From Simpson Bay to Dutch Quarter, community dialogue with different branches of government is happening, and that is a good thing. Too often, mere lip service is given to the idea of democracy, with token gestures and hollow words. It is importan
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 28, 2014
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The Landsverordening Openbaarheid van Bestuur, the National Ordinance Public Administration, offers citizens the right to demand information from the government apparatus. Those who are familiar with this piece of legislation, and who have maybe used
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 28, 2014
Comments Off on Six receive royal decorations
St. Maarten – Six St. Maarteners received a royal decoration Friday during a festive evening hosted by Governor Drs. Eugène Holiday at Fort Amsterdam. Former WIB-manager Jan Beaujon was knighted in the Order of Orange Nassau and the governor deco
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 28, 2014
Comments Off on Jouvert Morning bigger and better than ever
St. Maarten - To date, the highly anticipated Jouvert Morning Jump Up around the Great Salt Pond attracted the largest amount of participants and spectators as St Maarten celebrates 45 years of Carnival in Caribbean style. Tramping behind the sou
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 28, 2014
Comments Off on Financial supervisor limits 2014 loans to 60 million
St. Maarten – Financial supervisor Cft has given a positive advice on a loan request for capital investments to Finance Minister Martin Hassink, but it has set the ceiling for these loans at 60 million guilders (about $33.5 million). On March 18,
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
When governments say that they want to keep their options open, you know more or less what to expect. In the case of the Emilio Wilson Estate it seems now a done deal that the government will not only buy the property (well, it has to) but also that
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
Honorable Mr. Heyliger, Concerning the Emilio Wilson affair the following: What will you do to put an end to this? I, as co-owner, would like to point out that owners of the estates always cooperated with your suggestions and proposals concerni
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
Comments Off on St. Maarten Carnival 2014: Anna Rabess-Richardson crowned Miss Mature Queen
St. Maarten - After winning the Miss Popularity, best creative professional wear, best talent piece, best evening wear, and best interview, Anna Rabess-Richardson was crowned as the Miss Mature Queen 2014 from a field of eight beautiful ladies. R
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
Comments Off on No Limit Soldiers rapper Nuto looks at eight years in prison
Gang on trial for drugs and weapons possession and money laundering St. Maarten - The Court in First Instance spent the whole day yesterday on the trial of four suspects in a cocaine, firearms and money laundering case – and it is not over yet.
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
Comments Off on St. Maarten Government keeps options open for development Emilio Wilson
St. Maarten – The government will buy the Emilio Wilson Estate directly and “study and negotiate a partial development,” Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said at yesterday’s press briefing. The possibility that the Harbor Group of Compan
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 25, 2014
Comments Off on Opinion: Taming the digital Wild West
The Internet has grown up. It is no longer just about providing information but about fundamental changes in the way we go about our daily lives, Eric Schneiderman, New York State’s attorney-general, writes in an opinion piece in the New York Times
Newcomer Social Reform Party pleads in its political manifesto for “higher taxes on harmful products,” a strategy that is sure to backfire when voters have to make their choice on August 29. Even though this idea seems well intended it will never
One cannot help wondering about what exactly defines Carnival as the “most important cultural event” in St. Maarten. When the Carnival Village opened on Monday night, Culture Minister Patricia Lourens was off island and the Minister of Public Hea
In tackling income inequality, we should start at the top, Damon Linker writes in The Week, based on Thomas Piketty’s sensational book Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Linker pleads for the introduction of a maximum wage. “The debate about
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 23, 2014
St. Maarten – The prosecutor’s office is charging former Finance Minister Hiro Shigemoto with defrauding the country of 235,000 guilders (a bit more than $131,000), by accepting invoices from this amount from a company called Global Advisory Serv
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 23, 2014
Comments Off on Princess Beatrix opens Youth Parliament meeting in May
GREAT BAY – St. Maarten is in for another royal visit next month when Princess Beatrix opens the Kingdom Youth Parliament on Tuesday May 20 at the University of St. Martin. The Dutch Government Information Service (RVD) announced this in a press re
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 23, 2014
St. Maarten – For the first time, and on the first King’s Day celebration, St. Maarten will see a Vrijmarkt (Free Market) where children will sell second hand articles – from clothes and books to toys and other knickknacks. “A group of enthus
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on MPs show concern over practicality of electoral laws
St. Maarten – The Electoral Council of St. Maarten gave a presentation to the Central Committee of Parliament yesterday on its role in the upcoming elections. St. Maarten is the only constituent country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands to have suc
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Innocent suspects Spelonk-murders get almost $2 million in damages
KRALENDIJK – The Common Court of Justice awarded two men who spent years in jail for a double murder they did not commit damages totaling almost $2 million. Kabes Melaan spent 8 years in jail, received a bit more than $1.2 million. Nozai Thomas, wh
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Court handles election fraud trial on Monday August 4
St. Maarten – The Court in First Instance set Monday August 4 as the date for the election fraud trial yesterday during a pro forma hearing. In this trial, a representative of the United People’s party, Roy H., is accused of giving money in excha
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on After forty months, parliament approves its new rules of order
St. Maarten – Parliament needed another two-and-a-half hours yesterday morning but then the curtain finally fell after around forty months of deliberating about its own rules of order. The ad hoc committee chaired by MP Dr. Lloyd Richardson conclud
It promises to be another exciting week in politics. As usual, it is hardly possible to get official confirmation of anything, but this is what we heard. The Democratic Party will apparently embrace both Bada Bing expert Patrick Illidge and the sh
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Opinion: Desired response
Dear editor, Seldom - if ever - Mr. Hilbert Haar of the Today newspaper and myself agree on things - anything. As a matter of fact, whenever, I submit a letter to the editor to his newspaper, it seems to have the effect of the proverbial 'red c
Dear Editor, The timing of the 26 March Unesco Caribe Wave/Lantex 2014 third earthquake/tsunami exercise was held a week before Chile’s 8.2 earthquake that triggered a six foot tsunami. 24 hours later a 7.6 magnitude earthquake was r
It took a long time but they are finally there – the definite rules of order for Parliament. The project has been in the desert for around forty months – more than a lifetime in political terms, but now we have some useful changes on our hands.
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on NATIONAL ALLIANCE CONGRESS ATTRACTS LARGE TURNOUT
St. Maarten - A large cross-section of the public turned out to the National Alliance Congress that was held at the Cay Hill Community Center yesterday evening. It appeared to be the largest turnout for a congress held by any of the political parti
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on DP holds congress “New board reflects party’s vision”
St. Maarten – The Democratic Party (DP) of St. Maarten held its congress last Saturday night. A packed Cultural Center saw the election of a new board against the backdrop of the party’s new logo and to the music of the party’s songs, adaptatio
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on CALYPSO LEGEND MIGHTY SPARROW HONORED BY BOTH SIDES OF ISLAND
St. Maarten - After a bout of illness, the Mighty Sparrow - real name Francisco Slinger - is not as active as he once was, but after his superb performance under the tent at the Princess Port de Plaisance last Friday, most would agree that the Calyps
Opinion - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Opinion: Mike Ferrier’s message of inclusion
After a tenure of five years, Michael Ferrier stepped down as the president of the Democratic Party during the party’s congress on Saturday. Here is his the unabridged text of his last speech. “I would like to address this gathering,
Editorial - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Editorial: Cooperation between Gendarmerie and St. Maarten Police
The cooperation displayed between the Gendarmerie and the Korps Politie St. Maarten is welcome news; a good sign for the island and a bad one for those looking to exploit the open border nature of the island for illicit purposes. It is one of the wea
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Tripartite consultation books results
ORANJESTAD – The Parliaments of St. Maarten, Aruba and Curacao have reached agreements about all agenda points they discussed this week during their tripartite consultation. For some topics, this means further study for continued deliberations l
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Pensioner desperately looking for sponsored new eyeglasses
St. Maarten – Swinda Abram is not alone – there are hundreds like her. The pensioner, who has spent her working life as a security guard, a cleaner and as someone doing odd jobs, needs reading glasses. The problem: she is living on a pension of 6
St. Maarten News - Posted by admin on April 15, 2014
Comments Off on Dutch MP van Laar wants strong commissioner for the BES-islands
THE HAGUE – The Netherlands must send a fully-fledged Queen’s Commissioner to replace the current supervisor to the Caribbean islands Bonaire, Saba and Statia. The current system with a Dutch representative does not function, says PvdA-parliament
MP George Pantophlet sent us the following press release, as a reaction to remarks made by Prime Minister Wescot-Williams during Wednesday’s press briefing: “Member of Parliament George Pantophlet took note of the remarks made by the Minister
They have invented a new trick to con you of your vote. It is the We-Ready- rhetoric. Money, as usual is absolutely in no supply for their mission. Because by getting enough of your votes they hope to be able - in good tradition - to continue to plun
