Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz By THE STAR STAFF Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz announced that the report from the upper chamber’s Committee of the Whole hearing on Tuesday regarding the testimony by La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández will result in referrals to multiple state and federal authorities. “We are going to refer all the information that needs to be referred to [the Government Ethics Office], to the FBI, to the Department of Just

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority bondholders and the local firm promoting a subsea power transmission line between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have moved to intervene in the development of the Integrated Resource Plan, a master blueprint that will determine the island’s public policy on generation mix, grid modernization priorities, and renewable energy targets for the future. ( telecomtv.com ) By THE STAR STAFF Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) bond

A Department of Natural and Environmental Resources official who had been summoned as the sole witness for a hearing before the Senate Tourism, Natural Resources and Environmental Committee failed to appear on Wednesday morning. The hearing was to be part of the panel’s investigation into the permitting process and the potential environmental and public health impacts associated with the expansion of the landfill operated by the Municipality of Carolina. By THE STAR STAFF Th

Puerto Rico Secretary of State Rosachely Rivera Santana (Facebook via Departamento de Estado) By THE STAR STAFF Secretary of State Rosachely Rivera Santana recently inaugurated the first of several reconstruction projects managed by Colegio San Antonio Abad in Humacao, in collaboration with the Central Office for Recovery, Reconstruction and Resilience (COR3) with a total allocation of $10.5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). As part of the efforts,

University of Puerto Rico President Zayira Jordán Conde By THE STAR STAFF Gov. Jenniffer González Colón stated on Wednesday that she does not intervene in decisions made by the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) regarding its chancellors, following questions concerning recent departures at several campuses within the university system. “No, I read about it just like you did. Those are decisions made by the university,” González Colón told members of the press. “I do not interven

Cites risks to casino industry, police pensions By THE STAR STAFF Former House District 40 (Carolina) representative and past chair of the House Tourism Committee Ángel Matos García voiced strenuous opposition on Wednesday to Senate Bill 960, introduced by Sen. Rosana Soto Aguiló. He warned that the measure threatens the economic stability of Puerto Rico’s gaming and casino industry and could ultimately reduce police pensions. Senate Bill 960 seeks to broaden and ease regulat

By THE STAR STAFF Gov. Jenniffer González Colón said Wednesday that questions regarding the Politank transaction should be directed to the company’s new owner, insisting that she does not know who the current proprietors are and that Francisco Domenech Fernández sold the business before being sworn in as La Fortaleza chief of staff. “Look, I don’t get involved in anyone’s business, nor do I get involved in matters that have nothing to do with the government,” the governor sai

Gov. Jenniffer González Colón By THE STAR STAFF In what her administration describes as an unprecedented achievement, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón announced on Tuesday the reduction of $900 million in government contracts during her first 15 months in office -- an effort she says establishes a new standard of fiscal discipline, administrative control, and transparency across the executive branch. “This result is real, it took work, and it deserves to be discussed,” the gover

La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández By THE STAR STAFF La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech Fernández told the island Senate’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday that he has implemented formal measures to avoid any involvement in government matters related to Politank, the firm he co‑founded and later sold but acknowledged the process is not in written form. Domenech delivered an extensive and frequently contentious testimony before the committee,

Blair Gilbert, founder and CEO of DreamWeaver Homes (LinkedIn) By THE STAR STAFF DreamWeaver Homes, a cold‑formed steel manufactured housing company founded a decade ago Tuesday as a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, has officially launched a $7.5 million Series A round to bring its Puerto Rico manufacturing facility into full production — marking a major milestone in a project that began with a single meeting inside the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HU