Friday to Sunday Jun 23-25, 2023

GOOD MORNING

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.

Judge schedules challenge against Genera but suspends PREPA’s confirmation hearing

By THE STAR STAFF

Although the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) bankruptcy confirmation hearing next month has been suspended, the Title III court will hear oral arguments next Wednesday on the lawsuit to stop Genera PR from taking over the operation of PREPA’s thermal power plants.

The court will allocate up to one hour for arguments in connection with the preliminary injunction motion filed a week ago by PREPA’s leading workers’ union, the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Union (UTIER by its Spanish acronym). The hearing will take place in New York City.

UTIER has challenged the Genera PR contract arguing that it violates public policy by creating a private monopoly in power generation. It also filed an injunction to stop the contract from going into effect.

New Fortress Energy subsidiary Genera PR was selected to operate, maintain and eventually decommission PREPA’s aging power-generation assets through a 10-year agreement established via a public-private partnership (P3). The 100-day transition period ends June 30.

Through the P3, Genera PR will receive $22.5 million annually over five years and could receive bonuses or incentives of up to $100 million, pending on whether consumer savings are achieved. The generation units transferred by PREPA to the company produce about 70% of the energy consumed on the island.

The scheduling of the hearing comes as PREPA’s bankruptcy confirmation hearing, which had been scheduled for July 17, was suspended at the Financial Oversight and Management Board’s request as the entity needs to amend the energy utility’s fiscal plan, according to an order issued this week.

The judge did not set a new date for the confirmation hearing in Wednesday’s order.

The oversight board had asked for the hearing and all other dates associated with the bankruptcy to be suspended since it plans to amend the Title III bankruptcy debt plan to be consistent with PREPA’s 2023 fiscal plan, which is due this Friday, June 23.

The oversight board had anticipated earlier this month that it would have to file a new fiscal plan, a situation that did not please U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who in the past has threatened

to dismiss the bankruptcy.

The oversight board said the delay in filing a new fiscal plan is because of new information it recently received from PREPA, LUMA Energy, Genera PR and their advisers.

Swain, who is overseeing the bankruptcy, had already suspended some of the related deadlines. The oversight board may need to resolicit votes for the new plan and bondholders have indicated that they will need to obtain discovery into any new projections, data and models that the plan relies on.

“The oversight board hopes and expects to move quickly towards confirmation following certification of the 2023 fiscal plan and its identification of necessary amendments to the Title III plan,” the board said in its motion to suspend dates. “In the 28 June status report, the oversight board expects to be able to provide information concerning whether any resolicitations are required, and if so, when a proposed supplemental disclosure statement and full proposed amended plan can be filed, and the path forward towards confirmation.”

U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain

Governor downplays expected hikes in utility rates

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia on Thursday minimized the impact of proposed increases in the cost of water and electricity.

The governor stated that the water hike is 53 cents a month and that it will be executed by order of the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the fiscal plan of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA).

On the other hand, he indicated that the increase in the cost of electricity that LUMA Energy has requested is not final and is subject to the approval of the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB). Pierlusi pointed out that in February of last year the kilowatt-hour cost of electricity was 28 cents and now it is 20.7 cents.

“Luma made that request, but PREB has the last word,” he said.

Pierluisi noted that PRASA has restructured its finances, improved its fiscal condition and has a huge capital investment plan. In addition, the water utility will install thousands of digital meters to better measure consumption.

Regarding the cost of electricity, the governor insisted that the PREB will have

the last word.

“I don’t anticipate a hike and if there was a hike it would be very minimal, if any,” he said.

Pierluisi also said he considers it positive that U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor

Swain has accepted the request made by the oversight board to postpone the confirmation process of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) debt adjustment plan (see related story on page 3).

“The information has been coming

out, mainly as a result of the litigation, the bankruptcy process before the federal court,” he said. “For example, in that litigation process it was indicated that the [oversight] board is in the process of or about to update or revise PREPA’s fiscal plan. It was also indicated that the board received new income projections from [private power grid operator] LUMA, among other entities and, as has also been publicly indicated, we see that more and more consumers and entities are resorting to acquiring solar systems, solar panels with batteries, and that has an impact on PREPA’s income.”

The governor also pointed out, by insisting that any adjustment plan must be payable as long as the economy is not affected, that private sector entities and unions have raised the flag about the danger of the adjustment plan proposed by the oversight board and that it would raise the cost of electricity substantially. Meanwhile, more consumers are buying solar systems, which means less revenue for PREPA.

Pierluisi anticipated that the oversight board will amend PREPA’s fiscal plan taking into account the anticipated decline in revenue.

Municipal public safety plan set for Noche de San Juan Bautista

By THE STAR STAFF

On the occasion of the traditional celebration of Noche de San Juan Bautista, the San Juan Public Safety Department has established a work plan aimed at increasing the police presence in the coastal areas and busiest areas of the capital municipality, Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo announced Thursday.

The program, in which preventive surveillance will be implemented and which will address any violation of ordinances and laws that occur during the course of the holiday, will be put into effect from Friday at 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday.

The municipal police assigned to the service program will respond to any events that may arise in the periphery of the Escambrón and Último Trolley beaches, and will cover the extension of the maritime land zone from early morning until late at night, with the aim of maintaining continuous surveillance in the area.

“As part of the functions of the Municipal Police of San Juan, this work plan is designed with the purpose of providing preventive surveillance and directing traffic on state and municipal highways in coastal areas where citizens frequent for the enjoyment of public beaches,” said Col. José Juan García Díaz, the commissioner of the San Juan Municipal Police. “In this way, we try to ensure that attendees, visitors and residents of the capital city enjoy peace and harmony.”

The mayor added that “it will be ensured that the provisions of the laws and ordinances in force are complied with, in order to promote a good environment for citizens and visitors to the Municipality of San Juan.”

“This is one of the dates when we receive more visitors,” Romero Lugo said. “Specifically the areas of Escambrón and Último Trolley become the stage for thousands of people to gather as a family, and our team will be there to ensure that everything transpires in law and order.”

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi

San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo

The citizen comes first

First ever symposium on citizens’ rights brings public & private organizations together

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardgutierrez@gmail.com

Ombudsman of Puerto Rico and former mayor of Camuy Edwin García Feliciano directed the island’s first symposium on public service accountability, titled “Todos somos tu voz” (We Are All Your Voice), on Thursday at the Engineers & Land Surveyors Association offices in San Juan. The ombudsman described the event as an effort to inform the citizenry regarding their right to demand quality services that government agencies offer.

“This effort complements our vision, to strengthen the conscience of the Puerto Rican citizenry regarding the fact that public services are a citizen’s right,” García Feliciano told the STAR. “Public agencies must maximize their efficiency to guarantee a quick and proper response to address the individual needs of the community.”

A wide array of public and private entities, along with nonprofit organizations, took part in the symposium. The agencies presented the services available to the citizens and described how public funds are administered and protected.

García Feliciano, meanwhile, told the STAR about the services provided by the Ombudsman’s Office in Puerto Rico.

“Our function is to work as a mediator between the citizens of Puerto Rico and government agencies, when these agencies don’t respond to claims made by citizens, meaning that when a citizen went to the respective agency and they were not attended to, we step in to respond for the citizen,” he said. “For example, if somebody has a situation where they made a claim to social services and they did not answer their claim, the individual can come to us and we can start an investigation regarding their particular situation.”

The ombudsman added that the office has handled more than 21,000 cases ahead of next Friday’s end of the fiscal year. The cases come from many different organizations, in García Feliciano’s view this is not a good thing.

“The quantity of people we have attended implies that there are a lot of people who are not being attended to,” he said. “Attending to citizens is our sole obligation as public

service providers.”

García Feliciano also stressed the importance of the ombudsman’s office in Puerto Rico and its achievements intervening in the handling of funds that are intended for citizens.

“The importance of having an ombudsman’s office is that we can go straight to the top of any agency and ask them why they have not attended to a particular case,” he said. “On top of that, we also conduct investigations. The most complete investigation regarding closed schools in 2017 was made by us, the most complete investigation regarding shelter facilities in Puerto Rico was also made by us. We recently intervened at the Medical Center because they did not let ambulances park properly, [and] we also intervened with the Urban Train.”

“Recently, the governor announced that they will provide a 50% incentive to small businessmen and businesswomen with fewer than 50 employees. That was a petition we made to the State Insurance Fund, with the money left over last year that was originally going to be used to reduce the cost of fuel,” García Feliciano said. “On February 22 of 2023, in the public hearing on the State Insurance Fund in Mayagüez, we made a petition to the [SIF] board so that the government doesn’t charge the total tax premium to small businesses, just a percentage, and thankfully an incentive has been announced for small businesses. We are also fighting for part of this money to be used to address the medical crisis in Puerto Rico and give out scholarships to students who want to go to college, to help students stay and work here in Puerto Rico.”

The ombudsman added that the main goal with Thursday’s symposium was to bring all organizations together from the private, public and nonprofit sectors so that they can strengthen each other and work together with the Office of the Ombudsman to provide quality services to the community.

He said a second goal of the conference involves the proper management of funds in each respective government agency.

“That means we have to be smart with our money and use the funds we have available properly, without buying things that don’t make sense,” García Feliciano said.

The symposium was hosted by prominent Ponce journalist Luis José Moura and was transmitted through Facebook Live. The first half of the forum was mainly focused on citizens’ rights and covered issues such as health care, public assistance and

discrimination against people with disabilities. Representatives of the organizations who participated along with García Feliciano in the first half were: Alberto E. Fradera Vázquez, head of the Family Socioeconomic Development Administration; Edna Díaz de Jesús, an attorney for people with disabilities from The Office of the Patients’ Advocate; and Juan Troche Villeneuve, an attorney from the Office of the Ombudsman for People with Disabilities.

The second half of the conference centered on a panel discussion regarding the growing issue of public funds corruption, which promotes a lack of trust on the part of the people of Puerto Rico and consumes essential resources intended for indispensable services for the community. The panel consisted of Comptroller of Puerto Rico Yesmín Valdivieso, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the San Juan Field Office Joseph González and García Feliciano, who said the symposium addressed the biggest complaint of citizens, which is that the government doesn’t listen to the people.

“We are obligated to be better and to make ourselves much more accessible, and to change the generalized perception of apathy and turn it into absolute satisfaction for services that respond to citizens’ needs, because that impacts their quality of life, health and emotional state,” the ombudsman said.

Ombudsman of Puerto Rico Edwin García Feliciano, right, along with several representatives of organizations participating in the island’s first symposium on public service accountability, titled “Todos somos tu voz” (We Are All Your Voice). (Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)

Ombudsman of Puerto Rico Edwin García Feliciano

$10.7 million federal injection for transition to low-emissions vehicles, UPR research programs

By THE STAR STAFF

Three new federal funding allocations totaling $10.7 million will help boost the transition to vehicles that emit little or no emissions, as well as the development of projects on two campuses of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced Thursday.

The Federal Transit Administration approved a $10 million allocation to the Metropolitan Bus Authority under the Puerto Rico Minimizing Emissions Plus (Prime+) Project. The funds are awarded competitively under the Low or Zero Emissions Grant Program that are financed thanks to laws drafted in Congress and supported by the resident commissioner such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021, among others. The program funds initiatives for the purchase or lease of low- or no-emission vehicles that use advanced technologies

for transit revenue operations, including related equipment or facilities.

Meanwhile, the UPR Utuado Campus will receive $400,000 under the education and workforce development program for research initiatives on agriculture and food. The program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture seeks to increase the knowledge of educators in topics related to food and agriculture.

The UPR Mayagüez Campus will receive $260,919 from the National Science Foundation for a project titled “Collaborative Research/Research Infrastructure: Enhanced Open Networked Airborne Computing Platform,” which is under the direction of Lu Kejie. The project aims to develop an enhanced open networked airborne computing platform to facilitate the design, implementation and testing of an airborne computing platform that seamlessly integrates control, computing, communication

and networking.

Agriculture Dept. allotted $670,000 to replace lab equipment damaged by Maria

By THE STAR STAFF

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has allocated nearly $670,000 to replace equipment for the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Veterinary and Agrological Laboratory due to damages sustained during Hurricane Maria. The facility performs all testing and certifications of animals exported from and imported into Puerto Rico to ensure that they are free of disease.

The federal funds are part of other FEMA obligations to the Department of Agriculture, which has received over $18 million for its permanent work projects.

“These laboratories are unique in Puerto Rico due to the services they offer to the agricultural community on the island and abroad,” explained Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator José G. Baquero said. “The monitoring and tests performed here have a direct effect on the control of diseases in the food chain and animal population in Puerto Rico.”

The veterinary laboratory handles animal disease control and various bacteriological, chemical, immunological and pathological analysis tests. The agrological laboratory, meanwhile, inspects and tests plants, soil and water; studies various crop diseases; controls pests and pesticides; and operates machinery for testing and

certifying food, concentrated food for livestock and fertilizer tests, among others. DA Secretary Ramón González Beiró noted that “in terms of safety, agriculture and for consumers, these replacements are extremely significant, starting with the tests conducted on animals, tests carried out on food and on fertilizers.”

“We’re making sure that farmers are getting what it actually says on the label and that we’re not putting something in the ground that is against the law,” he said. The FEMA funds are earmarked to replace a fire alarm as well as hematology equipment and testing instruments for viral diseases, among other electrical and technical equipment.

Labor Dept. alerts public to ‘OSHA’ phone fraud scheme

By THE STAR STAFF

In response to complaints from citizens who reported receiving fraudulent calls from alleged employees of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Labor and Human Resources (DTRH) Secretary Gabriel Maldonado González clarified Thursday that neither the federal entity nor its Puerto Rico OSHA office (PR OSHA), which is attached to the DTRH, make this type of approach to employers or workers.

“Recently, authorities reported that people had received calls from alleged OSHA employees requesting money. We want to clarify that this type of approach is not the way in which it proceeds,” Maldonado González said. “No inspector asks for money in fines or penalties. If after an intervention, our team of inspectors believes that the establishment should be fined, this is discussed with the employer or his representative before sending him the official documents on summons and notification

of penalty. Puerto Rico OSHA will continue to work hard in its mission to promote work spaces free of injuries and accidents, so we urge people not to fall into these schemes and immediately report them to the authorities.”

As part of PR OSHA’s protocols, Bureau of Inspections personnel, who are authorized by the Puerto Rico Occupational Safety and Health Act to visit any place of employment unannounced, must present an official credential issued by the DTRH, Maldonado González noted. “In the case of Consulting Program personnel, they also visit the employers and have to show their official identifications. Some complaints handled by the Bureau of Inspections, meanwhile, can be answered by telephone. However, the inspector must identify himself and later the employer will receive by email official communications related to his or her case and that will validate the call of the PR OSHA employee. Under no circumstances will the PR OSHA employee be requesting money for fines, penalties, or any other concept, the DTRH secretary said.

Any employer who wishes to validate the authenticity of the PR OSHA employee who contacts them may contact the PR OSHA office at 787-754-2172.

Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón

Agriculture Secretary Ramón González Beiró

Labor and Human Resources Secretary Gabriel Maldonado González

House censures Adam Schiff over his role investigating Trump

By LUKE BROADWATER

The GOP-led House formally censured Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., earlier this week over his role investigating former President Donald Trump, the first in what could be a series of votes seeking to punish those whom Republicans have deemed the party’s enemies.

The censure passed by a party-line vote of 213-209 with six Republicans voting “present.” The measure had the backing of Speaker Kevin McCarthy after its lead sponsor, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., altered its language to remove a multimillion-dollar fine some Republicans viewed as unconstitutional.

“Adam Schiff launched an all-out political campaign built on baseless distortions against a sitting U.S. president,” Luna said. The censure accused him of engaging in “falsehoods, misrepresentations and abuses of sensitive information” as he sought to unearth connections between Trump and Russia.

It is rare for a member of Congress to be censured, a punishment that amounts to a public reprimand. The House has censured members just 24 times in the chamber’s history, and typically only after a finding of wrongdoing. Before Schiff, just two members of the House had been censured in almost four decades.

Democrats erupted in chants of “Shame!” at the Republicans after the vote, and surrounded Schiff in a protective circle as he walked to the well of the House to receive the censure. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called out that the proceedings were a “disgrace.”

Five of the six Republicans who voted “present” are members of the Ethics Committee. Such a vote is traditional to maintain independence in such cases for ethics panel members, who would have the task of investigating Schiff.

Schiff, who is seeking a Senate seat and has cited the censure against him in fundraising efforts, said he was being made a target solely because he had stood up to Trump.

Schiff led the first impeachment prosecution against Trump and served on the House committee investigating

the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

“You honor me with your enmity,” Schiff told the Republicans from the House floor, pointing out that Trump had been indicted over charges that he mishandled classified documents.

“Donald Trump is under indictment for actions that jeopardize our national security, and McCarthy would spend the nation’s time on petty political payback, thinking he can censure or fine Tump’s opposition into submission,” Schiff said.

“But I will not yield. Not one inch.”

The vote came at a time of rising Republican anger, as hard-right members in Congress increasingly agitate for the impeachment of President Joe Biden or members of his administration.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., a leader of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, is seeking to force a vote on impeaching Biden this week. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who has been pushing to impeach FBI Director Christopher Wray, on Wednesday accused Boebert of copying her impeachment articles against Biden.

But McCarthy on Wednesday sought to impose a sense of strategy on his fractious conference. The speaker used a closed-door meeting of Republicans to argue against a quick impeachment of Biden, according to a person familiar with the matter.

McCarthy argued Republicans would look inconsistent if they pressed to censure Schiff for what Republicans believe was a politicized impeachment process, and then turned around and impeached Biden before the House committees investigating the Biden administration and the business interests of Biden family members had finished their work.

McCarthy told members he was not opposed to eventually carrying out impeachment proceedings against Biden or one of his Cabinet officials, but that he believed a proper investigation must be conducted first.

House speakers often struggle to control their more aggressive members. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wielded a renowned control of the House floor, famously could not prevent Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, from forcing a vote to impeach Trump before she was ready to do so.

The House Republicans’ rush to punish Schiff and Biden comes a week after Trump was charged federally over allegations he mishandled classified documents, and a day after the Justice Department announced prosecutors would charge the president’s son, Hunter Biden, with misdemeanor tax crimes. Republicans spent much of Tuesday railing against what they called a “two-tier justice system,” in which the younger Biden was facing penalties they believed were too lenient.

Luna’s initial effort to punish Schiff failed last week, when the House voted 225-196 to table, or kill, her first resolution. Her original effort called for an ethics investigation into Schiff and a $16 million fine if he was found to have lied.

Libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was among the Republicans who argued the fine was unconstitutional.

The last member to be censured was Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2021, after he posted a manipulated video on his social media depicting himself killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and attacking Biden.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report that found fault with the FBI over the Russia inquiry on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 21, 2023.

Man who assaulted officer on Jan. 6 is sentenced to more than 12 years

and let out a defiant shout of “Trump won!” before being led out of the room by federal marshals.

The judge, Amy Berman Jackson, rejected defense arguments that Rodriguez was the product of a difficult upbringing and that he had been a mostly law-abiding retail and warehouse worker before he became radicalized by what she called Trump’s “irresponsible and knowingly false claims that the election was stolen.”

outside the building.

Even then, prosecutors say, Rodriguez kept going. He entered the Capitol and sought to rile up other rioters, they said, and tried to smash a window with a pole-like object he found inside. He also ransacked offices, the government says, and instructed others in the mob to go through drawers to “look for intel.”

Jackson, in passing sentence, was not swayed. She said she was particularly confounded by one thing Rodriguez had just said — that he had armed himself in anticipation of a fight with law enforcement, to participate in a demonstration intended to safeguard the police under a “Blue Lives Matter” banner.

By GLENN THRUSH and ALAN FEUER

Afederal judge on Wednesday sentenced a rioter who savagely assaulted an officer defending the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to more than 12 years in prison, calling him a “one-man army of hate” whose severe punishment might act as a deterrent to future acts of political violence.

The 151-month sentence, handed down at a 2 1/2-hour hearing in U.S. District Court in Washington, was one of the stiffest so far in the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack. It stemmed from one of the most wrenching episodes of the day, an assault on a District of Columbia police officer with a stun gun-like weapon that left him unconscious and unable to return to his duties.

The defendant, Daniel Rodriguez, 40, who had previously admitted to driving from California to Washington to do armed battle on behalf of former President Donald Trump, expressed some regret for his actions as he asked the judge for leniency. But after receiving his sentence, Rodriguez smiled

Jackson, her voice rising with disgust as she documented his actions in detail, said she was sympathetic to Rodriguez’s claim that his extended absence has been harmful to his ailing mother, but she cast the stiff sentence as serving a higher purpose of safeguarding democracy from continuing threats.

“The shadow of tyranny has not gone away,” said Jackson, who was appointed by President Barack Obama.

Patriotism, she told Rodriguez, “is loyalty to your country, not to a single head of state.”

Few among the more than 1,000 people who have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack were as violent as Rodriguez, a single man who, according to his lawyer, “idolized” Trump and his MAGA movement.

Over the course of nearly two hours at the Capitol on Jan. 6, prosecutors say, Rodriguez sprayed a fire extinguisher at police, shoved at officers with a wooden pole, took part in a “heave-ho” effort to break police lines and eventually assaulted Officer Michael Fanone of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington — who had rushed to the scene when he heard law enforcement calls for help — by hitting him twice in the neck with an electroshock device in a crowd

When Rodriguez finally left the Capitol grounds, prosecutors say, he sent a text message to a group chat he had created called Patriots 45 MAGA Gang, showing a gallows with the Capitol in the background. The text of the message read, “No Democrats found unfortunately.”

“These people are zealots,” Fanone, who attended the hearing, said afterward. “They need to be held accountable.”

In court papers filed before the sentencing, Rodriguez’s lawyers wrote that their client was one of millions duped by the former president, who “doubled down on his lies and falsely declared that he had won.”

Rodriguez, who grew up without a father and never completed high school, was one of those people. He “deeply respected and idolized Trump,” the lawyers wrote, adding, “He saw the former president as the father he wished he had.”

But Rodriguez did little to help his own cause in the courtroom. He veered from that script during a rambling 25-minute statement in which he seemed to cast the period leading up to the attack on the Capitol in nostalgic terms — a time when he and fellow Trump supporters practiced military drills by playing paintball, in his retelling.

“I did what I thought was right at the time,” he said.

“Today was not the best day to say you had to be armed and ready because police don’t always do the right thing,” she said, as one of his lawyers slumped in her seat.

Prosecutors say that Rodriguez set up Patriots 45 MAGA Gang on Telegram in autumn 2020. But after the election — and Trump’s repeated lies about the outcome being marred by fraud — the group chat became “a breeding ground” for “plans for violence against the seat of the federal government.”

Those plans crystallized, prosecutors said, after Trump posted a message on Twitter on Dec. 19, 2020, summoning his supporters to Washington for a “wild” protest on Jan. 6.

After the tweet was posted, Rodriguez urged others in the chat to rent a recreational vehicle and drive to Washington instead of flying so that they could bring weapons. He also encouraged chat members, prosecutors said, to arm themselves with knives, bear spray, even ax handles.

“There will be blood,” he wrote in the chat on the night before the Capitol attack. “Welcome to the revolution.”

Edward Badalian, Rodriguez’s co-defendant and fellow group chat member, was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding in April after a bench trial in front of Jackson. Rodriguez pleaded guilty to similar charges and assault in February.

Supporters of President Donald Trump breach the Capitol building in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2021.

Extreme heat, more storms threaten an already battered Oklahoma

By EDGAR SANDOVAL and JUDSON JONES

Battered by severe storms that killed at least two people and left thousands without electricity, Oklahoma faced relentless heat and more severe storms earlier this week as crews worked furiously to restore power in the hard-hit northeast part of the state.

Ambulance crews in the Tulsa region were struggling to keep up with calls related to the weekend storms and power disruptions, according to Adam Paluka, a spokesperson for the Emergency Medical Services Authority in Tulsa.

“We had our highest-volume day ever, in our history,” Paluka said. “This chaos is our reality right now.” Emergency crews responded to 487 calls, compared with the average of 335 for a Tuesday in June, he said, with many of the calls linked to heat exhaustion or to people falling ill because they had no power for medical equipment in their homes.

With summer only just beginning, a heat dome has stalled over much of Oklahoma and Texas and is threatening to linger until the Fourth of July holiday, straining emergency resources and the power grid as demand for air-conditioning surges.

In Texas, officials issued an excessive heat warning for the Dallas-Fort Worth region and asked residents in the rest of the state to conserve electricity for fear that the power grid could buckle amid repeated triple-digit temperatures. In Oklahoma, where thousands remained without power, officials were pleading with people to spend the hottest part of the day in cooling centers.

The heat dome is the result of a highpressure ridge in the atmosphere, the kind of conditions typically responsible for lengthy heat waves.

“In terms of temperatures, there is really no end in sight for the excessive heat that has plagued particularly south and western Texas/southeastern New Mexico,” forecasters with the Weather Prediction Center said.

On Tuesday a U.S. Postal Service carrier in Dallas collapsed during his route and later died, as temperatures surpassed 100 degrees. The medical examiner’s office said it would take time before it could determine whether excessive heat played a role in the man’s death.

Some residents in Tulsa said they were dreading the hot and stormy days ahead,

which felt unusual for this time of year. Peka Jackson, 24, said that power in her apartment was restored Tuesday night and that she was “praying” that she would not go without it again. Jackson was relieved to see crews clearing fallen trees and other debris on her street Wednesday afternoon after the weekend storms.

“What can we do? What we did last time, use candles, flashlights, praying, we do a lot of praying,” she said. “You try to stay cool with a fan or anything you have.”

Storms, possibly with hail, were expected to continue battering parts of Oklahoma on Wednesday and over the next few days. But officials were more worried about the relentless heat, which was expected to hit triple digits by the weekend.

Highway and utility crews were racing to restore power lines and repair the substantial damage done by last weekend’s storms, whose hurricane-force winds knocked down trees and scattered debris that made some roads unusable. One tornado was recorded in the Oologah area.

The power grid has held in Texas. But in Oklahoma more than 100,000 customers were still without power Wednesday afternoon, mostly near Tulsa, and many of them would not have service restored for several days yet, officials said.

With the top two state officials out of the state on official business, the power to declare a state of emergency for the affected regions fell on Greg Treat, the president pro tem of the Senate. The order, which

will remain in effect for 30 days, allows for the state to relax laws and regulations to bring aid faster to areas ravaged by the storm and by rising temperatures.

At least two people died as a resultof the storms, in Creek County and in McCurtain County, according to medical examiners’ records.

But even some residents closer to Oklahoma City, 100 miles southwest of Tulsa, were affected by the extreme weather. Anne Harp, of Norman, said her home lost power on Sunday during the storm, and stayed off through Tuesday.

Harp said her family drove to find respite in air-conditioning in areas of town that did not lose power and only returned when temperatures dipped after sunset.

“We had an emergency kit with battery fans for sleeping overnight,” Harp said. “But we had to clear out the refrigerator and the freezer. They were a complete loss.”

The National Weather Service in Oklahoma said Wednesday that more perilous storms and possible hail were on the way as a line of storms moved in from Kansas. “As this line moves through northern and central Oklahoma,” the agency said on Twitter, “large hail and 60-80 mph winds could accompany the strongest storms.”

Extreme heat eased slightly in Tulsa on Wednesday, to a more normal high of 90 degrees, with nighttime lows in the 70s. A heat advisory remained in effect for the region because the combination of heat and humidity was expected to create dangerous conditions for people without electricity, weather service forecasters in Tulsa warned.

The worst of the heat was shifting on Wednesday and Thursday to western and southern Texas, as well as to portions of New Mexico, where high temperatures were expected to spike into the triple digits, threatening to break daily records in places like Abilene, Austin, Odessa and San Angelo in Texas.

Weather forecasters were also watching the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles for the possibility of more severe thunderstorms. “Those storms could produce hail the size of baseballs,” said Forrest Mitchell, a forecaster with the service.

Over the next few days, temperatures could surpass the 100-degree mark, especially in southern Oklahoma, Mitchell said. On Sunday, Wichita Falls, Texas, could reach 107 degrees.

Downed power lines in Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday. More than 100,000 people in the state were without power on Wednesday morning.

FTC sues Amazon for tricking users into subscribing to Prime

By DAVID McCABE

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon on Wednesday, accusing it of illegally inducing consumers to sign up for its Prime service and then hindering them from canceling the subscription, in the most aggressive action against the company to date by the agency’s chair, Lina Khan.

In its lawsuit, the FTC argued that Amazon had “duped millions of consumers” into enrolling in Prime by using “manipulative, coercive or deceptive” design tactics on its website known as “dark patterns.” And when consumers wanted to cancel, Amazon “knowingly complicated” the process with byzantine procedures.

“Amazon tricked and trapped people into recurring subscriptions without their consent, not only frustrating users but also costing them significant money,” Khan said in a statement.

Amazon said in a statement that the FTC’s “claims are false on the facts and the law” and that “by design we make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership.” The company accused the FTC of filing the lawsuit without advance notice while the two sides were still in conversation about the case.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, takes aim at a key Amazon program that has become ubiquitous in the lives of more than 200 million customers. Prime members pay $139 a year to get packages shipped faster from Amazon’s retail store, to stream movies and series from its in-house studio and to receive discounts when they check out at Amazon’s Whole Foods grocery chain. The company has added more perks to Prime over time, including live sports, and has raised the annual subscription fee.

The FTC’s action was the first time that the agency took Amazon to court under Khan, who rose to fame with a viral critique of the company and who is ramping up scrutiny of the e-commerce giant. Khan has said the power that big tech companies exert over online commerce requires regulators to be far more aggressive, and she has taken actions against them.

Under Khan, the FTC continued a lawsuit against Meta,

the owner of Facebook, arguing that it cut off nascent competitors by buying Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency also sued to block Microsoft’s blockbuster $69 billion deal for the video game publisher Activision Blizzard.

Khan has yet to bring the kind of sweeping antitrust case against Amazon that the company’s critics have demanded. The FTC’s antitrust bureau has investigated Amazon’s practices for years, and critics and supporters of the company are closely watching to see how she will move forward with the findings.

Amazon recently settled cases with the FTC that began before Khan’s tenure. The company agreed to pay $25 million last month to settle commission claims that its Alexa home assistant devices had illegally collected children’s data. The company also settled another privacy case with the FTC over its Ring home security subsidiary.

Prime has for years attracted subscribers with its menu of benefits, turning the service into one of the keys to Amazon’s dominance. The service was introduced in 2005 for $79 a year. Over time, the company added more perks to the program, like streaming video, and increased the price. It raised the fee to $139 a year in 2022.

In 2021, Amazon said it had more than 200 million Prime members. Customers last year spent $35 billion on Amazon subscriptions, primarily Prime memberships, according to the company’s financial disclosures.

On Wednesday, the FTC said Amazon had made it particularly difficult to buy a product in its store without also subscribing to Prime while checking out. In one example, it said the company used “repetition and color” to push customers’ focus to Prime’s promise of free shipping and away from the service’s price, leading some to subscribe to Prime without “informed consent.”

The agency also said Amazon made it hard to find the page that allowed consumers to cancel the service. Once they found it, the company bombarded them with offers intended to change their mind. The lawsuit said Amazon had named the process for canceling Prime after the Iliad, the lengthy Greek epic poem that recounts the Trojan War.

Amazon “substantially revamped its Prime cancellation process for at least some subscribers” shortly before the law-

suit, the heavily redacted complaint said. But “prior to that time, the primary purpose of the Prime cancellation process was not to enable subscribers to cancel, but rather to thwart them.”

The FTC asked the court to stop Amazon from engaging in those practices and to force the company to pay an unspecified financial penalty.

Questions over how hard it is to cancel Prime have increased in recent years. In a 2021 complaint to the District of Columbia attorney general, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group, said Amazon used manipulative designs to “frustrate the intentions of users who intend to cancel their Amazon Prime subscriptions.”

The FTC has recently pledged to crack down on designs meant to nudge consumers or confound their efforts to cancel a service.

“It’s having to play a lot of catch up because these practices have evolved for many years without serious attention and enforcement,” said John Davisson, a senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. “Going after a company as big as Amazon is sending a message to other players in the industry.”

Critics consider Prime central to Amazon’s business because it keeps customers inside the company’s retail store by offering them other perks, like access to Amazon streaming exclusives like “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”

Amazon delivery vans queue to enter a logistics facility in Rosemead, Calif. on Jan. 13, 2022.

Nasdaq, S&P 500 gain as Powell wraps up testimony

Wall Street was mixed on Thursday as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in his second day of congressional testimony continued to beat a hawkish drum and suggested the central bank has not reached the end of its tightening cycle.

The Nasdaq was in solid green territory with a boost from tech- and tech-adjacent momentum stocks led by Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), while the S&P 500’s advance was more tentative.

Industrials and financials pulled the blue-chip Dow slightly lower.

“We’re having a little bit of a respite from what the market did last week, and it’s reflecting Powell’s comments about the likelihood that we need further rate hikes and the market’s trying to digest that,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.

Powell, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee for his semi-annual monetary policy testimony reiterated his view that more interest rate hikes are likely in the months ahead, a sentiment echoed by Fed Governor Michelle Bowman earlier in the session.

“The market is trying to figure out whether we’re past the hump with respect to the rapid acceleration,” Carlson added. “There’s a lot of moving parts here as to why the Fed didn’t do something this time but say they’re going to do something later.”

Markets were taken by surprise when the Bank of England implemented a larger-than-expected 50 basis point rate hike to tackle Britain’s stubborn inflation, further evidence that hot price growth remains a global economic headwind.

At last glance, financial markets have priced in a 77% probability of another 25 basis point rate hike at the conclusion of the Fed’s July meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

On the economic front, jobless claims held steady at a 20-month high and the Conference Board’s Leading Economic index posted its 14th consecutive monthly decline, suggesting that the Fed’s efforts to dampen the economy are beginning to have their intended effect.

At 2:04PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19.11 points, or 0.06%, to 33,932.41, the S&P 500 gained 8.4 points, or 0.19%, to 4,374.09 and the Nasdaq Composite added 93.11 points, or 0.69%, to 13,595.31.

Of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary was enjoying the largest percentage advance, while real estate was down the most.

Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE:SPR) tumbled 8.7% after the aircraft parts supplier announced it would suspend production at its plant in Wichita, Kansas, after workers announced a strike from June 24.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares dropped 2.3%.

U.S.-listed shares of Accenture (NYSE:ACN) fell 3.0% after the IT consulting firm forecast weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) slid 3.1% after the Olive Garden parent issued a disappointing annual profit outlook as the Olive Garden parent contends with ballooning commodities prices.

All 5 on submersible are believed dead after ‘catastrophic implosion’

Gobierno de Puerto Rico

DEPARTAMENTO DE RECURSOS NATURALES Y AMBIENTALES

El peticionario, Sr. Nelson G. Rosario Rodríguez, Administrador Condominio Puerto Azul, cuya dirección postal es PO Box 1760, Boqueron, PR 00622, ha solicitado al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) la renovación del Permiso de Operación para un sistema de inyección subterránea (SIS) Clase VC-I, bajo las disposiciones del Reglamento para el Control de la Inyección Subterránea (RCIS), y la Ley Federal de Agua Potable Segura, según enmendada 42 USC 300f et seq. (LFAPS).

El SIS 001 consiste de un (1) tanque séptico con una capacidad de 12,000 galones y cinco (5) trincheras “infiltrators” con un área de percolación total de 885.61 pies cuadrados, para la disposición de aguas sanitarias, provenientes del Condominio Puerto Azul. El referido SIS está ubicado en la Carretera PR-3301, Km 2.6, Int. Sector El Combate, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.

Luego de realizada la evaluación correspondiente de los documentos sometidos, el DRNA tiene la intención de emitir la renovación del Permiso de Operación para la instalación antes indicada, en conformidad con los requisitos del RCIS y de la LFAPS.

Esta notificación se hace para informar que el DRNA, ha preparado el borrador de los permisos de forma tal que el público interesado pueda someter sus comentarios con relación al mismo. Los permisos contienen las condiciones y prohibiciones necesarias para cumplir con los requisitos reglamentarios aplicables.

El público puede evaluar copia de la solicitud de permiso que sometió el peticionario ante el DRNA, el borrador del permiso y otros documentos relevantes en la Oficina Regional de Mayagüez (ORM) cuya oficina está localizada en la Carr. PR-2, Km 164, Edificio Plaza Monserrate, en Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. Copia de dichos documentos pueden adquirirse en la Oficina del Secretario localizada en el Edificio de Agencias Ambientales Cruz A. Matos, Urbanización San José Industrial Park, Ave. Ponce de León 1375, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00926 o en la ORM, entre las 8:00 am y las 4:00 pm de lunes a viernes o escribiendo a la dirección: Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales.

Las partes interesadas o afectadas pueden enviar sus comentarios o solicitar una vista pública por escrito al Gerente del Área de Calidad de Agua, Director de la ORM y a la Secretaria del DRNA, respectivamente, a la dirección antes indicada.

Los comentarios por escrito o la solicitud de vistas públicas deberán ser sometidos a la DRNA, no más tarde de treinta (30) días a partir de la fecha de publicación de este aviso. La fecha límite para someter comentarios puede ser extendida si se estima necesario o apropiado para el interés público. La solicitud para una vista pública deberá señalar la razón o las razones que en la opinión del solicitante ameritan la celebración de la misma. De realizarse una vista pública los interesados o afectados tendrán una oportunidad razonable para presentar evidencia o testimonio sobre si se emiten o deniegan los permisos, el Secretario determina que dicha vista es necesaria o apropiada.

Anaís Rodríguez Vega Secretaria

By BEN SHPIGEL and DANIEL VICTOR

All five people aboard the submersible that went missing Sunday were believed to be dead, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday, ending a dayslong rescue effort that gripped much of the world.

“On behalf of the United States Coast Guard and the entire unified command, I offer my deepest condolences to the families,” Rear Adm. John Mauger said in a news conference Thursday.

Earlier in the day, a remote-controlled vehicle located debris from the Titan submersible, including its tail cone, on the ocean floor, about 1,600 feet from the bow of the Titanic, he said.

“The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” Mauger said.

Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate, was piloting the submersible. The four passengers were a British businessperson and explorer, Hamish Harding; a British-Pakistani businessperson, Shahzada Dawood, and his teenage son, Suleman; and a French maritime expert, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, who had been on over 35 dives to the Titanic wreck site. For rescuers, the search for the pilot and four passengers aboard the submersible, the Titan, was always a race against

time. When the submersible, a 22-foot-long vessel owned by OceanGate, lost contact with a chartered ship on Sunday morning, it was more than halfway into its dive to the wreck of the Titanic, and it was believed to be equipped with only four days’ worth of oxygen.

Even as the chances of survival seemed to grow slim, rescuers said they were holding out hope that the Titan could still be intact out there somewhere, with five people alive inside — hopes that were dashed Thursday.

Asked what the prospects were of recovering the bodies of the victims, Mauger said he did not have an answer. “This is an incredibly unforgiving environment down there on the sea floor,” he said.

Tropical Storm Bret moves toward eastern Caribbean islands

By JUDSON JONES and JOHNNY DÍAZ

Tropical Storm Bret was expected to hit the Lesser Antilles on Thursday evening with strong winds and heavy rain of up to 10 inches in some locations, the National Hurricane Center said.

Bret formed Monday as the second named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, and by Thursday afternoon, it was about 45 miles east of Barbados, moving west at 14 mph toward the eastern and central Caribbean Sea. Bret was expected to bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to portions of the Lesser Antilles on Thursday evening into Thursday night, the hurricane center said.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds were near 65 mph with higher gusts. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 115 miles from Bret’s center.

The storm, which had initially been forecast to become the first hurricane of the 2023 Atlantic season, is expected to be near hurricane strength when it blows into some eastern Caribbean islands Thursday evening.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for Barbados, Dominica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Martinique, the center said, while St. Lucia was under a hurricane watch. The storm is forecast to reach portions of the Lesser Antilles on Thursday afternoon and evening and then begin weakening in the eastern Caribbean Sea, where it will likely dissipate Saturday.

The storm may bring the risk of flooding from heavy rainfall, strong winds and dangerous waves, the center said.

Forecasters urged anyone in the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands to closely monitor the storm and be prepared.

The government of St. Lucia closed schools, airports, businesses and government offices Thursday, Philip J. Pierre, the prime minister, said on Twitter.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit of Dominica shared disaster preparedness tips, urging residents to stay alert during heavy rainfall and to “be ready to move to a safe area if rising water is observed.”

The Barbados Meteorological Services also warned residents of possible flash flooding in low-lying districts. On Thursday afternoon, the acting prime minister of Barbados, Santia Bradshaw, said there were reports of heavy gusts across the island, which had damaged one home.

Schools and nonessential government services were closed Thursday in Barbados, and Bradshaw asked that people stay off the roads after 6 p.m.

The storm’s track is uncertain, though, and it is unclear which islands could receive the worst impact.

Rain is expected through Saturday. About 3 to 6 inches with maximum amounts up to 10 inches are anticipated across parts of the Lesser Antilles, extending from Guadeloupe as far south as St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Another storm system similar to Bret is following on its heels and may develop into Cindy, the season’s third named storm, later this week. Tropical storms earn a name once they have sustained winds of 39 mph. Once winds reach 74 mph, a storm becomes a hurricane, and at 111 mph it becomes a major hurricane.

In a satellite photo form Maxar Technologies, ships taking part in the search and rescue efforts for the missing Titan submersible near the wreck of the Titanic.

Once scorned, far right secures foothold in Spanish cities

he intends to make the most of his party’s gains locally. “We are and we will be extending our hand to build an alternative,” he wrote on Twitter this week, just as Vox and the Popular Party were locked in negotiations over regional governments.

While municipal councils had to be formed by Saturday, regional governments have more time, and new agreements between Vox and the Popular Party could be reached in the next few days in regions such as Extremadura, in the west, and Murcia, in the east.

León said the local coalition agreements would help Vox, a party created only a decade ago, gain experience in running cities and provide it with resources to consolidate its organizational base. But she added that the most important outcome of the agreements is that they “have paved the way” for an alliance at the national level.

Most polls show the Popular Party, also known by its initials PP, winning most votes in the early general elections Sánchez has called for next month. But it would require an alliance with Vox to be able to form a government, a possibility that Alberto Núñez Feijóo, the Popular Party leader, has not ruled out.

Gobierno de Puerto Rico DEPARTAMENTO DE DESARROLLO ECONÓMICO Y COMERCIO

Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos

AVISO VISTA PÚBLICA

Para conocimiento del público en general y de conformidad con las disposiciones del Artículo 8.6 de la Ley 161-2009, según enmendada, conocida como “Ley para la Reforma del Proceso de Permisos de Puerto Rico”, la Ley Núm. 38 -2017, según enmendada, conocida como “Ley de Procedimiento Administrativo Uniforme del Gobierno de Puerto Rico”, el Reglamento Conjunto para la Evaluación y Expedición de Permisos relacionados al Desarrollo, Uso de Terrenos y Operación de Negocios, en adelante Reglamento Conjunto y cualquier otra disposición de ley aplicable, se informa que la Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (“OGPe”) celebrará vista pública para el caso que se describe a continuación:

Proyecto/Peticionario:

Oficina Médica Dr. Juan C. Maldonado p/c Lcdo. Carlos W. López Freytes

Caso Núm.

2022-471406-PU-190834

Dueño de la Propiedad:

Sr. Juan C. Maldonado

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of Spain at the White House in Washington, May 12, 2023. Sanchez called for snap elections in July following gains by the opposition.

By CONSTANT MÉHEUT

Spain’s far right took office in a string of cities and in a powerful region over the weekend by forging coalition agreements with the moderate right, in a move that may foreshadow a broader alliance to govern the country after next month’s general elections.

The agreements came about three weeks after the centerright Popular Party crushed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s leftwing coalition in regional and local elections. To secure control of dozens of cities, the Popular Party struck coalition deals with the far-right Vox, which also performed well, embracing part of the party’s nationalist, anti-migrant agenda.

Both parties will now govern together in some 25 cities of more than 30,000 residents, including five regional capitals, giving Vox, a party once considered anathema by most voters, crucial political leverage. They have also teamed up to run the wealthy Valencia region, which accounts for 10% of Spain’s population.

“It’s something completely new, both in terms of extent and depth,” Sandra León, a political analyst at Carlos III University in Madrid, said of the alliances. “It opens up a new path, a new period in the right-wing bloc.”

The growing popularity of Vox, which is already the thirdlargest political force in the Spanish parliament, has coincided with the rise of the far right in Europe, at a time when the continent is grappling with fierce identity debates, the economic fallout of a pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Hard-right forces already govern Italy, and last Friday, Finland’s main conservative party announced a new coalition government with a nationalist party. In France, Marine Le Pen’s normalization strategy is steadily bearing fruit.

Santiago Abascal, the leader of Vox, has made it clear that

“Such clear pacts have been concluded between Vox and the PP” at the local level, León said, that “we already know they will ally” after the national elections.

The prospect of the far right gaining national power has come as a shock in a country where nationalist forces had long been sidelined because of the shadow of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, which ended in the 1970s.

In particular, the alliance between the Popular Party and Vox to govern the Valencia region has raised concerns about a rollback of civil rights.

The coalition agreement in Valencia promises to “preserve the quality of education by removing ideology from the classroom,” in an apparent allusion to contents on gender equality that form part of the curriculum and which Vox has long criticized. The agreement also makes no mention of climate change, a phenomenon that some Vox leaders have denied is linked to human activity.

León said the agreement showed that the Popular Party “is willing to compromise on some issues on which it has different views from Vox” in order to govern.

The left was quick to use the Valencia agreement as proof that a Popular Party governing in alliance with Vox would be a step backward.

“There is something much more dangerous than Vox, and that is a PP that assumes the postulates and policies of Vox,” Sánchez said in an interview with El País on Sunday. “And this is what we are seeing: the negation of political, social and scientific consensus.”

Under pressure, the Popular Party has tried to distance itself from the most controversial positions of the far-right party. After a top Vox leader in Valencia said last Friday that “gender violence does not exist” — an issue that parties from across the political spectrum have long acknowledged and combated — Feijóo rushed to denounce his remarks.

“Gender violence exists,” Feijóo wrote on Twitter. “We will not take a step back in the fight against this scourge. We will not give up our principles, no matter the cost.”

Calificación: Residencial Intermedio (R-I)

Cualquier interesado en acceder y participar en la Vista Pública Virtual puede a través de: www.ddec.pr.gov/vistaspublicas

Fecha: 14 de agosto de 2023

Hora: 9:30 a.m.

Dirección de la acción propuesta: Calle Luis Raúl Estévez #50, Urb. García Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612

En la vista del caso de referencia se interesa discutir, pero sin limitarse a: Permiso Único para “Oficina Médica”. La solicitud se evaluará a tenor, pero sin limitarse, a lo establecido en las Reglas 6.1.3 y 6.3.1 del Reglamento Conjunto y sus disposiciones sobre variación en uso. La parte proponente tendrá que justificar su solicitud para la concesión de la variación.

Se convoca e invita al público en general a comparecer y participar a la vista pública a celebrarse mediante el método alterno (“virtual”), con acceso al público general, además de las partes reconocidas. Los procedimientos para la celebración de la vista serán los establecidos en las secciones 2.1.10.7 a 2.1.10.15 del Reglamento Conjunto. Si una parte debidamente citada no participa o comparece a la conferencia con antelación a la vista, a la vista pública o a cualquier otra etapa durante el procedimiento adjudicativo, el funcionario que presida la misma podrá declararla en rebeldía, multarla y continuar el procedimiento sin su participación, pero notificará por escrito a dicha parte su determinación según la Regla 2.1.7 (Notificaciones), los fundamentos para la misma, el recurso de revisión disponible y el plazo para ejercerlo

Se advierte que las partes, incluyendo corporaciones y sociedades, podrán, pero no están obligadas a, comparecer asistidas por abogado. Salvo justa causa, la vista no podrá ser transferida. Cualquier solicitud de transferencia de vista tendrá un cargo de $100.00, y deberá ser presentada con no menos de cinco (5) días de antelación a la fecha de la misma a través del Sistema Unificado de Información (“Single Business Portal”) de la OGPe, expresando las razones que justifican la solicitud. Deberá, además, cubrir los costos que conlleve la notificación de la transferencia y anunciar el nuevo señalamiento mediante la publicación de un nuevo aviso de prensa. El peticionario de la transferencia de la vista notificará y enviará copia de la solicitud simultáneamente a las otras partes ya reconocidas en el proceso y certificará el cumplimiento con lo aquí expuesto en la propia solicitud de trasferencia. El Reglamento Conjunto faculta al Oficial Examinador a imponer una multa de $500.00 a toda persona que observe una conducta irrespetuosa durante la vista, o que intencionalmente interrumpa o dilate los procedimientos sin causa justificada.

Cualquier persona podrá requerir examinar el expediente o solicitar copia del mismo mediante solicitud (SCE) a través del Single Business Portal en la página www.sbp.ogpe.pr.gov o en cualquier oficina de la OGPe. Podrá, además, haciendo referencia al número de solicitud, presentar por escrito sus comentarios a través de notificaciones_ogpe@ddec.pr.gov o a PO Box 41179, San Juan, PR 00940-1179 en cualquier momento previo a la fecha de la vista. El Oficial Examinador, motu proprio o a solicitud de parte, podrá conceder un término adicional para someter comentarios, que en ningún caso excederá de diez (10) días desde que concluya la vista. Debido a la emergencia causada por la pandemia del Covid-19 el Servicio al Cliente de la OGPe tanto en su Oficina Central en San Juan como en las Oficinas Regionales, será limitado y mediante coordinación previa al respecto.

Arrest of Mexican army general ordered in case of missing students

By NATALIE KITROEFF

Mexican prosecutors have obtained a warrant for the arrests of an army general and 15 other soldiers in connection with the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a crime considered one of the worst atrocities in the country’s recent history.

The students are widely believed to have been massacred in central Mexico after a night of violence in the town of Iguala, when police officers accused of working with the criminal cartel in the area forced them off buses, shot some of them and took the rest away. Authorities have only ever identified the remains of three students.

Investigations by the government’s truth commission into the case and a group of independent experts have said every level of government was involved, including the military, which they said had closely monitored the attack on the students in real time, but did not use that information to help locate them.

The general, Rafael Hernández Nieto, was accused of being involved in organized crime and the soldiers were accused of organized crime and forced disappearance, according to the judge’s order issuing the warrants, which was reviewed by The New York Times. A former judge, to whom some of the students were taken before reportedly being handed over to the cartel, was also accused of forced disappearance.

The development was a sign of some progress in the government’s investigation into the crime, which has suffered a series of setbacks and raised questions about President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s willingness to hold the army accountable for its alleged role.

Prosecutors first obtained arrest warrants for Nieto and 19 other soldiers in August, but then, in an abrupt reversal, asked a judge to revoke most of them about three weeks later, citing “deficient evidence” in their own case. Four members of the military were arrested, including one general, but the rest remained free.

The lead prosecutor on the case quit soon after. Two of the four independent experts investigating the case also resigned. López Obrador defended the decision at the time, saying that “the investigation continues, and there is no impunity.”

César González, a lawyer representing the soldiers, said Wednesday that the government’s case against his clients was weak, and criticized the attorney general for relying on the testimony of cartel members.

The attorney general’s office, González said, is “manipulating at will the statements of members of organized crime to try to give a litt-

le more support to a case that has been falling apart.”

Santiago Aguirre, the principal lawyer representing the families of the missing students, said that the government has solid evidence against the soldiers and that the original warrants were only canceled because of political pressure.

“The president informed the families directly that the accusation of such a high number of soldiers had made the army angry,” Aguirre said in an interview, describing a meeting between the families of the students and López Obrador in September. “And that caused Attorney General Alejandro Gertz to order his people to suspend some of the warrants.”

The parents of the victims continued to demand the arrest of more soldiers, Aguirre said, and the remaining independent experts said they would only continue their work on the case if the warrants were reissued.

“It was a requirement for us to continue our work because there was evidence to support the warrants, and the decision to withdraw them had been arbitrary,” said Carlos Beristain, one of the experts. “An investigation must be done on the basis of evidence, not pressures.”

López Obrador has given the armed forces sweeping new powers and has consistently backed them despite criticism that he is paving the way for the rise of a military state.

Still, the disappearance of the 43 students has become a political sore spot for the president, who made solving the case one of his most urgent priorities after taking office in 2018, but has struggled to show consistent progress.

After the attorney general handed the case to a prosecutor with little experience on it last fall, concerns grew about López Obrador’s commitment to building a solid criminal case against all those involved, including, possibly, more soldiers.

“This case has shown the power the army has and its insubordination to civilian authorities,” said Catalina Pérez Correa, an expert on the military at Mexico’s Center for Research and Teaching in Economics.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador during a news conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, on June 6, 2023.

A better way to help families

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM

For the past three decades, federal aid for lower-income families has largely consisted of handing out coupons: housing vouchers for families that need housing; food stamps for families that need food; Medicaid cards for health care.

Sometimes, however, what families need most is a little extra money they can spend as they see fit. Researchers have found that even small amounts of cash can make a big difference in the lives of children from lower-income households, improving their grades, their chances of graduating from high school and their income as adults.

In an important shift in poverty policy, some states are starting to provide that kind of financial aid. During the recently concluded spring legislative season, states including Minnesota, Colorado and Connecticut created programs to give people money.

“I think folks are turning to the idea that poverty and the financial precarity that has been increasing across all income levels is a policy choice,” said Halah Ahmad, vice president for policy at the Jain Family Institute, a nonpartisan research center in New York that works for the expansion of cash payments to families. “There’s decades of research that shows that cash works. And when you narrow the scope to helping kids in need, it’s even more popular.”

The proliferation of state programs has been sparked by the temporary expansion of the federal child tax credit during

the pandemic. The credit, created in the mid-1990s, reduces the amount that families with children owe in federal income taxes. In 2021, Congress raised the maximum credit per child to $3,600 from $2,000. For the first time, it also authorized payment of the entire amount in cash to households that didn’t owe enough in taxes to fully benefit. It was a watershed moment. Until then, families that earned less money had received less help.

The change didn’t last. Republicans refused to extend the program. But for that one year, the government offered the same assistance for every eligible child.

“Life became much more manageable when we began receiving the monthly child tax credit payments for our oldest daughter,” Melissa Lester, a social worker from Columbus, Ohio, who has become a proponent for permanent expansion, testified Wednesday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on using the tax code to support families.

“It gave us a little bit of breathing room,” she said. “Each month I was able to use the payments to help with various things like my daughter’s second-birthday party, holiday gifts, and when we took our first-ever family vacation, to Kitty Hawk, I was able to use the $300 toward some of those expenses. It helped relieve the constant stress over finances.”

Since then, Democratic majorities in seven states — often with support from Republican legislators — have created their own “refundable” child tax credits, the technical term for the policy of paying benefits in cash to families that can’t use the full value of a credit because they owe less than that amount in taxes. The only two states that had created refundable child tax credits before the pandemic, New York and California, both significantly increased eligibility.

The states hand out less money than did the federal government. The largest credit, which Minnesota created in May, offers up to $1,750 per child for households with incomes below $35,000 per year — roughly half the lapsed federal credit. But unlike the federal expansion, the state credits are meant to be permanent.

States are pursuing other ideas, too. In July, Connecticut will begin the nation’s first “baby bonds” program. Starting on July 1, the state will put $3,200 into a trust fund for each child born into a family enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program. The money will earn interest until the child turns 18, at which point the accumulated savings can be withdrawn and used to attend college in Connecticut or to purchase a home or start a business.

Washington, D.C., and California have approved similar programs, although California’s will start with a narrow focus on children in foster care and those who lost a parent to COVID.

Cash assistance remains a political live wire a quartercentury after President Bill Clinton delivered on his promise to “end welfare as we know it.” Providing the money through refundable tax credits, however, affords some insulation because the credits deliver benefits to a substantial share of the electorate. It also helps that the concept was dreamed up by influential conservative economist Milton Friedman in the 1960s and

remains popular among Republicans. Twenty-seven states, including a number of Republican strongholds, have adopted refundable earned-income tax credits. Montana’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, proposed a $1,200 refundable child tax credit early this year that nearly passed before getting caught up in a broader budget fight.

But opposition persists, especially to helping families with little or no income. Plans to permanently expand the federal child tax credit foundered because Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., agreed with Senate Republicans that only people who work should qualify for help.

One frequently expressed concern is that people who get cash may become less likely to work. This is misguided. Most beneficiaries of the refundable credits do work, and those who don’t are often the most in need of help. An analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-leaning think tank, estimated that more than 95% of the potential recipients were either in the labor force or in categories that one might reasonably exclude from the labor force: over the age of 65, caring for a child under the age of 2, disabled or in school.

Any costs also need to be weighed against the considerable evidence that cash helps children.

Isolating the effects of individual programs isn’t easy, but researchers have found some clever ways to assess the impact of refundable credits. One recent study compared children born in December with children born in January. Because families with children born in December were able to claim a federal tax credit for that year, they were eligible to receive about $1,300 in aid that families with children born in January did not get. The researchers, who looked at children born in three December-January windows between 1981 and 1992, found that the December children were earning 2% to 3% more by their early 30s.

How does a little help now translate into a higher income decades later? It’s the money for a security deposit on an apartment in a better neighborhood. It’s the money to keep the car running, to put vegetables on the dinner table, to have broadband at home.

Departamento de Justicia investigará fiesta en las aguas del cayo Matías en Salinas

SALINAS – El secretario del Departamento de Justicia, Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, confirmó el jueves que recibió un referido para investigar una fiesta celebrada en las aguas del cayo Matías.

“Confirmo que recibí en el Departamento de Justicia un referido sobre una actividad celebrada en las aguas del cayo Matías. Lo dirigí a la Oficina de la Jefa de los Fiscales para que se inicie una investigación de naturaleza criminal”, expresó Emanuelli Hernández en declaraciones escritas.

“Los recursos naturales le pertenecen al pueblo

puertorriqueño, pero deben disfrutarse con conciencia y responsabilidad. Cuidarlos y protegerlos no es solo una obligación del Estado, sino de cada uno de los que habitamos en la Isla”, enfatizó.

El referido fue enviado por la Comisión de Recursos Naturales, Ambientales y Reciclaje de la Cámara de Representantes. Se buscará adjudicar responsabilidades a quienes hayan cometido delitos durante la celebración.

“Los crímenes ambientales tienen un impacto severo en Puerto Rico y todos los ciudadanos, por lo que este caso tiene prioridad”, concluyó el secretario del Departamento de Justicia.

Gobernador le vuelve a caer encima a presidente del Colegio de Médicos Cirujanos

POR CYBERNEWS

LA FORTALEZA – El gobernador Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia arremetió el jueves contra el presidente del Colegio de Médicos Cirujanos, Carlos Díaz Vélez, quien solicitó la renuncia del secretario del Departamento de Salud, Carlos Mellado López, porque supuestamente utiliza su puesto para propósitos político partidistas.

“Ese señor está haciendo un flaco servicio al Colegio de Médicos Cirujanos de Puerto Rico. Ha estado faltándole el respeto. A este servidor y al secretario de salud, entre otros. Desde que asumió su posición con esa actitud, no está representando bien a los que se supone que represente. Básicamente todo el tiempo está con ataque tras ataque. Falta de respeto tras falta de respeto. Menospreciando la labor del secretario, de todo el equipo o el

Departamento de Salud. Hablándole a las gradas”, dijo el gobernador a preguntas de la prensa.

“Está actuando como un político de la peor calaña y no como un profesional de la medicina. Y con ese tipo de actitud no va para ningún lado, no aportan nada positivo a Puerto Rico. Así que realmente ese llamado cae en oídos sordos, si acaso que se salga del medio porque no está aportando absolutamente nada”, añadió.

El presidente del Colegio de Médicos Cirujanos acusó a Mellado López de mantener una crisis en el sistema de salud para su beneficio político.

Por su parte, en una conferencia de prensa, Mellado López mencionó que no renunciará. “No voy a renunciar. Yo no voy a responder a esa pregunta porque yo desde el día uno estoy trabajando. Yo no voy a responder a ataques y a dimes y diretes. Carlos Díaz sabe dónde es mi oficina,

de hecho, él ha venido. Que venga, que se reúna”, dijo el secretario de Salud.

“Aquí de lo que estamos hablando de traer propuestas puntuales para mejorar la salud de Puerto Rico”, añadió.

DRNA insta a mantener limpias las playas en la Noche de San Juan

JUAN – La secretaria del Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA), Anaís Rodríguez Vega, hizo un llamado el jueves a todos los locales y turistas que participarán en la tradicional Noche de San Juan, para disfrutar de la festividad sin dejar rastros de basura en las playas.

SAN

“Mi invitación es a no arrojar basura en los cuerpos de agua porque esos desechos, como el plástico, vidrio, latas, entre otros, provocan daños graves y, en el peor de los casos, la muerte a las especies marinas, algunas de ellas en peligro de extinción”, dijo Rodríguez Vega en declaraciones escritas.

El viernes, de las ocho y media de la mañana hasta la una de la madrugada del sábado, los ciudadanos podrán

disfrutar de la festividad en diversos balnearios de la isla. Rodríguez Vega recordó que arrojar basura fuera de los zafacones en áreas públicas es una violación a las leyes ambientales.

Los agentes del Cuerpo de Vigilantes intensificarán el patrullaje en las costas, a donde miles de personas llegan a celebrar la festividad. Los bañistas deben tener cuidado y respetar los nidos de las tortugas marinas y no acercarse a las áreas demarcadas por los grupos tortugueros.

Rodríguez Vega concluyó con una serie de recomendaciones para los bañistas, entre ellas, visitar los balnearios del Programa de Parques Nacionales del DRNA, las playas más seguras, y seguir las medidas de seguridad marítima. También hizo hincapié en no dañar la vegetación en las playas, las dunas ni los arrecifes de coral, y recordó que las fogatas están prohibidas en los balnearios y áreas naturales protegidas del DRNA.

Return of the artisans

41st Annual Crafts Fair at Plaza Las Américas is stronger than ever

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardgutierrez@gmail.com

The COVID-19 pandemic hindered many activities in Puerto Rico that involved large groups of people, what with the strict regulations regarding the numbers of people allowed in closed spaces.

One of the events that was limited significantly by social distancing rules was the annual Crafts Fair at Plaza Las Américas in Hato Rey. Zulma Santiago, the director of cultural projects at Plaza who has been taking part in cultural activities in the mall for 26 years, said this year’s fair, which

began this week and runs through July 2, is the first since the pandemic to approach the numbers of craftspeople -- 155 this time -- seen at the event prior to 2020.

“We always held the fair, even throughout the pandemic, but it was not done at the grand size and scope of today, because we had to follow strict regulations, so I would say that today marks the true return of the Plaza Las Américas Crafts Fair,” Santiago told the STAR on Wednesday. “The fair has been great; so far, the artisans are happy, the people are supporting them and there are already two craftspeople who are already leaving today because they’ve sold all of their product, which means their respective businesses have been doing well. On Sunday there will be a new group of artisans who will come in for the “second round.”

When asked if the event has returned to its status as a vitally important fair for craftspeople from around the island, Santiago responded with an enthusiastic “2,000 percent, yes!”

Jaime Fonalledas, the president of Plaza Las Américas added: “We have been at this for 41 years, and I am extremely happy to see so many people from Puerto Rico supporting the local economy and especially craftsmen through this event.”

Married couple Awilda Figueroa and Carlos L. Camacho of Bayamón were two of the many artisans participating in this year’s fair.

“I’ve been a craftsman for nearly 20 years; my passion is in wood sculptures,” Camacho said. “All thanks to my teachers in craftsmanship, I have been able to build my own business as a craftsman. I make many saints and angels, while my wife focuses on the three kings sculptures, which are sold all year round. I am very grateful to the Fonalledas family and Ms. Zulma for allowing us to share with so many people and propel our business even further. We have been coming to

these [fairs] for many years and we will continue to do so.”

The couple said that even though the artisan’s life can be difficult, activities like this one help a great deal when it comes to their work gaining popularity with the public and their ability to sell more of their pieces.

Zulma Santiago, director of cultural projects at Plaza Las Américas, and Plaza Las Américas President Jaime Fonalledas

Artisans Carlos L. Camacho and Awilda Figueroa of Bayamón

Wooden figurine by Carlos L. Camacho (Photos by Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)

Figurines by Carlos L. Camacho

Three Kings by Awilda Figueroa

Glenda Jackson, an unnervingly energizing presence at every age

By BEN BRANTLEY

She didn’t so much enter the restaurant as erupt into it, a fast-burning blaze of psychic exasperation that seemed to set the silverware rattling. Glenda Jackson was five minutes late for our meeting, and she looked ferociously disgusted with herself, with the universe, with the “bloody” London transit system and, most likely, with the prospect of having to talk about herself.

Such was my first in-the-flesh encounter with Jackson, who died June 15 at the age of 87 and who had seared herself into my teenage consciousness decades earlier as an uncompromisingly modern, sui generis movie star. Waiting for her five years ago in the restaurant of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, I had been prepared to be awed, intimidated, even terrified. What I hadn’t anticipated was how unnervingly energizing the presence of this 81-yearold woman would be.

I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by the kinetic force of Jackson, who was about to return to Broadway for the first time in three decades in a revival of Edward Albee’s “Three Tall Women.” She had, after all, made her international name in the 1960s and early ’70s — in films like Ken Russell’s “Women in Love” and John Schlesinger’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” — as the combustible embodiment of a very contemporary dissatisfaction with the world as she found it.

Her most obvious antecedents were probably the nervy, forever restless Bette Davis and her Gallic descendant, Jeanne Moreau. But among her British peers, Jackson was the first to emerge as the female equivalent of a discomfiting archetype that had been haunting her country’s imagination since the 1950s, the Angry Young Man.

Angular of form and feature, with a voice so sharp you half-expected it to draw blood, Jackson arrived into reluctant celebrity full-blown as the new Angry Young Woman, disgustedly making her way through the debris of a decaying establishment. She was the latter-day answer to Henrik Ibsen’s majestically discontented, hyperintelligent Hedda

Gabler, a part she played both onstage and onscreen. That solar persona shone equally bright in period pieces (like the bohemian Gudrun in “Women in Love” and an extremely commanding Queen Elizabeth I in “Elizabeth R,” on television) and in 20th-century rom-coms (as the witheringly witty divorcée in “A Touch of Class,” her second Oscar-winning performance; “Women in Love” was her first).

The same enlivening rage would be evident when she took on what she probably regarded as her greatest role, a Labour Party member of the British Parliament, where she served for 23 years. (In 2013 she delivered, in wonderfully high dudgeon, an anti-elegy for the newly deceased former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.)

She was also a mythic creature of the stage, honing her scalpel-like style in the early 1960s in Peter Brook’s experimental company. It was for Brook that she portrayed, in London and on Broadway, the asylum inmate who be-

comes the murderous Charlotte Corday in Peter Weiss’ truly shocking “Marat/Sade.” It was one of those rare, raw performances whose impact was such in theater circles that even people who couldn’t possibly have seen it swear that they did.

When she returned to the theater at 80, years after retiring from Parliament, it was — but of course — in the most titanically angry role in the classic canon: King Lear, at London’s Old Vic. The dazzled reviews, along with a slew of awards, testified that age had not mellowed or muted her. When she came back to Broadway, two years later, she gave an eye-scalding fireworks display as the splenetic, dying mother in “Three Tall Women,” for which she won a Tony.

In 2019, she did do Lear on Broadway, in a reconceived production tricked out with an abundance of postmodern conceits that might have smothered a less assertive star. Jackson cut through the surrounding flash like a buzz saw, throwing herself against the wall of old age and mortality until it seemed to crumble into unanswerable darkness. Jackson was not given to self-analysis, or at least not in any way that she was willing to share with the world. Nor was she fond of discussing the details of her craft. And her life outside her work, she said, was simple — that of a grandmother who did her own shopping and cleaning in a basement apartment. She eschewed the trappings of 21stcentury technology (no cellphone) and of celebrity, the fact of which seemed only to embarrass her.

And while she mostly avoided anything like personal confessions, she did make one admission that startled me. When I asked if it felt different performing for a live audience again, she said it felt exactly the same, meaning that this most fearless of dramatic actresses was profoundly scared. “You can go onto that stage every night,” she said, “and it’s always the equivalent of going onto the topmost diving board, and you don’t know if there’s any water in the pool.

“Every time I say, ‘Yes, I’ll do it,’ I think, ‘My God, I don’t know how to do it. I can’t do it.’ We are sadomasochists as well as being brave, actors, and we torment ourselves.”

From left: Laurie Metcalf, Alison Pill and Glenda Jackson in the play “Three Tall Women” at the Golden Theater in New York, March 21, 2018.

Meet the first woman to sail the ‘voyage for madmen’

By LAUREN SLOSS

The nonstop, round-the-world Golden Globe Race has become a banner of “retro sailing,” or “sailing like it’s 1968.” Entrants for the competition, which begins and ends in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, are required to sail small boats alone, using only pre-1960s-era technology — no satellite communication, autopilot, cellphones or radar. Courses are plotted using celestial navigation and a sextant.

The champion this year was 40-year-old Kirsten Neuschäfer who, after 235 days at sea aboard Minnehaha, her 36-foot Cape George sailboat, became the first woman to both complete and win the race.

But Neuschäfer is quick to state that being a figurehead was never the point.

“I did want to win, but not because I’m a woman, or because I wanted to set a record as being the first woman,” she said. “I wanted to be there as a sailor and as an equal.”

Her accomplishments — not only completing and winning the race, but also rescuing a fellow sailor — certainly promise to raise her profile. The Golden Globe, which debuted in 1968, looms large in sailors’ lore — much of the competition takes place in the high latitudes of the Southern Ocean, circling between South Africa and South America, around the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn, an area known for punishing winds and towering waves. The race has been referred to, aptly, as “a voyage for madmen.”

Growing up in Pretoria, South Africa, Neuschäfer was always drawn to the outdoors, and to epic experiences.

“I loved reading accounts of adventures — Scott and Shackleton and Amundsen,” she said of the famed 20thcentury polar explorers. “It certainly planted the seed in my mind.”

After cycling solo from Europe to South Africa at 22,

Neuschäfer began crewing on sailboats in pursuit of her skipper’s license, and later, at the helm, she sailed research and film crews around the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Georgia and Falkland Islands. In preparation for the Golden Globe, her first race, she purchased and refitted Minnehaha in Canada, then sailed the boat solo to South Africa and to France for the race’s start.

Neuschäfer recently spoke about the voyage, the challenges of the doldrums — an area near the equator plagued by light winds — and the possibility of another circumnavigation. This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Q: Despite all of your experience and preparation, was there an extra degree of intimidation around this race?

A: I definitely had moments when I thought: “This could be quite scary.” Before the race, I was visiting my parents in Port Elizabeth, which is known as the Windy City, and it was a night when it was really windy. I was lying in my bed in the house without any danger, but I could hear the trees bending. I was thinking, “Well, in the Southern Ocean, you’re going to experience winds that are much stronger that these winds, and on a 36-foot boat.”

Q: Did you have any moments where you were actively afraid or simply disheartened?

A: I did. But ironically, those moments weren’t because of heavy weather, they were because of a total lack of wind. I got stuck in the doldrums just south of the equator for the best part of two weeks. It’s often said by sailors that the most difficult moments are the calms, because when you are experiencing heavy weather, you’ve got something to keep you busy. There’s a bit of adrenaline. When you’ve got absolutely no wind at all, it’s incredibly frustrating.

Q: Did you get bored or lonely? I assume that was more challenging during the calm periods, but in general, it’s a long time to be alone.

A: I didn’t often get bored. I made sure that I took lots of reading material. It’s the only mental escape; you read a book and you just submerge yourself into the world of whatever this book is describing. And there’s always something to fix on the boat. There were times when I would have liked to speak to a friend, to hear them tell me to just keep going. Eight months is a very long time to be in one place — you’re moving, but the place you’re in is the same. In the doldrums, I’d go for nice swims, which would help me de-stress a little.

Q: How did you feel as you approached the end?

A: There was kind of a sadness once I rounded Cape Horn. It felt like trying to summit a mountain: This is the summit and from here on it’s the descent. There was joy and happiness and relief. But this had become a lifestyle, and it would be ending soon. I had some trepidation about arriving in a place where I was expected. I had moments where I thought, “You know, I’ve still got plenty of food and water. I’m still enjoying myself.” I’d have no issue to just keep sailing.

Q: What’s next for you and for Minnehaha?

A: That’s one question I haven’t been able to answer just yet. I’ve put so much focus and energy toward the Golden Globe Race since 2019. And now it’s all come to quite an abrupt ending. I bought Minnehaha on debt, and I always planned to sell her after the race. But it’s hard because I’ve done so much with this boat. I’d like to do a little trip to get a bit of closure, and I’ll probably take a bit of a break just to digest this amazing experience.

Q: What adventures or destinations, land or sea, are high on your list of places to go?

A: I’d like to spend time in my own country of South Africa, particularly Transkei, or the Eastern Cape — it’s a place that’s just paradise to me. I’d like to master the language, Xhosa. I’d love to go back to the Antarctic and the Falkland Islands. There are a lot of places that I have been, but then again, there are also a lot of places I’ve never explored. There’s still a lot to do in this lifetime. And I think at some stage, though not anytime soon, I might want to do another circumnavigation. It would be totally different, because the seas are forever changing.

In an image provided by Mélanie Voerman, Kirsten Neuschäfer aboard Minnehaha, her 36-foot Cape George sailboat. The nonstop, round-the-world Golden Globe Race has become a banner of “retro sailing,” or “sailing like it’s 1968.” The champion this year was Neuschäfer, the first woman to both complete and win the race.

How to exercise when it’s humid

By DANIELLE FRIEDMAN

Anyone who has gone for a jog on a hot, muggy day knows how miserable it can be — not only because your shirt is glued to your back, experts say, but also because humidity makes exercise much more challenging.

This is because the sweat on your skin doesn’t easily evaporate, said JohnEric Smith, an associate professor of exercise physiology at Mississippi State University. Sweat itself doesn’t cool you, he said, but rather the evaporation of sweat. When the air is already thick with water vapor, however, “there’s nowhere for the moisture on our skin to go,” he said.

As a result, humid air makes it harder for your body to cool down. This can cause the cardiovascular system to become stressed, reducing blood flow to the muscles, and tires us more quickly than in drier climes. While there isn’t much independent research on how humidity affects the body, small studies on the topic have consistently found that athletes begin to tire more quickly once the relative humidity reaches around 60%.

But this doesn’t mean you have to move all of your workouts inside if you live in an area that feels like a sauna from June to September. Here are four things you can do to stay cooler in the sticky summer months ahead.

Give your body a couple weeks to adjust.

The more you exercise in both heat and humidity, the more your body will adapt and improve its ability to cool itself, Smith said. (The same is true, only reversed, for cold weather.) But because exercising in hot, humid weather is more taxing on the body than doing so in drier conditions, it’s vital to give yourself time to adjust so you can prevent overheating and exhaustion.

In just a few days, your body will begin to sweat more and sooner, which will help it regulate its temperature, Smith said. You’ll even start to see an increase in blood volume, which benefits your heart and circulation.

“You get big changes within the first few days of exposure,” he said, but “it takes generally about two weeks to adapt well.”

When the weather becomes humid, Smith recommended doing shorter, gentler workouts that slowly increase in duration and intensity over two to three weeks, until you’ve worked back up to your previous exercise routine. If you typi-

cally run six miles at a 10-minute pace, scale back to three miles at a 12-minute pace, and add speed and mileage as the humidity starts to feel less oppressive.

Keep your skin cool.

Because humidity can raise your body temperature more than dry heat, it’s that much more important to keep your skin cool while exercising, said Ahmad Munir Che Muhamed, an associate professor of exercise physiology at the Science University of Malaysia who studies how heat and humidity influence athletic performance.

Keep as much skin exposed to the air as possible while exercising, making it easier for sweat to evaporate. (Make sure to wear sunscreen to prevent sun damage.) You should also avoid wearing cotton clothing, he said, which holds moisture, creating a layer of insulation around your body. Instead, wear clothes described as fast-drying or moisturewicking.

Drying your skin with a towel or wiping sweat with your wet T-shirt may make you more comfortable in the moment, but it’s actually interrupting the evaporation process, as it’s removing moisture from your skin, Smith said. You may be better off letting the sweat drip off you, as long as it’s not getting in your eyes.

And if you’re exercising in one spot — say, playing tennis or doing an outdoor boot camp — mist yourself with cold water at regular intervals and dry off with a portable fan, recommended Amy Beacom, a primary care sports medicine physician at the Mayo Clinic. If you’re running, do this after a workout for quick relief.

Hydrate, but don’t overdo it.

Humid air can lead to dehydration. The less your sweat evaporates, the hotter you get and the more you sweat, all of which depletes vital fluids and electrolytes such as sodium and potassium, said Ronald Maughan, a visiting professor of exercise science at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. Make sure to hydrate before you exercise, so you’re not going into a workout dehydrated. The American Council on Exercise recommends drinking two to three cups of water a few hours before you work out.

Once you’re moving, the Mayo Clinic recommends sipping fluids throughout, but ultimately “drinking to thirst” to avoid overhydrating, which can dilute the sodium in your blood and damage your kidneys.

Think about when and where to exercise.

Humidity is highest in the morning in most places, before the sun dries out moisture in the atmosphere. Start regularly checking the humidity level in your area at various times throughout the day, and plan your workouts accordingly. Smith recommends The Weather Channel’s app.

And when you can, choose a shady spot or path to exercise, Maughan said. When your body is already working hard to not overheat in high humidity, exercising in direct sunlight is like adding fuel to the fire. The heat, humidity, sun’s intensity and even wind all influence how you feel out

doors, he said. “All of these different factors interact.”

Working out on a hot day in Seattle, June 12, 2023. Anyone who has gone for a jog on a hot, muggy day knows how miserable it can be — not only because your shirt is glued to your back, experts say, but also because humidity makes exercise much more challenging.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE

RICHARD ROSADO RAMÍREZ Y OTROS

Demandante VS. FELIX FIGUEROA COLÓN Y OTROS

Demandado

CIVIL NÚM. PO2023CV00635.

SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO EN SU MODALIDAD DE REANUDACIÓN DE TRACTO SUCESIVO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. POR LA PRESENTE se notifica que la Demandante de epígrafe ha presentado una demanda para que se declare el dominio a su favor, sobre la finca que se describe más adelante, siendo ustedes los demandados, identificados como, Félix Figueroa Colón, Herminia Figueroa Rivera y la Sociedad Legal de Gananciales compuesta por ambos y Wanda Figueroa Stella. La descripción de la finca es la siguiente: RUSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número cuarenta y nueve en el plano de parcelación de la comunidad rural Playita Cortada del barrio Playa del término municipal de Santa Isabel con una cabida superficial de cero cuerdas con mil ochocientos cincuenta y dos diezmilésimas de otra, equivalente a setecientos veinte y siete punto ochenta metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE con la parcela cuarenta y siete de la comunidad. Por el SUR con la calle de la comunidad. Por el ESTE con la parcela cuarenta y ocho de la comunidad. Por el OESTE con la calle de la comunidad.

Inscrita como la Finca 9,488 al Sistema Karibe del Registro de la Propiedad. Catastro número:414-050-068-01-000.

Por la presente se les emplaza para que presenten al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de la última publicación este emplazamiento excluyéndose el día de la publicación. Se le advierte, que deben presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo de Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando el siguiente enlace electrónico https://unired.rarajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán radicar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaria del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Ponce

y enviando copia de su contestación a la parte demandante. Si usted deja de presentar alegación responsiva dentro del referido termino el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier remedio, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción lo entiende procedente. Se le requiere para que notifique su alegación responsiva ,al abogado de la Parte Demandante LCDO. SALVADOR MARQUEZ COLON, RUA 14, 160; 485 Ave. Tito Castro Suite 102, Ponce, P.R. 007160209, Tel. 787-812-0021, Fax 787-840-3075, con copia de su contestación a la demanda sobre Expediente de Dominio Contradictorio. POR TANTO, libro el presente en Ponce, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de junio de 2023. Carmen G Tiru Quiñones, Secretario del Tribunal, Centro Judicial, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Por: Jessica Bonilla Rodriguez.

LEGAL NOTICE

EN RE:

HERENCIA DE:

CECILIA PAGAN

EN EL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CONDADO DE CUMBERLAND, PENNSYLVANIA DIVISIÓN DEL JUZGADO DE HUÉRFANOS.

NO. 21-18-1254. DECRETO PRELIMINAR.

El día de hoy el 30th día del mes de May, 2023, después de analizar la Petición para Declarar al Beneficiario como Difunto y Distribuir los Fondos del Acervo Hereditario entre los Beneficiarios Vivos Abintestatos, y de acuerdo con 20 Pa. C.S.A. § 5704, el Tribunal ordena al Peticionario a que deberá proceder con un aviso publicado en un periódico de difusión popular en el Estado de New York, y en un periódico jurídico apropiado en New York y en Puerto Rico, una vez por semana por cuatro semanas consecutivas, anunciando el hecho de la solicitud de que Milton Pagan sea declarado como un presunto difunto, y que la Sucesión puede distribuir su proporción de la herencia a los herederos abintestatos que aún viven. Este anuncio incluirá un aviso de que el July 24, del 2023, a las 9:30 a.m, en la Sala 3 del Tribunal del Condado de Cumberland, 1 Courthouse Square, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, 17013, el Tribunal va a oír evidencia en relación a las supuestas absencias, incluyendo las circunstancias y la duración de tal ausencia.

Por el Tribunal:

Judge Guido

CC:

Chad Julius, Jacobson, Julius

& Harshberger, 8150 Derry Street, Harrisburg, PA 17111, Representante Legal del Peticionario

Dominic A. Montagnese, Chereweka Law, 524 N. Front Street, Womleysburg, PA 17043, Representante Legal para Hamilton Pagan, Jr., James Pagan, and Marcos Pagan

*

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN

MUNICIPIO DE TOA ALTA

REPRESENTADO POR SU

HONORABLE ALCALDE

CLEMENTE AGOSTO

LUGARDO

Peticionario Vs. ADQUISICIÓN DEL PREDIO CON UNA CABIDA DE: 457.42 M.C.

UBICADO EN EL BARRIO CONTORNO DE TOA ALTA; AÍDA JIMÉNEZ

LORENZO; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

TOA ALTA, JOHN Y JANE DOE

Parte con Interés Civil Núm.: BY2023CV00455.

Sala: 701. Sobre: EXPROPIACIÓN FORZOSA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

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

A: JOHN Y JANE DOE, A TODA PERSONA IGNORADA, A QUIENES PUEDA PERJUDICAR LO SOLICITADO, LOS QUE TENGAN CUALQUIER DERECHO REAL SOBRE

LA FINCA OBJETO DE ESTE PROCEDIMIENTO.

La parte peticionaria ha radicado en este Tribunal una Solicitud para que se declare a su favor, el título mediante el proceso de expropiación de la siguiente finca: “Número de Catastro: 084-051-054-45-000.

Urbana: BARRIO CONTORNO de Toa Alta. Solar: 1. Cabida:

457.42 Metros Cuadrados. Linderos: Norte, con la Sucesión de Adrián Chevre en distancia de 18.94 metros. Sur, con la calle número 4 dedicada a uso público en un largo de cuerda de 1.60 metros. Este, con el solar del señor José Ramírez y un remanente de la finca principal en distancia de 31.95 metros.

Oeste, con el solar número 2, en distancia de 2805 metros. Es segregación de la finca 6730 inscrito al folio 11 de tomo 161 de Toa Alta. Consta inscrita al Folio 1, del Tomo 271 de Toa Alta, Finca 6,730. Representa a la parte peticionaria, la abogada cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono es el siguiente:

ISAMAR CORREA RUIZ

(RUA 16886)

Edificio San Juan Towers Ave. Ponce de León 1250 - Suite 600 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907

Teléfono: (787) 370-1700

Móvil: (787) 452-0188

Email: icorrea.correapartners@gmail.com

Habiéndose dictado Orden por el Honorable Tribunal para que la solicitud de la peticionaria sea publicada por tres (3) veces en el término de veinte (20) días en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, comparezcan a alegar sus derechos dentro de los veinte (20) días de la última publicación el edicto, se les apercibe que si no comparecieren a contestar dicha petición dentro del término establecido, se dictará sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado, sin más citarle ni oírle. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 08 de mayo de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARÍA E. COLLAZO FEBUS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

*

LEGAL NOTICE

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

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. CARLOS GILBERTO VIANA SALDAÑA, WILKA ENID CRUZ ROLON Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES POR AMBOS

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CG2019CV04607. Salón Núm.: (701). Sobre: EJCUCIÓN 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: CARLOS GILBERTO VIANA SALDAÑA, WILKA ENID CRUZ ROLON Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS: Y AL PÚBLICO

EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, cer-

tifica 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 Caguas, 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: RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno marcado con la letra “B” en el plano de mesura, segregación e inscripción, localizado en el Barrio Arenas de Cidra, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 483.7940 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en dos alineaciones distintas con el solar marcado “A” y en camino municipal asfaltado, por el SUR, con Carlos Colón, por el ESTE, con Samuel Torres; y por el OESTE, con solar segregado con el caso 87-44-C-096-KPL. Consta inscrito al tomo Karibe de Cidra, finca #21,032, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Segunda de Caguas. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Carretera SR 734 KM

1.2 Arenas Ward, Cidra, Puerto Rico 00739. 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 $149,838.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #38, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 31 de enero de 2014, ante el notario Jorge García Soto, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Cidra, finca #21,032, inscripción 12ma. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 6 DE JULIO DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $148,838.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA

SUBASTA el día 13 DE JULIO DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 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 $99,892.00. Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 20 DE JULIO DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 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 $74,919.00. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: Suma Principal de $137,908.40, con intereses a 3.75% anual, desde el 1ro de marzo de 2018, 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 4% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $14,983.80, 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 Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 07 de junio de 2023. ALEJANDRO URBINA ROQUE, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #997.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. ILSIA NEREIDA

ALMENAS GOMEZ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CG2022CV02608. Salón Núm.: (702). 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: ILSIA NEREIDA

ALMENAS GOMEZ:

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO: U.S.

SMALL BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION: 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 Caguas, 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: RÚSTICA: Solar marcado con la letra “A” del Plano de Inscripción radicado en el Barrio Tomás de Castro, Caguas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de 460.10 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 30.00 metros, con José Vázquez y acceso asfaltado; por el SUR, en 27.20 metros, con la finca principal; por el ESTE, en 22.00 metros, con una iglesia; y por el OESTE, en 21.05 metros, con terrenos de la finca principal. Enclava una

casa. Finca número #48,927, inscrita al folio 276 del tomo 1378 de Caguas. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Caguas. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: KM 3.5 SR #788, Los Neris Comm., Tomás de Castro Ward, Caguas, P.R. 00725. Según figura en el Estudio de título, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada al siguiente Gravamen posterior a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: a) Anotación Preventiva de Demanda de fecha 21 de febrero de 2008, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, en el Caso Civil número ECD-2008-0307, seguido por Firstbank Puerto Rico, contra Ilsia Nereida Almenas Gómez, por la suma de $84,733.27, más intereses y otros gastos, anotado el día 4 de diciembre de 2009, al folio 139 del tomo 1733 de Caguas, finca número 48,927, Anotación B. b) Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de U.S Small Business Administration, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $68,000.00, con intereses al 1.750% anual, vencedero el día 2 de agosto de 2048, constituida mediante la escritura número 9, otorgada en Caguas, Puerto Rico, el día 22 de enero de 2019, ante el notario Carla M. Jiménez Pérez, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Caguas, finca número 48,927, inscripción 12ma. Se le notifica a los acreedores posteriores anteriormente identificados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. 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 $88,200.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #689, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de septiembre de 2004, ante el notario María Isabel García Mantilla, inscrita al folio 139 del tomo 1733 de Caguas, finca #48,927, inscripción 11ma. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 6 DE JULIO DE 2023 A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribu-

EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: ALEJANDRO ARANA CACHO, COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ÁNGEL SAMUEL ARANA SANTIAGO, EN DIRECCIÓN DESCONOCIDA.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que presenten al Tribunal sus alegaciones responsivas a la presente DEMANDA dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto, excluyendo el día de su publicación.

Este Tribunal ha ordenado que se les cite a ustedes por edicto, que se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico. Ustedes deberán presentar sus alegaciones responsivas a través del SISTEMA UNIFICADO DE MANEJO Y ADMINISTRACIÓN

DE CASOs (SUMAC), al cual pueden acceder en la dirección electrónica http://unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se representen por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán presentar sus alegaciones responsivas en la secretaría del tribunal. Si alguno de ustedes 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, icio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente, sin más citarle ni oírle.

Abogado de la parte Demandante:

Lcdo. Rafael Pagán Colón, R.U.A. 18,691

P.O. Box 367869, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-7869

Teléfono: (787) 344-1139

Correo electrónico: rafaeL. pagancolon@capr.org

EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y Sello del Tribunal, hoy 22 de junio de 2023, en Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Wanda I Segui Reyes, Secretaria Regional. Kathia Ferrer Figueroa, Sub-Secretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL

GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTAN-

CIA SALA DE FAJARDO. ABDIEL HORACIO

ACOSTA VÉLEZ, ZENIA

ENiD ARROYO WEBER, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO ZENIA ENID ARROYO ACOSTA, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS. SUCESIÓN DE FELIPE ARANA ROMAN, SUCESIÓN DE SOCORRO

ARANA ARANA, AMBAS SUCESIONES

COMPUESTAS POR

ISRAEL ARANA ARANA

Y POR LA SUCESIÓN DE ÁNGEL SAMUEl. ARANA ARANA, COMPUESTAS, A SU VEZ, POR ANA DELIA

SANTIAGO ORTIZ Y ÁNGEL SAI\IUEL ARANA

SANTIAGO, ET ALS. PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. LU2019CV00224.

SALA: 303. SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. CONTRADICTORIO: REANUDAR TRACTO AL AMPARO DEL ARTÍCULO 182 DE LA LEY DEL REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD INMOBILIARIA DE PUERTO RICO; USUCAPIÓN. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: TERESA ARANA CACHO, COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ÁNGEL SAMUEL ARANA SANTIAGO, EN DIRECCIÓN DESCONOCIDA.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que presenten al Tribunal sus alegaciones responsivas a la presente DEMANDA dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto, excluyendo el día de su publicación. Este Tribunal ha ordenado que se les cite a ustedes por edicto, que se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico. Ustedes deberán presentar sus alegaciones responsivas a través del SISTEMA UNIFICADO DE MANEJO Y ADMINISTRACIÓN DE CASOs (SUMAC), al cual pueden acceder en la dirección electrónica http://unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se representen por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán presentar sus alegaciones responsivas en la secretaría del tribunal. Si alguno de ustedes 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, icio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente, sin más citarle ni oírle.

Abogado de la parte Demandante:

Lcdo. Rafael Pagán Colón, R.U.A. 18,691

P.O. Box 367869, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-7869

Teléfono: (787) 344-1139

Correo electrónico: rafaeL. pagancolon@capr.org

EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y Sello del Tribunal, hoy 22 de junio de 2023, en Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Wanda I Segui Reyes, Secretaria Regional. Kathia Ferrer Figueroa, Sub-Secretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA MUNICIPAL DE BAYAMÓN ASOCIACIÓN DE RESIDENTES ESTANCIAS DE RÍO HONDO II, VALLE VERDE I Y II, INC.

Demandante Vs. EVA GRISELLE ALVARADO RODRIGUEZ; CARMELO NIEVES ORTEGA; AMBOS POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2019CV06963.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (R.60). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: EVA GRISELLE ALVARADO RODRIGUEZ, CARMELO NIEVES ORTEGA, AMBOS POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS. FÍSICA & POSTAL: URB. VALLE VERDE I, AV-07 CALLE RIO ESPIRITU SANTO, BAYAMÓN PR 00961.

PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil del Tribunal que suscribe anuncia y hace constar: 1. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Bayamón, 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, todo derecho, título o interés que tenga la Parte Demandada en el bien inmueble que se describe a continuación: “URBA-

NA: URBANIZACIÓN VALLE

VERDE I de Bayamón Norte.

Solar: 7 del Bloque AV. Cabi-

da: 353.868 metros cuadrados.

Linderos: Norte, con el solar #8, distancia 15.00 metros; Sur, con calle #3, distancia 12.00 metros y 2.00749 milímetros; Este, con el solar #6, distancia de 23.00 metros; Oeste; con la calle #35, distancia de 19.00 metros 500 milímetros y 2.00 metros 749 milímetros. Enclava una casa de concreto dedicada a vivienda. Viene de la finca #51425, inscrito al folio 38 del tomo 157 de Bayamón Sur. Finca 13, inscrita al Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón Norte, Sección III.” Dirección física:

Urb. Valle Verde I, AV-07 Calle Rio Espíritu Santo, Bayamón, PR 00961. 2. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables.

3. 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 remanente los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. 4. La propiedad para ejecutar se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. 5. Que el licitador y/o mejor postor pagará el importe de su oferta en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil de Tribunal.

6. La propiedad se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: A. Hipoteca: Afecta por sí a hipoteca en garantía de pagaré a favor de Doral Mortgage Corporation, por la suma principal de $60,000.00, intereses al 6.25% anual, vencedero el 1ro de julio de 2013, affidavit número 7474, tasada en una suma equivalente al original del pagaré, constituida mediante la escritura 445 otorgada en San Juan el 29 de junio de 1998 ante el Notario Julián Antonio Parrilla, inscrito en tomo de hoja móvil número 1 de Bayamón Norte, según inscripción 5ta.

B. Anotación De Embargo (Judicial, Ley 209): Afecta por sí a Anotación de Embargo a favor de Asociación de Residentes Río Hondo II, Valle Verde I y II, lnc., por la suma de $5,278.61, en virtud de Orden en el caso civil BY2019CV06963 (701) sobre Cobro de Dinero Regla 60 ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, ASOCIACIÓN DE RESIDENTES RIO HONDO II, VALLE VERDE I Y II, INC. Demandante v.s. EVA GRISELLE ALVARADO RODRIGUEZ, CARMELO NIEVES ORTEGA, AMBOS POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA S/L/G demandados a 9 de marzo de 2023, anotado en sistema Karibe, según anotación letra “A”. C. Anotación De Embargo (Judicial, Ley 209): Afecta por sí a Anotación de Embargo a favor de Asociación de Residentes Río Hondo II, Valle Verde I y II, lnc., por la suma de $2,411.75, en virtud de Orden en el caso civil número BY2022CV05603 (504) sobre Cobro de Dinero Regla 60 ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, ASOCIACIÓN DE RESIDENTES RIO HONDO II, VALLE VERDE I Y II, INC. Demandante v.s. EVA GRISELLE ALVARADO

RODRIGUEZ, CARMELO NIEVES ORTEGA, AMBOS POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA S/L/G demandados a 16

de marzo de 2023, anotado en sistema Karibe, según anotación letra “B”. 7. Dicha subasta se celebrará para con el importe de la misma satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma principal de $2,920.97, por concepto de cuotas de mantenimiento vencidas y no pagadas al 30 de noviembre de 2019, más intereses desde que se dicte la sentencia al 4.25% anual ($0.46 diario), a partir de esa fecha en la cantidad de $455.99, al 5 de junio de 2023; más $148.00 de costas y gastos según sentencia, más $500.00 por concepto de honorarios de abogado otorgados según sentencia; más $351.12 por concepto de gastos del pleito concedidos mediante orden de fecha 21 de septiembre de 2020, más $950.00 por concepto de honorarios de abogado del proceso de ejecución de la sentencia mediante embargo de bien mueble y vehículo, concedidos mediante Orden de fecha de 21 de mayo de 2021; más $950.00 por concepto de honorarios del proceso de ejecución de la sentencia inmueble, concedidos mediante Orden de fecha de 9 de marzo de 2023; más $950.00 por las costas y gastos del proceso en la ejecución de la sentencia mediante Venta en Pública Subasta concedidos mediante orden de fecha 26 de mayo de 2023, totalizan la cantidad de $7,226.08. La subasta se llevará a cabo en la Oficina de Alguacil de Subastas en el cuarto (4to) piso en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Bayamón, el día 9 DE AGOSTO DE 2023 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Y para la conveniencia de los licitadores expido el presente Edicto para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general y por un término de catorce (14) días en los lugares públicos que determine la ley. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 7 de junio de 2023.

EDGARDO ELÍAS VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE UTUADO ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC

COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. RUBEN NEGRON CORNIER

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: UT2022CV00573. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: RUBEN NEGRON CORNIER - BO CONSEJO CARR. 111 R-605 KM 11.5, UTUADO, PR 00641. POR LA PRESENTE se le

emplaza y requiere para 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), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la 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 sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie. bonaparte@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en UTUADO, Puerto Rico, hoy día 30 de mayo de 2023. En UTUADO, Puerto Rico, el 30 de mayo de 2023. DIANE ÁLVAREZ VILLANUEVA, SECRETARIA. YAMARIS ESTRONZA MALDONADO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BARRANQUITAS EN COMERÍO ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS

FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. JEAN C. CRUZ ORTIZ

Demandado

Civil Núm.: BQ2022CV00190.

Salón: 1. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: JEAN C. CRUZ ORTIZ - BO. PALO HINCADO CARR 156 KM 13.6 BARRANQUITAS, PR 00794 / HC 03 BOX 7596, BARRANQUITAS, PR 00794.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para 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), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. poderjudicial.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 sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com, y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Comería, Puerto Rico, hoy día 26 de mayo de 2023. Elizabeth González Rivera, Secretaria Regional. Carmen J. Aponte Mercado, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. H.F. INC. T/C/C

DORAL FINANCIAL CORPORATION, FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC) COMO SÍNDICO DE DORAL BANK, DORAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION T/C/C

DORAL MORTGAGE, LLC, TRADITIONAL BANKERS MORTGAGE CORPORATION, WILFREDO DÍAZ GUTIÉRREZ, MICHELLE MARIE HERRERA ORTIZ, FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CG2023CV01345. (702). Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO POR LA VÍA JUDICIAL. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. A: TRADITIONAL

BANKERS MORTGAGE CORPORATION A LAS ÚLTIMAS DIRECCIONES CONOCIDAS: 15

MENDEZ VIGO ST, ESQ. AURORA, PONCE, PR 00731 Y PO BOX 7383, PONCE, PR 007327383. WILFREDO DÍAZ

GUTIÉRREZ Y MICHELLE

MARIE HERRERA ORTIZ A LAS SIGUIENTES DIRECCIONES: 2806

PARQUE SAN ANTONIO II

CAGUAS, PR 00727-5961 Y 457 SANDYBROOKE DR., HIGH POINT, NC 27265-2923.

FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ. Queda usted notificado que en este Tribunal se ha radicado demanda sobre cancelación de pagaré extraviado por la vía judicial. El 23 de mayo de 2001, Wilfredo Díaz Gutiérrez y Michelle Marie Herrera Ortiz (ambos solteros) constituyeron una hipoteca en San Juan, Puerto Rico, conforme a la Escritura núm. 423, autorizada por la notario Teresita Navarro García en garantía de un pagaré suscrito bajo el testimonio núm. 13,339 por la suma de $96,000.00 a favor de Doral Bank, o a su orden, con intereses 6½% anual y vencedero el 1ro de junio de 2016, sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento número 2806. Apartamento residencial de forma irregular localizado en la tercera y cuarta planta del Condominio Parque San Antonio II, situado en el Barrio Cañaboncito del término municipal de Caguas. El área superficial de la tercera planta es de 1102.01 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 102.38 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 40’8” con área exterior; por el SUR, en una distancia de 35’4” con el apartamento número 2805 y con área de escalera común; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 30’11” con área exterior; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 30’11” con área exterior. El área superficial de la cuarta planta (penthouse) es de 1055.32 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 98.08 metros cuadrados, el área sin techar más un área techada de aproximadamente 142.58 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 13.25 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 40’8” con área exterior; por el SUR, en una distancia de 35’ 4” con el apartamento numero 2805; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 30’11” con área exterior; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 30’11” con área

exterior. La puerta de entrada del apartamento está situada en su lindero Sur. Consta de sala-comedor, cocina, laundry, balcón, tres (3) dormitorios, pasillo y dos baños y con acceso y uso del cuarto nivel denominado Penthouse. Le corresponde dos espacios de estacionamiento identificados con el mismo número del apartamento. Este apartamento tiene una participación de 1.22518% de los elementos comunes del condominio. Inscrita al folio 245 del tomo 1625 de Caguas, Finca 54042, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 189 del tomo 1693 de Caguas, Finca 54042, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I. Inscripción tercera. La parte demandada deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. Se le advierte que, si no contesta la demanda, radicando el original de la contestación en este Tribunal y enviando copia de la contestación a la abogada de la parte demandante, Lcda. Belma Alonso García, cuya dirección es: PO Box 3922, Guaynabo, PR 00970-3922, Teléfono y Fax: (787) 789-1826, correo electrónico: oficinabelmaalonso@gmail.com, dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, excluyéndose el día de la publicación, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Sentencia en su contra, concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal, hoy 14 de junio de 2023, en Caguas, Puerto Rico. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. VIONNETTE ESPINOSA CASTILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA

TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ

EUGENIO HERNANDEZ

PINTO; EUGENIO

HERNANDEZ RUIZ

Y CARMEN NYDIA

HERNANDEZ RUIZ

Demandantes Vs.

CARLOS ANTONIO

BRACERO DIAZ

Demandado

Civil Núm.: MZ2023CV00487.

Sobre: LIQUIDACIÓN DE USUFRUCTO VIUDAL. EDICTO.

A: CARLOS ANTONIO

BRACERO DIAZ.

Por la Presente se les emplaza para que presenten su alegación responsiva dentro del término de TREINTA (30) DIAS siguientes a la publicación de este emplazamiento por Edicto que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la Isla de Puerto Rico. Usted(es) deberá(n) presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr.sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría de este Tribunal de Primera Instancia y notificando copia de la misma al Lcdo. Luis Roberto Santos Montalvo con oficinas localizadas en Calle Concordia 256, Bo El Seco, Edificio Oil Energy, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, 00680; teléfono (787) 833-5466, y cuya dirección postal es P.O. Box 1809, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681. 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 por la parte demandante en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. EXPEDIDO, bajo la firma de este Tribunal, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 15 de junio de 2023. LIC.

NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE MAYAGÜEZ. JOSSIE BOBÉ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITION FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. OSCAR J. TORRES LOPEZ

Demandados

Civil: CG2022CV03154. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: OSCAR J. TORRES LOPEZURB CAGUAS NORTES, A21 CALLE BELEN, CAGUAS. PR 00725-2467

(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 8 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 15 de junio de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 15 de junio de 2023. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. SANDRA J. TRINIDAD CAÑUELAS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

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

Parte Demandante Vs. DAMIÁN PEÑA HERRERA, POR SÍ CONCEPTO DE USUFRUCTO VIUDAL; SUCESIÓN DE SILVERIA DEL ORBE JOSE, COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS YOHANNY DE LA CRUZ DEL ORBE, JEHAN CARLOS DE LA CRUZ DEL ORBE, AQUILES DE LA CRUZ DEL ORBE, Y JUAN DEL ORBE; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.)

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV04210. (508). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: YOHANNY DE LA CRUZ DEL ORBE Y JUAN DEL ORBE COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE SILVERIA DEL ORBE JOSE. LA SECRETARIA que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 14 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 16 de junio de 2023. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 16 de junio de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARILY LÓPEZ MARTÍNEZ. SECRETARIA CONFIDENCIAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs JOHN DOE Demandado(a)

Civil Núm.: GR2023CV00056.

Sobre: SUSTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE COMO TENEDOR DESCONOCIDO DEL PAGARE.

(Nombre de las partes a las que se les notifica la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 24 de mayo 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 14 de junio de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico,

el 14 de junio de 2023. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. VIONNETTE ESPINOSA CASTILLO, 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 DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante V. ISRAEL MIRANDA MATOS; FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a)

Civil: BY2022CV01013. Sala: 505. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: ISRAEL MIRANDA MATOS, FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES POR AMBOS COMPUESTACHALETS DE BAYAMÓN EDIF. 26 APT. 2621, BAYAMÓN, P.R. 00959. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 15 de 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 16 de junio de 2023. En BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, el 16 de junio de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MILITZA MERCADO RIVERA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE AGUADILLA ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC

Demandante V. HÉCTOR Y. CABÁN GONZÁLEZ Demandado(a)

Civil: IS2022CV00160. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. A: SR. HECTOR Y. CASAN GONZÁLEZ. P/C

LIC. KEVIN SANCHEZ CAMPANERO, PO BOX 71418 SAN JUAN PR 00936-8518.

(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 19 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 19 de junio de 2023. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, el 19 de junio de 2023. SARAHÍ REYES PÉREZ, SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

RENDON MORTGAGE BANKERS CORPORATION

Demandante V. BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO; FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO; JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO Y CUALESQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERÉS EN LA OBLIGACIÓN CUYA CANCELACIÓN POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA

Demandado(a)

Civil: CT2022CV00112. 401.

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

A: JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES Y CUALESQUIER PERSONA DESCONOCIDA CON POSIBLE INTERÉS EN LA OBLIGACIÓN

CUYA CANCELACIÓN POR DECRETO JUDICIAL SE SOLICITA.

(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 14 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 16 de junio de 2023. En BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, el 16 de junio de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. LUISA I. ANDINO AYALA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL SUPREMO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN GERMÁN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante V.

AMARILYS SAAVEDRA

CRUZ; NOELIA CRUZ CASIANO & LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandado(a)

Civil: SG2021CV00587. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO - INCUMPLIMIENTO DE

CONTRATO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: AMARILYS SAAVEDRA CRUZ; NOELIA CRUZ CASIANO. (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 13 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 16 de junio de 2023. En San Germán, Puerto Rico, el 16 de junio de 2023. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA. LYDIA SANTIAGO MORALES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING; LLC

Demandante V. AURELIO MALAVE CRUZ

Demandado(a) Civil: SG2021CV00280. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: AURELIO

MALAVE CRUZ. (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 13 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

This boot camp is for NBA hot takes

By SOPAN DEB

Alan Williams was the first person to brave the anchor desk, tucked away on a chilly set at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles that was darkened, save for the spotlight on Williams in his black suit and bluestriped tie. Almost involuntarily, he lifted a hand from the desk’s shiny surface and nervously scratched his face.

Williams, a former NBA player, read from a teleprompter, his deep voice booming robotically in the nearby control room, where USC students monitored his volume and made sure the camera was level. He bobbed his head up and down, much like the aliens inhabiting human bodies in the 1990s movie “Men in Black.”

“Hi, everyone!” he said as he looked into a camera. “Welcome to ‘Sports Extra.’ I’m Alan Williams. The Miami Heat have evened the series against the Denver Nuggets. The Miami Heat’s tough-mindedness is really led by coach Erik Spoelstra. And their identity truly proves Heat culture. Goodbye.”

The camera stopped rolling, and Williams loosened his shoulders.

“Oh god, did I go too fast?” Williams muttered. He looked around the set. Five other current and former professional basketball players quietly lingered in the corners. After a woman off to the side reassured Williams that he was fine, he responded with relief: “Man, I was about to say. Silence?”

This drew laughter from the set and scattered applause from the players, who, like Williams, were wearing crisply pressed, stylish suits. Williams did another, smoother take, prompting one of the suited men to yell, “That boy good!”

Williams, 30, and the men were at USC’s journalism school this month for a two-day NBA players’ union camp called Broadcaster U., now in its 15th year. They learned how to host a studio show or podcast, do color commentary and rapidly dole out hot takes for an on-camera sports debate. Former NBA players like Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson and Shaquille O’Neal have gone through the program.

While superstars typically compete for more than a decade, the average NBA player lasts only a handful of years. Dozens of players were to get their start at the NBA draft on Thursday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but most of them will eventually have to find a new way to make a living. Crossing over into film and television has proved to be a viable, and often lucrative, alternate path, even for players who weren’t big stars.

With a new television deal looming for the NBA, and streaming services and social media changing how fans engage with the game, there will likely be more opportunities for players to cash in.

Williams played for the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns from 2015 to 2019. Last year, while playing in Australia, he occasionally provided color commentary for the National Basketball League there.

“I know that my time is coming to an end soon,” Williams said. “I want to be as prepared for the next step as possible.”

Brevin Knight, a former NBA point guard who went through the program in its inaugural year in 2008, is now a

color commentator for the Memphis Grizzlies.

“When you are done playing, you would like to take a little bit of time just to take a deep breath,” Knight said. “But I’ll tell you: The spending habits keep going and you always need something coming in.”

Some camp attendees have already undertaken pursuits beyond the court. Norense Odiase, 27, plays in the NBA’s developmental league, the G League, and has a self-help podcast called “Mind Bully.” Will Barton, 32, has been in the NBA since 2012 and has released several albums for his singing career under the name Thrill. Craig Smith, 39, spent six seasons in the NBA and has written a children’s book.

Smith was next up at the anchor desk after Williams, and he bounced in his seat. The words on his teleprompter were in all capital letters, though they were not supposed to be read that enthusiastically. Someone must have forgotten to tell him.

“Hi, everyone!” Smith nearly shouted. “Welcome to ‘SPORTS EXTRA!’ I’m Craig Smith! Just about 24 HOURS until Game 3 of the NBA Finals!”

He even stomped his feet a few times.

Smith said he has been inspired by the many players who have started podcasts and especially by LeBron James and Stephen Curry, who have used their fame to create production companies.

“It influences me a lot because I feel like we have a real voice and I feel like we have power that comes with it, being that we’re more than just ‘shut up and dribble’ players,” Smith said. “We have meaning and people want to hear what we have to say.”

Hours later, Rob Parker, a Fox Sports host and an adjunct professor at USC, gathered the players for what might be called Hot Take O’Clock to show them how to throw verbal bombs. He shared directives like “Don’t stay in the middle of the road” and “Make stuff that you can pull out — ‘Meme-able.’”

“It’s OK to be wrong,” Parker said, adding that if they could be right all the time, they “would be in Las Vegas making money.”

Parker frequently debates Chris Broussard, a Fox Sports host, on their radio show “The Odd Couple.” Williams asked Parker if he had ever disagreed with Broussard just for argument’s sake. Parker said no, and that he and Broussard discuss topics before their show. They use the ones they disagree on.

“If we all agree that LeBron is the greatest player ever, what conversation are we having?” Parker said. “Do you know what I mean? There’s nothing going on here, and no one’s going to watch it.”

Parker led the players in mock debates, as if they were on ESPN’s “First Take” or Fox Sports’ “Undisputed.” Those are among the most-watched programs at their networks and have turned their hosts into household names.

Odiase and Smith argued about whether the Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler needed to win a championship to get into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Odiase said no; Smith said yes.

“How many guys have taken a team of seven undrafted players, the eighth seed, to the NBA Finals?” Odiase said.

“Is it Jimmy or is it Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley?” Parker

interjected, referring to Miami’s longtime coach, Spoelstra, and its president and former coach, Riley.

Odiase paused.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Before Jimmy got there, did they win without LeBron?”

“Yeah, with Shaq and D-Wade,” Smith retorted, referring to O’Neal and Dwyane Wade, who won a championship in 2006 with Riley as coach.

This rebuttal, undercutting Odiase’s argument, elicited laughter from the control room. Parker ended the segment and complimented Odiase and Smith for having a lively debate.

“I do not believe nothing I’m saying,” Odiase told Parker afterward. Later, in an interview, Odiase said he felt “very uncomfortable” arguing a point he did not support, though he believes it happens “a lot” in sports media.

A two-day camp trains current and former basketball players in the lucrative art of broadcasting, podcasting and throwing verbal bombs on camera.

Jonatan Ramos Director Funerario “Tus sentimientos en las mejores manos”

‘I don’t know how you can block the plate from behind the plate’

By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN

For years, fans and players alike have complained that no one is sure what constitutes a catch in the NFL. It appears that no one knows what blocking the plate means in Major League Baseball either.

Case in point: A play at home in Tuesday’s game between the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox in which catcher Jonah Heim of the Rangers set up to the side of home plate, received a perfect throw from Travis Jankowski and tagged out Elvis Andrus to keep the game tied, 6-6.

The White Sox challenged the call — contending Andrus was safe and that Heim blocked the plate — and the replay review team in New York overturned it, much to the chagrin of Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who went out and earned himself an ejection.

Thanks to the controversial run, the White Sox won the game, 7-6.

“For that call to be made, I’m dumbfounded,” Bochy told reporters after the game. “It’s absolutely one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen, and it was done by replay. I just don’t get it. I don’t care how many times they’ll try to explain it. You can’t do that in that situation. It’s a shame. It’s embarrassing, really.”

Videos of the play show Heim setting up slightly behind the plate, and to the side of it. But the replay review center in New York determined he was in violation of the rules, issuing a statement that said: “The catcher’s initial positioning was illegal, and his subsequent actions while not in posses-

sion of the ball hindered and impeded the runner’s path to home plate.”

A night later, a similar debate sprung up when Gary Sánchez, the catcher for the San Diego Padres, stepped into the baseline to catch a throw and applied a tag well before the runner reached home plate — a move that is legal, according to Major League Baseball’s rules — yet was also determined by the replay crew in New York to have blocked the plate. Before the play there had been two outs in the inning and the San Francisco Giants were leading the Padres, 1-0. By the time the inning was over, the Giants led by 4-0 and ended up winning, 4-2.

Like Bochy the night before, Padres manager Bob Melvin got himself ejected for arguing the decision. After the game he told reporters it was “one of the worst calls I’ve seen this year.”

Before they were managers, Bochy and Melvin were longtime major league catchers, both of whom played in an era where blocking the plate was seen as a necessary skill.

Things changed for catchers, how-

ever, when collisions at home plate were barred in 2014. That decision came following a few high-profile injuries, including one to Buster Posey, the All-Star catcher of the San Francisco Giants. The rules apply both to how runners approach the plate and to how catchers receive the ball.

The text of Rule 6.01(i)(2), however, does indicate there is some discretion involved to determine the circumstances for a catcher being in the way.

Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the umpire shall call or signal the runner safe.

Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 6.01(i) (2) if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in a legitimate attempt to field the throw (e.g., in reaction to the direction, trajectory or the hop of the incoming throw, or in reaction to a throw that originates from a pitcher or drawn-in infielder). In addition, a catcher without possession

of the ball shall not be adjudged to violate this Rule 6.01(i)(2) if the runner could have avoided the collision with the catcher (or other player covering home plate) by sliding.

A comment that accompanies the rule states that “A catcher shall not be deemed to have violated Rule 6.01(i)(2) unless he has both blocked the plate without possession of the ball (or when not in a legitimate attempt to field the throw), and also hindered or impeded the progress of the runner attempting to score.”

In Heim’s case, the view from the outfield camera shows that Andrus was able to slide cleanly past the catcher, making it unclear how Heim violated those conditions.

It was especially unclear to Heim.

“I asked the umpire what I could have done differently,” Heim told reporters. “I set up on the corners. I even backed up. I don’t know what else to do. It’s upsetting.

“I don’t know how you can block the plate from behind the plate.”

If the world ever figures out what makes a catch a catch in the NFL, maybe the top minds can solve this mystery next.

Elvis Andrus was called out at home. Then the call was overturned because Jonah Heim was ruled to have blocked the plate.

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

Crossword #HCK42V47

Down

1. Prefix with hertz

2. Nut job

3. No more than

4. Float in the breeze

5. Carol opening

6. Bit of Sunday legislation

7. Super suffix?

8. Printer's measures

9. "Oh say can you ____..."

10. Humanist philosophy of Africa

11. Benefit

12. "____ all come out in the wash"

13. Snail mail enc.

18. Large lemonlike fruit

21. Hard ___ rock

23. Prefix with dermal or gram

24. EMT's specialty

25. "A Clockwork Orange" lead role

26. The sound of censorship

27. Tavern choice

28. Prefix with Saxon

29. Uganda's Amin

31. "The Lost World" author

32. Ken Follett's "___ the Needle"

33. Whoop-____ (big deals)

Across

1. Soft light

5. Theatrical awards

10. "Breaking ____ Hard to Do" (Neil Sedaka hit of '62 and '75)

14. Island near Mull

15. Feat of genetic engineering

16. Gamma preceder

17. Green site

19. Web addresses, familiarly

20. Whenever

21. Tarsus

22. Program airing

26. "The ___ Witch Project" (1999 film)

30. Clapped

34. Friend of Han in "Star Wars"

35. Hidden mike

36. "___ of little faith..."

37. Prodding, with "on"

39. Checked some bones

42. Conger

43. "The Sum ___" (Russell Crowe movie)

47. Eskimo home 48. Arguer for 51. Gripes

52. Jolie of "Changeling"

54. Marriott competitor

57. Recovery setback

62. "You and ___ going to get along just fine..."

63. Treacherous 66. The "C" in CMYK

67. Parfait feature

68. Blubber

69. Comedian Williams

70. 17th century diarist Samuel

71. An attempt

38. Big bell 40. Vulgar in speech 41. Grow old

44. Payment for services

45. Not in the book, say (abbr.)

46. Wok dish

49. It may be pending 50. Toronto's prov.

53. Young and Peart 54. Redneck

55. Sisterhood in a Rebecca Wells novel

56. Smell ____ (be leery)

58. Former Sony brand

59. Keats or Yeats

Answers on page 30

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Today isn’t the best day to play practical jokes, Aries, so put away the disappearing ink. Stick close to home. Find security in doing things you know how to do best. Hang a painting and cook a scrumptious dinner. You can inspire others with your smile, so use it. Don’t get down if your thoughts aren’t flowing well with the group. This is a sign that you should spend some time alone.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

There may be a great deal of opposition in your way today, Taurus, but try not to dwell on it. The key is to stay levelheaded and maintain a positive outlook. This is a day in which you can bring a great deal of balance to issues by understanding and respecting the other side.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

The pieces of today’s puzzle may not fit into place, Gemini, and it’s possible that you have no idea why. Don’t stress over something you don’t quite understand. The key to making things work out is listening. Adjustments will definitely be needed on both sides, but this can only happen if both parties are willing to open their ears and understand one another’s perspective.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

Today can be an extremely productive day, Cancer. You’re in a good space from which to work and this will aid you in all your endeavors. Today is also excellent for looking at some of the long-term trends moving through your life now. Consider the next five or ten years and think about how your actions will affect your future.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

There may be a battle between old and new in your world today, Leo. A reserved and oldfashioned perspective has a strong hold on the prevailing sentiment. This feeling is likely going to hit you square in the face as you lean toward the unconventional and more revolutionary approach to life. See what sort of past lessons you can learn from as you build the future.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

People may seem a bit stubborn today. Your powers of adaptation may be put to the test, Virgo. The people around you are likely to call on your tender, sympathetic nature. Offer a nurturing ear and strong shoulder for others to cry on. Keep things low key and steady. The more grounded you are, the easier it will be to get along with the energy of today.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

When you go up a flight of stairs, take one step at a time today, Libra. Skipping up the staircase two at a time could result in you falling back to the bottom. Trying to rush things today will leave holes in your projects. Finish jobs completely by making sure that every step is thoroughly taken care of. Don’t ignore the details.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Today is a terrific day for taking the plunge or making an investment, Scorpio. Luck and prosperity are in your favor, and you have the opportunity to make some very profitable financial decisions. Your intuition is right in line with what you need to do. Make the best deal possible and provide a fair and secure future for you and your investment.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

The key to being successful today is to maintain an air of stability. If others see you as too flighty and off the wall, they will hesitate about putting their trust in you. Make sure you do those things in your power that will help boost your clout. You will need this support from others later. Make a solid base to build on.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Today is a very expansive day for you, Capricorn. Your emotions can lead you into favorable situations with others. The pace of the day may seem a little slow, but this can be used to your advantage. Examine every detail with care and try not to leave any piece of the equation unaccounted for.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You may feel like you’re coming up against a brick wall, Aquarius. Your emotions are a bit stifled and you may find that you’re more stubborn than usual. There is a large and beneficial force that you can tap into today, as long as you keep your intuition open. The less you search for it, the more likely it will come to you.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

Smile at the world today, Pisces. Be thankful for the things you have and the people around you. Amplify the cozy, warm feeling inside and spread this love to others. This is a very expansive time for you in which you can get quite a bit accomplished if you set your mind to it. Radiate your true nature through every cell in your body and watch as the opportunities come your way.

Speed Bump