Puerto Rico -- Towns in central and southern Puerto Rico are struggling to emerge from a prolonged power outage that forced authorities in the U.S This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Northwest Arkansas Newspapers LLC Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2025 audio and/or video material shall not be published rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use The AP will not be held liable for any delays errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing Cover Page Legal HistorySports SearchLUMA begins work on power lines in Santa Isabel 20242 min readLUMA personnel began work on lines 100 and 200 in Santa Isabel to add redundancy for customers LUMA personnel began work on lines 100 and 200 in Santa Isabel to add redundancy for customers in Santa Isabel we have taken a series of specific measures to guarantee that our customers in Santa Isabel and this is one of the actions to provide greater stability and resilience,” the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system said in a statement These construction works will include installing more than 45 transmission structures and over 50,000 feet of cables along the PR-1 highway between Salinas and Santa Isabel which will take four to six weeks and cost approximately $2 million which have been out of service since Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017 LUMA formally submitted to FEMA a project for the reconstruction of both lines from Guayama to Ponce for $192 million LUMA had to request all endorsements from federal and state agencies before beginning work on this segment of the line “We need to complete these construction works correctly and with the endorsement of all relevant agencies so as not to compromise the reconstruction project with federal funds for the complete lines We urgently need to give more redundancy to this area as soon as possible which is why we have responsibly dedicated significant resources to repair the line in Santa Isabel,” confirmed Hendzon Martínez who has over 20 years of experience in the system “We have remained in constant communication with area mayors to keep them informed of the progress of the work and we are confident of the benefits to their communities when we complete the construction work.” Martínez added LUMA substation engineering and operations personnel continue coordinating plans to transport the transformer stored in Maunabo to the Santa Isabel substation for installation as quickly and safely as possible LUMA employees carried out visual inspections and other work before the start of transportation operations personnel have planned vegetation management and maintenance work on the main feeder of Maunabo and the substation located in the urban area of the municipality to increase the resilience and reliability of the system in the area workers completed work in Santa Isabel to disconnect the damaged transformer and remove it from its base for transfer to other LUMA facilities “We continue to focus on completing the necessary work to safely transfer the transformer located in Maunabo and provide stability to the electrical service to our customers in Santa Isabel and Coamo.” Alejandro González stated director of lines of the Central and South division of LUMA and a sense of urgency with the good of our clients in mind,” he added © 2025 The San Juan Daily Star - Puerto Rico SearchCoamo mayor: 30-35 municipalities could cease operations due to budget cutsThe San Juan Daily StarJul 16 20242 min readCoamo Mayor Juan Carlos García PadillaBy The Star Staff Coamo Mayor Juan Carlos García Padilla demanded on Monday that Gov Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia and the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico explain the economic plan for the island’s municipalities in light of the elimination of the Equalization Fund and funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 García Padilla warned that between 30 and 35 municipalities could close operations due to economic insolvency with the approval of the new government budget “There are Associated [Popular Democratic Party-led] and Federated [New Progressive Party-led] municipalities that will be forced to cease operations,” García Padilla said in a written statement “The governor and the [oversight] Board have to inform us of the final decision They cannot continue talking about economic band-aids that do not resolve the critical situation and the effect on essential services to the communities.” The mayor said the economic impact will begin to be felt this fiscal year and will intensify starting in January 2025 He added that the Essential Services Fund and other allocations for municipal property and school maintenance do not solve the lack of operational funds which also puts millions of dollars in reconstruction projects at risk García Padilla pointed out that although many towns are making the structural changes requested by the oversight board and maximizing municipal revenue collections they will not be able to survive budgetarily “It is contradictory to leave municipalities without operational funds in the middle of a recovery process where millions of dollars could be lost in projects that depend on the financial solvency of the municipalities that [in turn] allows the continuity of management work,” he said The mayor noted that the Equalization Fund was created along with the law establishing the Municipal Revenue Collections Center -- commonly known as CRIM its acronym in Spanish -- to ensure that all municipalities received the necessary funds for basic services such as garbage collection the oversight board eliminated the fund to balance the central government budget are the ones who solve everything in the country,” García Padilla said “While the central government collapses and makes all basic services more expensive we continue to solve them with leftover crumbs to the detriment of the people who need them the most The elimination of this fund goes directly to the essential services of the population that they meet with the mayors and tell us the real plans The Equalization Fund has accounted for more than 30% of the budget in at least 17 of 78 municipalities 52% of Adjuntas’ budget came from the equalization fund Comerío topped the list with 39.7% of its budget coming from the fund There are no statistics available for this player Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here Five days after Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico its devastating impact is becoming clearer territory currently has no electricity or running water fewer than 250 of the island’s 1,600 cellphone towers are operational and airports are slowing the arrival and transport of aid Communication has been severely limited and some remote towns are only now being contacted told the Associated Press that Hurricane Maria has set the island back decades We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com A collection of winning and honored images from this year’s nature-photo competition A collection of amazing recent images made with the Hubble Space Telescope Mourners of Pope Francis gathered at the Vatican scenes from the the second weekend of Coachella 2025 and landscapes of the Earth’s arctic and subarctic regions This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience The loan guarantee is intended to finance a Convergent Energy and Power solar system with integrated battery energy storage and three stand-alone energy storage projects across Puerto Rico The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office announced a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee of up to $559.4 million to subsidiaries of Convergent Energy and Power Inc. The loan guarantee is intended to finance a solar system with an integrated battery energy storage system (BESS) and three stand-alone BESS projects across Puerto Rico The loan guarantee is for up to $584.5 million of which $559.4 million is principal and $25.1 million in capitalized interest The island of Puerto Rico has been ravaged by hurricanes most recently by Hurricane Ernesto in August which reportedly left half the island without electricity The Convergent energy storage systems are expected to enhance Puerto Rico’s grid resilience reduce the need for fossil fuel generation and lower energy costs “Enhancing grid reliability and sustainability in Puerto Rico is critical We applaud the Department of Energy for recognizing Convergent Energy and Power’s track record of expertise in the energy storage and solar sectors through this conditional commitment from the U.S Department of Energy Loan Programs Office,” said Frank Genova “We look forward to contributing to the modernization of Puerto Rico’s electric grid and advancing its clean energy goals.” The project will include the installation of a solar-plus-storage system in Coamo The 100 MW solar system will be paired with a 55 MW Three more utility-scale stand-alone battery storage systems are planned for the municipalities of Caguas These systems are expected to generate power directly to Puerto Rico’s grid the projects will move Puerto Rico further toward meeting its clean energy and climate policy goals The Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act (Act 17) requires Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) to stop coal-fired energy generation by 2028 and shift to a 100% renewable energy mix by 2050 In addition to building resilience and helping to meet clean energy goals these systems are expected to contribute to the avoidance of nearly 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on an annual basis by reducing the need to operate fossil fuel powered generation As with all conditional loans from the Loan Programs Office, Convergent must develop a comprehensive Community Benefits Plan that ensures engagement with community and local labor Convergent reports that it is evaluating potential workforce agreements in support of the project expects to establish apprenticeship programs to train local workers to carry out at least 15% of total work hours with the first installation announced that include subsidized residential solar and battery storage systems through the PR-ERF’s Programa Acceso Solar Puerto Rico’s distributed solar capacity reached 842 MW by April this year while residential storage has reached 1.6 GWh Consultancy Wood Mackenzie has projected that over the next ten years more than 90% of Puerto Rico’s solar additions will be distributed solar More articles from Anne Fischer Please be mindful of our community standards and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy pv magazine USA offers daily updates of the latest photovoltaics news We also offer comprehensive global coverage of the most important solar markets worldwide up to date information delivered straight to your inbox Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value" Welcome to pv magazine USA. This site uses cookies. Read our policy. × The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this Close The Foundling’s Head Start program operates in Puerto Rico and provides high-quality early education and child development services and emotional growth for later success in school The center-based program embeds responsive and effective teacher-child interactions The Head Start program integrates parent and family engagement strategies into all systems and program services to support family well-being and promote children’s learning and development and linguistically appropriate learning experiences in language To deliver such high-quality early education and child development services the program is staffed by qualified teachers Operating across Puerto Rico Head Start services are provided by The Foundling in five municipalities: San Juan The program educates children ages 3-5 in specially designed early childhood centers Annual Report 2023-2024 Annual Report 2022-2023 Informe Annual 2020-2021 Cataño Coamo Toa Baja San Juan Vega Alta The services featured on this page are supported by Grant Numbers #02CH011266 and #02TD000191 from the Office of Head Start within the Administration for Children and Families Neither the Administration for Children and Families nor any of its components operate or necessarily endorse this website (including and recommendations expressed are those of The New York Foundling and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Administration for Children and Families and the Office of Head Start came to The Foundling’s Early Head Start Center in San Juan when she learned she was pregnant with her first son for pre-natal guidance and parent resources and support Working in partnership with Head Start specialists Bianca later learned that Kermitt had mild attention deficit challenges Kermitt began to receive the services and help he needed to succeed in school and Bianca’s two younger daughters are currently receiving support and services through Head Start as well Bianca’s three children are thriving today—and she is too Find us   Get on the List   Donate   Employee Login   Rain showers this evening with overcast skies overnight The established sustained damages over hurricanes Irma and Maria Essential Services and Consumer Affairs Committee today held a hearing to investigate the reconstruction status of the Baños de Coamo hotel orders the commission to investigate the efforts carried out by the Land Administration (LA) regarding the reconstruction and redevelopment of the Baños de Coamo hotel It also orders evaluating the process used by the Property Development and Administration Office (ODAP by its Spanish acronym) to select and recommend the hotel lease to Coamo Springs Investments "The rehabilitation and reopening of the Baños de Coamo hotel is a priority for this company due to the economic and tourism impact that it represents in the area's development it is our responsibility as the Legislative Assembly to ensure the proper management of public and federal funds in order to guarantee their maximization," Hau stated She added: "we are going to investigate as the resolution requests to know at what stageis the process of claiming disbursement and use of the funds assigned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for restoration and reconstruction works in the hotel." After the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 the hotel sustained severe damages to its physical plant for having full ownership over the property claimed the damages caused by the hurricanes before FEMA; however at the moment the place remains in battered conditions and threatens the safety health and well-being of residents in the southern region "The cleaning and maintenance work that the place receives are carried out by the personnel of the municipality of Coamo the Land Authority is responsible for making the necessary rehabilitation and reconstruction improvements This view confirms the deterioration of the place and is the first step in the investigation carried out by our commission," she affirmed The Integrated Development Commission of the South Central Region of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico —which carries out a general study of the current situation of the municipalities that make up the region— participated in the hearing Martínez Soto said that part of her mission is to ensure that the LA has more effective communication with the municipality “This is a property of the Land Administration and where the municipality manages it and it is a heritage of Coamo for all the people of Puerto Rico The reconstruction is estimated at an approximate amount of $7 million," she stated adding that it will deteriorate further if the process continues to delay Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Danny Santiago created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories There are many legends of the chess world from the post-war period (1945 to the present) who at some point have set foot on Puerto Rican soil to train our players and Veselin Topalov are just some of those luminary figures whose presence has nourished Puerto Rican national chess.  I had the opportunity to see one of these illustrious visitors in person when I was able to attend a talk on endgames given by Grandmaster Edmar Mednis in the mid-1990s at the Casa del Ajedrez at the old naval base in Miramar Thirty years later I still remember the great impression that that conference left on me conference given by the player who had beaten Bobby Fischer in a French Defense in the 1962 United States Championship Mednis was a great pedagogue of the  game and on top of that that had also achieved a great result on the island a decade earlier when he shared first place with the then Dominican international master Ramon Mateo in the 1984 San Sebastián International Tournament.  In this essay I would like to highlight another of those masters who has left an indelible mark on Puerto Rican chess I am referring to the Serbian Grandmaster Borislav Ivkov What follows is mostly a personal chronicle sprinkled with historical data related to his relationship with our island.  —--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the Coamo International Chess Tournament was held and It was the first international event during Edgar Murray's presidency of the Puerto Rico Chess Federation a talk had been given at the Casa del Ajedrez, where the speaker was none other than Borislav Ivkov It was precisely in that talk that I found out that the Yugoslav Grandmaster was going to play in Coamo, a news that immediately motivated me to participate in the event I simply wanted to see that legend play in person I had seen many mentions of him in Frank Brady's magnificent biography of Bobby Fischer I had also followed in his footsteps between 1992 and 1994 in the magazine New in Chess when they covered the annual “Women versus Veterans” meetings sponsored by the Dutch patron Joop van Oosterom along with Yuri Balashov (Karpov's former coach) in the well-remembered and controversial rematch between Fischer and Boris Spassky held in Sveti Stefan and Belgrade An important reason why the Serbian grandmaster had been invited to help the former world champion was that on two occasions- once in Chile in 1959 and another one in Cuba in 1965- Ivkov had beaten the legendary American player.  the 1992 rematch between Fischer and Spassky dominated the international media to the point that the newspaper El Nuevo Día both the reports from the EFE news agency and the columns written by former national champion Manuel Moraza that contained photos and the games I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that in some important ways I am a product of the dispute between Fischer and Spassky its just that it wasn't caused by the legendary Reykjavik meeting of 1972 but of Sveti Stefan and Belgrade twenty years later now in Coamo I had the opportunity to see one of the protagonists both of that 1992 meeting and in international chess that I arrived at the playing hall in Coamo There I saw a board with a handwritten list of the participants that would play in the international section with Ivkov at the top with a local Elo-Bird of 2595 (at the time he had a Elo-FIDE of 2470) followed by a Ukranian international master that I had never heard of who would soon become coach of the then prospect Waldemar Ortiz There was also an important delegation of masters from the Dominican Republic led by international master Gustavo Hernández.   In Coamo Ivkov won with 4.5 out of 5 Klovsky and the then national champion of Puerto Rico He defeated future national champion William Bermudez and three former Dominican national champions: Luis Belliard His only draws in the 32-player field was with Luis Santa who was also able to draw his game with Klovsky.  Many of Ivkov's games in Coamo seemed to have the same theme: gaining small positional advantages to be realized in an endgame the opponents succumbed to the technique of the 60-year-old Grandmaster who rarely got up from the table and wrote his moves with a simple pencil The one who did get up from the table was me I remember that at the end of one of the rounds I ventured to ask for his autograph I had brought my copy of Brady's book which featured a photo identified as that of a friendly game played during the 1966 Piatigorsky tournament between Fischer and Ivkov it turned out that the opponent who appeared with his back turned towards the camera was not Ivkov (Borislav clarified that) but I still obtained  Another thing that impressed me a lot during the tournament in Coamo was Ivkov's way of analyzing the Yugoslavian Grandmaster analyzed with his opponent under the gaze of several of us who wanted to understand echoing the famous book by Alexander Kotov Ivkov always gave general ideas and then ventured to show some specific lines His emphasis on the logic of the game and how to put it to work was a course in theory and praxis that in turn reinforced the impression that chess was a very simple game the impact of seeing him play and analyze in person was tremendous.   Ivkov would return the following year to play in the 2nd Coamo International Tournament a much stronger tournament than the previous year There he tied for first place with the Cuban International Master based in Miami while third place went to Gustavo Hernández by tiebreaker (3.5 out of 5 From that tournament I remember how disappointed I was when in the second round Ivkov and the Ukrainian international master Rafail Klovsky agreed to a draw Klovsky had just defeated Juan Santa's Benko Gambit in the first round (Juan would avenge that defeat later in the 3rd edition of the tournament in 1998) and I wanted to see the “clash of titans” that had not happened the previous year Unfortunately they opted for a completely sterile variation of the Petroff Defense and agreed to a draw in around 5 to 10 minutes (1 Ne5 d6 4.Nf3 Ne4 5 Qe2 Qe7 ½-½ ).  I saw Ivkov in the San Ignacio Open Tournament (I think in 1996 or 1997) offering a quick draw with white in the last round to national expert Miguel Mejías in the exchange variation of the king's Indian defense From that tournament I also remember his encounter in a previous round against my teacher and future national champion Juan Dávila who played an accelerated Dragon with black and obtained an excellent position which he then misplayed to eventually loose something similar happened to him when he faced Ivkov in the 1984 San Sebastián open tournament.   The last time I saw Ivkov I had a somewhat more direct and personal encounter The 1997 national championship was played at the Casa del Ajedrez in Miramar The tournament was more or less halfway through and Luis Jose “Yisi” Torres and Juan Dávila were leading the way (in the end Alejandro Montalvo won his second consecutive national championship) Ivkov was visiting and had sat down with Juan Santa to chat asking him if I could ask Ivkov some questions Ivkov had been one of Spassky's assistants in the 1992 revenge match In what was possibly the best game of that match Spassky with black succumbed to the Rossolimo variation in the Sicilian defense ( 1 Bb5) when Fischer offered him a queenside gambit early in the opening (3… g6 4 according to the book I had bought on the match written by the English Grandmaster and Korchnoi's former assistant my first question to Ivkov was: “how did you come up with that idea with f6?” His prosaic response was that “in game 11 we noticed the importance of the black diagonal for White after his b4 gambit so we decided to block it with everything possible from the pawn on f6 to the Nh6-f7 maneuver Once again Ivkov showing how “easy” chess was  My second question was a little harsher because it forced Ivkov to remember a moment in his career that definitely continued to give him nightmares I asked the simple but painful question “what happened?” in reference to his very famous game in the penultimate round against Gilberto García at the Capablanca Memorial in Havana in 1965 Ivkov was completely won against the tail-end of the tournament Ivkov smiled and put the position with Garcia after White's 36th move and told me something like "there was a lot of time pressure but I still don't know what happened to me."  Diagram: In this position Black played 36…d3? Bc3 they could not avoid mate on h8.  In the last round of this tournament Ivkov also lost in a game that showed the mood caused by the previous defeat against Garcia In the end he finished tied for 2nd place with Geller and Fischer The Serbian Grandmaster told me that until that moment he thought that the worst thing that had happened to him was the devastating defeat (2.5-5.5) against Larsen in the quarterfinals of the candidates tournament that had been held a few months earlier I realize that I should have alerted him that a common theme ran through the answers to both of my questions Ivkov in a way paid honor to one of the best-known collapses in chess Jose Raúl Capablanca had lost first place at the end of the historic 1914 Saint Petersburg tournament to Emmanuel Lasker after being the leader for much of the tournament it was against Lasker with whom he would compete in the world championship in 1921  I don't remember much else about the rest of the conversation with Ivkov but I do remember that at the end of the round that was being played in the national championship started to play blitz at one of the tables next to the wall that led to the office at the end of the hall Ivkov sat down to watch them play and immediately said “please no more theory!” when he saw the Spanish exchange variation that had so much prominence over the years in the games between the two former national champions and that Ivkov himself had used successfully in Coamo (Santana had used it against Ivkov himself in San Sebastián in 1984 and had achieved a draw).  Before those Coamo international tournaments Borislav Ivkov had played in other events on the island including the San Sebastián open in 1984 (tie for 1st with Ramón Mateo) and a closed international tournament that followed where he took 3rd-4th position with 6/9 together with Juan Bellón López behind Edmar Mednis and Ramón Mateo who scored 7/9 (the rest of the participants were Marcel Sisniega He had also served as coach of several youth teams (San Juan 1986 and 1987) Yerevan 1996 and Elista 1998) and when he was not captain he was kind enough to offer his help in the analyses The national master and captain of the Olympic team  “Ivkov was always very attentive and helpful Right at the beginning of Thessaloniki 1988 and Novi Sad 1990 he offered me his services and he was faithful to his offer [he was captain of Yugoslavia on both occasions] He once brought Dragoljub Velimirovic with him to help us analyze a sealed game Velimirovic spoke neither English nor Spanish but he moved the pieces and gesticulated very clearly in the analysis on the board.”   Regarding Ivkov's work with the Olympic team former national champion Orlando Santana recalls:   “Ivkov scheduled the Olympics' training sessions during the day and usually it was after his lunch that it was my turn to train with him When I arrived we had to take a walk around Condado He liked my speed in solving the tactics problems and when he gathered the group he always said 'let's see His favorite phrase when there was an interesting combination or game was 'look at this  Apparently it was through Narciso Rabell that the Ivkov-Puerto Rico connection occurred in terms of his work with our teams Former national champion Juan Dávila is almost sure that “they talked at the youth tournament in Argentina in 1985 about coming to train in Puerto Rico.”   Borislav Ivkov was part of a golden era of world chess Lajos Portisch and Bobby Fischer represented a new generation seeking to unseat Paul Keres Samuel Reshevsky and Mikhail Botvinnik as the greatest exponents of the game Ivkov was consistently the second best player in the chess powerhouse nation of Yugoslavia behind the legendary Svetozar Gligoric His run among the best probably had its last manifestation in the 1982 Bugojno tournament where a youthful Gary Kasparov won  (9.5/13) while Ivkov finished last (3.5/13) Even after this setback he continued to participate and achieve good performances in lower category tournaments.  who was the first World Junior Champion in 1951 Candidate for the World Championship in 1965 and winner of countless tournaments throughout the world This legendary figure of world chess definitely left his mark on the history of the game in our island and his legacy should be studied by new generations who seek inspiration to better develop their own game in all its facets Ivkov is one of the immortals of chess and we were very lucky that he connected part of his life with Puerto Rico in multiple ways.  Below I present a game of the Serbian Grandmaster against the then national champion Juan Santa Torres Santa tries to get off the theoretical path from the beginning against a rival known for playing everything The attempts by the white pieces to complicate the game against such his experienced rival lead to a counterattack against the white monarch that causes the loss of the game.  New York Almanack January 31, 2022 by 1 Comment Between 1935 and 1942 photographers of the New Deal’s Farm Security Administration (FSA) documented the lives and struggles of Americans enduring the Great Depression Considered one of the largest documentary photography projects ever undertaken the photographs include some of the most familiar and powerful images of the nation to emerge from the Depression Many have reached iconic status in American culture were made in every region of the nation and number in the tens of thousands and include are photographs made by Dorothea Lange The FSA was a New Deal agency created by President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1937 to help American farmers and farm laborers who were confronting economic depression and natural disaster including the ecological disaster known as the Dust Bowl It developed out of an earlier agency called the Resettlement Administration (RA) for which its director had established a publicity department to document rural poverty and government efforts to alleviate it That department included a photographic unit called the “Historical Section,” administrated by former Columbia University economics instructor Stryker enlisted a group of people who today comprise a virtual “Who’s Who” of 20th-century documentary photography The RA and its “Historical Section” were merged into the newly created FSA in 1937 Many of its photographers later forged careers that helped define photojournalism at magazines like Life and Look Most of the photographs depict rural life and hardships but they also include many images of town and city life The photographs provide visual affirmation of President Roosevelt’s assertion in his first inaugural address delivered at the lowest point of the Great Depression: “This great nation will endure as it has endured will revive and will prosper … the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” You can access the collection at the Library of Congress here: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/fsa/ Photos courtesy Library of Congress: Above a farm and woodlot about thirty miles west of Albany by Paul Carter of the FSA; and below Stories written under the Editorial Staff byline are drawn from press releases and other notices. Submit your news to New York Almanack here says FYI: I knew a few of these great photographers New York Almanack receives no public funds Please give today (a monthly recurring gift is best) PayPal Venmo Rally.org Patreon Buy Me A Cup of Coffee CashApp Use your bank’s “bill pay” option (or just send a check) Without your support we cannot publish the Almanack (Click the link below to not see this message again) Don't Show Me This Message Again. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Pedro Miguel Caratini Stadium in Coamo will host from Saturday the best-of-five final series of the Puerto Rico Roberto Alomar Youth Double-A League The Southern Division champions Maratonistas will host the Northern Division champions Bayamon Vaqueros The Maratonistas advanced to the final with a 4-3 win against the Albonito Titans Josian Soto bunted the go-ahead run to home plate in the ninth Reliever Luis Cruz pitched three scoreless innings for the win The Vaqueros eliminated the Dorado Guapos in a thrilling Southern Division final Reliever Yeniel Ortega pitched two innings for the win Sitemap Media Data Protection Contacts Avenue Général-Guisan, 45 CH-1009 Pully | Switzerland The WBSC is recognised as the sole competent authority in Baseball and Softball by the International Olympic Committee This work, Zumba fitness movement gets Camp Bondsteel Soldiers dancing, by SFC Jordan Werme, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright You can enjoy the experience this holiday season in Quebradillas and usually you need to travel to the mainland if you want to enjoy ice skating Coamo and Manatí will have their own ice skating rinks during this holiday season The Puerto Rico Skating Blast Tour will provide the joyful experience of skating on a synthetic ice rink designed and built in Switzerland During the event there will also be live music president of Rinks del Caribe LLC and producer of the Puerto Rico Skating Blast Tour explained that in addition to ice skating there will also be special activities on Christmas Eve The Puerto Rico Skating Blast Tour began on Nov 21 and will be in the town square of Quebradillas until Dec 8 the tour will be at the Morovis town square; from Dec 15 in the town square of Coamo; and from Dec The ice skating rink will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 6 p.m 4- Practice falling and getting up on the ice Bend your knees and squat into a dip position Push your feet apart and use the front of the blade to stop International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025 Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers You have reached the limit for gifting for this month Your destiny is shaped by the decisions you make From the moment Victor Caratini decided to leave his hometown of El Coamo Puerto Rico to study and play baseball in the United States “I made the tough decision to leave my motherland Puerto Rico by myself to chase my lifelong dream of studying and playing baseball in the United States,” Caratini said a 2011 alumnus of the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School was set to play college baseball at Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge His transfer transcripts were not submitted on time leaving him ineligible for the upcoming baseball season scouts told him that his best option to get signed for professional baseball was to play at Miami Dade College heeded the scouts advice and signed on to play at MDC He has been as advertised boasting a stout .381 batting average Caratini was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 8/ Florida College System Activities Association Player of the Week for Feb “It’s by far the best decision I have ever made “I couldn’t have ever asked for a better place to be I feel great where I am right now.”   Caratini knew the decision to leave Puerto Rico would be tough because of his close connection with his family took him to all of his games and cheered him on from the bleachers his grandmother still calls him before every game to bless him Caratini gained passion and interest for the game by playing for the Puerto Rican Youth National Team “I grew up on the fields watching my dad coach and teach,” Caratini said Sharks head coach Danny Price appreciates Caratini’s effort and this is all due to his hard work and dedication for his craft [in] the game of baseball,” Price said Caratini’s play has opened up his options after MDC Copyright © 2025 The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey With the Latino population in political ascendancy the alliance is poised to make sure their concerns are addressed .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Linda Ocasio/The Star-LedgerThis feature is part of "I Am New Jersey," a Star-Ledger series profiling some of the people who make the Garden State special Martin Perez was raised by his grandparents in Coamo a small working-class town nestled in one of Puerto Rico’s lush and verdant valleys where families shared what little they had you shared with the whole barrio,” Perez recalls “He was passionate about the land and honoring the past It continues to be an important part of his life the traditional music of Puerto Rico driven by percussion and lyrics that speak of everyday struggles He recalls his grandfather telling him to make sure he got a job in which he could sing “Being an advocate brought me joy,” says Perez founder and president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey the alliance is poised to play an important role in making sure their concerns are addressed Perez launched the alliance in 1999 to build critical mass among the far-flung Latino organizations in the state It has brought together Latino leaders to talk about solutions for education reform and improving health outcomes in the community and has since spun off a foundation and a political action committee to make sure its voice is heard when policies and programs are tested and enacted as law The alliance recently received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to research and develop programs that address the disparities in Latino health care “What Martin Perez has done is to create an organization that is a platform for a statewide response on Latino issues,” says Juan Cartagena the president and general counsel for Latino­Justice in New York who lives in Jersey City and was once a municipal judge in Hoboken knows that organizing Latinos in the Garden State is no small feat but North and South Jersey can be “pretty distant” in their concerns and viewpoints reflecting different communities: Puerto Rican “He’s creating synergy among all Latinos,” says Cartagena Cartagena and others who know Perez say his time in the trenches of civil rights and advocacy on the island and on the mainland has prepared him for this point “He was an activist before he came to the U.S and one of his strengths is he grew up in those environments and he’s more willing to challenge the status quo,” says Hector Bonilla Bonilla has known Perez for almost 30 years “Martin has learned to be an effective outsider He can see the emperor’s clothing for what it really is,” says Bonilla Coamo may be a small town on a small island but it was not isolated from the turmoil of the 1960s “I became politicized because of the Vietnam War,” he says Five years later he was working as a labor organizer for the island’s farm workers In 1973 he left the island to become director of an early childhood center Perez has degrees from the University of Puerto Rico (political science and labor studies) a master’s from Seton Hall University (education) and a law degree from Rutgers University Law School When he became a trial attorney for the Hudson County public defender he began to see how public schools failed Latino students It’s no surprise to know that Perez is a fan of boxing it’s not long before he moves in with a point that How public schools have failed minority youth is a common theme in his conversation: “We have schools that are a pipeline to the county jail We’re overrepresented in county jails and underrepresented in universities.” not a position embraced by his traditional allies But he believes it’s asking too much to ask parents to wait “The harm is irreparable for a child if a good education is delayed,” he says Cartagena credits Perez with addressing police brutality and the interests of a diverse police force "The alliance insisted on talking about law enforcement issues; not just victims of police abuse but the perspective of police officers," Cartagena says "How do we integrate ranks of police officers to get a better response to concerns of the Latino community?"Speaking the truth Preparing Latinos to hold public office — from either party — is another mission And although he would love to see more Latinos in elected office don’t think for one second that having Latino ancestry automatically guarantees his support “Being Latino is not qualification for higher office,” he says “Having a position on the issues and a political platform is.” And he has no use for Latino candidates anointed by a party or boss “It doesn’t do us any good if you’re just waiting for the party to tell you how to vote,” he says That’s the kind of verbal jab that has endeared him to many people even as it disturbs those clinging to the status quo Perez says it’s not about Democrat or Republican but about what works to advance the interests of the growing Latino population Perez took heat for supporting the Republican redistricting proposal in New Jersey He believes it gives Latinos the best chance to elect representatives from their community “Democratic leaders are the biggest obstacle to Latino representation,” he says taking note of their protection of incumbents “It’s the truth and we have to tell the truth to power,” he says The alliance’s influence is already rippling through a new generation of political leaders a Democratic Paterson councilman since 2008 at one time was a chapter president of the alliance “The alliance has shaped the person I am today,” he says Perez will take a seat this year on the Rutgers University Board of Governors where he will be in a position to help shape Rutgers in the 21st century There’s a saxophone in the corner of his office in New Brunswick and pictures of family fill a window: his wife with whom he runs a law firm in New Brunswick; his son Amilcar who has his own law firm in Perth Amboy; daughter Gabriella attending Rutgers with a focus on Latin American studies and the arts; and daughter Natalia studying theater at Montclair State University Other posters and pictures celebrate Latino artists Perez was part of the legal team that represented champion boxer Felix “Tito” Trinidad and other fighters and does pro bono work for local boxing clubs “It’s a good way to get kids out of the street,” he says “It gives them discipline that carries to other aspects of their life.” lawyers and police — gather at his house to watch the big fights on TV and the recent historic bout between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez was no exception Pacquiao was knocked out by Marquez in the sixth round They were both mentored at Rutgers Law School by the constitutional scholar Arthur Kinoy “Martin truly lives what we call ‘Arthur’s mantra,’ which we heard Arthur repeat dozens of times: ‘If you are to be excellent in your profession you must immerse yourself in the agonies of your time.’ ” Follow @StarLedger • Meet all of New Jersey's most fascinating people on this year's list Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. 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