According to authorities, some 1,000 gallons of residual fuel and oily water were removed from the barge Defiant, which ran aground on Feb. 9 off the entrance to the Port of San Juan. By THE STAR STAFF The U.S. Coast Guard announced Tuesday that the removal of residual fuel from the barge grounded off the entrance to San Juan Bay has been completed, while preparations continue to remove it from the rocks near Castillo San Felipe del Morro. “With the removal of the residual fu

The Virgen del Pozo 10K Marathon, held every third Sunday of May since 1954, is considered Puerto Rico’s oldest continuous long-distance road race. (Facebook via ATT Runner) By THE STAR STAFF Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has signed into law a measure designating the third Sunday of May as National Virgen del Pozo (Virgin of the Well) Marathon Day, formalizing recognition of the long-running 10-kilometer race held annually in Sabana Grande. The Roman Catholic Church has never

Ángel Morales Vázquez, executive director of the Mayors Federation of Puerto Rico By THE STAR STAFF Amid persistent problems with drinking water service in the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority’s (PRASA) metropolitan region, Ángel Morales Vázquez, executive director of the Mayors Federation of Puerto Rico and a member of the public corporation’s governing board, has called for the immediate appointment of a regional director to help stabilize operations. In a letter se

Sen. Brenda Pérez Soto (Instagram via senadopr) By THE STAR STAFF In response to the chronic lack of drinking water service that has beset the residents of the Arrozal neighborhood of Arecibo’s Los Muertos sector for years, Arecibo District Sen. Brenda Pérez Soto has filed Senate Resolution (SR) 413 with the purpose of investigating the management of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) in the island’s northern region. Los Muertos is one of the many municipal

Ramón Román Márquez, in a political ad when he was the Dignity Project candidate for House District 17 representative (Facebook via Proyecto Dignidad) By THE STAR STAFF Popular Democratic Party (PDP) President Pablo José Hernández Rivera announced Sunday the affiliation of three former candidates and prominent figures from the  Dignity Project (DP): Sheila Dávila Rodríguez, former candidate for mayor of Cidra; César “Monchito” Corales Cotty, former candidate for mayor of Laja

By THE STAR STAFF Sen. Rafael “Rafy” Santos, who chairs the Joint Committee of the Jorge A. Ramos Comas Legislative Internship Program (ILRC), has confirmed that Popular Democratic Party Sen. Ada Álvarez Conde was the lawmaker who recommended Jadhiel Andrés Cedeño Gómez -- an intern now facing federal child exploitation charges -- to the program. The clarification was included in an official ILRC letter in which Santos forcefully condemned the conduct attributed to the 22‑yea

Caguas’ Pulso Criollo initiative has impacted nearly 750 young people in the city through an innovative strategy for preventing problematic opioid use. Expanding program makes plain the risk of opioid use, provides tools for self-protection By THE STAR STAFF The Pulso Criollo initiative of the Autonomous Municipality of Caguas has impacted nearly 750 young people in the city through an innovative strategy for preventing problematic opioid use. The strategy, aimed at youth bet

By THE STAR STAFF A group of friends of the late Gov. Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo and his widow, Tiody de Jesús, will gather at Las Mercedes Cemetery in Ponce to commemorate what would have been the former governor’s 122nd birthday today February 17. Pro-statehood advocate and attorney Gregorio Igartúa, a close friend of Ferré, is scheduled to give an eulogy during the ceremony. In remarks shared with The STAR, Igartúa recalled hearing that former U.S. President George H. W. Bu