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

By THE STR STAFF The Financial Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) has formally delivered its budget schedule and financial parameters for Fiscal Year 2027 to Gov. Jenniffer González Colón and legislative leaders, projecting $13.181 billion in General Fund revenues for the upcoming fiscal cycle. In a letter dated Feb. 13, 2026, the Board also estimated $5.4 billion in revenues for Other Funds, figures submitted pursuant to Section 202(b) of PROMESA. The revenue projections

The executive director of PRFAA Gabriella Boffelli By THE STAR STAFF The executive director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA), Gabriella Boffelli, reported that the lack of a congressional agreement for the funding of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will maintain a partial shutdown limited exclusively to that agency starting at midnight on Saturday, and does not represent a total shutdown of the federal government. Boffelli explained that,

By THE STAR STAFF With the goal of making it easier for older adults to search for services at both the governmental and private levels, Governor Jenniffer González Colón signed legislation requiring the Office for Socioeconomic and Community Development (ODSEC) to compile such information and make it publicly available in a single location. “The population of older adults continues to grow, which is why we are continuing to take measures to transform the government into one

Robert Mujica Jr., executive director of the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico. By THE STAR STAFF The Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico (FOMB) has forcefully rejected allegations by the Third‑Party Procurement Office (3PPO) that it has exceeded its statutory authority in reviewing a proposed temporary power generation contract awarded to Power Expectations, LLC. In a letter dated February 13, 2026, the Board argued that its recen

Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández By THE STAR STAFF Puerto Rico’s effort to begin a phased transition from the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has stalled. The initiative was left out of the latest Republican draft of the Farm Bill. The proposal—introduced on January 23 by Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández—did not appear in the new version of the legislation released last week, dealing a setback to e

Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera (Facebook via Rep. Pablo Jose Hernandez Rivera) By THE STAR STAFF Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández Rivera has joined as a co‑sponsor of House Resolution (HR) 7229, the Territorial SBA Loan Guaranty Adjustment Act, a bipartisan measure aimed at expanding access to capital for small businesses operating in U.S. territories. The bill, introduced on Jan. 22, seeks to address longstanding disparities in financing that hav

Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Sebastián Negrón Reichard By THE STAR STAFF Puerto Rico’s strategy to attract advanced manufacturing investment appears to be gaining momentum with the recent announcement that global biopharmaceutical company PharmaEssentia will establish a new manufacturing subsidiary on the island. The initiative, revealed Thursday by La Fortaleza Public Affairs Secretary Jean Peña Payano and Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC) Secretary Seb