PHILIPSBURG — Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Miklos Giterson recently returned from a working visit to the Ministry of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning (VVRP) in Curacao. Mr. Harry Huisden and Ms. Cidy Do Rego of the SOAB organized the visit, with the objective of receiving information and guidance on best practices from the recent successes that VVRP’s Permits and Domain Affairs departments have experienced. In Curacao, these departments have initiated comprehensive projects that have yielded positive results within the previous two years, in spite of the variety of challenges facing them. In addition to…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG — The Sint Maarten Nature Foundation is urging the SCDF to find sustainable alternatives to using balloons during two events for next year’s celebration of fifty years of carnival. The Nature Foundation has sent a letter to the SCDF on Monday, October 1st asking the organization to consider sustainable alternatives, also during events at the Carnival Village, to single use plastics. During last year’s carnival the Foundation recorded a significant increase in plastic litter and debris. “We are urging the SCDF to not only make the celebration for 50 years of carnival fun and exciting, but also sustainable and…
By Hilbert Haar Environmental issues have taken central stage in St. Maarten ever since Barbara Cannegieter et al filed a lawsuit against the government over the persistent fires at the dump. Add the Pride’s Foundation’s annual coastal cleanup to the mix, together with MP Sarah Wescot-Williams draft initiative law to ban single use plastic bags and you’d think there isn’t a soul on our island left who is not aware of these issues. But the pitfalls along the road towards environmental awareness are manifold. I should be the last one to criticize the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation for putting…
By Hilbert Haar We stay in the old center of Hanoi at the City Backpackers Hostel on Bat Su Street. To say that the city is a bit overwhelming is an understatement. With 7.5 million inhabitants, 5 million scooters and 500,000 cars the buzz in this place never stops. About those scooters: everybody wears a helmet here – often combined with a facemask that would make bank robbers in St. Maarten envious – and nobody makes wheelies. Crossing a road is a combination of art and science. You have to throw yourself into the flow, being aware that nobody will…
Thursday, September 27, 2018, is World Tourism Day and apparently also World Maritime Day. So the cruise industry is having a double celebration. Today we also published a World Tourism Day flyer from the Saba Tourist Office. What we have noticed during our recent visit to Saba is that the island takes enormous pride in its tourism product. From the very top of Saba Mountain to The Bottom. On land as well as above and below the ocean. We took pictures of the island during a tour with the Director of the Saba Tourist Office, Glenn Holm, and while reviewing…
Philipsburg — This video of a rooftop fire was initially broadcasted via Whatsapp claiming that a helicopter crashed had happened in Galisbay, Saint Martin. However, the report was quickly determined to be ‘fake news’. Nevertheless, with the appearance of a second video of this fire incident that apparently even reached all the way in Curacao and Bonaire, reporters asked StMaartenNews.com for further clarification into what actually happened. Apparently, this fire occurred this morning. It is an old sports auditorium building the French government was using for government services in Galisbay that got damaged during hurricane Irma last year. The roof…
Dear Editor, I am one of the few people that is knowledgeable in Dutch Taw law on this Island and I am also an experienced designer of software, especially for Tax administrations. I developed major tax systems in the Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles and Sint Maarten. I would like to react to the [The Daily Herald’s, -Ed.] Editorial of September 26, 2018, in which plans to improve the tax department and making more procedures electronic for greater efficiency is being applauded. In itself that is worth applauding, but the process is far from fair and transparent. As a tax collector in…
SIMPSON BAY — Leisure Car Rental was established in 2007 on the island of St. Maarten. They started small, but consistently grew over the years to become the number one Car Rental Agency on the friendly island. Hence the slogan ‘The Best Place to Rent A Car in St. Maarten’. Ten years later, they opened a branch in the Nature Island, Dominica. With plans to expand to St. Kitts, Anguilla, and the rest of the Caribbean. Winning prestigious Awards is nothing new for this company. Over the years, they picked up multiple local and international Customer Service Awards. To date,…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Port St. Maarten representatives recently returned from attending Seatrade Cruise Med 2018, the world’s largest cruise industry event focused on the Mediterranean and adjoining seas. The St. Maarten delegation included Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs Stuart Johnson and representatives of his Cabinet, and the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau. The event brought together over 2600 industry professionals; 160+ exhibiting companies; 60 countries represented; and 30+ cruise line brands. Seatrade Cruise Med 2018 took place from September 19-20 at the FIL Lisbon Exhibition and Congress Centre in Lisbon, Portugal and was an integral element of Portugal Shipping…
By Hilbert Haar Oh oh; the justice system is doing what it is supposed to do and politicians start to feel the heat. Don’t let their cries of Gestapo-tactics, denationalization and Dutch takeover fool you. Nor should you be fooled by the (repeated) call from that misguided MP Christophe Emmanuel, who keeps insisting that St. Maarten must send a strong message to The Hague that the island wants its independence. It’s all smoke and mirrors, my friends. All the ruckus in parliament is obviously the result of a decision by the Common Court of Justice that gave the Prosecutor’s Office…
