Wednesday Mar 3, 2021

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

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The Author Whose Books Inspired Lovestruck Teens to Put Locks on Bridges P20

Bill Filed to Enable Admission of Island as a State

Who Supports US Rep. Soto, Resident Commissioner & Governor, and What’s Next?

‘Not One Step Back!’: Women to Lead Protest of Gov’t Response During Pandemic P5

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 18

Chairwoman of Texas Utility Regulator Resigns After Storm Outages P9

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

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March 3, 2021

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

AAFAF report: Gov’t bank accounts increase 1.8%

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uerto Rico’s government bank accounts reached $21.09 billion as of Jan. 29, a 1.8% increase when compared to the previous month, a report from the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF by its Spanish initials) said.

The increase is important because the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board has said it plans to take about $7 billion for a cash payment to creditors as part of the latest commonwealth plan support agreement, or PSA. The Treasury Single Account (TSA), which is the government’s main account, increased to $10.3 billion in January compared to $9.8 billion in December.

The report, published to the markets earlier this week, showed that bank accounts increased by $368 million from $20.73 billion on Dec. 31, 2020.

The number reflects a $442 million increase in the central government’s TSA balance, a $268 million increase in public corporations and legally separate entities, a $13 million increase in restricted accounts and/or those subject to Title III proceedings, and an $8 million increase in pension-related accounts.

The AAFAF report showed a $362 million decrease in central government non-TSA accounts.

The bank balance of the Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation Authority, which is one of the entities in Title III bankruptcy under the federal Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stabil-

ity Act (commonly known as PROMESA), declined to $310.2 million as of Jan. 29, from $320 million as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to the document.

The bank account balance of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, another entity that is in bankruptcy under Title III, increased to $749.6 million in January, from $723.9 million in December.

The report also included the bank account balances for other instrumentalities such as the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority, which decreased to $794.7 million in January from $837.2 million in December. The water authority recently reached a debt deal with its creditors.

The University of Puerto Rico’s bank balance decreased to $322.4 million in January from $331 million in December.

The Medical Services Administration’s bank balance decreased to $312.6 in January from $519.6 in December.

The AAFAF filing was an unaudited summary of the island government’s and its instrumentalities’ account cash balances. The filing excluded the account balances for the legislative and judicial branches, as well as those for the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, municipal funds and investment accounts.

Meanwhile, the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corporation’s account balance decreased slightly, by $410,000, to $20.5 million in January, the document showed.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Soto, González Colón introduce bill supporting statehood for Puerto Rico Congress called to take action on island’s political status

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

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ep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), along with Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón and Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, filed a bill in Congress on Tuesday to enable the admission of Puerto Rico as a state of the union following the results of the island’s 2020 statehood plebiscite.

During a press conference in Washington, D.C., Soto announced that the bill has received about 51 co-sponsors, 36 Democratic and 14 Republican members of Congress, to which González Colón, Pierluisi and other New Progressive Party elected officials responded with applause.

“I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Soto said. “I just want to make sure that Jenniffer got to write the bill along with Governor Pierluisi, and she’s my ‘compañera’ [partner], to make sure it is the people of Puerto Rico who are writing the bills, the people of Puerto Rico who voted [for statehood].”

“We know why we are gathered here, and it’s because we know it’s time for Puerto Rico statehood now. It’s time to fulfill that promise of democracy and grant true equality for our fellow Americans back on the island,” Soto added. “We know that people already voted on Nov. 3, 2020, 52.52 percent of the majority of Puerto Ricans voted ‘Yes’ -- the ballot language was simple, and it was ‘Statehood: Yes or No.’” The Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act would establish a work plan and a path to Congress ratifying with its vote the admission of Puerto Rico as a U.S. state under conditions equal to those of the other states of the union.

Meanwhile, Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) said she was filled with “appreciation, honor and satisfaction to give back 60 years later what they did for my parents and millions of other Cubans who arrived 60 years before due to the [Fidel] Castro revolution.”

“I was raised in Puerto Rico. I know the Puerto Ricans very well,” Salazar said. “These are very noble, hard-working, great people who deserve not to be second-class citizens any longer.”

González Colón pointed out that the bipartisan bill will allow the president of the United States to establish a proclamation “allowing the island to ratify the vote, the will of the people, providing the same process as Alaska and Hawaii [used].”

“As a territory of the United States, we are completely under the power of the U.S. Constitution, so that’s a different process from Washington, D.C. [statehood admission],” the resident commissioner said. “Having this bill in the House and having Sen. [Martin] Heinrich [D-N.M.] endorsing and actually filing the bill

on the Senate side, and having the word of Sen. [Rick] Scott [R-Fla.] and Sen. [Marco] Rubio [R-Fla.] for statehood as well, we should be having a companion bill in the Senate soon.”

“I think this is going to be the first time we are going to have statehood moving on both sides of the Capitol,” González Colón added, noting that it was time the island became a U.S. state since it has been a territory since 1898.

Pierluisi, meanwhile, said he was sure that the statehood admission bill “will get traction and will get a hearing in the Committee of Jurisdiction.”

“I am sure that this bill, once it hits the floor of the House, will get majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives,” the governor said.

“It’s about time that we see Puerto Rico gain the [political] status it deserves.”

“Even with the objection of the U.S. Justice Department, even without having any kind of commitment or offer on the part of Congress, a clear majority of the voters of Puerto Rico supported statehood,” Pierluisi added. “I respect

those who have other status options, I respect those who believe that there should be a different process, but I tell them all, once a majority of the people of Puerto Rico expressed their will, this talk about consensus, this talk about other deliberations and processes, it is talk of the past.”

The bill requires the U.S. president to notify the governor of Puerto Rico once the Puerto Rico Statehood Admission Act is enacted into law. The bill further requires that the governor, within 30 days of being notified of the bill’s enactment, issue a proclamation for the election of Puerto Rico’s senators and representatives in Congress.

The governor of Puerto Rico must call for an election in which voters will ratify their desire for admission into the union as a state.

Specifically, voters in Puerto Rico will be asked the following question: “Shall Puerto Rico immediately be admitted into the Union as a State, in accordance with terms prescribed in the Act of Congress approved ………. (date of approval of this Act)?:Yes _____ No _____.” A similar question was posed to voters in Alaska and Hawaii following the enactment of their respective admission acts.

Should a majority of the votes cast in the aforementioned ratification election approve of statehood, the chairman of Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission will certify the results and transmit them to the governor. The governor will then have 10 days to transmit the results to the president of the United States, the president pro-tempore of the U.S. Senate, and the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Upon receiving the governor’s notification, the U.S. president will be required to issue a proclamation declaring certified the results for statehood and declaring the date upon which Puerto Rico will be admitted as a state, which must occur no later than 12 months after the results have been certified. Upon issuance of the presidential proclamation, Puerto Rico will be deemed admitted into the union as a state.

‘Grab and Go’ breakfasts to be offered in public schools starting today

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

D

esignated Education Secretary Elba Aponte Santos announced Tuesday that breakfasts will be served in the “Grab and Go” mode starting today in public school lunchrooms.

The menu will consist of muffins, cereals, fruits and unprepared foods that parents will pick up at the same time as the school lunch for breakfast the next day, Aponte Santos said in a written statement.

The program seeks to provide healthy breakfast alternatives so that parents or guardians have options when feeding their children.

“We are very happy to announce that, starting this Wednesday, our school cafeterias will be serving Grab and Go breakfasts,” Aponte Santos said. “This is part of the summer food program, so anyone between the ages of one and 18 can benefit from the food.

It is not necessary to be enrolled in the public education system.

We urge you to participate in this opportunity.”

More than 60,000 children and young people receive food services daily, and as of Feb. 26, some eight million lunch dishes had been offered.

The schedules are established by the school communities, so it is recommended to contact school directors to find out when to pick up food.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and after the Education Department obtained a waiver from the Food and Nutrition Service of the federal Department of Agriculture, the Summer Food Services Program could be extended until June. The program is traditionally offered from June to July and is extended to all children and young people on the island from one to 18 years old.

“I recognize the great work that our school cafeteria employees do every day and that it did not stop at any time,” the Education chief said. “To them, my greatest gratitude and to the parents, I urge them to participate in this opportunity for healthy and balanced food.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

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Women’s coalition to lead protest of government’s ‘negligent response’ during COVID emergency Decries ‘threat to roll back acquired rights’ for women and LGBTQI+ community

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

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s part of International Working Women’s Day activities, the Puerto Rico March 8 Coalition (C8M by its Spanish initials) on Tuesday called for a “gathering” titled “For Those Who Were Here, Those Who Are Here and Those Who Will Come: Not One Step Back!” at the island Capitol at 4 p.m. next Monday to demand a better response from the government during the coronavirus pandemic, social and economic justice and the separation of church and state.

While emphasizing the importance of safety measures established to prevent COVID-19 infections, C8M spokespersons urged citizens to come out to demonstrate against the state’s “negligent response” to the public health emergency that, they said, “has led to an increase in the domestic burdens imposed, mostly unpaid, on women as well as the escalation of gender-based violence they face in their homes.”

The coalition, which consists of local feminists, women’s LGBTQI+ organizations and political, labor union, essential service and human rights collectives, said it would also be protesting against “the threat to roll back rights acquired in the

area of sexual and reproductive health for women, pregnant people and the LGBTQI+ community due to the advance of the religious fundamentalist right wing in the country.”

C8M spokesperson Edda López Serrano said that as the island faces a never-before-seen crisis, the coronavirus has made women more vulnerable.

“Housework, caregiving, education, and accompanying students when they take virtual classes, while we are required to return to our jobs without any support, has resulted in what we have called the pandemic within the pandemic,” López Serrano said.

She also pointed out that with the forthcoming school reopenings that “face enough disorganization,” this new phase would bring “an excessive workload” on women and people involved in caretaking. She said the COVID-19 crisis has brought “precariousness, violence, mistreatment

and disproportionate burden.”

“It has been evident that there has not been an economic development initiative for either women or the general population, but more so on women, who have to assume vital roles [during the emergency],” López Serrano said. “I know that a gender-violence emergency decree is in effect, and I know that there are people within the [gender violence] committee who will represent us well, but this emergency has not been handled as a vital one, as one that needs to be addressed immediately.”

Another C8M spokesperson, Ruthie Arroyo, said the coalition will call for “a fair recovery that considers the ravages of governmental negligence, the abandonment of public infrastructure, while rejecting austerity policies [and] the elimination or reduction of services necessary to sustain collective life imposed by the Financial Oversight

and Management Board.”

Arroyo called it “terribly coincidental” that the federal oversight board is expected to release the island’s fiscal plan on the same day as the protest. She said the coalition remains aware as “we have to face an adjustment plan that makes [the condition of] women even more precarious.”

“We are promoting a broad movement around the island,” she said. “We want every woman, from every corner, to participate, so we embrace a broad, inclusive day where we can all advance the demands we have.”

Meanwhile, spokesperson Marielle de León said women in Puerto Rico are not only facing negligence or austere policies from the state, but that the island has faced an increase in public discourse coming from fundamentalist and conservative sectors that harms sexual health and reproductive rights acquired by the feminist and queer movements.

When the STAR asked if the trans community would be represented at the March 8 event, de Léon replied that the event will be “calling for [relief from] the burdens that the pandemic has brought to the trans community, such as access to essential needs to survive and medical services, which are more special.”

She added that the event will also demand justice for the seven trans-homicides that have occurred since February 2020, access to housing and legal services, and church and state separation as she said Christian fundamentalist discourse has harmed LGBTQI+ people’s well being.

Inspector General finds flaws in DNER contract

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

T

he Office of the Inspector General of Puerto Rico (OIG) has conducted an examination of a contract awarded in the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), in which it identified and confirmed deficiencies that threaten public funds and the administration of the agency.

The referral for the evaluation of the contract, which was formalized in 2019, came from the current DNER secretary, Rafael Machargo Maldonado, who upon his arrival at the agency determined to address concerns about the content and clauses established in the case.

The contract was agreed for the amount of one dollar, annually and for a term of five years.

However, despite the fact that it is established that the contract was to be for one dollar, the company will receive a profit representing the amount of the convenience charges for all pro-

cedures or transactions that entail some type of cost, charge, fee, right or tariff by the DNER. The purpose of the contract, according to its wording, is to facilitate the establishment of an electronic system for the submission of applications for permits and renewals, and integration into the Puerto Rico Government Services Platform. A convenience charge is to be charged simultaneously with the charge for any of the aforementioned items and is attributable to anyone who requires the service.

According to the OIG, the DNER did not carry out a feasibility study that could determine the projection of stamp sales or procedures requested by citizens, for which there is no estimate of the income that the private contractor would receive as part of the convenience charges that would be charged to people when implementing the new system. There is also no evidence that the DNER evaluated the possibility of paying a fixed amount to the contractor for the implementation of the contract and maintenance

charges, and of the income received going to the island treasury.

In addition, the contract provides a clause for a penalty of up to $50,000 a month, in favor of the contractor in a single payment, if the contract is canceled before its expiration date, and if the DNER makes a judicial challenge, the compensation or penalty will increase to a liquid sum equivalent to $75,000 per month.

That clause could be a highly costly one for the DNER, the OIG said.

The analysis identified other deficiencies, such as the formalization of a contract despite its lacking the certifications required by law, the lack of an analysis of the cost and feasibility studies of the contracting to be carried out, and onerous and harmful clauses for the DNER and the government of Puerto Rico.

The clauses could have the effect of unilaterally favoring a contractor against the best interests of the government, the OIG said. Moreover, the government watchdog agency said, under

no circumstances should the private interests of a contractor prevail or in any way affect the fundamental duty to assure citizens that their public funds are being used to provide a quality service, at the lowest possible cost.

The deficiencies found in the evaluated contract could be in contravention of the regulations and the public policy of sound administration and government contracting, for which the OIG instructed the DNER not to proceed with its implementation until all the deficiencies indicated are remedied, and to conduct a feasibility study together with the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service, in accordance with Law No. 75-2019. The examination report is available on the OIG website The OIG said it approves of the management of the DNER secretary in the case, and emphasized the importance of any person or public employee who identifies irregularities in executive branch agencies making the corresponding referrals to the OIG.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Green energy producers call new RFP rules for island projects an ‘outrage’

By THE STAR STAFF

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he Renewable Energy Producers Association (APER by its Spanish acronym) on Tuesday attacked new requirements for requests for proposals (RFP) for renewable energy projects in Puerto Rico, calling them “an outrage and exclusionary” toward small and medium-sized companies.

The group also stated that neither the federal Financial Oversight and Management Board nor the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) have yet answered APER’s proposals regarding the errors indicated in the fiscal plan.

“It is more than clear that the imposition of these new requirements is nothing more than an act of retaliation against APER’s accusations and our insistence on obtaining answers,” APER Executive Director Julián Herencia said in a statement. “Transparency should be decisive in these processes and that is what we have had the least of over these past months.”

“As entrepreneurs in search of sustainable renewable energy development for Puerto Rico, we are fed up with the obstacles that we constantly face,” he added. “It is time for the [oversight] Board, PREPA and the government to focus their efforts for the benefit of our residents and to put private interests aside.”

The new RFP requirements for renewable energy projects include a net worth of $75 million, plus prior experience on projects of no less than 20 megawatts (MW) and three years or more.

On the other hand, and unlike what has been the case with other projects, the new RFP does not require a payment from proponents as a requirement to submit the proposal.

Herencia said the requirements imposed do not guarantee or improve the probability of project success.

He further noted that the oversight board’s attitude and position with regard to Legacy Project developers — to turn the page, look to the future, and invite them to participate in the new RFP — is misleading and disrespectful.

He was referring to projects that had already

been agreed upon but then were disregarded by officials.

“This accommodative stance of the Board ignores the great efforts that these companies have put into place, as well as the millions of dollars that have been invested in Legacy Projects over the past eight years,” Herencia said. “It is evident that the new impositions seek to disqualify these projects, without even having taken time to respond to the error signals identified in the fiscal plan.”

After PREPA had renegotiated some 16 renewable energy projects, the oversight board rejected them arguing that they would result in higher utility rates. The board told PREPA it could engage in contracts for 150 MW of energy and last week approved two contracts to that effect.

Herencia said the 593 MW that comprise the 16 Legacy Projects do not depend on public funds, fossil fuels or other variable cost elements.

They are clean energy projects, free of emissions and pollutants, which also reduce and stabilize the cost of energy for 25 years, in order to replace the purchase of fuel.

The head of APER affirmed that the projects can already begin to be built and that — as soon as they become ready — they have the potential to place Puerto Rico as one of the leaders in the field worldwide, in addition to generating thousands of jobs in the construction and operation sectors, and transforming the power sector.

Solar energy project certified in Caguas

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

T

he Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) of the Public Service Regulatory Board has certified the Cooperativa de Energía de San Salvador, or “Pirucho Coop,”

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in Caguas to provide solar electricity generation services in conjunction with storage, the bureau announced Tuesday in a written statement.

In the initial stage, the cooperative will supply energy to eight community members through solar panels installed on the roofs of the residences. All systems have a battery, an inverter, an isolator switch and a meter. Seven of the systems have 14 solar panels, while an eighth system has 27 panels, the PREB noted.

“The Energy Bureau certifies the Petitioner as an Energy Cooperative,” the PREB determined in Resolution NEPRCT-2020-0003. “In addition, it authorizes the Petitioner to begin operations, in accordance with the provisions of Law 57-2014; Law 258-2018; Law 239-2004; Regulation 8701; and Regulation 9117.”

The validity of the certification will be subject to compliance with the applicable laws, regulations and standards, and the presentation of reports and required certifications, in addition to compliance with orders, resolutions, requirements, verifications and periodic inspections made by the PREB. “After evaluating the information presented by the Petitioner, the Energy Bureau determined that the projections used to calculate the electricity service rate are reasonable for the operation and maintenance of the proposed system,”

the resolution says. “Furthermore, given that the energy cooperative will be offering service to residential customers, the proposed rate is not discriminatory among its customers.”

After several procedural steps, the PREB approved the incorporation clauses and the regulations of the energy cooperative.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

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Senate could take up Biden’s stimulus plan by midweek

By EMILY COCHRANE and LUKE BROADWATER

legislation, although Democratic leaders in both chambers have vowed to pursue codifying the $15 wage even if it means waiting until after the stimulus bill has passed.

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resident Joe Biden met with Democratic senators Monday, touching base with key lawmakers as the caucus hurdles toward advancing the president’s $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan as early as this week.

Senators are still discussing possible changes to the legislation, which the House passed this past weekend without a single Republican vote. Some moderate senators who spoke with Biden pushed for targeting elements of the relief bill, as liberal senators continue to call for leaders to include an increase to the federal minimum wage after the Senate parliamentarian determined it violated Senate rules.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the chairman of the Budget Committee, vowed to introduce an amendment that would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 — a provision that was included in the House legislation that passed this weekend — and called on Democrats to ignore the advice from the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. (Sanders, however, acknowledged “I am not sure, however, that my view at this point is the majority view in the Democratic Caucus.”)

It underscores the delicate balancing act for Biden and Democratic leadership, who cannot afford to lose a single Democratic vote in the Senate in order to pass the sweeping $1.9 trillion plan on a fast-track budget process called reconciliation. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said he planned to advance the sweeping pandemic aid measure — which includes $1,400 checks for many Americans and billions of dollars for unemployment benefits and small businesses — this week.

“There really isn’t a lot of dispute about the overall size of the bill,” said Sen. Angus King of Maine, who was among the nine members of the Democratic caucus who met virtually with Biden. “The question is whether it can be targeted in such a way as to better serve the people who need the most and perhaps free up funds for other priorities.

On Monday, MacDonough told Democrats two other provisions, including pension funding and health care subsidies that allow laid-off workers to remain on their former employer’s health plan for some time, could remain in the bill under Senate rules.

“I am pleased this important provision will remain in the critical relief bill before the Senate this week,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said of the health care provision in a statement.

In a separate statement regarding the pensions, he said “the retirement security of millions of American workers depends on getting this package across the finish line.”

Republicans could also challenge certain provisions within the plan as extraneous or failing to have a substantial direct impact on the federal budget under the Byrd rule that governs the reconciliation process. (The rule is named

AVISO AMBIENTAL SOBRE INTENCIÓN DE RENOVAR UN PERMISO DE INYECCIÓN SUBTERRÁNEA El peticionario, Automeca Technical College, cuya dirección postal es PO Box 109, Vega Alta, Puerto Rico 00692, representado por el Sr. Luis E. Vega Arce, Propietario, ha solicitado al Área de Calidad de Agua (ACA) del Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) la renovación del permiso de operación, UIC-17-27-0023, para un sistema de inyección subterránea (SIS) Clase VII, 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).

“We’re moving ahead with a bill that probably will get no Republican votes in the Senate, but will have broad Republican support in the country,” said Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, second from left. for former Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. and renowned guru of Senate procedure.)

The House, which passed Biden’s bill without any Republican votes, kept the increase of the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, despite the chamber’s top rules enforcer saying that it will need to be removed. The $15 wage is a top priority of progressives but lacks the votes to pass in an evenly split Senate since two centrist Democrats — Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — are opposed to including the provision in the package. The caucus must work out its differences quickly, because the bill is needed to extend emergency unemployment insurance programs that expire in mid-March.

Top Democrats over the weekend decided against including an amendment that would penalize corporations that pay workers less than $15 an hour, a move that could have imposed an escalating tax on the payrolls of large corporations, according to a person familiar with the discussion, who disclosed details on the condition of anonymity. The decision was reported earlier by The Washington Post.

“I was extremely disappointed by the decision of the parliamentarian who ruled that the minimum wage provision was inconsistent with the Byrd rule and the reconciliation process,” Sanders said in announcing his amendment. “But even more importantly, I regard it as absurd that the parliamentarian, a Senate staffer elected by no one, can prevent a wage increase for 32 million workers.”

It is unclear what other avenues remain for the current

El SIS consiste de un tanque de retención de 20 pies de largo por 14 pies de ancho por 7 pies de profundidad líquida con una capacidad de 14,661 galones, para el almacenamiento de aguas exclusivamente sanitarias, provenientes de los baños de la instalación . El referido SIS está ubicado en Automeca Technical College, localizado en la Carretera PR-3, Km 43.8, Barrio Quebrada Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Luego de realizada la evaluación correspondiente de los documentos sometidos, el DRNA tiene la intención de renovar el permiso de operación para la instalación antes mencionada en conformidad con los requisitos del RCIS y de la LFAPS. Esta notificación se hace para informar que el DRNA, ha preparado el borrador del permiso de operación de forma tal que el público interesado pueda someter sus comentarios con relación al mismo.

El permiso contiene las condiciones y prohibiciones necesarias para cumplir con los requisitos reglamentarios aplicables.

El público puede evaluar copia de la solicitud del permiso que sometió el peticionario ante el DRNA, el borrador del permiso y otros documentos relevantes en el ACA, cuya oficina está localizada en el Piso 3, Ala A, del Edificio de Agencias Ambientales Cruz A. Matos, Carretera PR-8838, Km 6.3, Sector El Cinco, Río Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Copia de dichos documentos pueden adquirirse en el ACA, entre las 8:00 a.m. y las 4:00 p.m. de lunes a viernes o escribiendo a la siguiente dirección: Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San José Industrial Park, 1375 Avenida Ponce de León, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926.

Las partes interesadas o afectadas pueden enviar sus comentarios al Gerente del ACA o solicitar una vista pública por escrito al Secretario del DRNA, a la dirección antes indicada.

Los comentarios por escrito o la solicitud de vista pública deberán ser sometidos al 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 emite o deniega el permiso, si el Secretario determina que dicha vista es necesaria o apropiada.

Gobierno de Puerto Rico

Lcdo. Rafael A. Machargo Maldonado Secretario

DEPARTAMENTO DE RECURSOS NATURALES Y AMBIENTALES

Carr. 8838 Km 6.3 Sector El Cinco, Río Piedras, PR 00926 / San José Industrial Park, 1372 Ave. Ponce de León, San Juan PR 00926 ' (787) 999-2200 • 6 (787) 999-2303 • www.jca.pr.gov

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Colleges that require virus-screening tech struggle to say whether it works

By NATASHA SINGER and KELLEN BROWNING

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efore the University of Idaho welcomed students back to campus last fall, it made a big bet on new virusscreening technology.

The university spent $90,000 installing temperaturescanning stations, which look like airport metal detectors, in front of its dining and athletic facilities in Moscow, Idaho.

When the system clocks a student walking through with an unusually high temperature, the student is asked to leave and go get tested for COVID-19.

But so far the fever scanners, which detect skin temperature, have caught fewer than 10 people out of the 9,000 students living on or near campus. Even then, university administrators could not say whether the technology had been effective because they have not tracked students flagged with fevers to see if they went on to get tested for the virus.

The University of Idaho is one of hundreds of colleges and universities that adopted fever scanners, symptom checkers, wearable heart-rate monitors and other new COVID-screening technologies this school year. Such tools often cost less than a more validated health intervention: frequent virus testing of all students. They also help colleges showcase their pandemic safety efforts.

But the struggle at many colleges to keep the virus at bay has raised questions about the usefulness of the technologies.

A New York Times effort has recorded more than 530,000 virus cases on campuses since the start of the pandemic.

One problem is that temperature scanners and symptomchecking apps cannot catch the estimated 40% of people with the coronavirus who do not have symptoms but are still infectious. Temperature scanners can also be wildly inaccurate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has cautioned that such symptom-based screening has only “limited effectiveness.”

The schools have a hard time saying whether — or how well — the new devices have worked. Many universities and colleges, including prominent research institutions, are not rigorously studying effectiveness.

“So why are we bothering?” said Bruce Schneier, a prominent security technologist who has described such screening systems as “security theater” — that is, tools that make people feel better without actually improving their safety.

“Why spend the money?”

More than 100 schools are using a free virus symptomchecking app, called CampusClear, that can clear students to enter campus buildings. Others are asking students to wear symptom-monitoring devices that can continuously track vital signs like skin temperature. And some have adapted the ID card swiping systems they use to admit students into dorms, libraries and gyms as tools for tracing potential virus exposures.

Administrators at Idaho and other universities said their schools were using the new tech, along with policies like social distancing, as part of larger campus efforts to hinder the virus. Some said it was important for their schools to deploy the screening tools even if they were only moderately useful.

At the very least, they said, using services like daily symptom-

Thermal scanners check every visitor to the student union at the University of Idaho. A handheld thermometer is a backup. checking apps may reassure students and remind them to be vigilant about other measures, like mask wearing.

Some public health experts said it was understandable that colleges had not methodically assessed the technology’s effectiveness against the coronavirus. After all, they said, schools are unaccustomed to frequently screening their entire campus populations for new infectious diseases.

Even so, some experts said they were troubled that universities lacked important information that might help them make more evidence-based decisions on health screening.

“It’s a massive data vacuum,” said Saskia Popescu, an infectious-disease researcher who is an assistant professor at George Mason University. “The moral of the story is you can’t just invest in this tech without having a validation process behind it.”

Other medical experts said increased surveillance of largely healthy college students seemed unduly intrusive, given that symptom checkers have limited usefulness and the effectiveness of wearable health monitors against COVID-19 is not yet known.

At some universities, administrators acknowledged that the tech they adopted this school year did not pan out the way they had hoped.

Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, introduced two tools last semester that recorded students’

whereabouts in case they later developed virus infections and administrators needed to trace their contacts. One system logged students’ locations every time they swiped their ID cards to enter campus buildings. The other asked students to scan printed-out QR codes posted at certain locations around campus.

By the end of the semester, however, only about one-third of the 1,200 students on campus were scanning the bar codes.

Ethan Child, a Bridgewater senior, said he had scanned the QR codes but also skipped them when walking by in the rain.

“I think it’s reasonable to ask students to do it — whether or not they’ll actually do it is another thing,” he said. “People might just pass it by.”

Administrators discovered that the key to hindering coronavirus outbreaks was not technology but simply frequent testing — once a week, for on-campus students — along with contact tracing, said Chris Frazer, executive director of the university’s wellness center.

“I’m glad we didn’t spend an exorbitant amount of money” on tech tools, Frazer said. “We found what we need is tests and more tests.”

The location-tracking tools ultimately proved most useful for “peace of mind,” he added, and to confirm the findings of contact tracers, who often learned much more about infected students’ activities by calling them than by examining their location logs.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

9

Leader of Texas utility regulator resigns after extensive storm outages

By RICK ROJAS

T

he chairwoman of Texas’ utility regulator resigned Monday in response to a growing bipartisan backlash over widespread power outages during one of the worst winter storms there in a generation.

DeAnn T. Walker, who has been the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas since 2017, had been caught in a tide of fury that has swelled across Texas after the outages left millions without electricity during some of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in the state.

She had been grilled by lawmakers during contentious hearings last week about how the storm had been able to push the power grid to the brink of collapse and why the system had not been prepared for such winter conditions.

The calls for her resignation came from both political parties, reflecting the intensity of the outrage and anguish created by the outages. On Monday, Dan Patrick, the Republican who wields considerable influence as lieutenant governor, said Walker shared in the blame for failing to plan for a worst-case scenario. And after she stepped down, the Texas Democratic Party said on Twitter, “Good riddance.”

In a letter Monday, Walker acknowledged the anger over the outages two weeks ago. But, she said, the blame over the shortcomings that left the grid vulnerable extended beyond one individual or agency.

“I believe others should come forward in dignity and courage and acknowledge how their actions or inactions contributed to the situation,” Walker said, listing gas and electric companies and other state agencies that, she added, “had responsibility to foresee what could have happened and failed to take the necessary steps.”

Walker had been a senior policy adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott, who appointed her to the commission. She also worked as an executive at CenterPoint Energy, a power company based in Houston. Her term as chairwoman was set to expire in September.

Workers restore services in Dallas on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2021, where amid widespread power losses, millions of Texans were advised to boil their water for safety.

In a statement, Abbott thanked Walker for her service and said he was focused on working with lawmakers “on reforms to our power system.”

Her resignation comes as lawmakers, prosecutors and the public at large have shifted their focus to determining who should be held responsible in the aftermath of the enormous storm, which swept across much of the state.

It also comes as many remain in the grips of the storm’s fallout, including about 390,000 people who are still under notices to boil their drinking water after the outages knocked out hundreds of water systems.

Elected officials have assigned much of the blame to the Public Utility Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the grid and the flow of electricity to millions of Texans. Seven members of the governing board of the council have resigned since last week.

The state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit Monday against Griddy, a service in which customers paid for electricity based on fluctuating wholesale prices, which shot up to astronomic heights during the crisis.

Some customers said they had bills of

$10,000 or more.

Paxton asserted that Griddy had misled its customers. “As Texans struggled to survive this winter storm, Griddy made the suffering even worse as it debited outrageous amounts each day,” he said in a statement.

In a statement on its website, Griddy said electric officials had essentially forced the company to cease its operations. “We have always been

transparent and customer-centric at every step,” the company said. “We wanted to continue the fight for our members to get relief and that hasn’t changed.”

Still, much of the backlash has been focused on the agencies overseeing the state’s power grid, with Abbott and others vowing to overhaul the system in the wake of the storm.

On the night of Feb. 14 and into the next morning, the storm dropped snow and ice across Texas, causing a surge in energy use and a drain in supply as power facilities fell offline.

The electric system was barreling toward a complete collapse. It was just 4 minutes and 37 seconds away, officials said, when operators instead turned to rolling blackouts that still plunged much of the state into darkness, leaving residents to shiver in unheated homes.

Walker was called to the state Legislature last week along with energy executives and power company representatives. And her testimony only intensified the backlash.

“Do you think Texans deserve an apology from the Public Utility Commission?” Rafael Anchia, a Democratic state lawmaker from Dallas, asked during a hearing Friday.

Walker was quiet.

“The fact that you’re hesitating,” Anchia said, “is astonishing.”

10

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Cuomo could be compelled to testify in sexual-harassment inquiry

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is navigating one of the most perilous periods of his more than 10 years in office.

By LUIS FERRÉ-SUDIRNÍ

W

hen a team of outside investigators begins to examine sex harassment allegations lodged against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, its scope may be far broader than first anticipated.

The team, which will be hired by Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, will have far-reaching subpoena powers to request troves of documents and compel witnesses, including the governor, to testify under oath.

The independent inquiry may also scrutinize not just the sexual harassment accusations made by two former aides last week, but potential claims from other women as well.

In the end, which is likely to be months from now, the investigators will be required to produce a final report, the results of which could be politically devastating for Cuomo.

“The end game is that a report that found him culpable would bring pressure to bear on him personally, on his regime, on the Legislature to act,” said Nina Pirrotti, a lawyer who specializes in employment law and sexual harassment cases. “But I don’t exactly know how it will play out.”

Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, is navigating one of the most precarious and uncertain periods of his more

than 10 years in office, just months after he had emerged as a national leader early in the coronavirus pandemic.

The governor is facing a federal probe into his administration’s decision to withhold data on nursing home deaths, a scandal that has led to calls for impeachment and has spurred state legislators to seriously consider curbing the emergency powers they granted him at the beginning of the pandemic.

But the harassment accusations could be even more damaging for a governor who has prided himself on advancing protections for women in the workplace.

The first accusation came from Lindsey Boylan, who used to work for his administration. Boylan published an essay Feb. 24 that detailed a series of unsettling encounters she said she had with Cuomo, including an instance when she said he gave her an unsolicited kiss on the lips.

Then, on Saturday, The New York Times published an article about Charlotte Bennett, 25, a former entrylevel staffer in the governor’s office who accused him of asking invasive questions, including whether she was monogamous and had sex with older men. She said she interpreted the remarks as sexual advances.

Cuomo’s office denied Boylan’s allegations at the time. On Sunday, following Bennett’s account, Cuomo issued a statement in which he denied propositioning or touching anyone inappropriately, but apologized for work-

place comments that he said “have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”

On Monday, following public back-and-forth over who would conduct the investigation, James received the governor’s authorization to open an inquiry under a section of state law that allows her office to “inquire into matters concerning the public peace, public safety and public justice.”

The claims from both women are now at the center of that investigation, the contours of which are still materializing but could prod deeply into the inner workings of the governor’s office and how sexual misconduct allegations are handled there.

Cuomo’s office has indicated that the governor’s office would “voluntarily cooperate fully” and that it had instructed all state employees to do so as well.

Investigators will ultimately produce a public report, which is bound to include a summary and analysis of their findings, maybe even recommendations. Experts said the civil inquiry could look at whether Cuomo violated the state’s human rights laws and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a federal law that protects against harassment because of a person’s sex.

“These women do have the option, potentially, to bring claims against their employer, the state of New York, for Gov. Cuomo’s conduct,” Pirrotti said, adding that the facts in the report could help victims recover economic and emotional distress damages.

As investigators corroborate details, she said the inquiry could “widen and widen” to include other sexual harassment claims that might surface during the investigation. On Monday, a third woman, Anna Ruch, came forward and said that she was “confused and shocked and embarrassed” when Cuomo asked to kiss her at a wedding reception.

In a referral letter Monday to the attorney general, Beth Garvey, a special counsel and senior adviser to the governor, said the inquiry would broadly look into “allegations of and circumstances surrounding sexual harassment claims made against the governor.”

James, a Democrat, said her office would oversee “a rigorous and independent investigation” but would hire a law firm to spearhead it, a move that many saw as an attempt to avoid any appearance that politics would influence the investigation. The governor endorsed James’ run for attorney general in 2018, and she has been rumored as a potential candidate to challenge Cuomo in a primary next year, when he would be up for reelection.

James had not selected an independent law firm as of Monday.

Lawyers from the firm would be deputized and will have the power to subpoena witnesses, as well as any documents, records, papers and books relevant to the investigation. Failure to comply with a subpoena could result in a misdemeanor.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

11

Virus did not bring financial rout that many states feared

By MARY WILLIAM WALSH

T

hroughout the debate over stimulus measures, one question has repeatedly brought gridlock in Washington: Should the states get no-strings federal aid?

Republicans have mostly said no, casting it as a bailout for spendthrift blue states.

Democrats have argued the opposite, saying that states face dire fiscal consequences without aid, and included $350 billion in relief for state and local governments in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion federal stimulus bill, which narrowly passed the House this past weekend. It faces a much tougher fight in the Senate.

As it turns out, new data shows that a year after the pandemic wrought economic devastation around the country, forcing states to revise their revenue forecasts and prepare for the worst, for many the worst didn’t come. One big reason: $600-a-week federal supplements that allowed people to keep spending — and states to keep collecting sales tax revenue — even when they were jobless, along with the usual state unemployment benefits.

By some measures, the states ended up collecting nearly as much revenue in 2020 as they did in 2019. A J.P. Morgan survey called 2020 “virtually flat” with 2019, based on the 47 states that report their tax revenues every month, or all except Alaska, Oregon and Wyoming.

A researcher at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank, found that total state revenues from April through December were down just 1.8% from the same period in 2019. Moody’s Analytics used a different method and found that 31 states now had enough cash to fully absorb the economic stress of the pandemic recession on their own.

“You can see it’s just a completely different story this time,” said Louise Sheiner, a Brookings Institution economist whose research showed that overall, the states struggled far less during the pandemic than in previous recessions.

New Jersey, for instance, managed to avoid financial calamity despite a dire forecast when the pandemic started, because of better-than-expected tax revenue from retail sales and high earners, who lost fewer jobs

Grim forecasts held up for a few states, but many took in about as much tax revenue as before the pandemic — sometimes a lot more. and reaped the benefits of a bullish stock market. However, it still had to borrow $4 billion in emergency relief.

The findings are being cited by Republican lawmakers. In a Feb. 2 blog post, the House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, RCalif., said the J.P. Morgan report was evidence that the states were doing just fine.

He called on Democrats not to insist on “blue-state slush funds that are not needed.”

At the same time, Democrats have said states need relief even if their revenues are resilient, because their costs will spiral as schools reopen and vaccination programs roll out.

Down and up States need revenue to function. For day-to-day operations, they raise money by collecting different kinds of taxes: sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes, and taxes on singular transactions like energy production or gasoline sales. (For public works, they issue bonds.)

Most state tax collections plunged last spring when shutdown orders started and millions were thrown out of work as businesses closed. That prompted many states to issue doomsday forecasts, lay off workers and turn to Washington for billions of dollars in aid to replace revenue they were expecting to lose. Many feared a replay of the Great Recession, when state revenues fell

8% and took more than five years to recover, exacerbating the overall downturn.

But this time, after falling 4% overall, Sheiner said, tax collections turned back up again, all in the span of a few months. She and other public finance experts cautioned that the numbers didn’t tell the full story.

With new variants of the virus emerging, the pandemic isn’t over yet, and revenues could slip again — just as states increase spending amid signs of an economic rebound.

Also, averaging the states’ revenues — the J.P. Morgan report used weighted averages to show that revenues last year were down just 0.06% from 2019 — can mask the pain of the states whose tax collections have not yet rebounded. And focusing just on state revenue collection glosses over the weakness of local governments, which administer many social services under state administration.

“We know that local governments are doing far worse than the states,” said Lucy Dadayan, a senior research associate at the Tax Policy Center.

The stimulus bump No matter how they measured the states’ rebound, the analysts said the federal stimulus money that began to flow to consumers and small businesses late in March 2020 — especially the extraordinary support for the jobless through the end of

July — had helped greatly. Those programs allowed consumer spending to continue, even as unemployment surged to levels not seen since the 1930s.

During the Great Recession, Congress sent supplements of just $25 a week. This time, Washington sent supplements of $600 a week. Since the pandemic ravaged lowwage sectors like retail sales and restaurants, adding $600 a week to the lowest unemployment benefits pushed many recipients’ purchasing power above what they had while working.

In Illinois, for example, per capita personal income actually rose as the pandemic kicked in. It climbed to $66,224 in the second quarter, from $59,896 in the first, according to the state’s Office of Management and Budget.

Consumer spending, in turn, bolstered the states’ sales tax revenues. The federal unemployment benefits also buoyed income tax receipts in the 36 states that tax unemployment benefits.

The Federal Reserve helped indirectly by making credit widely available at very low interest rates, prompting investors to leave the safety of the bond markets and buy stocks. That fueled an enormous stockmarket rally, which ultimately gave states including New Jersey capital gains to tax.

Many states also benefited from taxlaw changes enacted before the pandemic, after a 2018 Supreme Court decision that let them compel out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes on online purchases. The new laws ended years of legal wrangling over how to tax such sales, just in time to help the states weather the pandemic-induced shift to online shopping.

“If the COVID-19 pandemic had occurred even five years earlier than it did, the impacts to state and local sales taxes would have been truly devastating,” Dan White, director of government consulting and public finance research at Moody’s, said.

Windfalls for Some States In his survey, Peter DeGroot, head of municipal research and strategy at J.P. Morgan, found a handful of states, including Idaho, South Dakota and New Mexico, that managed to take in more money last year Continues on page 12

12

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

White House says trade policy will focus on workers, climate, racial gaps and supply chain

By ANA SWANSON

T

he Biden administration said Monday that it would try to use its trade policy to support American workers, mitigate climate change, close racial gaps, make supply chains more resilient and expand opportunities for U.S. exporters.

In a report laying out its trade policy agenda for 2021, the administration said trade would be an essential component of fighting the pandemic, buoying the economy and enacting President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” agenda, which aims to strengthen U.S. infrastructure and innovation and close racial and economic gaps.

The administration said it would focus particularly on developing more resilient manufacturing supply chains in the year to come to help the country better confront health crises.

The report, issued by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said that promoting open markets would remain a fundamental part of U.S. policy but that efforts to lower foreign barriers for American exporters would be considered in tandem with the interests of American “manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, fishers and underserved communities.”

The administration also said it would review past trade policies for any “unintended consequences” for workers, including effects on wage gaps, worker unionization, workplace safety and the presence of forced labor. And it pledged to try to better understand the impact of trade policies on communities of color and the empowerment of women.

In a criticism of the Trump administration, the report said American agriculturalists had been burdened in recent years “by erratic trade actions that were taken without a broader strategy” and that triggered retaliation, billions of dollars in lost exports and huge government payments to farmers.

The report also said the Biden administration would develop a more comprehensive and systematic approach to dealing with China “than the piecemeal approach of the recent past.”

It promised to aggressively pursue unfair trade practices from China, “using all available tools” to take on behavior that harms American workers and businesses.

But the report provided few details on the concrete policy tools the administration would use, saying that officials were carrying out a comprehensive review of U.S. trade policy as they developed an overall

China strategy.

The administration also pledged to make addressing China’s human rights abuses against Uighurs and other minorities in the Xinjiang region a top priority and said it would work with allied countries to try to address global market distortions created by Chinese overcapacity in sectors like steel, aluminum, solar and fiber optics.

The Biden administration said it would

engage with allies on issues like how trade policies can affect climate change, build stronger supply chains and end unfair trade practices, among other goals. And it pledged to work with the new director general of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, “to address the challenges facing the global trading system, including growing inequality, digital transformation, and impediments to small business trade.”

Virus did not bring financial rout that many states feared From page 11 than in 2019. The survey also identified several states where tax revenues have not yet bounced back because they depend heavily on tourism, oil and gas, or coal extraction — among them Hawaii, Nevada, Florida, Texas and West Virginia.

Sheiner’s analysis showed that Idaho had the biggest revenue recovery of any state. She conducted her research with Byron Lutz, an economist with the Federal Reserve.

The head of Idaho’s Division of Financial Management, Alex J. Adams, said in an interview that the rebound had taken officials by surprise, and that they thought one reason was an influx of new residents from California, seeking to escape that state’s high cost of living — a trend that started before the pandemic but accelerated last year.

Adams also said Idaho didn’t pause cons-

truction when the lockdowns happened, which helped economic activity.

Idaho’s Republican governor, Brad Little, said in his State of the State address in January that 2020 revenue collections were strong enough to send $295 million back to the taxpayers, and still have enough to invest in better highways, bridges and broadband access. He also wrote to Idaho’s congressional delegation last year, urging it to oppose the use of no-strings federal dollars to bail out mismanaged states.

With some states now “enjoying windfalls” and others still struggling, White said a smaller amount of money, more carefully targeted to the states that needed it most, would be the most efficient approach for Congress. But getting assistance to those governments that truly need it, without sending unnecessary aid to those that do not, will require some “exceptional creativity,” he said.

Timing played a role To some extent, the states’ surprising recoveries reflect the timing of events last year. The pandemic started just as many state lawmakers were reviewing initial budget proposals for the coming fiscal year. The proposals, drawn up weeks before the shock, forecast a year of strong tax collections.

Then, in a matter of weeks, millions of people lost their jobs. State officials think of unemployment as a powerful driver of their fiscal affairs; research from past recessions suggests that a single percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate can produce $45 billion worth of state budget woe.

So they braced for disaster. Most states tore up their initial budgets, laid off workers and, like the federal government, pushed back their April income tax deadlines to mid-July. Income tax receipts plummeted.

In April, the National Governors Association called on Congress to appropriate

$500 billion “to meet the states’ budgetary shortfalls.” But the $500 billion of no-strings budget relief did not materialize. Most state lawmakers finished their budgets by the end of June and went home — and were not on hand to see the wave of income tax revenue that arrived in mid-July.

By the end of July, revenue had recovered to 2019 levels and stayed there, said Sheiner, the policy director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. Sheiner said she and her colleagues had been pointing out the signs of a recovery since September, but state officials remain guarded. They have not yet begun hiring back the 1.3 million public workers they laid off.

“If you talk to state and local government officers, they’re really cautious,” she said. “There’s so much uncertainty. They’re thinking, What if it goes back to how it was last spring?”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

13 Stocks

Wall Street mixed as Apple and Tesla retreat

W

all Street was mixed on Tuesday, with Apple and Tesla losing ground, while materials and energy companies climbed as investors looked toward the U.S. Congress approving another stimulus package.Optimism over monetary and fiscal support from policymakers, robust corporate earnings and the prospect that coronavirus vaccines could hasten a return to normality in the United States and other countries have bolstered risk sentiment.

But concern remained over the pace of vaccination, its efficacy against new variants of the novel coronavirus and the damage being done to economies, including the impact on the dollar of a $1.9 trillion stimulus package.

“We’ve come a long way in a short time,” said Josh Wein, portfolio manager with Hennessy Funds. “It won’t take a lot for the market to pause ... whether it’s deliberations over fiscal stimulus, or the occasional talk of inflation or interest rates getting some lift.”Tesla Inc was the only major technology stock trading higher.

At 11:53 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 481.33 points, or 1.59%, to 30,872.93, the S&P 500 gained 41.22 points, or 1.11%, to 3,768.08, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 37.89 points, or 0.29%, to 12,856.85.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index jumped 2.5% to a record high.

Hopes of a vaccine-powered economic recovery in 2021 pushed Wall Street’s main indexes to record highs in lateDecember, with sectors that had previously lagged, including banks, industrials and energy, fuelling the rally.

Invesco Solar ETF gained about 10.6% on expectations that clean energy companies will benefit under a Democratcontrolled Congress, while bets on decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level lifted ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF up 9.3%.

AmerisourceBergen Corp gained 7.3% after the U.S. drug wholesaler said it would buy Walgreens Boots Alliance’s drug distribution business for $6.5 billion to expand in Europe. Dow component Walgreens rose 4%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners for a 2-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.5-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 75 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 370 new highs and 13 new lows.

Holders of a short position in stocks must disclose it to EU regulators and Bassi said potential changes could include publishing which stocks have short positions on a weekly or fortnighly basis.

“We could think of rules clarifying the duties of brokers or investment advisors and their firms when they participate in online chat rooms,” Bassi said.

Maijoor said there were only 20 stocks in Europe with net short positions of above 10%, limiting the risk of a GameStopstyle short squeeze.

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14

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Virus variant in Brazil infected many who had already recovered from COVID-19

Workers buried a person who died of Covid in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida public cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, in January. New studies of the P.1 variant that ravaged the city show that it can reinfect people who have already had the virus, and may make vaccines weaker.

By CARL ZIMMER

I

n just a matter of weeks, two variants of the coronavirus have become so familiar that you can hear their inscrutable alphanumeric names regularly uttered on television news.

B.1.1.7, first identified in Britain, has demonstrated the power to spread far and fast. In South Africa, a mutant called B.1.351 can dodge human antibodies, blunting the effectiveness of some vaccines.

Scientists have also had their eye on a third concerning variant that arose in Brazil, called P.1. Research had been slower on P.1 since its discovery in late December, leaving scientists unsure of just how much to worry about it.

“I’ve been holding my breath,” said Bronwyn MacInnis, a public health researcher at the Broad Institute.

Now three studies offer a sobering history of P.1’s meteoric rise in the Amazonian city of Manaus. It likely arose there in November and then fueled a record-breaking spike of coronavirus cases. It came to dominate the city partly because of an increased contagiousness, the research found.

But it also gained the ability to infect

some people who had immunity from previous bouts of COVID-19. And laboratory experiments suggest that P.1 could weaken the protective effect of a Chinese vaccine now in use in Brazil.

The new studies have yet to be published in scientific journals. Their authors caution that findings on cells in laboratories do not always translate to the real world, and they’ve only begun to understand P.1’s behavior.

“The findings apply to Manaus, but I don’t know if they apply to other places,” said Nuno Faria, a virus expert at Imperial College London who helped lead much of the new research.

But even with the mysteries that remain around P.1, experts said it is a variant to take seriously. “It’s right to be worried about P.1, and this data gives us the reason why,” said William Hanage, a public health researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

P.1 is now spreading across the rest of Brazil and has been found in 24 other countries. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded six cases in five states: Alaska, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota and Oklahoma.

To reduce the risks of P.1 outbreaks and reinfections, Faria said it was important to double down on every measure we have to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Masks and social distancing can work against P.1.

And vaccination can help drive down its transmission and protect those who do get infected from severe disease.

“The ultimate message is that you need to step up all the vaccination efforts as soon as possible,” he said. “You need to be one step ahead of the virus.”

Faria and his colleagues started tracking the coronavirus when it exploded in Brazil last spring. Manaus, a city of 2 million in the Brazilian Amazon, was hit particularly hard. At its springtime peak, the cemeteries of Manaus were overwhelmed by the bodies of the dead.

But after a peak in late April, Manaus seemed to have gotten past the worst of the pandemic. Some scientists thought that the drop meant Manaus had gained herd immunity.

Faria and his colleagues looked for coronavirus antibodies in samples from a Manaus blood bank in June and October.

They determined that roughly three-quarters of the residents of Manaus had been infected.

But near the end of 2020, new cases began surging again. “There were actually far more cases than in the previous peak of cases, which had been in late April,” Faria said. “And that was very puzzling to us.”

Faria and his colleagues wondered if new variants might be partly to blame for the resurgence. In Britain, researchers were finding that B.1.1.7 was surging across the country.

To search for variants, Faria and his colleagues started a new genome sequencing effort in the city. While B.1.1.7 had arrived in other parts of Brazil, they didn’t find it in Manaus. Instead, they found a variant no one had seen before.

Many variants in their samples shared a set of 21 mutations not seen in other viruses circulating in Brazil. Faria sent a text message to a colleague: “I think I’m looking at something really strange, and I’m quite worried about this.”

Faria and his colleagues posted a description of P.1 on an online virology forum

on Jan. 12. They then investigated why P.1 was so common. Its mutations may have made it more contagious, or it might have been lucky. By sheer chance, the variant might have shown up in Manaus just as the city was getting more relaxed about public health measures.

It was also possible that P.1 became common because it could reinfect people.

Normally, coronavirus reinfections are rare, because the antibodies produced by the body after infection are potent for months.

But it was possible that P.1 carried mutations that made it harder for those antibodies to latch onto it, allowing it to slip into cells and cause new infections.

The researchers tested these possibilities by tracking P.1 from its earliest samples in December. By early January, it made up 87% of samples. By February it had taken over completely.

Combining the data from genomes, antibodies and medical records in Manaus, the researchers concluded that P.1 conquered the city thanks not to luck but biology: Its mutations helped it spread. Like B.1.1.7, it can infect more people, on average, than other variants can. They estimate it is somewhere between 1.4 and 2.2 times more transmissible than other lineages of coronaviruses.

Faria and other researchers are now looking across Brazil to observe P.1’s spread.

Dr. Ester Sabino, an infectious disease expert at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine, said that one of the new outbreaks arose in Araraquara, a Brazilian city of 223,000 people that did not have high rates of COVID-19 before P.1 arrived.

If people in Araraquara did not have high levels of antibodies before P.1’s arrivals, she said, that suggests that the variant may be able to spread in places without Manaus’ extreme history. “This might happen in any other place,” she said.

Michael Worobey, a virus expert at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the research, said it was time to pay attention to P.1 in the United States. He expected it would become more common in the United States, although it would have to compete with B.1.1.7, which may soon become the predominant variant in much of the nation.

“At the very least, it’s going to be one of the contenders,” Worobey said.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

15

Behind the lines of Britain’s COVID war

By ALAN COWELL

T

he numbers may be trending downward, but the battle is no less intense. In the land of Winston Churchill, it is likened sometimes to war, the COVID war.

In the latest phase of Britain’s splintered campaign against the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week laid out a long glide path for England’s gradual reopening from lockdown, from March to June.

But despite a speedy vaccine rollout, the schedule for changes was decidedly protracted — and declared reversible — for good reason.

After almost a year of mixed messages, COVID still divides the land between those who know and dread its fearsome reach, and those seduced by unlikely promises and invented deadlines of redemption.

The disease’s effect has been witnessed most readily in half-empty streets, shuttered shops and missed pints. Its shadow world of suffering remains largely cloistered in cramped intensive care wards, teeming with patients, where doctors and nurses work out of sight to the brink of despair.

It is through their heroism that the toll is not worse than it is already — more than 120,000 dead. The images sometimes evoke those of combat triage units amid the swirl of battle, with noise and chaos and bleeping monitors and medics tightly enfolded in protective garb, a spectral army thronging spaces overfilled with the most threatened of patients.

“One of my biggest feelings in the second wave has been anger at how many people are blatantly ignoring the rules and not really thinking about what they are doing out and about,” said Susan Jain, a specialist in anesthesia and intensive therapy who works with a team of doctors and nurses in the Intensive Care Unit at the Homerton hospital in East London.

“I want people to know how awful it is, how much a threat this is to all of us,” she said.

The British government casts its fight in superlatives: the fastest authorization of vaccines, the speediest rollout of inoculations. But there is another, more macabre marker: a higher per capita death toll than any other large country in the world.

It finally took the emergence of a much more transmissible variant of the virus in the county of Kent in December to galvanize the country and its government. Last month, Sharon Peacock, head of Britain’s genetic surveillance program, said the variant had “swept the country,” and “it’s going to sweep the world in all probability.”

The intensive care unit where Jain works had to expand from 10 patients to 30, nearly all of them on ventilators. “We are very packed in our particular unit,” she said. “It isn’t quite as bad as ‘M.A.S.H.,’ but that’s what comes to mind.”

By mid-January COVID fatalities were soaring, along with hospitalization and infection rates. On Jan. 20, Britain’s daily tally of death peaked at 1,820 patients who perished within 28 days of testing positive.

The fatalities have been especially high among some ethnic minorities.

“Our workload has increased about tenfold,” said Idris Patel, founder and chief executive of the Muslim Patel Burial Trust/Supporting Humanity, a charitable group. “We used to bury two to three a week in summer, four to five in winter. Now it’s six a day.”

Normally, funeral rites begin in a mosque with an imam reciting the Janaza, the Islamic funeral prayer. But these days, Kafil Ahmed, who runs the Al Birr Islamic Trust Funeral Service in Greenwich, southeast London, sometimes performs the rites himself, graveside.

The government’s vaccination campaign has largely been welcomed as a glimmer of hope and is being expanded.

With the onslaught of disease seeming to be in retreat, fear of infection is being supplanted by an almost palpable yearning for the counter-vision of a Shangri-La where pints are pulled in sunlit pubs, children gambol in brightly painted classrooms and airlines fly to faraway beaches.

Although Johnson’s latest “road map” out of the lockdown was depicted as cautious by the government, the news made Mike Padgham, managing director of St. Cecilia’s care home in the seaside resort of Scarborough, northeast England, “a little nervous.”

In the first wave, care home residents suffered disproportionate casualties as hospitals moved aging patients into care facilities to free up beds for COVID patients. Up to one-third of all deaths in 2020 occurred in facilities catering to older people, many of them suffering from dementia.

In the current wave, fewer patients recovering from COVID are being taken to care homes, such as Padgham’s, where they have a dedicated floor. The risks remain steep.

Under the government’s new changes — set to take effect March 8 — his charges would be allowed visits by a family member under strict conditions. No hugs. No kisses.

But hand-holding is OK. But, Padgham worries, there could

always be “the odd person who would give their mum or dad a hug or a kiss.”

An infection, he said, would “spread like wildfire” through the 110 residents of St. Cecilia’s. Most have received only the first of the prescribed two doses of vaccine, adding to the trepidation.

“I don’t think the government has thought it through as clearly as they ought to,” he said. “We have to take the brakes off very gently.” In an article he wrote recently, he measured the COVID war against Churchillian rhetoric midway through World War II “warning that the war wasn’t over yet.”

For others, too, there is an uneasy comparison with the closing phases of distant military conflicts in war-weary lands.

Somewhere, out there, beyond the immediate palisade, the fighting continues. But it has been overtaken by a yearning for normalcy.

“I think I feel quite cynical about it,” Jain said. “I can’t honestly see a time when we’ll be free to roam around, go to cafes, the theater, go to concerts, be all packed in like sardines on the Tube.

“You’d have to get the whole world vaccinated to get back to that — and make sure the vaccine is effective.”

For now, she is a servant to the strange rituals of the pandemic, no less tedious for their familiarity and urgency. The “donning and doffing” of personal protection equipment has assumed an overweening importance in containing infection, said Jain, who cares for

two children at home and her aging parents and a nearby aunt.

“At the end of the day, I take a shower at work, and as soon as I come home I won’t let the children come near me until I have showered again,” she said. “How do you know what you bring back?

“The whole time since it started, especially at the beginning, I was convinced I was going to get it,” she said. “I thought it was inevitable.”

She has not.

Inevitably, those on the front lines — funeral workers, doctors and nurses — are often most exposed. So are their kin.

In December, Ahmed, of Al Birr Islamic Trust Funeral Service, said his younger brother, Zia Ahmed, had sickened. When the ambulance did not arrive, he bundled him up himself and drove him to the emergency room.

“And that’s it,” he said, “from there on they said that he had COVID. So I got myself tested, and I was positive, too.”

His wife, Nasim, who had lost her mother and a brother-in-law to COVID, also tested positive. Neither of them was hospitalized. But it was “very hard,” Kafil Ahmed said.

“It breaks you from inside.”

On Feb. 19, Ahmed said, hospital authorities told him that, “if my younger brother survives the weekend, it will be a miracle.” On Feb. 21, he learned that his brother had died.

There had been no miracle.

“COVID,” he said, “has turned everything upside down.”

A nurse tries to reassure Haydar Sal, a COVID-19 patient in the Intensive Care Unit at Homerton hospital in East London, Jan. 17, 2021.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Hundreds in rare Hong Kong protest as opposition figures are charged

By AUSTIN RAMZY

H

olding banners and shouting slogans, hundreds of people assembled outside a court in Hong Kong on Monday in a rare act of defiance after 47 of the city’s most prominent prodemocracy politicians and activists were arrested.

The brief gathering of supporters, who held bright yellow signs reading “Release all political prisoners,” was an echo of the huge pro-democracy demonstrations that regularly filled the streets of Hong Kong in 2019. They lined up around the West Kowloon court complex, where the 47 opposition figures were being arraigned on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion.

Such demonstrations have become an unusual sight in Hong Kong in the past year or so, after the city enacted restrictions to fight the pandemic and Beijing imposed a harsh national security law in June.

The police warned the crowd they could be in violation of the security law or illegal-assembly rules.

In the afternoon, police set up security lines around the court, forcing demonstrators to disperse.

“We know we cannot enter, but still we want to show our support,” said Wong Tin-yan, a district council member who waited hours but was unable to attend the hearing. “Hong Kong people are so angry.

No other protests can happen, so we come here. The new law forbids everything else.”

The 47 opposition figures had been charged Sunday by police, the most forceful use of the national security law so far and a move that could effecti-

Supporters of Hong Kong’s beleaguered opposition gathered outside the West Kowloon court on Monday. vely decimate the political opposition in Hong Kong.

Authorities say the group violated the security law by participating in a primary election held by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp in July. The group had hoped to win a majority of seats in the territory’s legislative council, then block legislation and force the city’s chief executive to step down.

While such moves might seem commonplace in democracies, prosecutors in Hong Kong have said the strategy violated the security law’s ban on interference with government functions.

The latest wave of prosecutions raises questions about whether the courts in Hong Kong will retain their independence. Beijing has increased pressure on the judiciary, stirring fears that judges will be increasingly inclined to convict opposition leaders.

Last week, Xia Baolong, director of China’s Hong

Kong and Macau Affairs Office, demanded checks to ensure that members of the judiciary in Hong Kong were “true patriots.”

Xia singled out for criticism three pro-democracy activists who have been charged with breaking the security law. Joshua Wong, a protest leader, Jimmy Lai, a newspaper publisher, and Benny Tai, a law scholar, are “extremely wicked” and “must be severely punished for their illegal actions,” Xia said in a speech that also signaled plans to revamp elections to bar candidates deemed disloyal to the Communist Party.

The activists accused of subversion are likely to be held for months before their trials begin, because the security law sets a higher standard for bail.

Several defense lawyers told the court they objected to the prosecutors’ request for a three-month delay in proceedings. Having moved quickly to press charges, prosecutors should also ensure a speedy trial, said Paul Harris, one of the defense lawyers.

The hearing, which began around 4 p.m., stretched into the early hours of Tuesday. One of the defendants, district council member Clarisse Yeung, fainted and was sent to a hospital by ambulance around 1:45 a.m., public broadcaster RTHK reported.

The hearing was adjourned about an hour later and scheduled to resume Tuesday morning.

Police in Hong Kong have arrested more than 10,000 people over the protests that began in June 2019. Of those, more than 2,400 have faced charges.

In addition, about 100 have been arrested under the national security law.

Hundreds of girls abducted from Nigerian school are freed, official says

By MIKE IVES

M

ore than 300 girls who were abducted last week from their school in Nigeria by a group of armed men have been released, a local official said Tuesday, the second time in less than a week that gunmen have returned kidnapped schoolchildren in the country.

The girls were taken Friday from Government Girls Secondary School in the northern state of Zamfara. Nigerian officials later told Reuters that the government was negotiating for their release.

“It gladdens my heart to announce the release of the abducted students of GGSS Jangebe from captivity,” the governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, wrote on Twitter wrote on Twitter early Tuesday, referring to their school’s name. Matawalle did not provide

details about how or when they were freed.

Video posted on Twitter by the news site Daily Nigerian showed some of the girls walking past journalists in a straight line — solemnly and silently — as cameras flashed. The footage showed some as barefoot, while others were limping.

The week before the girls were kidnapped, more than 40 children and adults were abducted from a boarding school in Niger state, becoming the latest victims of the West African country’s slide into insecurity. They were freed Saturday.

The frequency of mass kidnappings of girls and boys at boarding schools in Northwest Nigeria is rising in part because abduction has become a growth industry amid the country’s economic crisis. The victims are increasingly schoolchildren — not just the rich, powerful or famous.

The banditry, one of Nigeria’s many complex conflicts, has even taken place in President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state, Katsina, where more than 300 boys were abducted by armed men in December.

They, too, were later released.

The Katsina episode was reminiscent of the country’s most notorious kidnapping, the 2014 abduction of 276 schoolgirls by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram in the northeastern state of Borno.

Last week, Buhari blamed state and local governments for the recent uptick in kidnappings and urged them to improve security around schools.

The girls who were freed this week had been kidnapped from the school in Jangebe town. Matawalle referred to them on Twitter as the #JangebeGirls.

“I enjoin all well-meaning Nigerians to rejoice with us as our daughters are now safe,” he wrote.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

17

Why Democrats aren’t asking Cuomo to resign

By MICHELLE GOLDBERG

I

t seems obvious enough that Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York did what his former aide Charlotte Bennett said he did. Bennett, 25, told The New York Times that, among other things, Cuomo asked her if she ever had sex with older men, complained about being lonely and wanting a hug, and said he would date someone in her 20s.

“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” she said.

Bennett memorialized her discomfort in texts to friends and family. She met with Cuomo’s chief of staff, after which she accepted a transfer to a job on the other side of the Capitol from the governor’s office. She said she gave a statement to a special counsel to the governor, Judith Mogul, and she showed The Times a text from Mogul alluding to their meeting, if not its content.

And Cuomo hasn’t denied Bennett’s claims. Instead, he has issued a sort-of apology that seems to confirm some of them: “I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended.” He acknowledged comments that “have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”

Cuomo added that he never “inappropriately touched

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anybody” or “propositioned anybody.” That seemed to be a response to another ex-aide, Lindsey Boylan, who first accused Cuomo of sexual harassment on Twitter in December and last week said he had kissed her and invited her to play strip poker.

The New York attorney general, Letitia James, will oversee an investigation into all these charges, but that will only delay an eventual reckoning. Given what we know of Bennett’s story, it’s hard to imagine how an inquiry could exonerate the governor; it can probably only determine the degree and prevalence of his apparent harassment. So eventually, Cuomo’s fate will tell us whether there’s still power in the #MeToo movement.

My guess is that if this scandal had broken a few years ago, high-profile Democrats would have felt no choice but to call for Cuomo’s resignation. Since then, however, a few things have happened. After the killing of George Floyd and the summer’s protests, the locus of our culture wars shifted from sex to race. Tara Reade made allegations against Joe Biden, which got national attention but turned out to be full of inconsistencies. And most significantly, among many Democrats, there’s tremendous bitterness toward those who pressured Al Franken to leave the Senate in 2018 after he was accused of grabbing several women’s butts.

Aside from Franken, the person who paid the biggest political price for that episode was New York’s Kirsten Gillibrand, the first senator who called for Franken to step down. As Amber Phillips wrote in The Washington Post in 2019, while there are multiple reasons Gillibrand’s 2020 presidential bid sank, “one of the undeniable anchors for her was a sentiment among the Democratic base that she was the reason Al Franken got pushed out of the Senate.”

So perhaps it’s not surprising that, rather than calling on Cuomo to step aside, Gillibrand has joined other Democrats in supporting an investigation.

The scandal-plagued Cuomo has little in common with Franken, whose ethical record was unblemished prior

to the groping accusations. Before Boylan and Bennett detailed their experiences, Cuomo was already under fire for forcing nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients who had been discharged from hospitals and undercounting nursing homes deaths by the thousands. His handling of nursing homes during the pandemic is under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Given the prospect of months of damaging revelations from the various inquiries into Cuomo, Democrats would probably be better off jettisoning him now over the sexual harassment charges. (As I was finishing this column, another woman, albeit one who didn’t work for him, accused the governor of making an unwanted advance at a wedding). But I wouldn’t expect a stampede away from him yet, for two reasons. First, despite the nursing home scandal, and the fact that New York’s vaccination rate is worse than Florida or Arizona’s, the TV-nurtured myth of Cuomo’s take-charge competence still prevails.

A recent Morning Consult poll, taken after reports of the nursing home deaths but before last week’s sexual harassment allegations, showed that 57% of New York voters, and 81% of Democrats, still approved of him. The governor is loathed by much of New York’s progressive political class, many of whom were astonished to see him transformed into a Resistance hero last year. But there’s little sign yet that his constituents have abandoned him.

Meanwhile, many Democrats are sick of holding themselves to a set of standards that Republicans feel no need to try to meet. Twitter is full of people demanding that the party not “Franken” Cuomo and pointing out that Republicans are taking no steps to investigate alleged sexual harassers in their own ranks, including freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn. At a certain point, making sacrifices to demonstrate virtue, in the face of an opposition that has none, makes a lot of Democrats feel like suckers.

But eventually the results of the investigation are going to come out, and unless they show that Cuomo is innocent of behavior he himself seemed to admit, Democrats will have to pick a side. The Legislature may soon revoke the emergency powers Cuomo was granted at the start of the pandemic, but I’m skeptical that even proof that Bennett is telling the truth will be enough to create a groundswell to drive him from office.

Gillibrand’s example is instructive. For plenty of people, it’s still easier to forgive a man for sexually harassing someone than it is to forgive a woman for ending an admired man’s career. Cuomo has been seriously weakened. But he’ll have to be weaker still before derailing the life of a young woman is enough to dethrone him.

18

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Buscan crear desde la Cámara un registro estatal de servicios para adultos mayores Por THE STAR

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a Comisión de Bienestar Social, Personas con Discapacidad y Adultos Mayores, presidida por la representante Lisie Burgos realizó el martes, una vista pública con el propósito de crear un Registro Estatal de Servicios para Adultos Mayores.

“Luego de un análisis de los datos demográficos más recientes, es posible concluir que en Puerto Rico urge desarrollar un Plan Gerontológico dirigido a reformular política pública y reestructurar programas y servicios para la población de adultos mayores. Para comenzar de forma coherente este ejercicio, es necesario realizar un inventario de los servicios públicos y privados dirigidos al adulto mayor, revisar los requisitos de cualificación y las zonas geográficas en las que están disponibles. Es por eso que estamos aquí, para dar pasos para el bienestar de los adultos mayores”, expresó Burgos en comunicación escrita.

A la vista pública, compareció el subsecretario del Departamento de la Familia, Ramón Burgos; y el coordinador del Programa de Geriatría del Departamento de Salud, Francisco Javier Parga.

El coordinador del Programa de Geriatría indicó que “para ser efectivo, el Registro debe incluir los hogares y égidas, los profesionales especializados y los no especializados (médicos, psicólogos, consejeros y otros) que reciben regularmente a esta población, las organizaciones no gubernamentales, los proveedores de servicios de rehabilitación y recuperación, y un número inmenso de posibles servicios (líneas expreso, sistemas de ayuda, vacunación para adultos mayores),que es extremadamente complejo”.

Por su parte, el subsecretario del Departamento de la Familia indicó que la Oficina del Procurador de Personas de Edad Avanzada (OPPEA) cuenta con el

“Directorio de Servicios, Centros y Establecimientos”, en el que se publican un sinnúmero de programas y servicios, números telefónicos importantes y libres de cargo, relacionados a información de dependencias públicas y privadas que brindan servicio y orientación a esta población.

Por otro lado, la representante Mariana Nogales, mencionó que se debe de reestructurar el Gobierno para atender estas poblaciones, de manera integral.

Además, hizo énfasis sobre las personas que no saben leer ni escribir y no tienen el conocimiento de manejar la tecnología, ni el acceso a los aparatos tecnológicos. “Entiendo que este Registro debe

de publicarse y estar disponible en otro formato”, añadió.

En esta vista pública, también estuvo presente Manuel Quilichini, director ejecutivo de Comprehensive Human Services (CHS); Juanita Aponte, presidenta de la Asociación de Dueños de Centros de Cuidado de Larga Duración, la Trabajadora Social y Gerontóloga, Minerva Gómez; y el Director Estatal de AARP, José Acarón.

A favor de la medida, Quilichini indicó que “este proyecto de ley es muy necesario para la población de adultos mayores en la Isla. Exhorto a que se considere seria y urgentemente la creación de un Plan Gerontológico que guíe al Gobierno y a todas las entidades que sirvan al adulto mayor sobre los servicios a ser prestados a ellos”.

Además, recomendó que este proyecto de ley le solicite a la OPPEA formar un grupo de trabajo o “task force” para el diseño e implantación del Registro, así como el establecimiento de métricas de cumplimiento que faciliten validar la efectividad del Registro de manera periódica. “Este grupo de trabajo debe incorporar representantes de todos los sectores que apoyan o brindan servicios a los adultos mayores para garantizar que se establezca un Registro digno”, culminó Quilichini.

Aprueban medida para reasignar más de $400 mil al municipio de Hormigueros Por THE STAR

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a Comisión de Hacienda y Presupuesto, presidida por el representante Jesús Santa Rodríguez, aprobó el martes la Resolución Conjunta de la Cámara 71 para reasignar al Municipio de Hormigueros el presupuesto de $431,829.93 para obras y mejoras permanentes.

“Esos fondos ya habían sido asignados a este municipio. Con esta reasignación, esos fondos podrán ser utilizados para darle servicios directamente a nuestra gente”, explicó el autor de la medida, el representante por el Distrito 20, Kebin Maldonado Martiz en comunicación escrita.

Por medio de una votación híbrida, a través de lla-

mada telefónica y de forma presencial, la Resolución fue aprobada por los representantes con nueve votos a favor, ninguno en contra y cero abstenidos.

El monto de $431,829.93 proviene de la Resolución de la Cámara 612-2004 por la cantidad de $340, del Inciso 11, Apartado C del Distrito Representativo 20 de la R. C. 1411-2001 por la cantidad de $489.93, del Inciso b, Apartado 29 de la R. C. 30-2011 por la cantidad de $25,000 del Inciso a, Apartado 29 de la R. C. 92-2012 por la cantidad de $15,000 y del Inciso a, Apartado 16 de la R. C. 95-2013 por la cantidad de $391,000; para ser utilizados para obras y mejoras permanentes en el Municipio de Hormigueros; para autorizar la contratación de las obras y para el pareo de fondos reasignados.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

19

Tony Awards voting starts now. And it’s going to be weird.

Lauren Patten, center, in the musical “Jagged Little Pill,” at the Broadhurst Theater in New York, Dec. 3, 2019.

last season’s nominated musicals — invite voters back to see them again. Monday nights are jammed with nonprofit galas at which nominees mingle with voters, and those who can sing, do. There are press junkets and mixers; display ads in The New York Times and caricatures at Sardi’s; and, of course, a raft of spring openings to catch up with.

So much hugging. So much schmoozing. So many fourhour dinners. Everyone complains. And now they long for it.

“I can’t believe I miss buffets,” said Eva Price, a lead producer of “Jagged Little Pill.” “So much that we took for granted, and sometimes grimaced at, we would give our left arms for right now.”

Is it appropriate to campaign?

Yes, but very gingerly.

We’re still in the middle of a devastating pandemic and a huge number of people who work in theater are currently unem-

By MICHAEL PAULSON

T

he last Broadway season ended, unexpectedly, nearly a year ago. The next one will begin who-knows-when.

But deep in this winter of our theaterlessness, a dormant tradition is starting to stir: the Tony Awards.

Hundreds of voters, this week and next, are casting ballots for the best shows, and the best performances, of a theater season abruptly cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

The jukebox shows “Jagged Little Pill,” “Moulin Rouge!

The Musical” and “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical” are competing for best musical, and they hope to resume performances whenever Broadway reopens. All five of the best play contenders have closed. They are “Grand Horizons,” by Bess Wohl; “The Inheritance,” by Matthew López; “Sea Wall/A Life,” by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne; “Slave Play,” by Jeremy O. Harris; and “The Sound Inside,” by Adam Rapp.

In this strangest-of-all Tony competitions, the voting is disconnected from both the period being assessed, which ran from April 26, 2019, to Feb. 19, 2020, and the ceremony for handing out awards, which has not yet been scheduled.

In other words, we won’t know the results until, well, for a long time.

But here’s what we do know: Who’s going to vote?

Not a lot of people.

There are 778 Tony voters, but they can only cast ballots in categories in which they’ve seen all the nominees. Because the pandemic prevented any spring theatergoing, there are fewer qualified voters than usual.

There are 25 prize categories; the Tonys won’t say how many people will actually be able to vote in each category, but producers believe slightly fewer than 400 people will qualify to cast ballots for best musical, and fewer than that for best play.

What’s missing?

Parties.

The usual Tonys season is all-encompassing. Shows that opened in the fall — and that would have included all three of

Aaron Tveit, left, as Christian and Karen Olivo as Satine in “Moulin Rouge! The Musical” at the Al Hirschfeld Theater in New York, June 12, 2019. ployed. Also: Money is tight because there are no ticket sales.

“The 2020 shows can’t run a campaign in the usual way, and even if we could, it would feel icky to try,” said Carmen Pavlovic, lead producer of “Moulin Rouge!” “This is not a moment for cocktail parties and gossip. It’s just a moment for lifting up artists from darkness, and hoping that lifts everybody else along the way.”

So swag is minimal. “Moulin Rouge!” and “Jagged Little Pill” sent voters coffee-table books about their shows, but that’s about it. The main form of campaigning this year is in the form of “For Your Consideration” emails.

The nominated show that is furthest in the rearview mirror — a revival of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” which closed in July 2019 — sent voters a video montage of interviews, including one with its playwright, Terrence McNally, who died eight months later from complications of the coronavirus.

Nominees are sitting for profiles with theater trade publications. And last week, “Tina,” “Jagged Little Pill,” “The Inheri-

tance,” “Slave Play” and “Betrayal” bought daily sponsorships of Broadway Briefing, an emailed industry newsletter whose subscribers include many Tony voters.

What happens when the votes are tallied?

An accounting firm sits on the results.

The voting period runs through March 15, with votes cast electronically via a password-protected website, and tabulated

by Deloitte & Touche. Even in prepandemic years, results are not shared with the leaders of the organizations that present the awards — the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing — or anyone else before they are announced.

This year they will just be kept secret for longer than usual.

Can you lose if you’re the only nominee?

Theoretically, yes.

Aaron Tveit of “Moulin Rouge!” is the only person nominated as best actor in a musical. This is an unusual circumstance, for which the Tonys have imposed an unusual rule: To win, Tveit must get a positive vote from 60% of those who cast ballots. But, to be clear, he’s likely to pick up his first statuette this year.

There are a couple of other nomination quirks, too. There will be no prize for best musical revival, because the only one that managed to open, “West Side Story,” did so after the retroactively imposed eligibility date. Also, because no musicals with original scores made it to opening night, the contenders for best score are all plays.

So when will we know the winners?

Stay tuned.

It seems clear that the ceremony will only take place after live performance is allowed to resume in New York and tickets to Broadway shows have gone on sale.

That’s because the industry’s priority will be to use the ceremony to remind potential audiences that Broadway is back.

American Theater Wing president and CEO Heather Hitchens said the goal “is to be most helpful to the industry.”

Several producers and publicists say they are now thinking the most likely time frame is after Labor Day, a year and a half after Broadway shut down.

Adrienne Warren as Tina Turner in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater in New York, Oct. 4, 2019.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

His books inspired lovestruck teens to put locks on bridges

By ANNA MOMIGLIANO

T

hose love locks affixed to the Pont des Arts in Paris, the Ponte Milvio in Rome and the Brooklyn Bridge in New York?

Federico Moccia takes full responsibility.

While there are other theories as to what first inspired the now-derided practice, his 2006 novel, “Ho Voglia di Te” (“I Want You” in English), is widely credited for starting it.

In the book, two lovestruck characters secure a padlock to a streetlamp on Ponte Milvio and throw the key in the Tiber River, citing a “legend” that couples who do so “will never break up.”

The idea came from a rite of passage Moccia, 57, saw when he was in the army. “We had these locks for our bags, and when their service was over, people would attach them to the barracks fence,” he said in a video interview in January. “I thought it would be nice to turn a military thing into its opposite — make love, not war.” He even takes credit for placing the first lock on Ponte Milvio, he said, “in case some nit-picker came to check if was true.”

The book is the second in a trilogy of young adult Italian romance novels that have sold 10 million copies globally, but they are only now being published in English. Grand Central Publishing this week is releasing the first book as “One Step to You,” translated by Antony Shugaar, followed in October by “Two Chances With You” and “Three Times You” in 2022. (All three have been given new titles for the English translations.)

Little Brown Young Readers, which, like Grand Central, is an imprint of Hachette, is cross-promoting the first two books.

A Grand Central representative said the publisher’s interest was sparked by “the success of Italian novels in translations like those by Elena Ferrante” and by the Netflix series “Summertime,” loosely based on “One Step to You,” which began streaming last year.

The trilogy, sometimes called the Rome Novels, has also inspired two separate movie franchises in Italy and Spain. But Moccia’s success with “One Step to You” came late, and serendipity was involved.

The son of a filmmaker, Moccia wrote “One Step to You” as a passion project in the late 1980s, when he was working as a television writer. “It was my tiny island of freedom,” he said.

It chronicles the romance between Step, a wealthy young man wasting his days in brawls and races on his Honda motorbike, and Babi, a Vespa-riding senior at an elite high school. It has been likened to the novels of Nicholas Sparks and John Green, but “One Step to You” offers American readers a glimpse at parts of Rome far from the Trevi Fountain, with equal parts dolce vita and melodrama. When a heartbroken classmate contemplates suicide, Babi reminds her why life is still worth living: “Don’t forget pastries from Mondi, pizza from Baffetto or gelato from Giovanni.”

During Moccia’s television writing days, two of the series he worked on came to define the aesthetics of Italy’s com-

Federico Moccia in Rome, Feb. 3, 2021. Moccia, the Italian writer likened to Nicholas Sparks and John Green, is releasing his Rome Novels in English for the first time. mercial TV at the end of the 20th century. “I Ragazzi Della Terza C” followed a handful of teenagers in their senior year at a Roman prep school. The glossier “College” chronicled the flirtations and pranks between the cadets of an all-male military academy and the students at a women’s college.

The shows were part of a sparkly revolution propelled by the ascent of Silvio Berlusconi as a media mogul. For decades Italian TV was monopolized by austere state-owned channels airing educational content, but that abruptly changed when Berlusconi introduced lighter-hearted shows. With his book, in a way he felt he couldn’t do in his screenwriting, Moccia could weave together the highs and lows of Rome at that moment.

For years Moccia could not find a publisher. Even though romance and young adult fiction in translation was widely read, he was often told that a mass-market romance written in Italian would have no market. In 1992 he settled for a small publisher that charged him 3 million liras (about $3,000), to print 3,000 copies. They sold immediately, but the publisher closed before it could issue any reprints. “My dream went back in its box,” Moccia said.

He didn’t know, however, that photocopies of the novel were circulating, eventually gaining cult status among Roma Nord teens. One such reader was Margherita Murolo Comen-

cini, who as a high school student in 2003 brought her copy to her uncle, Riccardo Tozzi, a movie producer who had started his own production company a few years earlier.

Tozzi started working on a cinematic adaptation and helped Moccia broker a deal with publisher Feltrinelli. “One Step to You” was released in a new edition in 2004, the same year the movie version came out.

The film, in Tozzi’s words, “went well, but not exceptionally well.” But the book made a splash, selling more than 1.2 million copies. “We were overwhelmed by its success,” said Alberto Rollo, Feltrinelli’s editorial director at the time.

“Suddenly we had reached a new public, that went well beyond that of usual book readers. It was uncharted land.”

“Two Chances With You,” the sequel, revolves around Step and his new love interest, the independent and strongminded Gin. “Three Times You,” the final book in the trilogy, follows the three characters into adulthood, with Step happily settled down with Gin and a child on the way — but still holding feelings for Babi.

Today Moccia is considered one of the writers who shaped Italian millennials’ coming-of-age literature. The books are largely set in Parioli, an upscale neighborhood in the northern part of Rome, and “Roma Nord” has now become a metonym for “glitzy,” and “pariolino” slang for preppy.

He is a divisive figure in Italy, where, as critic Mariarosa Mancuso put it, “We don’t have the concept of entertainment literature because there’s this idea that books shouldn’t entertain people.” In some circles, mocking Moccia is a common pastime.

“Every time I write, a Moccia book self-ignites,” Willie Peyote, an indie rapper, rhymes in “Peyote451.” When he gave a speech at a Roman university a decade ago, Moccia was heckled by students. A neologism, “moccismo,” was coined, usually as a derogatory description of youth-oriented books and movies.

The writer is unfazed. When he started working on “One Step to You,” he said, “I just wanted to write the book I would have loved as a reader.”

Padlocks left by couples on the Ponte Milvio bridge in Rome, Feb. 2, 2021. In one of Federico Moccia’s novels, two characters secure a padlock to a streetlamp on Ponte Milvio in Rome and throw the key in the Tiber.

The San Juan Daily Star The San Juan Daily Star

21 Wednesday, March 3, 2021 21

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

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Wednesday, March 4, 2020

FASHION The San Juan Daily Star

Finally, some fashion films worth watching filmed these days, it is increasingly clear that, halfway through the current round of ready-to-wear collections (officially, it’s Milan Fashion Week), not all fashion shows make good films.

Some of them may be simple information vectors, the close-ups functioning

In an undated image provided by the designer, a safari version of the classic Moschino survival suit.

By VANESSA FRIEDMAN

J

ennifer Lopez crooning Blondie’s “Call Me” while writhing in a phone booth in a trench and logo tee. Michael B. Jordan strutting Shaft-like in the streets of New York in a sheepskin jacket and fine gauge turtle- A look from Fendi’s Fall 2021 collection. neck — “the sexiest man alive, looking even finer in those beautiful threads,” according to a voice-over. Keneti James Apa, aka, KJ Apa of “Riverdale,” playing a news anchor straight from “Weekend Update” and revealing an uptick in “mysterious animals,” as Kaia Gerber opens a handbag to discover a nest of duck eggs.

Introducing Coach TV, the fall 2021 collection version. Finally, a fashion film worth watching.

This is the first all-digital fashion month. (Last season, there were a number of socially distanced live shows.) Originally, that didn’t seem like such a big deal. After all, fashion and film have had a long and ardent love affair since way before “Funny Face.” And besides, we’ve been heading in that direction for a while now, what with half of the front row viewing shows via their smartphones even when they were actually in the room, the better to broadcast them to In an undated image provided by the social media world. the designer, a look from Prada’s Fall But while all fashion shows may be 2021 collection.

as detail shots to reveal, say, the high plush content of the quilting on a MaxMara bathrobe coat. Some may try to dress themselves up with extraneous special effects, like the smoke at Alberta Ferretti, which served mostly to obscure the extent of the protective layering: turtlenecks below sweaters below greatcoats and evening wear bristling with paillettes like porcupine quills. But most of them are also yawns.

Or they have been, anyway.

This week, a trio of films-cum-collections provided a different kind of viewing pleasure, mostly because they weren’t just training a camera on the same old, same old and calling it new. Instead they added the one ingredient everyone really needs right now: a sense of humor. It’s the best accessory for getting through the day — or getting to the next day.

So there was Coach, the most starpacked video of any collection thus far.

(Also present: Megan Thee Stallion, flashing her nails and twerking, and Cole Sprouse, going all sexy QVC with a handbag, among other members of the brand “family.”) The opening variety show gave way to snaps of models in cities around the world posing and playacting in the nerd cool of the fall collection. And if the cast was ultimately more significant than the pretty ho-hum clothes, all grunge plaids and lace, character knits and sock hop jackets, together they created a juxtaposition of life and laughs (and a llama) that suggested levity could be a trend.

And there was Moschino, where an equally elaborate “adventurous little voyage into fashionland” featuring Maye Musk as an emcee, provided the conceptual framework for a tour of classic Moschino-isms.

There were flying cloud and pastoral cow prints; wasp-waist safari survival suits for the urban jungle complete with pockets for brush and blush; and vampy evening gowns in satin and sparkle, all conceived as a fashion play inside the play.

The film put clothes in the story, rather than making the clothes themselves the story, and as a result, it showed how dress functions in life — an added benefit that runways alone cannot provide.

Case in point: Kim Jones’ ready-towear debut at Fendi, an unmistakably polished livestream of “real clothes” (as he said on a Zoom call) on models, wending

their way through a maze of F-shaped glass boxes containing ersatz broken pillars and classical marbles of old Rome. There were plush furs dangling carrot-size tongues of fur fringing, slithery silk charmeuse scarf dresses and cool tuxedo shorts, all in the neutral palette of fresh starts.

The collection checked multiple boxes — house logo, upcycled furs, cool tuxes, references to Fendi work gone before — but had a paint-by-numbers whiff (not to mention the whiff of recent Bottega Veneta, at least when it came to the fur fringing).

Jones unapologetically calls himself a commercial designer, and these were certainly commercial clothes, but in his other job as the head of Dior menswear, he grapples more deeply with the idea of masculinity and what that means in an evolving world.

This womenswear, by contrast, seemed rooted in the past. He could have used some laugh lines.

As Rem Koolhaas, the architect whose firm does the sets for Prada, said in a news conference after an eye-opening Prada video that combined a spray-paint palette with a proposition for what to wear to jolt yourself out of our current life on pause, you’ve got to “play” a little.

Miuccia Prada and her co-creative director Raf Simons did, with a set composed of various faux fur-lined romper rooms.

Models strode through that set in graphic jacquard bodysuits (the women’s version of the long johns featured in the Prada men’s show in January), their art deco-meets-’70ssofa prints layered under severe dark suits, which were themselves layered under fake fur wraps and coats clutched with cocoonlike elegance around the body.

Silk dresses were inset with knit panels at the neck and back, so what looked like more layers was, in fact, a single piece; single-breasted cloth coats provided splashes of turquoise and teal; and glinting, paillettecovered separates held the promise of decadence to come. If some of the looks seemed more Simons and some more Prada, they didn’t exist in opposition to each other, but rather in concert.

Toward the end, the flow of entrances and exits got spliced with some group dance scenes to demonstrate how the base layers moved (another editing benefit of a flick). Short answer: in all directions, especially forward.

22

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

The San Juan Daily Star

Why I overcame my vaccine hesitancy

By JANE E. BRODY

H

ad I been polled last fall, I would have registered as a COVID vaccine skeptic. I told anyone who asked that I was going to wait at least six months after a vaccine was approved, by which time I hoped we would know more about the degree and possibly the duration of its effectiveness and its potential side effects, especially in older adults.

I was hardly alone in my concern that political influence might result in premature approval of a vaccine before its safety was well established.

Well, that hesitancy quickly dissipated after listening to reports from the directors of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several vaccine experts I know and trust, all of whom gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up to both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

So in mid-January, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York announced that residents 75 and older would qualify for the vaccine, I found a computerized link to schedule an appointment five days later.

At the mass vaccination site I went to in Brooklyn, everyone I encountered was cheerful, patient and reassuring, even the young woman checking me in who couldn’t find me on her list of 3 p.m. appointments.

“Don’t worry,” she said reassuringly, “you’ll get the vaccine.”

At the next window, a young man from Nigeria checked my ID and Medicare card and figured out what had happened. Turned out I had inadvertently booked a 3 a.m. appointment, not realizing the site was open 24-7. Another “don’t worry,” and I moved on to a young technician from Florida who painlessly injected the Moderna vaccine into my left arm.

I then sat in a holding tent for 15 minutes to be sure I would have no serious reactions. The next day I got a text: “Hi Jane, It’s time for your daily v-safe check-in” and a link to a CDC site that asked: How are you feeling today? (Good, Fair, Poor); Have you had a fever or felt feverish today? (yes, no); followed by a symptom check, first at the injection site for pain, redness, swelling or itching and then generally for chills, headache, joint pains, muscle or body aches, fatigue

The more people who become immune to the coronavirus, the less this scourge will be able to mutate and evade the vaccines already available and the updated versions of vaccines scientists are now scrambling to produce. or tiredness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and rash or any other symptoms I wanted to report.

Finally, I was asked several overall health impact questions about my ability to work and do my normal daily activities and whether I needed to consult a health care professional. I received the same text at the same time each day for more than a week and was also given a link if I wanted to send a report to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.

The second dose, administered 34 days later, went even more smoothly. By then I had spoken to dozens of others of various ages who had gotten both shots. Only two reported bad reactions — fever, nausea, extreme fatigue — that lasted a day or two. I was prepared for the worst, but it never happened. My arm, shoulder and neck hurt the first night, but most of the pain was gone the next morning. Although my son was on call in case I couldn’t walk my dog, his help wasn’t needed. I was even able to swim that afternoon.

But I assure you, even if I’d had a bad post-vaccine reaction, I would have sucked it up as a small price to pay for protection against a most devastating and too-often deadly disease like COVID-19. And I will continue to urge everyone and anyone I meet to do their utmost to get immunized against COVID-19, especially now that potentially more

potent variants are beginning to appear and spread.

The more people who become immune to the virus, the less this scourge will be able to mutate and evade the vaccines already available and the updated versions of vaccines scientists are now scrambling to produce.

Some people, hearing that vaccinated people may still be able to spread the infection and should continue to wear masks and practice social distancing which I will definitely do even after being fully immunized, question whether it pays to get the vaccine. Absolutely, it pays.

While there’s a chance that an immunized person might be able to infect others, existing evidence suggests the risk is very small. Far more important is unimpeachable data that the vaccines are lifesaving. They nearly eliminate the risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death from the virus. Of the 32,000 people who got the vaccine in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine trials, only one person developed a severe case of COVID. Even if future mutations of the virus make an annual booster necessary, what’s the big deal? We already do that with the flu shot.

Keep in mind, too, that up to a third of people who develop COVID-19 can end up with debilitating symptoms that persist for many months, perhaps indefinitely for some.

This is not always just a bug like the flu or common cold that is over and done with a week later. Eight months after recovering from a rather mild case of COVID, an otherwise healthy middle-aged friend said his lungs still hurt when he exerted himself.

I can’t wait to again attend live performances of classical music and opera and watch movies and plays not on my computer or TV but on the big screen and in the theater with others who can laugh, cry or sneer with me. But until most of us are reliably immune to the coronavirus that has terrified and secluded so many of us for so long, none of this can happen.

Meanwhile, I will continue to present the known facts and try to dispel misleading information about the vaccines.

And I’ll hope that celebrities who enjoy the respect of vaccine-hesitant communities will be able to convince their members that controlling COVID infections and spread is critical, not just for their own sake, but for the future of their families, their towns, their country and a life that might again assume some semblance of normal.

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

23

Roasting carrots for sweetness and color

By MELISSA CLARK

A

few years ago, carrots were like celery and onions, part of many a dish but rarely the star. Maybe you would see them as a side dish, buttered and glazed, or puréed into a soup.

Then one day, roasted heirloom carrots in various colors started appearing in trendy restaurants as an appetizer — or even a main course.

The roots had arrived, earning their place in the farmto-table pantheon next to the burnished cauliflower and crispy brussels sprouts.

I’m in full favor of this development, because roasting is one of my favorite ways to cook a carrot. The sweet juices condense in the oven’s high heat, turning honeylike and golden. The flesh slackens, the pointy bits char. They are wonderful eaten steaming hot from the oven, and just as good when allowed to cool to room temperature, making them as convenient as they are enticing.

In this extremely pretty recipe, the carrots give heft to

a bright, herbal salad shot through with thinly sliced fennel.

The arugula and fennel lend a gentle crunch; the carrots give their rich softness. And a bracing dressing spiked with sweettart pomegranate molasses lifts all of the elements, bringing them together.

About the pomegranate molasses: If you don’t happen to have a bottle, perhaps left over from some past Ottolenghi pursuit, now is a great time to stock up. Available in specialty shops and Middle Eastern groceries, a $5 bottle will keep forever in the pantry and be on hand whenever you want to add sweetness and tang in one quick dash.

Or try making your own by simmering down pomegranate juice with a bit of sugar and lemon juice until syrupy.

I regularly grab it when I want to give a salad dressing a touch of sweetness, but when honey would be too sugary.

With its high acidity level, pomegranate molasses never gets cloying.

It’s also lovely drizzled on grain dishes, grilled meats and pretty much any vegetable that comes out of your oven.

To further bring out the pomegranate flavor in this salad, I add pomegranate seeds as a juicy garnish.

When I’m serving this as a salad course, the garnishes stop there. But to transform it into a light main course, I’ll top it with plain yogurt and either nuts or pita chips for a more assertive crunch. Gorgeous roasted carrots don’t need any more than that to shine.

Roasted Carrot Salad With Arugula and Pomegranate Yield: 4 servings Total time: 45 minutes 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths (halve them if carrots are large) 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

The arugula and fennel lend a gentle crunch; the carrots give their rich softness, and a bracing dressing spiked with sweet-tart pomegranate molasses lifts all of the elements, bringing them together.

The sweet juices condense when carrots are roasted, turning honeylike and golden.

1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, more to taste 1 garlic clove, finely grated or minced 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard 3 ounces baby arugula (about 3 cups) 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh dill fronds or mint leaves Pomegranate seeds, as needed Yogurt, for serving (optional) Toasted walnuts or crumbled pita chips, for serving (optional) 1. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss carrots with salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons oil on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until edges are caramelized and carrots are tender, 28 to 33 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately toss with cumin. Let cool for a few minutes while you make the dressing. Carrots should be slightly warm but not hot when tossed with the greens.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, garlic, mustard and large pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and adjust lemon juice and seasonings if necessary. Whisk in remaining 1/4 cup oil until emulsified.

3. Stir carrots into dressing, then gently toss with arugula, fennel and dill or mint. Serve immediately, drizzled with more olive oil and topped with pomegranate seeds, and yogurt and nuts or pita chips if using.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Meet the newest member of the fluorescent mammal club

By CARA GIAIMO

P

latypuses do it. Opossums do it. Even three species of North American flying squirrel do it.

And, breaking news: Two species of rabbit-size rodents called springhares do it. That is, they glow under black light, that perplexing quirk of certain mammals that is baffling biologists and delighting animal lovers all over the world.

Springhares, which hop around the savannas of southern and eastern Africa, weren’t on anyone’s fluorescence bingo card.

Like the other glowing mammals, they are nocturnal. But unlike the other creatures, they are Old World placental mammals, an evolutionary group not previously represented. Their glow, a unique pinkish-orange the authors call “funky and vivid,” forms surprisingly

In an undated photo from the researchers, a springhare glowing under UV light. The springhare — whose coat glows a patchy pinkish-orange under UV light — joins the platypus and other mammals with this perplexing trait.

variable patterns, generally concentrated on the head, legs, rear and tail.

Fluorescence is a material property rather than a biological one. Certain pigments can absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it as a vibrant, visible color.

But mammals, it seems, don’t tend to have these pigments. A group of researchers, many associated with Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin, has been chasing down exceptions for the past few years — ever since one member, biologist Jonathan Martin, happened to wave a UV flashlight at a flying squirrel in his backyard. It glowed eraser pink.

The researchers then went to the Field Museum in Chicago. When the team tried a drawer that housed preserved springhares, they beamed back.

“We were equal parts shocked and excited,” said Erik Olson, an associate professor of natural resources at the college and an author of the new paper, published in Scientific Reports.

Over the next several years, the researchers examined 14 springhare specimens from four countries, some male and some female. All showed fluorescence — many in a patchy pattern, which was unique among mammals they’ve studied, Olson said.

Chemical analysis of springhare hair found that the fluorescence comes largely from a set of pigments called porphyrins, which have also been found to cause this effect in marine invertebrates and birds, said Michaela Carlson and Sharon Anthony, chemists at Northland College who worked on the paper.

But the biggest question is: why?

The springhare findings in particular provide some avenues for exploration. There is a possibility that fluorescence helps animals hide from predators with UV-sensitive vision, by absorbing wavelengths that would otherwise be brightly reflected and emitting less visible ones. In that case a patchy pattern like the springhares’ might be another asset, Olson said.

A photo provided by C. Fritz and G. Tosello shows the shell of Charonia lampas recovered from the Marsoulas cave in the Pyrenees of France.

By KATHERINE KORNEI

I

n 1931, researchers working in southern France unearthed a large seashell at the entrance to a cave. Unremarkable at first glance, it languished for decades in the collections of a nearby natural history museum.

Now, a team has reanalyzed the roughly foot-long conch shell using modern imaging technology. It’s an extremely rare example of a “seashell horn” from the Paleolithic period, the team concluded. And it still works — a musician recently coaxed three notes from the 17,000-year-old shell.

“I needed a lot of air to maintain the sound,” said Jean-Michel Court, who performed the demonstration and is also a musicologist at the University of Toulouse.

The Marsoulas Cave, in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, has long fascinated researchers with its colorful paintings depicting bison, horses and humans. It’s where the enormous tan-colored conch shell was first discovered, an incongruous object that must have been transported from the Atlantic Ocean, over 150 miles away.

Only in 2016 did researchers begin

Hear the sound of a seashell horn found in an ancient French cave to analyze the shell anew. Artifacts like this conch help paint a picture of how cave dwellers lived, said Carole Fritz, an archaeologist at the University of Toulouse who has been studying the cave and its paintings for over 20 years.

Fritz and her colleagues started by assembling a three-dimensional digital model of the conch. They immediately noticed that some parts of its shell looked peculiar. For starters, a portion of its outer lip had been chipped away.

That left behind a smooth edge, quite unlike Charonia lampas, said Gilles Tosello, a prehistorian and visual artist also at the University of Toulouse.

The apex of the conch was also broken off, the team found. Indeed, further analysis showed that the shell had been struck repeatedly — and precisely — near its apex.

The mystery deepened when the team used CT scans and a tiny medical camera to examine the inside of the conch. They found a hole, roughly half an inch in diameter, that ran inward from the broken apex and pierced the shell’s interior structure.

All of these modifications were intentional, the researchers believe. The smoothed outer lip would have made the conch easier to hold, and the broken apex and adjacent hole would have allowed a mouthpiece to be inserted into the shell. The result was a musical instrument, the team concluded in their study, which was published in Science Advances.

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

BOSCO CREDIT X, LLC, representada por su Agente de Servicios FRANKLIN CREDIT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION Demandante vs.

EDUARDO MONLLOR JIMENEZ; HELGA GARCIA PEREZ; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados CIVIL NÚM: BY2019CV00536 (502). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria) “IN REM”. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Al: Público en General

A: EDUARDO MONLLOR JIMENEZ; HELGA GARCIA PEREZ; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, por tener Embargo Federal anotado a su favor por la suma de $4,326.54

Yo, MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 11 de marzo de 2021 a las 2:45 de la tarde en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, Quinto Piso, Sala 503, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 18 de marzo de 2021, a las 2:45 de la tarde y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 29 de marzo de 2021, a las 2:45 de la tarde en mi oficina sita en el

@

lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: RUSTICA: Parcela de terreno identificada como solar número Veinticuatro (24) del Bloque “MM” de la URBANIZACIÓN MONTE CLARO, radicada en el Barrio Hato Tejas del término municipal de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de TRESCIENTOS SETENTA Y DOS PUNTO CERO CERO (372.00) METROS CUADRADOS y en lindes por el NORTE, en VEINTICUATRO PUNTO CERO CERO (24.00) METROS, con el solar número Veintitrés (23); por el SUR, en VEINTICUATRO PUNTO CERO CERO (24.00) METROS, con el solar número Veinticinco (25); por el ESTE, en QUINCE PUNTO QUINIENTOS (15.500) METROS, con la Calle número Tres (3); y por el OESTE, en QUINCE PUNTO QUINIENTOS (15.500) METROS, con el solar número Diecisiete (17).

En dicho solar enclava una casa de concreto diseñada para una familia. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 81 del tomo 159 de Bayamón Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Tercera, finca número 7,460, inscripción 3ra. Modificada la hipoteca de la inscripción 3ra., en cuanto al principal que cancela parcialmente por la suma de $941.00, para un nuevo principal que será por la suma de $278,059.00 con interés que será al 4.95% anual, vencedero el día 1ro. de diciembre de 2054, según la escritura número 663, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de noviembre de 2014, ante el Notario Público David Toledo David. Inscrita al tomo Karibe de Bayamón Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Tercera, finca 7,460, inscripción 4ta. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urb. Monte Claro, MM24 Paseo del Parque Monte Claro, Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00961-4765. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $269,492.08 de principal, intereses al 4.95% anual, desde el día 1ro. de septiembre de 2018, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $27,805.90 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $278,059.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la

cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $185,372.67 y de necesitarse una tercera subasta la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir la suma de $139,029.50.

Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que todo licitador acepta como suficiente la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública Subasta se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: Embargo Federal, contra Eduardo Monllor Jiménez, seguro social número xxx-xx-2941 por la suma de $4,326.54, presentado el día 22 de abril de 2008, anotado al folio 94, Asiento 4 del libro de Embargos Federales, Número 4. Registro de Bayamón, Sección Tercera. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas.

Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Baya-

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

món, Puerto Rico, a 18 de febrero de 2021. MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, ALGUACIL, PLACA 735, ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON.

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

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante vs.

IVAN MANZANO LOPEZ y su esposa MARIELIS ADORNO RIVERA y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. BY2019CV02724 (502). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: IVAN MANZANO LOPEZ y su esposa MARIELIS ADORNO RIVERA y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos; SCOTIABANK DE PUERTO RICO ahora ORIENTAL BANK por tener Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a su favor por la suma de $10,000.00

Yo, MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 11 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en mi oficina, sita en la Sala 503, Quinto Piso, del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una segunda subasta

(787) 743-3346

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 18 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 29 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: RUSTICA: Parcela de terreno, situada en el BARRIO PUGNADO AFUERA del término municipal de Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, marcada con el número Dos (2), con una cabida de SETECIENTOS CUATRO PUNTO CINCUENTA Y NUEVE (704.59) METROS CUADRADOS. En linderos: NORTE, con la parcela o predio No. 1 del plano de inscripción; por el SUR, con parcela No. 39; ESTE, con carretera municipal; y por el OESTE, con finca de la cual se segrega. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 77 del tomo 441 de Vega Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta, finca número 8,189, inscripción cuarta. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Parcela Número 2, Barrio Las Granjas, Pugnado Afuera, Calle Marcos López, Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $92,101.79 de principal, intereses al 4.50% anual, desde el 1ro. de octubre de 2017, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $10,352.50 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $103,525.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $69,016.67 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $51,762.50. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad

hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta al siguiente gravamen posterior: Hipoteca en Garantía de Pagaré a favor de Scotiabank de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $10,000.00, con intereses al 5.50% anual, vencedero el 1ro. de agosto de 2041, según consta de la Escritura Número 418, otorgada en Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, el día 27 de agosto de 2011, ante el Notario Público Víctor R. Núñez Arco, inscrita al folio 77 del tomo 441 de Vega Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta, finca número 8,189, inscripción 5ta. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 18 de febrero de 2021.

MARIBEL LANZAR VELAZQUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA 735, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMON. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE AGUADILLA SALA SUPERIOR.

AGUSTIN CARRERO RAMOS Peticionario

EX PARTE

CIVIL NÚM: AU2020CV00366.

SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: LAS PERSONAS IGNORADAS Y DESCONOCIDAS A QUIENES PUDIERA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCIÓN DEL DOMINIO A FAVOR DE LA PARTE PETICIONARIA EN EL REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD DE LA FINCA QUE MÁS ADELANTE SE DESCRIBIRÁ Y A TODA PERSONA EN GENERAL QUE CON DERECHO PARA ELLO DESEE OPONERSE A ESTE EXPEDIENTE. POR LA PRESENTE Se les notifica para que comparezcan, si lo creyeren pertinente, ante este Honorable Tribunal, dentro

de los veinte (20) días contados a partir de la última publicación de este edicto, a exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en el expediente promovido por la parte peticionaria, para adquirir su dominio sobre la finca que se describe más adelante. Usted deberá presentar su posición a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicialm:, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de expresarse dentro del referido término, el Tribunal podrá dictar Sentencia, previo a escuchar la prueba de valor de la parte peticionaria en su contra, sin más citarle ni oírle y conceder el remedio solicitado en la petición, o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. “Rústica: Solar identificado como número uno (1) en el plano titulado “Plano para expediente de dominio para la propiedad del Sr. Agustín Carrero Ramos”, sita en la carretera PR-429 km. 1.3 del Barrio Calvache del término municipal de Rincón, Puerto Rico, con cabida superficial de CUATRO MIL TRESCIENTOS SESENTA Y TRES PUNTO CIENTO VEINTISEIS METROS CUADRADOS (4,363 .126 M.C.), equivalente a UNO PUNTO CIENTO DIEZ CUERDAS (1.110 cdas.); en lindes al NORTE, con Sr. Francisco Rodríguez Jiménez; SUR y ESTE, con camino municipal asfaltado; y al OESTE, con la Sra. Wanda l. Colón Pagán y las hermanas Iris Rodríguez Carrero, Lydia Rodríguez Carrero y Josefa Rodríguez Carrero.”

---Catastro: 153-000-002-04002. EI abogado de la parte peticionaria es el Ledo. Juan J. Nolla Ama.do, 3051 Ave. Juan Hernández Ortiz, Suite 202, Isabela, P.R.00662 ; teléfono: 787-872-3901. Se informa, además, que el Tribunal ha señalado vista en este caso para el 9 de julio de 2021, a las 3:30 pm., en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Aguadilla, a la cual usted puede comparecer asistido por abogado y presentar oposición a la petición.

Este edicto deberá ser publicado en tres (3) ocasiones dentro del término de veinte (20) días, en un periódico de circulación general diaria, para que comparezcan, si quieren alegar su derecho. Toda primera mención de persona natural y/o jurídica que se mencione en el mismo,

se identificará en letra tamaño 10 puntos y negrillas, conforme a lo dispuesto en las Reglas de Procedimiento Civil, 2009. Se le apercibe que de no comparecer, los interesados y/o partes citadas, o en su defecto los organismos públicos afectados en el término improrrogable de veinte (20) días a contar de la fecha de la última publicación del edicto, el Tribunal podrá conceder el remedio solicitado por la parte peticionaria, sin más citarle ni oírle. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a 4 de febrero de 2021. Sarahi Reyes Pérez, Secretaria Regional. Artene Guzrnan Pabón, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal l,

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

LIME HOMES, LTD.

Parte Demandante Vs.

SIMEON CRUZ VIZCAINO Y SU ESPOSA LEILA MABEL AVILES RODRIGUEZ, Ambos por sí y en representación de la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos

Parte Demandada CIVIL NUM. CA2018CV01994.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Carolina, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que los autos y documentos del caso de epígrafe estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables y que venderá en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, en mi oficina en este Tribunal el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $64,468.19, de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho principal y computados al 6% anual hasta su total pago y completo pago; más el 5% computado sobre cada mensualidad; cargos por demora devengados, más la suma de $7,250.00 como cantidad estipulada para honorarios de abogado, pactada en la escritura de hipoteca; y cuales quiera

26 otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número D- Cinco (D-5) en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Jardín de Trujillo Alto, con la siguiente cabida y colindancias: Cabida: CIENTO CINCUENTA Y DOS METROS CUADRADOS CON DOSCIENTOS OCHENTA MILESIMAS DE METROS CUADRADOS (152.280 m/c). En lindes por el NORTE, con el Solar D-Veinte (D-20) de esta misma urbanización Jardín de Trujillo Alto en una distancia de seis punto cuatrocientos ochenta (6.480) metros; por el SUR; con la Calle Número Tres (3) de esta misma urbanización Jardín de Trujillo Alto en una distancia de seis punto cuatrocientos ochenta (6.480) metros; por el ESTE, con el solar D-Cuatro (D-4) de esta misma urbanización Jardín de Trujillo Alto en una distancia de veintitrés punto quinientos (23.500) metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar DSeis (D-6) de esta misma urbanización Jardín de Trujillo Alto en una distancia de veintitrés punto quinientos (23.500) metros. Enclava en este solar una estructura tipo casas de hilera dedicada a vivienda construida en hormigón armado y bloques sobre la cual existe una servidumbre por signo aparente establecida por la corporación vendedora en dos paredes que dividen dicha estructura de las estructuras en clavadas en los solares D-Cuatro (D-4) y D-Seis (D-6) por la colindancia Este y Oeste, respectivamente. Inscrita al folio ciento cuatro (144) del tomo doscientos cuarenta y tres (243) de Trujillo Alto, finca número once mil novecientos sesenta y uno (11,961), Registro de San Juan, Sección Cuarta.

Dirección Física: 5-D 3rd St., Jardines de Trujillo Alto, Trujillo Alto, PR 00976. La primera subasta se llevará a cabo el día 6 de abril de 2021 a la 1:00 de la tarde, y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $72,500.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una segunda subasta el día 13 de abril de 2021 a la 1:00 de la tarde y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $48,332.32. Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 20 de abril de 2021 a la 1:00 de la tarde y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad

del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $36,250.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, 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. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

(Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm.

210-2015). Expedido el presente en Carlina, Puerto Rico a 3 de FEBRERO de 2021.

SAMUEL GONZALEZ ISAAC, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA.

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

DLJ MORTGAGE CAPITAL, INC.

Parte Demandante Vs.

LA SUCESION DE EDUARDO CRUZ CLAUDIO COMPUESTA POR AWILDA CRUZ CANCEL, WANDA CRUZ CANCEL, NEREIDA CRUZ CANCEL, John Doe y Richard Roe como posibles miembros Desconocidos de la Sucesión de Eduardo Cruz Cancel; Administración para el sustento de menores, y Centro de Recaudación sobre Ingresos municipales; Awilda Cancel Rivera

Parte Demandada CASO CIVIL NUM. CA2019CV03405.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Carolina, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que los autos y documentos del caso de epígrafe estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables y que venderá en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, en mi oficina en este Tribunal el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $58,162.42, de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho principal y computados al 5% anual hasta su total pago y completo pago; más el 5% computado sobre cada mensualidad; cargos por demora devengados, más la suma de $6,000.00

como cantidad estipulada para honorarios de abogado, pactada en la escritura de hipoteca; y cuales quiera otras sumas que por cualesquiera concepto legal se devenguen hasta el día de la subasta. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: RUSTICA: Parcela marcada con el numero quinientos uno (501) en el plano de parcelación de la comunidad rural Campo Rico del Barrio Hato Puerco, conocido como Campo Rico del termino municipal de Canovanas, con una cabida superficial de trescientos cincuenta (350.00) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con la parcela numero quinientos (500) de la comunidad; por el Sur, con la parcela numero quinientos dos (502) de la comunidad; por el Este, con la calle de la comunidad; y por el Oeste, con la parcela numero cuatrocientos noventa y dos (492) dela comunidad.

Dirección Física: Urb. Alturas de Campo Rico, 501 Calle 14, Canóvanas, PR 00729. La primera subasta se llevará a cabo el día 6 de abril de 2021 a las 11:45 de la mañana, y servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la suma de $60,000.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. En el caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en la primera subasta, se celebrará una segunda subasta el día 13 de abril de 2021 a las 11:45 de la mañana y el precio mínimo para esta segunda subasta será el de dos terceras partes del precio mínimo establecido para la primera subasta, o a sea la suma de $40,000.00.

Si tampoco hubiera remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 20 de abril de 2021 a las 11:45 de la mañana y el tipo mínimo para esta tercera subasta será la mitad del precio establecido para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $30,000.00. El mejor postor deberá pagar el importe de su oferta en efecto, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse el inmueble al acreedor hipotecario dentro de los diez días siguientes a la fecha de la última subasta, si así lo estimase conveniente, por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada conforme a la sentencia, si ésta fuera igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta y abonándose dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta fuera mayor. Se avisa a cualquier licitador que la propiedad queda sujeta al gravamen del Estado Libre Asociado y CRIM sobre la propiedad inmueble por contribuciones adeudadas

y que el pago de dichas contribuciones es la responsabilidad del licitador. Que se entenderá por todo licitador acepte como suficiente la titulación y que los cargos y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes en entendiéndose que el rematador los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse su extinción al precio rematante. Todos los nombres de los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surgen de la certificación registral, 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. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria en Puerto Rico y en los sitios públicos de acuerdo a las disposiciones de la Regla 51.7 de las de Procedimiento Civil, así como para la publicación en un periódico de circulación general diaria y en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas con antelación a la fecha de la primera subasta y por lo menos una vez por semana. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento indicado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables.

(Art. 102 (1) de la Ley núm.

210-2015). Expedido el presente en Carolina, Puerto Rico a 3 de FEBRERO de 2021.

SAMUEL GONZALEZ ISAAC, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA.

COLON MARTINEZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO AUREA COLON MARTINEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados CIVIL NUM. MV2018CV00056.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: La Parte Demandada, al (a la) Secretario(a) de Hacienda de Puerto Rico y al Público General: Certifico y Hago Constar:

Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ciales, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque gerente, giro postal, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América al nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ciales, el 6 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Predio de terreno localizada en el Barrio Unibón del término municipal de Morovis, Puerto Rico, con un área de O. 0785 cuerdas, equivalentes a 308.

7273 metros cuadrados . Por el NORESTE, con terrenos de Marcelina Robles Ocasio; por el SURESTE, con terrenos de Marcelina Robles Ocasio; por el NOROESTE, con terrenos de Osear Alberto Vázquez Vázquez; y por el SUROESTE, con fincas de Osear Vázquez.

Consta inscrita al folio 89 del tomo 307 de Morovis, finca número 7861, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto, Seccion de Manatí. Propiedad localizada en: SR #6617, Barrio Unibon LEGAL NOTICE Patron, Morovis, PR 00687 SeESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO gún figuran en la certificación DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- registra!, la propiedad objeto NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA de ejecución está gravada por SALA SUPERIOR DE CIALES. las siguientes cargas anteriores CITIMORTGAGE, INC. o preferentes: Nombre del Titular : N/A. Suma de la Carga: Demandante v.

N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento : ENRIQUE RAMOS N/A. Según figuran en la certiOTERO, RAFAEL ficación registra!, la propiedad OTERO MARRERO, objeto de ejecución está gra-

AUREA ESTHER

vada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: a. AVISO DE DEMANDA con fecha 9 de noviembre de 2018 radicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo en el caso civil número MV2018CV00056 sobre cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca; Citimortgage Inc., demandante v. Enrique Ramos Otero, Rafael Otero Marrero, su esposa Aurea Esther Colón Martínez t/c/c A urea Colón Martínez y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos, demandados . Por la misma se reclama el pago del préstamo Hipotecario garantizado con la Hipoteca por $49,608 .00, de la inscripción 13ª antes relacionada, reducida a $41,856.41 al momento de radicar la demanda. Anotada el 10 de enero de 2019 al tomo Karibe, finca 7861 de Morovis, anotación A. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes.

El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo mínimo de subasta la suma de $49,608.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca . De ser necesaria una segunda subasta por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ciales, el 13 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $33,072.00, dos terceras (2/ 3) partes del tipo mínimo establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la tercera subasta, la suma de $24,804.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ciales, el 20 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $41,856.41 de principal, intereses al tipo del 7.00000% anual según ajustado desde el día 1 de diciembre de 2015 hasta el pago de la deuda en su totalidad, más la suma de $4,960.80 por concepto de honorarios de abogado y costas autorizadas por el Tribunal, más las cantidades que se adeudan men-

sualmente por concepto de seguro hipotecario, cargos por demora, y otros adeudados que se hagan en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta . Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Ciales, Puerto Rico, hoy día 11 de febrero de 2021. Jorge L. Ayala Acevedo, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRI UNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CIALES.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

ZULMARI MUSSENDEN ROSADO

Demandado CIVIL NÚM: SJ2019CV06566 (506). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE GARANTÍAS. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. Yo EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, al público en general. CERTIFICO Y HAGO SABER: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia fechado el 11 de diciembre de 2019 que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, en el caso arriba indicado, venderé en la fecha o fechas que más adelante se indican, en pública subasta al mejor postor, en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, en efectivo,

The San Juan Daily Star cheque certificado o giro postal, en mi oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el Centro Judicial de San Juan, Puerto Rico, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada, en el inmueble que se describe a continuación, propiedad de la parte demandada Zulmari Mussenden Rosado, Dirección Física: Cond. Concordia Gardens II, G4, San Juan, PR 00936.

Finca 17,931, inscrita al folio 180 del tomo 432 de Sabana Llana, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Quinta de San Juan. URBAN: HORIZONAL PROPERTY: Residential apartment number G- four (G-4) of irregular shape located in Concordia Gardens II Condominium which in turn is located in the Southeast corner of the intersection of sixthy fifth Infantery Highway with State Road one hundred eighty one in the Ward of Sabana Llana, San Juan, Puerto Rico, with a total private área of one thousand one hundred on five square feet (1,105.00) equivalent one hundred two meters and sixty five centimeters (102.65) including separate storage, being its lineal measurements twenty eight feet six inches in its widest dimensión by forty six feet and eleven inches in its longest dimensions which includes: foyer, living-dining room, balcony, three bedrooms, with closets, kitchen, linen closet, and two bathrooms, bounding by the NORTH, with exterior yard; by the SOUTH, with apartment F-four; by the EAST, with apartment H-four; and by the WEST, with exterior yard. This apartment has one entrance door with access from and exit to the principal corridor of the fourth floor of the building which connects or communicates the apartment with the elevator and the stairs, through which it has access from and exit to the public throughfore. THis apartment has a separate storage area located in the lobby area. Le corresponde en los elementos comunes generales el 0.004876%. Finca 17931.

Por su procedencia está afecta a: a. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de Puerto Rico. b. Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales de Puerto Rico. c. Servidumbre a favor del Municipio de San Juan. d. Servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company. Por sí está afecta a: a. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Preferred Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $119,632.00, con intereses al 4.50% anual, vencedero el día 1 de noviembre de 2040, constituida mediante la escritura número 1205, otorgada

en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 18 de octubre de 2010, ante la notario Lesbia Hernández Miranda, e inscrita al folio 168 del tomo 1018 de Sabana Llana, finca número 17,931, inscripción 8va. Propiedad Cualificada bajo la Ley número 132 del día 2 de septiembre de 2010. b. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Preferred Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $10,000.00, con intereses al 5 ½ % anual, vencedero el día 1 de noviembre de 2040, constituida mediante la escritura número 1206, otorgada en Sabana Llana, Puerto Rico, el día 18 de octubre de 2010, ante la notario Lesbia Hernández Miranda, e inscrita al folio 169 del tomo 1,018 de Sabana Llana, finca número 17,931, inscripción 9na y última. Propiedad Cualificada bajo la Ley número 132 del día 2 de septiembre de 2010. c. AL ASIENTO 2019078054-SJ05 DEL SISTEMA KARIBE, se presentó el día 24 de julio del 2015, Demanda de fecha 21 de junio del 2019, expedida en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, en el Caso Civil número SJ2019CV06566, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, versus Zulmari Mussenden Rosado, sobre Ejecución de Hipoteca, reclamando el pago de la hipoteca por la suma de $119,636.00, con un balance de $103,243.25. El precio mínimo de este remate con relación a la Finca 17,931 antes descrita y la fecha de cada subasta serán la siguiente: Primera Subasta: 24 de MARZO de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana, Precio Mínimo: $119,632.00, Hipoteca: Escritura Número 1205, sobre Hipoteca, otorgada el 18 de octubre de 2010, ante la Notario Lesbia Hernández Miranda. Segunda Subasta: 31 de MARZO de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana, Precio Mínimo: $79,754.67. Tercera Subasta: 8 de ABRIL de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana, Precio Mínimo: $59,816.00. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación que se transmite y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y las preferentes, si las hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante las acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de las mismas, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Conforme a la Sentencia dictada el día 27 de septiembre de 2019 y archivada en los autos el 30 de septiembre de 2019, la anterior

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 venta se hará para satisfacer las sumas adeudadas por concepto del préstamo garantizado por la hipoteca antes mencionada y las sumas que se mencionan a continuación: Al 1 de abril de 2018, las siguientes cantidades: la suma principal de $103,243.25, la suma de $10,475.60, que incluye intereses según pactados, cargos por demora y otros cargos, que se acumulan diariamente hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de 10% del principal, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Se notifica por la presente a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los inmuebles a ser subastados con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen del ejecutante descrito anteriormente, o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubieren pospuesto al gravamen del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizado hipotecariamente con posterioridad al gravamen del actor para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si así lo interesan o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogado, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Y, para conocimiento de licitadores, del público en general, y para su publicación de acuerdo con la ley en un periódico de circulación general de la isla de Puerto Rico y en tres sitios públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada, expido el presente edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 17 de febrero de 2021. EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

PEDRO JOSÉ ROQUE MALDONADO t/c/c PEDRO ROQUE MALDONADO

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. SJ2019CV01149.

SALA: 604. SOBRE: EJECU-

CIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA “IN REM”.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 30 de julio de 2019, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 30 de diciembre de 2019 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 15 de enero de 2020 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 23 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de San Juan, Sala Superior, en la Avenida Muñoz Rivera, Esquina Coll y Toste, Parada 37, San Juan, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América cheque de gerente o giro postal, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento 16-C en el Condominio Sky Towers I, situado en el municipio de Río Piedras Sur. Está situado en el nivel quince en la esquina Sur-Este del edificio, saliendo de los elevadores en dirección Sur. Es de forma irregular y puede ser enmarcado de un rectángulo que mide de 40’ 5½” profundidad, con un área total de 1,577.92 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 146.59 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el: NORTE: con espacio sobre terrenos del propio condominio y de uso común con pared medianera que lo separa del apartamento número 16-D y parte del corredor de acceso; por el SUR: con espacio sobre terrenos del propio condominio y de uso común; por el ESTE: con espacio sobre terrenos del propio condominio y de uso común; por el OESTE: con corredor de acceso, pared medianera que lo separa del apartamento número 16-B y espacio sobre patio interior de hormigón que lo separa del apartamento 16-B y espacio sobre patio semi interior del propio condominio de uso común. Este apartamento está formado por un pequeño vestíbulo, sala-comedor, con balcón mirando hacia el Este, pasillo interior en forma “L”, cuatro (4) dormitorios con sus respectivos closets, dos (2) baños, “linen closet” y cocina lavandería con closet despensa y closets útiles de limpieza. Le corresponde el espacio de estacionamiento marcado con el Número 16-C. Porcentaje de los elementos comunes generales de .779%. La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 91 del

tomo 234 de Río Piedras Sur, Finca Número 7632, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 137 del tomo 664 de Río Piedras Sur, Finca Número 7632, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. Inscripción novena. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: COND. SKY TOWER I, APT. 16-C, SAN JUAN, PR 00926. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $132,779.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 30 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $88,519.33. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 7 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $66,389.50. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $96,104.39 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 5.75% anual desde el 1 de julio de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $426.14 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $13,277.90 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesan el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: A) Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs. Pedro José Roque Maldonado también conocido como Pedro Roque Maldonado (soltero), ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, en el caso civil número SJ2019-CV-01149, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $96,104.39 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 6 de febrero de 2019.

Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Río Piedras Sur. Anotación A. Nota: No surge nuevas presentaciones. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para

27

que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 2102015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de febrero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZÁLEZ, Alguacil, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

MIGUEL ORLANDO SÁNCHEZ JIMÉNEZ, HERODITA CLARIBEL RODRÍGUEZ SANTOS T/C/C HERODITA C. RODRÍGUEZ SANTOS Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. SJ2019CV03615.

SALA: 506. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que sus-

cribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 20 de agosto de 2019, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 4 de noviembre de 2019 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 6 de diciembre de 2019 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 23 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de San Juan, Sala Superior, en la Avenida Muñoz Rivera, Esquina Coll y Toste, Parada 37, San Juan, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América cheque de gerente o giro postal, todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número 7 de la calle Canillas en el Plano de Inscripción del proyecto denominado ARF-19, El Plebiscito II, radicado en la zona urbana del término municipal de San Juan, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 177.62 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el: NORTE: con la calle Canillas, en una distancia de 3.16 metros y 6.55 metros; por el SUR: con el solar número 427, en una distancia de 10.58 metros; por el ESTE: con el solar número 5 distancia de 18.10 metros; por el OESTE: con el solar número 9, distancia de 16.83 metros. La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 241 del tomo 719 de Sabana Llana, Finca 28882. Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección V. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 93 del tomo 994 de Sabana Llana, Finca 28882.

Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección V. Inscripción octava. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: REPARTO SAN JOSÉ 205 CALLE CANILLAS SAN JUAN PR 00923-1376. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $113,781.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 30 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $75,854.00. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 7 de abril de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $56,890.50. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeu-

dada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $97,234.02 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 5.5% anual desde el 1 de julio de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $244.96 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $11,378.10 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs.

Miguel Orlando Sánchez Jiménez y su esposa Herodita Claribel Rodríguez Santos también conocida como Herodita C. Rodríguez Santos, ante el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de San Juan, en el caso civil número SJ2019CV03615, Sobro Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $97,234.02 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha de 12 de abril de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana. Anotación A. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 2102015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los luga-

28 res públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de febrero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZÁLEZ, Alguacil, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOT ICE M&T 42261 ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR.

Lime Residential, Ltd. Demandante v.

Marcelo Torchio Gómez

Demandado CIVIL NÚM: CA2019CV03172.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor quién pagará de contado y en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, giro postal o por cheque de gerente a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia el día 29 de abril de 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en Cond.

New San Juan, 6471 Ave Isla Verde 501, Carolina, Puerto Rico 00979 y que se describe a continuación: URBAN: HORIZONTAL PROPERTY: Residential apartment 501 with an irregular shape at the fifth floor of New San Juan Condominium, located in Hato de Cangrejos Arriba Ward, municipality of Carolina, Puerto Rico, facing Highway number 187, said apartment with an area of approximately 915.22 square feet, equivalent to 85.02 square meters, and its boundaries are as follows: at the North, in 15 feet 6 inches equivalent to 4.72 meters, with bearing wall that separates it from apartment number 502, 12 feet 4 inches equivalent to 3.75 square meters, with same bearing back wall facing pool area of the condominium; at the South, in 30 feet 10 inches, equivalent to 9.40 meters, with bearing wall that separates it from apartment

number 503; at the East, in 33 feet, equivalent to 10.06 meters, with bearing wall and entrance door that separates it from central corridor; apartment number 502 and ventilation shaft; at the West, in a broken line with a total length of 33 feet equivalent to 10.06 meters, with wall of building and porch railing facing Aleja Romero’s Property.

This apartment comprises foyer, living-dining, two bedrooms with closets a kitchen, hall, two bathrooms, walk-in-closet and porch. The bathrooms are equipped with bathtub, lavatory and water closet. The kitchen is equipped with kitchen cabinets, stove and refrigerator. Parking area 61: located in the lower level of parking building of the New San Juan Condominium at Cangrejos Arriba Ward of Municipality of Carolina, facing highway number 187. It has an area of approximately 148.50 square feet, equivalent to 13.79 square meters. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita en el folio 169 del tomo 460 de Carolina, finca número 17,683, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Primera. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $190,000.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 6 de mayo de 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $126,666.67.

Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 13 de mayo de 2021, a las 10:15 de la mañana. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $95,000.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 234, otorgada el día 19 de mayo de 2005, ante el Notario Raúl Rivera Burgos y consta inscrita en el folio 196 del tomo 961 (ágora) de Carolina, finca número 17,683, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Primera, inscripción octava. El pagaré y la escritura de hipoteca fueron modificados el 6 de diciembre de 2018 mediante el documento titulado Loan Modification Agreement.

En virtud del mismo, se estableció como nuevo principal adeudado la cantidad de

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

$279,378.74, se extendió la fecha de vencimiento al 1 de noviembre de 2048 y se modificó la tasa de interés de la siguiente manera: la tasa de interés anual será 2.625% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2018 hasta el 31 de octubre de 2021; la tasa de interés anual será 3.625% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2021 hasta el 31 de octubre de 2022; la tasa de interés anual será 4.625% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2022 hasta el 31 de octubre de 2023; la tasa de interés anual será 5.625% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2023 hasta el 31 de octubre de 2024; la tasa de interés anual será 6.625% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2024 hasta el 31 de octubre de 2025 y la tasa de interés anual será 7.500% desde el 1 de noviembre de 2025 hasta el saldo de la obligación. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma de $279,378.74 por concepto de principal, más intereses al tipo pactado de 2.625% anual desde el día 1 de noviembre de 2018. Dichos intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Se pagarán también los cargos por demora equivalentes a 5.000% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha vencimiento, la suma de $19,000.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, la suma de $19,000.00 para cubrir los intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley y la suma de $19,000.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca, más intereses según provisto por la regla 44.3 de las de Procedimiento Civil. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes.

Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores ni preferentes según las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad.

Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca

que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan más adelante. A los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de, o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso, o al portador, garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor por la presente se notifica, que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. AVISO DE DEMANDA: Pleito seguido por Lime Residential LTD., vs.

Marcelo Torchio Gómez (soltero), ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en el caso civil número CA 2019CV03172, sobre cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $279,378.74 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 21 de agosto de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Carolina.

Anotación A. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la alcaldía, el Tribunal y la colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado mediante edictos dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores sujeto a lo dispuesto en los Artículos 113 al 116 de la Ley 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015, según aplique. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 18 de febrero de 2021. FDO. SAMUEL GONZALEZ ISAAC, ALGUACIL. ***

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

MWPR, LLC.

Demandante vs.

SUCESION DE CARLOS JUAN AYALA MARRERO COMPUESTA POR

publicación por edicto de esta FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL COMO notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará POSIBLES HEREDEROS hecha en la fecha de la publiDESCONOCIDOS, cación de este edicto. Copia de SUCESION DE esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, VICTORINA REYES QUIÑONES COMPUESTA con fecha de 25_de febrero de POR SUTANO DE TAL Y 2021. En Manatí, Puerto Rico, el 25 de febrero de 2021. f/ SUTANA DE TAL COMO Vivian Y. Fresse González, SePOSIBLES HEREDEROS cretaria Regional. f/Saray SalDESCONOCIDOS, gado, Secretaria Auxiliar.

SUCESION DE LEGAL NOTICE ADALBERTO AYALA Estado Libre Asociado de PuerREYES COMPUESTA to Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL MENGANO DE TAL Y DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de PriMENGANA DE TAL COMO mera Instancia Sala Superior POSIBLES HEREDEROS de ARECIBO. DESCONOCIDOS, BANCO POPULAR DE ADMINISTRACION PARA PUERTO RICO EL SU STENTO DE Demandante v.

MENORES, CENTRO DE SUCESION DE MARIA RECAUDACIONES DE TERESA GONZALEZ INGRESOS MUNICIPALES RODRIGUEZ T/C/P (CRIM) MARIA GONZALEZ T/C/P Demandados MARIA T. GONZALEZ Civil: MT2020CV00348. Sobre: COMPUESTA POR COBRO DE DINERO Y EJEPORFIRIO MEDINA CUCION DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA T/C/P PORFIRIO MEDINA GONZALEZ, FULANO POR EDICTO. Y MENGANO DE TAL, A: SUCESION DE CARLOS JUAN AYALA POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS MARRERO COMPUESTA Demandado(a) POR FULANO DE TAL Y Civil Núm. AR2019CV01212.

FULANA DE TAL COMO SALA 403. Sobre: COBRO DE POSIBLES HEREDEROS DINERO Y EJECUCION DE DESCONOCIDOS, HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN SUCESION DE DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. VICTORINA REYES A: PORFIRIO MEDINA QUlÑONES COMPUESTA T/C/C PORFIRIO POR SUTANO DE TAL Y MEDINA GONZALEZ SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDERO DE MARIA POSIBLES HEREDEROS TERESA GONZALEZ DESCONOCIDOS, RODRIGUEZ T/C/C MARIA SUCESION DE GONZALEZ T/C/C MARIA ADALBERTO AYALA T. GONZALEZ FULANO Y REYES COMPUESTA MENGANO DE TAL COMO MENGANO DE TAL Y MEN POSIBLES HEREDEROS GANA DE TAL COMO DESCONOCIDOS POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE MARIA TERESA DESCONOCIDOS GONZALEZ RODRIGUEZ (Nombre de las partes a las que se le T/C/C MARIA GONZALEZ notifican la sentencia por edicto) T/C/C MARIA T. El SECRETARIO (A) que susGONZALEZ cribe le notifica a usted que el 23 de FEBRERO de 2021. este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 29 de enero de 2020, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o 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 DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Pritérmino de 30 días contados a mera Instancia Sala Superior partir de la publicación por edic- de AIBONITO. to de esta notificación, dirijo a BANCO POPULAR DE usted esta notificación que se PUERTO RICO considerará hecha en la fecha Demandante v. de la publicación de este edicYESENIA PEREZ to. Copia de esta notificación ha MARRERO; VICTOR sido archivada en los autos de MANUEL MARRERO este caso, con fecha de 22 de RIVERA Y SU ESPOSA febrero de 2021. En ARECIBO, Puerto Rico, el 22 de febrero CARMEN RIVERA de 2021. VIVIAN Y FRESSE RIVERA Y LA SOCIEDAD GONZALEZ, Sec Regional. f/ LEGAL DE BIENES JACQUELYNE GONZALEZ GANANCIALES QUINTANA, Sec Auxiliar.

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

ROBERTO LORAN SANTOS Demandante v.

ORIENTAL BANK AND TRUST; JUAN DEL PUEBLO como posible tenedor del pagaré hipotecario

COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a) Civil: AI2019CV00120. Sobre: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: YESENIA PEREZ MARRERO; VICTOR MANUEL MARRERO RIVERA Y SU ESPOSA CARMEN RIVERA RIVERA Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a) Civil: CA2020CV01221 (406).

Sobre: CANCELACION DE PA- (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) GARE EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFIEl SECRETARIO (A) que susCACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR cribe le notifica a usted que EDICTO. el 19 de marzo de 2020. este A: JOHN DOE Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, (Nombre de las partes a las que se le Sentencia Parcial o Resolución notifican la sentencia por edicto) El SECRETARIO (A) que sus- en este caso, que ha sido debicribe le notifica a usted que el damente registrada y archivada 23 de FEBRERO de 2021. este en autos donde podrá usted Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, enterarse detalladamente de Sentencia Parcial o Resolución los términos de la misma. Esta en este caso, que ha sido debi- notificación se publicará una damente registrada y archivada sola vez en un periódico de en autos donde podrá usted circulación general en la Isla enterarse detalladamente de de Puerto Rico, dentro de los los términos de la misma. Esta 10 días siguientes a su notificanotificación se publicará una ción. Y, siendo o representando sola vez en un periódico de usted una parte en el procedicirculación general en la Isla miento sujeta a los términos de Puerto Rico, dentro de los de la Sentencia, Sentencia 10 días siguientes a su notifica- Parcial o Resolución, de la cual ción. Y, siendo o representando puede establecerse recurso de usted una parte en el procedi- revisión o apelación dentro del miento sujeta a los términos término de 30 días contados a de la Sentencia, Sentencia partir de la publicación por edicParcial o Resolución, de la cual to de esta notificación, dirijo a puede establecerse recurso de usted esta notificación que se revisión o apelación dentro del considerará hecha en la fecha término de 30 días contados a de la publicación de este edicpartir de la publicación por edic- to. Copia de esta notificación ha to de esta notificación, dirijo a sido archivada en los autos de usted esta notificación que se este caso, con fecha de 25 de considerará hecha en la fecha febrero de 2021. En AIBONITO, de la publicación de este edic- Puerto Rico, el 25 de febrero de to. Copia de esta notificación ha 2021. ELIZABETH GONZALEZ sido archivada en los autos de RIVERA, Secretaria. f/YAIRA este caso, con fecha de 24 de RODRIGUEZ TORRES, Secrefebrero de 2021. En CAROLI- taria Auxiliar.

NA, Puerto Rico, el 24 de febreLEGAL NOTICE ro de 2021. MARILYN APONTE RODRIGUEZ, Secretaria. JAN- Estado Libre Asociado de PuerNETTE RAMIREZ BERNARD, to Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de PriSecretaria Auxiliar. mera Instancia Sala Superior LEGAL NOTICE de HUMACAO. Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante v.

The San Juan Daily Star

EDWIN OMAR DE JESUS COLON T/C/C EDWIN O. DE JESUS COLON

Demandado(a) Civil: HSCI202100154. Sobre: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. ENMENDADA DE ENMENDADA.

A: EDWIN OMAR DE JESUS COLON T/C/C EDWIN O. DE JESUS COLON; URB. CAMINO SERENO B-15 CALLE 2 LAS PIEDRAS PR 00771 P/C LIC. EDDA I RODRIGUEZ SANTIAGO

(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 26 de abril de 2013, 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 25 de FEBRERO de 2021. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, el 25 de FEBRERO de 2021. DOMINGA GOMEZ FUSTER, Secretaria. MICHELLE GUEVARA DE LEON, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

CARLOS A. SANTIAGO QUIÑONES, FULANA DE TAL, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado(a) Civil: CA2019CV04951. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: CARLOS A. SANTIAGO

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 QUIÑONES

(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) El SECRETARIO (A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 23 de FEBRERO de 2021, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. MARILYN APONTE RODRIGUEZ, Secretaria. KEILA GARCIA SOLIS, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

JOSE LUIS RIVERA VELEZ, LA SUCESION DE EROILDA VELEZ CORDEERO COMPUESTA POR JOSE LUIS RIVERA VELEZ, EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA DE LA SUCESION; FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION Y CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

Demandado(a) Civil: MZ2019CV00725 (307).

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VIA ORDINARIA). NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: JOSE LUIS RIVERA, POR SI Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA DE LA SUCESION DE EROILDA VELEZ

CORDERO; FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION, A LA SIGUIENTE DIRECCION FISICA Y POSTAL: 5 CALLE CEIBA, URB REPARTO FLAMBOYAN, MAYAGUEZ PR 00680

(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 21 de ENERO de 2020. este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o 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 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. En MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, el 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. LCDA. NORMA G SANTANA IRIZARRY, Secretaria. F/ BETSY SANTIAGO GONZALEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

FELIX GABRIEL RIVERA ALBINO

Demandado(a) Civil: MZ2019CV00767 (307).

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE GARANTIAS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: FELIX GABRIEL RIVERA ALBINO 614 E MOSSER ST. APT 4 ALLENTOWN PA 18109

(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 ENERO de 2020. este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada

en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o 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 01 de MARZO de 2021. En MAYAGUEZ, Puerto Rico, el 01 de MARZO de 2021.

LCDA. NORMA G SANTANA IRIZARRY, Secretaria. F/BETSY SANTIAGO GONZALEZ BERNARD, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Y SUN WEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO DEMANDANTE VS.

MARÍA DEL ROSARIO HERNÁNDEZ TORO T/C/C ROSARIO T/C/C ROSARITO HERNÁNDEZ TORO; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2019CV11156.

SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (IN REM). EDICTO ANUNCIANDO PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de San Juan, Puerto Rico, por la presente anuncia y hace saber al público en general que en cumplimiento con la Sentencia dictada en este caso con fecha 22 de enero de 2020, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 11de septiembre de 2020 librado por este honorable Tribunal, procederé a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor, y por dinero en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal con todo título derecho y/o interés de la parte demandada sobre la propiedad que se describe a continuación: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: URBANA: Apartment Two-AIrregular (rectangular) shaped apartment located on the second floor of Elliot Hill Condominium with an approximate

area of one hundred twenty five square meters, containing living dining room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a porch, bounded on the NORTH, by ten meters and fifty two centimeters by the Northern outer wall of the building; on the SOUTH, by ten meters and fifty two centimeters by a wall that separates it from apartment two B, a elevator, a lobby and the stairs; on the EAST, by twelve meters and eighty centimeters by the Eastern outer wall of the building; and on the WEST, by eleven meters and twenty eight centimeters by the western outer wall of the building. It is located at the Miramar Section of Santurce, Puerto Rico. Corresponde a este apartamiento una participación en los elementos comunes generales de ocho punto cuarentinueve por ciento (8.49%). FINCA NÚMERO: 7,286, inscrita al folio 151 del tomo 234 de Santurce Sur, sección I de San Juan. Nota aclaratoria: En el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección I, la descripción registral consta tal y como fue transcrita anteriormente. En la Escritura número 588, otorgada el 31 de agosto de 2009, se omitió describir lo siguiente; Corresponde a este apartamiento una participación en los elementos comunes generales de ocho punto cuarentinueve por ciento (8.49%). DIRECCION FISICA: COND ELLIOT HILL APT 2-A PISO 2 SAN JUAN, PR. 009265108. Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la primera subasta habrá de celebrarse el día 30 de marzo de 2021 a las 11:00 de la mañana, en mi oficina sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de San Juan. Siendo ésta la primera subasta que se celebrará en este caso, será el precio mínimo aceptable como oferta en la Primera Subasta, eso es el tipo mínimo pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $280,000.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una segunda subasta el día 7 de abril de 2021 a las 11:00 de la mañana, en el mismo lugar antes señalado en la cual el precio mínimo serán dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $186,666.66. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta segunda subasta por el tipo mínimo indicado en el párrafo anterior, se celebrará una tercera subasta en el mismo lugar antes señalado el día 14 de abril de 2021 a las 11:00 de la mañana, en la cual el tipo mínimo aceptable como oferta será la mitad (1/2) del precio

29

mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $140,000.00. Si se declare desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. La parte demandada incumplió con los términos del préstamo hipotecario, no obstante, el demandado recibió un descargo de la Corte de Quiebras, por lo que no es responsable de las sumas adeudadas a la parte demandante. Por consiguiente, este proceso se está llevando solo en ejecución hipotecaria.

Con el importe de esta venta se habrá de satisfacer el balance de la sentencia dictada en este caso el cual consiste en el pago de $308,946.72 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 7.00% anual más recargos hasta su pago, más el pago de lo pactado en la sentencia para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados. Se dispone que una vez celebrada la subasta y vendido el inmueble relacionado, el alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial a los nuevos dueños dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la celebración de la Subasta. 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 demandado/deudor la ocupen.

El Alguacil de este Tribunal efectuará el lanzamiento de los ocupantes de ser necesario. Si la subasta es adjudicada a un tercero y luego se deja sin efecto, el tercero a favor de quién se adjudicó la subasta solo tendrá derecho a la devolución del monto consignado más no tendrá derecho a entablar recurso o reclamo adicional alguno (judicial o extrajudicial) contra el demandante y/o el acreedor y/o inversionista, dueño pagaré y/o su abogado. Por la presente también se notifica e informa a Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, personas desconocidas que puedan tener derechos en la propiedad o título objeto de este edicto. Por la presente también se notifica e informa de una HIPOTECA: En garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, o a su orden, por la suma de $420,000.00, intereses al 7.00% anual y a vencer el 25 de julio del año 2091, según consta de la escritura #589, otorgada en San Juan, el 31 de agosto de 2009, ante el Notario Néstor Machado Cortés,

inscrito al folio 98 del tomo 396 de Santurce Sur, finca #7,286, inscripción 8va. Por la presente también se notifica de una SENTENCIA: Expedida el 15 de junio de 2017, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de San Juan, Sala Superior, caso civil #KCM20171108, Cobro de Dinero, Regla 60, seguido por Consejo de Titulares Condominio Elliot Hill versus María Del Rosario Hernández Toro, por $13,844.06, y otras sumas. Anotado en Karibe de Santurce Sur, finca #7,286, Anotación A. La Venta en Pública Subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga y gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la Primera, Segunda y Tercera Subasta, si eso fuera necesario, a los efectos de cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha Subasta. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento del caso de epígrafe están disponibles en la Secretaría de este Tribunal durante horas laborables y para la concurrencia de los licitadores expido el presente Edicto que se publicará en un periódico de circulación diaria en toda la Isla de Puerto Rico por espacio dos (2) semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana y se fijará, además, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Alcaldía y la Colecturía de Rentas Internas del Municipio donde se celebrará la Subasta y en la Colecturía más cercana del lugar de la residencia de la parte demandada. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente que firmo y sello, hoy día 24 de febrero de 2021.

EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Y SUN WEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO DEMANDANTE VS.

SUCESIÓN DE RAÚL

MELÉNDEZ T/C/C RAÚL MELÉNDEZ ROBLES T/C/C GAMALIER RAÚL MELÉNDEZ ROBLES, COMPUESTA POR SU VIUDA HELEN MALONEY MELÉNDEZ T/C/C HELEN CARLENE MALONEY RICH T/C/C HELLEN CARLENE MALONEY, POR SÍ; SU HEREDERA CONOCIDA DIANA MELÉNDEZ T/C/C DIANA MELÉNDEZ MALONEY; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PARTES CON INTERÉS EN DICHA SUCESIÓN; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2020CV04068.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO. ANUNCIANDO PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de San Juan, Puerto Rico, por la presente anuncia y hace saber al público en general que en cumplimiento con la Sentencia dictada en este caso con fecha 8 de diciembre de 2020, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 20 de enero de 2021 librado por este honorable Tribunal, procederé a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor, y por dinero en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal con todo título derecho y/o interés de la parte demandada sobre la propiedad que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número dieciocho del bloque O de la Urbanización San Ignacio, situado en Monacillos, con un área de quinientos noventa y seis metros con nueve centímetros cuadrados; en lindes por el NORTE, en trece metros con cincuenta centímetros con el solar número once; SUR, en veinte metros con la calle C; ESTE, en treinta y cinco metros con el solar número diecisiete; y por el OESTE, en treinta y cinco metros con noventa centímetros con área de portones.

FINCA NÚMERO: 17,029, inscrita al folio 155 del tomo 457 de Monacillos, sección III de San Juan. DIRECCION FISICA: URB SAN IGNACIO 1708 (O-18) CALLE SAN ESTEBAN SAN JUAN, PR. 00917.

Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la primera subasta habrá de celebrarse el día 30 de marzo de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, en mi oficina sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de San

30 Juan. Siendo ésta la primera subasta que se celebrará en este caso, será el precio mínimo aceptable como oferta en la Primera Subasta, eso es el tipo mínimo pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $247,000.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una segunda subasta el día 7 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, en el mismo lugar antes señalado en la cual el precio mínimo serán dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de $164,666.66. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta segunda subasta por el tipo mínimo indicado en el párrafo anterior, se celebrará una tercera subasta en el mismo lugar antes señalado el día 14 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, en la cual el tipo mínimo aceptable como oferta será la mitad (1/2) del precio mínimo pactado en la escritura de hipoteca para la propiedad, la suma de 123,500.00. Si se declare desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor.

Con el importe de esta venta se habrá de satisfacer el balance de la sentencia dictada en este caso el cual consiste en el pago de $453,681.40 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 7.00% anual más recargos hasta su pago, más el pago de lo pactado en la sentencia para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados. Se dispone que una vez celebrada la subasta y vendido el inmueble relacionado, el alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial a los nuevos dueños dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la celebración de la Subasta. 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 demandado/deudor la ocupen. El Alguacil de este Tribunal efectuará el lanzamiento de los ocupantes de ser necesario. Si la subasta es adjudicada a un tercero y luego se deja sin efecto, el tercero a favor de quién se adjudicó la subasta solo tendrá derecho a la devolución del monto consignado más no tendrá derecho a entablar recurso o reclamo adicional alguno (judicial o extrajudicial) contra el demandante

y/o el acreedor y/o inversionista, dueño pagaré y/o su abogado. Por la presente también se notifica e informa a Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal, personas desconocidas que puedan tener derechos en la propiedad o título objeto de este edicto. Por la presente también se notifica de una HIPOTECA: En garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretario del Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano, o a su orden, por la suma de $370,500.00, intereses al 7% anual y a vencer presentación, según consta de la escritura #107, otorgada en San Juan, el 16 de abril de 2008, ante el Notario Luis Rafael Rodríguez Vélez, inscrito al folio 98 del tomo 930 de Monacillos, finca #17,029, inscripción 9na. La Venta en Pública Subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga y gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la Primera, Segunda y Tercera Subasta, si eso fuera necesario, a los efectos de cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha Subasta. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento del caso de epígrafe están disponibles en la Secretaría de este Tribunal durante horas laborables y para la concurrencia de los licitadores expido el presente Edicto que se publicará en un periódico de circulación diaria en toda la Isla de Puerto Rico por espacio dos (2) semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana y se fijará, además, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Alcaldía y la Colecturía de Rentas Internas del Municipio donde se celebrará la Subasta y en la Colecturía más cercana del lugar de la residencia de la parte demandada. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente que firmo y sello, hoy día 24 de febrero de 2021.

EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 PUERTO RICO Demandante Vs.

FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ SANTANA, RAQUEL SANTOS CABÁN Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados CIVIL NÚM.: PO2020CV01573.

SALÓN: SOBRE : COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO Y DE INTERPELACIÓN JUDICIAL. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: FULANO DE TAL, ZUTANA DE CUAL POR SI Y COMO MIEMBROS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ISRAEL TORRES RIVERA Y COMO MIEMBROS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE NORMA FIGUEROA LÓPEZ

POR LA PRESENTE: Se le notifica que contra usted se ha presentado la Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero de la cual se acompaña copia. Por la presente se le emplaza a usted y se le requiere para que dentro del término de TREINTA (30) días desde la fecha de la Publicación por Edicto de este Emplazamiento presente su contestación a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Lares, P.O. Box 1249, Lares, P.R. 00669-1249 y notifique a la LCDA. GINA H. FERRER MEDINA, personalmente al Condominio Las Nereidas, Local 1-B, Calle Méndez Vigo esquina Amador Ramírez Silva, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00680; o por correo al Apartado 2342, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 00681-2342, Teléfonos: (787) 832-9620 y (845) 345-3985, Abogada de la parte demandante, apercibiéndose que en caso de no hacerlo así podrá dictarse Sentencia en Rebeldía en contra suya, concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle.

ORDEN DE INTERPELACIÓN JUDICIAL Vista la Urgente Moción Informativa Solicitando Expedición de Emplazamiento por Edicto en el caso de epígrafe, y examinado los autos de este caso y la ley aplicable, este Tribunal declara CON LUGAR la solicitud de Interpelación Judicial, y en su consecuencia se ordena a que la parte deman-

dada Fulano de Tal y Zutana de Cual por si y como miembros de La Sucesión de Israel Torres Rivera, y como miembros de La Sucesión de Norma Figueroa López y conforme lo dispone el Artículo 959 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. 2787, a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepte o repudie la participación que les corresponda en la herencia de los causantes. Se le apercibe que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. También se le apercibe a los demandados que luego de transcurso del término antes indicado, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, por consiguiente responden por las cagas de dicha herencia conforme al Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A . 2785. Se Ordena a la parte demandante a que proceda a notificar la presente orden mediante publicación de un edicto a esos efectos una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de la isla de Puerto Rico. DADA en Ponce, Puerto Rico, hoy 3 de febrero de 2021.

LUZ MAYRA CARABALLO GARCIA, Secretaria Regional.

Hilda J. Rosado Rodriguez, Sec Auxiliar.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

MESACH MONTALVO FRANCISCO T/C/C FRANCISCO MESACH MONTALVO, CARMEN MILAGROS VEGA TORRES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. HU2019CV01221.

SALA: 206. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICOSS. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia en Rebeldía dictada el 22 de enero de 2020, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 11 de enero de 2021 y el Manda-

miento de Ejecución del 12 de enero de 2021 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 26 DE MAYO DE 2021, a la 1:30 de la tarde, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Humacao, Sala Superior, en la Avenida Nicanor Vázquez, Humacao, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal; todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: RÚSTICA: Solar denominado diez (10) del bloque dos guión N (2-N) de la Urbanización April Gardens, Segunda Sección, radicada en el Barrio Tejas y Montones del municipio de Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, con cabida superficial de 236.25 metros cuadrados.

En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 10.50 metros con los solares tres (3) y cuatro (4) del bloque dos guión N (2N); por el SUR, en una distancia de 10.50 metros con la Calle Treinta y Uno (31) de la Urbanización April Gardens, Segunda Sección; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 22.50 metros con el solar número once (11) del bloque dos guión N (2-N); y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 22.50 metros con el solar número nueve guión dos N (92N). Sobre dicho solar enclava una casa construida de concreto armado y bloques para ser dedicado a fines residenciales.

La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 215 del tomo 194 de Las Piedras, Finca Número 10282, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 108 del tomo 298 de Las Piedras, Finca Número 10282, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. Inscripción cuarta.

Dirección Física: Urb. April Gardens, 2N10 Calle 31, Las Piedras, PR 00771-3521. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $90,900.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 2 DE JUNIO DE 2021, a la 1:30 de la tarde en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $60,600.00. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta día 9 DE JUNIO DE 2021, a la 1:30 de la tarde, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $45,450.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera

subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $80,996.50 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 4.5% anual desde el 1 de septiembre de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $234.35 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $9,090.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico vs. Mesach Montalvo Francisco, también conocido como Francisco Mesach Montalvo y su esposa Carmen Milagros Vega Torres, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Humacao, en el caso civil número HU2019CV01221, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $80,996.50 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 15 de agosto de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Las Piedras. Anotación A. Se le advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 210-2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente

Aviso de Pública Subasta en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy 5 de febrero de 2021. MARÍA DEL PILAR RIVERA RIVERA, Alguacil Regional. JENNISA GARCÍA MORALES, Alguacil Auxiliar Placa #796 ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

PARTE DEMANDANTE VS.

PEDRO OSCAR SANTIAGO SANTOS, JOANNE BENÍTEZ PEÑA Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM. HU2019CV01216.

SALA: 206. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia en Rebeldía con fecha del 22 de enero de 2020, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 11 de enero de 2021 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 12 de enero de 2021 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 26 DE MAYO DE 2021, a las 2:30 de la tarde en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Humacao, Sala Superior, en la Avenida Nicanor Vázquez, Humacao, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal; todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número 144 de la Urbanización Las Villas de Río Blanco, radicada en el Barrio Río Blanco del término municipal de Naguabo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 331.2245 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 0.0843 cuerdas.

En lindes por el NORTE, en 26.31 metros lineales con el solar número 143 del proyecto; por el SUR, en 27.13 metros lineales con el solar número 145 del proyecto; por el ESTE, en 12.05 metros lineales, con la calle número 4 del proyecto; y por el OESTE, en 9.62 metros

lineales, con el solar número 151 y en 3.15 metros lineales con el solar número 152 del proyecto.

Enclava una estructura para fines residenciales, diseñada para viviendas de una familia, construida conforme a planos y especificaciones aprobadas por las agencias e instrumentalidades gubernamentales pertinentes.

La propiedad consta inscrita al Folio 82 del Tomo 232 de Naguabo, Finca Número 13,072 del Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al Folio 82 del Tomo 232 de Naguabo, Finca Número 13,072 del Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao.

Inscripción segunda y última.

DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: 144 LAS VILLAS DE RÍO BLANCO, NAGUABO, PR 00718. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $72,800.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una segunda subasta, el día 2 DE JUNIO DE 2021, a las 2:30 de la tarde en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $48,533.33. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 9 DE JUNIO DE 2021, a las 2:30 de la tarde en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $36,400.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia en Rebeldía, por la suma de $57,511.36 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 7.95% anual desde el 1 de junio de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $2,817.32 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $7,280.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato de préstamo.

Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto vs. Pedro Oscar Santiago Santos y su esposa, Joanne Benítez Peña, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao, en el caso civil número HU2019-CV01216, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un

The San Juan Daily Star balance de $57,511.36 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 15 de agosto de 2019.

Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Naguabo. Anotación A. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea.

Se le advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores, tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 210‑2015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy 5 de febrero de 2021. MARÍA DEL PILAR RIVERA RIVERA, Alguacil Regional. Por: JENNISA GARCÍA MORALES, Alguacil Placa #796 ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO,

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante v.

JIMMY HÉCTOR VÁZQUEZ ARÁN, SU ESPOSA, MARÍA MARGARITA GONZÁLEZ ARGUESO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados Civil Núm: CA2019CV02405.

PROCEDIMIENTO IN REM SOBRE EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

A: LOS CODEMANDADOS DE EPIGRAFE Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de una Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe el 15 de octubre de 2019, notificada el 16 de octubre de 2019 y publicada el 18 de octubre de 2019, y de un Mandamiento de Ejecución emitido el día 7 de febrero de 2020, que le ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, procederá a vender en subasta, y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, y/o giro postal, dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, o letra bancaria, con similar garantía de todo título, derecho o interés de los demandados de epígrafe sobre el inmueble que adelante se describe. Se anuncia por la presente que la primera subasta habrá de celebrarse el dia 27 de abril del año 2021 a las 9:30 de la mañana, en mi oficina localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento residencial de 2 niveles como Penthouse letra A-801, ubicado en el octavo y noveno piso del Edificio A del Condominio Polares, localizado en la Carretera Estatal PR-857, en el Barrio Canóvanillas del término m unicipal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, con un área residencial total de 1,913.675 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 177.80 metros cuadrados. La puerta de entrada a este apartamento ubica en el primer nivel de este apartamento, localizado en el nivel octavo del edificio del cual este apartamento forma parte en su colindancia Oeste, conectada el mismo con un área de recepción (main Entrance) la cual es un elemento común general del Condominio Polaris. El primer nivel de este apartamento tiene un área residencial de 1,519.83 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 141.20 metros cuadrados y sus linderos son los siguientes: por el NORTE, en una distancia de 11.78 metros lineales, con elementos comunes exteriores; por el SUR, en una distancia de 10.57 metros lineales, con elemento común exterior y en una distancia de 1.24 metros lineales, con el área de escalera del Edificio del cual este apartamento forma parte, la cual es

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 un elemento común general del Condominio Polaris; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 12.39 metros lineales con elemento común exterior; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 7.39 metros lineales, con el primer nivel del apartamento identificado con la letra A-802, y en una distancia de 5.76 metros lineales, con el área de escalera del edificio del cual este apartamento forma parte y el de entrada (main entrace) a este apartamento, las cuales son elementos comunes del Condominio Polaris. El segundo nivel de este apartamento tiene un área residencial de 393.845 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 36.60 metros cuadrados y sus linderos, incluyendo el área de terraza abierta asignada como anejo al mismo, son los siguientes: por el NORTE, en una distancia de 11.78 metros lineales, con elemento común exterior; por el SUR, en una distancia de 10.57 metros lineales, con elemento común exterior y un cuarto de servicio (Service Room) el cual es un elemento común general del Condominio Polaris y en 1.24 metros lineales, con el área de escalera del Edificio del cual este apartamento forma parte, la cual es un elemento común general del Condominio Polaris; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 13.16 metros lineales, con elemento común exterior; por el OESTE, en una distancia de 7.39 metros lineales, con el segundo nivel del apartamento identificado con la letra A-802 y en una distancia de 5.76 metros lineales con el área de escalera del edificio del cual este apartamento forma parte y un cuarto de servicio (Service Room) los cuales son elementos comunes generales del Condominio Polaris. Contiene en el primer nivel las siguientes facilidades o dependencias: Sala (living room), cuarto familiar (family) comedor (dinning Room), cocina (kitchen), un dormitorio principal (master bedroom) con un baño y área de closet, dos dormitorios adicionales con sus respectivos closets, un cuarto de baño, medio cuarto de baño, un área designada como lavandería (laundry), escaleras internas para ganar acceso al segundo nivel de este apartamento y en el segundo nivel, la continuación de las referidas escaleras, otro cuarto familiar (family room) y un baño. Están asignados como anejos a este apartamento un área de terraza abierta con una cabida de 1,125.985 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 104.60 metros cuadrados y dos espacios de estacionamientos (que podrán ser dos sencillos o uno doble back to back), los cuales se establecerán en la escritura

de individualización de este apartamento, con una cabida de 13.75 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 147.95 pies cuadrados, cada espacio de estacionamiento. La cabida total de este apartamento incluyendo sus anejos es de 3,335.56 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 309.90 metros cuadrados. Este apartamento tiene una participación en los elementos comunes del Condominio de 1.6489%. Finca Número 63176 inscrita al folio 116 del tomo 1513 del Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección III. Dirección física: A-801 Polaris Condominium, Carolina PR 00985. El siguiente pagaré consta inscrito en la propiedad antes mencionada y es el que se pretende ejecutar: HIPOTECA: Por $176,383.00, con intereses al 4.00% anual, en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, vencedero el 1 de noviembre de 2043. Según escritura #61, otorgada en San Juan, el 31 de octubre de 2013, ante Eduardo E. Ortiz Rivera, inscrita al folio 116vto del tomo 1513 de Carolina II, inscripción 2da. La referida hipoteca grava el bien inmueble antes descrito.

La subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al demandante, total o parcialmente según sea el caso, de la referida sentencia que fue dictada por las siguientes sumas: $164,360.93 por concepto de principal, más recargos por atraso, más intereses al 4% anual los cuales se continúan acumulando hasta su completo pago, más costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato de préstamo. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS PARTES INTERESADAS y del público en general, se advierte que los autos de este caso y demás instancias están disponibles para ser inspeccionadas en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de Carolina, durante las horas laborables.

Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, incluyendo el gravamen por las contribuciones sobre la propiedad inmueble adeudadas, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá Libre de Cargas y Gravámenes posteriores. Los tipos mínimos a utilizarse para la subasta son los siguientes: El inmueble antes descrito ha sido tasado en la suma de CIENTO

SETENTA Y SEIS MIL TRESCIENTOS OCHENTA Y TRES DÓLARES ($176,383.00) para que dicha suma sirva de tipo mínimo en la primera subasta a celebrarse. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del antedicho inmueble, se celebrará una segunda subasta en el mismo lugar antes mencionado, el día 4 de mayo del año 2021 a las 9:30 de la mañana, sirviendo como tipo mínimo para dicha segunda subasta, una suma equivalente a las dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de CIENTO DIECISIETE MIL QUINIENTOS OCHENTA Y OCHO DÓLARES CON SESENTA Y SEIS CENTAVOS ($117,588.66) para la finca antes descrita. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta del antedicho inmueble, se celebrará una tercera subasta en el mismo lugar antes mencionado, el día 11 de mayo del año 2021 a las 9:30 de la mañana; sirviendo como tipo mínimo para dicha tercera subasta, una suma equivalente a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo fijado para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de OCHENTA Y OCHO MIL CIENTO NOVENTA Y UN DÓLARES CON CINCUENTA CENTAVOS ($88,191.50) para la finca antes descrita. En testimonio de lo cual, expido el presente aviso, el cual firmo y sello, hoy 17 de febrero de 2021, en Carolina, Puerto Rico. Manuel Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO DEMANDANTE VS.

HENRY JAVIER ARBELO ALEMÁN Y ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: SJ2019CV04118.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 29 de marzo de

31

2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en 1030 CALLE JAMES BOND URB. COUNTRY CLUB SAN JUAN, PR 00924-3432 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número 17 del Bloque “BG” del Plano de Inscripción de la Segunda Extensión de la Urbanización Country Club, radicado en el Barrio Sabana Llana del término municipal de Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 437.75 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 17.51 metros, con la calle número 46; por el SUR, en 17.51 metros, con la primera Extensión de Country Club y el Solar número 20 del Bloque “BG”; por el ESTE, en 25.00 metros, con el Solar número 18; y por el OESTE, en 25.00 metros con el Solar número 16. Enclava una estructura de concreto para fines residenciales. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 111 del Tomo 184 de Sabana Llana, finca número 8,253, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $107,952.35. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 6 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $71,968.23. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 13 de abril de 2021, a las 9:30 de la mañana.

Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $53,976.17. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 71 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 24 de septiembre de 2012, ante el Notario José L. Colom Fagundo, y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana, finca número 8,253, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta), inscripción Novena (9na).

Modificada en cuanto a su prin-

cipal que será de $107,952.35; en cuanto a su interés que será al 4.50% anual y en cuanto a su vencimiento que será el (1ro) de agosto de 2047; según la la escritura de modificación de hipoteca número 259, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 10 de agosto de 2017, ante el Notario Maricarmen Carrillo Justiniano y consta inscrita al tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana, finca número 8,253, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta), inscripción Undécima (11ma).

Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $107,380.51 por concepto de principal desde el 1ro de enero de 2018, más intereses al tipo pactado de 4.50% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte demandada adeuda los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $16,319.90.

Además, la parte demandada se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $16,319.90 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca, y una suma equivalente a $16,319.90 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate.

La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continua-

ción. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $45,108.50, sin intereses, vencedero el día 10 de agosto del 2042, constituida mediante la escritura número 260, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 10 de agosto del 2017, ante la notario Maricarmen Carrillo Justiniano, e inscrita al tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana, finca número 8,253, inscripción 12ma. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 19 de febrero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

32 DEMANDANTE VS.

CÉSAR AUGUSTO RUIZ MORALES, LEGNA LEE CONCEPCIÓN TORRES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS; LA SUCESIÓN DE JUANA MARÍA HERNÁNDEZ ACEVEDO COMPUESTA POR LEGNA LEE CONCEPCIÓN TORRES; FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRASOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM) Y ESTADOS UNIDOS DE ÁMERICA

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: SJ2019CV04312.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 29 de marzo de 2021, a la 10:00 de la mañana, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en APT. 2505 COND. CAMELOT SAN JUAN, PR 00926 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: PENTHOUSES: Apartamento residencial número quinientos cinco (505) de forma irregular constituido por tres (3) niveles localizado en la quinta planta del Edificio dos (2) el Condominio Camelot que está situado en la Carretera número ochocientos cuarenta y dos (842), kilómetro número uno (1), San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Este apartamento consta de tres (3) niveles, siendo los linderos del Primer nivel de este apartamento los siguientes: por el NORTE, con el Apartamento número cuatrocientos seis (406) y con elemento exterior en una distancia de once punto ochenta y cuatro metros lineales (11.84 m.l.); por el SUR, con el Apartamento número quinientos seis (506) y el “lobby” en una distancia de once punto

ochenta y cuatro metros lineales (11.84 m.l.); por el ESTE, con elemento exterior y el “lobby” en una distancia de seis punto setenta y uno metros lineales (6.71 m.l.); y por el OESTE, con elemento exterior en una distancia de seis punto setenta y uno metros lineales (6.71 m.l.). Consta el mismo de tres habitaciones con sus respectivos “closets”, una sala-comedor, cocina, dos (2) baños, área de almacenar, “laundry” y terraza. Los baños del segundo nivel del apartamento están equipados con bañera, lavamanos y servicio sanitario. Se incluye bidet en el baño del cuarto principal. Tiene un medio baño en el Primer nivel. Los linderos del Segundo nivel de esta apartamento son los siguientes: por el NORTE, con el Apartamento número cuatrocientos seis (406) y con elemento exterior en una distancia de once punto ochenta y cuatro metros lineales (11.84 m.l.); por el SUR, con el Apartamento número quinientos seis (506) en una distancia de once punto ochenta y cuatro metros lineales (11.84 m.l.); por el ESTE, con elemento exterior en una distancia de seis punto setenta y un metros lineales (6.71 m.l.); y por el OESTE, con elemento exterior en una distancia de seis punto setenta y un metros lineales (6.71 m.l.). El Tercer nivel de este apartamento consta de un área privada de terraza la cual está cubierta, y dos áreas descubierta de terraza, las cuales se consideran elemento común limitado a este apartamento. Las mejoras a esta área están regidas por la escritura matriz y el Reglamento de Condómines, según el detalle de terraza techada provisto. Los linderos del Tercer nivel de este apartamento son los siguientes: por el NORTE, con terraza y con el Apartamento número cuatrocientos seis (406) en una distancia de siete punto cuarenta y siete metros lineales (7.47 m.l.); por el SUR, con terraza abierta común limitada y con el Apartamento número quinientos seis (506) en una distancia de siete punto cuarenta y siete metros lineales (7.47 m.l.); por el ESTE, con terraza abierta común limitada y con elemento exterior, en una distancia de seis punto setenta y uno metros lineales (6.71 m.l.); y por el OESTE, con terraza abierta común limitada en una distancia de seis punto setenta y uno metros lineales (6.71 m.l.). Todos los niveles están conectados por una escalera localizada en el interior del apartamento, la cual los conecta. El área del primer nivel del apartamento es de setenta punto cincuenta y ocho metros cuadrados (70.58 m.c.). El área del segundo nivel del apartamento

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

es de setenta y seis punto treinta y ocho metros cuadrados (76.38 m.c.). El área del tercer nivel (terraza) que se considera propiedad privada del apartamento es de cuarenta y siete punto diecisiete metros cuadrados (47.17 m.c.). El área total del apartamento es de ciento noventa y dos punto noventa y dos metros cuadrados (192.92 m.c.). La puerta de entrada a este apartamento está situada en su lindero Este y por ella se sale a al escalera y al área interior de circulación del proyecto.

Este apartamento tiene una participación de cero punto nueve cero cero seis uno tres porciento (0.900613%) en los elementos comunes generales del proyecto. Le corresponde como elemento común limitado los estacionamientos identificados con los número 104 y 105. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 143 del Tomo 647 de Rio Piedras Sur, finca número 19,989, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta (4ta). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $190,600.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 6 de abril de 2021, a la 10:00 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $127,066.66. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 13 de abril de 2021, a la 10:00 de la mañana. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $95,300.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 157 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 2 de marzo de 2004, ante la Notario Lymarie Jiménez López, y consta inscrita Folio 144 vuelto del Tomo 647 de Río Piedras Sur, finca número 19,989, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta (4ta), inscripción Séptima (7ma). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $143,811.59 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo de

6.00% anual desde el 1 de agosto de 2019 y hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $19,600.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continuación. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Secretario del Departamento de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda de los Estados Unidos de América, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $6,359.40, con intereses al 6% anual, vencedero el día 1 de marzo de 2034, constituida mediante la escritura número 1, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 3 de enero de 2007, ante la notario Ivonne Vergne López, e inscrita al folio 145 del tomo 647 de Río Piedras Sur, finca número 19,989, inscripción 8va. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en

los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 19 de FEBRERO de 20201. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO DEMANDANTE VS.

ELADIO MORA BÁEZ (COMO DEUDOR HIPOTECARIO); EMMANUEL PÉREZ MALDONADO, ISMAEL PÉREZ RIVERA Y NOEL PÉREZ RIVERA (COMO TITULARES REGISTRALES)

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: KCD2016-1128 (902). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 29 de marzo de 2021, a las 10:30 de la mañana, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga

la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en URB. COUNTRY CLUB, 1043 CALLE GENOVEVA DE ARTEAGA, SAN JUAN, PR 00924 (URB. COUNTRY CLUB, 1043 CALLE G DE ARTEAGA, SAN JUAN, PR 00924) y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número 24 del Bloque EY de la Segunda Extensión de la Urbanización Country Club, situada en el Barrio Sabana Llana de Río Piedras, con una cabida superficial de 300.15 metros cuadrados y colinda por el NORTE, en una distancia de 13.05 metros con el solar 17; por el SUR, en una distancia de 13.05 metros con la calle 112; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 23.00 metros con el solar 23; por el OESTE, en una distancia de 23.00 metros con el solar 25 del Bloque EY. Enclava una casa de concreto armado para usos residenciales. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 190 del Tomo 169 de Sabana Llana, finca número 7,573, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $133,941.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 6 de abril de 2021, a las 10:30 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $89,294.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 13 de abril de 2021, a las 10:30 de la mañana.

Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $66,970.50. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 302 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 28 de julio de 2003, ante el Notario María Isabel García Mantilla, y consta inscrita al folio 80 del tomo 992 de Sabana Llana, finca número 7,573, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta), inscripción Sexta (6ta). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte co-demandada Eladio Mora Báez ascendente a la suma de $106,506.30 por

concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de enero de 2016, más intereses al tipo pactado de 6.50% anual. Dichos intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación.

Además, la parte co-demandada Eladio Mora Báez adeuda los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $13,394.00. Además, la parte co-demandada Eladio Mora Báez se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $13,394.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca, y una suma equivalente a $13,394.00 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continuación. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de New York Mortgage Bankers, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $40,000.00, con intereses al 6 ½ % anual, vencedero el día 1 de febrero de 2015, constituida mediante la escritura número 23, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 26 de enero de 2005, ante la notaria Gina Aguilar Gerardini, e inscrita al folio 80 del tomo 992 de Sabana Llana, finca número 7,573, inscripción 7ma. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Eladio Mora Báez, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $10,000.00, sin intereses, vencedero en 6 meses, constituida mediante la escritura número 34, otorgada en Caguas, Puerto Rico, el día 20 de abril

de 2007, ante la notaria Carmen I. Colón Maldonado, e inscrita al folio 80 del tomo 992 de Sabana Llana, finca número 7,573, inscripción 9na. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial.

Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 19 de febrero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR.

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO DEMANDANTE VS.

LA SUCESION DE AMERICA RODRIGUEZ PACHECO COMPUESTA POR NEREIDA ANDUJAR RODRIGUEZ T/C/C NERIDA ANDUJAR RODRIGUEZ, VICTOR RAMON ANDUJAR RODRIGUEZ (FALLECIO);

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FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ (FALLECIO); FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE AMERICA RODRIGUEZ PACHECO; LA SUCESION DE VICTOR RAMON ANDUJAR RODRIGUEZ COMPUESTA POR JUAN GUILLERMO ANDUJAR DOMACASSE; VICTOR RAMON ANDUJAR DOMACASSE (FALLECIO); ANGEL RAMON ANDUJAR VAZQUEZ; ALBERTO ANDUJAR; SUTANO Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE VICTOR RAMON ANDUJAR RODRIGUEZ; LA SUCESION DE FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ COMPUESTA POR FRANCISCO SANCHEZ (FALLECIO); JOHN Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, MENGANO Y MENGANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE VICTOR RAMON ANDUJAR DOMACASSE; JUAN DEL PUEBLO Y JUANA DEL PUEBLO COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE FRANCISCO SANCHEZ; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA Y CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: KCD2016-0851.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA “IN REM” (Vía Ordinaria). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 29 de marzo de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana, en su ofi-

cina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en CONDOMINIO PLAZA UNIVERSIDAD 2000, 839 CALLE AÑASCO, APARTAMENTO #222, SAN JUAN, P.R 00927 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento residencial localizado en el piso dos (2) de la Torre denominada A del “Condominio Plaza Universidad 2000”, sometido al Régimen de Propiedad Horizontal, ubicado en la Calle Añasco del Municipio de San Juan, Puerto Rico. Apartamento de un solo nivel de forma rectangular y está localizado en la parte Oeste del edificio, con un área total aproximada de ochocientos cuarenta y tres punto treinta y siete (843.37) pies cuadrados, equivalentes a setenta y ocho punto tres mil quinientos dieciséis (78.3516) metros cuadrados. Sus lindes y distancias son las siguientes: por el NORTE, en una distancia de veintiún pies siete pulgadas (21’7”) con el apartamento doscientos veintiuno (221); por el SUR, en una distancia de ocho pies seis pulgadas (8’6”) con áreas comunes, pasillo y almacén y en una distancia de trece pies diez pulgadas (13’10”) con el apartamento 223; por el OESTE, en una distancia de treinta y ocho pies y una y media pulgadas (38’ 1 ½) ” con área de estacionamiento abajo; y por el ESTE, en una distancia de treinta y ocho pies y una y media pulgadas (38’ 1 ½)” con áreas comunes y pasillo. Este apartamento consta de dos (2) cuartos dormitorios, un (1) baño completo, cocina, salacomedor y pasillo. La puerta de entrada de este apartamento está en el lado Este y por ella se sale al pasillo común que da a los ascensores y la escalera y de ahí se sale al exterior.

Este apartamento tiene una participación en los elementos comunes generales de punto cero cero dos cinco cuatro dos cuatro por ciento (.0025424%) y una participación en los elementos comunes limitados de punto cero cero dos tres cinco dos por ciento (.002352%). A este apartamento se le asigna el uso del estacionamiento marcado con el número nueve (9) en el plano del área de estacionamiento del primer nivel de estacionamiento, como elemento común limitado. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 231 del Tomo 1396 de Río Piedras Norte, finca número 37,985, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan,

Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Sección Segunda (2da). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $58,105.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 6 de abril de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $38,736.66.

Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 13 de abril de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $29,052.50.

La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 273 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 27 de abril de 2001, ante el Notario Vanessa López Ortiz, y consta inscrita al folio 231 vuelto del tomo 1396 de Río Piedras Norte, finca número 37,985, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Segunda (2da), inscripción Segunda (2da). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido condenando a la parte demandada ascendente a la suma de $43,903.69 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo de 7.0% anual desde el 1 de noviembre de 2015 y hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguros adeudados y la suma de $5,810.50 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las

constancias del Registro de la Propiedad. Surge de un estudio de título que, sobre la finca descrita anteriormente, pesan los gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que se ejecuta mediante este procedimiento que se relacionan a continuación.

Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Municipio de San Juan, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $25,000.00, sin intereses, vencedero en 10 años, constituida mediante la escritura número 274, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 27 de abril de 2001, ante la notario Vanessa López Ortiz, e inscrita al folio 232 vuelto del tomo 1396 de Río Piedras Norte, finca número 37,985, inscripción 3ra. Sujeta a Condiciones de Venta por los primeros 24 meses. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas.

Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 19 de febrero de 2021. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR.

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

MARILYN RAMOS Demandante v.

LOUIS JOSEPH GAGNE

Demandado(a) Civil: CG2020RF00468. SALA: 501. Sobre: DIVORICIO, RUPTURA IRREPARABLE. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: LOUIS JOSEPH GAGNE

(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 26 de ENERO de 2021, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 25 de FEBRERO de 2021. En CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, el 25 de FEBRERO de 2021. CARMEN A PEREIRA ORTIZ, Secretaria.

KANIA QUINTERO PEREIRA, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

WANDA IVELISSE ARROYO RIVERA Demandante v.

EDILBERTO ROJAS ADAN

Demandado(a) Civil: SG2020RF00044. Sobre: DIVORICIO, RUPTURA IRREPARABLE. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: EDILBERTO ROJAS ADAN

(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 10 de FEBRERO de 2021, este

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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 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. En SAN GERMAN, Puerto Rico, el 26 de FEBRERO de 2021. LCDA. NORMA G SANTANA IRIZARRY, Secretaria. F/LYDIA SANTIAGO MORALES, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO.

LIME RESIDENTIAL, LTD, PLAINTIFF, v.

AMARILYS SANTIAGO RIOS

DEFENDANT. CASE No. 3:16-cv-02642. COLLECTION OF MONIES AND FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE. NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: Amarilys SantiagoRios, Defendant 215 Calle Juan L. Ramos, Urb. Fronteras, Bayamon, PR 00961 THE GENERAL PUBLIC:

WHEREAS: On July 9, 2019 this Court entered a Judgment in favor of Plaintiff, LIME RESIDENTIAL, LTD, against Defendant. On November 17, 2019 this Court entered an Order of Execution of Judgment stating that “Defendants defaulted on their repayment obligation to Plaintiff, and as of February 23, 2021, they owe Plaintiff principal amount of $115,124.99, interest which continue to accrue on a daily rate of $20.05, the amount of $11,156.51 in escrow deficiency, and $12,600.00 in contractually agreed-upon attorney’s fees and legal costs, for a total amount of $207,403.53. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by the parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Federal Building, Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey,

Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned judgment and the order of execution thereof, the following property belonging to the Defendants will be sold at a public auction: “URBANA: Parcela de terreno en la Urbanización Levittown, Octava Unidad de Plantfzcación, radicado en el Barrio Hato Tejas del término municipal de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de inscripción de la urbanización, con el Número Quince (15) del Bloque “LF”, con una cabida supe1:ficial de 319.184 metros cuadrados, en lindes por el NORTE, en 23.00 metros con el solar número 14; por el SUR, en 23.00 metros con el solar número 16; por el ESTE, en un arco de 1.4521 metros con Juan Inés Ramos ; y por el OESTE, en un arco de 13.234 metros con los solares número 29 y número 30.

Sobre dicho solar enclava una casa.” Recorded at Page 210 of Book 40 of Bayamón Norte, Property Id 2242 (previously 46,546), Regisfly of the Property of Bayamón, Section 111.

The aforementioned Property is recorded in the Puerto Rico Property Registry, Section of Bayamon, Section III, at page 210, ofBook 40, Property Lot (“Finca”) number 55. WHEREAS: The property is subject to the following liens: 1. Junior Lien: A. LIS PENDENS filed on September 23rd, 2010 in the Superior Court of Puerto Rico, Room of Bayamón, in the civil case number 2010-335; about collection of moneys and foreclosure; Citimortgage, !ne., plaintijf v. Amarilys Santiago Ríos, defendant. By said complaint plaintiff claims the payment of $117,256.98 recorded on November 22nd, 2010 at page 109 of volume 252 of North Bayamon, property number 2242, Annotation “A”. B. LIS PENDENS filed on October 2nd, 2015 in the Superior Court of Puerto Rico, Room of Bayamón, in the civil case number 2015-2443 ; about collection of moneys and foreclosure; Citimortgage, !ne., plaintijf v.

Amarilys Santiago Ríos, defendant. By said complaint plaintiff claims the payment of $135, 165.15 recorded on December 141112,0 15 at page 68 of volume 269 of North Bayamon, property number 2242, Annotation “B”. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, ( express, tacit, implied or legal), shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder

accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. WHEREAS: The lien executed is the first one over the property and for the purpose of the first judicial sale, the minimum bid agreed upon by the parties in the mortgage <leed will be $126,000.00 for the property and no lower offers will be accepted. Should the first judicial sale of the above described property be unsuccessful, then the minimum bid for the property on the second judicial sale will be $84,000.00, that is two-thirds the amount of the minimum bid for the first judicial sale. The minimum bid for a third judicial sale, if the same is necessary, will be $63,000.00, that is one-half of the minimum bid agreed upon the parties in the aforementioned mortgage deed. (30 PR Laws Ann. § 2721, Mortgage and Property Registry Act, Act. No. 198, Article 221, as amended). WHEREAS: Said sale to be made by the appointed Special Master is subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the <leed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confinnation, free of all subsequent liens and encumbrances . NOW THEREFORE, public notice is hereby given that the appointed Special Master, pursuant to the provisions ofthe Judgment herein before referred to, will, on the 13111 day of April of 2021, at 10:35 AM, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150, Federal Building, Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2001, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder, the property described herein, the proceeds of said sale to be applied in the manner and form provided by the Court’s Judgment. Should the first judicial sale set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the second judicial sale of the property described in this Notice will be held on the 20111 day of April of 2021, at 10:35 AM, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court located at the address indicated above. Should the second judicial sale set hereinabove be unsuccessful, the third judicial sale of the property described in this Notice will be held on the 27111 day of April of 2021, at 10:35 AM, in the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court located at the address indicated above. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 26th day of February of 2021. Signature Not Eligable, Appointed Special Master.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Irv Cross, first Black network TV sports analyst, dies at 81

By RICHARD SANDOMIR

I

rv Cross, a Pro Bowl defensive back with two NFL teams who later made history as the first Black full-time analyst for a network television sports show, died Sunday in a hospice in North Oaks, Minnesota. He was 81.

The cause was ischemic cardiomyopathy, a heart disease, said his wife, Liz Cross. He also had dementia, which he believed had been caused by concussions he endured in his playing days. He had arranged to donate his brain to the Boston University Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy Center.

By 1975, after nine seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams and four years as a game analyst for CBS Sports, the network hired Cross to join the cast of its pregame show, “The NFL Today,” beginning a 15-year run as a high-profile commentator. He, Brent Musburger and Phyllis George — and, starting a year later, betting maven Jimmy Snyder, who was known as the Greek — previewed and analyzed the day’s coming games and gave halftime scores.

The cast was unlike others in NFL television programming, with Cross in a job that no other Black sports journalist had held before, and George, a former Miss America, becoming one of the first female sportscasters. With entertaining banter and byplay, the combination of personalities proved extremely popular.

“Irv was a very smart, hardworking, hugely kind person who always had a warmth about him,” Ted Shaker, the former executive producer of CBS Sports, said in a phone interview. “He had built up his credibility as a player and game analyst, and he was our anchor at ‘The NFL Today.’” He added, “Like Phyllis, Irv was a true pioneer.” (George died in May at 70.)

In 1988, CBS fired Snyder over widely publicized comments he had made in an interview about the physical differences between Black and white athletes. His comments, Cross said at the time, “don’t reflect the Jimmy the Greek I know, and I’ve known him for almost 13 years.” (Snyder died in 1996.)

After CBS fired Musburger in a contract dispute in 1990, the network overhauled “The NFL Today,” ending Cross’ long run on the program. He returned to

Irv Cross in 1985. He had a 15-year run as an analyst on “The NFL Today.” being a game analyst at CBS for two years, but after his contract was not renewed he did not work in network television again.

“I didn’t have an agent, and I didn’t search for a TV position as aggressively as I should have,” he told Sports Illustrated in 1996. “I just quietly faded away.”

His broadcasting work was honored in 2009 when he received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Irvin Acie Cross was born on July 27, 1939, in Hammond, Indiana, the eighth of 15 children. His father, Acie, was a steelworker; his mother, Ellee (Williams) Cross, was a homemaker.

Cross said his father, a heavy drinker, had beaten his mother. “It tears me up,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 2018. “It was frightening. You could tell it was coming.

We tried stopping him a few times. We’d jump on his back. It’s absolutely raw for me.”

Ellee Cross died in childbirth when Irv was 10, leaving him to wonder whether the beatings had worsened his

mother’s health problems.

After excelling at football at Hammond High School — which earned him a place in its hall of fame — Cross was a wide receiver and a defensive back at Northwestern University under coach Ara Parseghian. As a junior, he caught a 78-yard touchdown pass during a 30-24 Northwestern victory over Notre Dame.

“We didn’t have much depth, but Parseghian was great at moving guys around and getting the most of them,” Cross told a Northwestern online publication in 2018.

“His teams beat Notre Dame three straight times from 1958 to 1961.” Parseghian left Northwestern after the 1963 season to begin a storied run as coach of Notre Dame.

As a senior, Cross was named Northwestern’s male athlete of the year.

The Eagles chose him in the seventh round of the 1961 NFL draft. He intercepted a career-high five passes in 1962 and played in the Pro Bowl in 1964 and 1965.

Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown once said, “No one in the league tackles harder than Cross.”

After five seasons with the Eagles, Cross was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in 1965 and played there for three years.

He returned to the Eagles in 1969 as a player and a defensive backs coach. After retiring as a player at the end of the season, he continued to coach for one more year.

Cross began planning for a television career while he was with the Eagles, working as a radio sports commentator and a weekend TV sports anchor in Philadelphia during the offseason. Though tempted by the Dallas Cowboys’ offer of a front office job in 1971, he chose to work for CBS Sports instead.

Joining “The NFL Today” came with a certain amount of pressure. He recalled in the Northwestern interview that in 1975 “the TV landscape was much different, much whiter.”

“I never focused on that,” Cross said, “but I was keenly aware that if I failed it might be a long time before another Black person got a similar opportunity.”

When the cast of the show was changed in 1990, Greg Gumbel, who is Black, was hired to work alongside former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw.

After Cross left CBS he changed course, working as the athletic director at Idaho State University in Pocatello from 1996 to ’98 and at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, from 1999 to 2005.

In addition to his wife, Liz (Tucker) Cross, he is survived by his daughters, Susan, Lisa and Sandra Cross; his son, Matthew; a grandson; his sisters, Joan Motley, Jackie McEntyre, Julia Hopson, Pat Grant and Gwen Robinson; and his brothers, Raymond, Teal and Sam. His first marriage ended in divorce. He lived in Roseville, Minnesota, outside the Twin Cities.

When Cross played, concussions were usually not taken seriously. He sustained several in his rookie season, enough for his teammates to nickname him Paper Head.

One of the concussions knocked him unconscious and sent him to the hospital.

To protect himself, Cross had a helmet made with extra padding.

“I just tried to keep my head out of the way while making tackles,” he told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2018. “But that’s just the way it was. Most of the time, they gave you some smelling salts and you went back in. We didn’t know.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

35

Police raid FC Barcelona and detain four people

By TARIQ PANJA

P

olice in Spain raided the headquarters of FC Barcelona earlier this week, seizing evidence and detaining four people. The arrests, less than a week before the club’s presidential election, created another crisis for a soccer behemoth brought low by crippling debt, boardroom infighting and poor performances on the field.

A spokeswoman for Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s regional police force, said its economic crimes unit had seized evidence from Barcelona’s offices Monday and confirmed that four people had been detained. She added that the investigation was continuing but, citing police policy, declined to name the individuals.

Multiple news media outlets reported that the four people detained were prominent current and former executives of the club: former President Josep Maria Bartomeu, who resigned as the club‘s president last year, shortly before he was to face a vote of no confidence; Oscar Grau, the club’s chief executive; Román Gómez Ponti, its head of legal services; and Jaume Masferrer, an adviser to Bartomeu.

Barcelona said in a statement that the club had offered “full collaboration“ to authorities in their investigation.

Investigators have been looking into Barcelona’s affairs for months, after incendiary revelations suggested the club had secretly hired an external marketing company to produce disparaging social media content about some of its most important and high-profile players, including Lionel Messi and Gerard Piqué, and other critics of the club‘s leadership.

The team denied wrongdoing and hired a consultant, PWC, to complete an audit of its relationship with the marketing company, I3 Ventures, but police continued their investigation.

When Barcelona published a report on the audit, it revealed that the contract with I3 Ventures — for almost 1 million euros (about $1.2 million) — was determined to be well above market value. The auditors’ report also said the payments to the marketing company were divided in a way that they would avoid oversight by the club’s financial overseers, who scrutinize all expenditures of more than 200,000 euros.

The police investigation into Barcelona has been closely followed by Spanish news media, which has labeled the affair “Barça-

The raid on Barcelona’s offices came days before the club’s 140,000 members will elect a new president. gate.” Bartomeu said in February that he had no idea the company was involved in spreading negative content targeting Barcelona players, and although the club terminated the contract, the stain remained.

The raid on the club’s offices comes only six days before Barcelona‘s 140,000 members will elect Bartomeu’s successor, and it is another hit to the reputation of a club that for years had portrayed itself as a benchmark in world soccer. The club portrays itself as an organization with values that put it in a class of its own, operating under the slogan, “More than a club.”

Two of the three candidates in Sunday’s presidential election were quick to react to the news of the raids. Joan Laporta, a former Barcelona president who led the club at the start of the team’s most recent era of dominance, described the events as “shocking.”

Laporta, a lawyer whose previous stewardship of the club involved sporting success but also an earlier brush with financial calamity, said Bartomeu should be presumed innocent, but acknowledged that Monday’s raids “greatly damage the image

and reputation of our club.”

Toni Freixa, who as a member of the previous board is the candidate most aligned with Bartomeu, posted a cryptic message on Twitter in which he suggested dark forces were behind the events.

“Too many people wanting to hurt Barça,” he wrote. “We will not allow it.

You’ll never walk alone.”

The third presidential candidate, businessman Víctor Font, a longtime critic of the previous administration, did not respond to a request for comment.

Bartomeu’s resignation in October came several months after a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich eliminated the club from last season’s Champions League, Europe’s richest club soccer competition, and as a public falling out with Messi, arguably the greatest player in the game’s history, saw him briefly threaten to leave the club.

Messi later backed down and announced he would stay rather than drag the issue through the courts.

But his contract allows him to leave when the current season ends in May.

Bartomeu has been fighting negative headlines for more than a year, and his tenure as president, which began in 2014 amid an earlier financial scandal involving his predecessor, has been marked by periods of turbulence. Last spring, six members of the club’s board resigned and went public with their criticism of Bartomeu.

At the heart of their falling out was the contract with I3 Ventures, and allegations that it was behind fake social media accounts — purporting to be Barcelona supporters — that attacked those perceived to be Bartomeu’s opponents. Those included Font, an outspoken candidate who was even then positioning himself to become the club’s next president, and popular players like Messi and Piqué.

The team’s finances are also more precarious than at any time in its recent history.

Earlier this year, it published financial statements showing it owed more than 1 billion euros to its lenders, tax officials and rival clubs, with more than 600 million euros required to be paid in the short term.

The club has entered emergency talks with banks to find a solution to its problems, and club officials are also weighing selling some of the team’s commercial assets to investors to raise as much as $250 million.

The club has played without spectators this season because of the coronavirus pandemic, as is the case for most teams in Europe, and the team’s revenue forecasts have cratered. The club’s cavernous Nou Camp stadium and museum are ordinarily two of the most visited tourist sites in Spain, and the loss of those revenues and other income could reach as much as 600 million euros, club executives recently told The Times.

On the field, the picture is hardly better.

Even though Messi returned, the club’s performance has been a shadow of its dominating past. Barcelona endured yet another Champions League humiliation last month, losing by 4-1 against Paris St.-Germain in the first leg of its two-game, round-of-16 match. The defeat means elimination from this year’s tournament is all but assured.

Barcelona has rallied from a poor start to move into second place in the Spanish league table, but it is still five points behind the leader, Atlético Madrid, whose success in part has been attributed to the goals of striker Luis Suárez, whose contract was canceled by Barcelona before the start of season.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

As rivals boom and bust, the Royals just want to get better

By TYLER KEPNER

I

n his first season as general manager of his boyhood team, Dayton Moore watched his Kansas City Royals lose 100 games with the worst pitching staff in franchise history. That winter, before the 2007 season, he signed a starting pitcher named Gil Meche for $55 million.

To Moore, the move was logical — obvious, even. It had been more than two decades since 1985, when Moore was a college student cheering from a hillside off Interstate 70 as the Royals won the World Series. He had come a long way, but the Royals had gone in reverse. They had not been back to the playoffs, and he wanted to make them better.

“We won the negotiations for the player — and everybody had a fit,” Moore said last week by phone from Surprise, Arizona. “Everybody had a fit.”

Meche had an uneven track record, but he was entering his prime and drew interest from more traditional contenders, too. The Royals outbid the field with a five-year offer, and Moore was disheartened by the industry’s reaction: How did a bad team have the audacity to drive up the bidding? Didn’t Meche care about winning?

“I learned right out of the gate: I’m just going to do what we do in Kansas City,” Moore said. “I’m going to focus on what’s good for our community and our fans.”

Yet Moore, 54, cannot help but think of the industry at large. His job, narrowly defined, is to run the baseball operations of one team.

But his larger mission is to grow and promote the game, and he wonders just where it is headed.

“I think about it every day,” Moore said.

“It’s probably not healthy, mentally or physically, to think about it as much as I do.”

The Royals’ offseason reflected his viewpoint. The popular strategy for struggling teams is to tear down the roster and wait patiently for prospects to develop, a cost-saving blueprint that leads to better draft picks but often alienates fans. Over the past three seasons, only Baltimore and Detroit have lost more games than Kansas City; contention did not seem close.

Yet the Royals acted swiftly to improve. In the first week or so of December — very early for baseball’s famously slow-moving free-agent market — they signed starting pitcher Mike Minor (two years, $18 million) and first baseman Carlos Santana (two years, $17.5 million). Last month they engineered a three-way trade with

Whit Merrifield has flown below the radar for some, but he led the majors in hits in both 2018 and 2019. the New York Mets and the Red Sox in which Kansas City acquired outfielder Andrew Benintendi, a pillar of Boston’s title team in 2018.

“Dayton’s not there to sit around and wait,” said Minor, an All-Star for Texas in 2019.

“They didn’t have a whole lot to work with, but they went after guys and made their best offers right away — and when you look at it, it’s a sneaky strong team. I think we’re going to compete, and that’s what Dayton’s there for.

The rebuilding thing, I don’t think Dayton buys into that. He wants to put a good product on the field.”

Benintendi, Minor and Santana were steady, established performers before struggling in the shortened pandemic season. The Royals liked what they saw from rookie starters Brady Singer and Kris Bubic last season, and believe they have a well-rounded offense: power from Jorge Soler, Salvador Pérez and Hunter Dozier, and speed from Adalberto Mondesi, Whit Merrifield and new center fielder Michael A. Taylor.

Are they ready to win? Maybe, maybe not.

But Moore wants to give them the chance.

“I don’t have 100% security on what the result is going to be — but I think it’s got a chance to be a lot better,” he said. “And if we don’t do anything, I’ve got a pretty good idea what the outcome is going to be.”

Incentivizing teams to win, which would theoretically raise the demand for free agents, is a major priority for the union, whose collective bargaining agreement with owners expires in nine months. Players contend there is plenty of money to share — the Royals sold for $1 billion in 2019 to John Sherman, a businessman who added Kansas City Chiefs quarter-

back Patrick Mahomes to the ownership team in the summer — and spending to win should be standard procedure.

“We’re very fortunate here to have a front office and ownership that understands this is a very small window players get to play in the big leagues,” said Merrifield, who has twice led the majors in hits. “Why not go out every year and put out the best team you can? Obviously teams are going to have their budgets or whatever you want to call it, but there’s no reason to not go out and try to win every year.

The fact that people were surprised that we’re doing that is a problem.”

Moore said he does not compare his approach to that of his peers, because he does not know all the factors they face. But the Royals’ response to the pandemic stood apart.

In May, after other teams had released more than 400 minor leaguers, Moore announced that the Royals would not be cutting any. As other teams waffled, the Royals were the first team to publicly commit to paying minor leaguers all season.

This year, there will be far fewer jobs in the affiliated minors. MLB overhauled the game’s feeder system, eliminating short-season teams and reducing the draft to five rounds last year and as few as 20 this year. There were 40 rounds in 2019, and Moore sees several downsides to the push for efficiency.

With the high attrition rate among pitchers, Moore said, it was “absolutely mindboggling” to lose two minor league affiliates and, thus, about 30 pitchers a team could groom. While MLB has repurposed some minor leagues — using them for draft prospects, college players and independent players — the

intangible changes could be significant.

“Why do you want minor league contraction and round reduction?” Moore said. “I believe in this game, and I believe in the lessons of this game and how it shapes and molds people and future leaders. Baseball players are the best leaders in the world, and I believe the Royals have something to help those guys.”

Moore recently gave his annual speech to the organization’s coaches and managers. This is the message, he said, and it never changes: “I want you to understand this — we have X amount of players in minor league camp, and only 15% are going to make the major leagues.

But you know what? All 100% of them are probably going to go back into their communities and teach baseball and represent this game. So we have to make sure that we pour everything into them, we teach them as much as possible, so they can share this game and inspire people to play it. They’re going to be the experts in their communities.”

To Moore, every former minor leaguer can be a Johnny Appleseed for baseball, spreading the game far and wide. Fewer missionaries means fewer disciples and, in time, a smaller congregation. It is a troubling equation.

At the moment, with the exhibition season underway, there may be fewer innings, too — as few as five for spring training games through March 13, with managers allowed to halt innings after two outs if a pitcher has thrown 20 pitches. It comes from the same less-is-more mindset that limits playing opportunities, discourages risks on the bases and makes too many teams hesitant to improve incrementally.

The Royals expect to make the playoffs, Merrifield said, a common sentiment in nearly every camp. But even if they fall short, there is still value in a few more wins.

The year before they signed Meche, the Royals drew 1.3 million fans. He made the AllStar team in his first season, when the Royals improved by seven games, but retired before the deal was over. It took the Royals several more years to make the playoffs, and they have not become a sustained winner.

But they reached the World Series in 2014, won it in 2015 and contended for a while after that. Now they have sincere hope of doing it again, which would most likely continue a streak that matters deeply to the college kid on that hillside.

Every year the Royals have opened the gates, they have drawn more fans than they did the year Moore arrived.

“It’s about the fans,” he said. “It always has been.”

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Wednesday, March 3, 2021

37

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

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

Crossword

Answers on page 38

Wordsearch

GAMES

HOROSCOPE Aries

38

The San Juan Daily Star

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

(Mar 21-April 20)

Craving a fresh start? As luscious Venus aligns with electric Uranus, the urge for something out of the ordinary can push you to explore further. You may seek out people who greatly inspire you, and be drawn to a life coach, teacher or other mentor who could help you see life from a new perspective. Want to move beyond your limits? This is the time to break free of them, Aries.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

You can be sensitive to chaos and disorder, so with the Sun, Venus and Neptune in your lifestyle zone, it’s time to get a little more organized. Setting some boundaries for yourself and others will give you a structure that keeps things in balance. Have a list of intentions and prioritize goals that you really enjoy, and soon you’ll be flying high and feeling so much more contented.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

A positive aspect involving sultry Venus may find you invigorated by an encounter, and this pleasant distraction could add sparkle to your day. You might click with this person right away and have an urge to connect again. Feeling creative? Don’t hold back, let go and let it flow. You can even gain inspiration from something or someone in your local community.

A relationship could emerge from a totally unexpected quarter, and with someone who is very different from your usual crowd. You may not have that much in common, but it might be the fact that you are opposites, that attracts you to each other. Whether you become friends or feel a romantic draw, it helps to nurture this bond, otherwise it can fizzle out all too fast.

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Have something important to share? Don’t feel you have to give away personal details until you have established a degree of trust. Under the current starmap, you may be too eager to talk without thinking about the consequences. Allow things to unfold naturally, after all, what’s the hurry? Avoid rushing into a new bond so fast that it doesn’t have a chance of going anywhere.

As sociable Mercury moves to align with expansive Jupiter, the coming days have a positive air about them, encouraging confidence. This could be a good time to enhance your social media presence, start a blog, create a website or to market your goods and services online. If your goal is to make new friends, you’ll easily find others on your wavelength you can chat with, Archer.

Someone you thought you knew well could surprise you, Cancer. A lively aspect involving edgy Uranus suggests you may be delighted by an admission of theirs, or something unusual they have become interested in. This can add a sparkling edge to your relationship. It might mean you can talk to them about things or ideas that you have secretly mulled over for some time.

The Moon’s angle with Pluto could find you struggling with your image, a goal or thoughts about your place in the wider world. Today can be intense, but this may be pointing to the fact that you are running on old tracks. New desires and options will enliven your thinking, and the enthusiasm you feel might surprise and delight you. You’ll soon be firing on all cylinders.

Leo

Aquarius

(July 24-Aug 23)

Need to share something? This may be an issue that you have kept to yourself, and it could be that pride or other emotions have prevented you from discussing it. Getting it out in the open can bring you loving support, and might not be as difficult as you thought.

As Mercury aligns with Jupiter in inclusive Aquarius, consider starting a group so everyone has a chance to be heard.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

Does a relationship need to thaw before you get talking again? A brilliant insight into this matter means you are almost halfway to resolving it. Don’t beat about the bush Virgo, just let them know that you understand the issue and are sorry. Within a short time, things could be back to normal. Enjoy computing or IT? A new course can deepen your knowledge and abilities.

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Any decisions made over coming days could impact resources, by encouraging impulsive buys. But sometimes you have to grab a bargain when you see it, otherwise you can miss out. If you have a desire to redecorate or enhance your place in other ways, then there may be something on offer that appeals. You might need to compromise to take full advantage, but it will be worth it.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Someone from the past could show up and be a force for good, Pisces. Whether they appear in person or connect with you via social media, they might have news to share or be able to help you with something. Mind, having made contact, you may not be so eager to see them gone. If they feel the same, then good things can result from making this bond a more permanent fixture.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

39

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

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Ziggy

40

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

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