Latino
U.S. Official Warns Puerto Rico Resources Targeted Amid Crisis
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Secretary of the Interior warned Friday during an official visit to Puerto Rico that the island’s protected natural resources could be targeted for private development in a new push to lift the U.S. territory out of a dire economic crisis.
The comments by Secretary Sally Jewell come days after U.S. Republicans tucked a provision into a draft legislation addressing Puerto Rico’s economy that would authorize the future secretary of the interior to open thousands of acres of protected Puerto Rico land to private development.
“I think we need to be very, very careful,” Jewell told The Associated Press. “Giving up public lands or natural areas to development is not synonymous with economic growth and development.”
Jewell questioned why the provision was included and said it does not address Puerto Rico’s immediate economic challenges. She urged local officials to focus on further developing ecotourism projects to attract more visitors to the island and boost revenue amid a 10-year economic slump.
“This is a beautiful place with tremendous natural resources, cultural resources, historic resources …not as well known in the United States and around the world as it should be,” she said. “We have a job to do.”
Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla met with Jewell on Friday and requested federal resources to help the local government protect and preserve coastal areas and nearby historic sites in the capital of San Juan including 18th century forts. The island’s government is running out of money and facing a $70 billion public debt load that Garcia has said is unpayable and needs restructuring.
FILE – In this Nov. 12, 2015 file photo, U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, center, and Mexican Environment Secretary Rafael Pacchiano, right of center, look up towards butterflies during a visit to the monarch butterfly reserve in Piedra Herrada, Mexico. Jewell, who is visiting Puerto Rico for the first time, is expected to unveil on Friday, April 1, 2016, a community service project and a program to benefit Puerto Rico children. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Jewell said government officials should take advantage of low real estate prices amid the economic crisis to reach its goal of protecting up to 33 percent of the island’s land. Only 8 percent of land was protected in 2013.
The secretary is scheduled to visit the neighboring island of Vieques on Saturday, where she expects to meet with U.S. Navy officials to review ongoing military cleanup efforts. The U.S. Navy used Vieques as a bombing range from the 1940s until May 2003 and has spent more than $220 million to investigate and clean those lands.
The Vieques National Wildlife Refuge is mentioned in the draft legislation submitted by U.S. Republicans last week in which they seek to open some 3,100 acres (1,256 hectares) to private development. The proposal drew swift response from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees management and conservation of federal land.
“This is a transfer that Puerto Rico has not requested, and the prospect that a future secretary may transfer land out of a Fish and Wildlife Service refuge for the benefit of private economic development efforts is troubling,” the agency said.
U.S. legislators expect to debate the draft legislation in upcoming weeks.
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Don Quijote Awards, presented by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and Prospera, is Central Florida’s premier business awards gala with good reason.
The black-tie gala, which celebrates the Hispanic business community by recognizing small business owners as well as business and community leaders who help propel the Hispanic business community forward, filled Epcot’s Showplace Pavilion with well over 1,000 formally dressed attendees for its 25th anniversary Saturday.
The prestigious ceremony recognizes companies and individuals in six categories:
- Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less
- Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 years
- Professional of the Year
- Excellence Award
- Hispanic Community Champion (this award is given to a non-Hispanic who avidly works to support and strengthen the Hispanic community)
- Lifetime Achievement Award
The 2022 Don Quijote Award Winners
Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less: Guacamole Mexican Grill
(center trio, from left to right): Gustavo Aristizabal, Mayessi El Halabi and Diego Rojas, co-founders of Guacamole Mexican Grill, Inc, receive the Don Quijote Award for Hispanic Business of the Year, 5 Years or Less. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 years: SkyBuilders USA
(center duo, left to right): Marcela Restrepo and Juan Velez, co-founders of SkyBuilders USA, LLC, receive the 2022 Don Quijote Award for Hispanic Business of the Year, Over 5 Years. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Professional of the Year: Luis Nieves-Ruiz, Economic Development Director, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Luis Nieves-Ruiz, Economic Development Director for East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (center), received the 2022 Don Quijote Professional of the Year Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Excellence Award: Former State Representative Bob Cortes,
Senior Government Affairs Administrator, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Former State Representative Bob Cortes, Senior Government Affairs Administrator for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, receives the 2022 Don Quijote Excellence Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Hispanic Community Champion: Dr. James Michael Burkett, President, Florida Technical College
Dr. James Michael Burkett, President, Florida Technical College (center), receives the 2022 Don Quijote Hispanic Community Champion Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Modesto Alcala,
Senior VP of Global Restaurant Development and Placemaking for Universal Creative at Universal Parks & Resorts
Modesto Alcala, Senior VP of Global Restaurant Development and Placemaking for Universal Creative at Universal Parks & Resorts, receives the 2022 Don Quijote Lifetime Achievement Award. Photo: Shreyank Tripathi/Florida National News.
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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com
Latino
Lt. Governor Nominee Karla Hernández’s ‘Latinas for Choice’ Tour Kickoff Lacks Hispanic Women Leaders
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – Karla Hernández, Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Florida, held a press conference outside of Orlando City Hall to announce the campaign’s Latinas For Choice tour Wednesday morning.
Hernández was joined by five progressive activists, including Orange County School Board Member Johnna Lopez, State Representative Anna Eskamani and former State Representative District 48 candidate Samuel Vilchez Santiago.
The following Orange County Hispanic women elected leaders did not attend Hernandez’s Latinas for Choice announcement:
- Florida State Representative Daisy Morales
- Orange County District 3 Commissioner Mayra Uribe
- Orange County District 4 Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero
- Orange County District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla
- Orange County Property Appraiser Amy Mercado
- Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor Raquel Lozano
While the campaign tour is just launched and in its infancy, the press conference showcased a humble beginning in terms of support for a major support. It appeared that no Spanish-speaking news outlets were present to cover the announcement. Local media outlets WESH 2, WFTV Channel 9 and Florida National News were the outlets present.
Two of the six individuals at the podium being men, and one being a young student. The total number of Latinas, then, was three–if the young lady is included in the count.
However, there may be a reason for that.
New Poll Shows a Different Priority Among Latino Voters
The Palm Beach Post reported findings from a recent poll which showed that 70% of Florida Hispanics oppose making abortion illegal, but it’s not their biggest issue. According to the Post, a large majority of Florida Hispanic voters believe it’s wrong to make abortion illegal, even if it goes against their personal beliefs. Here’s the breakdown of what Hispanic voters in the poll feel are “the most important issues that elected officials should address”:
- Inflation/rising cost of living (53%)
- Crime/gun violence (38%)
- Jobs/economy (36%)
- Healthcare (21%)
- Climate/environment (16%)
Abortion, at 15%, tied with a lack of affordable housing/high rents and Social Security and Medicare.
When asked about this during the press conference, Hernandez assured that Charlie Crist, assuming he’s elected governor in November, would prioritize legislation addressing the top three priorities listed in the poll. Watch the livestream of the full press conference above.
Latino
VIDEO: Morales Campaign Drops Rita Harris’s F-Bomb-Laced Tirade Targeting Bernie Sanders and Progressive Supporters
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Daisy Morales campaign released a video over the weekend of opponent Jennifer “Rita” Harris‘s profanity-laced tirade against U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and his progressive supporters on Harris’s Medium blog account.
Harris has deleted the account.
The Morales campaign brought the receipts in this press release, with screenshots from Harris’s Medium blog account and various Facebook posts.
Morales’s campaign pointed out the irony of Harris’s attack on Sen. Bernie Sanders and his supporters and her current backing by the progressive arm of the Democratic Party, United for Progress, Ruth’s List Florida, and other progressive groups.
The Morales campaign slammed Harris in the press release saying “she cannot be trusted, is unfit to serve in public office, and isn’t safe around children younger than 13 years old when it comes to vulgar language, dubbing herself a “part time a**hole” on her Medium blog account (which, by the way, has now been taken down).”
Harris’s Medium post, “Be Gone Bernie Sanders, and Take Your Little Bots Too,” attacks Bernie Sanders and his progressive supporters with a slew of profanities. The campaign warns that viewers will need earbuds to view the video, which is an almost seven-minute voice-to-text read-along of the blog post.
The Morales campaign continued its attack, followed by several screenshots of Harris’s Facebook posts containing F-bombs: “Tallahassee lawmakers are expected to represent the people of our districts and the state of Florida with dignity and respect. Not everything has to be a vulgar attack. Anger must be controlled. And Harris seems to have a lot of it—minus the control.
“Her social media posts are riddled with F-bombs, whether they are friendly or contentious.”
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
Source: Facebook.
The Morales campaign ended the video drop by saying, “This is the real Jennifer “Rita” Harris.”
The Morales Campaign Triples Down on Harris’s Business Background
Following the video drop, the Morales campaign again highlights Harris’s business background, referring to the Orlando Sentinel’s most recent article with Harris finally opening up about her business background.
The press release says in relevant part:
“If all that wasn’t enough, Harris isn’t forthcoming about her business background. She kept that information from the voters and from the media. Her campaign never listed her business background, and the voters have a right to know. She admitted herself to the Orlando Sentinel in a recent article that she only lists herself as a CEO of her husband’s company, Harris Cloud Consulting, on LinkedIn “for networking purposes.” Why is that deception necessary? There’s nothing wrong with being a housewife promoting your husband’s company on his behalf.
“It turns out Harris Cloud Consulting isn’t the first company she’s been listed as the CEO for. She was the CEO of Kronos Unlimited, LLC, a failed business dissolved by the State. This looks like a pattern. She’s essentially a fake CEO. It’s also interesting that the Orlando Sentinel learned of her deception after they endorsed her.
“If she’s being deceptive here and now, what’s to stop her from doing it in Tallahassee? What else is she being dishonest about? (Besides the work address for one of the companies they registered in Florida using a non-Florida address and zip code.)”
Morales Campaign Also Doubles Down on Lack of Vetting on Harris
“All of this foolishness speaks loudly to the lack of a real background check on the part of the people and organizations endorsing Harris, like the Democratic establishment and high profile Democrats like Charlie Crist, State Attorney Monique Worrell, State Senators Victor Torres and Jason Pizzo, and School Board Member Johanna Lopez, just name a few,” said Rep. Morales in the press release.
“There are Democratic candidates in other Florida races that organizations and elected officials have had to rescind their endorsements from because they failed to do their research. State Rep. Anna Eskamani warned Florida Democrats of that recently concerning the Ag Commissioner race.”
Rep. Morales went on to say that Harris’s titles as Orange County Democratic Party Vice Chair and founder and former President of the Democratic Women’s Club of South Orange County don’t exempt her from a thorough background check, saying that even those running for US President have to undergo rigorous scrutiny. “It seems like in this race, many turned a blind eye to Harris’s history.”
Morales ends the press release by expressed gratitude for “the concerned voters that brought this to my campaign’s attention.”
