By Leyla Santiago, Khushbu Shah, and Rachel Clarke 4 November 2017 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (CNN) – Towns and communities across Puerto Rico are entirely without power, more than six weeks after Hurricane Maria.The island’s leadership is touting restoration figures that show nearly 40% of electricity generation has resumed — but it doesn’t say how […]
27 October 2017 (CBS News) – The Trump administration denied Friday that political connections had anything to do with restoring electrical connections in Puerto Rico.A contract worth $300 million was awarded to a tiny company called Whitefish Energy in Whitefish, Montana, hometown of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Zinke said Friday he had nothing to do […]
By Rebecca Savransky and Timothy Cama 30 October 2017 (The Hill) – The FBI is reportedly investigating the $300 million contract awarded to Whitefish Energy to repair Puerto Rico’s electrical grid in the wake of Hurricane Maria.People familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal that FBI agents from the San Juan field office […]
By Patrick McGeehan and Winnie Hu 29 October 2017 (The New York Times) – At 8:30 p.m. on a Monday, millions of residents of the most man-made landscape in the United States were reminded how powerless they were against the forces of nature.Hurricane Sandy shoved the East River across the F.D.R. Drive onto the streets […]
By Jackie Wattles and Marilia Brocchetto 29 October 2017 (CNN) – Puerto Rico’s power authority is working to cancel a controversial contract it awarded to a small Montana-based utility company. Ricardo Ramos, the CEO of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, says he is “asking for a resolution” that would allow for the cancellation of […]
By Mythili Sampathkumar 24 October 2017 NEW YORK (The Independent) – An independent US government agency has said natural disasters have cost the country $350 billion in the last decade and that it is time for Donald Trump’s administration to address climate change before it starts costing the country more.The nonpartisan auditing agency Government Accountability […]
24 October 2017 (United Nations) – Hurricanes Irma, Harvey, and Maria may be over, but the devastating impact they had on the countries in their path continues, likewise the effects of successive earthquakes in Mexico, said senior United Nations officials Tuesday, calling for more action at all levels to manage disaster and climate risk and […]
By Caitlyn Hitt 23 October 2017 (New York Daily News) – A picture is worth a thousand words. Former Governor of Puerto Rico Alejandro García Padilla took a jab at President Trump on Twitter following comments the President made about the United States’ relief efforts on the island. Padilla questioned Trump’s rating of his performance […]
By Timothy Cama and Devin Henry 28 October 2017 (The Hill) – A massive rebuilding contract between Puerto Rico and a small Montana energy company has sparked controversy and raised questions about relief efforts after Hurricane Maria.The $300 million contract between the stricken island’s power utility and two-year-old firm Whitefish Energy Holdings is looking more […]
By John D. Sutter 27 October 2017 Arecibo, Puerto Rico (CNN) – You won’t hear about her death from officials investigating the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, but you should know her name and her story. She was Isabel Rivera González.Rivera was 80. She loved to dance, and was known in this hilly enclave of Puerto […]