Pa'lante: Aug. 20
Issue #14: Power has been restored to all of PR, FEMA scales back financial assistance and more
Puerto Rico Spent 11 Months Turning the Power Back On. They Finally Got to Her. Electricity has finally been restored to the entire island of Puerto Rico. The New York Times profiles one woman who was among the last residential customers to have their power turned back on:
“At first, a lot of agencies came, giving water and food. But that ended, so now you really have to do everything yourself. I don’t know where Puerto Rico is going to end up. It seems everything went from bad to worse.” – Jazmín Méndez (Frances Robles / New York Times)
FEMA Begins Scaling Back Financial Assistance In Puerto Rico: FEMA said it now expects Puerto Rico to pay for 10 percent of emergency work on the island, which could cost the island’s government $100 million. (Adrian Florido / NPR)
Florida Lawsuit Seeks Bilingual Ballots for Puerto Ricans Who Fled Hurricane Maria: Advocacy groups are alleging that the state of Florida is violating the voting rights of tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans by not providing ballots and other voting materials in Spanish. (Catherine Lizette Gonzalez / ColorLines)
Hurricane María Has Renewed Puerto Rico’s Fight Against Coal Ash: “Our worry is to not keep paying the consequences, to not keep bringing other industries, other contaminants that aggravate the situation. Because then our community will disappear.” – Yanina Moreno, Puerto Rican activist (Katie Rice / Huffington Post)
Hurricane Maria stirred up dangerous pollutants on this Puerto Rico waterfront: Guanica Bay had some of the highest concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls – manufacturing chemicals linked to a number of health problems – before Hurricane Maria hit. But the storm dredged up sediments full of PCBs and new samples collected in the area show levels of the contaminants are ten times higher than before. (Nicole Wetsman / Grist)
A Closer Look at Omarosa's Excerpt on Puerto Rico – From a Reporter Who was There: Maria Santana, a correspondent for CNN en Español, breaks down some of the claims made in Omarosa Manigault Newman’s new book, “Unhinged.” (Maria Santana / CNN)
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Pa’lante!