Comments on: What does the Puerto Rico Budget Crisis Mean to You, the Tourist?

By: Jennifer Morrow

Jennifer Morrow — Thu, 12 May 2016 17:31:00 +0000

I live in Puerto Rico, and I agree with most of your points. In my town on the East coast, we have many bilingual locals, and no one from Boston is being hired over a local! There are tons of small businesses, and I know many have a second job to stay afloat. Puerto Ricans are surviving, but it is not easy. And I do not know anyone who even knows of anyone that had Zika, yup that rare. Come visit this beautiful island!

By: KarenQC

KarenQC — Wed, 11 May 2016 23:45:00 +0000

Thank you for an intelligent, thoughtful and accurate article. The WP and NYT have been a huge disappointment this year concerning our current affairs. To commiserate, we visited a BBQ joint in Rincon that didn’t speak Spanish. My PR husband and I were less than amused and left.

By: Marilyn Delgado

Marilyn Delgado — Tue, 10 May 2016 02:49:00 +0000

I feel you are misguided as the crisis is just in the beginning stage. The default on bonds which provides income to many local investors and retirees is just about to happen. When the people cease to receive their income, how are they to pay for mortgages and groceries? When the banks stop receiving deposits and mortgage payments how will they continue to keep cash in their ATM,s? When the government continues to impound businesses for failing to pay their increased taxes, how will they keep people employed? This is just the beginning. Take a look at Greece. The civil unrest will start as soon as the much feared Oversight Committee takes the reins. Amparanos Señor de este terrible animal!

By: Stuart Hankin

Stuart Hankin — Mon, 09 May 2016 22:41:00 +0000

In reply to The Dining Traveler.

Im sorry that doesn’t fly – using the word appalled and then encouraging people to only go to locally owned businesses is about as ignorant as it gets. Would you say the same in Brussels? Most of the local youngsters who want to work in our industry leave. The ones that remain don’t want to be in it at all. I know this because we constantly hire in my community. There is a drastic shortage of people who want this sort of work, and most of it is seasonal. All of the bartenders, local and otherwise, in my business speak enough English and Spanish to serve anyone. Please, next time you come to our island spare us your sanctimony and talk to us first,

By: Rob Rex

Rob Rex — Mon, 09 May 2016 19:41:00 +0000

In reply to The Dining Traveler.

For the most parts, on the beach it’s not an issue as long as it’s not a glass container – I meant open container like on the sidewalks, etc.

By: The Dining Traveler

The Dining Traveler — Mon, 09 May 2016 12:12:00 +0000

In reply to Nicholas Parks.

Thanks for your perspective! I felt the same way when I moved to Brussels, the first few months was so hard to navigate! Then I started to assimilate the best I could and my experience changed for the better… Hope you continue to enjoy the island…

By: The Dining Traveler

The Dining Traveler — Mon, 09 May 2016 12:08:00 +0000

In reply to Arnaud Erhart.

I thought I would end the post with a bit of sarcasm (re: the walmart reference). I have friends and family members that are business owners on island, it’s a mess. In terms of hiring, I think that specialized posts, especially in a place like Vieques that can be quite isolated can be a challenge, but I am referring to normal waitressing/bartending jobs at small restaurants/cafes in places like Rincon and Vieques. My friend owns a Subway which requires basic English. The posted a cashier job and got 100 applications in a week… so yes, there are people lining up for jobs… It’s just easier to hire someone to looks and acts like you if you’re a foreign business owner…

By: The Dining Traveler

The Dining Traveler — Mon, 09 May 2016 12:03:00 +0000

In reply to Rob Rex.

Crap! This whole time I’ve been drinking medallas on the beach and I could’ve been fined… gulp! Do you have link to which towns prohibit open container? Would be great to add it to the post…

By: The Dining Traveler

The Dining Traveler — Mon, 09 May 2016 12:02:00 +0000

In reply to Manny Gonzales. Agreed! Sad that the people suffer by the greediness of politicians (and that's not exclusive to PR)...

By: The Dining Traveler

The Dining Traveler — Mon, 09 May 2016 12:01:00 +0000

In reply to Thrity Vakil. That's so sad. I just read that they also cancelled MLB games that were coming to the island... The fear mongering needs to stop.