Lessons learned from traveling with baby on Puerto Rico trip

We were in paradise, surrounded by lush trees and waterfalls in El Yunque rainforest.

But the pint-sized traveler on my husband's back was more concerned about our dwindling Goldfish supply than the marvels around us.

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In this May 22, 2015 photo, Elijah Van Benschoten carries his 17-month-old son Hunt Van Benschoten while visiting Castillo de San Cristobal in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No matter how experienced a traveler you are, an overseas trip taken with a baby or toddler requires changes in planning, expectations and itineraries. (Amber Hunt via AP) (The Associated Press)

"Look, Hunt, a waterfall!" I pointed. He responded by touching his pinched fingertips together and saying, "More, more, more."

I slipped him another cracker and repeated our mantra that this trip would be good for him.

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In this May 23, 2015 photo, Elijah Van Benschoten carries his 17-month-old son Hunt Van Benschoten while hiking through El Yunque National Rainforest in Puerto Rico. No matter how experienced a traveler you are, an overseas trip taken with a baby or toddler requires changes in planning, expectations and itineraries. (Amber Hunt via AP) (The Associated Press)

Seventeen months after my first son was born, my husband and I were itching to go abroad. We love travel and experiencing new cultures. And because we hope to instill that love in our offspring, we decided to bring him along.

Some friends and family were perplexed. "You know he won't remember it, right?" they asked.

Sure, we knew. But we also knew that what kids experience shapes their brains and futures, whether they remember those experiences or not.

And we knew we'd miss the bugger like crazy if we left him behind.

So we set some parameters. We wanted a spot that was affordable, wouldn't be a nightmare to fly to with a toddler, had plenty of kid-friendly attractions and would expose him to another language.

Puerto Rico fit the bill.

Our passports are colored with trips abroad, but we quickly realized we had to toss out all we thought we knew about traveling.

We were no longer a (somewhat) low-maintenance duo, sharing two carry-ons and one checked bag. No, this was a four carry-on, two-checked bag endeavor, plus a gate-checked kid carrier.

Necessities from previous trips — like laptops and pro photo gear — were nixed to make room for baby supplies like swim diapers. For photos and surfing the Web, we used our iPhones.

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In this May 23, 2015 photo, Amber Hunt plays with her 17-month-old son Hunt Van Benschoten at a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No matter how experienced a traveler you are, an overseas trip taken with a baby or toddler requires changes in planning, expectations and itineraries. (Elijah Van Benschoten via AP) (The Associated Press)

As with parenting in general, we prepared well on some fronts, but flubbed others altogether.

Things we did right:

— We brought things to keep the tyke busy on the plane and beyond: books, crayons, paper and even annoying noisemakers we'd cursed relatives for giving us but which ultimately proved invaluable.

— We researched San Juan well enough to know that a stroller would be a pain. We opted instead to bring a hiking-style child carrier. This made our jaunt through the rainforest easy and it was a great conversation-starter with locals. One woman literally stopped traffic to tell us how cool she thought it was.

— We got a two-room suite. It cost $50 more a night and felt strange for me — my first trips abroad were hostel-hopping budget fests. But having two rooms let us keep Hunt on his normal sleep schedule, while letting us talk, read and more between his bedtime and ours.

— We stuck with his nap schedule, too, by tackling one outing in the morning, then returning to the hotel for a noon break before going back out. That limited our itinerary, but we knew skipped naps would be a hell we preferred not to endure.

— We did things that weren't kid-friendly like San Juan's historic forts and the Arecibo Observatory, just as we would have without him. We walked miles a day to see how people on the island live, and we shopped at a farmers market. When Hunt got impatient, one of us broke away with him and let the other finish the experience.

Things we did wrong:

— We broke our don't-disrupt-the-baby's-routine rule by booking a late flight on the way home, and, oh, did we pay for it. While we managed to mostly shield fellow travelers from our anguish, my husband ended up with a shiner from a tiny, flailing fist during one particularly potent tantrum.

— We didn't ask the hotel about noisy scheduled events. Big mistake. We loved our hotel, but didn't love the bar-style thumping on our second night.

— We occasionally expected our toddler not to be a toddler. We never overtly lost our cool when, say, Hunt threw himself on the ground for no apparent reason as we went to show him his first view of the ocean, but we did catch ourselves snapping at each other from the stress. What it taught us: Time-outs are good for adults, too.

But once he reached that beach, his eyes widened, his jaw dropped and he was more ecstatic than I'd ever seen him. He rushed to the water's edge and stopped to let the waves lap his little feet, then reached willingly - for the first time ever - for my hand to guide him. I'd been studying Spanish for the trip, so when another little boy approached with toys, I was able to ask in Spanish if my son could play with him. The two played in the sand with no language barrier — toddlers don't need words to understand meaning.

I don't know if the trip was as good for Hunt as I'd hoped. But one thing is certain: It was good for me.

In this May 23, 2015 photo, 17-month-old Hunt Van Benschoten drinks from a bottle as he stands in the water at a beach in San Juan, Puerto Rico. No matter how experienced a traveler you are, an overseas trip taken with a baby or toddler requires changes in planning, expectations and itineraries. (Amber Hunt via AP) (The Associated Press)

Lessons learned from traveling with baby on Puerto Rico trip

Puerto Rico Supreme Court: Former Exec Cannot Sue Individual Board Members for Breach of Employment Contract | The National Law Review

A former employee cannot sue individual members of a corporation’s board of directors for breach of an employment contract and negligence in execution of fiduciary duties, where: 1) the individual board members are not parties to the employment contract; and 2) the employee and his relatives are not shareholders with standing to sue board members for alleged breach of fiduciary duty, the Puerto Rico Supreme Court has held. Randolfo Rivera San Feliz et al v. Junta de Directores de Firstbank Corporate et al., 2015 TSPR 61, 196 DPR ___ (2015).

Plaintiff Randolfo Rivera was a former executive of a banking entity in Puerto Rico. The terms of his employment were established in a contract with the bank. The contract provided that any decision regarding the contract, including termination of employment, had to be approved by at least two-thirds of all the members of the bank’s board of directors. The contract also contained a clause requiring arbitration of any controversy regarding the interpretation of the employment contract.

The bank terminated Rivera’s contract in June of 2010. He filed a lawsuit against the bank in Puerto Rico Superior Court, alleging unjust dismissal and breach of contract under the law of Puerto Rico. While this litigation was pending, Rivera filed a separate lawsuit against each member of the board of directors, requesting damages for breach of contract and alleged negligence in the execution of their fiduciary duties. He asserted the board members wrongfully allowed his termination in violation of his employment contract. Rivera’s partner, children, and siblings were included as co-plaintiffs in the second lawsuit, each alleging emotional and economic damages arising out of the employment termination.

The initial lawsuit between Rivera and the bank was dismissed by the court for lack of jurisdiction in light of the employment contract’s arbitration provision.

The second lawsuit, against the board of directors, also was dismissed at the pleadings stage. The court held Rivera and his family may not sue individual members of the board of directors for violation of their fiduciary duty, because such a claim was available only to shareholders of a corporation through a derivative action and neither Rivera nor his relatives were shareholders. Rivera and his relatives appealed the dismissal of this lawsuit and the case eventually came before the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.

Puerto Rico’s highest court upheld dismissal of the action because a non-shareholder does not have standing to sue individual directors of a corporation for an alleged violation of their fiduciary duty. The Supreme Court reiterated that a breach of fiduciary duty claim requires an existing relationship between plaintiffs and defendants, such as the one that exists between shareholders and a corporation’s board of directors. The Court also held that the board of directors could not be liable for breach of contract because it was the corporation, and not the individual members of the board, that was a party to the contract.

Associate Justice Annabelle Rodriguez-Rodriguez dissented. She noted that the employment contract at issue had a clause that was undisputed which provided for arbitration of all controversies related to interpretation of the contract. Since the second lawsuit was based on alleged breach of fiduciary duty arising out of the termination of the contract, she would have dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in light of the arbitration clause and abstained from analyzing the nature of the claims for purposes of a standing issue.

In light of Puerto Rico law governing employee terminations, employers should tread carefully when drafting employment contracts that contain specific reasons for termination, as well as notification requirements.

Jackson Lewis P.C. © 2015

Maralyssa Álvarez-Sánchez

Puerto Rico Supreme Court: Former Exec Cannot Sue Individual Board Members for Breach of Employment Contract

Puerto Rico To Begin Issuing Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples July 15 | Rapid News Network

About a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that clears the way for same-sex marriage in all 50 states, a number of religious leaders in Fresno share their thoughts about the landmark court decision that was split 5-4.

Furthermore, religious conservatives have much to celebrate with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court.

That does not mean the issue is settled for all time.

But nevertheless, I am a Christian because I find the words of Jesus Christ to be lovely and inspiring. Recalling the harsh treatment of gays and lesbians in the past, some may think that turnabout is fair play.

His message of tolerance when it comes to gay people has drawn criticism from some Christians, but I like the “six ways” he discussed in his Wednesday blog post in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision. The trial court ruling in favor was struck by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1982.

That’s right; the Declaration of Independence says “all” men, and it’s meant in the broadest sense, as in all humans.

That’s what the Supreme Court did when it ruled that blacks deserved equal treatment a half-century ago. The following list, though not exhaustive, includes some of the most vocal opponents of the decision and their plans for fighting the Supreme Court in the spirit of Southern nullification. He characterized the opinion as “pretentious” and “egotistical”, filled with “showy profundities that are profoundly incoherent”, and concluded his diatribe by highlighting the fact that the Supreme Court lacks a specific mechanism to enforce its judgments. Justice Antonin Scalia, the conservative’s conservative, railed against a “judicial putsch” to usurp democracy.

Normally it takes 15 to 20 minutes to issue a marriage license, but no one in the Probate Court performs weddings unless it is scheduled.

But, I imagine he’d continue, what about gay marriage being a threat to our traditional way of life?

“There’s a lot of work that remains”, said Sarah McBride, researcher at the Center for American Progress. Within months, voters in the state approve Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It was a day marked by joyous celebration and indescribable pain: the first black president at the funeral of a black man killed by a white supremacist, on the same day same-sex marriage became the law of the land. Yet, we are called upon to be welcoming, to be embracing and to be inclusive of all people. “They don’t see what the big deal is”.

In his written dissent, Roberts doesn’t claim that same-sex marriages are illegal, just that the question of opening marriage to same-sex couples should be left to the states, not decided by courts. Those protections may provide for religious belief exemptions.

The same, however, does not hold true for civil servants, i.e. those registrars who say issuing marriage licenses for same sex couples violates their religious principles. Some also suggest that the ruling will spark a legal and political backlash against trans people in particular – who, they say, marriage equality does nothing to help.

The 14 declared Republican candidates face a set of new challenges in a changing world.

The RCA press release said, “Marriage is an institution defined by the Bible and subsequent religious codes and it is upon the foundation of traditional family life that our society has been built for millennia”.

Democrats are more fortunate.

Both the USA EPA and the Illinois Legislature should keep their energy initiatives moving forward. The majority has “enacted their own vision of marriage”.

The study shows that 73 percent of non-practicing Christians under 40 support the same-sex marriage decision.

In May 2012, after Vice President Joe Biden came out in support for marriage equality, Obama quickly did as well.

What America does is to push her policies to the countries they have relationship with. Several states in Nigeria have also adopted sharia law and imposed the death penalty for gay men.

Yet, it’s also important to raise awareness about other areas of civil rights such as gender and race equality. It highlights how hard it is to demonize and Otherize people when they’re not invisible. “Slaves did not lose their dignity (any more than they lost their humanity) because the government allowed them to be enslaved”.

The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in America last week and the gay community is finally on a collective honeymoon.

Puerto Rico To Begin Issuing Marriage Licenses To Gay Couples July 15

Puerto Rico's soaring cost of living, from giant electric bills to $5 cornflakes

Puerto Rico is in a severe fiscal crisis due to its $72bn in debt, which its governor recently declared was “not payable”. It has been in recession since 2006, with a generally contracting economy creating an unemployment rate of about 12-13% compared to the US rate of 5.5% and about a 41% poverty rate compared to the US’s 14.3%. While the island is dotted with US chain stores like Walmart and Walgreens – amounting to the largest concentration of those stores in the world – residents face high costs for many necessities, while earning a remarkably low per capita income of about $19,000 per year, half the US average.

A recent report by Puerto Rico’s Institute of Statistics compared the cost of living in Puerto Rico with that of more than 325 urban areas in the US. It found that supermarket items were 21% more expensive than in the US. Utilities were the fourth-priciest in the US, after Fairbanks, Alaska, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Hilo Hawaii. Overall, the cost of living was 13% higher than in those 325 areas in the US. Here is a look at some of those staples and how their cost compares to the rest of the US.

Gasoline

While obviously a crucial worldwide commodity, gasoline is even more precious in Puerto Rico, which has very limited public transportation, particularly outside of the San Juan metro area. The song that launched the island’s reggaetón genre, Daddy Yankee’s Gasolina, makes that clear. The price of a gallon of gas in Puerto Rico is $3.22 compared to the nationwide US average of $3.10.






Energy

The average monthly cost of “energy” in Puerto Rico, which includes electricity and natural gas, among other energy sources, is $438.21, compared to $169.49 in the US – a staggering figure, mostly because of the high price of electricity. It’s a major reason the island’s electric utility, PREPA, is at the forefront of the debt crisis. While the US’s Energy Information Administration has said this is mostly due to the “cost of imported petroleum”, Mario Marazzi of the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics says that it is also because the island’s geographical location makes it more difficult to take advantage of economies of scale. The current cost of 20.118 cents per kwh is down from 27.328 cents last August because of the drop in oil prices.

Dairy products

While there’s ample opportunity to run into cows grazing all along the island’s countryside, the cost of basics like milk and margarine can be challenging for families. A gallon of milk in Puerto Rico costs about $2.99, while the average US price is $2.39. Margarine, traditionally a cheap alternative to butter, is $2.59 a pound, while the average US price is only $1.09.

Iceberg lettuce

The PR Institute of Statistics findings reveal that the price of iceberg lettuce is the highest in all of the US, at $1.96 a head, whereas the average price across the US is $1.41.

Sugar

Puerto Ricans savor their café con leche with national pride, but it wouldn’t be the same without the sweet stuff. The high cost of sugar, $3.21 per pound compared to $2.31 in the States, is quite ironic given that Puerto Rico was home to one of the hemisphere’s biggest sugar industries in the first half of the 20th century.

Cornflakes

This staple breakfast food is $5.09 for a 10oz box, compared to a $3.51 nationwide average.

Bread

For Puerto Ricans, even their daily bread is at a premium. A loaf of bread will run you $2.39 as compared to the US average of $1.53.

Chips

And there’s no comfort in comfort food. A bag of potato chips will cost you a whopping $4.55, while the US average is $3.49.

Housing

While the average cost of a 2,400-square-foot (4 bedrooms, 2 baths) house in Puerto Rico is about $310,500 as opposed to about $304,000 in the rest of the US, it’s still burdensome considering the island’s per capita income and job situation. Puerto Rican average mortgage rates are similar to the US’s, around 4%.

People walk through a shopping area in Rio Piedras where many businesses have closed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/AP

In recession since 2006, the island is grappling with supermarket items 21% higher than the US average – even as 41% live in poverty

Puerto Rico's soaring cost of living, from giant electric bills to $5 cornflakes

Puerto Rico’s ban on gay marriage officially nullified by appellate court

An appellate court on Wednesday (8 July) ruled that Puerto Rico’s ban on same-sex marriage has been nullified by last month’s US Supreme Court ruling.

The US territory’s marriage ban had been upheld last October by US District Judge Perez Gimenez in a lawsuit brought on by a San Juan lesbian couple who wanted their Massachusetts marriage recognized in Puerto Rico.

The couple appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit which ruled this week that the ban is unconstitutional.

‘Certainly, after the historic ruling from the Supreme Court, this ruling from the First Circuit was not unexpected,’ Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan said in a statement. ‘There remains no legal or moral justification for forcing same-sex couples in Puerto Rico to wait any longer to have their love and commitment recognized by the state.’

Hours after the 26 June Supreme Court ruling that made same-sex marriage legal across the US, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order requiring all Puerto Rican government agencies to become compliant with the court’s ruling within 15 days.

Added Gonzalez-Pagan: ‘We applaud the First Circuit for recognizing that Puerto Rico’s marriage ban is unconstitutional, and reversing the lower court ruling. We also commend the Puerto Rico government for joining in the call to end the marriage ban.’





Governor of US territory had already announced his government would honor last month's ruling by the US Supreme Court

Puerto Rico’s ban on gay marriage officially nullified by appellate court