Prison Doctors Said on Solid Ground
Physician
Correctional
President
Chastises
Senator, Others
After Justice Dept.
Determination on Early Release of Convicted
Murderer Who Killed Again
P5
Dalmau’s Debate Participation Is Contingent on Wife’s Health Status
GOOD MORNING October
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.
Dalmau’s participation in debate contingent on wife’s health
By THE STAR STAFF
On Tuesday the four candidates for governor of Puerto Rico will face off in the “Destiny 2024 Debate,” which will be broadcast live at 8:30 p.m. on TeleOnce.
“The four campaign managers have confirmed the participation of their candidates,” said Stephanie Castro, vice president of news for the station. “Given this, we are ready to offer our audience a dynamic production that is very different from the formats we are used to.”
Castro added that in the particular case of Puerto Rican Independence Party-Alliance candidate Juan Dalmau Ramírez, whose wife Griselle Morales suffered a stroke last week, his interest and desire is to be present and participate in the debate.
“Obviously his appearance is subject to the health condition of his wife,” she said. “We trust that her recovery will continue satisfactorily.”
The candidates, Jesús Manuel Ortiz of the Popular Democratic Party, Jenniffer González Colón of the New Progressive
Party, Javier Jiménez Pérez of the Dignity Project and Dalmau Ramírez, will participate in several rounds of questions in which they will present their proposals regarding the issues that most impact Puerto Rico.
The debate program will include a prelude by “Jugando Pelota Dura” and will conclude with an analysis produced by Voz y Voto.
Mayors decry DNER’s abrupt cancellation of water pumping contracts
By THE STAR STAFF
The mayors of San Juan, Salinas, Guaynabo and Cataño, Miguel Romero Lugo, Karilyn Bonilla Colón, Edward O’Neill Rosa and Julio Alicea Vasallo, respectively, expressed dismay over the weekend regarding the cancellation of contracts for flood mitigation water pumping by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources without at least notifying them in advance.
“It is unacceptable and unsustainable that the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources has waived the contract for pumping operations in the middle of hurricane season, putting the lives and property of our people at risk,” Romero Lugo said in a written statement. “We have acted in good faith and communication has not been reciprocal. We expect urgent action. We cannot wait another minute.”
Bonilla Colón criticized the agency’s process for lacking a comprehensive communication plan.
“It is worrying that yesterday [Friday] they canceled that contract without first presenting an action plan to the citizens and the mayors, in order to work together,” she said. “The municipalities have always been willing to collaborate. In the case of the pumps in Guapo in Playita, Parque en la
Playa and Las 80, they have rented pumps since some of the DNER pumps are not in operation and others do not have the necessary capacity in cases of major flooding. If they cancel the contract, without an alternative plan, the communities will be vulnerable.”
O’Neill Rosa said meanwhile that “some streets and residences in Amelia were flooded again today due to the rains. The cancellation of the maintenance contract for the pumps by Natural Resources compromises the drainage system.”
“The cancellation was done without having an alternative plan to ensure that residents would not be affected and without prior notification to the municipality,” the Guaynabo mayor said. “We demand that Natural Resources maintain and operate the two pumping stations now. It is unacceptable; we need a solution now.”
Alicea Vasallo pointed out that “it is unusual that we learned of the cancellation from third parties and not from an official communication from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.”
“Today, after the decision was made public, the interim secretary contacted this public servant,” he said. “Our people cannot tolerate this negligence or lack of communication from the DNER with the municipality for a vital service.”
Lawmaker proposes rebuilding homes in rural San Juan with solar panels
By THE STAR STAFF
San Juan District 4 Rep. Víctor Parés Otero announced on Sunday the creation of a committee to evaluate the rehabilitation of homes in rural areas, including the possible installation of a photovoltaic energy system.
“Our goal is simple: we want residents of the rural sectors of our District to have resilient homes; for this, we are going to create a steering committee of experts that includes the Municipality of San Juan, the departments of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3), the Puerto Rico Planning Board and the Builders Association, among others, with the purpose of evaluating the homes to see how we can assist in making them resilient in case of storm impact.”
Parés, a member of the New Progressive Party, said he will be communicating with San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero and the directors of the agencies and organizations that will constitute the committee in order to establish an immediate work plan that includes visits to the communities to be impacted.
“We seek that, in addition to repairing or rebuilding parts
of the houses that need it, to achieve the resilience that we all seek,” Parés Otero said. “We will also study the feasibility of providing photovoltaic energy systems, the famous solar panels, or in other cases, batteries that ensure a source of electricity in case of interruptions in the service caused by emergencies such as the passage of a tropical storm or hurricane through Puerto Rico.”
“We know the commitment of our mayor, Miguel Romero, to the rural communities throughout San Juan,” the lawmaker added. “That is why we believe that this program, which we will implement starting in January 2025, will greatly benefit the residents of these sectors. Having a resilient house should be a right and we are going to work on it that way.”
The legislator added that the first phase of evaluation and impact will be carried out in the Chapero, Corea, Barrio Dulce, Puntito and Tortugo sectors of San Juan.
“This is a complete impact,” Parés Otero said. “First, we will evaluate what is needed for these houses in these rural sectors to be resilient; then, we will study the impact program, which includes identifying state and federal funds for its implementation. Then, another platform will be created to execute these projects.”
Lawmaker, candidate vow to make
By THE STAR STAFF
House Minority Leader Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez and House District 25 candidate Daniel Vega Ortiz are promising to take action to make the transfer of the Mercedita International Airport in Ponce to the municipality a reality.
The remarks came over the weekend after Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia rejected transferring the airport to the Ponce Port Authority and instead signed an executive order creating a committee that will analyze the transfer and submit a report in 180 days.
Méndez and Vega promised to promote a legislative resolution establishing the parameters of an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Likewise, Méndez said he will work to implement the Essential Air Service (EAS).
“I have spoken with our spokesperson so that in January 2025 one of the first pieces of legislation that not only is to be filed, but is to be evaluated and approved, is aimed at creating the parameters of agreement with the FAA, the Puerto Rico Ports Authority, and the municipality of Ponce so that the latter manages the facilities of the Mercedita International Airport,” said Vega, who is seeking the House seat for the municipalities of Jayuya, Ponce and Juana Díaz. “We are going to do things correctly; the ma-
transfer of Mercedita Airport to Ponce happen
jority delegation in the House in 2024 will work with the federal, state and municipal governments to create the path to what all Ponceños want: to manage our airport.”
“The Mercedita International Airport experienced a historic resurgence in the movement of passengers and cargo during the 2023-2024 fiscal year that ended on June 30,” Vega added. “In the first nine months of that year, 118,977 arrivals were recorded, compared to 98,909 in 2023. These numbers will continue to rise with the aggressive marketing campaign that
encourages the arrival of tourists from the nation, particularly in the months between November and April.”
Among the steps that the New Progressive Party, should it win a majority in the House in next month’s general elections, plans to implement is the review of the Guidelines for the Transfer of Federally Mandated Airports, as well as establishing a dialogue committee with the Financial Oversight and Management Board and the FAA, the entity that ultimately approves any transfer of this type of facility, which
is considered a national security facility.
“The EAS would help the Ponce airport maintain commercial air service, subsidizing part of the small air operations (airplanes with up to 20 seats), as is currently the case in Alaska and Hawaii, among other [places],” Méndez said. “This year, our resident commissioner and next governor, Jenniffer González, achieved the approval of HR 3935 (FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024) to include the Eugenio María de Hostos regional airport in Mayagüez in this program. We are going to work with her, our next resident commissioner, William Villafañe, and our legislators to do the same at Mercedita Airport.”
The EAS is a federal program that provides economic subsidies and funds to guarantee flight operations at regional airports throughout the United States and its jurisdictions, such as Puerto Rico.
Mercedita International Airport is one of the main assets believed to be necessary for revitalizing Ponce and neighboring towns. In recent years, it has represented an arrival alternative for more than 50,000 passengers from Orlando, Florida. At the same time, it is the workplace for more than 50 citizens of the southern region, including employees of JetBlue airline, vehicle rental dealers, and airport administrative and maintenance staff.
Rep. Víctor Parés Otero, at center
A passenger plane about to land at Mercedita International Airport in Ponce
Physician Correctional president blasts Vargas Vidot, others after Justice Dept. determination
By THE STAR STAFF
Physician Correctional President Raúl Villalobos lashed out Sunday against Sen. José Vargas Vidot, UtiCorp and the former president of the Bar Association, Manuel Quilinchini, following the Department of Justice’s determination that the company and/or its employees did not commit crimes in the process of granting convicted murderer Hermes Ávila Vázquez an early release from prison.
Villalobos also announced that he will provide assistance to the doctors who will go before the Licensing Board.
Physician Correctional is under contract with the island Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide medical services to inmates.
“I regret that Senator José Vargas Vidot used his position to seek the political spotlight, and not to seek the truth,” Villalobos said in a written statement. “The abuse of power, defamation, manipulation and lies could not prevail. Above the particular interests of Senator Vargas Vidot and Mr. Manuel Quilinchini, the truth prevailed.”
Villalobos said that during the public hearing process to study possible amendments to Law 25, “Vargas Vidot made severe criticisms of Physician Correctional and the doctors who serve under the company, without having evidence or data to support his comments.”
He added that he “will support the doctors during the
Physician Correctional President Raúl Villalobos
process that remains to be concluded, because we studied the files responsibly, not superficially as UtiCorp did, and we are confident that their evaluation was adequate,” Villalobos said. “The results of their internal investigation, and that of the Department of Justice, only strengthen the mission of providing responsible health care, always guided by ethical principles.”
The Department of Justice referred the doctors who
evaluated Ávila Vázquez’s case to the Puerto Rico Medical Licensing and Disciplinary Board because it believes they failed to comply with the provisions of Regulation 7818. Villalobos said prosecutors lack the clinical knowledge to reach that conclusion.
“We are confident that the doctors will prevail in any forum,” he said. “I have no doubt that they acted according to the standards of the medical profession, and in compliance with all legal provisions. On the other hand, we must understand that Justice lacks the clinical staff to evaluate whether the doctors acted in accordance with established standards. The referral does not surprise us, nor do I think that it should worry the referred doctors.”
Ávila Vázquez, 53, confessed to killing his partner Ivette Joan Meléndez Vega, 56, earlier this year and dumping her body in Manatí. He had been granted early release last year on medical grounds. It was found that Ávila Vázquez, who was serving time for a 2005 murder conviction, had faked paralysis in order to gain the early release under a program for inmates with terminal conditions.
Since then, the Corrections and Rehabilitation Department has been the target of criticism for allowing his release.
In August, Ávila Vázquez was sentenced to 102 years behind bars for the stabbing death of Meléndez Vega in April.
Commonwealth claims monitors defend reclassification of PREPA bonded debt
By THE STAR STAFF
Commonwealth claims reconciliation monitors are defending their attempts to pursue the subordination of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bond claim, according to a recent court document.
The monitors, which were appointed by the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC), also rejected a PREPA bondholders’ argument that lifting the litigation stay in the PREPA bankruptcy case to decide the issue didn’t promote judicial efficiency.
“The objection does not attempt to respond to the reality that the commonwealth’s general unsecured creditors are entitled to finality on the commonwealth plan so as to permit them to begin receiving distributions,” the claims reconciliation monitors said.
The U.S. Bank National Association, which is the PREPA trustee, opposed a monitors’ request seeking a partial lift to the confirmation stay of PREPA’s case to pursue litigation to reclassify the PREPA’s bond trustee debt claim against the commonwealth.
While the court confirmed the commonwealth debt adjustment plan for the bankruptcy case in 2022, the commonwealth general unsecured claims have not been paid because of the unresolved issue. The U.S. Bank National Association is asserting an $8 billion unsecured claim against
the commonwealth. The $8 billion is also the amount owed in PREPA bonds.
The claims’ monitors, Carol Flaton and Ramón Ortiz, want to reclassify the debt, arguing that they believe the U.S. Bank National claim is not a commonwealth general unsecured claim and that, instead, it should be classified as an unsubordinated claim under the Commonwealth Plan, they said.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain asked parties to brief her on allowing the litigation to commence during the stay in September, after the monitors said in an informative motion that once bondholders’ claim had been classified, the commonwealth could start making payments to unsecured creditors.
Commonwealth unsecured creditors, who have been waiting since the March 2022 effective date of the commonwealth plan, still haven’t been paid anything because the court has not yet determined if PREPA bondholders have an $8 billion unsecured claim against the commonwealth.
The claims reconciliation monitors have said they have standing to bring a case.
“This classification issue falls squarely within the authority granted to the claims reconciliation monitors under the commonwealth plan, and it should come as no surprise that the objection cannot point to a single case where a party who was granted certain rights under a confirmed plan of reorganization was later found (by the very court that confirmed the plan)
to lack standing to avail itself of those rights,” the reply said. The monitors also disputed a bondholders claim to the effect that the classification litigation had no bearing on PREPA’s Title III case. The total amount of CW general unsecured claims is approximately $3.5 billion. While the trustee proof of claim is unliquidated in amount, the Financial Oversight and Management Board has reserved $8.4 billion on account of it.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain
Monday, October 21, 2024 6
At a Pennsylvania rally, Trump descends to new levels of vulgarity
By MICHAEL GOLD
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday spewed crude and vulgar remarks at a rally in Pennsylvania that included an off-color remark about a famous golfer’s penis size and a coarse insult about Vice President Kamala Harris.
The performance, 17 days before the election in a critical battleground state, added to the impression of the Republican nominee as increasingly unfiltered and undisciplined. It comes as some of Trump’s allies and aides worry that Trump’s temperament and crass style are alienating undecided voters.
It was unclear if the outbursts and insults were an
expression of his frustration as the campaign grinds on or of his reflexive desire to entertain his crowds. At her own events Saturday, Harris called attention to Trump’s temperament and his tendency to “go off script and ramble.”
Trump opened his speech at the airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with 12 minutes of reminiscing about golfer Arnold Palmer, who grew up in the Western Pennsylvania town and for whom the airport was named.
His monologue culminated in lewd remarks about the size of Palmer’s penis. Moments later, Trump gave the crowd an opportunity to call out a profanity. He went on to use that four-letter word to describe Harris.
“Such a horrible four years,” Trump said, referring to the Biden-Harris administration, as he surveyed the crowd of hundreds of people in front of him. “We had a horrible — think of the — everything they touch turns to —.”
Many in his audience — which was mostly made up of adults but included some children, infants and teenagers — eagerly filled in the blank, shouting, “Shit!”
Minutes later, Trump urged his supporters to vote, telling them that they had to send a crude message to Harris: “We can’t stand you, you’re a shit vice president.”
With Election Day nearing, Trump’s advisers billed Saturday’s speech as the start of his efforts to make a closing argument to voters. But the choice to open his rally with a long story about Palmer — one of the few topics Trump
spoke about at significant length without veering off on tangents — set a curious tone.
“This is a guy that was all man,” Trump said of Palmer, who died in 2016. “This man was strong and tough. And I refuse to say it, but when he took showers with the other pros, they came out of there, they said, ‘Oh, my God, that’s unbelievable.’”
As the crowd reacted, Trump chuckled. Later, he said, “I had to tell you the shower part of it because it’s true. What can I tell you? We want to be honest.”
Trump has always enjoyed shocking people, and in addition to cursing volubly, he enjoys talking about sex and men’s and women’s looks.
But in the past, he had refrained, for the most part, from being overtly crude publicly as a candidate or as president. Now, however, as he makes his third run for the White House and has become visibly angrier since Harris joined the race, there has been a notable uptick in such behavior, especially in the campaign’s final weeks and days.
In rallies, in interviews and on social media, he has seemingly relished deploying off-color language that politicians shied away from in another era. He has reposted racially and sexually charged insults of Harris on his Truth Social website, and he has done little to dissuade or calm crowds that have chanted profanity about the people with whom he has grievances.
This past week, Trump was speaking at a Catholic charity event and standing mere feet from the Archbishop of New York when he swore while insulting Bill de Blasio, the former mayor of New York. “He was a terrible mayor,” Trump said. “I don’t give a shit if this is comedy or not.”
Trump often uses a variation of that word to allude to the four criminal cases against him. “I won’t say it, because I don’t like using the word ‘bullshit’ in front of these beautiful children,” he said in June at an event at a megachurch in Arizona, where the crowd began chanting it in unison, to Trump’s glee.
It was one of several recent acknowledgments from Trump, including one in Latrobe, that his profanity had the potential to offend. Trump has often told his crowds the story of a letter he received from Franklin Graham, the evangelical leader, urging him to clean up his language.
“I wrote him back,” Trump said Saturday. “I said, I’m going to try to do that, but actually, the stories won’t be as good. Because you can’t put the same emphasis on it. So tonight, I broke my rule.”
Many of those who attend his rallies reflect his attitude in their apparel, wearing shirts, baseball caps and other clothing with vulgar expressions, many of which are aimed at Harris.
In Latrobe, Trump eventually shifted to his typical campaign themes. At one point, he insisted his election might bring about “America’s new golden age.”
It was a rare moment of optimism in his speech. Mostly, Trump continued to use dark, at times violent, rhetoric to describe the Biden administration, the American economy and illegal immigration, which he once again spoke of as a military invasion.
The San Juan Daily Star
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, walks on stage during a campaign rally at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
Harris, armed with a T-shirt and a message, sticks up for Detroit against Trump
By NICHOLAS NEHAMAS
Vice President Kamala Harris let her T-shirt do the talking in Detroit on Saturday.
The black shirt — which she wore under a gray blazer as she addressed several hundred campaign volunteers in a gym at Western International High School — bore the words “Detroit vs. Everybody.” The attire was a clear response to former President Donald Trump, who last week disparaged what is one of the nation’s largest majority-Black cities, portraying Detroit as a decaying harbinger of America’s future under Harris.
In brief remarks to the crowd on the inaugural day of early voting in the city, Harris urged her supporters to reject Trump’s division and insults.
“We stand for the idea that the true measure of the strength of a leader is not based on who you beat down; it’s on who you lift up,” she said, adding that her campaign was seeking the kind of “grit” and “excellence” possessed by “the people of Detroit.”
“He spends full time talking about himself and mythical characters, not talking about the working people, not talking about you, not talking about lifting you up,” Harris added. Trump had attacked Detroit while giving remarks at an economic forum in the city Oct. 10, earning widespread scorn from Democrats and offering fodder for a Harris campaign ad. “Our whole country will end up being like Detroit if she’s your president,” he had warned of Harris.
Black voters, especially Black men, are supporting Harris with less enthusiasm than they had for the Democratic nominee in previous elections, and Trump has tried to take advantage. The Harris campaign has lately ramped up outreach efforts to Black voters, including by releasing an economic policy agenda designed for Black men. Turnout in Detroit could help decide the race in Michigan, one of the nation’s top battleground states, where polls show an even contest.
More than 1 million voters in Michigan have already returned their absentee ballots, according to state officials. Both candidates have been urging their supporters to vote early, and they are fighting over the sliver of undecided voters who remain.
Americans are increasingly casting their ballots before Election Day, allowing campaigns to focus more attention on turning out harder-to-reach voters. But Trump has falsely criticized mail voting as encouraging electoral fraud, complicating his party’s outreach efforts.
Trump spent Friday campaigning in the Detroit area, which is solidly Democratic, trying to peel away support from Harris among blue-collar workers worried about the economy and among Arab American and Muslim American voters, who have expressed anger over the Biden administration’s support for Israel in the war in the Gaza Strip.
In an apparent attempt to move past his criticisms of the city, Trump this time argued that his proposals would produce an economic boom there, suggesting that Harris’ tax proposals,
in contrast, would result in “economic Armageddon.”
Trump also visited Hamtramck, Michigan, a city just to the north of Detroit, which has a significant Muslim and Arab American population and whose Democratic mayor endorsed him last month. Trump told supporters there that he urgently wanted to achieve peace in the Middle East. But he still offered praise for how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has handled the war in Gaza, saying that he was “doing a good job.”
On Saturday, he rallied with supporters in Pennsylvania, another battleground state that could decide the election. Both candidates and their allies are crisscrossing the battlegrounds in an effort to get out the vote with the election less than three weeks away.
Trump has reserved special criticism in his false claims about voter fraud for cities with large Black populations like Atlanta, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. In an interview with pundit Roland Martin this week, Harris suggested that race was implicitly a factor in Trump’s choosing to talk about those cities.
“If you just look at where the stars are in the sky, don’t look at them as just random things,” Harris said. “Look at the constellation: What does it show you?”
On the campaign trail, she has begun deploying the power of celebrity to mobilize her supporters. In Detroit, she was joined by pop singer Lizzo, a native of the city. On Saturday night, she will hold a rally in Atlanta with R&B star Usher.
Speaking before Harris at the rally in Detroit, Lizzo also challenged Trump’s attacks on the city.
“They say if Kamala wins, this whole country will be like Detroit,” she said. “Well, I say proud like Detroit. I say resilient like Detroit. This is the same Detroit that innovated the auto industry and the music industry. So put some respect on Detroit’s name.”
In a ‘Detroit Vs. Everybody’ t-shirt, Vice President Kamala Harris meets with reporters before a rally at Western International High School in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. More than 1 million Michigan voters have already returned absentee ballots, according to state officials; Americans are increasingly voting before Election Day, allowing campaigns to focus
harder-to-reach voters. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
At least 7 dead after Georgia ferry dock gangway collapses
By HANK SANDERS
At least seven people were killed Saturday when a ferry dock gangway collapsed on a Georgia island where hundreds had gathered to celebrate the heritage of a community of slave descendants, authorities said.
The deaths on Sapelo Island were confirmed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which manages the island and operates its ferry service. The island is about 70 miles by road south of Savannah, Georgia.
The department said late Saturday that at least 20 people went into the water when the gangway collapsed, and that it was not immediately clear how many people had been injured. A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard in Savannah said by phone that he was unable to confirm the injury toll.
Hundreds of people visited Sapelo Island on Saturday to attend an annual festival that celebrates the heritage of the Gullah Geechee people, said Griffin Lotson, the mayor pro-tempore of the nearby city of
Darien, Georgia. It was not clear early Sunday if any of those visitors had been victims of the accident.
The Gullah Geechee, who live along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia and northern Florida, are descendants of enslaved West African people who were brought to the southeastern United States more than two centuries ago. The Sapelo Island festival honors their language, cuisine and art, said Lotson, a seventh-generation Gullah Geechee.
“The day is about all of the culture,” he said by phone late Saturday. “From Africa, to the way that it was on the plantation, to the 21st century with the young folks and what they do.”
The McIntosh County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that multiple agencies were responding to the accident. Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia described the ferry dock site on social media as an “active scene.”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement that federal support had been offered to local officials to assist the community.
“Even in the face of this heartbreak, we will
continue to celebrate and honor the history, culture, and resilience of the Gullah-Geechee community,” Harris said.
The cultural festival is organized by the Sapelo Island Cultural and Revitalization Society, a nonprofit that helps to preserve the heritage of the Gullah Geechee people. The society did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It said in a post on Facebook that it was “heartbroken” over the accident.
J.R. Grovner, who owns Sapelo Island Tours, a company that uses the dock, was on the scene shortly after the gangway collapsed. As he arrived at the dock, he said, he saw bodies floating in the Duplin River.
“Most of the bodies were already on the edge of the river, and people were pulling them up,” Grovner said by phone Saturday night, adding that several of the victims appeared to be elderly. He said he had helped to check some of their pulses as people at the scene administered CPR.
“I’ve been on Sapelo for 44 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this in my life,” Grovner said.
Halloween’s mutation: From humble holiday to retail monstrosity
By AIMEE ORTIZ
On Nov. 1, 1876, The New York Times declared Halloween “departed,” destined for the grave.
In 2024, consumers are expected to spend $11.6 billion celebrating the holiday, up from $3.3 billion in 2005. Perhaps it is time to eat some crow.
Halloween, steeped in tradition, has transformed from a pagan feast to a celebration with lovingly homemade costumes and treats to one of the largest consumer spending holidays in the United States. Every October — or earlier — millions of Americans are spending on costumes, decorating their homes and lawns with garish skeletons and spiders, and doling out candy to little superheroes and witches. But how did this holiday with humble origins become an economic juggernaut with growing global appeal?
Halloween is a marketer’s dream, said Tom Arnold, a finance professor and retail expert at the University of Richmond. It falls on the same day every year, Halloween items are largely consumable (candy needs to be replenished every year, and kids outgrow costumes), and pop culture trends can help predict which costumes will be the must-haves each season.
Arnold said the 1970s brought massmanufactured costumes and individually wrapped candy that made the holiday explode in popularity. It also shifted from a more religious holiday to a secular one.
Even when consumers are worried about their finances, they’ll still open their wallets for holidays like Halloween and Christmas, Arnold said, because “it creates a unique experience at a particular time of the year.”
“Even during the pandemic, consumers went to great strides to preserve these two holidays,” he said.
A holiday with Catholic and Celtic roots comes to America
Halloween is a combination of two holidays: All Saints’ Day, which was a Catholic holiday that was moved to Nov. 1 to co-opt the other, Samhain, an old Celtic pagan holiday, said Lisa Morton, author of “Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween.” In fact, the holiday’s name is a shortened version of “All Hallows’ Eve,” with “hallow” meaning saint.
Samhain (pronounced saa-wn) was the New Year’s festival for Irish Celtic tribes when they were entering their long, cold
winter. They celebrated it with a three-day festival and scary stories, which is most likely the source of Halloween’s macabre side.
Halloween made its way to the United States in the 1840s with Scottish and Irish immigrants who brought their favorite holidays with them as they fled from famine. Magazines, a nascent industry at the time, published stories about “quaint Irish and Scottish celebrations” that caught the attention of American mothers, who started hosting Halloween parties for their children.
Trick-or-treating came about as a way to distract children who, by 1900, had taken over the holiday. Kids played simple but mischievous pranks, like disassembling and then reassembling a farmer’s buggy on a barn roof. However, as time passed and America began urbanizing, the pranks became “very destructive,” Morton said. Communities needed a way to “buy off” gangs of feral children who were terrorizing neighbors by smashing light fixtures, setting tires on fire and tripping people on sidewalks.
Neighborhood “house-to-house parties” were held for kids, Morton said, noting that this origin of trick-or-treat also provided the basis for today’s haunted attractions (think haunted houses and mazes) as people would set up “trails of terror” in their basements or at local parks. Haunted houses are now a seven-figure industry of their own.
Candy and costumes go commercial
When trick-or-treating became widespread, costuming also gained in popularity. Costumes had been a part of the fun dating
back to the 19th century, Morton said, but they took off in the 1950s, when big retailers and costume stores got involved.
“If you’re a kid, who wouldn’t rather be Superman at Halloween than yet another thief made up from your dad’s old clothes out of the attic?” she said.
Candy, the most popular spending category for the holiday today, took off in the ’50s, too, Morton said, as the end of World War II meant sugar was back in stock.
According to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey, 47% of consumers began shopping for Halloween before October, and 48% of those early shoppers said they had been motivated by their eagerness for autumn. Spending on candy is expected to reach $3.5 billion this year; spending on costumes and decorations is predicted to hit $3.8 billion each. Greeting cards (yes, people do give Halloween greeting cards) account for $500 million. Consumers are expected to spend an average of $103.63 per person this year.
Young adults join the party Halloween spending has been rising for years, a trend that can be largely be attributed to millennial and Generation Z consumers who love the holiday, said Katherine Cullen, vice president of industry and consumer insights at the National Retail Federation.
“We’re at a point where almost threequarters of adults celebrate Halloween, which is really impactful,” she said.
Spirit Halloween and big retailers move in
Spirit Halloween is not just a seasonal pop-up store that comes to town for a few months every year. It’s retail entertainment.
“When you walk into a Spirit store, you are immersed into a Halloween space and you can see it, you can smell it, you can hear it, you can touch it, you can almost taste it,” said Steven Silverstein, the company’s CEO.
During his tenure of a little over 20 years, Spirit Halloween has grown from about 130 locations to more than 1,500 this year across the United States and Canada.
Home Depot’s Halloween program began in 2013 and was “contained to a single endcap of our store aisles with around 40 ‘harvest’ themed products,” Lance Allen, senior merchant of decorative holiday at Home Depot, said. Now Home Depot offers consumers hundreds of products, including its famous 12-foot skeleton, “Skelly,” which has sold out every year since its debut in 2020, Allen said. Online sales start in July, and stores have their Halloween displays up by Labor Day.
Can’t wait for Halloween? Try ‘Summerween’
Michaels and Home Depot are among retailers that have started previewing and selling frightful wares earlier and earlier — a phenomenon called “holiday creep.” There’s now “Summerween,” a pastel-hued and hot-weather-infused celebration for those who can’t wait for October. Halloween superfans gleefully post on social media under #codeorange at the earliest signs of holiday shopping.
The modern, Americanized Halloween is spreading, gaining a foothold outside English-speaking countries, where it bends to local traditions, said Morton, the author. She pointed to Hong Kong, where a big amusement park creates Halloween mazes every year.
“One of the interesting things about Halloween is the way it continually morphs,” Morton said. “We see it change almost from century to century.”
She added: “I’m fascinated to see where it’s going to go from here.”
Contrary to popular belief, Halloween is not the second-largest retail holiday behind Christmas, Cullen said. Personal spending on gift-giving holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day outnumbers it, but it still falls in the top 10.
A young customer trying out a disguise at the flagship Spirit Halloween store in Manhattan on Oct. 3, 2024. Americans once made their own costumes and candy. Now, the holiday has rapidly commercialized, transforming into an economic juggernaut.
(John Taggart/The New York Times)
Hedge funds snap up tech stocks at fastest pace in five months
Global hedge funds this week bought U.S. information technology stocks, such as semiconductors and hardware, at the fastest in five months amid the start of the third-quarter earnings season, according to Goldman Sachs on Friday.
Outside the U.S., diverging reports from chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and chipmaking equipment supplier ASML Holding moved shares in opposite directions while investors await semiconductor companies such as Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia to unveil their earnings as they seek a trend.
oldman Sachs’ prime brokerage unit, which provides services for hedge funds and tracks their positioning, said portfolio managers net bought U.S. information technology stocks for the third straight week. Hedge funds both covered short positionsbets stocks will fall - and snapped up long positions.
The bank said the only information tech subsector hedge funds sold was software.
Overall, information technology accounts for 16.1% of hedge funds’ U.S. exposure, down from roughly 22% it reached earlier this year.
On the flip side, hedge funds sold stocks in U.S. consumer sectors, from food products to beverages and restaurants for the fifth straight week, the bank said.
Data storage provider Western Digital must pay $315.7 million in damages for violating a patent owner’s rights in data security technology, a jury in California federal court said on Friday.
The jury determined that several Western Digital self-encrypting hard drive products infringe a SPEX Technologies patent covering data encryption innovations, a SPEX attorney said in
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an email.
San Jose, California-based SPEX sued Western Digital in 2016. SPEX said it bought the patent at issue from Spyrus, a cryptography company that developed the technology for encrypting sensitive communications.
Spyrus co-founder Sue Pontius said she was grateful to the jury for the verdict. SPEX’s lead attorney, Marc Fenster, said the verdict was “a vindication of Sue Pontius and her perseverance.”
A Western Digital spokesperson said the company disagrees with the verdict and plans to challenge it in post-trial motions and an appeal if necessary.
The lawsuit said Western Digital data storage devices including its Ultrastar, My Book and My Passport products infringed the patent. Western Digital denied the allegations.
In July, a different jury in the same Santa Ana, California, court said Western Digital owed more than $262 million to another company for infringing patents related to increasing hard drive storage capacity.
U.S. investors made large investments in equity funds in the week to Oct. 16, buoyed by strong third-quarter earnings from U.S. lenders and optimism over a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in November and signs of cooling inflation.
The San Juan Daily Star
Jonatan Ramos Director Funerario
The San Juan Daily Star Monday, October 21, 2024 11
Cuba suffers second power outage in 24 hours, realizing years of warnings
By DAVID C. ADAMS
The experts had warned for years: Cuba’s power grid was on the verge of collapse, relying on plants nearly a half-century old and importing fuel that the strapped communist government could barely afford.
On Friday morning, their dire predictions came true as the entire island plunged into the most prolonged blackout it has suffered in the three decades since its former benefactor and steady fuel supplier, the Soviet Union, collapsed.
Cuban energy officials managed to briefly get power back up to some parts of the island Friday night. But early Saturday, the state’s utility company reported another “total disconnection” of the system, the second in less than 24 hours.
Government officials tried to reassure the public that power would be broadly restored over the weekend but acknowledged they could not be sure.
“We are estimating there should be important progress today,” Lazaro Guerra, the electricity director for the Ministry of Energy and Mines, said in an interview on state television.
“But I cannot assure you that we will be able to have the system fully connected today,” he added.
For years, Cuba has been plagued by rolling blackouts that last a few hours a day, often longer in the countryside.
But this time is different, residents say, recalling the nightmare of the so-called “Special Period” in the early 1990s, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Havana residents described total darkness across the city late Friday, with lights only twinkling from hospitals and modern hotels that had their own generators.
“We are an island of zombies, staggering around with no idea where to go,” said Giovanny Fardales, a 51-yearold unemployed translator in Havana, who sent messages as his cellphone battery steadily ran down.
“Maybe I won’t be able to communicate much longer. We’re on the Titanic, and it’s slowly sinking,” he added.
Adding to residents’ worries, Hurricane Oscar, a Category 1 storm, is expected to bring heavy rains to eastern Cuba by Sunday.
‘Prehistoric’ power plants
Cuban economists and foreign analysts blamed the crisis on several factors: the government’s failure to tackle the island’s aging infrastructure; the decline in fuel supplies from Venezuela, Mexico and Russia; and a lack of capital investment in badly needed renewable systems, such as wind and solar.
Jorge Piñon, a Cuban-born energy expert at the University of Texas at Austin, highlighted that Cuba’s electricity grid relies on eight very large power plants that are close to 50 years old. “They have not received any operational maintenance, much less capital maintenance, in the last 12 to 15 years,” he said, adding that they have a lifetime of only 25-30 years.
“So, number one, it’s a structural problem, they are
Venezuela’s shipments fell to 25,000 or 30,000 barrels a day, about a third of Cuba’s import needs, costing about $600 million to 700 million a year, according to Francisco J. Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University.
“Venezuela continues to export to Cuba. It varies a little bit,” he said. “Of course, it’s much less than the humongous subsidies that Venezuela used to send,” he added, noting that at its peak a decade ago, Cuba received 130,000 barrels a day from its socialist ally, at a hefty subsidy.
After the Biden administration temporarily relaxed Venezuelan oil sanctions earlier this year to encourage its government to allow free and fair elections, the South American country began selling more of its supply to foreign oil companies, including Chevron, for cash to help with its own economic crisis.
breaking down all the time, and that has a domino effect,” he said.
Compounding the problems, Cuba burns crude oil as a fuel for its plants. Experts said Cuba’s own crude oil production is very heavy in sulfur and metals that can impair the thermoelectric combustion process. “So they have to be constantly repairing them, and they’re repairing them with Band-Aids,” said Piñon.
In the 1970s, Cuba dabbled in nuclear power, and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro sent one of his sons to study nuclear physics in Moscow. Work began on a nuclear plant on Cuba’s south coast, but only the concrete outer shell was built, and the project was mothballed in the 1990s.
In 2006, after Cuban began having power shortages because of hurricanes in the sweltering summer months, Castro imported thousands of huge diesel-powered generators, each capable of providing enough power for rural towns and villages across the country.
“Thermoelectric plants are prehistoric,” Castro said in a TV broadcast at the time.
Since then, diesel prices have skyrocketed, in part because of the increased consumption by the trucking industry, putting a strain on Cuba’s finances.
Power ships and help from abroad
More recently, Cuba has turned to leasing half a dozen massive ships that operate as mobile power stations, capable of generating 20% of Cuba’s electricity.
The Turkish-owned ships have become a familiar sight in the Bay of Havana, but the lease agreement requires that Cuba supply the fuel.
Cuba produces about 40,000 barrels of fuel a day, analysts estimate, but consumes about 120,000 barrels a day.
Until about a year ago, the deficit of some 80,000 barrels was covered by shipments, mostly from Venezuela, plus smaller amounts from Mexico and sometimes from Russia.
Those imports appear to have fallen significantly.
That left Cuba in the lurch. Russia has not made up the shortfall, as some had speculated it might, and Mexico’s oil production fell to a 45-year low this year, one of the steepest output declines anywhere in the world this century.
“Cuba is just nowhere near as much a priority for a resource-constrained Russia as it historically was,” said Maximilian Hess, a Russia expert with the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a Philadelphia-based research group.
An economic tailspin
Cuba’s economy had enjoyed a brief honeymoon with the United States during the Obama administration, which sought to normalize relations after decades of hostility while keeping a long-standing economic embargo in place. President Donald Trump reversed course, leading to renewed restrictions on tourism, visas, remittances, investments and commerce. The coronavirus pandemic devastated Cuba’s once booming tourist industry, closing off a valuable source of foreign currency to pay for fuel.
“The government is bankrupt,” said Pavel Vidal, a Cuban economist at the Javeriana University in Cali, Colombia.
Nor has major emigration — Cuba’s population has fallen by 1 million over the last three years — lessened the problem, possibly because families abroad are sending electrical goods to relatives in Cuba.
So far in 2024, Cubans imported more than $200,000 in generators from the United States and more than $1 million in air conditioners and parts, according to John Kavulich with the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council in New York.
Officials in the U.S. are monitoring Cuba closely for any signs of civil unrest. During blackouts in July 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets demanding electricity, food and political change.
“If they can’t turn these plants back on, there is a concern that this could turn into another mass exodus,” said Ricardo Herrero, the director of the Cuba Study Group in Washington.
“They are really short on options,” he added.
Walking on a street in Havana on Friday night after Cuba was hit by an islandwide blackout.
A Middle East shift is underway, without Israel
By MARIA ABI-HABIB and ISMAEEL NAAR
Ayear ago, Saudi Arabia was preparing to recognize Israel in a normalization deal that would have fundamentally reshaped the Middle East and further isolated Iran and its allies while barely lifting a finger to advance Palestinian statehood.
Now, that deal is further away than ever, even after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, which has been widely seized upon as a potential opening for a peace deal. Instead, Saudi Arabia is warming relations with its traditional archenemy, Iran, while insisting that any diplomatic pact now hinges on Israel’s acceptance of a Palestinian state, a remarkable turnaround for the kingdom.
A diplomatic detente is underway in the Middle East, but not the one envisioned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who continues to say that his administration can clinch a deal with Saudi Arabia. This month, the foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf states met for the first time as a group with their Iranian counterpart. It is a shaky, early stage rapprochement that will only chip away at centuries of sectarian antagonisms, but it represents a sharp shift in a region where the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has drenched the region in bloodshed for decades.
Iran’s outreach continued after that, with the country’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, visiting Saudi Arabia before heading to other countries in the region, including Iraq and Oman, in an effort to ease tensions. He also visited Jordan before traveling to Egypt and Turkey. The visit to Egypt was the first by an Iranian foreign minister in 12 years, according to Iranian news media.
“In the region, we now have a common grievance about the threat of the war spreading, and the wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the displaced people,” Araghchi said Friday when he landed in Istanbul.
While Netanyahu continues to reject the creation of a Palestinian state, Saudi officials have taken to newspapers and public speeches to put a two-state solution on the negotiating table. That, the kingdom has said, is the only way at this point for Israel to win favor with Saudi Arabia, largely seen as the leader of the Arab world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel holds up props as he addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. Before Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks, Saudi Arabia was open to forging stronger ties with the Israelis. Now, a year into the war in Gaza, it is warming up to its traditional enemy, Iran. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times)
What changed? Images started streaming out of the Gaza Strip of children buried alive under rubble, mothers grieving over their dead babies and Palestinians starving because Israel had blocked aid from entering the territory — all of which made it impossible for the Saudi leadership to ignore the issue of Palestinian statehood.
“What Gaza has done is set back any Israeli integration into the region,” said Ali Shihabi, a Saudi businessperson who is close to the monarchy and sits on the advisory board of Neom, a futuristic city that is the pet project of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s future ruler. “Saudi Arabia sees that any association with Israel has become more toxic since Gaza, unless the Israelis change their spots and show a real commitment to a Palestinian state, which they have refused to do.”
For now, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners remain skeptical about the sincerity of Iran’s diplomatic overtures. While two of Iran’s proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, have been hammered by Israel, Iran still arms and supports its third ally, the Houthis in Yemen, which have attacked Saudi Arabia.
But “as long as the Iranians are reaching a hand out to Riyadh, the Saudi leadership will take it,” said Shihabi, adding that, if Iran is serious, “that would be a true realignment of the Mideast.”
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long jockeyed for regional dominance, a rivalry shaped by the competing branches of Islam each country embraces.
The war in Gaza has been raging for over a year, starting after Hamas launched a bloody attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 Is-
raelis and kidnapping over 200 more. That prompted Israel to launch an invasion of Gaza that has been criticized for its indiscriminate bombing and catastrophic death toll: over 40,000 dead, many of them civilians.
In the months before Oct. 7, Saudi Arabia was planning an agreement with Israel that would have given Riyadh an expanded defense pact with the United States and support for a civilian nuclear program in exchange for normalizing ties. While some other Gulf countries opened diplomatic relations with Israel in 2020 in a deal known as the Abraham Accords, they did not use their leverage to push Israel to create and recognize a Palestinian state.
While Riyadh has long been a vociferous supporter of a two-state solution, that goal became less of a foreign policy priority in recent years, as the crown prince solidified his power and shaped the nation’s regional and domestic policies. In last year’s talks to normalize ties with Israel, a Palestinian state was never raised as a condition. Instead, Saudi Arabia demanded that Israel allow for the Palestinian Authority — which governs the West Bank — to expand its territorial control and power, according to Shihabi and Arab diplomats with knowledge of the talks.
But the situation in Gaza has upended that ambivalence.
In his first public comments advocating for a Palestinian state, Crown Prince Mohammed was unequivocal about Saudi Arabia’s new demands.
“The kingdom will not cease its tireless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without one,” the crown prince said Sept. 18 to his senior advisory council, in a speech akin to the akin to the U.S. State of the Union address.
The Abraham Accords have been criticized for not delivering the peace to the region promised by former President Donald Trump, whose administration brokered the deal. None of the Arab states that signed on have fought a war with Israel in decades, and the deal did not include Iran and Syria, which are in active conflict with Israel.
The historic meeting between Iran and the Gulf countries this month came a day after Tehran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. The attack was revenge for last month’s killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, and the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year, key Iranian allies.
Observers wonder if Iran is now more eager to thaw relations with the Gulf because of Israeli operations that have killed most of Hezbollah’s top leadership in recent weeks. The Lebanese militia has long been Iran’s most powerful Arab ally and proxy, long feared by Israel and the linchpin in Tehran’s efforts to project its power across the Middle East. It also provided a bulwark against Israel for Iran. Without Hezbollah, Iran is severely weakened.
After more than 2 years, Guatemalan journalist will leave prison
By JODY GARCÍA and EMILIANO RODRÍGUEZ MEGA
After spending more than 810 days in a cramped cell with little more than his books to keep him company, one of Guatemala’s most renowned journalists was to be released to house detention over the weekend as he waits to find out whether he will be granted a new trial.
The decision comes after a judge ruled Friday that José Rubén Zamora, founder and publisher of elPeriódico, a leading newspaper in Guatemala that aggressively investigated government corruption, had spent too much time in prison without a trial and that he was not likely to flee.
“I have never wanted to flee Guatemala, which is also my country, not just the country of the authorities in power,” Zamora, 68, told the judge. “If you place your trust in me, I will honor it.”
Zamora was convicted last year of money laundering, sentenced to as many as six years in prison and fined about $40,000. He called the charges politically motivated and said they were retaliation for his newspaper’s focus on public corruption.
As part of his detention outside jail, he will be required to report periodically to authorities and remain confined at home.
His trial was plagued with irregularities and was broadly seen as fundamentally unfair — another move to undermine democracy and target critical press coverage during the administration of former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Months later, an appeals court overturned his conviction and sent the case back for a retrial. But prosecutors appealed that decision, and Zamora remained in pretrial detention.
José Rubén Zamora, the founder and publisher of elPeriódico, a leading Guatemala newspaper, is escorted by guards after he was convicted of money laundering in Guatemala City, Guatemala, June 14, 2023. (Daniele Volpe/The New York Times)
The appeals court is now weighing whether to grant him a new trial.
Although he was granted house arrest for his money laundering case in August, Zamora was kept in prison because he faced another pretrial detention order for a second case related to obstruction of justice and falsification of documents.
Friday’s ruling means that, for now, he’ll be able to confront those charges in freedom.
The Guatemalan government came under new leadership in January after Bernardo Arévalo, an anti-corruption crusader, won a runoff election for president. The shift in power translated into slightly better conditions for Zamora.
The lights in his tiny cell were fixed. The glass on three small windows was replaced
to keep out insects and prevent the cold from seeping in. He was given nail clippers and scissors.
And his family was allowed to take him an electronic tablet that he used to listen to music and watch some TV shows.
But while the new presidential administration is considered more progressive and supportive of democratic norms, Zamora’s case had until recently been overseen by prosecutors and judges allied with Giammattei.
Last week, a new slate of judges, including high court magistrates, were appointed. Some of them are considered to be independent.
Among those who have tried to keep Zamora behind bars are the country’s attorney general, María Consuelo Porras, the leader of the special prosecutor’s office against impunity, Rafael Curruchiche, and a far-right group, the Foundation Against Terrorism.
Porras and Curruchiche also used repeated legal challenges to try to block an orderly transition of power. They have been placed on a list of corrupt Central American officials by the United States, accused of graft and undermining democratic institutions.
Curruchiche’s office, which sought a 40year prison sentence for Zamora, tried to suspend Friday’s hearing by not showing up. The Foundation Against Terrorism, or Fundaterror, which supports the attorney general, also claimed that the judge was not impartial.
“The pattern is always the same,” Zamora said in an interview. “Every time they assign me a judge, Fundaterror proceeds to file complaints against the judges. It says that I have bribed them, that I have made deals with them — judges that I have never seen and do not know.”
These tactics have allowed the public prosecutor’s office in Guatemala to obstruct hear-
ings and keep journalists, anti-corruption prosecutors and human rights activists in pretrial detention.
But they were not enough to stop Judge Erick García Alvarado from deciding Friday that Zamora’s time in prison had exceeded the limits established by law and that his release was needed “for human rights reasons.”
Many across Guatemala applauded the ruling, including the country’s president. “Zamora returns home,” Arévalo said on social media. “Justice begins to arrive, the dark cycle will end.”
Still, despite Zamora’s expected release, “justice is far from achieved yet in this case,” said Carlos Martínez de la Serna, program director of the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York. “He shouldn’t have spent a single hour imprisoned.”
Zamora’s defense was hamstrung at various steps from the beginning.
He cycled through several defense lawyers, at least four of whom were accused of obstructing justice, prosecuted, detained and pressured into accepting the charges against them.
And a judge who handled the case earlier in the process did not allow Zamora to present any witnesses and rejected most of the evidence he tried to submit, deeming it irrelevant.
“There are strong grounds to conclude that the proceedings against Mr. Zamora were initiated in retaliation for his long-standing work to expose government corruption,” said a report by TrialWatch, a global initiative that monitors criminal trials worldwide.
“Should a retrial occur,” the report added, “it must strictly adhere to international standards, ensuring a different panel of judges who are demonstrably impartial and independent, free from any external pressures.”
NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL
American business can’t risk another Trump term
By THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Throughout American history, business leaders have been able to assume that an American president of either party would uphold the rule of law, defend property rights and respect the independence of the courts. Implicit in that assumption is a fundamental belief that the country’s ethos meant that their enterprises and the U.S. economy could thrive, no matter who won. They could keep their distance from the rough-and-tumble of campaign politics. No matter who won, they could pursue long-term plans and investments with confidence in America’s political stability.
In this election, American business leaders cannot afford to stand passive and silent.
Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, have sketched out versions of their parties’ traditional positions on issues like taxation, trade and regulation that are well within the give-and-take of politics. In this election, however, stability itself is also at stake.
Trump denies the legitimacy of elections, defies constitutional limits on presidential power and boasts of plans to punish his enemies. And in these attacks on America’s democracy, he is also attacking the foundations of American prosperity. Voting on narrow policy concerns would reflect a catastrophically nearsighted view of the interests of American business.
Some prominent corporate leaders — including Elon Musk, a founder of Tesla; investors David Sacks and Bill Ackman; and financier Stephen Schwarzman — have been supportive of Trump’s candidacy. Beyond pure cynicism, it’s nearly impossible to understand why.
Business leaders, of course, may be skeptical of Harris’ policies, uneasy because they don’t feel they know enough about how she would govern or worried that she may not be open to hearing their concerns — a frequent criticism of the Biden administration. They may be reluctant to offend or alienate employees, customers or suppliers who have different political views.
Most of all, they may be afraid of angering Trump, who has a long track record of using the levers of power to reward loyalty. They should be more afraid of the consequences if he prevails.
Last week Trump provided a stark reminder that this election is different.
In remarks that ought to alarm any American committed to the survival of our democratic experiment, the Republican nominee again refused to commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election. That comes on the heels of remarks in which he declared that he regards his political opponents as an “enemy from within” and that he would consider deploying the military against them merely for opposing his bid for the presidency. The implication is that participation in the democratic process is treason, and the threat is a fresh indication that if he is elected to a second term, Trump intends to deploy government power in new and dangerous ways.
Trump may seem like a novelty in American politics, but he is a familiar type in the broader sweep of world history. Right-wing populists often win elections by promising probusiness policies that will unleash economic growth. Once in office, however, they don’t just fiddle with the knobs; they break the machinery. They undermine economic stability by attacking and delegitimizing people and institutions, inside or outside the government, who might challenge or correct bad economic decisions. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for example, fired three central bankers in two years, all of whom failed to fall in line with his demand to lower interest rates. The country fell into a currency crisis and eventually had to raise interest rates significantly to drag itself out.
“It is this change to the nature of governing, more than individual policies, that is so dangerous to business over the long term,” Roberto Foa and Rachel Kleinfeld argued recently in Harvard Business Review. “Populists undermine the operating environment capitalism depends on — most notably, free competition and a predictable rule of law.”
Trump’s attacks on the integrity of federal data and on government experts are examples of the ways in which he already pursues these strategies. In August, for example, he claimed that a routine revision in employment data issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was manipulated to favor his opponent. Michael Strain, a conservative economist at the American Enterprise Institute, called this attack on the integrity of the agency “grossly irresponsible and completely inaccurate.”
Business leaders often say they hate uncertainty about taxes and regulation even more than they hate taxes and regulation. Trump is the personification of uncertainty. During his four years as president, he demonstrated an alarming willingness to rewrite federal policies abruptly, out of spite, for favoritism or just on a whim. Planning to develop a property or make an acquisition that needs regulatory approval? Businesses might assume that a second Trump administration would be more supportive than Joe Biden was or Harris would be. But a populist’s favor is capricious; there’s no way to predict who might end up on a Trump enemies list or why. Building a factory to make parts for electric vehicles? Counting on suppliers in other countries? Good luck.
Even by a traditional policy scorecard, Trump would do damage to American business. The candidate’s promises of tax cuts and regulatory leniency must be weighed against other campaign proposals that are clearly not in the interests
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign rally at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa. on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
of American business. He has proposed large tariffs on imports, which would raise costs for companies that rely on foreign suppliers and could revive inflation. He has proposed large-scale deportations of immigrants, which would deprive businesses of needed workers and consumers. He has threatened to meddle in the Federal Reserve’s management of monetary policy. His proposed tax cuts would add trillions to the federal debt, which could drive up borrowing costs for the government and the private sector.
Trump is not running as a champion of business. He is running as a tribune of populist grievance, committed to shortterm gratification without regard for long-term consequences. For business leaders, as for other Americans, the responsible and necessary course is to defend American democracy by publicly opposing his candidacy.
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El ex alcalde fallecido de Fajardo, Aníbal Meléndez Rivera será homenajeado en Ceremonia del 8 de noviembre
POR EL STAR STAFF
SAN JUAN – Los actos de la Ceremonia de entrega de Certificados y Reconocimientos a la Delegación de Puerto Rico que viajó a las actividades de la Semana Puertorriqueña y el Desfile Nacional Puertorriqueño en Nueva York este pasado mes de junio, serán dedicados a la memoria de Aníbal Meléndez Rivera, exalcalde de Fajardo (1989-2020) y quien hasta hoy, ostenta el récord de haber sido el ejecutivo municipal afiliado al Partido Nuevo Progresista que en más ocasiones viajó y participó en la Parada Puertorriqueña de Nueva York.
La ceremonia auspiciada por la Asociación de Miembros de la Policía y la organización CROEM ALUMNI contará con la presencia del congresista del Bronx Ritchie Torres, los presidentes del Senado de Puerto Rico y la Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico, así como alcaldes de la isla, alcaldes hispanos de Estados Unidos, el influyente Grupo 21 de Washington y figuras electas en la nación americana. El evento coincide con la presencia en Puerto Rico de cientos de oficiales electos que participan simultáneamente de la Convención de SOMOS NY y la Convención de la Cámara Hispana de Comercio de
Nueva York.
“Este año queremos resaltar el interés que han tenido los alcaldes de Puerto Rico en participar en las actividades de la Semana Puertorriqueña y el Desfile Nacional Puertorriqueño en Nueva York, muy en especial, aquellos que año tras año se toman en serio su participación en todo lo que celebra la comunidad boricua en la Gran Manzana. Nuestra organización reconocerá en homenaje póstumo al exalcalde de Fajardo (ya fallecido), Aníbal Meléndez Rivera quien estará representado por su hijo José Aníbal (Joey) Meléndez Méndez (actual alcalde de Fajardo). El fallecido alcalde siempre fue de los primeros ejecutivos municipales en confirmar su participación anualmente, al punto que se convirtió en un promotor de la Semana
Puertorriqueña con su conversatorio anual en Nueva York impulsado por la Federación de Alcaldes de Puerto Rico y su homóloga Asociación de Alcaldes de Puerto Rico. De igual forma, se hará reconocimiento póstumo al líder mayagüezano Orlando Muniz Bonet, coordinador de nuestra organización fallecido recientemente. En cada ceremonia recordamos al empresario fallecido Don Ramón González Cordero (fundador de EMPIRE Gas, empresa colaboradora con la Delegación de Puerto Rico, representado por sus hijos Lcdo. Ramón González Simounet y Xavier González Simounet); al Dr. Ramón Claudio Tirado (fundador de CROEM (Centro Residencial de Oportunidades Educativas de Mayagüez); al Dr. Ramón S. Vélez (líder de la comunidad puertorriqueña en Estados Unidos y fundador del Desfile Nacional Puertorriqueño, antes conocido como la Parada Puertorriqueña, representado por los expresidentes de la Parada Puertorriqueña María Román Dumens y Federico Pérez Marty) y al excongresista del Bronx Robert García, quien estará representado por su viuda, Jane García”, señaló el teniente José J. Taboada De Jesús, presidente de la Asociación de Miembros de la Policía de Puerto Rico.
Funcionarios del Correo se reúnen con la CEE para atender situaciones con el envío y recibo de las papeletas
POR CYBERNEWS
SAN JUAN – El gerente de Servicio al Cliente en Puerto Rico del Servicio Postal de los Estados Unidos, Martín Caballero, reaccionó el sábado a la situación con las filas y el proceso con las papeletas enviadas por correo para las elecciones.
Ciudadanos que tienen que recoger sus papeletas en los correos se enfrentan con largas filas. En algunos casos, están hasta tres horas en el proceso.
“En 2024, al igual que en elecciones anteriores, el Servicio Postal está recolectando, procesando, transportando y entregando el correo electoral de la nación cuando los responsables de las políticas públicas eligen utilizar el correo como parte de su sistema electoral o cuando los votantes eligen usar nuestros servicios para participar en una elección. Estamos empleando procesos sólidos y probados para garantizar el manejo y la entrega adecuados de todo el correo electoral, incluidas las boletas.
En cuanto al servicio en San Juan, el Servicio Postal continúa en estrecha comunicación con CEE en esta temporada de elecciones. Discutimos con CEE los impactos potenciales de varias opciones de envío, incluido el hecho de que requerir el uso de nuestro servicio de correo certificado puede agregar un paso adicional, si los votantes no están disponibles para recibir boletas y deben recuperarlas de una instala-
ción postal. No tenemos conocimiento de ninguna boleta “retrasada” en San Juan, donde los empleados están priorizando y acelerando las boletas a medida que se presentan para el servicio. Agradecemos la paciencia de nuestros clientes con nosotros en las oficinas de correos mientras trabajamos para facilitar sus recogidas. El Servicio Postal es responsable de procesar, transportar y entregar el Correo Electoral de la nación. El Servicio Postal no es responsable de determinar hasta qué punto el correo se utiliza para participar en las elecciones, el diseño de las boletas o los sobres de devolución, ni el recuento de las boletas o el establecimiento de plazos para las elecciones estatales o territoriales, incluyendo las fechas para solicitar (si el estado o el territorio lo requiere) o devolver una boleta”, dijo Caballero en declaraciones escritas.
Los directivos del Servicio Postal en Puerto Rico se reunieron el viernes con la presidenta de la CEE, Jessika Padilla Rivera y los cinco comisionados electorales para atender varias denuncias sobre el proceso de envío y recogido de papeletas.
Monday, October 21, 2024 16
‘The Warriors’ hooked Lin-Manuel Miranda at 4. Now comes the album.
By MICHAEL PAULSON
“The Warriors,” a 1979 film about a group of gang members fighting their way home to Brooklyn from the Bronx in New York, isn’t the most brutal movie ever made, but it’s not exactly Sesame Street either — when it was first released, it was blamed (on pretty flimsy evidence) for inciting violence. And yet, somehow, Lin-Manuel Miranda found himself watching the movie when he was 4, thanks to a friend’s older brother.
Sure, the experience was a little scary. But the film also stuck with him. Miranda, like any number of New Yorkers raised in the ’80s, treasures the sights and sounds of a bygone city preserved in the film, as well as its empathy for its characters. (If some of the gang members seem heroic, well, the story, from a novel by Sol Yurick, is based on an ancient Greek military narrative by Xenophon, “Anabasis.”)
Now, after a pivot to television and film, the “Hamilton” creator has spent the last two-plus years working with playwright and performer Eisa Davis to create a “Warriors” concept album.
“You write the things that won’t leave you alone, and this won’t leave me alone,” Miranda said in a joint interview with Davis, conducted at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
The album was released Friday by Atlantic Records.
What is ‘The Warriors’ about?
Miranda offers a succinct plot summary: “All the gangs of New York are meeting in the South Bronx for this unprecedented peace summit. Cyrus, the charismatic leader who has called the summit, is assassinated. The assassin blames the Warriors, and the Warriors have to fight their way home to Coney [Island], while every other gang in the city is trying to kill them.”
But for him, there’s more to the film than the plot. “It’s a snapshot of a New York in our memories. It’s this Technicolor nightmare of New York that is genuinely beautiful.”
Eisa Davis and Lin-Manuel Miranda in New York’s Riverside Park, the site of a memorable scene in the movie “The Warriors” involving bat-wielding gang members, on Oct. 3, 2024. Miranda and Davis collaborated to make a concept album inspired by the 1979 movie. One big change: the main gang is made up of women. (Daniel Weiss/The New York Times)
What do the songs sound like?
Davis, who knew of, but had never seen, the film before Miranda asked her to collaborate with him, called the story “primal,” and said she sees it, fundamentally, as “about courage.”
“It’s a fantasy that you can fight your way home, and win,” she said.
Who is on the album?
There are 35 main characters, so that means lots of voices. Lauryn Hill voices Cyrus, the peace-seeking gang leader whose murder spurs the story’s action. Among the others are Marc Anthony, Busta Rhymes, Nas, Cam’ron, RZA, Stephen Sanchez, Colman Domingo and Ghostface Killah. There are also a number of Broadway alums, including Amber Gray, Casey Likes, Billy Porter and Phillipa Soo.
The album, with 26 songs over 80 minutes, was produced by Mike Elizondo, and executive produced by Nas, and features an array of genres: rap and hip-hop, salsa and merengue, ska and sounds from ballroom culture, R&B and funk. The boy band inspired gang has some KPOP mixed in. The first words on the album come from the dancehall performer Shenseea, a nod to the Jamaican roots of hiphop; she plays a DJ who has a bit of a narrator-like role in the film and on the album. There’s even a bit of metal, for Luther, who is voiced by Kim Dracula.
Why a concept album and how did it come about?
Miranda acknowledges that the whole notion of an album is old-fashioned. But, he said, “I’m trying to recapture what it felt like listening to cast albums when I was a kid. For me, in addition to being a love letter to the
movie, this is a love letter to those concept albums — ‘Tommy,’ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ ‘The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway’ by Genesis.”
Miranda and Davis hope audiences will try listening to it straight through.
“That’s not the only way,” Davis said, “but we want people to spend time on this journey.”
Miranda recalls that in 2009, a friend emailed him and said, “Warriors:The Musical?” Miranda thought it was a terrible idea. “I wrote him back and said, ‘I love “The Warriors.” It’ll never work. Here’s why.’” But the seed was planted, and Miranda said that, after he finished “Hamilton” and “Moana,” “I had a moment to think, ‘What do I want to write next?’ and ‘Warriors’ had taken over. I knew that I wanted to figure out how to make it work.”
Why make the Warriors women?
In the film, the Warriors are men. On the album, they are women.
Miranda said his initial inspiration was Gamergate — the online harassment of women in the videogaming industry. “These extremely online dudes were doxxing women just for the cruelty and the chaos of it,” he said. “And when that was happening, I remember thinking, ‘That’s like Luther in Warriors. He shoots Cyrus, points at the Warriors, and said they did it, go get them. And suddenly the Warriors’ lives are ruined, and they have to fight their way home with every dude in the city trying to kill them.’ And I think that’s when my brain made the gender flip.”
Davis has another reference point — a gang summit in the Bronx, in 1971, called the Hoe Avenue peace meeting. “It’s so moving that there was this peace meeting,” she said. But, also, “The women who were at that peace meeting were made to sit in the back, and the gangs that were all femme were not even allowed to come into that meeting. So in some ways, I feel like this is a vindication for them.”
There are other changes, as Miranda and Davis imagined their own array of New York gangs.
“With all due respect,” Davis said, “the film has a lot of misogyny and a lot of homophobia, and that went over in 1979 for some people, but I can’t brook that.” Their Bizzies (a version of the Lizzies, an all-female gang in the film) are boy-band-like, and their Turnbull ACs are influenced by the Fania All-Stars.
Will it become a stage show?
Miranda and Davis say there is no director and no producer attached at this point, and they don’t know how exactly they would adapt the album for the stage. “We’re just listening, and wanting to let this settle,” Davis said.
Miranda said he “would like to keep exploring it.”
“I can’t predict what the world does with things,” he said. “I know that this was the most freeing way to explore telling the story, and then we’ll see. If it ends the day it comes out, we’ve had the best time making this thing.”
What, exactly, is ‘moderate drinking’?
By DANA G. SMITH
Over the past several years, there has been a rise in alcohol-related deaths and a steady wave of news about the health risks of drinking. Calls for people to drink only in moderation have become more urgent. But what, exactly, does that mean?
“Tongue in cheek, people have defined it as not drinking more than your doctor,” said Tim Stockwell, a scientist at the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.
More officially, in the United States, moderate drinking is defined as one drink or less per day for women and two drinks or less per day for men. But other countries define moderate drinking, also called low-risk drinking, differently, and recent research around alcohol’s health harms has raised questions about current guidelines.
Q: How are the guidelines set?
A: Experts used to think that low or moderate amounts of alcohol were good for you. That assumption was based on research showing that people who drank in moderation lived longer than those who abstained or drank excessively. The longevity benefit disappeared around two drinks a day for women and three drinks a day for men, Stockwell said.
But many researchers now think that those conclusions were based on data analyses that had “all kinds of methodological problems,” said Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, a professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
For example, one issue was that many people who abstained from alcohol did so because they had existing health problems, while people who drank moderately were more likely to have healthy lifestyle habits. It created “really what was an illusion of health benefits with low to moderate amounts of drinking,” Mayer-Davis said.
A new method for establishing risk looks just at deaths from conditions directly related to alcohol, such as liver cirrhosis, alcohol poisoning, pancreatitis and certain types of cancer. “It’s much less biased and confounding if you just focus on alcoholcaused conditions,” Stockwell said.
Using this method, experts have found that low-risk drinking entails less alcohol than what many nations, including the Unit-
Calls for people to drink only in moderation have become more urgent. But what, exactly, does that mean? (Carl Godfrey/The New York Times)
ed States, currently advise. But the precise level at which alcohol consumption starts to harm health, and what is considered an acceptable level of risk, is still up for debate.
A few countries have adjusted their recommendations. Australia and France now advise that both sexes consume no more than 10 drinks per week. (That’s down from two a day for men and women in Australia and three a day for men, and two for women, in France.) Canada’s latest guidelines, which Stockwell advised on, are more stringent: Low-risk drinking is defined as no more than two drinks total per week, regardless of sex.
For the most recent American guidelines, issued in 2020, an advisory committee led by Mayer-Davis recommended that men and women consume no more than one drink per day. That guidance incorporated the latest research that “there was no amount of alcohol that benefited health,” Mayer-Davis said. “But we’re not going to go so far as to say everybody needs to stop drinking, because that’s not realistic,” she added.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, which set the official guidelines, rejected the committee’s advice. When
asked why, a representative for the USDA stated in an email that “the emerging evidence noted in the committee’s report does not reflect the preponderance of evidence at this time.” The next set of dietary guidelines are scheduled to be released in 2025; it remains to be seen if, and how much, they will change.
Q: Should men and women have different limits?
A: Despite the trend to establish one limit for both sexes, some experts say that
having separate guidelines makes sense. That’s because it takes less alcohol to negatively affect women’s health than it does men’s, including a greater risk of alcohol-related liver damage, heart disease and certain types of cancer, said Aaron White, the senior scientific adviser to the director at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Some of that greater risk may stem from size differences. But even if “a woman and a man who are the same age, same weight drink the exact same amount of alcohol, the woman will have a higher blood alcohol concentration than the man,” said Sherry McKee, the director of the Yale Program for Sex Differences in Alcohol Use Disorder.
One potential reason is that alcohol does not enter fat tissue, and women tend to have a higher proportion of fat than men. That means there’s less space for alcohol to distribute throughout the body, resulting in higher concentrations. Women also don’t metabolize alcohol as easily as men do, so more alcohol stays in their bodies for longer, which can result in more damage. The changing and inconsistent recommendations can “frustrate the heck out of the public,” Mayer-Davis said. “But that’s the best we can do, is to make recommendations based on science with the available literature and the available knowledge.”
While the specifics remain unsettled, there is one thing most experts have come to agree on. “Less is more; less is better,” Stockwell said. “Drink less; live longer.”
October 21, 2024 18
To really see Peru, hop on (and off) the bus
By MYA GUARNIERI
Iwas in a dune buggy perched atop a sandy ridge near the small oasis town of Huacachina, Peru, looking down a nearly 60-foot drop. As the driver gunned the engine, I began to question my decision to sign up for this tour.
Down we went. I closed my eyes and screamed, and then, as the dune buggy pitched upward and slowed, the scream became a laugh. I opened my eyes to find us stopped on top of another sandy ridge, this one with a breathtaking view: Before us, an ocean of beige ripples cast black shadows in their troughs.
The driver killed the engine and silence swaddled us. I climbed out of the buggy and plunked down on the soft, warm sand, as the sun eased down on the horizon.
To think I’d almost missed this.
Just a few hours before, I had been sitting on a bus making its way south along the coast when a new friend, Dax, asked if I’d signed up for the dune buggies in Huacachina — our next stop.
“Oh, no, I don’t do things like that,” I’d answered.
“Yeah, neither do I,” said Dax. “But I’ll do it if you do.”
The beauty of the in-between
When I was planning my trip to Peru last spring, I’d picked three cities, Lima, Arequipa and Cuzco, drawing a neat triangle of flights on the map. But there were two big problems
with that itinerary: Flying would mean sudden shifts in elevation and possible altitude sickness, and I would miss everything between those cities.
Then I discovered Peru Hop, a roughly decade-old hopon, hop-off bus service that offers flexible itineraries and dates, giving travelers the freedom to stay longer at any stop they want to explore further. It seemed perfect.
There are other, less expensive bus companies crisscrossing the country, including public routes where pickpockets are a risk. Peru Hop, however, offers recommended tours and accommodations, easily signed up for through the website, an app or even aboard the bus. Peru Hop also offers door-to-door pickup and drop-off in most places.
I chose the Full South to Cuzco line, which starts in coastal Lima and stops in Paracas, Huacachina, Nazca, Arequipa, Puno and Cuzco. While this line takes six days and five nights, I tacked on some extra time in a few places, making my trip two weeks long. I planned to start in Lima and end with the kaleidoscopic Red Valley and Rainbow Mountain, a hike that includes a brutal straight-to-the-top stretch at a lung-busting 16,000 feet above sea level.
A standard ticket on that line costs $219; I paid an extra $10 for the VIP ticket, which offers a little more flexibility. Excursions cost extra, and most ranged from $19 for the dune buggy ride to $39 for Rainbow Mountain. I booked on the Peru
Hop website well ahead and paid in U.S. dollars.
Along the way, I left space for serendipity. Because Peru Hop isn’t a traditional tour, you can play along or do your own thing. It turned out that this combination of structure and freedom opened doors for me to visit places and do things I never imagined.
Letting dolphins lead the way
The edge of the golden desert collides with the navy blue Pacific Ocean in the town of Paracas, which means “rain of sand” in Quechua, Peru’s most widely spoken Indigenous language. Strong winds, often topping 50 mph, make Paracas popular with kitesurfers.
At Paracas National Reserve — where the salt-spiked sand glittered under my feet, lending the place a magical feeling — I stood on the edge of a cliff and experienced a gust so strong, I was certain I would be lifted off the ground.
“This is a landscape you record with your soul,” said one guide.
After a night at the simple but clean Peru Hop-recommended Hotel Residencial Los Frayles ($43), at dawn the next day, I joined two fellow Hopsters, Ernesto and Stephanie, a brother and sister from El Salvador, for a kayak tour of Paracas Bay. Pushing off from the shore, we paddled so close to a pair of dolphins that we saw drops of water spraying from their blowholes as they exhaled. Enchanted, we followed the dolphins for so long that we had to run to catch our scheduled boat tour to the Islas Ballestas.
Sometimes called the Poor Man’s Galápagos, the Islas Ballestas offer a dizzying array of marine life but are far easier to reach, only about 10 miles off the coast. Even though choppy waters cut our tour disappointingly short, we glimpsed sea lions lounging on a wedge of rock, Humboldt penguins balanced on tiny ledges and colorful crabs skittering across islands of stone that rose straight out of the sea. We also saw the Paracas Candelabra, a mysterious geoglyph on a seaside hill, keeping silent watch over the waves and wind.
Rocked to sleep on a floating island
In Puno, on the shores of roughly 12,500-foot-high Lake
People explore the sand dunes in Huacachina, near Ica, Peru, Aug. 23, 2024. The roughly decade-old Peru Hop service lets travelers choose a bus route and then decide how much time they want to spend at each stop along the way. (Angela Ponce/ The New York Times)
A dune buggy, which is a thrilling way to explore the sand dunes in Huacachina, near Ica, Peru, Aug. 24, 2024. (Angela Ponce/The New York Times)
Titicaca, I strayed from the Peru Hop itinerary because it didn’t offer an overnight option on the water. I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to stay on one of the floating reed islands built by the Indigenous Uros people, who believe the lake to be the birthplace of the sun.
Once my Airbnb host had docked and let me into the one-room house I’d booked for the night ($137), I snuggled up under thick blankets in a king-size bed and peered out a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows toward the water. Gray clouds so heavy they reminded me of granite lumbered onto the lake. A thick bolt of lightning connected sky and shore, and soon, rivulets of water were streaking the windows. The reed island rocked ever so gently, and the steady beat of raindrops on the tin roof lulled me to sleep.
The next night, I began the last stretch of my journey — boarding an overnight bus to Cuzco, where the gorgeous Tierra Viva Hotel ($105 a night) would be my home base as I prepared for my most challenging adventure, Rainbow Mountain, on a tour I had booked through Peru Hop.
Up into the sky
climb Rainbow Mountain. You ascend a sandy path on an adjacent mountain so you can get a look at the colorful stripes. After dismounting, I began the final stretch to the summit, and Rainbow Mountain rose before me, one stripe at a time, looking like some divine entity had carefully painted neat bands of color on an enormous canvas and then laid the whole thing across the mountain, blanketing the rock with burgundy, yellow, teal and purple.
At the summit, I snapped some photos and then, dizzy from the lack of oxygen, descended. At the bottom, I handed my guide an extra 20 soles for access to the trail that led to Red Valley, and then veered off to begin the approximately half-mile hike, this time along a footpath so narrow I was certain I would tumble off and roll down the sandy slope.
Unlike Rainbow Mountain, Red Valley doesn’t appear little by little on the horizon. There’s no sense of where you’re going and when you will get there. Closer to the sun than I’d ever been, its rays beating down on me, I stopped for a moment and tried to figure out how much farther I had to go. My legs shook.
Once we had reached the Rainbow Mountain parking lot, which sits at an elevation of roughly 15,000 feet, our guide urged us to try a two-minute test hike on a gentle incline. When we regrouped, some of us were already winded. The guide explained that the peak was about a mile and a half away and that, at this altitude, it usually took people about 45 minutes to reach the top.
If we were struggling now, our guide warned, it was just going to get worse. Anyone concerned about making it to the top, or who wanted to conserve energy for the hike to nearby Red Valley, could pay 15 soles, about $4, to take a motorbike or ride a horse most of the way up. Neither option would take us all the way. Eventually, we’d have to walk.
Starting on horseback, I discovered you don’t actually
Just when I was about ready to give up, I reached the crest, and suddenly a blanket of vermilion appeared, the color made sharper by the olive green grass serpentining through the lowest point of the valley. Beyond that, there was nothing: no roads, no houses, no people. Just buckles of brown mountains, white clouds and the blue, blue sky. I thought back to that guide’s wise words back in Paracas. This was definitely a landscape you record with your soul.
The Paracas Candelabra, a mysterious geoglyph etched into a seaside hill, at Paracas National Reserve in Peru, Aug. 23, 2024. (Angela Ponce/The New York Times)
RICO.
A: FRANCISCO GABRIEL
ARTILES PEREZ T/C/C
FRANCISCO G. ARTILES
- 2709 HEATH AVE. APT.
5-B, BRONX 5 NEW YORK 10463.
Por la presente se le notifica que la parte demandante ha presentado una Demanda sobre validación de sentencia de divorcio emitida el 27 de enero de 2022 por el Tribunal del Estado de New York, County Clerk del Condado del Bronx.
Por la presenta se le emplaza y notifica que debe de contestar la demanda dentro del plazo de 30 días, contados a partir de la publicación del presente edicto, radicando el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal y Sala que se mencionan en el epígrafe de este edicto, con copia a la parte demandante. Se le apercibe que, de no contestar la demanda dentro del término estipulado, se le anotaría la rebeldía, se dictará sentencia en su contra y se procederá a conceder el remedio solicitado.
La dirección del abogado de la parte demandante es: Lcdo. Carlos I. Ortiz Sancho, Urb. Almendros, EE3 calle Pino, Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00961, teléfono Núm., 939-645-7408 y correo electrónico: ortizsancho23@yahoo.com. Expido este edicto bajo y firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 8 de octubre de 2024. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. LUZ S. ORTIZ LÓPEZ, 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 ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC
COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC
Demandante V. WILMARI RUIZ ALBERT
Demandado(a)
Caso Núm.: SJ2024CV01399. (Salón: 802 CIVIL). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - REGLA 60. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. KENMUEL JOSÉ RUIZ LÓPEZKENMUEL.RUIZ@ORF-LAW.COM.
A: WILMARI RUIZ ALBERT - COND CRYSTAL HOUSE APT #1014, SAN JUAN PR 00925 | P.O. BOX 190329, SAN JUAN, PR 00919-0329 | 82 WHITE OAK DR N, NEW CANEY TX 77357-3140.
EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 08 de octubre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debi-
damente 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 11 de octubre de 2024. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 11 de octubre de 2024. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. ELSIE PRATTS MELÉNDEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.
ORlENTAL BANK
Demandante v.
ALBERTO J. GUADALUPE GONZALEZ
Demandado(a) JAIME RUIZ SALDAÑA
LEGAL@JRSLA WPR.COM
Caso Núm.: CG2024CV01216 (SALÓN 801). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA OR EDICTO.
A: ALBERTO J. GUADALUPE GONZALEZ (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 09 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, 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 11 de OCTUBRE
de 2024 En CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, el 11 de OCTUBRE de 2024. IRASEMIS DIAZ SANCHEZ, Secretario(a). f/SANDRA TRlNIDAD CAÑUELAS, Secretario(a) Auxiliar.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN.
ORIENTAL BANK
Demandante v. CARMEN SERRANO TRAVERSO
Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: BY2024CV01691 (SALÓN 702).Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JAIME RUIZ SALDAÑA LEGAL@JRSLAWPR.COM A: CARMEN SERRANO TRAVERSO
(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 11 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, 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 11 de OCTUBRE de 2024. En BAYAMÓN, Puerto Rico, el 11 de OCTUBRE de 2024. LAURA l. SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretario(a). f/MIRCIENID GONZALEZ TORRES, Secretario(a) Auxiliar. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYNABO RESIDENTES
ASOCIADOS DE PARKVILLE NORTE, INC.
Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESIONES DE CARMELO RIVERA
RIVERA Y CARMEN MARÍA RODRÍGUEZ NARVÁEZ COMPUESTAS POR GLENDA DENICE
ROJA GONZALEZ, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO GLENDA D. ROSA, JOSE GILBERTO
GONZALEZ RODRIGUEZ, NELLY RAMONITA
GONZALEZ RODRIGUEZ, GILBERTO GONZALEZ VELEZ, MARCOS ALBERTO GONZALEZ
VELEZ, SHIRLEY ANN GONZALEZ VÉLEZ, ANTONIO CARLOS ROSA GONZALEZ, GLENDA DENISSE ROSA
GONZALEZ, GABRIEL OMAR BARBOSA
GONZALEZ, CARLOS ALEXIS GONZALEZ SANCHEZ Y RAFAEL J. GONZALEZ ALOMAR; FULANA DE TAL, SUTANO DE TAL
Parte Demandada
Civil Núm.: GB2024CV00561. Sala: 202. Sobre: COBRO DE CUOTAS DE MANTENIMIENTO / VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS Por la presente se le notifica que la parte demandante, Residentes Asociados de Parkville Norte Inc., ha presentado ante este Tribunal una demanda por la causal de cobro de dinero por concepto de cuotas de mantenimiento contra los demandados, Glenda Denice Roja González, también conocida como Glenda D. Rosa, José Gilberto González Rodríguez, Nelly Ramonita González Rodríguez, Marcos Alberto González Vélez, Shirley Ann González Vélez, Antonio Carlos Rosa González, Glenda Denisse Rosa González, Gabriel Omar Barbosa González, Carlos Alexis González Sánchez y Rafael J. González Alomar; Fulana de Tal y Sutano de Tal. Se ORDENA a Secretaría a expedir el correspondiente emplazamiento por edicto que cumpla cabalmente con la Regla 4.6 (b) de Procedimiento Civil. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo. Héctor L. Claudio Rosario, 167 Calle Pedro Flores Urb. Monticielo, Caguas, Puerto Rico 00725; número de teléfono 787-635-1220 / Telefax: 1-267-392-3959; dirección de correo electrónico, bufetehectorclaudio@gmail.com. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Se le advierte que de no contestar la demanda dentro
de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto, radicando el original de la contestación ante el Tribunal, con copia a la parte demandante, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal, a 7 de octubre de 2024, en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II. SARA ROSA VILLEGAS, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL CONFIDENCIAL I.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS
MYRNA VIOLETA LOPEZ PIZARRO
Demandante V. VICTOR MANUEL PIZARRO Y OTROS
Demandado(a)
Caso Núm.: CG2023CV01664. (Salón: 802). Sobre: USUCAPIÓN. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. BEATRIZ CAY VÁZQUEZBEATRIZCAYVAZQUEZ@GMAIL. COM. A: VÍCTOR MANUEL PIZARRO; MARÍA DE JESÚS RIVERA; LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS; “JOHN DOE”, COMO POSIBLE PERSONA CON INTERÉS SOBRE EL INMUEBLE SITO EN BARRIO CELADA, PARCELA #7, GUARDO; FINCA NÚMERO (6,321)
CATASTRO: 200-026-00116-000.
(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 24 de septiembre de 2024, 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 edic-
to. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 09 de octubre de 2024. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 09 de octubre de 2024. IRASEMIS DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. ZAIDA AGUAYO ÁLAMO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAGUAS ORIENTAL BANK
Parte Demandante V. ARTURO DE JESÚS JIMENEZ, SANDRA TIRADO JIMENEZ NATHALIA TIRADO ROSA Y CARLOS TIRADO ROSA, COMO MIEMBROS
CONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE MYRTA JIMENEZ BURGOS; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS
DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE MYRTA JIMENEZ BURGOS
Parte Demandada Caso Núm.: CG2023CV03084. Acción Civil De: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA E INTERPELACIÓN.
EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS
DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE MYRTA JIMENEZ BURGOS, C-11 CALLE 4 URB. EL VIVERO, GURABO, PR 00778-2306; 1 C-11 4ST EL VIVERO DEV., GURABO, PR 00778; URB. EL VIVERO, C-11 4ST, GURABO, PR 00778; CALLE MATÍAS SOTO #314, CAYEY, PR 00736; 1358 FOX RUN LN, PONTIAC, MI 48340; PO BOX 371930, CAYEY, PR 00737; 6930 HOLLY RD, MIAMI LAKES, FL 33014. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial. pr/index.php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que el caso sea de un expediente físico o que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar
su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal y notificar copia de la mismas al (a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a ésta, de no tener representación legal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Además, se la apercibe que, en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2029, titulada Ley para la Prevención del Maltrato, Preservación de la Unidad Familiar y para la Seguridad, Bienestar y Protección de los Menores, entre los remedios que el Tribunal podrá conceder se incluyen la ubicación permanente de un (una) menos fuera de su hogar, el inicio de procesos para la privación de patria potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos b y f de la Ley Núm. 57-2023). Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. Representa a la parte demandante el Lcdo. Javier Montalvo Cintrón, RUA #17,682, Delgado Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750. Tel. [787] 274-1414, jmontalvo@ delgadofernandez.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal en Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 24 de septiembre de 2024. IRASEMIS DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. VIONNETTE ESPINOSA CASTILLO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE FAJARDO ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC. Demandante Vs. GEORGE MORA AYALA Demandado Civil Núm.: NG2024CV00037. Salón: 206. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - R.60. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: GEORGE MORA AYALA - RC 67 BOX 14638, FAJARDO , PR, 00738.
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://www.poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico/, 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 notificara copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección jan.otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, hoy día 15 de agosto de 2024. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, el21 de agosto de 2024. WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IDALIA PIÑERO REYES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CIALES LEGACY MORTGAGE ASSET TRUST 2019-PR1
Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE NELSON SOTO RAMOS COMPUESTA POR MARILYN ORTEGA RIVERA, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION DE NELSON SOTO RAMOS, ADMINISTRACION PARA EL SUSTENTO DE MENORES Y OTROS Parte Demandante Civil Núm.: MT2023CV00486. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA - IN REM. ANUNCIO DE SUBASTA. El suscribiente, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia de Puerto Rico, Sala de Ciales, a los demandados de epígrafe y al público en general hace saber que venderá en pública subasta en la Oficina de Alguaciles, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Ciales, al mejor postor, en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América en efectivo, cheque certificado, o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, el derecho que tenga la parte demandada en el inmueble que se relaciona más adelante para pagar la SENTENCIA por $89,112.02 de balance principal, los intereses adeudados sobre dicho prin-
FELICIANO SÁNCHEZ.
POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante. Lcdo. Roberto C. Latimer Valentín, al PO BOX 9022512, San Juan, P.R. 00902-2512; Teléfono: (787) 724-0230. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca bajo el número mencionado en el epígrafe. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que la parte Demandada incurrió en el incumplimiento dcl Contrato de Hipoteca, al no poder pagar las mensualidades vencidas correspondientes a los meses de julio de 2022, hasta el presente, más los cargos por demora correspondientes. Además adeuda a la parte demandante las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en que incurra el tenedor del pagaré en este litigio. De acuerdo con dicho Contrato de Garantía Hipotecaria la parte Demandante declaró vencida la totalidad de la deuda ascendente a la suma de principal global de $29,405.82, la cual se desglosa a continuación: una suma principal de $29,049.18 más intereses a razón del 3.00% anual desde el 1 de junio de 2022 hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más una suma principal diferida (piggy back) de $356.64 la cual no genera intereses, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que este en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más adelantos para el pago de seguros y contribuciones, entre otros; más una suma equivalente a $3,600.00. por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado todo según pactado. La parte Demandante presentará para su inscripción en el Registro de la Propiedad correspondiente. un AVISO DE PLEITO PENDIENTE (“Lis Pendens”) sobre la propiedad objeto de esta acción cuya propiedad es la siguiente: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal : Apartamento A-105, sito en el Condominio Plaza El Batey, el cual ubica en el Barrio Ensenada del municipio de Guánica, Puerto Rico. El apartamento tiene un área superficial de 822.861 pies cua-
drados, equivalentes a 76.439 metros cuadrados. Su configuración es de carácter rectangular. Colinda por el NORTE, con Calle Los Artesanos, en 23 pies con 10 pulgadas de otro; por el SUR, con Calle Las Flores, en 23 pies con 10 pulgadas de otro; por el ESTE, con el apartamento número A-106 en 37 pies 1 pulgada; y por el OESTE, con el apartamento número A-104 en 37 pies 1 pulgada. Este apartamento consiste de una sala, un comedor, una cocina, tres cuartos dormitorios con sus “closets” un baño, área de laundry y un balcón. El apartamento tiene su puerta principal conectando a un jardín que constituye un elemento común de donde se obtiene acceso al exterior del edificio. El apartamento A-105 participa en los gastos, ingresos y derechos en los elementos comunes generales de Plaza El Batey en 3.33 por ciento del total. A este apartamento le corresponde el estacionamiento designado número 105. Consta inscrita al folio 175 del tomo 218 de Guánica, Finca número #7,411. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de San Germán. SE LES ORDENA a ustedes a que dentro del término legal de treinta (30) días, contados a partir de la fecha de notificación de la presente Orden, acepten o repudien la participación que les corresponda en la herencia de la DE LA SUCESIÓN DE RAMÓN FELICIANO SÁNCHEZ. De no hacerlo dentro de dicho término, se dará la herencia por aceptada. SE LES APERCIBE que de no hacer sus alegaciones responsivas a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin mas citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. A 20 de abril de 2023. Lic. Norma G. Santana Irizarry, Secretaria Regional. Nilda Torres Acevedo, Secretaria Auxiliar Del Tribunal I. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. JOSE RAFAEL BERRIOS CACERES Y MARIA DELMA MERCADO BERRIOS Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS, GREAT ATLANTIC MORTGAGE CORPORATION CORP., JOHN DOE
Demandadas Civil Núm.: HU2024CV01221. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE
PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO POR LA VÍA JUDICIAL. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. A: GREAT ATLANTIC MORTGAGE CORPORATION CORP. Y JOHN DOE COMO TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ a favor de Great Atlantic Mortgage Corporation, por la suma $79,950.00, con intereses al 8.00% anual, vencimiento el 1 de abril de 2027. Así resulta de la escritura número 165 otorgada en San Juan, el 7 de marzo de 1997, ante el notario Alberto C. Rafols Méndez, inscrita al folio 260 del tomo 38 de Humacao, finca 1,338 de Humacao, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Primera Sección de Humacao. Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda incoada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto. 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. Si usted deja de presentar y notificar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el Tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: ABOGADOS DE LA PARTE
DEMANDANTE:
Lcdo. Reggie Díaz Hernández RUA Núm.: 16,393
BERMUDEZ & DIAZ LLP
Suite 209 500 Calle De La Tanca San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
Tel.: (787) 523-2670
Fax: (787) 523-2664 rdíaz@bdprlaw.com
Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y el sello de este Tribunal, hoy 9 de octubre de 2024. Evelyn Félix Vázquez, Secretaria General. Dalissa Reyes De León, Secretaria Auxiliar.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYNABO ORIENTAL BANK
Demandante V. SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT Y OTROS Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: GB2024CV00059. (Salón: 201). Sobre: CANCELACIÓN O RESTITUCIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JAVIER MONTALVO CINTRÓN - JMONTALVO@ DELGADOFERNANDEZ.COM. A: SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, COMO POSIBLE TENEDOR O PERSONA QUE HAYA ADQUIRIDO ALGÚN DERECHO SOBRE EL PAGARÉ O LA HIPOTECA QUE SE HACE REFERENCIA MÁS ADELANTE EN EL PRESENTE EDICTO, QUE SE PUBLICARÁ UNA SOLA VEZ. JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE, PERSONAS
DESCONOCIDAS QUE SE DESIGNAN CON ESTOS NOMBRES FICTICIOS, QUE
PUEDAN SER TENEDOR O TENEDORES, O PUEDAN TENER ALGÚN INTERÉS EN EL PAGARÉ
HIPOTECARIO A QUE SE HACE REFERENCIA
MÁS ADELANTE EN EL PRESENTE EDICTO, QUE SE PUBLICARÁ UNA SOLA VEZ.
(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 10 de octubre de 2024, 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 11 de octubre de 2024. En Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, el 11 de octubre de 2024. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. Sara Rosa Villegas,
Secretaria Auxiliar Del Tribunal. LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA ORIENTAL BANK
Demandante V. CARLOS ORTIZ HERNANDEZ
Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: CA2024CV01135. (Civil: 403). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JAIME RUIZ SALDAÑALEGAL@JRSLAWPR.COM. A: CARLOS ORTIZ HERNANDEZ. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 10 de octubre de 2024, 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 11 de octubre de 2024. En Carolina, Puerto Rico, el 11 de octubre de 2024. KANELLY ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA. LILLIAM ORTIZ NIEVES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN
ORIENTAL BANK
Demandante V. HECTOR RIOS SANTIAGO
Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: TA2024CV00368. (Salón: 506). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. JAIME RUIZ SALDAÑALEGAL@JRSLA WPR.COM. A: HECTOR RIOS SANTIAGO. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el
10 de octubre de 2024, 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 11 de octubre de 2024. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 11 de octubre de 2024. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. Elizabeth Oliveras Pérez, Secretaria Auxiliar Del Tribunal.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA ALTA
BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. SUCESION DE ENRIQUE
NARCISO HUECA DIAZ
T/C/C ENRIQUE HUECA
DIAZ, COMPUESTA POR CARMEN LIBIA
T/C/C CARMEN LIDIA
T/C/C CARMEN LYDIA Y MARIA ANTONIA HUECA
NARVAEZ T/C/C HUECA
DIAZ; LA SUCESION DE NARCISO HUECA
NARVAEZ T/C/C HUECA
DIAZ, COMPUESTA POR EDWIN LUIS, NARCISO ANTONIO Y CARMEN MARIA HUECA
VAZQUEZ; HONORABLE SECRETARIO DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA DEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO; HONORABLE SECRETARIO DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE JUSTICIA DEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO
Demandado Civil Núm.: TA2022CV01323.
Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. AVISO DE VENTA EN PÚBLICA
SUBASTA. Yo, ROSAMARIE MELÉNDEZ PEÑA, ALGUA-
CIL, Alguacil de la División de Subastas del Tribunal de Primera lnstancia, Sala de Toa Alta, a la demandada y al público en general, les notifico que, cumpliendo con un Mandamiento que se ha librado en el presente caso, por el Secretario del Tribunal, con fecha 5 de febrero de 2024 y para satisfacer la Sentencia por la cantidad de $13,173.39 de principal; dictada en el caso de epígrafe el 18 de agosto de 2023, notificada por edicto y archivada ese mismo 25 de agosto de 2023, y publicada mediante edicto el día 1 de septiembre de 2023 en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star y notificada par correo certificado ese mismo día, procederé a vender en pública subasta, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda del curso legal de las Estados Unidos de América, todo derecho, título e interés que haya tenido, tenga o pueda tener la deudora demandada en cuanto a la propiedad localizada en el Municipio de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, los bienes inmuebles se describen a continuación: RÚSTICA: Parcela #4: Predio de terreno radicado en el Barrio Piñas de Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, compuesto de 0.700 cuerdas, equivalentes a 2,755.00 metros cuadrados; en lindes al NORTE, en 79.630 metros, con área dedicada a uso público; al SUR, en 81.306 metros, con la parcela #3 del plano de inscripción; al ESTE, en 47.314 metros, con un área dedicada a uso público; y al OESTE, en 26.683 metros, con área dedicada a uso público. Finca #11871, inscrita al Folio 26 del Torno 230 de Toa Alta, del Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección III de Bayamón. Con el importe de dicha venta se habrá de satisfacer a la parte demandante las cantidades adeudadas, según la Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Toa Alta, cuyas cantidades ascienden a $13,173.39 de principal, a razón de 7.75% de intereses los cuales continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda; $215.04 de cargos por demora; más costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. El tipo mínimo para la subasta será la suma de tasación pactada, la cual es $25,000.00 para la propiedad descrita. Si no produjere remate o adjudicación la primera subasta, se procederá a una segunda subasta y servirá de tipo mínima la cantidad de $16,666.66. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en esta segunda subasta, se procederá a una tercera subasta, en ésta el tipo mínimo será la cantidad de $12,500.00. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta se dará por terminado el procedimiento, pudiendo adjudicarse a opción del demandante. Para el lote descrito, la PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a cabo el día 7 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA.
De no comparecer postor alguno se llevará a efecto una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 14 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA . De no comparecer postor alguno se llevará a cabo una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 21 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2024, A LAS 9:30 DE LA MAÑANA. La subasta o subastas antes indicadas se llevarán a efecto en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera lnstancia, Sala Superior de Toa Alta. Del Estudio de Título realizado el 16 de febrero de 2024, no surgen gravámenes posteriores. Se le advierte a los licitadores que la adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el mismo acto de la adjudicación en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, giro postal o cheque de gerente a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal y para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda(s) aquella(s) persona(s) que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de los licitadores y el público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general, una vez por semana durante el término de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como, Ia Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. Se les advierte a todos los intereses que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como la de Ia subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante Ia titulación y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere al crédito de ejecutante, continuarán subsiguientes entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores, previa orden judicial dirigida al Registrador de la Propiedad de la sección correspondiente para la cancelación de aquellos posteriores. Y para conocimiento de la demandada, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, expido el presente Aviso para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes. Librada en Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, a 1 de octubre de 2024. ROSAMARIE MELÉNDEZ PEÑA, ALGUACIL.
Monday, October 21, 2024 28
New York Liberty Center Jonquel Jones with the ball during the team’s first game of this year’s WNBA Finals, against the Minnesota Lynx, at the Barclays Center in New York, Oct. 10, 2024. (Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)
By MIKE VORKUNOV and BEN PICKMAN / THE ATHLETIC
In spring 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic upended the country, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was locked down in her New Jersey home. The league was facing a season on the brink right as its stakeholders felt it had begun to gather momentum.
In conversations with league owners and players, Engelbert sensed in those early weeks of the pandemic the tension over what was at stake. Without a season, the league would face what she later called an “existential” moment about the prospect of going dark for 20 months.
“I don’t know if we would have made it, but I do know we wouldn’t be where we are today without having had that highly competitive, 22-game season in the bubble,” Engelbert said.
Four years after the “Wubble,” the league is celebrating the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, which returned to New York for Game 5 on Sunday night tied at 2-2, as a capstone to its most successful year. The league has never been in a better place. Television ratings are up. So is attendance. The league is riding a boom in interest and talent, driven by the steady excellence of longtime stars like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, and the arrival of Caitlin Clark. Three expansion teams have already been named, and one more is expected. A lucrative new media deal is set to start in 2026.
The progress has not been without its growing pains. Occasional high-profile games have been moved because of scheduling conflicts, and fans have voiced frustration about merchandise and broadcast accessibility. Engelbert received criticism from players, including an admonishment from the players union, last month for what they said was an inadequate public response to the online harassment and abuse many said they have received this season. The union has also routinely called for more transparency from the league on its finances and operations.
But the league remains on the ascent, and the choice to play in 2020 has been hailed by team owners as an important springboard. “I think it was one of the best decisions made in the history of this league,” Seattle Storm co-owner Lisa Brummel said.
That decision kept the WNBA in the consciousness of fans
From ‘existential’ moment in the pandemic to a capstone year
and created a strengthened player body. And it continued to generate revenue via media rights and corporate partnerships.
A few months after the conclusion of the 2020 season, the WNBA made another choice that significantly affected its trajectory. It began to raise capital that has helped supercharge its reach and popularity. If not for that window of time, stakeholders say, the league might not be where it is now.
Before Engelbert took over as the WNBA’s first official commissioner in 2019 — the league was previously run by presidents — she had to interview with the team owners. As she went around the country, visiting all 12 markets, she heard a similar refrain. After nearly three decades of trying to find its footing, power brokers had decided it was time to grow. The plan, Engelbert said, was based on a simple idea: “Go big or go home.” The league, they told her, needed more capital.
There was no consensus on how much. Just that it needed more to grow.
In early 2021, the WNBA put out a pitch deck to investors. The process was driven, in part, by the Liberty’s ownership group, which also owns the Brooklyn Nets and Blue Pool Capital, a private equity firm. “At the time, we really needed that infusion of capital,” Liberty co-owner Clara Wu Tsai said.
The NBA had helped stand up the league over its first two-plus decades in existence, but the WNBA was short on resources and personnel. It needed investments to put into marketing, brand building and digital innovation, and to drive more revenue.
A year later, it closed a $75 million capital raise that came with a $475 million post-money valuation for the league. Michael Dell and Nike were the largest investors, according to one person with knowledge of the raise who was not authorized to speak publicly about the agreement.
Investors in the capital raise took a roughly 16% stake in the league, with WNBA owners and NBA owners each splitting the rest in half, and took preferred equity. That gives them a priority return on their investment with a 5% dividend, said one person with knowledge of the capital raise. Although they have nonvoting shares in the league, they also have two observers on the board of governors.
“I was just intrigued that there was this league where the quality of the players is so great,” said Karen Finerman, the CEO of Metropolitan Capital and a WNBA investor. “And yet the league was struggling.”
The league’s financial situation has improved since then, and high-ranking executives and owners point to the raise as a reason. It helped put the WNBA in a place where it could take advantage of the surge in popularity since 2020.
“If we weren’t already making incremental progress in our business, then the moment that we’re experiencing right now would not be as big as it is,” said Greg Bibb, CEO and president of the Dallas Wings.
Engelbert believed the capital raise also showed that the WNBA could be a growth property. That wasn’t always the case for teams around the league.
When Wu Tsai and her husband, Joe Tsai, bought the Liberty in January 2019, they purchased an organization that she called a distressed asset. James Dolan, the franchise’s
prior owner, put the Liberty for sale in November 2017 and moved it out of Madison Square Garden a season later and into Westchester County Center, where they played for two seasons.
“Nobody wanted to touch it,” Wu Tsai said.
Nevertheless, the Tsais found the franchise attractive. They recognized the power of New York as a media market and knew how much the city loved basketball. They believed there was a fan base waiting to be reinvigorated.
The Liberty have been reenergized and are viewed around the league as one of the franchises responsible for raising the bar.
MLB PLAYOFFS
League Championship Series (Best of 7)
National League Game 1
Los Angeles Dodgers 9, New York Mets 0 Game 2
Mets 7, Dodgers 3 (Series tied 1-1) Game 3
Dodgers 8, Mets 0
Thursday’s Game 4
Dodgers 10, Mets 2
Friday’s Game 5
Mets 12, Dodgers 6 (Dodgers lead series 3-2)
Sunday’s Game 6 (All times Eastern) Mets at Dodgers, 8:08 p.m.
Today’s Game 7 (if needed) Mets at Dodgers (8:08 p.m., Fox Sports)
American League Game 1
New York Yankees 5, Cleveland Guardians 2 Game 2
Yankees 6, Guardians 3
Thursday’s Game 3
Guardians 7, Yankees 5
Friday’s Game 4
Yankees 8, Guardians 6
Saturday’s Game 5
Yankees 5, Guardians 2 (NY wins series 4-1)
World Series (Best of 7) Game 1
Friday, Oct. 25
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers or New York Mets, TBD (Fox)
The San Juan Daily Star
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
Wordsearch
Renege
Riles
Aries (Mar 21-April 20)
You may get frustrated when you find that people aren’t as sensitive to a situation as you want them to be, Aries. While you’re looking to make a strong connection with someone, almost wanting to take possession of his or her feelings, that person, in turn, is trying to pull back. People are apt to gravitate toward rational facts rather than intense, smothering emotions.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
A small spark in a dry field is apt to whip the hill into flames, Taurus. A raging wildfire may be underway by the end of the day. Know that you’re one of the biggest perpetrators, but don’t feel badly about it. Fire is destructive but also necessary. Clearing out brush and offering a fresh new place in which new growth can flourish is an important part of the cycle of nature.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Put on some lively music you can dance to and really kick up your heels, Gemini. It’s time to put away the sour mood and have fun. You will find that the more you engage in intellectual discussions with people today, the more you will get warmed up to the idea that life should be fun, not the pain and stress you sometimes make it out to be.
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
This is a tremendously expansive time for you, Cancer, and there is very little that will stop your momentum once you get going. Your eyes are alive with a spark that says that you’re ready to take on the world. Believe this about yourself and others will believe in you. There is a great deal of luck on your side today, so take a gamble in a certain part of your life.
Leo (July 24-Aug 23)
This is a good time to put things in writing, Leo. Your gift with words is apt to shine today as you write a proposal, email, or love poem. You’re able to communicate very well when you put your sensitive emotions aside and concentrate on what you think instead of what you feel. Expand your influence by focusing on those things that require a more cerebral approach.
Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)
The day’s energy is apt to be lively, making it much easier to get the things done that you need to do, Virgo. You will find people are more than eager to help you. The trick is to integrate your leadership abilities with the knowledge available from other people. You will create a winning combination of power and strength to put to use in just about any realm of your life.
Libra
(Sep 24-Oct 23)
Obstacles that you have ignored are suddenly starting to expand beyond reasonable proportions, Libra. Be careful of what you say as a result, because your words could spread like wildfire. This is no laughing matter. Difficulties in your world are likely to crop up, and you will find your ego threatened. Try to keep some sort of emotional barrier.
Scorpio
(Oct 24-Nov 22)
This is a terrific day for you, Scorpio, and you will glow brightly from head to toe as you radiate your true inner self to the world. You will find profound joy in the simplest, most ordinary circumstances. If you run out of things to say, feel free to whistle a tune. This isn’t likely to happen today, since you will overflow with things to talk about.
Sagittarius
(Nov 23-Dec 21)
Tap into the boisterous, lighthearted mood of the day instead of getting bogged down with heavy emotions, Sagittarius. This is a good time to engage your mind rather than let your heart take control. Be aware of the expansive nature of the day that allows you to think clearly without getting bothered by emotions. Take the cerebral route to figuring out what you need to do to smooth any bumps in the road.
Capricorn
(Dec 22-Jan 20)
Your optimism will be inspiring today, Capricorn. You will find that your lighthearted approach is perfectly suited to taking care of any issue that arises. Toss a few jokes into the mix and remind other people that it isn’t necessary to take things so seriously. The sun is shining as you proudly parade down the street with your head held high.
Aquarius
(Jan 21-Feb 19)
Difficult challenges that have been lingering on the sidelines will probably become more prominent today, Aquarius. There is a strong possibility that things will come to a head. The problem was easy to overlook at first, but now that it has taken on a life of its own, you may have to consult someone who is more of an expert on these types of situations than you are.
Pisces
(Feb 20-Mar 20)
You could be the one everyone runs to for advice today, Pisces. You’re the one with all the answers who can easily pull the rabbit out of a hat. Trust your judgment and intellectual know-how. Feel free to push yourself to the limit. If you go too far, you can always take a step back. If you never drive all the way to the boundaries, you will never know how far you can go.
Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29
