Scientists Work to Save Wild Puerto Rican Parrot After Maria

  Biologists are trying to save the last of the endangered Puerto Rican parrots after more than half the population of the bright green birds with turquoise-tipped wings disappeared when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and destroyed their habitat and food sources. In the tropical forest of El Yunque, only two of the 56 wild birds that once lived there survived the Category 4 storm that pummeled the U.S. territory in September 2017. Meanwhile, only 4 of 31 wild birds in a forest in the western town of Maricao survived, along with 75 out of 134 wild parrots living in the Rio Abajo forest in the central mountains of Puerto Rico, scientists said. And while several dozen new parrots have been born in captivity and in the wild since Maria, the species is still in danger, according to scientists. “We have a lot of work to do,” said Gustavo Olivieri, parrot recovery program coordinator for Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural Resources. Federal and local scientists will meet next month to debate how best to revive a species that numbered more than 1 million in the 1800s but dwindled to 13 birds during the 1970s after decades of forest clearing. The…

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Commentary: How School Choice is Lifting Up Puerto Rico’s Children After Hurricane Maria

by Jude Schwalbach   Thirteen months ago on Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, devastating homes and infrastructure and leading to loss of life across the island. The storm greatly exacerbated the problems of a school system already in crisis: Puerto Rican fourth- and eighth-graders, for example, are roughly five grade levels behind their U.S. mainland peers in mathematics. Out of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria came an opportunity to reform the ailing education system on the island. Notably, the education reforms introduced by the territorial government and supported by Puerto Rico Secretary of Education Julia Keleher, along with Gov. Ricardo Rossello, include a pilot school-voucher option and the introduction of charter schools. The introduction of education choice in Puerto Rico didn’t come without pushback from special-interest groups, however. The Puerto Rican Superior Court initially sided with the teachers union, which had argued that school choice was unconstitutional. However, the Superior Court’s narrow reading of the Puerto Rican Constitution was overturned by the Puerto Rican Supreme Court in Asociacion de Maestros v. Departamento de Educacion, allowing the new charter school and voucher options to proceed. The ability for the island to introduce parental school…

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Commentary: How School Choice is Lifting Up Puerto Rico’s Children After Hurricane Maria

by Jude Schwalbach   Thirteen months ago on Sept. 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria slammed the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, devastating homes and infrastructure and leading to loss of life across the island. The storm greatly exacerbated the problems of a school system already in crisis: Puerto Rican fourth- and eighth-graders, for example, are roughly five grade levels behind their U.S. mainland peers in mathematics. Out of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria came an opportunity to reform the ailing education system on the island. Notably, the education reforms introduced by the territorial government and supported by Puerto Rico Secretary of Education Julia Keleher, along with Gov. Ricardo Rossello, include a pilot school-voucher option and the introduction of charter schools. The introduction of education choice in Puerto Rico didn’t come without pushback from special-interest groups, however. The Puerto Rican Superior Court initially sided with the teachers union, which had argued that school choice was unconstitutional. However, the Superior Court’s narrow reading of the Puerto Rican Constitution was overturned by the Puerto Rican Supreme Court in Asociacion de Maestros v. Departamento de Educacion, allowing the new charter school and voucher options to proceed. The ability for the island to introduce parental school…

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Tennessee Hispanic Groups Seek Donations to Help Hurricane Victims in Puerto Rico

Latinos For Tennessee is partnering with the Clarksville Hispanic American Family Foundation (CHAFF) to support hurricane victims in Puerto Rico. Clarksville is home to a large share of Tennessee’s Puerto Rican population because of Fort Campbell, where many serve in the military. The groups are putting together emergency kits for men, women and children to send to Puerto Rico. A donation center has been set up at the Clarksville Entrepreneur Center at 1860 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. Hours are 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. For information on what to donate for the emergency kits, visit Latinos For Tennessee’s Facebook page. Monetary donations can be made by clicking here. More information can also be found by visiting CHAFF’s Facebook page. The groups are also in need of a trailer for faster transport to Miami. Latinos For Tennessee is a conservative political action group that promotes faith, family, freedom and fiscal responsibility.

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