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Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia urges MPs to make law changes

PHILIPSBURG--Change the laws to impose harsher punishment for paedophiles and institute a sex offenders registry were among the calls the group Patrol to Eradicate Paedophilia (PEP) made to the Petitions Committee of Parliament on Thursday.

PEP's request for laws to be changed now heads to the Permanent Committee for Justice. Committee Chairman Member of Parliament (MP) Johan Leonard said he would call the Justice Minister to the committee after Parliament's July recess.

PEP representative Peggy Ann Dros-Richardson urged MPs to have Government boost its assistance to the Mental Health Foundation, to help the foundation increase awareness about paedophilia and have the required treatment for the mental disorder Read more

Minister of Tourism Connor Orders Two Calibration Tanks. Saba provides temporary assistance

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor announced on Thursday that Ministry TEATT will be purchasing two fuel calibration tanks that would be used to test and re-calibrate fuel meters to make sure customers are getting what they purchased from a petrol station.

In the meantime, the Public Entity of Saba will loan the ministry their calibrating tank until the Sint Maarten tank which is currently in Curacao is repaired Read more

Minister of Tourism Connor commends Boxing Promoter Ottley for promoting Sports Tourism

>PHILIPSBURG:---  Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor recently met with Boxing Promoter of B.O.S.E. Promotion Milton “Bobby” Ottley regarding the upcoming PRO-AM Boxing Event “Eruption in Paradise” which is scheduled for July 4th.

Sports tourism is a significant element in world tourism, and has become highly competitive niche business for various tourism destinations Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- -Police officially announced the opening of the Central Dispatch Center linking the ambulance department and the police to one communication line. The fire department is not part of the system according the Benjamin Gout Head of the Police Traffic Department. Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson and Minister Claret Connor were among the dignitaries at the police headquarters in Philipsburg on Tuesday afternoon.

Inspector Gout explained in a brief power-point presentation that the Police started to work on centralizing the system in 2009 Read more

TEATT gas measuring tanks still in Curaçao

PHILIPSBURG--Controls by the Inspection Department of the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication TEATT are hindered because the measuring tanks – used to ensure gas stations are operating within the parameters set by government – have been in Curaçao since last year.

The concern was shared on Monday by Member of Parliament (MP) George Pantophlet via press statement Read more

Port St. Maarten empowers MPC Science Technology Project ‘Near Space Experience’

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POINTE BLANCHE:--- Port St. Maarten – Students and teachers of the HAVO/VWO Department of the Milton Peters College (MPC) have embarked on a unique Science/Technology project called the N.S.E. “Near Space Experience.”
Port St. Maarten is supporting the project financially as a partner during the pre and post phases which includes video and graphic productions, launch, along with rendering technical support to help guarantee the success of the project.
This is the first time known so far that this exciting initiative is being realized in the Caribbean by High School students Read more

Port St. Maarten Empowers Mpc Science Technology Project ‘Near Space Experience’

POINTE BLANCHE, St. Maarten – Students and teachers of the HAVO/VWO Department of the Milton Peters College (MPC) have embarked on a unique Science/Technology project called the N.S.E. "Near Space Experience."

Port St. Maarten is supporting the project financially as a partner during the pre and post phases which includes video and graphic productions, launch, along with rendering technical support to help guarantee the success of the project.

This is the first time known so far that this exciting initiative is being realized in the Caribbean by High School students Read more

Airport celebrates progress, remodelled departure lounge

AIRPORT--Princess Juliana International Airport SXM celebrated the official opening of its remodelled departure lounge on Wednesday night amongst top airport officials, government dignitaries of St. Maarten/St. Martin and a host of distinguished guests.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Claret Connor cut the ribbon alongside top airport officials Regina LaBega and Michel Hodge.

The who's who of the local tourism and business world heard addresses by Prime Minister Gumbs, Tourism Minister Connor, airport Managing Director Regina LaBega, Supervisory Board of Directors Chairman Gary Matser and Special Projects Coordinator Robert Brown, and a pre-recorded address by Dr Read more

>Airport:--- Dignitaries from both sides of the island including Anguilla attended the opening ceremony of the renovated departure lounge at the Princess Juliana International Airport on Wednesday evening. Special Projects Coordinator Robert Brown gave an outline to the large gathering how management of PJIAE decided to upgrade the airport beginning with the departure lounge Read more

Stakeholders reconvene on EVT Economic Framework

PHILIPSBURG--Stakeholders reconvened on Friday morning for a follow-up session on the draft National Economic Framework that was presented three weeks ago by the Department of Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication EVT.

The EVT team has been collecting and compiling feedback in the meantime and the goal of this second session was to share overall feedback and discuss goals, methods and avenues.

Along with taking additional feedback, one of the results of the meeting was the establishment of expert "sub-workgroups" for a number of sectors, with the aim of the groups being able to execute visions as outlined in an "holistic vision document" that would be preceded by sector-specific discussions and research between private and public bodies: telecommunications, tourism, marine, creative, agriculture, finance and real estate.

Through demand on the part of the audience, environment was also added to the list.

Robbie Ferron, one of the more vocal attendees, told Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor and the EVT team that he expected the "big hitters" in government as well as the private sector to join these groups.

"This is the chance to prove yourselves," he asserted, this sentiment in line with that of many stakeholders, of the private sector in particular, that the first session felt like a repeat of past, shelved initiatives.

The groups will be key to progress, according to TEATT Secretary-General Miguel De Weever, and will counteract the chance of the framework remaining unfulfilled as feared Read more

Editorial - Think big, start small

That emotions reportedly ran high during Thursday night’s meeting with local bus and taxi drivers may have had something to do with the recent special controls on public transportation operators (see Saturday paper). The Control Unit checked 14 buses and had two towed, while fines were issued for driving without a permit and even for being improperly dressed, among other things.

Legitimate operators actually should be happy with these actions. After all, there have been many complaints about illegal competition from so-called “gypsy drivers.”

Better regulating the industry and enforcing the rules also was a topic during the consultation with stakeholders by Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Claret Connor and his team Read more

Arts and crafts find home on Front Street

PHILIPSBURG--Our Creations St. Maarten Arts and Crafts Foundation has found itself a home on Front Street 121A. At this address, no fewer than sixteen artists and crafters are displaying and selling their pieces of art and creative products to residents and tourists. Our Creations Arts and Crafts Home, which is a welcome addition to Front Street's selection of stores, was officially opened by Minister of Economic Affairs, Tourism, Traffic and Communication Claret Connor late Saturday afternoon.

It is the aim of Our Creations to promote and assist local entrepreneurs in St Read more

Heated public transport feedback leaves TEATT ‘a lot to work with’

PHILIPSBURG--Thursday night's stakeholder consultation on public transportation aimed at taxi and bus drivers was jam-packed and showed pent-up frustration on the side of attendees in the question and answer section, which took up the majority of time.

However, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor concluded by saying the team had been given "a lot to work with, which was needed for more than one reason" and called it an "opportunity .. Read more

Ceo Uts Eastern Caribbean Carty Introduces 4G Lte Plans To Minister Of Telecommunications Connor And Btp-Sxm

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten - On Thursday morning, Glen Carty, UTS Eastern Caribbean Division Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Brad Xuan, President of Carrier Business Huawei Caribbean, gave a presentation to Minister of Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor and representatives from the Bureau Telecommunications and Post St. Maarten (BTP-SXM) at UTS Headquarters in Philipsburg, regarding the company's move into 4G LTE technology for enterprise and consumer business on Sint Maarten/St Read more

Long Term Plans For Public Transportation To Be Revealed During Transportation Meeting Set For Thursday Night

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Stake holders in the island public transportation industry will have the opportunity to get first hand information about upcoming improvement within the sector.

The Minister of Transportation Claret Connor is also expected to be present for the meeting on Thursday evening at the Cultural Center on the back Read more

MPs have not yet received harbour security answers

PHILIPSBURG—Members of Parliament (MPs) have not yet received the "sensitive answers" about the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies' security contract, despite the receipt of these by Parliament's Secretariat since May 26. The delay in the dissemination is due to "administrative reasons," according to Democratic Party (DP) leader MP Sarah Wescot-Williams.

Speaking at a DP press conference in Parliament House on Monday, Wescot-Williams said she is patiently awaiting the answers to see if they satisfy her burning questions Read more

Stakeholders Start Five-Day Basic User And Database Administration Training Workshop

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The National Development Plan (NDP) team from the Department of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BAK), the implementing agency for NDP project, has organized a five-day Basic User and Database Administration Training Workshop that started on June 1.

The workshop will brought together stakeholders from the various government ministries with respect to the further development of the Government's newly developed SintMaartenInfo Database which compiles socio-economic data.

The data will help Government policy developers and planners to use evidence based information for policy development which is necessary to implement the NDP.

The training covers the concepts and features of the Database and an in-debt hands-on experience to the SintMaartenInfo Administration application.

Step by Step the attendees will be explained how to use all the features of the system Read more