Free Republic

(English-language translation) Comptroller Manuel Díaz Saldaña yesterday presented to a legislative committee his principal findings of audits of the Municipality of San Juan when former Governor Sila M. Calderón was mayor, among these “extravagant and unnecessary expenses” towards supporting the Navy’s withdrawal from Vieques and promoting her image. The official published 18 reports between June 1999 and March 2005 on fiscal operations in City Hall and in the Communications Central Office during Calderón’s incumbency as mayor and governor. “The principal findings published in the March 14, 2005 audit report (reveal) extravagant and unnecessary expenses and the use of public funds...

(English-language translation) Governor Sila Calderón strongly denied speculation since last week that she was going to resign as a result of the controversy surrounding the nomination of [Secretary of State] Ferdinand Mercado as Chief Justice of the [Commonwealth] Supreme Court. "No, resoundingly not. Definitely not," the Governor stated yesterday. She was asked if she will remain until the end of her four-year term. "That is so. Why not?" she answered. As a result of that nomination and two tense weeks' worth of controversy, the Governor withdrew Mercado's nomination and named a substitute. In his place, she kept Justice Francisco Rebollo...

(English-language translation) Amid the bitter controversy surrounding the nomination of Ferdinand Mercado as Chief Justice of the [Puerto Rico] Supreme Court, Governor Sila María Calderón cancelled part of her honeymoon in Europe and returned to the island yesterday. In a brief press release issued by the Governor’s Mansion, it was reported that Calderón arrived to the island in the afternoon. The Governor’s return was originally scheduled for the end of this week. The Governor returns just in time for the beginning of hearings in the Senate Appointments Committee today where opinions for and against the Chief Executive’s nominee to preside...

(English-language translation) Governor Sila Calderón and former Secretary of Economic Development Ramón Cantero Frau made their sentimental relationship official and announced that they will marry on Wednesday, September 10 in the Governor's Mansion. The persistent rumors that there would be a wedding in the Governor's Mansion were laid to rest yesterday with the official announcement amid many smiles, tender looks, and shows of affection that Calderón and Cantero will marry. Wearing her shiny diamond and ruby engagement ring, the Governor expressed her feeling "deeply in love" with her former Cabinet Secretary and described herself as the "happiest woman in the...

The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee recommended a 50 percent cut in funding for the largest military base in Puerto Rico, the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station. The recommendation was made in approving the national defense policy bill for the fiscal year that begins October 1. The bill passed both Houses of the Congress late Thursday. The Committee report "strongly" supported a Navy plan to reduce operations at Roosevelt Roads, which is located on the eastern side of Puerto Rico’s main island. The plan will cut employment at the base by 65 percent and "reduce the number of military operational and...

(English-language translation) After 2 years and 4 months in office and following weeks of speculation that she herself dismissed, Governor Sila Calderón announced to the country last night her decision not to seek reelection in the 2004 general elections. That being said, the next hours will be crucial for the [pro-Commonwealth] Popular Democratic Party (PDP) to complete its ballot. Former candidate for Resident Commissioner José Alfredo Hernández Mayoral is mentioned as the strong figure to head the PDP ballot in 2004. The names of Senator Roberto Prats, former Senator and former candidate for Mayor of San Juan Eduardo Bhatia, and...

Governor Sila Calderón will not take immediate measures against Toa Baja Mayor Víctor Santiago Díaz, against whom the Municipal Assembly filed a complaint for alleged improper conduct of a sexual nature. "There have been public statements by the Assembly and the Mayor. These statements are being reviewed by the pertinent political authorities with the utmost respect towards the Assembly and the Mayor and I am not going to rule anything at this moment while the situation is being investigated," Calderón stated. The complaint asks for the Mayor's removal. He is accused of engaging in consistent acts of moral depravity by...

Filed at 7:32 p.m. ET SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (Reuters) - The former speaker of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives was charged with rape on Thursday for an alleged assault on a 17-year-old girl who visited his home last month. In a hearing that lasted most of the day, a judge found probable cause to arrest Edison Misla Aldarondo, a prominent member of the local Republican Party, on charges of rape, corrupting a minor and supplying drugs and alcohol to a minor. Misla, 59, resigned his House seat in January after being indicted in October by U.S. authorities in an...