to be reckoned with from the day she joined the band.

“The genuine exuberance of our music gave people an escape and a respite from the meanness and greed defining the era,” Valentine wrote in her excellent recent memoir “All I Ever Wanted,” with the crisp clarity of cultural hindsight. In their casually charismatic music videos, the Go-Go’s offered the allure of rakish, why-so-serious fun. (“We Got the Beat” had the cosmic luck of coming out a month before MTV went on the air.) Their take on gender equality meant not only playing and writing just as well as the guys but partying as hard (or harder) than they did, too. At their most bacchanalian, one inebriated Go-Go received the dubious honor of being kicked out of Ozzy Osbourne’s Rock in Rio dressing room — no small feat.

Ellwood, to her credit, doesn’t avert her eyes from the uglier parts of the Go-Go’s story, like the firing of founding bassist Margot Olavarria, a dyed-in-the-wool punk who objected to the band’s increasingly polished, melodic sound. “It wasn’t just about the music; it was the sense of being packaged into a product,” Olavarria recalls. “It was becoming less about art and more about money.”

Prophetic words. What plenty of people found most “empowering” about the Go-Go’s — they write their own songs! — created, behind the scenes, a complicated power imbalance that accelerated the band’s collapse. Because Caffey, Wiedlin and Valentine were the group’s primary songwriters, their share of

the profits were considerably larger than Carlisle’s or Schock’s.

That’s probably what motivated Carlisle to pull the biggest power move she could muster: going solo.

“I’ve wondered many times how it would have been if part of the whole deal had been to keep everyone happy,” Valentine wrote in her book. If the group had contributions from all members, “we could have supported each other and granted space for each of us to grow instead of confining ourselves to a formula with a limited shelf life.”

But the same personal chemistry that fueled the group’s rocket ship ascent is also what made them combustible. Since that first split in 1985, the Go-Go’s have broken up and reformed more times than the documentary has time to chronicle. Most recently, Valentine parted ways with the group in 2012, but she’s back in the fold now. The beat goes on.

Why hasn’t another all-female band matched the heights of the group’s mainstream success? The persistence of sexism and double standards are the most obvious answers. But maybe the young girl-rockers that the Go-Go’s inspired also learned from their travails and sought something brasher and thus less compromising than top-of-the-world success.

At one point in “The Go-Go’s,” Kathleen Hanna, a riot grrrl instigator and incendiary frontwoman of feminist punk band Bikini Kill, remembers attending a Go-Go’s concert in 1982. “As a young girl,” she said, “going into a space where women owned the stage and owned it unapologetically, like they were born to be there — to me, it represented a moment of possibility.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

Of Wine, hand gel and heartbreak

Hit by the coronavirus and the Trump tariffs, French vintners have had to send their excess wine off to another life.

By ADAM NOSSITER

T

he tanker-truck pulled up, and it was time to let it go. The decision to send the wine to the distillery had been made weeks ago. It still hurt. Soon the wine would be sanitizing hand gel.

“We’ve got to load it up now,” said Jérôme Mader, a 38-yearold winemaker, muttering to himself. “OK, I am not even going to think about it anymore,” he said quietly. “It’s over.”

Head down, he dragged the hoses out through his shed, affixed them to the truck’s valves with the help of the driver, walked up to his cool cellar and turned on the pumps. The wine — good Alsace white wine, drinkable wine — coursed through the hoses and into the truck’s belly. Its fate didn’t bear thinking about.

Across the emerald Alsace wine country, now carpeted in deep-green vines — and across France’s other wine regions as well — thousands of winemakers, famous and obscure, are facing similar moments of heartbreak.

The economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus, combined with the Trump administration’s 25% tax on French wines in the trade war dispute with Europe, has collapsed the wine market.

Mader, whose high-quality rieslings and Gewürztraminers

are sent to fancy restaurants and shops on both sides of the Atlantic, has lost half his sales since December.

“COVID is a catastrophe for us,” he said.

And so some of the succulent and subtle white wine for which this region is famous, nurtured on the stony, sunbathed Alsace slopes, will wind up as hand sanitizer.

Like other winemakers, Mader has no room in his cellar to stock unsold wine.

“We can’t keep stocking what we haven’t sold,” he said.

The precocious 2020 harvest, blessed by abundant sunshine, is barely a month away. The wine vats must be emptied for the new production. The distillery, for modest compensation, is the only option.

The driver from the distillery had been making the rounds of winemakers all morning.

“Some of them are taking this quite badly, because this wine has commercial value,” the driver, Lucas Neret, noted dryly.

“We’re producing more than we can sell,” said Thibaut Specht, a winemaker in nearby Mittelwihr. “We have no choice.”

Marion Borès’ family business, Domaine Borès, in Reichsfeld, is sending 30% of its production — 19,000 liters.

“It’s like you are saying goodbye to somebody who is very dear to you,” she said.

“This is not exactly the destination we had in mind when we made this wine,” the 27-year-old winemaker added.

The old wine is ending up in the towering steel silos of the nearby Romann distillery, where it will be boiled down to alcohol.

In Alsace alone, over 6 million liters of wine, or about 1.5 million gallons, will end up like this. Mader is sending 15% of his production, wine he calls “Edelzwicker,” or “noble blend” in Alsatian dialect. Usually sold wholesale, “it’s still pretty good,” Mader said.

At the distillery, the odor of boiled-down wine, like the essence of a rich beef burgundy sauce, hung heavy over the establishment on a warm morning this week.

“We’re continuously distilling,” said Erwin Brouard, the company’s director. “It’s something that’s very sad for the winemakers. Their stocks are too big. They’ve got to make space. And the harvest is early this year.”

The French government, anxious to protect its precious wine heritage, is subsidizing the operation, compensating the

some 5,000 winemakers who have signed up so far at a fraction of the wine’s value, less than $1 per liter, in what the government calls Crisis Distillation.

“My cellar is bursting, ”said Guillaume Klauss, who owns a nearby winery. “If I don’t send it off, I don’t eat. Clearly this is tearing me up. It’s three years of work, and we’re not even paid properly.”

Alsace is having to resort to Crisis Distillation for the first time in its history, although it is not unknown in other wine regions. The last time this happened was in 2009, after the financial collapse.

“A very big majority have been battered by this crisis,” said Francis Backert, head of the Independent Winemakers Association of Alsace. “These people are really hurting.”

“All the outlets are blocked,” he added. “Export is blocked.

Trump, COVID. There’s very little going on outside France. The American market, blocked.”

Wholesale wine traders are facing losses of 70%, he said.

But the monetary losses are one thing. There is also the psychological blow.

“Look, these people have a great deal of circumspection and shame,” Backert said. “They just don’t want to talk about it.

Obviously, this is breaking their heart.”

In his career, Mader has won prizes and has faced the opposite problem he has today — not having enough wine to satisfy demand.

“To have imagined, a few years ago, that a truck would be passing by one day … it’s unimaginable,” he said, his voice trailing off.

For days he put off making a decision about the distillery.

“I hesitated,” he said. “I thought we would get over it. I waited until the last day to decide. I always think the next day will be better.”

But the decision couldn’t be postponed; the government was pressing with its sign-up deadline.

Afterward, to console himself and colleagues, he said, “I called up a friend, and we drank a couple of bottles.”

“As long as the wine is good, there is always hope,” he added.

Orders have recently picked up, a little. Besides, “the grapes this year are truly magnificent,” he said.

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Demandados CIVIL NÚM.: AG2020CV00022.

SOBRE: CANCELACION DE PAGARE HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, El Presidente de los Estados Unidos, El Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico.

general de Puerto Rico. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial.pr/ sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal y notifique copia de la Contestación de la Demanda a las oficinas de CARDONA & MALDONADO LAW OFFICES, P.S.C. ATENCIÓN al Lcdo. David Cardona Dingui, P.O. Box 366221, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-6221; Tel (787) 622-7000, Fax (787) 625-7001, Abogado de la Parte Demandante, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, apercibiéndole que de no hacerlo así dentro del término indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su Rebeldía y dictar Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado sin más citarle(s) ni oírle(s).

EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y con el Sello del Tribunal. DADA hoy 22 de julio de 2020 en Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Sarahi Reyes Perez, Secretaria Regional. Arlene Guzman Pabon, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

A la parte co-demandada: LYDIA ESTHER DE JESUS GIRAUD FISICA: #141 (143) Calle R, Base Ramey (Residencial Punta Borinquen, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico 00603; y POSTAL: CMR 414, Box 245, Apo AE LEGAL NOTICE 09173-0003; ISLAND ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE FINANCE PUERTO PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE RICO, INC; FISICA Ave. PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN. Ponce De Leon, Edif PDL 7, San Juan, Puerto ACM CDGY VILN CFL LLC DEMANDANTE VS. Rico 00917; y POSTAL: JIMMY FUENTES #402 Calle Dresde Urb. FONSECA, SU ESPOSA Villa Borinquen San BLANCA IRIS DIAZ Juan, PR 00920-3709; PLAZA Y LA SOCIEDAD JOHN DOE Y RICHARD LEGAL DE BIENES ROE, demandados GANANCIALES desconocidos cuya COMPUESTA POR dirección se desconoce AMBOS; DORAL Se les notifica por este medio que en el caso del epígrafe se solicita MORTGAGE CORP.; la CANCELACION de un pagaré FULANO DE TAL Y extraviado a favor de Island FiSUTANA DE TAL COMO nance Puerto Rico, Inc., o a su POSIBLES TENEDORES orden, por la suma principal de DEL PAGARÉ Quince Mil Cuatrocientos Treinta y Cinco Dólares con Setenta y Un EXTRAVIADO Centavos ($15,435.71) intereses al quince (15%) por ciento anual, constituida mediante la escritura número Trescientos Sesenta y Cuatro (364) otorgada en Mayaguez, Puerto Rico el día trece (13) de septiembre de dos mil uno (2001) ante la Notario Susan Baez Dixon, inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 597 de Aguadilla, finca número 31,162, inscripción Tercera.

Este Tribunal ha ordenado que se le(s) cite a usted(es) por edicto que se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general. Pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se le emplaza por este Edicto que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria

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DEMANDADOS CIVIL NÚM.: BY2019CV06435.

SOBRE: CANCELACION DE HIPOTECA POR PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS.

A: FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DEL PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO URB. LEVITTOWN AT-12 CALLE LILLIAM TOA BAJA PR 00949.

DIRECCIÓN POSTAL: PO

Friday, July 31, 2020 BOX 50733, TOA BAJA PR 00950.

EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL POR LA PRESENTE se le emESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE plaza para que presente al triPUERTO RICO. bunal su alegación responsiva A: Omar Aguirre Cotto, dentro de los treinta (30) días Johanna Aguirre Cotto, de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose Fulano de Tal y Sutano el día del diligenciamiento. Usted de Tal como posibles deberá presentar su alegación herederos de nombres responsiva a través deI Sistema desconocidos de la Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al Sucesión de Ramouita cual puede acceder utilizan o la Cotto Guzmán, t/c/c siguiente dirección electrónica: Ramonita Cotto https://unired.ramajudicial.pr, salPOR LA PRESENTE, se les emvo que se represente por dereplaza y se les notifica que se ha cho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentado en la Secretaria de presentar su alegación responsieste Tribunal la Demanda del va en la secretaría del tribunal. caso del epígrafe solicitando la Si usted deja de presentar su ejecución de hipoteca y el cobro alegación responsiva dentro del de dinero relacionado al pagaré referido término, el tribunal podrá suscrito a favor de VIG Mortgage dictar sentencia en rebeldía en Corp, o a su orden, por la suma su contra y conceder el remeprincipal de $202,500.00, con dio solicitado en la demanda, o intereses computados sobre la cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el misma desde su fecha hasta su ejercicio de su sana discreción, total y completo pago a razón lo entiende procedente. Reprede la tasa de interés de 5.060% senta a la parte demandante, la anual, la cual será ajustada menrepresentación legal cuyo nom e, sualmente, obligándose adedirección y teléfono se consigna más al pago de costas, gastos de inmediato: y desembolsos del litigio, más BUFETE FORTUÑO & FORTUÑO honorarios de abogados en una FAS, C.S.P. suma de $20.250.00, equivalente LCDO. JUAN C. FORTUÑO FAS RUA NUM.: 11416 al 10% de la suma principal oriPO BOX 9300, SAN JUAN, PR 00908 ginal. Este pagaré fue suscrito TEL: 787- 751-5290, bajo el affidávit número 26,407 FAX: 787-751-6155 ante el notario José M. Biaggi E-MAIL: Junquera. Lo anterior surge de ejecuciones@fortuno-law.com la hipoteca constituida mediante Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del la escritura número 42 otorgada Tribunal, hoy 28 de abril de 2020. el 29 de febrero de 2012, ante el Lcda. Laura I Santa Sanchez, mismo notario público, inscrita al Sec Regional. Maria E. Collazo tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana, Febus, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal. finca número 5,380, inscripción 13ta. La Hipoteca Revertida graLEGAL NOTICE va la propiedad que se describe ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE a continuación: URBANA: Solar PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE marcado con el número diecioPRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE cho (18) del Bloque “AK” antes, SAN JUAN. ahora Calle Labrador número Reverse Mortgage Novecientos Cincuenta y Uno Funding, LLC (951) de la Urbanización CounDEMANDANTE VS. try Club, localizada en el Barrio Eudosio Aguirre Ruiz, Sabana Llana de Río Piedras, t/c/c Eudosio Aguirre, Puerto Rico, con un área de trescientos cuarenta y dos punto Sucesión de Ramonita treinta y siete (342.37) metros Cotto Guzmán, t/c/c cuadrados, en lindes por el NORTE, en quince (15.00) metros con Ramonita Cotto compuesta por Eudosio el solar diecinueve (19); por el SUR, en once punto cincuenta Aguirre Ruiz, t/c/c (11.50) metros con la Calle LaEudosio Aguirre, Omar brador ahora, antes Calle númeAguirre Cotto, Johanna ro Cincuenta y Ocho (58); por el Aguirre Cotto y Wanda ESTE, en veintitrés (23.00) mecon el solar diecisiete (17); Aguirre Cotto Fulano de tros por el OESTE, en diecinueve Tal y Sutano de Tal como punto cincuenta (19.50) metros posibles herederos de con la Calle Serpentario ahora, nombres desconocido; antes calle número Sesenta y Centro de Recaudación Cinco (65); y por el SUROESTE, en cinco punto cincuenta (5.50) de Ingresos Municipales; metros con la intersección de las y a los Estados Unidos de calles Cincuenta y Ocho (58) y Sesenta y Cinco (65). Contiene América. una casa residencial para una DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: SJ2019CV11630. familia. Finca número 5,380 insSOBRE: Cobro de Dinero y Eje- crita al folio 146 del tomo 124 cución de Hipoteca por la Vía Or- de Sabana Llana. Registro de la dinaria. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sec-

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

(787) 743-3346

25 ción V de San Juan. Se apercibe y advierte a ustedes como personas desconocidas, que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.jamajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. De no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, y notificar copia de la contestación de esta a la parte demandante por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención: Leda. Nicole Marie Cobb Vélez, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 00936-7308, Teléfono: 787-7586550, dentro de los próximos 60 días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle.

Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal hoy 31 de enero de 2020. Griselda Rodriguez Collado, Secretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de Yauco en Sabana Grande.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

DANIEL OLIVERAS TORRES

Demandado(a) Civil: YU2019CV00333. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: DANIEL OLIVERAS TORRES, P/C LCDA. GINA H. FERRER MEDINA

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 20 de julio de 2020, 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 DIEZ DIAS siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representado 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 TREINTA DIAS 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, el 24 de julio de 2020. En Yauco, Puerto Rico, el 24 de julio de 2020. LUZ M.CARABALLO GARCÍA, Secretaria Regional.

DELIA APONTE VELAZQUEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de CAGUAS ISRAEL MARRERO JR.

PR RECOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT JV, LLC Demandante v.

HECTOR GONZALEZ NIEVES H/N/C VIDEO CLUB AUTOMATICO

Demandado(a) Civil: CG2019CV03894. SALA: (704). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: HECTOR GONZALEZ NIEVES H/N/C VIDEO CLUB AUTOMATICO

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 27 de julio de 2020, 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 representado 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, el 27 de julio de 2020. En CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, el 27 de julio de 2020. CARMEN ANA PEREIRA ORTIZ, Secretaria Regional.

TERESITA VEGA GONZALEZ, Sec del Tribunal Conf I.

LEGAL NOTICE

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

SUCN DE EVANGELINA SALAS MARQUEZ, ETC

Demandado(a) Civil: SJ2020CV01398 (602).

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JIMMY ORTIZ SALAS como miembro de la SUCN DE EVANGELINA SALAS MARQUEZ, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE como herederos desconocidos de la SUCN DE DAVID ORTIZ SALAS Y JOHN DOE II Y RICHARD ROE II como herederos desconocidos de la SUCN DE JORGE ORTIZ SALAS

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 15 de julio de 2020, 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 representado 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, el 24 de julio de 2020. En TOA ALTA, Puerto Rico, el 24 de julio de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretaria Regional. f/ GLORIBELL VAZQUEZ MAYSONET, Sec del Tribunal Conf I.

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

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante v.

CUNA MUTUAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION, ET ALS

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Demandado(a) Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Civil: MZ2019CV02160. Sobre: Instancia Sala Superior de TOA CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ.

NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA ALTA. POR EDICTO.

A: CUNA MUTUAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 23 de julio de 2020, 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 representado 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, el 27 de julio de 2020. En MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, el 27 de julio de 2020. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, Secretaria Regional. f/ BETSY SANTIAGO GONZALEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

LUNA ACQUISITION, LLC Demandante v.

SANDRA LOPEZ LOPEZ

Demandado(a) Civil: SJ2018CV08328. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO ENMENDADA.

A: SANDRA LOPEZ LOPEZ, BRISAS DEL MAR A-18 CALLE 2 LUQUILLO PR 00773

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 22 de MAYO de 2020, 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 representado usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de

26 revisión o apelación dentro del COBRO DE DINERO, ETC. NOtérmino de 30 días contados a TIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA partir de la publicación por edic- POR EDICTO. to de esta notificación, dirijo a A: JIMMY ORTIZ SALAS usted esta notificación que se como miembro de la considerará hecha en la fecha SUCN DE EVANGELINA de la publicación de este edicSALAS MARQUEZ; to. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de JOHN DOE Y RICHARD este caso, el 24 de julio de 2020.

ROE como herederos En FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, el 24 desconocidos de la de julio de 2020. WANDA SEGUI SUCN DE DAVID ORTIZ REYES, Secretaria Regional. f/ LINDA I. MEDINA MEDINA, Se- SALAS Y JOHN DOE II Y cretaria Auxiliar.

RICHARD ROE II como

LEGAL NOTICE

herederos desconocidos de la SUCN DE JORGE ORTIZ SALAS

Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera (Nombre de las partes a las que se Instancia Sala Superior de CA- le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que susROLINA. cribe le notifica a usted que 15 PR RECOVERY AND de julio de 2020 , este Tribunal DEVELOPMENT JV, LLC. ha dictado Sentencia, SentenDemandante v. cia Parcial o Resolución en este ÁNGEL L. PÉREZ RIVERA caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos Y OTROS donde podrá usted enterarse Demandado(a) Civil: CE2019CV00124 (406). detalladamente de los términos Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. de la misma. Esta notificación se NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en POR EDICTO ENMENDADA. la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de A: ÁNGEL L. PÉREZ los 10 días siguientes a su notifiRIVERA E ISABEL cación. Y, siendo o representanALLENDE MITCHELL do usted una parte en el proce(Nombre de las partes a las que se dimiento sujeta a los términos de le notifican la sentencia por edicto) la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscrio Resolución, de la cual puede be le notifica a usted que el 27 establecerse recurso de revisión de JULIO de 2020, este Tribunal o apelación dentro del término ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia de 30 días contados a partir de Parcial o Resolución en este la publicación por edicto de esta caso, que ha sido debidamente notificación, dirijo a usted esta registrada y archivada en autos notificación que se considerará donde podrá usted enterarse dehecha en la fecha de la publitalladamente de los términos de cación de este edicto. Copia de la misma. Esta notificación se esta notificación ha sido archivapublicará una sola vez en un peda en los autos de este caso, con riódico de circulación general en fecha de 24 de JULIO de 2020. la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de En lOA ALTA , Puerto Rico, el 24 los (10) días siguientes a su notide julio de 2020. Lcda. Laura I. ficación. Y, siendo o representaSanta Sánchez, Secretaria Redo usted una parte en el procegional. Gloribell Vázquez Maysodimiento sujeta a los términos de net, Sec.del Trib.Conf.I la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede LEGAL NOTICE establecerse recurso de revisión ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE o apelación dentro del término de PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE 30 días contados a partir de la PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO publicación por edicto de esta noJUDICIAL DE MAYAGUEZ SALA tificación, dirijo a usted esta noSUPERIOR. tificación que se considerará heReverse Mortgage cha en la fecha de la publicación Funding, LLC de este edicto. Copia de esta noDEMANDANTE vs. tificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, el 27 de julio Sucesión de Herminia de 2020. En CAROLINA, Puerto Flores Lugo, t/c/c Rico, el 27 de julio de 2020. MAHerminia Flores RILYN APONTE RODRIGUEZ, Secretaria Regional. JANNETTE compuesta por Salvador RAMÍREZ BERNARD, Secretaria Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Auxiliar.

Flores, Fulano de Tal

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

SUCN DE EVANGELINA SALAS MARQUEZ, ETC

Demandado(a) Civil: TA2019CV01469. Sobre:

y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos; Sucesión de Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz, compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de

The San Juan Daily Star

Friday, July 31, 2020

nombres desconocidos, Centro de Recaudaciones Municipales; y a los Estados Unidos de América

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CB2019CV00279.

SOBRE: Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria. MANDAMIENTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. Por Cuanto: Se ha dictado en el presente caso la siguiente Orden: ORDEN. Examinada la demanda radicada por la parte demandante, la solicitud de interpelación contenida en la misma y examinados los autos del caso, el Tribunal le imparte su aprobación y en su virtud acepta la Demanda en el caso de epígrafe, así como la interpelación judicial de la parte demandante a los herederos del codemandado conforme dispone el Artículo 959 del Código Civil, 31 L.P .R.A. sec.

2787. Se Ordena a los herederos del causante a saber, Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, herederos de nombres desconocidos a que dentro del término legal de 30 días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia del causante Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores. Se le Apercibe a los herederos antes mencionados: (a) Que de no expresarse dentro del término de 30 días en tomo a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia la misma se tendrá por aceptada; (b) Que luego del transcurso del termino de 30 días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante y por consiguiente, responden por la cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. sec. 2785. Se Ordena a la parte demandante a que, en vista de que la sucesión del causante Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores incluyen como herederos a Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, como posibles herederos desconocidos, proceda a notificar la presente Orden mediante un edicto a esos efectos una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de la Isla de Puerto Rico DADA en Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 12 de febrero de 2020. Fdo. Efrain De Jesus Rodriguez, Juez Superior. Por Cuanto: Se le advierte a que dentro del término legal de 30 días contados a partir de la fecha de notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia del causante Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores. Por Orden del Honorable Juez de Primera Instancia de este Tribunal, expido el presente Mandamiento, bajo mi firma y sello oficial, en Maya-

guez, Puerto Rico hoy día 26 de febrero de 2020. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Sec Regional II. Gloria E. Acevedo Soto, Sec Auxiliar Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOT ICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MAYAGUEZ SALA SUPERIOR.

Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC DEMANDANTE vs.

Sucesión de Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos; Sucesión de Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz, compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos, Centro de Recaudaciones Municipales; y a los Estados Unidos de América

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CB2019CV00279.

SOBRE: Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria. MANDAMIENTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. Por Cuanto: Se ha dictado en el presente caso la siguiente Orden: ORDEN. Examinada la demanda radicada por la parte demandante, la solicitud de interpelación contenida en la misma y examinados los autos del caso, el Tribunal le imparte su aprobación y en su virtud acepta la Demanda en el caso de epígrafe, así como la interpelación judicial de la parte demandante a los herederos del codemandado conforme dispone el Artículo 959 del Código Civil, 31 L.P .R.A. sec.

2787. Se Ordena a los herederos del causante a saber, Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, herederos de nombres desconocidos a que dentro del término legal de 30 días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia del causante Salvador Ortiz Creitoff tic/e Salvador Ortiz, tic/e Salvadore Ortiz. Se le Apercibe a los herederos antes mencionados: (a) Que de no expresarse dentro del término de 30 días en tomo a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia la misma se tendrá por aceptada ; (b) Que luego del transcurso del termino de

30 días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante y por consiguiente, responden por la cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. sec. 2785. Se Ordena a la parte demandante a que, en vista de que la sucesión del causante Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz incluyen como herederos a Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, como posibles herederos desconocidos, proceda a notificar la presente Orden mediante un edicto a esos efectos una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de la Isla de Puerto Rico. DADA en Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 12 de febrero de 2020. Fdo. Efrain De Jesus Rodriguez, Juez Superior.

Por Cuanto: Se le advierte a que dentro del término legal de 30 días contados a partir de la fecha de notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia del causante Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz. Por Orden del Honorable Juez de Primera Instancia de este Tribunal , expido el presente Mandamiento, bajo mi firma y sello oficial, en Mayaguez , Puerto Rico hoy día 26 de febrero de 2020. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Sec Regional II. Gloria E. Acevedo Soto, Sec Auxiliar Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MA YAGUEZ SALA SUPERIOR.

Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC DEMANDANTE vs.

Sucesión de Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos; Sucesión de Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz, compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos, Centro de Recaudaciones Municipales; y a los Estados Unidos de América.

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CB2019CV00279.

SOBRE: Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS

DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos de la Sucesión de Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz

POR LA PRESENTE, se les emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaria de este Tribunal la Demanda del caso del epígrafe solicitando la ejecución de hipoteca y el cobro de dinero relacionado al pagaré suscrito a favor de The Money House, Inc., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $120,000.00, con intereses computados sobre la misma desde su fecha hasta su total y completo pago a razón de la tasa de interés de 4.613% anual, la cual será ajustada mensualmente, obligándose además al pago de costas, gastos y desembolsos del litigio, más honorarios de abogados en una suma de $12,000.00, equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original. Este pagaré fue suscrito bajo el affidávit número 1,948 ante el notario Dennise M. Llorens Alicea. Lo anterior surge de la hipoteca constituida mediante la escritura número 93 otorgada el 6 de julio de 2017, ante el mismo notario público, presentada al asiento 2017-082254-SG01 del sistema Karibe, finca número 8,393, Sección de San Germán.

La Hipoteca Revertida grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación: RUSTICA: Porción de terreno sita en el Barrio Miradero del término Municipal de Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de diez céntimas de cuerda.

En lindes por el NORTE, con terrenos de Alfredo Martínez; por el SUR, con la carretera número ciento dos (102); por el ESTE, con terrenos de Juan Soto Pérez; y por el OESTE, con un solar de Reinaldo Soto. Contiene una casa de bloques, madera y zinc y un garaje de hormigón. Finca número 8,393, inscrita al folio ochenta y dos (82) del tomo doscientos setenta y seis (276) de Cabo Rojo, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de San Germán. Se apercibe y advierte a ustedes como personas desconocidas, que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.jamajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del Tribunal. De no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, y notificar copia de la contestación

de esta a la parte demandante por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención : Lcda. Nicole Marie Cobb Vélez, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 009367308, Teléfono: 787-758-6550, dentro de los próximos 60 días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle.

Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal hoy 26 de febrero de 2020. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Secretaria Regional II. Gloria E Acevedo Soto, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MA YAGUEZ SALA SUPERIOR.

Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC DEMANDANTE vs.

Sucesión de Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos; Sucesión de Salvador Ortiz Creitoff t/c/c Salvador Ortiz, t/c/c Salvadore Ortiz, compuesta por Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos, Centro de Recaudaciones Municipales; y a los Estados Unidos de América.

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CB2019CV00279.

SOBRE: Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: Salvador Ortiz Flores, Billy Ortiz Flores, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos de nombres desconocidos de la Sucesión de Herminia Flores Lugo, t/c/c Herminia Flores

POR LA PRESENTE, se les emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaria de este Tribunal la Demanda del caso del epígrafe solicitando la

ejecución de hipoteca y el cobro de dinero relacionado al pagaré suscrito a favor de The Money House, Inc., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $120,000 .00, con intereses computados sobre la misma desde su fecha hasta su total y completo pago a razón de la tasa de interés de 4.613% anual, la cual será ajustada mensualmente, obligándose además al pago de costas, gastos y desembolsos del litigio, más honorarios de abogados en una suma de $12,000.00, equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original. Este pagaré fue suscrito bajo el affidávit número 1,948 ante el notario Dennise M. Llorens Alicea. Lo anterior surge de la hipoteca constituida mediante la escritura número 93 otorgada el 6 de julio de 2017, ante el mismo notario público, presentada al asiento 2017-082254- SGOl del sistema Karibe, finca número 8,393, Sección de San Germán.

La Hipoteca Revertida grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación : RUSTICA: Porción de terreno sita en el Barrio Miradero del término Municipal de Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de diez céntimas de cuerda.

En lindes por el NORTE, con terrenos de Alfredo Martínez ; por el SUR, con la carretera número ciento dos (102); por el ESTE, con terrenos de Juan Soto Pérez; y por el OESTE, con un solar de Reinaldo Soto. Contiene una casa de bloques, madera y zinc y un garaje de hormigón. Finca número 8,393, inscrita al folio ochenta y dos (82) del tomo doscientos setenta y seis (276) de Cabo Rojo, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de San Germán. Se apercibe y advierte a ustedes como personas desconocidas, que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica : https: // unired.jamajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. De no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, y notificar copia de la contestación de esta a la parte demandante por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención: Leda. Nicole Marie Cobb Vélez, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 00936-7308, Teléfono: 787-7586550, dentro de los próximos 60 días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto, que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle.

Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Secretaria Regional II. Gloria E Acevedo Soto, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31- August 2, 2020

27

‘It’s been a crazy couple days’: The Yankees’ virus-scrambled week

By JAMES WAGNER

T

he New York Yankees’ equipment truck was leaving Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon, and the team buses were scheduled to do the same in about 45 minutes. Their game against the Phillies had been postponed, just like the previous night’s game matchup, so they were headed back to New York to get ready for a Wednesday game in the Bronx.

Then Yankees general manager Brian Cashman called manager Aaron Boone to ask him what he thought about playing the Orioles in Baltimore on Wednesday instead.

Boone was up for it. So were Yankees players, after reliever Zack Britton, the club’s players’ union representative, called for a team meeting and a vote before 1 p.m. During the meeting, Britton asked Ben Tuliebitz, the Yankees’ director of team travel and player services, if he could get the 70-some hotel rooms the club needed in Baltimore that quickly.

Tuliebitz thought he could.

After Orioles players also approved the schedule changes and Major League Baseball signed off, the Yankees redirected their route south. By around 8 p.m., the Yankees were working out at Camden Yards in Baltimore in anticipation of a hastily assembled two-game series against the Orioles. A day later, the Yankees had a 9-3 win thanks to nearly seven innings from Gerrit Cole and home runs from Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks and D.J. LeMahieu.

“I never really thought the schedule would change ever throughout the year and go to a different city,” Yankees first baseman Mike Ford said before Wednesday’s game.

Added Tuliebitz, “It’s been a crazy couple days.”

This is the mad scramble of playing professional baseball amid a pandemic.

An outbreak of at least 17 cases on the Miami Marlins meant they and the Phillies, whom the Marlins played over the weekend, were barred from playing games for several days. That left MLB and the Yankees clamoring to rearrange schedules and find new matchups on short notice.

More changes are on the way: Boone said before Wednesday’s game that the Yankees were expecting to make up their

games against the Phillies next week and alter their previously scheduled trip to Florida to play the Tampa Bay Rays.

“We’re drinking out of a fire hose on all this stuff right now,” Cashman said Tuesday.

Although the Yankees want to play as scheduled, none of their players or officials have complained publicly about their postponements. On Monday, they were concerned about playing a team recently exposed to the Marlins and using the same visiting clubhouse as Miami had.

They summoned their own clubhouse employees from Yankee Stadium to disinfect the Citizens Bank Park clubhouse rather than use the Phillies’ personnel — one of whom tested positive for the coronavirus.

By Tuesday, Boone said, he would have been OK with playing at Citizens Bank Park if MLB had allowed the games, but he understood the caution being exercised. And when another option presented itself, the Yankees seized it. After all, they believe they are primed to contend for a World Series title this season.

“We want to compete,” Cashman said. “If we’re off a day or two or a week or two, whatever it happens to be, so be it. We’ll deal with it and we’ll adjust to it.”

After their game Monday was called off because the Phillies were undergoing additional testing, the Yankees were largely sequestered inside their hotel. Players worked out indoors and played catch outside. They ate team meals from individually packaged containers in the hotel, watched baseball games on TV and waited.

“I took a walk one day to get a coffee, but other than that, in the hotel,” said Ford, who said he opted not to see his brother, who lives in Philadelphia, because of the Marlins’ outbreak.

After their Tuesday game was also postponed, the Yankees packed up their belongings to head home, where they were originally scheduled to play the Phillies twice. But after MLB decided to put the Phillies on pause for several days given their exposure to the Marlins and the incubation period of the virus, the Yankees’ plans shifted yet again. (No Phillies players or coaches have tested positive.)

The Yankees were originally supposed to be playing the Phillies in New York on Wednesday, but instead Giancarlo Stanton and Co. were in Baltimore preparing to play the Orioles.

The Orioles, who were supposed to play the Marlins, were an obvious fit as a new opponent.

“We felt like we don’t want to take three or four days off,” Britton said.

Pulling off a 60-game regular season with 30 teams across the country, including in hot spots like Georgia and Florida, requires so much to go right. And while some Yankees have occasionally violated some of MLB’s protocols by spitting or high-fiving, players have repeatedly met to talk about their behavior on and away from the field.

“Most of the time it might be somebody pulling a guy aside and saying, ‘Hey, make sure we’re keeping a mask on or keeping our distance,’” Britton said.

“Thankfully, we haven’t really had a need to call somebody out.”

The season, though, may change again in an instant. Cashman said the Yankees were approaching it week by week. The Yankees’ new home opener will be Friday against the rival Boston Red Sox. After that three-game series, Boone said, the Yankees are expected to play four games against the Phillies — Aug. 3-4 in New York and Aug. 5-6 in Philadelphia.

Boone also said the Yankees are still expected to travel to face the Rays, their

stiffest division rival after a 96-win season in 2019, next weekend, but what was once supposed to be a four-game series over four days may be squeezed into three days with a doubleheader. MLB has not yet announced these changes.

Tuliebitz said Yankees officials were discussing the team’s policy on whether players — several of whom live in the Tampa area in the offseason — could stay at home instead of the team hotel. He said players have even considered having their family members tested for the virus before their arrival.

Reliever Adam Ottavino said he was not concerned about going to a state where the spread of the virus was rampant, because he planned to be only on the team charter plane and the bus and at the field and hotel.

“I’m not really in Tampa,” he said.

“I’m in a lot of small areas.”

During a normal year, Tuliebitz said he has mapped out the Yankees’ travel arrangements at least eight months in advance. Now, he said he is looking at the upcoming weeks.

“We’re trying to pull this all together pretty quickly,” he said. “The most difficult part is making sure we’re doing things right.”

28

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31- August 2, 2020

Report: NBA’s academies in China abused athletes

By SOPAN DEB

T

he NBA has been accused of helping run basketball academies in China where children were regularly abused by coaches and staff members at government-run facilities, according to a scathing ESPN report earlier this week that put the league’s relationship with the authoritarian country once again in a harsh spotlight.

The report, published Wednesday, one day before the NBA resumes a season delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, cited several league staffers who spoke on condition of anonymity. The staff members, according to ESPN, said that Chinese coaches physically struck players and that athletes were housed in poor conditions and deprived of schooling that was promised when the academies began their relationship with the NBA. One former coach described watching a Chinese coach throw a ball into a player’s face and then “kick him in the gut.”

The NBA had three academies in China, including one in the Xinjiang region, in the far northwest of the country, where the government has been accused of perpetrating human rights abuses against the Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority.

“The allegations in the ESPN article are disturbing,” Mark Tatum, the NBA’s deputy commissioner, said in a phone interview with The New York Times. “We ended our involvement with the basketball academy in Xinjiang in June of 2019 and we have been re-evaluating the NBA Academy program in China.”

The NBA’s presence in Xinjiang had already caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington. At the end of June, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote a letter to Commissioner Adam Silver, asking what steps the league was taking to end its involvement with the camp because of the widespread abuses. Tatum responded with a letter on the league’s behalf July 21 to say that the NBA “had no involvement with the Xinjiang basketball academy for more than a year.” The NBA’s response appeared to be its first public acknowledgment of the academy’s closure.

The Chinese government did not immediately respond after the ESPN report appeared early on Thursday morning Beijing time.

A former American coach told ESPN that at the Xinjiang camp, rooms meant for two people were sometimes used to house eight to 10 athletes each. The other two academies are in the Zhejiang and Shandong provinces, both in eastern China. They were also supposed to provide education to the students, but at least one American coach quit, according to ESPN, because of the lack of schooling provided.

According to the NBA Academy website, the players in these academies range from 14-18 years old. Tatum told

According to a report by ESPN, athletes at Chinese basketball academies run by the N.B.A. were physically abused, housed in crowded conditions and denied schooling.

ESPN that officials in the NBA’s New York office, including Silver, were not aware of broad mistreatment of players.

In Xinjiang, the NBA “didn’t have the authority or the ability to take direct action against any of these local coaches,” Tatum said.

The three government-operated camps in China were already operating before the NBA partnered with them to great fanfare in 2016. They were meant to help develop young Chinese players for professional basketball, in hopes of grooming the next Yao Ming, the former Houston Rockets star who became China’s most celebrated basketball celebrity. To find the next Yao, the NBA was to bring elite coaching to the camp. (ESPN, a league broadcast partner, owns a stake in NBA China, the entity that oversees the league’s operations in the country.)

“Nothing is more important than to grow the game of basketball here in China,” Silver said at the time. “We’re thankful for the terrific reception we’ve had in China. It’s very important that we give back as well. One of our means of giving back is to help develop elite players here.”

The next year, the NBA launched academies in India, Australia and Africa, and one in Mexico City, in 2018, more targets for a league that has long touted its international growth.

Nowhere has that growth been more apparent than in China, where the NBA has more fans than it does in the United States. But the NBA and the Chinese government have been on the outs since the fall, when a social media post by Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, appeared to support pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong — just as the NBA was going to play preseason games in China.

The Chinese government was furious, setting off an unusual dispute that intertwined professional sports, international politics and business. According to Silver, the Chinese government wanted Morey fired, a request the league denied, and NBA games were taken off the air on China Central Television, the state-run television network. Silver has said that the NBA will likely lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue as a result of the rift.

Silver has maintained an interest in repairing relations with China.

“We’ve continued a dialogue with the Chinese, with our business partners there. In certain cases, with certain government officials,” Silver said recently in an interview with Time magazine. “And you know, we’re just going to keep at it. We’ve had a long history in China. And certainly this is a bump in the road in our relations.”

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

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

30

(Mar 21-April 20)

This is going to be a rather intense day, Aries.

On the positive side, you’ll accomplish a lot.

On the less positive side, you may be exhausted by the end of the day. You’re advised to try and pace yourself. Remain focused on what’s truly important rather than let yourself get caught up in trivia. Keep the big picture in mind and the little things will take care of themselves.

Taurus

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

(April 21-May 21)

Today it’s important that you make your own decisions and stick with them, Taurus. Much as you prefer to depend on others, your judgment really is best. You’ll be paralyzed if you think only of how others will react to your decisions. You do know what is best, and everyone will benefit when you act on your beliefs. This is no time to be wishy-washy.

Just do it

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

This isn’t the most cheerful time, Libra, because important issues are rearing their heads again and forcing you to address them. You’d rather not, but you can’t wish them away. The time has come to deal with them once and for all. It’s especially important that you make an effort to make your home life more positive and upbeat. Your loved ones look to you to set the tone.

Scorpio

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Don’t try to force anything or anyone right now, Scorpio. You’ll find that today’s elements are just as stubborn as you are. Today’s planetary configurations will force you to finally start to turn your dreams into reality, whether you want to or not. Face it - you’ve been planning for a long time without making much concrete progress. All that is about to change.

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

You’re a dreamer, Gemini. Everyone loves you for it, but today the planetary aspects urge practicality. There are personal issues to resolve, and it does no good to have your head in the clouds. This is a time to focus on loved ones. Perhaps your partner or your children feel neglected. Do whatever is necessary to let your family know you’re available and eager to give them what they need.

Much has happened recently, Cancer. Have you allowed enough time to process it? It’s likely that big changes are brewing at home or work. Stay focused on the job at hand rather than fret about events over which you have no control. You may feel as if you’re on a roller-coaster ride, but everything will settle down in a few days. Blink to adjust your eyes to the strange new light.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

You’ve made progress these past few weeks, especially where your temper is concerned, Leo. It has taken some effort, but it does seem that you can overcome your tendency to speak before thinking. Don’t lose the ground you’ve gained. There’s one person whose mission seems to be to make you explode. Don’t let him or her rankle you. Take a deep breath and rise above it.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

This is likely to be an intense day, Virgo. Family and friends may seem testy, so you’re advised to stay out of their way. Don’t worry - it isn’t anything you’ve done. It’s the planetary energy. If you can go someplace private and shut the door, do it. If someone tries to pick a fight, don’t rise to the bait. Tomorrow the air will clear and good spirits will reign again.

Remember that one wrong move today could cause you to have a headache for a good long while, Sagittarius. Don’t take uncalculated risks.

There’s dynamism and confidence in the air, and even though you may be tempted to step off the ledge, think twice about doing so. Keep your parachute handy. Maintain your internal power by celebrating your uniqueness instead of your need to show off your daredevil spirit.

You have a keen analytical mind that has served you well in business. Alas, Capricorn, this characteristic doesn’t always serve you well in your personal life.

It’s likely that someone close has bristled from your lack of empathy. Take time to reflect upon the events of the past few weeks. Did you inadvertently send a wrong message? Correct any unintentional slights. A simple “I’m sorry,” will do wonders.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

This is the beginning of an exciting period in your love life, Aquarius. Your relationship with a significant other may have been in a rut lately, but that’s about to change. Both of you are ready for something big. Perhaps a move is in store or you could both decide commit to one another more permanently. Follow your instincts, because they’ll lead you where you’re meant to go.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Just when you think you have absolutely no energy left, you’re able to kick into a higher gear. Push beyond your limits today, Pisces.

You’ll find that you can achieve a great deal more than you thought. All you need to do is have confidence in yourself and try. You have a lot of dynamic power on your side. You will find that your strength is greater than ever.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

The San Juan Daily Star

July 31-August 2, 2020

31

CARTOONS

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

Herman

Ziggy

32

July 31- August 2, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star