~ A decision to dissolve parliament does not absolve any MP of his/her duties; a caretaker government Parliament does not exist ~ A meeting that could have brought some answers to many lingering questions, was obstructed again by NA members of Parliament. I dutifully followed the rules and vacated the chair’s seat to speak on the topic, only to see the same old games being played. This would have been the right place for ministers to clarify and respond to concerns that exist in the community. I expected the Minister of VROMI, who continues to rant on radio programs about…
Author: The Publisher
By Hilbert Haar For those who have no clue why the Caravanserai Beach Resort was rechristened as the Alegría resort – and what the hell that name means, here is a pointer. The resort’s name is displayed above the entrance and underneath, in smaller letters it says: A world of happiness. And that’s exactly what the Spanish word alegría means: happiness. To all those who have squared off with the resort in a courtroom in Philipsburg ever since the take over in 2014 that must come across as some sort of sick joke – and we get that. To those…
PHILIPSBURG – Leader of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Gracita Arrindell, states: “The holiday season has arrived quietly. For thousands of local households this means little or no season at all. For the first time in a very long time in our social-economic history, to experience that sadly many of our citizens will not be able to sit around their kitchen table to enjoy quality time with their families, close friends and neighbors. Mind you, many are in this situation through no fault of their own. With the closure of so many business that cater to our main pillar of…
Philipsburg — In the case filed by a group of thirty marketplace vendors, the Ombudsman considered the complaint founded, and ruled that the standards of Reason, Active and Adequate Information Provision, and Reasonableness and Proportionality have been violated. On 12 October 2017 thirty (30) marketplace vendors, represented by Mrs. Ingrid Grell-Davis (Complainants), informed the Ombudsman that they were negatively affected by the decision of the Minister of Tourism Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (Minister TEATT) to breakdown and remove all kiosks in Philipsburg. Complainants alleged that they were not consulted, nor informed on the matter, nor could their concerns be…
PHILIPSBURG – The Public Prosecutor demanded 30 months of imprisonment against Karim L. on Wednesday. The 34-year old suspect was involved in a shooting in the parking garage of the Westin Resort in Dawn Beach on May 29, 2016. Investigators found $48,700 in counterfeit American dollars in the suspect’s car. L. is also charged with firearm possession. A second suspect in this case, Levy W. (39) did not appear in court. His attorney Brenda Brooks could not get a hold of him and told the court that he is probably in the Dominican Republic for medical treatment. After the shooting…
PHILIPSBURG – Darius Edvar Ricardo A. is looking at a possible 4-year stay at the Pointe Blanche prison for his role in an armed robbery at the Gold Star jewelers on August 17 of this year. the court will pronounce its ruling on December 27. The jeweler spotted the suspect on Front Street, walking around suspiciously wearing a hoodie in spite of the hot weather. When he finally entered the store, he showed a gun and demanded money. He allegedly took off with $2,500 worth of golden earrings and almost $700 in cash. Police officers who happened to be on…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Christmas is coming to Walter Plantz Square (WPS) at Down Street on Friday afternoon, December 8 at Happy Hour. Come out and join the Lighting of the Annual Christmas tree at WPS at 7.00pm. End your week by kicking-off the holiday season celebration at WPS. This is the third year that WPS will be lighting the Christmas tree as well as the square with festive holiday lights for the season. It’s a time to reflect and give gratitude in the post-Irma era. While visiting WPS, don’t forget to patronize one of several restaurants at the square: Irie…
PORT ST. MAARTEN – Marella Discovery of Marella Cruises, formerly Thomson Cruises, and part of the TUI Group, the world’s leading travel company, was the second commercial cruise ship to visit Port St. Maarten. The vessel docked along the cruise pier on Tuesday, December 5. Cruise passengers were welcomed with Caribbean music from Dow Steel Pan Band along with a welcome banner, stilt walkers, dancers and the Carnival Queens. Port St. Maarten also distributed complimentary #SXMStrong wrist bands to passengers who came ashore. Throughout the day activities were held on the Boardwalk near the Captain Hodge Wharf in Philipsburg that…
PHILIPSBURG – “The government remains committed to the University of St. martin as the only line of higher education,” caretaker Minister of Education Silveria Jacobs said on Wednesday. “This remains key; but the Council of Ministers also holds USM accountable for the funds it receives.” Jacobs said that, under a memorandum of understanding, the university will received three times 230,000 guilders to cover the costs for the last trimester of the year. Next to that, USM will continue to receive its monthly subsidy installment of 63,750 guilders. Minister Jacobs said that the government already signed an agreement with USM back…
PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister Rafael Boasman initially did not have an answer to a question by stmaartennews.com about the justification for forgiving Randall Friday’s lottery company My Lucky Day a 2.1 million debt in license fee arrears. “I don’t have the details on it so I would have to check what exactly the issue was.” Boasman said. “I know that there was a request earlier in the year from companies that had a license but never used it. Because they had the license they accumulated fees that had to be paid and they requested forgiveness for the payment of these…
