Puerto Rico : News
News : Puerto Rico : News
Puerto Rican Cop Accused of Bias in Gay Murder CaseGUAYNABO, Puerto Rico -- Gay rights activists are calling for an unbiased investigation into the brutal murder of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, a 19-year-old gay man whose body was found burned, decapitated and dismembered in Cayey, Puerto Rico on Friday.
(Topix.net)De Castro Font allegedly authored bills aimed at helping businesses - P.R. Daily Sun - 21/11/09 When former Sen. Jorge de Castro Font was Majority Leader, he authored and co-authored over 200 measures, 10 of which were aimed at helping businesses, critics said, including one that would have repealed the entity in charge of overseeing development in Culebra, one that would have benefitted bottling companies, and another that would have put the brakes on an island-wide Land Use Plan. Most of the measures were rejected by the House or did not complete the legislative process. "That shows the benefits of a bicameral system," a legislative source said. De Castro Font pleaded guilty earlier this year to federal charges related to taking bribes while he was a lawmaker. He is awaiting sentencing and is cooperating with authorities, giving the names of lawmakers who allegedly engaged in corrupt acts. Federal authorities are also investigating other New Progressive Party senators, including NPP Sen. Héctor Martínez for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for legislation, and former NPP Sen. Carlos Díaz. Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, a former Senate president, is allegedly also under investigation. While federal officials have not confirmed the probes, House Speaker Jenniffer González and Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz have both said federal officials have requested documents from the Legislature. De Castro Font was co-author of the bill that would have put the Culebra Conservation and Development Authority, in charge of overseeing the island's development, under the Department of Development and Commerce. The legislation, which was penned by NPP Sen. Roberto Arango, could have had the result of opening up the small island for development. [Open link for full, complete story.] (Topix.net)
Twenty-Nine Indicted and Arrested for Drug Trafficking in Puerto Rico
Twenty nine individuals indicted by a Federal Grand Jury on November 18, 2009, were arrested today by Strike Force teams, as a result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Puerto Rico Police Department announced today United States Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodrguez-Vlez. The defendants are charged in a nine-count ...
(Topix.net)Puerto Rico Explosion Investigation Points To Defective Fuel Monitor
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced that a malfunctioning fuel monitoring system probably led to the massive explosion at a Caribbean Petroleum Corporation facility near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
(Topix.net)What do these 3 Democrats have in common? - VOICES / Puerto Rico Daily Sun - 20/11/09 Pedro Piedro Pierlusi, Kenneth McClintock, Joe Lieberman -- They have Republican idols and modus operandi. Regarding "Pierluisi pushes for gay tolerance" (Nov. 16), I hope Pedro Pierluisi's talk before the gay community was not another photo op for the Fortuño administration. Now, Pierlusi must tell us actually what he is going to do to promote gay tolerance. Words mean nothing without action. Though they did not go out of their way to push for gay tolerance for fear of losing the suspected large homophobic vote, I always felt that in their soul, former governors Pedro Rosselló, Sila Calderón and Acevedo Vilá are not homophobes. Could that be because they are more like liberal Democrats and definitely not like right-wing Republicans? Though my soul has from the very beginning warned me that Luis Fortuño could be intolerant of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or LGBT people, I voted for him. My friends were furious with me. They asked me: "How could you vote for an Opus Dei homophobe?" I was in denial and wanted to believe that he would push for gay tolerance. Now all my friends are gloating: "We told you so." Why should any self-respecting LGBT person vote for him? What has he done for LGBT Puerto Ricans? He has delayed and harmed efforts to achieve Human Rights for all Puerto Ricans, including LGBT people? Am I making the same blunder again? Now I believe Pedro Pierluisi when he says he is for gay tolerance. Maybe, I believe him because he is a Democrat and not a "No" Republican. However, how can he push for gay tolerance with a Opus Dei homophobe Republican as his boss? [Continued in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
Suspect in Puerto Rico gay teenager's murder held on $4 million bail
Prosecutors charged Juan Martinez Matos with first-degree murder and a variety of weapons offenses in connection with Jorge Steven Lopez's brutal death late last week near Caguas.
(Topix.net)Let's do something to end officially permitted homophobia in P.R. - VOICES / Puerto Rico Daily Sun [Rainbow flag for Topix posting only.] Nov. 19, 2009: Friday's killing in Cayey should be brought to the attention of the national media and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender or LGBT groups in the 50 states. Why do our brothers and sisters in gay communities in the 50 states ignore serious and disgusting homophobia in Puerto Rico? It should no longer be our dirty little secret. We are as sick as our dirty little secret. We must end our denial. We need to deal with our home grown homophobia. The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth will set us free from officially permitted homophobia on the so-called "Island of enchantment." It is time for the LGBT press in the United States and the rest of the civilized world to do investigative reporting on serious, officially permitted homophobia in Puerto Rico. Years ago, Denver,Colorado and Corrs Beer's owners were anti-LGBT. A national gay boycott was called against both Denver and Coors Beer. LGBT people across the United States and other countries, their relatives and friends refused to visit Denver or buy any products from Denver including Coors Beer. I am more interested in ending homophobia and hate crimes in Puerto Rico than federal rum rebates for Puerto Rico vs. Virgin Island. Maybe, instead of federal funds for rum rebates, there should be federal funds to end homophobia and hate crimes in Puerto Rico. Today, Denver and Coors Beer made a complete turnaround from being homophobic to understanding and respecting LGBT's need for human rights. Currently, Coors is a top seller in gay bars across the 50 states and in Puerto Rico. Former Vice" President Cheney's lesbian daughter worked at Coors in public relations to improve Coors relations with LGBT people. Strange as it may sound today, she did a fantastic job. It paid off. [Continue in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
Man Arrested in Gruesome Murder of Gay Teen
A suspect has been arrested in the slaying of a 19-year-old man found decapitated, dismembered and partially burned, police said Tuesday.
(Topix.net)Behind missed Gitmo deadline: No one wants jailees
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - President Barack Obama is now confirming what many have long suspected: He will miss his January deadline to close the Guantanamo prison - partly because he cannot persuade other nations to take the detainees.
(Topix.net)Education favoring NPP contractors, union says - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - 19/11/09 By Xavira Neggers: The Education Department is contracting private cleaning companies owned by people with close ties to the New Progressive Party, among other alleged irregularities involving the pending layoff of 3,660 public school janitors in January, the Puerto Rican Workers Syndicate denounced, claims to which the agency did not respond Wednesday. The supposed irregularities are causing problems with public school maintenance that is needed to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus among local public school students, the union said. As of Wednesday, 43 people have died in Puerto Rico from the new influenza strain circling the globe, the Health Department reported. "This signifies the return of political favoritism when the party committees of the political party in power would dole out public jobs to its followers and it is a foretaste of what is awaiting us when the janitors are laid off," said Israel Morales, vice president of the Puerto Rican Workers Syndicate, or SPT by its Spanish initials. The SPT has identified at least five companies that are either owned by NPP leaders or already have contracts with NPP municipalities, Morales said. Among the companies with close NPP ties is National Building Maintenance, owned by former NPP candidate to the mayoralty of Ponce Hercios Bermúdez, Morales said. [Continued in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
Suspect arrested in murder of gay Puerto Rican teen
In an apparent crime of homophobia a suspect in the murder of George Steven Lopez Mercado has been arrested.
(Topix.net)Christensen accuses P.R. of 'scorched earth tactics' in brewing rum war - Caribbean Business Nov. 18, 2009: In a scathing letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Virgin Islands Delegate Donna Christensen accuses Puerto Rico officials of using "scorched earth tactics" and "outright deception" in the escalating rum war between the two neighboring territories. The letter comes in response to a call by Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi and the three stateside Puerto Rican members of Congress to consider a bill filed by Pierluisi that aims to ensure "fair competition" in the rum industry. "Given the misinformation and inappropriate tactics....as well as the outright deception orchestrated by senior Puerto Rican officials and interests directly connected to Puerto Rico, I feel compelled to state the facts regarding the USVI's economic development initiatives," the veteran congresswoman wrote. She said a deal with Diageo, the owner of the Captain Morgan rum brand, was reached only after it decided to leave Puerto Rico and was not "lured" there by USVI incentives. She added that if that deal were undermined by Pierluisi's bill, "Diageo's alternative to operating in the USVI is not to return to Puerto Rico - it is to move production offshore to a location with lower environmental standards, labor costs and sugar cane costs." Christensen also alleged that Puerto Rico offers its rum makers more than 10% of rum rebate funding they acknowledge through marketing efforts, saying they generally make an additional 16% of the rum rebate money they generate. She also charged that Puerto Rico has failed to hold Bacardi accountable for "significant and longstanding environmental problems from rum production on the island." And she said that Pierluisi lied when he said he had discussed modifications to his legislation with her. "The campaign to limit the USVI's economic development efforts...raises questions about Puerto Rico's own actions. There is no indication that Puerto Rico is asking the tough questions of itself," she wrote [Open link for full story.] (Topix.net)
Faulty fuel monitor likely caused Puerto Rico fire
A malfunctioning fuel monitoring system was the likely cause of an Oct. 23 explosion and massive fire at a Puerto Rican fuel storage depot, the US Chemical Safety Board said on Tuesday.
(Topix.net)Activists, politicians, urge Puerto Rican authorities to prosecute LApez murder as hate crime
As activists on Puerto Rico and around the country continue to organize vigils and other memorials in honor of Jorge Steven Lopez, LGBT rights organizations and even politicians have urged local officials to treat the teenager's gruesome murder as a hate crime.
(Topix.net)Editorial: Hate crimes flare up once again - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - Nov. 17, 2009 The ugly face of crime shows itself every day in Puerto Rico, where 17 people were murdered in just one recent weekend. Drug killings on the island are a regular occurrence but last week another type of crime reared its ugly head - or rather, reemerged after many years. We are talking about hate crimes. Homophobic homicide. Young Jorge Steven López Mercado, 19, was killed, dismembered, decapitated and burned in a rural sector of Cayey on Nov. 14. Whuuff! It's very difficult to express more hatred and evil instinct than that in any crime. Hate cimes are not new to Puerto Rico. Gay activist Pedro Serrano pointed out to authorities that another openly gay man was stabbed to death recently in the Condado sector of San Juan. No arrests have yet been made in that case. Going back 30 years, we can remember the hate crimes committed in Puerto Rico against more than 20 homosexuals by infamous serial killer, Ángel Colón Maldonado, who went by the ironic alias the "Angel of Bachelors." This psychopath is spending a life sentence in a penitentiary where we hope he spends his last days. As much as we are in denial, homophobia does exist in Puerto Rico. Not in a general sense, but in isolated minds and hearts. Even some religious leaders are just too intolerant of alternative lifestyles. They don't preach hatred but their rhetoric of nonacceptance only breeds more hatred and intolerance. The López Mercado killer should also not go unpunished. Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi argued just this week, in a speech before the gay community, that the Puerto Rican public needs to be more accepting and respectful toward the island's gay community. The Civil Rights Commission has asked that the López Mercado killing be investigated as a hate crime. With López Mercado's murder, it is understandable that the gay community in Puerto Rico is enraged and disquieted. We agree. There's just too much ignorance in the air for civility's sake. [Open link for original source and related stories.] (Topix.net)
Restoration Journeys lands in Puerto Rico
Textile Consultants Inc. and the Aspire Educational Institute recently announced that registration for their February 21, 2010, Advanced Water Damage Restoration Workshop in San Juan , Puerto Rico, is open, according to a press release .
(Topix.net)Juan A. Martínez, the 26 year old confessed killer of Jorge Steven López, in police custody martes, 17 de noviembre de 2009 Actualizado hace 2 horas (12:29 p.m. ) Darisabel Texidor Guadalupe / Primera Hora The Criminal Investigations Department of Guayama is holding Juan A. Martínez, the 26 year old confessed killer of the gay young man Jorge Steven López, in police custody. Prosecutor José Bermúdez explained that the accused said he went to Pavial Street in Caguas on Friday and after making a few attempts to pick up a prostitute, Jorge allegedly approached him dressed as a woman, and José invited him into his vehicle thinking he had picked up a female prostitute. He said that he did not know that the victim was really a man and they went to his apartment in the neighborhood Beatriz de Cidra, where Steven allegedly suggested that he have anal sex with him, which enraged him and caused him to murder the victim. Prosectutor Bermúdez also added, "He (Martínez) claims that Steven tried to stab him, and that he therefore grabbed a kitchen knife and in a fit of rage stabbed, dismembered and decapitated the victim and later took his remains and left them in Guavate area of Cayey." Among other claims by the confessed killer is that in 2003 he was arrested for domestic violence and that during his prison confinement he was molested and that is why he dislikes homosexuals. The authorities said that this case has been resolved thanks to the cooperation of the local GLBT community. Investigating Detective Ángel Rodríguez and the Prosecutor are currently questioning the suspect preparatory to his being moved to detention in Guayama and charged with first degree murder. The Prosecutor also indicated that he will request that the judge consider that this offense be treated as a hate crime. At the suspect's home the police recovered two knives used to commit the murder, which the suspect later threw into a septic tank. [Open link for full stories.] (Topix.net)
Puerto Rican authorities arrest suspect in connection with gay man's gruesome murder
Puerto Rican authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with Jorge Steven Lopez's gruesome death near Cayey late last week.
(Topix.net)Environmentalists say Puerto Rico governor rolling back environmental protection - AP/Newsday Environmentalists alarmed by Puerto Rico policies - November 16, 2009 By The Associated Press MIKE MELIA (Associated Press Writer) Photo credit: AP | In this June 28, 2008 photo bikers cross a river in the Northeast Ecological Corridor reserve in the municipality of Luquillo, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico's Gov. Luis Fortuno revoked on Oct. 30, 2009 this reserve of mountain forests and beaches as part of a drive to bring jobs and investment for the US territory's struggling economy, as activists see a broader pattern of looser protection for the island's environment. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo) SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Sweeping from lush mountain rain forests to pristine beaches, a corridor of land protected by Puerto Rico's last governor hosts dozens of rare and endangered species and was championed by celebrities who helped fight off resort proposals. Now new Gov. Luis Fortuno has revoked the reserve as part of a drive to bring jobs and investment for the U.S. territory's struggling economy. And activists see a broader pattern of looser protection for the island's environment. Fortuno's Oct. 30 order allows large-scale development inside the 3,200-acre 1,300-hectare) parcel of land immediately north of El Yunque, the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system. Previous Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila had declared the Northeast Ecological Corridor off-limits to all but small, eco-friendly projects after a preservation campaign backed by actor Benicio del Toro and attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fortuno also backs legislation that would make it harder for environmental groups to block construction permits and he supports a new coal-fired power plant and garbage facilities that worry environmentalists. "We could be in quite a lot of trouble as an island," said Camilla Feibelman, the Sierra Club's coordinator in Puerto Rico. The Caribbean territory of 4 million people already struggles with overpopulation and the legacy of decades of industrial contamination. Polluted surface water and reservoirs mean Puerto Rico has a tenth as much fresh water per person as the U.S. mainland, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. [Open link for full story and other photos.] (Topix.net)
Environmentalists alarmed by Puerto Rico policies
Puerto Rico is joining a growing list of places in the U.S. opposed to becoming the future home of any Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
(Topix.net)Gay Puerto Rican Teen Decapitated, Dismembered, and Burned
Over the weekend the brutalized body of gay teen George Steven Lopez Mercado was found by the side of a road in Puerto Rico.
(Topix.net)Environmentalists alarmed by Puerto Rico policies
In this June 28, 2008 photo, cyclists stand on a beach in the Northeast Ecological Corridor Reserve in the municipality of Luquillo in Puerto Rico.
(Topix.net)Solicitan relevo de agente investigador en asesinato de joven homosexual en Cayey - Primera Hora 15/11/09 - Photo: Se presume que el joven Jorge Steven López Mercado fue víctima de un crimen de odio ya que su cuerpo fue encontrado calcinado, decapitado y desmembrado de brazos y piernas en el área de Guavate, en Cayey. (Suministrada) Portavoces de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s y la Fundación de Derechos Humanos exigieron hoy una investigación libre de prejuicios por el asesinato de Jorge Steven López Mercado, un joven homosexual de 19 años, que se presume fue víctima de un crimen de odio y cuyo cuerpo fue encontrado el viernes calcinado, decapitado y desmembrado de brazos y piernas en el área de Guavate, en Cayey. El líder activista y portavoz de Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, Pedro Julio Serrano, denunció que el agente investigador del caso, Ángel Rodríguez Colón, realizó expresiones "inconcebibles, inmorales y antiéticas", referentes al homicidio. "Este tipo de personas cuando se meten a esto y salen a la calle saben que esto les puede pasar", expresó el agente Rodríguez a un noticiario televisivo (Univisión). "Es inconcebible que el agente investigador aduzca que la víctima busó ser asesinado. Es como el abusrdo y falaz argumento de que una mujer se buscó ser violada por llevar falda corta. Exigimos la renuncia al caso de este agente investigador y que el Superintendente Figueroa Sancha ponga en su lugar a alguien capacitado que investigue este vil asesinato, por prejuicios de clase alguna", manifestó Serrano. Por su parte, la licenciada Ada Conde, presidenta de la Fundación de Derechos Humanos, le solicitó a Figueroa Sancha y al Secretario de Justicia, Antonio Sagardía, que cumplan con la ley y establezcan mecanismos para que se investiguen este tipo de casos y que se procesen como crímenes de odio. [English translation in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
Social democracy - VOICES / Puerto Rico Daily Sun - November 15, 2009 In REF: "P.R.: Capitalist paradise or Socialist hotbed?" by Robert Friedman, Daily Sun Washington Bureau. Nov. 9. Just a quick comment. "The island [of Puerto Rico] ... on the verge of turning into either a capitalist's paradise or a worker's revolutionary state ... etc." It seems, in my opinion, that we in Puerto Rico are still struggling between the extremes of what may be considered the capitalist's "fiasco" and the failed marxist-socialist analysis of things (both of which have, in many ways, and in the opinion of many, all the elements of a fundamentalist religion). I think we need to seriously consider that what is known as "Social Democracy" is probably a better alternative than the extremes of capitalism and marxist-socialism. Two quick readings can be, "Understanding Social Democracy" by Sheri Berman, Associate Professor of Political Science at Barnard College-Columbia University, or "The Unlikely Marriage Between Ideological Democracy and Brutal Capitalism", by Robert Wolff, a contemporary political philosopher. Or if we want to stay local, we can always browse through the political and economic propositions of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, P.I.P, the only political party in Puerto Rico to support a social democratic vision. I am by no means an expert, would have to do Harvard or Yale for that, but my citizen's opinion is that for the little that I know about these things, social democrats and social democracy, seem to include within their political and economic propositions several very important elements of free, democratic and progressive societies: respect for human rights as they are understood in the contemporary world, civil freedoms in all respects, entrepreneurship and free enterprise with strong and precise measures of social justice and social empathy, and a strong social safety net that covers each and everyone of the problems that capitalism fails to address and that marxist-socialism fails to fix. Social democracy also seems to be a political-economic concept based on "pragmatism" rather than "belief" or "ideology". [Continued in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
US health agency to take 'fresh look' at Vieques
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico a " A U.S. agency has overturned its 2003 research that said no health hazards were caused by decades of military exercises on Vieques, a bombing range-turned-tourist destination off Puerto Rico's east coast.The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry said Friday it intends to 'modify' some of its earlier ...
(Topix.net)Union workers blockade Pierluisi's Old San Juan office - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - 14/11/09 By The Associated Press: The vice president of the Puerto Rican Workers Syndicate chained himself to the entrance of the San Juan office of Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi on Friday, demanding that he show up and receive a press release in which he urges him to reject the dismissal of thousands of public workers as ordered by Gov. Fortuño. Starting early in the morning, a group of workers occupied the vestibule of the office, in the State Department, calling for the congressional representative, a national Democrat, to come out publicly against the "the Republican and anti-labor policies of Gov. Fortuño." "Pierluisi goes around in Washington like a member of the U.S. Democratic Party, while in Puerto Rico he supports and works in favor of the most Republican and anti-worker policies ever implemented on the island," said the union official, Israel Marrero. The union said that during the ceremony this week to mark Veterans Day, Pierluisi reiterated his full support for all of Fortuño's policies. "We urge Pierluisi to define here and in Washington [D.C.] if he is with the policies of [former President] George [W.] Bush as incarnated in Fortuño or if he is for the change that promised President Obama, Marrero, who said he campaigned for the current commander in chief, said in a press release. In a written statement, Pierluisi expressed his "solidarity" with island workers and said he has he also supported all of the Obama initiatives aimed at the economic recovery of the United States and Puerto Rico. [Open link for full story and all photos.] (Topix.net)
'Dicey' Puerto Rico Bonds Beat U.S. States as Fortuno Cuts Jobs - Bloomberg - 13/11/09 By Jerry Hart - Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Governor Luis Fortuno's declaration of a fiscal emergency hasn't deterred investors from buying Puerto Rico's bonds, which have returned 20 percent this year, more than any U.S. state. Keeping investors interested in the Commonwealth's $47 billion of debt may depend on the Republican governor's plan to cut a $3.2 billion budget deficit, revive an economy that shrank 5.5 percent in the last fiscal year and rescue a credit rating one level from high-risk, high-yield junk. Since taking office in January, Fortuno eliminated 22,500 government jobs, riling a constituency that makes up 30 percent of the labor force. "I'm not here to win a popularity contest," Fortuno, 49, said by telephone from San Juan during a national strike on Oct. 15, when protesters and police clashed outside the Fortress, his home in the old section of the walled capital founded by Spain in 1521. "I'm here to deliver results." Bonds of Puerto Rico, which was ceded to the U.S. in 1898 after the Spanish-American War, are exempt from taxes in any state, unlike most municipal debt. The securities have benefited from record cash flows into municipal-bond funds, masking an economy that contracted in the 12 months ended June 30 at twice the 2.4 percent forecast for the country as a whole in 2009, the median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. ************** To support fired workers' transition into private employment, Fortuno's plan includes a $2.5 billion stabilization fund financed by sales-tax-backed bonds sold by the development bank. Carlos Garcia, president of the San Juan-based institution, said $1.5 billion for the fund was raised from a $5.3 billion series of bonds announced in June. In the interview last month, Fortuno invoked memories of 2006, when government offices shut for more than two weeks until lawmakers negotiated a bailout from the development bank to plug a revenue shortfall. "We don't have a choice," Fortuno said. "I'm not going to allow this place to close down like it did once." [Open link for original source and full report.] (Topix.net)
Lawsuit accuses Virginia power company of poisoning Dominican community with toxic coal ash
A civil lawsuit filed last week in state court in Delaware charges Arlington, Va-based AES Corp.
(Topix.net)What do these 3 men have in common? 'Trickle Down Economics' - Puerto Rico Daily Sun - 12/11/09 Last Thursday at the Fine Arts Popular Center, I saw the first showing in Puerto Rico of "Capitalism: A Love Story." I urge every Puerto Rican to see this movie. It will open your mind to what is happening to Puerto Rico under Republican-New Progressive Party Governor Luis Fortuño and his special interests cohorts. Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Luis Fortuño have a lot in common. They believe in the failed policy of "Trickle Down Economics" which created the economic mess in the United States and is now being practiced full steam ahead by Governor Luis Fortuño in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are falling for Fortuño's con to break the unions and give away Puerto Rico's government to private interests of which many are actually under foreign ownership as is Capeco. "Capitalism: A Love Story" is the handwriting on the wall warning all Puerto Ricans to learn the facts before taking harmful action. Quoting Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, on the internet: "Capitalism: A Love Story" is a 2009 American documentary film directed by and starring Michael Moore. The film centers on the financial crisis of 2007-2009 and the recovery stimulus, while putting forward an indictment of the current economic order in the United States and capitalism in general. Topics covered include Wall Street's "casino mentality," for-profit prisons, Goldman Sachs' influence in Washington, D.C., the poverty-level of many airline pilots, the large wave of home foreclosures, and the consequences of "runaway greed." The film also features a religious component where Moore examines whether or not capitalism is a sin and if Jesus would be a capitalist. The film alternates between a fierce critique of the status quo, personal portraits of the suffering caused by the recent economic crisis, and comical social satire. Puerto Rico is not the only place where religious leaders are involved in economic political issues. The Roman Catholic Bishop of Detroit actually said that capitalism has become an evil. Many other stateside religious leaders - many of whom are conservative - feel that capitalism has become sinful. [Continued in Extended Entry section.] (Topix.net)
PUERTO RICO - Fuel firm flouted safety rules - Miami Herald - 11/11/09 The fuel company whose tank farm in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, exploded last month collected environmental violations and skipped inspections for years. BY McNELLY TORRES AND OMAYA SOSA PASCUAL BAYAMON, Puerto Rico -- The fuel company whose tank farm exploded in a massive fire last month has been cited for sweeping environmental violations dating back 10 years, costing $1.3 million in penalties and fines for leaking hazardous waste in the water, air and soil, a nonprofit investigative news organization has reported. Yet local and federal government agencies have allowed the company to run for nearly a decade without safety inspections or an emergency community disaster plan, in violation of federal law, Inter-American University School of Law's Center for Investigative Reporting found. Caribbean Petroleum Company (CAPECO) is a fuel company that distributes diesel and gasoline products to over 200 gas stations throughout the island under the Gulf brand. The company operates the only privately-owned loading dock facility in Puerto Rico. Its facility at the Luchetti Industrial Park in Bayamón was the site of an explosion last month that produced a toxic fire that took firefighters several days to extinguish and caused fuel leaks into neighboring waterways. It had not been inspected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration since 2000. A review of inspections by the Environmental Protection Agency, bankruptcy records and interviews with safety experts, regulators, community activists and residents shows a company that has been troubled for decades and later sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to get relief from financial pressures. ``We have always talked about it, and we've always said that it would explode someday,'' said Frankie Olivo, a resident of Puente Blanco who has been subcontracted to clean the petroleum-contaminated creek in front of his house. [Open link and read full, shocking report.] (Topix.net)
Puerto Rico popular with meetings planners as bookings rise
Puerto Rico's 13,000 guestrooms support more than 70,000 jobs in Puerto Rico, according to the Puerto Rico Tourism Co.
(Topix.net)