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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Fortuño Says NPP Wants Rossello, McClintock Not Budging On Senate Presidency… Pesquera To Advise Toa Baja… Recycling Gets Boost… Army Boots Will Be Made In Moca… Gov’t May Offer Retirement Incentives… Prasa Sued Over Pollution… Moscoso Bridge Taxable In Carolina, Too… Santini Pushes School-Dropout Prevention Program
Fortuño Says NPP Wants Rossello As Senate President February 15, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The balance of New Progressive leaders in favor of new Sen. Pedro Rossello taking the post of Senate president continued to tilt, with the support of Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, who feels the former governor should occupy the post over current president Kenneth McClintock. Fortuño had previously refused to endorse Rossello’s wish to unseat McClintock, but made he now says there is a preference for Rossello among the "base" of the NPP. "Although there is gratitude for Kenneth McClintock’s excellent performance as a senator, there is a marked preference in this (NPP) base for Dr. Rossello to assume the Senate presidency," Fortuño said in a newspaper interview. "I therefore urge the senators to arrive at their conclusions by listening to the base in each one of their districts. This is my opinion and it is possible to end this in a harmonious way," he said. McClintock Not Budging On Senate Presidency February 15, 2005Copyright © 2005 ASSOCIATED PRESS. All rights reserved. SAN JUAN (AP) — Senate President Kenneth McClintock said Tuesday that he will not give up his position to recently sworn-in Sen. Pedro Rossello. "I am not going to cede it," McClintock said when he was asked if he would leave the presidential seat to Rossello as was suggested Monday by Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño and San Juan Mayor Jorge Santini. McClintock said that a good leader would not give it up due to pressure. "In the past days the senators have shown the courage and maturity and professionalism that one requires to be a leader and one does not change from one day to another ... I hear the opinions of these two colleagues from the party as I have heard the other colleagues," he said. Pesquera Is Named Adviser For Toa Baja Projects By MANUEL ERNESTO RIVERA February 15, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The mayor of Toa Baja, Anibal Vega Borges, confirmed Tuesday that he hired former New Progressive Party presidents Carlos Pesquera and Leo Diaz as his two principal advisers. Vega Borges announced that both participated in a meeting on Monday with Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, in which he committed to help get federal funds necessary for the channeling of the Rio Plata. Vega Borges said Pesquera was hired at a rate of $150 an hour and Diaz will get $125 an hour. Pesquera is in charge of projects such as the channeling of Rio Plata, the development of the Sabana Seca naval base and the establishment of a "trolley" for the city, among other infrastructure projects. Recycling Programs To Get A Boost February 15, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The Solid Waste Authority (SWA) announced Tuesday that it will increase economic aid for city recycling programs and non-profit entities. The executive director of the SWA, Guillermo M. Riera, said the aid would increase from $150,000 to $250,000 per proposal. "During the past term, the SWA invested $5.1 million in aid for the cities; in the next four years, this investment will increase to approximately $9 million," he said in a statement. Riera said more rigorous fiscal checks have been established to ensure that the funds are used effectively. Army Boots Will Be Made In Moca February 15, 2005 NELSONVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A factory belonging to the company Rocky Shoes & Boots Inc., in Moca, Puerto Rico, has been contracted to build an unknown number of combat boots for the Army, the U.S. company announced. Rocky Shoes & Boots Inc. said Monday that they received an order from the U.S. Army worth $21 million to make the boots. The shipments of the boots will begin in the second trimester of the year and continue until December, the company said. Analysts consulted by Thomason First Call said the revenue for Rocky Shoes & Boots Inc. for 2005 could be $282.3 million. It is not known if any jobs will be added at the Moca factory as a result of the new contract. Government May Offer Retirement Incentives To Older Public Workers February 15, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The director of the Office of Management and Budget, Ileana Fas Pacheco, said the government is evaluating giving incentives to public employees older than 50 and with 25 years of service, as a way to reduce payroll. Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila has directed Fas Pacheco to study alternative ways to reduce government expenses. "One of the studies we are doing is related to incentives for the population that could take advantage of the retirement benefit," Fas Pacheco said. The proposal would save the government some $300 million annually in payroll for the more than 13,000 employees would receive over the next five years. Prasa Sued Over Pollution WIRE SERVICES February 15, 2005 SAN JUAN -- Two environmental groups sued Puerto Rico's sewer authority on Monday, accusing it of using coastal waters ''as a toilet'' by allegedly leaking human waste into the sea. The citizens' action suit filed in U.S. federal court in San Juan accuses the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority of violating clean water laws by failing to maintain a water treatment plant in Ponce, on the island's south coast. Residents have complained that a tube at the plant has been leaking waste into open water for years, leaving a bubbling black slick on the surface, said Mary Ann Lucking, director of CORALations, a Puerto Rico-based group that brought the suit along with the Highlands, N.J.-based American Littoral Society. The groups based the suit on the sewer authority's monthly reports to the Environmental Protection Agency and accused the regulatory body of failing to stop the pollution, which they say has threatened sensitive coral reefs in the U.S. Caribbean territory. Moscoso Bridge Administrator Will Be Taxed In Carolina, Too February 14, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — The company that operates the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge has to pay municipal fees to the city of Carolina for the annual profits on the bridge, according to a judicial order. The Appeals Court issued a decision Feb. 1 that orders ‘Autopistas de Puerto Rico’ to present a statement of the volume of business to calculate the income yield, and pay taxes to the cities of San Juan and Carolina, the city of Carolina announced Monday in a statement. Autopistas de Puerto Rico has paid municipal fees to the city of San Juan since the inauguration of the bridge in March 1994, but did not pay the same to Carolina, alleging that its central offices were in the capital. The court nevertheless decided that the Teodoro Moscoso Bridge extends between both cities and "it is correct to tax Autopistas de Puerto Rico in San Juan and Carolina based on the volume of business done in each respective municipality." Santini Continues School-Dropout Prevention Program February 14, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) — With the goal of lowering the school dropout rate in San Juan, Mayor Jorge Santini on Monday presented the second phase of a program that has been in place for two years, which, among other things, trains students to handle emergency situations. According to Education Department statistics, the average rate of school dropouts is 7.5 percent at the elementary level, and 57 percent at the high-school level. "The experts in the area of juvenile delinquency say that the great majority of law offenders are school dropouts," Santini said at a press conference.
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