~ Public Service Announcement ~ Saba/Statia — The representatives of the National Ombudsman will return to Statia and Saba once again. They will be on Statia on Monday, November 27 and Tuesday, November 28, and on Saba on Wednesday afternoon, November 29 and Thursday, November 30. The National Ombudsman deals with complaints about the government. People may be at an impasse with, for example, the Dutch Caribbean Tax Authorities, the Police, ZVK or the Rijksdienst Dutch Caribbean. The representatives have arranged for consultation hours during which anyone may visit. Let us know if you have experienced not being listened to…
Author: The Publisher
~ Community encouraged to play a role in making day relevant for children ~ Great Bay – The United Nations’ (UN) Universal Children’s Day, which was established in 1954, is celebrated on November 20 each year to promote international togetherness and awareness among children and improving children’s welfare. It is a date on which parents, teachers, nurses and doctors, government representatives and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate moguls and media professionals as well as young people and children themselves are encouraged to play an important part in making Universal Children’s Day relevant for their societies and communities.…
~ “KUDOS TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS OF THE ROC MONDRIAAN INTERNATIONAL HOTEL & MANAGEMENT SCHOOL IN THE HAGUE FOR THEIR CONTINUED SUPPORT AND LOVE FOR SINT MAARTEN” ~ PHILIPSBURG — Gracita states; “November 11 last, while we commemorated St. Maarten’s Day locally, reportedly, on the other side of the Ocean, students and teachers of the well-known Mondriaan International Hotel and Management school located in the Hague, organized yet another successful fundraiser activity, for our island. A dinner, that included dishes with a local flavor, prepared and dished out by the students. The well attended fundraiser dinner was held from five…
Cul-de-Sac — City Furniture has now open its doors at a new location on the L.B. Scot Road across from Cake House Supermarket in Cul-de-Sac. The new location boast a 4500 square foot showroom and convenient parking for its customers. “We carry a wide variety of solid wood and high quality furniture from the US, Brazil and Canada.” management wrote in an email to the newsdesk of stmaartennews.com. City Furniture representative, managing director Mr. Nasser Kassrawi, stated that after more than ten years in business at the previous location across from Le Grand Marche shopping center, the company finally made a…
Philipsburg — Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Friday lauded the management of GEBE for the diligent work currently being executed and for their professionalism under pressure-filled circumstances following hurricanes Irma and Maria. The MP also praised GEBE’s personnel for going above and beyond in putting St. Maarten in position for a quicker recovery. Richardson said the government and people of St. Maarten put its faith in three local professionals to manage and forge a future for the utility company and, in his opinion, they are fulfilling the obligations bestowed upon them. He said Kenrick Chittick, Iris Arrindell and Veronica…
Philipsburg — Wycliffe Smith, Leader of the Sint Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) announces that Shenella Browne will be contesting the upcoming elections on the slate of the Christian Party. Shenella Browne is “Determined for Change”. Here is her story. Most people call me “Shenel”. I am a proud daughter of sweet St. Maarten and was raised in Dutch Quarter. I am the fifth of seven kids and was raised in a joyfully large and close-knit family, where individuality and self-expression were encouraged. Growing up, my mother taught me the true meaning of diligence. She is easy going, but takes every…
Philipsburg — The St. Maarten Nature Foundation has been continuously monitoring the reefs for their health and to assess the underwater damage caused by Hurricane Irma. During the reef surveys held at the beginning of November, several shallower dive sites started to show a worrisome outbreak of red algae species. Especially on reefs shallower than 35 feet in depth large red algae blooms were recorded in the Marine Park and on other reefs around the island. Blooms of red algae can hamper the regrowth of several reef species which were damaged due to hurricane Irma’s swells. Red algae are strong…
Royal Caribbean Confirms Holiday Cruise Schedule and is on track for December 17 return. Sister cruise line Celebrity Cruises returns February 2018 ~ PORT ST. MAARTEN – A Port St. Maarten delegation from the Cruise Business Unit met recently with Royal Caribbean International (RCI) representatives in Miami, Florida, to provide an update on the progress of current recovery efforts in destination Sint Maarten. During the discussions, Royal Caribbean reiterated its commitment to the destination and provided a schedule of the vessels that will call on Sint Maarten starting in mid-December, just in time for the peak family travel season. Grandeur…
Dear Editor, We can claim some kind of return to normalcy with the news of a formation of a new cabinet, at long last the face of government is not the two old horses who seem to willingly swap the leadership role. It also gives some sense of pride to know that we have something the Dutch can learn from, it took us just two weeks to reach a governing agreement and we have to go to screening. Shouldn’t those super civil servants who are to give advice you can’t refuse also be required to go through the same screening?…
by Cdr. Bud Slabbaert Statistics have a sort of magical appeal and are a bit like mathematical enchanted tricks, aren’t they? The worlds of business and politics are littered with statistics. Some individuals using statistics are like the diplomat who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age. They are selective about the dates they choose, and about the numbers, that they do not want to use in order to keep their audience happy. Statistics can baffle and excite an audience. They can be a calming remedy. Take stabilizing statistics. They are like looking through the glass of…
