For older Puerto Ricans, limited housing is a barrier to mainland life post-Hurricane Maria

Jun 8, 2018
Older evacuees in FEMA's transitional shelter program have special concerns when seeking affordable housing on the mainland.
A flag of Puerto Rico is seen on a damaged house in Yabucoa, in eastern Puerto Rico, on Sept. 28, 2017.
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images

Why the death toll in Puerto Rico matters

Jun 1, 2018
In practical terms, the island has to prepare for the next big disaster.
People march to protest pension cuts, school closures and slow hurricane recovery efforts in San Juan, Puerto Rico in May.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

West Virginia effort to aid Puerto Rico is caught in Trump’s solar tariffs

Jun 1, 2018
With 2018's hurricane season starting, some families are still recovering from last year's storms.
Months after the storms, many communities on the island have no electricity.
Courtesy of Rebecca Kiger

Florida's affordable housing shortage is a roadblock for Hurricane Maria evacuees

May 10, 2018
Puerto Ricans in FEMA's transitional shelter program worry about where they'll go when the program ends June 30.
Activists rally in support of Puerto Rican families displaced by Hurricane Maria on the steps of New York City Hall in April.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Following the hurricane, recovery in Puerto Rico takes different forms

We revisit a dairy farmer, a convenience store owner, a homeowner and a community center to see where things stand seven months after Hurricane Maria.
Clockwise from top left: Juan Orta says he's spent $75,000 of his own money to reopen his convenience store in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; Cows at Vaqueria Ceiba del Mar in Hatillo, Puerto Rico; Luis Martinez, owner of Ceiba del Mar; Glorimar Rivera who lives on a street that was once covered in power lines and fallen poles.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

A slice of life — and pastelillo — in Puerto Rico

Apr 27, 2018
The impact of a looming school closure on the owners of a food truck who have been feeding students and parents for 31 years.
Since 1987, the food truck formally named "Love Pizza" has operated outside of Escuela Elemental John F. Kennedy, an elementary school in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico slated to close this summer. Students and parents call the truck "Maggie's Food Truck."
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

Puerto Rico's school system braces for change: closures and charters

Apr 26, 2018
Government officials plan to close over 280 public schools, combine resources and introduce charter schools and a private school voucher program to the island.
Second grade teacher Pierette Hidalgo leads students and parents in a chant during a school closing protest at Escuela Elemental John F. Kennedy in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico on April 17, 2018. The school is one of 283 schools slated to be close on the island following population declines.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

In Puerto Rico, no title, no lease and no assistance to rebuild

Apr 26, 2018
There's no official count of how many people lived in makeshift, informal housing but estimates put over half of the housing on the island as built informally.
Peter Balonon-Rosen/Marketplace

Seven months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is still recovering

Apr 19, 2018
The island will close more than 200 schools following a sharp drop in enrollment.
Teachers participate in a one-day strike against the government's privatization drive in public education in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March 19.
RICARDO ARDUENGO/AFP/Getty Images

Puerto Rico austerity plan faces hurdles

Mar 29, 2018
Six months after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico’s governor is pushing an austerity plan he hopes will turn things around in the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth. He reckons the plan would allow the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth to pay back half of the principal on its debt — which includes more than $70 billion in bond debt and $50 […]