The Trump Admin Confirms the Shutdown Delayed Funds to PR
Issue #35: Brock Long Resigns from FEMA, Midwest Companies are Recruiting Workers from Puerto Rico and more...
→ The Trump Administration Admits Disaster Relief For Puerto Rico Was Delayed By The Shutdown
The funds were allocated in February of last year and approved in July. Puerto Rico officials weren’t able to access them until February 8. (Nidhi Prakash / BuzzFeed)
→ Puerto Rican Officials Warn Against Diverting Recovery Funds for a Wall
“Congress already approved that money, those funds have to get to Puerto Rico.” – María Meléndez, the mayor of Ponce (Patricia Guadalupe / NBC News)
→ FEMA Administrator Brock Long Resigns
Brock Long, who had been the head of FEMA since June 2017, stepped down from the agency amid concerns that he used government vehicles for personal reasons. (Democracy Now)
→ Judge Seeks Documents in Puerto Rico Tutoring Program Investigation
On Wednesday, an arrest warrant was issued for Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Education Julia Keleher, but it was later withdrawn. (Associated Press)
→ Midwest Companies Look to Puerto Rico for Workers
Companies in the midwest are having difficulty finding local employees, and there’s been a shortage of workers under the H-2B visa — so they are recruiting works from Puerto Rico, where the unemployment rate is 8.3% – instead. (Erik Sherman / Fortune)
→ Taste of the States Tempered by Adversity They Left Behind
A group of students, who moved to Florida to attend a ballet school shortly after Hurricane Maria, discusses trying to adjust to life in the United States. (Carrie Seidman / Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
→ Hamilton Helps Raise $14 Million for the Arts in Puerto Rico
The money will go to the Flamboyan Foundation, created to support the arts in Puerto Rico. (Emily Price / Fortune)
→ A pilgrimage to the keeper of Puerto Rico’s past, before she disappears
Food writer Illyanna Maisonet tracks down Lula, an 82-year-old Loiza woman who uses Taino traditions in her cookinng. (Illyanna Maisonet / San Francisco Chronicle)
