Dr. Tiody de Jesús, widow of former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis A. Ferré (X via Carla Campos) By THE STAR STAFF Dr. Tiody de Jesús, the widow of former Puerto Rico Gov. Luis A. Ferré and a longtime figure in the island’s Republican circles, has formally endorsed a petition urging Congress to declare Puerto Rico an incorporated U.S. territory -- a designation supporters say is long overdue after more than a century under American sovereignty. In a typed letter addressed to President

Puerto Rico Supreme Court Justice Raúl Candelario López By THE STAR STAFF The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico has dismissed an ethics complaint against two attorneys but issued a formal warning after they submitted a court filing rife with false case citations, which the lawyers said were generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). The lawyers had already been fined $1,000 by the Court of First Instance, which the Supreme Court called the first known monetary penalt

Robert F. Mujica Jr., executive director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico Urges gov’t to cover agency risks By THE STAR STAFF The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico is warning that the government’s proposed fiscal year (FY) 2027 budget, while aligned with the certified fiscal plan in total dollars, is still noncompliant because it was prepared using accounting standards that differ from the modified accrual basis that the b

As part of the “Fuga Sanjuanera 2026” initiative, the municipality awarded a $2,500 donation to each participating graduating class, impacting 32 public schools in the capital city. By THE STAR STAFF San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo, in a press release issued Sunday, highlighted the celebration of “Fuga Sanjuanera 2026,” an event designed to recognize the effort and perseverance of graduating classes from San Juan public schools. The initiative took place last Friday at Lui

By THE STAR STAFF Caribbean Transmission Development (CTD) is nearing financial close for its proposed $2.5 billion power interconnection between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the company said at a sector event in Santo Domingo late last week. The Hostos project includes a 500-megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power plant, 90 kilometers (km) of overhead 345-kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC) transmission line and 150 km of subsea 320 kV high-voltage direct current (H

Speaker of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez By THE STAR STAFF The island House of Representatives unanimously approved (48-0) a measure filed by Speaker Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez which establishes, for the first time in history, that every health service provider will receive the corresponding payment from the moment they deliver all the documents required by the insurer for the contract. House Bill 40, part of Méndez’s legislative prog

Rep. Roberto López Román By THE STAR STAFF New Progressive Party Rep. Roberto López Román has filed House Bill 1115, which proposes eliminating the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission, but the labor sector representative on the panel, economist Iyari Ríos González, cautioned against the risks of the measure. Ríos noted that the bill aims to dissolve the wage-evaluation committee at a time when it is actively investigating potential minimum wage increases for agricultural, tax-

Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard By THE STAR STAFF In a pivotal move that could reshape Puerto Rico’s economic landscape, the Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC by its acronym in Spanish) has thrown its full support behind House Bill 1213, the measure that would overhaul the island’s notoriously cumbersome permitting and planning system. The DDEC, along with its Office of Permit Management (OGPe), presented a comprehens

La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández By THE STAR STAFF La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández denied claims by General Services Administration (GSA) head Karla Mercado Rivera regarding the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning fiscal tool. Mercado Rivera had labeled as “defamatory and completely false” one of the responses Domenech submitted to the Senate as part of the extensive request for information on several topics. “I

Natural and Environmental Resources Secretary Waldemar Quiles Pérez By THE STAR STAFF In a new report that adds to other recent findings regarding the management of public resources in various entities, the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico identified significant deficiencies in the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), the watchdog entity announced Thursday. Audit Report OC-26-21, which covers the period from July 1, 2020 to March 31, 2025, issued