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El Vocero de Puerto Rico/W Journal (August 2025-Present)

Selected articles written for publication at El Vocero and its English language platform, W Journal.

WJournal PR •

Omaris Nazario celebrates Puerto Rican culture with her designs

Omaris Nazario Gómez transformed her passion for drawing into a career that takes her to various events in Puerto Rico to sell typical hats painted with cultural designs from the Island.The 30-year-old artisan explained to W JOURNAL that her interest in art began as a child, but it was in 2013, after studying nail technology, that she began to apply her designs as a possible method of income."This has been going on since I was little, but as such I developed in 2013 when I studied nail art, and...
WJournal PR •

Puerto Rico projects over $300 million in sports betting

Following a record of over $300 million in sports betting in Puerto Rico in 2025, Juan Carlos Santaella, Director of the Puerto Rico Gaming Commission, anticipates surpassing those figures this year.That figure represented approximately $28 million for operators and nearly $3 million in revenue for the government of Puerto Rico.“When it started—that first year, in 2022—between $7 million and $10 million was wagered. It was retail-only back then. Now the online component has been introduced, wher...
WJournal PR •

Construction open to recovery extension

Puerto Rico’s construction industry views with optimism the U.S. government's proposal to extend the execution period—through 2035—for projects funded by federal recovery aid following Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Fiona, as well as the earthquakes that occurred in late 2019 and early 2020.For industry leaders, the extension represents an opportunity to complete projects still in various stages of development and to address delays caused by factors such as permitting processes and rising material...
WJournal PR •

Nine Years After Maria, Puerto Rico Still Relies on Federal Funds for Recovery

After nine years since Hurricane Maria crossed Puerto Rico, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, the island remains in the process of recovering from billions of dollars in damages with the support of federally allocated funds.According to José “Che” Julio Aparicio, president of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, the “billion-dollar impact,” as he described it, has been difficult to quantify in context. According to a 2017 report by Estudios Técnicos, the estimated damage caused by Hurr...
WJournal PR •

25 years after 9/11: the memory of the 43 Windows of the World workers

Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the memory of the 43 people connected to the hospitality industry who lost their lives at the Windows on the World restaurant in the World Trade Center remains with their colleagues, families, and communities. In New York, the tragedy also exposed the profound impact the attacks had on workers, immigrants, and Latino families who, amid the grief, joined emergency response, recovery, and reconstruction efforts.For Puerto Rican J...
WJournal PR •

Body Stars Spa launches initiative connecting professionals and consumers during nighttime hours

As more and more consumers seek alternatives to meet their needs after work, Body Stars Spa is focusing on nighttime personal care services and participating in a business initiative that aims to connect clients with professionals offering services at night.According to Katryn Huggins, owner of Body Stars Spa, the initiative involves several professionals who work night shifts to serve clients who require services outside of traditional business hours.“If you’re at home and your toilet is clogge...
WJournal PR •

Multimillion-dollar cooperative investment boosts local meat processing

With a $2.8 million investment and the mission of supporting local livestock production, the Puerto Rico and Caribbean Pork Producers Cooperative (COOPORCI-PR) inaugurated the Puerto Rico Meat Processing Center in Guaynabo, creating 140 direct and indirect jobs.The facility, designed to process approximately 12.5 million pounds of beef and 2.7 million pounds of pork annually, aims to support local ranchers by providing them with services and tools to produce and bring their products to market.“T...
WJournal PR •

Unemployment rate in Puerto Rico remains stable at 5.6%

The unemployment rate in Puerto Rico continues to remain stabilized at 5.6% again as the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show little to no change compared to April.The data showed the unemployment rate for May 2026 remained stable with little changes and an estimated 69,000 unemployed persons, unchanged from the previous month.The working group reached 1,232,000 people, representing a reduction of 2,000 compared to April 2026."The unemployment rate is stable because, among...
El Vocero de Puerto Rico •

Casi llenas las hospederías del área oeste para la celebración de Orgullo de Boquerón

A menos de tres semanas de las festividades del Orgullo de Boquerón, el festival LGBTQ+ más grande e importante de Puerto Rico y el Caribe, cuya edición 2026 se celebrará del viernes 12 al domingo 14 de junio, hospederías y negocios en el pequeño distrito de Cabo Rojo anticipan un alto impacto económico significativo durante el evento, que en ediciones anteriores ha producido cifras récord.
WJournal PR •

Million-dollar aerospace investment in Puerto Rico

The Puerto Rico manufacturing industry will be getting a major boost in activity with a $40 million expansion of Collins Aerospace's operations on the Island at Santa Isabel and Aguadilla.The investment will include an expansion of the facilities in Santa Isabel, along with a strengthening of their engineering center in Aguadilla, which contributes to the consolidation of Puerto Rico as a strategic hub within the global aerospace industry."This is an area of ​​high demand and high development. S...
El Vocero de Puerto Rico •

Analistas ven posible beneficio en el regreso de petroleras estadounidenses a Venezuela

Tras una operación militar estadounidense en Venezuela que culminó con la captura del presidente Nicolás Maduro y su esposa, Cilia Flores, el mandatario de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, anunció que permitirá el establecimiento de petroleras en ese país para explotar sus vastas reservas de crudo, lo que para analistas entrevistados por EL VOCERO pudiese ser beneficioso para ambos países.
W Journal PR •

How the economic impact was in 2025 under the presidency of Donald Trump

When President Donald Trump took office, he promised a series of economic improvements to the nation, including reducing inflation and bringing manufacturing jobs back to the country, during his inaugural address."From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected around the world again. We will be the envy of all nations and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. Every single day of the Trump administration, I will simply put America first," he declared.A year late...
W Journal PR •

About 300,000 tourists will arrive on the Island this week

With the start of tourist arrivals in Puerto Rico for Thanksgiving, Aerostar—which manages the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan—estimated that between 280,000 to 300,000 travelers will arrive on the Island this week.The flow of passengers began last Saturday and will extend until the end of the festive season."We have been increasing, approximately between 45,000 to 50,000 passengers daily. Now, leading up to Thanksgiving Day, which should be the lowest point of the week, once...
W Journal PR •

Boquerón Businesses Impacted by Government Shutdown

José Vargas Lozada owns Boros Grill in Boquerón, which has faced difficult times this year due to weather conditions, electricity price increases, and recently, the federal government shutdown.As a small business owner in the southwest region of the island, the impacts of this year's events have been enormous on his income, especially the federal shutdown."All of these things have affected us because right now, it's supposed to be the time when Americans are arriving, because it's the cold seaso...
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