Admiral Peter Brown to be named Federal Affairs Coordinator for Puerto Rico

After months of discussion among federal officials regarding the need for additional oversight in Puerto Rico before the Island received emergency funds, Admiral Peter Brown has now been named Federal Affairs Coordinator for Puerto Rico. Part of his mandate will be to supervise, among other things, post-Maria reconstruction funding. He previously worked as an advisor on national security and anti-terrorism for President Trump. 

Although the White House has yet to publicly speak on the matter, Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González divulged details of the appointment to El Nuevo Día. “I am very happy that the White House has listened to my petition […] Admiral Brown is someone who knows the Island because he was in the Coast Guard for that region, speaks Spanish, and is accessible. This appointment by the White House is a step forward for helping reconstruction and Puerto Rico’s affairs before federal agencies,” she said.  

Puerto Rico earthquakes exacerbate flight from the Island

With the exception of a small uptick last year, Puerto Rico’s population continues its steady decline, and natural disasters– such as Hurricane Maria and this year’s earthquakes – have only worsened this trend.  No official numbers yet exist regarding the number of residents who have left the Island for the mainland United States in the wake of last month’s earthquakes. However according to unofficial estimates published in El Nuevo Día, some districts, such as Guánica’s Reparto Oasis sector, have lost up to 25% of their population. Yauco Mayor Angel Luis Torres Ortiz, whose staff has been inspecting homes in his municipality, believes that up to 300 families—in a town with a population of 33,860—have left. 

Additionally, the areas most affected by the earthquakes are those that previously experienced greater-than-average losses in population, with a reduction of 19% between 2010 and 2018, according to the Census Bureau. In contrast, the average decrease across the entire Island was 14%.  

PR Department of Education: 25% of the public schools will not open this semester

Puerto Rico Secretary of Education Eligio Hernández Pérez has announced that his agency expects to open 75% of the Island’s 856 school buildings this semester, many of them by March.  This would leave 25% of schools closed until the next school year, or possibly longer. 

Many Puerto Rico schools have remained closed in the wake of January’s earthquakes amid concerns about the buildings’ structural stability. Additionally, post-earthquake inspections of the schools have revealed that many are beset by pre-existing issues, such as lack of maintenance, which made them unfit for use. By last Tuesday, only 20% of schools had been opened. As of this week, 2,411 of the inspected and certified schools were declared fit to open, 223 were declared partially fit, while 69 were declared unfit to operate.