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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Fortuño Fights For Ft Buchanan At Pentagon Meeting… Vieques Will Be Added To Fed Clean-Up List… Loubriel’s Resignation Official… Santini Proposes Rio Piedras Rehab…Constitution Ball… Churchgoers… Concessionaire To Run PLA… Pereira: Use Medication For Drug Abusers…Losers Get Legislative Contracts
Fortuño Fights For Fort Buchanan At Pentagon Meeting January 20, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño said that during a meeting at the Pentagon he fought to keep Fort Buchanan open on the island, and the military leaders expressed bitterness over the exit of the Navy from Vieques. According to Fortuño, comments about Vieques also were made by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, but Fortuño did not say exactly what statements were made by Rumsfeld or the other military leaders. "Everybody understands that the relationship was significantly affected," Fortuño told a newspaper. Fortuño and 24 other members of Congress on Wednesday attended an information session with Rumsfeld, which included the heads of the Navy, Army and Air Force. Gov. Announces Vieques Will Be Added To Clean-Up List January 20, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Vieques will be included in February on the Superfund National Priorities List of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila announced on Thursday. The governor met in Washington, D.C., with the executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), Eduardo Bhatia, and his legal advisers at the federal capital. After their meetings, he said EPA officials had advised his personnel of their decision. Acevedo Vila traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the inauguration of President George W. Bush. "EPA officials have listened to the calls from our government and have indicated the formal and final inclusion of Vieques on the National Priorities List … will take place in the next few weeks," the governor said in a press release. He said this decision "shapes up as a great advance in the process of cleaning and decontaminating the island after the end of military maneuvers." Victor Loubriel’s Senate Resignation Is Official January 20, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Victor Loubriel’s resignation from the Senate was made official at midnight Wednesday, eliminating one of the hurdles for defeated gubernatorial candidate Pedro Rossello to join the legislative body, and perhaps, become its president. The Senate confirmed that Loubriel had not taken back his resignation by the deadline. The Senate Secretary Manuel Torres was not available Thursday morning to comment. The directory of the New Progressive Party (NPP) plans to fill the vacant Senate seat by holding a Legislative Assembly, but former senator Calvin Tirado has threatened to go to court to force them to hold a primary. Santini Proposes Projects To Rehabilitate Rio Piedras January 20, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The mayor of San Juan, Jorge Santini, announced Thursday that he is lobbying for federal funds from the federal Housing and Urban Development Department for the construction of several projects in the urban heart of Rio Piedras. Santini said the Electronic Library of the Capital, the Museum of Natural History and an Electronic Security System for the center of Rio Piedras were three projects presented to federal officials. Santini made his statements from a press conference in Washington, D.C., where he had traveled to attend the Annual Mayors Conference. He said he is negotiating a loan of more than $35 million, and in the next few days will report on the makeup of the team of people working on the ambitious project. "I have said before, and I will say again, Rio Piedras will again be the university’s heart," he said. Santini promised to build 180 electronic libraries, as well as a general library in the Hato Rey area. Also, he is considering the creation of a history museum, "unique in its kind" about natural resources. He said a similar system to the electronic security system for the urban center of Rio Piedras will also be part of the rehabilitation for the university zone. The Nine Official Balls January 20, 2005Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved. The Presidential Inaugural Committee is hosting nine official balls tonight, from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., among them: Constitution Ball, (Arkansas, American Samoa, Connecticut, Georgia, Guam, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin) at the Hilton Washington. Churchgoers January 20, 2005Copyright © 2005 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd. All rights reserved. Countries with the highest percentage of churchgoers based on the percentage of the population who attend at least once a week 1 Nigeria 89% 2 Ireland 84% 3 Philippines 68% 4 South Africa 56% 5 Poland 55% 6 Puerto Rico 52% 7Portugal 47% 7Slovakia 47% 9 Mexico 46% 10 Italy 45% Concessionaire To Operate Las Américas Port January 19, 2005 Puerto Rico's Las Américas port (PLA) authorities plan to put operations out to concession once the $700mn project is completed, PLA executive director Ramón Torres told BNamericas. The US geological survey (USGS) is carrying out the $125,000 bathymetric studies in Ponce Bay, he said. That project involves three phases: the first to gauge depths, the second to control dredging operations and the third to confirm depths once dredging is completed. The local unit of one of the largest dredging service providers in the US, Weeks Marine, won a $17mn contract to carry out port dredging works in Ponce bay for the PLA. Weeks Marine will dredge a 1,200ft-long (366m) canal with a 400m turning radius, going down to depths of 50ft. Dredging is scheduled to take 10 months. Local environmental authorities already have approved the project in accordance with the island's environmental policy. The PLA also is continuing to work on port designs and will call for bids on construction once those plans are ready, he said, without mentioning specific dates. When the $700mn project is completely finished, the port will be some 3,000ft long, according to Torres. Planners expect the 1.4M-TEU/y port to create 10,000 new jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs. Pereira Suggests The Use Of Medication For Drug Abusers January 19, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – After four years as Police Superintendent and Corrections Secretary, Miguel Pereira said the new administration of Anibal Acevedo Vila must consider the use of medical drugs to combat drug abuse and trafficking. Pereira, who still is the head of Correction and Rehabilitation, said the climate of openness that Acevedo Vila has made reference to could be favorable to evaluating the medication proposal during the coming term. "We are fighting badly. We have to adopt a mainly health-based focus," Pereira said in an interview. The designated Police Superintendent, Pedro Toledo, immediately rejected Pereira’s suggestions in an interview with another newspaper. Defeated Candidates Get Legislative Contracts January 19, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – At least 23 former legislators and defeated candidates from the past primaries and elections have been given contracts or are on their way to administrative and consultant posts in the Legislature. According to a press investigation, the salaries of the defeated political candidates vary from $1,500 to $6,500 monthly. The spokesman for the Popular Democratic Party minority in the House, Hector Ferrer, admitted that he contracted fomer PDP representatives José Luis Colón and Felito Marrero for $3,000 monthly during three months in which they "obtained work." The former New Progressive senator José Enrique Meléndez also received the position of director of Public Politics and Legislation in exchange for $6,500 monthly. And former statehood representative Oscar Ramos gets $5,000 montly as an adviser to NPP Rep. Johnny Mendez. Also, he must advise the vice president of the House, Epifanio Jiménez.
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