PHLIPSBURG — In its third attempt at holding an urgent plenary session of Parliament on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 3rd, 2018, at 1pm, the ruling coalition was able to garner support from the National Alliance members MP Silveria Jacobs (faction leader) and MP Ardwell Irion to form a quorum of eight members and – most importantly – approve the credentials of the incoming members Tamara Leonard and Claude Peterson. President of Parliament, Sarah Wescot-Williams opened the session and informed the members present that notice of absence had been received from MPs Christophe Emmaneul, Egbert Jurendy Doran-York, Rolando Brison and…
Author: The Publisher
by Chris Morvan Half time during a World Cup game and I repair to what people euphemistically call the restroom. This is a smart new sports bar and they’ve got more TV screens than a small African country, bigger screens than Times Square and that muddy, bassy sound that is both loud and unclear. They also have speakers in the bathroom so you don’t have to miss a second of the match, although they have sensibly restricted it to audio while you do your business. To keep customers amused visually there is, right in front of you at eye level,…
PHILIPSBURG — Renzo Gracie St Maarten (SXM BJJ) Coach Jami Eloi was promoted to the rank of purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu on Wednesday June 20th by Head Instructor Melissa Bardfield. 20-year-old Jami Eloi is an assistant coach to both the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai (kickboxing) kids programs at SXM BJJ. Jami has been studying the art of grappling with Renzo Gracie Black Belt and founder of SXM BJJ, Melissa Bardfield, since 2011. Jami earned his blue belt is 2014. Shortly after his promotion he competed in the 2014 IBJJF World Championships in Los Angeles taking bronze…
By Hilbert Haar The new government seems to be almost there. Is that number seven or number eight since 10-10-10? I’ve lost count and I suspect that many of my readers have no idea. Seven (or eight) governments in not even eight years is not only a lot – it is bloody unhealthy. It is easy to point out that all these governments have failed us, so I won’t even bother. We all have the results – or the lack of them – right in front of our noses. More interesting would be the answer to this question: how do…
By Political Analyst, Julio R. Romney As a scholar of Comparative Government & Politics and political analyst the intent here is to merely ask the tough and intriguing political questions and highlight potential political anomalies and let you the people, the electorate in particular, make sense of it all. 118 tumultuous days since the February 26, 2018 Parliamentary election and now the swearing in of the Council of Ministers (June 25, 2018), Sint Maarten has a new Government; A United Democrats – Sint Maarten Christian Party, one seat majority, coalition Government, under the prime-minister-ship of Leona Romeo-Marlin. We must remain…
PHILIPSBURG — According to a police report issued by the office of Police Spokesman, Chief Inspector Ricardo Henson, on the morning of Thursday, June 21, at approximately 7:35 a.m. the first call came into the emergency dispatch center via 911 stating that heavy smoke was coming through the roof from the interior of Carrefour Market (the former Le Grand Marche supermarket) on Bush Road and that the building was burning on the inside. Immediately several police patrols and fire Department were sent to the scene to investigate what was taking place. On the scene the investigating officers realized that the…
by Chris Morvan I was talking to a friend about traffic the other day and mentioned someone who works in the Little Bay area but lives in Cupecoy. “He must be crazy,” I found myself saying. “Even on a good day that’s a half hour drive.” “That’s our island way of thinking,” she reminded me, and she was right. When you live in a small place you quickly forget how far some people travel to work in cities. Some unfortunates are resigned to spending an hour each way on the train, with fares adding up to many thousands of dollars…
Introduction. Curacao and Dependencies comprising of Curacao, Aruba and Bonaire together with St. Eustatius and Dependencies comprising of St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba were Dutch colonies from 1815 until 1828 and then from 1828 until 1845. For economic reason the two sets of colonies were merged with Suriname between 1828 and 1845 to form a single West Indies colony with its headquarter in Paramaribo. In 1845 the Dutch reverted back to the term Curacao and Dependencies, now also including St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba. This system remained in place until 1936. A few years later, in 1951 the…
PHILIPSBURG — Two suspects, J.L.La P. (41) and M.J.P. (42) were arrested this morning on charges of bribery in an investigation dubbed “Albacore”. This investigation is being conducted by the National Detectives of St. Maarten with support of the Police Force of Sint Maarten and overseen by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The investigating team carried out a search at three locations this morning: a home in Sucker Garden, a home in Saunders and at the office of the Ministry of Justice on A.T. Illidge Road. Various administration documents and data carriers were seized. J.L.La P. and M.J.P. are being held…
PHILIPSBURG — Yesterday we published the announcement from the Central Bank of Curacao and St. Maarten (CBCS) that on March 28, 2018, the National Ordinance Actualization and Harmonization Supervision Ordinances Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten (A.B. 2018, no. 5) came into effect on St. Maarten with the aim to strengthen the Central Bank’s supervision of financial products offered by banks and insurances to ensure consumer protection. StMaartenNews.com interviewed two representatives of consumer organizations here on St. Maarten about this recent development. Both had definite opinions about the role of the Central Bank. Raymond Jessurun of the Consumer Coalition…
