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Undated: Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea ... Puerto Ricans are by law natural-born citizens of the United States and may move freely between the island and the mainland.[25] As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the United States Congress, which governs the territory with full jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950. However, Puerto Rico does have one non-voting member of the House called a Resident Commissioner. As a U.S. territory, American citizens residing in Puerto Rico are disenfranchised at the national level and do not vote for president and vice president of the United States,[26] and do not pay federal income tax on Puerto Rican income.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico

Undated: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Puerto Rico
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/pr


-- 2017 --        

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June 14: On Sunday 97% of voters in Puerto Rico expressed support for the island becoming a state.

The referendum was non-binding, and the United State Congress would have to pass a bill to change Puerto Rico's status from a territory to a state.

Supporters of making Puerto Rico a state argue that Puerto Ricans deserve the same rights as all other U.S. citizens. Adding Puerto Rico as a state could also increase tax revenue.

Opponents of making Puerto Rico a state note that the territory has massive debt. Statehood could make the U.S. government responsible for resolving some of that debt. Other opponents question the validity of Sunday's referendum result, noting that only 23% of voters turned out to vote, with some opposition parties organizing boycotts.
https://www.lfda.org/news/puerto-rico-votes-become-state

September 18: Cat 5 Hurricane Maria threatens storm-battered Caribbean

Hurricane Maria swept over the small island of Dominica with catastrophic Category 5 winds overnight, starting a charge into the eastern Caribbean that threatens islands already devastated by Hurricane Irma and holds the possibility of a direct hit on Puerto Rico.
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/sep/18/hurricane-maria-grows-to-a-category-3-nears-alread/

September 20: On September 20, 2017, Hurricane María, a high end Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the municipality of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 155 mph. Hurricane María caused widespread catastrophic damage and loss of life across Puerto Rico and Saint Croix of the U.S. Virgin Islands due to its heavy rain, very strong winds, and storm surge. 
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=b8d94ab4db91468788f2f4148566b485


September 21: Hurricane Maria Response and Relief Operations Underway

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) top priority is to provide life-saving resources to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, while aggressively working to gain greater access to disaster affected areas.

Federal coordinating officers and other FEMA personnel are on the ground, coordinating with the governors of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and their respective emergency management agencies.
https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2017/09/21/hurricane-maria-response-and-relief-operations-underway

September 23: A humanitarian crisis grew on Saturday in Puerto Rico as towns were left without fresh water, fuel, power or phone service following Hurricane Maria’s devastating passage across the US territory.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/23/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-communication-lines-dam

September 23: Officials raced to evacuate tens of thousands of people living downstream of an endangered dam in Puerto Rico on Saturday as the island nation grappled with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.

The National Weather Service warned the failure of Guajataca Dam in northwest Puerto Rico was "imminent" and could lead to “life-threatening" flash flooding for some 70,000 people that could be affected if it collapsed.
https://www.msn.com/en-in/weather/topstories/dam-failure-escalating-crisis-stymie-recovery-in-puerto-rico/ar-AAsmFD1?li=BBnb7Kz

October 2: Hamilton composer Lin-Manuel Miranda to Donald Trump: “You are going straight to hell”

The typically sunny Miranda, who unironically calls people “friendos,” was criticizing the president’s response to the crisis in Puerto Rico.

... Trump’s flat-footed reaction to the crisis in Puerto Rico appears to have finally gotten the best of Miranda ...
https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/10/2/16400388/hamilton-composer-lin-manuel-miranda-donald-trump-going-straight-to-hell

October 3: ... President Trump toured Puerto Rico ... to praise his team's response to Hurricane Maria ...

"Sixteen people certified – 16 people versus in the thousands," Trump said during a briefing with Puerto Rican officials; he added that while "every death is a horror," the devastation has not been "a real catastrophe" on the same scale of Hurricane Katrina, which killed some 1,800 people in New Orleans in 2005.

Citing the logistical and financial challenges of the federal disaster response on the island, Trump quipped: "Now I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack, but you're throwing our budget a little out of whack because we've spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico. And that's fine; we saved a lot of lives."

Trump's comments did not go over well with some U.S. lawmakers
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/03/trump-puerto-rico-survey-hurricane-maria-damage/726352001/

October 4: Trump's dramatic statement spooked the market. The price of some Puerto Rican bonds crashed 15% Wednesday, suggesting investors are even more worried about being repaid. U.S. bond insurers like MBIA (MBI)also took a hit.

But analysts say Trump's words shouldn't be taken literally. He doesn't have the legal authority to erase Puerto Rico's $73 billion in debt.
http://www.cetusnews.com/business/Trump-doesn-t-have-magic-wand-to-wipe-out-Puerto-Rico-s-debt.SJ7DSx3fn-.html

October 4: The “King of Debt” has plenty of power, but he can’t make Puerto Rico’s mountain of debt magically disappear.

President Trump, who gave himself the royal moniker during the 2016 campaign, told Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera that “we will have to wipe out” Puerto Rico’s crushing debt load.
https://www.markettamer.com/blog/trump-doesnt-have-magic-wand-to-wipe-out-puerto-ricos-debt

October 12:
President Donald Trump said Thursday the federal government cannot keep the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Puerto Rico "forever," even as the U.S. territory continues to reel from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in September.

San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz slammed Trump's tweets as "adding insult to injury" and "unbecoming."

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello also responded to Trump's tweets Thursday morning by arguing that Puerto Rico is simply asking for the "support that any of our fellow [American] citizens would receive."
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-fema-responders-puerto-rico-forever/story?id=50433752

October 12: Ben Carson appears to contradict Donald Trump on Puerto Rico in a tense exchange with a top Democratic congresswoman

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson and Rep. Maxine Waters exchanged words at a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Thursday, and Carson appeared to disagree with President Donald Trump's suggestion that the federal government cannot provide aid to Puerto Rico "forever."

Waters began the hearing by asking Carson if he agreed with the assertion Trump made in a tweet Thursday morning that hurricane aid to Puerto Rico would not continue indefinitely.

"I think that our job is to make sure that we take care of the disaster that has occurred," Carson eventually responded. When Waters urged him to respond directly to whether he thought Puerto Rico should be abandoned, Carson stated, "Of course it should not be abandoned."

Responding to another question from Waters about Trump's accusations that Puerto Rico is to blame for its financial crisis, Carson said, "I don't think it is beneficial to go around shaming people in general."

Waters concluded this line of questioning by saying she was "glad to hear [Carson doesn't] agree with the president."
http://www.businessinsider.com/ben-carson-trump-maxine-waters-puerto-rico-hurricane-2017-10

October 12: Trump's tweets come three weeks after the hurricane first struck the island, which remains largely without power. The death toll from the storm has risen to 45, authorities have said, and at least 113 people remain unaccounted for ...
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/12/politics/donald-trump-puerto-rico-tweets/index.html

October 12: “This morning, Trump threatened to abandon Puerto Rico recovery efforts,” [Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California] said. “President Trump served notice Thursday that he may pull back federal relief workers, effectively threatening to abandon the U.S territory amidst a staggering humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.”

“Do you agree with the president?” [Waters asked of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson].

“I have no intention of abandoning Puerto Rico,” [Carson responded] “They are a very important part of who we are.”
http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/12/maxine-goes-after-ben-carson-for-trumps-latest-puerto-rico-tweets-video/

October 12: "Puerto Rican people are on their knees, they are down, they are weak, hurting, dying. They need inspiration not blame and finger pointing," said community activist Rousemary Vega.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted, "Puerto Rico is still facing a humanitarian crisis. @realDonaldTrump seems more worried about blaming hurricane victims than helping them."
http://abc7chicago.com/exclusive-tour-of-damage-relief-operations-in-puerto-rico/2523341/

October 12: Texas and Florida — two states Trump won during last year’s presidential election — also were struck by severe hurricanes recently, but the President has made no public indication that the federal government is pulling back on its response there.

While the Trump administration requested $29 billion in supplemental spending last week, it asked for additional resources Tuesday night, including $4.9 billion ... specifically to fund a loan program that Puerto Rico can use to address basic functions like infrastructure needs.
http://wtvr.com/2017/10/12/trump-we-cant-aid-puerto-rico-forever/

October 16: Desperate Puerto Ricans line up for water — at a hazardous-waste site
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/10/16/desperate-puerto-ricans-line-up-for-water-at-a-hazardous-waste-site/?utm_term=.01c08773a892

October 25: Hurricane Maria didn’t discriminate between rich and poor when it ravaged Puerto Rico, but the recovery has been another story.

Much of Puerto Rico was still without power Wednesday, more than a month after the storm, but wealthier residents are sealed up in air conditioned homes with their generators and bottled water, or have fled the island altogether for extended vacations, while the poorest are left swatting mosquitoes in sweltering heat and trying to secure enough water.
https://weather.com/en-CA/canada/news/news/puerto-rico-inequality

November 9: More than 140,000 Puerto Ricans have left [for the mainland] since the storm hit Sept. 20 and some experts estimate more than 300,000 more could leave [Puerto Rico] in the next two years. That’s on top of a similar-size exodus over the last decade of economic crisis, creating a massive population loss for the U.S. territory of 3.4 million.

Most of those who have left went on their own. Aid groups and the U.S. government helped evacuate large numbers of the elderly and sick. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it has offered to help relocate those still in temporary shelters, about 2,400 people as of Friday, to temporary housing on the mainland.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/11/09/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico-debate/850820001/

November 10: Puerto Rico's emergency management director resigned Friday as the island's slow recovery continues nearly two months after Hurricane Maria made landfall.

The governor also announced that Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, who was appointed by the Pentagon to lead all military relief efforts, will be reassigned outside the island next week.

About 60% of the US territory is still without power as the island's approximately 3.4 million US citizens struggle through the aftermath of the storm.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/us/puerto-rico-emergency-management-director-resigns/index.html

November 28: After Hurricane Maria damaged tens of thousands of homes in Puerto Rico, a newly created Florida company with an unproven record won more than $30 million in contracts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency tarps and plastic sheeting for repairs.

Bronze Star LLC never delivered those urgently needed supplies, which even months later remain in demand by hurricane victims on the island.

According to an exclusive Associated Press report, FEMA eventually terminated the contracts, without paying any money, and re-started the process this month to supply more tarps for the island.

Thousands of Puerto Ricans remain homeless, and many complain that the federal government is taking too long to install tarps.
http://www.gazettenet.com/Big-contracts-no-storm-tarps-for-Puerto-Rico-14014104

December 21: The Department of Homeland Security's internal watchdog is investigating how a fledgling Florida company won more than $30 million in contracts for desperately needed disaster relief supplies in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
http://home.cableone.net/news/read/category/Top%20News/article/the_associated_press-internal_watchdog_to_probe_fema_contracts_to_tiny-ap

December 21:
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said Thursday he will seek to mobilize Latino voters ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, citing the GOP's tax overhaul passed this week.

Rosselló, a Democrat and member of the island's New Progressive Party, argued on MSNBC that the Republican tax plan hurts Puerto Rico's economy.

"Right now, we're going to do an evaluation of all the congressmen and congresswomen that have pledged support toward the people of Puerto Rico, and in the time to take action they have reneged on that word," he said.
http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/366128-puerto-rico-gov-organizing-latinos-to-vote-against-republicans-in-2018

December 27: Thousands of police officers are calling in sick every day in Puerto Rico, partly to press demands for unpaid overtime pay for hurricane recovery efforts as concerns grow over people's safety in a U.S. territory struggling to restore power.

"We have had an inordinate amount of absences that we haven't seen in years prior," she [Puerto Rico Police Chief Michelle Hernandez] told The Associated Press, adding that while there has been a drop in major crimes this year, she is concerned that trend could reverse.

Normally, an average of 550 police officers are absent every day across Puerto Rico, which has one of the largest police departments under U.S. jurisdiction with more than 13,000 officers overall. But recently, more than 2,700 officers on average have been absent daily.
http://www.dothaneagle.com/thousands-of-puerto-rico-police-owed-overtime-call-in-sick/article_cfb9bd6f-e8cb-54b2-b04e-8d1f7624155a.html

-- 2018 --

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Undated:
OAI is bringing relief to Puerto Rico & Virgin Islands‎
https://www.marineaid.org/projects

January 4: It's 2018, and Puerto Rico is Still Dealing With the Fallout from Hurricane Maria ... As of January 1, only a little more than 60 percent of Puerto Rico’s power [80% of power; 60 percent of customers] had been restored. It is the longest blackout in U.S. history and has even been given a name by locals: “Apagón” (translated as “super outage”). It impacts residents’ access to clean water and healthcare, but also education and work.

The lack of water, energy and food, which has plagued Puerto Rico in the aftermath of the hurricane has triggered an important exodus. More than 239,000 Puerto Ricans have arrived in Florida since October 3, according to figures from Florida’s State Emergency Response Team. It is the largest evacuation on this scale in the history of the state.
https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/kzn3wn/its-2018-and-puerto-rico-is-still-dealing-with-the-fallout-from-hurricane-maria

January 7: More Equipment, Crews Head to Puerto Rico for Power Boost ... Puerto Rico's energy infrastructure is about 44 years old, compared with an average 18 years in the U.S. mainland, so a lot of parts damaged or destroyed by the hurricane are no longer available and have to be manufactured

Federal officials said Monday that efforts to fully restore power to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria should get a boost with more work crews and more supplies in upcoming weeks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it is getting its own barge to ship items and that materials it requested several months ago have been manufactured and are finally on their way to the U.S. territory.
https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/national-international/More-Equipment-Crews-PR-Power-Boost--468350743.html

January 12: Thirty-two people have been slain in Puerto Rico in the first 11 days of the year, double the number killed over the same period in 2017. If the surge proves to be more than just a temporary blip, January could be the most homicidal month on the island in at least two years, adding a dangerous new element to the island's recovery from Hurricane Maria, its worst disaster in decades.
http://www.wral.com/puerto-rico-fears-post-maria-murder-surge-11-days-32-slain/17250417/

January 14: Almost four months since Hurricane Maria leveled Puerto Rico, two realities have taken hold on the island.

For the neighborhoods in the capital city reconnected to electricity, residents hung Christmas lights outside their homes for the holidays.

But in the south, progress is slow. In Playa Punta Santiago, a small beach town on the coast where Maria first made landfall, the debris from whole structures — a school, gas station, homes — still litter the landscape.

More than 800 members of the Corps [South Atlantic Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)] are overseeing and working with contractors in rebuilding the island’s electrical grid, clearing debris and providing temporary roofing and emergency power.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/14/after-hurricane-maria-devastation-puerto-rico-rise/

January 31: More than four months after Hurricane Maria battered Puerto Rico, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is halting new shipments of food and water to the island, an agency official with direct knowledge of the plan told CNN on Tuesday.

The island government appeared blindsided by the decision, saying it was still in talks with FEMA on a timetable for assuming control of food and water distribution.

New shipments of food and water will officially stop Wednesday to the US commonwealth in the Caribbean, though FEMA said it has more than 46 million liters of water, 2 million Meals Ready to Eat and 2 million snack packs on the ground for distribution if needed.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/30/us/fema-puerto-rico-food-water-shipments-end/index.html

January 31: FEMA Reverses Decision to End Puerto Rico Aid After Trump Celebrates Support for Puerto Rico in SOTU ... the Wednesday shutdown date had been “mistakenly provided” and that FEMA is in fact still in the process of deciding when it will wind down operations.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/01/fema-reverses-puerto-rico-aid-shutdown-after-trump-sotu.html


February 6:
FEMA Contract Called for 30 Million Meals for Puerto Ricans. 50,000 Were Delivered.

FEMA terminated a big contract with a tiny vendor hired to produce meals for Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Now, Congress is asking questions.
http://www.analyzednews.com/article.php?id=1195207&category=Puerto%20Rico&topic=&title=FEMA%20Contract%20Called%20for%2030%20Million%20Meals%20for%20Puerto%20Ricans.%2050,000%20Were%20Delivered.

February 21: 'Exodus' from Puerto Rico: A visual guide

Hurricane Maria sent thousands fleeing devastation in Puerto Rico. Federal data obtained by CNN suggest migrants have moved to every US state -- even Alaska.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/us/puerto-rico-migration-data-invs/index.html

February 22: US Army's top engineer 'not satisfied' with Puerto Rico's post-Maria recovery

It's been 150 days since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico, but the island still isn't at a level of recovery that satisfies the U.S. Army’s top engineer.

"I am not satisfied that people in Puerto Rico should have to wait that much time for power," Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite said Wednesday during an interview at the Pentagon. "But I am telling you, there are no other knobs I can turn to go any faster."

The commanding general of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reaffirmed that 95 percent of the island will see energy restoration by the end of March. What comes next is what he dubs the "last mile" -- restoring power to some of the most remote and mountainous parts of the U.S. territory.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/us-armys-top-engineer-satisfied-puerto-ricos-post/story?id=53266399

February 21:
Citigroup Drove Puerto Rico Into Debt. Now It Will Profit From Privatization on the Island.

One of the
same banks that drove the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, or PREPA, into the red will now be paid to help auction it off to the highest bidder.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc., or Citi, will be the main investment bank consultant in the restructuring and privatization of PREPA, the Washington-appointed Fiscal Control Board — the body now overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances — announced recently. Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló first announced the move toward privatization last month.

“Citi will advise the Board on PREPA’s privatization,” the Fiscal Control Board wrote in a statement, “as well as the restructuring of PREPA’s debt pursuant to Title III proceedings in federal bankruptcy court. Citi will take the lead in identifying private sector solutions that fulfill the vision laid out by Governor Rosselló.”
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/21/citigroup-citi-puerto-rico-debt/

February 21: Calls to Puerto Rico’s suicide hotline have skyrocketed since Hurricane Maria

Reported suicide attempts have tripled in recent months.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/2/21/17032168/puerto-rico-suicide-hotline-hurricane-maria

February 22: The mountainous area of Ponce, Puerto Rico has posed quite the challenge for local officials attempting to restore power in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. The storm left residents powerless for four months, and while efforts by companies such as AT&T have been made elsewhere on the island, this particular region has been an uphill battle. Cabling power lines through the thick woodlands is difficult for boots on the ground, but Duke Energy began approaching the challenge from an aerial perspective in January. The energy company is now using unmanned aerial vehicles to traverse the more than 1,000 feet gorges of Ponce, and string vital power lines across in order to return power back to the area. 
http://www.thedrive.com/tech/18713/these-power-line-stringing-drones-are-restoring-power-in-puerto-rico

March 6: Exodus from Puerto Rico grows as island struggles to rebound from Hurricane Maria
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/exodus-from-puerto-rico-grows-as-island-struggles-to-rebound-from-hurricane-maria/2018/03/06/b2fcb996-16c3-11e8-92c9-376b4fe57ff7_story.html?utm_term=.25ba76b15826

March 7: 6 Months After Hurricanes, 11 Percent Of Puerto Rico Is Still Without Power

In Puerto Rico, roughly 150,000 homes and businesses are still waiting for electricity ... Many have been waiting since before Hurricane Maria, when Hurricane Irma grazed the island six months ago this week.
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591681107/6-months-after-hurricanes-11-percent-of-puerto-rico-is-still-without-power

March 15: 'We are the forgotten people': It's been almost six months since Hurricane Maria, and Puerto Ricans are still dying

[Maria's] howling winds, which topped 150 mph, long have dissipated. The storm that battered Puerto Rico on September 20 before hooking northward into the Atlantic is a memory.

Yet, in this US commonwealth, people are still dying in Maria's wake.

That's especially true of those who lack basic services like electricity.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/15/politics/puerto-rico-six-month-deaths-sutter-invs/index.html

April 18: Puerto Rico has suffered an island-wide power outage, its power authority said Wednesday -- nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the island's infrastructure and its electrical grid.

An excavator operated by a contractor apparently caused the blackout, which originated at a major transmission line running between Salinas to Guayama in the southeast, according to the authority.

Power was to be restored within 24 to 36 hours, the authority said.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/us/puerto-rico-mass-power-outage/index.html

May 9: Puerto Rico To FEMA: Let The Power Crews Stay

The last of the federal government's power restoration crews are scheduled to leave Puerto Rico when their contract expires next week, leaving the island's power utility with the task of energizing the last 1.5 percent of customers still waiting eight months after Hurricane Maria.

In an urgent letter to the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez requested that the agencies extend their restoration contracts on the island for up to 90 days.

"Out of an abundance of caution in the face of the upcoming hurricane season," wrote Gonzalez, "I must urge that there be an extension of the mission that allows agency and contract crews to remain in place to see that the system is 100 percent restored."
https://www.npr.org/2018/05/09/609815821/puerto-rico-s-congressional-rep-requests-extension-of-power-restoration-contract

June 2:
It's been more than eight months since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico. People are still using tarps for roofs. Officials are worried another storm could wipe out power on the island again. And a new estimate of the death toll suggests thousands more died than we knew.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/02/us/on-the-ground-in-puerto-rico-qa/index.html

July 12: FEMA says in report that it was underprepared for Hurricane Maria

The report backs up many of the criticisms that were leveled at the emergency relief agency in the immediate aftermath of Maria, one of the worst natural disasters to strike Puerto Rico in modern history. 

The report found that FEMA was ill-equipped to respond to the hurricane, following a series of storms that ravaged the Caribbean in the weeks prior. 

For example, supplies were moved from a warehouse in San Juan, the territory's capital, to the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Irma, creating "an immediate deficit of commodities" in Puerto Rico when Maria hit weeks later. 
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/396819-in-new-report-fema-says-it-was-underprepared-for-hurricane-maria

August 15: It took 11 months to restore power to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. A similar crisis could happen again. ... 1.5 million customers lost electricity across Puerto Rico, causing the largest blackout in US history.
https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/15/17692414/puerto-rico-power-electricity-restored-hurricane-maria

August 16: Puerto Rico, 11 months later: How the private sector aids recovery

“The reality is, you saw tens of thousands of people in Puerto Rico sleeping under blue tarps,” he said. “That’s American soil. It’s a pretty shameful effort that we’ve down there collectively as a nation to right those communities following that storm.”
https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/puerto-rico-11-months-later-meet-the-private-company-aiding-recovery-efforts


August 17: Eleven months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has said that the island's emergency is over. And because of that, the agency has begun scaling back its financial assistance to the island.

On Wednesday, FEMA denied a request from the island's governor for the federal agency to continue covering 100 percent of the cost of emergency work — including power restoration, debris cleanup and other recovery efforts.

Instead, FEMA has said that going forward, it will cover 90 percent of those costs, while Puerto Rico's government will be responsible for the remaining 10 percent. FEMA estimates that share could cost the island's government about $100 million.
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/17/639473616/nearly-a-year-after-maria-fema-reduces-assistance-to-puerto-rico

Undated: The Slow Recovery in Puerto Rico

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Maria approaches, Puerto Ricans feel not only devastated but abandoned
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/puertorico_photo-essay-slow-recoery-180969346/

August 17: A U.S. federal judge on Friday ruled against a group of bondholders that bought debt issued by Puerto Rico’s largest public pension, the Employees Retirement System (ERS), denying their ability to hold claim on property used as collateral.

With roughly $120 billion in debt and pension liabilities, Puerto Rico filed for bankruptcy protection under a court-ordered process created under the so-called PRO MESA Act.
https://www.reuters.com/article/puertorico-debt-pensions/us-judge-rules-against-puerto-rico-retirement-system-bondholders-idUSL1N1V81K9

September 13: Trump echoes far-right websites on Puerto Rico

For almost a year, conservative voices and publications on the internet have been casting doubt on the severity of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-echoes-far-right-websites-puerto-rico-n909451

September 13: Trump lied about Puerto Rico's death toll after Hurricane Maria. But island officials enabled that behavior.

The local government clearly felt it had to cozy up to the president for funds to rebuild. This is the inevitable result.

President Trump is finally feeling the pressure for never formally acknowledging the fact — yes, despite his tweets, the fact — that the number of people who died as a result of Hurricane Maria and its aftereffects was never just the 16 lives, a number about which he so proudly bragged about last October in San Juan.

But his tweets on Thursday morning essentially rejecting the local government’s official death count of 2,975 lives and blaming Democrats, with no evidence, for inflating the numbers are the most insulting and shameful comments about Puerto Ricans since Maria destroyed the island last September.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-s-lied-about-puerto-rico-s-death-toll-after-ncna909296

September 18: Trump echoes far-right websites on Puerto Rico

For almost a year, conservative voices and publications on the internet have been casting doubt on the severity of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico.

The president caused an uproar on Thursday when he contradicted an independent study commissioned by the government of Puerto Rico that revised the Hurricane Maria death toll estimate from 64 to 2,975.

In claiming that “3,000 people did not die,” Trump alleged that the study was “done by the Democrats” to make him look bad. In accusing Puerto Rico’s government of politicizing the study, Trump mirrored the narratives that have pervaded pro-Trump and far-right websites for the past year.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/trump-echoes-far-right-websites-puerto-rico-n909451


September 20: FEMA Stopped Paying For Hotels For Displaced Puerto Ricans. Now Some Are Homeless.

Other Hurricane Maria evacuees who’ve since managed to get their own place are teetering on the brink of homelessness.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hurricane-maria-displaced-puerto-ricans-fema-hotels_us_5ba17fcce4b04d32ebfda3cb

September 20: White House officials on Thursday touted President Donald Trump and his administration’s “historic recovery effort” and “significant progress” in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria devastated the island a year ago.

But even a cursory look at what has occurred over the last year would counter the administration’s glowing press release, beginning with the nearly 3,000 people who died because of the storm, as reported in a George Washington University study. Trump has falsely claimed those figures were fabricated by Democrats.

A year since Hurricane Maria, conditions for the storm survivors remain dire.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-brags-hurricane-maria-puerto-rico_us_5ba3c10ce4b0375f8f9af8ae

September 24: Donald Trump: ‘Absolute No’ On Puerto Rican Statehood Bid If San Juan Mayor Stays

The president tore into Carmen Yulín Cruz and lamented that he never got a thank you for his response to Hurricane Maria.

Congress is the only body with power to grant statehood, but many past presidents, including Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, have supported Puerto Rican statehood if that’s what the majority of the islanders wanted.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-puerto-rico-statehood_us_5ba9132de4b0181540df617f

November 20: Advocates Fight 'Culture of Secrecy' In Post-Hurricane Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's governor pledged to run a transparent recovery process. But as billions of dollars are on the way, many people say there are indications that transparency may not be a top priority.
https://www.npr.org/2018/11/20/669161990/advocates-fight-culture-of-secrecy-in-post-hurricane-puerto-rico


November 21: More Than A Year Post-Maria, Puerto Rico’s Governor Beseeches Congress For Help

Accusing lawmakers of treating Puerto Ricans “differently than other U.S. citizens,” the governor requested more federal assistance to help the island bounce back.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/puerto-rico-governor-rossello-congress-funding-maria_us_5bf52e0ee4b0eb6d9309d843

December 6: 'My Father Is In There': Anguish Builds In Puerto Rico Mountains Over Decimated Tombs

The Lares Municipal Cemetery has been closed since Hurricane Maria caused a landslide that damaged nearly 1,800 tombs at the cemetery's far end. Visits and new burials have been prohibited ever since.
https://www.npr.org/2018/12/06/673268881/my-father-is-in-there-anguish-builds-in-puerto-rico-mountains-over-decimated-tom?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20181206&utm_campaign=breakingnews&utm_term=nprnews

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