By Hilbert Haar Traffic jams. Everybody hates them but nobody wants to leave his or her car at home. A car for every working man; that was something Joop den Uyl, the iconic front man of the Dutch socialist party PvdA envisioned in the sixties of last century. We all know by now what happened next. Den Uyl’s vision became a reality and all those working stiffs are nowadays complaining about traffic jams. Congestion is not unique to St. Maarten, but the island’s land mass and infrastructure pose specific problems and they make a solution more complicated, if not near…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – A rough estimate, based on plate numbers, suggests that there are between 60,000 and 70,000 cars on the road in St. Maarten – that’s counting both the Dutch and the French side. Given our island’s limited infrastructure, traffic jams are unavoidable. It’s at times bad in the low season and worse in the high season when there are many more rental cars on the road. One thing we know by now for sure: the causeway bridge was not the solution. But what is? Stmaartennews.com readers have expressed their thoughts about this topic and provided a wide array of…
PHILIPSBURG—“At least 15% of the population of the island are suffering with diabetes,” said Member of Parliament and surgeon Dr. Luc Mercelina during his lecture at the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on Saturday. ‘It is very high and a very serious problem in the community,” he said. Responding to the concern of a member of the audience who suggested that something has to be done to prevent this disease, he said that science has not been able to find out what is the real cause of the diabetes disease. “What we know is once a person has the disease…
COLE BAY — News reaching our newsdesk reports that the electrical installation at the back of the Caribbean Cinemas Megaplex 7 movie theaters building on the Welfare Road in Cole Bay caught on fire and was emitting heavy smoke. The building was immediately evacuated and firefighters with their firetrucks are on the scene at this present time. The report came in just before 7pm this evening, Saturday, December 1, 2018. There is no indication of serious structural damage nor is there any reports of anyone getting hurt. This is however the second major business on the island to reopen after…
By Hilbert Haar Boom! Gerrit Schotte to jail for three years, banned from politics for five years. It is not unexpected, but the Supreme Court ruling has sealed it. The implications of this ruling also spread to St. Maarten and not only because of the involvement of casino owner Francesco Corallo in the Schotte-case. Remember, this is all about buying political influence and in the run-up to the elections in 2010 everything seemed possible for aggressive politicians who had managed to dress up their message in a new outfit. Schotte floated into the position of prime minister in Curacao on…
THE HAGUE – In a 65-page ruling containing 169 articles the Supreme Court has confirmed the conviction of Curacao’s former Prime Minister Gerrit Schotte to 3 years of imprisonment and a 5-year ban from membership of parliament. His partner Cicely van der Dijs also saw her verdict confirmed by the highest court in the kingdom: 15 months of imprisonment with 6 months suspended. The ruling put St. Maarten’s casino owner Francesco Corallo once more in the spotlights. Schotte accepted more than $213,000 from Corallo to finance his Movementu Futuro Korsou (MFK) in the run-up to the 2010 elections. After the…
By Hilbert Haar The title of this opinion – Curtain – may not mean a lot to younger readers, so let me explain it briefly. It was the title of the British detective-writer Agatha Christie’s book about the last case of her sleuth Hercule Poirot. No wonder this came to mind when I read about the conviction of former Tourist Bureau and airport director Regina Labega. The court handed down a 12-month conditional prison sentence and a fine of 300,000 guilders for embezzling funds from the Tourist Bureau’s New York office to enrich herself. Her partner in crime, Fabian Badejo…
By Andrew Bishop PHILIPSBURG — The Council of Ministers are busy with the evaluation of the final three candidates who have applied to fill the vacancy for the new prison director at the Pointe Blanche Prison. This issue was addressed by deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of Education, Youth and Sports Wycliffe Smith who stated at the Council of Ministers Press briefing that the advice on the eligible candidate has not reached the Council of Ministers as yet. According to a report, Minister of Justice Cornelius De Weever had placed an advertisement in the Netherlands and the former…
~ Faction seeks postponement of debate ~ Philipsburg — The faction of the United St. Maarten (US) party on Tuesday said the draft 2019 country budget is rushed, even less transparent than the last, lacks detail and, with expedited scheduling, does not allow members of Parliament adequate time to review. The USP has dispatched two letters to the Chairlady of Parliament outlining its objections and seeking answers from the Minister of Finance to its urgent question regarding budget 2019. As such, the USP also is calling for a postponement in the scheduled Central Committee meeting of November 29 to debate…
PHILIPSBURG — Several residents have reported that they were questioned by some unknown persons posing as bank officials and asking about the status of their accounts. According to a resident of St. Peters he received a call from a source telling him if he had used his card to purchase overseas at an amount of US$ 780. He was then asked if he had lost his card and after he responded that he had the card, she instructed him to get the card. She then told him the same story again about the overseas purchase and he will have to…
