Comisión de Derechos Civiles federal confirma trato discriminatorio de FEMA contra Puerto Rico tras María 

Los residentes de Puerto Rico quedaron en un evidente rezago en la cantidad de fondos asignados y el tiempo en recibirlos, concluye un informe de la Comisión de Derechos Civiles de Estados Unidos al evaluar los esfuerzos de socorro y respuesta a los huracanes Harvey en Texas y María en Puerto Rico en el 2017.

Formalizing Community Aqueducts is a Discouraging Process in Puerto Rico

The procedure for community aqueducts to legalize their franchises and maintain their operation is so complicated, bureaucratic, and devoid of technical support that it discourages communities from formalizing the systems that carries water to their homes because of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority’s inability to provide the service.

Agriculture Secretary with Direct Links to a Company that Sells Equipment to Farmers Using Federal Re-Grow Money

González Beiró doesn’t think that his presence in this and other agriculture-related activities could pressure farmers to buy equipment from the company in which he and his wife, Mariliana Bennazar Torres, are direct beneficiaries. The equipment is showcased and promoted at events that he attends or that are sponsored by the Department of Agriculture.

Community Aqueducts Struggle to Recover After Hurricane María

Of the 242 community aqueduct systems legally registered in Puerto Rico as franchises, 31% have not requested recovery funds for the damages caused to infrastructure by Hurricanes Irma and María in September 2017, according to data from the Government’s Central Office of Recovery, Reconstruction and Resiliency (COR3). Although the reasons are different for each community aqueduct, not owning the land where the equipment and wells are located, the number of documents that the federal government requires, and the lack of orientation to those who administer these systems, are some of the causes for which these entities fall short of the requirements to apply for funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and COR3. As of this week, a total of 167 community aqueducts have requested recovery funds, said COR3 press spokeswoman Maura Ríos Poll. Of these, 150 have already gotten the obligation of the money, according to data from the COR3 website, and 21 of those have not yet received any disbursement. There are 242 community aqueducts recognized as franchises by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA, in Spanish).