The numbers do not add up in the State Election Commission (CEE)

Just weeks before the deadline for Island citizens to request early voting or absentee voting ballots, various political groups have called attention to the confusing deadlines of each process set by CEE. The complaint was made by the commissioners of the Puerto Rican Independence Party, the Citizen Victory Movement and the Dignity Project, who also warned about the lack of transparency or visibility of the requests. The electoral calendar states that the period to request early voting ends on September 16, while the period for absentee voting ends on September 21. If the management is not streamlined, there would be problems with of the timely submittal of ballots for the 2024 general elections.

Multimillion-dollar award to rehabilitate former school site in San Juan

The Oasis project was selected as one of 22 finalists from among 565 submissions by the federal government. The project will receive a $30 million grant from the United States Department of Commerce and an additional $15.2 million loan through the Community Development Grant for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. Vimenti Education, a non-profit community service organization, will manage the funds. It’s first project will be to transform the former, Dr. Cesáreo Rosa Nieves school in San Juan, which has been closed for over eight years, into the program’s headquarters. The new facilities will will host a business incubator, a health clinic, and provide educational and training services to integrate residents from the communities of Villa Prades, the Ernesto Ramos Antonini residential complex, among other local communities, into the workforce.

Cofina’s bankruptcy coming to an end

Federal District Judge Laura Taylor Swain is considering a request from the Fiscal Oversight and Management Board (FOMB) to close the case of the debt payable through Sales and Use Tax (SUT) collections, which began more than seven years ago. If granted, the Puerto Rico Interest Fund Corporation (or La Corporación del Fondo de Interés Apremiante or Cofina) would become the first Puerto Rican debt issuer to restructure its obligations and close all its bankruptcy processes under the federal Promesa law. The entity’s creditors will have until Friday, September 13, to object to the closure of the bankruptcy. Cofina’s payment plan restructured a quarter of Puerto Rico’s public debt; the modified debt of the public corporation would be paid in the year 2058.