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Rate Fight, Karst Debate, and a Big Wednesday · 787daily — Puerto Rico Every Morning

• 0:00
  Good morning, Puerto Rico!
• 0:01
  This is 787daily, your Puerto Rico briefing for Wednesday, October 21.
• 0:05
  Grab your coffee.
• 0:06
  We're starting with a word you don't hear every day.
• 0:09
  "Barbaridad."
• 0:09
  That's what Governor Jenniffer González called LUMA's new rate increase request before the Energy Bureau.
• 0:14
  On Tuesday she said the operator passes executive pay, bonuses and external contracting costs on to consumers, without doing maintenance.
• 0:20
  Your light bill, in other words, is at the center of this one.
• 0:24
  And the LUMA story has a second chapter.
• 0:27
  The Supreme Court on October 20 kept LUMA Energy's documents on the case record.
• 0:31
  But according to energy czar Josué Colón Ortiz, the resolution is not a ruling on the merits.
• 0:36
  So it doesn't validate LUMA's arguments.
• 0:38
  A procedural step, not a victory lap.
• 0:40
  Now, a more serious story.
• 0:42
  Puerto Rico's Family Department has closed the Arcoíris de Esperanza Child Care and Development Center in San Juan, after identifying serious deficiencies.
• 0:48
  The closure comes over safety concerns, and for families who relied on that center, this is a real disruption.
• 0:54
  We'll be watching for more.
• 0:56
  Oversight is also the thread in our next story, this time behind prison walls.
• 1:00
  Julie Gómez Gómez, secretary of Puerto Rico's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, visited the Guayama 1,000 Correctional Institution on Tuesday, after inmates alleged irregularities there.
• 1:08
  The visit is the news for now, and we'll bring you more as it becomes available.
• 1:13
  Next, a debate over who gets the final say on protecting some of the island's most distinctive terrain.
• 1:19
  House Project 1,079, from Speaker Carlos "Johnny" Méndez, would shift implementation of the karst-zone law, and the definitions of the lands it covers, from the DRNA to the Planning Board.
• 1:28
  The DRNA is pushing back and defending its technical authority over karst protection.
• 1:32
  So the question is simple: who should hold the pen on those limestone landscapes?
• 1:37
  One more, and it's a story about trust.
• 1:39
  Hospital Auxilio Mutuo must fund up to 500,$000 for about 41,000 patients affected by the September 2023 cyberattack.
• 1:46
  On top of that, the hospital will invest more than $1.1 million in cybersecurity infrastructure.
• 1:52
  For patients whose information was caught up in that attack, it's a concrete outcome after a long wait.
• 1:57
  That's your lineup for today.
• 1:59
  You can read every story in full at 787daily.com.
• 2:03
  Thanks for starting your morning with 787daily.
• 2:06
  We'll be back tomorrow.
• 2:08
  And before you go, your Puerto Rico fun fact for today: The piña colada was born in San Juan, and it's the island's official national drink.