Puerto Rico

ADJUNTAS, Puerto Rico - Long before Starbucks and even Sanka, the coffee produced in this cool mountain region was internationally beloved - so much that Puerto Rico, barely the size of Connecticut, was among the world's largest, proudest coffee exporters. The cafes of Vienna, Paris and Madrid served Puerto Rican coffee in the 19th century, as did European monarchs and even the Vatican. But while short and sturdy coffee trees still flourish on parts of the island, it is hard to find Puerto Rican coffee anywhere now. Puerto Rico does not even produce enough to meet its own demand, forcing the island to buy beans from other countries.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- In a cautious vote favoring the preservation of Puerto Rican heritage and protesting the wording on the ballot, Puerto Ricans voted yesterday against the option of becoming a state for the third time since the island became a commonwealth.As millions of paper ballots were counted by hand in schools across Puerto Rico, preliminary tallies indicated that the island's residents had chosen "none of the above" over statehood. With 100 percent of the vote counted, "none of the above" led over statehood by 50 to 47 percent.

WASHINGTON -- Citing "serious concerns" from Puerto Rico, Defense Secretary William S. Cohen has delayed his recommendation to President Clinton on the fate of a 58-year-old Navy firing range there, even though a presidential panel concluded yesterday that the range should continue operating for five more years.Cohen asserted that U.S. forces must be kept "well-trained and ready." But he said there should be more discussions with officials on Puerto Rico and Vieques Island, which the Navy and Marines have long used as a live-fire range.

WASHINGTON -- Navy officials acknowledged last night that they were delaying the departure of a two-star admiral for Puerto Rico, citing the reluctance of island officials to resume talks on the future of a controversial bombing range.Rear Adm. Kevin Green had been due to arrive in Puerto Rico tomorrow to open discussions with leaders on the use of the Vieques bombing range for nonexplosive bombs.Green's appointment was a key part of a plan announced this week by President Clinton and Defense Secretary William S. Cohen.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton told his national security adviser in July that it was "wrong" for the Navy to continue using a bombing range in Puerto Rico that many island leaders want closed -- even though the president had just created an independent panel to determine the future of the 58-year-old range.In a handwritten note to his national security adviser, Samuel R. Berger, on July 26, the president signaled his support for a leading Puerto Rican activist who had urged Clinton to abandon the range on Vieques Island.

LAS VEGAS - Felix Trinidad entered Saturday night's bout with Fernando Vargas as the World Boxing Association's super welterweight champ. He may have left it as a legend. They waged battle for nearly 12 brutal rounds. There were six knockdowns. Five of the knockdowns were by Trinidad (39-0, 32 knockouts), and the last, for a knockout at 1:33 of the 12th round, added the International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title held by Vargas (20-1, 18 knockouts) to Trinidad's impressive list of achievements.

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico -- The Cardiac 'Cats couldn't come back this time.Kentucky used a relentless style en route to the NCAA championship last season, as no deficit seemed too large down the stretch in Tubby Smith's first season as the Wildcats' coach. When the nation's No. 4 team fell behind Pittsburgh in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Shootout yesterday, there was no panic.Down eight early in the second half, Kentucky forged a tie with 10 minutes left, but Pittsburgh turned it on from there, and rolled to a 68-56 victory that ended the Wildcats' winning streak at 17 games.

WASHINGTON -- On tiny Vieques Island off Puerto Rico, a brewing battle is pitting the mighty U.S. Navy against impoverished residents -- with reverberations that could affect the political futures of none other than Vice President Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton.For 58 years, Vieques served as the Navy's exclusive East Coast firing range -- until it was shut down and occupied by protesters in April, after an errant bomb from a Marine Corps jet killed a civilian Puerto Rican guard and wounded four others.

COLLEGE PARK -- Looking like a team ready for a change of scenery, Maryland dispatched of Duquesne, 81-47, last night, then packed its bags for Puerto Rico."

WASHINGTON -- With U.S. and Puerto Rican officials deadlocked on the fate of the Vieques bombing range and time running out, the Navy is preparing to use the mainland to practice amphibious landings and aircraft bombing runs, Pentagon sources said yesterday.Under the plan, the battle group of the USS Eisenhower, which was to train on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques during the first week of December, would instead use two ranges in Florida for aircraft bombing practice and Camp Lejeune, N.C., for amphibious landings.