THE HAGUE – The search by the government of Curacao for new investors in the Isla-refinery has so far not been successful, John Samson writes on Caribisch Netwerk. But experts doubt that the population will get cleaner air, even if new investors would be found. “The refinery is so badly maintained that it nears the point of collapse. Why would a company invest in it?” says Sven Rusticus of GreenTown. Human rights have been violated for years through the emission of toxic fumes from the refinery, is the sentiment in the Second Chamber. In the districts where the polluted air…
Author: The Publisher
Betty’ s Estate– The Methodist Aggogic Center experienced some Christmas cheer on Monday 18th December 2017. Dino Arrundell and his wife Brenda Arrundell, of Captain D’s Rib Shack, surprised 94 Cycle 1 Year 2 students of the Rev. John A. Gumbs and Browlia F. Maynard campuses with goodie bags to jumpstart their Christmas celebration. “I am a product of the Methodist Aggogic Center; an institution that taught me the true meaning of Christmas which is giving. My wife and I decided to take it back to where it all started and treat the students with items that will keep their mind…
Philipsburg, St. Maarten, December 20, 2017 – Four local foundations got a much needed financial boost recently. The four foundations – K1 Britannia Foundation, Helping Hands, Engage Foundation and Meals on Wheels – are known for their community endeavors ranging from aiding foster homes and the less fortunate, to senior citizen care and social development. Their efforts have been even more needed in recent months due to the tremendous need in the aftermath of hurricane Irma. They shared a USD $25,000 donation from regional bank CIBC FirstCaribbean. The bank continues to stand with St. Maarten and others impacted across the…
Philipsburg — The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation continued its relief efforts to bring aid to residents in need by holding additional “three goods” relief distribution in four districts recently. Relief efforts were done at the Good Samaritan Church in Sandy Ground on December 3, 2017; in Cay Bay on Saturday, December 9, 2017 and in Sucker Garden as well as at the L’ eglise de Dieu de Salvation Church in Cay Hill on Sunday, December 10, 2017. The “three goods” relief effort is significant in that it encourages the public to “think, speak and do good” in all that…
Philipsburg — With a joint effort between the St. Dominic High School Interact Club and The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle we were able to put together two joint projects. Mid Isle headed the project to donate thirty care packages for the less fortunate people in the community. These packages contained food items, toiletries, handmade iced Christmas cookies along with a candy cane. Ten baskets were donated to the Anglican Church on Back Street, ten baskets went to the Bishop Ellis Foundation and ten baskets went to Social Services for distribution. Items and goods collected by the SDHS Interact…
After the new interim UP/DP/Brownbill government is sworn in, Sint Maarten would have had seven coalition governments in seven years. This is an average of one government per year. If we also count the number of elections since 2010, including the upcoming February 2018, Sint Maarteners would have gone to the polls four times which boils down to an average of one election every two years. For a small young country such as ours, having on average, a change of government every year and elections every two years is unacceptable. Think of the instability this causes within the civil service…
PHILIPSBURG – The voters registry for the February 26 elections closed on December 6; it contains the names of 22,559 eligible voters. If the turnout for the elections is similar to that of the 2016 elections (63.7 percent), there would be 14,370 valid votes. To win a seat then requires 958 votes; in 2016 this quota was 947. Prime Minister Rafael Boasman said on Wednesday that the number of eligible voters is still subject to change because citizens can still challenge the absence of their names in the registry in court. Nomination Day is on January 5; the following day…
PHILIPSBURG – The Public Prosecutor demanded prison sentences varying from 3 to 12 years for five defendants in the Court in First Instance on Wednesday. The men are charged with five armed robberies and one home invasion whereby they ill-treated, bound and gagged the resident. The crimes were committed between December 7 of last year and March 4 of this year. The Public Prosecutor wants to send Delangio Rakeem W. (21) and Ashmore Deandre H. (18) for 12 years to jail; Brian B. (20) is facing 10 years of imprisonment and Janry St. V. 3 years. The fifth defendant was…
PHILIPSBURG – The Court in First Instance moved the trial against Kevin Chris L.B.to February 28 of next year. The 28-year old defendant is accused of firearm possession. The public prosecutor said that police had found a Glock in the hands of the defendant and that it had fallen on the ground during a struggle in the process of his arrest. L.B. had two previous convictions for firearm possession: 15 months conditional in 2014 and another 18 months conditional in 2016. His attorney Brenda Brooks asked the court to terminate the pretrial detention. “A co-suspect has confessed that two of…
Man seriously stabbed The Detective Department is presently investigating a stabbing incident of a man. The incident took place on Tuesday December 19th shortly before 09.00 p.m. The police patrol was sent to the Sint Maarten Medical Center to investigate a case involving a male victim who was covered in blood as a result of being stabbed several times. At the Sint Maarten Medical Center the investigating officers could not speak to the victim because he was being treated at the time. The officers spoke to a witness with initials B.S.G. who stated the he was accompanied by the victim…
