Monday Jan 15, 2024

Monday, January 15, 2024

San Juan The

Star

Dangerous Subzero Wind Chills to Blanket Much of the US

DAILY 50¢

P7

Ticket to the Next Level

Fiscal Board Approves Key Settlement Paving Way for San Juan Port Development

Charbonier Invokes Mercy of God After Guilty Verdict; Her Lawyer Vows to Appeal

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NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL P 16

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Officials Grapple with Rise in Scams, Financial Exploitation Targeting Older Adults P4

2 Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

GOOD MORNING 3

January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fiscal board approves key settlement paving way for San Juan port development

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he Financial Oversight and Management Board has settled an alleged claim of about $601 million in obligations owed by the jPuerto Rico Ports Authority to the Government Development Bank (GDB)-Debt Recovery Authority (DRA), as successor entity to the GDB, a step that paves the way for development of key San Juan port infrastructure.

Puerto Rico Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority (AAFAF by its Spanish initials) Executive Director Omar Marrero Díaz and Ports Authority Executive Director Joel Pizá Batiz made the announcement in a recent statement. The obligations owed are related to financings that the GDB made to Ports in 2008, 2011 and 2014, secured in part by a pledge of Ports’ revenues and mortgages on certain Ports assets, including Piers 11 to 14 in the San Juan Bay Cruise Terminal.

The settlement of the obligations is critical in paving the way for Puerto Rico to complete the development of the San Juan Bay Cruise Terminal public-private partnership (P3) project, which aims to transform Puerto Rico into the Caribbean’s main cruise ship destination by modernizing, repairing and expanding nine docks in San Juan to receive larger vessels and more passengers.

The P3 project will accelerate completion of important capital improvement works needed to enhance the performance and safety conditions of the San Juan cruise ship piers. Increasing the number of cruise ships and tourism is expected to have a positive effect on Puerto Rico’s economy and further spur private infrastructure investment and job creation in Puerto Rico.

Elimination of the obligations also facilitates a private-sector project to develop a new large area of entertainment, culture, sports and gastronomy, Bahía Urbana, that will offer a welcoming framework to Old San Juan for local and foreign visitors and the new “Mega Yacht Marina” in piers 9 and 10 operated by Safe Harbor Marina.

The settlement of the obligations will eliminate nearly all of Ports’ long-term debts, allowing Ports to focus on its main objective of developing and promoting Puerto Rico as a transportation center with world-class air and maritime services.

Under the proposed settlement, some $601 million in obligations asserted by the DRA will be exchanged for a one-time payment of $320 million, of which up to $40 million may be paid in the form of investment securities at the DRA’s option, resulting in a discount of around 47%. The proposed settlement is expected to close before Jan. 31.

“The Ports settlement recently approved by the Oversight Board is the result of extensive negotiations

The public-private partnership project will accelerate completion of important capital improvement works needed to enhance the performance and safety conditions of the San Juan cruise ship piers. Increasing cruise ship and tourism numbers is expected to have a positive effect on Puerto Rico’s economy and further spur private infrastructure investment and job creation in Puerto Rico. and will facilitate the critically important P3 Project, Bahía Urbana and the Mega Yacht Marina,” Marrero Díaz said. “The cruise line industry has always been an important component of the island’s economy, but at this moment, we can’t compete on a large scale with other jurisdictions that are being transformed to attract more and larger ships with better port facilities. The proposed settlement agreement with the DRA and the execution of the P3 project will facilitate the infrastructure and modernization needs of Ports and make Puerto Rico a premier cruise ship destination.”

The AAFAF chief added: “This settlement represents an important achievement by AAFAF and Ports toward improving Ports’ financial situation and continuing a path of fiscal responsibility for the benefit of the people of Puerto Rico.”

“This settlement is evidence of our focus on finding responsible solutions, keeping the welfare of all stakeholders as our top priority,” Marrero Díaz said.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

Officials contend with rise in scams, financial exploitation of older adults

By THE STAR STAFF

S

ome 1,550 complaints involving scams and the financial exploitation of senior citizens were filed with the Office of the Elderly Advocate in fiscal year 2022-2023, according to a report Sunday.

Senators Marissa Jiménez Santoni and Keren Riquelme Cabrera met with Family, Justice, and Public Safety department officials to find solutions to the problem. Losing money or possessions to scams, fraud and/or exploitation can be especially devastating to older adults, who are often unable to earn back what they’ve lost.

Among the proposals presented is hiring intercessors to assist older adults when they go to court to testify in romantic and financial fraud cases. Another proposal entails increasing resources to the Puerto Rico Police Bureau to train personnel for this type of crime and educational programs targeting the island’s senior population, which, as of 2022, exceeded 760,000.

Besides romantic scams, other scams that target senior citizens involve health care/Medicare/health insurance fraud, counterfeit prescription drugs, funeral and cemetery scams, fraudulent anti-aging products, telemarketing, internet fraud, investment schemes, and homeowner/reverse mortgage scams.

Older adults may be especially vulnerable to online scams because they may not be familiar with the less visible aspects of web browsing, such as firewalls and built-in virus protection.

Sen. Marissa Jiménez Santoni “The figures on fraud schemes against our seniors are very worrying. According to data from the Office of the Elderly Advocate, for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, about 1,500 complaints were received by the agency’s exploitation office. The Office of the Citizen Ombudsman registered 123 complaints,” said Jiménez Santoni, the Carolina District senator. “We have to address these numbers urgently, and that is why we summoned these agencies to a summit meeting to come up with real ideas and proposals we can implement short-term.”

The panel endorsed Jiménez Santoni’s initiative to compile all laws that serve senior citizens in a new Code for Older Adults, thus simplifying their execution.

“I agree with Senator Jiménez. The data presented at this meeting are very worrying,” said Riquelme Cabrera, an at-large senator. “Puerto Rico is in the midst of the most significant demographic change in its entire history. Last year, only 18,000 babies were born, meaning the number of older adults will continue to grow exponentially. Therefore, protecting this important sector of our society has to be robust and even more so concerning fraud, since they are more susceptible to it.”

Among those attending the Sunday morning forum, held in the Capitol and lasting several hours, were the head of the Administration for Families and Children, Glenda L. Gerena; Eddie Olivera of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP); Liza Morales of the Department of Justice; Aled Calderón of the Department of Public Safety; and Stephanie Rivera and Dyrhow Adorno of the Office of the Elderly Advocate.

Riquelme Cabrera also promoted mass orientation initiatives for older people.

“The figure of the intercessor is important to the extent that cases are filed, as well as greater prevention,” Jiménez Santoni said. “We do this through an aggressive orientation campaign.

We will not abandon our older adults.”

The officials agreed to meet again in February to review the progress of the effort.

Treasury chief headed for ‘new opportunities for professional growth’

By THE STAR STAFF

G

ov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia announced late last week that he had accepted the resignation of Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés Alicea, effective Jan. 31.

The resignation of the civil servant is due to new professional challenges in the private

sector, the governor said.

“Francisco Parés Alicea has been an undisputed leader in the transformation of the Treasury Department to be more agile, reliable and offer better service to our citizens,” Pierluisi said in a written statement. “The implementation of SURI, creating an easily accessible digitized system; The disbursement, in record time, of

refunds to taxpayers and the payment of credits to pensioners and the credit for work are part of the legacy left by the secretary in the agency.

I recognize that he has always been willing to give his best to meet the challenges that I have entrusted to him so that the Treasury and our tax system respond to the needs of the people.

I thank you for your willingness, commitment and efficiency, and I wish you success in the private sector.”

Parés Alicea said “new opportunities for professional growth and important changes in my personal life are leading me in other directions.”

“I conclude my duties as Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Financial Officer of the Government with the satisfaction of having fulfilled the important mission of serving Puerto Rico,” he said. “Leading the Department has been and always will be the greatest distinction, as a professional and as a Puerto Rican. Digitalization, the structural changes we have implemented in the agency, and the teamwork that accompanied me on this journey contributed to achieving the historic results that have put Puerto Rico on the path to economic stability. That team effort will always transcend the figure of a secretary.”

The Treasury secretary added that “the challenges experienced in the Treasury were never

obstacles, rather they were a motivation and I guarantee you that each action was intended to achieve sound financial management and a fairer tax system for all.”

“I thank Governor Pedro Pierluisi for giving me the great opportunity to serve Puerto Rico, as well as the team that has accompanied me in this enormous responsibility,” Parés Alicea said.

“To my family, I will be eternally grateful for the support they always gave me. Today I deserve to go back to them. Thank you for all the signs of affection and respect you have given me …”

Parés Alicea stood out for simplifying and facilitating tax processes so that taxpayers could have better access to them. Similarly, during the pandemic, he managed to reach record and historic figures in the collection of contributions to the General fund. In addition, he efficiently achieved the disbursement of $4.247 billion in aid to taxpayers and participants of the various aid programs available as a result of the economic situation due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, as well as economic aid for small and midsize businesses.

Nelson Pérez will serve as the new undersecretary of the Treasury Department and will assume the interim position of secretary, once Parés Alicea ceases his functions.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

5

Charbonier invokes mercy of God after accepting jury’s guilty verdict

By THE STAR STAFF

F

ormer New Progressive Party lawmaker María Milagros Charbonier Laureano said that she must accept and respect a jury verdict finding her and her husband, Orlando Montes, guilty of corruption.

She made the remarks via social media over the weekend.

Late last week, a federal jury convicted Charbonier and her husband for engaging in a years-long theft, bribery and kickback scheme after inflating the salary of a legislative assistant in exchange for a portion of the assistant’s inflated salary.

“The process and its result have been what they have been, and we must accept and respect it. Democracy allows the citizen the opportunity to work on other processes, and we had already made that decision beforehand,” she said in an apparent reference to an appeal, a step that her lawyer Francisco Rebollo Casalduc announced he would take.

“But today I thank all the friends and brothers who accompanied me throughout the process and had our entire family in their prayers,” Charbonier continued. “The word of God is so beautiful that it constantly invites us to ‘cross the valley of tears’ and change it into a source. That’s what we did, and we will continue to do. Even before yesterday, God has worked many miracles in our lives and our family. That’s how God is; he does not abandon his children, which is the greatest of all miracles. We are convinced that he will never do it. No circumstance, no matter how terrible, can separate us from the love of God. That love and that ineffable peace is our eternal refuge. In the end, his purpose will always be fulfilled in our lives because God is good, and

Former Rep. María Milagros Charbonier Laureano his mercy endures forever.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from early 2017 until July 2020, Charbonier, also known as “Tata,” a former member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives, along with her husband, Orlando Montes, and her assistant, Frances Acevedo Ceballos, executed a scheme to defraud the government by engaging in a theft, bribery, and kickback scheme. Throughout the scheme, Charbonier inflated Acevedo Ceballos’ salary from $800 biweekly, after taxes, to nearly $2,900. Out of every inflated paycheck, Acevedo would keep a portion and kick back between $1,000 and $1,500 to Charbonier and Montes Rivera.

After learning of the investigation into illegal activities in her office and of a warrant for one of her phones, Charbonier proceeded to delete specific data on the phone, includ-

ing the entire call log, nearly all WhatsApp messages, and nearly all messages associated with the phone.

The jury convicted Charbonier and Montes of one count of conspiracy, two counts of theft, bribery and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of honest services wire fraud, and two counts of money laundering. The jury also convicted Charbonier of obstruction of justice for destroying data on her cell phone.

Charbonier’s attorney vowed to appeal the verdict.

“All the citizens of this island have the fundamental right to exercise their right to trial by jury and to require the government, when they are accused of an act against them, to prove them if they can,” Rebollo Casalduc said. “That right is fundamental and it does not have to be justified or explained to any-

one, the lawyer exercised it gallantly here, my respect and admiration for her, and her family, who are not like those who give in to these unfounded allegations. We, if you saw, presented a defense yesterday, which was a strong defense. The jury, in our judgment, was wrong; that is their prerogative and we respect it, but we do not agree.”

For his part, U.S. Attorney Seth Erbe, supervisor of the Public Corruption and White Collar Division of the District of Puerto Rico, said: “On behalf of the Puerto Rico Prosecutor’s Office, we want to say that we are very grateful for the work of the jury today.

Obviously, also to the work of the FBI agents here in Puerto Rico, of the prosecutors here in San Juan and also of the Public Integrity office in Washington D.C., who are part of the team that today delivered this message to all the official members of Puerto Rico and to the people of the island that no one, no one is above the law.”

Questioned about if he’s prepared for an appeal by the defense, Erbe said: “Obviously this is part of the process.”

“A sentencing hearing follows, we’re going to prepare for that,” he said. “That’s in April and then, they have the right to appeal and we’re going to fight, as long as there is evidence like in this case.”

The special agent in charge of the FBI in San Juan, Joseph González, noted: “This is another example of dedication to the people of Puerto Rico. We’re going to keep investigating.”

In all, the Attorney General’s Office called 15 witnesses during the 10-day trial, including legislative staffers, theTreasury secretary, members of the Office of Government Ethics, bank personnel and several agents from the FBI and other agencies involved in the investigation.

$17.1 million in funding assigned to PR via several federal agencies

By THE STAR STAFF

R

esident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón on Sunday announced $17.1 million in federal funding for Puerto Rico, which comes from several federal agencies to support vital health and juvenile justice programs, as well as advance the reconstruction of public infrastructure in communities.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded more than $7.4 million to the municipality of Yauco to continue repairing bridges and roads damaged by Hurricane Maria.

The municipality of San Juan ,meanwhile, will receive over $1.3 million for the repair of public buildings and equipment,

also under FEMA. In addition, the island capital will receive under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over $7.8 million for child care programs (Head Start and Early Head Start), and $460,242 to provide primary care services under the Health Center Cluster program.

The Office of Socioeconomic and Community Development is receiving $373,667 under the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.The latter funds provide resources to prevent and respond to juvenile delinquency through prevention and intervention programs to improve the juvenile justice system.

The resident commissioner secured the aforementioned funds during the appropriations approval process in Congress. Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

Energy Bureau to host conference on deployment of infrastructure for electric cars

By THE STAR STAFF

T

he Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) has scheduled a hybrid technical conference for Feb. 1 to discuss the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and transportation electrification at a time when there are few incentives for the population, especially the low-income sector, to purchase EVs. Recently, LUMA Energy, the private operator of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority’s transmission and distribution system, filed a summary of its collaboration with low-income community leaders and a public transportation company, and its attendance at community meetings and industry events as part of its efforts to support EV adoption.

LUMA gathered insights into customer opinions of electric vehicles and transportation, including challenges, through online and J.D Power surveys.

The PREB ordered LUMA to make available all relevant representatives with all pertinent documents for the Hybrid Technical Conference, and to ensure that those representatives be ready to answer any questions that PREB staff and/or commissioners may have during the conference. Last week, the

Rep. José Aponte Hernández U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) approved a grant of $51.48 million for the development of charging and alternative fuel supply areas for EVs in Puerto Rico.

However, incentives that can promote the adoption of EVs are few. Next week, the island House of Representatives is expected

to approve a concurrent resolution filed by New Progressive Party Reps. José Aponte Hernández and Víctor Parés Otero to demand that Congress include Puerto Rico in the federal tax credit on EV purchases.

Surveys from LUMA Energy recently reported on by the STAR noted that most

low-income customers in Puerto Rico are not interested or have not considered buying an EV, but cited electrical system reliability as a reason for not buying an EV. LUMA Energy noted that only 1% of the surveyed low-income customers own a fully electric vehicle, and about 0.2% own a plug-in hybrid vehicle.

About 41% said they have not considered buying an electric vehicle, and 38% said they have no interest in obtaining an EV. Only 1.7% said they plan to buy an electric car for their next vehicle.

About 23% of the low-income people surveyed said electrical system reliability was a big concern in their not buying an EV; 19% cited the prices of EVs and 17% cited electricity rates. About 3% cited the availability of public charging stations and 25% said they did not know enough to decide about buying an EV. The survey showed education on EVs was needed among low-income customers.

Seventy-four percent said they had heard about electric vehicles but did not know much about them. In contrast, 19% said they knew quite a lot about electric cars, and only 7% said they knew a lot about them.

GRUPO 21 honors Miriam Cruz, others in spirit of Clemente’s legacy of service

By THE STAR STAFF

W

ith the participation of personalities from political, civic and sports life, the Hispanic organization GRUPO 21, based in Washington, D.C. celebrated its third anniversary since its creation with an awards ceremony.

The event brought together representatives of the Puerto Rican and Hispanic leadership who reside and work in the U.S. capital, as well as representatives of numerous state governments.

“On this occasion, we have managed to bring together people who make daily life in politics, entertainment and civic leadership such as the congressman of Puerto Rican origin in the 15th District of the Bronx, Ritchie Torres; the president of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, Antonio Tijerino; and the young doctor Pedro Juan Vázquez Bragan known as the rapper “PJ Sin Suela,” who was born in the Bronx County, but grew up in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he still resides,” said Javier S. Cuebas, chairman of the board of directors of GRUPO 21.

“The night of recognition culminated with a posthumous tribute to the well-known civil rights leader Miriam Cruz, who was an adviser and aide to President Jimmy Carter.”

The organization GRUPO 21 is dedicated to encouraging the participation of qualified Puerto Ricans who are interested in public service in the federal sphere.

To this end, activities are organized to provide the necessary tools and resources to help such individuals apply for positions in the executive branch as political appointees, career members

of the civil service or foreign service, including serving on colada that was offered by the people of the native Campofcommissions or boards of corporations and government entities. resco industry that makes the national drink of Puerto Rico, “The assembly held at the headquarters of the Hispanic the well-known 100-year-old Lotus juice.”

The members of GRUPO 21 and Hispanic leaders in the organization UNIDOS-US, located a few steps from the White House, was the culmination of a work program that discussed mainland U.S. announced that they will travel to Puerto Rico the contribution of Roberto Clemente and Vera Clemente in for the celebration of “Junte Boricua” an event that will take place on Aug. 29 at the University of Puerto Rico. the development of voluntarism and public service.”

It was made up of Roberto Clemente Jr. (president of RCJ Global Impact LLC), Tijerino, Mónica Negrón (a member of GRUPO 21) and Rafael Collazo (executive director of Unidos-US).

Puerto Rico has an obligation to keep alive the legacy of baseball player Roberto Clemente, who distinguished himself in public service and whose positive work impacted millions of human beings,” said Javier S. Cuebas, president of GRUPO 21. “The Puerto Rican diaspora and Hispanic leaders attending our third anniversary celebration were The event brought together representatives of the Puerto Rican and Hispanic surprised with the opportunity leadership who reside and work in the U.S. capital, as well as representatives of to enjoy the traditional piña numerous state governments.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

7

Dangerous subzero wind chills to blanket much of the US

By ANASTASIA MARKS, AIMEE ORTIZ and REBECCA CARBALLO

M

ore than 95 million people in the United States were under a wind chill warning or advisory Sunday as an “Arctic blast” enveloped huge parts of the country, while the South was expected to get snow, and the Northeast braced for blinding winddriven squalls, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service reported wind chill readings Sunday of 19 degrees below zero in Arkansas, 9 degrees below zero in Dallas and 60 degrees below zero in Montana. Low temperatures are expected to grip most of the country through the middle of the week.

“These wind chills will pose a risk of frostbite on exposed skin and hypothermia,” the weather service said. “Have a cold survival kit if you must travel.”

The extreme weather has proved to be dangerous in other ways. Strong winds knocked a tree onto a home in northwest Lake Oswego, Oregon, on Saturday morning, killing a man inside, Sgt. Tom Harper, of the Lake Oswego Police Department said. More than 100 trees fell in the area over the weekend, he said.

Also in Oregon, Portland Fire and Rescue struggled to reach the scene of an RV fire in the southeast part of the city because of road closures from fallen power lines and trees. The emergency vehicles had to move at a slow pace because of slick roads, said Lt. Terry Foster, the fire inspector.

An open-flame stove was being used to heat the RV during the winter storm, and a tree fell on it, starting the fire. One woman in her early 30s was killed, while three other people in the recreational vehicle managed to escape. One of the three people was injured and taken to the hospital.

High temperatures Sunday and Monday will likely be 20 to 40 degrees below average from Montana to Texas.

Potential snow squalls — bursts of snow accompanied with strong winds — will spread east-northeastward Sunday across Pennsylvania into parts of southern New York and possibly into New York City.

A wind advisory posted Sunday includes the Philadelphia metropolitan area and points east to the northern New Jersey coast. Winds gusting to 40 to 50 mph can lead to whiteout conditions for 15 to 20 minutes.

The powerful winds could damage trees and lead to power failures, the weather service said.

Lake-effect snow is also a threat this weekend in the Great Lakes region, with the potential for whiteouts in Michigan, Wisconsin, and western and northern New York state.

Multiple winter storm warnings were in effect Sunday morning around the Buffalo, New York, re-

Traffic is sparse as a winter storm moves through downtown Des Moines, Iowa on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. More than 30 million people were under winter weather advisories on Saturday as freezing temperatures began to spread. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times) gion, where up to 2 feet of snow were predicted to fall throughout the weekend. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York warned residents Friday to take shelter ahead of this weekend’s storm and to prepare for power failures.

Because of the weather, the NFL’s wild card weekend game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, was postponed to Monday at 4:30 p.m.

Eastern time from Sunday at 1 p.m.

Around New York and northeastern Pennsylvania, the weather service forecast snow and localized wind

gusts of up to 50 mph. New York City could get 1 to 2 inches of snow Monday night into Tuesday.

Arkansas and Tennessee could receive up to 6 inches of snow.

Snow, sleet, rain and dangerous wind chills are expected to batter the West Coast, the Plains, parts of the Northeast and to extend into sections of the South.

Snow and freezing rain is expected from the West Coast to the Rocky Mountains. The heavy snow and ice have the makings for “poor to impossible” travel conditions in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.

The National Weather Service warned that poor weather conditions and heavy snowfall created a “high avalanche danger in portions of the Sierra Nevada and Rockies.”

Such warnings in the West come on the heels of an avalanche that killed one person at a popular ski resort on Lake Tahoe in California on Wednesday.

Moving east from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and Iowa, wind chills will drop below minus 30 degrees, forecasters said, adding that dangerously cold weather “will persist and redevelop” over parts of the Midwest.

Parts of the South will experience cold weather as “wintry precipitation,” including snow, sleet and freezing rain, are forecast to develop across several states. Ice is also expected for parts of central Texas through the lower Mississippi Valley.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as ERCOT, issued a weather watch, though it stated on social media that the state’s electrical “grid conditions are expected to be normal.”

Attendees headed to a rally for former President Donald Trump in Indianola, Iowa, on Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024, the eve of the Iowa caucuses. Wind chill readings in the state have been well below zero. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

John Kerry bows out as US climate envoy

By LISA FRIEDMAN

J

ohn Kerry, President Joe Biden’s special envoy for climate, plans to step down by spring, ending a three-year run in a major diplomatic role that was created especially for him and which will face an uncertain future with his departure.

Kerry, 80, has served as the president’s top diplomat on climate change since early 2021, working to cajole governments around the world to aggressively cut their planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.

He led the U.S. negotiating team through three United Nations climate summits, reasserting American leadership after the country withdrew from the Paris climate agreement during the Trump administration.

Kerry championed cooperation on global warming between the United States and China, the world’s two largest polluters, during times of tension.

On Wednesday, Kerry met with Biden in the White House to inform the president of his intention to resign, according to one person familiar with the meeting. On Saturday, his staff learned of his decision at a hastily arranged meeting, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous in order to discuss personnel matters.

Kerry told staff that he intended to depart in the coming months, and he is widely expected to get involved in the 2024 presidential campaign to help raise awareness of Biden’s work on climate change. No successor has yet been tapped.

The State Department confirmed Kerry’s planned exit. The White House did not respond Saturday to a request for comment. Kerry’s plans were first reported by Axios.

John Kerry at the COP26 United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021. Kerry, President Biden’s special envoy for climate, plans to step down from the Biden administration by spring, according to two people familiar with his plan. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times) In the meantime, Kerry is planning to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week as well as a meeting of the International Energy Agency in Paris in February.

A former Massachusetts senator, Democratic presidential nominee and secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Kerry brought a celebrity status to the global climate summits. Biden created the role specifically for Kerry, and he was granted a seat on the National Security Council in the White House, marking the first time an official on that body was dedicated specifically to climate change.

Widely regarded as a tireless crusader for climate action, Kerry traveled to 31 countries in an effort to restore confidence in the U.S. on

climate change and persuade other countries to do more to help keep the average global temperature from rising above 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels.

That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say the dangers of global warming — including worsening floods, droughts, wildfires and ecosystem collapse — grow considerably.

Humans have heated the planet by an average of 1.2 degrees Celsius since the 19th century, largely by burning fossil fuels.

Kerry played a key role in urging Biden to set a more aggressive target for greenhouse gas emissions for the United States, which the president did by pledging to cut emissions roughly in half by 2030. But Kerry’s record in persuading other nations to act was mixed.

More than 30 countries agreed to bolster their climate targets ahead of a United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, a fact largely credited to Kerry’s diplomatic efforts. Yet his ability to move China, the world’s largest climate polluter, often faltered.

In November the United States and China agreed to jointly tackle global warming by ramping up wind, solar and other renewable energy with the goal of displacing fossil fuels. That deal was significant and came together after years of diplomacy between Kerry and his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua. Still it fell short of a promise by China to phase out its heavy use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, or to stop permitting and building new coal-burning plants.

Kerry’s decision to step down comes on the heels of an announcement by Xie that he, too, is retiring, raising concern about what climate diplomacy will look like after two people particularly eager for cooperation are gone.

Former Vice President Al Gore in a statement Saturday called Kerry’s work on climate change “heroic.” But the future of the climate envoy role in the United States is uncertain.

Kerry wasn’t subject to Senate confirmation when he was appointed, a fact that angered some Republicans. Under a spending-bill provision in 2022, all new special-envoy positions reporting to the secretary of state will have to win Senate approval.

GOP lawmakers have criticized Kerry’s role and have said that he was undermining the United States by negotiating with China.

At a heated congressional hearing last year, Republicans also accused Kerry of flying on private jets. Kerry called that a “stupid” lie, saying that while his wife owns a jet, he hasn’t used one in his role as climate envoy.

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The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

9

Trump far ahead, with Haley edging DeSantis for second, key Iowa poll finds

By SHANE GOLDMACHER

D

onald Trump has the backing of 48% of likely caucusgoers ahead of today’s election, a commanding lead for the former president, according to the Iowa Poll by The Des Moines Register, NBC News and Mediacom.

Nikki Haley is narrowly leading the battle for second place over Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, 20% to 16%, according to the survey, which was released Saturday evening.

The poll shows Haley, a former United Nations ambassador, improving compared with December and Trump slipping — but only marginally.

He enjoys a 28-point lead, compared with a 32-point advantage last month.

The survey has almost nothing but good news for Trump. He leads with every demographic group tested, performing most strongly among those without a college degree, those earning less than $50,000 and men who did not graduate from college.

He pulled in the support of roughly 3 in 5 voters in those three categories.

His supporters were also more enthusiastic about voting than those of his rivals, and Haley’s enthusiasm levels were markedly below his — and even below DeSantis’.

And Trump is ahead by so much that his support is greater than what Haley and DeSantis are garnering — combined.

More than two-thirds of voters said they had made up their minds, while only 7% said they did not yet have a first-choice candidate on the cusp of the caucuses. One in four likely caucusgoers said they could still be persuaded to pick a new candidate.

The survey, which has taken on an almost mythic status in some political circles, immediately forms the new base line of expectations for the caucuses Monday. All three leading candidates have been fighting not just to win the most votes in recent days but also to dampen how well they are expected to perform in order to claim a stronger-than-expected showing.

No other candidate was in double

Former President Donald Trump participates in a livestream with Iowa’s attorney general, Brenna Bird, at Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times) digits, with Vivek Ramaswamy, a businessman who has aligned himself with Trump and has campaigned heavily in Iowa, at 8%.

The caucuses are not limited to Republicans — both independent voters and Democrats can vote in the election, if they re-register as Republicans on caucus night.

One of the survey’s more striking findings is that roughly half of Haley’s support is coming from independents (39%) and Democrats (11%).

Haley’s strongest demographic groups are no surprise — those who live in suburbs and white women with college degrees — but even among those constituencies she does not lead Trump.

Historically, one of the most

important groups in Iowa Republican caucuses are evangelical voters, and Trump leads widely among those voters, with 51%. DeSantis is a distant second with 22%, but that is actually lower than his support level among that demographic in the December survey. Haley is pulling only 12% among evangelical voters.

The poll — conducted by J. Ann Selzer from Jan. 7 to 12, with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points — comes during an unusual cold snap even for Iowa.

The weather has made turnout predictions Monday especially volatile. The Trump, DeSantis and Haley campaigns have been studying the impact of the storm for any potential advantage, with unaligned political

strategists calling the cold — with subzero highs for the day — an unusual test of both natural enthusiasm and organizational might in the race’s final days.

“You have the worst weather, I guess, in recorded history, but maybe that’s good, because our people are more committed than anybody else,” Trump said in a video announcing that he was canceling some of his weekend’s events.

The poll does show an enthusiasm edge for Trump. He has the largest share of enthusiastic supporters, with 49% saying they are extremely enthusiastic and 39% very enthusiastic.

In comparison, Haley’s backers were far less excited. Only 9% said they were extremely enthusiastic to support her, and 30% very enthusiastic.

Selzer told The Des Moines Register that the low levels of enthusiasm for Haley “are on the edge of jaw-dropping.”

There is one strong result in the poll for DeSantis on a caucus night expected to set records for its cold temperatures: His supporters were the most likely to say they will definitely caucus, with 62% saying so, slightly above the numbers for Trump or Haley.

In the previous Iowa Poll, in December, Trump was the first choice of a 51% majority of likely caucusgoers, and leading among every demographic group. He was dominating by an even wider margin among first-time caucusgoers, with 63% support.

Trump had grown from 42% in August, 43% in October and 51% in December, and dipped for the first time to 48% in the new poll.

DeSantis had previously stayed relatively steady: 19% in August, 16% in October and then 19% again in December. He dropped back to 16% in this latest survey.

Haley began far behind, with 6% in August, but she is the only candidate who has not dropped since. She rose to 16% in October, stayed at 16% in December and hit a new high of 20% in this survey.

10 Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Supreme Court to hear Starbucks bid to overturn labor ruling

By NOAM SCHEIBER

T

he Supreme Court agreed late last week to hear a case brought by Starbucks challenging a federal judge’s order to reinstate seven employees who were fired at a store in Memphis, Tennessee, amid a union campaign there.

Starbucks argued that the criteria for such intervention by judges in labor cases, which can also include measures like reopening shuttered stores, vary across regions of the country because federal appeals courts may adhere to different standards.

A regional director for the National Labor Relations Board, the company’s opponent in the case, argued that the apparent differences in criteria among appeals courts were semantic rather than substantive, and that a single effective standard was already in place nationwide.

The labor board had urged the Supreme Court to stay out of the case, whose outcome could affect union organizing across the country.

The agency asks federal judges for temporary relief, like reinstatement of fired workers, because litigating charges of unfair labor practices can take years. The agency argues that retaliation against workers can have a chilling effect on organizing in the meantime, even if the workers ultimately win their case.

In a statement Friday, Starbucks said, “We are pleased the Supreme Court has decided to consider our request to level the playing field for all U.S. employers by ensuring that a single standard is applied as federal district courts.”

The labor board declined to comment.

The union-organizing campaign at Starbucks began in the Buffalo, New York, area in 2021 and quickly spread to other states. The union, Workers United, represents workers at more than 370 Starbucks stores, out of roughly 9,600 company-owned stores in the United States.

The labor board has issued dozens of complaints against the company based on hundreds of accusations of labor law violations, including threats and retaliation against workers who are seeking to unionize and a failure to bargain in good faith. This week, the agency issued a complaint accusing the company of unilaterally changing work hours and schedules in unionized stores around the country.

The company has denied violating labor law and said in a statement that it contested the latest complaint and planned “to defend our lawful business decisions” before a judge.

The case that led to the dispute before the Supreme Court involves seven workers who were

Mellody Hobson, the Starbucks chairwoman, during a Senate committee hearing in Washington about the company’s labor practices on March 29, 2023. Amid a board fight and boycotts from activists, the company sent mixed signals about its willingness to engage with labor organizers. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times) fired in February 2022 after they let local journalists into a closed store to conduct interviews. Starbucks said the incident violated company rules; the workers and the union said the company did not enforce such rules against workers who were not involved in union organizing.

The labor board found merit in the workers’ accusations and issued a complaint two months later. A federal judge granted the labor board’s request for an order reinstating the workers that August, and a federal appeals court upheld the order.

“Starbucks is seeking a bailout for its illegal union-busting from Trump’s Supreme Court,” Workers United said in a statement Friday. “There’s no doubt that Starbucks broke federal law by firing workers in Memphis for joining together in a union.”

Starbucks said it was critical for the Supreme Court to wade into the case because the labor board was becoming more ambitious in asking

judges to order remedies like reinstatement of fired workers.

The labor board noted in its filing with the Supreme Court that it was bringing fewer injunctions overall than in some recent years — only 21 were authorized in 2022, down from more than 35 in 2014 and 2015.

A Supreme Court decision could in principle raise the bar for judges to issue orders reinstating workers, effectively limiting the labor board’s ability to win temporary relief for workers during a union campaign.

The case is not the only recent challenge to the labor board’s authority. After the board issued a complaint accusing rocket company SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees for criticizing its CEO Elon Musk, the company filed a lawsuit this month arguing that the agency’s setup for adjudicating complaints is unconstitutional.

The company said in its lawsuit that the agency’s structure violated its right to a trial by jury.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

11 Stocks

Red Sea tensions put focus on struggling U.S. energy stocks A

recent rally that has boosted nearly every corner of the U.S. stock market has left energy shares behind, and bullish investors are betting upcoming earnings reports and rising geopolitical tensions could spark a rebound for the struggling group.

The energy sector has slumped nearly 3% since late October, a period during which the S&P 500 has surged 16%.

The benchmark index rose 24% for all of 2023, while energy fell 4.8%, the second-largest drop last year among S&P 500 sectors.

The sector’s struggles have continued even as other economically sensitive groups such as banks and small-cap stocks have benefited from investors’ growing belief that the economy will be able to navigate a “soft landing” where growth remains stable while inflation subsides.

One key reason for the sector’s underperformance has been a sharp downturn in oil prices. U.S. crude is down over 20% since late September, to around $73 a barrel, pressured by strong supplies, particularly in the U.S., and concerns about tepid demand in China and Europe, investors said.

“Right now, oil prices have been ... leading the stocks,” said Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak.

“So if oil prices can break out a little bit from here, which would catch people a little off guard, this energy group is going to start playing catch up real quick.”

Strategists at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) this week upgraded their rating on the energy sector to “favorable” from “neutral,” saying “oil prices will bottom with the global economy and then finish the year higher.”

A potential rise in Middle East tensions and any OPEC actions on production are factors that could influence nearterm oil prices.

Prices for U.S. crude jumped as much as 4.5% on Friday before settling up 0.9%, after several oil tankers diverted course from the Red Sea following overnight air and sea strikes by the United States and Britain on Houthi targets in Yemen. The energy sector ended up 1.3% on the day.

“While a resolution of the problems in the Red Sea would be bearish for oil, it appears as though the situation is escalating and the risk should drive oil prices higher,” wrote Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.

Another key factor for the group will be upcoming quarterly earnings reports. Oil services firm SLB, formerly called Schlumberger, reports next week, with Baker Hughes and Marathon Petroleum among those expected later in the month.

Energy is expected to post the worst full-year 2023 earnings performance of any sector, falling nearly 26% overall, LSEG data showed. But its earnings are expected to increase 1.6% in 2024.

Ahead of results, WFII strategists this week also pointed to “historically cheap” valuations for energy shares, noting

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that the sector trades at around 10 times trailing earnings versus a trailing P/E ratio of 22 times for the overall S&P 500.

Improving earnings trends and enticing valuations are among the factors supporting energy shares along with the potential for the group to be a hedge should geopolitical tensions rise, said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital. The firm is overweight energy in its portfolios, including shares of Conocophillips and Chevron.

While energy earnings are improving, the sector’s estimated performance this year is still expected to trail the 11.1% increase for the overall S&P 500 in 2024.

Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management, said he thinks oil is fairly priced, pointing to expected slowing of the U.S. economy and doubts the Middle East conflict would give the commodity a lasting boost. Pavlik said he has “slightly less than market exposure” to energy shares, preferring other sectors such as industrials and technology. “I think there are other areas of the market that will benefit most likely more than energy,” Pavlik said.

12 Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Ecuador’s attorney general took on drug gangs. Then chaos broke out.

By ANNIE CORREAL

J

ust weeks before Ecuador descended into chaos, with prison riots, two escaped criminal kingpins and the brief siege of a television station, the country’s top prosecutor launched a major operation aimed at rooting out narco-corruption at the highest levels of government.

The investigation, called “Caso Metastasis,” led to raids across Ecuador and more than 30 arrests.

Among those charged were judges accused of granting gang leaders favorable rulings, police officials who were said to have altered evidence and delivered weapons to prisons, and the former director of the prison authority himself, who was accused of giving special treatment to a powerful drug trafficker.

They had been implicated by text chats and call logs retrieved from cellphones belonging to the drug trafficker, who was killed while imprisoned.

When the attorney general, Diana Salazar, announced the charges last month, she said the investigation had revealed the spread of criminal groups through Ecuador’s institutions. She also warned of a possible “escalation in violence” in the days to come, and said that the executive branch had been put on alert.

Her prediction came true.

Interviews with security experts and intelligence sources reveal what might have set off the violence in Ecuador this past week, which was so intense that it prompted President Daniel Noboa to declare war on the gangs and impose a state of emergency.

According to the interviews, the attorney general’s investigation played a pivotal role.

“Metastasis is where everything starts,” said Mario Pazmiño, a retired colonel and former director of intelligence for the Ecuadorian army who is an independent analyst on security matters.

The raids put pressure on Noboa, who took office in November and had promised to crack down on gangs and clean up the prison system, to take concrete steps, Pazmiño said.

The president assured that major changes were coming. Although he did not publicly say what they were, officials said the

Police officers arresting a man in the Guayaquil suburb of Durán, in Ecuador on May 30, 2023. During the arrest, his mother, Ana, insisted her son was a drug user, not a dealer. (Victor Moriyama/The New York Times) changes included transferring several powerful gang leaders to a maximum-security facility known as La Roca, or The Rock, in Guayaquil, a major coastal city.

Gang leaders learned of the plan before the transfer could take place, however, most likely through a government leak, the officials said. And on Sunday, Adolfo Macías — who runs a gang called the Choneros and is widely considered the most powerful gang leader in Ecuador — went missing from his cell.

As inmates clashed with guards at prisons across the country, another gang leader, Fabricio Colón Pico, who heads Los Lobos, escaped early Tuesday from a prison near the city of Riobamba.

Experts said the gang leaders wanted to avoid La Roca because security would be tighter and they were likely to lose access to electronics like cellphones. The leaders also feared that if they were housed with their rivals in La Roca, they might be killed.

“Every one of their lives would be in danger,” Pazmiño said. “That was the breaking point.”

In response to the planned transfer, experts say leaders probably ordered gang members — from within the prisons that serve as their command centers — to fight back.

And so, on Tuesday, Ecuadorians experienced violence like nothing they had seen in years — even as intergang warfare has roiled the once-peaceful country. In several prisons, inmates took guards and staff members hostage. One social media video showed guards held at knife-point.

In cities and towns, police officers were kidnapped, cars were set on fire and explosives were detonated.

Guayaquil experienced the most violence, with armed men descending not only on the TC Televisión network’s studio during a broadcast, but also on several hospitals and opening fire near at least one school.

In the mayhem, at least 11 people died, authorities said, most of them in Guayaquil, and nearly 200 prison staff members were taken hostage.

The attorney general’s revelations — and Noboa’s subsequent plan to transfer gang leaders — had provoked intense anger.

“The Metastasis operation is like kicking the hornet’s nest,” said Gustavo FloresMacías, a professor of government and public policy at Cornell University who specializes in Latin America.

Before the operation, gang leaders appeared to have reached a state of “equilibrium,” he said, in which they felt they could operate their lucrative criminal rings, even from behind bars, with the cooperation of the authorities.

“Let’s say the gangs are operating under a level of impunity, and let’s say they are fairly happy with it,” Flores-Macías said.

“What Metastasis is doing is it’s disrupting this equilibrium that exists that allows them to do business as usual. So there’s a reaction in this criminal underworld, and it takes the shape of these fairly violent, spectacular actions.”

Salazar’s office responded saying they were not granting interviews because of the ongoing security situation.

The violence set off by the gangs was met with force. On Tuesday afternoon, Noboa took the extraordinary step of declaring an internal armed conflict, unleashing the military on the country’s two dozen gangs.

In the first days after the declaration, authorities said that police and armed forces had killed five people involved in the gang-

related violence and had arrested more than 850.

The two gang leaders, Macías and Colón, remained at large.

Colón, who had been arrested a week before he escaped and whom Salazar accused of plotting to kill her, posted a video Thursday on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. Appearing in a parka and a skullcap, he said he had only escaped because he believed he would be killed if he had remained in custody.

He told the president that he would turn himself in if his safety could be guaranteed.

In a radio interview, Noboa said that he would offer him no such deal.

Salazar, Ecuador’s first Black attorney general, was appointed in 2019. She prosecuted a former president, Rafael Correa, on corruption charges the next year, recommending an eight-year sentence, the maximum penalty, after he was convicted.

Her latest investigation began after the death of Leandro Norero, a gang leader, in 2022.

Salazar said that he had been rewarding judges, police officials, guards and others who helped him and his associates with apartments, cars, cash and prostitutes.

Among those exposed by Norero’s cellphone records was Pablo Ramírez, the former head of the prison authority, who is accused of giving Norero preferential treatment. Ramirez has denied having any contact with Norero.

Wilman Terán, the head of the country’s Judiciary Council and a former magistrate in the country’s top court, was also charged. Terán, whose council oversees and disciplines judges and prosecutors, has denied that he was part of Norero’s sprawling network of favors. The council has stood by him, calling Salazar’s operation a smear campaign.

The day before the operation was carried out, lawmakers believed to be sympathetic to Correa, the former president, announced a plan to investigate Salazar, claiming she had been selective in the cases she pursued.

Around the same time, Correa posted a message on the X platform warning of an imminent operation, a message that Salazar later said had tipped off several targeted officials, who evaded capture in the raids.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

13

Much of Houthis’ offensive capability remains intact after US-led airstrikes

By ERIC SCHMITT

T

he U.S.-led airstrikes Thursday and Friday against sites in Yemen controlled by the Houthi militia damaged or destroyed about 90% of the targets struck, but the group retained about three-quarters of its ability to fire missiles and drones at ships transiting the Red Sea, two U.S. officials said Saturday.

The damage estimates are the first detailed assessments of the strikes by American and British attack planes and warships against nearly 30 locations in Yemen, and they reveal the serious challenges facing the Biden administration and its allies as they seek to deter the Iran-backed Houthis from retaliating, secure critical shipping routes between Europe and Asia, and contain the spread of regional conflict.

A top U.S. military officer, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, the director of the military’s Joint Staff, said Friday that the strikes had achieved their objective of damaging the Houthis’ ability to launch the kind of complex drone and missile attack they had conducted Tuesday.

But the two U.S. officials cautioned Saturday that even after hitting more than 60 missile and drone targets with more than 150 precision-guided munitions, the strikes had damaged or destroyed only about 20% to 30% of the Houthis’ offensive capability, much of which is mounted on mobile platforms and can be readily moved or hidden.

The two U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal military assessments.

Finding Houthi targets is proving to be more challenging than anticipated. U.S. and other Western intelligence agencies have not spent significant time or resources in recent years collecting data on the location of Houthi air defenses, command hubs, munitions depots and storage and production facilities for drones and missiles, the officials said.

That all changed after the Hamas attacks on Israel on

A home destroyed by an airstrike in the old city of Sana, Yemen on Oct. 23, 2018. The Houthi militia in Yemen, strategically located at the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, has propelled itself into an unlikely global spotlight in recent weeks as it has sown chaos in the Red Sea, attacking commercial ships and hobbling global trade. The Houthis have portrayed their campaign of missiles and drone attacks as a righteous battle to force Israel to end its siege on Gaza. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times) Oct. 7, and the Israeli military’s responding ground campaign in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have been attacking commercial ships transiting the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, and have said they will continue until Israel withdraws. U.S. analysts have been rushing to catch

up and catalog more potential Houthi targets every day, the officials said.

Thursday night’s air and naval barrage illustrated this approach, military officials said. The first wave of U.S.-led strikes hit 60 preplanned targets in 16 locations with more than 100 precision-guided bombs and missiles. About 30 to 60 minutes after that, a second wave of strikes was carried out against 12 more targets that analysts had identified as posing threats to aircraft and ships.

Hitting pop-up targets on short notice, a practice the military calls dynamic targeting, would likely be an important part of any additional strikes that President Joe Biden might order, one of the U.S. officials said.

A senior Defense Department official said Saturday that a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile strike on a radar facility in Yemen on Friday was a “reattack” of a target originally hit in Thursday’s barrage that had not been adequately degraded or destroyed.

Other U.S. military officials said that as analysts review the damage from Thursday night’s airstrikes, there may be additional reattacks.

Despite their fiery rhetoric and vows of retaliation, the Houthis’ military response to Thursday night’s attack so far has been muted: just a single anti-ship missile lobbed harmlessly into the Red Sea, far from any passing vessel, Sims said Friday.

But the general and the two U.S. officials Saturday said that they were bracing for the Houthis to lash out once they determined how much firepower they had left and settled on an attack plan.

One of the two U.S. officials said the Houthis appeared to be divided internally over how to respond.

“I would expect that they will attempt some sort of retaliation,” Sims said Friday, adding that would be a mistake.

“We simply are not going to be messed with here.”

Two SEAL team members missing after incident off Somalia coast

By JULIAN E. BARNES and ERIC SCHMITT

T

wo members of the Navy SEALs remained missing Saturday after a mishap two days ago while they were attempting to board a ship off the coast of Somalia, two current and two former Pentagon officials said.

The incident comes as the United States is stepping up actions against Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen, intent on curbing their attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. As part of those missions, the U.S. Navy and allies have been responding to distress calls.

Over the past two days, the U.S. and allies have struck Houthi-linked targets in Yemen, trying to damage the militia’s offensive capabilities.

In the latest incident, members of the SEAL team

were dispatched Thursday to approach a suspicious vessel off the Somali coast, officials said. It was unclear Saturday what prompted the commandos to single out the vessel for a closer investigation.

In recent weeks, the Houthi militia and Somali-based pirates have threatened or seized ships in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have been under siege by the Israeli military following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Pentagon officials said Saturday that the circumstances surrounding this incident were different from those involving the Houthis or pirates. But they declined to disclose further details.

As two members of the SEAL team tried to board the vessel Thursday night in rough seas, one of the com-

mandos apparently slipped off the boarding ladder, according to one current and one former Pentagon official briefed on the incident. Another member of the team then jumped into the water to try to rescue the sailor, the officials said. Both soon disappeared in the swells.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.

Navy ships and aircraft were immediately dispatched to the scene, where search and recovery efforts have been underway, the officials said. The military’s Central Command noted the rescue operations in a statement Friday, but made no mention of the sailors being members of a SEAL team or any details of the incident.

Military officials have started the process of notifying the families of the commandos involved in the episode, a former official said.

14

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

China failed to sway Taiwan’s election. What happens now?

By DAMIEN CAVE

C

hina’s leader, Xi Jinping, has tied his country’s great power status to a singular promise: unifying the motherland with Taiwan, which the Chinese Communist Party sees as sacred, lost territory. A few weeks ago, Xi called this a “historical inevitability.”

But Taiwan’s election Saturday, handing the presidency to a party that promotes the island’s separate identity for the third time in a row, confirmed that this boisterous democracy has moved even further away from China and its dream of unification.

After a campaign of festival-like rallies, where huge crowds shouted, danced and waved matching flags, Taiwan’s voters ignored China’s warnings that a vote for the Democratic Progressive Party was a vote for war. They made that choice anyway.

Lai Ching-te, a former doctor and the current vice president, who China sees as a staunch separatist, will be Taiwan’s next leader. It’s an act of self-governed defiance that proved what many already knew: Beijing’s arm-twisting of Taiwan — economically and with military harassment at sea and in the air — has only strengthened the island’s desire to protect its de facto independence and move beyond China’s giant shadow.

“The more hard-line, tougher approach hasn’t worked,” said Susan Shirk, a research professor at the University of California, San Diego, and the author of “Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise.” “That’s the reality of Taiwanese politics.”

That evolution, cultural and political, comes with risks. Lai’s victory forces Xi to face a lack of progress. And while China’s full response will play out over months or years, China’s Taiwan affairs office said Saturday night that the election cannot change the direction of cross-strait relations, effectively ensuring that the dynamic of brinkmanship and stress will continue and most likely intensify.

China and the United States have made Taiwan a test of competing sensitivities and visions. To Beijing, the island is a remnant of its civil war that the United States has no business meddling with. To Washington, it is the first line of defense for global stability, a democracy of 23 million people and the microprocessor

factory for the world.

The gargantuan stakes add gravity to every word or policy that Lai or his party might deliver now and after his inauguration in May. With Taiwan’s sense of self and China’s expectations in conflict, Xi is not expected to sit idly by.

At the very least, China will keep trying to manipulate Taiwan’s politics with disinformation, threats and economic incentives. Chinese officials have also hinted that they could target trade, eliminating more tariff concessions.

Expanded military drills are another possibility. Chinese fighter jets, drones and ships already encroach on Taiwan almost daily.

China has also shown that it will keep prodding the United States to pressure Taiwan and to cut military support. Messages of alarm are becoming a common feature of U.S.-China diplomacy.

In Washington, on the eve of Taiwan’s election, Liu Jianchao, the head of the Chinese Communist Party’s international department, met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The United States said Blinken “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

Liu, based on other official statements, most likely warned the United States not to intervene “in the Taiwan region” — a complaint sparked by an announcement that a delegation of former officials would head to Taipei after the election. Such visits have been common for decades. China’s Foreign Ministry condemned “the American side’s brazen chattering.”

There are no plans in Washington to go silent, however, or constrain cooperation. Quite the opposite. Last year, the Biden administration announced $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, with weapons drawn from American stockpiles. Bills in Congress would also tighten economic ties to Taiwan, easing tax policy and laying a foundation for economic sanctions against China if it attacks.

Having worked with the Americans as vice president, Lai can move faster, analysts said, possibly into more sensitive areas.

The United States could increase collaboration on cybersecurity, strengthening communication networks to a point that blurs the line with (or prepares for) intelligence sharing. It could seek to place military logistics equipment on the

Hou Yu-ih, a presidential candidate of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, arrives at a polling station in Taipei, Taiwan on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. Lai Ching-te, a Democratic Progressive Party candidate who has faced sustained hostility from China, won the island democracy’s presidential election on Saturday, a result that could prompt Beijing to step up pressure on Taiwan, deepening tensions with Washington. (Lam Yik Fei/The New York Times) island — a strategy the Pentagon is introducing throughout the region.

It is also an open secret that U.S. military advisers, mostly retired officers, have a growing presence in Taiwan. Some Taiwanese officials call them “English teachers.” Under Lai, many more could be on the way.

“Beijing has been turning a blind eye, so the question is: What size of that presence will cross the Rubicon?” said Wen-ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University’s Taiwan Studies Program. He added: “Hopefully each additional step will not be seen as overtly provocative to elicit or justify a massive Chinese reaction.”

War, of course, is not inevitable. It may be less likely right now, when China is busy with a dismal economy and the United States with wars in Europe and the Middle East.

Some analysts also hope that Xi will find a way to claim victory in the election and step back from antagonism.

With a third-party candidate, Ko Wen-je, winning 26% of the vote with a vague focus on a middle path in China relations, Lai won with just 40%.

“It’s in China’s national interest to expand the path of peaceful integration so they won’t have to fight,” Shirk said.

“There are a lot of people watching this interaction and Beijing’s reaction — all

the investors are watching it, too.”

In Taiwan, however, there may be little Xi can do to polish China’s image. In recent surveys, less than 10% of Taiwanese respondents considered China trustworthy.

“We have seen too many examples of what Xi did to Hong Kong and how he treated his people,” said Cheng Ting-bin, 56, a teacher in Taipei who voted for Lai. Most Taiwanese see their future elsewhere. On Saturday, many said they hoped the government could leverage the powerful semiconductor industry to build connections to Southeast Asia and Europe.

In many ways, the election was less of a referendum on China policy than usual. Cost-of-living issues became more dominant in part because the candidates’ platforms on foreign affairs all aligned with what most people said they wanted: a stronger military, closer ties with the democratic world, and a commitment to the status quo that avoids provoking Beijing but also seeks to tiptoe out of its orbit.

“What we want is just to preserve our way of life,” said Alen Hsu, 65, a retiree who said his father had come from China and his son serves in the Taiwanese air force.

“China,” he added, “simply cannot be trusted.”

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

15

Trump is playing with fire

By JAMELLE BOUIE

T

o be a Republican politician in the age of Trump is to live under the threat of violence from his most fanatical and aggressive followers.

Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah hired personal security for himself and his family at a cost of $5,000 a day to guard against threats on their lives after he voted to convict the former president and remove him from office for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. After former Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan voted to impeach President Donald Trump in the House in the same case, he purchased body armor as a precaution against the threats on his life. Republicans who voted against Rep. Jim Jordan — a staunch Trump ally — for House speaker during last year’s leadership standoff received death threats targeting themselves and their families.

It’s not only Republicans in Congress, either. Republican lawmakers and election officials in critical swing states like Georgia, Arizona and Wisconsin have received threats on their lives for following the law and rejecting Trump’s demands to find or throw out votes in the last presidential election. And there have been more recent threats as well, leveled against those officials in the political, legal and criminal justice system who have tried to hold Trump accountable for his actions.

On Sunday, an unknown provocateur filed a false report

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to police of a shooting at the home of Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing the Jan. 6-related criminal case against the former president. The goal of this tactic, called “swatting,” is for police to react with force on the assumption that someone’s life might be in danger. Jack Smith, the federal special counsel who is leading multiple criminal investigations into Trump, was also the victim of swatting. So was Shenna Bellows, the Maine secretary of state who removed the former president from the state primary ballot.

Although no one, so far, has been physically harmed, these threats have had an effect. First and foremost, as Zack Beauchamp notes in a perceptive piece for Vox, they work to “discipline elected Republicans — to force them to toe whatever line the Trumpists want them to walk, or else.”

It stands to reason that threats of violence kept more Republicans from voting to impeach Trump in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack. In fact, Romney confirmed as much. In all likelihood, threats have also worked to suppress the growth of a meaningful anti-Trump faction within the Republican Party.

It’s hard, under normal circumstances, to take a stand against the leader of your political party. It is even more difficult, as well as frightening, to do so when the cost of your opposition is a threat to your life or your family.

This type of threat, directed internally against dissidents as much as externally toward rivals, is certainly not unique in American history. It has at least one noteworthy antecedent.

In the aftermath of the Civil War — when political allegiances were up for grabs in much of the former Confederacy — opponents of Black suffrage, of Black governance and of the Republican Party used violence and intimidation to dissuade and discipline those whites who either contemplated cooperation or had already reconciled themselves to the new order.

There is also a parallel to draw with the present in the way that this and other forms of Reconstruction-era violence interacted with the political system. “The objective was not simply to destroy the Republican governments by attacking and dispersing their supporters,” the historian Michael Perman noted in a 1991 essay on the subject, “but to enable the Democrats to regain power by winning elections. Ironically, the intention was to use violent and illegal means to win power legitimately, through the electoral process.”

You can get a good illustration of what this looked like in the historian George C. Rable’s account of the 1875 Mississippi statewide elections, in his 1984 book “But There Was No Peace: The Role of Violence in the Politics of Reconstruction.”

On Election Day in one county, Rable points out, Democratic partisans “placed an old cannon on a hill ominously aimed toward the polls.”

You should think of the intimidation and death threats — along with Trump’s recent warning that there will be “bedlam in the country” if he’s disqualified from the ballot — as a more

Former President Donald Trump participates in a livestream in which he’s being asked questions by Iowa’s attorney general, Brenna Bird, at Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moine, Iowa on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024.

(Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times) modern cannon on a hill, ominously aimed toward the polls.

The former president is no longer in a position to try to subvert an election outcome using the power of the federal government. But Trump can try, whether he is the nominee or not, to use the fervor of his followers and acolytes to tilt the playing field in his direction. He can use the threat of violence to make officials and ordinary election workers think twice about their decisions. And he can use the example of those Republicans who have crossed him as a warning to wavering lawmakers — to anyone who resists the force of his will.

The story we like to tell about American democracy is that for the most part, our experiment in self-government has been characterized by restraint and nonviolence more than the reverse. The opposite is true, of course; violence is deeply entwined with the American experience of democracy.

But there are times when the violence is more pervasive than not, when the conflicts are more acute. And the thing to keep in mind is that political violence doesn’t simply wind down of its own accord. There is almost always a settlement.

There is almost always a winner. The violent campaign against Reconstruction ended with the so-called Redemption of the South — with the defeat of Southern Republicans and the victory of counter-revolutionaries and recalcitrant exConfederates.

And if there is one thing we know about Donald Trump, it’s that he’ll do pretty much anything not to lose.

16 Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

Abre nuevo centro educativo inclusivo para estudiantes de educación especial POR CYBERNEWS

S

AN JUAN – Un nuevo centro educativo inclusivo abrirá sus puertas este martes, 16 de enero de 2024, como un centro que se rige por la inclusión.

Denominado Estudiaz, el mismo tiene un enfoque en atender a estudiantes de educación especial, y donde particularmente se distingue por ser aliado de la comunidad sorda, ya que brinda clases de lenguaje de

señas a través de profesores sordos e interpretes de lenguaje de señas.

La nueva institución informó además que partir de marzo, abrirá matrícula para su escuela preescolar a kinder basada en un enfoque innovador en Puerto Rico: Reggio Emilia. “Este enfoque es uno que ve al niño capaz de descrubrir el mundo que le rodea, y se basa en un currículo emergente y pone como prioridad el rol de los padres en la educación del niño”, detalla Yanela Díaz Martínez, fundadora de Estudiaz.

El centro ubica en el 1152 de la Ave. Américo Miranda, Urb. Caparra Terrace en San Juan.

Además de ofrecer cursos de lenguaje de señas y educación preescolar a kinder, Estudiaz también brinda tutorías y refuerzos educativos a niños sordos, con autismo y de educación especial, al igual que provee servicios de interpretación de lenguaje de señas y nutrición. Ante todo, se enfoca en proveer las herramientas necesarias para el bienestar de sus estudian-

tes y familiares.

Las personas interesadas en conocer de esta herramienta pueden comunicarse al 787-363-6789 o accesar la página web www.estudiaz.com . De igual modo, en las redes sociales, como Instagram o Facebook, bajo @estu_diaz_. Yanela Díaz Martínez, fundadora y directora de Estudiaz tiene un BA en Educación Especial para el sordo al igual que una Certificación en Autismo. Actualmente se encuentra culminando sus estudios graduados con una MA en Liderazgo de Organizaciones Educativas. Lleva estudiando el lenguaje de señas hace años y ha llegado hasta el nivel más alto: interpretación.

Actualmente Díaz Martínez se enfoca en su educación continua especializándose en Reggio Emilia y terapia educativa. A finales del 2023 presentó su empresa, a Mujer Emprende Latina para la competencia EmpodéraMe, en la cual participaron más de 200 emprendedoras, y logró ganar segundo lugar.

Cayey continúa protegiendo a su población contra el Covid-19 e influenza A/B POR CYBERNEWS

C

AYEY – El alcalde de Cayey, Rolando Ortiz Velázquez, informó que el Sistema de Rastreo Municipal continúa ofreciendo el servicio gratuito de las pruebas de Covid-19 e influenza A/B en las facilidades del Estadio Pedro Montañez todos los martes desde las 8:00 de mañana hasta la 1:00 de la tarde.

“Como parte de los servicios que ofrece nuestro Municipio a la ciudadanía, está disponible el Sistema de Rastreo. Recordemos que el secretario del Departamento de Salud, Carlos Mellado, ha señalado que los casos de Covid-19 en Puerto Rico han ido en aumento en las últimas semanas con un registro diario en promedio de 641 infecciones. A eso se suma que en que las salas de emergencia registran un alza de visita de pacientes con otras enfermedades respiratorias, como influenza, virus sincitial y micoplasma”, expuso el alcalde.

Una de las recomendaciones de las autoridades

salubristas con relación al regreso a la escuela esta semana, es que los padres o encargados de los estudiantes a estar alertas a síntomas gripales que presenten los menores y tomar acciones preventivas para evitar que las infecciones continúen propagándose entre la población.

“Estamos exhortando a los padres, número uno, a la vacunación y, número dos, a las medidas básicas que creo que a este momento hemos aprendido en Puerto Rico”, dijo Mellado en referencia al constante lavado de manos y al uso de mascarillas en lugares con mucha gente y en personas con síntomas gripales, entre otros.

De igual manera, se exhorta a hacer uso efectivo de las las medidas básicas y conocidas por la población en Puerto Rico, relacionada al constante lavado de manos y al uso de mascarillas en lugares con mucha gente y en personas con síntomas gripales, entre otros, como el uso de mascarilla en lugares de aglomeración.

Para más información sobre el Sistema de Rastreo Municipal, los interesados pueden llamar con Melissa Torres Fuentes 939-239-6252 o seguir las plataformas cibernéticas Cayey Ciudad Verde, en Facebook, Instagram, X y TouTube, donde constantemente de publica información de interés público sobre los servicios municipales.

Se roban sistema solar de residencia en Toa Baja POR CYBERNEWS

T

OA BAJA – La Policía investiga una querella de hurto de un sistema solar a eso de las 12:23 de la madrugada del sábado, en la avenida Boulevard, cuarta Sección, en Levittown, Toa Baja.

Según informó la querellante, una mujer de 47 años, que una o más personas lograron acceso al techo y marquesina de su residencia y se llevaron 6 placas solares, una batería Tesla y un inversor.

La propiedad hurtada está valorada en 20 mil

dólares aproximadamente.

El caso fue investigado inicialmente por la agente Laleshka Vega, adscrita al precinto policiaco de Levittown y referido al personal de la División de Propiedad del Cuerpo de Investigaciones Criminales (CIC) de Bayamón.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

17

On ‘Orquídeas,’ Kali Uchis gets all she wants

By JON PARELES

K

ali Uchis basks in pleasure on her fourth studio album, “Orquídeas.” Make that pleasures: carnal, material, romantic, sonic, competitive and, if necessary, vengeful, all with a girlish nonchalance. The album begins with loops of laughter and ethereal oohs and ahs; it ends with Uchis thanking listeners with a “mwah” kiss. It’s an album of breezy confidence and sly ingenuity, easily moving among futuristic electronics, 1990s

nostalgia and Latin roots.

“Orquídeas” are orchids: the national flower of Colombia, where Uchis’ parents were born. Uchis — Karly-Marina Loaiza — was born and grew up in Virginia, but she made long visits to Colombia while growing up. Orchids are colorful, alluring, fleshy, delicate, demanding and coveted, just as Uchis has presented herself throughout her recording career. In her new songs, she’s an irresistible, knowing object of desire. “I make ’em beg for it,” she announces in the album’s ope-

The singer-songwriter Kali Uchis, in Culver City, CA on April 10, 2023. Uchis has deliberately alternated between albums with lyrics primarily in English or Spanish, and “Orquídeas” is nominally her latest Spanish-language album. (Elizabeth Weinberg/The New York Times)

ning song, “¿Cómo Así?” (“How So?”), singing, “If you come around here, you’ll never wanna leave.”

Uchis, 29, has deliberately alternated between albums with lyrics primarily in English or Spanish, and “Orquídeas” is nominally her latest Spanish-language album. But now that she has built a worldwide audience, her new songs are fluidly bilingual; they casually switch between English and Spanish, sometimes in mid-phrase. “I get a lil bit crazy pero es no mi culpa,” she sings in “Me Ponga Loca” (“I Get Crazy”), adding “Es que soy apasionada.” (“It’s not my fault — it’s that I’m passionate.”)

Uchis and her many songwriting and production collaborators draw on expertly seductive pop and R&B from past generations, often using 21st-century technology to extrapolate from the plush, whispery fantasies of 1990s R&B hitmakers like Janet Jackson and The singer-songwriter Kali Uchis, in Culver Aaliyah. Lavishly layered vocals nestle among City, CA on April 10, 2023. (Elizabeth Weinglimmering electronic sounds and program- berg/The New York Times) med beats, and on “Orquídeas,” her voice sounds completely untethered by gravity.

Uchis reaches back to vintage Latin She polished this approach on her 2020 album, “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demo- styles for two pivotal tracks: “Te Mata,” (“It nios).” But while songs on that album — like Kills You”) midway through the album, and the irresistible hit “Telepatía” (“Telepathy”) “Dame Beso/Muévete” (“Give Me a Kiss/ — often dealt with unfulfilled longings, on Move It”) as the finale. “Te Mata” is an old“Orquídeas” Uchis is triumphant. She gets fashioned, string-laden bolero with a halo of whatever she desires: pampering and a man’s overdubbed voices; Uchis sweetly twists the submission in “Diosa” (“Goddess”); loyalty knife as she tells an ex that she’s happy with and togetherness in “Tu Corazón Es Mío” a new lover. “Dame Beso/Muevete” embra(“Your Heart Is Mine”); blissful sex in “Young ces two eras of Dominican Republic tradition, Rich & in Love,” where she coos, in Spanish, starting as a modern, piano-and-horn-driven merengue and then jumping further back to “On top of you, I feel free.”

Most of “Orquídeas” luxuriates in an older, rural-style, accordion-pumped peslowly swaying ballads. But now and then, rico ripiao. It carries Uchis from her celestial Uchis gets friskier; that’s when she turns to electronic flirtations to an earthy, sweaty danLatin styles and star connections. She enlisted ce floor, where she’s ready to let her body rappers El Alfa, from the Dominican Republic, move. and JT, from Miami group City Girls, for “Muñekita” (“Doll”), Dr. José B. Morales Claudio a plinking, thumping, cleverly Médico Generalista tempo-shifting dembow track that celebrates hotness whiNiños, adultos y envejecientes le it brutally dismisses rivals.

Se acepta la mayoría de los planes médicos In “Labios Mordidos” (“Bitten Lips”), Uchis and Colombian 787.672.8209 songwriter Karol G harmonize mdjmora579@gmail.com over a reggaeton beat and teaUrb. Paradis Calle Lope B-24 L-J: 9am-5pm se, “Tonight I’m a lesbian, you V-S: 8am-12pm Alternos Caguas, PR 00725 make me want it.”

18

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

How to watch the 75th Emmy Awards

By SHIVANI GONZÁLEZ

there is not an official streaming partner.

Viewers can use streaming services like ostponed for months because of last Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV or Fubo. All year’s Hollywood writer and actor require subscriptions. The show will be strikes, the 75th Primetime Emmy available Tuesday on Hulu.

Awards will finally be handed out MonBefore the ceremony, E! will air a preday night. red carpet show hosted by Laverne Cox The Emmys are arriving just over a and comedian Heather McMahan, beginweek after the Golden Globes, which ning at 5 p.m. Eastern, and live footage also include TV honors. And just like at from the red carpet, beginning at 6 p.m.

Who is hosting? those awards, HBO’s dynastic dramedy Anthony Anderson, best known for “Succession” is set to dominate.

It is unclear, however, how many peo- his role on the ABC sitcom “black-ish,” ple will actually see this happen. View- will host the Emmys for the first time. ing numbers for the Emmy Awards have The pressure on Anderson will be even been trending downward over the years; higher than usual after the abundant critithe most recent ceremony, in September cism leveled at comedian Jo Koy over his 2022, brought in a record-low audience Golden Globes monologue last week.

Who is presenting? of 5.9 million people on a night when the Performers set to hand out awards inaward show had little competition. This year, the Emmys will go head-to-head clude Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, against an NFL playoff game between the Ken Jeong, Joel McHale, Pedro Pascal, Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Buccaneers and against live coverage of Taylor Tomlinson, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jon Hamm. the Iowa caucuses.

Who votes on the awards?

Emmy producers hope to lure viewers The Emmys promote themselves as an with homages to classic television shows including “The Sopranos,” “Grey’s Anat- award show based on peer recognition. omy” and “I Love Lucy.” Perhaps others TV professionals can apply to become will be curious about how or to what ex- part of the Television Academy, which tent the ceremony will address last year’s has 20,000 members divided into 31 peer Screen Actors Guild-American Federation groups representing different professions of Television and Radio Artists and Writ- within the television industry. Each peer ers Guild of America strikes. group votes only in categories that pertain Or perhaps not. We will find out Mon- to its specific field. day night. If you are among the interested, What was the eligibility period for here is what to know. these awards?

What time does the show start, and Because this award show was postponed in response to the writer and actor where can I watch?

The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Eastern strikes, some of the shows up for awards at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Monday night premiered 19 months ago. Shows eligible for the 75th EmAngeles and will be broadcast on Fox. Unlike last week’s Golden Globes, mys had to have aired between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023.

What’s new this year?

Since this is Especialistas: the 75th award show, the EmTipos de servicios: .REPARACIÓN mys is leaning .Instalación into nostalgia, .Venta Automatizando su Hogar y Negocio with multiple reunions of beloved past

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“Succession” is once again the most nominated TV show at this year’s Emmys. Brian Cox, Sarah Snook, Jeremy Strong, Matthew Macfadyen, J. Smith-Cameron and Nicholas Braun are all nominated for awards. (Evans Vestal Ward/NBC) series. Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, Rhea Perlman, John Ratzenberger and George Wendt will be onstage together to honor “Cheers”; Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli will pay tribute to “The Sopranos,” which premiered 25 years ago this past week. There will also be tributes to “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Martin,” “I Love Lucy,” “All in the Family” and “The Carol Burnett Show.”

Who is nominated?

The “Succession” finale aired in May, and these Emmys will likely function as the show’s big send-off. Eight actors from the cast are nominated for awards, including Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Matthew Macfadyen — who all won Golden Globes last week — and the show itself is favored to win best drama.

The comedy categories might be a little bit more competitive. The last season of “Ted Lasso,” which has won best comedy in the past two Emmys, was not as well received as its predecessors. So “Abbott Elementary” and “The Bear” both have a shot this year.

“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” has won the variety talk Emmy seven consecutive times, but this year, that show is moving to a new category: variety scripted, where it will now compete with the likes of “Saturday Night Live.” This means that another late-night host — Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Trevor Noah and Jon Stewart are all nominated — will win outstanding talk series this year.

What should you watch for?

It will be interesting to see what references, if any, there are to last year’s SAGAFTRA and WGA strikes. Multiple writing awards will be given out, and there is a decent chance that someone will use his or her victory speech as an opportunity to comment on Hollywood labor issues.

As for global politics, nominees and presenters might look for opportunities to comment on the Israel-Hamas war. Last week’s Golden Globes were relatively quiet in this regard, though a few attendees, including actors J. Smith-Cameron and John Ortiz, wore yellow ribbons to show support for the hostages being held by Hamas.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

19

Key West for cheapskates

By ELAINE GLUSAC

T

hree hours into my latest visit to Key West, Florida, I listened as a mermaid explained why islanders are called “Conchs.”

“We had a tradition a long time ago where, when a baby was born — because, back then, your baby was born at home — you would put a stick in the yard and put a conch shell on it. That’s how you knew there was a new Conch born.”

A second-generation Conch, Kristi Ann Mills — known locally as Mermaid Kristi Ann — runs the annual Key West Mermaid Festival. She and I met on a previous visit, and I think of her as representing what’s best about Key West: the people.

Renowned for stray chickens in the roads, bender-encouraging dive bars and the laid-back “Margaritaville” lifestyle popularized by Jimmy Buffett, Key West has long attracted a bohemian blend of artists, musicians, conservationists and dropouts to the end-of-the-road tropics at the southernmost tip of the United States.

During the pandemic, the island became a different sort of haven, beckoning an influx of newcomers seeking an outdoor lifestyle. Real estate prices soared and with Florida’s open tourism policy, the hotel business boomed.

So, could I, a thrifty traveler, still enjoy it?

Over a San Pellegrino ($2.95) at the Funky Rooster Coffee House and Wine Bar in Old Town, where a “pet bar,” or water bowl on the porch, had a sign reading “Dogs and chickens drink for free,” Mills assured me I could. She shared her tips for favorite places — many of which I visited — and introduced me to other passionate Conchs who make the place unique.

“Go off track,” she advised. “You’ll see how we do things a little differently.”

Rooms and bikes for rent In October, a relatively quiet month to visit Key West, bargain accommodations were running about $175 a night and up.

At NYAH — short for Not Your Average Hotel — a bed in a quad dorm room with a private bathroom was going for $100

a night. It was a compelling offer, especially since the hostel — a series of connected cottages — maintains courtyard pools, includes breakfast (covered by the roughly $10 a night resort fee) and is centrally located in Old Town.

Unless you’re reserving a private room with family or friends, staying at a hostel risks mystery roommates. In this case, the only other woman sharing the no-frills room had strewed her clothes across all four bunks and explained that she was binge partying after a breakup. Fortunately, since she’d come home at 5 a.m. and I’d head out by 8 a.m., we rarely overlapped during my two-night stay.

Early morning was my favorite time to cycle around Key West. I had arranged to rent a single-speed cruiser through Eaton Bikes, which offers a 10% discount on advance reservations made online (the two-day rental cost $28.80). Thanks to the company’s contactless delivery service, I found the locked bike parked at NYAH’s racks before I arrived and would leave it in the same place upon departure for pickup.

A popular way to get around the island, biking beats walking for speed and range, and avoids the frustration in this no-street-parking place of having to try to park a car in packed lots or on restricted streets.

Most often, I stuck to lightly trafficked residential routes, pedaling past Conch shacks with profuse greenery and brightly painted hurricane shutters that provided a dazzling DIY architecture tour with every ride.

Historic wealth and ‘vulgar T-shirts’ Amid the simpler homes lie impressive mansions — many of them converted to museums or bed-and-breakfast establishments — that provide a key clue to the island’s past: In the 1830s, Key West was the richest city per capita in the United States.

“One hundred years later, Key West was so poor, people forgot that,” said Thomas Greenwood, curator at the Oldest House Museum and Garden (admission $10), noting that Key West was also the first city to declare bankruptcy in the Depression. “Now they remember us for

The cookhouse at the Oldest House & Gardens in Key West, Fla., on Nov. 30, 2023. The Oldest House Museum and Gardens, whose main structure is a 19thcentury, wood-framed house, is filled with antiques from the period when the family of Francis Watlington, a sea captain, harbor master, and state legislator, resided there. Above, the property’s cookhouse. (Mark Hedden/The New York Times) our vulgar T-shirts and our cheap beer.” garden with a clowder of cats largely deI met Greenwood at the relatively scended from Hemingway’s original sixmodest 1829 Bahamian-style, wood- toed pet, Snow White.

“Polydactyls were considered good framed house with a dormer roof and raised porch on the main drag, Duval luck charms,” said my tour guide, Mary Street. It is filled with antiques from the Jane Pierce. “Hemingway was superstiearliest period when the family of Fran- tious and accident prone. He figured he cis Watlington — a sea captain, harbor could use all the help he could get.” master and state legislator — resided On my visit, 66 cats — who have their here, including a game table set with own Instagram account — roamed the 19th century pasteboard playing cards. estate where docents regaled a steady Behind it, Spanish lime and gumbo limbo stream of literary fans and cat lovers with trees shade a cookhouse in the garden, a tales of Hemingway’s carousing, fishtranquil spot just steps from Duval, which ing and writing in the photograph-filled was teeming with passengers from the gi- home. ant Carnival Glory cruise ship. The ship Enough Hemingway, I thought, as I was in port for the day at a private dock pedaled to the Key West Museum of Art that has controversially been allowed to & History. Yet here was an associated host them, despite a 2020 vote to curtail treasure worth the price of admission cruise ships.

Continues on page 20 I followed the crowds about six blocks to perhaps the island’s best-known mansion, the Hemingway Home and Museum (admission $18), where author ACEPTAMOS LA MAYORIA DE LOS PLANES MEDICOS Ernest Hemingway resided •MEDICARE ADVANTAGE • PLAN VITAL TIGER MED from 1931-39 with his secHorario: Lunes a Viernes de 7:30 am a 4:00 pm ond wife, Pauline Pfeiffer.

The couple share top Tel: 787.665.6570 billing in the Spanish CoAve. Gautier Benitez Consolidated Mall Suite 70 Caguas, P.R. lonial encircled by a lush

TRAVEL 20

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

From page 19

($15.50): Fifty-nine pen-and-ink drawings by wildlife artist Guy Harvey depicting Hemingway’s moving tale “The Old Man and the Sea” are mounted in the grand central staircase of the original 1891 Customs House in which the museum is situated.

Sunset circus and happy hours For a few hours each evening before sunset, the energy vortex of Key West shifts to waterfront Mallory Square, a few blocks from the Customs House. In a tradition that stretches back to the 1960s, the west-facing public plaza attracts buskers and street acrobats keen to entertain the throngs searching for the elusive green flash that occasionally appears just as the sun disappears on the horizon.

New safety regulations adopted this year after a performer and spectator were injured prohibit fire on the pier, so its flame-jugglers are gone. But the crowds remain, as do the guitarists, craft stalls and psychics.

It’s a compelling party, but I found better music at a pair of cover-charge-free music clubs. At Smokin’ Tuna Saloon, I listened to powerful country anthems from guitarist Cliff Cody, a frequent performer, over a $7 tap beer.

As I was leaving with a glass half full, the bartender recommended I take it to go.

“The cops look the other way as long as it’s not a glass container and you’re not making trouble,” he advised.

That might be one way to stretch a drink, but awkward on a bike, so I ditched it and pedaled to Schooner Wharf Bar on the harbor. Nursing a $5 Key West Sunset Ale, I watched sailboats sway in the wind while listening to percussive rock covers from guitarist Ken Fairbrother, who threw in “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” because the October breeze, he said, “felt like Christmas.”

Happy hours and Cuban food Key West is resolutely casual, and there are lots of ways to dine cheaply. But for good food at value prices, timing is everything.

“Visitors do sunset then dinner, but locals will tell you to do it the other way around,” said Maria Wevers, owner of the Grand Cafe with an inviting terrace on Duval Street that holds a daily happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. with halfprice drinks and appetizers.

That’s how — presunset — I came to try her grapefruit margarita ($9) and filling half-price dishes such as smoked salmon toast ($9) and steamed clams ($8).

After the green flash eluded me once again, I pedaled on quiet streets to El Siboney Restaurant, a local Cuban favorite decorated with vintage travel posters of Cuba and portions so big that I boxed half of my roast chicken with yellow rice and black beans ($14.95).

Just 90 miles from Cuba, Key West has welcomed migrants from the island since the 1830s, which explains the abundance of Cuban food. For lunch the next day, I rode to Sandy’s Café, a walk-up window in front of a laundromat famous for its strong coffee and pressed Cuban sandwiches ($9.75) layered with pork, ham and Swiss cheese.

A few blocks away, I picnicked at the oceanside Key West Garden Club (free) lodged in a former Civil War fort.

Kevin Armour performing at Mallory Square in Key West, Fla., on Nov. 30, 2023. Mallory Square attracts buskers and street acrobats like Kevin Armour, who are eager to entertain the throngs. (Mark Hedden/The New York Times) That afternoon, before happy hour at Milagro Restaurant & Bar, a Latin-accented gem where the drinks ($14 for a hibiscus margarita) are two for one from 5 to 6:30 p.m., I toured the Key West First Legal Rum Distillery.

Free tours start with a taste of a pina colada and end with complimentary rum samples.

A chef, Paul Menta, co-founded the distillery in 2012 to apply his palate to a category of booze he said is often doctored to mask impurities. His unique approach to distilling rum includes soaking his aging barrels in ocean saltwater before filling them and infusing flavors such as Key lime in small batches.

“When you’re creative, in a lot of places you’re considered strange,” said Menta after the tour. “But in Key West, you’re among your people.”

The wild side Although Key West is known for its wild lifestyle, I’ve always appreciated its wildlife. On previous trips, I’ve boated to nearby sandbars and shell-choked islets. I should have pushed past my budgetary restraint to book a snorkeling and dolphin-watching trip with Honest Eco, a reasonable deal at $99 for four hours on an electric boat.

Instead, at sunrise on my last day, I swam at Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park (pedestrian or bike admission $2.50), spying striped sergeant majors and pastel parrotfish.

On my way out, I stopped at the neighboring Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center (free), focused on the surrounding Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which protects the only barrier reef in North America. Exhibits examine its 2,000-plus shipwrecks, mangroves that act as nurseries for aquatic species, and carbon-sequestering seagrass beds.

“People don’t necessarily connect climate change to melting ice caps because they don’t see it, but here they can see how their behavior affects the reef and animals,” center manager Emily Kovacs said as she pointed out coral in the water outside the museum that had bleached over the very hot summer.

Later, I visited the modest Key West Wildlife Center (free), a sanctuary devoted to rescued and rehabilitating wild birds. In large outdoor cages, brown pelicans were

recovering from shredded throat pouches caused by discarded fish bones, raptors were treated for dehydration, and abandoned common gallinule hatchlings paddled in a tub.

When healed, most birds are released into the wild from the adjacent Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park, a hidden block of shady trees popular with birders and, on this afternoon, filled with the song of migrating palm warblers.

While I watched, Chris Castro, a volunteer wearing long leather gloves, carried a regal osprey from its rehab perch and launched it into the bright sky. The raptor’s wings beat deeply as it set a course over the sea where, waterlogged, it had been rescued just a few days earlier.

Like the ephemeral green flash at sunset, the stirring event was over in an instant, but it proved once again that, despite its popularity, Key West rewards anyone paying attention, whatever their budget.

Jonatan Ramos Director Funerario

“Tus sentimientos en las mejores manos” Aceptamos la Mayoría de los Planes Funerales Pre-Arreglos sin Interes •Cómodas Facilidades •Amplio Estacionamiento DIRECTOR FUNERAL AUTORIZADO

Tels. 787.258.2664 •939.639.2533 Bairoa la 25, Caguas (antiguo JF Montalvo)

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

21

NASA delays Artemis astronaut moon missions

By KENNETH CHANG

F

or NASA and its astronauts, the moon is no farther away in terms of distance, but it is slipping further into the future.

Officials at the space agency announced last week that Artemis II, the first American mission to send astronauts close to the moon in more than 50 years, will not take place late this year, as had been scheduled.

They set a target date of September 2025 for the mission, which will swing around the moon without landing there.

The delay in Artemis II also pushes back the subsequent mission, Artemis III, which is to land two astronauts on the moon near its south pole. That will now occur no earlier than September 2026.

Artemis II will be the first mission to send astronauts to space using NASA’s huge Space Launch System rocket and Orion capsule, and NASA officials want to fix potential problems that could endanger the crew.

“We don’t fly until it’s ready,” Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

“Safety is paramount.”

For the mission’s delay, the officials cited a slew of technical issues including concerns about electronics in the life support system that will keep the astronauts alive inside Orion, continuing analysis of wear and tear of the capsule’s heat shield during an earlier uncrewed mission and repairs to the launch tower.

Unlike the Apollo missions, Artemis II will not enter orbit around the moon.

The Orion capsule will swing around the moon, using lunar gravity to sling it back to Earth for a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

The entire trip should take around 10 days.

The crew will consist of three NASA astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch — and one Canadian astronaut, Jeremy Hansen.

Amit Kshatriya, the deputy associate administrator in charge of the Moon to Mars program at NASA, said the discovery of problems with the valves in the Orion capsule’s life support system was the main cause for the Artemis II delay.

Valves that were destined for the Orion

capsule for Artemis III failed in tests. “That gave us pause to stop and look at that circuit in a more detailed way,” Kshatriya said.

The valve components for Artemis II had passed tests and had been installed, but “it became very clear to us that it was unacceptable to accept that hardware, and we need to replace it in order to guarantee the safety of the crew,” Kshatriya said.

He said NASA also discovered a potential deficiency in Orion’s batteries if the spacecraft needed to separate quickly from the rocket in case of an emergency.

The current moon program started in December 2017 when President Donald Trump directed NASA to send astronauts back to the moon, a place where they have not stepped since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. That was a shift from President Barack Obama, who had wanted NASA to focus on sending astronauts to new destinations such as an asteroid and eventually Mars.

Even with the change of destination, the major pieces of NASA’s human spaceflight plans — the SLS rocket and the Orion capsule — had already been under development for years and remained unchanged.

Initially, the pace of the lunar return was languid, with astronauts not scheduled to land until at least 2028. Then in 2019, Vice President Mike Pence, who chaired the National Space Council, announced a sudden acceleration, and said that American astronauts would walk on the moon again by the end of 2024 “by any means necessary.”

Pence and other critics said NASA was not moving with urgency, pointing out that only eight years elapsed between President John F. Kennedy’s famous announcement in 1961 of a plan to reach the moon and the landing of Apollo 11.

Pence also raised the specter of China, which had just put a robotic lander on the far side of the moon and was aiming to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.

The moon program was given a name: Artemis, who in Greek mythology is the twin sister of Apollo.

In 2021, NASA hired Elon Musk’s company SpaceX to build the lander for Arte-

A photo provided by Bill Ingalls/NASA shows the uncrewed Artemis I rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 2022. Artemis II, a trip around the moon will now occur no earlier than September 2025 while a moon landing, Artemis III, will move to 2026. (Bill Ingalls/NASA via The New York Times) mis III. The company is adapting the giant Starship rocket to be able to take two NASA astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon’s surface.

NASA’s accelerated schedule started slipping. Artemis I, a test launch of the SLS rocket that sent an uncrewed Orion capsule on a weekslong test flight around the moon, was scheduled for late 2020 but did not launch until November 2022.

Artemis I was largely successful, and NASA officials were hopeful that Artemis II could follow two years later.

Although NASA’s budget has received large increases in recent years, it is still a much smaller slice of the federal budget than at the height of the Apollo program in the 1960s.

In December, the Government Accountability Office said the December 2025 target for the Artemis III moon landing was unlikely, pointing to overly optimistic schedules for the development of the Starship lunar lander and the spacesuits that astronauts would need for walking on the moon.

Two test launches of Starship last year failed to reach orbit, although SpaceX said both provided bounties of data to make improvements. The accountability office said that if Starship took as long as the average major project at NASA, it would not be ready until 2027.

The delay allows more time for SpaceX to tackle the challenges of developing

Starship, including a full-scale uncrewed lunar landing of the vehicle, now scheduled for 2025.

James Free, NASA’s associate administrator, said that the revised Artemis schedule was not overly optimistic, although he admitted that additional delays could still occur.

“We’ve tried to address the unknown unknowns and set a realistic plan in place,” Free said.

A photo provided by NASA shows a view from the Orion spacecraft during the 2022 Artemis I mission around the moon. The space agency announced delays to its next three Artemis missions, which will postpone the return of American astronauts to the moon.

(NASA via The New York Times)

22 LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR PATILLAS.

LUIS ALBERTO SANTOS TORRES ROSA MARÍA ALICEA MAISONET

EX PARTE CIVIL NÚM.: SA20233CV00145.

SALÓN: SOBRE: EXPEDIENTE DE DOMINIO BAJO EL ART. 13 DE LA LEY 118, PROCEDIMIENTO EXPEDITO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EEUU, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PR. SS.

A: INMEDIATOS DUEÑOS ANTERIORES Y/O SUS HEREDEROS, DENOMINADOS JHON DOE, A QUIENES PUDIERA PERJUDICAR LA INSCRIPCION DEL DOMINIO A FAVRO DE LA PARTE PETICIONARIA EN EL REGISTRO DE LA PROPIEDAD DE LA FINCA QUE MAS ADELANTES SE DESCRIBIRA Y A TODA PERSONA EN GENERAL QUE CON DERECHO PARA ELLO DESEE OPONERSE A ESTE EXPEDIENTE POR LA PRESENTE se les notifica para que comparezcan, si lo creyeren pertinente, ante este Honorable Tribunal dentro de los veinte (20) días contados a partir de la última publicación de este edicto a exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga en el expediente promovido por la parte peticionaria para adquirir su dominio sobre la finca que se describe más adelante. Usted deberá presentar su posición a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: httos://unired.ramajudicial. or. salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación en la secretaría del Tribunal.

Si usted deja de expresarse dentro del referido término, el Tribunal podrá dictar sentencia, previo a escuchar la prueba de valor de la parte peticionaria en su contra, sin más citarle ni oírle, y conceder el remedio solicitado en la petición, o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Tract of land located at Monte Grande ward municipality of Salinas, Puerto Rico. Bounded at Nor-

@

th with Ema Santos Torres; at East with Pedro Gonzalez; at South with Israel Rivera; and at the West with Municipal Road.

Which is the point of beginning, having an area of 657.3968 Square Meters, equivalent to 0.1673 Cuerdas. El abogado de la parte peticionaria es la Lcdo. Ernesto Rovira Gándara, PMB 767, 1353 Ave. Luis Vigoreaux, Guaynabo, PR 00966; Tel. (787)-758-3277; Email: erovira@partnerslegalservicespr.com. Se le informa, además, que el Tribunal ha señalado vista en este caso para el de _____ de 20_, a las _____ _, mediante videoconferencia, a la cual usted puede comparecer asistido por abogado y presentar oposición a la petición. Este edicto deberá ser publicado en tres (3) ocasiones dentro del término de veinte (20) días, en un periódico de circulación general diaria, para que comparezcan si quieren alegar su derecho. Toda primera mención de persona natural y/o jurídica que se mencione en el mismo, se identificará en letra tamaño 10 puntos y negrillas, conforme a lo dispuesto en las Reglas de Procedimiento Civil, 2009. Se le apercibe que de no comparecer los interesados y/o partes citadas, o en su defecto los organismos públicos afectados en el término improrrogable de treinta (30) días a contar de la fecha de la última publicación del edicto, el Tribunal podrá conceder el remedio solicitado por la parte peticionaria, sin más citarle ni oírle. En PATILLAS, Puerto Rico, a 3 de octubre de 2023. Luz M. Guzman Santiago, Secretaria Regional.

MARISOL ROSADO RODRÍGUEZ, Secretaria Auxiliar del Tribunal I.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES ACQUISITION TRUST 2018-HB1 Demandante Vs.

SUCESION RAFAEL GENARO GARCIA ORTEGA T/C/C RAFAEL G. GARCÍA ORTEGA T/C/C RAFAEL GARCIA ORTEGA T/C/C RAFAEL GENARO GARCIA T/C/C

Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star

”Solar localizado en la Carre- de Primera Instancia, Sala de lo menos siete (7) días entre frente por quince metros de A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE, en RAFAEL G. GARCIA publicaciones, así como fondo, sito en la calle Ramón la oficina antes mencionada del T/C/C RAFAEL GARCIA tera Estatal Número 686, Km Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina ambas 12.5, del Barrio Puerto Nuevo de Alguaciles de Subastas, el para su publicación en los sitios Quiñones Carballo, esquina Alguacil que suscribe. El preCOMPUESTA POR del término municipal de Vega 12 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A públicos de Puerto Rico. Expe- Víctor M. Rios, en lindes por cio mínimo para la SEGUNDA RAFAEL GARCIA PAGAN, Baja, Puerto Rico, con una ca- LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, dido en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, NORTE con Pablo Flores, hoy SUBASTA será de $42,666.67, RICARDO GARCIA bida superficial de 469.87 me- y se establece como mínima hoy 11 de diciembre de 2023. Sucesión; por el SUR, con la equivalentes a dos terceras PAGAN, EDMEE GARCIA tros cuadrados., equivalente a para dicha segunda subasta la FRANCES TORRES, ALGUA- calle Ramon Quiñones Carba- (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo es0.1195 cuerdas. En lindes por suma de $192,000.00, 2/3 par- CIL REGIONAL. EDGARDO llo; por el ESTE, con Flor Soto tipulado para la PRIMERA suPAGAN, ARTURO VARGAS SANTANA, antes, hoy su Sucesión; y, por basta. Que de ser necesaria la GARCIA PAGAN; JOHN el NORTE, con la Calle vega tes del tipo mínima establecido ELÍAS Mar, en una distancia de 20.75 originalmente. Si tampoco se ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA el OESTE, con la calle Víctor celebración de una TERCERA DOE Y JANE DOE COMO metros; por el SUR, con José produce remate ni adjudicación #193.

M. Rios. Enclava una casa de SUBASTA la misma se llevará POSIBLES HEREDEROS Enrique Rodríguez, en una dis- en la segunda subasta, se esbloques y concreto armado con a efecto el día 21 DE FEBRELEGAL NOTICE su torta de concreto armado, RO DE 2024 A LAS 1:30 DE DESCONOCIDOS; tancia de 20.00 metros; por el tablece como mínima para la SUCESION ANA DELIA ESTE, con la Carretera Estatal TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO cuya casa mide veintiséis pies LA TARDE, en la oficina antes PAGAN NAZARIO T/C/C Número 686, en una distan- de $144,000.00, la mitad (1/2) DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- de frente, cuarenta y tres pies mencionada del Alguacil que NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA seis pulgadas y dieciséis pies suscribe. El precio mínimo para ANA D. PAGAN NAZARIO cia de 24.31 metros; y por el del precio pactado y dicha su- SALA DE FAJARDO tres pulgadas por su parte pos- la TERCERA SUBASTA será OESTE, con María Cordero, en basta se celebrará en mi oficiT/C/C ANA PAGAN terior, y sobre la misma existe de $32,000.00, equivalentes a una distancia de 21.91 metros. na, ubicada en el Tribunal de MWX, INC NAZARIO T/C/C ANA un mirador construido también la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo Enclava una casa construida Primera Instancia, Sala de BaDemandante V. de bloques y concreto armado estipulado para la PRIMERA DELIA PAGAN T/C/C ANA de concreto armado de dos yamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de CARLOS M. que mide dieciséis pies tres pul- subasta. Si se declarase deD. PAGAN T/C/C ANA plantas, la superior consta de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 26 LESPIN QUIÑONES gadas de frente por veinticinco sierta la tercera subasta, se PAGAN COMPUESTA sala-comedor-cocina, tres dor- DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A LAS Demandada pies de fondo. Consta inscrito al adjudicará la finca a favor del mitorios, dos baños y balcón 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha POR RAFAEL GARCIA en forma de L; la primera planta subasta se llevará a cabo para, Civil Núm.: NSCI200900305. folio 84 del tomo 138 de Fajar- acreedor por la totalidad de la Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y PAGAN, RICARDO do, finca número 4,439; Regis- cantidad adeudada si ésta es contiene sala-cocina y baño, con su producto satisfacer a la GARCIA PAGAN, EDMEE con un área de estacionamien- parte demandante, el importe EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. tro de la Propiedad Sección Fa- igual o menor que el monto del AVISO DE VENTA EN PÚBLIjardo. El producto de la subasta tipo de la tercera subasta, si el GARCIA PAGAN, ARTURO to.” Inscrita al folio 191 del tomo de la Sentencia dictada a su CA SUBASTA. se destinará a satisfacer al de- Tribunal lo estima conveniente; 443 de Vega Baja, finca 32282, favor ascendente a la suma GARCIA PAGAN; JOHN A: CARLOS MANUEL ROE Y JANE ROE COMO Registro de la Propiedad de de 219,904.75 por concepto LESPIN QUIÑONES; Y AL mandante, hasta donde alcan- se abonará dicho monto a la ce, la SENTENCIA dictada a su cantidad adeudada si esta es Sección IV. La Hipo- de principal, más la suma de POSIBLES HEREDEROS Bayamón, teca Revertida consta inscrita al $41,412.35 en intereses acu- PUBLICO EN GENERAL: favor ascendente a la suma de mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo DESCONOCIDOS; folio 191 del tomo 443 de Vega mulados al 25 de noviembre El que suscribe, Alguacil del $ $44,372.91 de principal, más dispone el Articulo 104 de la ESTADOS UNIDOS DE Baja, finca 32282, Registro de de 2022 y los cuales continúan Tribunal de Primera Instancia, intereses acumulados a razón Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciemla Propiedad de Bayamón, Sec- acumulándose a razón de Sala Superior, Centro Judicial del 9.5% anual, suma que al 18 bre de 2015 conocida como AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE ción IV, inscripción 2ª. Propie- 5.060% anual hasta su total y de Fajardo, Fajardo, Puerto de septiembre de 2023 ascen- “Ley del Registro de la PropieINGRESOS MUNICIPALES dad localizada en: PR 686 KM completo pago; más la sumas Rico, hago saber a la parte día a $23,806.18, la cual conti- dad Inmueble del Estado Libre Demandados Civil Núm.: BY2022CV04477.

Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO GENERAL:

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, Cuarto Piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas, el 5 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA:

staredictos@thesanjuandailystar.com

12.5 BO. PUERTO NUEVO, VEGA BAJA, PR 00694. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $288,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 9 de julio de 2088. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes.

El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $288,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal

(787) 743-3346

de $14,070.37 en seguro hipotecario; $4,200.00 en tarifas de servicio; $680.00 de inspecciones; $4,976.30 de adelantos pendientes; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $28,800.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta.

Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por

demandada y, al PUBLICO EN GENERAL, y a todos los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surjan de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante a saber.

Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 9 de noviembre de 2023, por la Secretaria del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: Dirección de la Propiedad: Obrera Ward 55 Calle Quiñones Caraballo, Fajardo, PR 00738. URBANA: Solar radicado en la Barriada Obrera de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número cincuenta y cinco de la parcela ‘G’ que mide nueve metros de

nua acumulándose hasta el total pago y solvente del principal a razón de $11.71 diarios (“per diem”); $1,349.48 por concepto de cargos por demora, en adición a cualquier adelanto realizado conforme a los documentos de préstamo, costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado según pactados, disponiéndose que si quedare algún remanente luego de pagarse las sumas antes mencionadas del mismo deberá ser depositado en la Secretaria del Tribunal para ser entregado a la parte con interés previa solicitud y orden del Tribunal. La venta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca. La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 6 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 A LAS 1:30 DE LA TARDE, en la oficina del referido Alguacil, localizada en el Centro Judicial de Fajardo Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $64,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, la misma se llevará a efecto el día 13 DE FEBRERO DE 2024

Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las

The San Juan Daily Star cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 17 de noviembre de 2023.

JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO #622. SHEILA S. CRUZ SÁNCHEZ, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #427, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO.

Monday, January 15, 2024

(787) 993-3731 a la dirección edwin.serrano@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy día 03 de noviembre de 2023. En Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, el 03 de noviembre de 2023. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA. JOSSIE D. BOBEE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, hoy día 3 de noviembre de 2023. LCDA. KANELLY ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA. MARICRUZ APONTE ALICEA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

Demandante Vs.

a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:/// www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie.bonaparte@orf-law.com

propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Natalie Bonaparte Servera cuya dirección es: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono (787) 993-3731 a la dirección natalie.bonaparte@orf-law.com y a la dirección notificaciones@ orf-law.com.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el sello del Tribunal, en SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, hoy día 3 de noviembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. JESSICA SOTO PAGÁN, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Mayagüez, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Mayagüez, el 21 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar identificado con el número 17 del bloque D en el plano de inscripción de la Urbanización Girasol de Cabo Rojo, localizada en el barrio Miradero de Cabo Rojo; del término municipal de Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ

FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE LLC

SUCESION FRANCISCO ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO EDGARDO GARCIA DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUPRINCIPE T/C/C NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA FRANCISCO E. SALA DE SAN JUAN LEGAL NOTICE GARCIA-PRINCIPE ISLAND PORTFOLIO ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO T/C/C FRANCISCO E. SERVICES, LLC COMO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUGARCIA PRINCIPE AGENTE DE ACE ONE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA T/C/C FRANCISCO FUNDING, LLC SALA DE CAROLINA EDGARDO GARCIA Parte Demandante Vs. ISLAND PORTFOLIO *** T/C/C FRANCISCO ISRAEL ALBERT SERVICES, LLC COMO GARCIA PRINCIPE T/C/C MARTINEZ LEGAL NOTICE AGENTE DE ACE ONE Parte Demandada FRANCISCO E. GARCIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO FUNDING, LLC Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV07324.

T/C/C FRANCISCO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUParte Demandante Vs. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA GARCIA COMPUESTA RAFAEL B LOPEZ EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICSALA DE MAYAGÜEZ POR JOHN DOE Y Parte Demandada TO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE ISLAND PORTFOLIO JANE DOE COMO Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV05426. AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE SERVICES, LLC, Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, POSIBLES HEREDEROS EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDIC- EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIACOMO AGENTE DE DESCONOCIDOS; FAIRWAY ACQUISITIONS TO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE DO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE A: ISRAEL ALBERT FUND, LLC. AMERICA; CENTRO DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, Demandante Vs. MARTINEZ - PARC FALU DE RECAUDACION DE EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIAKEVIN V. 195B CALLE 49, SAN DO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. INGRESOS MUNICIPALES TORRES ROSADO JUAN PR 00924-3102.

Demandados A: RAFAEL B LOPEZ Demandado POR LA PRESENTE se le Civil Núm.: MZ2022CV01715.

URB VILLA CAROLINA Civil Núm.: MZ2022CV01538. emplaza y requiere para que Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOSalón: 103. Sobre: COBRO 108-9 CALLE INOCENCIO conteste la demanda dentro de TECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. CRUZ, CAROLINA DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENlos treinta (30) días siguientes ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS PR 00985-4102; 3623 a la publicación de este Edic- RICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PARRISH AVE. APT 1, to. Usted deberá presentar su LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTAEAST CHICAGO IN 46312; alegación responsiva a través ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LISistema Unificado de Ma- DE PUERTO RICO, SS. BO OBRERO 468 CALLE del BRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO nejo y Administración de CaA: LA PARTE 11, SAN JUAN PR 00915- sos (SUMAC), la cual puede RICO, SS. DEMANDADA, AL (A 3705. acceder utilizando la siguiente A: ROSA M. POR LA PRESENTE se le dirección electrónica: https:/// LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE RUBIO RODRIGUEZ HACIENDA DE PUERTO emplaza y requiere para que URB SAN JOSE #1111 conteste la demanda dentro de www.poderjudicial.pr/index. php/tribunal-electronico, salvo RICO Y AL PÚBLICO CALLE MANUEL MARIN. los treinta (30) días siguientes que se represente por derecho GENERAL: POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), la cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro sin más citarle ni oírle, si el tribunal en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. El sistema SUMAC notificará copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, el Lcdo. Edwin Serrano cuyas direcciones son: P.O. Box 71418 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-8518, teléfono

superficial de 326.88 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 24.00 metros con solar D-16; por el SUR, en una distancia de 24.00 metros con el solar D-18; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 13.62 metros con el solar D-2; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 13.26 metros con la calle número cuatro. En su colindancia Oeste discurre una servidumbre a favor de la Puerto Rico Telephone Company.

Se enclava en este solar una estructura de hormigón reforzado y bloques de concreto, con las facilidades usuales, para residencia de una familia. Inscrita al folio 280 del tomo 647 de Cabo Rojo, finca 22,825 Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección de San German.

La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al tomo KARIBE, finca 22,825 de Cabo Rojo, Registro de la Propiedad de San Germán, inscripción 6ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. GIRASOL DE CABO ROJO, D17 CALLE 4, CABO ROJO, PR 00623. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $183,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 18 de diciembre de 2100. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes.

El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $183,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Mayagüez, el 28 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $120,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de

23

$91,500.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Mayagüez, el 6 DE MARZO DE 2024, A LAS 11:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $78,003.95 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $13,808.98 en intereses acumulados al 23 de junio de 2023 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.174% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $7,236.08 en seguro hipotecario; $683.00 de seguro; $750.00 de tasaciones; $315.00 de inspecciones; $1,609.00 en mantenimiento; $1,027.50 de adelantos de honorarios de abogado; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $18,300.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado. A tenor con la Regla 44.3 de Procedimiento Civil se condena a la parte demandada a pagar intereses aplicables sobre el importe de la presente sentencia incluyendo costas y honorarios de abogado, desde esta fecha y hasta que sea satisfecha. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SUBASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta.

Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, hoy 18 de diciembre de 2023.

JOVINO PÉREZ SANTIAGO, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. JOSÉ A. MONTALVO, ALGUACIL PLACA #454.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS

BANCO POPULAR DE

PUERTO RICO

por el ESTE, en una distancia de ONCE PUNTO CINCUENTA (11.50) METROS, con la Calle CARLOS JAVIER número Tres (3); y por el OESCRUZ GARCIA TE, en una distancia de ONCE Demandado PUNTO CINCUENTA (11.50) Civil Núm.: ECD2017-0633.

METROS, con el solar número (802). Sobre: COBRO DE DIE guión Cincuenta y Tres (ENERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPO53). En el solar antes descrito TECA POR LA VÍA ORDINAse encuentra enclavada una RIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. residencia unifamiliar construiAL: PÚBLICO EN da de hormigón armado. Esta GENERAL. estructura residencial se compone de tres (3) dormitorios, A: CARLOS JAVIER dos (2) baños, sala, comedor, CRUZ GARCIA. Yo, EDGARDO ALDEBOL MI- cocina y marquesina techada.

RANDA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, La escritura de hipoteca se Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la encuentra inscrita al folio 105 parte demandada y a los acree- del tomo 429 de Juncos, Redores y personas con interés gistro de la Propiedad de Casobre la propiedad que más guas, Sección Segunda, finca adelante se describe, y al públi- número 16,420, inscripción co en general, HAGO SABER: segunda. La dirección física Que el día 5 DE FEBRERO DE de la propiedad antes descrita 2024 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MA- es: Urb. Extensión Praderas de ÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Ceiba, Lot E 84, Calle 3, JunTribunal de Primera Instancia, cos, Puerto Rico. La subasta se Sala Superior de Caguas, Ca- llevará a efecto para satisfacer guas, Puerto Rico, venderé en a la parte demandante la suma Pública Subasta la propiedad de $82,871.67 de principal, ininmueble que más adelante tereses al 4.5% anual, desde se describe y cuya venta en el día 1ro. de septiembre de pública subasta se ordenó por 2016, hasta su completo pago, la vía ordinaria al mejor postor más la cantidad de $9,315.00 quien hará el pago en dinero estipulada para costas, gasen efectivo, giro postal o che- tos y honorarios de abogado que certificado a nombre del y recargos acumulados, todas o la Alguacil del Tribunal de cuyas sumas están líquidas y Primera Instancia. Los autos y exigibles, esta última habrá de todos los documentos corres- devengar intereses al máximo pondientes al procedimiento del tipo legal fijado por la oficiincoado, estarán de manifiesto na del Comisionado de Instituen la Secretaría del Tribunal de ciones Financieras aplicable a Caguas durante horas labora- esta fecha, desde este mismo bles. Que en caso de no produ- día hasta su total y completo cir remate ni adjudicación en la saldo. Que la cantidad mínima primera subasta a celebrarse, de licitación en la primera suse celebrará una SEGUNDA basta para el inmueble será de SUBASTA para la venta de la $93,150.00 y de ser necesaria susodicha propiedad, el día una segunda subasta, la canti12 DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A dad mínima será equivalente a LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA y en 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la caso de no producir remate ni suma de $62,100.00 y de ser adjudicación, se celebrará una necesaria una tercera subasTERCERA SUBASTA el día 20 ta, la cantidad mínima será la DE FEBRERO DE 2024, A LAS mitad del precio pactado, es 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA en mi ofi- decir, la suma de $46,575.00. cina sita en el lugar antes indi- Si se declara desierta la tercera cado. La propiedad a venderse subasta se adjudicará la finca a en pública subasta se describe favor del acreedor por la totacomo sigue: URBANA: Solar lidad de la cantidad adeudada identificado con el número si esta es igual o menor que Ochenta y Cuatro (84) del Blo- el monto del tipo de la tercera que “E” en el plano de inscrip- subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima ción de la URBANIZACIÓN conveniente. Se abonará dicho EXTENSIÓN PRADERAS DE monto a la cantidad adeudada CEIBA NORTE, localizado en la si esta es mayor. La propiedad Carretera número Novecientos se adjudicará al mejor postor, Treinta y Cinco (935) del Barrio quien deberá satisfacer el imCeiba Norte de Juncos, Puerto porte de su oferta en moneda Rico, con una cabida de DOS- legal y corriente de los EstaCIENTOS SETENTA Y SEIS dos Unidos de América en el PUNTO CERO CERO (276.00) momento de la adjudicación y METROS CUADRADOS. En que todo licitador acepta como lindes por el NORTE, en una suficiente la titularidad y que las distancia de VEINTICUATRO cargas y gravámenes preferenPUNTO CERO CERO (24.00) tes, si los hubiese, continuarán entendiéndose METROS, con el solar número subsistentes, E guión Ochenta y Tres (E-83); que el rematante los acepta por el SUR, en una distancia y queda subrogado en la resde VEINTICUATRO PUNTO ponsabilidad de los mismos, CERO CERO (24.00) ME- sin destinarse a su extinción el TROS, con el solar número E precio del remate. La propiedad guión Ochenta y Cinco (E-85); a ser vendida en pública subasDemandante Vs.

24 ta se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Podrán concurrir como postores a todas las subastas los titulares de créditos hipotecarios vigentes y posteriores a la hipoteca que se cobra o ejecuta, si alguno o que figuren como tales en la certificación registral y que podrán utilizar el montante de sus créditos o parte de alguno en sus ofertas. Si la oferta aceptada es por cantidad mayor a la suma del crédito o créditos preferentes al suyo, al obtener la buena pro del remate, deberá satisfacer en el mismo acto, en efectivo o en cheque de gerente, la totalidad del crédito hipotecario que se ejecuta y la de cualesquiera otro créditos posteriores al que se ejecuta pero preferente al suyo. El exceso constituirá abono total o parcial en su propio crédito. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en Caguas, Puerto Rico, a 4 de enero de 2024. EDGARDO ALDEBOL MIRANDA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 08 de enero de 2024. En VEGA BAJA, Puerto Rico, el 08 de enero de 2024. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria. Maritza Rosario Rosario, Secretaria Auxiliar Del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE

Quedan emplazados y notificados de que en este Tribunal se ha radicado una demanda Cobro de Dinero Regla 60 en su contra. Se le notifica que deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial. pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de San Juan y enviando copia a la parte demandante: Silvia Denis, 352 Ave. San Claudio, PMB 257, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926, teléfono (787) 365-8121, correo electrónico: silinette@gmail. com. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, 20 de diciembre de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MARGARITA MUÑIZ MÉNDEZ, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE VEGA BAJA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

CARMEN MARIA VELEZ REY

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: BY2022CV00511.

(Salón: 201 CD, CM, TR Y CR).

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - ORDINARIO Y OTROS. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO. GUILLERMO A. SOMOZA COLOMBANI, BILLYSOMOZA@ YAHOO.COM.

A: CARMEN MARIA VELEZ REY.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 12 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

SILVIA DENIS

Parte Demandante Vs

SWEETY CASTRO

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV10272.

Sala: 906. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - REGLA 60. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: SWEETY CASTRO.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE CAROLINA

ASOCIACIÓN DE TITULARES LOS EUCALIPTOS INC. Demandante Vs.

JULISSA POU CORA, Y OTROS

Demandados Civil Núm.: CN2023CV00235.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

Salón: 408. Sobre: COBRO DE y/o a su email: CUOTAS DE MANTENIMIEN- d.santodomingorivera@gmail.com, TO / REGLA 60. EDICTO. EL con copia de su contestaESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO ción a las alegaciones de la DE PUERTO RICO: Demanda en este caso, las cuales podrá usted examinar A: SUCESIÓN DE FRANK B. MANGUAL en la Sala de Canóvanas, del de Primera Instancia, GUZMÁN COMPUESTA Tribunal Sección Superior, dentro de POR LA VIUDA los treinta (30) días contados JULISSA POU CORA desde el siguiente día a la feEN SU CUOTA VIUDAL cha de la publicación de este Emplazamiento por Edicto, con USUFRUCTUARIA Y SUTANO Y PERENCEJO la advertencia a los efectos de que si no contesta la demanda DE TAL, POSIBLES presentando el Original de la HEREDEROS Contestación, ante el Tribunal DESCONOCIDOS. correspondiente, con copia Se le interpela para que acep- a la parte demandante, se le te o renuncie a la herencia anotara la rebeldía y se dictara del causante dentro de los 30 Sentencia para conceder el redías subsiguientes a la fecha medio solicitado sin más citarle que fuese emplazado[a] o ni oírle. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI requerido[a] que conteste, en FIRMA, y el sello del Tribunal cumplimiento con al Artículo en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy 4 1578 del Código Civil de 2020, de diciembre de 2023. Wanda 31 L.P.R.A. §11021. La renun- I. Seguí Reyes, Secretaria. Glocia se hará por instrumento riara Rodríguez Rivera, Secrepúblico o por escrito judicial. taria Auxiliar.

Se entenderá que, si no se LEGAL NOTICE expresa dentro de dicho término, ha aceptado la herencia ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO del causante Frank B. Mangual DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUGuzmán. DADA en Canóvanas, NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Puerto Rico, el 9 de enero de SALA SUPERIOR DE CEIBA 2024. LCDA. KANELLY ZAYAS AMARILIS ROBLES, SECRETARIA. KEIRIVERO MELÉNDEZ LA GARCÍA SOLÍS, SECRETAParte Demandante Vs. RIA AUXILIAR.

tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Por haber los demandantes acreditado las gestiones para conocer la identidad y circunstancias personales de los demandados se le ha relevado del cumplimiento de notificación a la última dirección conocida de la copia de la demanda y del emplazamiento.

Extendido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal. En Yauco, Puerto Rico, hoy 22 de diciembre de 2023. Carmen G. Tirú Quiñones, Secretaria Regional. Delia LEGAL NOTICE Aponte Velázquez, Secretaria ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Auxiliar Tribunal.

DE PUERTO RICO TRIBULEGAL NOTICE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO SALA DE GUAYANILLA ABEL GALARZA RIVERA DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Demandante Vs. CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAVELMILIZ GALARZA MÓN SALA MUNICIPAL Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sección Superior, dentro de los treinta (30) días contados desde el siguiente día a la fecha de la publicación de este Emplazamiento por Edicto, con la advertencia a los efectos de que si no contesta la demanda presentando el Original de la Contestación, ante el Tribunal correspondiente, con copia a la parte demandante, se le anotara la rebeldía y se dictara Sentencia para conceder el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA, y el sello del Tribunal en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy 4 de diciembre de 2023. Wanda I. Seguí Reyes, Secretaria. Gloriara Rodríguez Rivera, Secretaria Auxiliar.

RIVERA; VILMARIE GALARZA RIVERA; AHMED EDBEL GALARZA RIVERA

CARIBE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Demandante Vs.

JEIRLARIS PÉREZ GARCÍA, JOHN DOE Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados Caso Núm.: GY2023CV00223.

LIQUIDACIÓN DE HEVÍCTOR JAVIER RAMOS Sobre: RENCIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO LEGAL NOTICE PIÑERO; MARINES POR EDICTO. ESTADOS RIVERA RIVERO ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL Parte Demandada DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUPRESIDENTE DE EE. UU., EL Demandados NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA Civil Núm.: CE2023RF00035. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO Civil Núm.: CZ2023CV00156.

Sobre: CUSTODIA; PATRIA DE PUERTO RICO. SALA SUPERIOR DE CEIBA Sala: 502. Sobre: COBRO DE POTESTAD. EMPLAZAMIENAMARILIS A: VILMARIE GALARZA DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO TO POR EDICTO. ESTARIVERO MELÉNDEZ RIVERA, 5155 ROYAL POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, Parte Demandante Vs. POINT AVE KISSIMMEE DOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PREEL PRESIDENTE DE LOS SIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS VÍCTOR JAVIER RAMOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE FLORIDA 34746; UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA., EL PIÑERO; MARINES ASOCIADO DE , SS. A: AHMED ADBEL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO RIVERA RIVERO A: VÍCTOR JAVIER GALARZA RIVERA, DE PUERTO RICO. Parte Demandada RAMOS PIÑERO DIRECCIÓN A: JEIRLARIS PÉREZ Civil Núm.: CE2023RF00035.

- RESIDENCIAL DESCONOCIDA. GARCÍA, JOHN DOE Y Sobre: CUSTODIA; PATRIA PEDRO ROSARIO De: ABEL GALARZA POTESTAD. EMPLAZAMIENLA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE NIEVES, EDIFICIO 8, TO POR EDICTO. ESTARIVERA. BIENES GANANCIALES DOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, POR LA PRESENTE, se le notiAPARTAMENTO 47, COMPUESTA POR fica a usted que se ha radicado EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS FAJARDO PR 00738.

AMBOS. HC-6 BOX 14925, E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE POR LA PRESENTE se le no- una Demanda solicitando la LiCOROZAL, PR 00783quidación de Herencia del cauASOCIADO DE , SS. tifica que la demandante ha 7861.

A: MARINES RIVERA radicado una Demanda sobre dal hereditario de la causante, RIVERO - PHILADELPHIA, Custodia y Patria Potestad. Ha- MIRMA ROVERA QUIÑONES Quedan emplazados y notificados de que en este Tribunal biéndose ordenado la publica- t/c/c MIRNA RIVERA QUIÑOPENNSYLVANIA, se ha radicado una demanda ción de un Emplazamiento por NES t/c/c MYRMA RIVERA ESTADOS UNIDOS. en su contra sobre Cobro de Edicto para emplazarlo a usted, QUIÑONES t/c/c MIRVA RIVEPOR LA PRESENTE se le noDinero. Se le notifica para que RA QUIÑONES, quien falleció durante el término que establetifica que la demandante ha comparezca ante el Tribunal ce la Ley, en un periódico de intestada el 28 de mayo de radicado una Demanda sobre dentro del término de treinta circulación general en la Isla de 2010. Se le concede un plazo Custodia y Patria Potestad. Ha(30) días a partir de la publicade treinta (30) días a contar de Puerto Rico. POR ESTE MEbiéndose ordenado la publicación de este edicto y exponer lo DIO, se le emplaza por Edicto la fecha de la última publicación de un Emplazamiento por que a sus derechos convenga, y requiere a usted, la parte con ción del presente edicto para Edicto para emplazarlo a usted, contestar la demanda. Usted en el presente caso. Se le nointerés, para que notifique al: durante el término que estableLCDA. DAIRENE SANTO DOMINGO deberá presentar su alegación tifica que deberá presentar su ce la Ley, en un periódico de responsiva a través del Sistema alegación a través del Sistema RIVERA circulación general en la Isla de a su dirección postal C10 V1 VISTAS Unificado de Manejo y Adminis- Unificado de Manejo y AdminisPuerto Rico. POR ESTE MEDE LUQUILLO, LUQUILLO PR tración de Casos (SUMAC), al tración de Casos (SUMAC), al 00773, Tel. (787) 233-0384, DIO, se le emplaza por Edicto cual puede acceder utilizando cual puede acceder utilizando y/o a su email: y requiere a usted, la parte con d.santodomingorivera@gmail.com, la siguiente dirección electróni- la siguiente dirección electróniinterés, para que notifique al: ca: https://unired.ramajudicial. ca: https://unired.poderjudicial.

LCDA. DAIRENE SANTO DOMINGO con copia de su contestapr, salvo que se represente por pr., salvo que se represente por ción a las alegaciones de la RIVERA a su dirección postal C10 V1 VISTAS Demanda en este caso, las derecho propio, en cuyo caso derecho propio, en cuyo caso DE LUQUILLO, LUQUILLO PR cuales podrá usted examinar deberá presentar su alegación deberá presentar su alegación 00773, Tel. (787) 233-0384, en la Sala de Canóvanas, del responsiva en la secretaría del responsiva en la Secretaría del

Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, y enviando copia a la parte demandante: Lcda.

Grace M. Figueroa Irizarry; PO Box 193813, San Juan, PR 00919; gracefigueroalawoffice@gmail.com. Se le apercibe y notifica que si no contesta la demanda radicada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía en su contra y se dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la demanda, sin más citársele ni oírsele. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal a 2 de enero de 2024.

Lcda. Laura I. Santa Sánchez, Secretaria General. Nilda Quiles Santana, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE TRUJILLO ALTO

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Parte Demandante Vs.

ILEANA CARTAGENA MORALES, FRANCISCO ALBER ARIAS RODRÍGUEZ T/C/C FRANCISCO ARIAS RODRÍGUEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: TJ2023CV00498.

(401). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: ILEANA CARTAGENA MORALES, FRANCISCO ALBER ARIAS RODRÍGUEZ T/C/C FRANCISCO ARIAS RODRÍGUEZ Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS A SUS ÚLTIMAS DIRECCIONES CONOCIDAS E INFORMADAS: ESTANCIAS CARMELINA II, C21, TRUJILLO ALTO, PR 00976, URB. JOSE S QUINONES, 1056 CALLE RODRIGUEZ OQUENDO, CAROLINA, PR 009855926, RR 3 BOX 7252, CIDRA, PR 00739 Y 252 SEC MONTE VERDE, CIDRA, PR 00739-2139.

Quedan ustedes notificados que en este Tribunal se ha radicado demanda sobre ejecución

de hipoteca por la vía ordinaria en la que se alega se adeuda las siguientes cantidades: $104,084.84 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 6.375% anual desde el 1 de mayo de 2020 hasta su completo pago, más $555.08 de recargos acumulados los cuales continuarán en aumento hasta el saldo total de la deuda, más la cantidad estipulada de $13,500.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo, incluyendo pero sin limitarse a gastos de mantenimiento, inspecciones y otros adelantos “corporate advances”. La propiedad que garantiza hipotecariamente el préstamo es la siguiente: URBANA: Solar #21 del bloque C sito en el proyecto de viviendas conocido como Estancias Carmelina, en el Barrio Quebrada Negrito de Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, con cabida superficial de 450.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar #20 del bloque C; por el SUR, con el solar #22 del bloque C; por el ESTE, con la calle #1 de la misma urbanización; y por el OESTE, con el solar #19 del bloque C. Enclava una estructura dedicada a vivienda. La propiedad y la hipoteca constan inscritas al folio 33 del tomo 851 de Trujillo Alto, Finca 33113, Registro de la Propiedad de San Juan, Sección IV. Inscripción segunda. La demandante es tenedora por endoso, por valor recibido y de buena fe del referido pagaré objeto de la presente acción. La parte demandada deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https:// unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. Se le advierte que si no contesta la demanda, radicando el original de la contestación en este Tribunal y enviando copia de la contestación a la abogada de la parte demandante, Lcda. Belma Alonso García, al PO Box 3922, Guaynabo PR 00970-3922, Teléfonos: (787) 789-1826 y (787) 708-0566, correo electrónico oficinabelmaalonso@gmail.com, dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, excluyéndose el día de la publicación, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Sentencia en su contra, concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal, hoy, 22 de diciembre de 2023, en Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. Lcda. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretaria Regional. Rosa M. Viera Veláz-

The San Juan Daily Star quez, Sub-Secretaria.

en 14.00 metros con terrenos de la Sucesión de Juan Ramos LEGAL NOTICE Badillo. Consta inscrito al folio ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO 235 del tomo 415 de Aguadilla, DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- finca número #23,083. Registro NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA de la Propiedad, Sección de SALA SUPERIOR DE AGUA- Aguadilla. La propiedad objeto DILLA de ejecución está localizada en MTGLQ INVESTORS, L.P. la siguiente dirección: SR 2, KM 120.07, Caimital Alto, Aguadilla, Parte Demandante Vs. P.R. 00602. Se informa que la ISRAEL GONZALEZ propiedad a ser ejecutada se SALABERRIOS Y adquirirá libre de cargas y graSOREYRA CHAVANA vamen posterior, una vez sea DE LA CRUZ A/K/A otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y SOREYRA CHAVANA Mandamiento de cancelación DE GONZALEZ AND SOREYRA GONZALEZ, Y de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE a la finca a subastarse, se esBIENES GANANCIALES tablece como tipo mínimo de COMPUESTA POR licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $214,605.00, según AMBOS acordado entre las partes en el Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: AG2020CV01049. precio pactado en la Escritura Salón Núm.: (603). Sobre: de Hipoteca #4, otorgada en EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (no expresa lugar de otorgaY COBRO DE DINERO. EDIC- miento), el día 4 de enero de TO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS 2006, ante la notario Norma UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL Teresa Rivera López, e inscrita PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTA- al folio 2219 del tomo 645 de DOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE Aguadilla, finca número 23,083, inscripción 6ta, como Asiento ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. A: ISRAEL GONZALEZ Abreviado extendida las líneas el día 26 de enero de 2018, en SALABERRIOS Y virtud de la Ley número 216 del SOREYRA CHAVANA día 27 de diciembre de 2010.

DE LA CRUZ a/k/a (Fue presentado el día 16 de SOREYRA CHAVANA septiembre de 2009 al Asiento 429 del Diario 839). La PRIDE GONZALEZ and SOREYRA GONZALEZ, Y MERA SUBASTA, se llevará a LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE cabo el día 29 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA BIENES GANANCIALES MAÑANA, en mis oficinas siCOMPUESTA POR tas en el Tribunal de Primera AMBOS: Y AL PÚBLICO Instancia, Sala de Aguadilla, en área del sótano al final del EN GENERAL: El Alguacil que suscribe, cer- pasillo, el tipo mínimo para la tifica y hace constar que en primera subasta es la suma cumplimiento de Mandamien- de $214,605.00. Si la primera to de Ejecución de Sentencia subasta del inmueble no produque me ha sido dirigido por jere remate, ni adjudicación, se la Secretaría del Tribunal de celebrará una SEGUNDA SUPrimera Instancia, Sala Supe- BASTA el día 7 DE MARZO DE rior de Aguadilla, procederé 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAa vender en pública subasta ÑANA, en el mismo sitio y sery al mejor postor, por separa- virá de tipo mínimo las dos terdo, de contado y por moneda ceras partes del precio pactada de curso legal de los Estados para la primera subasta, o sea, Unidos de América. Todo pago la suma de $143,070.00. Si la recibido por el (la) Alguacil por segunda subasta no produjere concepto de subastas será en remate, ni adjudicación, se ceefectivo, giro postal o cheque lebrará una TERCERA SUBAScertificado a nombre del (de la) TA el día 14 DE MARZO DE Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera 2024 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAInstancia. Todo derecho, título, ÑANA, en el mismo lugar y reparticipación e interés que le girá como tipo mínimo de la tercorresponda a la parte deman- cera subasta la mitad del precio dada o cualquiera de ellos en pactado para la primera, o sea, el inmueble hipotecado objeto la suma de $107,302.50. Dicha de ejecución que se descri- subasta se llevará a cabo, para be a continuación: RUSTICA: con su producto satisfacer a la Solar I, radicado en el Barrio parte demandante el importe Caimital Alto del municipio de de la Sentencia dictada a su Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, conte- favor, a saber: Suma Principal niendo una cabida superficial de $192,805.35, con intereses de 558.64 metros cuadrados, a 6.880% anual, desde el 1ro en lindes por el NORTE, en de diciembre de 2017, hasta el 32.01 metros, con el Solar presente y los que se continúen número 3 del Plano de Ins- acumulando hasta su total y cripción; por el SUR, en 35.00 completo pago, más la suma metros con Alicia Miranda; por de $59,357.87, como balance el ESTE, en 19.60 metros con diferido y la cual no genera inCalle Publica; y por el OESTE, tereses, pagadera a la fecha

Monday, January 15, 2024 de vencimiento, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $21,460.50, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables.

Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Se informa que la propiedad objeto de ejecución se adquiere libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Expedido en Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, a 28 de diciembre de 2023. Carol Chalmers Soto, Alguacil Regional #526.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO Demandante V.

LA SUCESIÓN DE EULALIA ARGENTINA TIBURCIO BÁEZ COMPUESTA POR JOSÉ MIGUEL MELLA TIBURCIO Y GÉNESIS

25

comunal que da frente a las SOFÍA MELLA TIBURCIO; NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA dicho Contrato de Garantía HiLEGAL NOTICE potecaria la parte Demandante escaleras y al ascensor localiSALA DE CAGUAS DEPARTAMENTO declaró vencida la totalidad ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO zados hacia el extremo Oeste LUNA DE HACIENDA; DE PUERTO RICO TRIBURESIDENTIAL III, LLC de la deuda ascendente a la NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA del edificio. PORCENTAJE: DEPARTAMENTO DE Elementos Comunes Generasuma de $80,476.21 de prinParte Demandante Vs. cipal, más los intereses sobre SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN les: 0.59660%. FINCA NÚMEJUSTICIA LA SUCESION DE RO 7467, inscrita al folio 290 dicha suma al 5 ¼% anual, así JUAN. Demandado LUIS ÁNGEL ZAYAS CONDOMINIO BAHÍA del tomo 243 de Santurce Sur, como todos aquellos créditos y Civil Núm.: CA2023CV03659.

ALVERIO COMPUESTA sumas que surjan de la faz de Registro de la Propiedad, Sede 407. Sobre: COBRO DE DINEPROPERTIES, LLC Metropolitana, sección primera la obligación hipotecaria y de la RO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOPOR JOHN DOE Y Demandante v.

TECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARICHARD ROE COMO hipoteca que la garantiza, inclu- SUCESIÓN DE TEODORO de San Juan. Dirección física: RIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR POSIBLES HEREDEROS yendo la suma estipulada para GONZÁLEZ ACEVEDO Cond Bahía A, 1048 Ave. Las costas, gastos y honorarios de Palmas Suite AG-4, San Juan EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DESCONOCIDOS DE COMPUESTA POR abogado. La parte DemandanPR 00907. La subasta se llevaDE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE FULANO DE TAL, rá a cabo para con su producto DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ÉSTE Y/O PERSONA CON te presentó para su inscripción FULANA DE TAL, satisfacer al demandante, total ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO INTERESES; CENTRO DE en el Registro de la Propiedad o parcialmente, según sea el DE PUERTO RICO, S.S. RECAUDACIONES DE correspondiente, un AVISO MENGANO DE TAL, caso, de la referida sentencia A: JOSÉ MIGUEL MELLA INGRESOS MUNICIPALES DE PLEITO PENDIENTE (“Lis MENGANA DE TAL, Pendens”) sobre la propiedad que fue dictada por la suma de TIBURCIO Y GÉNESIS Y LA ADMINISTRACIÓN SUTANO DE TAL de esta acción cuya pro$73,951.74 concepto de cuotas Demandado SOFÍA MELLA TIBURCIO PARA EL SUSTENTO DE objeto piedad es la siguiente: RÚSTIde mantenimiento vencidas y CIVIL NÚM.: SJ2023CV03127.

- URBANIZACIÓN LA MENORES CA: REMANENTE: Predio de no pagadas de la propiedad, SALÓN: 903. SOBRE: COBRO Parte Demandada MARINA H-24 CALLE terreno radicado en el Barrio más las costas, gastos, penaDE DINERO VÍA ORDINARIA. Civil Núm.: Cerro Gordo de San Lorenzo, lidades, recargos, $1,500.00 E, CAROLINA, PUERTO Caso CG2023CV02615. Sobre: EJE- con una cabida de cero punto AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBAS- por concepto de honorarios de RICO 00979; 3376 S TA. CUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR 22ND ST MILWAUKEE WI LA VÍA ORDINARIA Y COBRO mil doscientos cincuenta y cua- A: LOS CODEMANDADOS abogado. Esta subasta no tiene tro (0.1254) cuerdas, iguales fijación de tipo mínimo por tra53215; P.O. BOX 9373, DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIEN- a cuatrocientos noventa y dos DE EPIGRAFE Y AL tarse de una ejecución de senCAROLINA, PUERTO TO Y NOTIFICACIÓN DE IN- punto ochenta (492.80) me- PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: tencia por embargo. Y PARA TERPELACIÓN POR EDICTO. tros cuadrados. En lindes por El Alguacil que suscribe por la CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS RICO 00988-9373.

Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto.

Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Se le apercibe que, de no contestar la demanda dentro del término aquí estipulado, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia sin más citarle ni oírle.

Por la presente el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, conforme al caso de Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria vs. Latinoamericana de Exportación, Inc., 164 D.P.R. 689 (2005), le ordena que en el término de treinta (30) días, haga declaración aceptando o repudiando la herencia de la SUCESIÓN DE EULALIA ARGENTINA TIBURCIO BÁEZ. Se le apercibe que de no expresar su intención de aceptar o repudiar la herencia dentro del término que se le fijó, la herencia se tendrá por aceptada. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: Lcdo. Guillermo A. Somoza Colombani, P.O. Box 366603, San Juan, PR 009366603. Tel. (787) 919-0073, Fax (787) 641-5016. Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 21 de diciembre de 2023. Lic. Kanelly Zayas Robles, Secretaria General.

Denisse Torres Pérez, Secretaria Auxiliar.

ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS Y/O PERSONA CON INTERÉS EN LA SUCESIÓN DE LUIS ÁNGEL ZAYAS AVERIO.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/ sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, Lcda.

Marjaliisa Colón Villanueva, al PO BOX 7970, Ponce, P.R. 00732; Teléfono: 787-8434168. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca bajo el número mencionado en el epígrafe. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que la parte Demandada incurrió en el incumplimiento del Contrato de Hipoteca, al no poder pagar las mensualidades vencidas correspondientes a los meses de mayo de 2020, hasta el presente, más los cargos por demora correspondientes.

Además, adeuda a la parte demandante las costas, gastos y LEGAL NOTICE honorarios de abogado en que ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO incurra el tenedor del pagaré DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- en este litigio. De acuerdo con

el Norte, con Antonio Alverio, en diecinueve punto nueve mil setecientos siete (19.9707) metros; por el Sur, con carretera municipal en veintiuno punto ocho mil quinientos dieciocho (21.8518) metros; poro el Este, con Antonio Alverio, en veintidós punto seis mil seiscientos diez (22.6610) metros y por el Oeste, con predio número dos (2), en veintiséis punto siete mil cuatrocientos veintiocho metros. Inscrita al folio doscientos setenta (270) del tomo doscientos cincuenta y tres (253) de San Lorenzo, finca número trece mil cero cincuenta y dos (13,052), Registro de Caguas, Sección III. SE LES APERCIBE que de no hacer sus alegaciones responsivas a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Además, como miembro de la Sucesión Luis Ángel Zayas Alverio se ha presentado una solicitud de interpelación judicial para que sirva en el término de treinta (30) días aceptar o repudiar la herencia. Se le apercibe que si no compareciera usted a expresarse dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación de este edicto en torno a la aceptación o repudiación de la herencia, se presumirá que han aceptado la herencia del causante Luis Ángel Zayas Alverio por consiguiente, responderán por las cargas de dicha herencia conforme dispone el 1578 del Código Civil de Puerto Rico, 31 L.P.R.A. sec. 11021. En CAGUAS, Puerto Rico, a Ponce, 5 de diciembre de de 2023. Lisilda Martínez Agosto, Secretaria.

Marta E. Donate Resto, Secretaria Auxiliar.

presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de una Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe el 1 de septiembre de 2023, notificada el 5 de septiembre de 2023 y publicada el 13 de septiembre de 2023, una Orden de Ejecución de Embargo emitida el 2 de enero de 2024 y Mandamiento emitido el 4 de enero de 2024, que le ha sido dirigido por la Secretaria del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, procederá a vender en subasta, y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, y/o giro postal, dinero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal, o letra bancaria, con similar garantía de todo título, derecho o interés de los demandados de epígrafe sobre el inmueble que adelante se describe. Se anuncia por la presente que la subasta habrá de celebrarse el día 13 de enero de 2024; a las 11:00 de la mañana, en mi oficina localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, sobre el inmueble que se describe a continuación: Propiedad Horizontal: Urbana: Local comercial #AG-4, ubicado en el Condominio Bahía (VBC56), localizado en la Calle Las Palmas, Esquina Cerra, Barrio Tras Talleres, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de 854.06 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 79.34 metros cuadrados, el cual contiene un baño y un salón dedicado a comercio, colindando por el NORTE, con un área de uso comunal que da frente a la Calle Las Palmas, por el SUR, con un área de uso comunal, por el ESTE, con el local comunal #AG-5 (pared medianera) y por el OESTE, con un área de uso

PARTES INTERESADAS y del público en general, se advierte que los autos de este caso y demás instancias están disponibles para ser inspeccionadas en la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de San Juan, durante las horas laborables. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito del ejecutante, incluyendo el gravamen por las contribuciones sobre la propiedad inmueble adeudadas, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda responsable de los mismos sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. En testimonio de lo cual, expido el presente aviso, el cual firmo y sello, hoy 10 de enero de 2024, en San Juan, Puerto Rico. Edwin E Lopez Mulero, Alguacil, Tribunal De Primera Instancia Sala De San Juan.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN JUAN SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN

WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB, NOT INDIVIDUALLY BUT SOLELY AS TRUSTEE FOR FINANCE OF AMERICA STRUCTURED SECURITIES ACQUISITION TRUST 2019-HB1 Demandante V.

ROGELIO WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ TIRADO

26 T/C/C WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ TIRADO Y OTROS

Demandado(a) Caso Núm.: SJ2023CV08304.

(Salón: 508 CIVIL). Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA: PROPIEDAD RESIDENCIAL. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO ENMENDADA. FRANCES L. ASENCIO GUIDO, FRANCES.ASENCIO@GMLAW.COM.

A: ROGELIO WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ TIRADO T/C/C WILFREDO RODRIGUEZ TIRADO.

(Nombre de las partes que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 14 de diciembre de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 09 de enero de 2024. Notas de la Secretaría: SE ENMIENDA POR ORDEN DEL TRIBUNAL. En San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 09 de enero de 2024. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Martha Almodóvar Cabrera, Secretaria Auxiliar Del Tribunal.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE ARECIBO.

BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO DEMANDANTE V.

RAMÓN A. MARRERO VÉLEZ T/C/C RAMÓN ALBERTO MARRERO VÉLEZ, su esposa ADALIZ MACHADO VALENTÍN y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales compuesta por ambos

DEMANDADOS Civil Núm. CCD2014-0490 (402). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y Ejecución de Hipoteca por la Vía Ordinaria AVISO DE

VENTA EN PÚBLICA SUBASTA. Yo, Angel de Jesus Torres Perez, Alguacil Supervisor de la División de Subastas del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo a los demandados y al público en general les notifico que, cumpliendo con un Mandamiento que se ha librado en el presente caso por el Secretario del Tribunal de epígrafe con fecha 4 de octubre de 2023 y para satisfacer la cantidad adeudada de $71,144.43 de principal mediante Sentencia dictada en el caso de autos el 21 de abril de 2015, notificada en autos el 23 de abril de 2015, procederé a vender en pública subasta, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, mediante efectivo, giro o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil de este Tribunal todo derecho, título e interés que hayan tenido tengan o puedan tener los deudores demandados en cuanto a la propiedad localizada en el Municipio de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, el bien inmueble se describe a continuación: 100 Calle Pino Escocés, Los Pinos, Arecibo, Puerto Rico 00612. URBANA: Solar #R-4 radicado en la Urbanización Vivienda Los Pinos situada en el barrio Santana del término municipal de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 430.0761 metros cuadrados, equivalentes a 0.1094 cuerdas, colindando al Norte, en 24.220 metros lineales con el paseo peatonal; al Sur, en 24.130 metros lineales con el solar R-3; al Este, en 17.090 metros lineales con solar R-5 y al Oeste, en 18.530 metros lineales con la calle #4. Sobre dicho solar se encuentra enclavada una casa de hormigón de una planta, con tres dormitorios, dos baños, sala-comedor, cocina, balcón y marquesina. Este solar se encuentra afectado en su frente, por una franja de servidumbre de 1.50 metros de ancho a favor de Puerto Rico Telephone Co. Consta inscrita al Folio 200 del tomo 1038 de Arecibo, Finca 44,000 Registro de la Propiedad de Arecibo, Sección I. Con el importe de dicha venta se habrá de satisfacer a la parte demandante las cantidades adeudadas, en el caso de epígrafe, que se desglosan de la siguiente forma: $71,143.00 principal, 7% de intereses, los cuales continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda; más costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. El tipo mínimo para la subasta será la suma de tasación pactada, la cual es $96,472.00 según la escritura de hipoteca para la propiedad descrita. De declararse la subasta desierta, se procederá a una segunda subasta y servirá de tipo mínimo de 2/3 del precio mínimo

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

antes mencionado; $64,314.67.

Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en esta segunda subasta, se procederá a una tercera subasta, en la cual regirá como tipo mínimo ésta la 1/2 del precio mínimo antes mencionado; $48,236.00. La primera subasta se llevará a cabo el 1 de febrero de 2024, a las 10:00 de la mañana. De no comparecer postor alguno se llevará a efecto una segunda subasta el 8 de febrero de 2024, a las 10:00 de la mañana. De no comparecer postor alguno se llevará a cabo una tercera subasta el 15 de febrero de 2024, a las 10:00 de la mañana. La subasta o subastas antes indicadas se llevarán a efecto en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo. Del Estudio de Título realizado surgen los siguientes gravámenes: Servidumbres a favor de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica de P.R., Puerto Rico, Telephone Co. y Condiciones Restrictivas. Condiciones Restrictivas bajo el Programa “Protegiendo tu Hogar” a favor de la Autoridad para el Financiamiento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico en la suma de $20,000.00 sin intereses vencedero el mes de octubre de 2017, según Esc. #143 en San Juan el 16 de octubre de 2012 ante Félix Joel Zambrana Ortíz, inscrita al folio 200vto del tomo 1038 de Arecibo, finca #44000, inscripción 3ra. Sentencia dictada el 14 de octubre de 2014 en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Arecibo, caso civil #CCM20140489 sobre Cuotas de Mantenimiento seguido por la Asociación de Residentes Los Pinos, Inc. vs los esposos Marrero Machado por $2,019.70 anotada al folio 70 tomo 3 de Sentencias el 27 de febrero de 2015. Se advierte a los licitadores que la adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el mismo acto de la adjudicación en moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica y para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda(s) aquella(s) persona(s) que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de los licitadores y el público en general y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general, una vez por semana durante el término de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como, la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo

a la última dirección conocida.

La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores, previa orden judicial dirigida al Registrador de la Propiedad de la sección correspondiente para la cancelación de aquellos posteriores. Se les advierte a todos los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como la de la subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en la Secretaría del Tribunal. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante, continuarán subsistentes; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate.

Y para conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, expido el presente Aviso para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes. Librado en la Sala de Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a 12 de enero de 2024. Angel de Jesus Torres Perez, ALGUACIL.

ción de este edicto y exponer lo que a sus derechos convenga, en el presente caso. Se le notifica que deberá presentar su alegación a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.poderjudicial. pr., salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la Secretaría del Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, y enviando copia a la parte demandante: Lcda.

Grace M. Figueroa Irizarry; PO Box 193813, San Juan, PR 00919; gracefigueroalawoffice@gmail.com. Se le apercibe y notifica que si no contesta la demanda radicada en su contra dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, se le anotará la rebeldía en su contra y se dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la demanda, sin más citársele ni oírsele. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal a 9 de enero de 2024.

Diane Álvarez Villanueva, Secretaria General. Yamaris Estronza Maldonado, Secretaria Auxiliar.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBULEGAL NOTICE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO REGIÓN JUDICIAL DE SAN DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU- JUAN SALA SUPERIOR DE NAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SAN JUAN CENTRO JUDICIAL DE ADIRIS JOSEFINA JUNTAS SALA SUPERIOR GIMÉNEZ LUCIANO

CARIBE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION Demandante Vs.

EDGAR VEGUILLA CARDONA, JANE DOE Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandante V.

FIRST BANK DE PUERTO RICO, BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO COMO CUSTODIOS DE LOS EXPEDIENTES DE DORAL MORTGAGE CORPORATION; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD DOE

Demandados Civil Núm.: AD2023CV00180.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, PROCEDIMIENTO ORDINARIO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.

Demandados Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV11476.

Sala: 901. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S.

Quedan emplazados y notificados de que en este Tribunal se ha radicado una demanda en su contra sobre Cobro de Dinero. Se le notifica para que comparezca ante el Tribunal dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publica-

rio extraviado a favor de Doral Mortgage Corporation, o a su orden, por la suma principal de $54,300.00 e intereses al 8 1/2% anual y vencimiento el día 1ro de diciembre de 2016, mediante la Escritura Número 158 otorgada en San Juan,

A: JOHN DOE / A: EDGAR VEGUILLA RICHARD DOE. CARDONA, JANE DOE Y Quedan notificados que la LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE demandante de epígrafe ha BIENES GANANCIALES radicado en este Tribunal una Demanda contra ustedes como COMPUESTA POR co-demandados en la que se AMBOS. HC-2 Box 6930, solicita la cancelación por la vía Adjuntas, PR 00601-9654. judicial de un Pagaré hipoteca-

Puerto Rico ante el notario público Julio Alvarez Ramírez.

El descrito Pagaré hipotecario grava la propiedad que se describe a continuación: URBANA: Calle Las Delicias de Santurce Norte. Solar: trece (13). Cabida: doscientos, veintiséis metros cuadrados (226.00 mc). Solar número trece (13) de la Calle de Las Delicias. Sección Norte.

Solar de la división parcelera de la Calle de Las Delicias.

Linda por el ESTE o frente, con la Calle de Las Delicias; por el NORTE, con el solar número doce (12) de la finca principal de la cual se hace la presente segregación; por el OESTE, con solares que dan frente a la Calle de Hormigueros de Ramona Santana, por el SUR, en parte con el solar número quince (15) y parte con el número catorce (14) que forman parte de la finca principal de la cual se hace esta segregación, siendo su descripción exacta, como sigue: Desde un punto en la Calle de Las Delicias, límite con el solar número catorce (14) sito ese punto a veintiocho punto veinticinco metros (28.25 m) de la esquina de dicha calle con el camino de Loíza. Desde ese punto con veintiséis (226) grados veinte (20) centésimos y nueve metros sesenta y dos centímetros (9.62 m), siguiendo la alineación de fachada, Oeste de la mencionada Calle de Las Delicias. De aquí en lindes con el solar número doce (12), trescientos veintidós (322) grados sesenta y cinco (65) centígrados y veintiséis metros noventa centímetros (26.90 m).

Siguiendo en linde con solares que dan frente con la Calle de Hormigueros con nueve (9) grados veinte (20) centígrados y cuatro metros cuarenta y ocho centímetros (4.48 m).

De aquí en lindes con el solar número quince (15), noventa y cuatro (94) grados treinta y uno (31) centígrados y trece metros dos centímetros (13.02 m), continuando en lindes con el solar número catorce (14), noventa y cuatro (94) grados setenta y ocho (78) centígrados y ocho metros treinta y un centímetros (8.31 m), y en el mismo linde ciento veintisiete (127) grados treinta y cinco (35) centígrados y ocho metros cinco centímetros (8.05 m) hasta el punto de partida. Sobre este solar enclava una casa terrera, de madera, techada de zinc. Consta inscrita al folio diecisiete (17) del tomo cuarenta y ocho (48) de Santurce Norte, finca número mil ochocientos cincuenta y ocho (1,858), Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección Primera (I) de San Juan. Se les advierte que el presente Edicto se publicará en un periódico de circulación general una sola vez y se le requiere para que contesten la Demanda de epígrafe dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación del edicto, radicando el original de su contestación en el Tribunal correspondiente y notifican-

do con copia de la misma a la parte demandante a la siguiente dirección: BUFETE APONTE & CORTES LCDA. ERIKA MORALES MARENGO PO Box 195337 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00919-5337 Tel. (787) 239-5661 Email: emarengo@apontecortes.com Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr/sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio. Se le apercibe que de no hacerlo, el tribunal podrá dictar Sentencia en rebeldía concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda, sin citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, hoy día 27 de diciembre de 2023. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria.

Carla J. Rivera Climent, SubSecretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO

LIME HOMES, LTD.

Parte Demandante Vs.

AIDA LUZ VELAZQUEZ SEMIDEY

Parte Demandada Caso Civil Núm.: NG2023CV00134. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.

A: AIDA LUZ VELAZQUEZ SEMIDEY.

POR LA PRESENTE se les emplaza y requiere para que conteste la demanda dentro de los treinta (30) días siguientes a la publicación de este Edicto. Usted deberá radicar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: http://unired.ramajudicial.pr/ sumac/, salvo que se presente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá radicar el original de su contestación ante el Tribunal correspondiente y notifique con copia a los abogados de la parte demandante, Lcda.

Marjaliisa Colon Villanueva, al PO BOX 7970, Ponce, P.R. 00732-7970; Teléfono: 787843-41668. En dicha demanda se tramita un procedimiento de cobro de dinero y ejecución de hipoteca bajo el número mencionado en el epígrafe. Se alega en dicho procedimiento que la parte Demandada incurrió en el incumplimiento del Contrato de Hipoteca, al no poder pagar las mensualidades ven-

cidas correspondientes a los meses de julio de 2022, hasta el presente, más los cargos por demora correspondientes.

Además, adeuda a la parte demandante las costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado en que incurra el tenedor del pagaré en este litigio. De acuerdo con dicho Contrato de Garantía Hipotecaria la parte Demandante declaró vencida la totalidad de la deuda ascendente a la suma de $160,619.29 el cual se compone de un primer principal por la suma de $119,382.66 de balance principal, mas un balance diferido por la suma de $41,236.63, más intereses sobre la suma de $119,382.66 a razón del 3.50% anual, así como todos aquellos créditos y sumas que surjan de la faz de la obligación hipotecaria y de la hipoteca que la garantiza, incluyendo $8,640.00, pactado para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado. La parte Demandante presentó para su inscripción en el Registro de la Propiedad correspondiente, un AVISO DE PLEITO PENDIENTE (“Lis Pendens”) sobre la propiedad objeto de esta acción cuya propiedad es la siguiente: URBANA: Solar marcado con el número cuarenta y dos (42) de la Urbanización Vistas del Río Blanco radicada en el Barrio Blanco del término municipal de Naguabo, Puerto Rico, con una cabida de cuatrocientos cuarenta y ocho punto ocho mil setenta y ocho (448.8078) metros cuadrados, equivalentes a cero punto mil ciento cuarenta y dos (0.1142) cuerdas, En lindes por el norte, en doce punto cero cero (12.00) metros, con la calle número uno (1) del proyecto; por el Sur, en catorce punto treinta y dos 914.32) metros, con la propiedad del señor Eneido Mendoza y la Señora Daysi Colón; por el Este, en treinta y seis punto diez (36.10) metros, con el solar cuarenta y uno (41); y por el Oeste, en treinta y tres punto cero (33.06) metros, con el solar cuarenta y tres (43). Enclava casa. Inscrita al folio veintiuno (21) del tomo doscientos treinta y uno (231) Naguabo, finca número doce mil novecientos trece (12,913) Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. SE LES APERCIBE que de no hacer sus alegaciones responsivas a la demanda dentro del término aquí dispuesto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará Sentencia, concediéndose el remedio solicitado en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. Expedido bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal en Humacao, Puerto Rico. A día 4 de enero de 2024. Evelyn Félix Vázquez, Secretaria. Ivelisse M. Monclova Cruz, Secretaria Auxiliar.

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

27

The rise of the NFL’s 2-point conversion: A guide to strategy

By BEN BLATT and FRANCESCA PARIS

T

he NFL playoffs, which begin Saturday, will probably bring high-stakes moments around a simple decision: After a touchdown, should your team kick for 1 point, or go for 2?

The 2-point try — where teams get to run one play to score from the 2-yard line — was initially a hit with coaches when it was introduced to the NFL in 1994, but its popularity soon faded. In recent seasons, that trend has reversed, with 2-point attempts becoming more common thanks to rule changes and to the growing role of analytics.

For those who enjoy strategy, this trend has brought a welcome dose of tactics to what was once an automatic decision to kick. (Week 17’s game between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, which hinged on not one or two but three consecutive 2-point attempts in the game’s final seconds, typified both the strategic and emotional factors at play.)

Here’s a primer on what has changed and what is behind the decisions you’ll see in the weeks ahead.

Why are attempts going up?

The short answer: a rule change. In 2015, the NFL moved the spot for the extra-point kick from the 2-yard line back 13 yards, to the 15, making a successful kick slightly less probable. (It’s now successful 95% of the time, on average, instead of 99%.) That decrease was enough to make going for 2 more appealing.

How often are 2-point attempts successful?

About 47.5% of the time since 2015 — almost exactly half that of the extra-point conversion rate.

Interesting! Was that a coincidence or by design?

It’s hard to say exactly how much math was used in the NFL’s decision to move the ball to the 15 for teams who choose to kick. (Much closer and the math says they should kick; much farther away, going for 2 is clearly the better choice.) But the league stated it wanted to make it more entertaining for fans.

Is there a straightforward, math-based strategy for when to go for 2?

For most situations, there is consensus (among statisticians!) for when to go for it.

However, in some situations, different assumptions can lead to different recommendations.

If a team scores a touchdown that leaves it 5 points down, the math is very clear: Going for 2 is the right choice. A successful conversion would put the team within a field goal of tying the game. A failed conversion or a successful kicked extra point would leave a deficit of 4 or 5 points.

If a team scores a touchdown that leaves it 4 points down, however, the math is a bit trickier. A comprehensive analysis by FiveThirtyEight recommended going for 2, especially late in the game, but a separate analysis by a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, Laura Albert, concluded it’s best to kick the extra point. Even on similar questions, slightly different assumptions or data can lead to different answers.

So, are teams mostly following the math?

I would never describe NFL teams as “mostly following the math,” but their decisions are increasingly going in the same direction as the math.

Teams are more conservative than they probably should be, but they’re also now much more likely to go for 2 when the math heavily favors doing so.

Take that down-by-5-points example above. From 2010 to 2013, teams went for 2 in those situations 25% of the time. But in the past three years, they’ve more than doubled that rate, going for it 56% of the time.

Going for 2 when down 9 is a more complicated decision (FiveThirtyEight declared it a toss-up). From 2010 to 2013, teams didn’t attempt this even once. But in recent seasons, it’s becoming more accepted, with coaches facing this situation choosing to go for 2 about 32% of the time since 2020.

Why don’t coaches just outsource the decision to math? Seems like it would make their lives easier!

Math is not and should not be the only thing coaches rely on. A team may have a play (such as the one Dan Campbell of the Lions used against the Cowboys) that it loves from practice and that it thinks has

The Detroit Lions attempted a 2-point conversion late in the 4th quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Dec. 30, 2023. (X.com) a high chance of success. Or, alternatively, weather or a specific personnel matchup could mean a play is less likely to succeed than a calculation might otherwise suggest.

But it’s also true that NFL coaches have typically refrained from going for 2 until the end of the game, when the specific situation forces them to make a tough decision.

Still, the trends say math is winning.

Coaches have started to go for 2 earlier in the game.

What about when a penalty moves the line of scrimmage, as happened with the Lions?

The math certainly does not shine favorably on the Lions’ decision to go for it from the 7-yard line after a penalty moved them back from the 2. (Only about one-third of attempts have been successful from that mark, the same as for fourth-and-goal attempts from that distance.)

On the other hand, thanks to a 2019 rule change, teams can take advantage of

penalties committed against them during the touchdown to start the ensuing 2-point attempt from the 1-yard line, rather than from the 2. That additional yard makes a difference: About 59% of attempts from there have been successful, and teams should go for it even in a situation where 2 points are not essential.

The playoffs are here. Should we expect more or less aggressive behavior for this decision?

It’s hard to say. Since 2015, the percentage of 2-point attempts after a touchdown has been 12% in the playoffs and 9% in the regular season.

This could mean coaches are more aggressive, but the sample size for playoff games is small, so it could just be statistical noise. It’s worth noting, though, that playoff games aren’t especially closer contests than regular-season games. That doesn’t mean you can’t shout at your TV louder during the playoffs, though.

28

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

Why Bill Belichick fit in so well, for so long, in New England

By BILL PENNINGTON

I

t is hard to make an impression, and even harder to make history in a place as old and momentous as New England. The measuring stick is so high.

But Bill Belichick, who departed late last week as the head coach of the New England Patriots after 24 years of unmatched dominance in America’s most popular sport, will be remembered alongside New England legends like Ted Williams, Bill Russell and Paul Revere.

OK, Paul Revere is a stretch. Only Tom Brady will exist in perpetuity alongside Revere.

Nevertheless, Belichick, whose teams won an NFL record six Super Bowls with Brady as quarterback, is big enough in the Boston area that he could qualify as an honorary Kennedy.

Belichick’s exit last Thursday as the Patriots’ coach, after consecutive losing years that included this season’s 4-13 record, is an end of an era in a place where sports heroes can outshine almost any senator, civic leader or artist. Belichick, known for his rumpled appearance, unsmiling countenance and monotone voice, was celebrated as savant, savior and sage. He also became an influential, popular role model in New England.

Even moving to New England from New York was not held against him.

Ben Ravelson, a lifelong Patriots fan who lives in Boston, believed that Belichick’s effect on the region became almost mystical.

“Any move he made, even if we as fans initially had doubt, we were conditioned to just know that this guy, Bill Belichick, was all-knowing and wise,” Ravelson, 34, said Thursday, alluding to one of Belichick’s nicknames, which is “Yoda.”

“We never really questioned him,” Ravelson added.

This is not a success story that anyone saw coming. On Jan. 27, 2000, nothing about Belichick’s arrival from the New York Jets as the new field general of the Patriots suggested that the region’s cultural identity was about to undergo a substantial makeover. The Patriots were disregarded, frequent losers. Brady was still an obscure ex-college quarterback without a concrete job prospect in the offing.

And yet, Belichick’s Patriots became an omnipresent source of pride, one that was emblematic of how New Englanders like to view themselves: reserved but coolly efficient, innovative, prosperous, industrious and furtive about their methods.

(When it came to the Patriots, some would call the last trait a smoke screen for cheating, but more on that later.)

Under Belichick, whose Patriots coaching record in the regular season was 266-121, the impact of a triumphant Bostonbased sport team ballooned. For roughly a century, the importance or influence of New England teams was largely parochial.

But with Belichick at the helm, the Patriots became a recognized national phenomenon. Albeit some of that was because fans in the 44 states outside New England lived to hate them.

The almost wordless Belichick was the perfect poker face of the emergent Patriots movement that would dominate the once staid NFL for nearly two decades. Belichick was not a son of New England, although he spent summers on Nantucket as a teenager and formative years in prep school in Andover, Massachusetts, and at Wesleyan University, but he naturally exemplified personal characteristics that those in the area, especially working-class New Englanders, might find familiar.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, and largely raised in Annapolis, Maryland, Belichick had no birthright to having been made for New England, and yet he was, perfectly so.

He rewarded performance over potential and devalued pedigree. Belichick, who generally acted as his own boss when it came to assembling a roster and making college draft picks, had a developed a knack, and a desire, to find the versatile, undiscovered player ignored by others.

No one fit the bill as well as Brady (drafted with the 199th pick out of 254), unless it was wide receiver Julian Edelman, whom Belichick also chose late with the 232nd pick of the 2009 NFL draft. As Edelman, who became a staple of three Patriots Super Bowl-winning teams, said of Belichick, whose 333 career NFL victories are 14 shy of the record for coaching wins set by Don Shula, “Bill wants winners; he doesn’t care what those winners look like.”

If that was a gritty team motto, it had tens of thousands of Patriots fans nodding their heads in approval as they huddled against the wintry winds in the grandstands of creaky Foxboro Stadium, the dumpy edifice where Belichick’s early New England teams were forced to play but nonetheless built the foundation of a dynasty.

“Bill became an adopted New Englander pretty quickly, maybe because he embraced the challenge of coming here,” said Richard Johnson, the curator of the Sports Museum in Boston, who attended his first Patriots game in the 1960s. “This is a tough area to work in sports because there are high expectations and people tend to be rather critical. You sink or swim pretty quickly, but he did not shy away from that, and people appreciated that.”

Johnson, who co-authored “The Pats: An Illustrated History of the New England Patriots,” added, “He’s certainly one of us in many ways.”

The against-all-odds ethos of Belichick’s teams became a rallying cry in New England, as did his reputation as a taciturn, stony leader, most notably in team practices. To Patriots fans, who were fed up by decades of losing, their coach had good reason to be grouchy.

The fans wanted someone grumpy, like an old man trying to “send back soup” at a Boston chowder house (to borrow a line from “Seinfeld”). The fans understood; they were grumpy, too.

In time, as the Patriots began hoarding Super Bowl trophies, Belichick, 71, became the avatar for a new kind of New England chic. Fans came to games dressed in the coach’s signature hoodie, sleeves chopped above the elbow. Novelty stores sold Belichick costumes for Halloween, complete with formless sweatpants and a drab ski cap. As always, the key to pulling off an impression of Belichick was to almost never smile.

The Patriots’ successes became the impetus for what became a golden age for New England professional sports organizations.

From their first NFL title in 2001 to their last in 2018, Boston’s Red Sox, Celtics and Bruins together matched the Patriots’ six Super Bowl victories.

In the Patriots’ case, however, there was at times a ferocious, nationwide backlash to the team’s ongoing success that revolved around cheating scandals linked to the team and Brady.

The cheating accusations, some of which played out in court, seemed legit to many, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who ordered the team to pay a hefty fine, forfeit draft picks and ultimately play four games of the 2016 season without

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who had little time for the long sleeves on his sweatshirts and usually cut them off, on the sidelines of the Patriots’ Super Bowl loss to the Eagles at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, on Feb. 4, 2018. The head coach of the Patriots, who has parted ways with the team after 24 years, won six Super Bowls with a taciturn approach that rewarded performance over potential. (Ben Solomon/The New York Times) Brady. In a separate incident of apparent skulduggery in 2007, Belichick was fined a league maximum of $500,000.

Outside the six New England states, the Patriots’ chicanery will never be forgotten, but inside the region, it only resurrected an already familiar us-against-them mentality. The scandals, with trendy names like Deflategate and Spygate, just made the Patriots faithful stand their ground and fight back. The social media response was like a modern version of the Boston Tea Party.

Belichick and Brady had the last laugh and then some. After Brady returned from his four-game suspension in 2016, the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl, and despite falling behind in the game by 25 points, rallied to win. Then, they won another Super Bowl two seasons later.

That was the last of Belichick’s crowning achievements in New England. In his final five seasons, he lost more games than he won.

But that is not how Belichick will be remembered. He leaves behind a New England landscape transformed. At the beginning of a new century, Belichick’s unforeseen revival of a downtrodden sports franchise breathed new energy into an old domain.

Most fitting, Belichick can take solace that his legacy in the region will be, like the man, understated.

It is a legacy perhaps most evident in the streets of hundreds of villages throughout New England on the afternoons and evenings when the Patriots play their games. They resemble ghost towns.

The San Juan Daily Star

GAMES

29

Monday, January 15, 2024

Sudoku

How to Play:

Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.

Sudoku Rules: Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9 Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9

Crossword Crossword #K2Q4A86A Down

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

13

14

16

17

18

19

20

21

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24 28

25

9

10

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12

15

34

26 30

47

37 41

44

52

53

54

55

56

57

17. 17th-century dances 18. Painful episodes 19. Prognosticator

20. Hunter's clothing, for short 21. Dormitory VIPs 22. Son___gun 23. Destroy

N

A

N

N

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P

M

4. Plain as ___ on your face

L

R

S

Y

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A

G

G

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D

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D

6. Robert ____ (Civil War general)

A

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J

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N

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G

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8. Late-night host and family

T

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10. Slangy mouth

B

C

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K

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12. Say another way 14. Pens up

L

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15. Layered dessert

24. Abbr. on a city line sign

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26. Second offer

K

E

Y

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30. "The Thin Man" terrier

R

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34. Harm-inducing glance, supposedly

R

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37. Comprehensive, as a report 38. With one's sweetheart, say

U

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H

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39. Holist, perhaps

43. Keys in, as data

L

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48. Jane Austen heroine

E

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50. 1985 movie "To Live and Die ____"

D

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38

39 43

50

51

45. Chemical neurotransmitter (abbr.)

16. Procrastinator's penalty

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8. Outcast

14. Make a list, British style

M

11. Miami Sound machine singer

Across

13. Using few words

O

31

42. French calendar unit

1. "But that's ___ story"

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9. "Stick ____!"

46 49

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27

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45 48

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7. Cereal grasses

22

36

40

S

5. Stereo system

29

35

2. River on the Canadian border 3. Stuffed seat

32 33

1. 1951 film "___ in the Sun"

Wordsearch

Word Search Puzzle #V891YA

44. "What's the ___" 46. Dusk's opposite

47. Moroccan neighbor

49. Ate in, as a restaurant

25. Disney specialty 29. Depressed time 33. Dead body

35. Guitarist Nils

45. Of a region 49. Take off

51. ____ as a pin

52. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" painter 53. Short, as reports go

Abhor

Haggled

Peace

Topped

Bookshop

Keyboard

Premiers

Twigs

Admit

54. Sleep aid

55. Praise insincerely 56. Kidney related

Chided

57. Sires

Classy Coolly

25. Cut the fat

27. Back muscle, to bodybuilders

Creep

28. Unconscious state

31. Denver to Chicago dir.

Dazed

33. Cartoon collectible

Doses

Decide

32. Springsteen's epithet 36. Decrease

Exercise

40. Small Macao coin

Guiltier

41. Ohio team

Answers on page 30

Icons

Lades

Literals Lusts

Mania

Motels Olden Outfit

Owned

Palatial

Pennant Ruled

Seems Slate

Slight Spies Swill

Tasty

Thigh Tidal

Tweets Widow Wiser

Withered Worse

Yowling

HOROSCOPE 30 Aries

The San Juan Daily Star

Monday, January 15, 2024

(Mar 21-April 20)

Some images deriving from dreams or visions might provide inspiration for ideas to redecorate your house, Aries. You might spend some time perusing books in order to find ways to put your ideas to work for you. Then you’ll embrace the task with a passion! Speaking of passion, sex and romance are also very much on your mind at this time.

Libra

(Sep 24-Oct 23)

A powerful romantic attraction might lead to creative or artistic inspiration. You should be feeling especially passionate today, Libra, and your passions are likely to spill over not only into your relationships but into your work as well. Whatever you produce creatively is likely to be so inspired it impresses even you. Work done on the job should attract favorable attention from superiors.

Taurus

(April 21-May 21)

Scorpio

Gemini

(May 22-June 21)

Sagittarius

(Nov 23-Dec 21)

Cancer

(June 22-July 23)

Capricorn

(Dec 22-Jan 20)

Plans for social events to take place in your neighborhood might have you spending a lot of time on the phone today, Taurus. Or you might be running around in the car taking care of various errands. This could involve the healing profession in some way. Whatever it is, you feel especially strongly about it.

New information regarding opportunities for career, business, and personal expansion might shake up your value system today, Gemini. This is a positive development, although it may be a bit disconcerting for you right now. Your life could well take a different turn, starting today.

An immediate desire for pleasure could be satisfied by scheduling a romantic dinner with a lover.

New ideas that you have been studying over the past few days might have turned your mind in a different direction, Cancer. Thus, you are shifting away from the concepts that you’ve always accepted toward other ideas that you may have just learned. This could lead to projects of your own, perhaps involving writing or speaking.

Leo

(July 24-Aug 23)

(Oct 24-Nov 22)

A project initiated by a group with which you’re affiliated could keep you very busy today, Scorpio. You might have to spend a lot of time on the phone or running around in the car to libraries and bookstores obtaining information. A close friend or love partner might choose to accompany you.

New ideas and concepts regarding the way you make your living might come your way today, Sagittarius, which could cause a bit of a shakeup in your value system. You might decide to tackle an entirely new profession that you’ve never considered before. Books on the subject could prove supportive and encouraging, as could those closest to you.

Group activities and social events excite your passions today, Capricorn. You’ll meet lots of new people, take on some interesting new projects, and, if you haven’t already, you might even fall in love. A number of fascinating ideas exchanged at these events might propel you into a new course of study.

Aquarius

(Jan 21-Feb 19)

Your logical mind might try to make rational sense of the strange metaphysical ideas that are popping in and out of your head today, Leo. Some of them might be conclusions drawn from books you’ve been reading, but others might actually be messages from the other side. Write down whatever insights come your way.

Some projects requiring a lot of thought, which you may have been working on for a long time, could well be completed today. Your efforts are definitely going to be appreciated by those who matter, Aquarius, and you might even receive public acknowledgment of some kind. A rise in income could be just over the horizon.

Virgo

Pisces

(Aug 24-Sep 23)

A growing sense of intimacy with a close friend or love partner is likely to stem from mutual interests. The two of you might even discuss taking a long trip together, perhaps to a distant state or foreign country. This isn’t the time to hold back or be too cautious, Virgo. Your life is very much on track. If you want to get away with this person, go for it. In the evening, get together with a lover!

(Feb 20-Mar 20)

Inspiration stemming from other places and other cultures might direct your passions to a new creative project of some kind, Pisces. Your mind is quick and resourceful and your energy high, so you’ll probably have a busy day.

You could also be feeling especially romantic and sexy and desirous to share all you’ve been doing with a love partner.

Answers to the Sudoku and Crossword on page 29

Monday, January 15, 2024

31

CARTOONS

Herman

Speed Bump

Frank & Ernest

BC

Scary Gary

Wizard of Id

For Better or for Worse

The San Juan Daily Star

Ziggy

32 Monday, January 15, 2024

The San Juan Daily Star