Wednesday, January 05, 2005
Catedral de San Juan
Look how pretty La Catedral de San Juan. This is part of the "Navidad en San Juan" photo collection by Gino. Also, has a lovely collection from El Yunque.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Opinion
Family
Dora the Explorer Inspires Kids with Bilingual Adventures
Top Rated Television Program Comes To Popular Restaurant Chain With A Series of Collectible Toys
Dora the Explorer toys available at participating BURGER KING(R) restaurants nationwide reinforce that being bilingual is a skill children should embrace.
(HISPANIC PR WIRE - CONTEXTO LATINO)--Hispanic parents no longer need to worry that their children will lose their affinity for the Spanish language when going to school or watching English television. These days, kids are embracing Spanish even more due to the widely popular star of Nick Jr. series Dora the Explorer. With her best friends Boots, Backpack and Map, Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine enthralls kids of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds. In a short time, she has helped show kids the power and pride in their own culture and language.
BILINGUAL SUCCESS
Currently the number one preschool show on commercial television, Dora the Explorer has become a breakthrough Hispanic character. She represents the very best of the bilingual and bicultural lifestyle in this country and helps kids to learn as she entertains them.
Through repetition and verbal prompts, young viewers are encouraged to play and explore along with her, speaking both Spanish and English words aloud. The show helps English-speaking children learn a new language, while it reinforces the use of two languages among bilingual children. Dora and her friends illustrate that being able to speak another language is valuable and should be embraced.
Educators and psychologists have reported there are benefits to being bilingual and that learning a second language at an early age has a positive effect on intellectual growth, leaving children with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and improved listening skills. For the Hispanic family, being able to communicate in their native language allows children to embrace their culture and heritage with pride and also be closely involved with older relatives who may not speak English.
EDUCATION CONTINUES
In recognition of the show's success, Burger King Corporation, a company committed to supporting and promoting cultural diversity, is teaming up with Dora to take her message across the country. The restaurant company is providing a series of four educational, bilingual toys inside its Kids Meals at participating BURGER KING restaurants nationwide, beginning in January -- reinforcing the lessons children learn by watching the show. The meals will contain items for kids to explore the world: Backpack's bilingual memory cards, a Dora lantern figurine, Boots Monkey Measure and a Swiper Magic Basket with a bug's eye lens.
"Burger King Corporation is more than food and restaurants. Families often want to enjoy the experience," says Sope Aluko, multicultural marketing manager, Burger King Corporation. "We recognize the importance of celebrating culture and our Dora promotion is a great way to celebrate cultural diversity."
"Dora is beloved by kids from all different backgrounds and instills a particular pride in the Hispanic community," said Pam Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Marketing. "We appreciate Burger King's commitment to the Hispanic community and the program they have created to support bilingualism."
Now mom and dad can feel even better when treating their children to a meal out at BURGER KING(R) restaurants. Not only will the kids enjoy the menu choices offered, they can continue to learn and explore with Dora. In addition, for those who want to get up close and personal with Dora, she will be appearing at BURGER KING restaurants in the New York tri-state area, southern Texas, southern California and Chicago -- giving kids the chance to meet their favorite heroine.
Visit a BURGER KING restaurant near you for fun Dora toys, and encourage your kids to watch Dora the Explorer on Nick Jr.
Family
Dora the Explorer Inspires Kids with Bilingual Adventures
Top Rated Television Program Comes To Popular Restaurant Chain With A Series of Collectible Toys
Dora the Explorer toys available at participating BURGER KING(R) restaurants nationwide reinforce that being bilingual is a skill children should embrace.
(HISPANIC PR WIRE - CONTEXTO LATINO)--Hispanic parents no longer need to worry that their children will lose their affinity for the Spanish language when going to school or watching English television. These days, kids are embracing Spanish even more due to the widely popular star of Nick Jr. series Dora the Explorer. With her best friends Boots, Backpack and Map, Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine enthralls kids of different ages, ethnicities and backgrounds. In a short time, she has helped show kids the power and pride in their own culture and language.
BILINGUAL SUCCESS
Currently the number one preschool show on commercial television, Dora the Explorer has become a breakthrough Hispanic character. She represents the very best of the bilingual and bicultural lifestyle in this country and helps kids to learn as she entertains them.
Through repetition and verbal prompts, young viewers are encouraged to play and explore along with her, speaking both Spanish and English words aloud. The show helps English-speaking children learn a new language, while it reinforces the use of two languages among bilingual children. Dora and her friends illustrate that being able to speak another language is valuable and should be embraced.
Educators and psychologists have reported there are benefits to being bilingual and that learning a second language at an early age has a positive effect on intellectual growth, leaving children with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and improved listening skills. For the Hispanic family, being able to communicate in their native language allows children to embrace their culture and heritage with pride and also be closely involved with older relatives who may not speak English.
EDUCATION CONTINUES
In recognition of the show's success, Burger King Corporation, a company committed to supporting and promoting cultural diversity, is teaming up with Dora to take her message across the country. The restaurant company is providing a series of four educational, bilingual toys inside its Kids Meals at participating BURGER KING restaurants nationwide, beginning in January -- reinforcing the lessons children learn by watching the show. The meals will contain items for kids to explore the world: Backpack's bilingual memory cards, a Dora lantern figurine, Boots Monkey Measure and a Swiper Magic Basket with a bug's eye lens.
"Burger King Corporation is more than food and restaurants. Families often want to enjoy the experience," says Sope Aluko, multicultural marketing manager, Burger King Corporation. "We recognize the importance of celebrating culture and our Dora promotion is a great way to celebrate cultural diversity."
"Dora is beloved by kids from all different backgrounds and instills a particular pride in the Hispanic community," said Pam Kaufman, Senior Vice President, Nickelodeon Marketing. "We appreciate Burger King's commitment to the Hispanic community and the program they have created to support bilingualism."
Now mom and dad can feel even better when treating their children to a meal out at BURGER KING(R) restaurants. Not only will the kids enjoy the menu choices offered, they can continue to learn and explore with Dora. In addition, for those who want to get up close and personal with Dora, she will be appearing at BURGER KING restaurants in the New York tri-state area, southern Texas, southern California and Chicago -- giving kids the chance to meet their favorite heroine.
Visit a BURGER KING restaurant near you for fun Dora toys, and encourage your kids to watch Dora the Explorer on Nick Jr.
Jan 4, 2005 15:31 ET
Puerto Rican Media/Community Group Urges FCC to Yank License of Univision Station in San Juan
Cites 'Cultural Insensitivity,' Failure to Serve the Community
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Citing "cultural insensitivity" and failure to live up to required local broadcast standards, an alliance of Puerto Rican media unions and community groups is urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny license renewal to the island's largest television station, WLII in San Juan, which is operated by U.S. media conglomerate Univision.
The Alliance of Puerto Rican Artists and Support Groups, whose acronym in Spanish is APAGA, charged that Univision has all but dropped local production of telenovelas and game shows in favor of canned programming from Mexico and Venezuela, the source of most of Univision's production. Puerto Rican programming has dropped from about 50 programs a week down to only three since Univision took over in 2002 under a local marketing agreement with station owner Raycom Media.
Besides causing substantial job loss locally, the station's shift to foreign news and entertainment programming has had an insulting and damaging impact on Puerto Rico's culture and language, APAGA stated.
Puerto Rican actors have lost their jobs because Univision considers their accents "too Puerto Rican," clashing with the "internationalized" accents of the network's programming that chiefly is directed at people who speak "Chicano or Mexican Spanish," APAGA stated.
Even the station's local newscasters have been pressured to alter their accents, which "degrades the culture and linguistic value of Puerto Rico," according to APAGA.
Insensitivity to local usage has even, unwittingly, introduced obscenity to the station's broadcasts, APAGA noted. A commonly used Spanish word "bicho" means insect or bug in Mexico and much of the U.S. -- but in Puerto Rico it is slang for the male sex organ. "Children in Puerto Rico are taught not to use the word," but "then they hear it on local television," the petition states.
The lack of a local community focus at WLII, and its repeater station, WSUR in Ponce, has even been potentially life-threatening, the group charged. With its news coverage directed from Univision studios in Miami, the station reported on the hurricanes bedeviling Florida but gave the islanders no advance warning of the approach of Hurricane Jeanne, which hit Puerto Rico dead-center on September 15, according to the petition.
More evidence of Univision's tin ear for the local community was its coverage of the shocking defeat of the U.S. Olympic basketball team by the Puerto Rican team last August. While islanders were taking great pride in their team's upset victory, WLII sportscasters based in Miami were bemoaning the event as a loss for the U.S.
"This failure to cover our news from our perspective does not serve our community or localism in broadcasting," said Angel Baez, executive secretary of Newspaper Guild Local 33225, which represents technicians and news department employees at WLII and is affiliated with APAGA. Baez cited the examples of the hurricane and Olympic coverage in one of three statements by individuals appended to the petition.
The petition calls on the FCC to hold license renewal hearings in Puerto Rico, noting that, "The cultural and linguistic implications of the situation are best understood in Puerto Rico." Citing the facts presented in its own petition, APAGA urged commissioners not to renew licenses for WLII and sister station WSUR.
The APAGA petition to the FCC is available at the web site of The Newspaper Guild, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America representing 40,000 media workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Go to http://www.newsguild.org/.
Source: Communication Workers of America
Puerto Rican Media/Community Group Urges FCC to Yank License of Univision Station in San Juan
Cites 'Cultural Insensitivity,' Failure to Serve the Community
WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Citing "cultural insensitivity" and failure to live up to required local broadcast standards, an alliance of Puerto Rican media unions and community groups is urging the Federal Communications Commission to deny license renewal to the island's largest television station, WLII in San Juan, which is operated by U.S. media conglomerate Univision.
The Alliance of Puerto Rican Artists and Support Groups, whose acronym in Spanish is APAGA, charged that Univision has all but dropped local production of telenovelas and game shows in favor of canned programming from Mexico and Venezuela, the source of most of Univision's production. Puerto Rican programming has dropped from about 50 programs a week down to only three since Univision took over in 2002 under a local marketing agreement with station owner Raycom Media.
Besides causing substantial job loss locally, the station's shift to foreign news and entertainment programming has had an insulting and damaging impact on Puerto Rico's culture and language, APAGA stated.
Puerto Rican actors have lost their jobs because Univision considers their accents "too Puerto Rican," clashing with the "internationalized" accents of the network's programming that chiefly is directed at people who speak "Chicano or Mexican Spanish," APAGA stated.
Even the station's local newscasters have been pressured to alter their accents, which "degrades the culture and linguistic value of Puerto Rico," according to APAGA.
Insensitivity to local usage has even, unwittingly, introduced obscenity to the station's broadcasts, APAGA noted. A commonly used Spanish word "bicho" means insect or bug in Mexico and much of the U.S. -- but in Puerto Rico it is slang for the male sex organ. "Children in Puerto Rico are taught not to use the word," but "then they hear it on local television," the petition states.
The lack of a local community focus at WLII, and its repeater station, WSUR in Ponce, has even been potentially life-threatening, the group charged. With its news coverage directed from Univision studios in Miami, the station reported on the hurricanes bedeviling Florida but gave the islanders no advance warning of the approach of Hurricane Jeanne, which hit Puerto Rico dead-center on September 15, according to the petition.
More evidence of Univision's tin ear for the local community was its coverage of the shocking defeat of the U.S. Olympic basketball team by the Puerto Rican team last August. While islanders were taking great pride in their team's upset victory, WLII sportscasters based in Miami were bemoaning the event as a loss for the U.S.
"This failure to cover our news from our perspective does not serve our community or localism in broadcasting," said Angel Baez, executive secretary of Newspaper Guild Local 33225, which represents technicians and news department employees at WLII and is affiliated with APAGA. Baez cited the examples of the hurricane and Olympic coverage in one of three statements by individuals appended to the petition.
The petition calls on the FCC to hold license renewal hearings in Puerto Rico, noting that, "The cultural and linguistic implications of the situation are best understood in Puerto Rico." Citing the facts presented in its own petition, APAGA urged commissioners not to renew licenses for WLII and sister station WSUR.
The APAGA petition to the FCC is available at the web site of The Newspaper Guild, an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America representing 40,000 media workers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Go to http://www.newsguild.org/.
Source: Communication Workers of America
Saturday, January 01, 2005
First sunset of 2005
Photo by Somebonnie.
Look how pretty! The best in 2005. This sunset is from South Boston.
Look how pretty! The best in 2005. This sunset is from South Boston.
Source: http://www.aspira.org/reyes_main.htm
THREE KINGS FIESTA
In celebration of heritage, you are invited to a traditional Three Kings Day celebration in Washington, DC.
When: Thursday, January 6, 2005
Time: From 6:30 P.M. - 11:00 P.M.
Where: The Galleria Lafayette Center 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC (Between L & M Streets)
Parking is available on 1121 21st Street NW (Between L & M Streets)
Metro: Blue or Orange Line to Farragut North or West Metro Stations
Directions: http://www.dcgalleria.com/content/directions/directions.html
While there is no fee for this cultural activity, in the spirit of the epiphany we will be accepting new children's book donations. Books will be donated to local Latino organizations serving children and youth.
This activity is sponsored by:
The Aspira Association Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
National Puerto Rican Coalition
Contact us by email 3kings@aspira.org or phone 202-835-3600 ext. 137
Please RSVP.
THREE KINGS FIESTA
In celebration of heritage, you are invited to a traditional Three Kings Day celebration in Washington, DC.
When: Thursday, January 6, 2005
Time: From 6:30 P.M. - 11:00 P.M.
Where: The Galleria Lafayette Center 1155 21st Street NW, Washington, DC (Between L & M Streets)
Parking is available on 1121 21st Street NW (Between L & M Streets)
Metro: Blue or Orange Line to Farragut North or West Metro Stations
Directions: http://www.dcgalleria.com/content/directions/directions.html
While there is no fee for this cultural activity, in the spirit of the epiphany we will be accepting new children's book donations. Books will be donated to local Latino organizations serving children and youth.
This activity is sponsored by:
The Aspira Association Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture
National Puerto Rican Coalition
Contact us by email 3kings@aspira.org or phone 202-835-3600 ext. 137
Please RSVP.
Friday, December 31, 2004
New Years Wishes
Photo by "Pandarine." View her collection at flickr.
For my Puerto Rico Sun friends, happy new year!! Peace, love, joy, happiness, health, wealth and everything good in the new year.
Clarisel
For my Puerto Rico Sun friends, happy new year!! Peace, love, joy, happiness, health, wealth and everything good in the new year.
Clarisel
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Oceano Atlantico Visto desde El Yunque
Oceano Atlantico Visto desde El YunquePhoto by Gilda D. Padilla, puertoricosun
Originally uploaded by clarisel.
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
SOURCE: Hispanic PR WIRE
Technology
Online Holiday Shopping Not So Feliz for Latinos
(HISPANIC PR WIRE - CONTEXTO LATINO)--Area malls and retail stores are often brimming with holiday shoppers come this time of year, hoping to find the perfect gift for loved ones and friends. But as any hurried shopper can attest, sometimes the crowds at the stores and long lines at the checkout counters can take the "merry" out of the holiday season. That's why many shoppers look for alternative ways to do their shopping that don't involve the hassle of getting in the car and spending all day at the store.
Online retailers offer the convenience of fast shopping from the privacy and comfort of your own home. With the click of a button you can purchase gifts and have them shipped directly to your house. Some will even do the wrapping for you. However, as Latinos and other ethnicities are learning, not all of these online retailers make shopping convenient for those who speak English as a second language.
Common Sense Advisory, Inc., an independent research firm, has researched online communications, customer service practices, and business-to-consumer marketing for online retailers and published a study on the ability of these firms to reach the American Latino community online. Unfortunately the results aren't promising for the Hispanic community.
According to the study, of the top 50 online retailers, only four offer content in Spanish. The results are based on the sites' multicultural content, e-mail and Web forms and whether customer service representatives are able to communicate in both English and Spanish.
Most U.S. companies have yet to market to Latinos and other ethnicities. It seems American companies prefer to operate in English, and have expressed that a targeted campaign to Latinos exceeds their budgets. In addition, e-mail communication is rarely conducted in any language except English. However, some stand-out firms like The Sharper Image and 1-800-Flowers embrace the opportunity to tap the multicultural market.
Regardless of the language spoken with these top online retailers, if a customer doesn't receive feedback from a representative, he or she is likely to leave an e-tailer site with a bad impression -- resulting in lower sales for the company and potentially driving more calls to an already overloaded call center this holiday season. Considering most Latinos will not use a company that doesn't meet their unique needs, the retailer is missing out on considerable sales opportunities by the influential Hispanic market.
According to Common Sense Advisory's lead analyst, Donald A. DePalma, Ph.D., "If you sell consumer goods or services online, it is time to review your strategy for ethnic communities in the United States. E-tailers should reassess multicultural opportunities and needs in this changing economy -- not just for this year's holiday shopping season, but in an effort to become trusted suppliers to a financially powerful demographic."
For more information on Common Sense Advisory and this study, visit http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/latino.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH
Young Men are Least Likely to use Seat Belts, but Almost 90 Percent of American Adults Wear them Regularly
Rockville, MD--(HISPANIC PR WIRE – US Newswire)--December 23, 2004--Men between the ages of 19 and 29 are the group least likely to wear a seat belt while driving or riding in a car and are three times as likely not to use their seat belt as women of the same age, according to a new data analysis from HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The data, from AHRQ’s 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, show that 88 percent of people between 16 and 64 years of age were reported to always or nearly always use seat belts. This number is close to the goal set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to increase national seat belt use to 90 percent by the year 2005. Healthy People 2010 set a goal of 92 percent use of seat belts by 2010. However, a little more than 5 percent of people ages 16 to 64 never or seldom use their seat belt, and another 7 percent use their seat belts only sometimes.
Other data about the people who never or seldom use their seat belts:
-- Non-students ages 19 to 21 are four times as likely not to use their seat belts as students of the same age (12 percent compared with 3 percent).
-- People with only high school education were twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as those with some additional education (almost 8 percent compared with almost 4 percent).
-- People living in non-metropolitan areas were more than twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as people living in large metropolitan areas (about 9 percent versus 4 percent).
In addition, of all people ages 16 to 64, those ages 16 to 18 were the group least likely to drive or ride in a car without their seat belt. Only about 3 percent of girls and 4 percent of boys were reported to have never used their seat belt.
Details are in Statistical Brief #62: Characteristics of Persons Who Seldom or Never Wear Seat Belts, 2002, found on the Web at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/PrintProducts/PrintProd_Detail.asp?ID=655.
MEPS collects information each year from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households about health care use, expenses, access, health status, and quality. MEPS is a unique government survey because of the degree of detail in its data, as well as its ability to link data on health services spending and health insurance to demographic, employment, economic, health status, and other characteristics of individuals and families. General information about MEPS is available at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov.
Technology
Online Holiday Shopping Not So Feliz for Latinos
(HISPANIC PR WIRE - CONTEXTO LATINO)--Area malls and retail stores are often brimming with holiday shoppers come this time of year, hoping to find the perfect gift for loved ones and friends. But as any hurried shopper can attest, sometimes the crowds at the stores and long lines at the checkout counters can take the "merry" out of the holiday season. That's why many shoppers look for alternative ways to do their shopping that don't involve the hassle of getting in the car and spending all day at the store.
Online retailers offer the convenience of fast shopping from the privacy and comfort of your own home. With the click of a button you can purchase gifts and have them shipped directly to your house. Some will even do the wrapping for you. However, as Latinos and other ethnicities are learning, not all of these online retailers make shopping convenient for those who speak English as a second language.
Common Sense Advisory, Inc., an independent research firm, has researched online communications, customer service practices, and business-to-consumer marketing for online retailers and published a study on the ability of these firms to reach the American Latino community online. Unfortunately the results aren't promising for the Hispanic community.
According to the study, of the top 50 online retailers, only four offer content in Spanish. The results are based on the sites' multicultural content, e-mail and Web forms and whether customer service representatives are able to communicate in both English and Spanish.
Most U.S. companies have yet to market to Latinos and other ethnicities. It seems American companies prefer to operate in English, and have expressed that a targeted campaign to Latinos exceeds their budgets. In addition, e-mail communication is rarely conducted in any language except English. However, some stand-out firms like The Sharper Image and 1-800-Flowers embrace the opportunity to tap the multicultural market.
Regardless of the language spoken with these top online retailers, if a customer doesn't receive feedback from a representative, he or she is likely to leave an e-tailer site with a bad impression -- resulting in lower sales for the company and potentially driving more calls to an already overloaded call center this holiday season. Considering most Latinos will not use a company that doesn't meet their unique needs, the retailer is missing out on considerable sales opportunities by the influential Hispanic market.
According to Common Sense Advisory's lead analyst, Donald A. DePalma, Ph.D., "If you sell consumer goods or services online, it is time to review your strategy for ethnic communities in the United States. E-tailers should reassess multicultural opportunities and needs in this changing economy -- not just for this year's holiday shopping season, but in an effort to become trusted suppliers to a financially powerful demographic."
For more information on Common Sense Advisory and this study, visit http://www.commonsenseadvisory.com/latino.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HEALTH
Young Men are Least Likely to use Seat Belts, but Almost 90 Percent of American Adults Wear them Regularly
Rockville, MD--(HISPANIC PR WIRE – US Newswire)--December 23, 2004--Men between the ages of 19 and 29 are the group least likely to wear a seat belt while driving or riding in a car and are three times as likely not to use their seat belt as women of the same age, according to a new data analysis from HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The data, from AHRQ’s 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, show that 88 percent of people between 16 and 64 years of age were reported to always or nearly always use seat belts. This number is close to the goal set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to increase national seat belt use to 90 percent by the year 2005. Healthy People 2010 set a goal of 92 percent use of seat belts by 2010. However, a little more than 5 percent of people ages 16 to 64 never or seldom use their seat belt, and another 7 percent use their seat belts only sometimes.
Other data about the people who never or seldom use their seat belts:
-- Non-students ages 19 to 21 are four times as likely not to use their seat belts as students of the same age (12 percent compared with 3 percent).
-- People with only high school education were twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as those with some additional education (almost 8 percent compared with almost 4 percent).
-- People living in non-metropolitan areas were more than twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as people living in large metropolitan areas (about 9 percent versus 4 percent).
In addition, of all people ages 16 to 64, those ages 16 to 18 were the group least likely to drive or ride in a car without their seat belt. Only about 3 percent of girls and 4 percent of boys were reported to have never used their seat belt.
Details are in Statistical Brief #62: Characteristics of Persons Who Seldom or Never Wear Seat Belts, 2002, found on the Web at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov/PrintProducts/PrintProd_Detail.asp?ID=655.
MEPS collects information each year from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households about health care use, expenses, access, health status, and quality. MEPS is a unique government survey because of the degree of detail in its data, as well as its ability to link data on health services spending and health insurance to demographic, employment, economic, health status, and other characteristics of individuals and families. General information about MEPS is available at http://www.meps.ahrq.gov.
Monday, December 27, 2004
El Yunque
Stop in and view scenic photos of El Yunque as well as surfer-in-action shots by photographer Gino Ferreira on flickr. Just click on "GinoPR" for more information about Gino.
Urban Train
SAN JUAN -- Puerto Ricans are finally boarding the famous "Tren Urbano" with officials offering free service for the first few weeks.
Passengers are definitely taking advantage of the free weekend service of the Urban Train, which runs 11 miles from Santurce to Bayamon. While many passengers are now taking the train to just go out for the day to sightsee, others are using it to go to work, shop and do business.
The train was scheduled to open in 2001, but has faced construction delays, safety problems and rising costs. The price tag has nearly doubled from $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion, with the federal government paying about 40 percent.
The cost of a train ride will be $1.50 single fare, which also includes a connecting bus ride, sometime next month.
Passengers are definitely taking advantage of the free weekend service of the Urban Train, which runs 11 miles from Santurce to Bayamon. While many passengers are now taking the train to just go out for the day to sightsee, others are using it to go to work, shop and do business.
The train was scheduled to open in 2001, but has faced construction delays, safety problems and rising costs. The price tag has nearly doubled from $1.2 billion to $2.3 billion, with the federal government paying about 40 percent.
The cost of a train ride will be $1.50 single fare, which also includes a connecting bus ride, sometime next month.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
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