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Westin changes its tune on beach access

DAWN BEACH--The blocking of public beach access by The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa changed quickly after its doing so landed the property on the front page of The Daily Herald's Wednesday, January 28 edition.

One resident who had sent a detailed complaint to this newspaper reported that beach chairs had been moved to make more space for beachgoers and that security guards had been especially welcoming and polite, even seeming "relieved." The chairs were said to have been pulled back "a good 25 yards from each end of the beach."

The resident, who previously had described being approached and harassed by security guards over the past three years about his and his wife's not being allowed to place their "own chairs and umbrella anywhere on the beach within the perimeters of their property" said there had been "no harassment and no restrictions" on where they could sit on Wednesday, when the article ran.

"It was a pleasure to spend a few hours enjoying the beautiful beach with no interference," he said Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- United People's (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake, this past weekend commenced with his district observation visits in his capacity as MP to see where and how he can assist Sint Maarten communities.

MP Lake said he started his back to basics district visits 2015 with his home district of St Read more

Draft Budget is a silent cry --- Questions posed were not clear or properly answered.

style="text-align: center;">Ministers and MPs salaries should be cut by 5% - MP Leona Marlin

PHILIPSBURG:--- The 2015 draft budget was heavily criticized during the budget debate that started on Tuesday. The first speaker MP Leona Marlin made it clear that government should live by example and one of the ways they can cut cost and save monies is to let Ministers and Members of Parliament travel business class rather than first class. MP Romeo Marlin said that government including Parliament could further cut the traveling expenses by not attending certain meetings but use technology instead Read more

Mp Lake Commences With District Visits As Part Of Back To Basics In 2015

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People's (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake, this past weekend commenced with his district observation visits in his capacity as MP to see where and how he can assist Sint Maarten communities.

MP Lake said he started his back to basics district visits 2015 with his home district of St Read more

Editorial - Not the answer

Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake's suggestion to increase the one-per-cent foreign exchange levy to five per cent for remittances (see Friday paper) may seem at first glance like a good idea. After all, the lines of people at money transfer offices especially after payday have been cited for years as an example of how cash generated on the island is sent abroad instead of spent locally.

However, the licence fee charged by the Central Bank might not be the most suitable instrument to address this issue Read more

SHTA: Having counterpart in PM’s cabinet ‘completely misses the point’

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) has lashed back at statements made by Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever on the counterpart programme saying that having a counterpart in a Prime Minister's cabinet "completely misses the point."

De Weever said last week that the counterpart law had been applied in one case and had been used in the staff bureaus of the former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

However, SHTA says this misses the point Read more

SHTA - Remains Opposed to Counterpart Program.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, SHTA has taken notice of the remarks made, with respect to the implementation of the Counterpart Policy (CPP), by the honorable Members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Maurice Lake (in support of CPP) as well as the published opinion of the leader of the OSPP Mr Read more

Shta - Remains Opposed To Counterpart Program

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association (SHTA), the largest private business representative on the island, SHTA has taken notice of the remarks made, with respect to the implementation of the Counterpart Policy (CPP), by the honorable Members of Parliament Cornelius de Weever and Maurice Lake (in support of CPP) as well as the published opinion of the leader of the OSPP Mr Read more

Editorial - Collective responsibility

With all the current talk about a so-called counterpart policy, Friday's report that the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) will be holding discussions with University of St. Martin (USM) and other educational institutions should not go unnoticed. Exploring synergies between the local tourism industry and education on the island certainly seems a worthwhile endeavour, as UP fraction member Maurice Lake also noted during yesterday's second round of questions on the 2015 budget in the Central Committee of Parliament.

The complaint that too few jobs become available for inhabitants is nothing new and sparked the initiative to restrict the hiring of foreigners even further than is already the case, by requiring a local counterpart when a permit for such is granted Read more

The Emilio Wilson Estate St. Maarten’s Heritage in peril

Dear Editor,

A number of people have called me over the past two days to express their frustration regarding the most recent turn of events in what some are now calling the Emilio Wilson Estate Saga.

The news as featured in the local media announcing that Rain Forest Adventures (RFA) has obtained or will soon obtain the long lease to Emilio Wilson Estate is of course extremely worrisome. The Honourable Prime Minister Gumbs' (a gentleman I hold in high regard) statement in the media yesterday that "no long-lease has been granted to Rain Forest Adventures" and that he has "not signed anything for or granted anything" does nothing to decrease my concerns Read more

Lynch’s attorney requests injunction against Bloem

PHILIPSBURG--According to a leaked legal document, St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) Director Henry Lynch's Attorney Cindy Marica, in defence of her client, has requested an injunction on January 16 against SMHDF, St. Maarten Housing Finance Foundation (SMHFF) and attorney Jairo Bloem for undue/unjustified suspension, and unrightfully taking a bag and other personal possessions.

In the injunction request to the Court of First Instance, Bloem was also blasted for writing an explanatory press release on the case which Marica called "incorrect" and "unjust." The case has caused "enormous damage" to his reputation, she argued.

The request calls for a public apology and correction, and suggested a penalty of some US $1,000 daily in the case of non-compliance Read more

Lake wants to raise fees on remittances

PHILIPSBURG--Increase the one-per-cent foreign exchange levy to five per cent for remittances to bring in more government revenues, suggested United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Maurice Lake in the Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Thursday.

“Everybody must pay their fair share, and this is one way to tap into this sector, where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, leave the country annually for other islands or countries,” Lake said in the meeting dealing with the draft 2015 budget Read more

Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

Today’S Predictions For The New Year: Still No Waste-To-Energy Plant, No Plastic Bag-Ban, No New Hospital

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – “It seems almost too easy: predict what will and what will not happen in St. Maarten in any given year.” that was the first sentence of the article we published exactly a year ago about our predictions for the New Year – and it is still true. Our headline read “Emilio Wilson estate purchase but no waste-to-energy plant.” Needless to say, both predictions were on the mark.

The Today newspaper made its first predictions in 2010, when we looked ahead at 2011 Read more