FEMA Contractors are Profiting off of Puerto Rico Home Repair Program
Issue #27: PR asks for more funds from the U.S. government, climate change is threatening the island and more...
Ed. note – Welcome back to Pa’lante! I took a couple of weeks off in the wake of hectic school and work deadlines. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the December holidays. Back to your regularly scheduled programming…
→ $3,700 Generators and $666 Sinks: FEMA Contractors Charged Steep Markups on Puerto Rico Repairs
FEMA is spending $1.2 billion through Tu Hogar Renace, a government program for repairing homes in Puerto Rico. But a New York Times report found that 60 percent of costs are actually going to contractors for overhead, profit and steep markups. (Frances Robles / New York Times)
→ Puerto Rico Seeks More Funds, Help from Congress Post-Maria
Gov. Ricardo Rossello asked the U.S. government to cover all costs linked to debris removal and emergency protective measures, declare the entire island a distressed area for tax breaks and provide a tourism tax credit. (Danica Coto / Associated Press)
→ Rising Sea Levels from Climate Change Threatens Puerto Rico's Infrastructure, Report States
The 1,656-page report, issued by 13 federal agencies and mandated by Congress, says that Puerto Rico could suffer $11.8 billion in economic losses as a result of climate change. (Farnoush Amiri / NBC News)
→ Nuclear Advocates Set Sights on Advanced Reactors for Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico’s House of Representatives has made a commitment to study nuclear energy. (Jacqueline Toth / Morning Consult)
→ I'm Growing up in Hurricane Maria's Aftermath. Here's What the World Can Learn from Youth Resilience
If there's anything that my post-Maria life has taught me, it's that young people can do anything. Maria has shown me that resilience is the antidote to hopelessness, despair and pessimism. Even in the face of total devastation, I've seen many youth find immense courage from the deepest parts of their hearts and minds. Salvador Gomez Colon for CNN Business Perspectives)
→ Puerto Rico Pledges to Go All-Renewable by 2050
Puerto Rico is one of the most vulnerable places to climate change under U.S. jurisdiction. (Daniel Cusick / Scientific American)