PHILIPSBURG – “The dump is my biggest problem. It is a monster. I consider it a giant murderer,” VROMI-Minister Miklos Giterson said at his first appearance at a Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday. But the dump is not at the top of his to-do list: that is taking care of the people who are currently still living in emergency shelters in the Festival Village. “It is apparent that we have a lack of emergency housing,” the minister said. He intends to solve the problem before the upcoming carnival in April: “We will have a clean Festival Village for…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPSBURG – Finance Minister Mike Ferrier picked up on Nico Schoof’s statement in his interview with stmaartennews.com that St. Maarten is in the driver’s seat as far as recovery efforts is concerned. “I take him at his word,” Ferrier said at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. “St. Maarten must be in the driver’s seat.” Ferrier thanked his predecessor Richard Gibson Sr. for his efforts and noted that the interim-government he is now a part of is heading for an “intense and brief’ period. “There is a lot to do and we will get the ball rolling with the recovery,”…
PHILPSBURG – During the next couple of days the interim government led by Prime Minister Leona Marlin-Romeo will discuss recent decisions taken by the caretaker government. “There are some decisions I am not comfortable with,” Minister Emil Lee said about this initiative at the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday. “We should examine them and see if they are in the interest of St. Maarten. Outgoing governments have a tendency to grant favors to their supporters. That has to stop.” Minister Lee described the Council of Ministers as “a tense environment” ever since the parliament had sent the previous…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance handled a number of minor cases on Wednesday morning, including that of Camille Alvirio Schut, 28, who was sentenced to 6 months of imprisonment, with 2 months conditional and admission into the Mental Health Foundation for treatment. Schut was charged with ill-treating a person on September 11 of last year and with breaking the curfew 13 days later. On October 11 he stole a car and later caused damages to this vehicle. The defendant denied all accusations, including the suggestion that he needed mental care. The court found proof not for stealing but…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance handled a number of minor cases on Wednesday morning. Leendert Cornelis Derk Smaal ended up with a 3-month conditional prison sentence, 2 years of probation and 240 hours of community service. Marines caught him on September 22 in the possession of a handgun and an air gun. The marines found the weapons accidentally after Smaal, 51, had gotten into a fight with a roommate in Simpson Bay. They found the firearm in the house and the air gun in the glove compartment of his car. The defendant said that he had the weapons…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced a tearful Samantha Pereira to 3 weeks in prison for looting electronics that belonged to Boolchand’s between September 5 and September 27 of last year. The 35-year old woman had grabbed a TV, two iPads and a MacBook laptop that other looters had taken from the store and put on the street. “These items were stolen shortly after the hurricane, “ the judge told the defendant. “You had them with you for three weeks. Why did you not bring them to the police?” Pereira’s explanation: “They were locking people up. I was…
PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister, fellow ministers of the Council, members of the media, Good Morning. Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the Prime Minister and my fellow council ministers for the opportunity to work with such a vibrant and enthused set of individuals whose only motive is to see the people of St. Maarten through the recovery phase that we are currently in. Hurricane Irma has undoubtedly changed not only the physical landscape of our island; it has changed the economic, financial and psycho-social landscape as well. As Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, besides lending my…
ST. MAARTEN – JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) marked the 10th anniversary of service to St. Maarten with local festivities that included its customers, crewmembers and business partners at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). The airline celebrated the special milestone as it reiterated its commitment to serve the market and help in its tourism recovery after Hurricane Irma. JetBlue initially launched service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to St. Maarten on Jan. 17, 2008. Airline commemorates milestone and recovery with its customers, crewmembers and business partners. “Since hurricane Irma struck, the JetBlue team, including our crewmembers in St. Maarten,…
Willemstad/Philipsburg — The organization behind the Curacao North Sea Jazz (CNSJ) festival announced today that artists Jason Derulo, Carlos Vives and Sean Paul will be attending the 2018 festival in August and September. Also confirmed are Spyro Gyra and the Michel Camilo Trio. The organization is still busy with various other artists who will be announced in the course of the coming months. The eighth edition of the festival opens with free concerts at the World Trade Center site on Thursday, August 30th. Silvestre Dangond has been confirmed for this opening night. First names CNSJ: Jason Derulo, Carlos Vives and…
Philipsburg — From the desk of member of Parliament, drs. Rodolphe E. Samuel, we have received the following press release. As a result of the passing of Hurricane Irma many areas on the island were severely damaged. Besides the enormous damage to homes and school buildings many of our hotel properties have also sustained serious damage forcing their closure in order to repair and rebuild. Knowing that it would be impossible for all the workers in the hospitality trade to find work elsewhere the Government devised a plan / solution to remedy this negative situation. The previous Minister of Finance…
