Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González Colón signed a resolution designating the PR-114 highway between Mayagüez and San Germán for former basketball player José Rafael "Piculín" Ortiz Rijos, recognizing his sports career and contributions to Puerto Rico. The measure, authored by Representative Omayra Martínez, calls for the road to be signed by the Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP) and the Highway and Transportation Authority (ACT).
Ortiz won championships with the Atléticos de San Germán and the Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), represented Puerto Rico at four Olympic Games and was part of the historic win over the United States at Athens 2004. He also played in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and built a notable career in Europe.
"San Germán occupies a special place in Piculín’s life and career. This designation is a fair recognition of an exceptional sports trajectory and of a figure who has carried Puerto Rico’s name with pride around the world," González Colón said in written remarks. The governor also signed Law 229-2026, which repeals a 1941 law ordering fruit trees planted on land next to Puerto Rico’s roads; that law, which also allocated funds to set up nurseries, was obsolete given changes in road infrastructure and current road safety rules.
It was filed by Representative Ángel Morey. González Colón also approved a resolution allowing land to be segregated from a farm in the Algarrobo neighborhood of Aibonito and awarded to the heirs of its original owners, another authorizing the Department of Recreation and Sports (DRD) to lift recreational and sports use restrictions on a parcel in the Padilla neighborhood of Corozal so the town can dispose of the property under the Municipal Code, and one naming the court at the Francisco Roque Muñoz School in Naranjito after José Edgardo Corretjer Rivera for his contributions to sports, education and the community.