Apr 28 Residents of this city already worried about the coal-burning plant nearby. Then came Hurricane Maria. By Kamala Kelkar, Ivette Feliciano, Zachary Green Residents say they inhale or ingest traces of coal ash as wind carries it into their communities, covering their trees, houses, cars and land with residue. Continue reading
Apr 19 Watch 4:54 Hurricane season is coming and Puerto Rico still has a big power problem Seven months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and its power grid, the entire island lost power on Wednesday -- the biggest outage since September. As crews keep working to restore power to the full island, residents are raising questions… Continue watching
Apr 19 Puerto Rico’s recovery, 7 months after Hurricane Maria By Ryan Connelly Holmes The island has had two major power outages in less than a week. Here's a look at where recovery stands. Continue reading
Apr 18 Excavator blamed for island-wide blackout in Puerto Rico By Dánica Coto, Associated Press An island-wide blackout hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday as the U.S. territory struggles to repair an increasingly unstable power grid nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria. Officials said an excavator accidentally downed a transmission line. Continue reading
Apr 10 FEMA faulted for failed contracts to deliver hurricane aid By Michael Biesecker, Associated Press The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded contracts for hurricane supplies without adequately researching whether winning bidders could deliver what they promised, according to a new investigation by Democrats on a Senate oversight committee. Continue reading
Apr 07 Watch 24:59 PBS NewsHour Weekend full episode April 7, 2018 By PBS News Hour On this edition for Saturday, April 7, the Texas National Guard will be deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border, and embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's security detail has cost taxpayers nearly $3 million. Also, a look at education issues in Oklahoma… Continue watching
Apr 07 Watch 4:20 As thousands of students leave Puerto Rico, hundreds of its schools to remain closed By PBS News Hour Education officials in Puerto Rico announced 283 schools will remain closed this summer nearly seven months after Hurricane Maria struck. They say the hurricane has exacerbated the U.S. territory’s economic slump as families continue to depart for the mainland. Danica… Continue watching
Apr 06 FEMA: Puerto Rico running out of time as storm season nears By Dánica Coto, Associated Press The administrator of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency warned that Puerto Rico is not ready for another disaster. Continue reading
Apr 04 Watch 5:48 Can solar energy speed Puerto Rico’s recovery? Here’s what it would take By Nsikan Akpan It’s been just over six months since Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico and roughly 150,000 people still do not have power. A string of grassroots efforts aims to jumpstart the grid with solar energy. Science producer Nsikan Akpan explains… Continue watching
Mar 20 Puerto Rico went dark 6 months ago. Could a solar smart grid prevent the next energy disaster? By Nsikan Akpan Making renewables a mainstay in Puerto Rico will require more than solar panels and wind turbines. There's also a monopoly and Congress with which to contend. Continue reading