Governor Pierluisi announced that the Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority would be working with private companies to develop Bahia Urbana, a dockyard in Old San Juan. With $118 million in private funding, the project would create a new entertainment district with an amphitheater, bars, restaurants, a market targeted towards tourists, an urban forest (a… Read more »

In 2012, President Obama initiated the DACA program to shield people brought to the United States unlawfully as children from deportation. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act providing a path to citizenship for these people had failed in Congress. Obama used an executive order to bypass Congress. In 2017, President Trump… Read more »

Puerto Rico voters have rejected the current territorial status and voted in favor of statehood. Congress is expected to consider the question of Puerto Rico’s status soon. However, there is still an anti-statehood faction not only in Puerto Rico, but also in Congress. Anti-statehood activists often claim that U.S. citizenship will be “permanent and irreversible”… Read more »

The Office of Nuclear Energy’s US Industry Opportunities for Advanced Nuclear Technology Development project has awarded $1,628,285 for nuclear energy development in Puerto Rico. The funds will go toward a site suitability study examining the prospect of two possible locations for small nuclear reactors in Puerto Rico. The Nuclear Alternative Project has identified two locations that… Read more »

The Build Back Better Act has passed the House and gone to the Senate, where negotiations will continue for a possible vote before Christmas. In an explainer at Medium.com, the House Natural Resources Committee Democrats said, “The much-needed investments we’re making as part of the Build Back Better Act will create a stronger, more sustainable… Read more »

The House of Representatives has passed the Build Back Better Act and it has gone on to the Senate. There are likely to be changes made in the Senate before the bill goes on to President Biden’s desk. As approved by the House, the Build Back Better bill would increase Medicaid funding to Puerto Rico, providing… Read more »

Puerto Rican performers always show strongly at the Latin Grammy Awards, and 2021 was no exception. Bad Bunny won in the “Best Urban Music Album” category. Myke Towers, Eladio Carrion, and Ozuna were also nominated in this category. Bad Bunny also won “Best Rap/Hip-Hop Song.” Marc Anthony and Rauw Alejandro were both nominated in the “Record… Read more »

The federal Medicaid program partners with states to provide health care for the neediest U.S. citizens. Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, however, are not included in the federal Medicaid program. Instead, the territories receive limited, lump-sum funding each year.  This amount does not respond to need, and the enhanced funding amount that has been… Read more »

Puerto Rico’s options for non-territorial status under the U.S. Constitution boil down to two possibilities: statehood independence Puerto Rico can continue as a territory belonging to the United States indefinitely, but there really are no other choices. One possibility for a new nation of Puerto Rico would be independence with Free Association. Those who favor… Read more »

The U.N.’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) held a virtual meeting to discuss the economic consequences of chronic diseases in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico was one of the locations covered. “The high prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the Caribbean – such as high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer – is exacerbating… Read more »