FRENCH QUARTER – The organizers of St. Maarten day festivities in French Quarter have a wry sense of humor: they open the party at 10 a.m. with a 2.5 hour long performance by Baly Francois, aka DJ Hurricane. When Dutch marines asked radio station Laser 101 shortly after Hurricane Irma destroyed the island to play Rock You Like a Hurricane – a song by the iconic German rock band Scorpions Rudolf Schenker established back in 1965 – the radio station said that it could not find that record and distraught listeners indicated that they were upset by this choice of…
Author: The Publisher
Tax attorney Max Pandt has passed away this week; Prime Minister William Marlin offered his condolences on Wednesday. Pandt is a former member of the board for financial supervision (Cft) for the BES-islands. He stepped down in September 2013. Pandt was an outspoken professional; he kept working at his office on Bush Road after he left the Cft. On April 12, 2016, Today’s Editor-in-Chief Hilbert Haar interviewed Pandt about the Panama Papers and the offshore industry. Two things stand out from that interview. Talking about his dwindling share in offshore activities, he drily noted: “I operate within the rules.” And…
MIDDLE REGION –– The Rotary Club of Sint Maarten has donated new kitchen equipment to the Sister Marie Laurence Primary School, much to the delight and gratitude of the students and staff. “Hurricane Irma caused a large amount of damage to the school buildings, which was truly unfortunate. Even more devastating was the looting and vandalism that took place after the passing of Hurricane Irma. Words cannot express the disappointment we all felt to see how the school was destroyed by residents of St. Maarten. Why would people loot a school? Why would people destroy a learning environment of the…
CAY HILL — The St. Maarten Medical Center welcomed a new Internist-Nephrologist to their medical staff on October 30th, 2017. Dr. Laima Siddiqi-Nadery obtained her MD and PhD degree from the University Medical Center Utrecht. There she recently completed her specialty training in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. After completing her training, Dr. Siddiqi – Nadery chose St. Maarten as her ideal place of work. “Providing optimal care, despite practicing with limited facilities is a challenge that I always wanted to go for. I am here to give a hand, make the team of SMMC stronger and help those in need,…
PHILIPSBURG — Detectives of the Police Juvenile department are presently investigating the serious ill-treatment of a 14 year old student. The incident took place on Monday November 6th in front of the former Sheik Supermarket on the L.B. Scot road. The victim according to witnesses was attacked by four other students attending three other secondary schools. During the fight one of the students involved in the fight was in the possession of an aluminum baseball bat and used it to strike the victim in his head. The victim was treated on the scene by paramedics and then transported to the…
Willemstad – On Thursday, November 30, 2017, there will be a bond issue on behalf of the country of Curacao. The bond will have a semi-annual coupon as follows: NAf 60,000,000 bond with duration of 30 years. Interest rate is based on the Dutch yield curve as of November 22, 2017. On Wednesday, November 22, 2017, the Dutch State Treasury Agency (DSTA) will be able to subscribe, and after that up to Thursday, November 23, 2017, 10:00A.M., the general public will be able to subscribe to this bond issue at all commercial banks on Curacao and Sint Maarten. Subscription will…
PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister William Marlin says that there are simple solutions for all the concerns that have been vented about the January 8 elections. The government has freed up a budget of 661,000 guilders for the elections. “Democracy comes at a price,” Marlin noted drily on Wednesday. The prime minister acknowledged that the post office has been destroyed during Hurricane Irma. “That’s the building, but not the postal workers,” he pointed out. “A stack of voting cards will come back also this time because the people cannot be found. But the voting cards that cannot be delivered will be…
PHILIPSBURG – “How did we get there? Irma hit.” Prime Minister William Marlin is still reeling from the recent political developments that brought down his government, but he doesn’t think the hurricane had anything to do with it: “Something was already in the making to break up this government before the hurricane.” Marlin went over recent political history since 2014, when the first red-white and blue coalition of NA, DP and USp fell apart due to the defection of DP-MP Cornelius de Weever. “We could have had an 8-seat majority with the USp at the time,” Marlin said. But the…
PHILIPSBURG – “These are very strange days,” Minister Emil Lee (Public Health, Social Development and Labor) said at Wednesday’s council of Ministers press briefing. “It is sad that after you have worked together for two years, how people turn on you so quickly,” he added, while Prime Minister William Marlin, who has criticized Lee, sat a few meters away from him, listening stone-faced. “Right now I understand how this works,” Lee continued. “Let’s blame the guy who leaves the team. Since Irma I have worked, like many others, every day to serve the country. After reading some recent comments I…
Philipsburg — The Sint Maarten government received a cheque in the amount of USD$105,275 from representatives of The Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Willemstad late last week. Announcing the donation last week was the Vice Consul when making a courtesy visit to our Prime Minister. The funds are earmarked for the reconstruction of schools and homes following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. Prime Minister William Marlin, in his letter to the Chinese Consular General Zhang Weixin, thanked the Consulate for their continued support of Sint Maarten, its economy, and its people. Photo caption: The Vice…
