By James Ellsmoor, Forbes After the catastrophe caused by 2017’s Hurricane Maria, many Puerto Ricans were left without electricity for months. Now, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) has put forward a plan to radically reform electricity access on the Caribbean island. The latest draft of the integrated resource plan (IRP) has been greeted… read more
By Camilo Montoya-Galvez, CBS News The federal government’s response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma on the mainland was faster and more “generous” — in terms of resources and funds — than its assistance to Puerto Rico before and in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, according to a newly released study. By analyzing federal spending estimates… read more
By Suzanne Gamboa, NBC AUSTIN, Texas — The overwhelming majority of Latinos in Congress are Democrats and now that their party is in charge in the U.S. House, they want Puerto Rico’s recovery to be a priority. To that end, more than 30 Democratic members of Congress — mostly members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,… read more
By Mireya Navarro, The New York Times For as long as I can remember growing up in Puerto Rico, El Morro, the indestructible fort with the endless lawns at the entrance to San Juan harbor, was where you went to fly a kite. And on a recent sunny afternoon, just as expected, a couple and… read more
By Laura Strickler, Nicole Acevedo and Suzy Khimm, NBC WASHINGTON — The HUD official considered by many to be crucial to both the agency’s smooth operation and to Puerto Rico recovery efforts resigned Monday and will transition out of the role in January. As deputy secretary of HUD, Pam Patenaude ran operations at the $50… read more
The Boca Raton Tribune Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s electrical infrastructure and left an island of people without food, water, and in some cases, shelter, in September of 2017. But, a spirit of strength and a concerted effort to rebuild has revived this colonial territory, and many business experts believe that Puerto Rico could soon… read more
By Laura Amico, Harvard Business Review When Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico in September 2017, it became one of the deadliest storms ever to hit the island. Nearly 3,000 people were killed and parts of the island are still recovering, lacking access to power and clean water more than a year later. For one of Puerto Rico’s largest companies, Grupo Ferré Rangel, the… read more
By Yalixa Rivera and Michael Smith, Bloomberg Puerto Rico’s biggest brewery had a problem: Beer demand was plummeting, the population was shrinking and Hurricane Maria had shut at least 1,000 retailers and bars that poured its product. So in March, the maker of Medalla hired a distributor and started selling its cheap and ubiquitous lager… read more
By Nicole Acevedo, NBC News Puerto Rican high school student José Nolla Marrero was 15 when he asked himself a simple question. “How can I get products that were healthy but good for the environment? “ he said. In his quest to answer it, Nolla Marrero founded E-Farm, a digital platform that connects farmers across… read more
By John D. Sutter, CNN Puerto Rico (CNN)Her son cried out for help via text message on the morning of October 17, a month after Hurricane Maria wrecked this Caribbean island. “Where are you??” the 18-year-old wrote at 11:32 a.m. “Mami call me it’s important.” Cellular networks in Puerto Rico were still damaged after the… read more