Monday Oct 2, 2023

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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.

Fiscal board insists proposed tax repeals must be revenue neutral

By THE STAR STAFF

The Financial Oversight and Management Board supports the repeal of the inventory tax and of personal property taxes, which is the tax generally imposed on certain assets that can be touched and moved, such as cars, livestock, or equipment, as long as alternatives to eliminate them are revenue neutral.

The oversight made its remarks in a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Rafael Hernández Montañez concerning House Bill (HB) 1692, which proposes a new methodology to calculate the inventory tax, and HB 1798, which also proposes changes to the inventory and personal property taxes. The oversight board said Puerto Rico’s relatively heavy reliance on inventory and personal property tax is an outlier compared to the approach of U.S. states.

“The Oversight Board considers the repeal of the inventory [tax] to be a significant step toward improving the business climate of Puerto Rico, as it could allow businesses to build up inventory without a tax penalty,” the board said.

The tax has been eliminated in 36 states, while 14 states have inventory taxes lower than Puerto Rico.

“That said, any effort by the Government to eliminate the inventory tax in Puerto Rico must be budget-neutral for both the Commonwealth and the municipalities,” the oversight board said in a letter dated Sept. 29. “The inventory tax accounts for $237 million of the total $447 million of personal property tax collections and constitutes a significant source of revenue for municipalities.”

Repealing or reforming inventory taxes would have a disproportionate effect on certain municipalities -- particularly on the 13 municipalities where more than 10% of their general fund budget comprises such revenues.

After reviewing the bills and having analyzed the tax system and ways it can be improved, the oversight board made a number of recommendations regarding the process contemplated by the bills. The board supported having a commission or group assess potential options for reform and propose reforms for the Legislature to consider and adopt. As part of that approach,

the oversight board believes a temporary freeze of the inventory tax is advisable to allow a commission or group time to identify a sound approach that eliminates the inventory tax and maintains municipal revenues. It also suggested a number of factors that should be carefully considered before implementing a temporary freeze. First, the central government should establish a base period to determine the tax liability during the freeze. Second, the freeze period should be long enough to allow time for the commission or group to thoroughly develop long-term permanent options and provide recommendations. Third, the commission or group should be provided with very clear steps to guide it and take into account the uneven impacts that the freeze will have on certain municipalities. Finally, the government should clearly specify consequences if inventory tax replacement or other structural reform recommendations are not enacted to avoid the circumstance where taxpayers that have built up inventories during the freeze period face significant tax liabilities when the inventory tax is reinstated.

With those considerations in mind, the oversight board said HB 1798 is closer than HB 1692 to meeting the criteria because it includes a base period, a five-year freeze period, different calculations for existing and new firms, and a seven-member board with a timeline to provide a recommendation for a permanent reform.

“However, we recommend that HB 1798 be amended either to encourage the permanency of the reform or to reduce the impact on taxpayers and CRIM [the Spanish acronym for Municipal Revenue Collections Center] without significantly reducing revenues,” the board said.

One option for amending HB 1798 would be to include a “hold harmless” provision for those municipalities that are heavily dependent on inventory tax for revenues,” the board said.

An option for reform is Puerto Rico’s real property tax system given that the tax is currently constrained due to exemptions and exonerations, the oversight board said. Further reform of the real property tax system may provide the revenue needed to make up for and thus eliminate personal property taxes.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Rafael Hernández Montañez

Heat wave continues as thunder showers cause isolated flooding, TS Philippe crawls along to the east of Lesser Antilles

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Isolated to scattered thundershowers, mainly in the interior areas southwest of San Juan during the afternoon, raised the prospect of flooding on Sunday.

In the northeastern part of the island, and as far west as the capital city, flooding was anticipated earlier in the day in urban areas, roads and small streams. Flash floods and isolated landslides were also possible, with precipitation providing little in the way of relief from extreme high temperatures.

Heat indices of 108-111 degrees were expected in most low-lying elevations and urban areas of all coastal municipalities and metropolitan regions of Puerto Rico, as well as in Vieques and Culebra.

Waves equal to or greater than seven feet were expected in Atlantic waters far from shore, creating dangerous conditions for small vessels. Deadly rip currents were also likely, particularly on the beaches of north-central Puerto Rico and the San Juan metropolitan area.

For the rest of the week, moisture from

Tropical Storm Philippe’s outer bands will induce a risk of excessive rain and lightning on most islands over the next few days, forecasters said. The risks of excessive heat will remain at least until Tuesday.

The storm surges generated by Philippe, for which the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a tropical storm advisory Sunday, will maintain dangerous sea conditions for small boats until the next working week. A moderate to high risk of deadly rip currents is expected over the next two days.

Philippe was crawling westward Sunday, while conditions could help it strengthen and reach hurricane status in the coming days, forecasters said.

The NHC estimated that Philippe had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, with higher gusts.

Philippe was centered near 16.4N 58.2W, or 180 miles east of Guadeloupe, moving west at 6 knots early Sunday. Maximum sustained wind speed was 45 knots with gusts to 55 knots. Peak seas were 21 feet. A turn toward the northwest with an increase in forward speed was expected later Sunday and today, followed by a northward motion

on Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center of Philippe was expected to pass near or just northeast of the northern Leeward Islands today and tonight.

As Phillipe moved across the central Atlantic and higher sea surface temperatures over the weekend, it was expected to strengthen and become a hurricane, forecasters said late Saturday afternoon.

There were no coastal warnings or watches in effect, but “the northern Leeward Islands, the U.S. British and Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico should monitor the progress” of the system, forecasters said.

The Atlantic hurricane season started June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.

In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted that there would be 12 to 17 named storms this year, a “near-normal” amount. On Aug. 10, NOAA officials revised their estimate upward, to 14 to 21 named storms.

There were 14 named storms last year, after two extremely busy Atlantic hurricane seasons in which forecasters ran out of names and had to resort to backup lists. (A record 30 named storms took place in 2020.)

This year features an El Nino pattern, which started in June. The intermittent climate phenomenon can have wide-ranging effects on weather around the world, and it typically impedes the number of Atlantic hurricanes.

In the Atlantic, El Nino increases the amount of wind shear, or the change in wind speed and direction from the ocean or land surface into the atmosphere. Hurricanes need a calm environment to form, and the instability caused by increased wind shear makes those conditions less likely.

At the same time, this year’s higher sea surface temperatures pose a number of threats, including the ability to supercharge storms. That unusual confluence of factors has made it more difficult to predict storms.

González Colón says proposal on settling PREPA debt will help consumers, spur economy

By THE STAR STAFF

New Progressive Party Vice President

Jenniffer González Colón, issued her first proposal as a candidate for governor of Puerto Rico on Sunday, with a focus on the defense of the consumer’s pocket and the economic sector.

González Colón seeks to eliminate the increase in energy consumption billing, as a result of the restructuring of the debt of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). Her proposal is to settle the debt with the savings generated from the surpluses and that are being deposited in the government’s accounts.

In this way, she said, a new guaranteed bond issue would not be necessary thus a

corresponding charge on the electricity bill for the next 40 years would be avoided. Likewise a more accessible energy cost would be maintained that does not affect competitiveness and an environment more conducive to economic development would be created, the resident commissioner said.

“The cost of electricity is one of the most nerve-wracking and challenging issues facing Puerto Rico,” González Colón said in a press release. “It directly impacts Puerto Rican households, affecting their pocketbooks and having the effect of impoverishing them more every day, and in turn is one of the most detrimental factors in the issue of economic development.”

The Puerto Rico government has more than $8.6 billion in the treasury from the

collection of taxes, she noted.

“This is money that the people have already contributed,” González Colón said. “The Puerto Rico government is not and should not operate as a for-profit entity. This money has to be used specifically for services to the people or for purposes that benefit citizens.”

The resident commissioner pointed out that the high cost of energy is one of the most dissuasive factors in terms of investment and the cause of many bankruptcies of small businesses on the island that cannot cope with the burden it represents. Many companies that seek to establish themselves in Puerto Rico end up not doing so because of the high cost of energy and the continuous uncertainty of how much more it can increase, she said.

Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón

A photo provided by NOAA shows Tropical Tropical Storm Philippe crawling southwestward in the Atlantic on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. The National Hurricane Center said that the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico should monitor the progress of Philippe, which is expected to strengthen. (NOAA via The New York Times)

A loud & pronounced call for 4 more years in office

Pierluisi rallies support for 2nd term from rank & file, public officials

By RICHARD GUTIÉRREZ richardsanjuanstar@gmail.com

With election season on the island moving ever closer, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia announced his re-election bid on Sunday during an event at the Pedro Rosselló Convention Center in Isla Grande, just four days after Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón made her primary challenge to his incumbency official. The support the governor received during the morning event was immense considering the number of people in attendance, which indeed shows that many have been satisfied with the first two-thirds of Pierluisi’s four-year term. More than just the New Progressive Party (NPP) faithful from different municipalities, the public figures who attended the event were significant, counting among their number mayors from all over the island who support the governor and plenty of public servants.

The convention center was brimming with NPP energy, people shouting and cheering the entire time. Hundreds of people from all over the island attended the event, with some towns even providing public transport. Attendance was such that televisions and seats for people to watch the event were provided, and even outside the convention center there were giant monitors for people to watch. The center’s stairs were filled with people watching as well.

“I hereby announce my candidacy for reelection to continue serving Puerto Rico!” the governor said as he arrived with hundreds of people cheering him on.

In his speech, Pierluisi reciprocated with cheers of his own for the people in attendance.

“I took a step forward … to lead Puerto Rico into progress and statehood, which is our guiding light. In two years and nine months we have stabilized the government’s finances and we have secured the reconstruction of Puerto Rico,” he said as people cheered “Four more years!”

“Today I file my candidacy for re-election, because I am part of a team, an NPP team, and a statehooder,” the governor continued in his message. “A team of progressive men and women who, together with me, work shoulder to shoulder for Puerto Rico. And we all need four more years to continue the work.”

“Those who do not recognize your work and sacrifice should not come and ask for your vote,” Pierluisi said. “It’s easy to say things with your mouth! I value and am proud of the work of our NPP public servants. I demonstrate it with my actions, and they will always count on me. Together we are the NPP team.”

“Today I file my candidacy for re-election, because I am part of a team, an NPP team, and a statehooder ...” the governor said in his message. “And we all need four more years to continue the work.” (Photos by Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)

One of the many public figures on hand, San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo, declared his strong support for Pierluisi.

“There are 400 days left before the elections!” the mayor said. “That is a very short amount of time, only a little over 13 months. We are here alongside a great person, who has been there for Puerto Rico, not only through the hardships of the island but also during the hardships of the New Progressive Party, and he said ‘YES,’ he said ‘Here I am,’ he said ‘I want to work for Puerto Rico.’ He is a person who has represented Puerto Rico with dignity as an extraordinary resident commissioner. He has shown with his actions that when the NPP governs, Puerto Rico progresses.”

Romero added that the governor responds positively to the capital city in every aspect.

“We rescued the city from disaster and abandonment and we have given it back the shine it deserves!” he said. “We’ve had a governor that has been present and through every one of his agencies responds well to San Juan.”

The San Juan mayor was not the only one with a speech on Sunday. Gabriel Dávila Hernández, president of the Puerto Rico Mayor’s Federation, which groups NPP mayors, and one of the 26 mayors at the event, said “Pedro has been a governor who has been in constant communication with all the mayors … of the island.”

“He’s been this communicative with NPP mayors as well as with mayors from other parties, from all 78 municipalities,” Dávila Hernández said. “That is why we the mayors … have come here to support Pedro Pierluisi.”

“We have to remember that back in 2021, all pensioned retirees were in danger of having their pensions cut,” he added. “We can safely say that today, our governor made sure there was not a single pension cut.”

NPP Vice President Sen. Thomas Rivera Schatz pointed out that “all senators who form a part of the New Progressive Party are here.”

“What is the purpose of our party, what is the purpose of serving Puerto Rico? It’s to reach our goal, statehood,” he said.

Apart from the speeches, NPP founder and former Gov. Luis A. Ferré’s widow, Tiody de Jesús-Rosa de Ferré, celebrated Pierluisi’s reelection candidacy on stage as well, along with Pierluisi’s sister, Caridad Pierluisi, who serves as director of the Office of the Governor.

Why does a portion of the population want to vote for Pedro Pierluisi so much?

“I am supporting Pedro Pierluisi for four more years because we have seen the changes and the work being done on the island,” said Daniel Cotto, a supporter of the governor. “We have seen the progress that has been made, and we cannot stop it now.”

Another supporter, Nancy Herrera, said: “People may be against LUMA, but LUMA has been working hard despite all the controversy.”

“The streets have been fixed and the pay raises to public service providers all speak of his work well done,” she said.

Popular Democratic Party President Jesús Manuel Ortiz González emphasized the González Colón challenge in his response to Pierluisi’s announcement later on Sunday.

“The primary struggle in the NPP is confirmation that the priority for them is their struggle for power and not the well-being of the people,” the opposition leader said.

“Both Governor Pierluisi and Resident Commissioner González are part of the same bad government that has run Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria,” Ortiz González said in a written statement. “Unfortunately for Puerto Rico, they are only interested in their personal aspirations. They care little about the quality of people’s lives.”

“Puerto Rico will not be better with Pierluisi or Jenniffer. We will be better off when the government focuses on attacking energy costs, invests recovery funds wisely, takes repairing schools seriously and stops deceiving people with its politicking,” he said. “In November 2024, the country will pass judgment. We are going with new strength to present alternatives for Puerto Rico.”

UPR board official calls for overhaul of courses & campuses, making UPR central to economy

By THE STAR STAFF

Luis Torres Llompart, the vice chairman of theUniversity of Puerto Rico (UPR) governing board, is emphasizing the need to “revisit” the university’s campuses and courses and make it central to an overhaul of the island’s economic development plan.

“We must revisit the campuses and specialize them, as well as the courses and curricula, and work with a new, reformed Puerto Rico,” Torres Llompart said Thursday at UPR Carolina’s “Dialogues” moderated by Prof. Rafael Méndez Tejeda. “This will take about a decade to produce results, so it’s time to start the process.”

He revealed, meanwhile, that the Financial Oversight and Management Board has created a “stakeholders group” that includes the private sector to develop an economic plan that converges with UPR. A plan is also being developed inside UPR.

Torres Llompart, a former Chamber of Commerce president, provided an overview and history as to how UPR contributed to the era of social and economic prosperity in Puerto Rico and helped create the island’s upper and middle classes since its flagship campus in Río Piedras was created in 1903 to prepare new teachers. The newest UPR campus, in Utuado, specialized in sustainable farming when it opened in 1978.

Every $100 invested by the state in the UPR generates $156 in the local economy, Torres Llompart noted. Between 2010 and 2015, income contributions from UPR employees and the sales and use tax applied to purchases totaled $740.3 million, he said. Considering the multiplier effect, $1.6 billion in taxes were generated via final demand pushed by UPR and others during that period of 2010 to 2015, he said.

Torres Llompart noted that UPR graduates experience

a salary hike of $25,857 per year on average, and the Puerto Rico economy gets 20 cents for every dollar invested in a graduating class over a period of 30 years.

He also noted that between 1999 and 2014, UPR contributed 73% of the scientific knowledge in Puerto Rico with 33 new patents and is a leader in 90% of the research with a global impact conducted in Puerto Rico.

However, he said, UPR has slipped in its global ranking, something which he said is not to be celebrated. Between 2009 and 2016, UPR improved its general categorization in the ranking of 1,600 research institutions, reaching position 502 worldwide, 35th in the hemisphere and 15th in Latin America and the Caribbean.

According to the classifications for 2024 by the QS World University Rankings, a project of the global performance classification organization Quacquarelli Symonds, UPR was ranked as the second most important in the Caribbean, after the University of Havana in Cuba, among the 24 Caribbean universities that were evaluated.

When looking at the ranking at the Latin American level, UPR was among the top 50 universities and is the best positioned among Puerto Rican institutions, in 46th place. This, however, represents a drop when compared to last year, when UPR was

number 40. In 2021, it was number 37. However, Torres Llompart said he prefers to be compared to U.S. universities, which is where most students want to go.

“UPR is a diamond that has been filled with webs,” he said. “… It is too bad that I go into a board [meeting] and I learn that professors have not gotten a raise in 10 years. … I was also told there were workers that [were earning] $7.25 per hour. I think it is unfair to have slave-type wages for workers.”

The governing board vice chairman complained that he came to work on the big issues to help make the university great again, but as a member of the board he has spent more time “putting out fires.”

Torres Llompart did not support hiking tuition costs because he said most students will not be able to afford it. He has proposed to have students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds pay more in tuition, but was told it could not be done because it was discriminatory.

“There are students who have nothing to eat. There are students who must sleep in sports facilities because they have nowhere to go,” he said. “How can I increase tuition? This is a poor country. Puerto Rico’s per capita [income] level is lower than the poorest state.”

UPR’s budget has been cut over the past few years and is currently at about $627 million.

Governor won’t make endorsement for resident commissioner for time being

By THE STAR STAFF

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia says that despite the possibility that former Sen. Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez will file his candidacy for resident commissioner, he will not offer his support for the time being.

“Everyone knows my relationship with Larry Seilhamer, the esteem I have for him, the admiration I have for him,” the governor said at a news conference late last week. “He is a great resource for Puerto Rico. But that decision has not been made. In due course, I will decide who I support for resident commissioner, which is an important position now that this vacancy has arisen, or will arise, I should say, effective January 2025. So in due course, the corresponding decisions will be made. The time is not now.”

In a radio interview, New Progressive Party (NPP) alternate electoral commissioner Edwin Mundo Ríos endorsed Seilhamer for the position and said he would do everything possible to help him.

Other people said to be interested in the post are Rep.

The vacancy for resident commissioner occurred after

Jenniffer

Colón made official her bid to challenge Pierluisi in the NPP primaries.

Regarding the situation in San Sebastián and the disaffiliations that occurred last week led by Mayor Javier Jiménez Pérez, Pierluisi said he is not worried.

“I’m not surprised that one or another person very close to the mayor follows him in that direction, but I’m not worried in the least,” the governor said. “It is a municipality that we are going to win.”

A meeting held last Friday on the matter was attended by NPP Electoral Commissioner Vanessa Santo Domingo Cruz; Mundo Ríos, the alternate electoral commissioner; NPP Secretary General Hiram Torres Montalvo; Deputy Secretary Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló; Wilson Román, the political director of the northwestern region; and San Sebastián municipal legislators.

Of the 13 NPP municipal legislators, three disaffiliated along with the mayor and deputy mayor and former NPP vice president in San Sebastián, Camilo Ortiz.

The selection of a new municipal president will be made at a later meeting.

Luis Torres Llompart, vice chairman of the University of Puerto Rico governing board

José Enrique “Quiquito” Meléndez Ortiz, and Sen. William Villafañe Ramos.

González

Former Sen. Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez

Congress narrowly averts shutdown as House Democrats help pass stopgap bill

will be no government shutdown,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, after the Senate vote closed about three hours before the deadline. “After trying to take our government hostage, MAGA Republicans won nothing.”

In a statement after Senate passage of the bill, Biden called it “good news for the American people.” He added, “I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.”

“Instead of siding with his own party today, Kevin McCarthy sided with 209 Democrats to push through a continuing resolution that maintains the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer spending levels and policies,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “He allowed the D.C. Uniparty to win again. Should he remain speaker of the House?”

A much larger contingent of Republicans also refused to back the measure, which also left out severe immigration restrictions many of them had demanded.

Before the vote, McCarthy said he recognized that the legislation might spark a challenge to his job but said he was willing to risk it to push a bill through that would keep the government open.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who has threatened to try and oust McCarthy, was not willing to reveal his timing. He said, however, that McCarthy’s speakership was “on tenuous ground.”

By CARL HULSE and CATIE EDMONDSON

Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown Saturday as the House, in a stunning turnabout, approved a stopgap plan to keep the federal government open until mid-November. After Senate passage, President Joe Biden signed the bill shortly before midnight.

In a rapid-fire sequence of events on Capitol Hill, a coalition of House Democrats and Republicans voted to pass a plan that would keep money flowing to government agencies and provide billions of dollars for disaster recovery efforts. The bill did not include money for Ukraine despite a push for it by the White House and members of both parties in the Senate, but House Democrats embraced the plan anyway, seeing it as the most expedient way to avoid widespread government disruption.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who had for weeks brushed off demands to work with Democrats on a spending solution, outlined the proposal for Republicans in a closeddoor meeting Saturday morning and then rushed to get it on the floor under a special procedure that meant it could only pass with substantial Democratic help.

Democrats initially complained that McCarthy had sprung the plan on them and was trying to push through a 71page measure without sufficient scrutiny. But they also did not want to be accused of putting the U.S. aid to Ukraine ahead of keeping government agencies open and paying 2 million members of the military and 1.5 million federal employees.

“Are you telling me you would shut down the government if there is not Ukraine funding?” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., asked Democrats on the House floor.

Ultimately, it was scores of his own Republican colleagues who voted to shut down the government. The measure was approved on a vote of 335-91, with 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting in favor and 90 Republicans and one Democrat in opposition.

The outcome was similar to a vote earlier this year to suspend the federal debt limit, and it could pose difficulties for McCarthy, R-Calif., as a far-right faction had threatened to try to oust him from the speakership if he worked with Democrats to keep the government open.

But after a failed effort Friday to win enough Republican votes to avoid a shutdown, McCarthy was out of choices if he wanted to prevent a politically and economically damaging shutdown. He put the bill on the floor without certainty it could pass.

“I like to gamble,” he said.

The House adjourned immediately after the vote, leaving the Senate to either take up the legislation or face blame for a shutdown, since there was no way for the House to consider additional legislation before Monday.

With little alternative, and Senate Republicans clamoring for the House bill, the Senate jettisoned its own stopgap measure that contained $6 billion for Ukraine and approved the House version on an 88-9 vote.

“The American people can breathe a sigh of relief: there

In the end, Democrats celebrated the outcome. “Extreme MAGA Republicans have lost,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, said as he walked to the House floor to vote in favor of the bill. “The American people have won.”

The day on Capitol Hill was full of twists and turns. As House Democrats stalled McCarthy’s plan on the floor to allow time to study it, fire alarms rang out in the Cannon House Office Building, forcing its evacuation. It was later determined that Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., had triggered the alarm, though he claimed it was inadvertent.

“It was like riding a mechanical bull all week,” said Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the No. 3 House Republican.

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, October

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023.

After intense floods, New York City lurches back to life

“We keep talking about the fact that the system was designed long ago for a rainfall at the rate of 1.75 inches per hour, and we are consistently getting more than that, so we need additional outflow,” Lieber said at the news conference.

The subway was up and running Saturday morning, although some Metro-North branches were still experiencing weather-related delays, according to the MTA. The LIRR and airports had resumed regular service.

The thoroughfares that had been closed as the storm swept through the city, including Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the Belt Parkway, had reopened by Saturday morning.

The city’s Office of Emergency Management said in a statement that the agency was still assessing the extent of the damage caused by flooding, and that it was working to coordinate recovery efforts, including removing debris, clearing downed trees and gathering reports from residents about damage.

At least one city-run hospital was still experiencing the effects of storm-related damage.

Woodhull Medical Center in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, which operated on emergency generators for hours after a local power loss Friday, was evacuating all patients and staff members Saturday so the power company could make repairs, according to a statement.

“We are prepared to activate a full evacuation plan,” said hospital CEO Gregory Calliste.

By ERIN NOLAN and HURUBIE MEKO

After record-breaking rains swamped the subway, grounded flights and flooded streets in New York City and the surrounding region Friday, New Yorkers resumed their routines the next morning. Rain showers continued Saturday, putting some areas at risk of further flooding, but they were expected to taper off by evening.

On Saturday, the New York City metropolitan area was no longer under a flood watch, the alert that indicates that flooding is possible, according to the National Weather Service. A flood watch remained in effect until Sunday afternoon around New Haven, Connecticut.

At a news conference Saturday morning, Gov. Kathy Hochul thanked New Yorkers for heeding official warnings. There were no storm-related fatalities, she said, adding that emergency teams had made 28 rescues from “raging waters” in the Hudson Valley

and Long Island.

“I want to emphasize how serious this event was,” Hochul said, adding that climate change was making such storms “a new normal.”

As of 9:30 p.m. Friday, rainfall in parts of Nassau County on Long Island had reached slightly above 9 inches, while the area near Kennedy International Airport hit 8.6 inches — the most recorded in a single day, according to the weather service.

The downpour shut down half of the city’s subway lines Friday and suspended service on the Metro-North Railroad traveling in and out of the Grand Central Terminal. Service on the Long Island Rail Road was also significantly affected. Flights were delayed or canceled at the city’s airports, with travelers evacuated from one La Guardia terminal as floodwaters rose.

Hochul and Janno Lieber, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief, emphasized the need to improve city infrastructure to handle increasingly frequent and severe storms.

The swim portion of the New York City Triathlon, scheduled for Sunday, was canceled because of “water quality concerns in the Hudson River” caused by the rainfall, according to the event’s website. It was replaced with a second leg of running.

The amount of rain that fell on the city and the surrounding region was comparable to that of Hurricane Ida in 2021, which killed at least 46 people in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, Hochul said at the news conference, adding that the absence of hurricane-level winds this time was “a blessing.”

John Murray, a meteorologist at the weather service, said that rain showers were expected to linger in the region until Saturday evening, but that they would be “nowhere to the level of the intensity we saw yesterday.”

In a Brooklyn neighborhood that has experienced flash flooding with increasing frequency, the end of one storm meant it was time to start preparing for the next one.

Julian Chavez lives in a ground-floor apartment at Fourth Avenue and Carroll Street in Gowanus. He and Joann Amitrano, who lives on the third floor of a nearby building that she owns, reinforce their doors throughout the year with boards and extrastrong duct tape. When heavy rain is on the way, they exchange updates on the forecast in a group chat with other neighbors. If it looks like a storm will be particularly bad, they suit up to clear drains of trash and gather materials to soak up the water that will inevitably seep into their homes.

Chavez said his apartment flooded with about 2 inches of water Friday. Outside, overturned trash cans floated next to cars that sat in water at least as high as their bumpers. Videos showed water rushing into an open maintenance hole, swirling into a whirlpool.

Amitrano, who was born in the neighborhood and moved back in 2001, said she had stepped up her preparations in recent years as storms became more intense. “You don’t expect this in Brooklyn,” she said.

Commuters stand on a bus stop bench amid rising floodwaters on Friday morning in the Bronx, Sept. 29, 2023.

At least 5 dead in crash that causes toxic gas leak

By JESÚS JIMÉNEZ

Five people died after a crash involving multiple vehicles including a tractor-trailer carrying anhydrous ammonia that overturned in Illinois late last week, leading to a leak of the toxic gas and prompting residents within a 1-mile radius of the crash site to evacuate, officials said.

The vehicle rolled over on U.S. Highway 40, about a half-mile east of Teutopolis, Illinois, which is about 90 miles southeast of Springfield, around 9:25 p.m. Friday, releasing a large plume of anhydrous ammonia and causing dangerous air conditions, officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

Kim Rhodes, the Effingham County coroner, said five people had died as a result of the crash, adding that it was possible additional fatalities could be reported later. It was not immediately clear how the victims died.

Three of the victims were from the area, including a child and an adult who were from the same family, Rhodes said. Two other victims were from Ohio and Missouri, she said.

Chief Tim McMahon of the Teutopolis Fire Protection District said that five people with injuries were airlifted to hospitals and another victim was taken to a hospital in a vehicle. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency said Saturday afternoon that the vehicle was carrying 7,500 gallons of anhydrous ammonia and an estimated 4,000 gallons had been released.

McMahon said at the news conference that a hazmat team had patched the ruptured part of the tanker, which slowed but did not stop the leak. As of Saturday afternoon, the leak was still partially patched, and crews were working to identify the safest way to empty the tanker, the Illinois EPA said.

About 500 people were evacuated from the area, the agency said, but residents were allowed to return Saturday evening. About 1,500 people live in the village of Teutopolis. Officials advised residents to air out their homes out by opening all windows.

“If you feel there is a strong odor or start to feel sick, call 911 immediately to have the residence checked by fire

personnel,” Effingham County emergency officials said. Because of the dangerous plume of gas, emergency crews had to wait before responding to the crash, Sheriff Paul Kuhns said.

“They had to mitigate the conditions before they could really get to work on it, and it was a fairly large area,” he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to help with the investigation.

Anhydrous ammonia — often used in manufacturing, refrigeration and agriculture — is a toxic gas that can be corrosive if people have contact with it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“It’s terrible,” Kuhns said. “It’s bad stuff if you are invol-

ved in it — breathe it, especially — because it gets in your airways, in your lungs.”

Environmental Protection Agency workers were expected to arrive later Saturday to monitor air quality.

McMahon said that shifting wind directions had further complicated the response to the crash. Crews were set up in multiple locations to respond to the gas leak based on the wind changes, he said.

Illinois state Sens. Steve McClure, Jason Plummer and Chapin Rose said in a statement that they were monitoring the situation and expressed condolences to the victims’ families, adding, “Please stay clear of the area and allow first responders to work.”

In a photo provided by Illinois State Police shows, Lt. Bruce Wagner of the Illinois State Police, left, and Sheriff Paul Kuhns of Effingham County, Ill., at a news conference about the crash.

UAW expands strikes at Ford and GM

By NEAL E. BOUDETTE

The United Automobile Workers union increased the pressure on Ford Motor and General Motors by extending its strike to two more car assembly plants Friday, saying the companies had not moved far enough to meet its demands for higher pay and benefits.

The move was the second escalation of strikes that started Sept. 15 at three plants, one each owned by GM, Ford and Stellantis, the parent of Chrysler, Jeep and Ram. The union said it would not expand the strike against Stellantis this week because of progress in negotiations there.

The UAW’s president, Shawn Fain, said workers at a Ford plant in Chicago and a GM factory in Lansing, Michigan, would walk off the job Friday. GM makes the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse SUVs at the Lansing plant. Ford makes the Explorer, the Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln Aviator in Chicago.

“Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress at the bargaining table,” Fain said in a livestreamed video.

Ford’s Chicago plant employs about 4,600 UAW members, and GM’s Lansing plant has 2,300 union workers. Including the workers who walked off the job earlier, more than 25,000 UAW members at the three companies have been called on to stop working. The three automakers together employ nearly 150,000 UAW members.

A week ago, workers walked out at 38 spare-parts distribution centers owned by GM and Stellantis. The UAW did not expand its strike at Ford because, the union said at the time, it had made significant progress in contract negotiations with that company.

The UAW is seeking a substantial wage increase for workers and opened the talks by demanding a 40% raise, pointing to the substantial profits all three companies have generated over the last decade and to the size of the pay increases for their CEOs over the last four years.

The companies have each offered roughly 20% over four years. Ford and the union have reached agreements on some other demands, including cost-of-living adjustments if inflation surges again and the right to strike if the company closes plants.

“Fain is out-negotiating the car companies, and he is having fun making them dance while he calls them names,” said Erik Gordon,

a business professor at the University of Michigan who follows the auto industry. “One week he gets Ford to give more in the hope of not being targeted for another closure. The next week he tells Ford they haven’t given enough and closes one of their plants.”

But if the companies agree to most of the union’s demands, they could struggle to compete in the fast-growing market for electric vehicles, which is dominated by Tesla, a nonunion automaker, Gordon said. “The union will enjoy big gains for a few years until the companies’ inability to compete causes job losses,” he said.

The parties have met regularly, and Thursday, the union presented its latest counteroffer to Stellantis, the union said. Negotiating teams from the UAW and GM met Wednesday in a session attended by Fain.

The union leader’s online remarks Friday were delayed for nearly half an hour by what he called “a flurry of interest from the companies in addressing some serious bargaining issue.” He did not provide more details.

Ford’s chief executive, Jim Farley, said Friday that the company and the UAW were “very close” to a deal but remained apart on potential contract terms for workers at four electric vehicle battery factories the company is building. “If the UAW’s goal is a record contract, they already have that,” he told reporters on a conference call.

In the company’s view, discussions

about the battery plants should not hold up the negotiations on a new four-year contract because they won’t be completed for two years or more.

The union sees things differently. Union leaders are concerned that automakers will use the transition to electric vehicles to lower wages and reduce the number of unionized workers they employ.

The union wants to include the workers at battery factories owned partly or fully by automakers in their national contracts with the UAW. Fain has said the workers at battery factories are exposed to more dangerous working conditions yet are paid much less than union members at vehicle assembly plants.

The automakers have said that they cannot include battery factory workers in their national contracts because most of the plants are set up as joint ventures with foreign companies such as LG Energy Solution and SK On.

Among the three automakers, only GM has started producing batteries, at a plant it jointly owns with LG Energy Solution in Lordstown, Ohio. Ford is building three battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee with SK On.

Ford said this week that it would halt work on another battery plant, wholly owned by the automaker, that it had planned to build in Marshall, Michigan, because it was not certain that it could make products there at a competitive price. “We will decide how big or small Marshall will be,” Farley said, once Ford

has a better idea of how much it will cost to make batteries there.

Farley said the start of production at battery plants would not result in the loss of UAW jobs elsewhere at Ford. The company employs 57,000 UAW members, more than at GM and Stellantis.

In a statement, Fain disputed Ford’s characterization of the talks. He said that the UAW was waiting for a response from the company to a “comprehensive proposal” the union made on Monday. Fain said the two sides were still “far apart” on retirement benefits and workers’ job security in the transition to electric vehicles. “Name the time and the place you want to settle a fair contract for our members, and we’ll be there,” Fain said.

GM CEO Mary Barra criticized the union for “upping the rhetoric and the theatrics” and said that UAW’s leaders had “no real intent to get to an agreement.”

“We need the UAW leadership at the bargaining table with the clear intent of reaching an agreement now,” she said in a statement. “For them to do otherwise is putting our collective future at stake.”

Stellantis said that it had made progress in the talks but that “gaps remain.” The company said it “has been intensely working with the UAW to find solutions to the issues that are of most concern to our employees while ensuring the company can remain competitive.”

The strategy of striking at only a limited number of locations but spreading the walkouts to plants owned by all three automakers is a break from UAW’s traditional approach of idling most or all operations at one company. In 2019, union workers went on strike at GM for 40 days before a tentative agreement was reached.

Fain has said the strategy is intended to keep the companies guessing about what parts of their operations would be hit next, in hopes of improving the union’s negotiating position. The first three plants hit by the strike make some of the automakers’ most profitable vehicles, including the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler.

A limited strike also dents the companies’ profits while limiting damage to their suppliers, local businesses and the national economy.

Expanding the strike also increases the financial cost to the union. It is paying striking workers $500 a week out of its $825 million strike fund.

Members of the United Automobile Workers gather for a brief meeting with their strike captain outside of the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., Sept. 26, 2023.

US Stock Market’s Powerhouses Tested by Soaring Bond Yields

Surging bond yields are rattling U.S. stocks, and some investors worry the richly valued shares of giant technology and growth companies may be another weak spot.

Seven megacap stocks -- Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla and Meta Platforms -- have led broader markets higher this year. As of Tuesday, these stocks accounted for more than 80% of the S&P 500’s total return for 2023.

Investors see many of the stocks as major beneficiaries of advances in artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, megacaps’ strong balance sheets and business models also attracted those looking for a safe haven when regional banking turmoil shook the financial system.

Their rising stock prices ballooned valuations, however, and some investors say the megacaps could be vulnerable if climbing bond yields keep pressuring stocks. The so-called Magnificent Seven stocks trade at an average price-to-earnings ratio of 31.8 based on earnings estimates for the next 12 months, according to LSEG Datastream. That far surpasses the S&P 500’s ratio of 18.1.

With a collective weighting of 27% in the S&P 500, weakness in the megacaps could further deflate the broader index, now down 6.6% from its July highs, investors said. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up over 11%.

“When the big tech stocks start going down ... the indexes go down,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. “Then people get nervous and sell their mutual funds or their ETFs, and ... the whole thing snowballs.”

The recent stock selloff has already dented some megacaps, with Apple -- the largest company by market value -dropping about 13% since late July. High-flier Nvidia fell nearly 12% in September. Apple remains up 32% for the year, with Nvidia up nearly 200%.

Higher yields on Treasuries - which are sensitive to rate expectations and seen as risk free - offer more investment competition to stocks while raising the cost of borrowing for corporations and households.

The yield on the U.S. benchmark 10-year Treasury stands near its highest level in around 16 years on worries that the Federal Reserve will leave rates around current levels longer than previously expected.

Shares of tech and growth companies, which often have significant expected profit growth in the years ahead, tend to be hit particularly hard when yields rise because their future projected earnings are discounted more severely.

“Because (the megacaps) are more highly valued, that just means that they are going to be more sensitive to changes in real interest rates,” said Matt Stucky, senior portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Options markets show elevated concern among investors. Thirty-day implied volatility for the Nasdaq-100-track-

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

PUERTO RICO STOCKS COMMODITIES CURRENCY

ing Invesco QQQ ETF - a measure of how much traders expect the shares to gyrate in the near term - recently climbed to 22, the highest since mid-April, according to options analytics service Trade Alert.

Still, strategists point out that the rise in implied volatility for tech stocks is no more than for the broader market. That sense of complacency makes tech stocks vulnerable to increased volatility should market declines accelerate from here, said Chris Murphy, Susquehanna Financial Group co-

head of derivative strategy.

To be sure, some megacap stocks have held up relatively well in the S&P 500’s latest slide, including Alphabet, whose shares are down only slightly since late July.

The Nasdaq 100, a proxy for a broader swath of big tech and growth stocks, has fallen roughly in line with the S&P 500 since late July and remains up some 35% this year. It is down 7% from its highs.

Investors also see other risks for megacap stocks.

A U.S. antitrust lawsuit filed this week against Amazon created a “new line of worry in the megacap space,” said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.

Tight finish in Slovak vote makes government’s shape hard to predict

By ANDREW HIGGINS

Two exit polls released early Sunday after Slovakia’s parliamentary election showed a tight finish between a liberal party that wants to maintain robust support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and a Russia-friendly populist party, in a vote that many in Europe saw as a bellwether of support for the war.

But neither of the top two finishers came close to winning a majority, leaving the shape of the next government — and its policy toward Ukraine — dependent on the performance of smaller parties with widely differing views on Russia and on their readiness to form a coalition with either Progressive Slovakia, a liberal grouping, or a rival party headed by Robert Fico, a pugnacious former prime minister strongly opposed to helping Ukraine.

Faced with a plethora of choices between communists and far-right nationalists, Slovakia, a small Central European nation that borders Ukraine, voted Saturday in a general election freighted with outsize consequences about the West’s support for Ukraine.

Twenty-five parties from across the political spectrum put up candidates for parliament, but the first- and second-place finishers — separated by less than 2 percentage points, according to exit polls — offered diametrically opposed positions on Ukraine.

Exit polls indicated that Progressive Slovakia, which wants to continue support for Ukraine, had finished just ahead of Fico’s Smer party.

Analysts cautioned that the official vote count, which was expected to drag on until Sunday morning, could put either party in the lead but with such a narrow margin that both have a shot at forming a coalition government. Early official results that gave Fico’s party a strong lead came mostly from villages, which are more conservative, and did not include liberal-tilting cities such as Bratislava, the capital.

The seemingly close result leaves Voice, the social democratic party of Peter Pellegrini, an estranged former ally of Fico’s, as a likely kingmaker.

Despite near-constant political upheaval since the last election in 2020, Slovakia, a member of the European Union and NATO, has been a particularly robust and steady supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia, welcoming refugees and providing millions of dollars’ worth of mostly Soviet-era weapons. It was the first country to provide Ukraine with fighter jets and air defense missiles.

Given Fico’s vociferous opposition to aiding the Ukrainians, the election was closely watched across Europe as an indicator of mainstream consensus on the war.

But Slovakia’s election, for most voters, was not primarily about Ukraine, said Dominika Hajdu, an analyst with Globsec, a research group based in Bratislava. “It was more about values, conservatism versus liberalism” and breadand-butter issues, such as food and fuel prices.

As in many other European countries, Slovakia has a proportional voting system that helps smaller parties win seats, so long as they get 5% of the vote, and that makes the shape of the government dependent on which smaller parties meet the threshold.

Pellegrini, whose Voice party finished third, according to exit polls, campaigned on promises to strengthen the state and lower grocery prices. He shares the anti-immigrant views of Fico, his former boss, and of the far-right nationalist party Republika. Unlike Fico and the far right, though, Pellegrini has shown no interest in halting support for Ukraine.

Fico’s party, Smer, led in the polls throughout much of the campaign but lost momentum in recent days, as previously undecided voters, apparently put off by Fico’s often aggressive style, sought calmer alternative candidates.

Fico served for more than a decade as Slovakia’s prime minister until he was forced to step down in 2018 amid widespread public outrage over the murders of Jan Kuciak, a young investigative journalist who was digging into government corruption, and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova.

Fico was succeeded as prime minister by Pellegrini, a protege who later formed his own rival party.

Progressive Slovakia, which narrowly failed to win seats in the previous election, appears to have benefited in Saturday’s vote by its distance from Fico and the often squabbling center-right politicians who have run the country for the past three years in a series of unstable coalitions.

Previously, the only EU member to speak out forcefully against aiding Ukraine was Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, an increasingly authoritarian leader whose constant clashes with his nominal partners in NATO and the EU on a range of issues have made his country a noisy out-

lier with limited influence.

Slovakia — governed since 2020 by a series of mainstream, if fractious and very unstable, coalition governments — played an important and early part in rallying Europe’s support to Ukraine and cannot be as easily ignored as Hungary, which officials in Brussels and other major European capitals have come to see as an inveterate troublemaker.

The failure of any party to win anything near a majority Saturday opened the way to laborious backroom haggling over the composition of a new coalition government, which could leave either of the probable top two finishers — Fico’s Smer party or Progressive Slovakia, led by Michal Simecka, a former journalist and liberal member of the European Parliament — in overall charge.

Fico vowed during the campaign to “not send a single cartridge” of ammunition to Ukraine if elected and staked out increasingly pro-Russian views, a position amplified by a galaxy of small but influential Moscow-friendly news media outlets in Slovakia and pro-Russian voices on social media.

The vice president of the EU’s executive arm in Brussels, Vera Jourova, a Czech politician responsible for digital policy, recently called on digital platforms such as Facebook and TikTok to do more to blunt what she described as Russia’s “multimillion-euro weapon of mass manipulation” before elections in Slovakia, and in Poland in mid-October.

The Slovak vote, she said, was a “test case” for Russia’s ability to influence voters’ choices through online disinformation.

Slovakia has deep pools of genuine sympathy for Russia stretching back to the 19th century, when an early Slovak nationalist politician and writer, Ludovit Stur, despairing of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s grip on the region, looked to Russia, a fellow Slavic nation, for help. He suggested that land inhabited by Slovaks be absorbed by the Russian Empire.

Russia has worked hard to strengthen these historical sympathies through pro-Russian media outlets and groups such as Brat za Brata, or Brother for Brother, a belligerent motorcycle gang affiliated with the Kremlin-sponsored Night Wolves bikers group in Russia, which has an influential presence on social media.

A Globsec survey in March of public opinion across Eastern and Central Europe found that 51% of Slovaks believed either Ukraine or the West to be “primarily responsible” for the war. The figure is much lower in other Eastern European countries.

Any shift away from support for Ukraine by whatever coalition government is ultimately formed would be unlikely to reduce the flow of arms significantly, given that Slovakia has already given most of what it can spare. Still, it could help bring into the mainstream calls for an end to support, or at least a reduction, which are so far limited to Europe’s political fringes.

The slow progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against entrenched Russian positions in Ukraine’s south has dampened expectations of a quick victory and amplified voices in France and other major European countries opposed to an open-ended commitment to arming Ukraine.

Robert Fico, a former Slovak prime minister whose party garnered 23 percent, has vowed to stop aid to Ukraine.

Maldives president is defeated, in vote overshadowed by India and China

By MAAHIL MOHAMED and MUJIB MASHAL

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives was defeated in the presidential runoff on Saturday, in a race that was proving to be as much a referendum on the competition between India and China for influence as it was a chance to determine the small island nation’s next leader.

Mohamed Muizzu, mayor of the capital, Malé City, who has pushed for stronger ties with China, won with an 8-point lead over Solih with nearly all votes counted, according to the election commission’s website.

Solih, in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, congratulated Muizzu on his victory and thanked the people of the Maldives for “the beautiful democratic example.” Voter turnout was reported at more than 85%.

“The people have spoken loud and clear — they wish for prosperity and guaranteed sovereignty for the country,” Muizzu told a group of supporters after declaring his victory.

The 45-year-old president-elect has a doctorate in civil engineering from the United Kingdom and worked as an engineer in the private sector before joining politics. Before becoming mayor of the capital city, he had served as minister of housing and infrastructure.

The campaign season has focused on a range of issues, including a housing crisis in the overcrowded capital, which is scarce on land, and the country’s declining dollar reserves. That problem prompted parties to offer competing “de-dollarization” proposals relating to trade.

But none of the issues have hung as heavily as the influence of the two Asian giants over the future of the Maldives, a nation of about a half-million people that lies 450 miles south of India. The Maldives, known as a tourist destination that is also at the front lines of climate change, is particularly important because it sits along busy shipping routes in the Indian Ocean.

“The fact is, either of them will try to control the Maldives — it is inevitable,”

Mohamed Rauhan Ahmed, 27, a political science student, said of China and India

on Saturday outside a polling station in Malé City.

While his preferred candidate was not in the runoff, he said, “For a change, we experienced peace and freedom in the last five years” under Solih.

For China and India, the jostling for influence among their neighbors is nothing new. China enjoyed an early advantage because of its deep pockets and the development loans it brought as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, but India has asserted itself more in the region in recent years.

New Delhi stepped in to assist Sri Lanka with billions of dollars when the country’s economy crashed last year. It has also expanded its presence and projects in the Maldives since Solih won the presidency in 2018, ending the five-year tenure of the pro-Beijing Abdulla Yameen, who is now in prison for corruption.

Outside a voting site in the Hulhumalé district of the capital, Ahmed Rassam, 36, complained of government graft and a lack of a promised judicial overhaul. “But mostly, we sensed the unpleasant feeling of losing our nation’s sovereignty to India,” he said in explaining his support

for Muizzu. “He can bring progressive change.”

As the election race heated up, the main opposition coalition, which includes Muizzu’s People’s National Congress, made maligning the current government’s growing relations with India a main focus. Using slogans like “India Out,” it has denounced Solih’s government for bringing a small contingent of Indian military personnel to the island.

While Solih has embraced his ties to India, inviting investment from its companies and development aid from its government, he has denied that it has been at the cost of relationships with other countries. During one election debate, Solih also rejected the opposition’s assertion about the nature of foreign troops’ activity, saying, “There is no Indian military personnel conducting military work in the Maldives.”

In the initial round of voting early in September, which featured eight candidates, Solih got 39%, trailing Muizzu’s 46%. When neither managed a first-round victory by getting half of the vote, the race was pushed into a runoff.

The incumbent was undermined by a messy public split in his Maldivian Democratic Party, with Solih’s childhood friend, Mohamed Nasheed, a former president, parting ways before the election to create his own party. Nasheed, who helped Solih become president, had felt increasingly marginalized.

The candidate put forward by Nasheed’s new party received 7% of the vote, making it a potential kingmaker in the runoff. But Nasheed, now the speaker of parliament, has found himself in a difficult spot, torn between his longtime closeness to India and the breakdown of his relationship with the president, which he has said cannot be surmounted.

Nasheed’s party announced that it would “refrain from supporting either candidate” in the runoff, results of which were expected Saturday evening.

People arriving to vote on Saturday in Malé City, Maldives, where President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih faced Mohamed Muizzu, the capital’s mayor, in a runoff.

Iraq wedding fire’s death toll rises, as investigators point to safety violations

By ALISSA J. RUBIN

The sounds of mourning have coursed through the small Christian town of Qaraqosh in northern Iraq since late Tuesday, when a fire destroyed a wedding hall in the middle of a reception, touching not only this village, but Iraq’s entire Christian community.

As of Friday night, at least 119 people were dead and an unknown number of others were still missing of the roughly 1,000 guests in attendance. About 80 people remained in hospitals, including more than a dozen who were flown to burn centers in neighboring countries.

The sense of loss here is mixed with anger and disbelief as a report from the initial investigation into the fire’s cause found what many witnesses had already said: The wedding hall violated basic safety requirements and lacked emergency exits and a sprinkler system. The building’s construction material was also highly combustible and seems to have been made of material similar to that used in Grenfell Tower in London, a low-income apartment block that caught on fire in 2017, leaving 72 people dead.

To many in Qaraqosh, the fire was yet another example of how Iraq’s business and government culture is so beset by corruption, incompetence and petty greed that it routinely puts people’s lives at risk for profit.

“How can a wedding hall like this be allowed to stay open when it did not meet any of the safety requirements?” asked Hanan Matti, who heads the Beth Nahrain Organization for Women in Qaraqosh, which advocates for the rights of women and children.

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani visited the Hamdaniya district, where the fire took place, and the nearby provincial capital of Mosul to meet with investigators and to visit the wounded in hospitals.

At the fourth-century Syriac Catholic

monastery of Mar Behnam and Mart Sarah in Hamdaniya, where prayers were held for those who lost their lives, al-Sudani offered condolences and pledged to hold accountable those responsible. Calling the fire “heartwrenching,” he added that it “affected all Iraqis” and was “a reinforcement of bonds of unity and brotherhood” across sects and faiths.

Al-Sudani said families who lost relatives would receive compensation.

The fire began late Tuesday in the Haitham wedding hall during the traditional “slow dance” of the bride and groom. To mark the moment, a few people lit flares, and as the sparks flew up, they ignited decorations on the ceiling and chandelier. The fire quickly engulfed the hall, and the lights went out.

As flaming decorations fell from the ceiling, the guests struggled to reach the building’s main entrance, the only escape route that most knew about. Some fled through a kitchen door.

Reports of the injuries that many of the survivors sustained — severe burns, smoke inhalation damage and crushed bones from people trampling one another to get out amid falling furniture — showed that it was a night-

mare come to life. Among the dead were 27 children younger than 12, said Dr. Basher Al-Jadir, the spokesperson for the provincial health department in Mosul.

Iraq has an ancient Christian minority made up of sects that have almost vanished outside the Middle East. The few that have remained live in small villages in northern Iraq, as well as in the large cities of Baghdad and Mosul, and in Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan.

When the Islamic State group took over northern Iraq in 2014, the terrorist group expelled Christians in many places, including in Qaraqosh. Christians have only recently begun to return and raise families in the area again.

Although the vast majority of Iraqis are Muslim, disasters like fires, drownings and explosions caused by carelessness and corruption have touched every religious and ethnic community.

But among the dwindling numbers of Christians in Iraq, there is an especially deep sense of connection. Christian churches not only in northern Iraq but in Baghdad held special prayers for those who died. Many people had a distant relative or knew someone who had been at the wedding.

The draft report from the investigation, ordered by al-Sudani, found that in addition to lacking emergency exits and sprinklers, the building had been constructed illegally on agricultural land — a common practice in Iraq as those who no longer farm seek to make money off their fallow acreage.

The report also said the building was made of a substance described by investigators as Ecobond board, which itself is not illegal, but its use must be approved on a caseby-case basis because certain types are highly flammable. It is known locally as sandwich board because it consists of two layers of metal with a synthetic filling between them.

Investigators said the Ecobond panels used in the wedding hall contained a polyethylene core that was highly flammable. The Grenfell Tower building was wrapped in an aluminum cladding with a polyethylene core.

The report found negligence by the owner of the hall — who was detained by authorities Wednesday — and his two partners; by the local province’s tourist commission because it had fined the owner for failing to meet fire safety requirements, but did not close the hall; by the mayor of Qaraqosh because he knew about the failings, but, the report said, did not do anything about them; and by

other administrative units aware that the hall was illegally built but failed to take any action.

The Civil Defense Force responsible for the area, however, was not named in the initial report. Although the force is responsible for building safety and firefighting, many residents were critical of its response, saying authorities were slow to arrive at the scene and ill-prepared.

For many people in the area, the fire and the report were painful reminders of the combination of corruption, weak governance and lack of accountability in Iraq.

Many said they thought of the springtime holiday of Nawroz in 2019, in nearby Mosul, when a motorized raft capsized on the Tigris, flinging some 200 people into the rushing current.

More than 100 died and scores more remain missing and are presumed dead. The ferry owner was found responsible for safety violations and went to prison. But investigators also identified a hidden partner with powerful political connections who was never held to account.

More recently, two fires in COVID wards in government hospitals in Baghdad and Nasiriyah took the lives of about 150 people because of weak emergency procedures and lax enforcement.

As processions of mourners walked this past week through the small town of Qaraqosh, some singing prayers over plain wood coffins while others wept or keened, the family of the bride and groom — who themselves managed to escape — were overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and loss.

“Just four days ago, I invited my relatives, my neighbors to attend the wedding of my son, and today I am mourning the death of their families,” said Esho Bahnam Kahak, 60, the groom’s father, who said that he lost 15 members of his own family, and that five more were still missing.

“We know the reason is the owner of the hall and the officials who allowed the construction of a hall where there were no safety measures and no fire extinguishers,” he said. “Where were the exits? How can someone be allowed to build a hall with flammable materials that burn immediately? It’s greed and negligence and corruption that killed all those innocent people.

“But, still, I feel as if I am the reason for what happened and I cannot forgive myself,” he said. “As I walk through our town, I look at the houses and they hold nothing but ghosts.”

Mourners grieve victims of a ferry that capsized in the Tigris River on the Kurdish New Year, in Mosul, Iraq, March 22, 2019.

Trump’s promise of lawlessness

By ALEX KINGSBURY

Although it was lost in the four-year cyclone that was the presidency of Donald Trump, one of his most immoral acts was to pardon soldiers who were accused of committing war crimes by killing unarmed civilians or prisoners. Military leaders, including his own defense secretary and the secretary of the Army, objected, saying it would undermine good order and discipline. Lawlessness can easily beget lawlessness.

But the American system is ill-prepared to deter leaders bent on undermining the rule of law. Checks and balances spread powers across the government, but that isn’t enough to temper or stop bad-faith actors looking to subvert the law. According to a new article in The Atlantic, Gen. Mark Milley, upon becoming the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2019, “found himself in a disconcerting situation: trying, and failing, to teach President Trump the difference between appropriate battlefield aggressiveness on the one hand, and war crimes on the other.”

Trump, as Milley discovered and many Americans already knew, is a man unencumbered by any moral compass. He goes the way he wants to go, legalities and niceties be damned. Last week, in a post on his social

network, Trump argued that Milley’s actions would have once been punishable by death.

Most Americans probably didn’t notice his screed. Of those who did and were not alarmed, far too many nodded along in agreement. As Josh Barro said in a New York Times Opinion roundtable this week about the former president’s recent comments, “Trump is and has been unhinged, and that’s priced in” to the views that many voters have of him.

It is no exaggeration to say that Trump is running for the presidency on a platform of lawlessness, promising to wield the power of the state against his enemies — real or imagined. Today, millions and millions of Americans support him for that reason or despite it.

In a poll released this week, 51% of American adults said they’d vote for Trump over President Joe Biden, including the vast majority of Republicans. And Wednesday night’s farcical GOP debate may only increase Trump’s large lead in the primary.

That advantage over the Republican field is growing even as prosecutors are finally trying to hold Trump legally responsible for his misdeeds — from the plot to overturn the 2020 election to fraud allegations concerning his real estate empire.

The backlash has been predictable. In the past few months, Trump has argued that federal laws about classified documents don’t apply to him; floated the idea of pardons for his supporters jailed for attacking the Capitol; said that judges with whom he disagrees are unfit to preside over cases against him; and has been accused of threatening to prejudice the jury pool in one case. A judge decided to shield the identity of jurors in another after Trump supporters posted the names, photos and addresses of grand jurors involved in issuing an indictment in that case. He is also pushing for a government shutdown to halt Justice Department investigations, to force a show of loyalty and try to bend our political system to his will — even when he is out of office.

All this has accompanied a sharp uptick in the often incoherent statements from the 77-year-old former president, on social media and at his rallies. And while many Americans long ago tuned him out, his most extreme supporters, like Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., have not. In his newsletter, Gosar recently wrote that Milley should be hanged.

As the legal cases against Trump have picked up, “so too have threats against law enforcement authorities, judges, elected officials and others,” the Times reported this week. “The threats, in turn, are prompting protective measures, a legal effort to curb his angry and sometimes incendiary public statements, and renewed concern

about the potential for an election campaign in which Trump has promised ‘retribution’ to produce violence.”

Trump’s targets extend to other Republicans. In a biography out next month, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, disclosed that he was spending $5,000 per day on security for himself and his family against threats from Trump supporters.

This combustible combination of heated political rhetoric, unhinged conspiracy theories, anti-government sentiment and a militant gun culture has created fertile ground for political violence. The country is not powerless to stop the spread of lawlessness, but it requires addressing those precursors to violence.

Trump’s whims and erratic online missives should not be dismissed as “Trump being Trump.” Take his call this month for House Republicans to shut down the government. Trump egged them on, urging them to settle for nothing less than their full slate of demands, including forcing the Justice Department to end its investigations of him. He called it “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.”

While a government shutdown won’t end the prosecutions of Trump, a Trump presidency could easily do so. After all, there are few moral or legal hurdles left to clear after pardoning war criminals.

There are many nations where citizens live in fear of governments that wield unchecked and arbitrary authority against their enemies, real or imagined. That is the America that Trump is promising his supporters. When Trump told supporters, “I am your retribution,” all Americans should take him at his word.

Defeating Trump at the ballot box is going to require a lot more political courage than it takes to put flashes of honesty in the pages of a memoir. Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson is the latest in a long line of memoirists, declaring in an interview Tuesday for her new book that Trump is “most grave threat we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history.”

True enough. Which is why Americans can’t wait until January 2025, and another shelf of memoirs, to hear the truth that so many Republicans have long known.

POR CYBERNEWS

EL CAPITOLIO – El presidente de la Comisión de Desarrollo Económico y Energía, Jesús Hernández Arroyo, el representante Joel Sánchez Ayala y el presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Rafael “Tatito” Hernández Montañez, anunció que el día de hoy, lunes, celebrarán una vista pública con los administradores del sistema eléctrico de Puerto Rico y su entidad reguladora, luego de que se aprobara para el trimestre de octubre a diciembre un aumento de 3.2 centavos en la factura.

“Es vital para el bienestar y la estabilidad de Puerto Rico que exista claridad y transparencia en nuestro sector energético. Los recientes informes de posibles incrementos en las tarifas, los costos adicionales por combustible, los bonos de 200 mil dólares a sus ejecutivos y los aumentos salariales ponen en tela de juicio la integridad de nuestra infraestructura de energía y el futuro económi-

co de Puerto Rico”, dijo Hernández Montañez en declaraciones escritas.

La Cámara de Representantes celebrará una vista pública donde se examinarán detalladamente los aumentos tarifarios y las acciones del componente energético, específicamente con el Negociado de Energía.

“Los continuos pedidos de reconsideración y ajustes por parte de LUMA, Genera PR y la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica revelan descontento y preocupaciones significativas respecto a las decisiones tomadas por el Negociado. Esta entidad, por ejemplo, argumentó que LUMA no está cobrando actualmente tarifas de adjuntos de postes de terceros, una fuente común de ingresos para las utilidades.

Ademas, reprendió a Genera por la administración irresponsable de los fondos públicos y le recordó su deber de ejercer una administración responsable de los fondos públicos. Los aumentos salariales significativos son vistos como imprudentes y po-

tencialmente inflacionarios para los costos operativos, lo que eventualmente podría repercutir en los usua-

Organización de Base de Fe del PPD realiza en Aguadilla su

EL STAR STAFF

AGUADILLA – El presidente de la Organización de Base de Fe del Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), Frankie Guerra Morales, llevó a cabo en Aguadilla en el segundo encuentro distrital de dicha entidad, que forma parte de los grupos representados en la Junta de Gobierno de la organización estadolibrista.

“Agradecemos al alcalde de Aguadilla y presidente del Comité Municipal, Julio Roldán, por ser un gran anfitrión y aportar positivamente a los trabajos

de la organización en este distrito Mayagüez Aguadilla” dijo Guerra Morales en declaraciones escritas.

En el encuentro, los temas principales fueron los relacionados a las aportaciones de las organizaciones de base de fe en el desarrollo de ideas y soluciones a los problemas del país. “Como parte importante de la sociedad puertorriqueña, tenemos la obligación moral de servirle a las comunidades más allá del tema espiritual y religioso. Generando propuestas y asegurando su ejecución efectiva, mejoramos a Puerto Rico”, expuso Guerra, quien pastorea una iglesia en Carolina, es servidor público y líder comunitario en Río Grande.

El alcalde Julio Roldán Concepción señaló que “es un gran proyecto el que realiza la Organización Popular de Base de Fe del PPD. Desde Aguadilla estamos creando iniciativas a favor de esta comunidad y la iniciativa más reciente será la creación de un Comité Asesor de Bases de Fe para que se integran a la gestión municipal. Juntos seguiremos demostrando con acción que el Partido Popular es la casa grande nuestra gente y cabemos todos.”

Participaron además el presidente del Partido Popular, Jesús Manuel Ortiz y el presidente del Senado José Luis Dalmau, entre otros líderes regionales de

rios del servicio eléctrico”, mencionó el presidente en referencia a uno de los informes del Negociado.

Mayagüez Aguadilla. Por su parte, el legislador municipal de Aguadilla, Kenneth Sanabria señaló que “las organizaciones internas del PPD, como la de Base de Fe, son de suma importancia, porque nos dan una radiografía de los intereses de estos sectores. Además, nos ayuda en la preparación del Partido en términos de los temas que están y habrán de discutirse. Soy fiel creyente de nuestras organizaciones dentro de nuestra colectividad”, expuso el también candidato a la Cámara de Representantes por el distrito 17 de Aguadilla y Moca.

Mientras, Juan Luis Camacho Semidei, quien evalúa ser parte de la oferta electoral popular a nivel nacional, expresó a la prensa que “como padre, viendo la crisis social que estamos atravesando en Puerto Rico, no puedo quedarme de brazos cruzados. Por eso acepté la invitación para venir a Aguadilla, junto a la Organización de Base de Fe. Estoy convencido en educar sobre valores, el respeto al prójimo y la defensa de la familia. Desde el Partido Popular Democrático se reconocieron los espacios para ésta y otras organizaciones de la sociedad puertorriqueña. Es deber de todos presentar las propuestas programáticas que atiendan la realidad socioeconómica de Puerto Rico”, finalizó.

POR

segundo encuentro distrital

Citan a vista pública a los integrantes del sistema energético por aumento en factura

U2 returns, in Las Vegas limbo

By JON CARAMANICA

Perhaps the true gift of Las Vegas is how it renders the extraordinary as mundane. A place where the simulacrum of glamour available to everyone ensures that no one gets the real thing. A city responsible for billions of dollars of commerce that has the texture of a Fisher-Price play set. A hub for some of the country’s most beloved performers that blurs the lines between superstar DJs, cheeky magicians and bona fide vocal heroes.

And so there was Bono on Friday night, onstage, tantalizingly close, freakishly accessible and, in some moments, perhaps just a tad lost. His band, U2, was inaugurating Sphere, a hyperstimulating new performance venue in which the whole exterior is a screen, and essentially the whole interior as well. Friday’s concert was the first of a 25-show residency, titled U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere, that runs through the end of the year.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, no band played with the aesthetic of grandiosity more than U2, and no band made a philosophy of futurist communication so central to its visual presentation. So, the choice of U2 to show off what Sphere was capable of made sense — a messianic band for a messianic venue.

For two hours, the group — Bono, the Edge on guitar, Adam Clayton on bass and Bram van den Berg, filling in for Larry Mullen Jr., on drums — wrestled with a venue equally as obsessed with hugeness, pomp and spectacle as U2 is. The setting was lavish, and the gestures were often colossal. And yet for all the vividness of the setting, there was still something not quite complete about this performance, which at times was winningly small, at others winningly huge, and at still others a futile ramble.

For this show, U2 leaned heavily on its 1991 album “Achtung Baby,” from the tail end of its commercial high point — an album that found the band, which excelled at earthen anthems, reaching for more ambitious and unexpected sounds. But playing it in full (though not in order) meant peaks and valleys. Meshed in vocal harmony on “Mysterious Ways,” Bono and the Edge sounded vibrant. Bono, who throughout the night performed his signature contortions that recall a person who just received an electric shock, was largely delivering his pleading howls with commitment, at least in the show’s first half. Throughout, Clayton was dutiful and stoic, and van den Berg brought a raw fervor that Mullen doesn’t quite approach.

But some of this era’s indelible songs were, here, something less than that: Both the signature ballad “One” and the dreamily tragic “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” felt tentative and less invested than usual. (The same went for the curiously dry version of “Desire” that appeared later in the show.) And a batch of “Achtung Baby” songs that appeared just after the show’s midpoint, including “So Cruel,” “Acrobat” and “Love Is Blindness,” verged on grim and as-

phyxiating, rendering the huge room inert.

There were a few lovely flourishes where U2 referred to other musicians — sprinkles of “Purple Rain” and “Love Me Tender” at the end of “One”; throaty nods to “My Way” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” late in the night.

In truth, the performance peaked at the end, with a majestic run: “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day.” And it was here that the band used the venue to most potent effect. Suddenly, the room was bright, as if a nightclub performance had been yanked out into nature — you could really see the audience, consisting largely of 40- and 50-somethings, including huge smatterings of loyalists in vintage U2 shirts and Vegas bros in tight Dan Flashes get-ups.

It was a welcome and thoughtful recalibration of band to room, and audience to band. Just before then, during the new song “Atomic City,” the entire screen was an uncannily clear street view of Las Vegas, with the buildings being slowly dismantled through the course of the song, a clever visual gimmick. (For some parts of the show, the band hardly used the sphere at all, or only to display building-high videos of themselves.)

Sphere is the brainchild of James Dolan, a broadly reviled New York sports and real estate magnate, who spent $2.3 billion bringing the space to life. It looks prescient, a glimpse of what even ordinary architecture might resemble a few decades hence. The entire outside surface is an LED screen — always on, and always changing (although it repeats). Watching it from the windows of a landing airplane, say, or a taxicab the night before this show, you might have

seen it as a pumpkin, or a yellow face emoji, or a moist eye, or an ocean with creatures swimming through it.

Impressively detailed and lightly shocking, Sphere registers in intensity if not scale — at 366 feet, it is not even one of the 40 tallest buildings in Las Vegas. But on some level, its power is grounded simply in the novelty of the shape, even in a town that already has a pyramid and a palace and a castle. (Dolan has already indicated plans to build similar structures in other cities.)

But inside, it is, simply, a concert venue, albeit one with distinct advantages and challenges. In dry stretches, when the space between the band and the huge screen and the crowd was palpable, the result paralleled the airy emptiness of a corporate convention gig. In a stadium show, you can almost obscure a low-enthusiasm performance — here, there was nowhere to hide.

At the end of the night, Bono began cataloging his thanks. “I’ll tell you who’s one hard worker — Jim Dolan,” Bono said. “You’re one mad bastard.” He also thanked Irving and Jeffrey Azoff, Michael Rapino, Guy Oseary, Jimmy Iovine and other executives. Earlier, he had acknowledged some special guests: Paul McCartney, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. (Also in the audience, though not acknowledged: Flavor Flav.)

It was a folksy way to spotlight the sheer extent of the labor, visible and invisible, that had just been performed. And it also highlighted the tension that remained, even at the end of the night, unresolved: Was this a big show or a small one? Was it selling intimacy or grandeur? Was it extraordinarily mundane, or mundanely extraordinary?

U2 performing at Sphere on Friday, the opening night for the venue and the start of a 25-show residency for the band.

At the New York Film Festival, delicate movies and ones that go vroom

By MANOHLA DARGIS

Bradley Cooper may still be on strike (solidarity!), but there’s no stopping the New York Film Festival. Over 61 transporting, galvanic and at times weird and fractious years, this institutional stalwart has weathered financial woes, regime change and unfortunate opening-night selections, so there was never any question that it was going to survive missing-in-action stars like Cooper and Natalie Portman. As the festival’s longevity and reputational standing prove, there is far more to movies than crowded red carpets and photo ops.

The festival opened Friday with Todd Haynes’ “May December,” a standout at Cannes that explores what happens when an actress (Portman) meets the woman (Julianne Moore) she’s about to play in a biopic. The New York Film Festival invariably skims the cream from earlier events, but what matters here is less the premieres than the programming. There are larger, more prominent and certainly more glamorous festivals, but New York remains a standard-bearer for the art. It’s a necessary rejoinder to the grotesqueries of the word “content.”

One of the great satisfactions is its sweeping, dizzying diversity. There are shorts and features, personal films and historical epics, austere dramas and wideranging documentaries as well as work like Paul B. Preciado’s “Orlando, My Political Biography,” which resists facile categorization. Narrated by Preciado, this sui generis work uses Virginia Woolf’s 1928 novel, “Orlando: A Biography,” as a launchpad for a messy, often funny, intellectually provocative and finally deeply moving inquiry into trans identity. It’s one of the essential titles in the festival, and one that I’m eager to revisit when it opens in November.

I’m also looking forward to rewatching “Menus-Plaisirs — les Troisgros,” the latest from Frederick Wiseman, a mesmerizing four-hour portrait of a family, a business, a world. It centers on the Troisgros, a dynasty of chefs best known for the titular three-star Michelin restaurant in central France. Intimate and expansive, the movie takes you from kitchen to farm fields and back as it charts the triumphs and quotidian frustrations along with the aesthetic and ethical sensibilities of people whose love for their calling is inscribed in every tweezered morsel. It’s a dedication that recalls that of the genius behind the camera, who was born

in 1930, the same year the Troisgros family opened its first restaurant.

Other festival must-sees include “Here,” Bas Devos’ delicate, gracefully paced tale of two strangers — a construction worker and a botanist who studies moss — as they first drift into each other’s orbit on a moody day in Brussels. Not much happens, except that everything does: life, labor, perhaps love. With an eye for beauty and little chatter, Devos makes his characters come expressively into view as he follows each separately and then together during their chance encounter in some verdant woods. Every moment signifies in this lovely, unexpected movie, starting with the opening image of a tall building framed by lush greenery.

“Pictures of Ghosts,” the latest from Brazilian writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho (“Bacurau”), is a deeply personal, intricately constructed meditation on, well, everything, though mostly movies or rather his life in and with movies. Divided into three fluid chapters and set at the intersection of documentary and fiction, it wistfully yet playfully focuses on the apartment, the city (Recife) and the movie theaters that Mendonça Filho inhabited and that, in turn, sustained and inspired him. There’s an elegiac cast to “Pictures of Ghosts” — most of the once-bustling cinemas are now derelict, as are his old stamping grounds — yet the vigor of the filmmaking is a testament to

how our beloveds never truly leave us.

For her estimable feature debut, “All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt,” director Raven Jackson has pared her story of a girl and the woman she becomes down to the very bone. Beautifully shot and staged, the movie elliptically traces the coming-of-age of a young Mississippian whose life comes into focus piecemeal across the years. Jackson can test your patience, particularly with her fondness for holding on images long past their ripening. But this is a movie very much worth seeing, as is “Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World,” an exasperating tour de force from Radu Jude that opens with a young woman awakening and morphs into a hilarious, at times furious, exploration of Romania’s past and present. You never know where it’s going or why, and while it, too, tests your patience (if more teasingly), it also rewards it.

Among this year’s more unsurprising attractions is “Maestro,” an intimate, energetic, largely politics-free and scrupulously well-behaved look at the different lives — both on and off the podium — of Leonard Bernstein (1919-90). The movie, which stars and is directed by Cooper, will first screen in David Geffen Hall, home to the New York Philharmonic. In 1943, the 25-yearold Bernstein made headlines with his sensational conducting debut for the Philharmonic, which he later went on to lead while teaching generations of Americans that it

was A-OK to love both Gustav Mahler and Broadway musicals.

One of the more interesting things about “Maestro” is how it recasts the familiar Great Man narrative by lavishing attention on Bernstein’s marriage to Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan, who has top billing) while he continued to sleep with men. Bernstein remains the main attraction, no doubt. Yet because the movie consistently circles back to Felicia as Lenny catapults into American public life — from Carnegie Hall to “West Side Story,” baby! — her character is more richly imagined than the classic movie wife. It’s an admirable feminist intervention, yet partly because of the pantomime quality of Cooper’s performance (prosthetic nose and all), Felicia’s pain registers more deeply than Lenny’s genius.

Michael Mann has also updated the Great Man template for “Ferrari,” an intensely focused look at the many lives of the famed Italian car maestro, who’s played by the grayed, tightly wound, perfectly named Adam Driver. Set largely in 1957, when Ferrari was close to bankruptcy, the movie is a psychological portrait of another visionary, both on and off the racetrack, of whom one biographer said, “In Italy, there was the pope and then there was Enzo.” Here, the great man’s inner life largely emerges through his fraught relationships with his wife, Laura (Penélope Cruz), and his lover, Lina (Shailene Woodley) — women whose dual, dueling hold on Enzo is as steeped in love and death as his mania for fast and faster race cars.

One of the festival’s bigger headscratchers is that the latest from Martin Scorsese — a producer on “Maestro” — isn’t at the event. That would be “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which had its premiere in May at Cannes and will open theatrically Oct. 20. “We loved the film and invited it immediately after seeing it in Cannes,” said Dennis Lim, the artistic director of the New York Film Festival. Days before the festival announced its main slate in August, however, Apple, which is releasing the movie, said that it would not be participating. As Lim noted, “Flower Moon” wasn’t in any of the other major fall festivals, which help usher films into the new season and onto the long road to the Oscars. (Apple could not be reached for comment.) Whatever the reason, its absence is a shame, especially because this is the event that 50 years ago presented a little film titled “Mean Streets.”

Stefan Gota and Liyo Gong in “Here,” Bas Devos’s unexpected tale of two strangers.

Where the crowds are gulls and crabs

By KAREN ANGEL

Had I stepped into a scene from “Planet of the Gulls”? The sky resonated with the sound of flapping wings, and groups of the birds shrieked and stalked among the shrubs on a rocky beach at Block Island National Wildlife Refuge in Rhode Island.

A fuzzy, freckled gull chick emerged from a bayberry bush, stared curiously at me as if it had spotted a Martian, and then waddled back to its hiding place.

It turned out I had stumbled on the state’s largest gull colony, and the reason so many other sunset watchers had stayed behind in their cars may have been that, as I later learned, the gulls are known to divebomb trespassers.

Preserves make up about 2,500 acres — nearly half — of Block Island, a 9-square-mile, pear-shaped speck of Rhode Island just northeast of Montauk, New York. With about 28 miles of trails, these areas provide a haven for numerous endangered animals, and anyone else seeking a little solitude.

On a tiny island whose seasonal population balloons, the preserves are rarely crowded, even in the summer. “Most people go to the beach,” Scott Comings, associate director for the Nature Conservancy’s Rhode Island chapter, explained matter-of-factly.

The island is small enough that you can easily hit a preserve every day. During my week exploring, I never ran into more than two people at any of them, which enhanced the feeling of being far from civilization although I was never more than a few miles from the center of the island’s only town, New Shoreham.

In addition to the chance that you won’t see another soul there, you also won’t encounter bears or venomous snakes because there are none on Block Island. There also are no coyotes, foxes or raccoons. (Ticks are plentiful, so take proper precautions.) But you will see birds: About 300 species pass through in any given year. Because the island has few predators and sits in the

Atlantic Flyway — the north-south migratory route along the East Coast — it is essentially a giant avian playground.

You can get started with programs such as nature walks or talks through the Nature Conservancy and the Block Island Conservancy. They’ll orient you to the island’s dunes, waterways, marshes and hundreds of freshwater ponds before setting off on your own, or with your furry friends: Leashed dogs are allowed at many of the preserves.

You can buy a $3 Nature Conservancy trail map from the Chamber of Commerce office near the ferry. The Block Island Chamber of Commerce offers an app with maps.

Exploring a pocket-size Narnia

The Hodge Family Wildlife Preserve, a 25-acre gem managed by the Nature Conservancy, offers a soothing introduction to Block Island nature with its milelong, nearly level loop mowed through waving fields of goldenrod. It’s the perfect place to watch the sun set over Middle Pond as a family of swans glides by. The Nature Conservancy recommends Hodge for people with mobility issues and has an all-terrain wheelchair available to lend.

The hardest thing about Hodge is finding it. The Nature Conservancy staff offered the following directions: As you head north, count 10 telephone poles from the transfer station on your left and look for a gap in the stone wall along the road. Drive through the gap and you will see not only the preserve but an engraving on a large rock announcing you have arrived. When I found it, it felt a little like stepping through the wardrobe to Narnia.

Inside, you might spy characters like a shiny black rhinoceros beetle — one of about five rare beetle species on the island — lumbering across the path; a tiny, adorable meadow vole; or a soaring, majestic northern harrier, a type of raptor.

A salt pond with a sweet side

The roughly 800-acre Great Salt Pond isn’t technically a preserve, but it is home to a wide array of water birds and about 100 species of fish. It’s also

a popular place to get out on the water. Pond and Beyond Kayak on Ocean Avenue offers ecotours by kayak and paddle board. I opted for the kayak tour, which gave me a close-up view of fiddler crab colonies scuttling around on the beach, egrets wading along the shore and double-crested cormorants standing on rocks to dry their wings in the sun. Once you’ve built up an appetite, jump in line at the Payne’s Killer Donuts truck, also on Ocean Avenue, and grab a few of the warm cinnamon sugar variety.

Crawl with the crabs

If you prefer to explore the Great Salt Pond on foot, head to Andy’s Way, a quarter-mile strip of beach where you can spot all manner of crabs — the imposing horseshoe, the leopard-spotted lady, the domed-shell hermit and the feisty fiddler. They scurry around — sideways, of course — on the beach, where they burrow into the sand, and around the salt marshes and tidal pools by the 60-foot-deep pond. If you’ve never seen a translucent baby horseshoe crab the size of a quarter, you’re in for a treat: They seem simultaneously

prehistoric and precious. On top of the world

No trip to Block Island is complete without a foray to the nearly 200-foothigh Mohegan Bluffs on the south shore, followed by a climb down the 141-step wooden staircase to the secluded beach below. On a clear day, the view from the top of the staircase stretches to Montauk. You can climb the 52-foot tower at the nearby Southeast Lighthouse for even more breathtaking ocean vistas, including five wind turbines anchored to the seafloor about 3 miles offshore. In 2016, Block Island became the first American community powered completely by offshore wind turbines. Afterward, treat yourself to a lobster grilled cheese from the Southeast Light Delights truck near the lighthouse.

As I was heading from the lighthouse back to my car, I saw a young man coasting downhill on a bike with his arms held out as if he could have taken wing at any minute. After spending a week immersed in Block Island’s natural beauty, I could see why: I felt like flying, too.

The Block Island North Light at Block Island National Wildlife Refuge on Block Island, R.I., in August 2023. The 134-acre Block Island National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for piping plovers, sea gulls, monarch butterflies and, just offshore, seals.

As COVID infections rise, nursing homes are still waiting for vaccines

completely understand the frustration, but also why the availability wasn’t immediate.”

Even once the shots are available, nursing homes face continuing resistance to the vaccines among nurses and aides. Without state mandates for workers to be vaccinated, most nursing homes are relying on persuasion, and that is often proving difficult.

“People want COVID-19 to be in the rearview mirror,” said Leslie Eber, medical director of Orchard Park Health Care Center in Centennial, Colorado. “We’re going to have to remind people more this year that COVID-19 is not benign. Maybe it’s a cold for some people, but it’s not going to be a cold for the folks I care for.”

Only 62% of nursing home residents are up to date on their vaccines, meaning they have received the last booster available before this month’s new shot, according to federal data from mid-September. That’s an improvement over the 38% rate at the start of October 2022.

enal in screwing up vaccinations,” said David Nace, chief medical officer of UPMC Senior Communities in Pittsburgh. “This idea that some are under Part B and some are under Part D and some can be billed by a pharmacy — who in God’s name came up with this?”

While Medicare will pay for vaccines for most nursing home residents, employees may face private insurance red tape and, for a small group, potential out-of-pocket costs.

Leslie Frane, an executive vice president of Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 134,000 workers in 1,465 nursing homes, said that many homes had stopped running clinics in their facilities and had told workers to go to the drugstore to get vaccinated. She said this would lead to more workers skipping their shots.

“There’s very little time, given how many nursing home workers work multiple jobs,” she said.

By JORDAN RAU and TONY LEYS

“COVID is not pretty in a nursing home,” said Deb Wityk, a 70-yearold retired massage therapist who lives in one called Spurgeon Manor, in rural Iowa. She has contracted the disease twice and is eager to get the newly approved vaccine because she has chronic leukemia, which weakens her immune system.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the latest vaccine two weeks ago, and the new shots became available to the general public within the last week or so. But many nursing homes will not begin inoculations until well into October or even Novem-

ber, though infections among this vulnerable population are rising, to nearly 1%, or 9.7 per 1,000 residents in mid-September from a low of 2.2 per 1,000 residents in mid-June.

“The distribution of the new COVID-19 vaccine is not going well,” said Chad Worz, the CEO of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. “Older adults in those settings are certainly the most vulnerable and should have been prioritized.”

With the end of the formal public health emergency in May, the federal government stopped purchasing and distributing COVID vaccines. That has added new complications for operators of nursing homes, who have encountered resistance throughout the pandemic in persuading people, especially employees, to receive yet another round of shots.

The coronavirus decimated nursing homes during the first two years of the pandemic, killing more than 200,000 residents and staff members. Elizabeth Sobczyk, the project director of Moving Needles, a CDCfunded initiative to improve adult immunization rates in long-term care facilities, said that without a government agreement to purchase the shots, vaccine manufacturers would only make large quantities once CDC experts recommended approval.

“Then they need to be FDA-inspected — we want safe vaccines — then there is contracting and rollout,” Sobczyk said. “So I

But only 25% of nursing home employees are up to date, which is close to last October’s rate.

In a written statement, the Department of Health and Human Services said that it would be identifying long-term care facilities with low vaccination rates and reaching out to ensure “proven infection prevention and control measures are being implemented to protect seniors.”

This year, more nurses and aides will have to obtain shots at drugstores or health centers on their personal time, rather than at work. Many homes are running clinics, with their long-term care pharmacies supplying the vaccine as they did before, but they face extra bureaucratic hassles in billing insurers for the vaccine for both residents and employees.

On top of that, homes are rolling out a new vaccine for another dangerous virus — respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV — which will be a third shot for many residents, along with vaccines for COVID and the flu.

The trio of vaccines will create more administrative complexity for nursing homes because now they must bill Medicare to be reimbursed for the shots. The COVID vaccine is charged to Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient and physicians’ services, but the RSV vaccine must be billed to Medicare Part D, the prescription drug benefit.

“The United States has been phenom-

The CDC has arranged for 25 million to 30 million people who lack health insurance or whose insurance doesn’t cover the complete cost of the vaccine to get free COVID shots at select pharmacies, health centers and medical offices listed on www.vaccines.gov. Frane said the program was not well-known among workers, and Worz said distribution was favoring the large pharmacy chains, slowing access in rural communities. Of the nation’s 19,400 independent pharmacies, federal officials said 627, many in rural areas, were enrolled in the program and 100 more were being added.

A big obstacle, though, continues to be resistance to vaccination among nurses and aides. Like many facility owners, Avalon Health Care Group, which owns or operates more than a dozen nursing homes in western states, is not mandating staff be vaccinated. Dr. Sabine von Preyss-Friedman, Avalon’s chief medical officer, said she tries to address the reasons with each worker and won’t abandon the push.

Jim Wright, the medical director of Our Lady of Hope Health Center and two other nursing homes in Richmond, Virginia, said that rewards and respectful persuasion were not enough to sway his homes’ employees. They tend to be in their 20s and 30s, he said, and are not worried about catching COVID, which many have already weathered.

“They most likely will not do it to protect the residents or protect themselves,” he said. “I don’t know what the answer is.”

The San Juan Daily Star

A nurse administers a Covid vaccine at a nursing home in McMinnville, Ore., on Oct. 6, 2021. With Covid infections rising again among nursing-home populations in September 2023, many facilities are lagging at distributing the latest vaccine shots.

By ELIZABETH ANNE BROWN

Green sea turtles had an exceptional nesting season on Florida’s beaches in 2023, with volunteers counting more than 74,300 nests, according to preliminary data. That beats the previous record, from 2017, by a staggering 40%.

“The increase is an explosion” and a welcome surprise, said Simona Ceriani, a research scientist who coordinated the annual survey for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state agency that regulates and manages wildlife. The count will continue through Oct. 31.

Sea turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until their 20s or 30s, so what Florida is seeing now is very likely the result of conservation measures put in place after green sea turtles were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1978, Ceriani said.

But researchers aren’t ready to claim a conservation victory just yet. Those impressive nesting numbers are just “half the story,” according to Jeanette Wyneken, a professor at Florida Atlantic University who has studied nesting sea turtles for more than three decades.

That’s because, more than most creatures, sea turtles are particularly attuned to a warming climate. In fact, the sex of a baby sea turtle isn’t determined by its

DNA but by the temperature of the sand in which its egg developed. Cooler temperatures mean males, warmer ones mean more females.

According to Wyneken, who has been monitoring incubation temperatures and sex ratios in the nests of green sea turtles in Palm Beach County since 2005, in recent years the proportion of male green sea turtle hatchlings has dwindled substantially. In the past few seasons, between 87% and 100% of the hatchlings she has tested have been female.

In the short term, such a skewed sex ratio could actually be a boon to green turtles. A breeding female lays between two and nine clutches of about 110 eggs each in a season, and a greater proportion of females in any given generation means more nests in the sand 20 years down the road. That is, Wyneken said, as long as “there’s enough boys to service the girls.”

There’s some evidence that Florida sea turtles have been producing extremely skewed sex ratios for decades. Limited studies of loggerheads in the late 1980s suggest females already accounted for more than 90% of new hatchlings on some Florida beaches.

Global warming decades ago could be contributing to the boom seen today, though Ceriani and Wyneken agreed that conservation measures deserved the most of the credit.

Restrictions on beachfront development and careful monitoring of nests have helped get hatchlings safely to the water, and a gill net ban in 1995 sharply reduced the number of young turtles killed by fishing gear before they hit puberty. A 13-mile stretch of beach in the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge, an area south of Orlando set aside in 1991, had about 1,000 green sea turtle nests in 1994, almost 12,000 in 2013, and more than 23,000 this year.

With the potential for accelerating growth as sea turtle populations become increasingly female, it’s tempting to think of sea turtles climate change “winners.” But research suggests that climate change will outstrip the adaptive advantage of feminization.

More and more frequently, the nests Wyneken and her colleagues mark in June remain painfully still by August, when they should be teeming with hatchlings. Initial studies by Wyneken and her team indicate that those eggs are not unfertilized. They were most likely killed by a combination of extreme heat and dryness.

The female sea turtles are “certainly putting a lot of energy into their nests,” Wyneken said. But if only half of those are hatching, “it worries the crap out of me.”

How authorities in Florida treat nests and hatchlings moving forward will be critical, Ceriani said. Such a successful nest-laying year for green turtles could give the erroneous impression that Florida’s sea turtles no longer need help.

“There’s going to be, potentially, pressure,” Ceriani said. “‘Why do we need to restrict construction on the beach? The sea turtles are just doing fine. Actually, they’re going up. They beat the record. Why do I need to suffer?’”

If weaker protections have negative effects on the nesting population, “we won’t know for another 30 years,” Ceriani said. By then, it might be too late to undo the damage.

A green sea turtle hatchling headed for open waters. The number of nests counted in Florida this year shattered a record.

Florida turtle nests are doing great. When they hatch, expect mostly girls.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Demandante Vs. DAISY J. MULERO ÁLVAREZ

Demandado

Civil Núm.: GB2023CV00069. Salón: 501. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: DAISY J. MULERO

ÁLVAREZ - 56 INT CALLE ISIDRA, CATAÑO, PR 00962 / HC 4 BOX 5768 GUAYNABO, PR 00971 / RES. COLINAS DE MAGNOLIA EDIF B APT

12, JUNCOS, PR 00777.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste Ia demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente.

El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418

San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA

y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 9 de julio de 2023. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 19 de julio de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. NEREIDA QUILES

SANTANA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

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Demandante Vs. IRIS A. RODRIGUEZ TORO

Demandado Civil Núm.: GU2023CV00012.

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

A: IRIS A. RODRIGUEZ TOROPO BOX 202, ENSENADA, PR 00647. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Edwin Serrano cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993 3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@orf-law.com y a la dirección otificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO

MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Yauco, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de agosto de 2023. En Yauco, Puerto Rico, el 21 de agosto de 2023. CARMEN G.

TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL.DELIA APONTE VÁZQUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC

COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC

Parte Demandante Vs. ASHLEY N ORTEGA NAVARRO

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV00622. Sala: 901. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: ASHLEY N OITEGA NAVARROEDIF A SANTA ANA APT 3A, SAN JUAN PR 00927.

POR LA PRESEP’TTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC) la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandarte, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie.bonaparte@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de agoto de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. MYRIAM RIVERA VILLANUEVA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

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Demandante Vs.

EMILLY GARCIA RIVERA

Demandado

Civil Núm.: IS2023CV00015.

Salón: 602. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: EMILLY GARCIA RIVERA54 RUTA 4 BO. COTTO LLANADA CARR 446 KM

1.1 ISABELA, P.R. 00662. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal.

Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo.

Edwin Serrano Peña cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en AguadiIa, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de agosto de 2023. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, el 21 de agosto de 2023. SARAHÍ REYES PÉREZ, SECRETARIA. ZUHEILY GONZÁLEZ AVILÉS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE CAROLINA

ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V.

SUCESIÓN DE FÉLIX RAMÓN MULERO

MERCADO COMPUESTA

POR FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2023CV00407.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y

EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de CAROLINA, hago saber a la parte demandada, SUCESION DE FÉLIX RAMÓN MULERO MERCADO compuesta por FULANO DE TAL Y FULANA DE TAL y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 17 de julio de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, la siguiente propiedad con dirección física: Urbanización Vistas del Océano, 8231 Calle Clavel, Loíza PR 00772 y que se describe como sigue: URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización “Vistas del Océano”, localizada en el Barrio Medianía Baja del término municipal de Loíza, Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de inscripción, con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: Solar número 12 del Bloque “L”. Área del Solar: 275.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 12.50 metros lineales, con el solar número 3 del bloque “N”; por el SUR, en una distancia de 12.50 metros lineales, con la calle número 9 de la Urbanización; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 22.00 metros lineales, con el solar número 13 del mismo bloque; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 22.00 metros lineales, con el solar numero11 del mismo bloque. Enclava en dicho solar una estructura en concreto para fines residenciales. El expresado solar se halla afecto a servidumbre telefónico de 5 pies de ancho, localizada en su colindancia Sur. Finca 9609 inscrita al Folio 261 del tomo 201 de Loíza, Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Tercera de Carolina. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes:

(i) HIPOTECA constituida por Feliz Ramón Mulero Mercado, soltero, en garantía de un pagare affidavit núm.. 22672, a favor de Oriental Bank, o a su orden por $115,850.00, al 3.50% vencedero el 1 de enero de 2048, según Escritura núm. 385, en Carolina, a 11 de diciembre de 2017, ante Diana M Ruiz Hernández, inscrita al Sistema Karibe de Loíza, Finca 9609, inscripción 4ta. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es

la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dictada el 16 de mayo de 2023, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la cantidad adeudada y vencida desde el 1 de mayo de 2020 ascendiente a $110,735.97 de principal, más $10,927.49 a intereses acumulados, que continuarán acumulándose al 3.5% hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más $665.92 a cargos por demora, mas $81.00 a otros cargos, más $3,768.82 a escrow, más costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, según pactado, 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. La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 30 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de CAROLINA, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma, la cantidad de $115,850.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 6 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar, en la que servirá como tipo mínimo, dos terceras (2/3) partes del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $77,233.33. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 13 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $57,925.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere al crédito que da base a esta ejecución continuará subsistente, entendiéndose, además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de estos, sin destinarse a su extinción cual-

quier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad para ejecutar será adquirida libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, hoy 7 de septiembre de 2023. GRETCHEN M. JEREZ SEDA, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE CAROLINA.

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ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

ESTRELLA HOMES II, LLC.

PARTE DEMANDANTE V. SUCESIÓN DE IRMA DE LA TORRE RAMOS COMPUESTA POR

ROBERTO GONZÁLEZ DE LA TORRE ROSEMARIE

GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, ROBERTO GONZALEZ MARTÍNEZ, ROXANNE GONZALEZ MARTÍNEZ Y CARMEN MIGDALIA DE LA TORRE RAMOS; SUCESIÓN DE VICENTE PIERANTONI PÉREZ COMPUESTA POR MAGDA TERESA PIERANTONI GONZÁLEZ, VICENTE PIERANTONI GONZÁLEZ, MIGUEL ANDRÉS PIERANTONI GONZÁLEZ Y JUAN RAFAEL PIERANTONI GONZÁLEZ PARTE DEMANDADA CIVIL NÚM.: CA2022CV00612. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, hago saber a la parte demandada, SUCESIÓN DE IRMA DE LA TORRE RAMOS compuesta por ROBERTO GONZALEZ DE LA TORRE, ROSEMARIE GONZALEZ MARTINEZ, ROXANNE GONZALEZ MARTINEZ y CARMEN MIGDALIA DE LA TORRE RAMOS; SUCESIÓN DE VICENTE PIERANTONI PÉREZ compuesta por MAGDA TERESA PIERANTONI GONZALEZ, VICENTE PIERANTONI GONZALEZ, MIGUEL ANDRÉS PIERANTONI GONZALEZ y JUAN RAFAEL PIERANTONI GONZALEZ; y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 20 de julio de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, la siguiente propiedad con dirección física:

CONDOMINIO MALIBU BEACH FRONT, APT. H-306, LOIZA PR 00772 y que se describe como sigue: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento H-306. Apartamento residencial de dos niveles de forma rectangular, localizado en los dos pisos altos del edificio marcado H en el Condominio Malibu Beach Front Apartments, ubicado en el Barrio Medianía Baja del Municipio de Loíza, Puerto Rico, construido de hormigón, bloques, acero, materiales y accesorios. Este aparta-

para la primera subasta, o sea, $33,100.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere al crédito que da base a esta ejecución continuará subsistente, entendiéndose, además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de estos, sin destinarse a su extinción cualquier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad para ejecutar será adquirida libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con

la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En HUMACAO, Puerto Rico, hoy 20 de septiembre de 2023. JOSÉ L. RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE HUMACAO. JANIA GUASP LOZA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR.

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DBA CELINK

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE MIGUEL

ANTONIO REYNES

MORALES T/C/C

MIGUEL A. REYNES

MORALES T/C/C

MIGUEL A. REYNES, COMPUESTA POR SONIA

NANETTE REYNES

T/C/C SONIA NANETTE

REYNES RIVERA, NELSON REYNES

RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES

HEREDEROS NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESIÓN DE VIRGENMINA RIVERA

RIVERA T/C/C VIRGEN

MINA RIVERA RIVERA

T/C/C VIRGENMINA

RIVERA T/C/C

VIRGENMINA DE REYNES, COMPUESTA

POR SONIA NANETTE

REYNES T/C/C SONIA

NANETTE REYNES

RIVERA, NELSON

REYNES RIVERA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES

HEREDEROS NOMBRES DESCONOCIDOS;

CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS

MUNICIPALES; ESTADOS

UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA

Demandados

Civil Núm.: JD2023CV00385.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HI-

POTECA - IN REM. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO E

INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS

UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.

UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR

EDICTO.

A: NELSON REYNES

RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES

HEREDEROS NOMBRES

DESCONOCIDOS DE LOS FINADOS MIGUEL

ANTONIO REYNES

MORALES T/C/C MIGUEL

A. REYNES MORALES

T/C/C MIGUEL A.

REYNES Y VIRGENMINA

RIVERA RIVERA

T/C/C VIRGEN MINA

RIVERA RIVERA T/C/C

VIRGENRNINA RIVERA

T/C/C VIRGENMINA DE REYNES.

POR LA PRESENTE, se les emplaza y se les notifica que se ha presentado en la Secretaria de este Tribunal la Primera Demanda Enmendada del caso del epígrafe solicitando la ejecución de hipoteca relacionado al pagaré suscrito a favor de AAA Concordia Mortgage Corp., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $199,800.00, más intereses computados sobre la misma desde su fecha hasta su total y completo pago a razón de la tasa de interés de 2.87% anual, y vencedero el 9 de enero de 2078. La Hipoteca Revertida se encuentra inscrita al folio 33 del tomo 525 de Juana Diaz, finca número 6,201 inscripción 8va. La hipoteca grava la propiedad que describe que describe a continuación: “URBANA: Solar marcado con el número dieciséis del plano preparado por la Corporación de Renovación Urbana y Vivienda de Puerto Rico, para el proyecto de Renovación Urbana PRR- veinte y cuatro jornaleros radicado en la zona Urbana del término Municipal de Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de trescientos setenta y cinco metros cuadrados con cincuenta y cinco centésimas de metros cuadrados; en lindes: por el NORTE, con el solar número cinco del mencionado proyecto distancia de cuarenta y un pies con noventa centésimas de pie; por el SUR, con la calle B de dicho proyecto distancia de cuarenta y un pies con noventa y ocho centésimas de pie; por el ESTE, con el solar número quince del referido proyecto, distancia de noventa y cinco pies con noventa y ocho centésimas de pie; y por el OESTE, con el solar número diecisiete del mencionado proyecto en distancia de noventa y seis pies con noventa y cuatro centésimas de pie. Enclava edificación para fines residenciales”. Finca número 6,201, inscrita al folio 150 del tomo 181 de Juana Díaz. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección I de Ponce. INTERPELACIÓN: Se les APERCIBE y advierte a ustedes como personas desconocidas, que no contestar la demanda radicando el original de la contestación ante la secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Fajardo, y notificar copia de la contestación de esta a la parte demandante

por conducto de su abogada, GLS LEGAL SERVICES, LLC, Atención: Lcda. Genevieve López Stipes, Dirección: P.O. Box 367308, San Juan, P.R. 00936, Teléfono: 787-758-6550, dentro de los próximos 30 días a partir de la publicación de este emplazamiento por edicto que será publicado una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general en la isla de Puerto Rico, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediendo el remedio solicitando en la Demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. Se les ORDENA a ustedes a que dentro del término legal de TREINTA (30) días, contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia de Miguel Antonio Reynes Morales t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes Morales t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes y Virgenmina

Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgen Mina Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina de Reynes a saber: Sonia Nanette Reynes t/c/c Sonia Nanette Reynes Rivera, Nelson Reynes Rivera, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos nombres desconocidos. Se les APERCIBE que de no expresarse dentro de ese término de TREINTA (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de herencia, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. También se les APERCIBE que luego del transcurso del término de TREINTA

(30) días antes señalado contados a partir de la fecha de la notificación de la presente Orden, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia de los causantes

Miguel Antonio Reynes Morales

t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes Morales

t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes y Virgenmina Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgen Mina Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina de Reynes, y, por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico de 2020, según enmendado. Se ORDENA a la parte demandante a que, en vista de que la sucesión de Miguel Antonio Reynes Morales

t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes Morales

t/c/c Miguel A. Reynes y Virgenmina Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgen Mina Rivera Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina Rivera t/c/c Virgenmina de Reynes incluye a: Sonia Nanette Reynes t/c/c Sonia Nanette Reynes Rivera, Nelson Reynes Rivera, Fulano de Tal y Sutano de Tal como posibles herederos nombres desconocidos; proceda a notificar la presente Orden mediante publicación de un edicto a esos efectos una sola vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de la Isla de Puerto Rico. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 26 de septiembre de 2023.

CARMEN C. TIRÚ QUIÑONES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARIELY FÉLIX RIVERA,

SUB-SECRETARIA. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN CARMELO CASTRO

DIAZ, CARMEN M. MALDONADO TORRES, SOCIEDAD DE BIENES GANANCIALES Vs. MIEMBROS DE SUCESION DE ANA DELIA SANTIAGO

RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL Y PERSONAS CON INTERÉS DO2023CV00183. Sobre: ACCIÓN DECLARATORIA DE USUCAPIÓN (ART. 795 CC 2020) Y SOLICITUD INSCRIPCION DE TITULO. Sala: 403. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE NORTEAMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: MIEMBROS DE SUCESION DE ANA DELIA SANTIAGO

RIVERA, FULANO DE TAL Y PERSONAS CON INTERÉS.

POR LA PRESENTE se le notifica que deber comparecer ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro de TREINTA (30) DIAS a partir de la publicación de este edicto, el cual se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación general, para exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en la presente petición sobre Demanda Sobre Acción Declaratoria De Usucapión (Art. 795 Cc 2020) y Solicitud Inscripción De Titulo. La Parte Demandada deberá notificar sus alegaciones responsivas través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración y de casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramaajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del Tribunal; y copiar a la representación legal de la Demandante, LCDA. CARMEN E. ALFONSO ARROYO, con dirección en 41 AVE FERNANDO L. RIBAS, BOX 355, UTUADO, P.R. 00641; a su correo electrónico: alfonsoabogadagmail.com.

EXPEDIDO POR ORDEN DEL TRIBUNAL, BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, hoy 19 de septiembre de 2023. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA GENERAL. KATHERINE SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN WILFREDO MONTALVO RIVERA

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE ALBINO ORTIZ MALDONADO

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV08717. Sala: 603. Sobre: DIVISIÓN Y ADJUDICACIÓN DE BIENES GANANCIALES. EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: SUCESION DE ALBINO ORTIZ MALDONADO, DEMANDADOS DESCONOCIDOS CUYA DIRECCIÓN SE DESCONOCE. Se les notifica por este medio que en el caso del epígrafe se solicita la división de bienes gananciales adquiridos durante el matrimonio de los Sres. Myrla Rivera Bruno y Albino Ortiz Maldonado. Este Tribunal ha ordenado que se le(s) cite a usted(es) por edicto que se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general. Pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se le emplaza por este Edicto que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de Puerto Rico. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaria del tribunal y notifique copia de la Contestación de la Demanda a LCDO. EDUARDO SANCHEZ JAUREGUI-JIMENEZ

366 CALLE ESCORIAL, CAPARRA HEIGHTS

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00920 Tel (787) 603-1178, email: edusjj@ gmail.com

Abogado de la Parte Demandante, dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, apercibiéndole que de no hacerlo así dentro del término indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su Rebeldía y dictar Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado sin más citarle(s) ni oírle(s). EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y con el Sello del Tribunal. DADA hoy 19 de septiembre de 2023 en San Juan, Puerto Rico. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. DIANA C. PÉREZ SIERRA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HATO

REY SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN EDWIN GREGORIO RODRÍGUEZ LEÓN

Parte Demandante V. MIGUEL ÁNGEL

RODRÍGUEZ LEÓN Y OTROS

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV08645. Sala: 908. Sobre: PRESCRIPCIÓN ADQUISITIVA (USUCAPIÓN). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: MIGUEL ÁNGEL RODRÍGUEZ LEÓN.

Por este medio se le convoca para que comparezca ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro del plazo improrrogable de treinta (30) días, contados a partir desde la publicación de este edicto, a alegar lo que en derecho proceda en defensa de sus intereses. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.poderjudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal y enviar copia del mismo a la representación legal de la parte demandante, la Lcda. Lizannette Morales Crespo, P.O. Box 5272, Carolina, PR 009845272, tel. (787) 945-5233, dentro del termino de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación, se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. Se ordena a Secretaría a expedir el correspondiente edicto. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y EL SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 25 de septiembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL. ENID DÍAZ RÍOS, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE HATO

REY SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

EDWIN GREGORIO RODRÍGUEZ LEÓN

Parte Demandante V. MIGUEL ÁNGEL

RODRÍGUEZ LEÓN Y OTROS

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV08645.

Sala: 908. Sobre: PRESCRIPCIÓN ADQUISITIVA (USUCAPIÓN). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS

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

A: JOHN DOE. Por este medio se le convoca para que comparezca ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro del plazo improrrogable de treinta (30) días, contados a partir desde la publicación de este edicto, a alegar lo que en derecho proceda en defensa de sus intereses. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.poderjudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal y enviar copia del mismo a la representación legal de la parte demandante, la Lcda. Lizannette Morales Crespo, P.O. Box 5272, Carolina, PR 009845272, tel. (787) 945-5233, dentro del termino de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación, se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda sin más citarle ni oírle. Se ordena a Secretaría a expedir el correspondiente edicto. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y EL SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy 25 de septiembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL. ENID DÍAZ RÍOS, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 301. ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE GESTOR DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC. Demandante v. LUVI M ORTIZ DELGADO Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: SJ2022CV10197. Sobre: COBRO DE DINEROORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. NATALIE BONAPARTE SERVERA NATALIE.BONAPARTE@ORF-LAW. COM

A: LUVI M ORTIZ

DELGADO:

PO BOX 30243, 65 INTANTERIA STA, SAN JUAN, PR 00929

URB PONDEROSA, 476 CALLE DALIA, RÍO GRANDE, PR 00745-2202 (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus-

cribe le notifica a usted que el 22 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 22 de SEPTIEMBRE de 2023. En FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, el 22 de SEPTIEMBRE de 2023. WANDA

SEGUI REYES, Secretario(a).

f/SHEILA ROBLES HERNANDEZ, Secretario(a) Auxiliar del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN MWX, INC.

Demandante V. JIMMY FUENTES

FONSECA, SU ESPOSA BLANCA IRIS DIAZ PLAZA, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES

GANANCIALES

Demandada

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV03095.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. AVISO DE VENTA EN PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

A: JIMMY FUENTES

FONSECA, SU ESPOSA

BLANCA IRIS DIAZ PLAZA, Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES

GANANCIALES; Y AL PUBLICO EN GENERAL:

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hago saber a la parte demandada y, al 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: SANA MORTGAGE CORP.: A cuyo favor aparece inscrito una hipoteca en garantía de un pagaré por la suma de $57,000.00, intereses al 81/2% anual y a vencer el 1 de mayo del año 2015, según consta de la escritura #137, otorgada en San Juan, el 28 de abril de 2005, ante el Notario Charlene de León Guevara, inscrito al folio 182 del tomo

572 de Toa Baja, finca # 7,814, inscripción 11ma. Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 25 de septiembre de 2023, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: Dirección de la Propiedad: Urb. Levittown AT-12 Calle

Lilliam Toa Baja, Puerto Rico 00949. Solar número doce del bloque “AT” en la Urbanización Levittown en el barrio Sabana Seca de Toa Baja, con un área de trescientos cincuenta metros cuadrados con ochocientos setenta y un milímetros, en lindes por el NORTE, en diecinueve metros cincuenta centímetros y un arco de dos metros setecientos cuarenta y nueve milímetros con la calle Lilliam Este (según plano calle cuatrocientos veintiséis); por el SUR, en veintitrés metros con el solar número once; por el ESTE, en quince metros cincuenta centímetros con el solar número trece; por el OESTE, en un arco de dos metros setecientos cuarenta y nueve milímetros y doce metros con la calle Lillian (según plano de calle cuatrocientos veinticuatro). Consta inscrito al folio 208 del tomo 124 de Toa Baja, finca número 7,814; Registro de la Propiedad Sección Segunda de Bayamón. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante, hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor por la suma de $279,601.70 al 13 de octubre de 2022, la cual se desglosa en $188,817.59 por concepto principal, mas el pago de sus correspondientes intereses los cuales ascienden a la suma de $55,991.95 y continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación, más la cantidad de $3,426.61 de cargos por demora, la cantidad de $5,964.00 de cargos de seguro de la propiedad (“Forced Placed Insurance”); más la cantidad de $2,265.32 por concepto de cuenta plica negativa (“Negative Escrow”),

mas $23,136.23 de cargos de preservación de la propiedad, más costas y gastos, en adición a $19,160.48, por concepto de honorarios de abogado, disponiendose que si quedare algún remanente luego de pagarse las sumas antes mencionadas del mismo deberá ser depositado en la Secretaria del Tribunal para ser entregado a la parte con interes 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 día 26 OCTUBRE DE 2023

A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $191,604.87. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 2 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2023 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 $127,736.38, 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 9 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2023 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 $95,802.43, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de con-

formidad 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 Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de septiembre de 2023. Edgardo Elías Vargas Santana, Alguacil Auxiliar Placa #193, División De Subastas, Tribunal De Primera Instancia, Sala Superior De Bayamón.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 708 RF AUGUSTO

CASTRO PANIAGUA

Demandante V. ROSALIA

DOMINGUEZ DIAZ

Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: SJ2023RF01028. Sobre: DIVORCIO - RUPTURA IRREPARABLE. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

MARIA D PAGAN HERNANDEZ

MARILUPAHE@YAHOO.COM

A: ROSALIA

DOMINGUEZ DIAZ.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 26 de septiembre de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una

sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 26 de septiembre de 2023. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 26 de septiembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. NYDIA I. BARRETO LASSALLE, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 705 HR MORTGAGE

CORPORATION

Demandante V. BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Y OTROS Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: CG2023CV01385. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JESUS A. LEDESMA AMADOR JALAMADOR@YAHOO.COM

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE (POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)

EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 26 de septiembre de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de

esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 27 de septiembre de 2023. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 27 de septiembre de 2023. LISILDA MARTÍNEZ AGOSTO, SECRETARIA. MARTA E. DONATE RESTO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

PROPERTIES, LLC

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE HENRY MOLL GONZALEZ COMPUESTA POR

FULANA DE TAL, FULANO DE TAL, SUTANO DE TAL, SUTANA DE TAL

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV07417.

Salón: 908. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO E INTERPELACIÓN POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. DE AMERICA, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: SUCESIÓN DE HENRY MOLL GONZALEZ COMPUESTA POR FULANA DE TAL, FULANO DE TAL, SUTANO DE TAL, SUTANA DE TAL.

Quedan emplazados y notificados que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre cobro de dinero en la que se alega que la parte demandada, SUCESIÓN DE HENRY MOLL GONZALEZ COMPUESTA

POR FULANA DE TAL, FULANO DE TAL, SUTANO DE TAL, SUTANA DE TAL, le adeuda a Condominio Bahía Properties, LLC., la suma total de $11,213.62 correspondiente a las cuotas de mantenimiento de la suite 1202, por concepto de gastos comunes de mantenimiento adeudados a la fecha de la presentación de la demanda, más las sumas que se acumulen por concepto de mensualidades de gastos comunes, intereses, penalidades y recargos de los meses subsiguientes, más las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. Por otro lado, se notifica que en este Tribunal se ha solicitado y aceptado una interpelación judicial de la parte demandante Sucesión de Henry Moll González compuesta por Fulana De Tal, Fulano De Tal, Sutano De Tal y Sutana De Tal, para que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de la publicación del presente edicto, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la Sucesión. Si los herederos no se expresaren dentro de ese término

de treinta (30) días en torno a su aceptación o repudiación de la herencia, ésta se tendrá por aceptada. Se le advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda y además, aceptar y repudiar la herencia esta se tendrá por aceptada, y que luego del transcurso del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle y se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante, y por consiguiente, responden por las cargas de la herencia conforme dispone el Artículo 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. §2785. La abogada de la parte demandante es la Lcda. Evelian Del Rocío Suárez Rodríguez, cuya dirección física y postal es: Cond. El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, y su correo electrónico es: evelian@bellverlaw.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 25 de septiembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. ENID DÍAZ RÍOS, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN SALÓN DE SESIONES SALÓN 508 CIVIL.

ORIENTAL BANK COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIOS DE THE MONEY HOUSE, INC.

Demandante v. JOSE ANTONIO ROSARIO

RODRIGUEZ (DEUDOR HIPOTECARIO) Y OTROS

Demandado(a)

DUNCAN R. MALDONADO EJARQUE EJECUCIONES@CM-PRLA W.COM

Caso Num: SJ2023CV03353

. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA: PROPIEDAD RESIDENCIAL. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO

A: JOSE ANTONIO ROSARIO RODRIGUEZ (DEUDOR HIPOTECARIO); VIRGINIA

BEATO SANTANA (TITULAR REGISTRAL)

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 28 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 28 de SEPTIEMBRE de 2023. En SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, el 28 de SEPTIEMBRE de 2023. GRlSELDA RODRlGUEZ COLLADO, Secretario(a). F/ MARTHA ALMODOV AR CABRERA, Secretario(a).

LEGAL NOTICE

“Blue Sky Towers, LLC would like to place on notice the acquisition of two existing telecommunication installations consisting of the following:

1.) a 165’ monopole tower known as Borinquen located at 18°10’52.78” north latitude and -66°3’3.45” west longitude near Carr. 765 Km 0.2, Villa Sauri #2, Barrio Borinquen Ward, Caguas. 2.) a 199’ lattice tower known as Cerro Gordo located at 18°28’32.3” north latitude and -66°20’33.39” west longitude near Km HM 7.1, Carr 690 Barrio Sabana, Solar 3A Ward, Vega Alta. If you have any concerns regarding historic properties that may be affected by this proposed undertaking, please contact: Miles Walz-Salvador, Lotis Environmental, LLC, at Legals@thelotisgroup. com or (314) 913-0505. In your response, please include the proposed undertaking’s location and a list of the historic resources that you believe to be affected along with their respective addresses or approximate locations.”

An alligator, a flying helmet and a playoff spot: What a week for the Phillies

By VICTOR MATHER

The Philadelphia Phillies’ week began with three straight victories and the team clinching a playoff berth. So far, so good.

But if fans assumed the remaining games on the schedule would be pro forma, they were mistaken.

]An alligator was denied admission to the park. The team’s star hurled his helmet into the stands in fury. And now the Phillies are due to finish their season with three games in New York against the Mets, who already endured a long rain delay Thursday night that had players and coaches fuming. (The first of these, scheduled for Friday night, was postponed as heavy rain brought flash flooding to New York and the surrounding region.)

The weirdness for the Phillies began last Wednesday when a fan named Joie Henney turned up at Citizens Bank Park. He was not alone. Accompanying him was WallyGator, his emotional support alligator.

But Henney was turned away, as the policy at the park is that service dogs are permitted, but other animals are prohibited.

Wally’s moment of fame (possibly not unwelcome to his owner, as the reptile has a significant social media presence) was over-

shadowed by an even more talked-about incident in the third inning of a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.

With a full count, the Phillies’ star, Bryce Harper, took what appeared to be ball four and went so far as to remove his shin guard as he prepared for what he was certain

would be a trip to first base. But the thirdbase umpire, Angel Hernandez, ruled that Harper had swung at the pitch, calling him out. Replays seemed to show that Harper had checked his swing, and even commentators unfriendly to the Phillies said it was a bad call.

The fiery Harper naturally took exception and charged toward Hernandez, who ejected him from the game before he even got there.

The incident was magnified because Hernandez has developed a reputation among players and fans as an umpire who makes more than his share of questionable calls.

“It’s bad all around,” Harper said after the game. “Every year, it’s the same story, the same thing.

“I’m going to get fined for being right,” he added. “Again.”

Harper’s rough-and-tumble style is revered by the rough-and-tumble Philadelphia sports fans, and his final gesture is only likely to endear him to them more: As he left the field, he hurled his helmet into the stands, getting impressive altitude on the toss.

Several fans scuffled for the souvenir, and the child who wound up with it, Hayden Dorfman, 10, became as one-day famous as WallyGator had been the night before, with interviewers clamoring for his story.

“There were, like, three or four dads diving in,” he told NBC Sports Philadelphia in an interview, while wearing the helmet in the stands. But one or two of those dads developed a quick conscience, and it was agreed to “give it to the kid,” Hayden said. Harper later signed the helmet for Hayden.

Next up for the Phillies is the Mets. Maybe. Flooding in New York and a forecast calling for more rain forced a postponement of the game Friday night at Citi Field. They will try to get a doubleheader in Saturday and one more game Sunday.

The Mets had a memorable Thursday night of their own. They were trailing the Miami Marlins 2-1 in the top of the ninth inning when the umpires called a rain delay. The players on both teams, as well as those hardy fans who stuck around, ended up waiting out a baseball-less 3 hours, 17 minutes before everyone was sent home at 12:58 a.m. Friday. Neither team was happy about the long, ultimately fruitless delay.

As for the Phillies, who lost in the World Series last season, a return to the playoffs and a chance to go one better is welcome. Should they get there, Citizens Bank Park will have a typical raucous Philly atmosphere.

Bryce Harper will be there. Wally will not.

Chris Snow, hockey executive who publicly faced ALS, dies at 42

By SOPAN DEB

Chris Snow, the assistant general manager for the Calgary Flames of the NHL, who after being diagnosed in 2019 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, became a prominent advocate for victims of the fatal disease, died Saturday in Calgary, Alberta. He was 42.

Kelsie Snow, his wife, announced his death Saturday night in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Today we hugged Chris for the last time and said goodbye as he went to give four people the gift of life by donating his kidneys, liver and lungs,” she wrote. “We are deeply broken and deeply proud. In life and in death, Chris never stopped giving. We walk forward with his light guiding us.”

She had posted Wednesday on X that Snow had gone into cardiac arrest after

suffering a “catastrophic brain injury.” When he was diagnosed with the disease, doctors gave him a year to live. The disease ran in the Snow family: Just months

earlier his father had died as a result of ALS. It also killed two of Snow’s uncles and a cousin.

But Snow held on for much longer than

predicted, and in the years since, he and his wife documented their experiences and became advocates for other patients, promoting social media campaigns to raise awareness about the disease and raising money for research.

“ALS is not an incurable disease,” Snow told Canadian sports broadcaster Sportsnet in an interview soon after his diagnosis was revealed. “It’s an underfunded disease. And it’s underfunded because so few people have it.”

He took part in an experimental gene therapy trial after the diagnosis. Initially, he could not tell whether he was in a placebo group. But the atrophy caused by the disease slowed.

“In a no-hope situation, I suddenly had a chance,” Snow told Syracuse University, his alma mater, in an article on its website.

Continues on page 28

The Philadelphia Phillies’ week took a turn on Wednesday when a fan named Joie Henney turned up at Citizens Bank Park with WallyGator, his emotional support alligator, in tow.

Chris Snow, the assistant general manager of the Calgary Flames, last year, several years after learning he had A.L.S., also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

From page 27

The Snows first began to chronicle life with ALS on Kelsie Snow’s blog and in social media posts, then later in a podcast called “Sorry, I’m Sad,” which invited others to share their stories of grief and loss.

“What happens then — when you go from no hope to real, true hope — is you feel high,” Kelsie Snow wrote in one of her first blog posts after the diagnosis was publicly revealed. “You feel everything. You feel like you’ll never stop appreciating every single breath you take. You feel like life is brandnew. And you feel desperate — utterly desperate — to hold on to that hope, completely terrified of someone taking it away or diminishing it even a little.”

She added, “Because hope, it turns out, is everything.”

Chris Snow’s condition worsened, but he continued to make public appearances, throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park before a Boston Red Sox game in 2021. Before he was a hockey executive, Snow was a journalist and covered the Red Sox for The Boston Globe, which is where he met Kelsie Snow, then Kelsie Smith, in 2005. She is a freelance writer.

The Snows displayed a steady stream of optimism and honesty about their home life, both the highs and the lows, through their public posts. “My chest feels cracked open and hollowed out,” Kelsie Snow wrote this past week on X. “Doing life without him feels untenable. Hug your people.”

Christopher Michael Snow was born Aug. 11, 1981, and grew up in Melrose, Massachusetts. His father, Robert Snow, was an educator, and mother, Linda Snow, was a homemaker. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2003 and was

an intern at the Los Angeles Times before covering the Minnesota Wild of the NHL for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. He left journalism to become a front office executive for the Wild in 2006, a position he held until 2010. He was then hired by the Flames in a role specializing in statistical and video analysis, eventually working his way up to be assistant general manager in 2019, the year of his diagnosis.

In addition to his wife, Snow is survived by his children, Cohen, 12, and Willa, 9, and a sister, Colleen Snow.

Kelsie Snow’s most recent blog post, published Jan. 31, was partly addressed to her husband.

“Here is the truth: you’re sad. We’re scared,” she wrote. “This is lonely. Many days it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is no winning against this disease. There is only learning how to live with all the loss.”

Soccer opens a door to Russia’s return, and faces a backlash

By TARIQ PANJA

European soccer’s governing body is facing angry criticism and open defiance from some of its member nations after a vote by its executive committee last week partially lifted a blanket ban on Russian teams that was imposed after last year’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The proposal to allow Russia’s teams to participate in qualifying for the European men’s and women’s under-17 championships that will be held next year, and for which qualifying has already begun, came as a surprise to many members of the governing body, UEFA. Its approval has reopened what many believed was a bitter but settled debate about solidarity with Ukraine.

Ukraine’s national soccer federation quickly objected to the vote, arguing that allowing even Russian youth teams to return to tournaments “tolerates Russia’s aggressive policy.” Several federations, including Sweden, Norway and a group of Baltic nations, noted that the conditions that had led to the initial ban remained unchanged, and they invited punishment by saying that they would refuse to play Russian opponents under any circumstances.

The tensions in soccer could be a preview of difficult discussions playing out in dozens of sports over the reintegration of Russia and its athletes into global sports ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics. And the angry reaction to the decision highlighted the difficulty of balancing official solidarity with Ukraine — and opposition to Russian aggression in Ukraine — against the rights of athletes, even youth players, with little say in the actions of their governments.

The differences at times appear irreconcilable. A bloc of Western nations, for

Russia, in red, facing Germany in a UEFA under-17 qualifier in October 2021. Six months later, Russian teams were banned from European soccer.

example, continues to lobby against efforts by the International Olympic Committee to create conditions in which Russian athletes will be allowed to participate in the Paris Games as neutrals. And sports as diverse as tennis and fencing have already seen the effects of the war provoke confrontations and snubs at their competitions.

On Friday, Russian athletes received more positive news when the International Paralympic Committee cleared them to compete at the Games that will take place in Paris after next year’s Summer Olympics. The committee voted to allow them to take part as neutrals, without their national emblems or flag.

European soccer officials, for their part, were struggling to understand why their organization’s powerful president, Aleksander Ceferin of Slovenia, had chosen to drag their sport back into the dispute. Ceferin had repeatedly said that the blanket ban on Russian teams would remain in place “until the war ends,” they were quick to note, and the competitive concerns behind the original ban — that the refusal of teams to play

Russia made tournament draws unworkable and potentially unfair — had not changed.

The stage for the fight was unusual as well. Youth tournaments usually merit little attention at the leadership meetings of European soccer’s governing body, often consigned to cursory updates at the bottom of a long agenda. But this week was different.

The closed-door gathering at a hotel in Cyprus was about 90 minutes old when Ceferin spoke up and put forward a motion. He asked the committee to partially lift a ban on Russian soccer teams that had been imposed after the invasion of Ukraine so that Russia’s junior teams could return to European competition.

Ceferin left little doubt about his preference. Arguing that it was not right to punish children, he cited his own experience growing up in Slovenia during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia and referenced a United Nations charter on the rights of children before allowing others in the room to speak. While most of the officials remained silent — typical in such gatherings, where decisions are usually agreed before a formal vote — Poland’s representative, former star player Zbigniew Boniek, offered passionate opposition.

Boniek took the floor for about five minutes, pointing out that children in Ukraine, too, continued to suffer because of the war. He said that nothing had changed since the decision to bar Russia was made only days after the start of the war in February 2022.

A Romanian official in the room, who did not have a vote, also spoke. He reminded the board that Russia’s war was also affecting children in other European countries. The war, he said, was forcing budget cuts on services in Romania to account for increases in military spending.

The representatives from England and

Wales joined Boniek in abstaining when the vote was taken, but the motion passed anyway. The repercussions began almost immediately.

A handful of European soccer federations immediately said they would not play against Russian teams should they be paired against them in qualification tournaments. Sweden, whose representative at UEFA, Karl-Erik Nilsson, voted for the plan to allow Russian teams to return, went further: It said it would bar Russian players from traveling to next year’s women’s under-17 finals in Sweden should the team qualify.

It is unclear what motivated UEFA’s decision to open the door to Russia’s return. Ceferin’s initiative was not widely shared with officials within the organization before the vote, something that typically happens so the organization can game out the implications of a decision, and the practical consequences are significant: The qualifying draws for both the men’s and women’s under-17 championships were made without Russia, and men’s teams have already begun playing matches. Women’s qualifying begins next week.

If the decision is not reversed, UEFA now faces the specter of having to take disciplinary action against countries who refuse to play against Russian opponents. Still, its president was unmoved.

“By banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognize and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them,” Ceferin said in comments published by UEFA after the vote. “By providing opportunities to play and compete with their peers from all over Europe, we are investing in what we hope will be a brighter and more capable future generation and a better tomorrow.”

Sudoku

How to Play:

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

Sudoku Rules:

Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

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

Crossword

Answers on page 30

Wordsearch

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

Take control of your decisions today. People might tell you what direction to take and what choice is best for you, but ultimately you’re the one who knows best. Stop looking to others for guidance about your life and start finding the solutions within you. You already know the answers. You have the map you need tucked away in your pocket. Use it.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

You’re likely to have some intense experiences today. So what else is new? More people are receptive to your deep, investigative nature and they want to join you in your search. Collaborate with people at this layer of intensity and form strong bonds that will last long after the energy of the day is gone.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

You have a tremendous amount of physical vitality today, so use it constructively. Listen more closely to the things around you - the people, music, words, and even the birds. You’ll pick up the deeper meanings in these sounds today and feel them resonate in the core of your being. Embrace a feeling of oneness with the people and places around you.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

There are important lessons to learn today, so listen closely. You may have been thinking other people should grow up. Even if you haven’t spoken those words to them directly, you’ve thought them to yourself. Understand now that perhaps you’re the one who needs to do a little growing. Don’t write people off so quickly. There’s something important to learn from everyone.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

Today seems to have a rather aggressive atmosphere. Things may heat up quite a bit, so be prepared for blasts of intense energy coming at you from others. If you’re the one dishing it out, make sure you’re prepared to receive it right back. You’re much more sensitive than you look.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Forcefulness may not be a usual part of your nature, but if there is a day in which you feel comfortable throwing your weight around, today is it. Enough is enough. Take control of your actions and responsibility for the consequences. Use this day to build your confidence and act assuredly in all your dealings. You either want it or you don’t.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

You have a great deal of power today, so use it wisely. No one likes a bully. Don’t resort to grade-school tactics. Create friends, not enemies. Use your strength and leadership skills to help others instead of arguing with them. Try not to rock the boat with a loved one. Things could get pretty heated and the volcano might erupt.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

You have a great deal of power today, so use it wisely. No one likes a bully. Don’t resort to grade-school tactics. Create friends, not enemies. Use your strength and leadership skills to help others instead of arguing with them. Try not to rock the boat with a loved one. Things could get pretty heated and the volcano might erupt.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

Your words have tremendous impact today, so think before you speak. It’s easy to hurt others’ feelings if you don’t take them into account. Try to be careful in any phone conversation and always verify that you’ve made yourself clear, especially when giving directions. Go deeper today instead of just floating about on the surface. People will open up to you.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

If you need to do any serious investigative work, today’s the day for it. Your powers of concentration are stronger than normal and you’re more interested in what lies below the surface. If you suspect another person’s actions or motives, this would be a good day to call him or her on it. Make sure that you’re both being honest.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You’ll feel forceful today, so use this energy to plow through any projects and get ahead in the game. You’re definitely the ruler of everything you come in contact with. But even good rulers can be overthrown. People don’t like arrogant leaders. Don’t assume that someone is wrong just because he or she doesn’t agree with your point of view.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

You can get many things accomplished today. The energy is very high intensity. Be careful about manipulating others. No one appreciates being ordered about, so be tactful. Try not to put on a show of superior knowledge. People will resent you for it even if your intentions are good (and you’re right).

Speed Bump