Tuesday Jul 4, 2023

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.

Charges filed in fatal shooting of tourist, wounding of 2 others on Isla Verde beach

By THE STAR STAFF

The island Department of Justice, through the Carolina Prosecutor’s Office, filed charges on Monday against Carlos Aníbal Rosado Martínez, who is suspected of shooting three Maryland tourists, causing the death of one and wounding the others in an incident that occurred on Saturday on a beach in Isla Verde.

Rosado Martínez is wanted for first degree murder, attempted murder and violations of the Weapons Law, prosecutor Carlos Peña Ramos announced, emphasizing that the defendant illegally fired a firearm for which he did not have a license.

It emerged from the investigation that there was a dispute between the defendant and the tourists, agent Edgar

Ribot Ruiz of the Police Criminal Investigation Corps said. During the altercation, Rosado Martínez fired at the victims with a weapon he was carrying illegally, killing 17-year-old Tommy Grace, the officer added.

Marice Gaines, Grace’s stepfather, and his uncle, Aron Amani, were also injured in the incident and had to be taken to a hospital due to the severity of their injuries.

Judge Geisa Marrero Martínez of the Carolina Superior Court determined cause for arrest in absentia and set a bond of $1.4 million. The preliminary hearing will be scheduled once Rosado Martínez is arrested.

The Justice Department’s Office of Crime Victim and Witness Services and Compensation is providing support to surviving victims and their families.

INDEX Energy regulator approves amendments to solar energy & storage contracts

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) on Monday approved the amendments to contracts for 11 photovoltaic solar energy and storage projects.

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has until Monday, July 10 to sign the contracts, which were approved through resolution and order, according to a statement.

The projects were from the first tranche of tenders, issued in February 2021, which sought up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity and 500 MW of battery storage.

The tender, managed by PREPA, resulted in 23 power purchase and battery storage agreements. However, some proponents sought amendments to their contracts to accommodate inflation earlier this year.

The PREB, which is an arm of the Public Service Regulatory Board, approved the final version of the contract for three four-hour battery energy storage projects totaling 150 MW. In addition, it approved amendments to two energy storage projects totaling 200 MW, also with

four hours of duration.

Similarly, amendments to six solar energy projects totaling 515 MW were approved.

“The Energy Bureau continues to focus on the transition of the electrical system to renewable sources, following the Integrated Resource Plan and public energy policy,” PREB Chairman Edison Avilés Deliz said.

Puerto Rico has until 2050 to draw all of its energy from renewables. The PREB is conducting five more tranches of tenders

Carlos Aníbal Rosado Martínez

PDP president calls on governor to sign Electoral Code amendments into law

By THE STAR STAFF

Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González sent a letter to Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia on Monday urging him to sign into law the amendments to the Electoral Code that were approved by the Legislature last week.

“Today, I sent a letter to the governor asking him to sign and turn into law the amendments to the current Electoral Code,” Ortiz said. “This past Friday, the amendments received the endorsement of the delegations of four of the five political parties represented in the State Elections Commission and in the Legislative Assembly, and of the independent legislators who occupy seats in the legislative bodies.”

Ortiz noted that, among other things, the approved legislation introduces significant changes in the electoral legislation, including measures to control early voting and correct inconsistencies in the awarding of the voter’s intention, and to guarantee an equitable representation of all political parties in the electoral processes, as it was for over 40 years in the State Elections Commission. Also, it

seeks to ensure adequate representation of independent candidates in critical areas during electoral events, he said.

“As president of the Popular Democratic Party, and with the respect and clarity with which I always address myself, I ask the governor to sign the measure,” Ortiz said. “In this way, we set an example of convergence, democratic dialogue, and the ability to place the interests of Puerto Rico above any other interest. Not doing so would place Pierluisi and his party again against the entire country represented in the political coalition that endorsed these important changes.”

Although the final legislation did not contain provisions allowing parties to join forces to run in an election, the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) voted in favor of it.

The PIP said the new legislation “rescues some essential principles that we had insisted on since the beginning of the four years, such as equitable representation before the State Election Commission (SEC), consensus in the selection of the president of the SEC, the supervision of special votes and greater participation of independent candidates in the electoral process.”

PDP lawmakers demand reversal of education secretary appointment

By THE STAR STAFF

Popular Democratic Party Rep. Héctor Ferrer Santago and Senator Migdalia González Arroyo expressed their outrage on Monday at the appointment of Ángel Toledo López as secretary of education by Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia.

They also demanded that the appointment be withdrawn.

After the resignation of former Secretary Eliezer Ramos Parés, it was revealed, the lawmakers said in a written statement, that the nominee for the post, Toledo López, made questionable statements of a “politicking, offensive and degrading nature through his Twitter account.”

Under the governorship of Alejandro García Padilla (2013-2016), the PDP legislators said, Toledo Lopéz posted derogatory remarks on Twitter aimed at the then-governor, which the lawmakers said were in poor taste.

One of the posts said that “I have concluded that AGP is on drugs in addition to common idiocy. [He says] the economy is better than a year ago.”

Another post said: “The only difference between McDonald’s and the govt. of PR is that McDonald’s has only one clown running the show.”

“These statements, which have recently come to light, reveal a character incompatible with the integrity required to occupy a position in the constitutional cabinet,” Ferrer Santiago said. “This appointment is far from achieving the

goal of depoliticization that the country aspires to within the system and generates concern about the approach that will be taken toward educational policies.”

González Arroyo added that “it is unacceptable that Gov. Pedro Pierluisi has ignored these previous statements and has appointed Mr. Toledo López as Secretary of Education.”

“These actions highlight the Governor’s lack of judgment and deficiencies in evaluating appointments that directly impact the quality and future of our education,” she said.

The legislators pointed out that Puerto Rico has already witnessed the dire consequences of similar statements in the past, which led to a citizen uprising against the sitting governor in the summer of 2019.

“It is incomprehensible that we have not learned from that experience and that the repetition of disrespectful and offensive behavior is allowed,” González Arroyo said. “We are deeply disappointed by the lack of judgment in appointing someone with this kind of track record as Secretary of Education. Given that this is a key position for the formation and example that is given to Puerto Rican children and youth, this appointment raises serious questions about the quality of leadership and the Government’s commitment to the education of our sons and daughters.”

Both legislators called on Pierluisi to take immediate action and rescind the appointment.

“The people of Puerto Rico deserve responsible, ethical leadership, committed to the formation of our students and the future of our society,” they said.

Sen. Migdalia González Arroyo

Popular Democratic Party President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González

Centers for the elderly prepare for high hurricane season

Office of the Advocate for the Elderly receives nearly $2 million in funding for facilities

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com

As the population in Puerto Rico gets older, the need for resources to provide services for the elderly grows at a faster rate, and more funds begin to be distributed directly to the elderly population.

The Office of the Advocate for the Elderly received approval from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) regarding a post-Hurricane Fiona disaster proposal in September 2022.

“A lot of centers needed this help; people need to see the reality that the population here is getting older, and therefore these funds come in handy to combat the upcoming hurricane season,” Advocate for the Elderly Dr. Carmen Sánchez Salgado told the STAR.

The proposal was specifically designed to address the needs of Activity and Multiple Services Centers (CASM by its Spanish initials) after the events of Hurricane Fiona. Some of the initiatives include the installation of solar panels, electrical generators and water reserve tanks, apart from the provision of food items, for the elderly population. During the presentation of the proposal, 10 centers (both municipal and private) were preselected for the installation of solar panels and batteries for energy storage as their main source of energy. Ten other centers were preselected for the installation of electrical generators, another 10 were preselected for installing water reserve tanks and five for the installation of both water reserve tanks and electrical generators. All of the locations were approved by the federal government.

The centers that were pre-selected for water reserve tanks were approved for $1,500 per center, while $33,500 was approved for each center that asked for electrical generators, and $125,000 was approved for each center that was selected for the installation of solar panels. Apart from those locations, the advocate told the Star that “thanks to the funds they were able to give [equipment to] three additional centers that were not mentioned in the preselection process, and eight additional water reserve tanks were purchased.”

The proposal will impact 35 centers that were included in the preselection process, including centers in Ponce, Aguadilla, Culebra, Mayagüez, Cidra, Juncos and Patillas, among many others. Even though there are more than 100 centers from both municipal and private origins, Sánchez said those are the ones that are most in need right now.

“Every year we do a survey where we ask the different centers what their necessities are in terms of anything we can help them with regarding the hurricane

season,” the advocate said. “Now that this proposal has opened up, it is a major blessing to the centers that need the most help.”

However, Sánchez said, the centers that are not impacted by the proposal won’t be left behind.

“We have contacts from all centers all over the island and whether it’s through federal funds or additional funds, we always try to help any center that needs help with something, whether it’s that the bus used to bring food gets damaged or if they already have a water reserve tank and it’s not working, we always try to aid them as much as we can,” she said.

When asked about the distribution of funds, Sánchez noted the things they take into consideration.

“Necessities of the center, [and] the center’s quota is also very important,” she said. “Some centers simply have more people than others and some municipalities have multiple centers, therefore everyone’s needs are different.”

Sánchez also stated how it is very important for the office to properly monitor the funds.

“We always monitor the funds with extreme care, making sure that the money is put in the right place,” she said. “Thankfully we haven’t had any issues regarding the distribution of funds in the past and we don’t expect to; the directors at the centers have been very responsible in using the funds provided accordingly.”

Ernesto Ocasio Rivera, director of the Gurabo elderly community center Huellitas de Vida, had some positive things to tell the STAR regarding the funds that are being distributed for the centers.

“The Office of the Advocate for the Elderly has always been highly supportive of us; whenever there are

funds available they always respond to us,” he said. “In my experience they have not failed us once.”

Gurabo is one of the municipalities that will be impacted by the proposal as it will have funds for an additional water reserve tank.

“Whenever hurricanes hit, things get out of control, and we never know how much of something we will really need,” Ocasio Rivera said. “Even though we already have a water reserve tank, having an extra one is most necessary because of the unpredictability of events. We may need more water than we originally accounted for.”

“We are very grateful to The Office of the Advocate for the Elderly for providing these funds,” he added. “They are always a helping hand to our facilities.”

The advocate for the elderly said that within the next two weeks the office is expected to distribute the funds.

“In hurricane season, Multiple Service Centers are a great pillar in aid of the elderly population,” Sánchez said. “Their role in hurricane season is crucial for the recovery of the elderly population. Centers are fundamental for the distribution of hot food and other emergency necessities that involve a change in the quality of life of the elderly population. Therefore, we are very pleased that these centers will benefit from these funds.”

However good it is that the proposal was approved, Sánchez noted that there is still a lot of work to be done to assist the elderly.

“The reality is that our population of elders is very large -- people who are 65 years or older make up 27% of the population of the island,” she said. “We have to come to an acceptance as a society that our population is made up of mostly elders, yet somehow a lot of the infrastructure is built for younger people, and not just the infrastructure, the systems in place are not provided in a way that is inclusive for the elderly. There is still a lot of work to be done here; however, at the moment we take what we can get.”

Advocate for the Elderly Dr. Carmen Sánchez Salgado

Physicians Assn. assails opening of health clinics by insurers

By THE STAR STAFF

Physicians & Surgeons Association of Puerto Rico (CMCPR by its Spanish initials) President Dr. Carlos Díaz Vélez criticized on Monday the opening of clinics and centers by health insurers, accusing them of “blatant conflict of interest.”

“This overwhelming expansion of dozens of centers and clinics will in the coming months devour and crush the private medical practices of hundreds of doctors and dozens of health facilities,” Díaz Vélez warned in a written statement.

He described the situation as an operation of market hoarding, control and concentration that “violates and corrupts the system of balances” in the provision of private health services.

“Doctors see how with this hook, in the face of economic precariousness, patients are pulled to these concentrated clinics,” he said. “Thus, the size or viability of the medical practice

Physicians & Surgeons Association of Puerto Rico President Dr. Carlos Díaz

Vélez

is reduced, all for the benefit of the insurer turned provider.”

Díaz Vélez also denounced the fact that patients are induced

to abandon their family doctors to be treated in the aforementioned clinics where, due to the high volume of patients, they are examined in just a few minutes.

The CMCPR president criticized those who would celebrate the new clinics, which he called “ventorrillos” of health.

“The quality [of care] is reduced, the patient is a number, he is attended simply by who is there and not by those who have known his history,” he lamented.

Díaz Vélez called on patients to notify their doctors if they receive calls from insurers inviting them to be treated in the new centers and for doctors to report such practices.

“No one will silence our complaints,” he said.

He also invited those who celebrate the opening of the centers to reflect on the consequences.

“It is sad to see members of the Senate’s parliamentary majority being confused by these siren songs,” he said.

Traffic Safety Commission warns against drunk driving

By THE STAR STAFF

Traffic Safety Commission Executive Director Luis Rodríguez

Díaz is urging citizens who have plans to enjoy social and vacation activities during the summer to have a designated driver if they drink alcoholic beverages.

“Drunk driving is a crime: You will be arrested, is the message of the Traffic Safety Commission,” Rodríguez Díaz said Monday. “Because of the summer we recognize that many people will be celebrating in social, family and vacation activities. Having a good time has never been a crime, but driving after several drinks has. We are going to avoid misfortunes that mark the life of any Puerto Rican family. The call is a simple one: Help us save lives on the roads.”

The Traffic Law prohibits drivers between the ages of 18 and 20 and motorboat drivers from driving with a concentration of 0.02% alcohol or more in the blood. It also prohibits people over the age of 21 from driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher.

Driving under the influence of alcohol can lead to a fine ranging from $500 plus $50 for every hundredth over the alcohol limit, to serving jail time ranging from 60 days to six months. This week, a mobilization will be carried out at the island level, where several municipal police forces will participate jointly with the Puerto Rico Traffic Bureau Police. The initiative represents an investment of $193,621.99 in overtime pay.

On average, one beer or one drink puts .03% alcohol in the blood for about two hours. Driving after consuming alcoholic beverages is a crime that can end fatally.

“Respecting traffic laws ensures that we can get home safely,” Rodríguez Díaz said. “Before getting into the motor vehicle, remember the alternatives so that you arrive safely at home. Remember that to drive drunk is a crime. [Violators] will be arrested.”

More information about the Traffic Safety Commission educational campaigns that take place throughout the year can be accessed @seguridadeneltransito, @CSTPR and through www. seguridadeneltransito.com or by calling 787-721-4142.

Arecibo offers housekeeping positions to aid elderly residents

By THE STAR STAFF

Arecibo Mayor Carlos “Tito” Ramírez Irizarry announced Monday that the municipality has openings available for people interested in working as housekeepers under current regulatory provisions.

“Our Community Action Department is ready to serve all those interested in being part of this job opportunity,” the mayor said.

Interested persons (must be residents of the city of Arecibo) may call during office hours at 787-882-2770,

extensions 1200, 1201 and 1202.

“The aging process is a natural one and occurs differently in each person,” Ramírez Irizarry said. “Some do it in health while others begin to demonstrate some type of physical or cognitive disability that prevents them from functioning in their routines. Hence the need for housekeepers, and we in the Municipality can contribute.”

The idea of housekeepers, which is a part-time job, is that they provide seniors with company, along with assistance in normal household chores, fall prevention and food handling.

A housekeeper works in all those areas, ensuring an

improved quality of life for the elderly.

“According to the Puerto Rico Health portal, there has been a consistent increase in people 60 and older, and that will continue,” the Arecibo mayor said. “For example, the federal Census reported for 2019 the figure of 888,786 individuals in what is known as the ‘senior’ population. It is expected that this population will continue to grow, considering that on the other hand the population from 0 to 14 years is decreasing. We in the Municipality of Arecibo constantly work with statistics and trends to offer quality services to this population.”

Traffic Safety Commission Executive Director Luis Rodríguez Díaz

New migrants have a year to apply for asylum. Many won’t make it.

many, like the Lopez family, are uncertain about the timeline. If people don’t submit their applications in time, it can jeopardize the new lives they were constructing in their adopted cities.

People who formally seek asylum are allowed to remain in the country to await a decision in their case, and applicants can apply for temporary employment authorization 150 days after successfully filing their application.

Asylum-seekers miss their application deadlines for myriad reasons.

The application itself can be incredibly difficult: It is 12 pages long and in English, and includes questions such as the past five addresses where the applicant lived, the names and addresses of relatives and a portion to explain — in detail — what harm or mistreatment they have faced. Missing one question can result in the return of an application.

Just knowing where to submit the application is complicated and depends on the specific details of each new arrival’s case.

Additionally, new arrivals must quickly engage with the immigration court system to avoid being immediately deported. But they often discover that critical immigration documents have been sent to incorrect addresses, meaning they miss important court dates, putting them at risk of being deported. Some new arrivals have also reported receiving initial court hearing dates that are long past their deadline to apply for asylum.

They must do all this through a backlogged court system, which can make the process more complicated and timeconsuming. And many migrants navigate the process alone because of a shortage of immigration attorneys and advocates.

By HURUBIE MEKO and RAÚL VILCHIS

Santos Lopez uprooted his family and walked nearly 2,000 miles on a dangerous trek from Honduras to the United States in the spring of 2022 to escape from a violent gang that was extorting him. The group demanded a monthly payment, he said, to allow him to run his car shop in peace.

Like many others, Lopez and his family hoped their experience would persuade their adopted country to give them asylum, which is granted to those who face a “credible fear of persecution in their country of origin.” A grant of asylum would allow them to work and eventually apply for a green card and citizenship.

But more than a year after his family — including his wife and two daughters — arrived safely at the southern border, it seems likely they missed the deadline to apply. Lopez, 42, said he was seeking help from a lawyer.

Lopez and his family are among the millions of migrants who have arrived at the southern border in the past year. Many, after telling border agents about abuse and persecution that they experienced, a first step in the long and complicated process of seeking asylum, have been temporarily released as they wait for their immigration cases to wind their way through courts.

But even as migrants have applied for asylum in record numbers, advocates and immigration attorneys say that without additional legal support, many — perhaps the majority — will miss their application deadline and fall into a more perilous category of immigrant: those living in the country illegally.

“Our immigration system is broken,” said Henry Love, vice president for policy and advocacy at Win, which runs 14 family shelters and has a contract with New York City to house migrant families.

“You’re going to have so many people who won’t have the opportunity to apply for asylum simply because of the logistical complications of it,” he said, adding: “I have a Ph.D., and there’s no way I could do it.”

As migrants have fanned out across the United States, many leaders and immigrant advocates have begun referring to the newcomers as asylum-seekers, not simply immigrants. In the fiscal year that ended in September, a record 250,000 asylum applications were filed nationwide, increasing the total number of pending applications to nearly 1.6 million, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

New York City has become the top destination for newly arrived migrants. From March to May of this year, nearly 39,000 new immigration court cases were filed in New York City, compared with about 11,000 in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and about 16,000 in Los Angeles County, according to the clearinghouse’s data.

As of June 25, more than 81,200 migrants had arrived in New York since the spring of 2022, and 50,000 are housed in city shelters, according to city data.

Migrants who want to apply for asylum generally have 12 months to submit their completed applications — although

Jodi Ziesemer, director of New York Legal Assistance Group’s immigrant protection unit, said that even for those who regularly practice immigration law, the administrative complexities can be confusing.

“Even when you get down to submitting the application, it can be unclear where you need to submit it for it to be accepted,” she said.

In June, Mayor Eric Adams announced the creation of the Asylum Application Help Center, which will bring together immigration legal service providers and pro bono attorneys and aims to serve thousands of asylum-seekers by the end of the summer.

Attorneys at the center will help asylum-seekers complete their applications and file them, but the attorneys will not represent clients through the court process.

As the city works to help migrants, the flow of newcomers continues.

Ruthmary Murillo, 23, originally from Venezuela, came to the United States from Colombia in September with her husband, Diego, and their two young children. Murillo said her family plans to apply for asylum, but they haven’t started the process yet.

“When I came, I didn’t know anything,” she said, adding: “In the shelter, we didn’t find out about anything.”

Her family is now connected to a help center at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, she said.

“They have helped orient us,” Murillo said. “Now we know a little bit more about what we need to do.”

Immigrants with appointments wait in line for admission to the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York, on May 11, 2023. Tens of thousands of people who crossed the border in the last year planned to apply for asylum. But the complexities of the process mean many will fail.

Shooting in Baltimore leaves at least 2 dead and 28 wounded

By DONNA OWENS and AMANDA HOLPUCH

Frustrated Baltimore officials pleaded on Sunday with residents to come forward with information about a shooting at a crowded neighborhood block party that left two people dead and 28 others wounded, many of them teenagers.

A motive for the shooting, which was reported at 12:30 a.m. in Baltimore’s southern neighborhood of Brooklyn, was unclear, but authorities said there was more than one assailant. It was unclear whether the victims were targeted.

Officials said an 18-year-old woman, Aaliyah Gonzales, was dead at the scene of the shooting, which happened at Brooklyn Homes, a public housing complex. A 20-yearold man, Kylis Fagbemi, was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

The victims were between 13 and 32 years old, the city’s acting police commissioner, Col. Richard Worley, said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.

He said that police were still confirming the ages of all of the victims, but that more than a dozen of them were younger than 18. By Sunday afternoon, all but nine of the victims had been discharged from hospitals.

At the news conference, Brandon Scott, the city’s mayor, called the shooting a “reckless, cowardly act.” He cited footage of the shooting, which surfaced on social media, and criticized adults in the community who did not intervene.

He called for a “better level of accountability” and said the community should not condone “some grown man filming some

young person pull out a gun.” He said those who witness dangerous behavior should contact law enforcement authorities instead of posting videos “to get likes on Instagram.”

The nonfatal female victims injured were one 13-year-old, one 14-year-old, two 15-year-olds, three 16-year-olds, two 17-yearolds, two 18-year-olds, three 19-year-olds, one 20-year-old, one 23-year-old and one 32-year-old. The nonfatal male victims injured were one 13-year-old, one 15-year-old, two 16-year-olds, two 17-year-olds, three 18-yearolds, one 22-year-old and one 31-year-old.

Scott said that the shooting highlighted the need to address access to illegal guns and other factors that contribute to gun violence.

In 2022, Baltimore recorded more than 300 homicides for the eighth consecutive year, despite new initiatives by city officials. In the first half of 2023, there had been 138, according to The Baltimore Sun.

On Sunday afternoon, about two dozen officers and detectives remained at the scene of the shooting. Shell casings and debris from the party, which officials described as an unauthorized event that drew hundreds, still littered the streets from the night before.

The housing complex, with its squat brick buildings and maroon-colored front doors, has about 500 units for about 1,100 people. Amid all of the activity Sunday, some residents peeked outside or sat on their front

steps.

A council member who represents the neighborhood, Phylicia Porter, said that the shooting was a “wake-up call” and asked community members to channel their anger into demands for “meaningful change.”

“This incident represents a grave failure of our systems, and it is completely unacceptable,” she said.

Larry Wallace, 60, a community activist who grew up a few blocks away from Brooklyn, said that the neighborhood was “really rough.” He said he was concerned for the young people of Baltimore.

This year, there has been an increase in shootings involving children and teenagers, leading to an official city curfew for children 16 and younger. Alerts come to phones and through social media to remind residents that the city’s youth need to be indoors by a certain time.

“The kids in this city need more to do,” said Wallace, who has a teenage daughter.

The mayor’s office said that in response to the shooting, it would put resources in the neighborhood “focused on addressing trauma and stabilizing the neighborhood in partnership with community-based organizations and city agencies.”

The state’s attorney, Ivan J. Bates, expressed outrage about the shooting on Twitter and extended “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families.

He added: “But we need more than thoughts and prayers; we need policy and change in Maryland, particularly in Baltimore. A policy that helps us hold repeat violent offenders accountable and reduces the number of illegal firearms in our communities.”

An aerial view of the scene of the shooting at a development called Brooklyn Homes in Baltimore.

A climate laggard in America’s industrial heartland has a plan to change, fast

By CORAL DAVENPORT

From toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes to sewage pouring into Detroit basements to choking wildfire smoke that drifted south from Canada, Michigan has been contending with the fallout from climate change. Even the state’s famed cherry trees have been struggling against rising temperatures, forcing some farmers to abandon the crop.

But this state at the center of the American auto industry has also been a laggard when it comes to climate action, resistant to environmental regulations that could harm the manufacturing that has underpinned its economy for generations.

That may soon change.

Michigan is one of three states where Democrats won a “blue trifecta” last year, taking control of the governor’s office and both legislative chambers, and they are seizing that opportunity to propose some of the most ambitious climate laws in the world.

The centerpiece is based on a 58-page “MI Healthy Climate” plan offered by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. It would require Michigan to generate all of its electricity from solar, wind or other carbon-free sources by 2035, eliminating the state’s greenhouse pollution generated by coal- and gas-fired power plants. The package would also toughen energy efficiency requirements for electric utilities and require a phaseout of coal-fired plants in the state by 2030.

Coal — the dirtiest of the fossil fuels — provided the largest share of electricity in Michigan, followed by nuclear energy and natural gas, in 2021, the most recent year for which data was compiled by the Energy Information Administration. Solar and wind generated about 11% of the state’s electricity.

More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia are requiring utilities to switch to clean electricity, but almost none have the aggressive timeline that Michigan is considering, and there is no federal clean power mandate.

“For Michigan to do this would put it at the vanguard not just of state cleanenergy policy but of global clean energy policy,” said Dallas Burtraw, an analyst at Resources for the Future, a nonpartisan research organization. “Michigan is globally recognized as the industrial heart of America, and one doesn’t think of it as being a clean energy leader. A lot of people will see this as a surprise.”

Democrats in Lansing, the capital, hope to send the climate bills to Whitmer’s desk by this fall, although they could face a fight; they hold only a two-seat majority in both the House and the Senate.

Republican lawmakers and industry groups, including the Big Three automakers, oppose the clean power legislation and argue that wind, solar and other renewable energy sources are unreliable. Experts dispute that and point out that solar and wind farms kept the air conditioning running in Texas when gas and coal plants were knocked offline during the current heat wave.

Michael Johnston, a lobbyist for the Michigan Manufacturers Association, which represents Ford, General Motors and Stellantis as well as Dow Chemical and more than 1,000 other companies, said his group would support a voluntary goal for

clean energy but not a mandate. “We need secure power so we can compete in the global economy,” he said.

DTE Energy, Michigan’s largest electric utility and a major political donor, has not taken a position on the clean energy legislation but is warning lawmakers that the measures could result in higher electric bills.

The utility, which generates more than half of its electricity from coal and 14% from natural gas, has set a goal of achieving 100% clean electricity generation by 2050, 15 years past the 2035 deadline that the new legislation would require.

State Rep. Pauline Wendzel, the top Republican on the House Energy Committee, called it “the most radical and unrealistic policy proposal I’ve seen in my entire time serving in the legislature,” adding, “Lansing Democrats have decided to hit Michigan families hard, right when they can least afford it.”

Whitmer has been arguing that Michigan can’t afford not to do something about climate change. The economic toll, from damaging storms to crop failures, is mounting, she said.

“People really understand and see that climate change is having a costly and dangerous impact on our lives,” Whitmer said in an interview. “It’s an undeniable problem. And that’s why people here understand the economy is absolutely intertwined with what’s happening in climate.”

Barry Rabe, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, said public opinion in the state about the need for climate action is shifting.

“We have begun to see a kind of pivot and change in my

community and around the state, looking at the flooding pattern, the temperatures and the accelerating changes in agriculture,” said Rabe, who lives in Plymouth. “It’s become increasingly common to see officials running for statewide office and talk about the need to do something about it, and that’s something we had not seen.”

State Sen. Sam Singh is a senior member of the environment committee and a sponsor of the legislation. “I’ve heard loud and clear from my communities that climate is an important issue for them,” he said. “My sense is that the general public is behind us.”

In this purple state, some Michiganders don’t accept that the climate is changing.

“I’ve lived long enough to know the Earth isn’t getting any warmer,” said Chad Bellingar, a shipping manager in Farwell, speaking outside a Culver’s restaurant. “The media directs people wrong.”

Bellingar’s wife, Kim, a special education aide, concurred. “Wind and solar are great, but it doesn’t cover what’s needed,” she said. “And not everyone can afford them.”

Singh has to overcome that skepticism as he shepherds the climate package through a narrowly divided legislature.

Singh, who has received $31,200 since 2012 from donors connected to DTE and has been endorsed by the Michigan Manufacturers Association, suggested he could amend the legislation to accommodate polluting industries. “We have to balance helping any industry that’s being impacted,” he said.

Mitchell State Park in Cadillac, Mich., on June 29, 2023. Warmer winters have extended the season and range of ticks, which carry diseases.

Fireworks have a new competitor: Drones

By LAUREN HIRSCH

Like many in the fireworks industry, Stephen Vitale is in the family business. He runs a fifth-generation company, Pyrotecnico, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. In October, he struck a surprising alliance with Nova Sky Stories, the drone company that Kimbal Musk acquired from Intel.

Increasingly, drones are lighting up skybound entertainment shows. Flocks of flying robots have created magical illusions everywhere from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to the coronation of King Charles III this spring. And the global drone light show market, which was virtually nonexistent a decade ago, was valued at about $1 billion in 2021, according to Allied Market Research.

Drone shows are in some ways the newer, hipper brand of fireworks. And they’re quieter, safer and better for the environment.

Fireworks providers like Vitale face a tough decision: Invest in the expensive equipment and regulatory clearance required to get into the drone business, or believe that demand for fireworks will remain steady even as a new type of competition skyrockets.

Change is coming. Fireworks providers bring in most of their revenue around the Fourth of July. And some of the organizers of those events are shifting to drones. Places such as Salt Lake City and Boulder, Colorado, plan to use them instead of fireworks for Independence Day

celebrations this year, citing the reduced risk of forest fires and pollution.

But not everyone is convinced the light shows will suffice as a replacement. Galveston, Texas, is reverting to fireworks after using drones in 2022. And Reddit pages about the drawbacks of drone shows bemoan the fact that drones don’t evoke the booming sounds that fireworks do.

“Drones are much more sophisticated,” said Chris Hopkins, who co-owns Celebration Fireworks and Star Flight Drone Shows. “They just don’t have the same visceral reaction.”

Pivoting is a big investment. Hopkins invested in drones last year, eager to take advantage of the creative liberties they offered. “In the past, I could have hinted at the Demogorgon,” he told DealBook, referring to a monster in the Netflix show “Stranger Things.” “Now I can have the Demogorgon.”

It was an expensive gambit: Drones cost more than $1,500 each, and he soon learned that a good show required at least 75. Then there was the hassle of filling out a nearly 200-page application to the Federal Aviation Administration for regulatory clearance and finding people skilled at flying the devices.

Some companies are sticking with fireworks. “I know there are some companies that are doing that — I guess our philosophy is we’re going to do what we do best,” Heather Gobet of Western Display, a fourth-generation fireworks company in Oregon, told DealBook.

Gobet, who bought the business from her parents about eight years ago, has decided that dealing with the expertise, certifications and expense of acquiring drones is prohibitive. Instead, she will team up with companies that offer drone shows when customers demand them.

Besides, she has other challenges to worry about: The industry is grappling with supply chain snarls, labor shortages, an aging generation of pyrotechnic experts and costly compliance.

There’s hope for industry harmony. Drones can be used for advertising in a way that fireworks cannot — say, by displaying a corporate logo above a busy road. Many shows, like

Hollywood actors extend contract talks at deadline

By NICOLE SPERLING

The union representing some 160,000 television and movie actors said late last week that it would continue contract negotiations with the major Hollywood studios and streaming services, extending the current deal — which had been set to expire at midnight — through July 12.

The decision is a welcome reprieve, at least for the moment, for a beleaguered Hollywood, where a writers’ strike has entered its ninth week with no end in sight. A second strike by the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, the industry’s largest labor organization, would essentially shut Hollywood down.

Should the actors go on strike, they and writers would be together on the picket lines for

the first time since 1960. The actors last went on strike for a significant period in 1980, when they were out for three months.

The union’s president, Fran Drescher, appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday to promote a new project and, when asked if the two parties were making headway, said: “In some areas we are. In some areas we’re not.”

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the trade association negotiating for the studios, declined to comment Friday.

The actors’ union and the studios began negotiating June 7, with SAG-AFTRA’s membership authorizing a strike before discussions began.

An actors’ strike would compound the

labor issues in an industry that has already seen a significant decline in the production of shows and movies. Striking writers have shut down some productions, and studios have been unable to shepherd unfinished scripts through the development process without writers to work on them.

The writers are hopeful that the actors join them in striking, a move that would put their union in a stronger negotiating position with the studios.

The writers were unable to achieve such an alliance with the directors’ guild, which ratified a new contract last week with 87% percent of the membership voting in favor. Leaders of the Writers Guild of America called the directors’ deal part of a “playbook” to “divide and conquer” the various unions fighting for increa-

a Democratic celebration of the 2020 presidential election result, feature both drones and fireworks.

But growing competition is opening up opportunities, said Rick Boss, who runs Sky Elements, a nearly 3-year-old drone show company. Larger traditional fireworks companies are looking to expand or go into new realms like drones, while smaller fireworks businesses are struggling.

“There are companies that are shrinking, maybe even stepping out of it — and so that creates opportunity,” he said. “It’s a good time to be aggressive.”

sed wages and heftier residuals.

Last Tuesday, a large group of actors, including stars like Meryl Streep, Jennifer Lawrence and Drescher, sent a letter to the union reasserting their willingness to strike.

“We are concerned by the idea that SAG-AFTRA members may be ready to make sacrifices that leadership is not,” the letter said, somewhat curiously given Drescher’s position in the union.

The actors added that issues such as minimum pay, residuals, the casting process and regulations surrounding artificial intelligence needed to be addressed.

“This is an unprecedented inflection point in our industry, and what might be considered a good deal in any other years is simply not enough,” the letter said. “We feel that our wages, our craft, our creative freedom and the power of our union have all been undermined in the last decade. We need to reverse those trajectories.”

A drone light show during the concert at Windsor Castle celebrating the coronation of King Charles III.

Wall St ends slightly higher in shortened session, Tesla jumps

Wall Street’s main indexes ended with slim gains in a holiday-shortened session on Monday, helped by a surge in Tesla and strength in bank shares as the second half of the year kicked off on a subdued note.

Tesla (TSLA.O) shares jumped 6.9% as the electric vehicle maker said it delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter.

Shares of major banks gained after the companies raised dividends as they sailed through the Federal Reserve’s annual health check. Wells Fargo (WFC.N) shares rose 1.7%, Citigroup (C.N) shares climbed 1.5%, while the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) ended up 1.5%.

Trading volumes were lighter than average as the stock market closed at 1 p.m. ET ahead of the July 4th Independence Day holiday on Tuesday.

“You have got a lot of people that are just not in the market today,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “Nobody is really placing any big bets on either side of the market right now.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 10.87 points, or 0.03%, to 34,418.47; the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 5.21 points, or 0.12%, at 4,455.59; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 28.85 points, or 0.21%, at 13,816.77.

While nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors rose, healthcare (.SPXHC) fell the most, dropping 0.8%, while the heavyweight technology sector (.SPLRCT) fell 0.3%.

Stocks ended higher on Friday, closing out a strong first-half of the year for major equity indexes. The Nasdaq Composite posted its biggest first-half gain in 40 years, rising 31.7%.

Outsized gains for megacap stocks have led indexes this year, but recent signs have shown a broadening rally.

“You have a stronger market and the likelihood

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS

COMMODITIES

of a more sustained upside move when you have broader strength,” Carlson said.

A widely watched section of the U.S. Treasury yield curve hit its deepest inversion on Monday since 1981, reflecting financial markets’ concerns about the economy.

U.S. manufacturing slumped further in June, a

CURRENCY

survey showed, reaching levels last seen when the economy was reeling from the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 2.27-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.51-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 47 new lows.

About 6 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, compared with the 11 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Unrest in France eases nearly a week after fatal police shooting

help Merzouk’s family, had raised over 235,000 euros, about $256,000, at that same time.

French officials have said the violence was carried out by a minority motivated by something other than justice for Merzouk and wider concerns about their treatment at the hands of the authorities.

“When you loot a Foot Locker, a Lacoste store or a Sephora boutique, there is no political message,” Olivier Véran, the French government spokesperson, said on Sunday, listing stores that had been looted.

a witness on Monday, according to the prosecutor’s office in Nanterre.

Mayors and their constituents had gathered peacefully in front of dozens of town halls in the country to protest the violence. President Emmanuel Macron is also expected to meet on Tuesday with the mayors of over 200 municipalities hit by the unrest.

Near Tours, rioters tried to set a mayor’s car on fire, while in Charly, a town south of Lyon, a flaming torch was placed in front of the mayor’s home.

By AURELIEN BREEDEN

The violent protests and unrest that spread across France after the fatal police shooting of a teenager last week diminished significantly overnight, authorities said Monday.

Still, as a reminder that tensions remained high, French mayors organized peaceful gatherings across the country to protest violent attacks on elected officials. And the issues underlying the explosion of anger — especially a deepseated mistrust of the police in France’s poorer urban suburbs — appeared far from resolved.

Nearly 160 people were arrested and three law enforcement officers were injured overnight, the Interior Ministry said Monday morning, far fewer than in previous days, when as many as 1,300 people were taken into custody.

“When you arrest 3,200 people, when the courts put people on trial, when you put on a show of republican force — a fair order, but an order, nonetheless — I think that has largely contributed to this return to calm,” Gérald Darmanin, the interior minister, told reporters in Reims on Monday.

Fewer episodes were reported

across the country, after authorities deployed 45,000 police officers and gendarmes for the third night in a row in an effort to bring the situation under control. The same number will deployed on Monday night, Darmanin said.

Nearly a week of violence was set off by the fatal police shooting of Nahel Merzouk, a 17-year-old French citizen of North African descent, during a traffic stop last Tuesday morning in Nanterre, a Paris suburb.

The officer who fired the shot has not been publicly identified. He was quickly placed under formal investigation on charges of voluntary homicide and detained — a rare step in cases involving police officers.

But Merzouk’s killing unleashed a burst of frustration and violence that has underlined stark divisions in French society — some of which were on plain display through dueling online fundraising efforts.

One fund, set up by a far-right commentator and former spokesperson for Éric Zemmour, a far-right presidential candidate, to support the police officer’s family, had raised over 1.1 million euros, about $1.2 million, by Monday evening. The other, set up anonymously to

While their exact numbers are hard to estimate, rioters have burned thousands of cars, attacked hundreds of buildings — including police stations, schools, businesses and town halls — looted supermarkets and stores, and clashed night after night for nearly a week with the police in cities across the country.

Many residents of France’s poorer urban suburbs have condemned the violence but have also said that they understood the anger that fueled the unrest, which morphed from an outburst of rage concentrated in the Paris suburbs into a broader wave of violence.

“We are afraid of the police,” said Nassima Seddini, 24, a resident of Clichy-sous-Bois, the northeastern suburb of Paris where two teenagers running from the police were electrocuted in 2005 after they hid in an electrical substation, provoking weeks of violent protests in the country.

Seddini and friends with her in Clichy-sous-Bois on Monday all condemned the violence, calling it useless. But they said that little had changed since 2005 and that repeated police checks and mishandling of minorities were still commonplace.

“It only happens to Black, Arab and Muslim people, and that’s been the case for a while,” she said.

Two passengers were in the car with Merzouk when he was killed. One has already been questioned by the police and released. The other fled the scene but was questioned by investigators as

There were broader concerns that mayors, already the first to face discontent when state services are rolled back, are increasingly becoming targets of physical violence. Most recently, a mayor attracted nationwide attention after he resigned because of an arson attack on his home and threats from the farright over the opening of a refugee center in his town.

“What we want today is a civic awakening,” David Lisnard, the mayor of Cannes and the head of the Association of Mayors of France, said Monday in front of his town hall.

A weekend attack on the home of Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of L’Haÿles-Roses, a usually quiet town of about 30,000 inhabitants in the southern suburbs of Paris, resonated throughout the country.

Early Sunday, as Jeanbrun was monitoring the situation at his office, assailants rammed a car into his home with the intention of setting it on fire, according to local prosecutors, who have opened an attempted-murder investigation.

The mayor’s wife fled through the back garden with the couple’s children, injuring her leg in the process.

The French government and politicians from across the spectrum have rallied to support Jeanbrun, who was joined on Monday by dozens of elected officials wearing blue, white and red stashes — many of them members, like him, of the conservative Republican party — for a march in L’Haÿ-les-Roses.

“Enough is enough,” Jeanbrun said in a speech after the march, as the crowd clapped and echoed his words.

“Revenge for Nahel” is written in a park in Nanterre, France, the Paris suburb where Nahel Merzouk, a teenager, was killed last week by a police officer during a traffic stop.

Fireworks for all, one day only, in Australia’s last frontier

By YAN ZHUANG

As fireworks lit up the 3-mile stretch of coastline in the capital of Australia’s remote Northern Territory, a swath of grass along the beach went up in flames.

A few revelers used tree branches to beat down the blaze; one man poured water on the fire with one hand while clutching a beer in another. But most, having judged that the fire probably would not spread, were content to carry on setting off fireworks and waiting for firefighters to arrive to douse the conflagration, which they did after about 15 minutes. About 3 feet from the fire, close enough to feel its heat, a couple lit sparklers and danced with their two young children.

Welcome to Territory Day in the Northern Territory, the one time and place in mainland Australia where anyone can set off fireworks, no permits needed and no questions asked.

Down the beach from the grass fire, teenagers cheered on by their friends set off rockets — the kind designed to be put on the ground and lit — from their hands. Misfiring flares skidded along the sand, exploding in the water or among the crowds. A man staggered past, holding an upside-down beach chair over his head as protection.

“Heads up,” Michael Bonnett called, as a flare headed toward where he was lounging in lawn chairs in the sand with his wife, friends and children. Everyone ducked as it exploded about 2 feet away, showering them with sparks.

“That was a bad one,” Bonnett, 40, said cheerfully before calling out to a mate: “That nearly got ya!”

Such celebrations were once common across Australia, before states began to ban consumer fireworks from the 1960s onward. Now, the holdout is the Northern Territory, a handful of cities and towns situated within a vast, sparsely populated stretch from the heart of the country’s red outback to its northernmost tropics that some term Australia’s last frontier. (Tasmania also allows consumer fireworks one day a year, but a permit is required.)

Each year on July 1 in the Northern Territory, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., anyone 18 or older can buy fireworks, to be set off from 6 to 11 p.m.

Although the tradition was once a version of Guy Fawkes Day, celebrating Australia’s connection to Britain, it was changed in the 1980s to honor the day the territory became a self-governing region.

That was part of an effort by local politicians to foster “local nationalism” and create a sense of “territory exceptionalism and rugged individualism,” said Rolf Gerritsen, a political scientist at Charles Darwin University.

“As the states banned crackers, the territory has continued it because it’s still seen as something that makes the territory unique,” added Gerritsen, who lives in Alice Springs, the Northern Territory’s second-biggest city. Things can go wrong, and detractors are plentiful:

environmentalists, pet owners and other states worried about fireworks being taken across borders. This year, firefighters put out nearly 100 wildfires related to Territory Day, according to emergency services. Although no serious injuries were reported in the previous several years, this year, according to local news media, shrapnel from the explosion of a steel pipe being used to launch fireworks sliced off a man’s arm. (It is being reattached.)

But fireworks manufacturers and sellers stressed that they work closely with the authorities to ensure that their products carried minimum risk.

“They’ve been made as safe as we can make them,” said Mark Killip, owner of Territory Day Fireworks. But, he added, “If people are going to pick up a firework and point it at someone else, there’s no getting around that.”

Operating a business that is legal only one day of the year is also complicated.

Chris Lay, who annually transforms his Asian grocery store, Oriental Emporium, into a fireworks retailer, said preparations begin about a month out, with steps such as applying for a permit to sell fireworks and hiring extra workers, including security guards. In the last days of June, he started rearranging to make room for a big, temporary fireworks counter.

Residents of the Northern Territory take pride in freedoms and responsibilities that no longer exist elsewhere in the country, said Lay, a Darwin native. “If anyone tried to take that away from them, it’s almost signal-

ing that they’re falling in line with the rest of Australia,” he said. “And they hate that; they want to be known as pioneering people.”

And with the majority fiercely protective of the event, local politicians have been reluctant to consider banning the practice.

For those celebrating on the beach, the day represented many things. For some, an opportunity to honor their region’s renegade spirit. For others, a time to get together with family and friends or to let loose on a boozefueled night of risky fun. For many, it was all of the above.

“No rules, there’s no rules here,” laughed Debbie Prendergast, 63, then ducked as a stray spinning firework shot over her head. She, along with her husband and son, had just started setting off $400 worth of fireworks on the beach.

“It’s about spending time as a family,” she added. “And it’s like being a kid again.”

As the sun began to set and fireworks started to fill the sky, Stephanie Knight, 36, sat in the sand with her three young children, periodically warning them to stay close to her. She referred to something that Banjo Paterson, an Australian poet, had written about the Northern Territory in 1898: “Some day it may be civilized and spoilt, but up to the present it has triumphantly overthrown all who have tried to improve it.”

That sentiment still rang true, she said. “You can’t tame the territory.”

People lighting fireworks on the beach in Darwin, Australia, July 1, 2023. In the vast and sparsely populated Northern Territory, residents’ sense of rugged individualism finds expression every July 1, explosively.

Japan’s native Ainu fight to restore a last vestige of their identity

broidery. A historical timeline in the main exhibit hall acknowledges that Japanese invaders “oppressed” the Ainu, bringing diseases that wiped out parts of the population, forcing Japanese customs on them and granting them agricultural land that was “often uncultivable.”

Critics say neither the new law nor the museum, the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park, goes far enough to empower the Ainu after centuries of being ignored by Japanese politicians who insisted that Japan was an ethnically homogeneous nation.

While the government emphasizes Ainu crafts, music and dance, “I think we should have political rights,” said Kanako Uzawa, an Ainu rights expert and the niece of a prominent Ainu leader.

With an education system that barely acknowledges the existence of Hokkaido’s Indigenous people in textbooks or curriculum, some Ainu say they want more than an isolated museum.

Miyuki Muraki, 63, deputy executive director of the Ainu museum, said that as a child, her family never talked about their Ainu identity at home, and that classmates compared her and other Ainu children to dogs.

“In the whole society, all we learn about is Japanese culture,” she said. “They say that is because there are not enough of us. But that is partly because we have not been able to live our life freely.”

To Sashima, that can happen only if the Ainu can catch salmon from the river whenever they choose.

By MOTOKO RICH and HIKARI HIDA

Masaki Sashima gazed through the fog one recent afternoon onto the gray waters of the Tokachi River in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. From here, his Indigenous people, the Ainu, once used spears and nets to catch the salmon they regarded as gifts from the gods.

Under Japanese law, river fishing for this salmon, an essential part of Ainu cuisine, trade and spiritual culture, has been off limits for more than a century. Sashima, 72, said it was time for his people to regain what they see as a natural right, and restore one of the last vestiges of a decimated Ainu identity.

“In the past in our culture, the salmon were for everybody to enjoy within the community,” he said. “The salmon is here for us, and we want to ensure our right to be able to take this fish.”

Sashima is leading a group suing the central and prefectural governments to reclaim salmon fishing rights, four years after Japan’s parliament passed a law recognizing the Ainu as the nation’s Indigenous people.

For centuries, Japanese assimilation policies have stripped the Ainu of their land, forced them to give up hunting and fishing for farming or other menial jobs, and pushed them into Japanese-language schools where it was impossible to preserve their own language.

When the government banned all river fishing during the Meiji era, which ran from 1868 to 1912, the main justification was to protect stocks of salmon as they spawn on their way to the Pacific Ocean.

The move coincided with a government policy to push the

Ainu away from fishing as their livelihood to give an advantage to Japanese fishermen who would take salmon from the sea, said Shinichi Yamada, a professor of human sciences at Sapporo Gakuin University who has written about Ainu history and fishing rights.

Ainu advocates say Japanese law does not abide by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which stipulates the right to use lands and resources claimed through traditional ownership or practices. Japan voted for the nonbinding declaration in 2007.

“Japan is a country that says it follows the rule of law, but in terms of Indigenous rights, they are very behind,” said Shiro Kayano, director of a private museum in eastern Hokkaido and the son of the only Ainu to serve in the Japanese parliament. “Ainu people who choose to do so should have the option to go back” to the traditional Ainu lifestyle, Kayano said.

The ranks of the Ainu have shrunk so low that in the last official survey, taken in 2017, only 13,118 people identified as Ainu in Hokkaido, which has a total population of about 5.2 million. UNESCO has designated the Ainu language as “critically endangered.”

This year, the Japanese government plans to spend about $40 million to support Ainu cultural activities, tourism and industry, under the 2019 law that recognized the Ainu as an Indigenous people. The new law enshrined a previous resolution from a decade earlier.

In 2020, the government opened an Ainu museum in Shiraoi, south of Sapporo, the prefectural capital, to celebrate Ainu traditions such as dance, woodcarving, archery and em-

The prefectural governor grants annual exemptions to the Ainu to take a limited number of salmon from the river for ceremonial purposes. Sashima said that even if his group, the Raporo Ainu Nation, wins its lawsuit, it would never take much more than the 100 or 200 salmon it is permitted each year.

“It is about our rights, not the number of fish,” said Sashima, who co-owns a local company that makes fishing nets and holds a commercial fishing license for the sea.

The case could come before a court for a hearing as early as this fall. In court filings, the Japanese government says the ban on river fishing covers all Hokkaido residents and that the Ainu are not entitled to special rights beyond the annual ceremonial exemption.

Michiaki Endo, a spokesperson in the Ainu policy division of the Hokkaido prefectural government, declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit. Representatives of both the Council for Ainu Policy Promotion within the central Cabinet Secretariat and the national fisheries agency also declined to comment.

For Sashima, pursuing the lawsuit and preserving Ainu traditions are about leaving a legacy. Like many other Ainu, as a child he had inklings — but never knew for sure — that he was a member of the Indigenous group.

But in his 40s, he got into a bar brawl when another man taunted him for his Ainu heritage. It was then that he decided to devote his life to cultural and political activism.

“Even when we would do embroideries or wood carvings and absolutely nobody was interested, I worked hard on my own,” he said as tears rolled down his cheeks. “Ethnic discrimination doesn’t disappear no matter where you go. You can’t hide from it anywhere.”

An archery dancer performing at the Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi, Hokkaido, Japan on June 14, 2023. In 2020, the government opened the museum to celebrate Ainu traditions such as dance, woodcarving, archery and embroidery.

Gas-powered cars are an environmental catastrophe. I’ll miss them anyway.

By FARHAD MANJOO

I’ve been driving for nearly 30 years, but until recently, I hadn’t ever changed my car engine’s oil by myself. Of course I hadn’t: By the time I got my first car, in the mid1990s, cars had long since become reliable enough that you could go years without popping the hood. In Southern California, where I grew up, there’s a quick-lube place on just about every other corner. Owning a car meant pulling into one as regularly as you visited a dentist, catching up on old magazines in the lounge as a technician mucked about under your ride for a half-hour before you went on with your day.

But a month ago, figuring I may not have many more chances, now that oil-free electric cars are becoming the norm, I decided to jack up my car and do it myself. The process wasn’t nearly as messy as it might sound and, thanks to YouTube, was pretty simple, even for a lube noob. I was able to drain the spent oil, pour in new oil and pop out and replace the filter without a hitch.

I didn’t save any time or money doing it on my own — the equipment I had to buy was more expensive than paying to have the oil changed, and I’ve still got to take the dirty oil to a service station for proper disposal. But for the uninitiated, I’d recommend trying a DIY oil change at least once. Decked out with cameras, touch-screens and microprocessors, modern cars can feel like entirely digital devices, little more than iPhones on wheels. However, there’s nothing like replacing a stream of gooey sludge with a bottle of fresh motor oil to remind you of what anachronistic marvels our gasoline-burning cars really are.

The fossil-fuel-powered internal combustion engine is slowly on its way out — and good riddance. As I’ve written before, it’s long past time we replaced these inefficient, pollution-belching, climate-warming beasts with other ways of getting around. And even if electric cars are no panacea, they’re a huge improvement over their gassy predecessors. But let’s not put gas-powered cars out to pasture without a proper farewell. Gasoline cars are among the last remnants in our daily lives of the pistoning industrial age — machines powered not by quietly streaming electrons but by noisy, fiery explosion, by sequential gears and timing belts, by the primal growl of thermal expansion. America’s overreliance on cars has been ruinous, but as we celebrate another national birthday, let’s remember, too, how the gas-powered car helped realize a quintessentially American idea of liberty: the freedom to roam just about anywhere you please.

Yes, I’m romanticizing the automobile, and yes, the poetic way the automotive industry wants us to think about cars is rarely reflected in the misery that is daily urban commuting.

But as critical as I’ve been of cars, I can’t deny loving driving and loving it in a primal way — loving the thrum of a revving engine, loving slaloming in and out of turns on a windy country road, loving simply going very far, very fast,

conveyed by fire.

And here’s another confession: I’ve never felt anything approaching this sort of exhilaration in an electric car. Electric cars are quieter, more efficient, less polluting and easier to maintain and generally even accelerate more quickly than their gas counterparts.

But boy, can they be dull. The fastest electric car I’ve driven, Tesla’s Model S Plaid, is also the fastest car I’ve ever driven. The Plaid can go from a dead stop to 60 mph in about 2 seconds.

Yet I’ve driven gas-powered cars half as fast that were twice as fun.

On a weekend road trip not long ago, I rented one of my dream cars, a manual-transmission BMW M3. The Bimmer isn’t nearly as quick as the Tesla — it needed almost five seconds to get to 60 — but because it’s lighter, more nimble and louder and its engine quivers like a purring cat as you slide from gear to gear, the M3 felt alive in a way unmatched by anything Elon Musk has ever made.

None of this is to suggest we should keep the internal combustion engine around any longer than necessary. I yearn for silent roadways and pristine air, for the end of oil wars and pump-price politics, for corner gas stations and oilchange shops to be replaced by charging stations, independent bookstores and Boba tea spots. (A coastal liberal can dream!) The internal combustion engine must die.

Still: Long live the internal combustion engine!

POR CYBERNEWS

SAN JUAN – Al darse a conocer este lunes, sobre la renuncia del Presidente de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE), Francisco Rosado Colomer, comisionados electorales de diversos partidos políticos en Puerto Rico, reaccionaron.

“Es innegable que esta renuncia, ante el próximo inicio de un ciclo electoral, plantea desafíos adicionales en un escenario electoral que requiere estabilidad y confianza… Confío que prontamente, se reúna con los líderes legislativos y designe un Presidente o Presidenta en propiedad cuyo único norte sea fortalecer la confianza en el proceso electoral del País”, dijo la comisionada electoral del Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), licenciada Karla Angleró, en declaraciones escritas.

Según el periódico El Nuevo Día, Francisco Rosado Colomer anunció que abandonaría su puesto como presidente de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones la próxima semana, para retomar su rol como juez a partir del 11 de julio. Esta decisión se produjo después de que el gobernador Pedro Pierluisi retiró su nominación para el Tribunal de Apelaciones en el último día de la sesión legislativa, sin que el Senado la considerara. No se presentaron modificaciones al Código Electoral que le permitieran continuar en la presidencia de la Comisión más allá del 1 de diciembre de este año, cuando finaliza su mandato como juez superior.

Rosado Colomer explicó que decidió presentar su

renuncia ahora para dar lugar a una transición con la presidenta alterna, Jessika Padilla Rivera. Aseguró que no creía prudente esperar hasta diciembre, ni justo dejar que ella afrontara el caos que supone las radicaciones si ella fuera a tomar su lugar. Indicó que ya los cuerpos legislativos habían expresado su posición.

Por su parte, la Comisionada Electoral del Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana, Lillian Aponte Dones, no tardó en compartir sus comentarios al respecto.

“La renuncia del Juez Rosado Colomer no ha sido una sorpresa para nosotros. Aunque nos hemos enterado de esta noticia a través de los medios de comunicación, era evidente que la negociación entre el PNP y el PPD no estaba dando frutos. Esto demuestra una vez más la falta de seriedad de estos dos partidos al no poder ponerse de acuerdo en el nombramiento de una

posición tan crucial para la democracia de nuestro país”, afirmó Aponte Dones en declaraciones escritas. Además, destacó que durante la presidencia de Rosado Colomer se llevaron a cabo las elecciones ‘más controvertidas de la historia reciente de Puerto Rico’. “El Juez Rosado Colomer, quien fue recomendado para este cargo por el PNP, fue leal a aquellos que lo colocaron en su posición. Incluso cuando cuatro de los cinco Comisionados llegábamos a un acuerdo sobre un tema, él siempre resolvía el asunto a favor del único partido en desacuerdo: el PNP”, expresó. “Su salida representa una situación compleja, ya que aunque ciertamente fue un presidente imparcial con un legado negativo para el país, ahora estamos a merced de las negociaciones politiqueras del PNPPD y tendremos que enfrentar las elecciones y primarias, una vez más, con un nuevo presidente en la Comisión”, agregó la Comisionada Electoral. El coordinador general de Victoria Ciudadana, Manuel Natal, también añadió su voz al asunto, solicitando seriedad al gobernador y al liderato del PPD en la Asamblea Legislativa. “Esperamos que este asunto sea abordado con la seriedad que merece, dejando de lado la politiquería y buscando un consenso entre todas las partes para que la presidencia de la CEE sea ocupada por alguien serio e imparcial. Es lo mínimo que el pueblo exige”, expresó Natal. “Desde Victoria estaremos atentos a este asunto y el pueblo puede contar con que no permitiremos que el PNP continúe utilizando la democracia como rehén a costa de tener el control del aparato electoral”, concluyó.

Aumento al salario mínimo no afectará elegibilidad en el PAN

SAN JUAN – El aumento al salario mínimo estatal que entró en vigor el sábado, 1 de julio de

2023, no afectará la elegibilidad de los participantes del Programa de Asistencia Nutricional (PAN), informaron la secretaria interina del Departamento de la Familia, Ciení Rodríguez Troche, y el administrador de la Administración de Desarrollo Socioeconómico de la Familia, Alberto Fradera Vázquez.

“Incentivar el trabajo y proveer apoyos para que las personas puedan alcanzar su estabilidad económica son dos de nuestras prioridades en términos de política pública”, sostuvo Rodríguez Troche en declaraciones escritas.

“Este esfuerzo fortalece la capacidad de nuestros participantes de integrarse al mercado laboral y mejorar su calidad de vida”, agregó.

Rodríguez Troche añadió que el aumento del salario mínimo también tiene un impacto

directo en la economía de Puerto Rico al permitir ampliar la fuerza laboral y mejorar la cantidad y calidad de los servicios.

El Departamento de la Familia realizó análisis del perfil de los participantes y sometió al Servicio de Alimentación y Nutrición las revisiones al Plan Estatal del PAN para ajustar los niveles de elegibilidad. “Este nuevo cambio representa apoyar a sobre 200 mil personas que podrán continuar trabajando y recibiendo el PAN”, explicó la secretaria de la Familia.

Fradera Vázquez recordó que las familias pueden acceder a la plataforma de ADSEF Digital para verificar el estado de sus cuentas y realizar sus gestiones de manera remota. También mencionó que el Tour de ADSEF Digital continúa en las tiendas Walmart de todo Puerto Rico para asistir a los participantes.

POR CYBERNEWS

Renuncia del Presidente de la CEE desata reacciones en los partidos políticos

‘Hijack,’ with Idris Elba, is a throwback thriller

By CHRIS VOGNAR

Afew years ago, writer-producer George Kay was commuting by train from his home in London to France, where he was working on the series “Lupin.” Suddenly, as the train went through a tunnel under the English Channel, it stopped. Kay, ever the writer, put his imagination and anxiety to work.

“I looked around at the different passengers, and I thought, ‘Well, how would we cope as a group of people in this compartment if there was some serious sort of incident going on?’” he recalled. “Is the guy who works out and looks tough in his suit going to be any more useful to us than the two little old ladies who are doing the crossword down the row?”

Thus the seed was planted for “Hijack,” a seven-part thriller that premiered last Wednesday on Apple TV+. The limited series stars Idris Elba (who is also an executive producer) as Sam, a corporate negotiator flying home from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to London when his flight is taken over by a group of armed thugs. Created by Kay and director Jim Field Smith, it unfolds in real time over the course of the sevenhour flight, toggling back and forth from the drama in the air to the strategy and panic on the ground, where law enforcement, air traffic controllers and politicians try to stay one step ahead of impending disaster.

Led by Sam, who quietly and quickly puts his negotiating skills to use (he explains to one of the hijackers that he is trying to ensure a better outcome for everyone), the passengers constitute a sort of social experiment. Rich and poor, young and old, of multiple ethnicities, they form a crosssection of society. They’re stuck with one another, for seven hours anyway, and they may or may not make it out alive.

“Air travel is a leveler even without a hijack,” said Smith, the director. “When you step onto an airplane, you might be turning left as Sam does into first class. But ultimately, you’re all in a metal tube defying physics. All each of you has got to go on is your perceptions of what that person next to you is or does based on what they look like.”

A series like “Hijack” necessarily plays differently now than it would have before

9/11, which forever changed the way we think about the possible outcomes when a plane is seized in midair. When the possibility of a passenger revolt emerges, it is hard not to think of “United 93,” the 2006 film about the passengers of one of the 9/11 flights, who took matters into their own hands.

The series acknowledges these viewer expectations but subverts them from the start. The hijackers are all English; one of them is a woman. When one starts barking orders in Arabic, Sam quickly deduces that he is merely trying to communicate with passengers on a plane that just took off from Dubai. The question of what the hijackers want lingers well into the series, though their concerns appear more avaricious than ideological.

Elba is aware of where viewers’ minds will likely go.

“There’s no way post-9/11 that anyone can make any sort of drama on a flight or on a plane that doesn’t evoke our emotional memory around that time and how the world has changed since, and certainly the world of aviation,” he said. “But the series also bolsters the idea that thrillers are thrillers. Whether it takes place in a church or a bank, it’s about humans, at the end of the day. It’s about our handling of situations.”

Sam is no action hero, and “Hijack” is no “Passenger 57,” the 1992 movie in which Wesley Snipes plays an airline security ex-

pert who goes Rambo on midair terrorists. Sam is more inclined to think and talk than punch and shoot. His life is a shambles; we learn almost immediately that his wife (Christine Adams) is seeing a police officer (Max Beesley) back in London. Sam wears his pensiveness on his face.

“I wanted to make sure that it was about his intellect and his thinking and his vulnerability and Achilles’ heel, which is his family,” Elba said. “He already has lost his family by the time he gets on the plane, but he is obsessed with wanting to get home.

“I didn’t want to play the tough guy or the hero,” he continued. “I wanted him to be quite weak and fragile.”

As the passengers and crew fret for their lives in the air, chaos erupts on the ground from Dubai to London. Politicians pass the buck back and forth. Representatives of other countries consider shooting the plane down as it flies over their airspace. The criminal masterminds, including a sneering Simon McBurney, coordinate their next moves. The gears keep moving, all in real time.

Among the faces in the crowd is an air traffic controller played by Eve Myles. When we meet her, she’s trying desperately to get her son to school on time and running late for work. Then she steps into the belly of the beast, where she remains for the duration.

“She seems to be the Everyman, the

normal person who has to control this extraordinary situation in the sky through technology from the ground,” Myles said. “What turned me on about her was her humanity and her normalness, how broken in the real world she is and how that bleeds into this thriller.”

The shoot, understandably, could get tense. Archie Panjabi, who plays a counterterrorism officer, recalled that Smith did his best to keep the set loose. At one point, in an effort to digest one of the series’s many dialogue-heavy scenes on the ground, the cast turned to song and dance between takes.

“We made a little number to it,” Panjabi said, on the same interview call as Elba. “We just got a little bit carried away to just keep the energy.”

“‘Hijack: The Musical,’ coming soon,” Elba quipped.

For all of its modern touches — the realistic diversity, the hero’s cerebral nature and psychological torment — there is something old-fashioned about the appeal of “Hijack.” The collaboration of complete strangers under immense pressure recalls Sidney Lumet’s “12 Angry Men” (1957). The clock’s relentless ticking toward disaster and the mad, mass scramble to prevent the worst outcome bring to mind “Fail Safe” (1964, also directed by Lumet).

This throwback quality was a big draw for Elba. Proud of the show, he knows that won’t mean much if people don’t watch. He wants viewers to know that this harrowing experience, which would be the ultimate nightmare in real life, is actually rather fun on screen.

“For me, it’s really well-done escapism,” he said. “It’s intelligent, and I think that it’s relatable hopefully for a lot of people. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel; it’s just really good, clever storytelling with compelling characters.”

Panjabi agrees. She recalled that her agent initially sent her scripts for the first three episodes to gauge her interest. She tore through them and immediately asked if she could see the rest. Concerned, her agent asked if she was having doubts.

No, Panjabi recalled telling her: “I just need to know what happens to the passengers.”

Idris Elba stars as a professional negotiator caught in an evolving air disaster in “Hijack,” a thriller debuting on Apple TV+ this week.

‘Miles Ahead,’ ‘The Exiles’ and more streaming gems

‘Run All Night’ (2015)

This Liam Neeson vehicle was released the year after “John Wick,” and feels, in retrospect, like the first of that film’s many imitators, with Neeson as a former Mob enforcer who puts his own life in jeopardy when he kills his boss’s trigger-happy son. Whatever its origins, this is one of Neeson’s better late-period action efforts, thanks to a stellar supporting cast (including Vincent D’Onofrio, Ed Harris, Bruce McGill, Lois Smith plus a “John Wick: Chapter 2” costar, Common) and a tightly focused Neeson performance; he has one especially good scene at the hospital bed of his dying mother, wearing the face of a man who knows how much he’s let her down. (Stream it on Max.)

‘The Exiles’ (2023)

By JASON BAILEY

Inventive riffs on the biopic, the movie musical, the classic Western and the celebrity bio-documentary are among the highlights of this month’s roundup of underthe-radar streaming movies.

‘Miles Ahead’ (2016)

Viewers hoping for a traditional music-legend biopic in the style of “Walk the Line” or “Ray” will likely be baffled by this portrait of Miles Davis from Don Cheadle, who directs, co-writes and stars as the jazz great. Cheadle eschews the cradle-to-grave approach typical of such endeavors, instead building his narrative around a tall tale of Davis and a music journalist (Ewan McGregor) attempting to recover stolen tapes of his latest album. This mostly fictional fabrication gives Cheadle the leeway to create a playful, unpredictable and unexpected work — a cinematic reflection of the music that made him famous. Emayatzy Corinealdi is heart-wrenching as Davis’ wife Frances, while LaKeith Stanfield and Michael Stuhlbarg stand out in memorable supporting roles. (Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.)

‘The Lure’ (2017)

Polish director Agnieszka Smoczynska made her feature directing debut with this exhilaratingly odd mashup of cabaret musical, sex comedy and folk horror tale. Michalina Olszanska and Marta Mazurek are Gold and Silver, a pair of mermaid sisters who leave their comfortable undersea homes in pursuit of a handsome human (shades of “The Little Mermaid”), and end up bumping and grinding at a seedy nightclub. Smoczynska takes this literal fish-out-ofwater tale and spices it up with unexpected genre flourishes; it’s the kind of movie where, if you’re not enjoying

yourself, you merely have to wait a few scenes for it to become something else entirely. (Stream it on Max.)

‘St. Vincent’ (2014)

The gruff but lovable geezer, the harried and hardworking single mom, the hooker with the heart of gold — the character types on display in Theodore Melfi’s comedydrama are, to put it charitably, well-worn. Yet they’re written with such sensitivity and played with such nuance by Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts that the amiable viewer won’t much mind; in fact, these overly familiar characters, and the stock situations Melfi writes them into, allow these actors to give them a good, old-fashioned, movie-star spit shine. All three pros are in fine form, with McCarthy particularly good in a lived-in, semi-dramatic turn that predicts her affecting work in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” But the standout is young Jaeden Martell, charismatic and charming as the kid who brings them all together. (Stream it on Netflix.)

‘The Old Way’ (2023)

So much of today’s B-movie output consists of Xeroxed action movies and unimaginative horror that it’s easy to forget how the Western was once a key corner of that world. This revenge melodrama from director Brett Donowho serves as a reminder of the genre’s vitality, even on a low budget. Though burdened by a thin script and a distractingly contemporary look, the picture’s flaws are handily outweighed by the presence of Nicolas Cage in the leading role — shockingly, his first turn in an oater in a 100-plus film career. He brings a hard-fought gravitas to this old gunslinger character, his familiar face sharpened by weary eyes and deeply set lines reminiscent of old-school Western stars like Randolph Scott and Audie Murphy. (Stream it on Hulu.)

Christine Choy, the initial subject of this documentary from directors Violet Columbus and Ben Klein, is such a compelling, colorful character — a foul-mouthed, chainsmoking, no nonsense local legend — that one could watch a film merely of her telling stories and barking complaints. But Columbus and Klein are up to much more than that. “The Exiles” details how fellow documentarian Choy spent much of the summer of 1989 interviewing “political exiles” from China’s Tiananmen Square protests (and subsequent massacre) and attending their stateside events. Decades later, she rediscovers that footage and sets about reconnecting with her subjects, a process that results in poignant reflection and righteous indignation over how their cause was adopted but eventually discarded by the U.S. government. (Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.)

‘Call Me Kate’ (2022)

Netflix is notoriously reluctant to license films from Hollywood’s golden era (frankly, it can be hard to find much of anything from the 20th century in general). But they will offer up the occasional documentary study of cinema history, such as “Five Came Back,” “Is That Black Enough for You?!?,” and this recent British documentary valentine to the one and only Katharine Hepburn. Writer and director Lorna Tucker draws from rare archival audio and home movies, elegantly assembling a portrait that both celebrates and demystifies her considerable legend. Intimate and unapologetic, it leaves the viewer with a keener understanding of Hepburn — the person and the persona. (Stream it on Netflix.)

‘Tim’s Vermeer’ (2014)

The current hullabaloo over artificial intelligence and visual art makes this a fine time to revisit this provocative and pointed documentary, written by magicians and self-appointed debunkers Penn and Teller, narrated by the former and directed by the latter. They detail the efforts of inventor Tim Jenison to both investigate and replicate the methodology of Dutch master Johannes Vermeer, whose photorealistic paintings have impressed admirers and challenged skeptics for years. Assembled with the pair’s usual and potent mixture of cynicism and curiosity, it’s a compelling journey into the past with implications for the future. (Stream it on Hulu.)

Don Cheadle in “Miles Ahead.”

By CHRISTINE CHUNG

Mountaineers have long climbed atop Mount Everest, and scientists in submersibles have descended into the Antarctic Ocean. In recent decades, travelers with deep pockets and little expertise have joined these explorers or even ventured further, paying to visit the bottom of the ocean or the edge of space, touching the literal bounds of Earth. But as the deaths of five people aboard the Titan submersible make evident, there are no clear safeguards in place when something goes wrong.

The tragedy last month spotlighted the issues around rescue operations and government oversight in this new world of extreme travel — who is responsible for search and rescue, and who pays for it? Is it even possible to purchase insurance against catastrophe? It also raises questions about when risk is too great and dangers too immense for rescue.

This all comes at a time when an increasing number of thrill seekers are undertaking risky — and riskier — adventures and expeditions.

“People want these experiences, and they’re going to continue to want them and be willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money for them,” said Anthony Berklich, a travel adviser and founder of the luxury travel service Inspired Citizen.

An adrenaline rush with a high price

Innovations in technology have opened up the possibilities of travel in recent years, and wealthy travelers are willing to spend more to go further, especially when it comes to space travel and underwater exploration.

“Some people like watches, other people like exploring, because that’s how they get their kicks,” said Roman Chiporukha, of Roman & Erica, a referral-based luxury lifestyle and travel firm based in New York City, and the SpaceVIP service, which connects clients to space tourism operators.

About 1 million tourists a year embark on some sort of underwater sightseeing expedition, according to Triton Submarines, a Florida-based company offering “superyacht submersibles.” (These large, ultraluxury and customizable underwater vessels reportedly cost between $2.5 million and $40 million to build and count the “Titanic” movie director, James Cameron, as an investor.)

The expeditions can range from short submarine tours, like a two-hour, $180 trip that dips 100 feet below the waves of the Hawaiian island of Maui to an overnight stay in Lovers Deep, a submarine hotel equipped with a chef and butler, which will take passengers through reefs of St. Lucia in the Caribbean for nearly $300,000 a night. The expedition on the Titan to view the Titanic was priced at $250,000 a person.

Diego Gomes, 36, a medical director from Seattle, visited Antarctica in February. He booked passage with Seabourn Cruise Line, where most cabins start at $10,000, and after reaching the Antarctic Ocean, was able to get a

glimpse of the ocean floor in Seabourn’s Expedition Submarine.

The experience, Gomes said speaking before the fate of the Titan was known, went above his expectations. The public, he said, “never hears about underwater life in Antarctica, and that’s what made me sign up for it.”

Before boarding, he and other travelers were given a tour of safety features on the submarine, he said, and were in constant connection with the ship while they went 1,000 feet below.

“I felt extremely secure,” he said. “I’d do it again.”

Then there is space tourism. The sector is booming, with billionaire-led companies such as Blue Origin and SpaceX already successfully launching suborbital spaceflights. Virgin Galactic, where tickets for a suborbital spaceflight start at $450,000, said in a news release that it plans to launch its first flight this week.

“With last year’s Blue Origin and Virgin launches, and the James Webb telescope photos, there is renewed interest in space and it has become the cultural zeitgeist,” Chiporukha said. His SpaceVIP service, he said, has seen a 40% increase in inquiries this year.

And little training is required for aspiring space travelers. Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, whose passengers have included “Star Trek” television star William Shatner,

says that passengers can “fully train” for the experience of blasting 62 miles above Earth in just two days.

When things go wrong

For many forms of adventure travel, insurance and support systems are available. Those who wish to climb Everest can join expedition companies, hire Sherpas to guide them along the ascent and purchase travel insurance to offer various protections up to the mountain’s high altitudes.

When things go wrong, companies can often swoop in to whisk you away to a hospital or conduct a field rescue, if and when they know where you are. A helicopter can fetch you if you get frostbite while attempting a summit in the Himalayas. If you’re mired in civil unrest abroad, former Navy SEALs can come to extract you.

Nick Goracy, a spokesperson for Servius Group, a company offering private travel security on a case-by-case basis, said that fees can hover between five and six figures.

Then there are travel-assistance companies that provide yearly memberships for security needs, medical evacuations and rescue services. Covac Global offers “fully indemnified” packages for medical and security evacuation, including search and rescue, costing about $2,800, with up to $1.3 million in expenses covered, said Ross Thompson, the company’s CEO.

Three countries deployed vessels, aircraft and remotely operated undersea vehicles during the rescue effort to save the doomed Titan submersible. Experts estimate the cost will be in the tens of millions of dollars, at least.

Money can buy a visit to space or the deep sea, but it can’t guarantee safety

From page 19

To date, no client has exceeded the coverage’s maximum, he said, adding that the priciest evacuation, from Indonesia to Canada, was for a traveler with a critical case of COVID-19. It cost $400,000.

In the United States, federal and state agencies, including the National Park Service, will cover the costs of search and rescue efforts, depending on where you are. For water rescues, the U.S. Coast Guard, which led the Titan rescue, is not legally allowed to charge for its operations, an agency spokesperson said.

Three countries deployed at least nine vessels and multiple aircraft and remotely operated vehicles during the vast rescue effort to save the doomed Titan submersible. Experts estimate the cost will be in the tens of millions of dollars, at least.

Thompson priced the Titan search and rescue response at around $100 million, adding that ROVs are “very expen-

sive to operate.”

“Ultimately, taxpayers will be responsible because that is where the Coast Guard’s budget comes from,” said Mikki Hastings, president of the National Association for Search and Rescue, a nonprofit that focuses on wilderness rescues.

But most domestic search and rescue teams are volunteer organizations, said Chris Boyer, the executive director of the search and rescue association.

He underscored that the new level of extreme travel requires rethinking what rescue efforts can reasonably be made when disaster strikes.

“Can people do things like this and expect a voluntary response? Or do they expect an agency and government response?” Boyer said of space tourism particularly. “Who is going to do that and how does it work?”

Indeed, as the Titan’s doomed journey indicates, even established travel-assistance companies face limits.

“There’s nothing that you can do

to help somebody that’s 15,000 feet below the surface of the ocean,” said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, which provides evacuation and field rescue services. “We can only do what’s humanly possible.”

In terms of insurance policies, there may be new calculations about insuring extreme risk, said Thompson of Covac Global. Old models may no longer make sense for complex rescue efforts whose costs are unprecedented. We are “a long way from anyone saying, ‘I’ll cover the dive down to the Titanic,’” Thompson said.

The Federal Aviation Administration oversees regulation of commercial space tourism and requires operators to have “insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility to cover potential damage and injury to the public, public property, and any government personnel and property at risk from the operation,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Additional policies, such as insurance for participants climbing into capsules for travel into space, are a “matter between the operator and the participant.”

Murkiness with oversight Regulation for these otherworldly experiences is also lagging behind the pace of the booming market.

The FAA’s oversight of space tourism is limited to “protecting the public on the ground and others” in the country’s domestic and over-sea airspace, said the agency’s spokesperson. The FAA has no role in “regulating the safety of passengers onboard commercial space vehicles.”

And the “niche little market” of plunging to the deep sea in a submersible to see wreckage up close has little oversight, said Salvatore Mercogliano, a maritime history expert and professor at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

There was little to no regulation regarding the Titan’s design. Classification of submersibles is not compulsory in inter-

national waters, Mercogliano said, a loophole allowing OceanGate Expeditions to skirt this step. The Everett, Washingtonbased company claimed that the Titan was so advanced that certification by assessment agencies would take years, a circumstance the organization described in a 2019 blog post as “anathema to rapid innovation.” (The post has since been removed.)

Complicating the matter further, the Titan was operating in international waters, where it wasn’t subject to the jurisdiction of any one nation, Mercogliano added.

“There is no real outside agency to ensure that things like a redundant communication system was fitted, an emergency beacon to be launched if necessary,” he said.

International maritime law requires all available vessels to respond to distress calls in the sea, a regulation implemented after the Titanic sank more than a century ago and which prompted last week’s huge search-and-rescue response.

Who should go?

Whether last week’s ill-fated Titan expedition will lead to better oversight remains to be seen. But the incident has sparked conversations among explorers and wealthy travelers alike about who exactly should be embarking on this type of danger-filled travel.

West Hansen, a 61-year-old ultramarathon canoe racer and member of the Explorers Club, has paddled the 2,100-mile Volga River in Russia and the entire length of the Amazon River. Along with four other experienced kayakers, Hansen will embark on a journey to paddle the Northwest Passage. He believes that the tourists who are “dabbling” in areas that “explorers are just getting to see” may have a false sense of security.

The drive to explore and test limits is deeply human, Hansen added, but money does not “diminish potential danger.”

Let kids get bored. It’s good for them.

By CATHERINE PEARSON

Ihave a few particularly vivid memories of my childhood summers: the smell of the grill, the rattle of cicadas — and the feeling of being bored out of my mind.

While I had a relatively regimented schedule and spent long stretches of every summer at camp, there were weeks when my parents, who both worked, hadn’t filled my schedule with much of anything, and they didn’t give a hoot about whether I felt sufficiently engaged or amused.

That has been on my mind as my own sons make their way through the summer with a hodgepodge of camps, babysitters and grandparent time that is breathtakingly expensive and yet feels insufficient in terms of actual child care or stimulation.

I am hardly alone in feeling like it is my parental duty to stuff their days full of activities and learning opportunities. A study cited in a 2018 New York Times article that lamented the relentlessness of modern parenting found that regardless of education, income or race, parents believed children who are bored should be enrolled in extracurricular activities. As Erin Westgate, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Florida, explained it to me, there is a kind of cultural stigma attached to boredom, particularly in the United States.

Only boring people get bored, the saying goes.

But the reality is that boredom is “normal, natural and healthy,” said Westgate, whose research focuses on what boredom is, why people experience it and what happens when they do. Though she cautioned that there has been little empirical research exploring boredom in kids, Westgate believes that in moderate doses, boredom can offer a valuable learning opportunity, spurring creativity and problem solving and motivating children to seek out activities that feel meaningful to them.

“Guarding kids from ever feeling bored is misguided in the same way that guarding kids from ever feeling sad, or ever feeling frustrated, or ever feeling angry is misguided,” she said.

Here’s what you and your children can learn from feelings of boredom.

Boredom is informative.

Boredom is an emotion, said Westgate, who likened it to an indicator light on a car’s dashboard: “Boredom is telling you that what you’re doing right now isn’t working.” Usually that means the task you are doing is too easy or too difficult, she said, or that it lacks meaning.

One way parents can help children, particularly younger ones, learn to manage boredom is to work with

them on developing what Westgate called greater emotional granularity. For instance, you can help them to distinguish between feeling sad or bored. “Name it to tame it,” a phrase coined by psychiatrist Dan Siegel, is a technique many child development experts use to help children identify their feelings.

Kids will often say “I’m bored” when they are lonely or want attention, said Katie Hurley, who holds a doctorate in social work and is the author of “The Happy Kid Handbook.” So it can help to ask if they are looking for comfort or companionship, she said.

Also, do what you can to normalize the feeling. “We have a tendency to treat boredom as a sign of distress, or a sort of call for help,” Hurley said. “It is uncomfortable, but it’s not necessarily negative.”

Boredom can lead to fulfillment.

Boredom offers children an opportunity to experiment with the kinds of pursuits that feel fulfilling and interesting to them, Westgate said.

For example, if you let your kids loose in the backyard, they may feel bored initially, she said. But they can learn to prevent that feeling, or resolve it, by finding activities that feel meaningful to them, whether that’s counting bugs, playing with a ball or drawing with sidewalk chalk. If parents don’t allow for free, imaginative play, children may never discover their innate love of nature, sports or art, or even the pleasure they can find in simply relaxing or playing.

“Being able to identify and develop those sources of meaning is a really critical skill to have lifelong,” Westgate said.

‘Boredom busters’ can break the spell.

Parents sometimes fear boredom, and the havoc it can wreak around the house, Hurley said. But free time carves out room for discovery. Hurley recommends looking at your child’s weekly schedule and asking: “Is there something we can take away, and just call it ‘quiet downtime’?”

But parents should not expect kids to instinctively know what might feel meaningful to them. Instead, parents should remind their children of things they are interested in or care about, Westgate said.

“It’s the difference between leaving the child in a room with absolutely nothing to do,” she said, versus “bringing them into a room that you know has books and puzzles — things that would be meaningful to your kid — and that would be a good fit for them.”

(She also noted that research has shown that without positive outlets, people can be more inclined to engage in harmful behaviors.)

Hurley said that kids aged 5 and under need a specific menu of “boredom busters,” or questions such as: Do you want to play with Legos? Do you want to play with PlayDoh? Do you want to go outside? Parents often feel pressure to get down on the floor and play with young children every time the children are feeling bored, she said, but that can keep children from learning how capable they are of stepping into their imaginations.

With slightly older children, Hurley said she might say something like, “Take a walk around the house and come up with three ideas, and get back to me.” Once kids shift from a state of boredom to positive action, “it opens up creativity, problem solving and all kinds of academic learning skills.”

Phones and devices require little effort, Westgate noted, so children and adults often turn to them as a way to soothe feelings of boredom.

“With kids, it makes complete sense that they ask for screens when they’re bored, but that doesn’t mean, obviously, that is what’s best for them in that situation,” she said.

A child outside in Albany, N.Y., Oct. 2, 2021. A reminder to parents soldiering through the summer: Boredom has its virtues.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN

WILMINGTON SAVINGS

FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES

ACQUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1

Demandante Vs. JOSE VIDAL RODRIGUEZ

VAZQUEZ T/C/C JOSE V. RODRIGUEZ VAZQUEZ

T/C/C JOSE RODRIGUEZ

VAZQUEZ T/C/C JOSE

VIDAL RODRIGUEZ T/C/C

JOSE V. RODRIGUEZ

T/C/C JOSE RODRIGUEZ;

MARIA ISABEL ROSADO

RODRIGUEZ T/C/C MARIA

I. ROSADO RODRIGUEZ

T/C/C MARIA ROSADO

RODRIGUEZ T/C/C MARIA

ISABEL ROSADO T/C/C

MARIA I. ROSADO T/C/C

MARIA ROSADO T/C/C

ELIZABETH ROSADO

RODRIGUEZ T/C/C

ELIZABETH ROSADO

T/C/C ELISABETH

ROSADO RODRIGUEZ

T/C/C ELISABETH ROSADO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2021CV03560.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE

DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o

Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 9 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Parcela de terreno en la Urbanización Bayamón Gardens: Localizada en el Barrio Pájaros del municipio de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación; Solar numero veintiuno (21) de la manzana “U”, área de trescientos diez punto cincuenta (310.50 m.c.) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con solares quince (15) y dieciséis (16) en trece punto cincuenta (13.50 m.) metros; por el Sur, con la Avenida Principal, en trece punto cincuenta (13.50 m.) metros; por el Este, con el solar veinte (20), en veintitrés punto cero cero (23.00 m.) metros; y por el Oeste, con el solar veintidós (22), en veintitrés punto cero cero (23.00 m.) metros. Enclava una casa para fines residenciales. Finca número 26,673, inscrita al folio 41 del tomo 582 de Bayamón Sur, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección I. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al folio 67 del tomo 1894 de Bayamón Sur, finca número 26,673, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección I, inscripción 6ª. Propiedad localizada en:

URB. BAYAMON GARDENS, U-21 CALLE CATIGLIONI, BAYAMON, PR 00957. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga:

N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento:

N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del

Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $192,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 23 de diciembre de 2087. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas

cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $192,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 16 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $128,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $96,000.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 23 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $141,550.54 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $17,275.51 en intereses acumulados al 29 de noviembre de 2021 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 5.060% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $6,827.68 en seguro hipotecario; $3,930.00 en tarifas de servicios; $425.00 de tasaciones; $160.00 de inspecciones; $615.00 en honorarios de abogado; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $19,200.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta.

Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 02 de junio de 2023. FRANCES TORRES CONTRERAS, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. MARIBEL LANZAR VELÁZQUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #735.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. ZAYMI TORO GOTAY

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: PO2022CV01795. Salón Núm.: (406). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: ZAYMI TORO

GOTAY: Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América. Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número 9 del bloque F del plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Luchetti, radicado en el Barrio Jacanas del término municipal de Yauco, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de tres-

cientos treinta punto cincuenta y cuatro metros cuadrados. En linderos: NORTE, en trece punto sesenta y cinco (13.65) metros con la Calle número nueve (9) de la urbanización; SUR, en doce punto setenta y seis (12.76) metros con el solar “F” guión dieciséis (F-16); ESTE, en veinticuatro punto noventa y seis (24.96) metros con Sucesión Luchetti; OESTE, en veinticuatro punto noventa y nueve (24.99) metros con el solar “F” guion ocho (F-8). En este solar enclava una casa de hormigón reforzado y bloques de una sola planta dedicada a vivienda. Consta inscrita al folio 143 del tomo 178 de Yauco, finca número #5,712, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Ponce. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Urbanización Luchetti, F9 Calle 9, Yauco, P.R. 00698. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $94,500.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #93, otorgada en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el día 31 de agosto de 2012, ante el notario David E. Vera Umpierre, inscrita al folio 112 vuelto del tomo 556 de Yauco, finca #5,712, inscripción 5ta. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $94,500.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 15 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $63,000.00. Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 22 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $47,250.00. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto sa-

tisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: Suma Principal de $74,833.61, con intereses a 3.5% anual, desde el 1ro de enero de 2022, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $9,450.00, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables. Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Expedido en Ponce, Puerto Rico, a 12 de junio de 2023. MANUEL MALDONADO, ALGUACIL PLACA #823.

Demandante Vs. VIVIAN MERCADO MEJIAS

Demandada Civil Núm. DCD2012-0387. (401). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: VIVIAN MERCADO MEJIAS.

Yo, EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL

AUXILIAR PLACA #193, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 7 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en la oficina del Alguacil de Subastas en el Cuarto Piso, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 14 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 21 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar identificado como Lote A guión Ocho (A-8) de la URBANIZACION BRIGHTON COUNTRY CLUB AT DORADO, INC., sito en el Barrio Higuillar del término municipal de Dorado, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de DOSCIENTOS TREINTA Y

CUATRO PUNTO CINCUENTA Y OCHO (234.58) METROS CUADRADOS, colindando por el NORTE, con modelo Riviera A guión Nueve (A-9); por el SUR, con modelo Victoria Uno B A guión Siete (IB A-7); por el ESTE, con área de estacionamiento; y por el OESTE, con

pista de trotar. Tiene un estacionamiento bajo techo y otro estacionamiento exterior identificado como A guión Ocho (A-8) en el área de estacionamiento correspondiente. Se segrega de la finca número 10,284, inscrita al folio 7 deel tomo 227 de Dorado, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra presentada al asiento 566 del diario 277 de Dorado, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta. El embargo a ejecutarse se encuentra presentado al asiento 2023-047286 del Sistema Karibe de Dorado, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urb. Brighton Country Club at Dorado, Solar A-8, Dorado, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $337,225.58 de principal, intereses escalonados según se indica en la hipoteca y el pagaré hipotecario desde el día 1ro. de junio de 2011, cuya tasa de interés a esta fecha es de 5.50% anual hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $34,590.00, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado y recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será la suma de $345,900.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $230,600.00 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $172,950.00. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen preferente: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor de Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $345,900.00, con intereses al Prime Rate, vencedero el día 1ro. de mayo de 2040, según consta de la Escritura Número 88, otorgada en San

Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2010, ante el Notario Público Víctor R. Núñez Arco, presentada y pendiente de inscripción, el día 10 de mayo de 2012 al Asiento 566 del Diario 277, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección IV. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 14 de junio de 2023.

EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS

SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MAYAGÜEZ SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE EMILIO MALAVÉ ORTIZ, COMPUESTA POR “JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE DICHA SUCESIÓN; SUCESIÓN DE ENID RIVERA ROMÁN, COMPUESTA POR “JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE DICHA SUCESIÓN; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.)

Demandado

Civil Núm.: AG2022CV00657.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 6 de junio de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Porción de terreno radicado en el Barrio Cerrote del Municipio

de Las Marías, con una cabida de 67.1726 cuerdas, equivalentes a 26 hectáreas, 40 áreas, 15 centiáreas y 18 miliáreas. Lindes por el NORTE, con Gobierno Estatal, Rosendo Vázquez y Armando Crespo; por el SUR, con Jaime Rullán y Monserrate Ortiz; por el ESTE, con Armando Crespo, carretera Estatal número 498, Monserrate Ortiz y Emilio Vélez; y por el OESTE, con Gobierno Estatal, Rusty Rodríguez y Jaime Rullán. Inscrita en la finca número 4,175, al folio 248 del tomo 134 de Las Marías. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de San Sebastián. La propiedad según pagaré ubica: Cerrote Ward Sector Bryan Rd. 498 Km. 1.4 Las Marías, PR. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada y notificada en este caso el 26 de enero de 2023, archivada en autos y notificada el 2 de febrero de 2023, y publicada en periódico de circulación general, The San Daily Star”, el 6 de febrero de 2023, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $49,461.09 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 8.125% desde el 1ro de abril de 2021; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $8,400.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 13 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Mayagüez, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $84,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 20 DE SEPTIEMBRE

DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $56,000.00, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 27 DE

SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El pre-

cio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $42,000.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de junio de 2023.

JOSÉ M. CRESPO NAZARIO, ALGUACIL, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC. Demandante vs. SUCESION SACROVIR

A. RIVERA ZAYAS T/C/C

SACROVIR AUGUSTO

RIVERA ZAYAS T/C/C

SACROVIR RIVERA T/C/C

SACROVIR RIVERA

ZAYAS T/C/C SACROVIER

RIVERA ZAYAS

COMPUESTA POR CELIA

SIERRA RONDON; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLE HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

CIVIL NUM. SJ2019CV11582.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.SS.

A: La Parte Demandada, al (a la) Secretario(a) de Hacienda de Puerto Rico y al Público General: Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, el 19 de Julio de 2023, a las 9:00 de la mañana, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBAN: Horizontal property: Apartment number one thousand one hundred fifteen (1115) is situated on the eleventh floor of the building Condominium Borinquen Towers III, in the Section which composes the Eastern part of the building. It consist of irregular rectangular shaped body measuring approximately fourteen feet eleven and a half inches (14’11 ½”) wide, by twenty four feet four inches (24’4”) long and open balcony of eleven feet eleven inches (11’11”) long, by five feet five inches (5’5”) wide, that is an are of THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY ONE POINT TWENTY SIX (381.26)

SQUARE FEET, equivalent to THIRTY FIVE POINT FORTY SEVEN (35.47) SQUARE METERS; bounding on the NORTH with an exterior Wall which separates it from the common yard on the Northern side of the building where the balcony opens; on the SOUTH with an interior Wall which separates it from the common public corridor to which the entrance door of the apartments opens and with an interior Wall which separates it from the common public stairway; on the EAST, with a party Wall which separates it from apartment number one thousand on hundred sixteen (1116); on the WEST with a party Wall which separates it from apartment number one thousand one hundred fourteen (1114). This apartment consists of a combination of living dining room with its closet, dressing room, one bathroom, a kitchenette with cabinets, storage closets and a thirty gallon capacity water heater. Le corresponde una participación de punto tres dos cero cuatro por ciento (.3204%) en los elementos comunes generales. Inscrita al folio 17 del tomo 704 de Monacillos, finca 22,262, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección III. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al folio 46 del tomo 1009, finca 22,262 de Monacillos, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección III, inscripción 6ª. Propiedad localizada en: 1482 AVE. FD ROOSEVELT, COND. BORINQUEN TOWER III, APT. 1115, SAN JUAN, PR 00920-2708. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: DORAL FEDERAL SAVINGS BANK AND LOAN BANK, Suma de la Carga: $20,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 1 de diciembre de 2007. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, Suma de la Carga: $133,500.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 2 de mayo de 2090. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $133,500.00, según

acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una segunda subasta por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, el 2 de agosto de 2023, a las 9:00 de la mañana, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $89,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la tercera subasta, la suma de $117,5066,750.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, el 9 de agosto de 2023, a las 9:00 de la mañana. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $55,573.76 de principal, más los intereses sobre dicha suma en la cantidad de $16,566.51 los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de la tasa de interés corriente, hasta su completo pago, más contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $13,350.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Dichas sumas están vencidas, son líquidas y exigibles. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 14 de junio de 2023. Edwin E Lopez Mulero, Alguacil Auxiliar.

TRICT OF PUERTO RICO.

LA ELECTRONICA LLC

Plaintiff, v. EMPRESAS OMAJEDE, INC.

Defendant.

Civil No. 17-02372 (JAG). Re: COLLECTION OF MONIES; FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE AND OTHER COLLATERAL. NOTICE OF SALE.

To: EMPRESAS OMAJEDE, INC. AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC.

WHEREAS: On August 3, 2022, the Judgment (the “Judgment”) was entered in favor of plaintiff now LA ELECTRONICA LLC (“Electronica”) against defendant Empresas Omajede, Inc. (the “Defendant”). Under the Judgment, this Court concluded that the Defendant had defaulted on its obligations, had failed to pay the amounts due therein, further concluding that, as of July 18, 2022, Defendant owed the sum of $3,504,735.43, which would continue to accrue interest until payment is made in full. On June 21, 2023, this Court entered an Order for Execution of Judgment (the “Order of Execution”), designating Mr. Joel Ronda Feliciano as Special Master (the “Special Master”) for the execution of the Judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 53(a)(1)(C). On June 22, 2023, this Court entered, in accordance with the Order of Execution, a Writ of Execution (the “Writ of Execution”). The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150 Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, 2 and the Writ of Execution, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction for U.S. currency in cash, or certified or bank manager check without appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to Electronica, the following properties, as described in the Spanish language: I. Property 11,660 RÚSTICA: Terreno en el Barrio Monacillos, del término municipal de San Juan, Puerto Rico, compuesto de tres punto doscientos ochenta y siete (3.287) cuerdas, equivalentes a una hectárea, veintinueve áreas y diecinueve centiáreas.

En linderos: NORTE, con Rafael Nevárez; SUR, con Antonio Cosme; ESTE, nueva Carretera Estatal número 1 de concreto que va de Río Piedras a Ca-

guas; OESTE, con una quebrada que la separa de terrenos de Antonio Emmanuelli, hoy el Pueblo de Puerto Rico. Enclava una edificación de concreto para fines comerciales y de oficina Property number 11,660 is recorded at page 204 of volume 301 of Monacillos, Puerto Rico Property Registry, Third Section of San Juan. WHEREAS: Property 11,660 is encumbered by itself by Mortgage I (as defined below), which Electronica is seeking to foreclose, as described below: (i) Mortgage securing mortgage note in favor of Banco de Ponce, or to its order, in the principal sum of $3,300,000.00 with fluctuating interest, due on demand, constituted pursuant to Deed Number 3, executed in San Juan Puerto Rico, on February 27, 1987, before Notary Public Luis E. Dubon Jr., recorded at page 6 of volume 679 of Monacillos, Property 11,660, 10th recordation (“Mortgage I”). Mortgage I was modified pursuant to Deed of Modification of Mortgage Number 41, executed on July 30, 1999, of Notaiy Public Ronald L. Rosenbaun, recorded at page 5 of volume 679 of Monacillos, Property 11,660, marginal note of 10th recordation, Deed of Modification of Mortgage Number 7, executed on March 21, 2003, of Notary Public Arquelio Rivera Rodriguez, recorded at page 7 of volume 679 of Monacillos, Property 11,660, marginal note of 11th recordation, and by Deed of Modification and Interruption of Mortgage Number 418 executed on June 8, 2006, of Notary Public Juan C. Ortega Torres recorded at page 66 of volume 1,076 of Monacillos, Property 11,660, 13th recordation, as rectified by Deed of Rectification Number 543, executed on October 8, 2008, of Notary Public Gary E. Biaggi Silva. 3 Property 11,660 is encumbered by itself by the following junior liens: (i) Ratification of lease agreement in favor of Secretario del Plan de Emergencia por un Mundo Mejor, Inc., also known as Movimiento por un Mundo Mejor, Inc. dated September 1, 1998, executed a real estate private contract for commercial space of 14.03 of square feet in the sub-basement for a term of 72 months equal to 6 years and renewable for 48 additional months equal to 4 years by request of the lessee; with a rental fee of $5,612.00 annually, the first 5 years; and $7,015.00 annually the next 5 years for atotal of $63,135.00 for 10 years of the duration of the contract, resulting from deed number 2 of ratification of lease agreement, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 17, 1999, before Notary (ii) Mortgage securing mortgage note in favor of WesternBank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in

the principal sum of $115,479.00 with interest rate of 8.24% annually with preferential rate, due on demand constituted pursuant to deed number 419, executed in San Juan Puerto Rico, on June 8, 2006, before Notary Juan Carlos Ortega Torres, recorded at page 66 of volume 1,076 of Monacillos, Property 11,660, 12th recordation. The FIRST public sale of Property 11,660 shall be held on August 4, 2023, at

10:00 a.m. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $3,330,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND public auction of Property

11,660 shall be held on the on August 11, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $2,220,000.00, which is twothirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale.

If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD public auction of Property

11,660 will be held on the on August 18, 2023, at 10:00 a.m., the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $1,650,000.00, which is onehalf of the minimum bid in the first public sale. II. Property 1,624

RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno radicado en el Barrio Carraízo de Trujillo Alto, compuesto de 15 cuerdas y 94 céntimas de otra equivalentes a 6 hectáreas, 26 áreas, 50 centiáreas y 42 decimiliáreas . Colindante por el NORTE en parte con Esteban Reyes, en parte con Pilar Báez Rivera; por el SUR en parte con Antonia Estrada y Sucesión 4 de Bonifacio Estrada y en parte con la Quebrada Higuerito que la separa de los terrenos de Jesús Navarro antes hoy Adolfo Diaz por el OESTE con Esteban Reyes y Pilar Báez Rivera y por el ESTE con el resto de la finca principal de donde este predio se segrega hoy Petrona Báez Rivera. Contiene casa de madera terrrera y techada de zinc, dedicada a vivienda. Property 1,624 is recorded at page 1 of volume 25 of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico Property Registry, Fourth Section of San Juan. Property 1,624 is encumbered by itself by Mortgage II (as defined below), which Electronica is seeking to foreclose as described below:

(i) Mortgage securing mortgage note in favor of WesternBank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in the principal sum of $330,000.00 with interest of 2 points over “Prime Rate”, due on June 29, 2035, constituted pursuant to deed number 42, executed in San Juan Puerto Rico, on June 29, 2005, before Notary Public Jose Hector Vivas, recorded at Karibe volume of Trujillo Alto, Property 1,624, 8th recordation, as Abbreviated

Seat, the lines extended on March 7, 2018 by virtue of Act 216 of December 27, 2010

(“Mortgage II”). The FIRST public sale of Property 1,624 shall be held on August 4, 2023, at 10:05 a.m. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $330,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND public auction of Property 1,624 shall be held on the on August 11, 2023, at 10:05 a.m. the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $220,000.00, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD public auction of Property 1,624 will be held on the on August 18, 2023, at 10:05 a.m., the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $165,000.00, which is onehalf of the minimum bid in the first public sale. 5 III. Property

2,214 RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno radicado en el Barrio Carraízo de Trujillo Alto, compuesto de 6 cuerdas , equivalentes a 2 hectáreas 35 áreas y 82 centiáreas. Colindantes por el NORTE con resto de la finca principal de donde este predio se segrega propiedad de Petrona Báez Rivera; por el SUR con terrenos de Jesús Navarro y de Juan Navarro, separados en parte por la quebrada Higuerito y en parte con terrenos hoy de Pedro Báez Rivera por el OESTE con Sofía Báez Rivera y por el ESTE con la quebrada Higuerito que la separa de terrenos hoy de Pedro Báez Rivera.

Property number 2,214, recorded at page 232 of volume 38 of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico Property Registry, Fourth Section of San Juan. Property 2,214 is encumbered by itself by Mortgage III (as defined below), which Electronica is seeking to foreclose as described below:

(i) Mortgage securing mortgage note in favor of WestrnBank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in the principal sum of $40,000.00 with interest of 2 points over “Prime Rate”, due on June 29, 2035, constituted pursuant to deed number 43, executed in San Juan Puerto Rico, on June 29, 2005, before Notary Public Jose Hector Vivas, recorded at Karibe volume of Trujillo Alto, Property 2,214, 8 recordation, as Abbreviated Seat, the lines extended on March 7, 2018 by virtue of Act 216 of December 27, 2010 (“Mortgage III”). The FIRST public sale of Property 2,214 shall be held on August 4, 2023, at 10:10 a.m. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $40,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND public auction of Property 2,214 shall be held on the on

August 11, 2023, at 10:10 a.m. the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $26,666.67, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD public auction of Property 2,214 will be held on the on August 18, 2023, at 10:10 6 a.m., the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $20,000.00, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. IV. Property

1,625 RUSTICA: Predio de terreno radicado en el Barrio Carraízo de Trujillo Alto, compuesto de 6 cuerdas y 69 centésimas de otra cuerda , equivalentes a dos hectáreas sesenta y dos áreas , noventa y cuatro centiáreas y treinticinco decimiliáreas. Colindantes por el NORTE en parte con el camino de la finca y en parte con terrenos de Rosario Báez Rivera; por el SUR con Reinaldo Betancourt Viera por el OESTE con Reinaldo Betancourt Viera y por el ESTE con la quebrada Higuerito que separa esta finca de terrenos de Pedro Báez Rivera.

Property 1,625 is recorded at page 5 of volume 25 of Trujillo Alto, Property Registry, Fourth Section of San Juan. Property 1,625 is encumbered by itself by Mortgage IV (defined below), which Electronica is seeking to foreclose as described below:

(i) Mortgage securing mortgage note in favor of WesternBank Puerto Rico, or to its order, in the principal sum of $85,000.00 with interest of 2 points over “Prime Rate”, due on June 29, 2035, constituted pursuant to deed number 44, executed in San Juan Puerto Rico, on June 29, 2005, before Notary Public Jose Hector Vivas, recorded at Karibe volume of Trujillo Alto, Property 1,625, 7th recordation, as Abbreviated Seat, the lines extended on August 22, 2005 before Seat 683 of Diary 432 (“Mortgage IV”). The FIRST public sale of Property 1,625 shall be held on August 4, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $85,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND public auction of Property 1,625 shall be held on the on August 11, 2023, at 10:15 a.m. the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $56,666.67, which is two-thirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD public auction of Property 1,625 will be held on the on August 18, 2023, at 10:15 7 a.m., the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $42,500.00, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. Potential bidders are

advised to verify the extent of preferential liens, if any, with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal) shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. The Special Master shall not accept in payment of the properties to be sold anything but United States currency (cash), or certified or bank manager checks, except in case the properties are sold and adjudicated to Electronica, in which case the amount of the bid made by Electronica shall be credited and deducted from its credit; Electronica being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied. If the third auction is deserted, Electronica may proceed to coordinate the execution of a deed of conveyance with the Special Master of the public sale, to take title of the properties in full satisfaction of the Judgment pursuant to the Registry of the Property Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: said sale to be conducted by the Special Master pursuant to the Order of Execution. Compliance with all foreclosure proceedings is subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico pursuant to article 107 of the Registry of the Property Act of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, (30 L.P.R.A. § 6144), and the corresponding deed of conveyance and possession to the properties will be executed and delivered by the Special 8 Master after delivery of such Order of Confirmation. Once the properties are adjudicated in payment of the credit guaranteeing the mortgages, and the price does not exceed the value thereof, all junior liens must be canceled provided that said junior creditors be notified of the public sale of said properties. For further information, reference is made to the Judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk of the United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 3, 2023. By:

Joel Ronda Feliciano Special Master Ronda Legal Services,

LLC rondajoel@me.com 787565-0515

NAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE YAUCO EN SABANA GRANDE REBECA GUADALUPE

Parte Demandante Vs WILFREDO GIRÓN

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: GY2023RF00001. Sala: 0001. Sobre: DIVORCIO (RUPTURA IRREPARABLE). NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: WILFREDO GIRÓN P/C

LIC. JOSEPH BROCCO SANTIAGO.

Lcdo.Joseph.Brocco-Santiago@ hotmail.com.

El Secretario(a) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 26 de junio de 2023, 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 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 TREINTA DÍAS contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 27 de junio de 2023. En Yauco en Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, el 27 de junio de 2023. CARMEN G. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. ADELAIDA LUGO PACHECO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

AGOSTO LLANOS

Demandante Vs. ROSCELIA EDITH CUEVA COELLO

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023RF00928. Salón: 708. Sobre: DIVORCIO (RUPTURA IRREPARABLE). EMPLAZAMIENTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: ROSCELIA EDITH CUEVA COELLO.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva

dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. 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, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente.

LCDA. ROSA LINDA

VAZQUEZ LOPEZ RUA 17843

V AZQUEZ & ASSOCIATES LAW OFFICES

Calle Cesar González Hato Rey, San Juan, PR 00918 Tel (787) 766-0949 / Fax (787) 771-2425

Email: vazquezyasociadospr@ gmail.com

Se le apercibe que de no hacerlo, se podrá dictar Sentencia en rebeldía concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin citarle ni oírle más. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y EL SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 23 de junio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. NORMA ROCHE RABELL, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE OF CVI CGS MORTGAGE LOAN

TRUST I

Demandante Vs. JORGE LUIS BAUZO MORALES; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA; ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2022CV03318.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE

DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque gerente, giro postal, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América al nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 22 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho titulo, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número J-40 en el plano de inscripción preparado por la Corporación de Renovación Urbana y Vivienda de Puerto Rico, para el Proyecto de Vivienda PRHA-26, Eduardo J. Saldaña, en Carolina, con una cabida superficial de 249.72 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número 41 en una distancia de 61.68 pies; por el SUR, con el solar número 39 en una distancia de 61.68 pies; por el ESTE, con la Calle “D” en una distancia de 37.51 pies; y por el OESTE, con el solar número 4 en una distancia de 37.51 pies. Enclava edificación. Consta inscrita al folio 106 del tomo 150 de Carolina, finca número 5339, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera de Carolina. Propiedad localizada en: J-40 Ramon Quiñones Street, Urbanización Eduardo Saldana, Carolina, PR 00979. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: HIPOTECA SUBORDINADA en garantía de pagaré a favor del Secretario del Departamento de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda de los Estados Unidos de América por la suma de $3,800.00 sin intereses anuales y vencimiento 1 de abril de 2027. Constituida por la escritura 965 otorgada el 1 de noviembre de 2001 ante el notario Pedro J. Caride Cruz. Inscrita en virtud de la Ley 216 del 30 de abril de 2010, Ley para Agilizar el Registro de la Propiedad, con asiento extendido el 14 de mayo de 201, al folio 142 del tomo 1051 de Carolina Norte, finca 5339 inscripción 10a. EMBARGO a favor de Departamento de Hacienda por la suma de $13,721.93, expedido mediante certificación del 9 de agosto de 2002, por concepto de Contribuciones sobre Ingresos. Anotado en virtud de la Ley 216 del 30 de abril de 2010,

Ley para Agilizar el Registro de la Propiedad, con asiento extendido el 14 de mayo de 201, al folio 142 del tomo 1051 de Carolina Norte, finca 5339 inscripción 10a. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo mínimo de subasta la suma de $64,900.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 29 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $43,266.67, 2/3 partes del tipo mínimo establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $32,450.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 6 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $24,756.85 de principal, intereses al tipo del 7% anual según ajustado desde el día 1ro. de junio de 2021 hasta el pago de la deuda en su totalidad, más la suma de $6,490.00 por concepto de honorarios de abogado y costas autorizadas por el Tribunal, más las cantidades que se adeudan mensualmente por concepto de seguro hipotecario, cargos por demora, y otros adeudados que se hagan en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PŘIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría

I.

del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de junio de 2023. GRETCHEN

M. JEREZ SEDA, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN TRUST MORTGAGE CORP.

Demandante Vs. BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO COMO SUCESOR EN DERECHOS DE LEVITT MORTGAGE CORPORATION; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES CON INTERÉS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2023CV03391.

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE (PERSONAS DESCONOCIDAS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS).

En este caso la parte demandante ha radicado Demanda para que se decrete judicialmente el saldo de un pagare a favor de Levitt Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma de CIENTO CUARENTA Y UN MIL CIENTO CUARENTA Y DOS DÓLARES ($141,142.00), con intereses al siete por ciento (7%) anual, vencedero el primero (1ero) de mayo de dos mil catorce (2014), crédito ejecutivo de diez por ciento (10%) del principal, se tasa en CIENTO CUARENTA Y UN MIL CIENTO CUARENTA Y DOS DÓLARES ($141,142.00), según consta de la escritura número ciento cuarenta y nueve (149), otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día catorce (14) de abril de mil novecientos noventa y nueve (1999), ante la Notario Público Estela l. Valles Acosta testimonio número 16640, la cual consta inscrito al folio #295 del tomo #490 de Toa Baja, finca #27025, inscripción 1ra., y está garantizado por hipoteca sobre la propiedad sita en Solar nú-

mero setenta y siete (77) del bloque “MM” de la Urbanización Mansión del Mar, Barrio Sabana Seca de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico que se describe como sigue: URBANA: Parcela de terreno identificada como solar número setenta y siete (77) del bloque “MM” de la urbanización Mansión del Mar, radicada en el barrio Sabana Seca del término municipal de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de doscientos noventa y tres punto setecientos cincuenta (293.750) metros cuadrados, y en lindes por el NORTE, en doce punto cincuenta (12.50) metros, con la calle número tres (3) (Paseo Náutico); por el SUR, en doce punto cincuenta (12.50) metros, con los Solares Números noventa y ocho (98) y noventa y nueve (99); por el ESTE, en veintitrés punto cincuenta (23.50) metros, con el solar número setenta y ocho (78); y por el OESTE, en veintitrés punto cincuenta (23.50) metros, con el solar número setenta y seis (76). Enclava una casa. Inscrita al folio #295 del Tomo #490 de Toa Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección II, finca #27025. La parte demandante alega que dicho Pagaré se ha extraviado, según más detalladamente consta en la Demanda radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Por tratarse de una obligación hipotecaria, y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se les emplaza por este Edicto que se publicará en un (1) periódico de circulación general una (1) sola vez y que si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda radicando el original de la misma a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual pueden acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se representen por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Bayamón, con copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo. Jorge García Rondón, de PMB 538, 267 Sierra Morena, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926 dentro del término de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la publicación del Edicto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarles ni oírles. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto por Orden del Tribunal, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de junio de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA

SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARILYN COLÓN

CARRASQUILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE AGUADILLA

REVERSE MORTGAGE

FUNDING LLC

Demandante Vs. NELLIE ACEVEDO

VARGAS T/C/C NELLIE

ACEVEDO T/C/C NELLIE

C. ACEVEDO VARGAS

T/C/C NELY CRISTINA

ACEVEDO VARGAS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: AG2022CV00696.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO

GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Aguadilla, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en Oficina de Alguaciles ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Aguadilla, Segundo Piso, el 9 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación:

URBANA: Solar urbano donde ubica unidad de vivienda con una cabida de 475.55 identificado con el número cuatro (4) del Barrio Borinquén del término municipal de Aguadilla, en lindes por el Norte, en 12.00 metros, con parcela dedicada a uso público que da acceso a una calle publica; por el Sur, en 30.89 metros, con terrenos de la Sucesión de Higinio Laguer; por el Este, en 26.49 metros, con el solar tres (3) del plano de inscripción; y por el Oeste, en 23.60 metros con el solar cinco (5) del plano de inscripción. Enclava una casa. Consta inscrita al folio 15 del tomo

198 de Aguadilla, finca número 8,240, Registro de la Propiedad de Aguadilla. La Hipoteca

Revertida consta inscrita al folio 17 vto. del tomo 198 de Aguadilla, finca 8,240, Registro de la Propiedad de Aguadilla, inscripción 4ª. Propiedad localizada en: 7 REPARTO RAMOS, BO. BORINQUEN, AGUADILLA, PR 00603. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga:

N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento:

N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $187,500.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 24 de diciembre de 2091. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $125,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Aguadilla, Segundo Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles, el 16 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $83,333.33, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $62,500.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Aguadilla, Segundo Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles, el 23 DE AGOSTO DE 2023, A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $97,791.62 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $20,337.83 en intereses acumulados al 17 de junio de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 4.05% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $4,740.90 en seguro hipotecario; $5,530.00 en

tarifas de servicio; $2,003.00 en seguro; $1,100.00 de tasaciones; $480.00 de inspecciones; $2,592.50 de adelantos pendientes; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $12,500.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, hoy 15 de junio de 2023. CAROL CHALMERS SOTO, ALGUACIL REGIONAL #526. GERARDO MÉNDEZ VILLANUEVA, ALGUACIL PLACA #036.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. ORLANDO LUIS

GONZÁLEZ DÍAZ, SU ESPOSA

YANIRA BENÍTEZ

CARRASQUILLO T/C/C

YANIRA BENÍTEZ

CARASQUILLO Y LA

SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES

COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandado (a) Civil Núm.: SJ2019CV07611. Sala: 508. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTOS (NUNC PRO TUNC).

A: ORLANDO

LUIS GONZÁLEZ DÍAZ, SU ESPOSA YANIRA BENÍTEZ CARRASQUILLO T/C/C YANIRA BENÍTEZ CARASQUILLO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS.

EL SECRETARIO (A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 22 de junio de 2023, 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 (10) días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 28 de junio de 2023. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 28 de junio de 2023. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Martha Almodóvar Cabrera, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO

CARIBE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Demandante V. KIANNA MARIE

JUSINO GARCIA

Demandado(a)

Civil: FA2022CV01065. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: KIANNA MARIE

JUSINO GARCIA. URB. LOS ARBOLES O-33

CALLE 515, RÍO GRANDE, PR 00745.

(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 junio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los

términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 27 de junio de 2023. En FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, el 27 de junio de 2023. WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. ANA CELÍS MÁRQUEZ APONTE, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. ONIX JAVIER OYOLA

GARCÍA, ANA LYDIA

BURGOS MOLINARI Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CG2021CV02958.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: PUBLICO EN GENERAL.

El Alguacil del Tribunal que suscribe anuncia y hace constar: A. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Caguas, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor de contado y en moneda de curso legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América y cuyo pago se efectuará en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, todo derecho, título o interés que tenga la Parte Demandada en el bien inmueble que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Predio identificado como Lote número 3, en un plano de inscripción. Predio de terreno localizado en el Barrio Rabanal del térmi-

no municipal de Cidra, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 511.946 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 0.1303 cuerda; en lindes por el NORTE, en dos alineaciones continuas con el solar número 2 y el remanente; por el SUR, con camino municipal; por el ESTE, con el remanente; y por el OESTE, con el lote número 2. Enclava una casa de una sola planta dedicada a vivienda, según inscripción 3ra. Inscrita al folio 45 del tomo 505 de Cidra, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Sección Segunda de Caguas, finca número 18,775. Dirección fisica: Lot.#3, KM 2.1 Ramal 7775 SR 173 Rabanal Ward, Cidra PR. 00739. B. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado están de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables bajo el epígrafe de este caso. C. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. D. Que la propiedad se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: 1. Sujeta a condiciones restrictivas bajo el Programa Bono de Vivienda: La Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda ha concedido a los compradores la suma de $5,403.17 para gastos de cierre, por lo que impone las siguientes condiciones restrictivas: No podrá vender, donar, permutar o de cualquier otro modo transferir la propiedad sin el previo consentimiento de la Autoridad dentro de un periodo de 10 años. E. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma principal de $108,591.13, más la suma de $34,362.40, que incluye intereses según pactados, cargos por demora y otros cargos, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de 10% del principal, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se celebrará el día 2 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA en la Oficina del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Caguas, por el tipo mínimo de $124,200.00. De declararse desierta dicha subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 9 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 AM en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para

la segunda subasta lo será 2/3 partes del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $82,800.00.

De declararse desierta dicha segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 16 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A

LAS 10:30 AM en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para la tercera subasta lo será 1/2 del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $62,100.00.

Y PARA QUE ASÍ CONSTE, y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general y por un término de catorce (14) días en los sitios públicos conforme a la ley, expido la presente bajo mi firma y sello de este tribunal, hoy 28 de junio de 2023 en Caguas, Puerto Rico.

ÁNGEL GÓMEZ GÓMEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #593.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA

TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA

VACATION OWNERSHIP LENDING, L.P.

Demandante V.

JAMES ALLAN MORROW, SANDRA

KAYE MORROW Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES MORROW, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a)

Civil: VB2023CV00355. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JAMES ALLAN MORROW, SANDRA

KA YE MORROW Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES MORROW, COMPUESTA POR AMBOS.

(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 29 de junio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha

de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 29 de junio de 2023. En Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, el 29 de junio de 2023. LCDA LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARITZA ROSARIO ROSARIO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC. COMO AGENTE GESTOR DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC

Demandante V. JOSEFINA

LAUREANO RIVERA

Demandado(a)

Civil: TB2022CV00370. Salón: 703. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOSEFINA

LAUREANO RIVERA.

(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 junio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 28 de junio de 2023. En BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, el 28 de junio de 2023.

Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. Lureimy Alicea González, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA

TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INS-

TANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE COMERÍO

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V.

SUCESIÓN DE VÍCTOR COLÓN GARCÍA

COMPUESTA POR: CARLOS ALBERTO COLÓN RODRÍGUEZ, Y POR SÍ, LUZ VIRGINIA COLÓN BERMÚDEZ, VÍCTOR COLÓN BERMUDEZ, SARA COLON BERMUDEZ, YOLANDA COLON BERMUDEZ, FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN RODRÍGUEZ ARROYO, COMPUESTA POR SUTANO Y PERENSEJO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA Demandado(a)

Civil: AI2019CV00464. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, CARMEN RODRIGUEZ ARROYO POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA, VÍCTOR COLON BERMUDEZ, SUTANO Y PERENCEJO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE CARMEN RODRIGUEZ ARROYO.

(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 28 de junio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 29 de junio de 2023. En COMERÍO,

Puerto Rico, el 29 de junio de 2023. ELIZABETH GONZÁLLEZ RIVERA, SECRETARIA. CARMEN L. APONTE FLORES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. LUIS A. VIERA PEREZ

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV03689. Sobre: INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO; COBRO DE DINERO Y REPOSESIÓN. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LUIS A. VIERA PEREZ. POSTAL: RR 36 BOX 8152, SAN JUAN, PR 00926. FÍSICA: URB. CUPEY ALTO CAMINO EL MUDO, CARR. 843 KM 9.5, SAN JUAN, PR 00926. De: FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO. Se le emplaza y requiere que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramaiudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Este caso trata sobre Incumplimiento de Contrato, Cobro de Dinero y Reposesión en que la parte demandante solicita que se condene al demandado a pagar las cantidades adeudadas desde al 19 de abril de 2023 de $23,413,00 de principal, más $2,319.61 de intereses acumulados a razón del 18.45% los cuales se continúan acumulando hasta el total y completo pago de la deuda; más $142.28 de cargos por mora los cuales se continúan acumulando hasta el total y completo pago de la deuda; más $106.50 de cargos; más una suma equivalente al 30% del total adeudado para honorarios de abogados según pactado. Se le apercibe que, si dejare de hacerlo, se dictará contra usted sentencia en rebeldía, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle.

Lcdo. José Antonio Lamas Burgos Número del Tribunal Supremo 15693 PO Box 194089 San Juan, PR 00917 Teléfono: (787) 296-9500 Correo Electrónico:

jlamas@lvprlaw.com

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y Sello del Tribunal, hoy 29 de junio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. YADIRA DÍAZ GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. JUAN PABLO

ROMÁN VALENTÍN

Demandado

Civil Núm.: VB2019CV00103. (201). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA ENMENDADO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

El Alguacil del Tribunal que suscribe anuncia y hace constar: A. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Vega Baja, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor de contado y en moneda de curso legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América y cuyo pago se efectuará en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, todo derecho, título o interés que tenga la Parte Demandada en el bien inmueble que se describe a continuación:

RÚSTICA: Parcela número uno (1). Predio de terreno radicado en el Barrio Pugnado Afuera del término municipal de Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de mil setecientos noventa y seis punto ocho mil novecientos noventa y cuatro (1,796.8994) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el predio número tres (3) que será dedicado para uso público y lo separa de la Carretera Estatal seiscientos setenta (670); por el SUR y OESTE, con la finca Francisco Vázquez, propiedad de la Autoridad de Tierras; por el ESTE, con el predio número dos (2) y la finca de Francisco Vázquez, ambas propiedad de la Autoridad de Tierras. Dirección Física: Lot 1, Km. 7, SR 670, Pugnado Afuera Ward, Vega Baja, PR 00693. Finca 24,238, inscrita al folio 218 del tomo 297 de Vega Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Cuarta de Bayamón. B. Que los autos y todos los documentos corres-

pondientes al procedimiento incoado están de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables bajo el epígrafe de este caso.

C. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. D. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma principal $106,800.17, más la suma de $4,176.34, que incluye intereses según pactados, cargos por demora y otros cargos, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de 10% del principal, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado hipotecariamente asegurados. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se celebrará el día 3 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la Oficina del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Vega Baja, por el tipo mínimo de $111,680.00. De declararse desierta dicha subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 10 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para la segunda subasta lo será 2/3 partes del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $74,453.33. De declararse desierta dicha segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 17 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar antes mencionado. El precio para la tercera subasta lo será 1/2 del precio mínimo de la primera, o sea, $55,840.00. Y PARA QUE ASÍ CONSTE, y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general y por un término de catorce (14) días en los sitios públicos conforme a la ley, expido la presente bajo mi firma y sello de este tribunal, hoy 30 de junio de 2023 en Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. MEYLEEN ROSADO NEGRÓN #729, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE VEGA BAJA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE YAUCO EN SABANA GRANDE ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC

Demandante Vs CARMEN P. SANTIAGO SANTOS

Demandada

Civil Núm.: PE2022CV00017. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: CARMEN P. SANTIAGO SANTOS.

P/C LCDO. KENMUEL JOSÉ RUIZ LÓPEZ, KENMUEL.RUIZ@ORFLAW.COM.

SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 26 de junio de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de treinta días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 27 de junio de 2023. En Yauco en Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico, el 27 de junio de 2023. Carmen Tirú Quiñones, Secretaria Regional. Delia Aponte Velázquez, Secretaria Auxiliar I.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE WILLIAM

MARTÍNEZ NEGRÓN Y

BERNARDA DE LEÓN

T/C/C BERNARDA DE LEÓN MARTÍNEZ

T/C/C BERNARDA DE LEÓN ORTIZ T/C/C

BERNARDINA DE LEÓN COMPUESTA

POR SUS HEREDEROS

CONOCIDOS ZAYDA

MARTÍNEZ DE LEÓN, EDWIN MARTÍNEZ DE LEÓN Y LETICIA

MARTÍNEZ DE LEÓN; FULANO(A) DE TAL

Y SUTANO(A) DE TAL COMO POSIBLES

HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE DICHA SUCESIÓN; SECRETARIO DE LA VIVIENDA Y DESARROLLO URBANO; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM) Demandados Civil Núm.: CA2023CV00552. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. A: FULANO(A) DE TAL Y SUTANO(A) DE TAL, COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE WILLIAM MARTINEZ NEGRON. CALLE TRINITARIA, L-420 URB. LOIZA VALLEY, CANOVANAS, PR 00729; CALLE LILA #118 CIUDAD JARDINES, CAROLINA PR 00729. Por la presente se les notifica que se ha presentado en este Tribunal la Demanda de epígrafe. Se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a: Lcdo. Fernando Gierbolini; MONSERRATE, SIMONET & GIERBOLINI, 101 Ave. San Patricio, Edificio Maramar Plaza, Suite 1120, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00968; Tel: (787) 620-5300, abogado de la parte demandante, con copia de la contestación a la Demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto, que se publicará una (1) vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general. Se le apercibe que si no contesta la Demanda radicando el original de la misma 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, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal Superior dentro del término antes indicado, y notificando con copia a la parte demandante, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Sentencia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado a favor de la parte demandante sin más citarle ni oírle. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 26 de junio de 2023. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretaria. Lilliam Ortiz Nieves, Secretaria Auxiliar.

Andy Murray returns to Wimbledon a man in full and on a mission

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN

In late May, with most of the world’s best tennis players focused on the red clay at the French Open, Sir Andy Murray was 300 miles away on the other side of the English Channel, dialed in on preparations for the grass at Wimbledon.

That had been the plan, anyway. But then his wife, Kim Sears, had to head up to Scotland for a few days to handle some business at the hotel she and Murray own. That left him solo for the morning rituals beginning at 5:30 a.m. with their four children, all younger than 8: cooking breakfast, getting everyone dressed and dropping them off at school.

Three hours later, with the last child delivered, he headed to Britain’s national tennis center in Roehampton, southwest London, where he received treatment from his physiotherapist and trained for several hours on the grass court and in the gym. There was also an afternoon of interviews and shooting promotional videos. It’s all part of the next phase of Murray’s quixotic, late-career quest to finish his journey on his terms, metal hip and all.

Maybe that means somehow recapturing the magic of 10 years ago, when he became the first British man in 77 years to win the most important title in his sport. Maybe it’s simply cracking the top 30 or 20 once more, proving wrong all the doctors and doubters who called him foolish for entertaining a future in professional tennis after hip resurfacing surgery in 2019.

Or maybe it’s pushing off for however long he can becoming the full-time tennis elder, entrepreneur and someone who, years ago, did that glorious thing.

‘An outrageous career’

A decade on from the moment Britain had been waiting on since the Great Depression, Murray returns to the All England Club a version of himself that he could not have imagined in 2013, when he was just another 20-something bloke who walked his dogs in London on the south bank of the Thames.

The tennis obsessive is now a man in full: A husband of eight years; a father of four; an officer of the Order of the British Empire (hence the “sir”); an art collector; an entrepreneur with a portfolio that includes a hotel, a clothing line and other investments; and the wise man, sounding board and occasional practice partner for the next generation of British tennis stars, such as Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu.

Mirra Andreeva, a 16-year old Russian phenom, would like some time with him, too. She called him “so beautiful” this spring.

Regrets, he has a few, especially in those years in his 20s when he trained like a fiend and viewed time with friends and family as an impediment to a tireless search for every ounce of success. Another speed workout. More lifting, or hot yoga, or hitting practice balls. Why did he make life so difficult for his coaches? Why did he eat all those sweet-and-sour candies? Why did he stay up until 3 a.m. playing video games so often?

The lazy view of Murray, who plays Ryan Peniston of Britain in the first round today (6 a.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN+, Fubo), is a

player with just three Grand Slam singles titles, the same as Stan Wawrinka, who is a fine champion but no one’s idea of an alltime great. Novak Djokovic just won his 23rd. Rafael Nadal has 22; Roger Federer, 20. They are the so-called Big Three.

Djokovic said recently he doesn’t much like that term because it excludes Murray, a player he has been battling since his days on the junior tennis circuit. The longtime mates practiced together Saturday at the All England Club.

There is a reason Federer included Murray as a central character in his send-off last year at the Laver Cup. Murray has beaten Djokovic, Nadal and Federer a combined 29 times, including two wins over Djokovic in Grand Slam finals. He made 11 Grand Slam singles finals during the most competitive era of elite men’s tennis. Only he, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic held a No. 1 ranking between 2004 and 2022. And he withstood unmatched pressure during his run to that first Wimbledon title.

“It’s an outrageous career,” said Jamie Murray, a top doubles player who teamed with Andy, his younger sibling, in 2015 to deliver Britain its first Davis Cup triumph since 1936.

Or it was an outrageous career, until that grueling physical style exacted its toll on Murray’s back and ankles and eventually led to the degenerative hip condition that stymied his run at the top in 2017. In January 2018, Murray had an initial unsuccessful hip surgery. For the rest of the season, everyone saw him suffering and limping through the pain.

At the 2019 Australian Open, Bob Bryan, a 23-time Grand Slam doubles champion, put his breakfast tray down at Murray’s table and told him about the hip resurfacing surgery he had undergone the previous summer. The operation allowed Bryan to return to high-level competition doubles in just five months. Elite singles was something else entirely.

“‘All I want to do is play,’” Bryan said Murray told him. Later that month, Murray posted a startling photo on Instagram that showed him lying in a hospital bed.

“I now have a metal hip,” he wrote after the roughly twohour resurfacing procedure that replaced the damaged bone and

cartilage with a metal shell. “Feeling a bit battered and bruised just now but hopefully that will be the end of my hip pain.”

Murray’s pain had grown so severe that the primary goal of the operation was to give him the ability to play with his children.

For the next six months, he attacked physical therapy and rehabilitation the way he had attacked tennis. He was a full-time father. He played golf. He hung around with old friends.

‘Why shouldn’t he keep playing?’

Murray’s mother, Judy, a former player who was his first tennis coach, said tennis allows her son to express so many parts of his identity, beginning with a burning need to compete, but also an analytical mind that loves studying the game and its history.

From the time he was a small boy, she said, if a game of cards or dominoes wasn’t going his way, those cards and dominoes would go flying across the room. He also had an older and bigger brother he desperately wanted to beat, and plenty of people who said that a boy from a small town in Scotland, where the weather was terrible and indoor courts were scarce, could never win Wimbledon. Now those same people say his time has passed.

“If he still loves it, then why shouldn’t he keep playing?” Judy Murray said in an interview Friday.

In early June, when Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz and nearly everyone else of consequence was playing in Paris, Murray was playing a Challenger tournament at a racket club in Surbiton, southwest of London, in the tennis minor leagues.

The field was made up of pro-tour deep cuts and some early round French Open casualties. A crowd of hundreds packed the stands, which were set on shaky scaffolding.

Murray took only a few games against Chung Hyeon, a journeyman from South Korea, to show why he is certain he can beat anyone in the world on grass at a time when so few pros have mastered the surface: The slice backhands that go successively lower until they barely bounce above an opponent’s shoelaces; the dying volleys in the front of the court, and the stinging ones to the baseline; the slice serve that slides so far off the court; the softballs that look like meatballs but are really knuckleballs, wobbling in the air and twisting when they hit the grass.

Two weeks and two Challenger trophies later, Murray had claimed 10 straight matches, the first five won while commuting from his home outside London, where he had decamped to a spare bedroom for the month to get some rest.

Then came his final Wimbledon tuneup, at Queen’s Club in London, where he lost his first match to Alex de Minaur of Australia, a top 20 player who took advantage of Murray’s heavy legs and lackluster serve that day. Murray tried not to read too much into the result.

All journeys have peaks and valleys. As the teachers in Murray’s hot yoga classes would say, the only way out is through — even on those days when the end feels closer than Murray hopes it might.

Andy Murray won the Wimbledon men’s singles title in 2013 and 2016.

GOATs are everywhere in sports. So what really defines greatness?

strokes.

Before Norman, there was the Boston Red Sox’s grounder-through-the legs-at-theworst-possible-World-Series-moment goat, Bill Buckner.

Need I say more?

Muhammad Ali is widely credited with first injecting the Greatest of All Time into the mix. When he went by Cassius Clay in the early 1960s, he recorded a comedy album anchored by the title poem, “I Am the Greatest.”

After his upset win against George Foreman in 1974, he added a flourish, admonishing his doubters and critics, and reminding them of his status: “I told you I am still the greatest of all times!”

But was it really Ali who came up with this particular egotistic flourish?

Some say GOAT’s origins actually spring from a flamboyant, blond-tressed wrestler, George Wagner, who was known as Gorgeous George and who in the 1940s and ’50s earned lavish paydays by turning trash talk into fine art.

Then Roger Federer devotees will wade in. He had losing records against both Nadal and Djokovic. But, by goodness, he’s Roger Federer, fine linen with a forehand with 20 Slams and a raft of epic final-round battles to his name.

Not so fast, Serena Williams adherents will remind. Not only does she have 23 Grand Slam titles — including one earned while she was pregnant — Williams braved playing in a mostly white sport and bent it to her will. Besides, she’s as much a cultural icon as she is an athlete. Can any male player say that?

Then there are the old-school partisans of Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King. Stop the unfairness, they will shout. No more comparing superlative athletes from vastly different eras.

By KURT STREETER

If you are reading this column, I have great news: You’re the GOAT!

That’s right: Among those who have happened upon this space, I deem you the Greatest Reader of All Time.

Then again, if you’re LeBron James, or Serena Williams, or Nikola Jokic — with that sparkling NBA championship ring — well, you already know you’re the GOAT. Everyone has been saying so.

“Bahhh, bahhh, bahhh,” goes the bleating of a goat. It’s also the sound made by James’ Los Angeles Lakers teammates when he walks into the locker room. GOAT hosannas are practically the soundtrack of his life.

Driven by its pervasive usage around sports, five years ago the wordsmiths at Merriam-Webster entered the term GOAT in the dictionary as an acronym and a noun.

Defining the term as “the most accomplished or successful individual in the history of a particular sport or category of performance or activity,” a Merriam-Webster editor nodded to the pervasive use of Tom Brady’s name along with GOAT in a popular search engine as an example of why the acronym had become dictionary official.

Yeah, I know — this GOAT thing, it’s

a little confusing. To be the greatest implies singularity, no? But now there are GOATs everywhere we turn.

Even worse than the acronym’s overuse is its doltish simplicity. There’s not enough nuance. Too much emphasis on outright winning, not enough on overcoming.

What are our options here? Maybe we should ban the use of the term outright in sports, following the lead of Lake Superior State University, which cheekily ranked the hazy, lazy acronym No. 1 on its 2023 list of banished words.

“The many nominators didn’t have to be physicists or grammarians to determine the literal impossibility and technical vagueness of this wannabe superlative,” read a statement from the university.

Banning doesn’t quite seem like a possibility, however — not when a word has bored a hole this deep into our collective consciousness.

No doubt, being a goat isn’t what it used to be. In sports, it was once a terrible insult, a term of shame hung on athletes who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Greg Norman, otherwise known as the Shark, was a goat for coughing up a six-stroke lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters, a tournament he lost by five

In a precursor to WWE-style braggadocio, Gorgeous George once claimed before a big fight that if he lost, he would “crawl across the ring and cut my hair off!” He added, “But that’s not going to happen, because I’m the greatest wrestler in the world.”

Ali said he had learned a good chunk of his boastfulness from Gorgeous George.

“A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth,” the wrestler is said to have told Ali after a chance meeting. “So keep on bragging, keep on sassing, and always be outrageous.”

This week commemorates the moment when sport’s most legitimate GOAT talk hovers over tennis and an event its organizers not-so-humbly call the Championships.

Wimbledon started Monday. The men’s favorite, Novak Djokovic, has 23 Grand Slam tournament titles, one short of Margaret Court’s record of 24. If he wins this year, his wildly devoted fan base will confidently proclaim the Serb’s GOAT status.

That will drive fans of Rafael Nadal, who is stuck at 22 major titles, to distraction. They will argue that their idol would have won 25 major titles (or more) by now, if not for injuries.

Time has changed everything in every sport — better equipment, better training methods, new rules — so how can we reliably compare? Before McEnroe lost to Borg in the 1980 Wimbledon final, neither had the benefit of sleeping, as Djokovic reportedly does, in a performance-enhancing hypobaric chamber.

On and on the argument will go.

That’s the craziness of it. The foolishness and the fun of it.

Who’s the GOAT?

Well, to be honest, I’ve got four. Willie Mays. Joe Montana. Williams. Federer. I can remember each for their sublime victories, of course. But also their stumbles. A 42-year-old Mays lost in the outfield. A fragile Montana in his twilight, playing not for San Francisco but for Kansas City.

I was on hand to see Williams struggle and come up short as she chased that elusive last Slam. I sat feet from Federer as he held two match points against Djokovic in the Wimbledon final of 2019. Then the Swiss crumbled in defeat.

“For now it hurts, and it should — every loss hurts at Wimbledon,” Federer said at the post match news conference. But, he added, he would persevere. “I don’t want to be depressed about actually an amazing tennis match.”

No one escapes disappointment and frailty. But if we do it right, we soldier on.

You know what that means? It means all of us can be GOATs!

Bleat on, my friends. Bleat on!

A young fan holding a sign with an image of a goat and a quotation from Simone Biles, who is considered one of the sport’s greatest gymnasts.

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

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Your philanthropic side is fading. You’re used to thinking about others before thinking about yourself, but today, things are about to change. Indeed, you fascinate those around you. You’ve found a new freedom. It seems that you’re liberated from your old self and totally fulfilled.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Haven’t you wondered how it would feel to be omniscient, Taurus? Well, today you’re about to have this experience. You will have the energy of ten. People will come to you and ask for your guidance. You will easily find the solutions to their problems. Today the world belongs to you.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

Today could provide an interesting opportunity to show your assets in a professional setting. People will be impressed by your personality and may even offer you a new job or exciting business proposal. You won’t be able to turn down the proposition and you will feel totally free and satisfied.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

Today you may have to commit to some values close to your heart, Cancer. As a child, you were aware of the role you had to play in society. You were greatly concerned about others. Today you will probably be asking yourself if you should get involved and make decisions in the general interest.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

You may feel your life is full of uninteresting people. You think they’re all alike and fit perfectly within a conservative society. You don’t want to be like them and would prefer to meet unusual individuals, people who differ from the crowd. They aren’t too far away. You just need to make an effort to look for them.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

You might think you’re the most intelligent person in the world. You hover over the notions that bind us. You’re transformed into an artist who’s able to have great ideas. Remember that geniuses always think big. Today you’re one of them. Your ideas could help others.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Everybody knows that you’re very strong willed. You’ve always had a very active disposition. You have the ability to surmount all obstacles and soak up all the energy that comes to your aid. It seems that today your strength could be reinforced by some people you meet or by your group of friends, Libra.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Your family life will give you a lot of work today. Some of your relatives may express a desire for independence and some might even try to rebel. If you don’t want to lose your cool, Scorpio, you should try to step away from all the excitement. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to succeed.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

You aren’t the kind of person who likes to lead an ordinary life. You aren’t afraid of the unknown. You like to open up to new worlds and cultures. You sometimes feel willing to change your whole life. Sagittarius, to your great satisfaction, today you will probably experience unusual events that could lead your life in new directions.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

You shouldn’t try to stay alone today, Capricorn. Once in a while you need to spend some time alone to ponder your life, to dream and wish for better things to come. But today you could meet someone who will take you places you aren’t accustomed to going. Try to stay available in order to seize this opportunity.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You shouldn’t try to stay alone today, Capricorn. Once in a while you need to spend some time alone to ponder your life, to dream and wish for better things to come. But today you could meet someone who will take you places you aren’t accustomed to going. Try to stay available in order to seize this opportunity.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

You shouldn’t try to stay alone today, Capricorn. Once in a while you need to spend some time alone to ponder your life, to dream and wish for better things to come. But today you could meet someone who will take you places you aren’t accustomed to going. Try to stay available in order to seize this opportunity.

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