Thursday Oct 29, 2020 by The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

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Soneo in Heaven: Salsa Legend El Cano Estremera Dies at 62

P21

Proposed Bankruptcy Deal Slated for 2021 THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Dalmau: After Nov. 3, ‘There’s a Puerto Rico That We Have to Build’ P3

Ex-GSA Chief Gets 4 and a Half Years of Probation for Fraud

NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 19

US District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain Orders Oversight Board to Submit by February a Motion to Amend Commonwealth’s Debt Deal

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING

October 29, 2020

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

Dalmau: PR youth have ‘identified me as a figure who deserves their trust’

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ive days before the general elections, Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau said he feels humbled and excited to see what’s next given the number of supporters, both young and mature, who have rallied behind his candidacy during the atypical electoral race that comes to an end next Tuesday. In an interview with the Star at PIP headquarters in Hato Rey, Dalmau appeared calm and relaxed amid his hectic schedule, happy to talk about what’s to come in the final days before the elections, the sudden support he has received from citizens, and what the next governor for Puerto Rico should consider. As for his current campaign, Dalmau said that even though the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the rules on how to deliver political campaigns and readjustments had to be made on the run, “we have [established] a presence regarding the Patria Nueva proposal, regarding the history and character that accompanies it with the party candidates.” “People have been able to distinguish between an electoral offer for general elections, which is what’s going to happen on Nov. 3, where there are pro-statehood, or even people with no political preference, who have said: ‘I trust in Juan Dalmau. I trust that he has a history of commitment, and [I trust him with] the status problem that won’t be solved on Nov. 3,’” the pro-independence senator said. “That represents huge maturity as there was this notion that if you voted for a PIP candidate, the roads would be rolled up and forget about everything else because the worst was yet to come.” Meanwhile, as for the sudden support Dalmau has been obtaining from young citizens during the political race, he told the Star that he has noticed that the local youth has become “more politicized in the best sense of the word” as there has been more involvement in political activities. “I have accomplished accessibility that was never seen before in previous campaigns from the party,” Dalmau said. “As there has been a balance between being passionate with your postures, being capable of having a sense of humor, being lighter, more accessible, and less rigid regarding projection, I believe that the latter combination has gathered attention.” He noted that the summer of 2019 protests led to a fracture in the traditional political behavior “that was ‘either red, or blue,’ which later became ‘neither red, nor blue,’ which opened doors for both young and [older] citizens to look for other alternatives.”

“They have identified me as a figure who deserves their trust, because there is substance, content, proposals, but also history, character and accessibility,” Dalmau said. “As newer generations have advanced, they have inspired other generations to acknowledge that they had their turn, we have arrived up to here, all we’re asking is to follow a new road.” As for what is next for Puerto Rico, whether Dalmau becomes the elected governor or not, he told his supporters that, after the elections, “there’s a Puerto Rico that we have to build, regardless of the outcome [of the general elections], and we are going to have to, in some areas, coincide.” “These elections will confirm again that we have to take the local political paradigm back to the drawing board. We must soon consider the second round as a necessary step, when none of the gubernatorial candidates gets an electoral majority,” he said. “I insist that a vote for me would be a vote for a political project, for something that we need to rescue for our country; the more votes my candidacy receives, the more strength we will get after the elections to push that political project because, whoever gets elected, if it isn’t me, they will be elected due to a very limited amount of votes and will have a great majority of the country who will not agree with the determination.” Meanwhile, when asked about the next candidate to become Puerto Rico’s governor, he said they “must build bridges and work with the opposition, because majority parties do not exist anymore.” “People keep talking about them, even when they haven’t received more than 50 percent of the popular vote since the last two elections. The opposition represents the majority now. It’s important to point that out so we can break away from a notion that’s false,” he said. “If you want to doubt that, just look at what happened with Ricardo Rosselló, who obtained 41 percent of the votes in 2016 and once he began taking actions against the people, the events that led to his resignation happened; there will be new dynamics that will be taking place after Nov. 3.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

PDP candidate calls on Pierluisi to clarify if members of his campaign were part of Telegram chat By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

opular Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the House of Representatives Yaramary Torres called on New Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate Pedro Pierluisi on Wednesday to say if any participants in the Telegram chat with former Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares are part of his campaign. “Pedro Pierluisi must explain to the country if [former Public Affairs & Public Policy Secretary] Ramón Rosario, who was one of the active participants in the chat of shame, is in his campaign,” Torres said in a written statement. “After one of the worst government administrations in our history, it is questionable and reprehensible that Pedro Pierluisi has one of the people who failed the country on his work team. It is evident that they are the same and they come with

the same styles to make fun of the people and distribute public funds.” The House candidate also pointed out that Rosario is, in turn, a partner of Rosselló’s former legal adviser, Alfonso Orona,

another participant in the controversial chat that led to Rosselló’s resignation in August 2019. Rosario and Orona are under investigation by the Office of the Independent Special Prosecutor Panel (OPFEI by its

Spanish initials) for their participation in the infamous chat. Torres reiterated that “Pedro Pierluisi has a lot to explain to the country.” “This connection with these people shows that he lacks integrity and it does not matter that the people have rejected that chat and the members of it who mocked the pain of the people and violated the ethical rules of public service,” she said. Torres added that Pierluisi has to answer “for the dismissals of public employees that the Financial Oversight and Management Board intends to push for.” “As the board’s attorney, you need to explain how many layoffs you negotiated and if the chat members are part of your team,” she said. “The people cannot be fooled by the same old people who have failed them. These connections expose the true face of Pedro Pierluisi and his dire agenda for the people of Puerto Rico.”

Unions: Urge stateside friends, family to vote for Biden By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

he Puerto Rico Workers Federation (FTPR-AFL-CIO) is urging island residents to encourage their families and friends in the mainland United States to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden in order to remove Donald Trump from the White House, union leader José M. Rodríguez Báez said Wednesday. Rodríguez Báez said a group of unions came together to spread the message in favor of voting for Biden among Puerto Rican communities, especially in the key states of Florida and Pennsylvania. In Puerto Rico, several unions welcomed the effort. However, Rodríguez Báez stated that the message does not appeal only to workers and invited all citizens to use social networks and to communicate with their relatives in the United States.

“We Puerto Ricans can make a difference to defeat Trump,” Rodríguez Báez stressed. “A president who does not respect us as a country and who with his mismanagement shows that he does not respect the United States either, cannot continue in the position.” The union president recommended that islanders inform their family and friends in the states that there are already open early voting centers. Also, they can share the tool available on Vote.org to locate the nearest polling stations by location. “Trump hurts us, discriminates against Puerto Rico, mocks situations that have happened to us, limits our access to allocated funds and sabotages our recovery efforts,” Rodríguez Báez said. “We are making an urgent appeal for our colleagues and everyone in Puerto Rico to communicate with their family and friends in the United States, especially in Florida and Pennsylvania, so that they can go out and vote for Biden for president.” The union leader noted that in the United States, mass participation is crucial because the final election of the president is made by a group of 538 people who make up the Electoral College, and it does not always represent the will of the majority of the voting people. According to a recent study by Columbia University in New York, if the result of the general election does not give Biden enough of a lead, the chances that Trump will finally win again in the Electoral College, as he did in 2016, are greater. According to the study, given the recent scenario in the United States, in order for the Democratic candidate to beat the Republican incumbent in the Electoral College, he will need 51 percent or more of the popular vote. “There are only days left to defeat Trump, the worst

president of the United States and the enemy of Puerto Rico,” Rodríguez Báez said. “Now is the time to act and urge everyone to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris from today until November 3!” The local unions in Puerto Rico that joined the vote effort in support of Biden are: the Puerto Rico Workers Federation, AFL-CIO; United Public Servants, AFCSME; Central Federation of Workers, UFCW; Union of Communications Workers, CWA; Union of Journalists, Graphic Arts and Related Branches, CWA; United Steelworkers, USW; International Association of Machinists, IAM & AW; Laborers’ International Union of North America, LIUNA; United Auto Workers, UAW; and Association of School Cafeteria Employees, UAW.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Ex-GSA administrator gets four and a half years of probation for post-Maria fraud By PEDRO CORREA HENRY Twitter: @PCorreaHenry Special to The Star

fter more than two years of being under investigation by the island Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Division and Comptroller Affairs Office on allegations of possible improper, unethical and illegal conduct, former General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Miguel Encarnación Correa was sentenced Wednesday to four years and six months of probation for violation of various articles of the Puerto Rico Penal Code and the Government Ethics Law. The Special Independent Prosecutor Panel (PFEI by its Spanish initials) announced the sentence imposed by the San Juan Superior Court. Based on the panel’s report, Encarnación was indicted on five criminal charges under Article 252 (Illegal Use of Public Works or Services), one charge under Article 108 (Aggression), and another charge on Article 241 (Disturbing the Peace), which will apply concurrently. The sentence also included three charges under Article 4.2 (q) of the Government Ethics Law which must be served consecutively. Encarnación Correa restored two electrical generators owned by the Puerto Rico government. The sentence was handed down by Judge Gisela Alfonso Fernández. The case was presented by Special Independent Prosecutors Emilio Arill García and Manuel Núñez Corrada. Justice Dept. began investigation 2 years ago

Back on June 28, 2018, then-Justice Secretary Wanda Vázquez Garced announced that the PFEI had begun an investigation against Encarnación Correa based on complaints from GSA employees who alleged that steps were taken to purchase electrical generators for other employees after Hurricane Maria and that payments were allegedly instructed to be made under his name. “According to Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares’ public policy of zero tolerance for post-Maria fraud and for those who took advantage in the middle of the emergency, today we are notifying the PFEI that after the evaluation was conducted and the testimonies received, we will proceed to investigate this case as possible fraudulent conduct after Hurricanes Irma and Maria passed through,” Vázquez said at the time via a written declaration. Meanwhile, the now-governor of Puerto Rico said then

that according to Law 2-1988, which created the PFEI, in cases involving public officials such as agency heads, the Justice Department must conduct a preliminary investigation. “The Department has 90 days to conduct the investigation and determine whether to issue a referral to the PFEI with a recommendation that a Special Independent Prosecutor be appointed for a full investigation,” Vázquez said. “The Governor [Ricardo Rosselló] has given us all the necessary support to tackle corruption, wherever it comes from, and that is why we will conduct all the necessary investigations.” Former GSA chief refers matter to authorities On Feb. 1, 2018, Encarnación Correa reacted to the accusations that were released by International Professional and Office Employees Union President Iram Ramírez, saying in a written statement that he was making a referral to the Justice Department, the Comptroller’s Office and the FBI for an investigation. “To the Union President who makes accusations without evidence, I assure you that they are false; however, I invite you to put this complaint under oath immediately,” Encarnación Correa said. “I also establish that the Union President has never contacted me to bring this matter or any other related matter [to my attention].” The letter went on to say that “since the first anonymous accusation of harassing employees [made] against us, I have said that we are open to any investigation.” “The policy of this administration is zero-tolerance against corruption,” Encarnación Correa wrote.

Secretary of State: Gov’t ready for first ‘paperless’ transition of power By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

uerto Rico Secretary of State Raúl Márquez Hernández announced Wednesday that the State Department is ready to begin the transition process once the general elections conclude Nov. 3. The process of change of government information will be carried out for the first time in a completely digital format and at the Pedro Rosselló Convention Center in San Juan as a preventive measure due to COVID-19 protocols. “As Governor Wanda Vázquez Garced has demanded, our commitment is that the process is a transparent and complete one, in which the Puerto Rico Government committee provides the incoming committee with all pertinent information to government agencies,” the secretary of the outgoing committee said in a written statement. “As of today, we have received 100 percent of the reports and we affirm that they are not incomplete, incorrect or false. This action will allow us to deliver government results that will include reports on achievements of the past four years, as well as projects that are in process for the benefit of Puerto Rico.” “Meanwhile, being aware of environmental concerns, we will implement the first ‘paperless’ transition in the history of the Government of Puerto Rico,” Márquez Hernández added. “All the submitted reports will be

available in a digital and organized manner, opening the way for innovation and technology.” The secretary of State also announced that the outgoing committee is made up of cabinet members whose agencies are related in matters of budget, infrastructure, federal funds and health. Composing the team are the secretaries of Public Affairs and Public Policy, Justice, Treasury, and Transportation and Public Works, along with the director of the Office of Management and Budget, the executive director of the Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, and the director of the Planning Board. As established by Law No. 197 of 2002 and its amendments, the committee also has “three additional spaces that were submitted for the evaluation of the governor to be part of our team,” Márquez Hernández said. Likewise, the secretary said that a letter is being sent to each candidate for governor, informing them, among other details, that the first meeting of both committees will be on Nov. 4, so that the transition work can begin as soon as possible. “For the Governor it is imperative that both the people of Puerto Rico, as well as the incoming committee, have clear and open information subject to their evaluation, data that allows the new government to make immediate decisions to give continuity to the work they deem necessary or to change what they deem pertinent,” the State secretary said. “This is without overlooking the fact

that this process must also safeguard the confidentiality required by this exchange of information, as dictated by the law.” Given the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the transition work will be conducted at the convention center in the Miramar sector of San Juan, the secretary of State said. Tasks include the meetings of both committees, outgoing and incoming, as well as the public hearings that are required as part of the ordinary transition process. “Following the protocols dictated by health organizations and the Puerto Rico Department of Health itself on social distancing and safety measures, through an Administrative Order a temporary office of the Department of State will be established in the Convention Center to carry out transition processes,” Márquez Hernández said.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Judge pushes for proposed bankruptcy deal by February; denies probe into insider trading claims By THE STAR STAFF

.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Wednesday ordered the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board to submit by February a motion consisting of a term sheet of an amended debt deal for the commonwealth and denied a probe into claims of insider trading. Swain, who denied a request by parties of the commonwealth’s plan support agreement (PSA) to dismiss the bankruptcy case if the deadlines were not met, said the bankruptcy process needed to move forward during an omnibus hearing on the Title III bankruptcy process. She said the filing in February also had to include a disclosure statement. Since March, the oversight board has requested adjournments on the commonwealth debt deal citing that it needed to be amended to take into account the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic on Puerto Rico’s finances. She said the request by the PSA creditors was inappropriate given factors such as the upcoming general election. PSA creditors, including the Ad Hoc Group of Constitu-

tional Debtholders, the Ad Hoc Group of General Obligation Bondholders, the Lawful Constitutional Debt Coalition and the QTCB Noteholder Group, among others, had sought deadlines toward the approval of a PSA in a motion earlier this month. Swain also denied a motion from bond insurer National Public Finance Guarantee Corp. for the appointment of an independent investigator to look into whether some of Puerto Rico’s bondholders traded bonds using as a basis confidential information obtained from the mediation process.

Swain said there is no statutory provision under the Title III bankruptcy process of the federal Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act to start such a probe or order the U.S. trustee to do so. The U.S. trustee can investigate claims when an identifiable right is being impacted. The judge said National did not provide evidence that the alleged insider trading was detrimental to the parties or the markets. The claims “were largely speculative,” she said. Swain also noted that it was unfair to impose the costs for an independent probe

on Puerto Rico in an effort to defeat the PSA. On Oct. 5, National asked for an independent investigator arguing that information about the holdings supplied by several Puerto Rico bondholders points to possible insider trading. In August, members of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) asked the New York State Attorney General’s Office to investigate the allegations. National’s lawyer Marc E. Kasowitz said that, overall, hedge funds that were parties to the PSA had increased holdings of late vintage general obligations, which are those issued after 2012, from about $5 billion to about $7 billion. Hedge funds such as QTCB Noteholder, the Ad Hoc Group of General Obligation Bondholders, the Ad Hoc Group of Constitutional Debtholders and the Lawful Constitutional Debt Coalition (LCDC) opposed the investigation. LCDC lawyer Susheel Kirpalani accused National of having ulterior motives. National does not support the PSA because it will cut the constitutional general obligation debt, forcing National as bond insurer to pay creditors for the difference. Kasowitz said the payments may take National “to insolvency.”

Puma challenges gasoline law By THE STAR STAFF

uma Energy Caribe LLC is challenging in U.S. District Court the constitutionality of Law 60 of 2020, or Puerto Rico’s Gasoline Law, arguing that it violates the Commerce Clause, is pre-empted by the federal Petroleum Marketing Practices Act and takes Puma’s property without just compensation. The suit was filed Wednesday against Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced and other officials. Puma seeks a declaratory relief and an injunction against the enforcement of Law 60. In the alternative, Puma seeks an award of money damages as compensation for the taking of its property. Until recently, Puma had plans to build another 62 convenience stores on the contested properties. Puma invested in the properties based on the expectation of exercising significant operational control over those other businesses. On June 27, Puerto Rico enacted Law 60, which prohibits Puma from exercising any operational control over other businesses on its property, the suit says. The law, in essence, bars wholesalers from operating other businesses at gasoline stations.

“This law is a purely protectionist measure. It was intended to devastate Puma’s business plans because Puma is an off-island company,” the suit says. “It was intended to protect local businesses from control by, and competition from, off-island wholesalers. Law 60 is having just these intended effects.” Puma says the direct beneficiaries of Law 60 are locally owned businesses — among them, the gasoline retailers whose trade association was the moving force behind Law 60. “The key sponsor of Law 60, Senator Carmelo Ríos, stated that the purpose of Law 60 was to ‘protect the ‘people who are from here’ from off-island wholesalers who would, he warned, remove Puerto Ricans from jobs, ‘stifle each and every one of the locals,’ bring in ‘people from Central America,’ and ‘pull millions of dollars out of the [local] economy,’” the suit says. “Law 60 does not benefit Puerto Rico’s consumers. On the contrary, it reduces consumer choice,” Puma said. “By barring wholesalers from operating or controlling the other businesses at gasoline service stations, Law 60 effectively picks winners in these retail marketplaces. Law 60 takes these choices away from consumers. Law 60 will also harm Puerto Rico’s economy because, like all protectionist laws, it deters off-island wholesalers from investing in Puerto Rico.”

By deterring investment in these markets, Law 60 will reduce the number and quality of Puerto Rico’s gasoline service stations and of the other businesses provided on the premises of those stations, Puma said. Because of Law 60, Puerto Rico’s consumers will have less choice, will receive less value, and will be charged more, the gasoline wholesaler said.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

U.S. reports more than 500,000 virus cases in a week, a record, as the Trump administration says it ended the pandemic By JOHN ISMAY and LUCY TOMPKINS

he United States reported a record of more than 500,000 new coronavirus cases over the past week, as states and cities resorted to stricter measures to contain the virus that is raging across the country, especially the American heartland. The record was broken Tuesday, even as the Trump administration announced what it called its first-term scientific accomplishments, in a press release that included “ENDING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC” written in bold, capital letters. The record reflects how quickly the virus is spreading. It took nearly three months for the first 500,000 coronavirus cases to be tallied in the United States — the first was confirmed Jan. 21, and the country did not reach the half-million mark until April 11. Testing was severely limited in the early days of the pandemic.

The new restrictions range from a nightly business curfew in Newark, New Jersey, to a two-week stay-at-home order in El Paso, Texas, to a halt in indoor dining in Chicago. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that he was stopping indoor dining and bar service in Chicago, effective at 12:01 a.m. Friday. The city joins New York and Wisconsin, states that earlier this month issued restrictions or outright bans on indoor dining in restaurants and bars to limit the spread of the virus. The restrictions have been loudly opposed by a restaurant industry that has been decimated by the pandemic. Chicago is averaging more than twice as many coronavirus-related hospital admissions per day as it was a month ago, Pritzker’s office said, and the share of tests that are coming back positive has almost doubled

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since the beginning of October. The U.S. has reported a record daily average of about 71,000 new cases over the past week, an increase of about 40% from the average two weeks earlier. Eighteen states, including Illinois, have recorded their highest seven-day average of new cases, and three states (Tennessee, Wisconsin and Oklahoma) have set a record seven-day average for deaths. On Tuesday, Oklahoma and Wyoming broke single-day death records and Kentucky reported a new daily cases record. Pritzker’s announcement follows a similar indoor dining ban that includes southern Cook County, just outside Chicago, which was announced Monday. In Chicago, outdoor service will be allowed if tables are spaced 6 feet apart; reservations are required, and service shuts down at 11 p.m. All social gatherings in the city will be limited to 25 people or 25% of the

Self-administered coronavirus tests were distributed at a testing site in Chicago. venue’s capacity, whichever is less. “We can’t ignore what is happening around us,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Because without action, this could look worse than anything we saw in the spring.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

New Jersey’s largest city shuts down again as virus cases surge

Pedestrians on Ferry Street, the heart of the Ironbound neighborhood, in Newark, N.J., on Oct. 26, 2020. One in four people recently tested positive for the coronavirus there. By TRACEY TULLY and KEVIN ARMSTRONG

he Ironbound neighborhood, sitting to the east of Newark’s main commuter transit hub, is well known throughout New Jersey for its vibrant restaurant scene and after-hours nightlife. Large Portuguese, Brazilian and Spanish restaurants anchor corner lots along the main commercial drag, and smaller tapas cafes are tucked on side streets, adjacent to neat rows of three-story buildings where an estimated 60,000 residents from around the world have made their homes. It is here where the coronavirus is surging anew, with one in every four people testing positive over several days last week. It has been barely seven months since Newark, New Jersey’s largest city and a short ride from New York by train or car, began suffering disproportionate losses when the pandemic first gripped the region in the spring. And it is here that the state is getting a glimpse of what could lie ahead this fall and winter as New Jersey struggles to control an alarming uptick in new virus cases statewide. On Tuesday at 8 p.m., the state’s first new shutdown order since March took hold in the city by order of the mayor, Ras Baraka, a Democrat. New Jersey’s governor, Philip Murphy, has so far avoided the targeted shutdowns that

states like New York and Connecticut have begun enforcing to address virus hot spots, but he said he supported the steps that Baraka was taking to tame the outbreak. Murphy and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York have consulted on the surge in Newark. “It seems desperate,” Baraka said at a news conference Monday, “but it’s a desperate moment.” “My job right now is to make sure people stay alive,” he added, acknowledging the at least 672 residents who have already died from the virus. Under the order, restaurants and other nonessential businesses citywide must close to indoor customers at 8 p.m. daily, and parks within the one city ZIP code that encompasses the Ironbound — 07105 — are off limits for sporting events, including youth team practices and games. Newark’s hair and nail salons may stay open by appointment only, and health clubs must close down for 30 minutes each hour to sanitize equipment. At University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey’s only public hospital, the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has been doubling each week, and 6% of tests conducted at its clinic are now coming back positive, said Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the hospital’s chief executive. Overall, at testing sites across Newark,

the three-day average rate of positive tests last week was slightly over 11% — more than double the statewide rate. More people tested positive in Newark on Tuesday — 162 — than in all other municipalities combined in hard-hit Essex County, which has had the most virus-related deaths of any county in the state, county records show. Elnahal, who served as the state’s health commissioner before taking over at the hospital, applauded the clear signal sent by the mayor with his decision to try to get ahead of the worrisome trend, as temperatures dip and the temptation to gather indoors intensifies. “It was a smart move to act early — absolutely,” Elnahal said. “You have Halloween and you have Thanksgiving a short time after that. We really have to get ahead of making sure people know that they shouldn’t gather indoors.” With 20 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, University Hospital has activated its surge plans, drawing on lessons learned in the spring when it was treating 300 patients sick from the virus at a time. “The advantage we have now, that we didn’t have in the spring, is experience,” Elnahal said. In the Ironbound on Monday, city officials went door to door to restaurants, hardware stores and barbershops, handing out pamphlets detailing Baraka’s executive order and the extra safety protocols that are now required. The sidewalks at dinner time were filled mainly with residents returning from jobs at construction sites and other essential businesses. Most wore masks, and signage about social distancing was omnipresent, filling the windows of storefronts and fences along Ferry Street, the main business corridor. “At what point do small businesses have a leg to stand on to survive?” said Joe Downar Jr., a son of the owners of the The Deep Inn, a bar that had already shut down its pool tables, dart boards and jukebox. Newark has 15 testing sites, including one in the Ann Street School parking lot in the Ironbound neighborhood. Like all public schools in Newark, the building is closed to students, who are taking all classes online because of the pandemic. Orange cones and yellow caution tape now line the lot to guide residents arriving on foot as they wait in line

for a virus test. From Friday to Sunday, of the 284 people tested within the 07105 ZIP code, 84 were positive for the virus, city officials said. And across the city, those getting sick are more likely to be Latino — a change from the first wave of the virus when Black residents of Newark were more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19, according to the city’s health director, Dr. Mark Wade. The state has sent nine additional contact tracers to Newark to supplement the 25 already on staff at Newark’s Department of Health and Community Wellness; the city needs at least 30 more, Wade said. “This is a dramatic spike that we want to mitigate immediately,” he said. City officials said that in two weeks they would reassess and adjust the shutdown measures if necessary. The decision will be based on data collected on heat maps that track each new virus case, enabling a targeted real-time public health response to outbreaks. Seth A. Grossman, executive director of the Ironbound Business Improvement District, said the group firmly supported the mayor’s approach as a way to level the playing field among the more than 170 restaurants and nightclubs that comprise one of New Jersey’s most thriving restaurant districts. “It’s a matter of establishing standards,” Grossman said, “and not having a free-for-all out there where everyone does what they want to do.” “The bottom line is the pandemic is not over — let’s take care of each other out there,” he added. That does not mean it has been easy for restaurants and bars already struggling to make ends meet with 25% indoor capacity limits. Bruno Carvalho, the manager of Manu’s Sushi Lounge on Ferry Street, said Newark’s decision to take action on its own will be of limited value without a regional approach and will only force customers into other nearby towns. “It makes no sense Newark doing this by itself and no one else is,” said Carvalho, 35. The mayor of Hoboken did announce this week that all restaurants and bars would be required to close at midnight daily starting Thursday — two days before Halloween, which is always a popular celebration in the densely packed, mile-square city.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

90,000 Told to flee as California fires nearly double in size ByTIM ARANGO, IVAN PENN and NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS

which pioneered the strategy of power outages to reduce wildfire risk, typically cut power to fewer homes and businesses at a time than s two wildfires raged across Southern Pacific Gas & Electric, which has been more California on Tuesday, nearly doubling willing to cut off power to tens of thousands in size overnight and forcing thousands of customers. more people to flee their homes, the state’s utility “I think most customers are much happier companies are again coming under scrutiny with the surgical approach with the wildfire for their potential role in sparking new blazes. shut-offs,” Toney said. “I don’t see any evidence Southern California Edison said its equipin effectiveness” in PG&E’s approach, he said. ment may have played a role in starting one of Tuesday morning, fewer than 20,000 Edithe fires, the Silverado Fire, which had churned son customers were without power compared through about 13,000 acres in Orange County. with about 100,000 in PG&E’s service area The fire raised more concerns about — including the Bay Area, where thousands whether utilities have substantially improved of households and businesses have bought their safety efforts, and whether the company backup power systems since the widespread should have more broadly shut off power in outages were first carried out last year. The Southern California this week. Edison’s postubackup power systems, which can cost several re stood in contrast to Pacific Gas & Electric, thousand dollars to install, are an added expense which turned off power to a broad swath of for an already expensive state — and seen by Northern California beginning Sunday over Firefighters surveying the Blue Ridge Fire near a residential development in Chino some as the cost of climate change. fears of dangerous wildfire conditions. The shut-offs were an added challenge for Hills, Calif., on Oct. 27, 2020. Fueled by strong Santa Ana winds, the families already dealing with distance learning fires in Orange County have put more than because of the pandemic. In some communities 90,000 people under emergency evacuation orders, many of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington state this online classes were canceled because of the power outages. them in Irvine. Their homes are being threatened by both the year. In California alone, fires have burned more than 4.1 Even some households with generators had trouble connecting Silverado Fire and the Blue Ridge Fire, which has a footprint million acres, destroyed 10,488 homes and other structures to the internet. Comcast, the internet provider, said the blackouts and led to at least 31 deaths. of about 15,000 acres. had affected its equipment, causing 100,000 households to More than 750 firefighters have been battling the bla- lose their internet connections. Investigators have not determined what ignited the fires, but on Monday, Southern California Edison filed its second zes, which were known to have damaged 10 homes as of In Southern California, outages have been much less late Tuesday afternoon. But the area of concern widened as wildfire incident report this year, saying that a telecommuniextensive. cations line might have struck its equipment and might have winds blew the fires to new areas, including toward Chino “We’ve broken our grid up so we can do smaller caused the Silverado Fire. Last month, the utility filed a report Hills, a city of about 84,000 people that sits at the corner of shut-offs to our customers,” said Taelor Bakewell, an Edison that said its equipment was part of an investigation into the Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. spokeswoman. The Orange County Fire Authority, which is the lead cause of the Bobcat Fire, which burned about 116,000 acres agency battling both fires, said it hoped that softening winds near Pasadena. Edison said Tuesday that it did not cut power to the line would slow the fires’ pace and allow firefighters to use aircraft possibly connected with the Silverado Fire because wind to contain the blazes. The Silverado Fire is 5% contained and the Blue Ridge Fire is completely uncontained. speeds were not high enough to warrant it. Firefighters on Tuesday said they were hopeful that, with Even critics of the utilities cautioned against drawing forecasts predicting that winds would subside in the afternoon and conclusions about the incident reports. Telecommunications evening, they would be able to increase the containment of the companies hang their wires on utility poles and are responsible fi res and, possibly, allow people to start returning to their homes. for their own equipment. “Our concern is getting people back in their homes once “We don’t want to make any wide-eyed accusations 1-Empacadoras (os) Bagger 5-Facturación/Contabilidad without having the evidence,” said Mark Toney, executive it’s safe,” said Capt. Jason Fairchild, of the Orange County Fire 2-Cajeras (os) 6-Tablajeras(os) director of the Utility Reform Network, which represents Authority. While offi cials set up numerous evacuation centers, consumers before the utility commission. 3-Supervisora(os) de 7-Gondoleras (os) The record-breaking 2020 fire season has seen enormous many residents who evacuated chose to avoid them, either Provisiones 8-Cocineras(os) wildfires tear across California and other states in the West. out of concerns about the coronavirus or because they could 4-Personal de Rotulación 9-Gerente Cafetería Experts have linked the worsening fire season to climate chan- afford to stay in hotels. (labels/scanning) Two fi refi ghters were gravely wounded by the Silverado ge, as emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels have led to warmer and Fire, and they were intubated Monday after receiving second*No se requiere experiencia previa para and third-degree burns across most of their bodies, said Brian drier conditions. Cajeras(os) y Empacadoras(os). Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the Institute of the Fennessy, the fire authority’s chief. Posiciones a tiempo completo y parcial. The injuries to the firefighters, who are 26 and 31 years Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Se requiere disponibilidad para trabajar Los Angeles, said that while fall fires are predictable, “Just about old, only raise the stakes in the scrutiny over the actions of INTERESADOS LLENAR SOLICITUD EN LA TIENDA everything else about the present situation is quite unusual.” the utility companies. Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, Patrono con igualdad de empleo More than 5 million acres have burned across California,

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The San Juan Daily Star

Philadelphia protests continue after fatal shooting by police By JON HURDLE

rotesters looted stores and scuffled with police late Tuesday in a second night of street protests over the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old Black man, during a confrontation more than 24 hours earlier. Local television and news websites showed looters entering stores in the Port Richmond neighborhood, northeast of the city center, while officers struggled with protesters in the heart of West Philadelphia, where Wallace was killed Monday afternoon after approaching police officers with a knife. The victim’s father, Walter Wallace Sr., urged looters to stop. “It will leave a bad scar on my son, with all this looting and chaos,” Wallace said in an interview on CNN. “This is where we live, and it’s the only community resource we have, and if we take all the resource and burn it down, we don’t have anything.” Danielle Outlaw, the police commissioner, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that she would release information about the shooting within the next few days but that she did not know whether it would include body camera footage from the officers who shot Wallace. “It’s common for officers to respond to domestic disturbance or any type of call with a gun because it’s one of the tools we carry on our tool belt,” said Outlaw, who added that the officers were not carrying stun guns. The protests in Philadelphia are the latest in a series of

A looted Walmart store in Philadelphia late Tuesday night, Oct. 27, 2020. nationwide demonstrations demanding justice after the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta, among others. In addition to signs and chants, some of the rallies from New York to Portland, Oregon, have included looting, arson and destruction of police vehicles. Officers have aggressively targeted protesters at times, firing tear gas and striking them with batons. In a joint statement Tuesday, former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate,

Sen. Kamala Harris of California, sought to validate protesters’ anger over the death of Wallace while discouraging violence and attacks on the police. “We cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death,” Biden and Harris said. But, they added: “Looting is not a protest, it is a crime. It draws attention away from the real tragedy of a life cut short.” Thirty officers were injured Monday as protesters threw bricks and rocks at them, a police spokesman said, adding that one officer had a broken leg after being struck by a pickup truck. The Pennsylvania National Guard was expected to send hundreds of people to Philadelphia within the next few days, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Demonstrators gathered in response to the death of Wallace. In a video posted on social media, shouts of “Back up!” and “Put the knife down!” can be heard he walks toward two officers before collapsing in a flurry of gunshots. A woman wails as more officers arrive. “Bro, they just killed him in front of me,” a man can be heard saying in the video. “Y’all ain’t have to give him that many shots.” Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement on Monday night that he had spoken with Wallace’s family and that a full investigation of the shooting would be conducted. “I have watched the video of this tragic incident,” he said, “and it presents difficult questions that must be answered.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Why the best GDP report ever won’t mean the economy has healed By BEN CASSELMAN

he United States almost certainly just experienced its fastest three months of economic growth on record. That doesn’t mean the economy is strong. The Commerce Department on Thursday will release its preliminary estimate of economic growth for the third quarter. Economists surveyed by FactSet expect it to show that gross domestic product — the broadest measure of goods and services produced in the United States — grew about 7% from the second quarter, or 30% on an annualized basis (more about that in a bit). If those forecasts are even close to correct, it would represent the fastest growth since reliable records began after World War II. Until now, the best quarter was a 3.9% gain (16.7% annualized) in 1950. This GDP report will be particularly closely watched, arriving as the last major piece of economic data before Election Day on Tuesday. But it doesn’t make sense to think about Thursday’s report in isolation. The third quarter’s record-setting growth is effectively an echo of the second quarter’s equally unprecedented contraction, when business shutdowns and stay-at-home orders led gross domestic product to fall by 9%. Strong growth was inevitable as the economy began to reopen. While the economy has revived considerably since the spring, it is far short of its level before the pandemic. And progress is slowing. “Employment has come back to some extent, but the unemployment rate is still high; wage and salary income is still low,” said Ben Herzon, executive director of IHS Markit, a forecasting firm. “Demand is still being depressed by the pandemic.” In superlative-laden Facebook ads purchased days before the report, President Donald Trump and his supporters have already begun to promote it as evidence of a strong rebound. The truth is more complicated. Here is how economists are thinking about the report and why the numbers could be misleading. The economy is still in a hole. If GDP fell by 9% in the second quarter, and rose by about 7% in the third quarter, it might sound as if the economy is almost back to where it started. It isn’t. The big drop in output in the second quarter means that third-quarter growth is being measured against a smaller base. A simple illustration of the same phenomenon: If you have $100 and lose half, you have $50. If you then manage to increase your money by half, that will bring your holdings to $75, not all the way back to $100. To really evaluate the recovery, it makes sense to focus less on quarter-to-quarter changes and ins-

third quarter effectively had a head start. In fact, even if there had been zero growth in July, August or September, and the economy had stayed exactly the same size as at the end of the second quarter, that would still represent 5.4% quarterly growth — the strongest gain on record. Of course, the economy did experience some growth during the third quarter. IHS Markit estimates that GDP grew about 1.5% in July and less than 1% in August and September. But those are much weaker gains than the quarterly GDP figures might seem to suggest. Annualized figures are even more misleading. Gross domestic product in the United States is Shoppers in New York City on July 29, 2020. Whi- usually reported at an annual rate, meaning how much le the economy has revived considerably since last output would grow or shrink if that rate of change were spring, it is far short of its level before the pandemic. sustained for a full year. That convention makes it easier to compare data collected over different time periods. tead look at how the economy compares to the four- But during periods of rapid change, annual rates can be th quarter of last year, before the pandemic began. confusing. If economists’ forecasts are correct, GDP will be 3% In the second quarter, for example, GDP fell at an to 4% lower in the third quarter than at the end of annual rate of 31.4%. That makes it sound as if the ecolast year. By comparison, GDP shrank 4% over the nomy shrank by nearly one-third, when in fact it shrank entire year and a half of the Great Recession a de- by a bit less than a tenth. cade ago. To avoid confusion, in the coverage of Thursday’s In other words: Even after the record-setting re- report, The Times plans to emphasize simple, nonannual bound in the third quarter, the economy is still in a hole percentage changes from both the second quarter and as large as the worst point of many past recessions. the fourth quarter of last year, before the pandemic beMost ‘third-quarter growth’ actually happened in gan. (We gave a more detailed explanation of this decithe second quarter. sion before the second-quarter report in July.) Here is where things get really confusing: ThirdBenchmarks make a big difference. quarter growth will look historically strong, even though When the pandemic first hit in the spring, many all three months that made up the quarter were relati- economists and policymakers hoped that by shutting vely weak. down nonessential businesses and encouraging people That seeming paradox is the result of how the go- to stay home, the United States could quickly bring the vernment reports GDP statistics. virus under control, then reopen with minimal lasting Quarterly GDP figures represent the average economic damage. That would allow for a “V-shaped” amount of economic output over a three-month pe- recession and recovery — a steep drop, followed by an riod. In normal times, output changes only gradually — equally steep rebound. growing or shrinking only 2% or 3% per year — so the Relative to that expectation, the U.S. response has change from the first month of a quarter to the last is been a failure. The economy bounced back in May and small. June, but only partway. Most forecasters don’t expect Last spring, however, changes that would ordina- GDP to return to its pre-pandemic level until late next rily take years played out in a matter of weeks. Monthly year at the earliest. estimates from IHS Markit show that GDP fell more Compared with forecasts from April and May, than 5% in March and more than 10% in April, before however, the economic rebound has beaten expectarising roughly 5% in May and 6% in June. tions. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, Quarterly averages obscure those big swings, for example, released a forecast in late April showing however. GDP fell 1.3% in the first quarter (when two a steeper second-quarter decline and a weaker thirdrelatively normal months were followed by the big quarter rebound than ended up happening. The offidrop in March) and 9% in the second (when output ce also expected the unemployment rate to stay above plunged in the first month of the quarter then rose in 10% through the end of this year; instead, the rate fell the next two). below that benchmark in August and fell further to 7.9% The big rebound in May and June meant that the in September.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

13 Stocks

Stocks tumble as coronavirus lockdowns loom; dollar rises

tocks sank across the globe on Wednesday on concerns that rising COVID-19 cases in Europe, the United States and elsewhere will get in the way of fragile economic recoveries, while the U.S. dollar rose on safehaven bids. Benchmark Treasury yields fell alongside the price of oil and gold was under pressure from the rising dollar. On Wall Street, the energy and technology sectors of the S&P 500 were among the hardest hit. “Whether you call it a continuation of the pandemic or a third wave of new case discovery - it is the largest concern,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York. “Unless and until we get through this pandemic, it is hard for investors to imagine a better economic time.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 824.06 points, or 3%, to 26,639.13, the S&P 500 lost 98.51 points, or 2.91%, to 3,292.17 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 334.78 points, or 2.93%, to 11,096.58. European shares closed at their lowest since late May as Germany and France prepared to announce restrictions approaching the level of the nationwide lockdowns in the spring, as COVID-19 deaths across Europe jumped almost 40% in a week. The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 2.95%, touching its lowest level since May. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 2.53%. Asian shares lost ground after initially showing some resilience, in part due to more limited COVID-19 outbreaks and better recoveries in the region’s major economies. Emerging market stocks lost 1.18%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.66% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.29%. Concerns over a rising wave of COVID-19 infections played out in currency and bond markets, too, with the euro slumping against the dollar. The dollar index rose 0.291%, with the euro down 0.37% to $1.1751. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.15% versus the greenback to 104.29 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2985, down 0.44% on the day. Adding to the mood of uncertainty was the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election. Former Vice President Joe Biden has enjoyed a consistent lead in the polls over President Donald Trump. Investors cautiously bet on his victory and a possible “blue wave” outcome, where Democrats control both chambers of Congress.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

In Australia, the lockdown that felt like it might last forever finally ended

Diners along St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday when a 111-day coronavirus lockdown came to an end. By YAN ZHUANG and DAMIEN CAVE

s if from hibernation, Australia’s second-largest city emerged from one of the world’s longest and most severe lockdowns Wednesday, feeling both traumatized and euphoric after weeks of shared sacrifice that brought a deadly second wave of the coronavirus to heel. It took 111 days, but Melbourne and the surrounding state of Victoria recorded no new infections Monday, and Wednesday thousands of stores, cafes, restaurants and beauty salons opened their doors for the first time in months. “That is an achievement that every single Victorian should be proud of,” said the state’s top official, Daniel Andrews. The collective exit for a city of 5 million came suddenly and none too soon — Andrews had insisted on a very low threshold of cases before lifting the lockdown. It ended a dizzying and lonely experience that many in Melbourne described as an emotional roller coaster with effects on the economy, education and mental health that will linger. The turnaround since July has been dramatic: Infections at the time were threatening to spiral out of control, hitting a peak of more than 700 a day. Schools, businesses and houses of worship

closed. People could not travel more than 3 miles from home without a permit. They could go outside for only an hour (then two), and for weeks, they faced a nightly curfew. Now, Victoria has subdued the virus while European countries that had similar caseloads a few months ago — and that ended their lockdowns after overcoming initial waves of infections — are struggling with an explosion of new cases. The hard-won success has allowed people in Melbourne to reenter their city, Australia’s capital of coffee and culture, even if they are unsure how tense or loose to be. “Is there enormous relief? Absolutely, enormous celebration, yes,” said Dr. Stephen Duckett, the health program director for the Grattan Institute, a policy think tank based in Melbourne. “But none of us want to go through this again, so we also know we have to be cautious.” The situation in Europe, where countries like France and Britain are recording tens of thousands of new cases a day, helped people in Victoria maintain their patience through the lockdown. The comparison, though, highlights very different political calculations, neither of which may be the ideal course. Britain under its Conservative prime minister, Boris Johnson, may not have done enough in recent months as the virus gurgled along in the population. Andrews, a Labor Party leader running a state that veers left, may have gone further than needed with the curfew, restrictions on time outdoors and the 3-mile limit on travel. “What gets me is that there seem to be two extremes; we keep everything locked down completely, or we don’t do anything,” said Dr. Peter Collignon, an infectious diseases expert at the Australian National University. “Both extremes are wrong.” He added that Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, along with Japan, Singapore and South Korea, had all maintained low levels of infection through the public’s compliance with common-sense measures, such as staying home when sick and minimizing group interactions indoors. Shifting social norms, he added, matter most. “The people have to be convinced,” he said. In Victoria, whether convinced or not, they obeyed. Only

a handful of small protests disrupted the lengthy lockdown. Although critics plastered Andrews with the nickname “Dictator Dan,” many others insisted that “Dan’s the man.” A poll published earlier this week showed that 52% of Victorians approved of Andrews’ performance as premier. “I think it’s hard to think of another community anywhere else — I think internationally as well — that’s been so stoically accepting of the very strict restrictions they faced,” said Paul Strangio, a professor of politics at Monash University in Melbourne. “They’ve made a decision, Victorians, that health had to be put first.” Still, if there’s pride, there’s little hubris. All over Melbourne on Wednesday, people crawled out of their homes to seek a version of the lives they had put on hold. The early adopters appeared at midnight inside the handful of bars across the city that opened at the exact moment they could. At Cherry Bar, a hole-in-the-wall rock venue, 20 people (the legal limit for now) ordered drinks and swapped lockdown stories. “It feels surreal,” said Ryan Gribble, 37, who was a regular patron before the pandemic. “It feels like the bar’s shut and only the regulars are left drinking — but it’s actually open.” As the sun rose and Melbourne greeted its first day with the freedom to stretch a little, the city’s mood seemed to improve. In most of the parks, people gathered in clusters, sharing picnics with friends they had not seen in person for months. Those not eating wore masks. In Princess Park, Stephanie Trezise, 26, an immunology student, was busy sharing beer and cheese with four friends. She used to see them at lunch all the time. Wednesday was the first time they had all been back together since the lockdown began. “A lot of us had major milestones in our studies — finishing a thesis, giving a final seminar, and we couldn’t celebrate until today,” she said. Many others on the grass nearby expressed a similar urge. To catch up. To raise a glass. “It’s so exciting,” said Maud Rowe, 35, who was sitting with a friend she had not seen in months. “I wanted to hug her, but we’re not allowed.”

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The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

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Thursday, October 29, 2020

Britain’s health workers face 2nd virus wave, but this time with less support By BENJAMIN MUELLER

he weekly clapping in support of health workers by Britons during the first part of the pandemic has petered out. The government has mostly stopped asking people to stay home Gobierno de Puerto Rico

DEPARTAMENTO DE RECURSOS NATURALES Y AMBIENTALES

AVISO AMBIENTAL INTENCIÓN DE RENOVAR PERMISO DE INYECCIÓN SUBTERRÁNEA El peticionario, Hotel Las Colinas, cuya dirección postal es P.O. Box 335294, Ponce, P.R., 00733-5294; representado por el Sr. Johnny Pérez Rivera, Gerente, ha solicitado al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA) la renovación del Permiso de Operación UICRP-02-58-0010, para un sistema de inyección subterránea (SIS) Clase VC1, bajo las disposiciones del Reglamento para el Control de la Inyección Subterránea (RCIS) y la Ley Federal de Agua Potable Segura, según enmendada 42 USC 300f et seq. (LFAPS). El SIS consiste de un tanque séptico de 21 pies de largo por 12 pies de ancho y 13 pies de profundidad líquida con una capacidad total de 24,504 galones, conectado a un pozo filtrante de 60 pies de largo por 20.5 pies de ancho y este a su vez conectado a un sistema de cuatro (4) lechos de percolación de 100 pies de largo y 20 pies de ancho cada uno, proporcionando un área de absorción de 1,651 pies2 y 2,000 pies2 respectivamente. En el SIS se inyectarán 8,220 galones por día de aguas sanitarias y está ubicado en Hotel Las Colinas, Inc., en la Carr. PR 505, Km. 2.2 ·del Barrio La Yuca en Ponce, Puerto Rico. Luego de realizada la evaluación correspondiente de los documentos sometidos, el DRNA tiene la intención de renovar el Permiso de Operación, para la instalación antes mencionada en conformidad con los requisitos del RCIS y de la LFAPS. Esta notificación se hace para informar que el DRNA, ha preparado el borrador del permiso de operación de forma tal que el público interesado pueda someter sus comentarios con relación al mismo. El permiso contiene las condiciones y prohibiciones necesarias para cumplir con los requisitos reglamentarios aplicables. El público puede evaluar copia de la solicitud de permiso que sometió el peticionario ante el DRNA, el borrador del permiso y otros documentos relevantes, en la Oficina Regional de Guayama (ORG), localizada en la Carr. PR-3 Km. 136.0, Barrio Algarrobos en Guayama, Puerto Rico. Copia de dichos documentos pueden adquirirse en la Oficina de Secretaría localizada en el Edificio de Agencias Ambientales Cruz A. Matos, Urbanización San José Industrial Park, Ave. Ponce de León 1375, San Juan Puerto Rico, 00910 o en la ORG entre las 8:00 a.m. y las 4:30 p.m . de lunes a viernes . Las partes interesadas o afectadas pueden enviar sus comentarios o solicitar por escrito una vista pública a la Directora Regional al Secretario del DRNA, respectivamente, escribiendo a 2000 Ave. Los Veteranos Guayama, Puerto Rico 00784. Los comentarios por escrito o la solicitud de vista pública deberán ser sometidos al DRNA no más tarde de treinta (30) días a partir de la fecha de publicación de este aviso. La fecha límite para someter comentarios puede ser extendida si se estima necesario o apropiado para el interés público . La solicitud para una vista pública deberá señalar la razón o las razones que en la opinión del solicitante ameritan la celebración de la misma. De realizarse una vista pública los interesados o afectados tendrán una oportunidad razonable para presentar evidencia o testimonio sobre si se emite o deniega el permiso, si la Secretaria Interina determina que dicha vista es necesaria o apropiada. Aprobado por la Autoridad Nominadora, Certificación CEE-SA-2020-5576 del 21 de febrero de 2020. Este anuncio se publicó conforme a lo requerido por la Ley Sobre Política Pública Ambiental, Ley Núm. 416 del 22 de septiembre de 2004, según enmendada. Aviso pagado por solicitante. Carr. PR 3, Km. 136, Guayama, PR / 2000 Avenida Los Veteranos, Guayama, PR 00784 ' (787) 866-0200 7 (787) 866-0572 • y www.drna.pr.gov

and avoid the virus to keep the National Health Service from being overwhelmed. Campaigns to feed and house exhausted health workers have dwindled. As Britain becomes subsumed by a second wave of coronavirus infections and deaths, the country’s doctors and nurses are bracing for what is expected to be a deluge of new patients over the next six months. But unlike in the spring, they say they are now facing the pandemic without the same sense of caution among a coronavirus-weary public or a clear government strategy to contain the virus and deal with rapidly filling intensive care units. As a result, morale is wilting among overstretched health workers. Hospitals have canceled nonessential operations and transferred patients to nearby facilities, a result of crowding caused in part by the government’s effort to restart elective pro- People eating outside at a restaurant in Covent Garden, cedures halted in the spring. Some emergency units are already London, last week. telling non-urgent patients to stay away again. “We’ve been through it once before, and it wasn’t very nice, but there was an end to it,” said Dr. Alison Pittard, dean Johnson’s Conservative Party came to power in 2010, and the of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. “Whereas now, this health service’s annual budget increases were trimmed, leading is going to go on for much longer. We did not and do not have to longer waiting times in hospitals and more overstretched staff. While the country pulled together around its health workenough staff.” ers in the spring, relations have badly frayed in the second wave. When the coronavirus first hit Britain in the spring, the NaLocal and national officials have squabbled over the accuracy of tional Health Service ordered hospitals to empty beds and stop patient figures as the government seeks to negotiate lockdowns elective procedures. Heeding government appeals, many people with reluctant cities. And some right-wing newspapers have atstayed away by choice. tacked the health service for focusing on the coronavirus at the Politicians across the political spectrum largely accepted expense of other patients. the need for the first lockdown, and doctors limped through the Among doctors and nurses, a sense of battle fatigue has set crisis, fueled by adrenaline and the hope that the government in. Extra weekend shifts that were intended to be temporary have could keep an eventual resurgence of cases from inundating the lasted through the summer, especially in northern cities where health service again. coronavirus wards remained busy even as a national lockdown But that has not happened. With 367 deaths and 22,885 was lifted in the summer. Health workers are calling in sick, many confirmed cases Tuesday alone, Britain has become swamped by of them with anxiety and depression. a second wave of infections that could pose an even bigger test Rapid testing remains scarce for doctors and nurses. And than the first wave of its overextended health service. “We’re caught between the tension of saying the NHS can’t health workers on coronavirus wards are supplied only with bado what it did last time, which is shut itself down, but on the other sic surgical masks, not the heavier-duty N95 masks reserved for hand it can’t carry on as normal and pretend that COVID isn’t intensive care units. “The first time around, it’s almost like a once-in-a-lifetime around,” said Dr. Rob Barnett, secretary of a local medical committee that represents general practitioners in Liverpool, which kind of medical challenge,” said Paul Whitaker, a respiratory dochas been swamped by new cases. “One’s walking a tightrope try- tor in Bradford, in northern England, where the number of coronavirus patients has returned to its early May peak. ing to balance those two sides of the equation.” “The hospital provided packed lunches for us all,” Whitaker The situation is hardly better elsewhere in Europe. Belgian hospitals are so overwhelmed that officials asked doctors infected added. “People were sending good luck messages. But the proswith the coronavirus to work if they were not showing symptoms. pect of going into another six months, which is almost certainly Dutch hospitals have begun airlifting patients to intensive care what it’s going to be, is relatively frightening. How are you going to maintain the morale, the focus and the energy of all these units in Germany, the first such transfers since spring. In many ways, doctors in Britain are better equipped to people?” In the ex-mining and manufacturing towns in England’s handle the second wave of a pandemic that has killed roughly north that have been hit hardest by the latest surge of infections, 60,000 people in the country, the highest toll in Europe. doctors are especially harried. Nearly 40% of critically ill patients The scarcities that panicked doctors in March — of face are now classified as the country’s most deprived, compared to a masks, testing kits and oxygen — have largely been alleviated. quarter of such patients in the spring and early summer. Doctors have learned to delay using ventilators. Some doctors worry that hospitals in poorer parts of the But a decision by England’s health service to restore normal country may need to restrict elective procedures over winter, riskservices has meant that there are fewer unoccupied hospital beds than there were in the spring and fewer doctors who can redeploy ing painful conditions going untreated until next year. “That loss of activity is going to be unequally distributed,” to coronavirus wards. Making matters worse, hospitals are already treating the said Dr. John Wright of the Bradford Royal Infirmary. “If you’re usual wintertime stream of flus and other illnesses that, even in living in Bradford or poorer places, there’s a double whammy. a normal year, can push bed occupancy rates past 95%. Those Health services are so focused on dealing with cases of the virus difficulties became more pronounced after Prime Minister Boris that they’re missing everything else.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

A princess, long denied by Belgium’s former king, meets with her father

By MEGAN SPECIA

or years, Delphine Boel, an artist, fought to be recognized as the daughter of the former Belgian monarch, King Albert II. On Sunday, in what seemed to mark a major turning point in a relationship marred by years of strife, scandal, legal battles and paternity tests, Boel, 52, who was awarded the right to use the royal title Princess Delphine this month, formally met with her father and his wife, Queen Paola. A statement jointly issued by Princess Delphine; King Albert II, 86; and Queen Paola, 83; said their meeting had opened a new chapter “full of emotion, understanding and, also, hope.” The statement was accompanied by a picture of the three sitting in front of fireplace, a plate of cookies in front of them, paintings and family photos dotting the walls. “After the tumult, the wounds and the suffering, comes the time of forgiveness, healing and reconciliation,” the statement read. “This is the patient, sometimes difficult path that we have decided to take resolutely together. These first steps pave the peaceful course which it is now up to us to pursue.” King Albert II, who abdicated the throne in 2013, spent decades denying that he had fathered a child outside his marriage, despite reports that he had an affair with a baroness. A prolonged legal battle forced him to finally acknowledge the princess as his daughter earlier this year. The king’s abdication opened the door for Princess Delphine to file a lawsuit seeking recognition as his biological daughter, because he no longer held the immunity he once had as the Belgian monarch. The princess has maintained that her legal battle was about recognition, not money. In 2018, King Albert was ordered to provide a sample of DNA, which he at first refused to do, before submitting under legal pressure. The test

In an image released by the Belgian royal family, Delphine Boel, right, now known as Delphine de Saxe-Cobourg Gotha, meeting her father, King Albert II of Belgium, and Queen Paola in Brussels, Oct. 25, 2020.

proved that he was Princess Delphine’s father, but it wasn’t until January 2020 that he conceded paternity — and then only grudgingly. King Albert had a long-standing affair with Princess Delphine’s mother, Baroness Sybille de Selys Longchamps, but their child was never publicly acknowledged, lawyers for the princess have said. At the time, he was a prince and already married to Paola Ruffo di Calabria, an Italian princess, with whom he had three children. Albert unexpectedly became king in 1993 after his brother, King Baudouin, died suddenly at age 62 without any heirs. It was then that King Albert severed ties with the baroness, a lawyer for Princess Delphine told The New York Times in 2018. A book about the queen published in 1999, “Paola: From ‘La Dolce Vita’ to Queen,” revealed the existence of King Albert’s child with the baroness to the general public. Princess Delphine went public with her own claims in 2005. King Albert had contact with his daughter in her early years, she has recounted, so Sunday’s meeting appears to have not been their first, even if it was the first to be acknowledged publicly. The meeting capped an eventful month for the princess. Earlier in October, the Brussels Court of Appeal ruled that she had the right to her father’s surname and should be known officially as Delphine of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, princess of Belgium. Her two children will also be acknowledged as a prince and princess of Belgium. Her lawyers, in a statement to Belgian news outlet Le Soir, said the princess was “delighted” with the decision, “which puts an end to a long procedure which is particularly painful for her and her family.” Speaking to the press in an emotional news conference after the ruling, Princess Delphine said she had been in touch with her father until he abruptly cut off contact when she was 33 years old, Agence France-Presse reported. She said she had “been a little soldier, completely protecting him and my mother since the age of 17 and not saying anything because I loved him and we had a good relationship.” But when he refused to acknowledge her, she said, it “felt like having a knife in the back.” Two weeks ago, Princess Delphine met with her brother, the reigning King Phillipe, for the first time at the Palace of Laeken. “It was a warm encounter,” they wrote in a joint statement posted to the official social media accounts of the royal family. “We talked about our respective lives and areas of shared interest. This bond will further develop within the family setting.”

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL

There is only one existential threat. Let’s talk about it. By FARHAD MANJOO

f you’re a supporter of that radical extremist group Keep America Habitable for Human Beings, you might have been encouraged by the 2020 presidential race. In 2016, climate change — the scientific fact of the earth’s encroaching uninhabitability — was mostly ignored, including in the debates between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This year, the changing climate and what to do about it got airtime in both presidential debates and the vice-presidential debate. Climate change was also one of the top issues during the Democratic primary race. Several candidates published detailed climate plans; Joe Biden’s proposal is the most ambitious response to climate change ever proposed by a major-party nominee for president. And yet I keep getting discouraged by how far there is to go. Voters, the candidates and especially the political media have not given it enough attention this year, considering the stakes at hand. Worse, when politicians do address climate change, the discussion in mainstream media is often uninformed, following a script favorable to oil companies. These problems were on stark display in the ridiculous dust-up over Biden’s statement during the debate last week that the United States needs to transition away from oil. When asked about climate change, Biden told a series of truths. He noted, correctly, that it’s an “existential threat to humanity,” that “we

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don’t have much time” to address it, that doing so could create hundreds of thousands of jobs and that it would involve eliminating our reliance on the cause of the problem, fossil fuels. Trump’s answer was a series of absurdities. He said that he loves the environment, but that plans to address climate change would cost a lot of money and many jobs, would require buildings with very small windows and that wind power creates “fumes” and kills a lot of birds. (In fact, cats, buildings and cars are far bigger threats to birds.) I’m not sure how anyone could come away from that debate thinking that Biden is the one who made a rhetorical flub. “The takeaway isn’t what Biden said, it’s what Trump said,” Kendra Pierre-Louis, a former reporter for The New York Times who is now a reporter on the podcast “How to Save a Planet,” told me. “Trump effectively said he doesn’t have a climate plan, and we are facing an existential crisis.” Yet it was Biden, not Trump, who got in political hot water for his answer. After the debate, Trump’s campaign, with an assist from talking heads on cable news and the internet, began suggesting that Biden’s comments would hurt his chances in oil- and gas-producing states like Texas and Pennsylvania. Biden later walked back his comment, explaining that a transition away from oil would take very long time. What a disaster. Why can’t we abide an honest discussion about climate change? One problem is the Electoral College: Our nutty electoral system gives more say to some voters than others. This year the nation has suffered a string of terrifying weather disasters hastened by climate change. Large parts of the West are on fire, and there have been so many tropical storms that we had to go deep into the Greek alphabet to name them. But in the race for president, the future of the fracking industry in Pennsylvania is elevated above all these other problems, because Pennsylvania is a swing state and Louisiana is not. To make things much worse, the pundit class on Twitter and cable news rarely discuss climate change as the existential threat to humanity that it now plainly is.

It’s easy to dismiss talking heads as background noise, but how we talk about climate change does real damage. The climate is often viewed through a narrow, partisan lens — as if it’s just another lefty issue, somewhere on the priority list between free college and a higher minimum wage. But passing a climate plan wouldn’t be a partisan win for Democrats — it would be a win for human beings. Climate change isn’t a policy issue — it’s a reality that every other political question hinges on: jobs, tax policy, national defense, and the size and scope of the welfare state. As climate change becomes increasingly damaging, we will have to think about all of these issues through the larger response to a changing planet. Finally, efforts to address climate change are usually framed as a trade-off between the environment and jobs, which is way off base. The trade-off goes the other way. Every major climate proposal involves lots of government spending to create more sustainable technologies and infrastructure — a process that experts say would result in more economic activity, including new jobs. On the other hand, ignoring climate change will be costly. A report published by 13 federal agencies in 2018 estimated hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and a reduction in gross domestic product of up to 10% by the end of the century if America does nothing. Emily Atkin, a journalist who covers climate change in her newsletter, Heated, analyzed media coverage of last week’s Trump-Biden climate exchange. Out of 30 mainstream news outlets, she found that only a handful mentioned the cost of inaction on climate change, raising the concern that “voters might not be getting a balanced look at presidential climate policy at a crucial point in the election,” she wrote. One possibly very silly metaphor I have found useful for conveying the enormity of climate change is an alien attack. Imagine that the Martians arrive, hover over our planet and aim their weather machines at us to create hurricanes and fires, flood our cities, raise the seas, and otherwise generally cause destruction. How would we talk about the problem then? If one candidate showed us a plan for creating a new ray gun to defeat the aliens, and the other insisted everything was fine and the alien ships were actually just clouds, who would you vote for? As people who want a habitable planet, we’ve got to demand that political media and politicians approach this issue with the gravity it deserves. Climate change is real. Its effects are now being felt around the nation and the world. And when one politician offers a plan to address the thing causing all this misery and the other does not even bother, it shouldn’t be this difficult to spot the problem. The sitting president of the United States has no plan to address the most important problem facing humanity. That’s it. That’s the scandal. That’s the tweet. That’s the headline.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Asociación de Maestros logra incentivo para el magisterio Por THE STAR

a presidenta de la Asociación de Maestros de Puerto Rico (AMPR), Elba Aponte Santos, anunció el miércoles, que ya es un hecho el incentivo para que el magisterio pueda cubrir los gastos de internet. “Estamos satisfechos con este logro porque desde marzo nosotros estamos reclamando este incentivo para que los maestros puedan utilizarlo en sus gastos de internet”, expuso Aponte Santos en comunicación escrita. Expresó que los maestros han seguido trabajando a pesar de lo difícil que se les ha hecho dar clases a distancia con sus herramientas personales.

“Los docentes nunca paran de trabajar porque son profesionales comprometidos con la educación, aunque no cuenten con las herramientas necesarias para ejercer su labor en medio de esta emergencia”, dijo la profesora Grichelle Toledo, secretaria general de la Local Sindical. “El maestro tendrá la oportunidad de redimirlo en las compañía asignadas. Esto es muestra que una vez más la AMPR sigue luchando por hacerle justicia al magisterio porque nuestros maestros trabajan arduamente para continuar brindando un servicio educativo ante este nuevo reto de enseñanza a distancia”, indicó Aponte Santos.

Farmacias de Comunidad piden ser parte de plan para administrar vacuna del COVID Por THE STAR

a directora ejecutiva de la Asociación de Farmacias de Comunidad de Puerto Rico, Linda Ayala, hizo un llamado hoy al Departamento de Salud a que se aseguren que todas las farmacias de comunidad certificadas para inmunizar puedan participar de la vacuna del Covid en todas las fases y que los farmaceúticos sean incluidos como trabajadores de primera línea. “Ha surgido información contradictoria de funcionarios del gobierno estatal y federal sobre qué farmacias estarán participando de la inmunización de la vacuna del Covid y en que fase de la misma participarán. Le solicitamos al Departamento de Salud que incluya en la contratación a todas las farmacias de comunidad de la isla y en todas las fases y que estemos integradas a la logística que están trabajando para el gobierno federal. Las farmacias de comunidad estamos en todos los municipios del país y somos muchísimas más que las farmacias de cadena. Estamos listas para ser parte de la solución,” indicó Ayala en comunicación escrita.

El Departamento de Salud ha establecido tres fases de distribución e inmunización. Esa primera fase incluye al personal de salud, como médicos, enfermeras, paramédicos; trabajadores esenciales y de sectores como policías, bomberos, personal de emergencia y de telecomunicaciones; y a los adultos mayores de 65 años en los hogares de ancianos y égidas. “Le solicitamos al Departamento

que incluya a los farmaceúticos en los trabajadores a inmunizarse en la primera fase ya que éstos están en la primera línea de frente a la pandemia y muchas veces se olvidan de ellos como pasó cuando se otorgaron incentivos que excluyeron a estos profesionales. Son los que atienden al paciente enfermo cuando llega con los primeros síntomas,” solicitó la ejecutiva. La segunda fase son los ciuda-

danos con condiciones crónicas y co-mórbidas como hipertensión, diabetes, afecciones respiratorias como asma, sistema inmunológico comprometido, entre otras. En la tercera fase se atenderá a la población general del país. Sobre el proceso de registro de las vacunas en un periodo de 24 horas que va a requerir el Departamento de Salud, Ayala recalcó que al momento ya las farmacias de comunidad cumplen con ese protocolo para todas las vacunas que se administran en las farmacias de comunidad. “Todas nuestras farmacias ya registran todas las vacunas en un periodo de 24 horas a diferencia de la norma en las farmacias en cadena,” dijo Ayala. Todavía no existe una vacuna aprobada contra el Covid al momento pero se espera que la misma esté aprobada para el 2021. Sin embargo, el gobierno federal ya ha comenzado el proceso de planificación para la distribución y suministro de la vacuna a la población para agilizar el proceso de inoculación de la población. En Puerto Rico hay sobre 800 farmacias de comunidad en toda la isla.

Thursday, October 29, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

How New York’s small cinemas are hanging on By CARA BUCKLEY

ollywood bromances, gay skin flicks, obscure art-house hits — Nick Nicolaou has screened them all at the assorted New York City movie theaters he has owned in the last 38 years. Midway through April, with his four remaining theaters shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, he tried his hand at something new: virtual cinema, offering the documentary “The Booksellers” online. Audiences didn’t exactly come in droves. His net proceeds came in a check for a whopping $4.99 that he hasn’t bothered to cash. Nicolaou, whose theaters include Cinema Village, a tiny downtown art house, remains in an uneasy limbo along with the people behind indie cinemas like Film Forum, Anthology Film Archives and Nitehawk — desperate for audiences to return, yet terrified of cinemas becoming petri dishes. On Friday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo allowed cinemas statewide to reopen, except in a few hot spots, one of them being New York City. COVID-19 is threatening to give a knockout punch to cinemagoing, edging the AMC Theaters

The IFC Center in New York, Oct. 23, 2020. The IFC Center has been saved by being owned by a larger corporate entity, AMC Networks.

Inside Alpine Cinemas, which is being renovated, in New York, Oct. 22, 2020. chain toward bankruptcy and prompting Cineworld, the parent company of Regal Cinemas, to temporarily shutter its theaters in the United States and Britain. (Some reopened last weekend in New York state.) New York and Los Angeles are crucial markets, and cinemas in both cities remain closed. Hollywood is delaying releases because of skimpy audiences, creating a chicken and egg problem. With no tentpole movies to lure them in, audiences have even more reasons to stay away. But the people behind New York’s remaining independent theaters hope their small size will help them buck that trend. They cater to niche audiences and aren’t wholly reliant, if at all, on the Hollywood machine. Film Forum has a backlog of films to screen, and Anthology Film Archives drew 40,000 online viewers in the first three months of the shutdown — as many people as it might see in person in an entire year, according to its director, John Mhiripiri. Absent real-life audiences, they have survived on a patchwork of government payroll protection and bank loans, emergency grants, deferred mortgage payments, forgiving landlords, loyal members, donations and the hope that movie theaters will be included in a new COVID-19 relief bill. Several theaters had better luck than Nicolaou did at streaming, not that it has brought in anything close to real money. Film Forum has offered 50 or 60 movies on its site since the pandemic began, said its director, Karen Cooper, bringing in a total of $90,000, which was just $10,000 more, she said, than the Aretha Franklin documentary “Amazing Grace” made in a week. Mhiripiri of Anthology Film Archives said streaming has brought in about 5% of normal box-office income, but they had to keep doing it. “We need to stay engaged with our audiences,” he said. Even when the city reopens the theaters, they’ll

likely only be able to operate at a quarter of capacity, at least until a vaccine comes. “It’s just about having that patience to limp along for eight months or so,” said Matthew Viragh, founder of the two Nitehawk eat-in movie theaters in Brooklyn. Along with Cinema Village, Nicolaou owns Cinemart in Queens, Alpine Cinemas in Brooklyn, and a fourth theater deep in Brooklyn that he leased out and plans to sell. He owns his theaters outright, a saving grace, though one of his biggest vexations is his property taxes, which, for Alpine Cinemas alone, topped $316,000 this year, to his lasting chagrin. Several of the city’s other art houses and smaller cinemas have a surprising safety net — large corporate owners that help buffer them from oblivion. The Paris Theater is now operated by Netflix. The Angelika Film Center & Cafe is part of a chain of theaters owned by Reading International, a publicly traded multinational company. The IFC Center’s parent company is AMC Networks. The Quad is owned by billionaire real estate developer Charles S. Cohen. Others, like Film Forum and Anthology Film Archives, operate as nonprofits, and have leaned heavily on members and donors for support. “We’re only still alive because of the largesse of our audience members and our board,” Cooper, of Film Forum, said. They held a springtime fundraising drive that raised $100,000, and collected $585,000 from the government’s payroll protection program, which for months helped keep 24 full-timers employed. Cooper said the place is still hemorrhaging badly. The Forum’s monthly expenses are around $250,000. When it reopens, it probably will not offer concessions, out of safety concerns, which Cooper said usually bring in $500,000 a year. “So this whole thing is a financial debacle,” she said. “But I’m not telling you anything you don’t know.” On the upside, Cooper said Film Forum has a backlog of movies to screen, and added that while she doesn’t want to minimize the toll of the coronavirus, reopening is overdue. “We think the audience is out there and that Cuomo, as smart he has been, we think he’s gone overboard,” she said. “He seems to have forgotten we even exist.” A spokesman for Cuomo said movie theaters will be allowed to reopen when the science, data and health experts deem it safe. “This cautious approach has so far served New Yorkers well,” the spokesman, Jack Sterne, said, “and everyone is working to stop a second wave.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Salsa legend Carlos ‘Cano’ Estremera, ‘Dueño del Soneo,’ dies at 62 By THE STAR STAFF

alsa is in mourning and in heaven there will be “soneo.” Z93 FM Program Director and Broadcaster Marcos Rodríguez, also known as “El Cacique,” announced on Wednesday that Puerto Rican singer Carlos “Cano” Estremera passed away. He was 62. Back in November 2018, Estremera had to go through a double lung transplant, and in May 2020 the singer was hospitalized due to a bacterial infection. “My heart is shattered, I have no consolation,” said Yanira Arce, Estremera’s widow, on her social media profile confirming his death. According to the National Foundation for Popular Culture, Carlos Enrique Estremera Colón was born on Sept. 2, 1958, in Santurce. The son of Aquilino Estremera and Juanita Colón received his primary and secondary education at the Haydée Rexach, Ernesto Ramos Antonini, and Albert Einstein Schools. Motivated by his godparents, he began to dabble in music by performing religious hymns. His first steps in the professional world were taken as a percussionist for musical groups that were emerging in Santurce’s Barrio Obrero. Over the course of a year he participated as a singer in Grupo Barrio Latino, and then in the folkloric organization Los Pleneros del Quinto Olivo. His initial major opportunity, however, came when he joined Orquesta Mulenze 76, which had an exclusive contract with the Fania label. In 1978, Estremera met Bobby Valentín, who invited him to join his musical group. The first record for Valentín’s orchestra was “La boda de ella,” and with him Estremera’s successful career began. With Valentín, Estremera recorded six albums, including two solo projects. However, in late 1984, he decided to leave the orchestra to establish his own project a year later. In this new phase, “El Cano” dedicated himself to performing music in all genres. In 1986, he won the Paoli Award as “Salsa Singer of the Year,” and the “Orgullo de Caserío” award, bestowed by the Puerto Rico Housing and Urban Renewal Corp. In 1988, Estremera debuted as a producer of his own projects

with the album “Salvaje.” A year later, he released “Dueño del Soneo,” which marked the beginning of a new series of recordings in his professional career. El Cano, who inherited the congenital anomaly of albinism, is recognized in the industry as one of the most important “soneros” in Afro-Caribbean music at the end of the 20th century. According to what has been verified, in the summer of 1990, he performed 105 “soneos” in a row without any repetition of stanzas during a concert held in Guánica. That same year, he surpassed his feat by improvising 128 soneos in the town of Yabucoa. Then, weeks later before 5,000 spectators who filled his show in Juana Díaz, he increased the number to 130 soneos. With an unparalleled acuity when it comes to improvising in code, Estremera had no qualms about proving why he earned the epithet “Owner of the Soneo.” And this title, which practically replaced that of “El Niño de Oro” (The Golden Child), with which he initially made himself known, goes hand in hand with his sincerity as an artist and citizen. Among Estremera’s hits are “Las ingratitudes,” “Manuel García,” “Si me caso mejoro,” “La mujer y la primavera,” “Me quedé con las ganas,” “La novia automática,” “Awilda,” “El compromiso,” “Nací y así soy,” “Aprovecha lo mío,” and “Viernes social.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

‘Rebecca’ review: a classic tale, but there’s only one hitch By A.O. SCOTT

ho thought this was a good idea? I mean, look: I’m not against something on Netflix that features Armie Hammer in a perfectly cut margarine-colored three-piece suit, and Lily James in a succession of ostensibly “plain” but objectively adorable frocks and blouse-and-trouser ensembles. If the two of them decide to go for a spin on the Monte Carlo corniche road in a sleek convertible and smooch on a beach, so much the better. I’m not made of stone.

But “Rebecca,” directed by Ben Wheatley from a screenplay by Jane Goldman, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, is a flimsy cardboard box full of nothing. It’s pleasing to look at, thanks to the labors of the production and costumer designers, Sarah Greenwood and Julian Day, and the eye of the cinematographer, Laurie Rose. But the opulent interiors, plush colors and period-perfect clothes (it’s 1935, but without the Depression) express no feeling and convey no fascination. If you want real estate titillation — either of the Mediterranean grand hotel or the English country house

Lily James and Armie Hammer in “Rebecca.”

variety — you’d do better on Zillow. For vintage clothes, maybe Etsy? And if you’re in the mood for brooding psychological drama, well of course there’s always Zoom. It doesn’t help that Daphne du Maurier’s bestselling novel was made into a movie before, in 1940. That one was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and won an Oscar for best picture (the only one Hitch ever snagged). Is it cruel of me to mention that back then Laurence Olivier played Maxim de Winter, the troubled rich guy here assigned to Hammer? None of that really matters, because this “Rebecca” can’t really suffer in comparison to its predecessor. To suffer it would need nerves, a pulse, a conscience, or at least some idea of its reason for being. Instead, a story about class, desire, obsession and the unreliability of stories turns into a series of encounters between people who interact without quite enough of the atmospheric touches or sinister implications that would keep things interesting. First there is James’ character — whose name is never uttered — and her snobby, nasty employer (Ann Dowd). Our heroine works as a “lady’s companion,” sneeringly referred to as “staff” by an obnoxious maître d’ and mercilessly mocked by the lady and her friends. Nonetheless, the young woman catches Maxim’s eye, amuses him with her mousy naiveté and in due course becomes Mrs. de Winter.

The second of those, she soon finds out. Arriving at Manderley, Maxim’s ancestral pile, the new bride discovers that the place is something of a shrine to her predecessor, whose name was Rebecca. She had dark hair, and the kind of charisma that the blond, mousy second Mrs. de Winter can’t hope to match. Rebecca’s monogram and signature are everywhere, and she is held up as a paragon of beauty, bravery and high spirits. Especially by the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Kristin Scott Thomas), who terrifies her new boss and is the only interesting person in the movie, with the possible exception of the invisible title character. The movie fails to live up to either of them, or to Thomas’ seething, dignified performance. Du Maurier’s plot is a fine piece of gothic machinery, full of suspense and foreboding and subtextual kink. None of that seems to work in Wheatley’s hands. Instead of fusing melodrama, mystery and upstairs-downstairs tensions, the movie gestures toward meanings it lacks the wit to explore. There is nothing seductive, unnerving or even especially interesting to occupy your mind while you’re looking at the clothes. I suppose an attempt has been made to rework some of the narrative’s themes to bring it into line with contemporary sensibilities. Or something. To call this “Rebecca” an update would be misleading. It’s just a mistake.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Try high-intensity interval training. You might like it. By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

eople who have never tried intense interval training might be surprised to find that the workouts can be more appealing than they anticipate, according to a new study of people’s emotional reactions to different types of workouts. The study, which involved inactive adults sampling intervals and other types of exercise, often for the first time, found that some — although not all — of them preferred the intense efforts to gentler workouts. The findings challenge common assumptions about the disagreeableness of high-intensity exercise and also suggest that the best way to decide which workout might entice you is to play the exercise field. Almost anyone with a passing interest in fitness is familiar with the concept of high-intensity interval training. Consisting of brief, repeated bursts of strenuous exercise interspersed with periods of rest, HIIT has become a trendy if controversial way to work out. Past studies show that even a few minutes of interval training improve fitness and health as much as hours of milder exercise. But in some cautionary psychological studies, novice exercisers report disliking such intense training, which would seem to limit the workouts’ longterm allure. Few of these past studies have directly compared people’s feelings about intense and moderate exercise in head-to-head, in-depth exercise matchups, however. So, for the new study, which was published in August in Psychology of Sport & Exercise, researchers at the University of British Columbia, in Kelowna, recruited 30 sedentary but otherwise healthy young men and women who said that they had not tried intense interval training before. (The new study expands on preliminary findings first published in 2018.) The researchers invited the men and women to the lab and talked to them there, at some length, about what they had heard about interval training and moretraditional exercise, including whether they thought they would be able to complete such workouts and enjoy them. In general, the volunteers expressed knowledge of but also trepidation about interval training. Most worried that such workouts would be beyond them, physically, and would feel awful. Then the researchers asked the volunteers to exercise. On one visit to the lab, each completed a standard, moderate workout, riding a stationary bicycle for 45 minutes at a sustainable pace. During another visit, they all tried HIIT for the first time, pedaling strenuously for one minute, resting for a minute and repeating the sequence 10 times. During a third session, they were introduced to super-short intervals, consisting of three repetitions of

20-second, all-out pedaling spurts, with two minutes of rest between each interval. During and after each workout, the researchers asked the volunteers how they felt. In general, most gasped that they were not having fun during the interval sessions. But afterward, reflecting on the experience, many told the researchers that maybe those workouts had been tolerable, after all. Surprised and pleased they had gotten through the intervals, a majority of the volunteers reported that they now considered the longer HIIT session to have been the most pleasant of all of the workouts. Supervised lab sessions are not a good reflection of real-life exercise, however. So, as a final step in the study, the researchers asked the volunteers to go home and work out on their own for a month, keeping exercise logs, then return to the lab to talk with the researchers again. This month of do-it-yourself workouts proved to be revealing. Almost everyone remained active, with most completing frequent, moderate exercise sessions, like the 45-minute bike rides at the lab. But many also threaded some sort of interval training into their weekly workouts, although few of these sessions replicated the structured intervals from the lab. People tended to sprint up and down stairs or grunted through some quick burpees and other body weight exercises. Most interesting, during their subsequent, pro-

longed interviews with the researchers, the volunteers who interval trained on their own said they felt more engaged and motivated during those workouts than in the longer, continuous-intensity sessions, even when the intervals were physically draining. The upshot of the study data would seem to be that many of us might want to consider HIIT, if we have not already, said Matthew Stork, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, who led the new study. We might surprise ourselves by liking the workouts. But, he points out, some volunteers continued to prefer the familiar, less-intense exercise, and almost everyone completed more of those sessions than of intervals. “What the data really show is that there is no onesize-fits-all way to work out,” Stork said. The best exercise will be the one each of us ultimately relishes most, he says. It may require some experimentation, though, for us to settle on our particular, preferred workouts. Of course, this study involved healthy young adults and followed them for a month. Whether people who are older or have health concerns will respond similarly to intervals and whether anyone will stick to their chosen workouts for more than four weeks remains uncertain. Also, people who have not exercised in some time should generally consult a physician before tackling a new exercise routine.

24 LEGAL NOTICE SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) NOTICE TO DEFENDANT: (AVISO AL DEMANDADO):

RYAN ANDERSON and DOES 1 to 20, inclusive

YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE):

AIMCO VENEZIA LLC

NOTICE: You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you. Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court. There are other legal requirements. You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online Self-Help Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association. NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación. Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada

telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www.sucorte. ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia. Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso. CASE NUMBER: (Número del Caso): 198MCV01124 The name and address of the court is: (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES Santa Monica Courthouse 1725 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90401. The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): Robert C. O’Brien, Paul A. Rigali, Timothy C. Tanner LARSON O’BRIEN LLP 555 S. Flower Street, Suite 4400, Los Angeles, CA 90071 Tel: (213) 436-4888; Fax: (213) 623-2000

Email: robrien@larsonobrienlaw.com; prigali@larsonobrienlaw.com; ttanner@larsonobrienlaw.com DATE (Fecha): 06/18/2019. Clerk, by (Secretario): Marcos Mariscal, Deputy. ****

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

Thursday, October 29, 2020

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

AMERICAS LEADING FINANCE LLC Demandante, v.

FRANCIS RODRÍGUEZ CANDELARIO, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL HACIENDA DEL MAR DE GANANCIALES OWNERS ASSOCIATION COMPUESTA POR INC. AMBOS Demandante (a) VS.

Demandados JOSE ANDRES SANCHEZ CIVIL NÚM.: BY2020CV01145. ORTIZ, MARISOL SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO CAMACHO RIVERA Y LA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE EJECUCIÓN DE GRAVAMEN MOBILIARIO (REPOSESIÓN BIENES GANANCIALES DE VEHÍCULO). EMPLAZACOMPUESTA POR MIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTAAMBOS DOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA. Demandado (a) EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS Civil Núm.: CG2019CV04780. EE.UU. DE AMERICA EL ESSobre: COBRO DE DINERO. TADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTEN- PUERTO RICO. CIA POR EDICTO. A: FRANCIS RODRÍGUEZ

beldía y se dictará Sentencia concediendo el remedio así solicitado sin más citarles ni oírles. La abogada de la parte demandante es la Lcdo. Gerardo M. Ortiz Torres, cuya dirección física y postal es: Cond. El Centro I, Suite 801, 500 Muñoz Rivera Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918; cuyo número de teléfono es (787) 946-5268, el facsímile (787) 946-0062 y su correo electrónico es: gerardo@bellverlaw.com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, hoy día 16 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretaria Regional. SANDRA I CRUZ VAZQUEZ, Secretaria Serv a Sala.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTAD.O LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TfijBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA ALTA.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante, v.

BANCO SANTANDER A: JOSE ANDRES COMO SUCESOR CANDELARIO, SU SANCHEZ ORTIZ, EN DE.RECHO ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL MARISOL CAMACHO DE SANTANDER Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL RIVERA Y LA SOCIEDAD MORTGAGE, CORP; DE GANANCIALES LEGAL DE BIENES JOHN DOE Y RICHARD COMPUESTA POR GANANCIALES ROE, como posibles AMBOS COMPUESTA POR Quedan emplazados y notifica- tenedores desconocidos dos que en este Tribunal se ha Demandados AMBOS

(Nombre de las partes a las que se les notifica la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO (A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 19 de octubre de 2020 este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 23 de octubre de 2020. En Caguas, Puerto Rico, el 23 de octubre de 2020. Carmen Ana Pereira Ortiz, Secretario Regional.

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

radicado Demanda sobre cobro de dinero por la vía ordinaria en la que se alega que los demandados FRANCIS RODRÍGUEZ CANDELARIO, SU ESPOSA FULANA DE TAL Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS, le adeudan solidariamente al Americas Leading Finance, LLC la suma de principal de la suma de principal de $20,500.24, más los intereses que continúen acumulando, las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado según pactados. Además, solicitamos de este Honorable Tribunal que autorice la reposesión y/o embargo del Vehículo. Se les advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que, si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del Edicto, a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal, se le anotará la re-

(787) 743-3346

que notifique a la Lcda. Maritza Guzmán Matos, PMB 767, Avenida Luis Vigoreaux, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico 00966, teléfono (787) 758-3276, abogada de la parte demandante, con copia de vuestra contestación a la demanda radicada en este caso contra ustedes, dentro de un término de sesenta (60) días contados a partir de la publicación de este Edicto. 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.ramajudicíal. pr/sumac/, .salvo que se represente por derecho propio. Por la presente se. les apercibe de que de no comparecer a formular alegaciones dentro de sesenta (60) días. contados a partir de la fecha de la publicación de este Edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia de acuerdo con lo solicitado en la demanda, sin más citarle ni oirle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, en Toa Alta, Puerto Rico hoy 22 de OCTUBRE de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretaria. Gloribell Vazquez Maysonet, Sec del Trib Conf I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CIVIL NÜM. BY2020CV03058. SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYASOBRE: CANCELACIÓN DE MÓN. PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EMBAUTISTA CAYMAN PLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ASSET COMPANY, EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Demandante V. DE AMERICA EL PRESIDEN-

SUCESIÓN DE MARÍA MONTE DE OCA T/C/C MARÍA MONTE DE OCA A: JOHN DOE; RICHARD OLMO COMPUESTA POR ROE, posibles tenedores RAFAEL CASTRO MONTE de pagaré extraviado DE OCA, YAMILLE descrito más adelante CASTRO MONTE DE Por la presente se le notifica OCA, Y RAFAEL CASTRO que se ha radicado una DeBETANCOURT T/C/C manda donde se solicita se RAFAEL ARMANDO cancele el siguiente pagaré, el cual está extraviado, asi como CASTRO BETANCOURT, la hipoteca que garantiza su POR SÍ Y COMO pago: 1. Pagaré a favor de POMIEMBRO DE LA PULAR MORTGAGE, lnc., o a SUCESIÓN DE MARÍA su orden, por la suma principal MONTE DE OCA T/C/C de $126,000.00 más intereses desde esa fecha hasta el pago MARÍA MONTE DE OCA total del principal a razón de 8 OLMO; FULANO DE TAL Y 1/2% de interés anual sobre MENGANO DE TAL COMO el balance adeudado suscrito POSIBLES MIEMBROS el día. el 30 de abril de 2007, DE LA SUCESIÓN DE ante el Notario Jose David Medina Rivera, el cual grava MARÍA MONTE DE OCA la propiedad inmueble descri- T/C/C MARÍA MONTE DE ta en el párrafo sexto y por tal OCA OLMO, TE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS.

razón radica la presente acción con el propósito de obtener la cancelación del pagaré extraviado y hacer valer su garantía hipotecaria. Por la presente se les emplaza y requiere para

Demandado CIVIL NÚM.: BY2020CV01387 (701). SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIEN-

The San Juan Daily Star TO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: Rafael Castro Monte de Oca y Yamille Castro Monte de Oca, como miembros de la Sucesión de María Monte de Oca. BIk. 58 #27, Sierra Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico 00956; Cond. Assisi, #1304 Ave. Luis Vigoreaux, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico.

Por la presente se le notifica que se ha radicado en su contra una Demanda de Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca. Se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a: Ferrauoli LLC Looking Forward Lcdo. Luis G. Parrilla Hernández P.O. Box 195168 SanJuan, PR 00919-5168 Tel.: 787-766-7000 / Fax: 787-766-7001 lparrilla@ferraiuoli.com Abogados de la parte demandante, con copia de respuesta a la Demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto y radicar el original de dicha contestación en este Tribunal en dónde podrá enterarse de su contenido. Si dejare de hacerlo, podrá anotársele la rebeldía. Se le apercibe a la parte que, conforme al Art. 959 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. § 2787, los codemandados antes mencionados, miembros de la Sucesión María Monte de Oca, tienen un término de treinta (30) días para informarle al Tribunal si aceptan o repudian la herencia del causante. En caso de que usted no manifieste su declaración sobre ¡a aceptación de la herencia dentro del plazo correspondiente, se tendrá la herencia por aceptada. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy .24 de septiembre de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Sec Regional. Carmen M. Pintado, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

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

BAUTISTA CAYMAN ASSET COMPANY DEMANDANTE v.

SUCESIÓN DE EDIA ELVIRA PÉREZ MUÑOZ T/C/C EDIA PÉREZ MUÑOZ COMPUESTA POR JOBSE IBZÁN LEBRÓN PÉREZ, Y JOSÉ

ANTONIO LEBRÓN SOTO T/C/C JOSÉ A. LEBRÓN SOTO, POR SÍ Y COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE EDIA ELVIRA PÉREZ MUÑOZ T/C/C EDIA PÉREZ MUÑOZ; FULANO DE TAL Y MENGANO DE TAL COMO POSIBLES MIEMBROS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE EDIA ELVIRA PÉREZ MUÑOZ T/C/C EDIA PÉREZ MUÑOZ,

DEMANDADOS CIVIL NÚM. SJ2020CV03518. SOBRE: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA IN REM. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS.

A: JOBSE IBZÁN LEBRÓN PÉREZ POR SÍ Y COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE EDIA EL VIRA PÉREZ MUÑOZ T/C/C EDIA PÉREZ MUÑOZ 993 Calle Madrid, Santa Rita Dev., San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926; P.O. Box 1347, Carolina, Puerto Rico 00986; 8938 Bayaud Dr., Tampa, FL 33626;

Por la presente se le notifica que se ha radicado en su contra una Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria In Rema través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http:// unired.ramajudicial.pr. Se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a: Lcdo. Luis G. Parrilla Hernández, RUA 16,736 P.O. Box 195168 San Juan, PR 00919-5168 Tel.: 787-766-7000 / Fax: 787-766-7001 Abogado de la parte demandante, con copia de respuesta a la Demanda dentro de los, treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto y radicar el original de dicha, contestación en este Tribunal en donde podrá enterarse de su contenido. Si dejare de hacerlo, anotársele la rebeldía y se le dictará sentencia concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más ni oírle. Se le apercibe a la parte que, conforme al Art. 959 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. § 2787, el codemandado antes mencionado, miembro de la Sucesión de Edia Elvira Pérez Muñoz t/c/c Edia Pérez Muñoz,

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

que tiene un término de treinta (30) días para informarle al Tribunal si acepta o repudia la herencia de la causante. En caso de que usted no manifieste su declaración sobre la aceptación de la herencia dentro del plazo correspondiente, se tendrá la herencia por aceptada. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y con el sello del Tribunal. DADO hoy en San Juan, Puerto Rico, 24 de agosto de 2020. GRISELDA RODRIGUEZ COLLADO, Secretaria. LUZ E. FERNANDEZ Del Valle, SubSecretaria.

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. EXPEDIDO BAJO Ml FIRMA Y SELLO DEL TRIBUNAL. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 16 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I SANTA SANCHEZ, Secretaria Regional. Sandra I. Cruz Vázquez, Secretaria Servicios a Sala.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO LOS HERMANOS

Demandante Vs.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBULEGAL NOTICE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYADE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- MÓN SALAS DE FAMILIA Y NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA MENORES. SALA DE BAYAMON. JOSÉ NEGRÓN SOSTRE

Demandante Vs.

ANGEL MANUEL MIRANDA TORRES; SUCESION DE MARTA ORELLANA COMPUESTA POR ANGEL LUIS MIRANDA ORELLANA, VANESSA MIRANDA ORELLANA, DEBORAH MIRANDA ORELLANA y ELOY DAVID MIRANDA ORELLANA; HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS A,B,C

Demandados CASO NÚM: TB2019CV00704. SALÓN NÚM. SOBRE: EJECUCION DE HIPOTECA POR LA VIA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADO UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.

A: ELOY DAVID MIRANDA ORELLANA, ANGEL MANUEL MIRANDA TORRES, DEBORAH MIRANDA ORELLANA

Quede emplazada y notificada que en este Tribunal se ha radicado Demanda sobre Ejecución de Hipoteca y Cobro de Dinero. POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted debe de presentar su alegación responsiva a través de! Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su

KEILA MERCADO CORREA

Demandada CIVIL NÚM.: SG2020RF00030 (3003). SOBRE: DIVORCIO (Ruptura Irreparable). EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. S.S.

A: KEILA MERCADO CORREA

Por la presente se le emplaza y se le notifica que la parte demandante ha presentado ante este Tribunal una Demanda en la cual se solicita el siguiente remedio en su contra: Divorcio por la causal de Ruptura Irreparable. Dentro del término de treinta (30) días desde la publicación del presente edicto usted, la parte demandada, deberá presentar su alegación responsiva notificando copia de la misma al abogado de la parte demandante y presentando el original 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 radicar el original de la misma en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Se le apercibe que, de no hacerlo, se le anotará la rebeldía y se podrá dictar sentencia en su contra, concediendo los remedios solicitados, o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SANCHEZ, Sec Regional. Glenda E. Sanz Suarez, Sec Tribunal Conf I.

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

VELCKY XIOMARIS VELAZQUEZ BAYRON VS.

ANGEL GABRIEL SOTO COLLADO

VIADO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENfE DE LOS ESTACIVIL NÚM.: MZ2020RF00290. DO UNIDOS EL ESTADO LISOBRE: ALIMENTOS. EDICBRE ASOCIADO D PUERTO TO. EN LOS ESTADOS UNIRICO. DOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD UNIDOS EL ESTADO LIBRE ROE o sea, las personas ASOCIADO DE PUERTO ignoradas que puedan RICO. SS. ser tenedores del pagaré

A: ANGEL GABRIEL SOTO COLLADO

Por la presente se le notifica que se ha radicado una Demanda donde se solicita Alimentos en beneficio del menor JOSEAN YADRIEL SOTO VELAZQUEZ, procreado con la señora Velcky Xiomaris Velazquez Bayrón. Por la presente se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique al Lcdo. Carlos Cruz Martínez, Urb. Salamanca, Calle Toledo #229 San Germán, Puerto Rico 00683, teléfono (787) 517-4668, email: ccruzlegal@gmail.com, abogado de la parte demandante, con copia de su contestación a la Demanda radicada en este caso contra ustede, dentro de un término de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la publicación de este Edicto. Usted debe 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. Por la presente se le apercibe que de no comparecer a formular alegaciones dentro de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de la publicación de este Edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia de acuerdo con lo solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy 14 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. NORMA SANTANA IRIZARRY, Sec Regional. Nilda Irizarry Rodriguez, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA BAJA.

RAFAEL ANTONIO RIOS GARCIA y LYMARIS RIVERA MARRERO Demandante Vs.

DORAL MORTGAGE LLC., SUCESOR EN INTERES DE SANA INVESTMENT MORTGAGE BANKERS, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE

Demandado(s) Civil Núm.: TB2020CV00278. Sala 703. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRA-

extraviado.

Por la presente se les notifica que se ha presentada ante este tribunal una Demanda, en el caso de epígrafe, en la cual se solicita la cacelación de un pagaré a favor de Sana Investment Mortgage Bankers, o a su orden, por la suma de $50,000.00 , con intereses al 9.50%, vencedero el l de junio de 2030, suscrito el 9 de ayo de 2000, ante el notario Miguel A. Arroyo Díaz , testimonio número 1415; garantiza o por hipoteca constituida mediante la escritura número 446, otorgada en Rio Piedras el 9 mayo de 2000, ante el notario Miguel A Arroyo Díaz , e inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 646 de Toa Baja , finca 28293, inscripción cuarta, y que grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación: RUSTICA: Parcela de terreno radicada en el Barrio Candelaria de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de 1,959.88 metros cuadrados, en lindes por el Norte, en 38.21 metros, con camino municipal; por el Sur, en 38 metros, colindando con terrenos propiedad del señor Clark; Este, en 48.27 metros, colindando con el señor Emilio Martínez; y por el Oeste, en 58.33 metros, colindando con el señor Emilio Martínez. Se le advierte que este edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y que si no comparece a contestar dicha Demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días, contados a partir de la publicación de este edicto, 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 discreción, lo entiende procedente. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), el cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://uníred.rarnajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio. El abogado de la parte demandante es: Lcdo. Raúl Rivera Burgos, RUA 8879, Estancias de San Fernando, Calle 4, Número A-3 , Carolina, P.R. 00985, Tel. (787) 238-7665, Email: raulrblaw@ gmail.com. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 7 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. LAURA l. SANTA SANCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. Yarilis Cintron Colon, Secretaria

Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA MUNICIPAL DE CAROLINA SALA ESPECIALIZADA DE VIOLENCIA DOMÉSTICA.

CLAUDIA I. DÍAZ VÉLEZ Peticionaria VS.

JEAN P. LOZADA FERREIRA

Peticionado CIVIL NÚMERO: OPA 202001070. SOBRE: ORDEN DE PROTECCIÓN VIOLENCIA DOMÉSTICA (LEY 54). EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU. EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R. SS.

A: JEAN P. LOZADA FERREIRA 3920 Sutton Place Blvd. Apt. 116 Winter Park, Fl 32792 USA

Se le notifica por medio del presente edicto que se ha solicitado en su contra ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Municipal de Carolina, una Orden de Protección en virtud de la Ley 54 del 15 de agosto de 1989, según enmendada, conocida como la Ley para la Prevención e Intervención con la Violencia Doméstica. Por desconocerse su paradero, el tribunal ha ordenado que se cite a usted por medio de este Edicto el cuál será publicado en este periódico sólo una vez. Se le advierte que deberá contestar la Petición dentro del término de (30) días a partir de la publicación de este Edicto, radicado el original en la Secretaría de este Tribunal y enviado copia a la parte querellante a través de su representación legal, Lic. Maricarmen Carrillo Justiniano, a la dirección más adelante indicada. De no hacerlo, podrá dictarse en su contra una Orden de Protección en Rebeldía, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Petición sin más citarle ni oírle. LIc. MARICARMEN CARRILLO JUSTINIANO Box 8257 Bayamón, P.R. 00960 Tel: 787-945-9320 EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 1 de octubre de 2020. LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRIGUEZ, Sec Regional. Heilyns Sanchez Santos, Sec Auxiliar del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO Tribunal General de Justicia TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE AGUADILLA.

COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO DE AÑASCO Parte Demandante Vs.

SAMUEL ROSA BRAVO,

SU ESPOSA CARMEN A. DOMENECH Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS (SOCIO NÚM. 111839)

25 2921 CALLE MATOMAS SAN ANTONIO, PR 00690; DIRECCION POSTAL 518 NANSEMAOND AVE. LAKELAND, FLORIDA 33801; P/C: LCDO. RAFAEL FABRE COLON P.O. BOX 277 MAYAGUEZ, P.R. 00681

Parte Demandada CIVIL NÚM. AG2020CV00612. SOBRE: COBRO DE DINERO (VÍA ORDINARIA). NOTIFICAEL SECRETARIO que suscriCIÓN ENMENDADA DE SENbe le notifica a usted que el 21 TENCIA POR EDICTO. de OCTUBRE de 2020, este A: SAMUEL ROSA tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, BRAVO, SU ESPOSA Sentencia Parcial o Resolución CARMEN A. DOMENECH en este caso, que ha sido debiY LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL damente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enDE GANANCIALES terarse detalladamente de los COMPUESTA POR términos de la misma. Esta noAMBOS tificación se publicará una sola DIRECCION FISICAvez en un periódico de circula-

ción 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 recursos de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 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 27 de OCTUBRE de 2020. En Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, A 27 DE OCTUBRE DE 2020. SARAHI REYES PEREZ, Secretaria Regional. ARLENE GUZMAN, Secretario Auxiliar.

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Thursday, October 29, 2020

The San Juan Daily Star

Dodgers win the World Series after years of frustration By DAVID WALDSTEIN (Dodgers 3, Rays 1 | Los Angeles Wins the Series 4-2)

s far as championship droughts go, this was not the longest in baseball history or even the most agonizing. But in terms of recent effort, including nearly $2 billion spent on player salaries in the past eight years, and the frustration of being tantalizingly close to that celebratory sip of Champagne without actually tasting it, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 21st century championship dry spell had become the most prominent — and baffling — in baseball. They won seven straight divisional titles without winning the World Series. They made it to the Fall Classic in 2017, only to lose at home to a team that would later be exposed as cheaters. And the very next year they lost at home again, to a team led by Mookie Betts, now roaming the outfield for Los Angeles. But on their eighth consecutive trip to the postseason, the Dodgers finally became champions, again. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, in Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, as Betts hit a double and a home run and scored twice to help the storied franchise end 32 years of disappointment. It was the seventh title for the Dodgers, their sixth since moving to Los Angeles from Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1957, and the first for Dave Roberts as a manager. The steady Roberts became only the third skipper to win a World Series with the Dodgers, joining Hall of Famers Walter Alston and Tommy Lasorda, who was at the helm of the franchise’s 1988 championship team. When Game 6 ended and all the pressure that had built up on this core group of players was finally released, they exploded out of the dugout and onto the field to celebrate, knowing that they would no longer be labeled choking underachievers. “To know what it feels like to lose,” said Corey Seager, who was named the Series’ most valuable player, “and be able to rebuild and come back and rebuild and stay focused, it’s special.” The victory should help make up for the perceived injustice of 2017, when the Dodgers lost Game 7 to the Houston Astros, a team that illicitly stole signs that year and admitted to the scheme after an investigation by

of emotion in his voice, declared: “This year is our year. This is our year.” He reiterated the same sentiment Tuesday, this time with the World Series trophy up there with him. “I’ve never been around a group that is closer, tougher, and that I love more,” he said, and then credited many of the current Dodger players who had suffered through the hard losses, like Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen and Turner. It was Roberts’ approach, combined with a lineup of indisputable talent earning the second-highest payroll in baseball (behind that of the New York Yankees), that proved too much for the Rays, a plucky, overachieving squad with a pre-pandemic opening day payroll of only $72 million, the fourth lowest in baseball. The Series went back and forth through five games, but in the sixth, the Dodgers Julio Urias was mobbed by his Dodger teammates after they secured the proved their superiority and their resilience, rallying after falling behind in the first inning. final out of Game 6 to win the World Series. They scraped together two runs in the sixth inning to take the lead after Rays manaMajor League Baseball in 2019. The title also ped that they had Betts, whom they acquired ger Kevin Cash made a pitching change that should soothe the pain inflicted the following from the Red Sox in a trade in February. will be debated for years. “I was traded for this reason,” Betts said. year when the Red Sox, with Betts in their ouBlake Snell, Tampa Bay’s starter, was dotfield, also won at Dodger Stadium, that time “I’m proud of myself and proud of the guys for minating the Dodgers and led, 1-0, after five accomplishing it.” in Game 5. innings. He recorded the first out in the sixThe superstar right fielder added a spe- th, but after he gave up a single to the No. 9 And it surely quelled the anguish felt in 2019 when, after winning 106 games with a cial dynamism and confidence to a lineup batter, Austin Barnes, on his 73rd pitch, Cash $205 million payroll, the Dodgers were boun- that was already stacked with stars like Sea- bounced out of the dugout and removed Snell ced out of the playoffs — once again at home ger, Cody Bellinger and Turner, the third ba- in favor of Nick Anderson. — in the first round by the eventual cham- seman that the New York Mets gave up on Snell’s body language suggested he could before he went on to become one of the most not believe he was coming out, but Cash had pions, the Washington Nationals. This time was different: a postseason of dangerous hitters in the Dodgers’ postseason made up his mind. He said he was concerunusual circumstances, the team sequestered history. ned about the Dodgers catching up to Snell And it took Roberts to bring everything in their third at-bats against him, even though for weeks in a playoff bubble in Texas, the players separated from their extended fami- together. The Dodgers’ manager since 2016, Snell had struck out Betts, Seager and Turner lies and friends because of the coronavirus Roberts helped his players block out the sim- twice each. pandemic. The impact of the contagion even mering pressure that built to a rolling boil over Asked if he regretted the move, Cash overshadowed the celebrations after Game 6 nearly a decade of frustration for a passionate said, “Yeah I guess I regret it because it didn’t as it emerged that Dodgers third baseman Jus- fan base that never seemed to give up, pac- work out. But the thought process was right.” tin Turner had been removed from the game king Dodger Stadium regularly despite year The results were not. When Betts saw before the top of the eighth because he had upon year of letdowns. Snell leave, he looked at Roberts in the duIn his fifth season at the helm, Roberts gout and gave him a little smile. received a positive test result for the coronadirected the team to the best regular-season virus. “We were all just kind of excited that But through all their postseason games, record in the major leagues for the second Snell was out of the game,” Roberts said. the Dodgers made Globe Life Field their own. time in his tenure and helped guide it back Betts hit a double off Anderson, who They played 16 postseason games there and from a three-games-to-one deficit against the then threw a wild pitch, allowing Barnes to hit more home runs (29) in the new stadium Atlanta Braves in the National League Cham- score as Betts went to third. He then scored than did the regular residents, the Texas Ran- pionship Series this month. But it all would on a fielder’s choice. gers, who hit just 27 in their 30 games there have meant nothing if the team had failed in Betts’ homer came off Pete Fairbanks in the World Series for a third time in four years. the eighth inning, and as he pumped his fist this season. After the Dodgers finished off the Braves, while rounding the bases, decades of Dodger The championship reflected the Dodgers’ dedication and commitment, but it also hel- Roberts stood at a podium and, with the crack frustration seemed to melt away.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Barcelona president quits on eve of vote to oust him By TARIQ PANJA

osep Maria Bartomeu, the embattled president of Spanish soccer giant FC Barcelona, announced Tuesday that he had resigned, bringing an abrupt end to a tenure in which he had taken power almost by accident, nearly driven away the best player in the club’s history and provoked a recall effort that many expected to lead to his ouster as soon as next month. Barcelona’s entire board resigned along with Bartomeu, who said he was stepping down to spare the club’s tens of thousands of members from having to vote in a referendum on his leadership during the pandemic. “We cannot and do not want to be in the position of having to choose between the protection of health and the exercise of the right to vote. And that is why we have made the decision not to call the vote and to resign immediately from our duties,” a somber looking Bartomeu said in a late night speech broadcast on the club’s website. As recently as Monday, he had told reporters that he had no plans to resign. While announcing his resignation, Bartomeu also made the bombshell claim that Monday he had agreed with the leaders of what he described as Europe’s other “big clubs” to participate in a European Super League, a closed competition that has been much discussed in recent years, but one that faces a number of political, sporting and economic hurdles if it is to become reality. A final decision whether or not to participate in such a competition would face a vote of Barcelona’s members, he added. Bartomeu’s departure came only weeks after the fan-owned club’s members had collected the thousands of signatures required to force a vote on the club’s leadership. Many of them blame Bartomeu for leading the club into the biggest crisis in its modern history, and for nearly driving away Lionel Messi, the team’s best player, who briefly announced his intention to depart only to reverse himself weeks later. Messi had criticized Barcelona’s leadership last season and grumbled about the direction of the club. In announcing his decision to remain at the club in September, though, he blamed Bartomeu perso-

Josep Maria Bartomeu had been Barcelona president since 2014, taking over after his predecessor resigned amid a scandal related to the signing of the Brazilian forward Neymar. nally for breaking his word to him, saying the president had reneged on a promise to let him leave at the end of last season. “The management of the club led by Bartomeu is a disaster,” Messi said. Instead of a no-confidence vote in Bartomeu, Barcelona will now be run by a temporary board who will look to steady the listing club until a new president is elected — a process that must be completed within 40 to 90 days of the temporary board taking control. Whoever takes over will face an inbox overflowing with major issues, including the future of Messi, who can speak to rival suitors in January, as well as plugging major holes in the club’s finances, which have only been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Bartomeu lashed out at local government officials in Catalonia for not accepting a request to delay the elections for 15 days because of concerns they could not be held safely, before turning to his critics who he said attacked not only himself and his fellow board members but also their families. While Bartomeu has been unpopular for some time, fan anger peaked in the aftermath of the team’s 8-2 drubbing at the hands of eventual winner Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of last season’s Champions League. In the wake of that result, the club was rocked further when Messi, who had been with the club since he was 13 and led it to its most successful period,

announced he wanted out. Bartomeu said it would have been easy to leave then, but that would have left the club in worse shape. He said there were several important issues needing to be resolved, including getting Messi to remain with the club, hiring a new coach and dealing with important player contracts. “An early resignation at the end of the season would have led the club to an electoral process and a power vacuum, under the direction of an Interim Board, with limited powers, and during a period where it was necessary to make unavoidable and powerful sporting and economic decisions,” said Bartomeu. The new board will face a number of challenging economic decisions from the get-go. They will have to stem losses that rose to more than $100 million last year, while also finding a way to cut the team’s debt, which has also grown rapidly in recent years. At the same time they face the prospect of key sponsorship agreements — including with the team’s principal sponsor Rakuten — expiring. And a $1 billion stadium financing deal with Goldman Sachs to renovate the Camp Nou will need to be re-evaluated. All the while they will have to appease a fan base that has become increasingly disillusioned by poor results, poor recruitment and a string of scandals and missteps at the top of the club.

Bartomeu’s announcement that Barcelona had agreed to form a Super League comes after speculation about talks of a breakaway European league featuring the richest teams started anew in recent weeks. The concept, which has been around in one form or another for two decades or more, has been widely lambasted by European soccer’s governing body UEFA and other key stakeholders. Last week UEFA said such a closed league would be “inevitably boring.” UEFA and the top clubs are currently in negotiations over the format of the Champions League from 2024, with the biggest clubs pushing for reforms that would see more games between the top teams. An early reaction to Bartomeu’s announcement about the plans came from Javier Tebas, who heads Spain’s La Liga. “Unfortunate Bartomeu announcing on his last day participation in a phantom competition which would be the ruin for FC Barcelona and confirms their ignorance in the soccer industry,” Tebas said on Twitter. Adding: “Sad end of a president who had successes and lately errors.” Fractious management shake-ups are not new at Barcelona, an intensely political institution, which rival factions have often jostled to rule. Allies of Bartomeu once almost succeeded in ousting a former president, Joan Laporta, in 2008. Laporta narrowly survived, and went on to lay the foundations for much of the team’s current success by naming a largely untested former player, Pep Guardiola, as coach. Under Guardiola, with Messi leading on the field, Barcelona went on to enjoy a decade of unparalleled success. Bartomeu took over in 2014, stepping up from a vice president role after his ally Sandro Rosell was forced to step down amid claims of improper conduct in the signing of Brazilian forward Neymar. Those early years proved to be relatively stable, with success on the field and record income off it as Barcelona became the first European team to cross the 1 billion-euro revenue mark. In recent times, though, the club has lurched from crisis to crisis, as millions of dollars spent to rejuvenate an aging squad only seemed to result in worse performances, and boardroom intrigue spilled into the public domain.

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Canada’s game struggles to return. And to still look like hockey. By STEPHEN SMITH

n British Columbia, on Canada’s west coast, hockey referees are wearing masks and waving their hands to flag infractions instead of whistling. In Ontario, to the east, officials are still deciding when teams in the province’s top junior league will return to the ice, but they will be playing a whole new game when they do, with body checking and fighting eliminated in the interest of social distancing. In Toronto, the provincial capital, spikes in coronavirus cases have caused the country’s largest youth hockey association to halt all play until 2021. But in Nova Scotia, where the spread has been slower, it’s (mostly) game on and (almost) business as usual. That’s just part of the patchwork of protocols and prohibitions the authorities who organize and oversee Canada’s national pastime are using to try to build something resembling a hockey season for its developing players. In the first months of the pandemic, after rinks shut down along with everything else, images of hockey sticks were often placed on signage as guides for social distancing. With winter weather having arrived in parts of Canada — in the north, some backyard rinks are already frozen — the sport that, for many, defines the country is doing its best to again use sticks for their intended purpose. Some 644,000 Canadians were registered to play in 2018-19, according to Hockey Canada, the national governing body. Thousands more skate every year, with varying degrees of speed and seriousness, in recreational and pickup games. Across the map, the degree to which hockey operations have been limited, postponed or canceled has generally reflected local coronavirus-related conditions. Most jurisdictions have, so far, allowed skating and instructional sessions with strict limits on player participation — no scrimmages or games. “You plan for what you think could happen, but then you also realize that you have no idea,” said Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who was the captain of Canada’s Olympic gold-medal teams in 2002 and 2006 and now works as a broadcaster on “Hockey Night in Canada.” From her base in Calgary, Alberta, she worked this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. Since the Cup was awarded at the end of September, her hockey focus has been on her role as an assistant coach for her 9-ye-

ar-old daughter’s team. “It’s amazing to see how excited the girls are to be back on the ice,” she said. “I think it’s great for their mental health — and for parents’ mental health — to get some normalcy.” Even in pre-pandemic times, all was not well with hockey in Canada. The realities of the high cost of playing the game, flagging enrollment and the relentless toll of concussions have all disrupted the sport. So have questions about how much the game’s traditional demographics and its slow-to-shift attitudes fail to reflect a multicultural, progressive society. Still, hockey is deeply and proudly embraced, and across the country the local rink remains a community hub. Working with Hockey Canada and public health authorities across the country, provincial associations have been at the forefront of the effort to get the sport running again. In Saskatchewan, progress was steady through September, according to Kelly McClintock, the general manager of the Saskatchewan Hockey Association, which counts some 35,000 players in its minor-league, junior and senior constituencies. Teams had tryouts, chose their players and started to practice. “In the larger centers you could create leagues of up to 50 people,” McClintock said, “and you could play games and scrimmage and there were no worries about using dressing rooms, or body contact. So it was fairly normal to start — it’s just that we weren’t allowed to play games.” If all goes well, league play in Saskatchewan will start next month. A few parents, McClintock said, withheld their children because they objected to mask mandates in arenas. “The clear majority — I would say over 90 percent of our associations did not expect any drop in registrations at all,” McClintock said. “For the most part, people just want their kids to play, and they understand the big picture.” The Greater Toronto Hockey League, for players ages 6 to 19, had a meticulous plan to be ready to play this month. With some 2,800 teams and 40,000 players, officials and volunteers under its umbrella, the league is the largest minor hockey association in the world. But at an emergency board meeting on Oct. 3, the start of the season was postponed to January. “At the end of the day,” said Scott Oakman, the league’s executive director, “we made a decision based on public health concerns around operating hockey during a pandemic when the infection rates were

Kendall Coyne Schofield competed in last year’s fastest skater event. rising rapidly in our jurisdiction.” None of the three regional loops that make up the Canadian Hockey League, hockey’s top junior tier, are playing this week. The Western Hockey League won’t begin its season until January. After months of planning, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League started its schedule in early October, slightly later than in the previous season. “It went well,” said Maxime Blouin, the league’s director of communications. But not for long: Two teams that played each other on the first weekend abruptly suspended operations after 34 players, staff members and officials tested positive for the virus. With infection rates rising across the province, the league’s 10 other Quebec-based teams soon followed suit. The league’s six teams in Canada’s not-so-hard-hit maritime provinces continued to play among themselves, in front of a limited number of fans, while the Quebecois government promised 12 million Canadian dollars in funding for the league’s teams in the province. Then the league announced late Tuesday that some games in Quebec would resume this weekend, more than two weeks after some teams had played their last game. The Ontario Hockey League is expected to begin its season in January or February. The league itself hasn’t been talking about the conditions under which its 17 Canadian teams and the three based in the United States will take the ice, but Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries, has

been clear that the government’s ban on combat and contact sports will not be relaxed to accommodate the OHL. “This is a precaution based on circumstance,” she said in an interview. “There is no physical contact allowed, regardless of what sport it is.” Any plan that the government approves will have to include amended rules that eliminate body checking and fighting. “They will have to change the game, otherwise the chief medical officer of health will not sign off on the return to play,” she said. “The advice of medical professionals is what’s going to get us through to the other side of the pandemic. And we must continue to be resolved in order to beat the virus. It’s the biggest hockey game we’ve ever played.” Elsewhere, adjustments to hockey’s practices and procedures have been relatively minor. Some Ontario minor leagues are dispensing with face-offs by rewarding teams with puck possession based on the previous play’s outcome. And to keep players out of enclosed penalty boxes, penalty shots have become the cost of some infractions. In British Columbia, coach Steve Gainey of the Kamloops Storm, a lowertier junior team, has noticed the effect of new guidelines directing officials, who are masked, to maintain a safe distance from players. “They’re not allowed to engage to separate players, if there’s anything that materializes after a whistle,” he said. “So they’re calling roughing and things like that far more aggressively around the net.” Amid all the uncertainty, Alain Gaul, a Montreal lawyer, has been finding positives where he can. His son Simon is a 16-year-old right winger for the Gaulois de Saint-Hyacinthe Midget AAA team who has been drafted by Voltigeurs de Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Strange as this stalled season has been, Alain Gaul said, it has allowed coaches to work on developing skills. “They work a lot,” he said. “They’re not allowed to play games, but they practice. Since September, they’ve been working a lot on individual skills — skating, shooting, the things that in a real season, where they play 40 to 60 games, they don’t have time to concentrate on in such detail.” “We get excited about hockey in this country, still — sometimes too excited,” Campbell-Pascall said. “With things so different this year, it just becomes a lot more about development. And, to me, it should always be about development.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Sudoku How to Play: Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9. Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

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GAMES

HOROSCOPE Aries

(Mar 21-April 20)

There are different approaches you can take to tackle various aspects of your business world. Looking at alternatives will feel surprisingly satisfying as you come up with some great ways to improve your daily routine. A colleague will ask that you examine some of their efforts to suggest ways they can improve their performance.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Someone in the family has a few changes in mind for your household. Make sure you understand all implications of their suggestions before you give the go ahead. Your intuition will quickly tell you if they aren’t giving you the full picture. A group project will come to a standstill due to someone having cut a few too many corners.

Technical issues or problems with machinery have been ignored for too long. Unless you deal with it now you may have to replace a piece of equipment that could have been repaired. You may not have realised the importance of this issue until today. A project will have to be put on hold until the problem is fixed.

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Before things get totally out of hand, attend to important financial and business matters. A problem that has been causing concern has been ignored by those in a position to deal with it. You’re annoyed with someone for their irresponsible behaviour. If they don’t pull their socks up you will be pulling out of a joint arrangement.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

Confusion can be cleared if you take a step back and look at the situation calmly. How can you feel at ease with some people when you aren’t really certain how you feel yourself? Before getting involved in emotionally charged conversations you need to get in tune with your own feelings.

Virgo

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

You’re tired of having to deal with responsibility, difficulties and challenges. You need a break from it all. A partner or close relative will understand it if you just want to hide away from the world. They will give you just the right amount of support to make your day as calm and relaxing as you want it to be.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

You aren’t in the mood for your usual responsibilities. An invitation to meet up with an old friend will be just the excuse you were looking for to put off routine chores until another day. You know you can’t put these off forever so you aren’t escaping them altogether. You’re just delaying having to deal with them.

Scorpio

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

There will be the opportunity to take on new responsibilities but do you really want this? You may not want to push yourself too hard after the hectic events you have already been through. Besides you still have a few things to sort out that once dealt with, should help future events and activities run more smoothly.

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

Show willingness to listen to those around you. Your boss or a senior colleague needs to feel they can trust you to get on with a job as requested. Even if you don’t agree with their views or their approach, you may have no choice but to follow their orders to the letter.

Be prepared to simplify projects that aren’t making any progress. Your boss or someone in power is growing frustrated with how slowly some areas are proceeding. Rumours may tell of changes to come and you might think that for once the gossips could be right. You can sense change brewing.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Once a difficult job is out of the way you will have more time for your family life and friendships. A travel offer will provide the welcome opportunity to get out into the world around you, visit friends and have some fun. You’re long overdue for a change of scenery.

Pisces

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

You will want to put your energy to good use in a newly started project of some kind. If this is of a creative nature you will soon become wholeheartedly involved. A recent more hesitant mood will be left far behind you. This is a challenge you will enjoy and this means you won’t feel under any pressure.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Thursday, October 29, 2020

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

The San Juan Daily Star

Ziggy

The San Juan Daily Star

Thursday, October 29, 2020

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