The members of the Puerto Rico Air Cargo Committee recently asked the US Government Accountability Office for support of the island’s bid to promote the development of the two-year air cargo transshipment exemption granted by the US Department of Transportation. The federal agency granted a waiver to allow foreign air carriers to provide certain expanded […]
The Puerto Rico Housing Department announced the start of the construction of Hogar Manuel Mediavilla Negrón III, a $25.6 million project of new and accessible housing for the elderly in the northeastern town of Humacao. The project’s financing includes $8.6 million in federal funds from the CDBG-DR Gap Program for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, […]
The heads of two Puerto Rico government agencies announced the availability of a website through which employers can blow the whistle on employees who refuse to return to their posts because they are receiving jobless benefits. In a press conference, the secretaries of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and the Department of Labor […]
On the occasion of the celebration of Sunshine Week, nonprofit organization Espacios Abiertos urged the leadership of the three branches of government to adopt four “open government proposals” to achieve a “fairer and equitable” Puerto Rico. The proposals call for: amending the Transparency and Open Data laws; adopting an “Open Checkbook” program; creating the public […]
The Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs issued an order to ease certain conditions that have been in effect for condominium residents in line with COVID-19 restrictions, agency Secretary Edan Rivera said. Order 2021-002, which goes into effect today, allows holding in-person meetings and the opening of recreational areas. “Our priority is to establish safeguards […]
Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés submitted Thursday to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Department of the Treasury, the plan to distribute the new $1,400 economic stimulus signed by President Joe Biden, which could reach $3.5 billion and benefit some 2.6 million people. “With the rescue plan converted into law and at the urging […]
To support efforts on the island aimed at raising awareness of the importance of hazard mitigation, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded a $4.1 million grant to the EcoExploratorio Resiliency Institute (ERI). This center in Puerto Rico will provide guidance on resilience and other mitigation topics to the public. The funds are provided by […]
The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (known as PRIDCO) has an inventory of more than 500 lots and properties currently vacant across the island, this media outlet confirmed. When broken down, the inventory includes 152 vacant properties with a combined capacity of more than 2.4 million square feet, and 378 unused lots spanning a combined […]
The Puerto Rico Treasury Department has received about 117,081 tax returns and has paid out $22.8 million in refunds a week into this year’s tax season for the 2020 individual filing cycle, agency Secretary Francisco Parés said. “We’re satisfied with the response of taxpayers to this process, which is just beginning. This pro-taxpayers tax cycle […]
Puerto Rico Housing Department Secretary William Rodríguez announced that the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program has allocated $800 million to the Investment Portfolio for Growth (IPG) initiative “to alleviate the exacerbated economic effects of the hurricanes through large-scale development projects.” As a preliminary process for the IPG Program, interested entities are asked to submit […]
The proposed new agreement struck recently by the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico with bondholder groups implies higher annual fixed payments and cash disbursements and for a longer period of time than in the October 2020 proposal, according to Espacios Abiertos Senior Public Policy Analyst Daniel Santamaría-Ots. “What remains constant with this […]
After Hurricanes Irma and María, trees, endemic birds and other forms of wildlife lost their habitats, or their populations dwindled in various protected areas in Puerto Rico. To help the recovery of the different structures in these ecologically valuable areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted more than $2.2 million to the Department of […]
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