A June poll indicates that more than three quarters of Puerto Ricans believe that the island is unprepared for a hurricane should another storm develop during 2018. The survey, taken June 19-25, found that only five percent of respondents were “very confident” that Puerto Rico is prepared for the current hurricane season. Sixteen percent of… Read more »

A Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation poll has found that Puerto Ricans are critical of all levels of government for their responses to Hurricane Maria last year. When asked how they would rate the job of various public officials, 80% responded that President Trump did a fair or poor job, with slightly more than half giving… Read more »

As Hurricane Florence nears the southeastern United States, ABC News is reporting that President Trump has called his administration’s response to Hurricane Maria an “incredible unsung success.” “I think Puerto Rico was incredibly successful.  Puerto Rico was actually our toughest one of all because it is an island,” Trump said. “I actually think it is… Read more »

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker declared last week that 32 Florida counties must provide Spanish-language ballots in the upcoming midterm elections.Walker singled out Florida’s Secretary of State, Kenneth Detzner, who claimed that he had no control over election materials in the individual counties in the state. Walker disagrees. In his decision he wrote, “As this… Read more »

The federal General Accounting Office (GAO) has released a new report on the 2017 hurricanes and wildfires that contains initial observations on the Federal response and key recovery challenges. The report notes that in 2017, four sequential disasters – hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria and the California wildfires – created an unprecedented demand for federal disaster… Read more »

There is a new official death toll for Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico: 2,975. With previous estimates ranging from 51 to 4,645, the new official toll is closer to the midpoint, but more than 50 times as high as the most widely distributed number from Puerto Rico’s government, 64. A study commissioned by Governor Rossello… Read more »

“So Mr. Gaynor, how will you seek to prepare FEMA to be able to handle the next Puerto Rico-style emergency?” The question came as members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held hearings with Peter Gaynor, nominee for the position of Deputy Administrator of FEMA. Gaynor was the director of the… Read more »

Discussions of statehood efforts for Puerto Rico sometimes suggest that it won’t be possible with Republicans in the majority in Congress. Arguments taking this position sometimes suggest that it would make more sense to wait for the next time Democrats are in power before working toward statehood. As Matt Flowers @SunshineEmpire put it at Twitter,… Read more »

When we talk about a government facing a cliff, we mean that the money funding the government’s costs will run out. In the case of Puerto Rico, Medicaid is expected to run through all available funding by September of 2019. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for… Read more »