Download the NPS app to navigate the parks on the go Cover Page Legal HistorySports SearchCiales opens summer camp registrationThe San Juan Daily StarApr 101 min readCiales Mayor Jesús Resto Rivera (Facebook)By The Star Staff Ciales municipal administration staff will begin the registration process for the 2025 Municipal Summer Camp Registration will take place from 8 am to 1 pm daily at the municipal Recreation and Sports Office Ciales Mayor Jesús Resto Rivera announced Wednesday The camp will be held from June 9 to June 13 “The municipal Recreation and Sports Office staff is beginning registration for the camp today,” the mayor said “We want as many Ciales families as possible to benefit from it so I urge you to contact municipal staff for the necessary guidance.” To participate in the 2025 Municipal Summer Camp children must be between 6 and 14 years of age and lots of educational and entertainment opportunities for participants,” Resto said lack the financial resources to pay for childcare or a private camp.” More information can be obtained by contacting the municipal Recreation and Sports Office staff at 787-871-4599 © 2025 The San Juan Daily Star - Puerto Rico SearchNew Ciales mayor revives plan for cultural center in historic buildingThe San Juan Daily StarJan 222 min readThe old Casino Español building next to City Hall in Ciales will eventually be the home of the Yerba Bruja Cultural Center.By The Star Staff announced that as part of his cultural and economic development initiatives he signed an agreement with the legal entity Pleneros de la Cresta and the cultural group Acción Valerosa in order to give new life to a historic building next to City Hall so that it can be properly enabled to open its doors as the Yerba Bruja Cultural Center focused on initiatives for economic and cultural development,” the mayor said and later home to various businesses such as the Asturian Maximino Fernández hardware store and later the jewelry and furniture store of Wincho Rodríguez will open its doors for new projects and attractions.” The building is currently part of the municipal heritage of the central mountain town Resto pointed out that the cultural entity initiative had been presented to the previous administration on July 10 and although it was approved by the municipal legislature that same year with the support of 10 private entities and the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture (ICP) the process stalled for no apparent reason “This new administration came to open doors,” he said “We already knew about the case and I gave instructions to the legal team to take action in an expeditious and responsible manner And we have already signed the agreement.” the Yerba Bruja Cultural Center will operate from the Adalberto Santiago municipal theater in accordance with the proposal submitted by the theater and approved by the municipality young people and adults will come to share but also all Puerto Ricans who come to our community in search of culture.” Los Pleneros de la Cresta began their work in 2015 as an important vindication for the island’s native plena musical genre A group of young people brought plena back to its acoustic format lyrics committed to the political and social reality of Puerto Rico Juan Villalobos sits in one of his creations at Taller Los Villalobos, a factory that, unlike traditional furniture stores, builds furniture out of solid wood and woven mangrove cattail. (Isabel Ferré Sadurní)By Sandra Torres GuzmánLee la historia en español aquí. Ciales.- For more than a century, the Villalobos family of Ciales has been well-known for the quality of their furniture made with cattail and local-grown hardwood, in a meticulous process that begins in a mangrove in Manatí. They visit three times a month to search for raw material in the shape of a herb that grows 10 to 12 feet tall. It must be cut during a waning moon after tying it around one’s waist, to avoid stepping on it by mistake, and making sure there’s no alligators nearby. This is the essence of a tradition that has been preserved over time, weaving together knowledge that is passed from generation to generation. “It is a great tradition that is more than 120 years old. It was started by the Troche family, who came from Santurce and settled in the town of Ciales. They were the ones who brought the wood and cattail furniture,” explained craftsman Juan Luis Villalobos Jiménez, 47 years old. “Later, one of my dad’s uncles started. Then my grandfather, who passed away more than 30 years ago, learned from him. My uncle Guadalupe opened the workshop and David Villalobos, who has since passed away. His son stayed and now there’s Waldemar who is 42 years old; we’re cousins,” he said from his workshop, located in the Los Villalobos sector of the Cordillera barrio. According to Villalobos, “we make all kinds of furniture out of local hardwood.” “We make rocking chairs, living room sets, sofas, loveseats, coffee tables, corner tables, dining sets and beds... we specialize in custom-made armchairs for obese, tall, or large people; the idea is for the armchair to suit the person well,” he explained, highlighting that he has 22 models of rocking chairs. “We use our native Puerto Rican mahogany, we use the majó (Talipariti elatum) that is used to make cuatros and is great for furniture, capá prieto (Cordia alliodora), four types of laurel, teak, honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos), which is very abundant in Ciales, and the maga tree (Thespesia grandiflora), among others. But for furniture, these are the most used because the wood is more resistant to warping,” he explained. 1 / 9 | Fotos: Los Villalobos reflejan la esencia de una tradición familiar en muebles de madera puertorriqueña. El Taller Los Villalobos es una fábrica que, a diferencia de las mueblerías tradicionales, construyen muebles en madera sólida y tejidos de enea de mangles. - Isabel Ferré SadurníLikewise, he highlighted that the most important thing about the process is that the wood and cattails are harvested during a waning moon. “We use cattail to wrap certain parts of the piece of furniture. It grows in mangroves to about 10 to 12 feet tall, which is the ideal length for cutting. It has to be cut during the waning season to avoid pests. Everyone thinks that getting cattails is easy, but it’s actually expensive because each trip costs about $400,” he said. “To fill this area we have to visit three times a month, because it is very difficult to spend more than five hours in the mangrove. There’s areas where the water comes up to the knees, and in others you step and your entire foot sinks. We’ve seen small alligators. The mangrove I usually go to is in a closed area, the water is still, but it’s clean, it doesn’t smell bad or anything,” he revealed. The cattail is then taken to the workshop, where the leaves are separated, the unneeded residue is disposed of, and then the raw materials are hung to dry for around 20 days, so that they dry well. “For the ‘empajillado’ process, which means to wrap the piece by hand, it is recommended to retrieve the cattail to be used in the morning; about five or six bundles. Then, you wet it so that when you are wrapping the piece, it stays damp and flexible. This prevents you from hurting your hands and makes the cattail more flexible. You start tying it and it starts looking like a little rope, and there’s the beauty of it, because not everybody knows how to make it look nice,” he said. “For the wood, you have to choose the woodcutter carefully. It must be someone who likes to cut trees during a waning moon, because if it’s cut outside of that period, it gets infested with pests. You have to let the wood dry after it is sealed, because the tree contains water and, in order to use it, it has to be very dry to assemble the furniture,” highlighted the artisan, who is certified by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company. The work is carried out by three cousins in the family workshop, where they make everything from the ‘empajillado’ to laying the wood, piece by piece, individually. “The pieces have to be polished, sealed, assembled and wrapped with the cattail (‘empajillado’). At the end, I like to wash them so that the straw is clean. The arms and rockers are assembled, then sanded, blown, and cleaned well. A second coat of sealant is applied to make it glossy. It is a process. If you’re quick, the ‘empajillado’ process can take six hours.” On the other hand, he admitted the need for more labor, as “young people do not want to learn. Technology is killing us.” “With me, this workshop dies. But I want it to be known that anyone who wants to learn the craft can come and we will teach them,” he concluded. De lunes a viernesBoletín A.M.Las noticias explicadas de forma sencilla y directa para entender lo más importante del día. Te invitamos a descargar cualquiera de estos navegadores para ver nuestras noticias: Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Carmen “Taty” Collazo Favale peacefully passed away on November 25th 2023 loving husband Constantino “Tino” Favale Taty graduated from the University of Puerto Rico with a degree in education and taught elementary school for many years in her hometown of Ciales she was swept off her feet by her dashing future husband Tino They married five years later as Tino began his career in the US Army they were stationed stateside and overseas during 67 joy-filled years of marriage she worked and volunteered at Fort Lee in various services Taty is lovingly remembered as a great housewife providing guidance and love to all.  She was the glue that held the family together and made all strangers feel like family and loved DIY projects which exercised her creativity She loved playing cards (and playing jokes) She loved Puerto Rican traditions—parrandas and especially coquito (Puerto Rican eggnog) We will always remember her zest of life and her calm demeanor Calma” was her message as we all tried to anxiously get her and us to where we were going The family is especially grateful to the caring staff at the At Home Care Hospice in Colonial Heights A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 11:00 a.m  Interment will follow in Southlawn Memorial Park  The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service on Tuesday from 10:00 a.m In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dementia Society of America, https://www.dementiasociety.org/donate  or to a charity of your choice. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Colonial Heights Chapel of E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory, 2033 Boulevard. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.  Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors How did you first hear about the Sierra Club I'm majoring in environmental science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico I started a student organization with my biology professor We organize conferences for the university community on different professions related to conservation and the environment One student gave a presentation called "My Experience as a Sprogger." From that I got interested in Sprog and the Sierra Club and I applied for the 2013 summer training in Puerto Rico.  It's a student training run by the Sierra Club Student Coalition that gives you the tools to develop a campaign—you can choose which campaign and community to get involved in I organized a compost-and-recycling program at my former high school the school stopped using pesticides in the garden.  That was an awesome experience because I love to educate people and to help them develop leadership skills I felt really connected to the whole group Three other students and I organized a Seize the Grid campaign to get the university to commit to switching to renewable energy by 2030 Puerto Rico is very dependent on petroleum We got more than a thousand signatures from students and professors and last semester the administration approved our proposal.  One of my favorite hikes to lead is De la Torre al Charco where you see all the beauty of the landscape There are a lot of birds; there's a lot of biodiversity I have a sentimental connection to it because it's the place where I grew up so it's a good way for people to start hiking It's really exciting to show Puerto Ricans what's in our country and to help them explore and enjoy all of the beauty This article appeared in the September/October 2017 edition with the headline "Student Wendy Becktold is the former senior story editor at Sierra and that’s good news for public health and people’s pocketbooks Jamey Stillings's photo gives us a big-picture look at wind energy The Sierra Club’s “Dirty Truth” report found that most aren’t taking action on their climate goals The clean energy industry is seeing a boost in employment—and a more diverse pool of job candidates Get articles like this one sent directly to your inbox With this action you affirm you want to receive Sierra Club communications and may vote on policy designated by the Sierra Club Board Sierra Club® and "Explore, enjoy and protect the planet"® are registered trademarks of the Sierra Club. © Sierra Club 2025.The Sierra Club Seal is a registered copyright Sign up to receive Sierra News & Views to get articles like this one sent directly to your inbox SearchPDP boosts advantage in city halls by flipping 5 townsThe San Juan Daily StarNov 7 20241 min readJesús Resto Rivera is set to become the first Popular Democratic Party mayor of Ciales since 2012 While the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) lost the gubernatorial race following changes in at least six municipalities The incumbents in at least six towns lost to their challengers the municipality of San Sebastián went to the PDP after Mayor Javier Jiménez Pérez became the Dignity Project’s gubernatorial candidate San Sebastián opted to support Eladio Cardona Quiles of the PDP as mayor defeated the New Progressive Party (NPP) incumbent The victory was the first for the PDP since 2012 After the death of mayor Marcelo Trujillo Panisse the town went with Reinaldo Vargas Rodríguez of the NPP in the 2020 election the seat went to Trujillo Panisse’s daughter NPP candidate Danny Santiago Nuñez won the mayor’s seat in Villalba the people of Maunabo voted to remove the PDP mayor in favor of Ángel Omar Lafuente Amaro of the NPP Márquez is back to lead city hall after Tuesday’s vote The people of Moca also changed their mayor was on Wednesday to defeat Ángel “Beto” Pérez Rodríguez of the NPP CIALES, Puerto Rico – If you need a little Christmas right this very minute, consider visiting Puerto Rico it may not have the snow and indigenous evergreens many people associate with the winter holidays but what it lacks in the markers of a temperate climate it more than makes up for in holiday spirit “We have the longest holiday season in the world By the time Thanksgiving rolls around for us it’s already Christmas,” Xiomara Rodriguez communications director for Discover Puerto Rico The early coming of the Christmas season was on full display when USA TODAY visited the island in early November Many houses were already decorated for the holiday by early November Christmas is a focus of the holiday season but the island also observes Three Kings Day and the weeklong San Sebastian street festival in mid-January to mark the end of the holiday season Winter is a great time to get to know the island it not only provides an escape from the cold and gray but also a holiday atmosphere that makes it even easier to have a true local experience Puerto Ricans participate in chinchorreos – essentially day-long bar hopping trips at roadside food stands for refreshments throughout the journey “That is something that has been instilled in our culture for quite some time,” Rodriguez said You have a little bit of something on one and maybe a drink and then you go to another one and maybe have a fritter and a cocktail there.”  She added that there’s usually music and dancing at every stop – and suggested making sure you have a designated driver Individual stops along a chinchorreo route are called chinchorros While chinchorreo isn’t a holiday-specific activity Rodriguez said many of the kiosks add special menu items like coquito (Puerto Rico’s take on eggnog) or pasteles (a traditional meat-filled turnover wrapped in plantain leaves) during the holidays who is in charge of operations and marketing at Casa Vieja a popular chinchorro in the municipality of Ciales said visitors should definitely put a chinchorreo day on their itinerary the best advice I can give you is try to rent a car or a driver and do chinchorreo around the mountains,” he said “It’s really going to give you a good all-around sense of what we are as Puerto Ricans and what we have.”  Different chinchorros have their own specialties a kind of stew version of pasteles without the outer pastry “We serve what we serve in big parties for our family,” Mena said “We’re trying to bring what it’s like to be in a family atmosphere to the business.” Discover Puerto Rico has a listing of almost 200 chinchorro stops, which you can filter by region on its website to help plan your own route Rodriguez said many municipalities on the island also publish their own chinchorro maps and guides Mena said chinchorreos are a big draw for tourists to visit the island’s central region “Chinchorreos give life to people in the mountains the more people are going to be able to open businesses,” he said families can dare to open new businesses with new concepts in the mountains and we can futher diversify chinchorreo and the mountains.” A week-long street festival in Old San Juan closes out Puerto Rico’s extended holiday season with music and dancing throughout the neighborhood A parade on Calle San Sebastián is the centerpiece and local artisans set up booths to sell their wares but the crowds can get so large that car access is limited to Old San Juan Public transportation is bolstered to the area but definitely be prepared for lines and waits Cruising Altitude: Avoid long lines and high ticket prices by flying on the holidays. American citizens don’t need a passport to visit Many airlines offer direct flights from major cities especially those on the East Coast and the Midwest Rodriguez said the holiday season is a great time to visit and get to know the local culture “I just think it’s a very special season for people to come visit,” she said “We love celebrating and music and food and being in a festive atmosphere so you get to see a lot more of that displayed Editor’s note: The reporter on this story received access to this trip from Discover Puerto Rico Zach Wichter is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in New York You can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com Ada Rivera and her husband Jose Guzman saw the destruction of Hurricane Maria as an opportunity to give their Adjuntas home a special touch that they had been wanting to do: paint the Puerto Rican flag on the roof of their home so everyone riding through the winding roads can see ‘We are proud to be Puerto Rican and want everyone to see that Hurricane Maria did not win this fight,’ said Rivera (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Puerto Rico’s rural mountain towns and municipalities were some of the last to receive aid after Hurricane Maria because of their remote location and the island’s relatively poor roads Many of the people in these areas are older residents who have chosen to stay on the island rather than migrate to the mainland United States they are some of Puerto Rico’s most vulnerable people – but they are also among the most resourceful and resilient Adjuntas is located in the central mountain range of Puerto Rico Known by islanders as “La ciudad del gigante dormido,” (The city of the sleeping giant) Adjuntas sits atop some of Puerto Rico’s tallest mountains Half of the population falls below the average median income making Adjuntas one of the poorest mountain towns in Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria left over 18,000 people without electricity for over six months After Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico was left without electricity and access to food She lives miles away from the city center but travels down the mountains of Adjuntas by foot to visit friends and family a few times a week She is known to some in the town as the Mountain Lady (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) The name Maria has changed the way Pablo J he has never experienced a more difficult hurricane 'Talking about this hurricane gives me goosebumps I have nightmares every night.' Hurricane Maria left Sanabria without electricity for over five months a postcard business that has been operating since the 1950s The doors to his business are once again wide open and he now has electricity The night that Hurricane Maria made landfall spent the night in the safety of her daughter’s home The winds battered the walls of the concrete home Water began pouring in through the windows and roof she could see her roofless house off in the distance I wish I were in my house.' (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Yauco is a large municipality located in southwest Puerto Rico Yauco starts in the central mountain range of the island and rolls down into a valley extending to the Caribbean Sea Known as “El Pueblo de Cafe,” (Coffee City) Yauco is the main producer of coffee on the island tore through the island’s coffee plantations and devastated the coffee production with damages totalling approximately $10 million leaving coffee farmers throughout Yauco with little to no hope of rebuilding their industry Yauco is a large municipality located in the southwest of Puerto Rico Manuel Dox is the owner of Hacienda Mireia a coffee farm in the high mountains of Yauco Dox’s grandfather was a coffee farmer and inspired Dox to leave his finance job in New York City and pursue coffee farming After Hurricane Irma and Maria ravaged the island Dox’s 50 acre coffee plantation was completely destroyed leaving him and his wife scrambling to make ends meet Dox named his coffee plantation after his wife Mireia Casamitjana who he met while they were studying in Babson College in Massachusetts After he expressed his passion for starting a coffee plantation Mireia left her pharmaceutical job in Barcelona and joined Dox Dox and his workers were able to re-plant 1,500 coffee plants They started a coffee plant nursery with the coffee beans they salvaged from the hurricane Dox said that the Puerto Rican government is responsible for providing coffee farmers with plants to help sustain their farms but the process has been problematic since the hurricane Dox and his wife decided to move out of their home and into an empty house on their property to give one of his right hand man’s family a place to live after Hurricane Maria destroyed their home ‘A man and his wife can only do so much,’ said Dox after explaining how they are slowly running out of money to invest in the coffee plantation ‘From making six figures in New York City to barely making anything .. We are living off of savings and Puerto Rican farmers insurance To rebuild what we used to have and make this plantation productive it takes much more than what we receive.’ (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Known by islanders as “Los Valerosos,” (The Valiant Ones) Ciales is located in the central mountain range of Puerto Rico making Ciales one of Puerto Rico’s poorest mountain towns Hurricane Maria ravaged Ciales leaving over 19,000 people incapable of accessing roads and without light for over six months Ciales is only 45 minutes away from the island’s metropolitan center of San Juan but many residents did not see FEMA agents until a month after Hurricane Maria made landfall The Roja family members have lived in Ciales their entire life Hurricane Maria completely destroyed the family’s home and they were forced to leave They found refuge in a home that was lended to them by a neighbor who lives in the mainland United States The temporarily home also suffered severe damage A blue FEMA tarp serves as a roof for parts of the home There are seven kids in the Roja family: Kaxushaka Francheska and Joselyn play the mother’s role Seven-year-old Julio is the youngest of the Roja family The night Hurricane Maria hit the mountain town of Ciales watched over Julio as he cried throughout the night (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Despite the family’s living conditions and the added difficulties of the hurricane Roja wants to continue going to school and one day become a doctor Kaxushaka Roja shares a room with her three sisters she does her part to take care of her younger siblings playing here with sisters Joselyn and Angeles The roof was destroyed by the Hurricane so they make due with a tarp that paints the room a shade of blue Blue used to Benjamin’s favorite color but after the Hurricane Barrio Real is a small suburb in Patillas which is located on the southeastern coast of Puerto Rico Patillas is known by islanders as “La Esmeralda del Sur” (The Emerald of the South) for its lush green mountains that roll to the coast Fifty-five percent of Barrio Real’s population is retired and many live below the poverty line Barrio Real does not use Puerto Rico’s water reserve and filtration system that most of the island uses The community relies on their own filtration system to purify water from the river that flows through the the small mountain community with the loss of electricity because of Hurricane Maria Barrio Real residents also lost their access to clean drinking water She was born and raised in Patillas where she and her late husband raised their family I know more than half is destroyed but this where I am happy Along with losing electricity and access to clean drinking water Dona Chefa’s home was severely damaged by Hurricane Maria Dona Chefa remembers seeing the river behind her home flow the opposite direction the night that Hurricane Maria made landfall destroyed homes and left the green mountains of Patillas dark brown like a wildfire had passed through the island Porfirio Fraticelli is a retired police officer in charge of the water filtration system in Barrio Real He lives off his retirement pension and volunteers his time to oversee the water plant 'I feel like it is my responsibility to bring clean drinking water to my community once again but it is not easy to do,' Fraticelli said in Spanish 'We don’t have electricity and clean water.' Fraticelli’s wife suffers from Alzheimer's and said Hurricane Maria has made his life harder (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) an Israeli NGO focused on humanitarian aid have been able to craft a design that could bring clean drinking water to residents of Barrio Real using a gravitation water filtration system that does not rely on electricity Neuman and Fraticelli have been using other sanitation methods to give clean water to Barrio Real residents (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project Porfirio Fraticelli walks up a winding trail that leads to a waterfall to check if the water filtration system He is 68 years-old and is worried he is getting to old for the job but doesn’t know of anyone who is willing to take over his position Ponce is the second largest city/municipality in Puerto Rico following San Juan Known as “La Perla del Sur,” (The Pearl of the South) Ponce’s northern boundary begins in a mountainous region that flows into a valley and reaches the island’s southern coast Ponce’s population of almost 200,000 lost electricity and easy access to food and water Though much of Ponce’s coastline and city center regained power relatively quickly farmers in the mountain regions remained without power for months a coffee plantation in the mountains of Ponce has dedicated his life to the coffee industry He and his wife and co-owner of the hacienda knew that starting and owning a business would be hard but they were not prepared for the destruction of Hurricane Maria Kurt Legner and Eva Lisa Santiago offer tours coffee tastings and bed and breakfast lodging on their hacienda but since Hurricane Maria tourism to the central parts of the island has fallen off ‘It has been very hard since the hurricane We have not had as many people come to tour,’ said Legner ‘But we are hopeful this will change.’ (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Only 1,500 of the over 7,000 coffee plants survived on Hacienda Pomarrosa after Hurricane Maria owner Kurt Legner started seeing the remaining coffee plants blossom throughout the hacienda ‘There is new life that Hurricane Maria has brought us,’ said Legner Though thousands of coffee plants were lost because of the hurricane Santiago is determined to serve all her guests cappuccinos or expressos but because of the hurricane they have been selling their coffee beans online Kurt Legner and Eva Lisa Santiago’s son moved from the island to pursue his own career in the coffee industry Legner wishes his son would come back to the island and help with Hacienda Pomarrosa but knows that because of the destruction of Hurricane Maria his son will not have opportunities in Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria did not crush Eva Lisa Santiago’s spirit She said she has poured her entire life’s savings into the business and will do everything she can to see Hacienda Pomarrosa grow ‘Hurricane Maria scarred our land but still we see life coming back There is still life in Puerto Rico.’ (Photo by Lerman Montoya/Cronkite Borderlands Project) Cronkite News is the news division of Arizona PBS. The daily news products are produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Find a staff list and description of our beats here. Privacy statement Learn more about what we do and how to find our content on our broadcast Find out how your news organization can use Cronkite News content © 2025 Cronkite News. All rights reserved. Creative Commons Embed on your websiteClose×Copy the code below to embed the WBUR audio player on your site<iframe width="100%" height="124" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://player.wbur.org/news/2018/10/25/help-from-boston-puerto-rico-water"></iframe> and a band of environmentalists trudges through the woods They are accompanying a group of locals from the community of Pozo Azul to the source of the community's water supply who heads the independent water authority for the community Starting at a spring about three miles from town the water is pumped through a system of tubes that runs along a precarious mountain road and they were connected to the power grid until Hurricane Maria hit wiping out infrastructure all over Puerto Rico the aqueduct of Pozo Azul is still running on a generator referring to officials from Puerto Rico's electrical authority Pozo Azul is one of 237 communities across Puerto Rico — accounting for roughly 3 percent of the island — that is not connected to the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority. That gives them a level of autonomy, but it also means they fend for themselves in a hurricane. After Hurricane Maria, the faucets in places like Pozo Azul ran dry. Chevere says he hasn’t given up hope that the federal government will come to the rescue. But in the meantime, there’s a new initiative that could take up the slack. It’s called the Water Alliance, supported by the Puerto Rico Community Foundation, the nonprofit Bosque Modelo and Oxfam America, and it’s providing technical and financial support to communities running their own aqueducts. Here in Pozo Azul, the Water Alliance is looking at the possibility of solar power. Alison Mason of Sun Juice Solar lays an sun reading instrument on the ground to find if the proposed solar panel project would be feasible. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)"It's definitely technically feasible," said Alison Mason, a solar power engineer working with the Water Alliance. "It's just a question of, you know, how do you build a structure in such a wet place that can flood." Mason says the area where Pozo Azul's spring is located brings unique challenges: like the shade from the limestone cliffs all around, and also the thick underbrush that, if upset, could create an ecological problem. The solution is far from settled, but the Water Alliance will ultimately propose multiple options to the local water authority, and they will also help see that the work is financed. The Alliance was formed in the wake of Hurricane Maria, with funding from Cambridge-based Oxfam America. (Water experts at MIT are also pitching in with knowledge of the latest techniques for testing water.) Oxfam had never operated in Puerto Rico until now, and the group has identified water sustainability as one of its top priorities. Brenda Guzman is a public health expert in Puerto Rico who was hired by Oxfam after the storm. "When the hurricane hit we knew that these communities were more vulnerable," Guzman said. "... It was their own responsibility to restore their system because they are located in isolated rural areas, highlands in Puerto Rico." Guzman raises a question that advocates across the island are trying to answer — can the hurricane recovery be an opportunity to make Puerto Rico more resilient than it was before? She says that’s what the Water Alliance is about. "We see that by helping them around the aqueduct we are also [helping] to get a stronger community that will be able to solve all the problems beyond water," she said. "And I think that's important end result of this." Back in Pozo Azul, Israel Chevere shows the end result of all his effort. He turns the faucet, and a stream of water comes rushing out. Now if they can get their aqueduct powered by the sun, the water of Pozo Azul will be that much sweeter. Simón Rios ReporterSimón Rios is an award-winning bilingual reporter in WBUR's newsroom SARASOTA — While Puerto Rico's urban cities regain electricity islanders living in rural parts of the U.S territory are slowly moving forward with the basic necessities of life According to the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority the founder of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Florida said farmsteads on mountaintops have little or no electricity or water Farmers are using primitive means — including oxen — to re-grow their livelihoods has been working with small farmers for 12 years to export products They established the "Puerto Rico Farmer's Fund" in November to help hurricane-affected ranchers who provide produce Twice the group has gone into countryside to deliver checks on foot — it's one of the only ways to reach farmers is a teacher at an intermediate school (grades 4-8) The city is located 43 miles southwest of San Juan near the Toro Negro Forest Reserve and is surrounded by four rivers The city suffered flooding when Hurricane Irma and Maria passed over Puerto Rico Rodriguez grows her food without chemicals on a property far away from the school She said trees make it impossible to have a farm close to campus High school students have helped her clean the school's farm and she was one of 50 farmers to receive a check from the PRCCF plastic — to protect leader plants that are growing," Rodriguez said I have the opportunity to expand my grow area and I have employed people that have come to my farm Work is hard in Puerto Rico because it's done in the mountains The PRCCF provided Rodriguez with flower seeds that help protect the worker bee population Cuevas-Neunder calls farmers like Rodriguez the island's "first responders," who can be called on in catastrophes to provide food for everyone on the 110-by-40-mile wide island which is only 1,200 miles from the southeast coast of Florida The PRCCF has made two trips to Puerto Rico this year and plans to return with more money and seeds in May Most farmers receive grants of $300 and $1,000 and many have pooled the money together for the benefit of the community to help fumigate for mosquitoes and to re-establish water connections Communication is still intermittent six months after Maria pummeled Puerto Rico with 160 mph winds destroying 80% of the island's crops The group brought 73 pounds of seeds to farmers during its trip I ended up with one particular farmer who had no phone or no email," said Cuevas-Neunder who said there were about 200 small farms in Puerto Rico "I had the address and by asking people where the farmer was we went through a road that only one car could go through On each side of the road was a huge cliff — we went around until we reached them "When I reached them (farmers) it was like they had seen an angel She told us they have to go very far to get water from the mountain Water from the mountain is beautiful; it’s clean Cuevas-Neunder said she has contacted the U.S Department of Agriculture to consider providing solar power to rural farms She said independent energy would allow them to quickly recover after a devastating storm and allows the countryside to look more natural "People need to understand the sun is a gift," Cuevas-Neunder said "We need to use it because it’s a wise thing to do." Rodriguez is continuing to teach despite difficulties at her farmstead who she calls her "little farmers" seeds to start their own farms "It's important that more help comes to Puerto Rico," Rodriguez said Donations to the "Puerto Rico Farmer's Fund" can be made online at puertoricanchamberofflorida.com and the PRCFF is asking Florida farmers to "adopt a farm." The group says 100% of the funds received goes directly to farmers in Puerto Rico "We are hoping to give farmers at least $5,000 to $10,000 for the rest of the year to build." Cuevas-Neunder said "The next time hopefully they will be in a better situation." The PRCCF can be reached at 941-966-2820 or by email at PuertoRicanChamberSM@msn.com Sixteen days after Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico Maria de Lourdes Sandoval heard helicopters over her village of Bajura forcefully waving her arms and crying for help as they touched down on a nearby soccer field impassable roads and downed telephone lines are being helped by helicopter teams from the U.S Army's First Armored Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade and the 101st Airborne Division's "Dustoff" unit Daily missions are flown out of the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station in Ceiba which was closed in 2004 but is now being used by the Army “It hurts because I remember how it used to be and now it's completely different,” said Sergeant First Class Eladio Tirado he returned home in a Blackhawk helicopter Tirado asked the pilots to fly over his family’s home because he had been unable to reach them by phone but Tirado was confident the message would reach his family: he’s here and he’s helping Media reports led crews to the village of San Lorenzo which had received no federal assistance since the hurricane Dozens of people pressed against a fence to watch helicopters land Crews are also transporting people to emergency centers and mapping open roads so trucks can make deliveries Rooftop messages like one near Humacao come through loud and clear as Blackhawks from the 1st Armored Division flew over people on a rooftop reached toward the sky to signal they needed water As helicopters scouted the island's mountainous interior one recent Saturday a woman held a jug in the air They circled above houses built on top of mountains to find a level field to unload their precious cargo One field looked open and a Blackhawk came within eight feet of the ground The crew soon found another needy community Villagers quickly lined up to help soldiers pass food and water to a crowd One woman hugged Pilot Chris Greenway to thank him for water hundreds of bottles of water were given to families and families with babies had no way of getting basics Diapers and formula have become luxury goods The lack of potable water is slowly choking these villages and helicopters can only carry so much The crews can only hope they can return soon enough to make a difference "This island will never stop,” Tirado said and they're going to see a better tomorrow.” WGN-TV CHICAGO — Chicago was once known as the “hog butcher to the world.” These days there are roughly a dozen slaughterhouses licensed to operate in the city and most do so far from the public eye That’s not the case in the trendy Bucktown neighborhood where a family owned store that sells chickens quail and other animal meat so fresh it was alive just before the sale “I can hear the birds screaming and crying Boyles is a 22-year-old DePaul graduate who moved in next to Ciales Poultry in the 2100 Block of West Armitage Avenue last year. Even though the store’s owner is her landlord she insists she had no idea before she moved in that poultry was being killed steps from her apartment I can hear it loud and clear which is why I put up this foam wall; but it barely works,” she said Boyles has now teamed up with the animal rights group Slaughter Free Chicago which recorded video of the late night deliveries of live chickens.  “The intention is to expose what’s happening in our own backyards and pressure city officials to enforce their own laws,” said Robert Grillo of Slaughter Free Chicago.  A new lawsuit claims the poultry purveyor is a public nuisance and is violating a city ordinance saying slaughter facilities can’t operate within 200 feet of private residences “This is not simply about animals and abuse that happens,” attorney Jordan Maty saids.  “It’s a threat to the neighborhood with bacteria and all the other contaminates they carry.” Ciales Poultry is a family-owned market that has existed for decades.  “I say they should go protest and Jewels or Marianos,” Frankie Perez And the city appears to be siding with the store.  Watch the full report in the video player above Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" these are the actual most popular baby names so far in 2025 Whether it’s a short vacation or they’re jetting off to begin their career show the future traveler you care with a meaningful graduation gift National Teacher Appreciation Week begins May 5 take advantage of these freebies and deals!