The contract recognizes the priority status of bona fide fishing organizations in managing facilities such as La Parguera Fishing Village in Lajas. By The Star Staff The island Department of Agriculture has signed a five-year agreement granting the La Parguera Fishermen’s Association Inc. the administration and operation of the La Parguera Fishing Village in the southwestern municipality of Lajas. The agency said the move underscores its commitment to listening to and address

Rep. Jorge Navarro Suárez By The Star Staff Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has signed into law House Bill 185-2025, which prohibits students in Puerto Rico’s public schools from using personal electronic devices, such as cellphones, through eighth grade. Rep. Jorge Navarro Suárez, the bill’s sponsor, thanked the governor for approving the measure, calling it a step toward improving education and student well-being. “I deeply appreciate the Governor for recognizing the importan

Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz By The Star Staff Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz launched a sharp attack this week on Puerto Rico’s opposition parties, certain media outlets, and progressive groups, predicting that they face a difficult road as the 2026 elections approach. In a social media post, Rivera Schatz dismissed the opposition as ineffective and devoid of ideas, singling out the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) and its leadership for failing to offer soluti

Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres By The Star Staff Justice Secretary Lourdes Gómez Torres confirmed earlier this week that Miriathny Dialyan Avilés Rodríguez, a witness in the murder case of Gabriela Nicole Pratts Rosario, is not in state custody but has expressed no desire to return home. Avilés Rodríguez’s mother, Sheila Rodríguez Torres, filed a habeas corpus petition on Tuesday seeking her daughter’s release after the young woman appeared at a police station in resp

By The Star Staff The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) has sharply criticized grid operator LUMA Energy and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) for failing to advance renewable energy and storage projects, warning that continued delays threaten grid reliability and the ability to secure federal funding. The PREB ordered PREPA in a resolution this week to submit a detailed update by Jan. 15, 2026 on all of its efforts to move projects forward. The filing must incl

Puerto Rico Supreme Court Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez By The Star Staff Two members of Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court have criticized the way the majority of the tribunal carried out recent changes to the Commission on Reputation for the Practice of Law, arguing that the process departed from long-standing traditions of transparency and collegial deliberation. Chief Justice Maite Oronoz Rodríguez, joined by Associate Justice Ángel Colón Pérez, issued a dissenting opinio

By The Star Staff Víctor Alvarado Guzmán, the spokesperson for the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) in the southern coastal town of Salinas, raised alarms earlier this week over what he described as the municipality’s state of abandonment, citing a growing convergence of social, environmental and public safety crises. Alvarado asserted that the issues underscore a lack of planning and decisive action by Mayor Karilyn Bonilla Colón. One of the most pressing concerns for S

By THE STAR STAFF The Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) approved several renewable energy and energy storage projects on Tuesday as part of an accelerated process authorized to secure federal investment tax credits. According to the Resolution and Order (R&O) issued by the regulatory body, the approved projects would add some 659 megawatts (MW) of battery energy storage systems and 25 MW of photovoltaic solar generation to Puerto Rico’s electrical system. The decision was issu