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Where is PAR 1? Vehicle allegedly used to do Chairman of Parliament private work.

style="text-align: center;">Civil Servants may start go-slow on Tuesday.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Questions are now being asked as to where is the government owned vehicle with license plate PAR 1 that is assigned to the chairman of Parliament MP Lloyd Richardson. SMN News understands that ever since MP Richardson was appointed chairman of Parliament he was given the vehicle a black Viracruz that was special ordered by former chairlady of Parliament Gracita Arrindell.
SMN News further learned that the chairman of Parliament was allowed to hire his own driver which he did but that person never drove the Chairman of Parliament or even report to work.
That driver Frank Bruney who is on Parliament’s payroll never showed up to Parliament and does not drive around with MP Lloyd Richardson Read more

Gumbs cabinet has no authority to sign new LB’s, they are considered as demissionair cabinet that should submit their resignations --- Letter sent to Plasterk by Governor.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers got advices from four legal and constitutional experts. All of which SMN News managed to obtain. However, no one is speaking about the letter Governor Eugene Holiday sent to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Interior and Overseas Affairs Ronald Plasterk where he informed both parties that he cannot honor the Landsbesluit sent to him by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs asking that the Parliament of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- On September 25th and 26th a conference on elderly care was held for medical professionals. The conference was organized by a collaboration platform of the Ministry, Health Care institutions, the AUC and the NASKHO and hosted by the AUC in Cupecoy.
With an attendance of about 150 health care professionals, including participants from Statia and Saba, the conference was very successful Read more

Elderly Care Conference Very Succesful

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On September 25th and 26th a conference on elderly care was held for medical professionals. The conference was organized by a collaboration platform of the Ministry, Health Care institutions, the AUC and the NASKHO and hosted by the AUC in Cupecoy.

With an attendance of about 150 health care professionals, including participants from Statia and Saba, the conference was very successful Read more

Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Makes Vice President Of Parliament Position Available

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo, has notified the current President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Secretary Generals, that effective immediately, the position held as Vice Chair is made available.

MP Marlin-Romeo duly notes that there is a new majority in Parliament and therefore, the appointment of the new chairmanship must transpire. 

In order to facilitate the process, notice was given to the respective persons in order for the new appointment to continue Read more

I Am Sxm, Education For Us All Foundation Launches Scholarship Project

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A new opportunity for higher education is now available for the islands students.

Scholarships have been made available through the I Am SXM, Education for us all Foundation.

The project is the brain child of MP Tamara Leonard who gave an outline of the requirements which are to be met by the students who are desirous of obtaining a scholarship Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Several political parties met with their membership during the end of last week and even on Saturday evening to discuss a way forward in this political crisis facing St. Maarten. According to leader of the National Alliance who was on PJD-2 radio on Sunday said that the people of St. Maarten have decided to give the current Council of Ministers until Tuesday to tender their resignation and submit it to the governor of St Read more

PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL ADDRESS BY PM GUMBS

My fellow St. Maarteners,

I want to address you now directly, after a week of political turmoil which has culminated in a constitutional crisis. The outcome of this crisis will determine the democratic future of St. Maarten. So it is extremely important that everyone, young and old, understand what it constitutes.

The legal nature of this crisis however is very complicated, although for some of us it seems to be so simple. You may have followed the discussions in the press Read more

DP proposes short-term cabinet, electoral reform, election in a year

DP members Giselle York, Sarah Wescot-Williams (leader and MP) and Emil Lee.

PHILIPSBURG--Because snap elections will not solve ship-jumping amongst Members of Parliament, the Democratic Party (DP) says that if it boils down to elections having to be held in the country, the current majority coalition should be given a chance to appoint a “serious” cabinet for 12 months and mandate Parliament to complete electoral reform in a year so that this can be incorporated in the next elections.

DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams said the party recognised that Governor Eugene Holiday was faced with two basic decisions Read more

Editorial - No real change

As the constitutional impasse continues and people reflect on five years of country status, a remark made by NA leader William Marlin on Oral Gibbes Live caught the attention. He was talking about political instability and the phenomenon of “ship-jumping” that has been so prevalent since 10-10-10.

In his opinion a revision made to the electoral laws whereby seats – then in the Island Council and now in Parliament – are given out according to the number of individual votes and no longer according to positions on candidate lists has something to do with it Read more

MOU to bring second-chance tertiary education opportunity

PHILIPSBURG--An initiative by I Am SXM Foundation/Education For Us All that aims to bring education opportunities to the youth, in particular those who are hard workers but are disadvantaged through circumstance, achieved a milestone on Friday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with University of St. Martin (USM).

The MOU was signed in the presence of Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs, the initiative’s first applicant Angela Brown and a number of representatives of each party.

The aim is to address a gap between students who may well be top performers and access to higher education, in particular when lack of the Dutch nationality gets in the way Read more

PM weighs in on ‘political turmoil’

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister (PM) Marcel Gumbs issued a statement on Friday in which he weighed in on the current “political turmoil” that has gripped the country for just over a week since he and his cabinet members refused to make their positions available after Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against them on September 30.

In an address to the nation, Gumbs said the legal nature of the “crisis” was “very complicated,” and he wanted to “explain what is going on in plain St Read more

Parties disagree on course of action for Isla refinery

THE HAGUE--Curaçao’s Isla refinery makes people sick and is very bad for the environment. No disagreement on that during the handling of the draft 2016 Kingdom Relations budget earlier this week. However, parties in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament differ in opinion on the follow-up action.

The Democratic Party D66, the Socialist Party (SP) and the ChristianUnion pressed for quick, decisive action, and on Thursday presented two joint motions for a sustainable solution for the refinery Read more

>PHILIPSBURG/PORT OF SPAIN:--- St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE) Foundation President, Lysanne Charles-Arrindell and Treasurer, Nadjesca Gumbs are currently in Trinidad attending the 3rd annual Caribbean Women & Sexual Diversity Conference.
The conference, which runs from October 5 – October 11, 2015, brings together lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (LBT) women from across the region and western hemisphere for advocacy training and networking.
This year the conference covers topics such as community grassroots organizing, negative stereotypes and violence, media and advocacy, creative activism, grassroots fundraising, self-care/financial health, UN mechanisms (CEDAW/Commission on the Status of Women), LBT Sisterhood, Women’s Sexual & Mental Health, Security for Human Rights Defenders, Afro-centric Activism, Presentation Skills, LBT Women’s Movement Building/Feminism, Focus Groups on Activism Against Gender-based Violence Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- The next generation of Artist are The Vanguards. This award honors those artist that preserver against all the odds creating and maintaing their craft in country that is still in its infancy, and no clear infra structure to support those artists creating their artistry in St.Maarten.

The Vanguard Award recipients are:
Evelyne Fleming
Isidore York

Every year new artists are born and embark on their artistic journey. There those that stand out for their level of excellence, dedication, and commitment to their craft.

This year Emerging Artist Award recipients are:
Keila Michelle Gumbs
David Colas better known as D.Kullus

The National Institute of Arts recognizes that Arts and Culture play vital roles in celebrating the story of our humanity Read more

Who will be paying for Minister Connor trip to the Dominican Republic? Minister got motion of no confidence he has no right spending tax payers monies.

style="text-align: center;">GEBE not paying for Minister’s ticket.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VROMI who is also responsible for Government owned company GEBE Claret Connor is expected to travel to the Dominican Republic this weekend with a delegation from GEBE. According to information provided to SMN News GEBE was invited by Watsilla to travel to the Dominican Republic on a fact-finding mission on the waste to energy plant Read more

style="text-align: center;">My fellow St. Maarteners,

I want to address you now directly, after a week of political turmoil which has culminated in a constitutional crisis. The outcome of this crisis will determine the democratic future of St. Maarten. So it is extremely important that everyone, young and old, understand what it constitutes.

The legal nature of this crisis however is very complicated, although for some of us it seems to be so simple. You may have followed the discussions in the press Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  On this Constitution Day, we mark five years of St. Maarten having obtained country status within the Kingdom. As we reflect on the experiences that have helped to shape the country we are today, it is important that we all acknowledge our continued role in building a St. Maarten we can be proud of, a nation that is an example to the region. Building a nation is no simple task; there are countless factors to consider. There is a path that we travel on as our little country continues to grow Read more

Local Lgbt Activists At Cwsdc 2015

PHILIPSBURG/PORT OF SPAIN – St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE) Foundation President, Lysanne Charles-Arrindell and Treasurer, Nadjesca Gumbs are currently in Trinidad attending the 3rd annual Caribbean Women & Sexual Diversity Conference.

The conference, which runs from October 5 – October 11, 2015, brings together lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (LBT) women from across the region and western hemisphere for advocacy training and networking.

This year the conference covers topics such as community grassroots organizing, negative stereotypes and violence, media and advocacy, creative activism, grassroots fundraising, self-care/financial health, UN mechanisms (CEDAW/Commission on the Status of Women), LBT Sisterhood, Women’s Sexual & Mental Health, Security for Human Rights Defenders, Afro-centric Activism, Presentation Skills, LBT Women’s Movement Building/Feminism, Focus Groups on Activism Against Gender-based Violence Read more

Opinion: Something’S Brewing

We know since last night that Governor Holiday sent a letter to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs. We do not know the content of this letter, but there is no doubt that this will come out some time today.

The past couple of days, two political parties have come out with press conferences where they made their positions clear. The National Alliance nor the Democratic Party fear elections, they say.

Do they really want elections? Not really Read more

Recolonization

High emotions filled 10-10-10-autonomy expectations. “Freedom at last, delivered from slavery, liberation from colonial oppression.” Political leader Helmin Wiels —as Moses, divinely anointed—” was leading his People to the Promised Land.” Finally after centuries of sufferings, there would be social, racial and economic justice. All secret and open meddling by The Hague in all matters of life would come to an end, once and for all, Jacob Gelt Dekker writes in his column on curacaochronicle.com

“Autonomy was not enough for many, and a loud clamoring for independence of a sovereign island people was heard Read more

In Case Governor Signs Decree To Dissolve Parliament: Dp Proposes Interim Cabinet And Elections After One Year

From left: DP treasurer Giselle York, MP Sarah Wescot-Williams and policy advisor Emil Lee. Photo today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – In case Governor Holiday decides to sign the decree to dissolve parliament and elections follow on December 8, the Democratic Party proposes to annul the current motion, to let the new majority choose “a capable Council of Ministers” and to set the date for the elections one year from the appointment of this council Read more

Casino Robber Shoots His Way To Cash

The bullet proof window at Rouge et Noir on Wednesday evening, with two bullet holes. Photo Gromyko Wilson

St. Maarten – Close to 9 p.m. Wednesday evening, a lone gunman stormed into Rouge et Noir casino on Front Street and shouted “everybody down” while waving his firearm to the crowd. Masked and dressed completely in black the robber fired his weapon in the air to show that he meant business.

Patrons were enjoying their Wednesday night bingo, when the robber ordered them to get on the ground Read more

Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum Opens New Era For Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  - The just completed successful Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) taking place in Puerto Rico has emerged as a milestone setting the tone for a new era for the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association (CHTA), according the CHTA President Emil Lee.

            "The success of CHIEF is a reflection of our new vision and a validation that we have moved in the right direction," said Emil Lee as more than 250 attendees participated in three days of networking and learning best practices at El Conquistador Resort, A Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.  Many of the attendees were next generation employees Read more