Pa'lante: Sept. 10
Issue #17: FEMA slammed for its response to Maria, House Dems say GOP members are blocking an investigation into Maria
Watchdog Slams FEMA for Puerto Rico Hurricane Response: Last year, more than half of FEMA staff were serving in a capacity for which they weren’t qualified, according to the report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office. (Christopher Flavelle / Bloomberg)
House Democrats Accuse Republicans of Shutting Down Hurricane Maria Investigation: Within five months after Hurricane Katrina, the House Committee of Oversight and Government Reform had prepared a 569-page reporting outlining the government’s failures in response to the storm – after holding nine hearings and obtaining more than 500,000 documents from President G. W. Bush’s administration. That same committee has scheduled only one hearing to analyze the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria. (Alexia Fernández Campbell / Vox)
Puerto Rico Group Says Further Inquiry on Public Debt Needed: A group of creditors says the recent report investigating the causes of the island’s debt focuses more on exonerating officials rather than holding them accountable. (Eva Lloréns Vélez / Caribbean Business)
U.S. Judge Orders 32 Florida Counties to Help Puerto Ricans Vote: Failure to help more than 30,000 eligible Puerto Rican voters would likely violate the Voting Rights Act, the judge said. (Jonathan Stempel / Reuters)
Sotomayor Says One of Her Relatives Was Among Those Initially Uncounted in Puerto Rico Death Toll: “Regrettably, I wasn't quite accepting of the 64 person number because, not just my family, but many, many families in Puerto Rico experienced losses attributable to that storm.” – Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (Eli Watkins / CNN)
Can Crypto, Cannabis, and Nicolas Cage Boost Puerto Rico’s Economy? Among his plans for the island, Gov. Ricardo Rosselló hopes to turn Puerto Rico into a center for marijuana innovation. (Yalixa Rivera and Jonathan Levin / Bloomberg)
A Year After Hurricane Maria, Mainland Scientists have Helped Puerto Rican Colleagues Recover: “Puerto Rico is a challenging place to do science for a number of reasons. They are also geographically isolated, so it’s good to have these partnerships.”
– Sean Palecek, professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison (Elizabeth Gamillo / Science Magazine)
Puerto Rico’s Leading Resort Is Reopening Next Month: Dorado Beach, owned by Marriott, is set to reopen its doors on Oct. 1. (Alexander Britell / Caribbean Journal)
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Pa’lante!