By Hilbert Haar Vromi-Minister Christophe Emmanuel is at war with the media, and with the Daily Herald in particular. I think it is time to stand up for our colleagues at Bush Road and take a closer look at the situation. The minister is making a lot of noise but I am convinced that this is an attempt to create a smokescreen. Blaming the messenger is a very old game. Every journalist comes sooner or later in a situation where a source will deny a controversial quote attributed to him. A professional journalist has one solid weapon: his integrity. You…
Author: The Publisher
PHILIPBURG – Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs Rafael Boasman shed some light on the troubles citizens experience with the census Office at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing. “There was no malice or lack of attention from the government to remedy any inconvenience,” he said. Part of a solution is in the making: a toll-free dedicated phone number. Citizens have had trouble reaching the Census Office since it moved – out of necessity – after Hurricane Irma to limited space in the new government building. The phone number that was given out for the Census Office did not…
PHILIPSBURG – The National Day of Prayer will take place this Sunday at 4 p.m. in front of the new government building on Pond Island, Minister Silveria Jacobs (Educations, Culture, Youth and Sport) announced on Wednesday. The annual event is a collaboration between the government, the Christian Council of Churches, the St. Maarten United Ministerial Foundation and the Seventh Day Adventist Church. With a reference to the Thanksgiving ceremony that took place in December at the same location, Minister Jacobs said that these ecumenical services became a tradition after Hurricane Luis in 1995. The theme of this years ceremony is…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance sentenced four youngsters to prison sentences varying from 24 months to 10 years for their role in armed robberies and a home invasion whereby a resident was ill-treated and tied up. A fifth defendant got off with a wholly conditional youth detention sentence. The court sentenced all five defendants to repay the home invasion victim $13,000 in damages. Brian Boodram (20) received the heaviest sentence of 10 years; Ashmore Deandre Hodge (18) and Delangio Rakeem Webster (21) were each sentenced to 9 years, while 20-year old Janry St. Ville’s sentence was limited to…
Philipsburg — Rolando Brison, on Wednesday shared his plans and insight into his campaign slogan “Making Tourism Work For You” that primarily focused on St. Maarten’s tourism product and how it can and should benefit every citizen directly, through job creation and/or economic gains. Brison, current Head of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau (STB), is contesting the upcoming Parliamentary Elections on February 26 with the United St. Maarten (US) party as the party’s #4 candidate. “Tourism can and should do more for our people and our communities. We just need people who can translate St. Maarten’s tourism product into real…
Ok, let’s recap this issue as succinctly as possible for readers. First there was some written action resulting in a letter. Then there was some oral action on the radio about the letter being actionable. This resulted in some written action in the Daily Herald. To this written action there was no reaction. So the Herald took action and came with more written action. Then action was taken and a reaction made actionable in the form of a press reaction. This resulted in a reaction to the written action boosted by the press reaction that the written action should not…
Oranjestad — News coming out of Aruba about the Interparliamentary Kingdom Council (IPKO) being held from 9 to 11 January 2018 in Aruba between the parliaments of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Aruba indicates that the meetings that started on Tuesday, January 9th, with a plenary meeting in the Ballroom of the Hilton Aruba Caribbean Resort, chaired by the President of Aruba, mr. J.E. Thijsen, are going well. The main theme of that meeting was sustainability. Presentations were given and, in parts, sessions on the ‘Small Island Developing States’ and the consequences of Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten. Furthermore, in…
Dear Editor, This week the Nature Foundation announced that due to the landfill on Pond Island which has been burning for over a month, the non-governmental organization (NGO) has called on nearby communities to start wearing facemasks in order to protect themselves from the fumes. The NGO on Thursday distributed masks to students and staff of a school on the Pondfill which is located near the landfill. The Nature Foundation also stated that the month long fire is now resulting in significant negative health effects affecting the community and visitors alike. “As we still wait for action to occur regarding…
Cay Hill — The Sint Maarten Consumer Coalition was invited by management of the Sint Maarten Medical Center to give background and explanations for the tariff increase announced by SMMC as per January 1st. The Consumer Coalition in their press release expressed concern about the consequences of the 41.8% tariff increase and its effect on the insured at SZV and the private insurance companies, as well as the taxpayers from Sint Maarten. They also wanted to know what quality of services the consummers would get in return. ~SMMC wants COLA for the tariffs of 41.8% ~ These are the positions…
Cul-de-Sac — The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation continued its long-standing New Year’s Day tradition on January 1, when a number of cheerful volunteers visited the St. Martin’s Home in St. John’s Estate to treat and entertain seniors on the first day of 2018. In the spirit of giving and sharing, volunteers distributed 76 packages and 150 eggless Ponche Kuba cupcakes to seniors and St. Martin’s Home staffers. Each of the 76 packages contained a package of club social, soap, towel, juice, sugar free chocolate wafer and a bottle of Shilling Oil. Volunteers also entertained the seniors by, amongst other…
