Author: The Publisher

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Due to the fire at the Pond Island landfill, the Prime Minister/Minister of General Affairs Leona Romeo Marlin in consultation with the Minister of Education and other relevant entities, hereby makes known that the Charlotte Brookson Academy will not open for classes today, Monday, February 5. The Fire Department which falls under the Ministry of General Affairs, continues to monitor the situation at the landfill. Additional information will be forthcoming during the next few hours if warranted. The Fire Department, is advising persons living downwind from the landfill fire, to close windows and doors,…

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The fire at the Pond Island landfill has grown and Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin has decided to close the Government Administration Building for Monday, February 5. Civil servants who work in the Government Administration Building are not to report to work due to the heavy smoke in the area. This means that government services out of the building are closed for Monday, February 5. The Prime Minister apologizes to those who may have had appointments scheduled for Monday for any inconvenience that this may cause. The access roads to Pond Island via the…

The Hague — Today, State Secretary Knops (Kingdom Relations) has submitted a bill to the Second Chamber to be able to intervene administratively on St. Eustatius. The bill stipulates that the island council will be disbanded and the deputies and acting lieutenant governor will be relieved of their duties. A government commissioner will be appointed who will take care of the administration of St. Eustatius. This intervention is a reaction to the report of the ‘committee of wise men’, who reported “gross dereliction of duties” on St. Eustatius. This dereliction of duty comes at the expense of citizens and businesses…

Philipsburg — In regards to the upcoming February 26th, 2018, Parliamentary Elections, the Civil Registry Department will be distributing the voting cards at four different locations: the Dutch Quarter Helpdesk, St. Peters Rupert Maynard Community Centre, Public Service Center (PSC) in Simpsonbay, and the Old Census office building in Philipsburg. Once persons are registered at the Civil Registry department and they are eligible voters, their voting cards can be collected from February 5 to February 9 at one of the distribution locations. Please take note that your district is connected to the address that you are registered under at the…

POND ISLAND – The New York Times (NYT) Travel section featured “52 Places to Go in 2018” as part of a starter kit for escaping into the world, and the Caribbean came in as number four under the banner “Tourism speeds recovery in a storm-battered part of the world.” Destination Sint Maarten’s newest tourist attraction was mentioned under the Caribbean “The new St. Maarten Rockland Estate Eco-Park Rainforest Adventures’ new Rockland Estate Park introduced a zipline to Saint Maarten.” The section was written by Elaine Glusac. Acting Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Cornelius de Weever…

Pond Island – A blazing fire of an unknown origin broke out in the site where vehicles and other forms of metal are stockpiled on Pond Island. Currently firefighters are working to contain the blaze which appears to be intensifying by the minute. From all appearances, the fire seems to be fueled by the variety of combustible materials in the proximity of the inferno. Due to landfill fire persons with respiratory challenges advised to close windows and doors GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Part of the landfill on Pond Island is on fire. The Fire Department is advising persons…

PHILIPSBURG – In the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Irma, local contractors massively jumped on the bandwagon to make some good money by providing cleanup services to the government. A total of 68 companies – some of them not registered at the Chamber of Commerce – invoiced the government for more than 7.9 million guilders for the first phase of the cleanup program in the month of September alone.

by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert How about Fly-In Banking; like a drive-in fast food operation? No, it’s no joke. In the Caribbean? Probably not, but that is not the point. One has to look at the principles of the concept and explore if one could do a ‘fly-in’ something that might fit a particular destination in a region. Bottom line, it’s all about economic development of a region. Follow-me! Developing airport business requires some creative thinking especially when it comes to private and business aviation. No one is flying to an airport because of the airport. Passengers are coming for the…

Philipsburg — The St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) and CC1 St. Maarten has renewed their partnership for Carnival 2018. With CC1 on board as a major corporate sponsor of Carnival, the general public can expect several promotional activities, raffles and giveaways from CC1 as well collaboration on two of Carnival’s largest concerts. The SCDF and CC1 will collaborate to present the One Love Reggae Concert as well as Noche Latina. “The support of CC1 not only makes the presentation of the shows possible, but also makes several operational aspects of Carnival possible. This is not an easy year financially…

Philipsburg — Seven owners of one-man businesses (sole proprietorships) on Sint Maarten will appear in the Court of First Instance of Sint Maarten on 6 and 7 February 2018. It is the “Emerald-case” regarding evading income and turnover tax. These suspicions are the result of the “Emerald-investigation”, an investigation by the anti-corruption unit (TBO, Team Bestrijding Ondermijning) into fraud and corruption in the port of Sint Maarten. It has been found that the companies that are on trial in (in particular) the years 2012-2016 have been paid for approximately 8 million dollars for activities that would have been carried out…