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BULLETIN:

Remember the Venusz Valentina gala benefit, Dec.16 at the St. John the Baptist Episcopal Cathedral. For information call 787-585-9130. Starring Venusz Valentina and a bevy of beautiful opera singers.

On My Mind...

World reels at Puerto Rico animal cruelty
By: Peggy Ann Bliss

The world is still reacting to the early December finding of probable cause by Judge José Esteban Pérez Marrero to arrest the alleged killers of beloved pets from Barceloneta. Letters to the local animal protectors are coming in from as far away as Australia, Argentina and Russia.

Julio Diaz, owner of Animal Control Solutions, and his employees Lucas Montaño Rivera and Roberto Rodríguez Ceballo face three charges each of felony animal cruelty for their part in seizing 80 cats and dogs at three housing projects and throwing them off a bridge in Vega Baja.

Read the article.


Speaking Out!

All Michael Vick had to do was say “I’m sorry” and he would be getting out of jail sooner. But the almost two-year sentence meted out to the suspended quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons Dec. 10 by a federal judge was just.

Many animal lovers had crossed their fingers that the sentence – which could have been up to five years – would not be just a slap on the wrist.

The judge said he hadn’t taken full responsibility for his role in a dog fighting ring, including the killing of pit bulls that did not pass tests of their fighting prowess.

Read the article.



News & Views

Oberlin College rated greenest

When I opened up the recent Sierra Club survey of the 10 Coolest Schools, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Three of the colleges at which I studied were in the top six, and Oberlin College (Ohio), my main institute of higher learning was Number One!

Duke University in Durham, N.C., where I got my master’s in education and romance languages, came in fifth, and Middlebury, (Vermont) where I did graduate work in Italian, was sixth. And while it took me a long time to be a tree hugger, I have learned to understand global warming through my beloved animals. The polar bears and the penguins will be the first to go if we don’t react and help the planet from burning up.

Read the article.


Faces

New Episcopal bishop to fight for her sex, gays

The first female head of an Anglican denomination Katharine Jefferts Schori, is a marine biologist specialist in squids and oysters, a former Roman Catholic and a pilot. The 52-year-old Bishop of Nevada beat six others to become head of the U.S. Episcopal Church. Her election has caused serious division in the Anglican Church, especially in Africa. Married with one daughter, Jefferts Schori is fluent in Spanish and is known for reaching out to the Hispanic communityl

Read the article.