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Claret Connor Reacts On Water Treatment Facility And Eu Funds

I would like to make public, that when I got involved in the  discussions about finding a suitable location on Dutch St Maarten for a Water Treatment Facility, the country was already facing the end of an extended period and deadline placed by the EU Funding agency. I was informed that St Maarten had requested and received an extension and that extension was nearing its end. In July Of last year I was requested to sit in on a meeting with then Prime Minister and Minister of VROMI a.t. Marcel Gumbs along various department heads of VROMI and its Acting SG to discuss the possibility of acquiring land to make this fading opportunity for a multi million dollar facility a reality for the island and its people. At that meeting we all agreed on a possible way forward and presented that to the representative of Princes Port de Plaisance Mr Read more

Primer Ministro Desestima Las Preocupaciones Sobre Reunión Informal

Traducción: Máximo Castro

Philipsburg.- El primer ministro William Marlin, desestimó los puntos de vista planteados por la población en el sentido de que consideran inapropiada su reunión informal con miembros del Parlamento, para tratar sobre el tema de la aprobación del Presupuesto de 2016.

Algunos más radicales han catalogado de infame esta reunión informal del Primer Ministro, realizada en su vehículo en el Distrito de Point Blanche Read more

President Gumbs: “It Is On”~

PHILIPSBURGl:---- On Saturday March 5, 2016 the Democratic Party of St. Maarten continues to renew itself with a new board. Solution minded and ready to build upon the DP's proven track record of transparency and the solid principles of Open Government. Headed by new President Marinka Gumbs; Secretary Jude Piper, Treasurer Giselle York, and members Jim Rosen, Vida Boyrard, Juliette Piper, Michelle Martina and Quinton Marlin Read more

PHLIPSBURG:--- “I would like to make public, that when I got involved in the discussions about finding a suitable location on Dutch St Maarten for a Water Treatment Facility, the country was already facing the end of an extended period and deadline placed by the EU Funding agency. I was informed that St Maarten had requested and received an extension and that extension was nearing its end.”

In July Of last year I was requested to sit in on a meeting with then Prime Minister and Minister of VROMI a.t Read more

Government Seeking Sla With Scdf

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Youth and Culture Silveria Jacobs is looking at ways of increasing youth participation in calypso in a bid to preserve the art form in St. Maarten.

“We are looking at ways to increase youth participation by offering workshops in writing calypsos and the like to keep that art form alive,” Minister Jacobs said at the weekly Council of Minister’s press conference Read more

Prime Minister And Justice Minister Meets With Soab

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Honorable Prime Minister William Marlin and the Minister of Finance Richard Gibson met with SOAB Director Giomaly Martis of Curacao and Country manager Candia Joseph of Sint Maarten.

This meeting was a continuation of a follow up meeting that took place a couple weeks ago Read more

President Hanson Reacts To French-Side Blockade

MARIGOT—President Aline Hanson last night gave her reaction to the blocking of the main road in Orient Bay on Wednesday.

“Following the meeting that was held this afternoon in the Préfecture, I have taken note of the main grievance of three restaurant proprietors who refuse to sign their contracts for parcel AW34 on Orient Beach claiming the rent is too high,” she said in the release Read more

Grupos En Protesta Bloquea Vías De Acceso A Orient Beach

Philipsburg, St. Maarten – Las vías de acceso que conducen hacia Orient Beach permanecen bloqueadas desde la madrugada del miércoles luego de que grupos de dueños de negocios que operan en la referida playa, iniciaran protesta por el supuesto maltrato que reciben del gobierno.

Junto a la gente de negocios que operan en Orient Beach, participan también grupos de contratistas.

Desde nuestra sala de redacción hablamos con Luc Wellington quien nos dio detalles de los problemas y sus demandas de una reunión con la Colectividad de San Martín con el objetivo de encontrar una solución Read more

Dp Calls Out The Opposition Of Seven On Its Stance On The 2016 Budget.

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The Democratic Party (DP) stand solidly with the coalition in leaving no stone unturned to get the budget of the country passed in Parliament. Because if we think the current situation is murky, imagine the following which is a very real possibility. The big difference being, that the wellbeing and livelihood of practically the entire community can be at stake in the following scenario.

The budget remains in limbo, because a 7-7 tie vote goes nowhere!

This means this budget goes nowhere and eventually the CFT will report to the Kingdom Government that St Read more

Matser To Remain In Restrictive Custody

PHILIPSBURG--The tentacles of the “Octopus” investigation are holding tight to independent Member of Parliament (MP) Silvio Matser. The Court of Appeal ruled this afternoon not to lift Matser’s restrictive custody.

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Prosecution on Wednesday afternoon in the case brought forward by Attorney at Law Cor Merx who pleaded with the court to have the restrictions placed on his client MP Silvio Matser be lifted and he be released from pre-trial detention. The verdict was expected since 9am Wednesday morning but the verdict was only handed down at almost 5pm Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Democratic Party (DP) stand solidly with the coalition in leaving no stone unturned to get the budget of the country passed in Parliament. Because if we think the current situation is murky, imagine the following which is a very real possibility. The big difference being, that the wellbeing and livelihood of practically the entire community can be at stake in the following scenario.
The budget remains in limbo, because a 7-7 tie vote goes nowhere!
This means this budget goes nowhere and eventually the CFT will report to the Kingdom Government that St Read more

Court Set To Rule On Lifting Matser’S Restriction Today

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of Appeal is expected to rule on the lifting of the visitor restriction imposed against independent Member of Parliament Silvio Matser. The MP has been under arrest and in the custody of justice officials since March 2. He has only been allowed contact with his attorney Cor Merx.

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Attorney At Law Cor Merx Filed Motion With Court For Mp Matser Release From Pre-Trial Detention, Prosecutor Objected Vehemently.

PHILIPSBURG:--- A judge at the Court of First Instance is expected to rule on a motion filed by Attorney at Law Cor Merx to have his client MP Silvio Matser released from pre-trial detention.
The hearing was held on Tuesday afternoon at 2pm.
SMN News learnt that the prosecution objected vehemently to the request filed by Merx, citing that the prosecution has enough evidence against the Member of Parliament for election fraud and affiliation with a criminal organization.
The judge is expected to render a decision on Wednesday morning Read more

Tax Department Gives Information On Tax Return Forms

PHILIPSBURG – The St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP) has invited the Tax Department to give a presentation on how to fill in a tax return form.

This presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 15, at 7:30pm at the St. Peters Community Center in St. Peters.

“Benjamin Franklin once said that two things are unavoidable in this world: death and taxes. It will soon be that time of year again when all persons working on St Read more

17 Persons Questioned In Octopus Investigation --- 7 Of Which Are Already In Prison.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Investigators questioned a total of 17 persons in the Octopus investigation. Of the amount seven of them that are already incarcerated at the Pointe Blanche prison for other crimes they committed. Spokesman for the Attorney General Office Norman Serphos said that on Monday JR, JC, KW and OG were questioned, while on Tuesday LW, DW and KM were being questioned, the latter 7 suspects are all males that are currently serving time at the Pointe Blanche prison for prior crimes they committed Read more

PHILIPSBURG:---- Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister Angel Meyers and their Dutch Technical teams met with the Perfet of Saint Martin, the President of the Collectivite and their French Technical teams on Monday to discuss the Cole Bay Sewage Plant collaboration project.

The aim of the meeting was to come to an agreement on the exact location of the Sewage Plant, as well as to discuss the orientation and the joint approach of this project.

Ultimately, both parties will proceed with finalizing the estimated cost for this project, as well as the investigation of the preliminary design, in terms of the technology, needed to complete this project.

During the meeting, the Dutch side delegation presented a proposal in which the plan is to reclaim about 6000 square meters of land from the Cole Bay lagoon, near the causeway, in order to build an ‘island’, on which the Sewage Plant will be constructed Read more

Doran-York Honours 6 For Intl. Women’S Day

THE HAGUE--Minister Plenipotentiary Henrietta Doran-York honoured six women of St. Maarten descent who are living in The Netherlands ahead of International Women’s Day today, Tuesday.

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Four New Suspects Being Heard In ‘Octopus’ Probe

PHILIPSBURG--The tentacles of the “Octopus” investigation continue to grab suspects. Four more suspects were hauled in Monday for questioning by the National Detectives in the ongoing investigation into election fraud (vote buying) in the August 2014 Parliamentary Elections. This brings the suspect tally to fourteen.

The initials of the four were not released by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Aside from the four now detained, six others – J.B., R.G., G.W., R.Y., R.F., J. la. P Read more

Minister Wishes Math-A-Lympiad Mpc Students Much Success

PRINCESS JULIANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT –Minister of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sport Silveria Jacobs was at the airport on Friday, March 4, to see off the St Read more

Nagico And Motorworld Partner To Inject $15,000 In Digikidz Program

PHILIPSBURG – The Hillside Christian School DIGIKIDZ Program got a huge boost on Wednesday, March 2, when Nagico Insurances and Motorworld presented them with a donation of US $15,000 towards the project.

During a small presentation ceremony at the school, CEO of Nagico Dwayne Elgin said, “this is the beginning of something great, and we at Nagico believe that the greatest investment one can make is in knowledge.”

The DIGIKIDZ program is an initiative geared at improving the level of education in school through the use of technology Read more

Jetblue Donates “Sweet Cases” To Szv

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Social and Health Insurances (SZV) has become the latest recipient of JetBlue’s “sweet case” on Friday, March 4.

JetBlue donated 14 “sweet cases” (duffle bags), decorated by JetBlue staff members filled with stuffed animals, coloring books, crayons, and a toothbrush with a timer. The bags were presented to SZV in the presence of Minister of Public Health Emil Lee Read more

Up Party Board Supports Position By Up Mps And Independents To Resolve Sint Maarten Government Crisis And Provide Stability

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten -– The Board of the United People’s Party (UP) supports the position taken by UP Members of Parliament (MPs) and Independent MPs Cornelius de Weever and MP Leona Marlin-Romeo, also known as the Super Seven, with respect to the current political situation that the country finds itself in.

The options are very reasonable and in the interests of the country in moving forward.  The question is, will the Marlin Government show political maturity in working with the opposition for the sake of the country?

The Leader of the UP Party MP Theo Heyliger has presented options of stability for the country.  At the moment the country is paralyzed and it seems that the Marlin Cabinet will wait it out until the MP who supports the Marlin Cabinet coalition is released from police detention.

Should the functioning of Government be halted at the expense of the ongoing detention of the MP who supports the Marlin Cabinet?  Government agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations, and the country at large, eagerly await the finalization of the draft 2016 budget Read more

Cps Concludes Investigation Into Norovirus Outbreak. All Hotels To Be Instructed To Have A Norovirus Control Plan.

GREAT BAY(DCOMM):---  Dr. Virginia Asin Oostburg, Head of the Collective Preventive Services (CPS), a government department under the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, on Sunday said, the investigation into the Norovirus outbreak at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino has been concluded.

Norovirus gastroenteritis, is a common disease worldwide affecting all age groups and often causing outbreaks. The Norovirus symptoms are: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, myalgia, headache, malaise, fever, or a combination of several of these symptoms Read more