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School Lunches in Puerto Rico

Since the 1960s, schools in all 50 states and in Puerto Rico have provided affordable hot lunches for children and subsidized the meals of children who needed that help.

A 2012 study determined that the costs of providing school lunches for Alaska and Hawaii were greater than related costs in the 48 contiguous states, but the researchers said that they were unable to get the information needed for Puerto Rico. The factors identified as increasing costs for providing food in Alaska and Hawaii included a number of considerations related to geography:Read More »School Lunches in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico Law Enforcement Funding Included in Legislation

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to fund the Federal government from March 28th through September 30, the rest of Federal Fiscal Year 2013.

A separate bill has been introduced in the Senate and a compromise is expected to be reached, although there are differences between the House bill written by the House’s Republican majority and the Senate bill, authored on a bipartisan basis in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Senate committee leadership used the legislation to urge the Obama Administration to increase its efforts to fight illegal drug-trafficking related crime in and around Puerto Rico. Read More »Puerto Rico Law Enforcement Funding Included in Legislation

Fortuno: Republican Party Must Be the Party of Opportunity

“There must be a system in place that works,” said former Governor Luis Fortuno at the beginning of an interview on ABC’s Topline. Fortuno was speaking in response to a question on immigration reform. As a Puerto Rican and therefore a citizen of the United States, Fortuno is not an immigrant, but as a Hispanic leader within the Republican party, he is often called upon to speak on the subject.

“Republicans are in the midst of a major period of soul-searching,” said the interviewer, asking for prescriptions for the Republican party. Fortuno had suggestions.Read More »Fortuno: Republican Party Must Be the Party of Opportunity

Puerto Rico Statehood Featured on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Last night, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart took on the issue of statehood for Puerto Rico.   The mock report featured “journalist” Al Madrigal attempting to convince demonstrators pushing for Puerto Rican statehood in a rally on Saturday, March 2nd that they would be better off without it.

Madrigal’s efforts – while humorous – were not successful.  The people who attended the rally in front of the White House were committed to pushing for Puerto Rico’s entry as a new state of the United States.Read More »Puerto Rico Statehood Featured on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Science Literacy in Puerto Rico

Science literacy is an issue across the United States. The need for skilled workers in the fields of science, technology, and engineering regularly outstrips the supply of graduates in those fields, and most high school graduates don’t have sufficient background in math and sciences to be able to major in those fields.

The Coalition for the Public Understanding of Science (COPUS) works to improve science literacy. One of their initiatives is the Paul Shin Award, honoring individuals whose passion for science has led them to share their love of science in a way that helps get more people involved in and aware of science in daily life.Read More »Science Literacy in Puerto Rico

Advocates Send Letter to President Obama Demanding “Full and Equal” Citizenship for Puerto Rico

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered yesterday in Washington DC and Puerto Rico to celebrate the 96th anniversary of the granting of U.S. citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico and to demand a new “full and equal” citizenship status based on the results of the November 6th plebiscite.Read More »Advocates Send Letter to President Obama Demanding “Full and Equal” Citizenship for Puerto Rico

Sotomayor Responds to Racist Remark by U.S. Prosecutor

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Ponder asked a jury in 2011, speaking of defendant Bongani Charles Calhoun, who said he didn’t realize the men he was with were planning a drug deal,

You’ve got African Americans, you’ve got Hispanics, you’ve got a bag full of money. Does that tell you — a light bulb doesn’t go off in your head and say, “This is a drug deal?”

A bag full of money may be an unusual accessory for a road trip, but the ethnicity of the people carrying it shouldn’t affect anyone’s interpretation of it.  After all, one of the groups in which “you’ve got African Americans, you’ve got Hispanics” is the Supreme Court. Read More »Sotomayor Responds to Racist Remark by U.S. Prosecutor

‘Commonwealth’ party congressional candidate: ‘Commonwealth’ “System Has Collapsed”

The 2012 congressional candidate of Puerto Rico’s ‘commonwealth’ party said February 22nd that the current governing “system of the island has collapsed” and that it needs a complete “reinvention,” according to El Nuevo Dia.

“Our model simply failed,” said Rafael Cox Alomar, who was Governor Garcia Padilla’s unsuccessful running mate for Puerto Rico’s lone seat in Congress with a vote only in committees of the U.S. House.Read More »‘Commonwealth’ party congressional candidate: ‘Commonwealth’ “System Has Collapsed”