Monday Sep 19, 2024

2 GOOD MORNING

PDP: Voter registration ills are

By THE STAR STAFF

Popular Democratic Party (PDP) Electoral Commissioner Karla Angleró González charged Sunday that the long lines that voters are facing at the State Elections Commission (SEC) are solely the fault of the New Progressive Party (NPP) for eliminating the Permanent Registration Boards (JIP by the initials in Spanish) under the Electoral Code that it approved in the last four years.

“The NPP has designed an intentionally ineffective system to discourage youth participation in the electoral process,” Angleró said in a press release. “The elimination of the JIPs, which was included in the Electoral Code Law under [the current NPP executive branch] administration, has been a direct attack on the accessibility of the vote. Added to this is the elimination of high school enrollment visits, which has had consequences for our youth. They let the graduating classes of 2021 and 2022 pass without even registering them to vote, and when they finally started visiting schools, they did it with inexplicable slowness.”

The PDP official said that as of March of this year there were more than 120 public schools that had not been visited by the SEC to enroll students since the start of the current four-year governmental term.

“We do not know how many schools were not visited before the students graduated” in May, Angleró said. “It is unacceptable that a government under the NPP and an SEC chairperson in its service allow young people to be left without the opportunity to register.”

She stressed that it is a matter of principles and rights.

“It is about ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to vote,” Angleró said. “To those who say that it is not known how these young people will vote, I answer that that is not the point.”

“It is a basic duty to ensure that everyone can exercise their right to vote,” she added. “These young people must vote, and they will do so more for those who fight to protect their right than for those who hinder it.”

With only one week to go before the Voter Registry closes on Saturday, Sept. 21 and with the period for requesting early voting expiring today, prospective voters are finding a system that is not agile and lacks the resources needed to meet demand, Angleró said.

She called on citizens, especially young people, not to be discouraged by the long lines and considerable delays in the registration process.

“This is a crucial moment for our democracy,” Angleró said. “We cannot allow this to happen without the support of the people who are waiting for us to vote. The NPP continues to play with our right to vote. It is time to denounce these actions

so that they do not go unpunished. We must insist that every young person, every citizen, has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the next elections.”

Despite the criticism that the process has received, interim SEC Chairwoman Jessika Padilla Rivera asked voters on Friday to trust it.

“The invitation that I always have to make to voters and all citizens is to trust in the electoral process, which sounds like a cliché,” Padilla Rivera said at a press conference. “We definitely have to say that with all the shadows that have fallen lately on the State Elections Commission, I cannot [expect] that they [voters would] not have doubt, but … we are working with that.”

She said she is providing the necessary leadership “and I can attest that each one of the electoral commissioners are committed to all the processes, the area directors, the registration officers, each and every one of the employees of the State Elections Commission are serious employees who do their job as it should be done; everything that is contrary to that or everything that has remained out of reach, we will be working on and addressing it.”

“Unfortunately, definitely, amid all this fallout, what is expected is a storm,” she added. “I cannot say anything other than that the evidence that we are faithfully complying with the electoral calendar is that the JAVAA [Spanish initials for Administrative Board for Absentee and Early Voting] ballots arrived, that we are on time; however, it is documented that there are complaints, that there are delays. … We always project chaos; unfortunately, we do not project the positive.”

By THE STAR STAFF

New Progressive Party (NPP) gubernatorial candidate Jenniffer González Colón presented her proposed tax reform during the party’s convention over the weekend.

She plans to reform the tax system and public finances and provide better opportunities for economic growth by facilitating fundraising, individual savings, financial planning, and the management and retention of funds at the municipal level.

Senator and NPP candidate for resident commissioner William Villafañe Ramos, as well as members of the Platform Committee of the Luis A. Ferré Institute and its executive director, Veronica Ferraiuoli, were in charge of preparing the NPP government program, #AcciónPR. They accompanied the NPP president in the presentation of the proposals.

The Government Program, including 113 proposals that González Colón, the current resident commissioner, presented in the primaries, will be approved in a general assembly next Sunday, Sept. 22 at 9 a.m. at José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum in Hato Rey.

“We will make a tax reform emphasizing how we will help the middle class, who live month to month and are always like the ham in the sandwich,” González Colón said. “That is why we will review everything that has to do with

tax rates; we will also evaluate how we dramatically reduce the payment of capital gains for local investors and, in this way, basically give preferential treatment to our people here.”

The NPP president presented several key points of her tax reform proposal, promoting a tax reform that allows for lowering tax rates, capital gains and replacing the inventory tax. She said work will be done to freeze the inventory tax for a period of five years, while a mechanism is evaluated to replace it.

She also proposed exempting prescription drugs from the inventory tax.

“Once I arrive at La Fortaleza, I will establish an ad hoc committee to evaluate all existing tax rates and propose solutions to simplify our tax system,” she said.

The plan will ensure that all federal funds obtained are used to

create the Office of Training and Support in Federal Funds to identify federal opportunities, dedicate training and education resources in agencies and municipalities for requesting federal funds, improve compliance with federal programs, and increase renewals of awarded funds.

The proposal also calls for strengthening the powers of the government’s chief financial officer to improve supervision, oversight, and management of federal funds in the Treasury.

Separately, Puerto Rico Mayors Federation and mayor of

Camuy Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez said the Mayors Federation supported González Colón’s proposal to establish a “czar” to oversee the performance of the energy consortium LUMA Energy, the private operator of the island’s electric power transmission and distribution system.

González Colón promises tax reform, repeal of inventory tax, at convention University Board at UPR demands disbursement of $59 million

By THE STAR STAFF

The University Board of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), which is composed of student, faculty and administrative representatives, demanded Sunday that the Financial Oversight and Management Board release the disbursement of $59 million from the budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

“The UPR needs these funds to be able to maintain a balanced operating budget, including addressing critical deferred maintenance projects as a result of the budget cuts the institution has already suffered and making the employer contribution to the UPR retirement system,” UPR Bayamón Campus Chancellor Dr. Miguel Vélez Rubio said. “On the other hand, the UPR, despite the cuts it has suffered, has maintained its fiscal responsibility by maintaining a balanced budget operation, including keeping up to date with the payment of its public debt, which amounts to less than $300 million. Not allocating at least $500 million to the UPR budget this year causes a structural deficit of around $63 million at the UPR. But we cannot lose perspective on the fact that even with the $500 million guaranteed, maintaining an optimal operation is quite a challenge, when we take into account the

continuous inflationary increase in key things such as profits, and the need for salary justice for employees.”

Dr. Rafael Méndez Tejeda, who represents faculty members on the University Board,

said “it is necessary to rescue the institution from the gloomy outlook to which it has been subjected in recent years as a result of massive cuts and excessive increases.”

“The time has come to invest in the future

by defending the present: the University of Puerto Rico,” he said. “We demand that the Fiscal Board, the Legislative Assembly and the OGP [the Spanish initials for Office of Management and Budget] go beyond empty pronouncements and pretty words and, with their actions to comply with Law 92 of 2024, validate their statements about the importance for the future development of the country by returning to the UPR the $59 million cut from the budget that they just approved.”

In a certification, the University Board, a body that represents a broad spectrum of the UPR community, states that the “Act to End Puerto Rico Bankruptcy,” also known as Act No. 53 of Oct. 26, 2021, provided for a total contribution to the UPR of $500 million. However, the interpretation of the oversight board was that only $441 million would be allocated to the operational management of the institution and the remaining $59 million would be for restricted use for joint resolutions or special allocations such as: health services provided to the island through interns and resident physicians, the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, training for public employees, and training for teachers and school principals under the island Education Department, among other uses.

New Progressive Party candidate for governor Jenniffer González Colón (Facebook via Jenniffer González Colón)

UPR Bayamón Campus Chancellor Dr. Miguel Vélez Rubio

Disgruntled workers have filed $165 million in claims against Legislature in federal court

By THE STAR STAFF

The island Legislature is the defendant in employee claims totaling $165 million in U.S. District Court that have been halted by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA).

The information appears in a commonwealth comptroller’s office (OCPR by its initials in Spanish) report published in late August, consisting of a study on the adverse effects of dismissals, disciplinary actions, or other personnel transactions in the legislative branch on the government’s finances.

The OCPR analyzed, in particular, lawsuits, judgments, and payments related to workplace harassment, sexual harassment and political-partisan discrimination. The OCPR sought documents from nine entities and eight responded.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves, seen here in Wilmington, Del., on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021, when he was then-President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for the post, said the new Federal Statistical Research Center in Puerto Rico will allow “academics to explore critical research topics” and enable “local officials to make more informed, data-driven decisions.” (Kriston Jae Bethel/The New York Times)

The island Senate did not certify or deliver the documents requested for the study.

The study found that, on June 21, 2022, the General Court resolved a workplace harassment lawsuit in favor of the Civil Rights Commission filed by two employees, with no amount claimed. In addition, 108 officials filed four civil lawsuits in federal court claiming $165 million. The suits were held up by PROMESA.

The lawsuits were filed for dismissals, disciplinary actions or other personnel transactions for political-partisan reasons; none were for sexual harassment or workplace harassment.

The defendants were the House of Representatives, the Capitol Superintendency, and the Puerto Rico Legislature’s Office of Legislative Services. An adjudication of the lawsuits in favor of the employees would be burdensome and adverse for the legislative branch entities.

On the other hand, four entities certified that they had no complaints or other personnel actions from Jan. 1, 2018 to June 30, 2023 ,the timeframe covered by the special report. Those were the OCPR, the Joint Commission on Special Reports of the Comptroller, the Joint Special Commission on Legislative Funds for Community Impact, and the Office of the Citizen’s Advocate. The OCPR has complaints whose evaluation will be presented in an upcoming report.

The special report recommends that the Secretary of Justice provide guidance to the principal officials of the Legislature entities on the adverse effects of actions taken against employees for political-partisan reasons, as well as of sexual harassment and workplace harassment. In addition, the Justice secretary must provide guidance on their responsibilities as officials.

The island Legislature is the defendant in employee claims totaling $165 million in U.S. District Court that have been halted by the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act.

Federal gov’t opens statistical research center in Puerto Rico

By THE STAR STAFF

The U.S. Census Bureau has opened a Federal Statistical Research Center in Puerto Rico, the first one in the U.S. territories, allowing access to a wide range of sensitive data collected by the U.S. government including information on demographics, wages, housing and health, according to a report in the journal Science.

After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, social scientists on the island wanted to launch studies that would inform efforts to rebuild and strengthen its battered communities and economy, but the researchers couldn’t access U.S.

government data. To get those data, they would have to travel to one of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 33 secure, limited-access data centers scattered across the mainland United States, the Science report said.

The new center will allow “academics to explore critical research topics,” and enable “local officials to make more informed, data-driven decisions,” said Don Graves, deputy secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce, the bureau’s parent agency, as quoted by Science, during a Sept. 9 ribbon-cutting ceremony in San Juan.

Once up and fully running later this year, the center will enable researchers in Puerto Rico to apply for local access to a massive trove of data assembled by federal

agencies such as the Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Center for Health Statistics.

Raúl Santiago-Bartolomei, an urban planner at the University of Puerto Rico, said he hopes to tap data that will inform his work on housing affordability and what happens to residents displaced by natural disasters such as Hurricane Maria, according to Science. Elizabeth Fussell, a sociologist and demographer at Brown University, expects the center to help foster collaborations between researchers based in Puerto Rico and on the U.S. mainland. The center could also help researchers in the territory become more competitive for federal research grants.

Couple attacked with a pipe because they asked neighbor to stop making noise

By THE STAR STAFF

Acouple was attacked with a pipe by their neighbor in an incident reported at around 9:47 p.m.

on Saturday in Corozal’s Palos Blancos neighborhood.

According to the police report, a 62-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman claimed that their neighbor was doing

carpentry work at that time. They both approached him to stop making noise, and as a result, their neighbor became angry, grabbed a pipe and attacked them. Both were treated at the scene by

paramedics and transported to a hospital. The neighbor is in custody, awaiting the possible filing of charges by the prosecutor’s office as the police investigate the incident.

The San Juan Daily Star

In Springfield, Ohio, threats leave Haitian residents shaken

By KEVIN WILLIAMS

After a week that saw schools, businesses and City Hall closed in Springfield, Ohio, by bomb threats, this past weekend began with two of the city’s hospitals going on lockdown. A sweep of both facilities Saturday morning turned up nothing, but the new threats only added to the unease hanging over the city since former President Donald Trump dragged it into the race for the White House.

During the presidential debate Tuesday, Trump cited a debunked rumor that Haitian immigrants in Springfield were abducting and eating pets, and days later, he vowed to begin his mass deportation effort with the Haitians in Springfield, even though most of them are in the United States legally.

The increasingly hostile rhetoric from Trump, other politicians and some extremist organizations has shaken some of the thousands of Haitians who have settled in Springfield in recent years.

“Honestly, I don’t feel safe. It’s not good right now,” said Jean-Patrick Louisius, 40, who moved to Springfield four years ago with his wife and two daughters. He was part of an early wave of Haitian arrivals, attracted to the city by plentiful jobs and affordable housing. Estimates of the number of Haitians who have arrived in recent years range from 12,000 to 20,000.

But tensions between longtime residents and more recent arrivals had been building before the national spotlight landed on the city, about 25 miles from Dayton.

Even as the Haitian immigrants have been welcomed by employers and injected energy into fading neighborhoods, the arrival of thousands of people in a short period of time has strained schools and some government services.

And then a fatal crash that killed an 11-year-old boy last year when his school bus was struck by a minivan driven by a Haitian immigrant intensified anxiety and anger over the growing immigrant population, drawing attention far beyond the city.

Louisius runs a small Haitian market that provides money transfers back to Haiti, sells groceries and offers haircuts.

He opened the market, named 509 for Haiti’s country calling code, after working in a warehouse and a Target, and his first couple of years, he did good business, he said.

for this,” he added.

Chester Brigham III, 62, is a lifelong resident of Springfield who says the new arrivals have strained local services causing long lines and creating delays because of language barriers.

“Who paid for them to get here, and who is giving them the money?” asked Brigham, 62, who was sitting on his porch Saturday.

But Denise Williams, president of the local NAACP chapter, said the turmoil has provided a chance to build stronger bonds between the Black newcomers from Haiti and Black Americans who have lived in Springfield for many years.

“They are friendly, they are wonderful people. We have welcomed them. I have had lots of interaction with them; they are no different from us,” Williams said, adding that an attack on Haitians in Springfield is an attack on all Black people.

She said reaction to Haitians in town is purely racist.

But tensions in recent months have led more Haitians to keep a low profile or even leave the city.

Today, the 509’s shelves are mostly bare with just a few staples, like cassava and rice, and recently, he lost $5,000 in a burglary, he said.

“I’m not sure if I can stay in business, because people are leaving,” Louisius said, adding that he knows people who have left for Dayton or Columbus, larger cities where Haitians may be less conspicuous.

On Friday, Louisius did not open the store, fearful of his and his family’s safety. A person had stood outside the store Thursday taking a video of his shop, he said.

At the Soapbox Coin Laundry in downtown Springfield, dozens of people were loading clothes into washer and dryers or folding clean garments. Almost all conversations were in Haitian Creole.

Fejoans John, 24, moved to Springfield from Gonaïves, Haiti. He too has thought about moving someplace besides Springfield

“All the publicity has caused tension between the Haitians and native Springfield population,” said Joseph Melvin, a lifelong Springfield resident who works at the laundry and has sometimes been frustrated by some of the Haitian immigrants.

“Most of them are kind people, but a few are abrasive and that makes it hard for the rest,” Melvin said.

Vilés Dorsainvil, leader of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, says all the anxiety this past week has been exhausting.

“We came here to work and raise our family, but the pressure here is too much for many,” Dorsainvil said.

“We were already worn out from what is happening in Haiti. We didn’t come here

“The city had an influx of Mexicans and Indians and nobody had a problem with it, but all these Black people appear in Springfield everyone is running scared,” Williams said.

Dorsainvil said that as the spotlight fades, most Haitians will stay and be joined by others. But right now, many Haitians feel like they escaped trouble in Haiti only to find trouble in the United States.

“We are running from the river only to get ourselves into the ocean,” he said translating a Haitian saying.

“That is how many here feel.”

Students attend an English as a Second Language class at Fulton Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio on Aug. 27, 2024. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times)

Trump safe after shooting reported at his golf course

By JONATHAN SWAN, MAGGIE HABERMAN and PATRICIA MAZZEI

The FBI said Sunday that it was investigating what appeared to be an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump as he played golf at one of his clubs in Florida.

Officials said Trump was safe. Just less than two months ago, he was wounded in an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach, Florida, and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the agency said in a statement.

Shots were fired Sunday on the grounds of the Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.

The Secret Service opened fire at someone who was armed and deemed a threat to the former president, an official briefed on the matter said. It was not immediately clear if the person got off a shot.

Law enforcement officials recovered an AR-15 or AK-47-type semiautomatic rifle after the incident and are running a trace to determine who bought the gun and where it was sold, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation.

Teri Barbera, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, confirmed that a shooting took place “on the grounds” of the golf course while Trump was present. A “person of interest” had been detained, she said.

A news con-

ference was expected this afternoon.

The Secret Service said it was investigating “a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump” that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern.

Sheriff William Snyder of Martin County, Florida, said his deputies had detained the driver of a vehicle wanted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in connection with the shooting. The man was detained as he was driving northbound on Interstate 95 and crossed from Palm Beach County to Martin County. The highway was shut down at Mile Marker 110, with federal investigators on the scene, the sheriff said.

Trump was golfing with his friend Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor, on the course when the shots were fired at the course, according to three people briefed on the matter.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on social media that she had been briefed on the incident. “I am glad he is safe,” she wrote. “Violence has no place in America.”

In a statement, a White House official said President Joe Biden had also been briefed, along with Harris. “They are relieved to know that he is safe,” the official said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted on social media that he had spoken with Trump and he was “in good spirits.”

Police outside Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. A shooting took place on the grounds of the Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach on Sunday while former President Donald Trump was at the course, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said, but officials said that Trump was safe and that the intent was unknown. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)

New tariff rules could reverse a ‘paradigm shift’ in retail

By ANA SWANSON and JORDYN HOLMAN

Major U.S. retailers including Amazon and Walmart have been quietly exploring shifting toward a business model that would ship more goods directly to consumers from Chinese factories and require fewer U.S. workers in retail stores and logistics centers.

The plans have been driven by the rocketing popularity of Chinese e-commerce platforms including Shein and Temu, which have won over consumers with their low prices. These platforms ship inexpensive products directly to consumers’ doorsteps, allowing them to bypass U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, along with the hefty costs associated with brick-andmortar stores, warehousing and distribution networks.

Rising competition from Shein, Temu and other Chinese companies is pushing many major U.S. retailers to consider shifting to a similar model to qualify for an obscure, century-old U.S. trade law, according to several people familiar with the plans. The law, known as de minimis, allows importers to bypass U.S. taxes and tariffs on goods as long as shipments do not exceed $800 in value.

But that trend toward changing business models may have been disrupted Friday, when the Biden administration abruptly moved to close off de minimis eligibility for many Chinese imports, including most clothing items. In an announcement Friday morning, the Biden administration said it would clamp down on the number of packages that come into the country duty-free using de minimis shipping, particularly from China.

The Biden administration’s changes will not go into effect immediately. The proposal will be subject to comment by industry before being finalized in the coming months, and some imports from China would still qualify for a de minimis exemption.

But Friday’s action may head off a change that has been looming in global retail. Amazon has been preparing a new discount service that would ship products directly to consumers, allowing those goods to bypass tariffs, according to people familiar with the plans. Even companies that preferred to keep their business models as-is — such as Walmart — have been forced to consider using more de minimis to compete.

Walmart declined to comment. An Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company was “always exploring new ways to work with our selling partners to de-

light our customers with more selection, lower prices and greater convenience.”

At Apex Logistics International, Steve Story helps companies that import products from China take advantage of de minimis. Story, who is the company’s executive vice president for customs and international trade, said that de minimis had brought about a “paradigm shift” in retail. U.S. companies were having to explore the provision “whether they want to or not,” he said.

“It’s get on board or get left behind,” Story said. “The Walgreens, the retail stores, if you don’t get online, you don’t get onboard with this, you’re going to get left behind by Shein, Temu and Alibaba.”

Story said he had helped Chinese sellers bring goods into the United States tariff free by shipping through Amazon fulfillment centers. A customs ruling in 2020 allowed Chinese companies to act as “nonresident importers,” meaning they can essentially ship products tariff free to themselves, in care of Amazon warehouses around the United States.

To bring goods into the United States, retailers have traditionally arranged for shipping containers full of products to arrive from China at U.S. ports. Those goods would then be trucked to a company’s warehouses and retail stores before being sold to consumers.

But retailers have been increasingly bypassing that process by individually packaging and shipping items directly from China to consumers under the de minimis law. With that method, the shopper is the official importer, rather than the retailer or e-commerce platform, and the value of the shipments largely stays un-

der an $800 threshold.

In addition to avoiding tariffs, sellers do not have to provide as much information to U.S. Customs and Border Protection as with larger shipments.

That model has taken off since the Trump administration in 2018 and 2019 imposed tariffs on many Chinese goods that retailers brought to the U.S. through traditional channels. The surge in online ordering during the pandemic also helped to popularize such shipments, which now make up roughly one-fifth of e-commerce orders.

The number of packages entering the United States each year under the de minimis rule has ballooned to more than 1 billion in 2023, up from 140 million a decade ago. China is by far the biggest source for such packages, sending more than all other countries combined, according to the customs agency.

U.S. companies and trade groups have complained that those rules set up a two-tiered system, in which brands with U.S. stores and warehouses had to pay higher tariffs than those that shipped directly to consumers.

For example, an importer shipping 10,000 cellphone screen protectors into the United States could save more than $7,000 in taxes and duties if it individually packaged and shipped the protectors to consumers, rather than routing them through a warehouse, according to a presentation Apex Logistics prepared for its clients.

Other U.S. businesses have complained that the de minimis exception puts pressure on retailers that employ Americans in their distribution centers. Lobbying groups in favor of

eliminating de minimis have said the provision has recently led to the shuttering of some of the remaining textile plants around the United States.

Columbia Sportswear, based in Portland, Oregon, said retailers are now needing to factor U.S. trade policy into financial calculations about their supply chains, just like the price of real estate and labor. Columbia has two distribution centers in the U.S. and one in Canada.

Peter Bragdon, general counsel at Columbia Sportswear, said de minimis was like a big “tax incentive that the U.S. is giving you to take the job somewhere else.”

“It changes the math,” Bragdon added.

In testimony in a U.S. government hearing in 2022, Borderworx Logistics, a company that arranges warehousing and customs services, said that some Chinese companies use illegal tactics to benefit from de minimis, such as doctoring invoices so the value is under $800 even when products cost more.

In other cases, companies might create fake shipping manifests and customer orders to send many individual packages duty-free to the United States, then reassemble them into larger shipments to send on to major clients, Borderworx said.

Some retailers have also moved their warehouses out of the United States, relocating them in Canada or Mexico. Then, when an American customer orders an item, it can be quickly and legally brought into the United States duty-free. During those relocations, U.S. jobs are lost.

A senior Biden administration official said in a briefing Thursday that there were likely to be efforts to circumvent any changes made to de minimis law, and that the administration was calling on Congress to help enact comprehensive reforms.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have made various proposals to narrow the de minimis exemption. But it has been unclear whether lawmakers could come together around a single proposal and secure the votes to pass it. In the meantime, industry has been hedging its bets.

As U.S. retailers mull the ways they can compete with Chinese platforms, Shein and Temu have said that their use of de minimis is not core to their success. Shein says it is open to reforming the tariff exemption, and will find different ways to satisfy its customers if it goes away.

Temu this year added a green button to its website that says “local warehouse,” highlighting goods that are coming from nearby.

An employee working at an Amazon fulfillment center in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Nov. 20, 2023. Under pressure from Chinese competitors, Amazon, Walmart and other U.S. retailers have been exploring ways to avoid tariffs. Could a new Biden administration rule change that? (Octavio Jones/The New York Times)

Stocks

US manufacturing ETFs win assets as investors bet on ‘reshoring’

Investors are piling into exchange traded funds focused on companies that are reviving or expanding production in the U.S. and taking advantage of government subsidies.

Some $2.25 billion has flowed into a small group of ETFs highlighting the so-called reshoring theme this year, bringing their total assets to a record $9.67 billion by the end of August.

“Companies keep referring to reshoring as a long-term driver of their growth, and our goal is to find beneficiaries or enablers of that trend before that theme is mainstream,” said Chris Semenuk, who oversees the actively managed Tema American Reshoring ETF, launched last year.

Its assets have grown from $6 million in May 2023 to $101.5 million as of the end of August. The fund is up nearly 16% year-to-date, compared with a 17.7% gain in the S&P 500.

Manufacturers have been moving production to the United States to avoid supply chain snarls and duck tensions between Washington and Beijing that are drying up investment in China.

Congress approved more than $1 trillion in funding for new infrastructure projects in late 2021 and passed a bill that will provide another $200 billion for chips manufacturing the following summer.

Several high-profile corporate moves have also helped drive interest, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) decision to boost the size of its investment in new Arizona fabrication plants to $65 billion or the federal government’s award of up to $500 million to Century Aluminium to build the first aluminum smelter in the U.S. in 45 years.

BlackRock is the latest and largest of the ETF providers competing for investor dollars as interest in the reshoring theme is fueled by the central role the economy and job creation are taking in the U.S. presidential race. It launched the iShares U.S. Manufacturing ETF in July.

“These stocks could benefit whichever party wins the election,” Jay Jacobs, head of thematic and active ETFs at BlackRock, told Reuters in the latest episode of “Inside ETFs.” “It’s a rare area of consensus across the aisle.”

Shares of the ETF have climbed 3.5% over the last 30 days compared with a roughly 0.9% gain for the S&P 500, according to LSEG. The new BlackRock fund now has nearly $6 million in assets.

Strong performers in the U.S. manufacturing sector include Caterpillar and Eaton Corp., which are up 16.4% and 27.6% year-to-date, respectively. The S&P 500 industrials sector, home

MOST ASSERTIVE STOCKS

to many of the companies whose shares are owned by the ETFs, is up 13.5% this year.

To be sure, an influx of weaker-than-expected economic data in recent months, including an unexpected dip in U.S. manufacturing construction spending, has raised concerns that U.S. growth may be starting to soften. The Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the first time in years at its Sep. 17-18 meeting in a bid to ease monetary policy ahead of any potential economic slowdown.

At the same time, some stocks have become more richly valued as the broader market has rallied. The industrials sector, for example, is trading at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 26.7, compared with 19.2 a year ago.

The San Juan Daily Star

Houthis launch missile at central Israel

By ADAM RASGON

The Houthi militia in Yemen claimed responsibility Sunday for a rare missile attack on Israel, the second time in two months that the Iranian-backed group has successfully penetrated the skies over the central part of the country.

The assault was the latest illustration of the evolving conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iranian proxies, which have mounted attacks on Israeli territory in what they have said is solidarity with Palestinians under bombardment in the Gaza Strip. It also demonstrated the military capabilities of the Houthis, based hundreds of miles from Israel on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

Air-raid sirens blared in dozens of towns and villages in central Israel around 6:30 a.m. Sunday, sending people rushing to fortified safe rooms and bomb shelters.

The Israeli military initially said the Houthis had fired a surface-to-surface missile that landed in an “open area” and that no casualties were reported. In a follow-up statement, the military said an initial inquiry indicated the missile had “fragmented midair” and that it was reviewing its attempts to intercept the strike.

Later Sunday, an Israeli military official said that a review had concluded that the missile was intercepted, breaking it into parts but not destroying it. The military did not provide a name for the official, citing protocols.

Yahya Sarea, a Houthi military spokesperson, said the armed group had fired a ballistic missile at what he claimed was a military target in central Israel. His claims could not be independently verified.

“The enemy should expect more strikes and quality operations,” Sarea said in a televised statement.

The goal of the attack, said Nasruddin Amer, another Houthi spokesperson, was to pressure Israel to end the war in Gaza.

“The problem is in Gaza and the solution is in Gaza,” Amer said in a text message.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested his country would respond to the attack, which he cast as part of a wider “battle against Iran’s axis of evil that is striving to destroy us.”

“They should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us,” he said, referring to the Houthis, at the start of a government meeting.

Hamas in Gaza is one of several armed groups in the region that are backed by Iran, including the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, welcomed the Houthi missile launch.

According to a Biden administration official, the weapon used by the Houthis on Sunday did not constitute a new capability for the armed group.

Since Israel started bombing Gaza in response to the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, some of Iran’s regional proxies have launched attacks on Israeli interests and prompted fears of a widening war.

The Houthis are a Yemeni Shiite militia that over the past decade seized control of large parts of western Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and the Red Sea coastline. While the group’s opposition to Israel long

preceded the war in Gaza, the Houthis had rarely attacked Israeli interests before October last year.

Mohammed Albasha, a senior Middle East expert at Navanti Group, a U.S.-based research organization, said the Houthis’ attacks on Israel were part of an attempt to cast itself as a defender of the Muslim world.

“The Houthis’ narrative is changing,” he said. “They no longer see themselves as just a local, national Yemeni group.”

Since November, the Houthis have menaced ships in the Red Sea that they claim have links to Israel. In response, the United States, Britain and other allies of Israel have at-

tacked Houthi weapons depots, missile systems and radar facilities in Yemen.

On July 19, the Houthis launched a drone attack on Tel Aviv, Israel, that crashed into a building near the U.S. Embassy, killing one person and wounding several others.

A day later, Israeli fighter jets bombed the Red Sea port of Hodeida, which is controlled by the Houthis. The strikes in Hodeida killed three people and injured 87, according to the Health Ministry in Sanaa, which the Houthis control.

Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group, started firing across the border into Israel on Oct 8. Since then, it has traded near-daily fire with the Israeli military and the tit-for-tat strikes have led to widespread destruction and large-scale evacuations on both sides of the border.

On Sunday, Israel’s military said that about 40 projectiles had entered the country from Lebanese territory at about 8 a.m. Some fell in open areas, the military said, and others were intercepted. No injuries were reported.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it had fired dozens of rockets in response to recent Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon and in support of the Palestinian people and their “resistance.”

The war in Gaza is now in its 12th month, with no apparent end in sight despite efforts by international mediators — including the United States — to secure a cease-fire and the release of hostages held in the enclave.

Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the newly chosen political leader of Hamas, have been seen as the two most important figures to securing — or impeding — any potential truce.

A residential building that was struck by a Houthi drone attack in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 19, 2024. The rare attack was an illustration of the evolving conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iranian proxies. (Sergey Ponomarev/The New York Times).

At funeral in Turkey, family mourns American activist killed by Israeli gunfire

By BEN HUBBARD and GULSON HARMAN

With Turkish flags flying and chants of “God is great” resounding through the cemetery, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank, was laid to rest Saturday in a town on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Although she moved to the United States as a toddler, acquired citizenship and spent most of her life there, the funeral for Eygi, 26, was deeply Turkish, and profoundly pro-Palestinian.

Hundreds of people, many carrying Palestinian flags and wearing Palestinian scarves, gathered at the central mosque in the town of Didim to say prayers for her, including senior Turkish officials. No U.S. officials attended, and there was not an American flag in sight.

In the 11 months since the war in the Gaza Strip began, Eygi’s two countries have taken starkly different stances toward the conflict. The United States has stood by Israel, continuing to supply its military with bombs, even as concerns about civilian deaths have mounted.

Turkey, on the other hand, has embraced the Palestinians, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decrying Israel’s conduct and defending Hamas, which Israel, the United States and other countries consider a terrorist organization.

Two relatives of Eygi said the American response to her killing had frustrated them. In an interview before her funeral, her father, also a U.S. citizen, said the United States had not stood up for her.

“I have been living in the U.S. for 25 years, and I know how seriously the U.S. looks out for the safety of its citizens

The funeral of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, a Turkish American activist shot dead by Israeli forces in the West Bank, at Didim Central Mosque in Didim, Turkey, on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. Hundreds of people, many carrying Palestinian flags, gathered to say prayers for her, including senior Turkish officials. No American officials attended. (Bradley Secker/The New York Times)

abroad,” said her father, Mehmet Suat Eygi. “I know that when something happens, the U.S. will attack like the eagle on its seal. But when Israel is in question, it transforms into a dove.”

Eygi was shot in the head and died Sept. 6 during a protest by Palestinian and international activists against an Israeli settler outpost near the village of Beita in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military has said it is “highly likely” that she was hit “indirectly and unintentionally” and that the matter was still being investigated.

Other activists who were with her at the time said that she had been standing more than 200 yards away and downhill from the soldiers. They added that the

protest, during which some demonstrators had thrown stones, had calmed down by the time she was shot.

Senior officials from both of Eygi’s countries — she was born in Turkey but obtained U.S. citizenship in 2005, her father said, and had lived in the Seattle area — have condemned her killing.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the killing “unprovoked and unjustified,” and President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by her death.

“There must be full accountability,” Biden said.

But addressing the mourners in Didim on Saturday, Numan Kurtulmus, speaker of Turkey’s parliament, criticized not just Israel but also countries that support it.

“This is not only the crime of a few murderous Israeli soldiers,” he said. “This is also the crime of the collaborative states who have the back of that terrorist state.”

Underlining the extent to which Turkey has adopted Eygi’s killing as a national cause, other officials who attended the funeral included the vice president; the justice, interior and foreign ministers; the head of the largest opposition party; and a

former prime minister.

Turkey’s president, Erdogan, said Monday that his country would seek to add her killing to a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. After Eygi’s body arrived in Turkey on Friday, Turkey performed an autopsy before transporting it to Didim.

Israel has rejected accusations of genocide, saying it is defending itself after the Hamas-led attack Oct. 7 that killed an estimated 1,200 people.

Eygi’s death came as international criticism of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza has been rising. More that 41,000 people have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians.

Airstrikes continued into Saturday, with Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s news agency, reporting that 10 people, including women and children, had been killed in a strike that hit a home in Gaza City, among other deaths in the enclave. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

Friends and relatives of Egyi recalled her as passionate about standing up for people she considered to be victims of injustice.

That conviction fueled her involvement, often with socialist groups, in activism in Mexico, Myanmar, Australia and Seattle. In the winter of 2016-17, she camped out with other activists in North Dakota to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, which was slated to run near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

She also became a fervent supporter of the Palestinians, which drove her to travel to the Israeli-occupied West Bank to join protests against Israeli settlements there.

“She was an outlier,” her cousin, Sercan Eygi, 28, said in an interview after the funeral. “Most activists don’t even bother moving apart from their safe zone.”

Eygi had been in Turkey before traveling to the West Bank and had told her relatives that she was going to Jordan, which is much safer, her cousin said. When they discovered through social media where she actually was, he called her.

“I asked her not to die,” he recalled telling her. “She said, ‘I’ll try my best.’”

The climate peril we overlook

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

Our planet has just endured its hottest summer on record, with 2024 on track likewise to become the hottest year since recordkeeping began.

We see the impact of this heating in thousands of ways: The city of Phoenix this year endured 100 days of 100 degrees or hotter; some 1,300 Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia reportedly died in the heat; Arctic ice is shrinking and far below average; and in some places, monkeys and bats have tumbled out of trees from the heat.

We tend to focus on the cataclysmic risks of climate change — polar ice caps melting, seas rising dramatically, our planet becoming uninhabitable — and those are real. But over the last couple of decades, we’ve accumulated evidence that the more mundane effects of heat are already upon us, impacting our daily lives. For example, more people fall off ladders on hot days than on cool days. They are more likely to kill themselves. They are also more likely to kill someone else.

Meanwhile, students learn less on hot days. They perform worse on exams. After a natural disaster, students are less likely to go to college. In other words, extreme weather damages far more than property, for it also is devastating to human capital.

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“The familiar climate catastrophe framing may be missing some of the most important features of the real climate change story,” R. Jisung Park, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, notes in his excellent recent book, “Slow Burn.”

Park argues convincingly that we have been so focused on apocalyptic scenarios that we haven’t focused enough on the other consequences of climate change.

Unless we do more to address the impact on education, hotter temperatures may reduce student learning in the United States by about 10% over the course of a year, Park’s research finds. Because Black and Latino students disproportionately live in hotter parts of the country and attend schools with less air conditioning, rising temperatures appear to magnify the learning gap, Park says.

Then there are forest fires. We focus on the immediate damage caused by fires, such as the 20 to 30 people who die in America from wildfires in a typical year. But wildfires linked to climate change are exposing more people to smoke that may claim far more lives.

Air pollution already is linked to an estimated 7 million deaths globally each year, mostly by contributing to heart disease, respiratory diseases and cancer. Researchers estimate that in the United States, wildfire smoke claims 5,000 to 15,000 lives each year — yet these deaths don’t get attention because there is no dramatic footage of flames to frighten us. People may think that their loved ones died of heart disease or old age, but another factor may have been climate change.

Climate change may influence crime as well, for researchers find that murder, aggravated assault and rape all are more common when the mercury rises. One researcher estimated that the increase in temperatures because of climate change may lead to 1.6 million additional cases of aggravated assault and 200,000 additional rapes in the United States over this century.

We also know that hotter temperatures impair our productivity. A naval officer makes an average of 11 or 12 mistakes per hour in translating Morse code when the temperature is between 85 and 90 degrees, a British study found, but 95 mistakes per hour when the temperature rises to 105 degrees.

Even professional athletes are affected. One study looked at how tennis players do when temperatures rise. When it is 95 degrees, the likelihood of a double fault increases, and rallies are shorter.

Yet always remember that climate is complicated.

A dozen years ago, scientists worried that the Earth might heat by 4 degrees Celsius by the year 2100, compared with the preindustrial period, while it now seems more likely that the increase may be

The sun sets through the trees in South Pasadena, Calif. on July 23, 2024. Our planet has just endured its hottest summer on record, with 2024 on track likewise to become the hottest year since recordkeeping began, Nicholas Kristof writes. (Rosie Clements/The New York Times)

around 2.5 degrees or less (which is still deadly and utterly intolerable).

In addition, scholar and writer Bjorn Lomborg correctly notes that many more Americans die from cold than from heat. So rising temperatures could plausibly lead to a net drop in American deaths. At a global level, though, Park said that he would expect that “unabated climate change will lead to very significant increases in mortality.”

My take is that we should embrace the nuance. We don’t need to hype the risks or conjure nightmares, for we now have abundant evidence that even at current levels of warming, we are doing great damage to our species (not to mention to the monkeys and bats falling down on us).

I’ve written my share of apocalyptic pieces about climate, from “methane burps” to the acidification of seas dissolving some plankton that are the basis of the food chain. These are legitimate concerns. But doomsday scenarios haven’t brought us to our senses, and we shouldn’t let them distract us from the immediate challenge: If we let warming continue, more people will be victimized by crime, children will learn less, and more of us will slip off ladders.

Contact Kristof at Facebook.com/Kristof, Twitter.com/ NickKristof or by mail at The New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, NY 10018.

Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña y Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Infraestructura firman acuerdo para la restauración de Casa OPIS

POR EL STAR STAFF

SAN JUAN – El Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña (ICP) y la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Infraestructura (AFI), firmaron un acuerdo para realizar una inversión de más de 1.9 millones de dólares para la restauración de la Casa OPIS. Mediante este acuerdo interagencial, los fondos serán gestionados a través del programa Rescate Cultural y Fondos ARPA. El acuerdo permanecerá vigente hasta el 30 de junio de 2025.

“Es nuestro compromiso la conservación de nuestro patrimonio histórico edificado. Con este acuerdo encaminamos el proceso de restauración y preservación de esta valiosa estructura histórica que por décadas fue utilizada como espacio para el desarrollo del quehacer cultural. Este esfuerzo nos permitirá rescatar la Casa OPIS para el

DSP

SAN

disfrute del pueblo puertorriqueño”, explicó el director ejecutivo del ICP, Carlos Ruiz.

Según la ley habilitadora, que faculta a la AFI a asistir a diferentes instrumentalidades en el desarrollo de proyectos, se acordó la asistencia profesional y técnica. Los firmantes concertaron que AFI proveerá asistencia en la fase de subastas, diseño, construcción, gerencia e inspección, entre otros, para el desarrollo y culminación del proyecto. La restauración del edificio, siguiendo la reglamentación y prácticas para edificios históricos irá de la mano con la asesoría del Programa de Patrimonio Histórico Edificado y Mejoras Permanentes del ICP.

En el último año, el ICP destinó $2.5 millones a 101 entidades culturales sin fines de lucro para continuidad operacional y programática, provenientes de fondos del American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Anteriormente, con-

se une campaña Si ve

JUAN – El secretario del Departamento de Seguridad Pública, Alexis Torres, anunció el domingo que Puerto Rico se unió a la campaña nacional “Si ve algo, diga algo”, diseñada para crear conciencia pública sobre los indicadores de terrorismo y delitos relacionados, y cómo el público puede identificar y reportar actividades sospechosas a las autoridades locales y estatales.

“La prioridad del Departamento de Seguridad Pública es garantizar la seguridad de Puerto Rico, esta campaña es una herramienta más para empoderar a las comunidades. Todos tenemos un rol muy importante en nuestras comunidades. Siempre debemos estar alertas a todo lo que ocurre a nuestro alrededor. Incidentes que puedan amenazar la seguridad pública deben ser reportados.

signó $3 millones a cinco museos para continuidad operacional. En total, el ICP ha apoyado al sector cultural sin fines de lucro con una aportación de $5.5 millones. Casa OPIS es una casona colonial de dos pisos ubicado en la Calle Cristo 253 del Viejo San Juan. La casona fue donada al ICP para un Museo de Bellas Artes por la corporación OPIS y sus representantes.

algo, diga algo

La campaña precisamente nos exhorta a informar al Negociado del Sistema de Emergencias 911 incidentes sospechosos”, sostuvo el secretario del DSP en declaraciones escritas,

Por su parte, Rebecca González Ramos, agente especial a cargo de Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) en San Juan, destacó que “ser parte de una comunidad significa involucrarnos en su seguridad, tener un rol esencial en reportar actividades sospechosas. Es sencillo, “Si ve algo, diga algo”. Es un honor para el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional que Puerto Rico se una a esta campaña. Tome responsabilidad de nuestra seguridad, sea protagonista en salvar vidas y “Si ve algo, diga algo”, repórtelo. Nos unimos al Departamento de Seguridad Pública para juntos crear conciencia en nuestra isla de la importancia que tiene la comunidad en la seguridad de Puerto Rico”.

Causa para arresto contra alguacil del Tribunal de Vieques y su pareja

POR CYBERNEWS

VIEQUES – Agentes de la división de Drogas de la Policía de Puerto Rico arrestaron a Rubí Chezared Encarnación Pérez, de 24 años, quien labora como alguacil del Tribunal de Vieques y a su compañero Luis Felipe Fradera Pérez de 29 años, como resultado de un allanamiento en la residencia, en la que también ocuparon un arma ilegal. “Esta operación es parte del plan que busca atender una serie de incidentes violentos que se han producido en Vieques y que responden a la guerra de poder entre organizaciones dedicadas al narcotráfico que operan en el municipio. Este indicó, además, que los allanamientos son parte de una serie de investigaciones activas que lleva a cabo la Policía en la isla”, dijo el comisionado de la Po-

licía, Antonio López Figueroa en declaraciones escritas. Según el director de la Superintendencia de Operaciones Especiales, el coronel Carlos Cruz Burgos, entre los arrestados el jueves hay cuatro integrantes de la organización criminal que opera en la zona y la madre de uno de los líderes y sospechoso de varios asesinatos, que ha cobrado la vida de sicarios y personas inocentes.

El arresto de la pareja se suma a otros cinco efectuados el pasado jueves en el operativo Amanecer Viequense, en el que fueron arrestadas miembros de una organización criminal que opera en la isla y se ocuparon tres armas, entre otros materiales ilegales. Con estos, serían un total de siete arrestos en menos de 24 horas.

El fiscal Daniel Feliciano Rivera, de la Fiscalía de Fajardo, presentó el sabado un cargo por violación a la Ley de

Armas contra ambos residentes de Vieques, luego de que el pasado viernes la división de Drogas de Fajardo junto al personal de Drogas Metro y Caguas, realizaran un allanamiento en la residencia de estos en el barrio Monte Santo de Vieques.

A estos se les ocupó: un revolver Smith & Wesson calibre 38, seis municiones del mismo calibre, 69 municiones de rifle calibre 5.56, un cargador tipo tambor, una pistola marca Glock, modelo 19 calibre 9mm, una pista marca Taurus modelo G3C y 133 municiones calibre 9mm.

Luego de escuchar la prueba, la jueza Sonya Nieves Cordero, del Tribunal de Humacao, determinó causa para arresto contra ambos y fijó una fianza global de 25 mil dólares.

The San Juan Daily Star

Pedro Almodóvar, master of mystifying films, wrote a book he can’t classify

By NICHOLAS CASEY

Pedro Almodóvar is widely considered Spain’s greatest living filmmaker, but he sees himself as a writer first — a “fabulist,” in his telling. His extravagant plots took twists that were hard to predict or even pin down. The tale of two men who form a bond looking over two comatose women in “Talk to Her.” The story of a plastic surgeon who operates on a captive man, changing him to a woman against his will in “The Skin I Live In.”

Of his more than 20 feature films, Almodóvar wrote or co-wrote nearly all of them. He had probably spent more days at a writing desk than on a set.

As it turned out, he had been writing many other things, too — short stories, diary entries, a few unclassifiable essays — nearly the entire time he was making films. The tales sat in several mysterious blue folders, collected by his assistant Lola García over the course of the director’s many moves to different apartments in Madrid. In 2022, at the urging of Spanish literary editor Jaume Bonfill, Almodóvar had a look at what had been saved over the years.

“It was like seeing a dimension of Pedro that I didn’t know,” said Bonfill, adding that the manuscripts they sorted through contained writings the director had composed as a teenager as well as items Almodóvar had seemingly written decades later. The collection, “The Last Dream,” will be published in English on Sept. 24 by HarperVia.

Just what this collection is exactly is as much of a mystery as the folders were. Was this a memoir? (One piece was a journal entry written a couple of years back.) Was it fiction — or sketches of ideas that could be fiction — unfinished stories the director never turned into a film? (There is a tale about Count Dracula joining a monastery in Spain.) Much like with his films, Almodóvar feels little need to clarify his output into any defined genre.

“I’ve been asked to write my biography more than once, and I’ve always refused,” Almodóvar writes in the introduction. “This book represents something of a paradox. It might be best described as a fragmentary autobiography, incomplete and a little cryptic.”

At 74, Almodóvar has the rare presence of a man with few regrets about life. He was born under the rule of Gen. Francisco Franco, but he came of age after the dictator was dead and films about sex and drugs could be made in Spain. In 1986, he and his brother Agustín

founded their own production company, El Deseo, giving the director the kind of artistic control over his films few have ever enjoyed.

“People now study my films in university departments,” he said in an interview at his office this summer, with a tone that sounded both proud and surprised.

But as he started to talk about the book, Almodóvar’s mood changed. He wanted to talk about the past. He started to talk about his death. “I have a problem with death now, with mortality,” he said. “I don’t think ‘I’ve just lived another day,’ but instead, ‘I’ve got one less day to live.’”

In past interviews, Almodóvar has broken up his filmmaking into phases, which in some ways have corresponded with the stages of his life. The first films bore the signs of his youth — and Spain’s own young, unshackled democracy — with the humor and kitsch that marked his first big success, “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.” Next came a phase where more mature melodramas reigned, often in set in rural Spanish towns like those of the director’s youth, such as “The Flower of My Secret,” where a writer abandons her city for her native town. Almodóvar’s third phase was dominated by stories of physical and mental pain that came with the end of middle age. “The Skin I Live In” and “Pain and Glory” fit into this category.

“The Last Dream,” despite Almodóvar’s claim that it is autobiographical, will strike few readers as a memoir. But in story after story, the collection looks back, wrestling with these three other phases of Almodóvar’s life. And each piece offers another clue about Almodóvar’s body of work.

Take the first story in the collection, “The Visit.” Almodóvar begins with a 25-yearold woman arriving at a Catholic school dressed in a sexy get-up, like “Marlene Dietrich in ‘The Devil Is a Woman.’” The woman demands to see the rector, forcing her way past the priests at the door until she’s reached his office. There she levels her accusation: Her brother, recently deceased, documented the rector’s sexual abuse at the school in a series of short stories. She has brought the stories with her.

Any follower of Almodóvar will immediately recognize the plot of his thriller “Bad Education” — the story sat in the blue folder for years before Almodóvar made it into a film in 2004. But there’s also another metafictional twist to it all: In the film, “The Visit” is also the name of the short story the main character is

who, at 35, has already finished his career.”

“The Room Next Door,” which premiered this month at the Venice Film Festival, takes on Almodóvar’s “problem with death” maybe more explicitly than any of his previous work. It’s also his first film in English. In the script, a former war correspondent plans her suicide after she refuses treatment for a terminal disease. She’s joined by a writer friend who fears everything to do with death but agrees to accompany her through her final days.

“This latest film I’ve made talks about dying, but it’s also about trying to live with mortality,” Almodóvar said. (The movie, which stars Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, received a 20-minute standing ovation in Venice and won the Golden Lion for best film.)

holding that outlines the abuse. Is the story we read now the manuscript we saw onscreen 20 years ago?

“The Visit” is also, Almodóvar said, a reminder of the deep anger he had as a young man for his own schooling by priests, something Almodóvar said he saw more closely only when he found the text again many years later. “I see now in myself there was someone absolutely furious at the education that the Salesian priests had given him,” he said. “But I also saw my style changed completely with the country, as we moved toward democracy, and with the drugs it was using and the life it waWho is Almodóvar now? “In this new century I’ve become more somber, more austere, more melancholic, less certain, more insecure, and more afraid,” he writes.

During the interview, he even seemed to say that despite his continual production of films, there was a part of him that was slowing down. “There are certain skills that gradually disappear over time,” he said. “I remember, throughout the month I’d come up with, I don’t know, 10 stories that I could write to make into a movie, and right now that has disappeared.”

Then he looked like he wanted to take his statement back. “Fortunately, literature and cinema are two professions that have longevity,” he said. “It’s not like being a tennis player

Death again is the subject of his book’s title story, “The Last Dream,” a memorial to his mother, Francisca Caballero, who died in 1999. It was Caballero, Almodóvar said, who first introduced him to the “fabulist” style of storytelling in their village, where she read letters for her neighbors who couldn’t read. Quite often, she would embellish the writing with fictions that Almodóvar said were frequently better than the truth.

From his mother’s death, Almodóvar turned back to his own mortality. “It’s a matter of biology, but when it comes to death I don’t think I’ve really evolved,” he told me. “Mentally to accept it, just to accept that it’s part of your nature, I’m just not there yet.” Yet as he returned to his story about Count Dracula — in the tale, the immortal vampire learns to cheat death by drinking blood from a crucifix — it was clear that part of the director had accepted he was nearing the end of his career. He had always wanted to make the story into a film, he said, but knew the story would probably not be told in any other form.

Almodóvar’s last piece in the collection — the most recent pulled from the blue folders — is an essay called “A Bad Novel” in which he addresses his calling as a writer.

“Early on, when I was young, my dream was to become a writer, to write a great novel. Over time, reality proved that what I wrote inevitably became a movie,” he writes. “I realized that my writings were not literary stories, but rough drafts of screenplays.” Life, Almodóvar said, was often about changing course toward what you were good at, and he had been lucky in this regard. Cinema is where Almodóvar will be remembered, not literature; “The Last Dream” works mainly as a key to understanding his films.

The filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar in Madrid on July 24, 2024. In his book “The Last Dream,” the Spanish director offers insights into his complicated relationship with creativity and mortality. (Ana Cuba/The New York Times)

Monday, September 16, 2024 14

The San Juan Daily Star

In Colombia, you can watch whales, and serenade them, too

By JENNIE ERIN SMITH

Every July, tens of thousands of visitors descend on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, crowding the frenzied passenger docks in the seaport of Buenaventura as they wait for speedboats that will whisk them to the small communities lining remote Málaga Bay. They’ve come to see the humpback whales.

The whales, numbering in the thousands, are on their own mass mission: migrating from their feeding grounds near Chile to their breeding grounds near Colombia, where they remain until October.

During the whale-watching season, which begins in midJuly, boats with licensed captains and guides take the visitors — mostly Colombians but a growing number of foreigners — to see the creatures breach, blow and slap the water with their fins and tails.

On shore, visitors can also witness a lesser-known spectacle as residents of the area gather for an annual festival to celebrate the whales and revive a fading culture.

‘I was scared of them’

On a late-June night, the sun dropped and a delicious cool spread over the beach in La Barra, a village of about 400 residents on the edge of Málaga Bay.

The festival, with an audience of mainly locals, was about to begin. Aside from the photographer and me, the only other attendees were members of a large contingent of volunteer physicians and veterinarians who had come to aid the town’s residents. Bandaged-up cats and dogs wandered all around.

Elders came one by one to a microphone to share stories about the whales.

Amable Rivas, a fisherman and nature guide, recalled how in the days before motorboats became commonplace, humpbacks played alongside the sailing vessels that ferried passengers to and from Buenaventura. People marked the seasons by the arrival and departure of the whales. They fashioned chairs out of giant whale vertebrae that washed up on the beach.

Then, in the 1990s, Rivas said, fishermen began to notice yachts full of people who had come from elsewhere to see the humpbacks. Before that, it had not occurred to him that whales could be an attraction. “I was scared of them,” he said, thanks to stories he’d heard about a whale “having swallowed a certain Jonas,” the prophet in the biblical tale. Now, he said, he saw the whales as “a gift.” Sometimes, when he was out on the water, he would hear them singing and sing back.

Once the elders had spoken, a group of young women took turns reciting poems, including a ballad about a “fat fat fat fish.” A marimba band set up, and children performed whaleinspired folk dances boldly and expertly. Cups of viche, a sharpedged homemade sugar cane liquor, began to make the rounds.

The Festival Mundial Ballenas y Cantaoras, a regionalgovernment-supported event now in its seventh year, consists of two parts — this event in late June to welcome the whales, and one Sept. 20-22 to send them off.

In September, the crowds would be bigger, with members of Wounaan Indigenous communities from the interior joining the Afro-Colombian residents of the beach towns, and musical acts from across the region would perform — not on

A humpback whale monument in Buenaventura, Colombia, June 22, 2024. Buenaventura, a seaport on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, draws whale watchers who have come to see an annual mass migration of humpbacks. (Jaír Coll/The New York Times)

the bare ground, as now, but on a stage that La Barra’s residents would soon begin building.

The festivities were already off to a good start. As the night wore on, the marimba and drumming got louder, and the viche flowed. As the residents of La Barra celebrated the whales, they were also celebrating themselves.

Rediscovering the ‘fat fat fat fish’

The area around Málaga Bay, part of a roughly 116,000acre national marine park, is an important birthing site for humpbacks. Females and their calves seek shelter in the warm waters of the bay, away from fishing boats, shipping lanes and aggressive males.

A few years ago, a community organizer named Fabian Bueno, 42, began wondering what kind of meaning humpback whales traditionally had for the cultures who live near the bay. “Have you ever heard whale songs?” Bueno began asking people. “Did your grandparents tell you stories about whales?”

At first, Bueno said, it seemed as if there wasn’t much of a connection with the whales, and that local residents traditionally feared them. “But then we investigated a little more,” he said.

An Afro-Colombian cantaora, as locals call women who are guardians of oral traditions, taught Bueno the poem about a “fat fat fat fish.” The Wounaan had a word for whale, he learned, that meant “big dolphin.” Neither culture hunted the whales, whose annual arrival was associated with abundance, both of fish and staple crops.

That’s when Bueno came up with the idea of a festival focused on whales. “We wanted to help give people a forum for their traditions, their talents, and create a sense of identity and belonging,” he said.

A new kind of tourism

The morning after the festival’s opening, while most of La Barra slept, I walked north on the wide gray-sand beach from Casa Majagua toward the mouth of the San Juan River, whose sprawling network of tributaries connects the beach communities to the interior. The tattered cloth sign of Hola-Ola, a place I’d

heard described as La Barra’s best restaurant, blew in the wind. The chief cook and proprietor, Odalia Rivas, known as Ola, was already at work. Whale season was a time of abundance for seafood, she said. That included the blue crabs in her signature dish: encocado de cangrejo. Rivas sautés the crabs in coconut milk, onion, tomato and herbs, wraps them in banana leaves, and serves them with a rock for smashing their shells. Several of her other best dishes star piangua, a black-fleshed mollusk harvested in the mangroves; it has a texture that is reminiscent of conch.

Many local women, including Ola’s daughter Sari Rentería, go out every day into the mangroves at low tide and harvest pianguas. “You feel united with the earth,” Rentería told me later that morning, with her long forearms buried in the mud.

Rentería was designing a new experience for tourists, something to do when they weren’t watching whales, surfing or lying on the beach. Her uncle Amable Rivas, the fisherman who had spoken the night before, already offered boat tours to discover the area’s many hidden waterfalls and natural pools. Rentería brings visitors out to dig for pianguas that they can cook together.

Santiago Ortiz, an elected official from La Barra, had accompanied us into the mangroves. Ortiz, like Bueno, was big on oralidad, or oral traditions. It’s in situations like this, he said — women out harvesting pianguas, for example — that such traditions are sustained. “It’s not your grandfather sitting down with you and telling you a story,” he explained. “It’s your grandfather telling you a story while you’re doing something like fishing.”

Ortiz is an unlikely politician: a 19-year-old biology student in the city of Cali who can get to La Barra only on weekends and holidays. He hopes to promote a limited form of tourism in the town, one stressing nature and culture. Hosting the whale festival helped. “I think this is the right moment,” he said, “to present ourselves to the world.”

Alba Andrea Angulo, a member of Horcones del Pacífico, sings on the opening night of the Festival Mundial Ballenas y Cantaoras, a whale festival in La Barra, Colombia, June 22, 2024. As the night wore on, the marimba and drumming got louder, and the viche flowed. (Jaír Coll/The New York Times)

The San Juan Daily Star Monday, September 16, 2024

10 dynamic wines from Spain to drink now

By ERIC ASIMOV

Spain is the most dynamic wine-producing country in the world.

Anywhere you look, from Galicia in the northwest to Catalonia in the northeast, Andalusia in the south to Rioja in the north, Spain is full of energetic winemakers drawing inspiration from the country’s traditions and pushing into the future with fresh approaches.

I don’t single out Spain to demean other countries. Even as the wine world feels besieged by falling sales, health concerns and the climate crisis, it is experiencing a global surge of creativity. Great wine is being made the world over. So why single out Spain?

Nowhere else do I see such a concentration of thoughtful, talented and inventive winemakers from all parts of a country offering such a profusion of exceptional wines that are both true to tradition yet innovative.

Here are 10 wonderful bottles from around Spain that represent its increasingly common high level of quality and pure pleasure.

Spain’s rejuvenation has been going on for a while now. I’ve chronicled it over the last 15 years, writing from Ribeira Sacra, Basque Country, Rías Baixas, Manchuela, the Penedès, Sierra de Gredos and Sherry Country, just to name a few. Other regions, too, deserve a more concentrated examination.

The bottles on this list are a great start to

an inspiring exploration. Here they are, listed in order of price.

Viña Zorzal Navarra Garnacha 2022, 13% alcohol, $14

The brothers Sanz — Xabi, Iñaki and Mikel — come from a family with a long history of making wine in Navarra in northern Spain, southeast of Basque Country. They formed Zorzal in 2007 and now own almost 100 acres, including many old vineyards on rocky soils. I’ve written about this garnacha several times, both because it’s so good and because it’s such a great deal. The 2022 is pure and fresh, with floral and fruity aromas that can seem almost candied. But the wine is resolutely dry, with fruit flavors that are chalky and mineral. (Bowler Wines, New York)

Cantalapiedra Castilla y León Lirondo 2023, 13.5%, $23

The Cantalapiedra family has been farming in the Rueda region of Castilla y León for generations, but it only began bottling its own wine in 2014. The wines I’ve had have been exceptional. Lirondo, an entry-level bottle, is a model Rueda, even if Cantalapiedra does not use the appellation. At a time when many Ruedas taste generic and rely on sauvignon blanc as much as the local grape verdejo, Lirondo is made entirely of verdejo. It’s bright, distinctive and graceful, yet richly flavored and tangy. (José Pastor Selections/ Llaurador Wines, Fairfax, California)

4 Monos Viticultores Sierra de Gredos GR-10 Tinto 2022, 13.5%, $24

Four friends who met while hiking in the Sierra de Gredos, a mountainous region west

of Madrid, formed 4 Monos, which means four monkeys. They, like the pioneering team Comando G, have helped to demonstrate how wonderful the Sierra de Gredos terroirs can be, seeking out old, high-altitude garnacha vineyards on granite soils. This bottle comes from several different organically farmed sites. It’s racy and graceful, with fine tannins and flavors of flowers and red fruits. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines)

Còsmic Vinyaters Catalonia Vitalitat 2023, 10.5%, $27

Còsmic Vinyaters farms biodynamically and makes natural wines in two different parts of Catalonia: Empordà near the French border, and the Penedès, west of Barcelona. This cloudy, unfiltered pétillant naturel is made from parellada, a classic cava grape, with a little muscat, which perfumes the wine. It’s bone dry, refreshing and full of energy. (Selections de la Viña/Fruit of the Vines, New York)

Ponce Manchuela Blanco 2023, 12.5%, $28

Manchuela, in southeastern Spain, was for a long time a source of simple, inexpensive wine, most of it sold locally. But a new group of producers in the last 20 years has infused the region with energy, none more so than Juan Antonio Ponce. He mostly makes reds, which are excellent. So is this white, made entirely of organically grown albilla. It’s dry, floral and lively, and would be just right for pan-roasted fish fillets. (T. Edward Wines, New York)

Luis Anxo Rodriguez Vázquez Ribeiro A Torna Dos Pasas 2021, 12.5%, $44

Luis Anxo Rodriguez Vázquez is the veteran of this group. He’s been making wines in Ribeiro, in the southwestern corner of Galicia, since 1988, and he is one of the benchmarks. Though Ribeiro is generally considered white wine territory, this red — made from local varieties like brançellao, caiña and ferrol — is superb, bright, lively and refreshing. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines)

Akutain Rioja Reserva 2017, 14%, $52

This small Rioja estate works in the traditional mode, aging its wines in old vats of American oak and bottling the wines with age statements. (Reserva means the wine is aged a minimum of three years before it is sold, including one year in barrels.) This wine is bright, pure and textured, with tannins that are still somewhat stern but will ease with age or with fatty foods like leg of lamb. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines)

Verónica Ortega Bierzo Cobrana 2021, 12.5%, $58

In Bierzo, in northwestern Castilla y León, mencía is the dominant red grape. The wines are often a bit richer than those across the Galician border in Ribeira Sacra, another center for mencía. This bottle from Verónica Ortega is 75% mencía, blended with a bunch of other grapes, including some whites. It’s fresh and vivacious, with an underlying current of earthy minerality. (Selections de la Viña/Fruit of the Vines)

Envínate Vinos Atlánticos Palo Blanco 2021, 11.5%, $60

Like 4 Monos, Envínate is a group of four friends who seek out old, traditionally farmed vineyards. They focus primarily on the Canary Islands and Ribeira Sacra. This bottle is made from listan blanco, as palomino is known in the Canaries, from century-old vines on Tenerife. This wine is pure, energetic and dry, with a lovely texture. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines)

Enric Soler Catalonia Istiu 2020, 12.5%, $60

From the first time I tried one of Enric Soler’s wines, I’ve been hooked. Soler, a former sommelier, makes tiny amounts of concentrated, subtle, textured wines based around a plot of xarello in the Penedès that he inherited from his grandfather. Istiu, half xarello and half malvasia, twangs with lively acidity and deft use of oak. It’s the sort of wine you want to roll around in your mouth because it feels and tastes so good. (Cœur Wine, New York)

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE MAYAGÜEZ ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. FRANCES VICTORIA TORRES Y ANTHONY CARDONA BARRIOS COMO MIEMBROS CONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE LOURDES BARRIOS LUGO; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE LOURDES BARRIOS LUGO

Demandados

Civil Núm.: MZ2022CV01902.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA E INTERPELACIÓN. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE

ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA.

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Mayagüez, hago saber a la parte demandada FRANCES VICTORIA

TORRES Y ANTHONY CARDONA BARRIOS como miembros conocidos de la Sucesión de Lourdes Barrios Lugo, JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE como miembros desconocidos de la Sucesión de Lourdes Barrios Lugo y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 16 de julio de 2024, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $65,812.00 y al mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, la propiedad que se describe a continuación: 646 ARIES ST VILLAS DEL OESTE, MAYAGÜEZ, PR 00680, y que se describe de la siguiente manera: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número D-16 del plano de inscripción del Proyecto VBC-37 denominado Villas del Oeste, radicado en el barrio Sábalos del término municipal de Mayagüez, con una cabida superficial 167.70 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con los solares número 14-A, 15 y 15-A en una distancia de 21.50 metros; por el SUR, con el solar número 16-A en una distancia de 21.50 metros; por el ESTE, con la calle número cuatro en una distancia

de 7.80 metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar número 12-A en una distancia de 7.80 metros. Enclava una casa construida para fines residenciales. Finca 25898 inscrita al folio 297 del tomo 882 de Mayagüez, Registro de la Propiedad de Mayagüez. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) HIPOTECA en garantía de pagaré a favor de RG Premier Bank of Puerto Rico por la suma principal de $65,812.00 con intereses a razón del 6% anual y vencimiento el 1 de noviembre de 2038. Constituida por la Escritura 244 otorgada el 7 de octubre de 2008 ante el notario Francisco J. Casalduc Delgado. Inscrita en virtud de las disposiciones de la Ley 216 para Agilizar el Registro de la Propiedad. Extendido el asiento el 30 de enero del 2018 al folio 8204 del Tomo 1536 de Mayagüez, inscripción 5ª abreviada, Registro de la Propiedad de Mayagüez. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 17 de mayo de 2024, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $51,501.43 de principal, más $5,407.71 de interés al 6.00% anual, al 1 de diciembre de 2022, que continuarán acumulándose a razón de $8.4659 diarios hasta el saldo total, $59.19 de cargos por atraso, $82.00 de gastos de inspecciones, $40.00 otros gastos, $279.17 de cuentas de escrow, $6,581.20 de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otro desembolso que haya efectuado o efectúe la parte demandante durante la tramitación de este caso para otros adelantos de conformidad con el Contrato Hipotecario, incluyendo primas de seguro de hipoteca, prima de seguro de siniestro y cargos por demora. La PRIMERA SUBASTA será celebrada el día 25 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina del Alguacil, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Servirá de tipo mínimo para la misma la cantidad de $65,812.00 sin admitirse oferta inferior. De no haber remate ni adjudicación, celebraré

SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 2 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA , en el mismo lugar, en la que servirá como tipo mínimo, dos terceras (2/3) partes del precio pacta-

do para la primera subasta, o sea, $43,874.67. Si no hubiese remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, celebraré TERCERA SUBASTA el día 9 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar en la que regirá como tipo mínimo, la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, o sea, $32,906.00. El Alguacil que suscribe hizo constar que toda licitación deberá hacerse para pagar su importe en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América, de acuerdo con la Ley y de acuerdo con lo anunciado en este Aviso de Subasta. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables. Se entiende que todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a la misma. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si la hubiere al crédito que da base a esta ejecución continuará subsistente, entendiéndose, además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción cualquier parte del remanente del precio de licitación. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Vendida o adjudicada la finca o derecho hipotecado y consignado el precio correspondiente, en esa misma fecha o fecha posterior, el alguacil que celebró la subasta procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura pública de traspaso en representación del dueño o titular de los bienes hipotecados, ante el notario que elija el adjudicatario o comprador, quien

deberá abonar el importe de tal escritura. El alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días a partir de la confirmación de la venta o adjudicación. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Y PARA CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS LICITADORES Y DEL PUBLICO EN GENERAL y para su publicación de acuerdo con la Ley, expido el presente Edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal. En Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy 31 de julio de 2024. CALIXTO RIVERA GHIGLIOTY, ALGUACIL #283, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE MAYAGÜEZ.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE DOMINGO VÉLEZ VÁZQUEZ, COMPUESTA POR SU HEREDEROS

CONOCIDOS ROXANNA DE LA CARIDAD VÉLEZ

COTTO, JESSICA DE LA MERCED VÉLEZ COTTO, MARÍA VICTORIA VÉLEZ

COTTO; “JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE DOMINGO VÉLEZ

VÁZQUEZ; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS

MUNICIPALES (CRIM)PARTE CON INTERÉS

Demandado

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV08444. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA - IN REM. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior, Centro Judicial de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en

cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 20 de agosto de 2024, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Condominio Verde Monte de Sabana Llana, Puerto Rico. Apartamento: 912. Cabida: 76.41 Metros Cuadrados. LINDEROS: NORTE, en 7.70 metros con elementos comunes; SUR, en 6.25 metros con elementos comunes; ESTE, en 14.78 metros con apartamento 1011; OESTE, en 14.11 metros con elementos comunes y el apartamento 911. El nivel de entrada del apartamento con puerta al lobby del edificio se encuentra por el lindero Suroeste. Consta de sala, comedor, cocina, área de lavandería, 1 dormitorio con su closet, pasillo, un baño, closet, master bedroom con closet, baño master y terraza. Este apartamento tiene como anejo el uso exclusivo de un patio colindante por el lindero NORTE, con un área de 24.14 metros cuadrados según descrito en el plot plan del apartamento y en los planos aprobados del Condominio. El área de patio anejo no será incluida en el cómputo del área superficial de este apartamento ni en la determinación del por ciento de participación en los elementos comunes del Condominio. Este Apartamento tiene como Anejo el uso exclusivo de un estacionamiento identificado con el número 912, según aparece en los Planos aprobados del Condominio. Le corresponde una participación de 1.23% en los elementos comunes del condominio. Inscrita en la finca número 36,362, al tomo Karibe de Sabana Llana. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección V de San Juan. La propiedad ubica según pagaré en: 912 Apt. Verde Monte Condo, San Juan, PR t/c/c Apt 912 Condomio Verdemonte Bo. Santo Domingo, San Juan, PR. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada y notificada en este caso el 28 de junio de 2024, y publicada en un periódico de circulación general de Puerto Rico (“The San Juan Daily Star”) el 5 de julio de 2024, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $114,895.29 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 3.50% desde el 1ro de octubre de 2019; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan

acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $13,353.60 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 30 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $133,536.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 7 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $89,024.00, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 15 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $66,768.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Artículo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley.

Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 26 de agosto de 2024. EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN. ***

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA VAPR FEDERAL CREDIT UNION

Demandante Vs. SUCESION DE GERMAN LEGARRETA LOPEZ COMPUESTA POR SU HIJA YONG AE LEGARRETA KO Y FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2024CV01920. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: YONG AE LEGARRETA KO COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE GERMÁN LEGARRETA LÓPEZ, FULANO DE TAL Y ZUTANO DE TAL COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE GERMÁN LEGARRETA LÓPEZ. POR EL PRESENTE EDICTO, se le notifica que se ha radicado en esta Secretaría por la parte demandante, Demanda sobre Cobro de Dinero, en la que se alega adeuda la suma de $2,100.00 de principal, más la suma de $46.60 de intereses al 9.75% anual acumulados al 19 de abril de 2024 y de esa fecha en adelante acumula intereses a razón de $0.57 diarios, hasta su completo pago, más un 30% del principal del Pagaré estipulado para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado y recargos acumulados todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de la publicación. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección: https:// www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que el caso sea un expediente físico o que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal y notificar copia de la misma al (a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a ésta, de no tener representación legal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra sin más citarle ni oírle y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Además, se le apercibe que, en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2023, titulada Ley para la Prevención del Maltrato, Preservación de la Unidad Familiar y para la Seguridad, Bienestar y Protección de los Menores, entre los remedios que el Tribunal podrá conceder se incluyen la ubicación permanente de un (una) menor fuera

de su hogar, el inicio de procesos para la privación de patria potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos b y f de la Ley Núm. 57-2023). Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. La información del (de la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante es la siguiente: Lcda. Adela Surillo Gutiérrez, Bufete Collazo & Surillo, LLC, P.O. Box 11550, San Juan, PR 00922-1550; Teléfono: (787) 625-9999. Se le advierte, además, a los herederos que conforme el caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria v. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 D.P.R. 689, 696 (2005) y a tenor con las disposiciones del Artículo 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico (31 L.P.R.A. sec. 11021), deberá aceptar o repudiar la herencia de la causante, dentro del término de treinta (30) días. De no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término que se le fijó, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Para publicarse conforme a la Orden dictada por el Tribunal en un periódico de circulación general. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto que firmo y sello en Carolina, Puerto Rico, 4 de septiembre de 2024. LCDA. KANELLY ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL.

LOURDES DÍAZ MEDINA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. CARMEN GLADYS RODRIGUEZ

LAFONTAINE, TAMBIÉN CONOCIDA COMO

CARMEN G. RODRIGUEZ LAFONTAINE, CARMEN GLADYS RODRIGUEZ Y COMO CARMEN G. RODRIGUEZ; ALAN NEGRON GONZALEZ

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CA2024CV01238. (409). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. AL: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: CARMEN GLADYS RODRIGUEZ

LAFONTAINE, TAMBIÉN

CONOCIDA COMO

CARMEN G. RODRIGUEZ

LAFONTAINE, CARMEN

GLADYS RODRIGUEZ Y COMO CARMEN G. RODRIGUEZ; ALAN

NEGRON GONZALEZ. Yo, ENRIQUE VERGÉ HERNÁNDEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #960, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 3 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, Carolina, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Carolina durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 10 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 18 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBANA: URBANIZACIÓN ROUND HILLS de Trujillo Alto. Solar: Cuarenta y Tres (43) del Bloque “B”. Cabida: CUATROCIENTOS DIEZ PUNTO CINCUENTA Y CUATRO (410.54) METROS CUADRADOS. Linderos: NORTE, en veintiséis punto cero cero (26.00) metros, con el solar número Cuarenta y Cuatro (44); SUR, en veintiséis punto cero cero (26.00) metros, con el solar número Cuarenta y Dos (42); ESTE, en quince punto setenta y nueve (15.79) metros, con la Calle número Cuatro (4); y por el OESTE, en quince punto setenta y nueve (15.79) metros, con el solar número Veintiséis (26). Enclava una casa de concreto para vivienda de una familia. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 244 del tomo 64 de Trujillo Alto, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta, finca número 3,098, inscripción tercera. Modificada la hipoteca por la suma de $92,340.00, en cuanto a los siguientes extremos: se cancela parcialmente en la suma

de $23,738.65 para un nuevo principal de $68,601.35, con intereses al 6.95%, vencedero el día 1ro. de octubre de 2036, según la escritura número 327, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 20 de octubre de 2016, ante la Notario Ileana M. Quintero Aguiló, inscrita al Sistema Karibe, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta, finca número 3,098, de Trujillo Alto, inscripción 6ta. Se amplía la adjunta inscripción 6ta. para hacer constar que la modificación de hipoteca es un documento preferente a la inscripción 4ta. por lo que comparece como deudora y titular Carmen Rodríguez Lafontaine, según la escritura número 327, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 20 de octubre de 2016, ante la Notario Ileana M. Quintero Aguiló, inscrita al Sistema Karibe, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta, finca número 3,098, de Trujillo Alto, nota marginal 3.1. Modificada nuevamente la hipoteca de la inscripción 3ra., en cuanto a que se amplia por la suma de $22,282.68 para un nuevo principal que será por $90,884.03 y el interés que será al 6.95% anual, vencedero el día 1ro. de agosto de 2061, según la escritura número 134, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 27 de agosto de 2021, ante el Notario Reggie Díaz Hernández, inscrita al Sistema Karibe, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección Cuarta, finca número 3,098, de Trujillo Alto, inscripción 7ma. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Round Hills, 1014, Calle Margarita, Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. La Subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $89,901.90 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 6.95% anual, desde el día 1ro. de octubre de 2023, hasta su completo pago, más recargos acumulados, más la cantidad de $9,234.00 estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, así como cualquier otra suma estipulada en el contrato de préstamo, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será de $90,884.03 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $60,589.35 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $45,442.02. De declararse desierta la tercera subasta se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si esta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera

subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente. Se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor. La propiedad se adjudicará al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad para vender en pública subasta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Carolina, Puerto Rico, 5 de septiembre de 2024. ENRIQUE VERGÉ HERNÁNDEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #960, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

MIRELIS ALEJANDRO COLÓN, EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE CARLOS JULIAN FIGUEROA ALEJANDRO Demandante V. NORBERTO CARLOS FIGUEROA Demandado

Caso Número: CG2024RF00595. Sobre: ALIMENTOS ENTRE PARIENTES. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO

RICO. A: NORBERTO CARLOS FIGUEROA.

Por la presente se le notifica a usted que se le presentado ante este Honorable Tribunal, una Solicitud de Alimentos entre Parientes. Se emplaza y se le requiere para que notifique a las Lcdas. Wendolyn Torres Rivera y Edith Marie Echevarría Suárez, cuya oficina queda en Bo. Cañaboncito Carretera 172 Sector La Sierra, Km 6.2 Ofc. 4, Caguas, PR, 00725; Dirección Postal: Po Box 9721, Cidra, Puerto Rico 00739, y teléfono (787) 704-6893, abogadas de la parte demandante, copia de la Contestación a la Demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la notificación de este Edicto. Se le apercibe que, de no comparecer dentro de un término de treinta (30) días, a partir de la publicación del edicto, se concederá el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. DADA en Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 3 de septiembre de 2024. IRASEMIS DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. CARLA M. MARCANO SERRANO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

JORGE ENRIQUE ROQUE HERNÁNDEZ

Demandantes V. ANA PLÁCERES PÉREZ PERSONAS NATURALES Y/O JURÍDICAS

DESCONOCIDAS “1”, “2” Y “3”

Demandados Civil Núm.: CG2024CV02235. Sobre: DAÑOS Y PERJUICIOS. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: PERSONAS NATURALES Y/O JURÍDICAS

DESCONOCIDAS “1”, “2” Y “3”. Queda emplazado y notificado de que en este Tribunal JORGE ENRIQUE RQQUÉ HERNÁNDEZ ha radicado una demanda en su contra sobre DAÑOS Y PERJUICIOS. Se le notifica para que comparezca ante el Tribunal dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga, en el presente caso. Se le notifica que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), a Ia 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 Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Caguas y enviando copia a la parte demandante: SANTIAGO-TORRES LAW OFFICES. LLC, 34 PADILLA EL CARIBE, CAGUAS, PUERTO RICO 00725. Teléfono 787-258-9406, notificaciones@ santiagotorreslaw.com; Abogado de la parte demandante. Se le apercibe y notifica que. si no contesta la demanda radicada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, se le anotará rebeldía en su contra y se dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la Demanda, sin más citársele, ni oírsele. Expido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy día 22 de agosto de 2024. IRASEMIS DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. LIZ WHARTON ROSA, SECRETARIA, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

Parte Demandante Vs. LUZ B FERRER DIAZ Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: TA2024CV00128. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: LUZ B FERRER DIAZBO CANDELARIA ARENA CALLE FLAMBOYAN PARC 162-A, TOA BAJA PR 00949; ALTOS CALLE SAN RAMON 123, COROZAL, PR 00783; PO BOX 1077, COROZAL, PR 00783-1077.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:///www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico, salvo que se represente por

derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Kevin Sánchez Campanero cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 009368518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección kevin.sanchez@ orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en BAYAMON, Puerto Rico, hoy día 11 de julio de 2024. LCDA LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARÍA E. COLLAZO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE BAYAMÓN ISLAND PORTFOLIO

SERVICES, LLC, COMO AGENTE DE FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS FUND, LLC.

Demandante Vs. LEILANI M. RODRIGUEZ HOLT

Demandado

Civil Núm.: TB2024CV00180. Salón: 500-A. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - R.60. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: LEILANI M RODRIGUEZ HOLT –URB VILLA DE LEVITTOWN A4, TOA BAJA, PR 00949; 3507 W 10305 S, SOUTH JORDAN, UT, 84095. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial.pr/index.php/tribunalelectronico/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido

término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Jan Miguel Otero Martínez cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 ala dirección jan.otero@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@orflaw.com. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 11 de julio de 2024. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 11 de julio de 2024. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. LUISA I. ANDINO AYALA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

Parte Demandante Vs. FELIX ROJAS ROIG

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: GB2023CV01082. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: FELIX ROJAS ROIG - COND QUINTA VALLE 110 CALLE ACUARELA APT 24, GUAYNABO PR 00969-3595. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:///www.poderjudicial.pr/ index.php/tribunal-electronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC

La venta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca, excepto el gravamen preferentes aquí antes mencionado. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. La PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 10 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024

A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Humacao, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $71,212.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 17 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $47,474.67, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 24 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $35,606.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en

general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Humacao, Puerto Rico, hoy día 21 de agosto de 2024. JENNISA GARCÍA MORALES, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. WILNELIA RIVERA DELGADO, ALGUACIL CONFIDENCIAL PLACA #249, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO. LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. JORGE L.

SERRANO TORRES

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CG2024CV02052. Sala: 703. Sobre: INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO; COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. A: JORGE L. SERRANO TORRES - PASEO DEL RIO 213, CALLE RIO TANAMA, CAGUAS PR 00725; PO BOX 370760, CAYEY PR 00737-0760. DE: FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO.

Se le emplaza y requiere que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), 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. Este caso trata sobre Incumplimiento de Contrato y Cobro de Dinero en que la parte demandante solicita que se condene al demandado a pagar la cantidad de $6,356.80 de principal, más intereses acumulados al 10.50% y los que se acumulen hasta su total y completo pago, más cargos por demora y los que se acumulen hasta su total y completo pago, más una suma equivalente al 5% del total adeudado para honorarios de abogados según pactado. Además se solicita se ordene la reposesión del vehículo en controversia. Se le apercibe que, si dejare de hacerlo, se dictará contra usted sentencia en rebeldía, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle.

Lcdo. José Antonio Lamas Burgos, Número del Tribunal Supremo 16,882 Po Box 0194089, San Juan PR 00919

Teléfono: (787) 296-9500, Correo Electrónico: jlamas@lvprlaw.com

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA

y Sello del Tribunal, hoy 23 de agosto de 2024. IRASEMIS

DÍAZ SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. LIZ WHARTON ROSA, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE GUAYNABO FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. LA SUCESIÓN DE ADOLFO GUTIÉRREZ

VÁZQUEZ, COMPUESTA POR JOHANNA

GUTIÉRREZ STELLA, IVONNE GUTIÉRREZ

STELLA Y ADOLFO

GUTIÉRREZ STELLA; Y LA SUCESIÓN DE IVETTE STELLA PÉREZ, COMPUESTA POR FRANCES

JEANNETTE PASCUAL

STELLA, IVONNE

ANETTE GUTIÉRREZ

STELLA, ADOLFO

MANUEL GUTIÉRREZ

STELLA Y JOHANNA

GUTIÉRREZ STELLA; ADMINISTRACIÓN

PARA EL SUSTENTO DE MENORES Y CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Parte Demandada Caso Civil Núm.:

BY2021CV03434. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO Y NOTIFICACIÓN DE INTERPELACIÓN POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. A: FRANCES JEANETTE PASCUAL STELLA, POR SI Y COMO MIEMBRO DE LA SUCESIÓN DE IVETTE STELLA PÉREZ.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, Lcda. Marjaliisa Colón Villanueva, al PO BOX 7970, Ponce, P.R. 00732; Teléfono: 787843-4168. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca bajo el número mencionado en el epígrafe. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que la parte Demandada incurrió en el incumplimiento del Contrato de Hipoteca, al no poder pagar las mensualidades vencidas correspondientes a los meses de octubre de 2019, hasta el presente, más los cargos por demora correspondientes. Además, adeuda a la parte demandante las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en que incurra el tenedor del pagaré en este litigio. De acuerdo con dicho Contrato de Garantía Hipotecaria la parte Demandante declaró vencida la totalidad de la deuda ascendente a $121,594.72 de principal, más los intereses al 3.25% anual, así como todos aquellos créditos y sumas que surjan de la faz de la obligación hipotecaria y de la hipoteca que la garantiza, incluyendo la suma estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La parte Demandante presentó para su inscripción en el Registro de la Propiedad correspondiente, un AVISO DE PLEITO PENDIENTE (“Lis Pendens”) sobre la propiedad objeto de esta acción cuya propiedad es la siguiente: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número doscientos quince (215) del bloque P guión ocho (8) en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Juan Ponce de Leeon, Barrio

Frailes de Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, compuesto de trescientos veinticinco punto cero (325.00) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en trece punto cero (13.00) metros, con el solar número doscientos (200); por el SUR, en igual medida, con la calle número veinticinco (25); por el ESTE, en veinticinco punto cero (25.00) metros, con el solar número doscientos catorce (214); y por el OESTE, en igual medida, con el solar número docentes dieciséis (216). Enclava una casa. Inscrita al folio ciento cuarenta y uno (141) del tomo ciento cuarenta y seis (146) de Guaynabo, finca número once mil ocho (11,008), Registro de la Propiedad de Guaynabo. SE LES APERCIBE que, de no hacer sus alegaciones responsivas a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Además, como miembro de la Sucesión de Ivette Stella Pérez se ha presentado una solicitud de interpelación judicial para que sirva en el término de treinta (30) días aceptar o repudiar la herencia. Se le apercibe que si no compareciera usted a expresarse dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto en torno a la aceptación o repudiación de la herencia, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante Ivette Stella Pérez y, por consiguiente, responderán por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el Art. 957 del Código Civil, 31 L.P.R.A. S2785. En Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, a 20 de agosto de 2024. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II. SARA ROSA VILLEGAS, SECRETARIA DEL TRIBUNAL CONFIDENCIAL I.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE SAN JUAN ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. S&D TALLER DEL MAESTRO, LLC; VANESSA VÁZQUEZ BÁEZ

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2024CV04291. 604. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: S&D TALLER DEL MAESTRO, LLC - FISICA

CARRETERA #3 AVENIDA 65 INFANTERÍA, KM 4.7 SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO 00924; POSTAL PO BOX 1911, TRUJILLO ALTO, PUERTO RICO 00977-1911. VANESSA VÁZQUEZ BÁEZ - FISICA URBANIZACIÓN BRISAS DE CARRAÍZO, CAMINO PABLO ORTIZ, CARR. 845 RAMAL 175 KM 5.8, TRUJILLO ALTO, PR, 00976; POSTAL PO BOX 1911, TRUJILLO ALTO, PUERTO RICO 009771911.

Por la presente se le notifica a usted que se ha radicado en esta Secretaría la demanda de epígrafe. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://www.poderjudicial. pr/index.php/tribunal-electronico/, salvo que el caso sea de un expediente físico o que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal y notificar copia de la misma al ( a la) abogado(a) de la parte demandante o a esta, de no tener representación legal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Además, se le apercibe que, en los casos al amparo de la Ley Núm. 57-2023, titulada Ley para la Prevención del Maltrato, Preservación de la Unidad Familiar y para la Seguridad, Bienestar y Protección de los Menores, entre los remedios que el Tribunal podrá conceder se incluyen la ubicación permanente de un (una) menor fuera de su hogar, el inicio de procesos para la privación de patria potestad, y cualquier otra medida en el mejor interés del (de la) menor. (Artículo 33, incisos b y f de la ley Núm. 57-2023). Se le advierte de su derecho a comparecer acompañado(a) de abogado(a) en los casos que proceda. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, hoy día 27 de agosto de 2024. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ CO-

LLADO, SECRETARIA. LUZ E. FERNÁNDEZ DEL VALLE, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

SOUTH SIDE

CAPITAL LLC

Demandante V. INMOBILIARIA L.A., INC.; HEALTHCARE CONSULTING SERVICES, INC.; JOSÉ A. LÓPEZ

ALEJANDRO, TANIA

CARCASE MOURE Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandado

Civil Núm.: KCD2011-1722. (802). Sobre: INCUMPLIMIENTO DE CONTRATO, COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE PRENDAS E HIPOTECA. AVISO DE SUBASTA. UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PUEBLO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. A: LOS CO-

DEMANDADOS DE EPÍGRAFE Y AL PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

YO, el(la) Alguacil que suscribe, por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento, expedido el 9 de febrero de 2022 por la Secretaría de este Tribunal, para que proceda a vender en pública subasta la propiedad inmueble embargada, para satisfacer las cantidades adeudadas a la parte demandante conforme a la Sentencia dictada en el presente caso, a saber, la suma de $171,767.00 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo anual de 0.5% sobre la tasa de interés preferencial que de tiempo en tiempo fije el Citibank, N.A., Nueva York hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $43,000.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; la suma de $626,558.69 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo de 11% anual y, la suma de $799,383.33 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo anual de 2% sobre la tasa de interés publicada de tiempo en tiempo por The Wall Street Journal, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudadas y la suma agregada de $155,000.00 por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; cantidades que están aseguradas

por la Propiedad Embargada. Procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, quien pagará el importe de la venta en dinero efectivo o en cheque certificado o en cheque de gerente a la orden del Alguacil suscribiente en moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, el día 2 DE OCTUBRE DE 2024, A LA(S) 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina localizada en el Tribunal de Humacao, todo título, derecho o interés que corresponda a la parte demandada sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Apartamento número nueve (9). Apartamento residencial localizado en el tercer piso de la Sección Oeste del Edificio Cedar (“Cedar West”) del Condominio conocido como “The Woods at Palmas del Mar”, situado en el Barrio Candelaria Abajo del Municipio de Humacao, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de MIL NOVECIENTOS NOVENTA Y SEIS PUNTO VEINTE Y CUANTRO (1,996.24) PIES CUADRADOS, equivalentes a CIENTO OCHENTA Y CINCO PUNTO CINCUENTA Y DOS (185.52) METROS CUADRADOS. En lindes: por el NORTE, en una distancia de cuarenta y tres pies y tres pulgadas (43’3”), con pared que lo separa de elementos comunes exteriores del Condominio; por el SUR, en una distancia de cuarenta y tres pies y tres pulgadas (43’3”), con pared que lo separa de elementos comunes exteriores del Condominio; por el ESTE, en una distancia de sesenta y tres pies y seis pulgadas (63’6”), con pared que lo separa de elementos comunes exteriores del Condominio; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de sesenta y tres pies y seis pulgadas (63’6”), con pasillo común que conduce al exterior y apartamento número diez (10). La puerta de entrada de este apartamento está situada en su lindero Oeste. Consta principalmente de sala-comedor, cocina, tres (3) habitaciones dormitorios, dos y medio (2 1/2) baños, laundry, terraza y dos (2) balcones. Le corresponden dos (2) espacios de estacionamiento marcados con el número nueve (9). Le corresponde dos puntos seis mil novecientos siete por ciento (2.6907%) de participación en los elementos comunes del Condominio. Finca número 27,376, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Humacao, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. Dirección Física: The Woods at Palmas del Mar, Condominio Cedar West, Sección Oeste, Apartamento número nueve (9), Humacao, Puerto Rico, 00791. La propiedad descrita anteriormente está afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: Afecta

por su procedencia: Servidumbre de paso a favor de la finca 9764 de Humacao; Servidumbre a favor de la Autoridad de Fuentes Fluviales; Servidumbre a favor de la finca 9775; Servidumbres a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 17117; Servidumbre a favor de Palmasol S.E; Servidumbre a favor de las parcelas CC y DD inscritas a los folios 116 y 120 del tomo 512 de Humacao; Servidumbre a favor de la finca 23255; Arrendamiento a favor de Bluewater Palmas, LTD; Servidumbre a favor de la finca 26403 de Humacao; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26406; Servidumbre a favor de las parcelas A, B, F, KK, G, AA, BB, CC de la Finca 26118; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26118; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26118, Finca 13750, Finca 16910 y Finca 26391; Servidumbres Recíprocas entre las Finca 13763, 13762, 13761, 10151 y 26118; Servidumbres Recíprocas entre las Fincas 10151, 13760, 13759, 13758, 13757, 26396, 8781 y 13754; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26453; Servidumbre a favor de la finca 26118; Servidumbres a favor de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de Puerto Rico; Servidumbre a favor de la finca 26454; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26452; Servidumbre a favor de la 26438; Servidumbre a favor de las Parcels AB y Parcela C; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26458; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26407; Servidumbre a favor de la Finca 26471; P.D.M. Utility Corporation; Derecho de Retracto a favor de Palmas del Mar Properties Inc; Condiciones Restrictivas; Régimen de Propiedad Horizontal Condominio The Woods at Palmas del Mar. Goza de servidumbre de paso inscrita en las fincas 10151 y 26313 de Humacao. Por sí: HIPOTECA: En garantía de un pagaré a favor de Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, o a su orden, por la suma de $500,000.00, con interés al 9%, y vencedero a la presentación, según consta de la escritura #2, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 23 de enero de 2009, ante la Notario Público Elaine Villanueva Martínez, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Humacao, inscripción 2da. ANOTACIÓN DE DEMANDA: Es objeto de esta anotación, el Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Prendas e Hipoteca por incumplimiento de pagos de varias obligaciones hipotecarias. DEMANDANTE: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico; DEMANDADO: Inmobiliaria L.A., Inc.; Healthcare Consulting Services, Inc.; José A. López Alejandro, Tania Carcase Moure y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos, Canti-

dad Adeudada $1,597,709.55, por concepto de principal más intereses, según Demanda expedida por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao en el caso Civil #KCD-2011-1722, el día 1 de agosto de 2011, inscrito al tomo Karibe, Anotación A de fecha del 17 de diciembre de 2021.

ANOTACIÓN DE EMBARGO: Es objeto de esta anotación la Sentencia y la moción sobre ejecución y solicitud de embargo radicada por la parte demandante, para anotar embargo por la cantidad de $500,000.00. Demandante: PR Asset Portfolio 2013-1 International Sub I, LLC; Demandado: Inmobiliaria LA, Inc; Healthcare Consulting Services, Inc; José A. López Alejandro, su esposa Tania Carcase Moure y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos.

CANTIDAD ADEUDADA:

$500,000.00. Mandamiento expedido por el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Humacao en el caso Civil #KCD-2011-1722, otorgada el 27 de marzo de 2014, inscrita a la Anotación B del tomo Karibe, inscrita el 29 de diciembre de 2021. Al asiento 2024-010404HU01, el día 30 de enero de 2024, se presentó Orden y Mandamiento de fecha 20 de marzo de 2014 sobre Incumplimiento de Contrato y Cobro de Dinero, Ejecución de Prenda de Hipoteca en el caso Civil #KCD2011-1722 (506), Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de San Juan. Demandante: PR Asset Portfolio 2013-1 International Sub I, LLC; Demandados: Inmobiliaria L.A., Inc; Healthcare Consulting Sevices, Inc; José A López Alejandro y su esposa Tania López Alejandro y la Sociedad Legal de Gananciales compuesta por ambos, cantidad adeudada: $500,000.00. El 30 de julio de 2014, se presentó en el Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao, la Orden y Mandamiento de Anotación de Embargo expedidos por el Honorable Tribunal para que el Honorable Registrador de la Propiedad anote en sus libros el embargo sobre la propiedad descrita anteriormente. Dicho embargo fue presentado al Asiento 5 del Diario 922 y quedó anotado en Karibe, el 29 de diciembre de 2021, finca #27,326 de Humacao, Anotación B. El precio mínimo fijado para la subasta será la cantidad de $500,000.00, cuantía original del embargo. Esta subasta se hará para satisfacer al demandante, SOUTH SIDE CAPITAL LLC hasta donde alcance, los importes adeudados, los cuales se detallaron anteriormente, hasta el pago total de las deudas, más costas, desembolsos y honorarios de abogado. Se entiende que

16, 2024

todo licitador que comparezca a la subasta señalada en este caso, acepta como bastante la titulación que da base a las mismas. La venta en pública subasta de la propiedad descrita anteriormente se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte dicha propiedad. Se entiende que cualquier carga y/o gravamen anterior y/o preferente, si lo hubiera, al crédito que da base a esta ejecución, continuará subsistente, entendiéndose además, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de San Juan durante las horas laborables. POR LA PRESENTE, se le notifica a los titulares de créditos y/o cargas registrales posteriores, si alguno, que se celebrará la SUBASTA en las fecha, hora y sitio anteriormente señalado, y se les invita a que concurra a dicha subasta, si les conviniere, o se les invita a satisfacer, antes del remate, el importe del crédito, sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del Acreedor ejecutante, siempre y cuando reúnan los requisitos y cualificaciones de Ley para que se pueda efectuar tal subrogación. Y PARA SU PUBLICACIÓN en el tablón de edictos de este Tribunal y en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio donde se celebrarán las subastas señaladas. Además, en un periódico de circulación general en dos (2) ocasiones y mediante correo certificado a la última dirección conocida de la parte demandada. EXPEDIDO el presente EDICTO DE SUBASTA en Humacao, Puerto Rico, a 9 de julio de 2024. JENNISA GARCÍA MORALES, ALGUACIL REGIONAL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO. WILNELIA RIVERA DELGADO, ALGUACIL CONFIDENCIAL #249.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC

Demandante V. MANUEL A CASTILLO MARTES

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: GB2023CV00504.

(Salón: 403). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. GABRIEL ANTONIO RAMOS COLÓN -GABRIEL.RAMOS@ORF-LAW.COM. A: MANUEL A CASTILLO MARTES - BO GUARAGUAO SECT LOS RAMOS SOLAR 2, GUAYNABO PR 00971; HC-01 BOX 6376, BAYAMON, PR 00956. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 06 de septiembre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 09 de septiembre de 2024. En Bayamón, Puerto Rico, el 09 de septiembre de 2024.

LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. KATHERINE SANTIAGO RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

EDWARD SUAREZ

GONZALEZ T/C/C

EDWARD SUAREZ

Demandante V.

JOANNE VARGAS T/C/C

JOANNE SUAREZ

Demandado(a)

Caso Núm.: FA2023RF00268. (Salón: 203 RF). Sobre: DIVORCIO - RUPTURA IRREPARABLE. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. ROSA L. VÁZQUEZ LÓPEZROSAVAZQUEZPR@HOTMAIL.COM. A: JOANNE VARGAS T/C/C JOANNE SUAREZ - 1554 UNION PORT RD, APT. 7-D, BRONX. NEW YORK 1046. (Nombre de las partes que se le

notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 27 de agosto de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 09 de septiembre de 2024. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, el 09 de septiembre de 2024. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. GLORAIDA RODRÍGUEZ

RIVERA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. CARLOS JUSTINO FLORES MOREIRA T/C/C CARLOS FLORES MOREIRA

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: FA2022CV01213. (Salón: 307). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO Y OTROS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. BELMA ALONSO GARCÍAOFICINABELMAALONSO@GMAIL. COM

MARINILDA RIVERA VARGASMRIVERAVARGAS@YAHOO.COM. A: CARLOS JUSTINO FLORES MOREIRA

T/C/C CARLOS FLORES MOREIRA, URB MONTE BRISAS 3 3B9, CALLE 101, FAJARDO PR 007383405; HC 2 BOX 8532, LUQUILLO PR 00773; HC 01 BOX 8352, LUQUILLO PR 00773-9503; HC 1 BOX 1402, CAROLINA PR 00987-9668.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 03 de marzo de 2023, este

Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 10 de septiembre de 2024. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, el 10 de septiembre de 2024. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. LINDA I. MEDINA MEDINA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE TOA ALTA SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. ALAN BERMUDEZ APONTE, CINTHIA VERA GONZALEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados Civil Núm.: TA2024CV00849. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A LA PARTE CODEMANDADA: ALAN BERMÚDEZ APONTE, CINTHIA VERA GONZÁLEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES; A LAS SIGUIENTES

DIRECCIONES: (A) URB. MONTECASINO HEIGHTS O-32 (364) CALLE RIO GUAMANI TOA ALTA, PR 00953-3760; (B) URB. REPARTO VALENCIA D-36 CALLE LIRIO BAYAMON, PR 00959.

Por la presente se le(s) notifica que se ha radicado en la Secretaría de este Tribunal una Demanda en Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca en su contra, en la cual se alega entre otras cosas que la parte demandada adeuda a la parte demandante por concepto de hipoteca la suma de $39,043.97 por concepto de principal, desde el 1ro de marzo de 2024, más intereses al tipo pactado de 6.50% anual que continúan acumulándose hasta el pago total de la obligación. Además la parte demandada adeuda a la parte demandante los cargos por demora equivalentes a 4.00% de la suma de aquellos pagos con atrasos en exceso de 15 días calendarios de la fecha de vencimiento; los créditos accesorios y adelantos hechos en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca; y las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado equivalentes a $10,164.60 para cubrir intereses en adición a los garantizados por ley y cualquiera otros adelantos que se hagan en virtud de la escritura de hipoteca número 14, otorgada en Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, el día 21 de marzo de 2000, ante el notario Javier A. Feliciano Guzmán, la finca número 21,537, inscrita al Folio móvil del Tomo 119 de Toa Alta, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Tercera. Por razón de dicho incumplimiento, y al amparo del derecho que le confiere el Pagaré, el demandante ha declarado tales sumas vencidas, líquidas y exigibles en su totalidad. Este Tribunal ha ordenado que se le(s) cite a usted(es) por edicto que se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general. Por tratarse de una obligación hipotecaria y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectando por el remedio solicitado, se le emplaza por este edicto que se publicará una vez en un periódico de circulación diaria general de Puerto Rico. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal y notifique copia de la Contestación de la Demanda a las oficinas de CARDONA & MALDONADO LAW OFFICES, P.S.C. ATENCIÓN al Lcdo. Duncan Maldonado Ejarque, P.O. Box 366221, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-6221; Tel (787) 622-7000, Fax (787) 6257001, Abogado de la Parte Demandante. Dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publi-

cación de este Edicto, apercibiéndole que de no hacerlo así dentro del término indicado, el Tribunal podrá anotar su Rebeldía y dictar Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado sin más citarle(s) ni oírle(s). EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y con el Sello del Tribunal. DADA hoy 10 de septiembre de 2024, Toa Alta, Puerto Rico. LCDA. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARITZA BONILLA HERNÁNDEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

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

ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC Demandante V. LISANDRA SAAVEDRA HERNANDEZ Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: HA2023CV00097. (Salón: 100 CIVIL - CRIMINAL). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. GABRIEL ANTONIO RAMOS COLÓN GABRIEL.RAMOS@ORF-LAW.COM. KEVIN SÁNCHEZ CAMPANEROKEVIN.SANCHEZ@ORF-LAW.COM. A: LISANDRA SAAVEDRA HERNANDEZ. (Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 06 de septiembre de 2024, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 09 de septiembre de 2024. En Hatillo, Puerto Rico, el 09 de septiembre de 2024. VIVIAN Y. FRESSE GONZÁLEZ, SECRETARIA. ROSIMAR LÓPEZ ROBLES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

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

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

Crossword

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For a Blue Jays starter, lightning strikes twice. Then comes thunder.

By KAITLYN McGRATH

For the second time in four starts, Bowden Francis had the chance to become only the second Toronto Blue Jays pitcher to throw a no-hitter. But twice, in an eerily similar fashion, Francis’ chances to write his name in the record books were thwarted by a leadoff home run.

On Aug. 24, Francis fell three outs short of a no-hitter against the Los Angeles Angels after Taylor Ward homered to begin the ninth inning. Most pitchers never get that close to a no-hitter once, let alone twice — let alone twice in the space of a month. Yet on Wednesday, against the New York Mets, Francis got a do-over.

Despite feeling fatigued and pitching without overpowering stuff, the 28-year-old righthander had a no-hitter against the Mets through eight innings. A big difference between this outing and his one against the Angels, however, was strikeouts. Francis had a career-high 12 strikeouts against the Angels, but against the

Mets, his average velocity was down about 2 mph and he had struck out only one batter while throwing 108 pitches.

Still, Toronto manager John Schneider said, “I don’t like to mess with a chance at history.” So like last time, Francis had the ball until he gave up a hit.

With the Blue Jays leading 1-0, Francis had to retire the top of the Mets’ order in the ninth if he wanted to complete the no-no on his second attempt.

He got ahead of the Mets’ leadoff hitter, Francisco Lindor, 0-2. He said he planned to continue to attack with fastballs, but Lindor hit his third pitch, a fastball, over the rightfield wall for a game-tying home run, eliciting groans from the crowd of 29,399.

When he saw the ball go over the wall, Francis thought to himself: “Again.”

“With that many pitches, I just felt like I had to empty the tank with heaters and let them put the ball in play like I was doing all day,” Francis said. “It wasn’t one of those days where I felt like I was going to get a bunch of swing-and-miss, so I felt like I needed to attack the zone.”

After Lindor tied the game, the Mets blew it open, adding five more runs off the Blue Jays’ bullpen in the ninth to win 6-2.

Afterward, the Blue Jays’ focus was on another outstanding performance from Francis, who is ending the season on a historic run and

positioning himself as a piece of the 2025 rotation.

“I don’t know how many other guys lose a no-hitter in the ninth on a homer twice in one season, but he was outstanding,” Schneider said.

Dave Stieb remained the only Blue Jays pitcher to throw a no-hitter, though Francis did join Stieb as the only other pitcher in franchise history to have multiple no-hit bids spoiled in the ninth.

The two near no-hitters are more evidence that Francis is a legitimate major league starter, despite a slow start to his season in which he was bumped from the opening day rotation after two starts and briefly sent to the minors.

Since Francis returned to the rotation Aug. 7, he has been one of the best starters in baseball. With tweaks to his pitch mix, including using an improved splitter, Francis is 4-1 with a 1.26 ERA over his last six starts. His 0.40 WHIP — walks plus hits per inning pitched — is the lowest mark over a six-start span in MLB history. During this current run, Francis has been an MLB player of the week and player of the month.

“I think at this point, you look and you say, OK, this is a guy who gets it, and this is a guy that is reliable,” Schneider said. “This is a guy that is continuing to evolve and continuing to want to get better. And that’s just everything you could ask for in a starting pitcher.”

Francis is quiet and meditative about his growth as a pitcher, often talking about learning more from hard times than successes. As such, Schneider said he believes the right-hander is

uniquely equipped to process the emotions of losing out on a no-hitter twice in a month.

“He’s mature, he’s really, really wise beyond his years and I think he does a really good job of looking at the big picture of things,” Schneider said. “I think he will take a lot of positives out of this. And he’ll probably laugh a little bit at the fact that he’s lost two in the ninth inning on home runs. But I just can’t speak enough to how he’s evolved and how much he’s taken from this opportunity. It’s just been so cool to watch.”

Asked about what he had learned after losing two no-hit bids in the ninth, Francis mused about potentially altering the way he approached the final three outs, should he have a third crack at the feat.

“I’ve gotten beat twice with fastball, so I feel like maybe from here on out, when I get this deep, I got to, kind of, empty the tank on some of the off-speed stuff, or really mix it up,” Francis said. “But it’s something I don’t want to just like change just because it’s the ninth inning. I got to stick with my plan, but it’s also I got to learn that, I don’t know, I can’t keep getting beat right there in that situation.”

Francis always believed he could be a major league starter; now, he is convincing everyone else.

“I feel like I’ve always believed that, though I feel like a lot of people kind of lost hope early on in this year,” he said. “I didn’t, but that’s how things go. Everyone says, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ I feel like anyone can have two bad starts. I just feel like I’m getting my shot now, and I’m trying to make the most of it.”

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor celebrates his home run against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field in Queens on Friday, April 7, 2023. Last Wednesday, Lindor homered to lead off the ninth, spoiling a no-hitter by the Toronto Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis and tying the score. The Mets went on to win, 6-2. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)

Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Bowden Francis (X via Toronto Blue Jays)

The San Juan Daily Star

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 21