Monday Nov 30, 2020

Monday, November 30, 2020

San Juan The

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Art Basel Miami Beach Was Canceled, But the Show Must Go On

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The Most Feared Moment Arrives PRASA Aims to Lower Debt.

How? P6

Top Contenders for Biden’s Cabinet Draw Fire

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Amid Hike in COVID-19 Cases, Citizens Crowd Malls During the Weekend, (Try to) Celebrate Weddings; Some Care Even Less Urgent Call from Health Experts: ‘Stay Home’

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 17

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Monday, November 30, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

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November 30, 2020

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

House speaker praises new Civil Code; law professor notes gaps

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hile House Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Núñez Núñez on Sunday praised the new Civil Code, which went into effect over the weekend, the Puerto Rico Bar Association says the new text is full of gaps that have yet to be addressed.

As the main source of private law in Puerto Rico, the Civil Code regulates the main issues that dictate the life of a person and their daily interactions in society. It is the set of laws that regulate aspects of people’s private lives such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, property rights and contracts.

The document, which replaced a Civil Code from the 1930s, became Act 55 of 2020, better known as the new Civil Code for Puerto Rico.

“Today a new instrument comes into force that will directly assist our people to face the challenges of the present and the future with a tool -- the New Civil Code for Puerto Rico -- that is in touch with the times, with our idiosyncrasies, with our society, and focused on an avant-garde legal prism, always ensuring the rights of all,” Méndez Núñez said in a written statement. “I believe that the new Civil Code is central to the socioeconomic development of modern Puerto Rico and I have no doubt that it will serve as a model for other jurisdictions in the nation.”

Méndez Núñez said he still remembers the day the Code was passed. The document went through a series of public hearings and its changes were criticized by numerous sectors.

Former Rep. María Milagros Charbonier headed the effort.

“Many in the political opposition said it was impossible, as they alleged that it couldn’t be done, that they had been studying it for 30 years and that the entire Code couldn’t be done; they even asked for another decade of ‘study’ for it,” the House speaker said. “Those are many of the same people who tried to pass, in a hurry, without a public hearing, a compendium version, with only a few cosmetic changes, in an extraordinary session of only two days. Many of them today validate our effort with their support. A better example is that the minority leader, comrade Rafael ‘Tatito’ Hernández, voted in favor of the new Civil Code when it came down for consideration in the House of Representatives in May of this year.”

In 1997, Act 85 was signed, which created the Permanent Joint Commission for the Review and Reform of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, which evaluated changes to the Code since then.

“I want to thank the members of our delegation for their efforts during this four-year period, including all the employees and advisers who worked long and continuous hours for more than three years, including during the historic period after the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria, to achieve completion, in a process open to all, since the measure, after being filed in a press conference on June 18, 2018, went through 18 public hearings,” Méndez Núñez said.

However, former Court of Appeals Judge Migdalia Fraticelli, a law professor, noted in a Telemundo report that the document has gaps, most notably in the statutes related to Family Law.

She asked for an extension of time to further study the document. Among the gaps, she mentioned that the rights of unmarried couples, which are known as concubinato, are not clear. The document also recognizes surrogate mothers but does not regulate the process that will allow individuals to enter contracts with surrogate mothers.

The document also made changes to inheritance laws because now an individual with heirs will be able to do away with half of his or her assets and give the other half to heirs.

Previously, two-thirds of assets had to go to heirs.

Among the most notable changes is the extension of the rights of the born to the unborn, so that they are treated in the same way during the gestation period. This extension, however, alleges that “it does not in any way impair the constitutional rights of pregnant women to make decisions about their pregnancy.” It is not clear how, in practice, the right to abortion can be affected, something that various organizations have denounced.

Regarding divorce laws, the new code eliminates the grounds or reasons for couples to divorce, creating only two processes to dissolve a marriage. The parties can, jointly or individually, submit to the court the divorce petition citing irreparable rupture or mutual consent. It also allows divorce to be decreed by public deed.

Under the old code, marriage was defined as the union between a man and a woman. The new code establishes that it will be the union of two natural persons. Minors are prohibited from marrying under the new code. However, minors who are 18 years of age can marry with parental consent or the authorization of a judge.

The new Civil Code also allows a trans person to change his or her gender on a birth certificate but to do so, the person needs court authorization. The change will be made in a note in the margin of the birth certificate.

Elsewhere in the new Civil Code, which entered into force on Saturday, the area of inheritance was also subject to changes. For instance, if the deceased person did not establish who his or her heirs are through a valid will, the Code provides a succession order. The new Code places the widow or widower as the first in the order of succession, on the same level as the descendants.

In the event that neither a descendant nor a spouse survives the deceased person, the estate will be awarded to the ascendants or parents. If the ascendants are also deceased, the next in line are the preferred collateral relatives (brothers or nephews) and, in their absence, any ordinary collateral relative. In the absence of any of the above, the last in the order of succession is the government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

In the event there is a will, the testator must divide his inheritance in two halves: One half of the estate will be reserved to the forced heirs but he or she can do whatever he wants with the other half of the estate. Previously, the testator had to leave two-thirds of his or her estate to the forced heirs.

Also, only opened wills or handwritten wills are valid under the new Code. So-called closed wills were eliminated.

Wills written when the person is in imminent death or during a pandemic, will be accepted as special wills.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

Public health experts urge public to ‘stay home as much as possible’ amid holiday season COVID-19 case rise

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

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s the island Health Department confirmed Sunday that Puerto Rico has had more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases, public health experts called for citizens to protect themselves against the coronavirus during the holidays.

“We’re in a critical phase,” Puerto Rico Physicians & Surgeons Association (CMCPR by its Spanish initials) PresidentVíctor Ramos said. “We began seeing an upsurge [in positive cases] in October and we have not gone down [in numbers].”

Ramos insisted that citizens must keep their guard up as “Christmas is coming, and we don’t want to lose family members for next year’s Christmas.”

Likewise, Ramos said community spreading remains in an upward trend, “as there are days where we have gotten 800-900 cases, which will necessarily translate into hospitalizations and casualties two weeks later.”

“This virus is generally stable,” the pediatrician said. “We can predict what will happen, unlike the flu.”

Ramos also told the Star that, although there were not as many people crowding into malls compared to Black Friday sales events from previous years, those who did turn out for such events “will translate eventually into a future rise in cases and deaths.”

“It’s the same thing that happened during the general elections, the primary elections, the Democratic Party primary elections,” the CMCPR leader said. “The issue is that there was no physical distancing, people would stand there and hug, kiss and speak with people who they haven’t seen for a while. Citizens might be using face masks [more than in the United States], but there’s no distance between them.”

When the Star asked if there were more optimal strategies for commercial locations to enforce maximum capacity limitations, as posts on social media outlets have shown people crowding together even though the current executive order states that authorized establishments may only allow 30 percent of available customer capacity, the pediatrician said “each establishment should be responsible for enforcing the order.”

“Usually, the majority of establishments have enforced body temperature screening, compulsory of face masks and hand sanitizing, yet they are not enforcing space limitations, especially restaurants,” Ramos said as he referred to the shutdown that the Health Department conducted at the Gurabo restaurant Zafra del Caribe, which hosted two wedding receptions after providing false documents to agency officers.

“Other countries are doing the same thing as we are in terms of capacity policies; it will depend on how many personnel you have available to enforce the order. We’re short on police officers,

as their presence has decreased due to pension and salary affairs,” he said. “The Department of Health’s Investigation Office, with their available resources, has done an extraordinary job. I know that its director [Jesús Hernández] does not rest as he intervenes with establishments who aren’t enforcing the order, but there is a personnel shortage in both state and municipal police. They do what they can, but it’s impossible to have one police officer assigned at each home.”

Meanwhile, Ramos told the Star that “people might be tired of this issue, but we must keep following orders,” such as physical distancing, constant use of face masks, and frequent hand washing. He said further that although “there’s light at the end of the tunnel” as coronavirus vaccines are closer to becoming a reality, citizens should keep protecting themselves from COVID-19.

“The vaccine might be starting to arrive now in December, in the middle of the following year, it would be available to the general public,” Ramos said. “If we accomplish inoculating 70 percent of the population, we can get out of this situation; therefore, we must cooperate and not listen to allegations that come from conspiracy theories, and information that is not true and can’t be proven with scientific information.”

Puerto Rico Public Health Trust (PRPHT) Executive Director José Rodríguez Orengo advised citizens to “stay home as much as possible and not go out unless it is necessary.”

“Active case levels have exceeded 9,000 people and hospitalizations have reached levels of more than 600 in the last week,” Rodríguez Orengo said. “We need everyone’s cooperation to contain the infection levels that we have at the moment. We must protect ourselves to protect others.”

The PRPHT director said people with chronic diseases or who are 60 years or older should be more aware as “these are the ones who mainly can reach hospitals and possibly advance the disease to a critical condition.”

Nine towns have more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases The Health Department reported on Sunday that nine island municipalities have more than 1,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The agency defines confirmed cases as those in which polymerase chain reaction tests return positive.

As for the most affected city, San Juan has reported 8,410 COVID-19 cases, for a 12.1 percent positivity rate.

Bayamón is second with 3,963 cases, which represents an 8.1 percent positivity rate, followed by Carolina and Caguas, which have 3,434 (7 percent positivity rate) and 2,052 (4.2 percent positivity rate) cases, respectively.

Towns including Guaynabo, Toa Baja, Toa Alta, Trujillo Alto and Vega Baja meanwhile reported fewer than 2,000 cases.

Guaynabo reported 1,871 cases; Toa Baja reported 1,541 cases; Toa Alta, 1,515; Trujillo Alto, 1,330; and Vega Baja, 1,126.

Civil Rights Commission requests changes to public safety law with regard to COVID-19 management In other issues, Civil Rights Commission Chairman Nieve de los Ángeles Vázquez requested late last week that the local government review Act 20, the law that created the Public Safety Department, in order to clarify citizens’ civil rights within the context of limitations caused by COVID-19 on the island.

“On Nov. 13, Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced issued Executive Order EO-080, extending and expanding the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Among the guidelines are the reduction to a 30% maximum capacity in restaurants, the prohibition of using beaches except for exercising, the partial mobilization of the National Guard to assist the Puerto Rico Police [Bureau] and more aggressive interventions with violations of

the restrictions,” de los Ángeles Vázquez said. “This executive order expires on Dec. 11. Like the previous executive orders, many of its restrictions are not based on objective and rational criteria that justify them.”

Referring to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance that executive orders should adjust to current constitutional rulings, de los Ángeles Vázquez said public health declarations should reconcile the legitimate interest of the state to protect public health with considerations regarding citizens’ constitutional and civil rights.

The Civil Rights Commission called on the island Legislature to assume its constitutional function of legislating in a clear, rational, and well-founded manner on the statutory parameters that regulate executive orders.

The organization noted further that in such a context, Article 6.10 of Law 20 of April 10, 2017, as amended, known as the Department of Public Safety Law, “has turned out to be extremely broad and ambiguous for addressing the acute constitutional controversies that the coronavirus pandemic has raised and that directly affect citizens’ rights.”

Tourist who refused to wear a face mask at LMM airport is detained Authorities from the island Health Department put a passenger at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport under civil arrest on Saturday evening after the passenger refused to use a face mask within the premises and physically assaulted a Puerto Rico National Guard officer.

According to preliminary information, at 10:15 p.m. passenger Adrien Williams did not follow instructions from the officer to wear a mask and present his travel declaration to Health Department personnel in the arrival area.

A hearing in the case was scheduled for Friday in Carolina Superior Court.

As of press time Sunday, the Health Department had reported 11 deaths due to COVID-19 in its daily report, bringing the cumulative death toll on the island since the emergency began in March to 1,094.

Likewise, 141 confirmed cases, eight probable cases and 65 suspicious cases were included on the COVID-19 Dashboard.

As for hospitalizations, the agency reported 606 people hospitalized, with 102 patients under intensive care and 87 on ventilators due to the coronavirus.

No pediatric patients were reported hospitalized.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

5

Lawmaker seeks permitting help for small-midsize businesses amid pandemic

By THE STAR STAFF

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opular Democratic Party at-large Sen. José Nadal Power has filed a resolution that would allow small and midsize businesses on the island to renew free of charge the Single Permit granted by the Government Permits Management Office (OGPe by its Spanish acronym), it was reported Sunday.

“During this pandemic and as a result of executive orders, small and medium-sized businesses have been seriously affected since they have had to close completely and/or partially, while others have had to close their doors permanently,” Nadal Power said in a written statement. “Faced with this situation, both the federal and [commonwealth] governments have provided a series of aid in order to help them economically in the face of this global crisis.

However, the aid has not been sufficient, even more so when the total reopening of the economy remains uncertain.”

Recent statements by the president of the United Retailers Association in various media assert that the economic losses of merchants due to the pandemic have been in the millions of dollars and that approximately 2,300 businesses have closed permanently.This figure is in addition to that expressed by the Puerto Rico Restaurant Association, which estimates that, during this pandemic, about 25 percent of restaurants have closed.

“We recognize the challenge for the economy, for the government and above all for businessmen, of going through this pandemic. Likewise, we recognize the need to find tools to help these small and midsize businesses,” Nadal Power said. “For this reason, we have decided to propose an incentive aimed at offering businesses

the renewal of the Single Permit free of cost and granting a credit for the next renewal to businesses that have already completed the [same] process during the months of April to November. This, added to other initiatives promoted by the government, will help to alleviate a little the burden of one of the sectors of the economy that has

suffered the most from the closures.”

The outgoing senator said the Single Permit includes the Environmental Compliance license, the Fire Prevention Certification, the Sanitary License and any other type of license or applicable authorization required for the operation of the activity or use of the business.

PDP legislator demands publication of all results in his precinct

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

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PDP Rep. Luis Raúl Torres

opular Democratic Party (PDP) Rep. Luis Raúl Torres Cruz is demanding that State Elections Commission Chairman Francisco Rosado Colomer update and publish the total results from all polling stations in his precinct, San Juan District 2.

“It is incredible that up to now the total results corresponding to the number of polling stations in District 2 of San Juan have not been disclosed,” Torres Cruz said.

“The information we have is that the officials have finished scrutinizing all the ballots in the ballot cases of the 98 regular schools [polling stations] in my district and the State Elections Commission has not updated the results,” he said.

Rosado Colomer said “only Electoral Unit 77 is missing, which includes all the Early Voting categories, which we know are being scrutinized starting yesterday [Saturday] and that had been previously counted.

“This in addition to those added by hand that cannot be counted until it is determined if the voter had the right to vote,” the SEC chairman said.

“I demand that the chairman of the commission be transparent and publish the results as the work progresses,” the lawmaker insisted. “The slowness in the publication worries us because it can lend itself to the manipulation of results. There have been many irregularities that have been denounced related to the recent elections and the non-publication of results cannot be another of the anomalies.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

PRASA aims to lower debt with $1.4 billion refinancing

By THE STAR STAFF

T

he Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) is planning a $1.4 billion bond refinancing to reduce the debt of some of its outstanding revenue bonds, according to information in a notice issued to the markets.

If the bond issue becomes a reality, it will be the first time PRASA has returned to the markets since 2012. In 2015, PRASA attempted to go to the markets with a $750 million bond issue but it was halted because that was the year then-Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced the island was not going to be able to pay its debt.

According to documents, the bonds, which are expected to be available for delivery by December, will be exclusively sold to no more than 35 qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) under Rule 144A of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Rule 144A modified certain SEC restrictions on trades to allow securities investments to be traded among qualified institutional buyers, and with shorter holding periods -- six months or a year rather than the customary twoyear period. While the rule, introduced in 2012, has substantially increased the liquidity of the affected securities, it has also drawn concern that it may help fa-

cilitate fraudulent foreign offerings and reduce the range of securities on offer to the general public.

An investor is dubbed a QIB if they are thought to require less regulatory protection than unsophisticated investors. QIBs can be a corporation that the SEC classifies as an accredited investor, a bank, trust fund, pension plan or any entity comprising sophisticated investors.

The 2020 senior bonds will be issued as fully registered bonds without coupons in denominations of $250,000 principal amounts. In the opinion of Nixon Peabody LLP, the bond counsel, under existing law the gross interest of the gross income of the new bonds will be exempted from federal law.

The proposed bonds are not a debt of the commonwealth.

Buyers of the proposed bonds must agree to certain changes to the trust agreement. For instance, the amendments would revise the pledge of the PRASA revenues from a gross revenue pledge to a net revenue pledge. Annual debt service is being calculated based on when PRASA is required to make deposits to the respective bond funds rather than when the date on which principal and interest is due and payable.

The federal Financial Oversight and Management Board had authorized PRASA to issue bonds at its Nov. 20 meeting.

Governor asks for reconsideration of Arecibo Observatory closure

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

G

ov. Wanda Vázquez Garced sent a letter to the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), Sethuraman Panchanathan, requesting reconsideration of the decision announced last week to close the Arecibo Observatory.

The NSF had indicated that it recently decided to close the famous radio telescope due to structural failures in two cables that support the platform of one of the towers.

In her letter, the governor notes that since the Arecibo Observatory was built in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Puerto Rico, the NSF and the scientific community have collaborated successfully in the operation of the facility. It also highlights that it is an emblematic place in the modern history of Puerto Rico.

“As you are aware, the economy of Puerto Rico has suffered enormous challenges in recent years due to the fiscal crisis, hurricanes, earthquakes and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arecibo Observatory has represented

significant scientific relevance, both for research and for academic purposes, so it is critical to keep this facility operational, it being the largest radio telescope in the world,” the governor said in the letter.

“The tourism industry is one of our primary sources of economic development. Having been impacted by all the incidents of nature, it is important to note that the observatory for decades has been one of our main attractions for tourists worldwide,” Vázquez added. “The closure of the [telescope], followed by the abandonment and lack of interest of the sponsoring agencies, would have serious consequences for our local economy.

“I understand the concerns expressed with the safety of the Observatory staff and construction employees. However, I am confident in the collaborative effort to provide viable safety and economic solutions that allow the facility to be restored and returned to its traditional scientific and cultural value.”

Vázquez said decommissioning the facility is a complicated task, considering the environmental, cultural and historical requirements that must be taken into ac-

count when doing so, in addition the cost of controlled demolition that would have to be done, and would be similar to the cost to modernize it.

“We must consider a positive option instead of abandoning the facility,” the governor said in her letter. “Other options could include security-related initiatives, such as monitoring asteroids and other

space activity. Take into consideration that Puerto Rico has the human and natural resources to maintain and promote the relationship with the scientific community [as it has done for ] all these years.

“I look forward to exploring options with you to keep the Arecibo Observatory open for the benefit of science, the United States, and the people of Puerto Rico.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

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Virus deaths approach spring record amid changing U.S. crisis

By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON, GIULIA McDONELL NIETO DEL RÍO, JOSEPH GODSTEIN and MITCH SMITH

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n April 15, the United States reached a grim nadir in the pandemic: 2,752 people across the country were reported to have died from COVID-19 that Wednesday, more than on any day before or since.

For months, the record stood as a reminder of the pain the coronavirus was inflicting on the nation, and a warning of its deadly potential. But now, after seven desperate months trying to contain the virus, daily deaths are rising sharply and fast approaching that dreadful count again.

How the virus kills in America, though, has changed in profound ways.

Months of suffering have provided a horrific but valuable education: Doctors A patient is admitted to the COVID-19 ICU ward of United Memorial Medical Center in and nurses know better how to treat patients Houston, Nov. 26, 2020. Months into the pandemic, doctors and nurses know more than who contract the virus and how to prevent ever about how to treat COVID-19 patients. severe cases from ending in fatality, and a far smaller proportion of people who toll has surpassed 264,000 and officials New York City alone recorded huncatch the virus are dying from it than in worry that Thanksgiving gatherings may dreds of deaths on April 15, underscoring the spring, experts say. cause infections to spread still more widely its unique role in that spring surge.

Yet the sheer breadth of the current in the coming days.

The emergency began to subside in outbreak means that the cost in lives lost On April 15, more than half of the the city as summer began, but not before the every day is still climbing. More than people who died were in just three states: virus had killed more than 20,000 people 170,000 Americans are now testing positive New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. and infected, by one estimate, more than for the virus on an average day, straining Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland and a fifth of New York City’s population. hospitals across much of the country, in- California also each reported more than Now daily case counts around New cluding in many states that had seemed 100 deaths that day.

York City have begun ticking up again, with to avoid the worst of the pandemic. More But in much of the country, the spring an average of 6,600 each day in the metro than 1.1 million people tested positive in looked far different. area, a fivefold increase from the start of the past week alone.

In Oklahoma City, Lizanne Jennings, October. Still, the surge has so far been At the peak of the spring wave in April, an ICU nurse, was part of a team in her hos- nothing like the one in the spring. about 31,000 new cases were announced pital that was planning for the onslaught of Patrick J. Kearns, a funeral director each day, though that was a vast undercount sickness they were hearing about in places in Queens, who in the spring regularly because testing capacity was extremely like Italy and New York City. The staff was had to transport bodies to a crematory limited. Still, the toll of the virus was an counting beds and calculating how many in Schenectady, New York, nearly three abstraction for many Americans because people they might be able to fit in the units. hours away, has noticed a two- or threedeaths were concentrated in a handful “It was just always a sense of ‘it’s day backlog forming again at the city’s of states like New York, New Jersey and coming, it’s coming,’” Jennings said, descri- crematories. He has called the crematory Louisiana. bing it as “pre-traumatic shock syndrome.” in Schenectady, he said, to let them know Now the deaths are scattered widely In March, Jennings remembered sit- he may be returning in the weeks ahead. across the entire nation, and there is hardly ting after work one day with her husband, “We are at risk of repeating what a community that has not been affected. Dennis Davis, a machinist and former happened in April,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, On Wednesday, when 2,300 deaths were bodybuilder. director of the Center for Infectious Disease reported nationwide — the highest toll “I need you to pay attention,” Jen- Research and Policy at the University of since May — only three counties reported nings, 53, recalled telling him. “Look at me: Minnesota and a member of President-elect a toll of more than 20.

People we know, people we love — our Joe Biden’s coronavirus task force, said of Forty-four states have set weekly case family, our friends — people are going to the death toll. records, and 25 states have set weekly death get this virus. And people we know are “Once you go over the case cliff, records in November, as the nation’s death going to die.” where you have so many cases that you

overwhelm the system, basically at that point when you fall off that case cliff, you’re going to see mortality rates go up substantially,” he said. “I shudder to imagine what things might be like in two weeks.”

With an inconsistent and shifting response from government officials, the virus surged in the Sun Belt in the summer, and then began rising steadily through the Midwest and the Great Plains — and then all over in recent weeks. The country reached a peak seven-day average of 176,000 reported cases on Wednesday, and there is reason to fear the worst is still coming.

Outbreaks continue to grow in Southern California, West Texas and South Florida.

After rising cases has come the new surge of deaths.

Texas and Illinois have reported more than 800 deaths over the past week, while Pennsylvania, Michigan, California and Florida added more than 400 each. In the Upper Midwest, where reports of new cases have started to level off, deaths are still mounting. Nearly 40% of all coronavirus deaths in Wisconsin have been reported since the start of November. In North Dakota, where military nurses have been deployed in hospitals, more than 1 of every 1,000 residents has now died.

The dispersed nature of the catastrophe means it seems invisible in many places.

The emergency is too widespread to draw teams of health care workers from other places to help. The sounds of ambulances are heard across many states. Families say their losses have sometimes been overshadowed in communities amid fatigue and impatience after more than eight months of social distancing and economic turmoil.

Around the country, medical examiners and funeral home directors are grappling with a steady rise in the toll. “Our volume is exploding,” said Dale Clock, who along with his wife owns and operates two funeral homes in western Michigan. On a recent night, they handled four COVID-19 deaths in just 12 hours, he said. In the past two weeks, nearly half of the families they served had lost relatives to the virus. All of that comes as one worker has had to quarantine because of the virus, and the staff is working overtime.

In the spring, Clock said, the homes had seen only a few COVID-19 deaths every few weeks.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

A rush to expand the border wall that many fear is here to stay

A border wall construction/blasting site at the Guadalupe Canyon in Arizona on Nov. 17, 2020. Despite president-elect Joe Biden’s vow to halt the project, the Trump administration is expanding the wall at a breakneck pace.

By SIMON ROMERO and ZOLAN KANNOYOUNGS

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our years ago, President DonaldTrump took office with a pledge to build a towering wall on America’s border with Mexico — a symbol of his determination to halt immigration from countries to the south and build a barrier that would long outlast him.

President-elect Joe Biden has said he hopes to halt construction of the border wall, but the outgoing administration is rushing to complete as much wall as possible in its last weeks in power, dynamiting through some of the border’s most forbidding terrain.

The breakneck pace at which construction is continuing all but assures that the wall, whatever Biden decides to do, is here to stay for the foreseeable future, establishing a contentious legacy for Trump in places that were crucial to his defeat.

In southeastern Arizona, the continuing political divisiveness around the president’s signature construction project has pitted rancher against rancher and neighbor against neighbor in a state that a Democratic presidential candidate narrowly carried for the first time in decades.

The region is emerging as one of the Trump administration’s last centers of wall building as blasting crews feverishly tear through the remote Peloncillo Mountains, where ocelots and bighorn sheep roam through woodlands

of cottonwoods and sycamores.

“Wildlife corridors, the archaeology and history, that’s all being blasted to oblivion or destroyed already,” said Bill McDonald, 68, a fifth-generation cattleman and former lifelong Republican who voted for Biden. “Tragedy is the word I use to describe it.”

Even those like McDonald who loathe the wall are bracing for the possibility that it could endure for decades to come, basing their assessments on signals from Biden’s transition team.

While the president-elect has said he will halt new wall construction, other immigration priorities like ending travel bans, accepting more refugees and easing asylum restrictions are eclipsing calls to tear down portions of the wall that already exist.

Advisers involved with the transition team, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss planning for the incoming administration, rejected the notion that there would be any attempt to dismantle the existing border wall, with one adviser calling the wall a “distraction.”

Customs and Border Protection officials are still rushing to meet Trump’s mandate of 450 miles of new wall construction during his term, nearly doubling the rate of construction since the start of the year. The administration had built 402 miles of wall as of Nov. 13.

Of that, about 25 miles had no barrier before Trump took office. The rest replaced much smaller, dilapidated sections of wall, or

sections that had only vehicle barriers, which border officials say did not deter migrants crossing on foot.

Some of the costliest and most invasive construction is unfolding this month in Guadalupe Canyon, an oasis-like habitat for rare species of birds like the buff-collared nightjar and tropical kingbird.

Until the blasting crews showed up this year, the canyon was so remote — about 30 miles outside of Douglas, the closest town, on largely dirt roads — that ranchers in the area say illegal crossings by migrants were extraordinarily infrequent.

Now parts of the canyon resemble an open-air mining operation. Work crews are blasting cliff sides on a daily basis to build the wall and access roads to it in one of the costliest portions of construction anywhere on the border.

Jay Field, a spokesperson for the Army Corps of Engineers, cited the canyon’s “4.7 miles of challenging, rugged and steep terrain” in a statement explaining that the cost per mile for this segment is about $41 million, roughly double the border wall’s estimated average cost per mile laid out in a 2020 CBP status report.

“This isn’t just heartbreaking but totally pointless,” said Diana Hadley, a historian whose family’s ranch includes much of Guadalupe Canyon. She said natural barriers had long served as a deterrent against crossings in the remote area.

Such critical views of the wall are far from unanimous along this part of the border. One prominent supporter of the wall is the Republican mayor of Douglas, Donald Huish, whose family migrated to the United States from Mexico after the Mexican Revolution.

“Once the government does something this big it’s very hard for them to take it back,” said Huish, adding that he believed that the wall had made the town safer by pushing migrants to cross the border in stretches of desert relatively far from Douglas.

“We’d reached the saturation point of finding illegal aliens in our back alleys, and now that situation has changed,” Huish said, citing the impact of both the wall construction now underway and portions of the wall that were built before Trump took office.

In their remaining time in office, Trump administration officials are promoting the wall while criticizing Biden’s immigration proposals.

Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, has said the wall allows the agency to funnel migration into certain areas and strategically deploy agents in

places where they can make apprehensions.

Morgan said Biden’s plan to stop construction of the border wall was “going to have a dramatic negative impact.”

While few miles of border wall have been constructed in South Texas, it has had immense impact on landowners there. The administration has filed more than 117 lawsuits against landowners this year to survey, seize or potentially begin construction on property, an increase from 27 lawsuits filed in 2019, according to the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Richard Drawe, a 70-year-old landowner in the area near Progreso, Texas, voluntarily signed over his land to the administration to avoid facing the government in court, conceding that the administration could eventually use its eminent domain authority to take the land anyway.

A year ago, the wall was just a looming presence in the distance. The steel bollards now stretch past his home, cutting him and his wife off from the sunsets and the roseate spoonbills they loved to watch.

“I’m used to living out in the open, no fences, doing what I want to do,” Drawe said.

“I don’t want to see a damn wall when I step out the door.”

But while Drawe, who voted for Trump earlier this month, does not want the border wall on his property, he agrees that it will help Border Patrol agents slow illegal migration.

Brian Hastings, Customs and Border Protection chief for the Rio GrandeValley sector, said the wall has given the agency more flexibility to strategically place agents in areas that lack barriers or surveillance technology.

“We will see the benefits greatly once this wall system is in place without a doubt,” Hastings said in an interview. “It allows us to be able to respond quicker.”

While others seem resigned to living in the wall’s shadow, Karen Hasselbach, who lives on another stretch of the border in Arizona near the San Pedro River, sees things differently.

She said work crews had destroyed the solitude she sought when moving from Maine to the border 23 years ago. Hasselbach can now gaze at the wall from her front yard.

Hasselbach said she had begun likening the border wall, which she despises, to the work of Christo, the Bulgarian-born conceptual artist known for epic-scale environmental projects.

“I try to look at it as a temporary art installation,” said Hasselbach, 69, who owns a thrift store in the town of Palominas. “My hope is it gets torn down.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

9

Top contenders for Biden’s cabinet draw fire from all sides

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR and JONATHAN MARTIN

T

here are leading candidates and dark horses. There are potential roadblocks from progressives and conservatives. And there are competing factions hoping to be part of the next president’s inner circle, all jockeying for influence.

President-elect Joe Biden moved quickly this past week to name the first two members of his Cabinet, picking one of his closest confidants to be the nation’s top diplomat and choosing an immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security, a first.

But as he fills out the rest of his team in the days and weeks ahead, the task will become more complicated, requiring him to navigate tricky currents of ideology, gender, racial identity, party affiliation, friendship, competence, personal background and past employment.

Aides to Biden who are managing the selection process are revealing little about whom he intends to choose. And yet, as is typical in Washington in the early days of a transition, the names of those the president-elect is said to be considering are a frequent source of discussion. This time, the gossip is spreading via Zoom calls, Twitter posts and encrypted text messages sent by lawmakers, lobbyists and political consultants.

“I can assure you, there will be more Cabinet announcements in the weeks ahead, so buckle up for December,” Jennifer Psaki, a senior transition adviser, told reporters this past week.

Whom Biden will tap to be the next attorney general is among the most talked about — and politically fraught — decisions that the president-elect will make, as civil rights issues roil the country and some Democrats expect investigations into President Donald Trump and his associates.

Sally Yates, the deputy attorney general in the final years of the Obama administration, had long been considered the front-runner.

Biden is close to her and has told friends that he could imagine her as the nation’s top law enforcement official. But some advisers fear that Republicans would block her nomination because of her refusal to defend Trump’s first travel ban and her role in the early stages of the investigations into his campaign and associates.

Biden could instead pick Lisa Monaco, the former homeland security adviser for President Barack Obama who was a finalist in 2013 to be FBI director. And like Yates, she worked well with Biden when he was vice president.

Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference in Washington, Dec. 13, 2017. Presidentelect Joe Biden has chosen Yellen to be his Treasury secretary.

But both women are up against Deval Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor who served as the head of the department’s civil rights division in the Clinton administration and would be the second Black man to be attorney general.

The president-elect’s aides see civil rights issues as a far more deep-seated problem than simply one that has arisen because of Trump.

The aides believe that Patrick’s experience at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. and his stewardship of the department’s civil rights division positions him to take on that issue.

Others around the president-elect are not eager to reward Patrick, who jumped into the Democratic nomination race last year to challenge Biden as a politically moderate answer to the party’s more liberal candidates. Xavier Becerra, the attorney general of California, is also under consideration for attorney general.

Biden has also not yet announced his pick to lead the Pentagon, despite having introduced other members of his national security team.

One candidate for the job, according to people familiar with Biden’s deliberations, is Michèle Flournoy, a senior defense official for President Bill Clinton and Obama. But her lock on the job may have slipped in recent days, as some progressive groups have attacked her work at consulting firms that have represented military contractors and foreign governments.

“Her employment at these two companies as well as her time as a paid board member for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton creates potential conflicts of interest,” said Mandy Smithberger of the Project on Government Oversight, an ethics watchdog group.

If Biden does not choose Flournoy, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a former deputy energy secretary and National Security Council member, and Lloyd Austin III, a retired Army general and head of the U.S. Central Command, are possibilities, people close to the process said. The Biden team could also tap Jeh Johnson, who served as a top Pentagon lawyer before becoming secretary of homeland security under Obama.

Should Biden tap Yates for attorney general, it may enhance Johnson’s prospects for the Pentagon because otherwise the traditional top four Cabinet department posts — Justice, State, Defense and Treasury — will have gone to white nominees.

Republicans in the Senate will try to reject some of Biden’s nominees. But his team is just as worried about opposition from Democrats.

Aides to the president-elect said Wednesday that he intended to announce more members of his economic team this coming week after choosing Janet Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair, to be his Treasury secretary.

Biden could pick Roger Ferguson Jr., an economist who was vice chair of the Federal Reserve and was under serious consideration for the Treasury job, to lead the National Economic Council or a new board overseeing the recovery from the recession.

Picking Ferguson, who is Black, to lead the council would help Biden keep a promise to make his administration look like the rest of America. Other names under consideration for the position are white men, including Bruce Reed, a former chief of staff to Biden, and Austan Goolsbee, an economist who was chair of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers. Gene Sperling, a veteran economic adviser dating to the Clinton administration, is another possibility, as is Brian Deese, who was deputy director of the National Economic Council under Obama.

Reed, a noted centrist and deficit hawk, was Clinton’s domestic policy director and helped develop the welfare overhaul that Clinton signed into law requiring work and setting time limits.

He has come under fire from prominent liberal members of Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who also oppose consideration of him to lead the Office of Management and Budget, which helps the White House determine economic priorities.

But blocking Reed, who traveled with Biden for much of the campaign, from the budget office post might only ensure he winds up in the West Wing, where the president-elect could make him a senior adviser.

To lead the Agriculture Department, Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, the highestranking Black member of Congress, is pushing for Rep. Marcia Fudge, an African American Democrat from Ohio. Clyburn, an early and important backer of Biden, has said the department should be focused more on hunger.

But traditionalists eager to keep a voice from rural America in the post are advocating Heidi Heitkamp, a former senator from North Dakota, or Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor who served as agriculture secretary for Obama.

Some allies of Biden’s on Capitol Hill worry that Biden’s choices for the biggest jobs in government look too much like professional staff members, with no big personalities who may be better suited to helping drive policy.

He could rectify that if he picked one of his Democratic primary rivals — Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont or Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — to lead the Labor Department or the Commerce Department. Liberals would cheer such a nomination, but transition advisers have told Biden that confirmation of either would be difficult.

In an interview with NBC News, Biden strongly hinted that he was likely to leave both senators where they are.

“Taking someone out of the Senate, taking someone out of the House — particularly a person of consequence — is a really difficult decision that would have to be made,” Biden said. “I have a very ambitious, very progressive agenda. And it’s going to take really strong leaders in the House and Senate to get it done.”

Deb Haaland, then a Democratic congressional candidate, in Albuquerque, N.M., Feb. 8, 2018. Haaland is a leading contender to be President-elect Joe Biden’s interior secretary.

10

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

For the world economy, a grim slog tempered by new hopes

By PETER S. GOODMAN

N

early a year into a pandemic that has ravaged the global economy like no time since the Great Depression, the only clear pathway toward improved fortunes is containing the virus itself.

With the United States suffering its most rampant transmission yet and with major nations in Europe again under lockdown, prospects remain grim for a meaningful worldwide recovery before the middle of next year and far longer in some economies. Substantial job growth could take longer still.

A significant hope has emerged this month in the form of three vaccine candidates, easing fears that humanity could be subject to years of intermittent, wealth-destroying lockdowns. But significant hurdles remain before vaccines restore any semblance of normalcy. More tests must be conducted and vast supplies manufactured. The world must navigate the complexities of distributing a lifesaving medicine amid a surge of nationalism.

The very concept of normalcy now seems open to question. Even after the coronavirus is tamed into something familiar and manageable like the flu, will people habituated to keeping their distance from others return to restaurants, shopping malls and entertainment venues in the same numbers? With videoconferencing established as a replacement for business travel, will companies shell

out as much as before to put them on airplanes and in hotels?

Calculating the prospects for a vigorous economic recovery entails wrestling with questions of human nature. The Depression imprinted a generation with a tendency toward thriftiness and an aversion to risk. If frugality endures this time, that would have profound and enduring economic consequences; consumer spending typically makes up two-thirds of economic activity in countries like the United States and Britain.

Long-term damage on top of the recent economic devastation would add to the inequality that has been a central feature of recent decades, as people with greater education, advanced skills and access to stock and real estate markets harvested the winnings of expansion, while others struggled.

The pandemic has made the world more so. It has concentrated its lethal force on blue-collar workers, for whom human interaction is a necessity, striking people who labor in warehouses, slaughterhouses and front-line medical facilities. Professionals able to work from home have maintained their safety along with their incomes.

The industries that face the greatest challenges in recovering — airlines, hotels, restaurants and retail — are major employers of lower-skilled workers and especially women.

At a time when companies are under pressure to make their workforces more diver-

Workers at Clips & Clamps, a metal forming company, in Plymouth, Mich., Sept. 2, 2020. The emergence of promising vaccines has taken the edge off the worst fears, but a meaningful economic recovery likely remains distant.

se, the likelihood that many people will continue working from home threatens to impede entry and promotion for women and minorities. Breaking into established ranks and altering culture is not a process best conducted over Zoom.

That could limit economic dynamism.

“Growing inequality is terrible for economies because consumption is reduced,” said Ian Goldin, a professor of globalization and development at Oxford University and author of “Terra Incognita: 100 Maps to Survive the Next 100 Years.” “A smaller share of your economy is able to buy your goods and services.”

What has been challenged most directly is the popular notion that the world economy could simply endure a deep freeze to contain the pandemic and then revive, almost as if nothing had happened. The idea was that public largesse could support workers and keep businesses alive during the short, sharp downturn required to choke off the virus, before commercial life recovered.

This sort of thinking was the basis for forecasts of a so-called V-shaped recovery: The astonishing collapse of major economies in the first half of the year was supposed to be followed by an equally astonishing revival.

But the global economy does not come with an on-off switch. After marked improvement in the late summer, the surge of virus cases has destroyed the hopeful scenario. The strains of the catastrophe — from failed businesses and elevated joblessness to disrupted education — appear likely to endure, potentially for years.

When the novel coronavirus first captured attention in China early this year, it prompted grave worries about a global shock. China was the world’s second-largest economy and a voracious purchaser of goods and services, from raw materials like soybeans and iron ore to the latest gadgets from Apple. Its factories produced electronics and apparel, chemicals and construction supplies, auto parts and appliances. Disruption in China was certain to ripple outward.

The threat intensified as the virus spread to Europe, shutting down commercial life in Italy’s industrial heartland and then spreading to factories across the continent. As the pandemic assailed Europe and then North and South America, governments ordered businesses closed to halt the virus. The economic unraveling proved more intense than the global financial crisis of a dozen years earlier.

World leaders drew on the playbook from that episode, unleashing trillions of dollars of credit via central banks and direct government spending. European nations effectively nationalized payrolls to prevent layoffs.

The United States delivered expanded unemployment benefits. All of this eased fears of a cascading run of bankruptcies and a potential financial crisis.

Between July and September, most major economies expanded dramatically. The United States grew more than 7% compared with the previous quarter and Germany by more than 8%. The United Kingdom expanded by nearly 16% and France by a whopping 18%. Such performances were embraced by some as proof that economies would snap back as soon as the virus was gone.

Conditions appeared ripe for robust spending. Unlike in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, when households were contending with crippling debts — especially in the United States — many households in large economies are this time flush with cash, given the enforced savings regimen of the lockdowns.

“You have a lot of pent-up money,” said Kjersti Haugland, chief economist at DNB Markets, an investment bank in Oslo, Norway.

“This is definitely a scenario for a rebound.”

Yet the exuberance of the summer also appears to have rendered the populace vulnerable. The French thronged cafes, and Britons returned to the pubs. Americans disdained masks as a supposed affront to civil liberties.

The virus commenced spreading, triggering a new round of lockdowns that have destroyed hopes of recovery this year.

Most economists assume that Europe will register a contraction over the last quarter of the year. Britain’s economy is expected to shrink by more than 11% this year, according to Oxford Economics, and will struggle to mount a full recovery before 2022. Among the worst-performing major economies is India; its economy contracted 7.5% in the three months that ended in September compared with a year earlier, government figures showed Friday.

The world economy will contract by 4.4% this year, the International Monetary Fund forecast in its most recent assessment.

World trade is on track to fall by as much as 9% this year, according to an assessment from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Continues on page 11

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

11

How Tony Hsieh tried to single-handedly transform downtown Las Vegas

By NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS and KAREN WEISE

I

t was his own personal sandbox, a reallife Sim City that he spent $350 million to build in a neglected corner of Las Vegas, just north of the flash and crowds of the Strip.

Tony Hsieh, who died at 46 on Friday from injuries suffered in a house fire earlier this month, was known for running Zappos, a giant online company that sold shoes. But the biggest imprint that Hsieh left behind is perhaps in downtown Las Vegas, which he transformed with the money he made selling Zappos to Amazon in 2009.

“How many opportunities in a lifetime do you have to help shape the future of a major city?” Hsieh asked in a 2013 speech, in which he vowed to turn downtown Las Vegas into “the most community-focused large city in the world.”

That year he moved Zappos’ headquarters into the old City Hall building. He tried to increase the number of what he called “collisions” between interesting people in streets and cafes by adding public art and making downtown more walkable. He pitched his friends on moving their startup ideas to his sandbox, luring hundreds of entrepreneurs.

He called his effort the Downtown Project, and it attracted glowing — if sometimes wary — reviews. As Hsieh’s transformation moved forward, though, more people began to question the tech executive’s charge into the city.

Several people quit the Downtown Project soon after it started, including one key employee who blasted the investment company’s management in an open letter in September 2014 as “a collage of decadence, greed, and missing leadership.” That month, Hsieh abruptly stepped down from the project as it laid off dozens of employees. He moved out of a luxury apartment and into an Airstream trailer in a trailer park he had built

downtown where he kept alpacas as pets.

Critics argued that his project had made the city more expensive in a state where affordable housing is already difficult to find.

Hsieh said in 2016 that one of his biggest regrets with the project was not building housing quickly enough.

“We’re just now starting construction on an apartment building,” he told CNBC then.

Still, Hsieh’s investment spurred some success stories.

Natalie Young had quit her job as a chef on the Strip just a few months before she was introduced to Hsieh by a friend who ran a coffee shop in downtown Las Vegas.

She recalled Saturday that he had once asked her, “What size restaurant do you want?” and had later offered her a $225,000 loan.

With the money, she opened her first restaurant, Eat, in 2012, and it became a hit.

As her own business grew, she also saw her downtown neighborhood change.

“I remember standing on the corner at Eat and looking both ways and seeing nothing — like, nothing,” she said of the time before she opened her restaurant. But after it opened, and as Hsieh’s investments attracted more businesses and people, downtown became a destination, she said, and suddenly parents and children were arriving on bicycles at her restaurant’s front door.

As much as she loves the new downtown, Young acknowledged that it had come with trade-offs; the coffee shop that her friend owned closed in 2016 and was replaced by a restaurant that is part of a California-based chain, exactly the kind of business Hsieh once said he wanted to avoid in favor of unique shops.

“That kind of stuff made you sad, but it’s also a part of growth,” Young said.

In recent years, as Hsieh became less involved in the Downtown Project, it was increasingly run “like a traditional urban planning project,” focusing on real estate and

Tony Hsieh, who died on Friday, was known for running Zappos, the online shoe retailer, but the biggest imprint he leaves behind is perhaps in downtown Las Vegas, which he transformed with $350 million. investing in more lucrative projects, Aimee Groth, who penned a book about Hsieh and the project, wrote for Quartz in 2017.

Leah Meisterlin, an assistant professor of urban planning at Columbia University, said Saturday that Hsieh’s project was an early attempt to bring a fast-moving Silicon Valley approach to city planning. Despite his generous investment, Meisterlin said, the project may have been slowed in its ambition because cities can benefit more from slower, careful changes.

“They didn’t have any experience in urban planning, but what he had was over $300 million of his own wealth that he was

ready to invest,” Meisterlin said. “What he chose as his subject — a city — necessarily slowed him down, whereas many endeavors might not have, and I think that was ultimately for the best.”

Mayor Carolyn Goodman of Las Vegas, whose city boundaries do not include the Strip and its many landmarks, wrote on Twitter on Saturday that Hsieh had been a visionary for the city’s downtown. “He was always dreaming, working to inspire and leading others to create a new vision,” she said.

“Tony Hsieh played a pivotal role in helping transform Downtown Las Vegas,” Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada wrote on Twitter.

For the world economy, a grim slog tempered by new hopes From page 10 Next year, the world economy is expected to grow by 5.2%, according to the IMF, but that would still leave it only 0.6% larger than in 2019. Joblessness would remain elevated.

Poor countries would continue to suffer a drop in earnings sent

home by migrant workers. Malnutrition would climb.

Questions about next year center on how soon vaccines reach the bloodstream of the masses. The three candidates so far, from Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca, have produced a credible vision of an end to the agony. But the economic pain has become so intense that its effects may linger.

Some argue that the pandemic should be the impetus for new economic models that create jobs through a transition to green energy while spreading the gains more equitably.

“What I’m allergic to at the moment is the notion of going back, bouncing back,” Goldin said. “It’s business as usual that got us to where we are.”

12

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

Stocks

Investors weigh prospects for U.S. corporate earnings as stocks set records

A

As U.S. stocks scale fresh record highs, investors are trying to gauge whether next year’s projected profit rebound will be strong enough to add fuel to the rally.

Analysts are projecting that earnings for S&P 500 companies will rise 23% next year after falling more than 15% this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Yet stock prices have already staged a massive recovery from the March lows of the pandemic, with the S&P 500 index rising more than 60% from its bottom to its recent record highs amid progress toward a COVID-19 vaccine and hopes for a speedy economic recovery.

The S&P 500 is trading at 23 times expected earnings for the next four quarters, only slightly lower than its June peak of 25 times expected earnings - its highest in roughly two decades. Those multiples are well above the long-term average of about 15, based on Refinitiv’s data. The sharp run-up in U.S. shares since March against a backdrop of still-weak earnings has driven up valuations.

Indeed, U.S. stocks have climbed despite another surge in virus cases across the country as well as a slight deterioration in profit projections for next year. S&P 500 earnings growth estimates for 2021 have weakened from 28% on Oct. 1 to 22.5% as of Friday, based on Refinitiv’s data.

“A disconnect is starting to occur,” said Nick Raich, chief executive of The Earnings Scout, an independent research firm.

“So one of two things have to happen. Either estimates have to catch up with price, or price will have to come down if we don’t see a compensatory rise in earnings expectations.”

Longer lockdowns because of the virus are among the reasons the near-term risk for stocks is “skewed to the downside,” Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy and global head of ESG research for BofA Global Research, wrote in her 2021 outlook report last week.

Some strategists argue that consensus estimates for next year underestimate the rebound that is likely to take place in earnings.

“There was a great sense of just surviving,” said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group in Minneapolis, resulting in corporations cutting operations “down to the nubs.”

“If you bring back growth, we’ll have more of that fall to the bottom line than ever before,” he said.

With results in from 97% of companies, the S&P 500 looks set to post just a 6.5% decline in third-quarter earnings, a vast improvement over the 21% fall that had been projected on Oct. 1, based on Refinitiv’s data. Fourth-quarter earnings are projected to decline 11%, versus the 13.6% drop forecast on Oct. 1.

Still, a lot depends on the timing of the rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine, analysts said, since that will determine how fast normal business activity can resume.

The most economically-sensitive sectors are expected to see the biggest year-over-year profit growth in 2021. Analysts expect energy earnings to jump nearly 600% in 2021, while they project industrial earnings to climb 79%, based on Refinitiv’s data.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

13

Protests over security bill in France draw tens of thousands

By CONSTANT MÉHEUT

T

ens of thousands of people took to the streets across France on Saturday to protest a security bill that would restrict sharing images of police officers and strengthen government surveillance tools, the latest sign that anger over recent cases of police violence is galvanizing opposition.

Media organizations and human rights groups held rallies in dozens of cities including Paris, Bordeaux and Lyon. All raised alarm about the new bill, saying it could curb freedom of the press and limit police accountability.

“Rather than trying to solve problems, this law seeks to cover up blunders,” said Nicolas Gonnot, a 50-year-old computer engineer who demonstrated in Paris.

Tensions in France have been rising over President Emmanuel Macron’s broader security policies, which opponents say increasingly restrict civil liberties. The frictions have grown in part in the wake of a string of Islamist terrorist attacks over the past few months.

Many of the demonstrators consider the new security bill a drift toward repression in government policy and further evidence of the government’s slide to the right.

One of the most disputed elements of the bill is a provision that would criminalize the broadcasting of “the face or any other identifying element” of on-duty police officers if the goal is to “physically or mentally harm” them.

The government has said that this provision is intended to protect police from online abuses. But critics argue that the wording is so open-ended that it could dissuade citizens and journalists from filming the police and holding them accountable.

Another provision of the bill authorizes the use of drones to film citizens in public and allow footage from body cameras worn by police to be livestreamed to authorities.

The bill has brought widespread condemnation from the French press, human right organizations, as well as from the country’s defender of rights, an independent ombudsman that monitors civil and human rights. The ombudsman said the bill posed “considerable risks” to the freedom of information and the right to privacy.

The bill, which the lower house of Parliament passed this week, still needs to be considered by the Senate and the government has faced mounting pressure to rewrite or remove key provisions from it. Hugues Renson, a powerful lawmaker in Macron’s parliamentary majority, told the newspaper Le Figaro: “When there is so much resistance to a measure, it is sometimes better to give it up than to persist.”

In another sign that the government could be preparing to backtrack, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced Friday that he would appoint an independent commission to help redraft the disputed provision on the broadcasting of

President Emmanuel Macron of France speaks at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Sept. 24, 2019. Amid rising tensions over Macron’s broader security policies, tens of thousands took to the streets across France on Nov. 28, 2020 to protest a bill that would restrict sharing images of police officers and strengthen government surveillance tools. images of police officers.

The protests in Paris thundered from the Place de la République, a large plaza in the center of the French capital, as a tide of people waving signs reading “Who watches the watchmen?” or “Democracy under attack.”

Standing among the crowd, Dominique Beaufour,

a 63-year-old retiree, said that the situation was “getting worse” in France, with increased and unchecked police activity in daily life.

Although the protests in Paris were mostly peaceful, some violent clashes erupted later in the day between demonstrators and security forces. Some protesters smashed shop windows and set cars and a cafe on fire in Paris, while the police responded by firing tear gas and using water cannons.

“They’ve crossed a line,” said Laurent Sebaux, a protester and supporter of Macron who added that the bill represented a betrayal of the liberal ideals that Macron defended when he rose to power in 2017.

The demonstration in Paris took place on the same plaza where, only days earlier, the police violently cleared out a temporary migrant camp. It also came on the heels of a nationwide outcry over images showing police officers repeatedly pummeling a Black music producer for several minutes.

Opponents of the bill seized upon the footage to argue that, by placing restrictions on sharing videos of police officers, the new bill would prevent such violence from being reported.

Authorities said that four police officers were detained for questioning on Friday over the beating of the music producer and were suspended from duty.

In a statement on his Facebook page on Friday, Macron said the images of the beating “shame us,” adding that “France must never resign itself to violence or brutality, no matter where it comes from.”

As French authorities grapple with growing accusations of structural racism and brutality in policing, Macron said that he had asked the government to come up with proposals to restore the public’s confidence in the police — a demand he has already made twice this year.

“In 2015, we hugged the police,” said Beaufour, referring to the wave of solidarity for police officers that emerged after the 2015 terror attacks. “Now, we run away from them.”

14

Monday, November 30, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Brazen killings expose Iran’s vulnerabilities as it struggles to respond

Protesters gathered outside Iran’s Parliament in Tehran on Saturday in response to the killing of Mohsen Fakrizadeh, the country’s top nuclear scientist.

By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, RONEN BERGMAN and FARNAZ FASSIHI

T

he raid alone was brazen enough. A team of Israeli commandos with high-powered torches blasted their way into a vault of a heavily guarded warehouse deep in Iran and made off before dawn with 5,000 pages of top secret papers on the country’s nuclear program.

Then in a television broadcast a few weeks later, in April 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the contents of the pilfered documents and coyly hinted at equally bold operations that were already being planned.

“Remember that name,” he said as he singled out scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh as the captain of Iran’s covert attempts to assemble a nuclear weapon.

Now Fakhrizadeh has become the latest casualty in an escalating campaign of audacious covert attacks seemingly designed to torment Iranian leaders with reminders of their weakness. The operations are confronting Tehran with an agonizing choice between embracing the demands of hard-liners for swift retaliation, or attempting to make a fresh start with the less implacably hostile administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Driving a carefully circuitous route to the home of his in-laws in a city outside Tehran, Fakhrizadeh’s car was stopped Friday by a car bomb in a Nissan so laden with explosives that it knocked out a power line, according to Iranian news media and witness accounts. A squad of gunmen then leapt from a

black SUV, overpowered his bodyguards and unleashed a barrage of gunfire before speeding away as Fakhrizadeh lay dying in the street.

Fakhrizadeh’s killing was the latest in a decadelong pattern of mysterious poisoning, car bombings, shootings, thefts and sabotage that has afflicted the Islamic Republic. Most have hit largely anonymous scientists or secretive facilities believed to be linked to its nuclear program, and almost all have been attributed by both U.S. and Iranian officials to Tehran’s great nemesis, Israel, whose officials have all but openly gloated over the repeated success of their espionage without formally acknowledging that Israeli agents were behind it.

Never, however, has the Islamic Republic endured a spate of covert attacks quite like in 2020. In January, an American drone strike killed the revered Gen. Qasem Soleimani as he was in a car leaving the Baghdad airport (an attack facilitated

by Israel’s intelligence, officials say). And Iran was humiliated in August by an Israeli hit team’s fatal shooting of a senior al-Qaida leader on the streets of Tehran (this time at the behest of the United States, its officials have said).

Seldom has any country demonstrated a similar ability to strike with apparent impunity inside the territory of its fiercest enemy, said Bruce Reidel, a researcher at the Brookings Institution and a former official of the Central Intelligence Agency with experience in Israel.

“It’s unprecedented,” he said. “And it shows no sign of being effectively countered by the Iranians.”

With the killing Friday of their top nuclear scientist as well, Iranians are now grappling with a new sense of vulnerability, demands to purge suspected collaborators and an agonizing debate over how to respond at a delicate moment.

Iran has endured four years of devastating economic sanctions under a campaign of “maximum pressure” from President Donald Trump, and many Iranian leaders are desperately hoping for some measure of relief from a Biden administration. The president-elect has pledged to seek to revive a lapsed agreement that lifted sanctions against Iran in exchange for a halt to nuclear research that might produce a weapon.

To pragmatic Iranians, that desire for a fresh start means Trump’s last months in office are no time for the country to lash back and risk a renewed cycle of hostilities.

But at the same time, some Iranians are openly acknowledging that their enemies in the United States and Israel may take advantage of the current moment to attack Tehran further, squeezing its leaders between domestic demands for revenge and a pragmatic desire for better relations.

“From today until Trump leaves the White House is the most dangerous period for Iran,” Mohammad-Hossein Khoshvaght, a former official at the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, wrote in a message on Twitter.

Retaliation against Israel or Netanyahu’s main ally, the United States, would play into the hands of Iran’s enemies in the region, who are seeking “to create a difficult situation,” so Biden cannot revive that nuclear agreement, Khoshvaght added.

Iran first accused Israel of killing one of its scientists when he dropped dead in his laboratory after a poisoning in 2007, and a series of more violent attacks on Iranian scientists between 2010 and 2012 have been widely attributed to Israel as well.

In one, a bomb in a parked motorcycle blew up a particle physicist as he was lowering a garage door at his home in Tehran. In three others, motorcyclists speeding past the moving cars of three other scientists slapped magnetic bombs to their car doors, killing two and wounding a third. And in a fifth attack, gunmen on motorcycles sprayed a scientist with bullets while his car was stopped at a traffic light with his wife sitting beside him.

Israel has developed a singularly successful track record against Iran in part by concentrating the considerable resources of its spy agencies mainly on its greatest nemesis, said Riedel of the Brookings Institution.

Israel, he said, has also carefully cultivated ties within countries neighboring Iran as “platforms” for surveillance and recruitment — most notably in Baku, Azerbaijan. Its recent conflict with Armenia has called attention to drones and other weaponry that Israel has furnished to Azerbaijan as part of that relationship Israel has made a practice of recruiting native Farsi speakers from among Iranian immigrants to Israel to make contacts or analyze intercepted communications, he added, and Israel has managed to enlist an array of Iranian collaborators as well.

Now, Riedel argued, the attack on Fakhrizadeh may be an indication that Israel intends to exploit that network again for similar missions. After an eight-year “hiatus” since the wave of killing from 2010 to 2012, he said, “I think it is a signal that the game is afoot, or coming.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

15

Israel’s pick to head Holocaust memorial stirs international uproar

By ISABEL KERSHNER

F

or years, his name was synonymous with intolerance and right-wing extremism.

So when Israel’s conservative-led government nominated Effie Eitam to be chairman of Yad Vashem, the country’s official Holocaust memorial and one its most hallowed institutions, it prompted an uproar.

Eitam, a 68-year-old retired brigadier general and former minister, has spent the last decade in the private sector. But his provocative statements from the early 2000s advocating the mass expulsion of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank and barring Israel’s Arab citizens from politics linger on the public record.

The appointment could have “devastating consequences,” said Israel Bartal, a professor of modern Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who said he would be forced to cut all contacts with Yad Vashem’s research institute after years of cooperation. “An institute headed by a person with such extreme opinions and controversial human values will never be taken seriously within the global academic community,” Bartal said.

Holocaust survivors, Jewish organizations and an international array of historians have denounced the appointing of such a contentious figure to head Yad Vashem. They say that in addition to recognizing the Nazi genocide of six million Jews as a unique event, the institution is also responsible for upholding universal moral values and educating people about anti-Semitism and racism.

Yet despite the pushback, a government appointments committee vetted and approved Eitam’s candidacy in midNovember. Only a Cabinet vote now stands between him and the post.

“This is more than a colossal mistake — it’s a tragedy,” said Deborah E. Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewish history and Holocaust studies at Emory University in Atlanta who has written several books on the subject. “Appointing Eitam to this position would be a blot on Yad Vashem’s reputation and Yad Vashem’s record.”

Eitam and Yad Vashem declined to comment on the appointment.

But Eitam’s defenders say he is the victim of a knee-jerk left-wing campaign purely because he is right-wing and religious.

They view him as a war hero and an experienced manager who could steer Yad Vashem out of a severe financial crisis that has been compounded by government budget cuts and a drop-off in donations because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The upshot is that Yad Vashem, an almost sacred institution that world leaders are expected to visit while in Jerusalem, has gotten caught up in the political and culture wars of a polarized country where the dominant right-wing battles the liberal left and is increasingly at odds with the more liberal streams among world Jewry.

Worse, experts say, it comes at a time when antiSemitism is resurgent and far-right forces in other parts of the world are promoting Holocaust denial.

“You don’t play politics with the Shoah, and this is

playing politics with the Shoah,” Lipstadt said, using the Hebrew term for the Holocaust.

She is one of 750 historians, Jewish studies experts and cultural figures who signed a petition protesting the appointment, which was submitted to Yad Vashem’s board of trustees and Israel’s parliament this month.

Yad Vashem’s current chairman, Avner Shalev, 81, is a respected, apolitical figurehead. He announced in June that he was stepping down after a 27-year tenure.

Zeev Elkin, the minister with responsibility for Yad Vashem from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party, chose Eitam with Netanyahu’s full support.

Still, government approval may not be imminent.

Because of coalition infighting, all senior appointments are frozen, and Benny Gantz, who leads the centrist Blue and White party in Netanyahu’s coalition, is likely to block Eitam’s advancement by denying him a majority if it comes to a Cabinet vote.

But Elkin and Netanyahu insist that he is still their sole candidate.

Eitam, a resident of a settlement in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, grew up as a secular Jew and became observant after the 1973 Middle East war.

He was decorated for his role in one of the war’s most desperate battles and later took part in a raid to free mainly Israeli hostages in Entebbe, Uganda. Netanyahu’s older brother, Yonatan, a legendary figure in Israel, was killed

while leading the raid.

Eitam once compared Israel’s Arab citizens to a cancer and a “ticking bomb” and said Israel would ultimately have to expel most Palestinians from the West Bank.

During the first Palestinian uprising in the late 1980s, when he was a brigade commander, some of his soldiers were prosecuted for beating a Palestinian man to death. The soldiers said they had beat him on the commander’s orders.

Ultimately, Eitam received a severe reprimand, and his promotion to the rank of brigadier general was long stalled.

Yet his military career spanned nearly three decades.

Elkin, the minister responsible for Yad Vashem, denounced what he called an “ugly” and “hypocritical” campaign spearheaded by political forces who never objected to appointments from the left wing of the political spectrum.

“True, he made a few unsuccessful remarks,” Elkin said of Eitam in a telephone interview, “but that was 15 or 20 years ago.” Elkin also said that some of those statements had been taken out of context.

Elkin cited as a reference point Joseph “Tommy” Lapid, a Holocaust survivor and acerbic leader of a liberal, secular, centrist party who went on to become chairman of Yad Vashem’s advisory council. Lapid once said that Palestinians “might begin to think” of the effects if 10 car bombs were to go off in 10 Palestinian cities and kill 500 Palestinians.

“That’s a more shocking statement to my mind,” Elkin said, “and nobody opposed his appointment.”

The Hall of Names, bearing names and pictures of Jewish Holocaust victims, at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem.

16

Monday, November 30, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL

Let’s talk about higher wages

By THE NYT EDITORIAL BOARD

O

ne of the great successes of the Republican Party in recent decades is the relentless propagation of a simple formula for economic growth: tax cuts.

The formula doesn’t work, but that has not affected its popularity. In part, that’s because people like tax cuts.

But it’s also because people like economic growth, and while the cult of tax cuts has attracted many critics, it lacks for obvious rivals.

Democratic politicians have tended to campaign on helping people left behind by economic growth, the difficulties caused by economic growth and the problems that cannot be addressed by economic growth. When Democrats do talk about encouraging economic growth, they often sound like Republicans with a few misgivings — the party of kinder, better tax cuts.

This is not just a political problem for Democrats; it is an economic problem for the United States. The nation needs a better story about the drivers of economic growth, to marshal support for better public policies. The painful lessons of recent decades, along with recent economic research, point to a promising candidate: higher wages.

Raising the wages of American workers ought to be the priority of economic policymakers and the measure

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of economic performance under the Biden administration.

We’d all be better off paying less attention to quarterly updates on the growth of the nation’s gross domestic product and focusing instead on the growth of workers’ paychecks.

Set aside, for the moment, the familiar arguments for higher wages: fairness, equality of opportunity, ensuring Americans can provide for their families. The argument here is that higher wages can stoke the sputtering engine of economic growth.

Perhaps the most famous illustration of the benefits is the story of Henry Ford’s decision in 1914 to pay $5 a day to workers on his Model T assembly lines. He did it to increase production — he was paying a premium to maintain a reliable workforce. The unexpected benefit was that Ford’s factory workers became Ford customers, too.

The same logic still holds: Consumption drives the U.S. economy, and workers who are paid more can spend more. The rich spend a smaller share of what they earn, and though they lend to the poor, the overall result is still less spending and consumption.

For decades, mainstream economists insisted that it was impossible to order up a sustainable increase in wages because compensation levels reflected the unerring judgment of market forces. “People will get paid on how valuable they are to the enterprise,” in the apt summary of John Snow, the Treasury secretary under President George W. Bush.

The conventional wisdom held that productivity growth was the only route to higher wages. Through that lens, efforts to negotiate or require higher wages were counterproductive. Minimum-wage laws would raise unemployment because there was only so much money in the wage pool, and if some people got more, others would get none. Collective bargaining similarly was derided as a scheme by some workers to take money from others.

It was in the context of this worldview that it became popular to argue that tax cuts would drive prosperity. Rich people would invest, productivity would increase, wages would rise.

In the real world, things are more complicated. Wages are influenced by a tug of war between employers and workers, and employers have been winning. One clear piece of evidence is the yawning divergence between productivity growth and wage growth since roughly 1970.

Productivity has more than doubled; wages have lagged far behind.

The point is not that economists were completely wrong. Productivity obviously plays a role in determining wages. McDonald’s cannot pay workers more money than it collects from its customers. But economists were partly and consequentially wrong. Power mattered, too.

The importance of rewriting our stories about the way that the economy works is that they frame our policy debates. Our beliefs about economics determine what seems viable and worthwhile — and whether new ideas can muster support.

Preaching the value of higher wages is a necessary first step toward concrete changes in public policy that can begin to shift economic power. It can help to build support for increasing the federal minimum wage — a policy that already has proved popular at the state level, including in conservative states like Arkansas, Florida and Missouri where voters in recent years have approved higher minimum wages in referendums.

A focus on higher wages is not a sufficient goal for economic policy. There is a genuine need for a stronger safety net to ensure a minimum quality of life. The pursuit of economic growth has to be balanced against other imperatives, notably environmental protection. Wage growth by itself is not a corrective for the accumulated effects of racism or other social ills.

But a focus on wage growth would provide a useful organizing principle for public policy — and an antidote to the attractive simplicity of the belief in the magical power of tax cuts.

The value of such stories extends beyond public policy. The government, too, has limited power to increase wages. The nation also could use some Ford-like executives who can see that the public interest — or at least their own self-interest — is served by raising wages.

That won’t be easy. The affluent live in growing isolation from other Americans, which makes it harder for them to imagine themselves as members of a broader community. Their companies derive a growing share of profits from other countries, which makes it easier to ignore the welfare of American consumers. The nation’s laws, social norms and patterns of daily life all have been revised in recent decades to facilitate the suppression of wage growth.

But we can begin by telling better stories about the way the economy works.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

17

Representante del PNP asegura que retendrán la mayoría en la Cámara

By THE STAR

E

l representante del Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP), José “Memo” González, aseguró el domingo que la delegación de esa colectividad retendrá la mayoría en ese cuerpo una vez concluya los procesos del escrutinio y recuento de votos.

“El compañero portavoz de la minoría, Rafael ‘Tatito’ Hernández, sabe muy bien que su partido no tendrá 26 votos para ser mayoría y lo que está tratando es acelerar los procesos para ver si lo ponen, con alianzas con otros partidos, como Presidente. Es tan obvio que ya vemos que su discurso ha cambiado a ser uno de izquierda, esto contrasta tanto con sus expresiones pidiendo la Junta de Supervisión Fiscal y su aplauso cuando se aprobó la Ley Promesa. Entendemos que hace falta terminar el proceso y nosotros (el PNP) retendremos la mayoría. El lo sabe muy bien, por eso con sus nuevos

asesores están empujando a todo dar la transición”, dijo González en una declaración escrita.

“Esta es una elección única en la historia de Puerto Rico, no sólo por el COVID-19, sino también por la enorme e histórica cantidad de voto adelantado. El pueblo puertorriqueño con su voto pidió que tenemos que unir voluntades para lograr un Puerto Rico mejor.

Tenemos que asegurarnos de contarlo todo antes de adjudicar ganadores en escaños con márgenes reducidos como hay ahora mismo en seis distritos representativos.

Es en tiempo ‘normal’ como en el 2008 donde un Distrito de Ponce cambió después del escrutinio. Eso, lo aseguro, va a pasar. La mayoría no será del Partido Popular”, añadió González.

De igual modo, el legislador por el Distrito 14 de Arecibo y Hatillo recalcó que no se puede iniciar la transición en la Cámara hasta la certificación oficial de la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones.

CROEM ALUMNI se une a la campaña en respaldo a la permanencia del Observatorio de Arecibo Por THE STAR

E

l Director Ejecutivo de CROEM ALUMNI, Wilson Nazario Torres, informó este domingo que el Comité Ejecutivo de la Asociación de Estudiantes Graduados del Centro Residencial de Oportunidades Educativas de Mayagüez, conocida por sus siglas CROEM ALUMNI, se unió a los grupos científicos y organizaciones que piden que se reconsidere favorablemente la opción de mantener en desarrollo el proyecto de mejoras y mitigación de daños que sufrió el Radiotelescopio de Arecibo, mejor conocido Centro Nacional de Astronomía e Ionosfera (National Astronomy and Ionosphere CenterNAIC), auspiciado por la Fundación Nacional para las Ciencias.

Pedido para acción de emergencia para evaluar y estabilizar el radio telescopio de Arecibo “En reunión celebrada (no presencial) con el uso de la tecnología que nos provee el internet, el Comité Ejecutivo de CROEM ALUMNI acordó por unanimidad unirse a la gestión de la Gobernadora Wanda Vázquez Garced para desarrollar una campaña de medios que incluye comunicarse con todos los Congresistas, Senadores, al igual que la mesa directiva de la Fundación Nacional para las Ciencias ubicados todos en Washington, con el objetivo de evitar el desmantelamiento de uno de los radares más grande del mundo, que enclava en la ciudad de Arecibo. Los estudiantes de CROEM están conscientes que de llevarse a cabo la destrucción del ‘Radiotelescopio de Arecibo’, la isla de Puerto Rico dejaría de ser una potencia en el área de información astronómica científica, así como uno de los principales comunicadores satelital por excelencia a nivel mundial.

No estamos de acuerdo con la decisión tomada por la Fundación Nacional para las Ciencias y exhortamos a todo el mundo a manifestar su respaldo a la permanencia del Radiotelescopio”, señaló Nazario Torres en una declaración escrita.

La intervención de CROEM ALUMNI de favorecer un proyecto de reconstrucción del Radiotelescopio de Arecibo obedece a los servicios que este laboratorio científico ofrece la población estudiantil de la Isla, especialmente a esa escuela especializada residencial con énfasis en las ciencias, matemáticas y tecnología, creada para albergar a estudiantes de alto rendimiento académico.

“Le recordamos a la población de Puerto Rico que hemos sido privilegiados con tener en la Isla por casi 60 años el beneficio de este radar, cuyas hazañas incluyen ser el sistema de rastreo de las misiones lunares, lanzamientos de cohetes al espacio y monitoreo de movimientos en el universo”, añadió Nazario Torres.

El Radiotelescopio de Arecibo tiene un diámetro de 305 metros en su plato principal.

“El mismo recolecta datos radioastronómicos, aeronomía terrestre y radar planetarios para los científicos mundiales. Aunque ha sido empleado para diversos usos, principalmente se usa para la observación de objetos estelares. No cabe duda que el mismo ayuda al sistema de educación pública y privada de la isla, incluyendo a todas nuestras universidades”, indicó Nazario Torres.

CROEM ALUMNI está solicitando ayuda a sus miembros que están ubicados en posiciones claves, especialmente en el Gobierno Federal “Como dato interesante, la escuela número uno de

Puerto Rico, CROEM está ubicada en los terrenos en el Cerro Las Mesas de Mayagüez, sede de la antigua Base de Radares de la Fuerza Aérea del Ejército de los Estados Unidos, lugar con una marcada historia en los tiempos de la “guerra fría”. Desde su fundación por el doctor Ramón Claudio Tirado en 1968, CROEM ha utilizado el Radar de Arecibo como laboratorio y ayuda científica para sus más de 10 mil estudiantes graduados en esta institución. Muchos de nuestros estudiantes ganaron premios y reconocimientos en las Ferias Científicas con trabajos relacionados al Radar de Arecibo. En nuestro empeño de ayudar, informamos que tenemos cerca de 2,023 compañeros graduados de CROEM en posiciones importantes en Estados Unidos y Puerto Rico a los cuales le estamos solicitando ayuda en este proyecto de emergencia, cuyo objetivo es lograr revertir la nefasta decisión tomada en Washington”, dijo el Director Ejecutivo de CROEM ALUMNI. “La necesidad de solicitar una reconsideración al desmantelamiento del Radar de Arecibo nos ha llevado a comunicarnos con miembros prominentes del Congreso Federal como lo son el mayagüezano el congresista José Serrano y la prominente yabucoeña, la congresista Nydia Velázquez. Podemos decir que hemos recibido buena recepción a nuestro pedido, aunque aclaramos que la reconsideración de esta acción que afectará a Puerto Rico está en manos de la Fundación Nacional de las Ciencias y no del Congreso o el Senado Federal. Exhortamos a los padres, madres, abuelos y ciudadanos en general que se comuniquen con la Fundación Nacional para las Ciencias (National Science Foundation-NSF) 703-292-5111 para que le dejen saber su respaldo a la permanencia del Radiotelescopio de Arecibo.

18

Monday, November 30, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Art Basel Miami Beach was canceled, but the show goes on

By BRETT SOKOL

C

all it the zombie version of Art Basel Miami Beach. The annual fair, originally scheduled to unfold next week with the contemporary art world converging in South Florida, was canceled in September by its Swissbased organizers — a cultural casualty of the coronavirus. Over a dozen Miami satellite fairs followed suit, all mirroring Basel’s pivot to online “viewing rooms.”

The art circus, it seemed, was not coming to town.

Yet this week, Miami’s art scene was anything but quiet, even as the number of COVID-19 deaths rose, giving Miami-Dade the highest per capita rate of any large county in Florida. Previously closed museums announced ambitious new in-person exhibitions, from public institutions like the Pérez Art Museum Miami to the open-to-the-public privately owned Margulies Collection at the Warehouse. Galleries were likewise rolling out formidable solo shows, as were hotel lobbies and poolside bungalows.

One leading fair had sprung back to life: Design Miami, partly owned by Art Basel, was being staged in a scaled down manner, with 10 galleries setting up inside a storied building on the mainland.

The local pandemic toll is jarring: During the past seven days, Miami-Dade County, which includes both Miami and Miami Beach, recorded 49 new deaths from COVID-19, and nearly 13,000 new infections. With epidemiologists expecting those numbers to rise, it’s worth asking: Is Miami’s art world paying attention?

While the city’s in-person art-scene activity was being billed as masked, socially distant and crowd controlled, it was hard to ignore the symbolism of the Miami Beach Convention Center — the planned site of the canceled Basel fair — currently being used as a coronavirus testing site. (Its next planned event? February’s Natural Disaster Expo.)

“I understand some are saying ‘Oh my God, this will be a disaster to do this kind of thing,’” Craig Robins, founder of Design Miami, said. “It’s the opposite.

It’s not about a bunch of people flying

William Cordova, left, an artist and A.I.M. Biennial co-founder, with Kristin Thiele, a participating artist in North Miami, Fla., Nov. 24, 2020. Despite the cancelling of Art Basel Miami Beach, a popular annual art show, due to the coronavirus pandemic, more galleries and shows are popping up in Miami’s art world. in from around the world. It’s about a bunch of people spending the season in South Florida and doing things that they feel are within boundaries that are responsible.”

Robins said he already had a model in place: the luxe retailers that fill 18 square blocks of Miami’s Design District neighborhood, of which he and his partners own about 75% and where they have mandated strict health protocols since May for some 200 tenants who remain open, including Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Adding the Design Miami fair to that mix by installing it in the district’s Moore Building, he noted, was a natural fit. “From a consumer point of view, what’s the difference between luxury fashion or high jewelry and art or design?” Robins was also renting nearby spaces to pop-up art galleries from New York, coming down for the week, from seasoned players like Jeffrey Deitch and Mitchell-Innes & Nash to the scrappier Ramiken.

For now, a virus-minded countywide midnight curfew remains in place, but would that discourage the late-night bacchanals that were the hallmark of

many Design Miami and Art Basels of years past? “I wouldn’t be going to any of those dinners,” Robins insisted. “This is not for people who want to come to the party, because there won’t be one.”

The challenge for some was how to promote homegrown talent in a city where large numbers still refuse to take basic precautions against the coronavirus. Miami artist William Cordova and his collaborators believe they have solved the problem. Enter the AIM Biennial, organized by Cordova with Gean Moreno, a curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami; Mikhail Solomon, director of the Prizm Art Fair, and Marie Vickles, director of education at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and a curator at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. They selected 69 multigenerational artists largely from Miami — including Mark Handforth, Jessica Gispert, Kerry Phillips and Onajide Shabaka — to create site-specific installations in far-flung outdoor spots, many in neighborhoods endangered by climate change. AIM’s name — shorthand for “Art in Movement” — highlights its driving spirit: These are places literally sinking beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Best

to see this art now.

He pointed to painter Kristen Thiele, known for her beguiling oil-oncanvas evocations of studio-era Hollywood films. For AIM, she returned to her earlier days as a screen printer, creating a large poster of a 1950s movie house audience wearing 3D glasses, emblazoning it with the credo “SCIENCE is not FICTION.” Multiples of the poster were plastered onto the facade of a boardedup theater near her studio.

“For some of the younger artists who are still in school or who just graduated, they have a different experience of art,” Cordova said. The pandemic — and its initial shutdown of not only gallery sales but the day jobs so many artists depend on as art handlers and installers — made it painfully clear that artists would have to adapt. “But if you’ve been working in South Florida for the last 20 years,” Cordova said, before an art market boom and its ancillary economy existed there, “it’s like a stick shift, you just change gears. You don’t have to have a budget or a museum to sponsor you.”

The more familiar Basel model was already showing surprising strength though, as evidenced by the flurry of sales over at the Allapattah neighborhood’s Spinello Projects, which focuses on Miami artists. A pre-Thanksgiving opening featured the solo debut of Reginald O’Neal and the second solo outing from Jared McGriff. Each painter’s work addressed topical issues — from policing in the Black community and the carceral state to the hospitalization of family members. McGriff’s ethereal depiction of two policemen in plantation whites, “Overseer, Overseer, Officer,” fuses an otherworldly sense of beauty with the more troubling note sounded by its title.

O’Neal’s portraits of his incarcerated father and younger brother — both in their prison jumpsuits — are tender, and all the more striking for their directness. The ICA Miami and the NSU Art MuseumFort Lauderdale have already purchased works from both shows; the remaining four paintings by O’Neal have just been acquired by Miami collectors Mera and Don Rubell.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

19

How an opera can fit in a mailbox

By JOSHUA BARONE

C

ould you name the postmaster general before this year? I couldn’t.

It’s a position that, like Emily W. Murphy’s role at the General Services Administration, enjoyed relative obscurity — until our democracy suddenly seemed to depend on it. Which is why Louis DeJoy, a Trump campaign megadonor who took up the postmaster general job in June, became a household name when his changes to the Postal Service threatened to endanger the unprecedented demand for mailin ballots this election season.

The post’s integral role in the election was fitting this year, when mail has been unusually indispensable. Homebound by the pandemic, so many of us have turned to deliveries to get by. Strangers exchanged old-fashioned letters through writer Rachel Syme’s PenPalooza program; restaurants repurposed themselves as meal kit suppliers; the package room in my apartment building has been filled with shipments as surprising as a greenhouse, a room-spanning rug and a pallet of paper towels.

If you can mail all those, why not opera?

It turns out all you need is an envelope. Three of them, sharing a slim box, arrived at my door recently. Together they were On Site Opera’s first production by mail, “The Beauty That Still Remains: Diaries in Song.”

Each of the three actually encloses a song cycle: Janacek’s “The Diary of One Who Disappeared” (1921), Dominick Argento’s “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf” (1974) and Juliana Hall’s “A World Turned Upside Down” (2016). But their packaging elevates them to something more like a real opera. The envelopes unfold to reveal, in side flaps, the standard program notes and artist biographies. In the center, though, are diary facsimiles with ephemera like family photos and dried flowers. The books and the music, experienced together, play off each other for an immersive and tactile drama.

These performances move at whatever pace you’d like.

The Janacek is available now, and the Argento and Hall are coming, respectively, at the end of November and in mid-December. Each envelope contains a QR code and URL to the audio, which was recorded at Merkin Concert Hall in October and is streaming until March 1. (Another online component is a series of virtual panel discussions, starting Tuesday.)

Sitting on the floor of my living room with the packages open around me, I took them in all at once, following the order of their release. So I reached first for “The Diary of One Who Disappeared,” which had been made to look like a leather-bound journal tied shut with laces. Inside, a vellum sheet with a typed note was clipped to the first page; it said that in a Moravian village, a young man, Janicku, had vanished mysteriously and that this diary was found several days later.

The reason for his disappearance — the subject of Janacek’s burning song cycle about Janicku’s forbidden, obsessive love for a Romani woman named Zefka — is recounted in the pages that follow, the text rendered as diary

A series of envelopes with texts and objects as part of On Site Opera’s mail experience of “The Beauty That Still Remains,” in Newburgh, N.Y., Nov. 22, 2020. In a year when everything seems deliverable, On Site Opera is presenting its first production by mail. entries accompanied by doodles primed for psychoanalysis.

His handwriting is sometimes lowercased and sometimes capitalized, but always anguished.

As Janicku, tenor Bernard Holcomb sings Janacek’s lines — which resonate like natural speech patterns, punctuated by operatic outbursts — with near-constant pleading, a contrast to the lush and alluring command of Zefka, here mezzo-soprano Vanessa Cariddi. (An ethereal trio of sopranos, Chantal Freeman, Temple Hammen and Stephanie Perez, haunt the piece; the piano part, as in the other two song cycles, is nimbly played by Howard Watkins, an assistant conductor with the Metropolitan Opera.)

While listening to Janicku’s tale, in a poetic English translation by Bernard Keefe, you can pore over his diary — created by the director, Eric Einhorn, and graphic designer Stephanie Reyer — and study it, as if you’re investigating his disappearance. You can obsess over the small photo of a woman with an intense, avian stare. And, in the blank final pages, you can contribute as well; there are prompts, such as “What did falling in love for the first time feel like?” and “Describe the craziest thing you ever did for love.”

The beginning of the next song cycle, “From the Diary of Virginia Woolf,” contains a similar prompt, a question from Woolf to herself: “What sort of diary should I like mine to be?”

As if to answer, the eight movements explore a variety of options, their versatility matched by the singing of Cariddi, again. (The text in the book mimics Woolf’s journals,

with dense cursive on the right pages, and the left ones kept for miscellany like math and verb conjugations.) In the unexpectedly touching and lyrical “Fancy,” she reflects on the possibilities of style. Accompanied by shimmering piano, she paints a prose portrait in “Rome, May 1935.”

And in “Last Entry, March 1944,” she perhaps arrives at an answer to her initial question: “I mark Henry James’s sentence: Observe perpetually.” The word “observe” is repeated, considered from different angles, internalized. By the end, the production is asking us to do the same, instructing, “Catch it all.”

Hall’s “A World Turned Upside Down” takes its title from the diary of Anne Frank, its patterned-fabric cover and scrapbook spirit replicated here, with the libretto’s English text interspersed throughout. These seven songs, for soprano (Cristina María Castro) and piano, are deferential to the surface emotions and ideas of Frank’s writing, to the point of literal-mindedness. Effervescent music accompanies notes on her birthday; dissonance, jittery trills and suspenseful pauses are an obvious analogue for an entry about footsteps in the night.

After the final section, I closed the diary and grabbed its envelope. A portrait of Anne Frank fell out from between the pages. I held it in my hands, giving another look at her hopeful smile and thinking about the lilting song in which she shares her greatest wish: to be a writer. The words held their own power; so did the music. With this small photo, both took flight.

20

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

Is it safe to fly during the pandemic? Answers from the experts

By TARIRO MZEZEWA

A

day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to stay home for Thanksgiving, more than 1 million people in the United States got on planes, marking the second day that more than 1 million people have flown since March.

Nearly 3 million additional people have flown in the days since.

The high number of travelers speaks to a sense of pandemic fatigue that many people are experiencing. For some, the desire to see family is worth the risk of potentially getting the coronavirus while traveling.

But it’s important to remember that the current number of people flying, while increasing, pales in comparison to the number who still find the idea of getting on a plane frightening. In the 11-day period around Thanksgiving last year, a record 26 million people flew. This year, fewer than half that number are likely to travel.

How safe is flying? Numerous studies on that question have been published in the months since the pandemic brought travel to a halt in March. Many of them suggest that the risk of contracting the coronavirus while flying is very low.

Infectious disease, health care and aerospace engineering experts say that the studies — by the Defense Department, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others — are accurate, in part, but they all have limitations.

One much-publicized study on flying, conducted by the Defense Department, found that “overall exposure risk from aerosolized pathogens, like coronavirus, is very low” and concluded that a person would have to be sitting next to an infectious passenger for at least 54 hours to get an infectious dose of the virus through the air. But the “54-hour” number has since been removed from the report at the request of the authors, who worried it was being misinterpreted.

Although there has been no evidence of plane flights causing many superspreader events, there have been cases of transmission. In September, a man fly-

A Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport, on Nov. 18, a day when about 700,000 people flew. ing from Dubai to New Zealand tested negative for the virus, but was, in fact, infected and passed it on to other passengers. The flight had 86 passengers and seven of them tested positive for the virus when they arrived in New Zealand, despite having worn masks and gloves. The seven passengers had been sitting within four rows of each other and the virus’s genetic sequence in six of seven of the positive passengers was identical.

In October, Irish officials, in a report in Eurosurveillance, a journal published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, said that 13 of 49 passengers on a 7 1/2-hour flight to Ireland tested positive for the virus, and another 46 who came in contact with the passengers in Ireland became infected.

How can you make sense of the science? What are the risk points? Here’s what we know.

What do the numbers tell us?

Or, more accurately, what don’t they tell us? We know that the coronavirus has been transported by people traveling from one place to another on planes, but we don’t know exactly how many people have contracted the virus on a plane, epidemiologists and aviation experts said. In order to know how many people caught

the virus on a single flight, everyone on the flight would have to be tested as soon as they got off.

“The people who are positive as soon as they got off a plane were probably positive during their flight,” said David Freedman, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

All the passengers would then need to be tested several times over a few weeks while they were isolated to ensure they didn’t get the virus after landing.

Everyone agrees airplane air is wellfiltered.

Experts from various fields agree that the air on a plane cabin is filtered very well and the chances of getting the coronavirus while on a plane in flight are low.

That’s because most planes have what are known as high-efficiency particulate air filters. HEPA is a designation describing filters that can trap 99.97% of particles that are at least 0.3 microns in size.

“Hospital-grade filtration occurs, and there are standards associated with that,” said Michael Popescu, a principal aerospace aircraft systems engineer, adding that the fiberglass sheets that make up the filters on planes have diameters between half a micron and 2 microns.

Air is pushed through the filter, and particles are trapped inside. Smaller particles are slowed down and kept from passing through the filter when they meet with molecules of gas, increasing the chances of their being trapped. Viruses like the coronavirus are smaller than the filters, but they tend to cluster on the larger droplets of moisture that get trapped.

Most planes recycle 25% to 30% of cabin air. The air being recycled passes through the HEPA filter, which traps virus particles. The other 70% to 75% of air is evacuated overboard every couple of minutes, meaning there is new air in the cabin every two to five minutes, depending on the size of the plane.

“The air circulation on a plane is better than in an office building, better than your apartment because the air is changed more times per hour — most planes change several times per hour, plus it’s filtered, which isn’t the case in your office or apartment,” Freedman said.

But filtration is not enough.

Ventilation is just one piece of the puzzle, said Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention epidemiologist in Arizona.

(She is married to Michael Popescu.) Distancing and masking are also important to mitigate risk, and are the other key components for keeping the coronavirus from spreading, whether on planes or elsewhere.

Earlier in the year, when it first became known that social distancing could mitigate chances of getting the coronavirus, many airlines began leaving middle seats open to create more space between passengers. In recent months, however, many airlines have reversed their policies and begun seating people in all seats and saying that they are mandating maskwearing policies, which will keep passengers safe.

Researchers said that airlines should be enforcing both social distancing policies — like leaving middle seats open — and mask wearing. Having fewer people on a plane means that there’s less of a risk of people coming into contact with someone who has the virus, said Qingyan Chen, a professor at Purdue University’s School of Mechanical Engineering. “Having

The San Juan Daily Star fewer people on the plane is key,” he said.

“Fewer passengers means fewer patients, and by keeping the middle seat open airlines might remove 40% of the risk.”

A study done by scientists at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said that “when a plane exceeds 60% load factors (percent of seats occupied), it is no longer possible to rely on physical distancing alone to mitigate the risk of virus transmission.”

Freedman and Chen emphasized that people should not be flying with homemade masks, bandannas or neck gaiters.

“For the purposes of flying, people should be wearing proper surgical/medical grade masks — the ones you can buy in boxes of 50 at a time,” Freedman said, adding that it would be wise for airlines to make it standard practice to hand out surgical masks to travelers.

And flying isn’t just sitting on a plane.

Many studies focus on the in-air cabin experience, not the parts of traveling that involve interaction with other people, often in proximity. The Harvard study focused on the three phases of air travel: boarding, cruising and deplaning.

“Each of these segments involves unique activities, such as storing and retrieving luggage, using seat trays while eating, using entertainment systems, standing in the aisle and using the lavatory,” the study’s authors wrote.

When a plane is on the ground, its air supply can come from a number of places.

That air is then mixed and distributed to the cabin. One source is from the airplane auxiliary power unit, or APU, with the plane’s engine in operation. That process uses fuel and can cause noise and emissions at the airport. Air supply can also come from an airport ground source like the jet-bridge that’s known as preconditioned air, or PCA. That means air is not being circulated at the usual rate. Researchers suggest that airlines should use air from the APU for improved filtration.

Monday, November 30, 2020

“This is important since, during that time, people are exerting themselves resulting in increased respiratory levels for a brief period, raising the potential for infectious aerosols to be exhaled into the cabin,” the Harvard study notes.

Researchers also suggest that people bring smaller and fewer bags onboard, which would cut down on their exertion and reduce encounters with other travelers also putting things in the overhead bins.

Over the summer, Michael Schultz, an engineer at Dresden University’s Institute of Logistics and Aviation in Germany, and Jörg Fuchte, a senior specialist at the German aerospace company Diehl Aviation, found that the amount and type of hand luggage people brought onto the plane as carry-ons affected how long everyone was standing in line and the number of close contacts. They concluded that by reducing hand luggage, the number of close contacts encountered would be reduced by two-thirds.

The deplaning process tends to be smoother than boarding, since people naturally move in order of rows, so travelers don’t have as much to worry about.

The jetway, however, can be an area of risk if too many people are allowed on without appropriate distancing, several experts said. Travelers should remain distanced from others during this process, they said, and the plane’s ventilation systems should remain on.

“The deplaning process can be enhanced by having passengers remain in their seats until directed to leave by a crew member,” the Harvard researchers suggest.

Eating and using the bathroom pose risks Like in the cabin, air in a plane’s bathrooms is continually changed. Toilets on planes use a vacuum system to move waste to the holding tank from the toilet, so when you flush, air is pulled in through the vacuum.

“Airplane bathrooms are particularly

dangerous for two reasons,” said Chen.

First, he said, is the fact that you may touch surfaces that an infected passenger has just touched. “The second thing is that human waste like stool and urine contains COVID-19, and when you flush the toilet it will cause some particles to escape,” he went on. “The smaller particles carry over and could enter the air. If I have COVID-19 and use the toilet and flush and someone else comes in immediately after, that’s a risk. So far we have no evidence of people getting sick like that, but according to our models we found that this is possible.” (Over the summer this became known as “toilet plume.”)

For those reasons, experts suggest waiting 30 seconds or longer before going into a bathroom that someone else has just exited and using a tissue or paper towel so you aren’t touching surfaces like doorknobs and faucets with bare hands.

Chen also suggests that airlines stagger eating times so everyone isn’t un-

21

TRAVEL

masked at the same time.

“Airlines serve food to everyone at the same time, and it’s very bad because it means everyone is taking off their masks at the same time and all the particles are in the air then,” he said.

Your actions off the plane matter too.

Chen also pointed to the fact that people likely have more to worry about before getting on the plane, when they are in the terminal, going through security or sitting in airport restaurants and bars.

Others agreed. “In hospitals, people think patient interaction is highest risk, so they take a break unmasked or do charting unmasked or when they’re chatting with colleagues they take off a mask, and that’s similar to how people perceive risk in airports,” Saskia Popescu said.

“People think the plane is the riskiest, so they’ll get food and a drink at a restaurant or bar in the airport with their mask off, but that’s risky.”

Many studies focus on the in-air cabin experience, not the parts of traveling that involve interaction with other people, often in proximity.

22 blica Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO y cuya venta en pública subasta DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA mejor postor quien hará el pago SALA SUPERIOR DE CARO- en dinero en efectivo, giro postal LINA. o cheque certificado a nombre del . o la Alguacil del Tribunal de COOPERATIVA DE Primera Instancia. Los autos y AHORRO Y CREDITO DE MEDICOS Y OTROS todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, PROFESIONALES DE LA estarán de manifiesto en la SeSALUD (MEDICOOP) cretaría del Tribunal de Carolina Demandante vs. durante horas laborables. Que en SUCESION DE LUIS R. caso de no producir remate ni adBETANCOURT OLIVERO judicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una compuesta por LUIS segunda subasta para la venta RAUL BETANCOURT de la susodicha propiedad, el día AGOSTO; ERNESTO 19 de enero de 2021 a las 11:00 RODRIGUEZ SUAREZ; de la mañana,; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, SUCESION DE celebrará una tercera subasta ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ se el día 26 de enero de 2021 a las SUAREZ compuesta 11:00 de la mañana, en mi oficina por LILISBETH sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública RODRIGUEZ; JOHN DOE y FULANO DE TAL subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar marcado con el corno posibles herederos número seis (6) del bloque “UU” desconocidos; CENTRO de la Urbanización Lomas de CaDE RECAUDACION DE rolina, localizado en el Barrio TruINGRESOS MUNICIPALES jillo Bajo del Municipio de Carolina, Puerto Rico, con un área de “CRIM” CUATROCIENTOS TREINTA Y Demandados SIETE METROS CUADRADOS CIVIL NUM. CA2019CV00217 CON CUARENTA Y OCHO CEN(404). SOBRE: COBRO DE TESIMAS DE OTRO (437.48mc).

DINERO Y EJECUCION DE En lindes por el NORTE: en trece HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUmetros con diecinueve milésimas BASTA. de otro (13.019m), con la CoAl: Público en General munidad Buenaventura; por el A: SUCESION DE LUIS R. SUR: en trece metros (13.00m), BETANCOURT OLIVERO con la calle número tres (3); por el ESTE: en treinta y tres metros compuesta por LUIS con sesenta centésimas de otro RAUL BETANCOURT (33.60m), con el solar número AGOSTO; ERNESTO siete (7) del bloque UU; y por el RODRIGUEZ SUAREZ; OESTE: en treinta y tres metros con trescientos veintiséis miléSUCESION DE ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ simas de otro (33.326m), con el solar número cinco (5) del bloque SUAREZ compuesta UU. Contiene una casa de conpor LILISBETH creto para una familia. Consta RODRIGUEZ; JOHN inscrita al folio 197 del tomo 859 DOE y FULANO DE TAL de Carolina, finca número 34,563, como posibles herederos Registro de la Propiedad de CaSección Segunda. La sudesconocidos; CENTRO rolina, basta se llevará a efecto para saDE RECAUDACION DE tisfacer a la parte demandante la INGRESOS MUNICIPALES suma de $80,538.86 de principal, “CRIM”; ESTADO LIBRE intereses al 6.00% anual, desde ASOCIADO DE PUERTO el día 1ro. de marzo de 2018, hasta su completo pago, más la RICO-DEPARTAMENTO cantidad de $10,800.00 estipuDE HACIENDA, por tener lada para costas, gastos y hoembargo anotado a su norarios de abogado, y recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas favor por la suma de están líquidas y exigibles. Que la $12,840. 92 cantidad mínima de licitación en Yo, Manuel Villafañe Blanco, Alla primera subasta para el inmueguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte ble será la suma de $108,000.00 demandada y a los acreedores y de ser necesaria una segunda y personas con interés sobre la subasta, la cantidad mínima será propiedad que más adelante se equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquedescribe, y al público en general, lla, o sea, la suma de $72,000.00 HAGO SABER: Que el día 12 de y de ser necesaria una tercera enero de 2021 a las 11:00 de la subasta, la cantidad mínima será mañana, en mi oficina, sita en la mitad del precio pactado, es el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, decir, la suma de $54,000.00. La Sala Superior de Carolina, Caropropiedad se adjudicará al mejor lina, Puerto Rico, venderé en Púpostor, quien deberá satisfacer el

LEGAL NOTICE

@

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 bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámen preferente: Embargo Federal a favor de los Estados Unidos de América, por la suma principal de $9,603.77 contra Luis R. Betancourt, Seguro Social número xxx-xx-9040, Notificación No. 683828510, presentado el 12 de agosto de 2010, anotado al folio 4, asiento número 1 del libro número 6 de Embargos Federales.

Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. La propiedad hipotecada a ser vendida en pública subasta se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámen posterior: Embargo a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por la suma de $12,840.92 contra Luis R. Betancourt Olivero, seguro social número xxxxx-9040, según Certificación del día 4 de mayo de 2017, embargo número CAR-17-091, anotado al Asiento 2017-003547-EST del Sistema Karibe, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Segunda. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores.

EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, a 10 de noviembre de 2020. Manuel Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL TRIBUNAL SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA. *

LEGAL NOTICE

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

CONDADO 5, LLC Demandante, v.

PEDRO JOSE JURADO COTTO; SUCESION DE MICHAEL ANTHONY MARRA MASKO COMPUESTA POR NINA MARRA SIERMAN t/c/c NINA MARRA MASKO, PETER MARRA t/c/c PETER MARRA MASKO Y ROBERT MARRA t/c/c ROBERT MARRA MASKO; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS;

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

Monday, November 30, 2020

DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA

Demandados CASO NUM.: NSCI201700183.

SALA (307). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA. AVISO DE VENTA EN PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

A: PEDRO JOSE JURADO COTTO; SUCESION DE MICHAEL ANTHONY MARRA MASKO COMPUESTA POR NINA MARRA SIERMAN t/c/c NINA MARRA MASKO, PETER MARRA t/c/c PETER MARRA MASKO Y ROBERT MARRA t/c/c ROBERT MARRA MASKO; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA; BANCO DE DESARROLLO ECONOMICO PARA PUERTO RICO O A SU ORDEN; Y AL PUBLICO EN GENERAL:

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hago saber a la parte demandada, y al PUBLICO EN GENERAL: y 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 a saber: BANCO DE DESARROLLO ECONOMICO PARA PUERTO RICO, O A SU ORDEN: A cuyo favor aparece un Pagaré por la suma de $143, 000.00, intereses al 8% anual y vencedero a la presentación, según consta de la escritura #101, otorgada en San Juan, el 16 de septiembre de 2013, ante el Notario Gil A. Mercado Nieves, inscrito al folio 166 del tomo 172 de Ceiba, finca 598, inscripción 13ra., debidamente modificado la hipoteca por $143,000.00, que grava esta propiedad, la misma se amplía

(787) 743-3346

en la suma de $117,603.98 para un nuevo principal de $260,603.98, con intereses al 4.75% sobre la tasa de interés preferencial y vencimiento el 5 de mayo de 2029, según consta de la escritura #11, otorgada en San Juan, el 8 de mayo de 2014, ante el Notario Frank M. González Acevedo, inscrito al folio 166 del tomo 172 de Ceiba, finca 598, nota marginal.

BANCO DE DESARROLLO ECONOMICO PARA PUERTO RICO, O A SU ORDEN: A cuyo favor aparece inscrita una anotación de Demanda de fecha del 17 de junio de 2016, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Fajardo, caso civil NSCI201600372 sobre Cobro de Dinero, Incumplimiento de Contrato, Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria y Ejecución de Gravamen Hipotecario, en la cual se reclaman la suma de $602,730.06. Anotado el 24 de julio de 2018 al Sistema Karibe de Ceiba, finca número 2,598, Anotación A y última. Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 14 de enero de 2020, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que se describe a continuación: SR-977 KM 1.2 BO. SACO, CEIBA, Puerto Rico 00735: RUSTICA: Compuesta de 12.50 cuerdas de terreno en los Barrios Secos y Machos del término municipal de Ceiba. En lindes por el NORTE, con Bernabé Lima, Jose Maria Rodriguez y carretera 977; por el SUR, con don Bernabé Colón; por el ESTE, con la Sucesión de Antonio Baez y por el OESTE, con Rodolfo Morales.

Consta inscrita al Folio 12 del tomo 55 de Ceiba, finca número 2,598, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de Fajardo. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor, el día 6 de agosto de 2019, notificada el 12 de agosto de 2019, en el presente caso civil, a saber, para el Préstamo No. 52200000497 un balance insoluto de $381,236.72, el cual se desglosa en $354,745.04 de principal, $26,190.69 de intereses, $300.99 de cargos por demora, más costas, gastos, y para el Préstamo No.5200000498 los demandados adeudan al 27 de noviembre de 2017, un balance insoluto de $284,941.98 el cual se desglosa en $244,129.06 de principal, $49,543.96 de intereses, $1,298.96 de cargos por demora, costas y gastos.

Adeudan además los honorarios de abogado, ascendente al 10% de principal de la deuda según pactados. Los intereses

se continúan acumulando hasta el saldo total de la deuda, para cubrir el principal adeudado, disponiéndose que si quedare algún remanente luego de pagarse las sumas antes mencionadas el mismo deberá ser depositado en la Secretaría del Tribunal para ser entregado a los demandados previa solicitud y orden del Tribunal. La venta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca. 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 12 DE ENERO DE 2021 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $455,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día el 20 DE ENERO DE 2021 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $303,333.34, 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 el 27 DE ENERO DE 2021 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $227,500.00, 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

The San Juan Daily Star 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 Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 13 de noviembre de 2020.

Sandraliz Martinez Torres, Alguacil Auxiliar #737, División de Subastas, Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo.

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

FRANKLIN CREDIT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO DE DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, SÍNDICO DEL FIDEICOMISO BOSCO CREDIT II TRUST SERIES 2017-1 Demandante v.

ROBERTO MANUEL CACHO PEREZ y ILEANA MARGARITA CAMBO SAAVEDRA y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES POR ELLOS COMPUESTA,

CIVIL NÚM. KCD2009-0835.

SOBRE: PROCEDIMIENTO IN

REM SOBRE EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

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

El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de una Sentencia Sumaria dictada en el caso de epígrafe el 12 de febrero de 2010, notificada el 20 de julio de 2010 y de un Mandamiento de Ejecución emitido el día 5 de febrero de 2020, que le ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, procederá a vender en subasta, por separado, y al mejor postor con dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o letra bancaria con similar garantía, todo título, derecho o interés de los demandados de epígrafe sobre el inmueble que adelante se describe. Se anuncia por la presente que la primera subasta habrá de celebrarse el día 11 de enero de 2021 a las 9:00 de la mañana, en mi oficina localizada en el edificio que ocupa la Sala del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: HORIZONTAL PROPERTY: Apartment #801 located at the 8th floor of the Marymar Condado Condominium in the Santurce North Ward, San Juan, Puerto Rico, consisting of an irregular shaped, one story residential dwelling with a total area of 2,620.15 square feet, equivalent to 243.42 square meters.

Apartment #801 contains a vestibule with a guest bathroom, living room, balcony, dining room, kitchen, laundry, closet, breakfast area, bedroom hall, bedroom hall closet, master bedroom with bathroom and walkin closet, bedroom #2 with closet, family room, walkin closet with access from the master bedroom and the bedroom hall, bathroom #2 and 2 eaves (“aleros”) for air conditioning compressor. The main entrance of this apartment is located on the side of the apartment leading to the elevator lobby of the 8th floor of the condominium, which is a general common element of the condominium. Its boundaries are by the North, with exterior common areas of the condominium; by the South, with exterior common areas of the condominium; by the East, with exterior common areas of the condominium and by the West, with a common wall of the condominium which separates apartment #801 and apartment #802 and the individual storage cellars area, the elevator lobby and the elevator shaft of the 8th floor of the condominium.

Apartment #801 has 3 privately

The San Juan Daily Star owned parking spaces, which form part the apartment, identified as follow: 1) Private parking space #1 located at the basement level parking facility of the condominium with an approximate total area of 165.00 square feet, equivalent to 15.33 square meters, with boundaries by the North, with a common areas of the condominium; by the South with private parking space #2; by the East, with a common wall which separates it from exterior common areas the condominium and by the West, with the main driveway of the basement level parking facility.

2) Private parking space #2 located at the basement level parking facility of the condominium with an approximate total area of 165.00 square feet, equivalent to 15.33 square meters, with boundaries by the North, with private parking space #1; by the South, with private parking space #3, by the East, with a common wall which separates from the exterior common areas of the condominium and by the West, with main driveway of basement level parking facility. 3) Private parking space #39 located at the ground level parking facility of the condominium with an approximate total area of 148.5 square feet, equivalent to 13.79 square meters, with boundaries by the North, with private parking space #38; by the South, with private parking space #40; by the East, with a common wall which separates it from exterior common areas of the condominium and by the West, with the main driveway of the basement level parking facility. The total area of apartment #801 and its private parking spaces is approximately 3,098.16 square feet, equivalent to 287.87 square meters. ---PORCENTAJE: Elementos Comunes Generales: 4.0694%. FINCA: Número 43805, inscrita al tomo 1109 de Santurce Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan Sección I. Dirección Física: Apt. 801 Este Cond. Mar y Mar San Juan PR 00924. El siguiente pagaré consta inscrito en la propiedad antes mencionada y es el que se pretende ejecutar: HIPOTECA: A favor de R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $700,000.00, con intereses al 6% anual y vencimiento el 1 de agosto de 2035. Así resulta de la escritura número 735, otorgada en Guaynabo el 5 de agosto de 2005, ante el notario Rafael Bras Benítez. Inscrita el 25 de abril de 2008 al folio 216 del tomo 1161, inscripción 2da.

La referida hipoteca grava el bien inmueble antes descrito.

Que según surge del estudio de título, la propiedad se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes posteriores: HIPOTECA: Por $480,000.00, con intereses a razón de la tasa preferencial (“prime rate”), según establecido de cuando en

cuando por el Citibank N.A. de la ciudad de Nueva York, en garantía de un pagaré a favor del Portador, que vence a la presentación. Según escritura #1, otorgada en San Juan, el 6 de junio de 2003, ante Francisco González Nieto, inscrita al folio 216 del tomo 1161 de Santurce Norte (ágora), inscripción 3ª.

Nota: Esta hipoteca es preferente a la anterior inscripción 2da. MODIFICACIÓN: Modificada la anterior hipoteca, en cuanto al tipo de interés, que será igual al resultante, al añadir la mitad de un punto porcentual (0.50%) a la tasa preferencial (“prime rate”) según establecida de cuando en cuando por el Citibank N.A. en la ciudad de Nueva York desde la fecha del pagaré hasta su completo pago. Vigencia extendida: Las partes renuncian al término prescrito de 20 años de la hipoteca, que en virtud de esta inscripción se modifica y lo prorrogan o amplían a 25 años a partir de la fecha de otorgamiento de la escritura. Según escritura #673, otorgada en San Juan, el 30 de agosto de 2005, ante Adrián J. Hilera Torres, inscrita al folio 216 del tomo 1161 de Santurce Norte (ágora), inscripción 4ta. y última. La subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al demandante, total o parcialmente según sea el caso, de la referida sentencia que fue dictada por las siguientes sumas: $670,916.61 por concepto de principal, más intereses al 6.0000% anual desde el 1ro de octubre de 2008, recargos por demora desde el 1ro de noviembre de 2008 hasta el total del pago de la deuda; y la suma estipulada de $70,000.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato de préstamo.

Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS PARTES INTERESADAS y del público en general, se advierte que los autos de este caso y demás instancias están disponibles para ser inspeccionadas en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de San Juan, durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, incluyendo el gravamen por las contribuciones sobre la propiedad inmueble adeudadas, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá Libre de Cargas y Gravámenes posteriores. Los tipos mínimos a utilizarse para la subasta son los siguientes: El inmueble antes descrito ha sido tasado en la suma de SETECIENTOS MIL DOLARES

Monday, November 30, 2020 ($700,000.00) para que dicha suma sirva de tipo mínimo en la primera subasta a celebrarse.

De no producirse remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del antedicho inmueble, se celebrará una segunda subasta en el mismo lugar antes mencionado, el día 19 de enero de 2021 a las 9:00 de la mañana, sirviendo como tipo mínimo para dicha segunda subasta, una suma equivalente a las dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de CUATROCIENTOS SESENTA Y SEIS MIL SEISCIENTOS SESENTA Y SEIS DOLARES CON SESENTA Y SEIS CENTAVOS ($466,666.66) para la finca antes descrita. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta del antedicho inmueble, se celebrará una tercera subasta en el mismo lugar antes mencionado, el día 26 de enero de 2021 a las 9:00 de la mañana, sirviendo como tipo mínimo para dicha tercera subasta, una suma equivalente a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo fijado para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de TRESCIENTOS CINCUENTA MIL DOLARES ($350,000.00) para la finca antes descrita. En testimonio de lo cual, expido el presente aviso, el cual firmo y sello, hoy 10 de noviembre de 2020, en San Juan, Puerto Rico. EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR.

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

E.M.I. EQUITY MORTGAGE, INC. DEMANDANTE VS.

ABIGAIL MARERI RIVERA RÍOS T/C/C ABIGAIL RIVERA RIOS; LA SUCESIÓN DE JUAN MALDONADO BERRIOS, COMPUESTA POR JUAN MALDONADO RIOS (PADRE), ANGÉLICA ISABEL MALDONADO RIVERA, BIANCA RAQUEL MALDONADO RIVERA, FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN; DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA Y CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: SJ2018CV09880.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA “IN REM” (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBAS-

TA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 12 de enero de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en 1757 CALLE ANDROMEDA URB. VENUS GARDENS SAN JUAN, PR 00976 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar radicado en el barrio Sabana Llana de Río Piedras, término municipal de San Juan, marcado con el #11 del bloque L de la Urbanización Venus Gardens, con una colindancia superior de 338.00 metros cuadrados, en colindancia por el NORTE, con el solar #10 del propio bloque, en una longitud de 26.00 metros; por el SUR, con el solar #12 del mismo bloque, en una longitud de 26.00 metros; por el ESTE, con el solar #16 del propio bloque, en una longitud de 13.00 metros y por el OESTE, con la calle #13, en una longitud de 13.00 metros. ENCLAVA: Una casa residencial de concreto y bloques, consistente principalmente de marquesina, sala, comedor, cuatro habitaciones, dos baños y cocina. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 21 del Tomo 383 de Sabana Llana, finca número 16,803, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $133,866.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 20 de enero de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $89,244.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 27 de enero de 2021, a las 9:00 de la mañana.

Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de

$66,933.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 352 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 25 de noviembre de 2016, ante la Notario Ricardo Marín Arias, y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana, finca número 16,803, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Quinta (5ta), inscripción Novena (9na). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ordena a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $130,498.77 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo de 3.75% anual desde el 1 de diciembre de 2017 hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $13,386.60 por conceptos de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. Según estudio de título preparado por Capital Title Services, Inc. el día 21 de febrero de 2020, la propiedad está sujeta a los siguientes gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes. Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de United Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $22,900.00, con intereses al 7 1/2% anual, vencedero el día 1 de octubre de 1999, constituida mediante la escritura número 393, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 15 de septiembre de 1969, ante el notario Antonio José Amadeo, e inscrita al folio 21 vuelto del tomo 383 de Sabana Llana, finca número 16,803, inscripción 1ra.

Observación: Según estudio de título, dicha hipoteca fue cancelada mediante Sentencia del 24 de marzo de 2013, en el Caso Civil número DDI2013-0698, Certificado el día 18 de marzo de 2003 y Mandamiento del día 4 de abril de 2003, en el Caso Civil número KICD02-2175 de cancelación de pagaré extraviado por $22,900.00. Surge del estudio que al asiento 2017094921-SJ05 DEL SISTEMA KARIBE se presentó el día 23 de agosto de 2017, la escritura número 167, otorgada en San

23

Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 15 de agosto de 2017, ante el notario Ricardo Marín Arias, mediante la cual comparece la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, a consentir hipoteca por la suma de $133,866.00, que surge de la inscripción 9na. Según documento Juan Maldonado Berrios y Abigail Mareri Rivera Ríos, adquirieron la propiedad bajo el Programa Mi Nuevo Hogar recibieron de la Autoridad por la suma de $6,383.58, Condiciones Restrictivas de 10 años, de dicha inscripción, no surge lo antes expresado. Retirado el día 5 de junio de 2019. NOTA: Ninguno de los gravámenes antes detallados surgen de la Certificación Registral expedida el 20 de junio de 2019 firmada electrónicamente por la Honorable Registradora Vanessa López Ortiz. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas.

Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 18 de noviembre de 2020. EDWIN E. LOPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN, SALA SUPERIOR.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.

BAUTISTA REO PR CORP., Demandante, v.

INMOBILIARIA DE DIEGO, INC.; CÉSAR CEDANO HERRERA, DAMARYS BREA TINEO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandada CIVIL NÚM.: KCD2014-0632 (503). SOBRE: ACCIÓN IN REM Y EJECUCIÓN DE PRENDA E HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. AVISO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PUEBLO DE PUERTO RICO. SS. El(la) Alguacil que suscribe, por la presente anuncia y hace constar, que la Sentencia In Rem, expedida el 3 de enero de 2018 por la Secretaría de este Tribunal, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, quien pagará el importe de la venta en dinero efectivo o en cheque certificado o de gerente, a la orden del Alguacil suscribiente, en moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, el día 16 de diciembre de 2020 a la(s) 9:30 a.m. para la Finca número 19,582; en mi oficina localizada en el Tribunal de San Juan, todo título, derecho o interés que corresponda a la parte demandada sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: Finca Número 19,582 URBANA: Solar sito en el Barrio Monacillos de la Municipalidad de Río Piedras, marcado con el Número tres guión A (3-A) de la Manzana “Y” de la Urbanización Caparra Terrace, con un área superficial de doscientos treinta y ocho punto setecientos veinticinco metros cuadrados (238.725 m.c.), el cual colinda por el NORTE, con terrenos de la Iglesia Católica; por el SUR, con la Avenida Central de la Urbanización; por el ESTE, con propiedad tres B (3B) de la Manzana “Y”; y por el OESTE, con el Solar Número dos (2) de la Manzana “Y”.

Enclava una casa con pared medianera. Consta inscrita al folio ciento veintisiete (127) del tomo quinientos cincuenta y dos (552) de Monacillos, finca número diecinueve mil quinientos ochenta y dos (19,582), en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Tercera.

Dirección física: 1591 Ave. Jesus T. Pinero, Caparra Terrace Development, San Juan, PR Según pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca Número 275, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 31 de diciembre de 2003, ante el Notario Público LEGAL NOTICE Manuel L. Correa Márquez, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO servirá como tipo mínimo para

la primera subasta de la propiedad antes descrita la suma de $265,000.00. La propiedad descrita anteriormente afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: a) Por su procedencia está afecta a: Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales de Puerto Rico. Condiciones restrictivas sobre edificación y uso. b) Por sí está afecta a: Hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Doral Bank, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $265,000.00, con intereses al 6.95% anual, vencedero a la presentación, constituida mediante la escritura número 275, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 31 de diciembre del 2003, ante el notario Manuel L. Correa Márquez, e inscrita al folio 11 del tomo 995 de Monacillos, finca número 19,582, inscripción 11ra. c) Aviso de Demanda del día 24 de septiembre del 2012, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, en el Caso Civil número KCD20122335, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria, seguido por Doral Bank, contra Inmobiliaria de Diego, Inc., Cesar Cedano Herrera y su esposa Damarys Brea Tineo, por la suma de $455,931.26, anotado el día 8 de febrero del 2013, al folio 11, del tomo 995 de Monacillos, finca número 19,582, Anotación A. d) Embargo Federal contra César Cedano Herrera, seguro social xxx-xx-5363, por la suma de $19,464.36, notificación número 582062009, anotado el día 25 de septiembre del 2009, al folio 167, Asiento 1, del libro de Embargos Federales número 4. e) Embargo Federal contra César Cedano Herrera, Damarys Brea Tineo, seguro social xxx-xx-5363, dirección Ave. De Diego 614, San Juan, P.R., 00920, por la suma de $30,209.81, notificación número 132978614, anotado el día 8 de diciembre del 2014, al folio 156, Asiento 3, del libro de Embargos Federales número 7. f) Embargo a favor del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, contra César Cedano Herrero y Damarys Brea Tineo, en la suma de $28,610.92, cuenta número xxx-xx-5363 y xxx-xx-9109, Embargo número GUA-18-0313, según Certificación de fecha 11 de abril del 2018, anotado el día 26 de julio del 2018 al Asiento 2018005942-EST del Sistema Karibe. Registro de Embargos del ELA, incluyendo los de la Ley número 12 del día 20 de enero de 2010. De no adjudicarse la Finca número 19,582 en la primera subasta, se celebrará una segunda subasta, en las mismas oficinas de este Alguacil, el día 13 de enero de 2021 a la(s) 9:30 a.m. El tipo mínimo para la segunda subasta será dos terceras partes (2/3) del tipo mínimo de la primera subasta. De no adjudicarse la Finca número 19,582 en la segunda subasta,

24 se celebrará una tercera subasta en las mismas oficinas de este Alguacil, el día 21 de enero de 2021 a la(s) 9:30 a.m. El tipo mínimo para la tercera subasta será la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo que se pactará para la primera subasta. La venta en pública subasta de la propiedad descrita anteriormente se verificará libres de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte dichas propiedades. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si lo hubiera, 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 el precio del remate.

Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. El Alguacil procederá a otorgar las correspondientes escrituras de venta judicial y se pondrá al(os) comprador(es) en posesión física del inmueble, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. POR LA PRESENTE, se les notifica a los titulares de créditos y/o cargas registrales posteriores, si alguno, que se celebrarán las SUBASTAS en la fecha, horas y sitio anteriormente señalados, y se les invita a que concurran a dichas subastas, si les conviniere, o se les invita a satisfacer, antes del remate, el importe del crédito, sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del Acreedor ejecutante, siempre y cuando reúnan los requisitos y cualificaciones de Ley para que se pueda efectuar tal subrogación. Y PARA SU PUBLICACIÓN en el tablón de edictos de este Tribunal y en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde se celebrarán las subastas señaladas. Además, en un periódico de circulación general en dos (2) ocasiones y mediante correo certificado a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada.

EXPEDIDO el presente EDICTO DE SUBASTA en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 16 de noviembre de 2020. Pedro Hieye Gonzalez, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

BRENDA VERONICA GARCIA COTTE T/C/C BRENDA V GARCIA COTTE: JUAN CARLOS SEPULVEDA ANGELVIN T/C/C JUAN C SEPULVEDA ANGELVIN

Demandado(a) Civil Núm. MZ2019CV01170.

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

A: BRENDA VERONICA GARCIA COTTE T/C/C BRENDA V GARCIA COTTE

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 16 de noviembre de 2020, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 23 de noviembre de 2020. LCDA. NORMA G SANTANA IRIZARRY, Sec Regional. F/BETSY SANTIAGO GONZALEZ, Sec Auxiliar.

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

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE RINCON Demandante Vs.

ANTONIO MARTINEZ VEGA

Demandado (a) Civil Num. AU2020CV00087.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NOTIFICACION DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

Estado Libre Asociado de PuerA: ANTONIO to Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL MARTINEZ VEGA DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de PriEL SECRETARIO (A) que susmera Instancia Sala Superior cribe le notifica a usted que el de Mayaguez.

12 de noviembre de 2020, este BOSCO IX OVERSEAS, Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia LLC BY FRANKLIN o Sentencia Parcial en este CREDIT MANAGEMENT caso, que a sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos CORPORATION AS donde podrá usted enterarse SERVICER detalladamente de lo términos Demandante v. de Ia misma. Esta notificación

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

se publicará una sola vez en un periódico d circulación general en Ia Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en eI procedimiento sujeta a los términos de Ia Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial, de Ia cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de Ia publicación por edicto de e ta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerar hecha en Ia fecha de Ia publicación de ste edicto.

Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 23 de noviembre de 2020. En Aguada, Puerto Rico, el 23 de noviembre de 2020. SARAHI REYES PEREZ, Secretaria Regional. Por: ERIKA I. PEREZ, Secretaria Auxiliar.

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

ORIENTAL BANK Demandante Vs.

WILMA REYES AYALA

Demandado (a) Civil Num. HU201801095.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA. NOTIFICACION DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: WILMA REYES AYALA a sus últimas direcciones conocidas: Urb. Ciudad Cristina, 4R Calle Panama, Humacao, PR 00791; Urb. Ciudad Cristiana, 276 Calle Panamá, Humacao PR 00791; HC 2 Box 4046, Las Piedras PR 00771 P/C LIC. ALBERTO De Diego COLLAR

EL SECRETARIO (A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 23 de noviembre de 2020, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial en este caso, que a sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de lo términos de Ia misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico d circulación general en Ia Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en eI procedimiento sujeta a los términos de Ia Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial, de Ia cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de Ia publicación por edicto de e ta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerar hecha en Ia fecha de Ia publicación de ste edicto.

Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos

MARTÍNEZ RIVERA; JANE DOE Y JOHN DOE, como miembros desconocidos y MAYRA MARGARITA, LILIANA BELINDA todos de apellido MARTINEZ ARZUAGA LEGAL NOTICE Estado Libre Asociado de en su carácter personal; DEPARTAMENTO Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de DE HACIENDA POR Primera Instancia Sala Superior CONDUCTO DE LA de MAYAGUEZ. DIVISION DE CAUDALES LUNA ACQUISITION LLC RELICTOS; CENTRO Demandante Vs. DE RECUDACIONES DE DENISSE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES MIRANDA MATIAS de este caso, con fecha de 24 noviembre de 2020. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, el 24 de noviembre de 2020. DOMINGA GOMEZ FUSTER, Secretaria Regional. F/EVELYN FELIX VAZQUEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar.

Demandados CIVIL NÚM. SJ2020CV00900 (506). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIA: DENISSE DOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOMIRANDA MATIAS CIADO DE PUERTO RICO. EL SECRETARIO (A) que sus- SS. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR cribe le notifica a usted que EDICTO. el 11 de agosto de 2020, este A: María del Carmen Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia Martínez Rivera, como o Sentencia Parcial en este caso, que a sido debidamente miembro de la Sucesión de Victelio Martínez registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse Arzuaga Wilma Vázquez, detalladamente de lo términos como miembro de la de Ia misma. Esta notificación Sucesión de Victelio se publicará una sola vez en un Martínez Arzuaga periódico d circulación general en Ia Isla de Puerto Rico, den–909 Fordham Sr, tro de los 10 días siguientes University Gardens, a su notificación. Y, siendo o San Juan PR 00920 representando usted una parte en eI procedimiento sujeta a – Urb. Palmar Sur, 1 Calle Palmera, Carolina, PR los términos de Ia Sentencia o Sentencia Parcial, de Ia cual 00979 puede establecerse recurso – 222 S Adams St, Oconto de revisión o apelación dentro Falls, WI 54154 del término de 30 días conta– 12628 Arley Dr., dos a partir de Ia publicación Windermere Florida, por edicto de e ta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación 34786 que se considerar hecha en Ia Por la presente se le notifica a fecha de Ia publicación de ste usted que se ha radicado en edicto. Copia de esta notifica- esta Secretaría la demanda ción ha sido archivada en los de epígrafe. Se le emplaza y autos de este caso, con fecha requiere para que notifique al lide 17 de agosto de 2020. En cenciado: Alberto De Diego CoMayaguez, Puerto Rico, el 24 llar, DE DIEGO LAW OFFICES, de noviembre de 2020. LCDA. PSC, PO BOX 79552, CaroliNORMA G SANTANA IRIZA- na, PR 00984-9552, Teléfono: RRY, Secretaria Regional. F/ (787)622-3939, abogado de la GLORIA E. ACEVEDO SOTO, parte demandante, con copia Secretaria Auxiliar. de la contestación a la Deman-

Demandado (a) Civil Num. CB2019CV00622.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACION DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

da dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO de este edicto, que se publicará DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- una vez en un periódico de cirNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA culación diaria general. Usted SALA DE SAN JUAN. deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema ORIENTAL BANK Unificado de Manejo y AdminisDemandante v. tración de Casos (SUMAC), al SUCESION DE puede acceder utilizando MARGARITA ARZUAGA cual la siguiente dirección electróniALGARIN compuesta por ca: https://unired.ramajudicial.

MAYRA MARGARITA, pr/sumac/, salvo que se repreLILIANA BELINDA ambas sente por derecho propio. Se de apellido MARTINEZ le apercibe que si no contesta la demanda dentro del término ARZUAGA; SUCESION antes indicado, radicando el DE VICTELIO MARTINEZ original de la contestación ante ARZUAGA compuesta por el Tribunal correspondiente, y WILMA VAZQUEZ, MARIA notificando con copia a la parte DEL CARMEN Y ANTONIO demandante, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Senten-

LEGAL NOTICE

ALEJANDRO, ambos

cia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado a favor de la parte demandante sin mas citarle ni oírle. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 16 de noviembre de 2020. GRISELDA RODRIGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. JESSICA SOTO PAGAN, SEC SERVICIOS A SALA.

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

E.M.I. EQUITY MORTGAGE, INC DEMANDANTE VS.

JUANITA RIVERA GARCÍA T/C/C JUANITA GARCÍA (DEUDOR HIPOTECARIO), WANDA IVONNE SALDAÑA RIVERA, YADIRA JOHANNA SALDAÑA RIVERA Y EDDIE SALDAÑA ALEMÁN (TITULARES REGISTRALES)

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CA2018CV01776.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA “IN REM” (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 12 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: A-97 CALLE ANAMÚ URB. CIUDAD JARDÍN DE CANÓVANAS, SEGUNDA SECCIÓN CANÓVANAS, PR 00729 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar #A97 de la Urbanización Ciudad Jardín de Canóvanas, Segunda Sección, localizado en el Barrio Canóvanas del municipio de Canóvanas, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 1,072.76 metros cuadrados. En lindes: por el Norte, en una distancia de 29.112 metros con un área denominada “Remanent”; por el Sur, en cuatro alineaciones distintas, en una distancia de 42.84 metros en un arco de longitud de 5.498 metros, en

otra distancia de 3.50 metros y otra distancia de 8.00 metros con la Calle Anamú de dicha urbanización; por el Este, en una distancia de 25.00 metros con el solar #A-98 y por el Oeste, en una distancia de 30.991 metros con el área denominada “Green Area”; todos estos solares y la calle pertenecientes al referido desarrollo urbano. ENCLAVA: Una casa de concreto diseñada para una sola familia. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 186 del Tomo 414 de Canóvanas, finca número 16,468, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Tercera (3ra). El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $328,500.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 20 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $219,000.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 27 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $164,250.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 382 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 15 de agosto de 2014, ante el Notario Jaime E. Dávila Santini, y consta inscrita al Folio 115 del tomo 435 de Canóvanas, finca número 16,468, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección Tercera (3ra), inscripción Séptima (7ma). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido contra la parte co-demandada Juanita Rivera García t/c/c Juanita García (Deudor Hipotecario) ascendente a la suma de $307,742.70 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de marzo de 2018, más intereses al tipo pactado de 4.00% anual.

Dichos intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además, la parte co-demandada Juanita Rivera García t/c/c Juanita García (Deudor Hipotecario), adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos

hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $32,850.00.

Además, la parte co-demandada Juanita Rivera García t/c/c Juanita García (Deudor Hipotecario), se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $32,850.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores ni preferentes según las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores conocidos y desconocidos que tengan inscritos, no inscritos, presentados y/o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este

The San Juan Daily Star Tribunal en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 18 de noviembre de 2020. Manuel Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

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

E.M.I. EQUITY MORTGAGE, INC DEMANDANTE VS.

VANESSA BETANCOURT GONZÁLEZ

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CA2019CV02696.

SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA “IN REM” (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 12 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: APT. K-101 COND. VISTA SERENA TRUJILLO ALTO, PR 00976 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento #K-101, localizado en el primer piso del Edificio III del Condominio Vista Serena, ubicado en el barrio Carraízo del término municipal de Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial aproximada de 1,002.35 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 93.12 metros cuadrados; en lindes por el NORTE, con elemento común exterior, en 27’6”; por el SUR, con elemento común exterior y patio en 27’6”; por el ESTE, con elemento común exterior en 45’9” y por el OESTE, con el apartamento K-102 y escalera de acceso en 35’5”. Consta de tres cuartos dormitorios con closet, sala, comedor, cocina, dos baños, área de recibidor (“foyer”), área de lavado de ropa y “linen closet” en pasillo.

La puerta de entrada de este apartamento está situada en el lindero Este. PORCENTAJE: Elementos Comunes Generales: .004581%. ESTACIONAMIENTO: Le corresponde 2 estacionamientos marcados

#K-101. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 93 del Tomo 750 de Trujillo Alto, finca número 31745, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan Sección Cuarta. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $137,606.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 20 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $91,737.33. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 27 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $68,803.00. Las hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura de hipoteca número 272 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 26 de septiembre de 2016, ante el Notario Ricardo Marín Arias y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de la Cuarta Sección de San Juan, finca número 31745, en el Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan Sección Cuarta, inscripción tercera (3ra). Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma de $126,466.70 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de marzo de 2019, más intereses al tipo pactado de 3.75% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además la parte demandada adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $13,760.60.

Además la parte demandada se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $13,760.60 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $13,760.60 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDI-

Monday, November 30, 2020 CIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate.

La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores desconocidos, no inscritos o presentados que sus acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy día 18 de noviembre de 2020. Manual Villafañe Blanco, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

E.M.I. EQUITY MORTGAGE, INC. DEMANDANTE VS.

BRADIER JESÚS SÁNCHEZ DÍAZ

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CG2019CV03482.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Embargo que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, el día 14 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en A-15 CALLE 2 URB. JARDINES DE CEIBA NORTE JUNCOS, PR 00777-3821 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar #15, Bloque A, según Plano de Inscripción del Proyecto denominado Urbanización Jardines de Ceiba Norte, radicado en Barrio Ceiba Norte del término municipal de Juncos, Puerto Rico. Dicho solar tiene un área superficial de 325.00 metros cuadrados, colindando por el NORTE, con el solar A-14 en una distancia de 25.00 metros; por el ESTE, con la calle #2, en una distancia de 13.00 metros; por el SUR, con el solar A-16, en una distancia de 25.00 metros y por el OESTE, con el canal, en ENCLAVA: Una casa. El inmueble antes descrito consta inscrito al Folio 163 del Tomo 238 de Juncos, finca 9,319, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Segunda. El embargo a ejecutarse es por la suma de $109,887.71 y consta presentado al Asiento 2020-040822-CA02 del Sistema Karibe de Juncos, finca 9,319, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas Sección Segunda.

La hipoteca objeto del embargo a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 70 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de abril de 2010, ante el Notario Julián Antonio Parrilla Boria y consta inscrita al Folio 37 del Tomo 404 de Juncos, finca número 9,319, inscripción sexta (6ta) y última, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Segunda. Dicha hipoteca fue modificada en cuanto a su principal que será de $103,685.16; en cuanto a su interés que será de 5.00% anual; en cuanto a su pago mensual de principal e interés será por la cantidad de $588.13, en cuanto

a su vencimiento que será el primero (1ro) de mayo de 2040; en cuanto al tipo mínimo en caso de ejecución de hipoteca será de $103,685.16; y en caso de reclamación judicial la cantidad líquida y estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado será de $10,368.52, según consta de la escritura de modificación de hipoteca número 567, otorgada el día 13 de septiembre de 2013, en San Juan, Puerto Rico ante la Notario Público David Cardona Dingui y consta presentada al Asiento 1478 del Diario 672, finca 9,319, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Segunda. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido contra la parte demandada, ascendente a la suma principal de $91,854.16 de principal, intereses al tipo pactado de 5.00% anual, cargos por demora equivalentes a 5.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $10,368.52. Además, la parte demandada se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $10,455.00 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $10,455.00 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Por razón de dicho incumplimiento, y al amparo del derecho que le confiere el Pagaré, el demandante ha declarado tales sumas vencidas, líquidas y exigibles en su totalidad. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores desconocidos, no inscritos o presentados que sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de car-

25

gos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial. Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 23 de NOVIEMBRE de 2020. EDGARDO ALDEBOL MIRANDA, PLACA 282, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR.

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

E.M.I. EQUITY MORTGAGE, INC. DEMANDANTE VS.

CARLOS RUBEN ORTIZ MARTINEZ

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NUM.: CG2020CV01317.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el día 14 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina

sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS. SALA SUPERIOR, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en 329 CALLE LOS CORDOVA URB. LA MESETA CAGUAS, PR 00725 y que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar número veinte (20) de la Urbanización Residencial La Meseta, localizado en el Barrio Tomás de Castro de Caguas, con una cabida de novecientos noventa y cuatro punto noventa metros cuadrados y colindando por el NORTE, en veinticuatro punto ocho siete dos metros con la Calle Los Córdova; por el SUR, en cuarentiuno punto cero nueve ocho metros con el solar número dieciséis; por el ESTE, en dos alineaciones de dieciseis punto dos tres tres metros en arco y otro de ocho punto cero cero tres metros con la Calle Los Córdova; y por el OESTE, en cuarentiuno punto siete siete seis metros con los solares número dieciocho y diecinueve. Según inscripción 6ta., en este solar enclava una casa de concreto para fines residenciales. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita en el Folio 57 del Tomo 1029 de Caguas, finca número 35,194, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas Sección Primera.

El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $201,261.00.

Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una segunda subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 21 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $134,174.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una tercera subasta en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 28 DE ENERO DE 2021, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $100,630.50.

La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 193 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 27 de abril de 2018, ante el Notario David Cardona Dingui, y consta inscrita al Tomo Karibe de Caguas, finca número 35,194, en el Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección Primera, inscripción Décimo Quinta (15ta).

Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer al Demandante total o parcialmente según sea el caso el

importe de la Sentencia que ha obtenido ascendente a la suma de $196,411.25 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de noviembre de 2019, más intereses al tipo pactado de 4.25% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además la parte demandada adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $20,126.10. Además la parte demandada se comprometió a pagar una suma equivalente a $20,126.10 para cubrir cualquier otro adelanto que se haga en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca y una suma equivalente a $20,126.10 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley. Por razón de dicho incumplimiento, y al amparo del derecho que le confiere el Pagaré, el demandante ha declarado tales sumas vencidas, líquidas y exigibles en su totalidad. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al Procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio de remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores desconocidos, no inscritos o presentados que sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos

26 del acreedor ejecutante. La propiedad objeto de ejecución y descrita anteriormente se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores una vez el Honorable Tribunal expida la correspondiente Orden de Confirmación de Venta Judicial.

Y para conocimiento de licitadores del público en general se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley por espacio de dos semanas en tres sitios públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Este Edicto será publicado dos veces en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas. Expido el presente Edicto de subasta bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal en Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 23 de noviembre de 2020.

EDGARDO ALDEBOL MIRANDA, PLACA 282, ALGUACIL DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, C E N TRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS, SALA SUPERIOR.

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

LUNA ACQUISITION, LLC Demandante V.

LORNA IVELISSE SERRANO NIEVES

Demandada CIVIL NUM.: SJ2019CV06300.

SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA (VIA ORDINARIA). LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS. AVISO DE PUBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, hago saber a la parte demandada LORNA IVELISSE SERRANO NIEVES, y al PUBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el dIa 20 de febrero de 2020, por la Secretarla del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $63,700.00 y a! mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, a la propiedad que se describe a continuación, URB. MATIENZO CINTRON, 520 CALLE PEÑARUBIA, SAN JUAN, PR 00923: URBANA: Solar marcado con ci #100 en ci piano de inscripción de la Urbanización Doctor Lopez saciado, radicado en ci barrio Sabana Liana, del sitio denominado Rio Piedras, del término municipal de la capital de Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 330.29 metros cuadrados, y colinda por el Norte, en 13.09 metros con la calle Peñarubia de la Urbaniza-

ción Doctor Lopez Sicardó, por ci Sur, en 13.09 metros con terrenos de Charles Pennock, por el Este, en 25.27 metros con el solar #101 de la Urbanización Doctor Lopez Sicardó, por el Oeste, en 25.21 metros con el solar #99 de la Urbanización Doctor Lopez Sicardó. Contiene una casa de una sola planta, para fines residenciales. Finca 10651 inscrita a! folio 88 del tomo 238 de Sabana Liana, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección V. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) Hipoteca en garantía de pagaré a favor de AAA Concordia Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma de $63,700.00 con intereses al 6 1/8% anual y vencimiento 1 de mayo de 2035.

Constituida por la Escritura 336 otorgada en San Juan ci 26 de abril de 2005 ante la notario Luis 0. Dávila Alemán, e inscrita al sistema karibe de Sabana Liana, finca 10651, inscripción 11, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección V. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en ci inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con ci importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 31 de octubre de 2019, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $49,396.29 de principal, más intereses que continuarán acumulándose desde el dIa 1 de febrero de 2018 hasta el saldo total a! 6.125% anual, $107.36 de cargos por atraso, $6,370.00 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 ci dIa 12 de enero de 2021 a las 11:30 de la mañana, en la oficina del Alguacil, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma Ia cantidad de $63,700.00, sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el dIa 20 de enero de 2021 a las 11:30 de Ia 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, $42,466.67. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA ci dIa 27 de enero de 2021 a las 11:30 de la mañana, en ci mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $31,850.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de America, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. 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 ci precio del remate.

Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretarla del tribunal durante las horas laborables. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirira libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere a! 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 cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuestos al gravamen del actor y a los dueflos poseedores, tenedores de, o interesados en tItulo transmisible por endoso al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad a! crédito del actor, y con los cuales no hubiese tenido el efecto Ia notificación del escrito inicial y del Mandamiento de requerimiento de pago para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviene o satisficiera 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, una vez confirmada la venta o adjudicación, el alguacil que celebrO 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 asI se Jo 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 proce-

dimiento, 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 San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 23 de noviembre de 2020. PEDRO HIEYE GONZALEZ, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBR.E ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNÁL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE MEDICOS Y OTROS PROFESIONALES DE LA SALUD (MEDICOOP) Demandante vs.

SUCESION DE NEIDA PRISCILA BORGES RIVERA también conocida como PRISCILA BORGES compuesta por HECTOR MANUEL FERNANDEZ SOTO también conocido como HECTOR M. FERNANDEZ por sí y en cuanto a la cuota viudal usufructuaria; FULANO DE TAL y ZUTANO DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos; CENTRO RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES “CRIM” Demandados CIVIL NÚM: LU2019CV00028.

SOBRE: Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria “IN REM”.

EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: Público en General A: SUCESION DE NEIDA PRISCILA BORGES RIVERA también conocida como PRISCILA BORGES compuesta por HECTOR MANUEL FERNANDEZ SOTO también conocido como HECTOR M. FERNANDEZ, por sí y en cuanto a la cuota viudal usufructuaria; FULANO DE TAL y ZUTANO DE TAL como posibles herederos desconocidos Yo, Sandraliz Martínez Torres, Alguacil Auxiliar #737, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 13 de enero de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Supe-

rior de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Fajardo 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 21 de enero de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una tercera subasta el día 28 de enero de 2021, a las 11:00 de la mañana en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Residential Apartment market two dash “DI” (2-DI) in the second floor of Sandy Hills Building One (1) Condominium, at Matienzo Cintrón Street and between Esperanza and Del Carmen Streets, Luquillo, Puerto Rico, measuring approximated twenty eights feet ten inches (28’1 O”) long, equivalent to EIGHT METERS WITH SEVENTY NINE HUNDREDTH (8.79m), twenty five feet with four inches (25’4”) wide, equivalent to SEVEN METERS WITH SEVENTY TWO HUNDREDTH (7.72m), with a superficial area of SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY TWO SQUARE FEET WITH ELEVEN HUNDREDTH (672.11 sf), equivalent to sixty two square meters with forty four hundredth (62.44sm), bounding: on the NORTH: with apartment two dash “CI” (2-CI); on the SOUTH: with apartment two dash “El” (2-EI); on the EAST: with exterior elements of the building and with the lot on which the building is erected; and on the WEST: with common corridor . The apartment consists of living-dining room, kitchen , bathroom, on bedroom, bedroom closet and a balcony on its East side . The apartment has a main door connecting with the common corridor on the floor from where access may be gained to the exterior of the building and to the public street by the elevator and stairway.

The apartment is equipped with a stainless- steel sink, water heater anda stove-oven. This apartment has parking space number sixty seven (67) of level minus two (2) of the parking building, which is an uncovered parking space . Le corresponde un participación en los elementos comunes de cero punto dos seis tres dos por ciento (0.2632%). La escritura de hi-

poteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 65 del tomo 135 de Luquillo, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo, finca número 7,568. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es : Condominio Sandy Hills, Apt. 2 D-1, Luquillo, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $69,658.41 de principal, intereses al 6.375% anual, desde el día 1ro. de junio de 2018, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $9,200.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado más recargos acumulados ; todas estas sumas están vencidas y son líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $92,000.00 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $61,333.34 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la

suma de $46,000.00. De declararse desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o meno r 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 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 registra! 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 Fajardo, Puerto Rico, a 13 de noviembre de 2020. SHIRLEY SANCHEZ MARTINEZ, Alguacil Regional #161. Sandraliz Martinez Torres, Alguacil Auxliar #161.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

27

As hiking surges during the pandemic, so do injuries

By GILLIAN R. BRASSIL Outdoor activities have become a popular pastime during the coronavirus pandemic as adventure seekers and couch surfers alike take to hiking trails for a bit of a reprieve.

But while hiking might be a safe, socially distanced activity, the challenges of weather, nature and physical strain have led to a rash of injuries and some deaths on the trails.

In September, three hikers died in six days in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. A hiker in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington who encountered a whiteout was revived after his heart stopped for 45 minutes. And a woman who went missing for two days on Mount Whitney in California died from her injuries after being rescued in November.

“Every year there’s at least one local who dies in the mountains,” said Megan Jennings of Jackson, Wyo., who lost a friend in an avalanche this spring in the nearby Grand Tetons. “Death is something that happens frequently.”

People who hike often are aware of the associated risks. Jennings, 24, grew up in the shadow of the Grand Tetons, where visitors increased 88 percent in October compared with last October, the highest level for the month that the park has had. This summer, Jennings and Julia Olson, 23, set off before dawn on a clear Tuesday morning to run the Teton Crest Trail, the first time they had run the trails.

Within the first few miles, they encountered a bear and a mountain lion, escaping unscathed without needing to call for search and rescue. Jennings, who works in conservation, knew that they were as prepared as they could be. And lucky.

The increase in parkgoers — upward of 90 percent over the previous year in some parks — has added pressure to staff members and authorities, who are already under financial and staffing constraints because of the pandemic.

“People need to be careful, especially now, as resources for search and rescue can be thin,” said Lisa Herron, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service

Hikers used the chains along a portion of the Angels Landing trail in Zion National Park in Utah, where the number of visitors has surged. at Lake Tahoe Basin in California.

The agency has not yet compiled data on injuries and deaths for the year, but several park rangers and rescue agency representatives say anecdotally the incidents have increased with the surge in visitors.

The trails, backcountry and camping sites around Lake Tahoe have a variety of weather conditions, including avalanches, snowstorms and, during wildfire season, smoke and poor air quality.

Despite wildfires across most of the West Coast that kept the Tahoe Rim Trail inaccessible at the end of summer, the trail has had more campers, hikers, and bike and horse riders than in previous years. Morgan Steel, executive director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, said visitation was not slowing down as fast as usual.

“We usually see a significant change from fall to winter around here; with several feet of snow, you have more experienced people on the trails out there,”

she said. “Though we’ve had a pretty significant drop in use, there’s been a big trend in use upward overall.”

El Dorado County, Calif., one of the five counties surrounding Lake Tahoe, has backcountry and wilderness — including Desolation Wilderness, which is accessible only on foot or horseback — and has had an increase in calls this year for aid related to illness, injury and being lost, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sgt. Eric Palmberg of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said many of the calls involved people “way out of their experience level and possibly taking more risks due to the pandemic and being cooped up at home.”

At Zion National Park, there has been a 5 percent increase in visitors since it reopened in May compared with last year and a 30 percent rise in October compared with October 2019.

Extreme heat has made rock climbing difficult, but bike rentals have boomed.

More bikers and hikers have been calling

for help with minor injuries and ailments — ankle sprains, heat exhaustion and cuts and scrapes from crashes — than in previous years.

As it gets colder and coronavirus case counts have surged to record highs across the country, many states have instituted curfews, mask mandates and stricter social distancing protocols.

Although a necessity, rescuers wearing masks move slower, said David Walsh, assistant chief of law enforcement for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department. It has been difficult for responders to carry injured hikers down steep slopes, sometimes for over 8 miles, in a mask.

“The increased strain can sometimes delay a six-hour rescue mission; sometimes it gets to be eight hours,” he said.

At mountainous parks, changes in temperature and conditions, depending on elevation — a 60-degree swing, in some cases — often catch new visitors off guard.

Jonathan Milne, a former ranger who works in conservation in New Hampshire and Maine, said, “When you go up in altitude, it sets off a cascade of issues.”

But nature lovers will continue coming despite the cold.

“In the winter, people are still coming for hiking and photos, as well as more enthused hikers looking for a challenge,” said Susan McPartland, who oversees visitation at Zion National Park.

“It’s really hard to tell if we’ll see increased visitation this winter, but we’re still a little busier than usual this November.

Someone needs to find the crystal ball.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

Kicker is first woman to play in Power Five football game

By GILLIAN R. BRASSIL

S

arah Fuller became the first woman to play during a regular-season game in one of college football’s Power Five conferences by booting a kickoff Saturday for Vanderbilt to start the second half against Missouri.

Fuller, a senior and the starting goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s women’s soccer team, was tapped to play football after every member of the Commodores’ kicking squad was forced to stop practicing when at least one of them came into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Fuller wore No. 32 — the same number she wears on her soccer jersey — and a helmet with the phrase “Play Like a Girl.”

“It’s just so exciting that I can represent the little girls out there who wanted to do this or thought about playing football or any sport, really,” she said after the game.

Fuller helped Vanderbilt clinch its first Southeastern Conference women’s soccer title since 1994 with a 3-1 victory over Arkansas last Sunday. She was planning to head home to Wylie, Texas, for the Thanksgiving holiday when her soccer coach called her with the opportunity to kick this weekend, she told reporters after the game. “I’ll be there within the hour,” she recalled saying to Ken Masuhr, the team’s associate head coach.

Fuller gave the team a pep talk during halftime, when Missouri led 21-0, and said she wanted to see more energy on the sidelines. But she added that she had to keep herself calm to avoid getting too pumped up.

“Football is a lot slower; there’s a lot of lull time,” she said of the difference between the two sports. “In soccer, it’s just one after the other; you’re constantly engaged.”

“I was just really calm,” she added about making the kick. “The SEC championship was more stressful.”

With her parents watching from the stands while wearing handmade “Play Like a Girl” masks provided by one of Fuller’s friends, Fuller opened the second half with a low kick that bounced to the 35, where Missouri pounced on it for no return. The play was by design, Vander-

Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller, right, kicks off as Ryan McCord (27) holds to start the second half of an NCAA college football game against Missouri on Saturday. bilt football coach Derek Mason said.

Mason said he was impressed with Fuller’s willingness to try something new, especially when so many of the team’s players had either gone home for the holidays or been forced to quarantine. “She could have easily said no, but instead she prepared all week and did what she was supposed to do,” he said. “She was as prepared as anyone for this game.”

Fuller is not the first woman to play college football in the top tier of Division I, the Football Bowl Subdivision: Katie Hnida was the first woman to score in an FBS game as a placekicker for New Mexico in August 2003, and April Goss scored while playing for Kent State in 2015. Ashley Martin is credited as the first woman to score in any NCAA Division I football game for Jacksonville State University, which is in the Football Championship Subdivision. And Becca Longo became the first woman to receive an NCAA football scholarship to a Division II school when she signed to

Adams State as a kicker in 2017 (she never kicked for the school because of injury, transferring to the Gila River Hawks of the Hohokam Junior College Athletic Conference in 2019).

Vanderbilt was blown out by Missouri, 41-0, and Fuller did not have an opportunity to attempt a field goal. Vanderbilt is 0-8 this season.

Fuller’s hasty addition to the team was one example of many of the virus’s impact on college football this season.

The Commodores were originally supposed to play the University of Tennessee, but that game was postponed to accommodate for several postponements elsewhere in the SEC as teams struggle to contain the virus. Other conferences, like the Big Ten and Mountain West, have simply canceled games amid outbreaks, while the Ivy League halted fall and winter sports this year altogether.

“Contact tracing continues to be the biggest contributing factor to game interruptions,” SEC Commissioner Greg

Sankey said in a news release about the schedule last Monday. “We will continue to manage the remaining weeks of the football schedule to allow for as many games to be played as possible.”

The virus has surged across the country in the past few weeks. In Tennessee, where Vanderbilt is located, hospital leaders published an open letter to residents Wednesday urging them to limit gatherings and wear masks. The letter, signed by Dr. Wright Pinson, chief health system officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, said that over the past month, hospitals in Middle Tennessee have had a 72 percent increase in COVID-19 patients and that they expected only more increases in weeks to come.

“If this trend continues, our hospital systems could soon be overwhelmed, and that would compromise the ability to serve all patients, not just those with COVID-19,” the doctors said in the letter.

Football players and female athletes alike offered Fuller words of encouragement posted to social media, among them Billie Jean King, Dak Prescott and Nick Folk, an NFL kicker. “Be as confident as you can, don’t worry about anything,” Folk said in a video posted to Twitter by the New England Patriots.

When asked after the game if the team would have Fuller kick against Georgia next week, Mason said: “If she wants to kick and she’s available, we’d love to have her.”

Fuller seemed up to the challenge. “I would love to get out there and score a field goal,” she said.

The San Juan Daily Star

GAMES

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Monday, November 30, 2020

Sudoku How to Play: Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword

Answers on page 30

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HOROSCOPE Aries

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, November 30, 2020

(Mar 21-April 20)

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

As mystical Neptune turns direct in a private zone, the coming weeks can make it easier to discern truth from falsehood. You’ll begin to unravel those areas where you may have believed things that weren’t in your best interests. Still, the current line-up might also deliver a boost of optimism, which could be all you need to continue with a project that looks to be progressing nicely.

Ethereal Neptune turning direct in your lifestyle sector, suggests it may be helpful not to rush decisions until you have the facts. With Mercury linking to Pluto and Jupiter though, it can be the practicalities of a situation that ultimately dictate your plan, rather than what you most wish for. Gone off track with your wellness routine? Notes on a calendar might help firm up your intentions.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

Confused about certain people? There may be times when you sensed that something didn’t add up. This can begin to change, and over the coming weeks you might trust your instincts on this matter, which is a good thing. Need to expand your horizons and go exploring? The Moon and its angles could inspire you to take a bold step forward, and perhaps not before time.

Wondered about changing to a more soulful career?

If you have doubted yourself, then this could shift to the positive, as ethereal Neptune gets into its forward stride. This doesn’t mean you should work for nothing or accept low wages to do so, though.

When you thrive, you have more to give, so be ready to combine the practical along with the ideal, for the best chance of success.

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

The coming weeks could be a turning point concerning your beliefs, and crucially who you believe. Had your doubts about someone’s teachings or credentials? You’ll be more willing to trust your instincts, and this can encourage you to act based on your revised perceptions. There are those who speak the truth though Cancer, and connecting with them might be so beneficial.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

Having had Neptune in your sector of business and finances for some time, it is possible that fortunes have been mixed. But this nebulous planet also inclines you to aim for unrealistic goals, though they seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. With Neptune inclining forward, it can pay you to rethink business plans, and if necessary, to get a practical perspective on them.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

If you’ve had more than your fair share of misunderstandings, then Neptune’s forward motion could help you to unravel such matters, and find those answers that have eluded you. During recent months, you may have had your fair share of mixed messages.

Over the coming weeks, the truth might dawn, Virgo.

Will it make a difference? You can still hesitate unless you are pushed.

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

Have a decision to make and keep changing your mind? It would be no surprise Scorpio, as with misty Neptune moving forward and Mercury ties involved, it can be hard to know where you stand. Whatever ideas you have, you can’t go too wrong if you stick with the basics. Avoid putting too much gloss on something if a minimalist approach would serve you better.

The present star map can make ideas shimmer, and the impossible seem possible. Which is why it is wise to tread with care around schemes that might have an unrealistic quality. The extent of what you could achieve will soon be made clear, though. As Neptune pushes ahead Archer, you now have more opportunity to shape your dreams, and this may assist you in making them a reality.

If someone approaches you with a vague but tempting plan, ask a few key questions before you agree to anything. There is potential for misunderstandings, and it may be a while after you have committed to something that you discover your error. In fact, before you sign anything, take your time to read the small print, as this could save you from any expensive mistakes, Capricorn.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Look after your money, as it may seem to dissipate when you need it most, or you could spend it on something that seems a good deal only to find out it wasn’t. With the Neptune tide on the turn and Mercury forging practical links, think twice before any major outlays or offers, even if they seem good. Be sure there is a get-out clause Aquarius, and keep receipts so you can’t lose.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Aquatic Neptune forges ahead in your sign after some months in its rewind phase, which can enable you to separate what is true and useful from what is false and unhelpful. Don’t presume that because something comes professionally presented, that it is all above board, as it may not be. If in doubt, ask a practical friend or someone in the know, as it could save you much hassle.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Monday, November 30, 2020

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

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Ziggy

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Monday, November 30, 2020

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