Thursday Mar 9, 2023

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

Muldrow: Driving force behind zoo closure agreement was ‘welfare of the animals’

By THE STAR STAFF

The agreement reached between local and federal authorities for the closure of the Mayagüez Zoo and the transfer of almost 600 animals does not include criminal or civil prosecution against any official or the payment of fines, the head of the federal prosecutor’s office in Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, said Wednesday.

Muldrow noted that while allegations of wrongdoing have surfaced over the past 12 years at the zoo, the agreement’s purpose is to ensure the “welfare of the animals.” However, he maintained that the agreement includes a summary of the laws violated for years.

“State and federal investigations led to findings, institutional liability, and violations of the law, but those violations spanned many years, different administrations that could not guarantee the welfare of the animals,” Muldrow said, arguing that the agreement speeds up the transfer of animals without the need for litigation. “Although it was an institutional problem of lack of resources and adequate training to guarantee the welfare of the animals, there was no intentional harm [done] to the animals.”

Muldrow never mentioned that the government had threatened to sue to stop the transfer of the animals.

He noted that the agreement covers the local Department of Justice. Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández, who was at the press conference, did not refute him.

The cost of the transfer of the animals, to be completed in six months, was not provided, and at least two sanctuaries, one in Texas and one in Colorado, will cover the cost, according to the agreement. FEMA would reimburse the money to those institutions.

“This agreement came about because we have been in communication and collaboration to reach a result in which the most important thing is the welfare of the animals,” Muldrow said when answering persistent questions from journalists about the impunity enjoyed by officials who were in charge of the zoo.

“Obviously, we can’t change what happened in the past,” the federal official said. “Animals died, but we believe that helping the animals that are there to have a better life is justice for the animals that died.”

As recently as Feb. 27, a cougar was euthanized due to a cancerous condition in one leg. Still, the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources had not reported it. As for the elephant Mundi, Muldrow noted that it is still uncertain where she will be moved, but he mentioned two possibilities: sanctuaries in Georgia and Tennessee.

“We have reached an agreement that we are on the same page,” he said. “Animal welfare is the number one priority. … The consequences are that we are working together for animal welfare.”

With few exceptions, they would be subject to the transfer, mostly by plane, of 328 animals from the Mayagüez zoo and 206 from the Detention Center in Cambalache, Arecibo.

Mundi the elephant

Police ask for public’s help in finding suspect in Cataño murders

By THE STAR STAFF

The Puerto Rico Police Bureau on Wednesday requested help from the public to find the whereabouts of Edwin Rivera Pérez, alias Bubu, who according to an investigation by the bureau’s Major Crimes Division is one of the participants in the shooting that claimed the lives of three people, including a 4-year-old boy, in Jardines de Cataño Feb. 20.

Police Commissioner Antonio Lopez Figueroa called on citizens to provide information, confidentially, that can locate the whereabouts of Rivera Pérez, 25, who resided in the housing project where the events occurred, after failing to appear in the Bayamón Prosecutor’s office as promised by his attorney.

The police chief said the investigation locates Rivera Pérez in the place and time of the events and links him as a participant in the exchange of bullets, in which three minors were injured and Jesús Carrasquillo Alicea, 23, Johnny Jay Osorio García, 24, and four-year-old Ian Ordóñez Correa died.

“We are committed to solving [the crime] and prosecuting those responsible for Ian’s death,” López Figueroa said in a written statement. “We have already begun to do so. Now, we need the help of citizens to find this subject linked to these events and who, according to our investigation, incited the tragedy that night.

The police commissioner added that as part of the process, Sgt. Karina Ojeda and prosecutor Mónica Pérez Díaz agreed with Rivera Pérez’s attorneys that their client would

appear on Wednesday so that the public prosecutor could present the charges against him.

Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández announced that, given Rivera Pérez’s non-appearance, the Bayamón Prosecutor’s Office, represented by Pérez Díaz, determined to file three charges in absentia, all associated with the Feb. 20 event at the Jardines de Cataño residential complex.

Emanuelli Hernández said the charges filed Bayamón Superior Court were Article 249C of the Criminal Code, for shooting in the air, Article 6.14 of the Weapons Law for firing a firearm, Article 6.05 also of the Weapons Law for carrying and transporting a firearm without having a license to do so.

Judge Aida Meléndez Juarbe found cause on all three counts and imposed $300,000 bail.

Planning Board begins evaluating citizen input on new draft permit rules

By THE STAR STAFF

Puerto Rico Planning Board Chairman Julio

Lassús Ruiz announced Wednesday that, after an extensive process of citizen participation, the agency’s staff began the evaluation and analysis of the comments received on the draft of the new Joint Regulations for the Issuance of Permits Related to Development, Land Use and Business Operation.

Lassús Ruiz said he was very satisfied with the citizen response, which reached the record number of 1,676 comments.

“The agency made extraordinary efforts to communicate the availability of the document to be evaluated by the public,” he said. “Never before has the agency exceeded what is required by law in terms of notifications, notices of public hearings, number of views, dissemination of videos of those hearings, and in such a broad educational campaign on the content of the Regulation, as well as an emphatic call for citizen participation. The number of comments received demonstrates the broad scope of all the initiatives.”

The document, which was made public on

Oct. 28 of last year, was available for scrutiny by professionals, interest groups and citizens in general for a period exceeding 110 days and in which 22 public hearings were held. Originally, the participation period was supposed to end on Jan. 20, but the Planning Board extended the term until Feb. 21.

The Planning Board has the mandate through Law 161-2009 to draft, evaluate and implement a regulation that integrates and gives coherence to the permitting processes, their regulation and interaction with economic development policies, as well to balance the regulation with planning

Unit 2 at Aguirre Power Plant goes back online

By THE STAR STAFF

Unit 2 of the Aguirre Power Plant in Salinas is back in service following an obligation of some $29 million allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for repairs to the electrical generation complex. Wednesday’s announcement followed a visit by the executive directors of the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3) and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), Manuel Laboy Rivera and Josué Colón Ortiz, respectively, along with Juan Rodríguez, the vice president of capital programs at LUMA Energy, and FEMA leadership, who toured several permanent works in development at the

plant, whose total obligations are estimated at $69 million.

“The reconstruction of the energy system in Puerto Rico continues its course and an example of this is the renovation of the generation and transmission infrastructure that is taking place at Aguirre Power Plant,” Laboy Rivera said. “During the visit, we were able to verify the work led there by PREPA and LUMA aimed at renewing the equipment and facilities that will give resilience and greater stability to the service received by customers. As part of the commitment of Gov. [Pedro] Pierluisi’s administration, we recently made an advance of $31.7 million, an amount that was approved through a request of the Working Capital Advance pilot program.”

Among the works that PREPA has advanced is the repair of Aguirre Units 1 and 2 at an approximate cost of $20.9 million. Repairing those generators augments the available reliable generation, which in turn will increase the resilience of the system, the officials said.

Meanwhile, LUMA is carrying out fieldwork to make way for phase 1 of the installation of new protective equipment with a value of $39 million that will increase the reliability and continuity of electrical service at such an important point of the power grid.

The PREPA chief noted meanwhile that “we reiterate our gratitude for the collaboration and work of the employees of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, together with FEMA and COR3,

associated with conservation and protection of resources.

Lassús Ruiz confirmed that 167 people participated in public hearings on the draft regulations, of which 39 presented papers. Meanwhile, of the 1,676 comments, 1,602 were submitted by citizens, including 84 organizations, 10 by concerned agencies, 13 by municipalities and 51 that were received after the deadline. The comments were received overwhelmingly via email, while just over 200 were received through an online RC portal and others were received through regular mail or delivered personally to the agency.

who have made it possible for the Authority to complete the repair work on Unit 2 of Aguirre.” “This base generation unit is essential for the supply of energy to customers and for the operational stability of the electrical system,” he said. “We were able to synchronize this unit in time to be able to complete other repairs in process before the start of the peak of the hurricane season.”

Edwin Rivera Pérez, alias Bubu

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Executive Director Josué Colón Ortiz

Moody’s downgrades AES PR bonds’ outlook to negative

By THE STAR STAFF

One of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s (PREPA) leading energy suppliers, AES Puerto Rico, is having financial difficulties.

AES Puerto Rico’s senior secured bonds have been downgraded by a credit rating agency because of the increased likelihood the energy provider may not be able to meet the June 1 debt service payment.

According to the March 7 press release from Moody’s Investors Service, the bonds were downgraded to Caa2 from Caa1. “Moody’s downgraded today to Caa2 from Caa1 the rating assigned to AES Puerto Rico’s senior secured obligations, including approximately $144 million of senior secured bonds 2000 Series A issued by the Puerto Rico Industrial, Tourist, Educational, Medical, and Environmental Control Facilities Financing Authority (AFICA) on behalf of AES Puerto Rico,” the statement said. “The rating outlook was changed to negative from stable.”

The rating downgrade to Caa2 was prompted by the increased likelihood that AES Puerto Rico will not have sufficient liquidity reserves on hand to make its June 1 debt service payment on the bonds. Around $17.9 million of principal amortization is due on June 1. At the end of February, AES Puerto Rico had fully depleted its debt service reserve account for the 2000 Series A.

AES Puerto Rico’s liquidity situation has been further aggravated during 2022 by operating expense pressure which currently cannot be passed through to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) under the power purchase agreement (PPA). Debt service coverage ratios were already below 1.0x in 2021 and 2022 but liquidity reserves were sufficient to make debt service payments during those years, the credit rating agency said.

Operating expenses for the project have increased given that coal ash disposal has not been permitted on the island since 2020. Those higher costs are not reimbursable under the PPA.

AES Puerto Rico has faced higher costs for coal ash disposal and entered into an Agremax Master Purchase and Sale Agreement with Keystone Properties LLC for the disposal of its coal ash on Feb. 19, 2019. The agreement extends through 2025. AES Puerto Rico had budgeted for residual waste disposal costs of around $26.3 million in 2022.

AES Puerto Rico also faced higher start-up costs in 2022 because the unit needed to be restarted several times due to transmission line problems. These are also not reimbursable under the PPA, the credit rating agency said.

Moreover, AES Puerto Rico will likely face higher costs for coal supply once its fuel supply agreement expires at the end of 2023 given current market prices. AES Puerto Rico continues to progress with the liner project which is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to avoid further groundwater contamination from fly ash. Any fines or additional violation notices from the EPA would be credit negative.

“We understand that AES Puerto Rico is negotiating amendments to the PPA with PREPA to alleviate short-term and medium-term liquidity concerns,” the credit rating agency said. “However, it is highly probable that these amendments cannot be agreed upon in time for the 1 June debt service payment or may be insufficient to improve AES Puerto Rico’s liquidity situation on a sustainable basis.”

Other rating considerations include the value of AES Puerto Rico to PREPA as a reliable, cost-effective and important resource.

While PREPA continues to operate its business in bankruptcy, the utility has honored its payment obligations under the PPA with AES Puerto Rico throughout the bankruptcy, a credit positive, indicating the importance of the resource for island reliability. The economic value of the plant is limited following expiration of the PPA given a ban on coal plants in Puerto Rico by Jan. 1, 2028.

Fiscal board requests additional info from AES affiliate on solar projects under Title V

In a separate development, the Financial Oversight and Management Board has asked Clean Flexible Energy, a San Juan-based affiliate of AES Puerto Rico, to submit additional information on three solar installations to be developed under Title V of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) according to a published letter.

It is one of the few times that Title V of PROMESA has been used to help develop a project. Title V of PROMESA seeks, in summary, to establish a process for the revitalization of the vital infrastructure of Puerto Rico through the establishment of expedited processes for the review and granting of permits of those projects considered “critical.” The project is evaluated by the so-called revitalization coordinator, which the oversight board currently does not have.

According to the March 6 letter sent by the oversight board’s general counsel,0 Jaime El Koury, to Clean Flexible Energy (CFE) President Jesús Bolinaga, on Nov. 8, 2022, CFE submitted documents to the board in connection with three projects: the Jobos Solar + BESS, the Salinas Solar + BESS; and the Naguabo A & B Solar.

“Since receiving this submission, the [oversight board] has been diligently reviewing CFE’s materials and analyzing the information in light of PROMESA Title V and other applicable provisions of PROMESA,” the letter notes.

For each of the three projects, the oversight board asked the developer to describe any additional infrastructure needed to bring generation online other than the bay (1 OHL feeder) and the cost of the additional bay (and any other required additions) included in the project cost.

The oversight board also asked for copies of any federal, state, local or other standards to comply in completing the projects, such as whether the projects are being built to withstand a category 5 hurricane in compliance with best practices and legal requirements.

The oversight board also asked CFE to provide supporting information and background to determine that the projects cumulatively will save approximately 1.75 barrels of fuel oil per megawatt-hour generated.

RFQ issued for new power plant

Meanwhile, the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A) and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) have issued a request for qualifications (RFQ) to companies and consortia interested in providing additional generation capacity through a new generation facility to be located at a suitable location in Puerto Rico under a long-term public-private partnership contract.

The aim of the project is to provide generation capacity with the purpose of improving resource adequacy on the island. Recent natural disasters further aggravated the current geographic supply-demand mismatch by destroying much of the transmission capability from south to north.

“The Project responds to the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau’s (PREB) order to PREPA to notify the P3A to commence a competitive procurement process for the establishment of a public-private partnership (PPP) for a Generation Facility,” said Fermín Fontanés Gómez, executive director of the P3A. “As we’re moving forward with the transformation and modernization of Puerto Rico’s energy system, this PPP supports the ongoing efforts of strengthening the reliability of power generation on the island.”

The project’s objectives are in line with 1) PREPA’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), 2) the PREB’s August 2022 order instructing PREPA to notify the P3A to commence the procurement process for the generation facility, and 3) LUMA Energy LLC’s (PREPA’s transmission and distribution system [T&D] operator) resource adequacy study.

Pursuant to the T&D operation and management (O&M) agreement, the T&D operator filed the results of its Resource Adequacy Study, which concluded that:

a. Puerto Rico has inadequate supply resources to ensure reasonable system reliability and meet expected demand, thereby raising the risk of load shedding outages beyond industry standards.

b. The probability that Puerto Rico’s existing generators would be unable to meet system load demand over the course of a year is nearly 100%.

c. Puerto Rico’s loss of load expectation (LOLE) for fiscal year 2023 is 8.81 days per year, which is 88 times higher than the utility industry benchmark of one day in 10 years (0.10 days per year). This means that, for 2023, it is expected that there will be 8.81 days per year (on average) on which electricity demand will not be met by the existing generation supply. This LOLE is significantly higher than other LOLE calculations on similar islands.

d. The risk of load-shedding outages is partially the result of inadequate reliable generation capacity due to PREPA’s unreliable and outdated generation plants.

The project contemplates PREPA entering into a long-term PPP contract with a private partner. The private partner will identify a suitable site location, design, permit, finance, construct, install, manage, operate and maintain the generation facility.

The rating downgrade by Moody’s was prompted by the increased likelihood that AES Puerto Rico will not have sufficient liquidity reserves on hand to make its June 1 debt service payment on senior secured obligations.

Effective response sought as carjackings reach 77 on the year

By THE STAR STAFF

Some 77 carjackings had been committed in Puerto Rico this year as of the start of the day on Wednesday, island Police Bureau officials told Sen. Keren Riquelme Cabrera during an extensive morning meeting aimed at establishing strategies to prevent such crimes.

“These 77 carjackings are 23 more than the same period last year and show that criminal elements are moving to steal motor vehicles, which, according to the police, is one of the main reasons for this,” Riquelme said. “The areas of San Juan and Bayamón are the most active in this type of crime. This situation is one that we have to address with prevention and greater citizen orientation. The officers of the Police Bureau have already established an interaction program focused on prevention.”

The at-large senator held a meeting at the Capitol with Lt. Col. Roberto Rivera and Capt. Richard Haddock.

“At the meeting, we were informed that the main vehicles [targeted] for carjackings are the Toyota, including the Corollas, Tacoma and the Yaris,” Riquelme said. “Many of these carjackings are by order, which means that criminals ask other criminals to steal these vehicles for use, either to remove and sell their parts in the illegal market or another use. Citizens have to be aware because the most common hours for this type of crime are between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m.”

At the meeting, it also came to light that most of the carjackings occur in areas near gas stations, as well as at small businesses located on high-traffic avenues, as well as in urban areas.

“Among the actions we are looking at, some of which the police are implementing, is increased preventive patrolling in the most prone areas,” the New Progressive Party senator said. “That, together with an orientation campaign, because citizens have to always be aware of their surroundings, which will be focused on that, the

awareness, as well as tips from citizens through the line 787-343-2020 and promotion of preventive actions, are the key to stopping this wave.”

Riquelme said she will be holding similar meetings in the communities most affected by the rise in carjackings in order to identify new mechanisms to prevent them.

With pedestrian fatalities rising, Traffic Safety Commission steps up crosswalk awareness campaign

By THE STAR STAFF

Traffic Safety Commission (CST by its Spanish initials) Executive Director Luis Rodríguez Díaz said Wednesday that given the increase in pedestrian fatalities, the

CST is reinforcing its campaign urging drivers to respect pedestrian crossings.

Statistics reflect that so far this year 20 pedestrians have died, six more than last year.

Rodríguez Díaz said the educational campaign “Put Yourself in Their Shoes and Avoid Being Fined” is accompanied by the allocation of over $92,000 to pay state and municipal police to carry out preventive patrols and interventions to identify drivers who stop on the crosswalk or park on sidewalks, obstructing the path of pedestrians.

“Statistics reported show an increase in pedestrian deaths,” the official pointed out.

The campaign will continue through Sunday .

As reported, in addition to respecting crosswalks, the campaign provides additional advice, such as not blocking sidewalks and yielding to pedestrians. When you see a vehicle yielding to a pedestrian, do not pass the pedestrian.

The municipal police forces participating in the educational and preventive effort will be those from San Juan, Guaynabo, Hatillo, Isabela, Ponce, Camuy, Bayamón, and the Traffic Division of the Puerto Rico Police Bureau. In addition, any driver who does not respect a pedestrian crossing is exposed to a fine of $150.

Sen. Keren Riquelme Cabrera

Traffic Safety Commission Executive Director Luis Rodríguez Díaz

House GOP prepares to slash federal programs in coming budget showdown

By CATIE EDMONDSON

Hard-right House Republicans are readying a plan to gut the nation’s foreign aid budget and make deep cuts to health care, food assistance and housing programs for poor Americans in their drive to balance the federal budget, as the party toils to coalesce around a plan that will deliver on their promise to slash spending.

Republicans are ready this week to condemn President Joe Biden’s forthcoming budget as bloated and misguided, and have said they will propose their own next month. But uniting his fractious conference around a list of deep cuts to popular programs will be the biggest test yet for Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who will need to win the support of Republicans in competitive districts and conservative hard-liners to cobble together the 218 votes needed to win the passage of a budget plan.

Privately, even some top party officials have questioned how Republicans will meet their spending objectives while keeping their members in line.

The most conservative lawmakers in his conference — who are emboldened after their four-day standoff with McCarthy, a California Republican, earlier this year during his election as speaker — are pursuing cuts that they concede could cause political pain and blowback among their colleagues.

“There is going to be a gnashing of teeth,” said Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, an arch-conservative member of the House Budget Committee, as the Republican majority works to produce its spending blueprint. “It is not going to be a pretty process. But that’s how it should be.”

The ugliness owes in part to a paradigm shift among GOP lawmakers. After decades of futile efforts to cut the enormous costs of Social Security and Medicare, Republicans have pledged not to touch the biggest entitlement programs, whose spending grows automatically and are on an unsustainable trajectory as more Americans reach retirement age. Coupled with their promise not to raise taxes, that leaves the GOP to consider a slash-and-burn approach to a slew of federal programs and agencies whose budgets are controlled by Congress.

As they meet privately to develop their plan, Republicans say they are relying heavily on a budget outline developed by Russell T. Vought, the former Trump administration budget director who now leads the far-right

Center for Renewing America.

In an interview, Vought said it made strategic sense to shift away from politically impregnable Social Security and Medicare and instead target an array of programs that conservatives have criticized for years.

“We’re in a total strategic cul-de-sac on the right, and our fiscal warriors and strategists have totally failed in the sense that, point to any cuts we’ve had success-wise since 1997,” Vought said in an interview. “I actually think that that’s the worst part of the federal spending, because it’s the bureaucracy.

“I’m not saying you can balance on discretionary alone,” he said, referring to the part of the federal budget controlled by Congress. “But a work requirement food stamp program is a lot easier to sell than premium support,” he added, referring to a plan to make Medicare beneficiaries shoulder more of their costs.

The strategy suggested by Vought, who has become something of an intellectual and tactical guru to many of the hard-liners in the House Republican Conference, would enact deep spending cuts to what he called the “woke and weaponized government.”

The outline includes a 45% cut to foreign aid; adding work requirements for food stamp and Medicaid beneficiaries; a 43% cut to housing programs, including phasing out the Section 8 program that pays a portion of monthly rent costs for low-income people; cutting the FBI’s counterintelligence budget

by nearly half; and eliminating Obamacare expansions to Medicaid to save tens of billions of dollars.

Nearly 40 states have accepted federal funding for expansion under the Affordable Care Act, providing health care coverage for an estimated 12 million individuals living near or below the poverty line.

The proposal would also eliminate the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the Pentagon, cut $3.4 billion in State Department migration and refugee assistance, and make Pell grants available only to students whose families cannot contribute any money toward a college education.

Adding work requirements to programs like food stamps is “a given,” according to Norman.

“We’re $32 trillion in debt,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. “We’ve got to get people back to work, get the economy going.”

A proposal with such cuts will draw attacks that Republicans are targeting the truly needy while avoiding touching the other benefit programs that serve many older Americans with other sources of income. But Republicans say the savings have to be found.

If politicians cannot “change the trajectory on discretionary spending, then we’ll never have the courage to tackle the bigger issues,” said Rep. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, a first-term conservative Republican on the Budget Committee. “So we’ve got to have the courage to go after the nondefense discretionary areas that everyone may not agree on.”

Democrats are eager for Republicans to roll out their spending plan, expecting it to provide powerful ammunition to show the GOP intends to slice a range of federal programs relied upon by Americans across all incomes.

Rep. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, called Vought’s budget plan “an outright war on middle-class America.”

Some Democrats are calling for both parties to find a way to compromise, urging Republicans to drop their threats to use the debt limit to force concessions and Democrats to recognize the need to rein in out-of-control spending.

“We will never solve the problem by having each party running in the opposite direction,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, March 1, 2023.

Biden is set to detail at least $2 trillion in measures to reduce deficits

By JIM TANKERSLEY

President Joe Biden today will propose policies aimed at trimming federal budget deficits by at least $2 trillion over the next 10 years as his administration embraces the politics of debt reduction amid a fight with Republicans over raising the nation’s borrowing limit.

Biden’s plans, which will be detailed as part of his budget blueprint, are expected to rely heavily on a familiar batch of tax increases on corporations and high earners along with savings from some spending reductions, including efforts to save money on federal health care programs by expanding legislation he signed last year that allows Medicare to negotiate the price of certain prescription drugs.

The moves come as Biden faces pressure from Republicans, who won control of the House last fall, to alter the nation’s fiscal path. House Republicans have refused to raise the nation’s debt limit, which caps how much money the federal government can borrow, unless Biden agrees to steep cuts in federal spending.

To help increase federal revenues and reduce the nation’s reliance on borrowed money, Biden is expected to announce a new tax on American households worth more than $100 million that would apply to both their earned income and the unrealized gains in the value of their liquid assets, like stocks. Biden will also call for the quadrupling of a tax on stock buybacks that was approved as part of a sweeping tax, health care and climate bill he signed last year.

The president is also expected to continue proposing some tax increases to offset the cost of portions of his agenda that have not yet passed Congress. That agenda includes efforts to expand access to child care and reduce its cost, provide federally guaranteed paid leave for workers, establish universal prekindergarten and enable students to attend community college for free.

Biden’s plans to trim the deficit are unlikely to mollify Republicans. Biden has refused to negotiate over the debt limit and has said he will not cut benefits for Social Security or Medicare, two popular safety net programs. But he has said repeatedly he is open to reducing deficits by raising taxes on corporations and the rich.

Biden previewed his budgetary deficit reduction in his State of the Union speech, saying that “the plan I’m going to show you is going to cut the deficit by another $2 trillion” without cutting “a single bit of Medicare or Social Security.”

The federal government has run deficits every year since 2000, spending more money than it receives in tax revenue. The deficit ballooned under former President Donald Trump after the onset of the pandemic recession, which spurred Congress to approve trillions of dollars

in relief for individuals, businesses and state and local governments. It remained elevated in 2021 under Biden, thanks to a $1.9 trillion economic aid package he signed soon after taking office, but it declined last year.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will grow slightly this fiscal year, to $1.41 trillion from $1.375 trillion, then continue to rise for the course of the decade, topping $2 trillion in 2032. Those increases are being driven in part by the rising costs of Medicare and Social Security as members of the baby boom generation retire, and by the growing cost of servicing the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt following a series of rapid interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve in a bid to tame high inflation.

From 2024 to 2033, the budget office projects, deficits will total more than $20 trillion, driving gross federal debt to nearly $52 trillion. Biden’s proposals, if enacted in full, would reduce that growth by about one-tenth. They are not likely to be. Republicans roundly oppose Biden’s tax proposals and have tried to repeal the Medicare prescription drug savings measure he signed last year.

Through new laws he has signed and executive actions he has issued, Biden has approved policies that would add about $5 trillion to the national debt over a decade, according to estimates by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in Washington. Those include his 2021 economic aid law and debt relief for certain student loan borrowers, which is under challenge at the Supreme Court.

It is unclear how Biden settled on the $2 trillion figure for his budget’s deficit reduction, or to what extent he agrees with Republicans who claim that the nation’s current levels of debt and deficits pose a risk to the economy.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, did not directly answer a reporter’s questions this week on how Biden arrived at his preferred level of deficit reduction or whether the path of growth in the national debt is hurting the economy.

“The president understands his fiscal responsibility. He understands how important it is to lower the deficit,” Jean-Pierre said.

“He’s going to put forward a fiscal budget that is going to be responsible,” she added.

President Biden faces pressure from Republicans, who won control of the House last fall, to make steep cuts in federal spending.

GOP states abandon bipartisan voting integrity group, yielding to conspiracy theories

By NEIL VIGDOR

First to leave was Louisiana, followed by Alabama.

Then, in one fell swoop, Florida, Missouri and West Virginia announced earlier this week that they would drop out of a bipartisan network of about 30 states that helps maintain accurate voter rolls, one that has faced intensifying attacks from election deniers and right-wing media.

Ohio may not be far behind, according to a letter sent to the group Monday from the state’s chief election official, Frank LaRose. LaRose and his counterparts in the five states that left the group are all Republicans.

For more than a year, the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit organization known as ERIC, has been hit with false claims from allies of former President Donald Trump who say it is a voter registration vehicle for Democrats that received money from George Soros, the liberal billionaire and philanthropist, when it was created in 2012.

Trump even chimed in Monday, urging all Republican governors to sever ties with the group, baselessly claiming in a Truth Social media post that it “pumps the rolls” for Democrats.

The Republicans who announced their states were leaving the group cited complaints about governance issues, chiefly that it mails newly eligible voters who have not registered before federal elections. They also accused the group of opening itself up to a partisan influence.

In an interview Tuesday, Jay Ashcroft, a Republican who is Missouri’s secretary of state, said that the group had balked at his state’s calls for reforms, some of which were expected to be weighed by the group’s board of directors at a meeting March 17. He denied that the decision to pull out was fueled by what the organization and its defenders have described as a right-wing smear campaign.

“It’s not like I was antagonistic toward cleaning our voter rolls,” Ashcroft said.

Shane Hamlin, the group’s executive director, did not comment about particular complaints of the states in an email Tuesday, but referred to an open letter that he wrote March 2 saying that the organization had been the subject of substantial misinformation regarding the nature of its work

and who has access to voter lists.

Defenders of the group lamented the departures, saying they would weaken the group’s information-sharing efforts and undermine it financially because of lost dues. And, they said, the defections conflict with the election integrity mantra that has motivated Republicans since Trump’s defeat in 2020.

Republicans haven’t always been so sour about the work of the coalition, which Louisiana left in 2022.

It was just last year that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida mentioned the group’s benefit to his state, which he described as useful for checking voter rolls during a news conference announcing the highly contentious arrests of about 20 people on voter fraud charges. He was joined then by Cord Byrd, Florida’s secretary of state, a fellow Republican who, on Monday, was expressing a much different opinion. In an announcement that Florida was leaving the group, Byrd said that the state’s concerns about data security and “partisan tendencies” had not been addressed.

“Therefore, we have lost confidence in ERIC,” Byrd said.

Representatives for DeSantis, who is considering a Republican run for president, did not respond to a request for comment.

LaRose, in Ohio, also had a stark shift in tone: After recently describing the group to reporters as imperfect but still “one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have,” by Monday he was also calling for reforms and put the group on notice.

“Anything short of the reforms mentioned above will result in action up to and including our withdrawal from membership,” LaRose wrote. “I implore you to do the right thing.”

The complaints about partisanship seem centered on David Becker, a former Justice Department lawyer who helped develop the group and is a nonvoting board member. Ashcroft said he didn’t think that Becker, a former director of the elections program at the Pew Charitable Trusts who has vocally debunked election fraud claims, including disputing Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, should be on the board.

Becker is the founder and director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, another nonpartisan group that has been attacked by election deniers.

What is ‘Cop City’? The Atlanta police center protests, explained

By ADEEL HASSAN and SEAN KEENAN

Atlanta’s plan to build a sprawling police and fire training center amid a 1,000acre stretch of urban woodland has become the focus of intense protest, drawing opposition from environmentalists who want to preserve the woods and activists who say the center will accelerate the militarization of the police.

The protesters, who refer to the planned training center as “Cop City,” also include people who are opposed to the corporate funding of the $90 million project. Some have set up barricades at the site, taken up residence in trees, damaged property and come into direct confrontation with the authorities.

In January, police officers tried to expel demonstrators from the woods, and what they described as a shootout left one protester dead, a state trooper seriously wounded and Georgia’s governor authorizing the National Guard to intervene.

City officials say that the site is needed to replace inadequate training facilities and would become one of the largest such centers in the country. They have said that some of the protesters have crossed the line from civil disobedience into domestic terrorism.

Here’s what to know about the project and the opposition to it.

What does the city plan to build, and why?

After months of delays and debate, the City Council voted 10-4 in 2021 to authorize the project, officially named the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, on property owned by the city in DeKalb County.

The land has been leased to the Atlanta Police Foundation, a nonprofit which is raising about $60 million for the new campus. The foundation receives financial contributions directly from many of the area’s largest companies, or through its philanthropic arms. Many of those companies’ executives serve on the foundation’s board.

The proposal includes building clas-

srooms, a shooting range and a driving course for practicing high-speed chases. There would also be pastureland for police horses and a “mock city for real-world training,” where the police could practice conducting raids.

City officials have said for years that they need a modern site for training. The police academy is run out of a patchwork of sites, including vacant school buildings. The Police Department also argues that a new complex could lift morale and help recruit officers to the understaffed force.

A spokesperson for Mayor Andre Dickens said the complex would help officers train for increasingly common situations like convenience store robberies and mass shootings.

“We need to make sure officers are prepared for real-life scenarios, like if you have a shooting in a nightclub or a gas station,” said the spokesperson, Bryan Thomas, who added that the city was committed to community-based policing and de-escalation techniques.

The Fire Department says the center would allow firefighters to practice driving fire engines on a spacious training track, instead of on city streets at night.

What are the protesters’ arguments for stopping construction?

The plans were approved in the aftermath of the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, at a

time when there was growing resistance to traditional policing strategies and there were calls for redirecting police funding to other public safety initiatives.

Opponents worry the center’s completion would set a dangerous precedent for law enforcement in Atlanta and beyond, emboldening police agencies across the country to adopt more militaristic tactics and weaponry.

“Police here have already responded to protests with militarized tactics, chemical weapons and domestic terrorism charges,” Micah Herskind, a community organizer, said. “With plans to include a ‘mock city’ for police to train in urban warfare tactics, Cop City would only further provide police with training and equipment to suppress dissent and terrorize Black and working-class communities.”

But this is more than just a fight over police conduct, said Will Harlan, the southeast director for the Center for Biological Diversity; it’s an effort to preserve metro Atlanta’s dwindling tree canopy, too.

“The South River Forest is one of the last and largest urban forests in Atlanta and in the country,” he said. “It is a really special place. It provides a habitat to some rare fish species and rare plant species, and it’s one of the largest intact forests we have in the region.”

Some critics also say city officials have insulated the training complex from public outcry by outsourcing it to the foundation.

Who are the protesters and what have they done?

There has been long-standing local op -

position: More than 1,100 Atlanta residents called in comments about the plan during City Council hearings, and most were against it.

After the proposal passed, some activists began to build barricades and tree-sit in the area designated for clearing, hoping to stall construction. In January, an attempt by officials to clear out the forest ended in what authorities described as an exchange of gunfire. The police say a protester, Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, 26, opened fire and was killed by officers. A state trooper was seriously wounded in the shootout.

Activists have thrown Molotov cocktails and destroyed heavy equipment, the police say, and the authorities claim that an assault on the development site Sunday — burning police and construction vehicles and a trailer — resulted in $150,000 in damage. Fire officials say the flames could have spread into forest fires threatening the neighboring community.

“That goes completely against what a majority of the group is fighting for,” said Liliana Bakhtiari, a city council member and one of the few public officials questioning the development plans, referring to the protesters’ desire for environmental preservation.

Why have some protesters been charged with domestic terrorism?

Since December, prosecutors have charged a couple dozen of the hundreds of protesters with domestic terrorism, which can carry a prison sentence of up to 35 years, under state guidelines that were approved in 2017.

“The new law provides prosecutors with considerably more power to crack down on violence that is geared toward intimidating the public and acts meant to coerce government action,” said Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University. “Now the law doesn’t require any harm to persons.”

The disturbance on Sunday led to 23 people facing charges of domestic terrorism, said the Atlanta police, which accused them of throwing large rocks, bricks and Molotov cocktails. Most of those arrested were not Georgia residents.

“I strongly believe in the right to peacefully protest for what one believes is right and just,” said District Attorney Sherry Boston of DeKalb County. “However, I draw the line at violence, destruction of property and threatening and causing harm to others.”

What happens next?

While some of the ground at the site has been cleared, no construction has started. The opposition shows no signs of abating, and the standoff continues.

Reverend Keyanna Jones speaks at an Atlanta City Council meeting at City Hall in Atlanta, March 6, 2023.

Centro Automotriz de Confianza Ave. Luis Muñoz Marín, Caguas

Calle Barbosa #182 (frente al Cuartel de la Policia Estatal), Las Piedras PR

Debt default would cripple US economy, analysis warns

spending cuts and instead continue insisting on a debt-limit increase that is not tied to any changes in fiscal policy.

“Everyone has been talking up to now about how dangerous it would be to default on the national debt, and that’s right,” Warren said in an interview. “But it would be even more dangerous to give in to the Republican cuts.”

“The president has stood strong,” she said, “and I urge him to continue to do that.”

Zandi’s projections join a growing list of warnings from forecasters on Wall Street and at Washington think tanks about the consequences of failing to increase the borrowing limit in a timely manner.

Brownstone renovations in Park Slope, Brooklyn on Jan 4, 2023. The U.S. economy could quickly shed a million jobs and fall into recession if lawmakers fail to raise the nation’s borrowing limit.

By JIM TANKERSLEY

The U.S. economy could quickly shed 1 million jobs and fall into recession if lawmakers fail to raise the nation’s borrowing limit before the federal government exhausts its ability to pay its bills on time, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, Mark Zandi, warned a Senate panel earlier this week.

The damage could spiral to 7 million jobs lost and a 2008-style financial crisis in the event of a prolonged breach of the debt limit, in which House Republicans refuse for months to join Democrats in voting to raise the cap, Zandi and colleagues Cristian deRitis and Bernard Yaros wrote in an analysis prepared for the Senate Banking Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Policy.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., held the subcommittee hearing on the debt limit, and its economic and financial consequences, at a moment of fiscal brinkmanship. House Republicans are demanding deep spending cuts from President Joe Biden in exchange for voting to raise the debt limit, which caps how much money the government can borrow.

That debate is likely to escalate when Biden releases his latest budget proposal Thursday. The president is expected to

propose reducing America’s reliance on borrowed money by raising taxes on high earners and corporations. But he almost certainly will not match the level of spending cuts that will satisfy Republican demands to balance the budget in a decade.

The report also warns of stark economic damage if Biden, in an attempt to avert a default, agrees to those demands. In that scenario, the “dramatic” spending cuts that would be needed to balance the budget would push the economy into recession in 2024, cost the economy 2.6 million jobs and effectively destroy a year’s worth of economic growth over the next decade, Zandi and his colleagues wrote.

“The only real option,” Zandi said in an interview before his testimony, “is for lawmakers to come to terms and increase the debt limit in a timely way. Any other scenario results in significant economic damage.”

“The economy is very vulnerable,” he added. “Even without the debt-limit drama, the recession risks are high. It won’t take much to push us in, and this is certainly a lot more than ‘much.’”

Zandi’s analyses are frequently cited by the Biden administration in support of its economic policy proposals. In this case, Warren is using the Moody’s work to push Biden, in a letter sent to the White House this week, to resist Republican demands for

House Republicans have refused to raise the limit unless Biden agrees to deep but unspecified cuts in federal spending. They say the nation’s current levels of debt, accumulated in bipartisan fashion over two decades of the federal government spending more money than it receives in tax revenue,

pose a current and future threat to economic growth.

Biden has said he welcomes a conversation about fiscal policy with Republican leaders but refuses to negotiate on the debt limit, which allows the government to borrow money to cover debts already approved by Congress.

The government hit its statutory $31.4 trillion debt limit in January. The Treasury Department is employing what are essentially accounting maneuvers that allow it to continue to pay all its bills on time. But those maneuvers work only for a limited time.

Independent groups such as the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington and the Congressional Budget Office have estimated that sometime this summer or early this fall, the government will no longer be able to pay everyone — including bondholders, Social Security recipients and federal employees — on time. The Moody’s team estimates that deadline, known as the X-date, will fall on Aug. 15.

New ‘dashboard’ allows travelers to see which airlines seat families together

By ISABELLA KWAI

The Department of Transportation is introducing an online dashboard that will allow passengers to identify which U.S. airlines will seat children 13 and younger next to an accompanying adult at no extra cost. It is the latest attempt by the Biden administration to pressure airlines to reduce airline fees for everything from seating to reimbursement after flight delays.

The creation of the dashboard is in response to complaints the DOT has received from travelers who say they have been seated apart from their children, some as young as 11 months.

The new dashboard would help passengers see which airlines guarantee family seating while the DOT works on a rule that would ban charging families more to sit together. For airlines to receive a green check on the dashboard, they must guarantee that parents or an accompanying adult can sit next to their children for free if the seats are available.

“Parents traveling with young kids should be able to sit together without an airline forcing them to pay junk fees,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement, adding that the department had been pressing airlines to make those guarantees. “All airlines should do this promptly, even as we move forward to develop a rule establishing this as a requirement across the board.”

In an announcement Monday, the DOT added that the new dashboard would allow parents to sidestep “confusing claims” on family seating policies and make it easier for passengers to know which airlines had “stepped up.” Making the guarantee in their customer service plans also means that if airlines failed to uphold the policy, the DOT could step in to enforce it, the department said.

In recent weeks, airlines have said they would change their policies to help accommodate families. United Airlines announced in February that it would allow children under 12 to sit next to accompanying adults at no extra cost, and updated the seat map technology on its online booking system to allow families to more easily find adjacent seats. If no adjacent seats are available, passengers can rebook on a different flight for free.

Frontier Airlines also announced that it had been making efforts to ensure its system would automatically assign at least one parent a seat with their children under 14. And American Airlines said that it had updated its customer service plan in February to guarantee that children under 15 will sit with accompanying adults for free, and offer travelers free rebooking or a refund if the seating wasn’t available.

Southwest Airlines said in a statement that it

did not charge a fee for seat assignments and offered a service for families to choose their preferred seats during boarding.

The changes come after the Department of Transportation said that in a review begun last year it found that no airline guaranteed seating families together for free, though many airlines said they would make their best efforts. The Biden administration is now planning legislation that would legally enshrine family seating.

In February, a group of Democratic senators introduced the Families Fly Together Act, which would require every airline to seat children 13 and under next to an accompanying adult without a surcharge.

In the meantime, the administration appears to be using dashboards as a way to urge airlines to publicly declare their commitments to their passengers. A similar dashboard, introduced in August, allowed passengers to see which airlines guaranteed services such as meals or accommodations when flights were delayed or canceled for reasons under an airline’s control. The department said that the dashboard compelled 10 U.S. airlines to explicitly guarantee meals and rebooking services, and nine to guarantee accommodations. Many airlines, however, said that they had such policies in place or made small tweaks to existing services to meet the standard for a green check.

The push for air travel reform from the administration follows a spate of public fiascos. In January, a Federal Aviation Administration system outage grounded domestic flights in the country for 90 minutes and caused disruptions throughout the day. And in December, a winter storm left thousands of passengers stranded by bad weather. The situation was compounded for Southwest Airlines passengers after the airline’s inadequate computer systems led to what analysts called the airline’s largest operational meltdown in its five-decade history.

Passengers at the Kansas City International Airport, after a massive winter storm hit the midwest, in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 23, 2022.

Hedge funds up leverage, but fear directional bets with blurred macro picture

Hedge funds are increasingly using more leverage to make wagers on the stock market this year, but they remain less inclined to bet on the market direction due to heightened macroeconomic uncertainties.

Investors are focused on the economic picture as they try and assess the risk of upcoming recession as the U.S. Federal Reserve tries to bring inflation under control by hiking rates aggressively. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve’s chair Jerome Powell said future interest rates hikes could go higher than market participants anticipated to fight inflation.

Hedge funds’ gross exposure, or the sum of long and short positions - bets shares will rise and fall - as a percentage of their assets under management, last week reached peak levels for the last one year according to Goldman Sachs’ prime services weekly report.

Gross exposure went up 2.5 percentage points for the period between Feb. 24 and Mar. 2, to 241% of assets, the report showed.

However, their long wagers minus short ones, known as net exposure - a measure of directional risk appetite - is close to a year low of 66%, Goldman Sachs showed. This illustrates that portfolio managers have little bias on overall market direction.

Hedge funds’ more market neutral approach comes as market participants are trying to guess how high interest rates will get, for how long and when inflation will show consistent signs of decline - and its impact on the stock market.

Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest prime brokers, uses its clients’ database to capture trends. Although the report does not reflect the entire $4 trillion industry, other market participants have expressed a more cautious approach.

Volatility has caught hedge funds off-guard. In the beginning of the year, an unexpected rally forced hedge funds betting against stocks to abandon those trades at the fastest pace since 2015. The S&P 500 went up roughly 9% at its peak in February 2, but trimmed gains to 4% now.

“Investors are not in full risk-on mode,” said Eamon McCooey, head of prime services at Wells Fargo, adding his clients’ dry powder are close to peak levels.

Long-short hedge fund Anson Funds, with $1.5 billion in assets under management, is roughly neutral, with shorts and longs matching off, portfolio manager Moez Kassam said. He said the fund is keeping cash and unused limits higher than in previous years due to economic uncertainties.

“Our macro view centers on inflation,” he said. “It will stay elevated longer than most expect.”

Higher interest rates are also forcing investors to make until recently unthinkable calculations, said Rob Christian, co-head of research and investment management at hedge fund solutions group K2 Advisors, which manages a fund of hedge funds, as cash may provide a good return.

“Our hedge funds in general have been taking less risk,” he said. “Now two-year Treasury is a very attractive asset class relative to everything.”

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS

The surge in activity has been welcomed by bankers and lawyers working on these offerings. Collectively they executed $72.5 billion worth of stock sales for public companies in 2022, the lowest level since 1996 and a 67% drop from 2021’s deal bonanza, according to Dealogic data.

“Investors are willing to put money to work in a way that they weren’t a year ago,” said Michael Kaplan, a capital markets partner at law firm Davis Polk.

COMMODITIES

CURRENCY

The next frontier for equity capital markets, bankers and lawyers say, are initial public offerings (IPOs), which have been subdued since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Unlike secondary stock sales, IPOs take at least a few days to market to investors, and several months to prepare, so companies can’t be as nimble in pursuing them when the market becomes welcoming.

A busy week for initial public offerings in early February offered some hope to stock market hopefuls, but advisors remain cautious as stocks sold off in recent weeks.

Fourth-quarter earnings season is on the final stretch, with all but seven of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Results for the quarter have beaten consensus estimates 68% of the time, according to Refinitiv.

Wagner mercenary group claims to control part of Bakhmut

By ANATOLY KURMANAEV

The founder of the Russian private military company Wagner claimed Wednesday that his forces had taken the eastern part of Bakhmut and said that seizing the rest of the city would allow the Russian army to accelerate its offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Wagner’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, argued that if Russia’s forces were to take the entire city, where they have been challenged by street-by-street fighting, they would have more favorable, open terrain to advance.

“The world has not yet met a well-prepared Russian army, their units possessing all of the possible modern equipment that have not yet joined the battle,” Prigozhin said Wednesday in a video message, speaking next to what a New York Times analysis identified as a World War II memorial in eastern Bakhmut.

Explosions thundered in the distance.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately comment on Prigozhin’s claim. Before an informal meeting of European defense ministers in Stockholm on Thursday focused on supplying Ukraine with more ammunition, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “We cannot rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days.” But he said that losing Bakhmut would not be a decisive turn in the war, an

assessment that reflected the judgment of Western analysts, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Russia, which has poured equipment and fighters into the area, has been attacking Bakhmut from three directions in a persistent attempt to encircle Ukrainian troops and cut off their supply routes. Moscow, which has faced a series of setbacks on the battlefield, sees taking the city as a key step in its effort to capture the entire eastern Donbas region.

Many Western military analysts have

questioned Russia’s ability to significantly accelerate its offensive if the city is captured, saying its forces have been exhausted by the heavy losses suffered in the early stages of the war. On Wednesday, the U.S. director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, told a Senate hearing that Russia lacked the ammunition and troops to make major territorial gains this year and could shift to a hold-and-defend strategy.

Ukrainian forces have vowed to continue defending Bakhmut and succeeded in keeping open at least one supply route.

In recent days, however, they have destroyed some crossings over the river dividing Bakhmut, leading some analysts to suggest that Ukraine has made a controlled retreat to the western section of the city.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Tuesday framed his decision to keep fighting in Bakhmut in similar terms to Prigozhin, saying the loss of the city could open Russia’s route toward key cities such as Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, to the west.

“We understand that after Bakhmut, they could go further,” he told CNN in an interview.

In his video address, Prigozhin called on Zelenskyy to continue sending Ukraine’s “battle-ready units” to defend Bakhmut, repeating his frequent claim that Wagner’s staggering losses in the city are degrading Kyiv’s offensive ability elsewhere.

Ukrainian commanders have justified their costly defense of the city in similar terms, with the head of the country’s eastern group of forces saying Tuesday that Bakhmut would turn Wagner into a spent force.

Prigozhin did not deny that possibility.

“Many things don’t last forever,” he said in the video, recorded in response to a query from The New York Times. “The same could happen to PMC Wagner,” he said, using an abbreviation for the private military company.

US intelligence chief says Russia lacks the forces to make major gains

By JULIAN E. BARNES

Russia lacks the ammunition and troops to make major territorial gains in Ukraine this year and could shift to a hold-and-defend strategy, dragging out the war, the top U.S. intelligence official said Wednesday.

The official, Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, said during an appearance Wednesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee that after setbacks on the battlefield, President Vladimir Putin of Russia now understands the problems his military faces and could adjust his strategy in the short term.

“Even as the Russian offensive continues, they are experiencing high casualty rates,” Haines said. “Putin is likely better understanding the limits of what his military is capable of achieving and appears to be focused on more limited military objectives for now.”

Russia may see prolonging the war, even if it means long pauses in an offensive push, as its best chance of achieving its strategic goals, Haines said. She appeared before the Senate committee as intelligence officials released their annual threat assessment report.

Russia, she said, is making “incremental progress” in Bakhmut, the city in

eastern Ukraine that has experienced the most intense fighting in recent weeks. But Haines said the city was not a “particularly strategic objective.”

In addition to troop losses, Russia faces critical morale challenges and ammunition shortages, she said. Russia will need to identify ammunition supplies from other countries and increase the size of its military if it wants to push forward in Ukraine.

“If Russia does not initiate a mandatory mobilization and identify substantial third-party ammunition supplies, it will be increasingly challenging for them to sustain the current level of offensive op -

erations in the coming months,” she said. “And consequently, they may fully shift to holding and defending territories they occupy. In short, we do not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains.”

The threat assessment report notes that Russia wants to avoid direct conflict with the U.S., but setbacks in Ukraine could prompt it to escalate the war.

“There is real potential for Russia’s military failures in the war to hurt Russian President Vladimir Putin’s domestic standing and thereby trigger additional escalatory actions by Russia in an effort to win back public support,” the report said.

A Ukrainian position damaged by a Russian strike near Bakhmut, Ukraine, March 3, 2023.

Outraged over illnesses among schoolgirls, Iranians return to streets

eign news media. Some rights activists say that Islamist extremist groups opposed to educating girls might be responsible, which would be unusual because girls’ education had never been contested or attacked in Iran. Many others blame the government for the episodes and say they are part of a systematic crackdown on teenagers for participating in protests.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Monday that the “poisoning” of schoolchildren was “a big and unforgivable crime” and that perpetrators must face the maximum penalty.

Parents interviewed in Iran said that they were terrified of sending their children to school and that they did not trust the government investigation.

and chemical engineer, said that parents at the private high school where her daughter is a junior had rejected reassurances from the principal that their children were safe.

“My daughter and all her classmates have collectively refused to attend school and forced it into providing online classes,” Shaghayegh said in an interview. “Our priority is the health of our children not education right now.”

By FARNAZ FASSIHI

Protests erupted in more than a dozen cities across Iran earlier this week over what some fear may be the poisoning of thousands of schoolgirls and the government’s inability to contain the growing crisis, videos posted on social media show.

“Death to the child-killing regime,” protesters chanted, some holding signs reading, “Protect the safety of schools,” the videos showed.

They were the first protests seen in multiple Iranian cities simultaneously after two months of relative calm. The large uprisings led by women and girls that rocked the nation toward the end of last year had largely fizzled after a brutal government crackdown that included mass arrests and the execution of four protesters.

But the school illnesses have reignited public fury, with many calling once again for an end to the Islamic Republic’s rule.

On Tuesday, hundreds of parents, teachers and ordinary citizens gathered outside schools and local offices of the Ministry of Education in Tehran, Shiraz, Mashhad, Rasht, Sanandaj and other cities. Students at several university campuses also held theatrical protests at which they laid on the ground and pretended to suffocate, videos showed.

In several cities, security forces unleashed tear gas against peacefully protesting teachers and parents and tried to arrest them, videos showed.

On Tuesday, the Interior Ministry announced that it had arrested a number of people in five provinces in connection with the episodes. The deputy interior minister,

Majid Mohammadi, told state television that some of those arrested were “not enemies” and that in some instances students had carried out pranks by taking substances that provoked symptoms.

The spokesperson for the armed forces, Gen. Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi, told Iranian news media that two men and three women had been arrested. He claimed they had carried out attacks to “create insecurity and chaos” and accused them of acting on behalf of foreign agents and news media.

The judiciary also targeted journalists, media publications and prominent public figures from the reformist political faction, accusing them of “spreading lies and rumors.” A journalist from Qom News, Ali Pour Tabatabei, was arrested on Sunday after months of leading the coverage of the illnesses that started in his hometown, the city of Qom.

Iranian schoolgirls began falling ill three months ago in Qom in what some government officials have characterized as attacks. Since then, the episodes have spread to over 200 schools, including college dormitories, in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to local new outlets and rights groups.

On Monday, one lawmaker, Mohammad Hassan Asafari, said that at least 5,000 students had sought medical treatment for symptoms of poisoning.

The explanation for the illnesses remains a mystery, and the theories offered by officials have run the gamut.

Some have spoken of deliberate poisoning with nitrogen gas, while others have suggested mass hysteria, unnamed enemies, opposition groups and the for-

“I am not sending my son to school as long this situation continues — I will not risk something happening to him for the sake of education,” said Pooneh, a 47-year-old mother in the city of Varamin who, like others interviewed, insisted that her surname not be used for fear of retribution.

Shaghayegh, a 41-year-old mother

A 45-year-old mother in Karaj named Fariba said that only a few students had attended classes at her daughter’s high school. “My husband and I have decided not to send our daughter to school until her safety and health is guaranteed,” she said, adding that even if she allowed her daughter to return to school, she or her husband would sit outside the building.

Twenty prominent Iranian lawyers inside and outside the country have called on the United Nations to investigate the school illnesses. In a letter, they said the government lacked the competence and willingness to investigate, and noted its track record of violence against women and girls.

A photo from social media purporting to show protesters outside an Education Ministry building in Tehran.

Junto a mi esposa Bruni y mi madre, Altita. Por un mundo inclusivo y equitativo para nuestras mujeres y niñas, hoy y siempre conmemoremos el Día Internacional de la Mujer.

Anuncio Político Pagado Comité Amigos Jesús Santa

Fight over retirement in France is a question of identity

By CATHERINE PORTER

Monday is line dancing; Tuesday scrapbooking with friends; Wednesday caring for her two grandchildren. Martine Mirville’s itinerary is an advertisement for retirement in France.

After decades of working, much of it as a secretary, she packed up her desk for the last time, bought an apartment in this seaside town in Normandy where her daughter lives, and started the coveted next stage of her life.

“I wake up every morning and say how lucky am I to be here,” said Mirville, 67, during a break from her Thursday morning gym class. Then, she used a favored French expression that has been echoing across the country in protests this year: “This is the time to enjoy life.”

Since President Emmanuel Macron’s government introduced plans to push the retirement age back from 62 to 64, France has been convulsed by regular strikes and protests that have drawn millions into the streets, not only in the capital, but in towns and villages across the country.

On Tuesday, workers walked out of schools, refineries, power plants, airports and transportation systems in the biggest mobilization yet, trying to all but turn out the lights in the country in protest.

The government’s plan has struck a deep and sensitive nerve in a society that cherishes retirement and reveres a generous balance between work and leisure perhaps more than any other Western industrial country.

France’s attachment to retirement is complex, touching on its history, identity and pride in social and labor rights that have been hard won. They will not be easily forfeited, no matter how many times the government argues that changing the pension system is imperative to save it, given the demographic realities confronting the country.

When it was introduced by the National Resistance Council after World War II, the retirement system — along with national health care — was part of a series of celebrated social measures intended to help bind the fractured country together.

It was designed so active workers pay the pensions of their elder generation, creating interdependence, “so we don’t necessarily want to fight one another,” explained Bruno Chrétien, president of the Institute for Social Protection. “It built a kind of social peace.”

The problem today is that the baby boomers have retired and are living much longer than when the system was devised, while the system’s motor — the younger workforce that pays for their pensions — is not keeping up.

Macron and his government say that the pension system is in “an increasingly precarious state” and that his proposed change is “indispensable” to put it on firmer financial footing.

The French, polls show, are overwhelmingly opposed to retiring later.

“We are capable of being as productive as Americans. But don’t forget, life is not just about working,” said Hervé Bossetti, 58, a money manager at his fifth protest snaking through Paris last month, dressed in a striped prisoner’s uniform, carrying a ball and chain, and wearing a sign that said, “Prisoner of work.”

He added, “In France, we believe that there is a time for work and then a time for personal development.”

In Granville, a town perched on a cliff overlooking the

English Channel in the north of France that was proclaimed the best place to retire by Le Figaro in 2022, the allure of retirement is on full display.

Restaurants, cafes, museums and theaters are full of seniors — who make up 45% of the town’s population. The Inter-Age University offers dozens of courses, from Russian to contemporary history. The town supports more than 100 clubs and charitable organizations.

“It’s the first time in my life I’ve been onstage,” said Catherine Iacovelli-Hamon, 62, who moved to town about three years ago, after selling the tobacco and newspaper shop in Caen that had soaked up six days a week of her life for 20 years. Her pension covers about three-quarters of her last salary — enough to travel, go to restaurants and the theater. “All the things we could not do, finally, we are doing them.”

After World War II, only one-third of people lived to see retirement. Those who did, got access to just 20% of their former salary for a handful of years before dying.

Since then, France’s pension payments and life expectancy have both ballooned. Today, the average French pensioner is richer than the general population, accessing roughly 75% of their previous earnings with fewer expenses.

In France just 4.4% of retirees live below the poverty line — one of the lowest rates in the 38-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Instead of just three years, the average French person will spend more than a quarter of their life — from 22 years for men, to 26 for women — in retirement, and much of that in good shape, which French statisticians measure as “life expectancy without disability.” Those who made it to 65 in 2021 could expect another 11 to 12 good years, on average, according to French government statistics.

No longer a short reprieve before death, retirement is now seen as “the afternoon of life, a time that is blessed,” said Serge Guérin, a professor of sociology specializing in old age

at Iseec Business College in Paris.

“It’s a time of liberty, to finally enjoy your grandchildren, your interests, your desire to travel, to volunteer and be elected in your community.”

It is also seen as compensation for working life.

“There is this vision in France,” Guérin added, “that working time is time waiting to be able to enjoy life.”

Ironically, around three quarters of French workers have consistently expressed satisfaction with their work repeatedly in surveys over the past 20 years. They have also said, repeatedly, they’d like to retire as early as possible.

“It’s a place of contradictions,” said Bertrand Martinot, a workplace economist and fellow at the right-leaning Montaigne Institute, whose recent report showed a large majority of the French were satisfied at work, but most found their work hard, and almost half said they thought the current retirement age of 62 was already too late. “This shows there is an essential schism in France, but the story is more complicated than just ‘work is a horror.’ ”

One explanation Martinot offers is distrust of government. Another is that by changing the age of retirement, the state is breaking an unspoken promise to workers.

“It’s a kind of contract that’s been signed with the state,” he said. “People will accept intense work, and a low salary, if they have a long retirement, with a good quality of life.”

Chrétien, the director of the Institute for Social Protection, offers another theory. That the French social protection system built after World War II came at a time when France’s international status as a superpower was eclipsed by the United States.

The social protection scheme, he said, “became an element of national pride.”

“We are not as powerful, but still, we have something others don’t — the best social protection system in the world that is extremely generous and extremely costly.”

Martine Mirville with her granddaughters, Ema and Julia, in Granville, France, on Feb. 14, 2023.

A trip to Mexico ends in a kidnapping and the deaths of 2 Americans

By NATALIE KITROEFF, MARIA ABI-HABIB, JACK NICAS and JACEY FORTIN

Zalayna Grant last spoke to her brother Thursday, when he told her he was driving to Mexico with a group of friends — one of them was planning to get a tummy tuck there.

Her brother, 28-year-old Zindell Brown, was laughing, Grant said, and she could hear his three friends in the car, having a good time.

“They weren’t nervous,” Grant, 34, said in an interview.

But by Tuesday, Mexican authorities confirmed that her brother was dead, one of the two Americans in the group who were killed after gunmen attacked their car hours after they had crossed into the dangerous border town of Matamoros, in Tamaulipas state last week.

The two others in the group survived — one suffered a gunshot wound in his leg. They were found along with the bodies of the dead in a house outside the city, where they were being held, authorities said.

The Americans were the latest victims of relentless violence in Mexico that the government has been unable to contain despite promises from the country’s president that his security strategy is working.

It comes at a critical moment for the security relationship between Mexico and the United States, as Republican members of Congress have proposed a bill that would allow the U.S. military to combat organized crime south of the border and as several states push to label drug cartels terrorist groups.

Grant said that along with her brother, Brown, the three other kidnapping victims were Latavia Washington McGee, Shaeed Woodard and Eric James Williams.

Mexican authorities said McGee and Williams had survived and were transferred to U.S. officials Tuesday.

Investigators are considering many possible explanations for the attack, but they have focused on the theory “that there was a confusion, that it wasn’t a targeted attack,” Irving Barrios, the state prosecutor in Tamaulipas, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Two Mexican officials familiar with the investigation who were not authorized to speak publicly said that among the various motives being considered by law enforcement is the possibility that the Americans were mistaken for smugglers of Haitian migrants.

Illegal migrant crossings at the U.S. southern border have soared in recent months, spurring tension among criminal groups that control human trafficking through northern Mexico, experts said.

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said Tuesday that the Biden administration was in touch with the families of those who had been kidnapped. “We will continue to work closely with the Mexican government to

make sure justice is done in this case,” she said.

She said the administration has worked to disrupt cartels through sanctions imposed on criminal groups. “Our immediate concerns are for the safe return of our citizens,” she added.

Jean-Pierre said the State Department travel advisory for the area where the Americans were kidnapped remains at Level 4, meaning “do not travel due to crime or kidnapping.”

“We urge Americans to read these alerts before traveling,” Jean-Pierre said.

She declined to answer question about whether Biden would consider using military action against the cartel.

The four Americans drove into the border town of Matamoros, Mexico, from Brownsville, Texas, in a white minivan Friday when gunmen began firing on their vehicle, the FBI said. The gunmen then put the Americans in another vehicle and drove them away.

During the initial confrontation between the victims and the kidnappers, “an innocent Mexican citizen” was killed, according to Ken Salazar, U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

Américo Villarreal, the Tamaulipas governor, said authorities found “medical laboratory tests” in the Americans’ car that seemed to indicate “that one of the Americans had come to undergo cosmetic surgery.”

On Sunday, Grant saw a video circulating on social media of four people being pulled onto a pickup truck. She recognized McGee’s blond braids, she said, as well as her brother, who she said was wearing tan pants and a black shirt. “I thought, that’s my brother right there,” she said.

One of the other kidnapped Americans, Woodard, had recently worked at an insulation company and then cleaning rooms at an oceanside hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, according to former colleagues. “He was always willing to work and always very friendly,” said Regina Downs, a manager at the Monterey Bay Suites.

Michael Graham, 45, said he was friends with three of the four abducted Americans, and that they were known around Lake City, a town of 6,000 in central South Carolina, as a foursome, so he was not surprised they had gone to Mexico together.

A video published by local media in Matamoros, Mexico, showed armed men dragging people on the ground before loading them into the back of a pickup truck.

Guns, ships and chips: On economic inflexibility

But while money isn’t really an issue here, getting Ukraine the specific things it needs in order to fight turns out to be more problematic. Nobody expected a sustained war of attrition to break out in the 21st century, and while we have vast production capacity in general, it turns out that we have limited capacity to produce key military goods. The most pressing problem, reporting suggests, is that Ukraine is firing artillery shells faster than the West can produce them — and increasing production quickly is apparently very hard. (Russia seems to be having similar and probably worse problems, but I’m not going to play armchair general and prognosticate about the war.)

The point is that often, converting general economic capacity into the production of particular goods and services that are suddenly in high demand turns out to be quite difficult. Which is the same lesson we learned in 2021, as the world economy began to recover from the initial pandemic recession.

they’re willing to produce less of others.

Now, nobody doubts that there are trade-offs, that an economy can shift the mix of goods and services it produces. But are these trade-offs relatively smooth and easy?

In the long run, the answer is almost surely yes. But to paraphrase John Maynard Keynes a bit, in the long run, sadly, quite a few Ukrainians may be dead.

What both the supply-chain crisis and the current ammunition problem suggest is that it may be very hard to produce more guns in the short run even if you’re willing to give up a lot of butter.

By PAUL KRUGMAN

What do shipping containers and artillery shells have in common? This isn’t a trick question. The answer is that both have been in very short supply at some point over the past three years. And these shortages tell us something disturbing about modern economies: They aren’t nearly as flexible as many people, myself included, had thought.

About those artillery shells: Like many people, I’ve been closely following the war in Ukraine. Everyone knows the broad outlines of the story so far: Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded in February of last year, expecting a quick victory over Ukraine’s much weaker army, but the Ukrainians, astonishingly, defeated the would-be blitzkrieg and the war has turned instead into a brutal slugging match.

No matter how valorous, Ukrainians on their own would have no chance in such a match. But they have received crucial aid from Western nations that see Ukraine — as do I — as a crucial front in the defense of democracy.

Can the West afford to provide aid on a sufficient scale to turn the war’s tide? Of course, and easily, because Western economies are vastly bigger than Russia’s. The United States has committed about $80 billion so far, which sounds like a lot — and is a lot, from the point of view of the combatants — but is only a bit more than 1% of the U.S. federal budget. Americans who complain about the expense of aiding Ukraine are either innumerate or disingenuous; it’s no secret that many people on the right and a few on the left actually want Putin to win.

This story may be a bit less familiar to a broad audience than the outline of the Ukraine war, but it went like this: While consumer spending bounced back quickly from its plunge in the first half of 2020, fear of infection led people to spend their money differently from before. Broadly speaking, they were slow to resume consumption of in-person services and compensated by buying more physical stuff: shunning the gym while acquiring a Peloton, avoiding restaurants but buying more kitchen equipment.

But the production and delivery of goods depends on a complex supply chain, which is normally invisible to most of us but turns out to have limited capacity and to be more fragile than almost anyone suspected. And this supply chain was quickly overwhelmed. Most visibly, scores of container ships found themselves steaming back and forth outside clogged ports, and even cargoes that had been successfully unloaded spent many days waiting for someone to take them to their destinations.

The result was a global shortage of the shipping containers that carry much of the stuff of modern commerce, and an incredible surge in shipping costs.

That surge is now, I’m happy to say, behind us. But there are still some lingering shortages of key products. In particular, world automobile production is still being held back by shortages of some semiconductor chips.

Our shipping issues, then, prefigured the problems the West is now having in supplying Ukraine with ammunition: There was plenty of overall production capacity, but not enough of the specific kinds of capacity we needed at that moment, especially once you consider the complex logistics that also need to be in place in order to get goods where they need to go.

So what does this say about economics in general?

One of the most basic ideas in the field is that economies can make trade-offs, producing more of some things if

The revelation that economies aren’t as flexible as we thought has many implications for policy. Supplychain constraints weren’t the sole reason inflation took off in 2021, but they were clearly an important part of the story, with implications for future monetary policy. And in general, economic inflexibility suggests that we should be taking more precautions against the possibility of future disruptions, especially for strategic goods, but possibly more widely.

But all of that demands a much longer discussion. The main point for now is that it turns out that the Rolling Stones may have had it backward: Modern economies generally do a very good job of getting people what they want, but sometimes you just can’t get what you need.

POR EL STAR STAFF

ARECIBO – Con esas palabras, pronunciadas por el Papa Francisco al inicio de la Cuaresma 2023, el grupo de laicos Amigos de Monseñor Daniel, reiteró su llamado a que se escuche a los miles de laicos que levantaron su voz debido a la remoción de Monseñor Daniel Fernández Torres como obispo de la diócesis de Arecibo, hace exactamente un año, y que se investiguen posibles irregularidades en el proceso que llevó a su remoción. La referencia a una Iglesia sinodal se da en el contexto de la convocatoria del Papa Francisco a todos los católicos del mundo para que participen de un proceso amplio de consulta en todos los niveles de la Iglesia, que culminará con una reunión en Roma en el 2024 y que pretende profundizar sobre el proceso de escucha y diálogo dentro de la Iglesia.

A esos efectos, el Comité de Amigos de Monseñor Daniel expresó que la forma en que se manejó la remoción del obispo Fernández no es compatible con la llamada que hace el Papa Francisco a una Iglesia sinodal y misericordiosa, como tampoco es reflejo de una auténtica conducta cristiana el trato que se le ha dado a Monseñor Daniel desde entonces. Los miembros del comité de laicos insistieron en su solicitud para que se investigue el proceso que llevó a la remoción de su pastor.

Expresiones

AGUADILLA – El pasado 21 de noviembre, recibí la notificación del Secretario de Justicia, Lcdo. Domingo Emanuelli donde determinó que acogió la recomendación de la División de Integridad Pública y Asuntos del Contralor del Departamento de Justicia (DIPAC) sobre una investigación de una querella radicada por el Sr. Jesús Ruíz Brignoni.

La querella incluía alegaciones de que mi administración había alcanzado un acuerdo sobre el Hotel Las Cascadas sin haber celebrado el proceso de subastas del cual la legislatura municipal había eximido al Hotel de este proceso mediante ordenanza.

Al terminar el proceso de investigación, la DIPAC determinó que dentro de la prueba adquirida no existe causa para sustentar las alegaciones del querellante y por tal razón no se recomendó la designación de un Fiscal Especial Independiente (FEI).

Hoy la propia oficina del Panel de Fiscal Indepen-

El grupo, que tras la remoción del obispo Daniel Fernández llevó a cabo manifestaciones públicas, cadenas de oración y recogió más de 30 mil cartas y firmas para ser entregadas en Roma, lamentó que, a pesar del llamado del Papa a escuchar la voz de los laicos y darles participación en la Iglesia, sus cartas nunca fueron contestadas, ni se mostrara interés en escucharlos ni recibirlos en Roma. Como parte de sus esfuerzos para continuar promoviendo la unidad y la justicia dentro de la Iglesia Católica en Puerto Rico, el grupo dio a conocer cuatro puntos que definirán su agenda de trabajo futuro. Los puntos dados a conocer son:

1. Que se le conceda a Monseñor Daniel Fernández la oportunidad de presentar su punto de vista sobre los señalamientos que se hicieron en su contra para justificar su remoción y así permitirle defender su buen nombre.

2. Que se le dé a Monseñor Daniel Fernández un trato digno como el obispo que sigue siendo, pues desde su remoción no ha sido atendido por ningún representante eclesial, a pesar de no haber cometido ningún delito, ni incurrido en ninguna conducta escandalosa.

3. Que, cónsono con el llamado a una Iglesia sinodal, se escuche lo que tienen que decir los laicos sobre lo acontecido. Esto ante la realidad de que luego de un

año, no se han contestado las cartas enviadas a Roma, ni se ha concedido audiencia alguna.

4. Que se lleve a cabo una investigación sobre el proceso que llevó a la remoción de Monseñor Daniel para determinar si, tal y como ha trascendido públicamente, se le ocultó información al Papa o se llevó información incorrecta o si ocurrió algún otro tipo de error o irregularidad durante el proceso.

En los próximos días el grupo estará enviando cartas y solicitando audiencia con diversos líderes dentro de la Iglesia para hacerles saber sus reclamos y recabar la debida acción.

Finalmente, el grupo reiteró su mensaje de acogida fraternal y sus oraciones por el obispo Alberto Figueroa, obispo de Arecibo desde septiembre de 2022.

diente emitió una orden de archivo de caso contra este servidor y el municipio de Aguadilla la que concurriendo así con la recomendación hecha por el Secretario de Justicia, Lcdo. Domingo Emanuelli.

Acepto con respeto y regocijo esta determinación por parte del Panel de Fiscal Independiente la que evidencia que hemos dicho desde un principio sobre el cumplimiento cabal de este servidor y los funcionarios del Municipio de Aguadilla en actuar conforme a la ley en todos los procesos administrativos.

Ahora continuaremos contra viento y marea con nuestros proyectos de desarrollo económico para fomentar la creación de empleos y la industria turística de nuestra ciudad. Hoy comenzamos el proceso que culminará con un Hotel que representó una inversión millonaria y que ahora le servirá a los mejores intereses de nuestra economía para que Aguadilla siga resplandeciendo.

Respetando los procesos seguidos, estas son las únicas declaraciones que haré sobre el particular”.

POR EL STAR STAFF

del alcalde de Aguadilla Julio Roldán Concepción en torno a la orden emitida por el panel fiscal independiente de archivar querella contra el Municipio de Aguadilla

Insisten en que se escuche su voz en la Iglesia Católica y se investiguen posibles irregularidades en proceso contra pasado obispo de Arecibo

Could ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ win best picture?

stone’s 1930 adaptation of “All Quiet on the Western Front,” which makes this a perhaps irresistible opportunity to make Oscar history (a remake of a previous best picture winner has never pulled a repeat).

Those lists speak for themselves — few things are as inherently dramatic or cinematic as battle (both the act itself and its aftermath), and the war movie has proved itself a genre that’s pliable to the times and the nation’s constantly shifting moods. That durability is what might make a film like “All Quiet” attractive to the older voting bloc; there are occasional subversions at play, like the modern-tinged musical score, but they exist side by side with the traditional elements that attracted Oscar voters not only to those previous winners, but also to well-regarded nominees like “Apocalypse Now,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “The Thin Red Line,” “The Pianist,” “Life Is Beautiful,” “Letters From Iwo Jima,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “American Sniper,” “Hacksaw Ridge,” “Dunkirk” and “Jojo Rabbit.”

By JASON BAILEY

The only thing Oscar prognosticators like more than determining a front-runner for best picture is upending one, and this year’s front-runner would seem to be “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” It’s easy to consider it a shoo-in, as it nabbed honors from such traditional bellwethers as the Gothams, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Directors Guild of America and (most recently) the Producers, Screen Actors and Writers guilds. But there have been murmurs throughout awards season that “Everything Everywhere” couldn’t go all the way, that it was too quirky, too weird, too much to win best picture. There is, after all, a considerable bloc of older academy voters (you know, the ones who gave that prize to “Green Book”), and we’re talking about a hyperkinetic multiverse action fantasy that includes a sex toy fight.

If not “Everything,” then what? The Golden Globes passed over “Everything Everywhere” to give its best picture (musical or comedy) trophy to Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and gave its matching prize on the drama side to Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans”; several prominent critics groups selected Todd Field’s “Tár” as the year’s best picture. But the real dark horse emerged at the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards (aka the BAFTAs), whose voters passed over “Everything,” “Banshees,” “Elvis” and “Tár” to hand the award for best film to Edward Berger’s “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

It sounds, on its face, like a long shot. What are the chances that the academy would award its top prize to a subtitled German anti-war film with no stateside stars, little domestic buzz and a barely there theatrical release — because it was distributed by Netflix, with whom the organization has been notoriously stingy with trophies? Netflix itself seemed to have been caught off guard by the film’s strong showing at the Oscars (nine nominations), after spending the fall mounting campaigns for costly auteur passion projects like Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Bardo” (one nomination) and Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise” (zero).

A non-English film winning the best picture Oscar might have been unthinkable before 2020, when Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” did just that. But more important, beyond its international pedigree and critical plaudits, “All Quiet” is a war movie, which is a genre academy voters have always embraced. And I do mean always: The very first best picture Oscar (or, as it was called that night, “outstanding picture”) went to a war movie, William Wellman’s highflying epic “Wings” — set, like “All Quiet,” during World War I.

In the years since, the best picture prize has gone to several war movies, including “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Patton,” “The Deer Hunter,” “Platoon,” “Braveheart” and “The Hurt Locker,” as well as a number of war-related dramas, such as “Mrs. Miniver,” “Casablanca,” “The Best Years of Our Lives,” “From Here to Eternity,” “Schindler’s List” and “The English Patient.” Most notably, the third best picture prize of all time went to … Lewis Mile-

The footprints of two previous films, both nominated for multiple Oscars, are especially present in the new “All Quiet” — and are seemingly as much an inspiration for Berger’s adaptation as the original novel or the Milestone film. Spielberg’s 1998 smash “Saving Private Ryan” seems to have been the most influential war movie of our time, codifying a set of stylistic devices (desaturated color, hand-held camera, offhand gore) that are all but inescapable in battle epics since. Those flourishes are all over “All Quiet,” particularly in its opening sequence, which is (like “Ryan”) a wordless, immediate, you-are-there plunge into terrifying, visceral combat.

The scenes that follow are filled with similar echoes of the film that “Parasite” beat for best picture: Sam Mendes’ “1917,” which shares with “All Quiet” the World War I setting and foxhole-heavy battle scenes, and even seems, at one point, to be quoting the mad dash across an active battlefield that gave “1917” its biggest emotional punch. If anything, such unmistakable shout-outs are the Berger film’s biggest flaw; it seems meticulously, almost mathematically assembled from other parts. Then again, Oscar has never been big on groundbreaking originality — at least not in this particular prize.

It’s worth noting that both “Saving Private Ryan” and “1917” did not win the best picture Oscar, although both were heavily favored to do so, which may serve to dispute the notion that a war film can go all the way. (Despite that flurry of nominated titles, the last one to win was “The Hurt Locker,” 13 years ago.) But those losses, particularly “Saving Private Ryan,” could still weigh heavily on the minds of voters; as we’ve seen, time and again, the academy will eagerly award a make-good trophy, and the influence of those also-rans is pronounced enough that this could feel like one.

One should also bear in mind that the film’s eight other nominations do not include any acting nods, a notoriously tough hurdle for best picture winners to clear with the actorheavy academy (although, again, “Parasite” pulled it off). And if the odds seem too heavily stacked against a big win for “All Quiet on the Western Front,” remember this: The one thing Oscar loves most is an underdog story.

Albrecht Schuch, left, with Felix Kammerer, right, in “All Quiet on the Western Front.”

Novelist Toni Morrison is celebrated on Postal Service’s latest Forever stamp

By APRIL RUBIN

Toni Morrison, an acclaimed author who became the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, will be memorialized on a Forever stamp, which was unveiled Tuesday by the United States Postal Service.

The portrait featured on the stamp — with Morrison smiling, looking straight into the camera, against a yellow backdrop — was part of a 1997 photo shoot by Deborah Feingold for the cover of Time magazine.

The Postal Service made the announcement at a ceremony at Princeton University, where Morrison taught from 1989 to 2006. The event was part of a series throughout the 2022-23 academic year dedicated to Morrison’s work, including lectures and an exhibit of her writing, said Gene Jarrett, dean of faculty at Princeton.

In a letter read at the unveiling, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama said Morrison’s writing challenges readers’ consciences and brings out their empathy.

“Toni told fundamental truths about our country and the human condition, but she didn’t just reflect what was true,” the Obamas wrote. “She helped generations of Black Americans reimagine what was possible. That’s why we return to her stories again and again, finding new meaning each time.”

Oprah Winfrey, who selected four of Morrison’s iconic books for her book club, more than any other author, addressed those at the event in a prerecorded video, and said she will always be grateful for Morrison’s work.

“What she was able to do through her words was bring people from all over the country and the world together in an entirely new experience,” Winfrey said.

Morrison, who died in 2019 at age 88, was the author of 11 novels, including “The Bluest Eye,” “Song of Solomon” and the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Beloved.” Her fiction told poignant stories that touched on identity, especially that of Black women. She also wrote children’s books and essay collections.

Morrison published her first novel, “The Bluest Eye,” in 1970 while working as an editor and raising two children. After subsequent books and recognitions, then-President Jimmy Carter appointed Morrison to the National Council on the Arts in 1980. She published “Beloved,” widely considered her masterwork, in 1987.

The portrait of Morrison was one of many taken before selecting one for the magazine’s cover. More than 25 years later, Feingold recalled Morrison’s focus and patience throughout the daylong shoot, taken on film before the days of digital cameras.

“Her expression for every frame was one of kindness,” Feingold said.

Morrison joins other Black trailblazers, including writers, who have been featured on Postal Service stamps since 1978, among them James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Zora Neale Hurston, James Weldon Johnson and Ethel L. Payne.

“One of the goals of our stamp program is to raise awareness and celebrate

the people who represent the very best of our nation,” Pritha Mehra, chief information officer and executive vice president of the USPS, said in a statement.

Morrison’s son, Harold Ford Morrison, and his family were in attendance at the unveiling of the stamp, designed by Ethel Kessler, a USPS art director. Morrison’s younger son, Slade Morrison, died

of pancreatic cancer in 2010.

Featuring Morrison on a stamp is another recognition of her contributions to American literature and culture, said Carolyn Denard, the founder and board chair of the Toni Morrison Society, which supports scholarship and community outreach on her work and legacy. Denard wrote her dissertation on Morrison’s writing and had an enriching relationship with her throughout the years, she said.

“What I take away from Morrison is her love for Black people” in a broad way that took into account the larger context of their lives, Denard said, adding: “To understand deeply their history, their culture, their value, the contributions that they made to this society, their resilience, their ability to be present given all that has happened to them in history. She used to say that our very presence here is remarkable.”

Morrison received her master’s degree at Cornell in 1955. She is an iconic figure on campus and beyond, reaching a status that is affirmed with her photograph on the stamp, said Roger Gilbert, an English professor who taught a popular series of classes about her with Anne Adams, a professor emeritus, at Cornell.

“I plan to use her on almost all my correspondence from now on,” he said. “I do have stamps with other people I admire and I don’t want to neglect them, but for now at least, she will be my go-to stamp.”

The United States Postal Service unveiled the forever stamp at a ceremony held on Tuesday.

New Japanese rocket is destroyed during first test flight to space

By MICHAEL ROSTON, BEN DOOLEY and HISAKO UENO

The Japanese space agency said earlier this week that the country’s newest rocket had failed minutes into its first demonstration flight, a technological setback as the country tries to build up its capabilities in space.

The rocket, the H3, was uncrewed but carried a satellite for observing the earth. The H3 is intended to serve as the country’s flagship vehicle for sending satellites to orbit and beyond. While not a permanent complication for Japan’s space program, the loss means it will need to build another H3 before a second test.

The H3 rocket, which is about 200 feet long, lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan Tuesday morning. A live video stream provided by JAXA, the Japanese space agency, captured the rocket as it took off on schedule under a bright sun, its two side boosters lofting it toward the sky before dropping off minutes into the flight. The larger main engine then carried the rocket to space.

Video taken in space briefly showed the vehicle’s first stage dropping away from the second stage, which is built to push the mission’s cargo into a safe orbit around the planet. But minutes later, an announcer on the video stream said that officials on the ground were unable to confirm that the rocket’s second stage had started firing.

About 15 minutes after the launch, the officials confirmed that the mission had been lost.

“A destruct command has been transmitted to H3 because there was no possibility of achieving the mission,” the announcer said on the webcast.

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The rocket’s second stage was deliberately destroyed, most likely to ensure that its wreckage landed in an area of the ocean where it would not threaten people or property. That also meant that the rocket’s payload, the Advanced Land Observation Satellite-3, was obliterated. The debris was expected to land in waters east of the Philippines, JAXA said.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, the space agency’s president, Hiroshi Yamakawa, apologized for the failure and said that JAXA would carry out a thorough analysis.

East Asian countries have been expanding their space programs rapidly in recent years. In November, China completed its first fully functional space station, Tiangong, which is to be continuously occupied by astronauts. South Korea has also pursued spaceflight, flying its first homegrown orbital rocket, Nuri, in June, and launching its first moon mission on an American rocket in August.

Japan has a robust space program that reaches back decades. It is part of the global partnership that manages the International Space Station, and its astronauts routinely serve aboard the orbital outpost. Its Hayabusa2 mission returned samples from the asteroid Ryugu to Earth in late 2020, and they are now being studied by scientists. A number of smaller Japanese companies have joined the space sector, with one, Ispace, set to attempt what could be the first private moon landing in April.

Japan aims to build its own rockets and maintain an independent ability to carry payloads to orbit. The country’s current active rocket, H-IIA, is scheduled to complete additional flights in the coming year. The H3 rocket, built by

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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, is meant to replace that rocket and bolster Japan’s domestic spaceflight capabilities. But Japan has struggled to field new rockets, said Kazuto Suzuki, a professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy and a member of Japan’s national space policy committee.

While Japan has expressed interest in competing in the commercial market for rocket launches, its efforts have been over-engineered, he said, focusing on “technical excellence” rather than affordability and practical utility.

“I think this is a good occasion to start thinking about what went wrong with our launch development,” he said. “If you want to go for a more robust technology, more proven technology, you have to limit the changes.”

During Tuesday’s news conference, Yamakawa said that the agency would have to emphasize “trustworthiness and transparency” as it seeks to make its launch program more attractive to potential customers.

Japan is not alone in having a new rocket fail on its first flight. In January, an American company, ABL Space Systems, lost the company’s first rocket shortly after liftoff from a launch site in Alaska. A Chinese company, Landspace, lost its Zhuque-2 rocket on its first orbital flight in December.

While the Japanese H3 rocket failed Tuesday, another new rocket will be tested this week in the United States. On Wednesday, the American company Relativity Space will attempt the first launch of its Terran 1 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The H3 rocket, carrying a land observation satellite, lifting off at Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Tuesday.

The San Juan Daily Star

What we know and don’t know about the origins of COVID-19

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and BENJAMIN MUELLER

The Energy Department’s conclusion, with “low confidence,” that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic has renewed questions about what sparked the worst public health crisis in a century — and whether the virus at the heart of it was somehow connected to scientific research.

Scientists and spy agencies have tried assiduously to answer that question, but conclusive evidence is hard to come by. The nation’s intelligence agencies are split, and none of them changed their conclusions after seeing the Energy Department’s findings, officials said.

Scientists who have studied the genetics of the virus, and the patterns by which it spread, say the most likely cause is that the virus jumped from live mammals to humans — a scientific phenomenon known as “zoonotic spillover” — at the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, the city in which the first cases of COVID-19 emerged in late 2019.

But other scientists say there is evidence, albeit circumstantial, that the virus came from a lab, possibly the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which had deep expertise in researching coronaviruses. Lab accidents do happen; in 2014, after accidents involving bird flu and anthrax, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tightened its biosafety practices.

The debate is politically fraught. The lab leak theory gained currency among Republicans in the spring of 2020 after former President Donald Trump, who used inflammatory terms to blame China for the pandemic, latched onto the idea. Many Democrats have not been persuaded by the lab leak hypothesis; some say they believe the explanation of natural causes, and others say there may never be enough intelligence to draw a conclusion.

The Energy Department’s findings have given a boost to House Republicans, who are investigating the pandemic’s origins. But apart from the politics, experts say that understanding what caused a public health crisis that has killed nearly 7 million people could help researchers understand how to prevent the next one.

Here’s what we know, and don’t know, about the origins of the coronavirus.

Why is it hard to know for certain how the pandemic started?

It is often difficult to find the origins of viruses, but China has compounded that problem by making it very difficult to gather evidence.

By the time Chinese researchers arrived to collect samples from the Huanan market, police had shut down and disinfected the market because a number of people linked to it had become sick with what would later be recognized as COVID. No live market animals were left.

Some scientists also believe that China has provided an incomplete picture of early COVID cases. And they

worry that a directive to hospitals early in the outbreak to report illnesses specifically linked to the market may have led doctors to overlook other cases with no such ties, creating a biased snapshot of the spread.

What have scientists done to investigate?

Experts have tried to work around the holes in the data.

Scientists have examined cases of patients hospitalized before the call went out for doctors to look for ties to the market. They have also mapped the locations of early COVID cases in Wuhan — including both people who were initially linked to the market and those who were not — and found what they say are signs that the virus started spreading at the market.

Some of those same scientists have studied maps of where investigators found the virus in the Huanan market, including walls, floors and other surfaces, and found that those samples clustered in an area of the market where live animals were sold.

And separate genetic analyses from the very early stages of the pandemic, some scientists have said, suggest that the virus spilled over into people working or shopping at the market on two separate occasions.

Other scientists have disputed that studies like those can indicate a market origin with much confidence. They have said, for example, that the evidence for two separate spillovers at the market could also be evidence of the virus evolving as it spread from person to person.

Some have also argued that for all the attention being paid to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, not enough has been paid to a different research site in the city, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That center is much closer to the Huanan market.

Why do some people suspect a laboratory leak?

In October, Republicans on the Senate health committee published an analysis of the origins of the pandemic that argued it was “most likely the result of a research-related incident,” while acknowledging that the conclusion was “not intended to be dispositive.”

The report spotlighted what its authors described as holes in the natural origins theory, as well as “persistent biosafety problems” at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The report, though, relied largely on existing public evidence, rather than new or classified information, and did not produce evidence to show that the Wuhan institute stored any virus in its collections that could have become the virus causing COVID-19, with or without scientific tinkering.

The lab leak hypothesis is bolstered, the report said, by the absence of any published evidence that SARSCoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was circulating in animals before the pandemic. Samples of virus collected on refrigerators, countertops and other surfaces at the Huanan market were genetically similar to human samples, suggesting the virus was shed by humans, not animals, it said.

But some experts said the inability to find an infected animal did not prove anything, because China shut down the market and killed all of its animals before they could be tested.

In 2018, before the pandemic, the Wuhan institute and its partners — including EcoHealth Alliance, a research group whose work has been financed by the United States — sought Defense Department funding to collect and experiment on coronaviruses with novel traits that would make them highly transmissible in humans.

The group project was never funded. But the report pointed to that proposal, noting that the virus that causes COVID-19 has traits similar to what the researchers were looking for. That has persuaded some scientists that a lab leak was possible. The Senate Republicans report surmised that the virus may have escaped — perhaps by infecting a researcher who then carried it outside the lab.

What does the U.S. intelligence community say?

In May 2021, several months after he took office, President Joe Biden ordered the nation’s intelligence agencies to conduct a 90-day inquiry into the cause of the pandemic. The findings of that review were released in August 2021 and reaffirmed what the agencies had previously said: Both the natural origins theory and the lab leak theory were plausible.

In a statement at the time, Biden called on China to be more transparent about what had led to the emergence of the virus there in late 2019.

The Energy Department’s new conclusion is based on intelligence that is not publicly available, so it is difficult to know what accounted for the change. But the department’s use of the phrase “low confidence” indicates that its level of certainty is not high. The FBI, however, has concluded with “moderate confidence” that the virus emerged accidentally from a lab.

Four other intelligence agencies and the National Intelligence Council have concluded, with low confidence, that the virus most likely emerged through natural transmission. The CIA, the nation’s preeminent spy agency, has not taken a position and remains undecided.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology in 2021. The U.S. Energy Department has concluded with “low confidence” that an accidental laboratory leak in China most likely caused the coronavirus pandemic.

Going once, going twice: How to bid on a first-class seat

By ELAINE GLUSAC

Flying to Tanzania for her honeymoon on Ethiopian Airlines in November, Amanda Meeks was ready to celebrate. So, when an email arrived inviting her to bid on business class seats for the leg of the journey between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, she jumped on it, getting two seats for the less-than-threehour flight for $590.

“We absolutely felt like we were splurging,” said Meeks, a travel blogger in St. Louis, who paid $910 a person for her round-trip economy ticket from Chicago. Business class on the entire route can be five times that amount. “It was very much the ‘It’s our honeymoon, we only do this once, why not?’ mindset.”

The why-nots among economy flyers are generating what analysts believe may be millions of dollars for participating airlines that offer automated auctions for premium class seats on planes. The practice — growing among foreign carriers with scant pickup domestically — offers economy flyers the chance to upgrade at a discounted rate and improve what could be a cramped and sleepless long-haul flight.

“Travelers are happy to pay for things if it’s an experience they’re excited about,” said Ken Harris, the founder and CEO of Plusgrade, a technology company founded in 2009 that works with about 125 travel businesses, including Qantas, Japan Airlines and Etihad Airways, to run upgrade auctions.

Businesses like Plusgrade, which generated $3.5 billion in business last year, according to the company, are booming in the post-lockdown return to travel as flyers look to treat themselves, and airlines have more premium seats available because of the continued slowdown in business travel.

“Airlines are trying to convert leisure customers to highend leisure customers,” said Kevin Stamler, the founder and CEO of SeatBoost, an auction service that works with three airlines and has plans to start working with seven more this year. “It’s the cheapest way to upgrade.”

On two separate flights on foreign carriers last year, I was offered upgrade opportunities and made both winning and losing bids, which inspired me to look more closely at the practice. The following is what I learned, and explains why you might find upgrade auctions on your next flight, train ride or cruise.

How auctions work

Although participating airlines can set the terms and timing of the sales, most work like this: Within a week of departure, passengers get an email notifying them of an opportunity to bid on an upgrade. (Upgrades often are to business class but may also cover premium economy, a step up from economy with more legroom and often improved food and beverage service.)

The email usually sets a minimum bid, which is the threshold for participating, and sometimes a suggested bid above that. Bids apply to the total number of passengers in a reservation, so, for example, a $300 upgrade offer for a couple traveling together on the same booking would be $600 total. Bidding passengers supply a credit card for the payment in

the event that it wins.

Most auctions are blind and flyers are notified of their win or loss within days or hours of departure.

How prices are set is vague. Last year on Austrian Airlines, I bid the minimum of 400 euros (then about $400) to fly in business class from Vienna to Chicago. My original economy ticket cost about $1,200 round trip; business class was close to four times that.

My bid was accepted and in addition to getting a lie-flat seat and better in-flight food, I gained access to the airport lounge, with more food and drink, work stations and sleeping pods, and my bag was among the first to come off the baggage carousel. For the start-to-finish 14-hour journey that spared me from the cramped coach class I experienced on the flight to Vienna, I thought the indulgence was worth it.

On a shorter flight in October, I bid the minimum, $200, on an Azores Airlines upgrade when returning from Ponta Delgada in the Azores to Boston, although the suggested starting bid was $250. I lost that campaign.

Both Plusgrade and SeatBoost said there was no formula to successful bidding, noting that flight dynamics, including how full a plane is, impacts auction results.

With SeatBoost, which works with Lufthansa, Avianca and TAP Air Portugal, auctions take place within three hours of a flight on the company’s app, which shows competing bids and where they rank. As at a live auction, bidders can raise their offers. Auctions normally end just a few minutes before boarding.

“We’re democratizing the upgrade process,” Stamler said.

Is upgrading worth it?

Whether upgrading is worth the expense is entirely subjective. The auction services say results vary but tend to net 20% to 30% savings on the price of an upgrade.

While airline prices are notoriously dynamic, looking at the same routing on current flights, the difference between economy and premium economy prices for standard fares before any auction is usually more than $300. According to recent prices, a successful upgrade bid of $300 appears to save between 7% to 30% over the price at the time of booking.

“I would definitely recommend it to people who wish to fly business and are not sure if it’s worth it,” said Shamarel O.E. Odusanya, a psychologist based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who won a business class upgrade for about the price she paid for her economy seat (995 Emirati dirhams, or roughly $270) on an Etihad Airways flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Israel, and avoided a hefty fee for an extra checked bag because it was included in the upgrade ticket. “I particularly enjoyed the calm of the lounge, which made what can be a stressful experience a rather enjoyable one.”

Travelers may get other offers to upgrade directly from the airlines, sometimes immediately after they book a flight and even at the check-in counter at the airport.

Consumers set their threshold for engaging in auctions, which offers a degree of control.

“Ultimately, it’s a win-win for the airline and the traveler,” said Henry Harteveldt, a travel industry analyst who runs Atmosphere Research Group and recently won an upgrade auction to business class for $100 on a flight from Vienna to Warsaw, bringing the total cost of the ticket to $350, one-third less than the $525 business class ticket available when he booked economy. “Airlines are collecting incremental revenue and being paid for a premium product. The passenger is winning because he or she is paying a price they feel is fair and meets their budget needs.”

What about domestic flights?

You’re more likely to buy an upgrade with cash or loyalty points on carriers based in the United States, where auctions are rare. Exceptions include Hawaiian Airlines, which operates many long-haul flights from the mainland to the islands.

Since 2021, Spirit Airlines has been using Plusgrade to auction its Big Front Seats (larger seats in the front rows) and exit row seats through a program it calls SeatBid. Flyers submit a bid through the website and are notified of its acceptance between 48 and two hours predeparture. Some flights offer an “Instant Level-Up” option at a discount to secure the upgrade immediately, similar to eBay’s “Buy It Now” option.

But the big three legacy airlines — American, Delta and United — don’t participate in premium class auctions. Often, empty seats in the forward cabins of planes are filled by frequent flyers upgraded by the airlines as a perk of loyalty.

“The U.S. carriers can’t fulfill demand for upgrades that they promised elite loyalty members,” Harteveldt said, adding that the airlines have been successful in pricing their premium and economy cabins in such a way that enough customers are upgrading during the booking stage.

Fliers on some airlines can upgrade at a discounted rate to avoid what could be a cramped flight. With some cruise ships and even Amtrak getting in on the act, is bidding up worth it?

The San Juan Daily Star

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA

ALTA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE ELVIN LUIS GONZÁLEZ

TORRES TAMBIÉN

CONOCIDO COMO

IRVING GONZÁLEZ

TORRES COMPUESTA

POR SU HIJO IRVING

LUIS GONZALEZ, JR.; NERISSA ÁNGELA

GARAY GONZÁLEZ

POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO

A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2019CV03230.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA).

EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: SUCESIÓN DE ELVIN LUIS GONZÁLEZ TORRES, TAMBIÉN

CONOCIDO COMO

IRVING GONZÁLEZ

TORRES COMPUESTA

POR SU HIJO IRVING

LUIS GONZALEZ, JR.; NERISSA ÁNGELA

GARAY GONZÁLEZ, POR SÍ Y EN CUANTO

A LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”)

Yo, ROSAMARIE MELÉNDEZ

PEÑA, 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 SA-

BER: Que el día 12 DE ABRIL

DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Toa Alta, Toa Alta, 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 Al-

guacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Toa Alta 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 19 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 26 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número Cinco (5) del Bloque “EJ” en la URBANIZACIÓN LEVITTOWN del Barrio Sabana Seca del término municipal de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, con un área de TRESCIENTOS DIECISÉIS PUNTO VEINTICINCO (316.25) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes por el NORTE, en TRECE PUNTO SETENTA Y CINCO (13.75) METROS, con el solar número Dieciséis (16); por el SUR, en TRECE PUNTO SETENTA Y CINCO (13.75) METROS, con María Bibiana Benítez, según plano con la Calle número Seiscientos Veintiuno (621); por el ESTE, en VEINTITRÉS PUNTO CERO CERO (23.00) METROS, con solar Número Seis (6); y por el OESTE, en VEINTITRÉS PUNTO CERO CERO (23.00) METROS, con el solar número Cuatro (4). Enclava una casa de concreto para fines residenciales. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 207 del tomo 513 de Toa Baja, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Segunda, finca número 10,255, inscripción Octava. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Levittown, EJ5, Calle María B. Benítez, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $22,414.19, de principal, intereses al 6.75% anual, desde el día 1ro. de mayo de 2018, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $3,900.00, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $39,000.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $26,000.00

Thursday, March 9, 2023 25

y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $19,500.00. Si se declara desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que todo licitador acepta como suficiente la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad 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 Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, hoy 17 de febrero de 2023. ROSAMARIE

MELÉNDEZ PEÑA, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA ALTA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL

GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRI-

BUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTAN-

CIA SALA DE CAGUAS

FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE

ASSOCIATION T/C/C

FANNIE MAE

Demandante V.

ASTRID VIERA APONTE

Demandada

Civil Núm.: CG2022CV00890. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Caguas, hago saber a la parte demandada ASTRID VIERA APONTE y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 26 de enero de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $73,600.00 y al mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, la propiedad que se describe a continuación: F-17 CALLE PITIRRE, URB. REPARTO SAN JOSÉ, CAGUAS, PR 00725, y que se describe de la siguiente manera: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Reparto San José, situada en el barrio Cañaboncito del Municipio de Caguas, Puerto Rico, marcada con el número 17 del bloque F con un área de 294.664 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 16.822 metros y arco de 5.50 metros con la calle número 4 de la Urbanización; por el SUR, en una distancia de 20.322 metros con el solar número 16 del bloque F de la Urbanización; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 11.00 metros con la calle número 4 de la Urbanización; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 14.00 metros con remanente de la finca principal. Enclava una vivienda de cemento para una familia. Finca 50729 inscrita al folio 40 del tomo 1452 de Caguas, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección I. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) HIPOTECA en garantía de pagaré a favor del Scotiabank de Puerto Rico por la suma principal de $73,600.00 con intereses a razón del 4.625% y vencimiento el 1 de septiembre de 2048.

Constituida por la Escritura 356 otorgada en San Juan el 18 de agosto de 2018 ante la notario Georgette M. Rodríguez Figueroa. Inscrita el 20 de abril del 2021 al Tomo Digital Karibe de la finca 50729 de Caguas, inscripción 4ª. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de

la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 27 de junio de 2022, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $70,698.90 de principal, más $3,542.37 de interés al 4.625% anual, desde el 1 de febrero de 2012 al 1 de marzo de 2022, que continuarán acumulándose $8.9583 diario hasta el saldo total, $259.12 de otros cargos, $94.79 de cuenta escrow, $7,360.00 de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otro desembolso que haya efectuado o efectúe la parte demandante durante la tramitación de este caso para otros adelantos de conformidad con el Contrato Hipotecario, incluyendo primas de seguro de hipoteca, prima de seguro de siniestro y cargos por demora. La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 11 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del Alguacil, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la cantidad de $73,600.00, sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 18 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la que servirá como tipo mínimo, dos terceras (2/3) partes del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $49,066.67. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 25 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 10:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $36,800.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere al crédito que da base a esta ejecución continuará subsistente, entendiéndose, además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción cualquier parte del remanente del precio

de licitación. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o 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, 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 subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de febrero de 2023. ÁNGEL GÓMEZ GÓMEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #593, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO CENTRO

JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. LUIS ENRIQUE MARRERO MARRERO;

ANTONIO BERRÍOS DÍAZ,

COMPUESTA POR SU

HEREDERA CONOCIDA:

MARA

BERRÍOS;

“JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE JOSÉ ANTONIO BERRÍOS DÍAZ; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

(CRIM)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV01843. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 10 de febrero de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: Solar radicado en el Barrio Palmarejo, del término municipal de Corozal, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de setecientos cincuenta y cinco metros, sesenta y cuatro decímetros cuadrados (755.64 m/c), en lindes por el NORTE, en 50.57 metros con la Carretera Estatal número 164; por el SUR, en una línea irregular de 83.47 metros, con propiedad del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico; por el ESTE, en 33.00 metros, con el solar número 1 y con Julián Marrero Rodríguez, antes ahora, Ángel L. Negrón; y por el OESTE, en 21.44 metros, con un camino vecinal. Enclava una casa de concreto de una sola planta. Inscrita en la finca número

7,238 BIS, al folio 163 del tomo 140 de Corozal, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Barranquitas. Según pagaré, propiedad localizada en: Carr. 164 K 13.0 Bo. Palmarejo, Corozal, Puerto Rico. Además, el Alguacil que suscribe, hago saber a todos 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 surjan 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: Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Associates International Holdings Corporation, haciendo negocios como Citifinancial, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $26,600.00, con intereses al 10.0429% anual, vencedero el día 28 de abril de 2027, constituida mediante la escritura número 149, otorgada en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, el día 28 de abril de 2007, ante el notario Mónica Marie Carretero Rodríguez, e inscrita al folio 66 del tomo 307 de Corozal, finca número 7,238 BIS, inscripción 7ma. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 13 de diciembre de 2022 y notificada el 14 de diciembre de 2022, y publicada en el periódico “The San Juan Daily Star” en el presente caso civil el 21 de diciembre de 2022, a saber la suma de $63,929.88 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 6.375% desde el 1ro de febrero de 2020; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $9,760.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 18 DE ABRIL DE 2023

A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $97,600.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 25 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón,

los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente que firmo y sello, hoy día 28 de febrero de 2023. 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 AIBONITO BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. NILSA ENID ROSADO ALVARADO; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: AI2019CV00163.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO ANUNCIANDO

PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de la Sala Superior de Aibonito, 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 agosto de 2022, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 3 de enero de 2023 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 160 del Bloque D de la Urbanización Robles, situada en el Barrio Robles, del término municipal de Aibonito, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 333.01 metros cuadrados.

En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número 159 del Bloque D, en 23.85 metros; por el SUR, con el solar número 161 del Bloque D, en 23.70 metros; por el ESTE, con los solares número 154 y número 155 del Bloque D, en diez y seis metros; y por el OESTE, con la Calle B de la Urbanización Robles, en 12.50 metros. Enclava edificación.

FINCA NÚMERO: 3765, inscrita al folio 152 del tomo 269 de Aibonito, sección de Barranquitas. Dirección Física: URB.

REPARTO ROBLES, D-160

CALLE DIAMANTE, AIBONITO, PR 00705. Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la

PRIMERA SUBASTA habrá de celebrarse el día 11 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala Superior de Aibonito. 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 $86,441.95. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una

SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día

18 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 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, la suma de $57,627.96. 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

25 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 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, la suma de $43,220.97. 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 $85,941.25 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 4.0000% 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. Si se anula la venta,

el comprador tendrá derecho a la devolución del depósito de la venta judicial menos los honorarios y costos incurridos en el proceso de venta judicial. No tendrá ningún otro recurso contra el acreedor hipotecario ejecutante ni la representación legal de éste. Por la presente, también se notifica e informa al Secretario del Departamento de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda de los Estados Unidos de América, por éstos contar con una hipoteca a su favor por la suma de $5,487.50, sin intereses y a vencer el 1ro de febrero del 2044, según, consta de la escritura #41, otorgada en San Juan, el 31 de enero de 2014 ante la Notario Ileana Quintero Aguiló, inscrito al folio 152 vuelto del tomo 269 de Aibonito, finca 3,765, inscripción 9na. Además, 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. 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 20 de enero de 2023.

JUAN O. BURGOS BURGOS, ALGUACIL REGIONAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE AIBONITO.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE PATILLAS BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE PEDRO RIVERA LEBRON y SUCESION DE PEDRO RIVERA RIVERA, COMPUESTAS POR FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE MABAS SUCESIONES; BENJAMIN CINTRON LEBRON

Demandados ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO – SECRETARIO DE HACIENDA; ADMINISTRACION PARA EL SUSTENTO DE MENORES; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Partes Interesadas

Civil Núm.: G3CI2015-00160.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA.

EDICTO ANUNCIANDO PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de Guayama, 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 10 de septiembre de 2021, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 27 de enero de 2023 librado por este honorable Tribunal, procederé a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor, y por dinero en efectivo o cheque certificado 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 radicado en el número tres del bloque E en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Jardines de Patillas, localizada en el barrio Los Pollos del término municipal de Patillas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de ciento ochenta y nueve punto noventa y tres metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número cuatro, en una distancia de once punto sesenta y siete metros; por el SUR, con la calle número cuatro, en una distancia de ocho punto diecisiete metros, y un radio de curva de tres punto cincuenta metros; por el ESTE, con la calle número tres, en una distancia de trece punto cero cero metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar número dos, en una distancia de dieciséis punto cincuenta metros, y un radio de curva de tres punto cincuenta metros. Enclava edificación.

FINCA NÚMERO: 8,340, inscrita al folio 29 del tomo 226 de

Patillas, Registro de Guayama. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: URB. JARDINES DE PATILLAS, E-3 CALLE 4, PATILLAS PR 00723. Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la PRIMERA SUBASTA habrá de celebrarse el día 13 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Guayama. 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 $79,346.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 20 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 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 $52,897.33. 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 27 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 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 $39,673.00. 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 $58,627.25 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 8.0000% 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. Si se anula la venta, el comprador tendrá derecho a la devolución del depósito de la venta judicial menos los honorarios y costos incurridos en el proceso de venta judicial. No tendrá ningún otro recurso contra el acreedor hipotecario ejecutante ni la representación legal de éste. Por la presente también se notifica e informa al Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, Secretario de Hacienda, por éstos contar con un embargo a su favor por la suma de $83,367.14 presentado al asiento 2016-002492-EST del tomo Karibe, según certificado de fecha 4 de febrero de 2016, bajo el número CAG-16-0313 y fecha 1 de febrero de 2017. Pendiente de calificación y despacho. Además, se notifica e informa a la Administración para el Sustento de Menores (ASUME) y al Centro de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM) por éstos ser partes interesadas en el caso de epígrafe. 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. 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 Instan-

cia, 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 10 de febrero de 2023.

LITZY M. CORA ANAYA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #247, SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYAMA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE

ASSOCIATION T/C/C

FANNIE MAE

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE FRANCISCO ROMAN ACEVEDO COMPUESTA

POR SUS HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS Y/O

PARTES CON INTERES

FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2022CV01395.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO ANUNCIANDO PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe, funcionario del Tribunal de la Sala Superior 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 20 de diciembre de 2022, y según Orden y Mandamiento del 17 de febrero 2023 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: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartment one thousand two hundred seven is situated on the twelfth floor of the building, in the section which composes the western part of the building. It consists of a regular rectangular shaped body, measuring approximately thirty one feet zero inches long, by twenty three feet and a quarter of an inch wide, and an open balcony, eleven feet eleven inches long, by five feet five inches wide, that is, an area of six hundred fifty six square feet and eighty seven hundredths of another equivalent to sixty one square meters and ten hundredths of another; bounding on the NORTH, with an interior wall which separates it from the common public corridor to which the entrance door of the apartment

opens; on the SOUTH, with an exterior wall which separates it from the common yard on the southern side of the building where the balcony opens; on the EAST, with a party wall which separates it from apartment one thousand two hundred six; on the WEST, with a party wall which separates it from apartment one thousand two hundred eight. This apartment consists of two bedrooms with their closets, a hall, one bathroom, combination of living and dining room, which gives access to the open balcony, storage closets, kitchen equipped with cabinets and thirty gallons capacity water heater. FINCA NÚMERO: 22,351Bis, inscrita al folio 86 del tomo 711 de Monacillos, sección III de San Juan. Dirección Física: COND. BORINQUEN TOWER, APTO. 1207, SAN JUAN, PR 00926. Se anuncia por medio de este edicto que la PRIMERA SUBASTA habrá de celebrarse el día 11 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 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 $100,000.00. De no haber remanente o adjudicación en esta primera subasta por dicha suma mínima, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 18 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 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, la suma de $66,666.66. 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 25 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 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, la suma de $50,000.00. 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. 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 $$73,872.35 de principal, más intereses convenidos al 5.25% anual más recargos hasta su pago, más el pago de lo pacta-

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL

GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA

SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SANDRA AYALA LIND

T/C/C SANDRA ESTHER

AYALA LIND

Demandado(a)

Civil: CA2019CV03558. Sala:

406. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: SANDRA AYALA LIND

T/C/C SANDRA ESTHER

AYALA LIND. 2334

AUSTIN HIGHWAY APT

3203 SAN ANTONIO TX 78218.

(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 2022, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 28 de abril de 2022. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 28 de abril de 2022. LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA.

MARICRUZ APONTE ALICEA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE BAYAMÓN

CARLOS

ALBERTO OTERO

Demandante Vs. ADMINISTRACION DE VETERANOS, JOHN DOE; RICHARD ROE, PERSONAS DESCONOCIDAS CON POSIBLE INTERES

Demandados

Civil No.: BY2023CV01005.

Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EM-

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

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE, COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES DEL PAGARÉ.

Por medio del presente edicto se les notifica de la radicación de una Demanda de Cancelación de Pagaré Extraviado en la que se solicita la cancelación del siguiente pagaré hipotecario, que se ha extraviado, luego de haber sido saldado por el deudor hipotecario: Pagaré a favor de ADMINISTRACION DE VETERANOS, o a su orden, por la suma de treinta y siete mil cuatrocientos dólares ($37,400.00), con intereses al trece punto cinco por ciento anual (13.5%), pagadero dicho principal e intereses en pagos mensuales y vencimiento el primero de julio de dos mil once (2011), escritura número setenta y ocho (78), otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el dos (2) de julio de mil novecientos ochenta y uno (1981), ante el Notario William Feliciano Ruiz, finca número once mil ciento veintiuno (11,121) inscripción novena. La referida hipoteca en la suma de treinta y siete mil cuatrocientos dólares ($37,400.00), fue objeto de modificación mediante la escritura número diecisiete (17), otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el veintidós (22) de junio de mil novecientos noventa (1990), ante el Notario Walter Perales Reyes, modificando la misma a la suma de treinta y ocho mil setecientos setenta y siete dólares con un centavo ($38,777.01), vencimiento el primero de octubre de dos mil once (2011), según surge de Nota Marginal, inscripción novena. La parte demandante solicita del Honorable Tribunal que declare Con Lugar la demanda y en su consecuencia ordene al Secretario del Tribunal que expida Mandamiento al Registrador de la Propiedad correspondiente, para que dicho funcionario proceda a cancelar en los libros a su cargo la referida hipoteca dejando la propiedad aquí descrita libre de dicho gravamen hipotecario. POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la Demanda radicando el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, y notificándole con copia de dicha contestación al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo.

Alejandro J. Cacho Rodríguez, 54 Calle Resolución, Suite 303 San Juan, PR 00920 Tel: (787) 722-2242; Fax: (787) 7222243, cacho@cacholaw.com, dentro del término de treinta (30) días siguientes a la fecha de publicación de este Edicto;

si dejaren de así hacerlo, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia contra ustedes concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 28 de febrero de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARÍA E. COLLAZO FEBUS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO SAN CARLOS MORTGAGE LLC

Parte Demandante V. HÉCTOR AUGUSTO

GONZÁLEZ QUIÑONEZ, MARIA ISABEL

SOEGAARD TORRES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS; EDDIE RIOS GOMEZ

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: HU2023CV00018.

205. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. EDICTO.

A: EDDIE RIOS GOMEZ.

401 B OAK EAST THE WOODS, HUMACAO, PR 00791; COND. THE WOODS OAK EAST, APT 401-B, PALMAS DEL MAR, HUMACAO, PR 00791; COND. THE WOODS OAK EAST, PALMAS DEL MAR, APT 17, HUMACAO, PR 00791; PARKVILLE SUR, A17 HARDING, GUAYNABO, PR 00969; 1917 GARY RD, STEWARTSVILLE, NJ 088863231.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en

la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo. Javier Montalvo Cintrón, Delgado & Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750. Tel. [787] 274-1414. DADA en Humacao, Puerto Rico, a 1 de marzo de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. KEYLA PÉREZ FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Parte Demandante Vs. PETER EUGENE GONZÁLEZ MATTAS, LUZ DAMARIS ROSARIO HERNÁNDEZ T/C/C LUZ D. ROSARIO HERNÁNDEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS; LA SUCESIÓN DE ROGELIO ESPINO MAYSONET T/C/C ROGELIO ESPINO MAISONET COMPUESTA

POR FULANO y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CA2022CV00660.

Sala: 409. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 28 de junio de 2022, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 24 de agosto de 2022 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 17 de enero de 2023 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 2 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, en la Avenida 65 Infantería, Carretera Número Tres (3), Kilómetro 11.7 (Entrada de la Urbanización Mansiones de Carolina) Carolina, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal 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 F-10 en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Villa Cooperativa, en el Barrio Hoyo Mulas del Municipio de Carolina, Puerto Rico, con las siguientes cabidas y colindancias: cabida de 222.04 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con un paseo que lo separa del bloque G de esta misma urbanización, en distancia de 9.10 metros; por el SUR, con la Calle Número Cuatro (4) de esta misma urbanización, en distancia de 9.10 metros; por el ESTE, con el solar número F-9 de esta misma urbanización, en distancia de 24.40 metros; y por el OESTE, con solar número F-11 de esta misma urbanización, en distancia de 24.40 metros. Enclava una estructura dedicada a vivienda construida de hormigón armado y bloques. Inscrita al folio 31 del tomo 989 de Carolina, Finca Número 41529, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección II. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 1283 de Carolina, Finca Número 41529, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección II. Inscripción sexta. Dirección Física: Urb. Villa Cooperativa, F10 Calle 4, Carolina, PR 00985-4212. Número de Catastro: 20-088-007-672-34-001. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $76,900.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, el día 9 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $51,266.66. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 16 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $38,450.00. 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 $40,954.77 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 6.5% anual desde el 1 de junio de 2019 hasta su completo pago, más $1,104.70 de recargos acumulados, los cuales continuarán en aumento hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más la cantidad estipulada de $7,690.00 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 pesan los siguientes gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: a. Hipoteca: Constituida por Rogelio Espino Maysonet (soltero) y Peter Eugene González Mattas, también conocido como Peter González Matta y su esposa, Luz Damaris Rosario Hernández, también conocida como Luz D. Rosa Hernández, en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Doral Bank, o a su orden, por la suma de $30,598.00, intereses al 10.95% anual y vencedero el 1 de abril de 2021, según consta de la Escritura Número 75, otorgada en Carolina, Puerto Rico, el 10 de marzo de 2006, ante la Notario Giselle M. Feliciano Maymi. Inscrita al folio 31 del tomo 1389 de Carolina, finca número 41529, inscripción séptima. b. Modificación de Hipoteca: Comparece Rogelio Espino Maysonet (soltero) y Peter Eugene González Mattas, también conocido como Peter González Matta y su esposa, Luz Damaris Rosario Hernández, también conocida como Luz D. Rosa Hernández y Doral Recovery II, LLC., para modificar hipoteca de $30,598.00 en cuanto a su principal que será de $30,713.13 con intereses al 7.50% anual, pagos mensuales de $236.01, con un último pago de $5,254.32 y vencedero el 1 de junio de 2029, ampliada por $115.13, según consta de la Escritura Número 415, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 23 de junio de 2014, ante la Notario Leilany Carrión de Toro. Inscrita al folio 31 vuelto del tomo 1389 de Carolina, finca número 41529, inscripción octava. c. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Vs. Peter Eugene González Mattas, Luz Damaris Rosario Hernández también conocida como Luz D. Rosario Hernández y Rogelio Espino Maysonet también conocido como Rogelio Espino Maisonet, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, en el Caso Civil Número CA2022CV00660, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $40,954.77 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 7 de marzo de 2022. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Carolina. 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 lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 24 de enero de 2023. GRETCHEN M. JEREZ SEDA, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA MUNICIPAL / SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN ASOCIACIÓN DE RESIDENTES RIO HONDO II, VALLE VERDE I Y II, INC.

Demandante V. YASHIRA ORTÍZ

RODRÍGUEZ, JOSÉ

JUSTINO GONZÁLEZ

QUIJANO, AMBOS POR SÍ Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV06193.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (R. 60). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL PUEBLO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: YASHIRA ORTÍZ

RODRÍGUEZ, JOSÉ

JUSTINO GONZÁLEZ

QUIJANO, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS. Por la presente se le notifica

que la parte demandante ha presentado ante este Tribunal Demanda contra usted(es), solicitando la concesión del siguiente remedio: Demanda de COBRO DE DINERO, por concepto de cuotas de mantenimientos vencidas y no pagadas por la suma de $697.50 al 30 de noviembre de 2022. Representa a la parte demandante el abogado cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono se consigna de inmediato: LCDO. MELVYN E. FONTAN LOZADA Colegiado Núm. 15768, RUA: 14519 PO Box 124, Bayamón, PR 00960-0124 Tel. 787-340-6604 Fax 787-261-9168 e-mail: melfonloza@live.com, melvynfontan@gmail.com Se le apercibe que si no compareciera usted a contestar dicha demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de haber sido diligenciado este Emplazamiento, Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal. Si usted deje de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 21 de febrero de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MILITZA MERCADO RIVERA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE FAJARDO ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante, V. SANTOS DIAZ ALVAREZ

Demandado Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01116. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: SANTOS DIAZ ALVAREZ. POR MEDIO del presente edicto se le notifica de la radicación de una demanda en cobro de dinero por la vía ordinaria en la que se alega que usted adeuda a la parte demandante, Oriental Bank, ciertas sumas de dinero, y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado de este litigio. El demandante, Oriental Bank,

ha solicitado que se dicte sentencia en contra suya y que se le ordene pagar las cantidades reclamadas en la demanda.

POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este, emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial. pr/index/php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra, y conceder el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente, sin más citarle ni oírle. El abogado de la parte demandante es: Jaime Ruiz Saldaña, RUA número 11673; Dirección: PO Box 366276, San Juan, PR 00936-6276; Teléfono: (787) 759-6897; Correo electrónico: legal@jrslawpr. com. Se le advierte que dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes a la publicación del presente edicto, se le estará enviando a usted por correo certificado con acuse de recibo, una copia del emplazamiento y de la demanda presentada al lugar de su última dirección conocida: 200 Carr. 9987 Apto. 88, Fajardo, PR 00738-9805. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 01 de marzo de 2023.

WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL.

LYDIA E. RIVERA MIRANDA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-

NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE HÉCTOR DE JESÚS

MARTÍNEZ; SUCESIÓN DE MARÍA DEL CARMEN VELÁZQUEZ

CRUZ COMPUESTA

POR MARIBEL DE JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ; KATYNET DE JESÚS

VELÁZQUEZ; FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS; LA SUCESIÓN DE FULANO DE TAL DE JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ COMPUESTA POR MENGANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO; CRIM

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CA2022CV01601. Salón Núm.: (401). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. A: SUCESIÓN DE HÉCTOR DE JESÚS MARTÍNEZ; SUCESIÓN DE MARÍA DEL CARMEN VELÁZQUEZ CRUZ COMPUESTA POR MARIBEL DE JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ; KATYNET DE JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ; FULANO Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; LA SUCESIÓN DE FULANO DE TAL DE JESÚS VELÁZQUEZ COMPUESTA POR

MENGANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLE HEREDERO DESCONOCIDO; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM): DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA: Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América. Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en el Urbanización Villa Carolina, situada en el Barrio Hoyo Mulas de Carolina, Puerto Rico, que se describe con el número 21 de la Manzana 22 con una cabida de 347.81 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con la Calle Principal Doctor F. Sánchez Castaño, distancia de 13.25 metros; por el SUR, con la Calle 18 dis-

tancia de 13.25 metros; por el ESTE, con el solar 20 distancia de 26.26 metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar 22 distancia de 26.25 metros. Contiene una casa de concreto reforzado, diseñada para una familia. Consta inscrita al folio 105 del tomo 1,173 de Carolina, finca número #50,677, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Carolina. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Urbanización Villa Carolina, 22-21 Calle 18, Carolina, P.R. 00985. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $65,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca #141, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 3 de abril del 2004, ante el notario Marta T. Rey Cacho, e inscrita al folio 104 del tomo

1,351 de Carolina Sur, finca número 50,677, inscripción

5ta. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 2 DE MAYO DE 2023 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $65,000.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA

SUBASTA el día 9 DE MAYO DE 2023 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $43,333.33. Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 16 DE MAYO DE 2023 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $32,500.00. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: Suma Principal de $737.74, con intereses a 6.95% anual, desde el 1ro de agosto de 2015, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha

de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $6,500.00, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables.

Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Expedido en Carolina, Puerto Rico, a 24 de febrero de 2023. HÉCTOR

L. PEÑA RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #278.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE NILDA

LUISA CANCEL GARCÍA, COMPUESTA POR

SUS HEREDEROS: CARLOS ANSELMO PADILLA CANCEL, Y CARLOS RAÚL RAMOS

RUIZ, POR CONCEPTO DE USUFRUCTO VIUDAL; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: PO2022CV00773.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO

Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento enmendado de Ejecución de Sentencia notificado el día 21 de febrero de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Los Almendros situada en el Barrio Sabanetas de Ponce, Puerto Rico. El mismo se describe en el Plano de Inscripción de la Urbanización con el número THveintitrés, con un área de ciento sesentisiete punto treintisiete metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en veinticinco punto setenticinco metros, con el TH-veinticuatro; por el SUR, en veinticinco punto setenticinco metros, con el TH-veintidós; por el OESTE, en seis punto cincuenta metros, con la Calle AA de la Urbanización; y por el ESTE, en seis punto cincuenta metros, con servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company y TH-diecinueve y veintisiete. El inmueble antes descrito contiene una casa de concreto reforzado y bloques, diseñada para uso de una familia. Las paredes de la estructura construida en el inmueble descrito a su lado Norte que colinda con el TH- veinticuatro y su lado Sur que colinda con el TH-veintidós pertenecen como paredes medianeras en común a cada uno de dichos solares con que colinda, perteneciente la casa o empañetado interior al inmueble en que se encuentra. Inscrita en la finca número 38,250, al folio 222 del tomo 1906 de Ponce Norte. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Ponce. La propiedad está ubicada en: Urbanización Los Almendros Calle Lady Di 642 Ponce, Puerto Rico 00716. Además, el Alguacil que suscribe, hago saber a todos 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 surjan de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la su-

basta 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: Embargo de fecha 7 de febrero de 2007, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ponce, en el caso civil número JCD-2003-0193, sobre Cobro de Dinero, seguido por The Bank and Trust de Puerto Rico también conocido por Banktrust, contra Nilda Cancel García, el esposo John Doe y la Sociedad de Gananciales compuesta por ambos haciendo negocios como NY C Auto and Truck Rental, Daniel Ortiz Alicea y la esposa Jane Doe y la Sociedad de Gananciales compuesta por ambos, por la suma de $13,774.67 más intereses, anotado el día 6 de febrero de 2007 al folio 222 del tomo 1906 de Ponce, finca ntimero 38,250, anotación B. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor el día 2 de septiembre de 2022, y notificada el 8 de septiembre de 2022 en el presente caso civil, a saber, la suma de $114,532.07 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 6.125% desde el 1ro de noviembre de 2020; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $14,287.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 24 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 2:15 DE LA TARDE, en la Oficina / Sala de Alguaciles de Subastas del Tribunal de Ponce, Sala Superior, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $172,080.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 1 DE MAYO DE 2023 A LAS 2:15 DE LA TARDE, en la Oficina / Sala de Alguaciles de Subastas del Tribunal de Ponce, Sala Superior, Ponce, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $114,720.00, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 8 DE

MAYO DE 2023 A LAS 2:15 DE LA TARDE, en la Oficina / Sala de Alguaciles de Subastas del Tribunal de Ponce, Sala Superior, Ponce, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $86,040.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Ponce, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de febrero de 2023. JUAN ROLANDO CRUZ ROMÁN, ALGUACIL #965, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE PONCE.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE GUAYNABO WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, AS TRUSTEE OF FINANCE OF AMERICA

STRUCTURED SECURITIES ACQUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1 Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE JESÚS S. VALCÁRCEL T/C/C JESÚS S. VALCÁRCEL DE JESÚS T/C/C JESÚS SAMUEL VALCÁRCEL DE JESÚS COMPUESTA POR JESÚS SAMUEL VALCÁRCEL PAGÁN; MARITZA VALCÁRCEL; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS, CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES MUNICIPALES; Y A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA Demandados Civil Núm.: D2CD2017-0098. Salón Núm.: 0201. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL. A: SUCESIÓN DE JESÚS S. VALCÁRCEL T/C/C JESÚS S. VALCÁRCEL DE JESÚS T/C/C JESÚS SAMUEL VALCÁRCEL DE JESÚS COMPUESTA POR JESÚS SAMUEL VALCÁRCEL PAGÁN; MARITZA VALCÁRCEL; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DE NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS, CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES MUNICIPALES; Y A LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA.

Yo, ALG. HUGO BASCÓ MEDINA, ALGUACIL, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Guaynabo, a los demandados, acreedores y al público en general con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, por la presente CERTIFICO, ANUNCIO y HAGO CONSTAR: Que el día 11 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de

Everything you need to know about the World Baseball Classic

By VICTOR MATHER

For the first time in six years, the top players in professional baseball — and some hard-charging amateurs — are competing in the World Baseball Classic. The tournament began Tuesday night in Taiwan, with the Netherlands beating Cuba, 4-2, and if watching stars for the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Diego Padres (and just about every other Major League Baseball team) compete in uniforms that say things like USA and Korea seems appealing (or at least more appealing than spring training games), here’s what to know:

When and where are the games?

The 20 teams that qualified for the tournament are divided into four groups, playing in Phoenix; Miami; Taichung, Taiwan; and Tokyo. Pool play continues through next Wednesday, March 15.

The top two teams from each group advance to knockout quarterfinals, then the final four is March 19-21 in Miami. Twenty seems like a lot of teams. That’s the most ever in the WBC, up from 16 last time, in 2017. That means that in addition to the traditional baseball powerhouses, there’s room for firsttimers like the Czech Republic, Britain and Nicaragua.

The Czech Republic? Britain? Baseball?

There are no Shohei Ohtanis on the Czech team, but the homegrown squad does have a 37-year-old firefighter on its pitching staff (who has been a twoway star for his team) and a reliever who doubles as the team’s publicity director. The top-ranked countries have New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers suiting up; Britain has a player from Swarthmore College.

Who won it last time?

The United States, which had not finished better than fourth in the other editions of the Classic, beat Puerto Rico in 2017 to take the title. The first chance for the United States to defend the title was supposed to come in 2021, but the tournament was postponed because of the pandemic.

How does the U.S. team look this time around?

The defending champion is looking good because of a strong lineup. The middle of the order is particularly intimidating with stars like Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado and Pete Alonso.

Pitching is more of a question , but that is true of many of the teams and is compounded by rules that limit pitchers to 65 to 95 pitches, depending on the round.

The team’s expected ace, Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers, pulled out of the Classic last month, reportedly over an insurance issue.

Who are the other favorites?

The Dominican Republic, which won in 2013, is stacked again. A batting lineup that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Rafael Devers is going to be terrifying, and not just to the likes of Israel and Nicaragua. Nelson Cruz, who is 42, and Robinson Canó, who is 40 and currently without a major league team, give the team stout leadership.

Venezuela is also loaded, with José Altuve, Miguel Cabrera and Ronald Acuña Jr. swinging the bats and a strong pitching staff that includes Pablo López,

Martín Pérez, and Ranger Suárez.

Japan, the only two-time Classic winner, has a host of top players from Nippon Professional Baseball and a smattering of major leaguers, including Ohtani and pitcher Yu Darvish. Fans who have heard tales of the brilliance of Roki Sasaki are expecting to see the Japanese phenom pitch against major leaguers.

Other contenders include South Korea, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico (break out the trumpets for Edwin Díaz), which opens play on Saturday at noon Eastern Time against Nicaragua in Miami (Pool D). Puerto Rico is managed by the now-retired Yadier Molina, whose roster includes the aforementioned Díaz, Francisco Lindor, Eddie Rosario, Javier Báez, Enrique “Kiké” Hernández, Christian Vázquez and Martín Maldonado.

How can I watch?

Fox holds the rights, and the games will be split between Fox, FS1, FS2 and the Tubi streaming platform. The semifinals and final will be on FS1.

How is this different from the Olympics?

The Tokyo Olympics took place during the 2021 major league season, so star players based in North Ameri-

ca did not participate. As a result, the lineups at the Classic are significantly stronger. Moreover, baseball will not be included at the 2024 Olympics and faces an uncertain future beyond that. At this point, the Classic is the pinnacle of the international game, and the sport hopes to continue to develop it as its version of the World Cup.

How big a deal is this?

You might ask the players. No one’s saying it’s bigger than the World Series, but over the years, many players from around the world have shown significant enthusiasm for playing.

When the Dominican Republic won the Classic in 2013, the players raced onto the field for flag-waving celebrations, then headed to the DR for a parade.

Even the supposedly jaded American players rushed from the dugout in 2017, gestured at the USA on their jerseys and celebrated with a bald eagle statue that had been their mascot. “We had a goal — to put the USA on top of the baseball world where it belongs, and we did exactly that,” first baseman Eric Hosmer said.

As for 2023, Trout, who skipped the previous Classic, said: “That’s the whole reason I signed up, trying to win this thing. There is nothing else. Anything else is a failure.”

That is a sentiment unlikely to be expressed at the Chicago Cubs-Kansas City Royals spring training game in Surprise, Arizona, the same day as this year’s final.

Today’s Games (all times Eastern) China at Japan (5 a.m., FS1) Italy at Cuba (6 a.m., Tubi) Czech Republic at China (10 p.m., Tubi)

Cuba at Panama (11:30 p.m., FS1)

Wednesday’s Scores Panama 12, Chinese Taipei 5 Australia at Korea (10 p.m.) Panama at Netherlands (11 p.m.)

Tuesday’s Score Netherlands 4, Cuba 2

Shohei Ohtani will try to lead Japan back to glory in the World Baseball Classic. His country won the tournament in 2006 and 2009.

Cuba’s WBC team is notable for who is there, and who isn’t

By JAMES WAGNER

When Cuba took the field in Taiwan this week to kick off the latest edition of the World Baseball Classic, the country made history by featuring some notable names from Major League Baseball. Luis Robert Jr., the Chicago White Sox standout, patrols the outfield while his teammate Yoán Moncada mans the infield. Chicago Cubs left-hander Roenis Elías is on the pitching staff, and former New York Mets slugger Yoenis Cespedes is in the lineup as the designated hitter.

“The year of the last Classic, I was going to go but I couldn’t because I made the decision to leave Cuba,” Robert said in a recent interview in Spanish. “So for me, it’s a dream.”

Yet the team is also notable for those who weren’t on the field against the Netherlands (which won the WBC opener, 4-2), such as Houston Astros star Yordan Álvarez, one of the game’s most feared hitters. And what about other MLB standouts like José Abreu, Aroldis Chapman, Jorge Soler and Yuli Gurriel?

“There are a lot of players who have the quality to be on that team, and they weren’t invited,” said Oakland Athletics infielder Aledmys Díaz, who defected from Cuba in 2012. “So it’s really hard for one to go.”

The roster’s makeup shows how Cuba navigated a breakthrough in allowing those who left the country to play — but clearly on its terms. The WBC team has a mix of Cuban amateurs and professionals abroad, including players such as Elián Leyva, who has played in Mexico, and Ariel Martínez, who plays in Japan. While the inclusion of such players has injected talent into a national team that languished internationally, it was still not among the favorites to win the WBC thanks in part to the exclusion of some of the country’s most notable MLB stars.

The United States and Cuba have long been at odds on the issue of Cubans playing abroad. Because of longtime sanctions by the United States, players from the Caribbean island nation wanting to play in MLB, the world’s most prominent professional baseball league, defect and establish residency in a third country, often Haiti or the Dominican Republic, so they can sign with teams as free agents. And it has been such a sore spot for Cuba that the Baseball Federa-

tion of Cuba has not allowed those players to be on its national team. Baseball matters a lot in Cuba. In the six Summer Olympics featuring the sport, Cuba has won three gold and two silver medals. In the WBC, the quadrennial competition returning this year after a pandemic-induced delay, Cuba was the runner-up in the inaugural 2006 tournament. The sport has long been intertwined with society and politics in the communist country.

But as hundreds of Cuban players defected over the decades, the country’s national team increasingly struggled on the international stage. Cuba didn’t qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and hasn’t won a medal in the WBC since the tournament’s first iteration. The team is ranked No. 8 globally by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.

“Everyone is leaving,” said Leonys Martín, a 35-year-old outfielder in the Seattle Mariners organization who defected in 2010. “There aren’t players over there.”

Each time the WBC came around, Cuban players who defected were saddened that they couldn’t participate. So last year, a group of those players formed the Association of Cuban Professional Baseball Players, with the goal of assembling the best team of Cuban talent all over the world. The group swelled to 170 members spanning the major and minor leagues and other foreign profes -

sional leagues.

Despite a public campaign, the association didn’t succeed — even in securing, at the very least, exhibition games. The reason: The WBC, although operated as a joint venture between MLB and the league’s players’ union, is sanctioned by the WBSC, the sport’s global governing body. And according to the confederation’s rules, only recognized national federations can select their national teams.

As the national federation blasted the Cuban players’ association last year, accusing it of having political objectives and trying to usurp its legitimate place, the federation also expressed a further softening stance on defected players. The federation didn’t respond to requests for comment, but its president, Juan Reinaldo Pérez Pardo, said in a statement in April that he wanted to continue his discussions with players “who love Cuban baseball.”

But even with the ability to include MLB players, many prominent players were not picked or chose not to participate. Martín, who escaped to Mexico on a yacht and lives in South Florida, said he declined his invitation. Among his reasons: the way he said the government and federation had treated him, his family and other players, such as by denying him entry into Cuba seven years ago despite a previous visit, and being called a traitor.

“Now they’re asking for help,” he said. “For my part, I’d never help them with anything.”

Díaz said he wasn’t even invited. It could be because he defected in the Netherlands while with the Cuban national team, a major offense to Cuban officials, or because he was a vocal member of the upstart association. He believed the latter helped put pressure on the Cuban government.

“In my case, if you ask me, I wouldn’t have accepted because I’ve seen they’re not interested in inviting everyone,” Díaz said. “Everyone on that team has ability and they’re going to give their best on the field, but there are players who have the quality to be there but aren’t because of their way of thinking or acting.”

Regarding the players who did accept an invitation, Díaz said, “The beautiful part of living in a free society is that you respect the opinions of others and what they do.” He added, “I’ve had the chance to play with them in the past, and I always wish them the best in the tournament and that they play their best baseball. I have nothing against them.”

Some MLB players turned down invitations, such as Adolis García of the Texas Rangers and Miguel Vargas of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the son of a longtime Cuban player, because they said they wanted to focus on their health or their major league team. And some are playing for other countries, such as Randy Arozarena, who became a citizen of Mexico after defecting.

Others have faced criticism for accepting invitations. When three players — Andy Ibáñez of the Detroit Tigers organization, then-Met Yoan López and Leyva — confirmed their presence on a preliminary Cuban roster, Raisel Iglesias, the Atlanta Braves pitcher who has led the charge in the upstart association, said they had been removed from the group.

“I told them they live in Miami and they know how the city of Miami acts,” Iglesias said in November on a Cuban baseball video channel. “They’re living in the most Cuban city in the world. That’s the way it is. You know how people think and you’re responsible for your actions, and people on the street are going to have their opinion of you.” He added later, referring to the Cuban federation, “People say, ‘You’re acting just like them.’ We are. We can’t have people playing on two different sides.”

Yoán Moncada, an outfielder for the Chicago White Sox, and Andy Ibáñez, a minor leaguer in the Detroit Tigers system, are both representing Cuba at the World Baseball Classic.

Giants commit to Daniel Jones with a four-year contract

By EMMANUEL MORGAN

The New York Giants and quarterback Daniel Jones agreed to a four-year contract extension with $82 million in guaranteed money, securing his role as the franchise’s starter after months of negotiations.

The sides agreed to terms shortly before Tuesday’s deadline for the Giants to place the franchise tag on Jones.

In 2022, the last year of his rookie deal, Jones improved under first-year coach Brian Daboll and helped lead the Giants to a 9-7-1 record and the franchise’s first playoff win since the 2011 season.

Jones posted career bests in passing yards (3,205) and completion percentage (67.2%) and threw just five interceptions in the regular season. The team’s season ended with a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs.

Jones’ emergence was among the highlights for a franchise that brought in new leadership. In January 2022, the Giants hired Joe Schoen as general manager and Daboll as coach from the Buffalo Bills. Schoen did not exercise the fifth-year option on Jones’ rookie contract, setting up the 2022 season as a “prove-it” year for the quarterback, who had been dogged by injuries and turnovers since the team drafted him with the No. 6 overall pick in 2019.

Jones compiled a 12-25 record in his first three seasons, playing under three offensive coordinators and two coaches.

In Daboll’s scheme, Jones made the most of short throws and designed runs to gain yardage and cut down on his turnovers. The Giants’ offense also got a lift from running back Saquon Barkley, who was healthy for much of the season after having dealt with major injuries in each of the previous three. Barkley added 10 touchdowns and 1,312 rushing yards, and the Giants were the league’s fourth-best running team in 2022.

After the playoff loss, Jones and Schoen said they wanted to complete a deal that would keep the quarterback with the team, but they acknowledged there was distance between Jones’ asking price and what the team was willing to pay.

Jones switched his representation to Athletes First

shortly after the Super Bowl, making the change from Creative Arts Agency in search of a more lucrative contract, according to a person with knowledge of the move. Last week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis, Schoen said he had not negotiated with CAA before Jones’ switch.

“That was something personal that Daniel wanted to do,” Schoen said in a news conference Feb. 28. “They had no idea what value we thought. I had no idea what they would ask. That was totally separate.”

Jones would have earned $32.416 million in 2023 if the Giants placed the franchise tag on him. That sum would have counted directly against the team’s salary cap figure, severely limiting how active Schoen could be in free agency.

“That’s something everybody realizes,” Schoen said. “If you have to franchise Daniel, I don’t think that’s best for the organization. I don’t believe it’s best for Daniel especially as we try to build the team around him.”

After signing Jones, the Giants placed the franchise tag on Barkley, arguably the offense’s best player. Barkley will earn $10.09 million if he plays under the tag, but

the Giants and Barkley can continue negotiations on an extension until July 17.

Schoen and Barkley’s agent, Kim Miale of Roc Nation Sports, had started early discussions on a longterm contract during the team’s bye week in November and have continued talks since the start of the offseason. At the combine, Schoen said he hoped to sign Barkley to an extension but said there was a gap in the asking price.

“We’ve got to draw a line in the sand like, ‘We’re not going any further,’” Schoen said. “And if it goes past this, ‘All right, let’s shift to Plan B.’ Hopefully we don’t get to that.”

Jones’ deal comes as teams continue to set the quarterback market. The Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday placed the franchise tag on Lamar Jackson after two years of deadlock in their talks about a long-term contract, and the New Orleans Saints on Monday signed Derek Carr to a four-year deal, with $100 million guaranteed.

The landscape will shift again as the star quarterbacks of the 2020 draft class — the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Los Angeles Chargers’ Justin Herbert — are expected to sign contract extensions.

Daniel Jones posted career-bests in passing (3,205) and rushing (708) yards, and a career-low in interceptions (5) in the 2022 season.

How to Play:

Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

Sudoku Rules:

Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Crossword #R9TE725M

Down

1. Desperate

2. Ares'

69.

Answers on page 38

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

The Moon’s link with Pluto can find you in an intense mood, and inclined to look at the practicalities of life rather than indulge your fantasies. And yet with a major focus on the sign of Pisces, dreams and dreaming are important to you at this time. Take just one of them and subject it to your x-ray vision, and you’ll realize that with a few tweaks it really is doable, Aries.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

Are old beliefs holding you back? While they may have supported you at one time, it might be time to substitute them for a more life-enhancing mindset. Think about what you want to accomplish, and the kind of person you would need to be to achieve your goals. How would such a person think and act? The answer to this may lead you to make gradual but positive changes.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

If someone you know is going through a crisis, then a chat could help. And if you can uncover the source of their discomfort, a solution may be possible. Will they listen? They might if a suggestion hits the right note and leaves them feeling empowered. It’s also possible they need time and space to themselves to tackle this on their own terms, and find answers on their own.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

Even if there is an unsettled feeling to the day ahead, the steady influence of the Virgo Moon can help you take it all in your stride. Although others may be eager for you to be somewhere, do something or make a decision, just go at your pace. Life can be all the more enjoyable Cancer, if you ignore their pleas and do things in your own time and your own way. Don’t be rushed!

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Although you now have an excellent opportunity to showcase your creative abilities, it’s also a good time to improve on them if you wish to. You may be aware of others who are extremely talented, which could push you to try even harder. Is this justified though, Leo? Absolutely! You might find that competition spurs you on and you become extremely good. You won’t look back.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Have a deadline to deal with? Getting anxious won’t help, whereas a moment to map out a plan of action could be the best option. Take your time Virgo, as it can allow you to work faster and perhaps do a better job. You might also question certain beliefs that are preventing you from moving forward. You know you have potential, and a shift in mindset may help you do so.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Has someone changed their mind regarding a plan or proposition? Don’t let it worry you, as things might turn out better for you. Go with the flow and listen to your intuition, as you’ll then be in the frame of mind to make use of any opportunities and developments. A potent lunar phase suggests that letting this go, as something more suitable may already be on its way.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

A strong but positive lunar tie to Pluto, may coincide with an encounter that captures your interest. Conversation can be intense but in a good way, and whatever comes of it could leave you reassured that this person means what they say and will follow through. If yesterday’s Full Moon left you with empty promises, today will find you bubbling with excitement, Scorpio.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

Trust that intuitive nudge Archer, especially if it encourages you to invest in something that might be good for you. This could range from a practical item to a small treat that leaves you upbeat and gives you the boost you need, especially if you’ve been working hard. Yearning or fantasizing about something? Practical Saturn, newly in Pisces, can help you make it a reality.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Although an awkward issue with someone may be far from over, you may be beginning to make headway. It might not seem much, but if you persevere then the distance you cover could lengthen, and before you know it, you may be on the verge of reaching an agreement. Stay steady though and stick to your principals, as you could be swayed off course by nebulous influences.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You can either resist a situation or find a way to embrace it. Your initial urge may be to put up a mental barrier and steer clear of it, Aquarius. This won’t change anything though, whereas embracing it just might. If you can be open to whatever feelings it brings up and let them be, you could feel a release of tension immediately. Gently persist, and it might not bother you anymore.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

Those in authority may expect more of you than they do of others. Rather than see this as a liability, see it as a compliment. Indeed, with a positive Moon/Pluto tie boosting your own authority, realize that it’s because you’re very talented and have so much to give. And you’ll be in a good position to advise others, should they require a few tips and tricks from you, Pisces.