On Jan. 19 at approximately 9:40 a.m, the 911 Emergency Call Center received several calls from concerned citizens who reported hearing gunshots being fired in Castle Coakley. Upon officers’ arrival at the scene of the gunshots, they discovered spent casings. They were also informed that the victims were taken to the Juan F. Luis Hospital in private vehicles. Detectives were notified at the hospital of three gunshot victims. All three victims, two males and one female, are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. One of the victims is a minor, and one victim has to be airlifted for further medical treatment. This case is presently under investigation by the Criminal Investigation Bureau. More information will be forthcoming as details become available.
Presidential candidate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg will open a campaign office in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a Bloomberg campaign spokesman confirmed in December to the Hill. "Mike believes Americans in the territories are often overlooked and have an important voice and role to play in this election," Dan Kanninen, Mr. Bloomberg's states director, said in a statement. Political analysts have said the move to open an office in the territory is uncommon for primary candidates, however, Mr. Bloomberg's campaign has been notably nontraditional from the start. The USVI has 13 delegates; a small number, but during a heated primary election battle every delegate counts. The territory's caucus is scheduled for June 6. Mr. Bloomberg won't participate in the early primary states such as Iowa and New Hampshire — both of which are holding caucuses in February. The candidate is well-known in the U.S. Virgin Islands, especially following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 when Bloomberg Philanthropies aided in hurricane recovery with millions of dollars.
Island Roads Corp. will resume construction activities on Tuesday, Jan. 21. Work will include the construction of a new sidewalk, curb, valley gutters and drive pads heading north towards KFC’s parking lot. New traffic light systems will also be installed at Nisky Center’s intersection. The parking spaces on the west side of KFC’s parking lot will be constructed into a new sidewalk, curb and gutter. To accommodate vehicular parking for the lost parking spaces, the public can now use the newly paved and striped parking lot behind Soap Opera’s Laundromat.
Gov. Wanda Vázquez fired the heads of Puerto Rico’s housing and family departments Sunday in the latest fallout over the discovery of a warehouse filled with emergency supplies dating from Hurricane Maria. The removal of Housing Secretary Fernando Gil and Department of Family Secretary Glorimar Andújar came a day after the governor fired the director of Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency. Vázquez fired him hours after a Facebook video showed angry people breaking into the warehouse in an area where thousands have been in shelters since a recent earthquake. “There have been actions by government officials that have been completely unacceptable,” the governor said Sunday. Vázquez said she decided on the additional firings after meeting. Vázquez said she worried that the warehouse discovery and the fallout would affect the credibility of the territorial government in Washington, which has temporarily retained some federal funds for Maria relief amid concerns of corruption and mismanagement.