SMNN - Philipsburg: --- The island government and the department of Legal Affairs are currently investigating an inspector of ROB (Public Works) who allegedly tried to extort monies from Blue Marine. According to reliable sources, the ROB inspector and his girl friend are owners of Blue Blood Construction tried to extort $42,000 from Blue Marine, a company that belongs to Saro Spadaro. SMN News learnt that the inspector committed his act since July 2009 and to date no actions has been taken.

The source said the inspector sent his girlfriend (another civil servant) with an invoice in the name of Blue Blood to Blue Marine for $42, 000 even though Blue Blood did not conduct any work for Blue Marine. It is further understood that when Blue Marine questioned the invoice they were told that they should pay the invoice if they wanted to get their inspection approved on the buildings that were constructed at Pointe Pirouette.

SMNN - Philipsburg: --- Commissioner Xavier Blackman narrowly escaped a motion of no confidence which was to be presented by Island Councilman Petrus Leroy De Weever had the island council meeting convened on Thursday.
The Democratic Party Faction of the island council called an island council meeting on Thursday to discuss the pending 2010 budget and labor related matters, however the meeting could not be convened because the Democratic Party did not have a quorum even though Commissioner Theo Heyliger signed in for the meeting giving them five of the eleven signatures.

The Daily Herald -

PHILIPSBURG--Commissioner and United People's (UP) party leader Theo Heyliger wants the Island Government to honour agreements made with The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa and Sonesta Maho Beach Resort and Casino, regarding the properties receiving exemption from paying room tax. Both resorts have "letters of comfort" from Government, outlining Government's intention to amend the Room Tax Island Ordinance in such a manner that a waiver of room taxes can be granted for brand name resort developments for a period of time. (See also DH Editorial - Keeping one’s word.) [More....]

It's been a while since I felt like blogging, Flipper's email asking me to write something for the site a couple days ago was on my mind but honestly, I'm just too fed up with it all. But then, today reading the Daily Herald's (nice new site by the way DH!) story about Frans and George saying they don't think SXM should have separation of Church and State I no longer had any choice.

I've covered religion and SXM's religious nuts a few times over the years, one my first blogs here was titled Gay Gay Gay Gay Gay, I was sick and tired of reading religious clap trap and homophobic hate speech in our papers, and about 3 weeks later the two CBS gay guys got whacked over the head with a tire iron in Maho. Links to some of my other blogs can be found on one I wrote last year titled 'State and Church Separation?'

Before I get stuck in to this lovely meaty morsel laid before me, let me just state as I have done in the past that it is not my intention to offend those with religious beliefs. However, I reserve the right to have and hold to my own non religious beliefs and that means it's probably impossible not to offend those with them when speaking my mind. You have been warned.

The Daily Herald - BELAIR--St. Maarten Pride Foundation expressed concern Friday that there is a possibility that the sand being used for the ongoing replenishing of the Belair beach might have been contaminated.

The foundation's vice president Rueben Thompson on Friday said apparently the sand being used is the same as that for the ring road project, which was dredged from the Great Bay harbour. He said the Great Bay area was a very busy shipping area and hull cleaning and painting took place in some of the boatyards along the Great Bay shoreline.

Tributyltin-based (TBT) anti-fouling paints often used for hull painting in Great Bay are a great reason for concern, Thompson said. "The sand may, therefore, be contaminated with suspended particulate material associated with chemical hull-cleaning and painting contaminants copper and lead."

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First try, share your thoughts on it. :) - Hady

Sadly for SXM, it's political leaders suffer from severe short sightedness when it comes to planning for the future, the SXM we have today is the result of policies of the past. I believe for example that the crime and youth problems we have today are connected with not investing enough in our schools, in education, social services and the justice system in the past. Add the lack of any real co-ordination and planning between education and labor depts, and by the failed policies of job creation though condo and hotel developments and it seems logical to me the result would be unemployed, disaffected and disrespectful (of the law and society norms) people out there.

But that's all for other blogs and I have to resist getting sidetracked, this one is about GEBE and the future energy problems/needs they should be preparing and planning for. Are they? I don't think they are and if you out there are fed up with power outages and high prices now then you should be concerned about it, because the future appears to hold more of the same.

Two weeks after Richard Branson and the WSJ raise alarms about pending Peak Oil, GEBE restate their intentions to invest millions of dollars more into another oil generator next year.

The Daily Herald - Yesterday's approval of the so-called BES laws by the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is good news for particularly Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, which now have a greater assurance that their long-awaited change of status to become special overseas public entities of the Netherlands indeed will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. It is important to remember that amending the Kingdom Charter to formalise the new constitutional relations will be left to the next second Chamber to be voted into office on June 9, but all the groundwork can be done in the meantime, of course.

SXM Island Times - Philipsburg:--- The executive council of St. Maarten definitely has a lot to chew on as they study yet another report delivered to them from the accounting agency SOAB. The SOAB delivered an extensive report on the island labour and social welfare department to the executive council on January 29, 2010. The executive council already have the report on ROB (Public Works) and to date the executive council neither the commissioner responsible for ROB has not acted on that report. The latter was sent to the Attorney General as well as the prosecutor's office by the Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards.
According to information, reaching SMN News a committee has been established by the executive council to study the report. The source said the committee members are from the department of Labour and Social Welfare and they were scheduled to meet with the commissioner of labour last week.

The Daily Herald -

PHILIPSBURG--The United People's (UP) party has arrived. After months of speculation and public whispers, Commissioner Theo Heyliger confirmed Monday night the formation of the island's newest political party, with emphasis on the people and the potential to completely alter the political landscape in St. Maarten. For the first time in his political career, Heyliger will not be a member of the "red machine" Democratic Party (DP) co-founded by his grandfather the late Dr. Claude Wathey. Instead, he will participate in the election for Country St. Maarten with a new distinction: party leader. His intention is to proclaim lime green as the colour of his party, if the colour is available according to political party colour regulations.[More....]

SMNN - Philipsburg:---The announcement made by Minister Jacoba that grand scale post-brooks towers controls, starting March 1, will be held is reason for the St. Maarten Bar Association to express its serious concerns, the Secretary of the St. Maarten Bar Association, Attorney at Law Mr. Remco M. Stomp stated.
Only recently the Bar has learned that in a period of at least 8 months holding cells for undocumented persons should be realized, at the moment St. Maarten does not have separate holding cells for the group mentioned. People who are found without papers must share their cells with criminal suspects of all categories. The only holding cell capacity on St. Maarten is to be found in Philipsburg at the police station.

SXM Island Times -

PHILIPSBURG - Local Officials say they need to recruit 384 police officers by 2017. The revelation was made Thursday by Local Chief of Police Lt. Governor Franklyn Richards. There are currently 200 officers in the Korps Politie St. Maarten, Saba & St. Eustatius and Richards says the plan is to build to just under 400 in phases. The recruitment is part of a wider Organizational Plan for the Police Force which is still being discussed with Antillean and Dutch partners. Once approved, the plan will allow for continued training by officers from South Holland South who has formed a symbiotic relationship with the Police Force here.[More....]

SXM Island Times - PHILIPSBURG - www.sxmislandtime.com has been reliably informed that the Lt. Governor of St. Maarten Franklin Richards will be leaving office as of the 1st of March 2010.

We have also learnt that Governor Richards will be replaced by Mr. Mr. Roland Tuitt who is a certified public accountant (CPA).

SMNN - Philipsburg: --- The joint court of appeals has thrown out three of the five charges brought against former commissioner of labour Louie Laveist. Laviest was convicted for accepting airline tickets to travel to Canada from BEMAL enterprises or BEMBO and $10,000 from said company, the court also found proven that Laveist accepted $6,000 from Bargains Unlimited which was paid to Culture Club foundation in exchange for working permits even though he had received a negative advice from the labour department.
The court found that Laveist had approached Bargains Unlimited for sponsorship for his foundation on December 7th and by December 10th the working permits for the company's workers were granted even though there was a negative advice.

SMNN - Philipsburg:--- With the ongoing investigation at the section ROB and a damning report by the SOAB regarding the discrepancies that are equivalent to corruption at the ROB (Public Works Department). SMN News has learnt that the committee that is currently investigating the department for Commissioner Theo Heyliger has interrogated the head of Inspections Henry Ellis and the owner of Olzina NV Samir Andreos on Friday last week. According to information reaching SMN News is that the interrogation of Ellis was done in the presence of Andreos who according to our sources was putting pressure on Ellis for him not to tell the truth.

SMNN - Philipsburg: --- The much talked about SOAB report against ROB (Public Works) is in the hands of the attorney general of the Netherlands Antilles. SMN News learnt that Lt. Governor of the island territory of St. Maarten Franklyn Richards sent the report on to the attorney general hoping that actions would be taken against those implicated in the report.
Prosecutor Rienk Mud confirmed that the report was sent to the attorney general. Mud also confirmed that his office is busy studying the report.

SMNN - Philipsburg: --- Information reaching SMN News states that the leader of the People's Progressive Party Gracita Arrindell and Commissioner Theo Heyliger are to sign an agreement as early as Tuesday declaring that they have begun talks to form the new green party.

SMN News learnt that Heyliger and Arrindell had agreed prior to the parliamentary elections that they were going to team up for country election which is slated for June 2010.

Is King TO constipated? It's a possibility considering his latest comment about the roads and potholes. As Commissioner for public works and many 'friends' in the road construction business you would think he would know a little bit about them.
Heyliger questions why PJIA can’t give back to community.

Let me explain for you TO. When a pothole begins it lets loose a whole bunch of stones and gravel that create more potholes. In addition the edges weaken and the pothole gets bigger, collecting rainwater which causes more weakness and expansion. When you leave potholes for month and months as has been done at this particular section of road then the results are what we all see today.

Instead of blaming PJIA's extension, which by the way has nothing to do with the state of the road, a road that has ALWAYS had pothole problems, try doing your job and making sure Public Works does theirs. By TO's logic, maybe we should be asking the car importers and rental companies to fix the roads too.

Oh, and when oh when is the media of this island going to put this man on the spot and press him for answers on what he's doing about the SOAB report and VROM?? It is his portfolio afterall isn't it?

Oh lawdy, here I am getting controversial again, SXM PE is never going to get any advertisers at this rate, lol.

On the French side you see Gendarmes all the time, they patrol Grand Case and Marigot at night on foot. On the Dutch side you rarely see a police car, I think I see them more often when they are escorting some official through our traffic jams.

Compare these two reports.
Bandits Convicted to Jail. - Arrested and convicted within 5 days.

Young men jailed for supermarket robbery. - Time between arrest and conviction, almost 3 months. They got a discount because of police detention.

Food for thought, no?

Marty’s Giro in Simpson Bay is a great place to eat on the island. But this Thursday evening, the Rainbow Warriors (read local gay society) that congregate there for a discrete tête-à- tête got more than they could chew. Some local rich female (with a bad hairstyle and an inebriated proboscis) who unwisely bought land in Statia declared her distaste for the practice of zoning on the Historical Gem.

Unfortunate for her was the presence of a local historian who reaffirmed the importance of conserving the Island’s historical heritage and avoiding the catastrophic over development that has defaced the identity and thus image of St. Maarten.

“You are just a gay asshole,” she voiced with self proclaimed authority.

Needless to say, the camp followers were perturbed about the remark and became feint as robins. They referred to Marty, the owner for some kind of immediate resolution. None was forthcoming.

Nostradamus was also perturbed. Rich people have a habit of being oblivious to feelings and the eminent sear identifies with emotional damage especially when its source originates from the intellect of an ant. His mind recalls that wonderful retort of Winston Churchill when confronted by Lady Astor and her accusation that he was drunk. “Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.”

Law is a delicate institution and nowhere else than on St. Maarten can its interpretation be subject to scrutiny and sometimes frivolous scandal. Step forward Mister Richard Gibson who is widely rumored to have boxed off his second wife by building a complete dividing wall that runs through the middle of his luxurious Maho house.

The incidence of physical and thus media exposure of the celebrity variety is an increasing phenomenon on the island. Allegations that Julian Rollocks was parading in his underpants in October last year have been followed up with front page titillation via Mister Gibson’s own newspaper that the DP secretary is “broke” and has “serious issues with spelling and grammar”. For Mister G, as he is affectionately known, the boot is now clearly on the other foot!

The Daily Herald - PHILIPSBURG--The National Alliance (NA)/Heyliger government is seeking to have the firm KEMA conduct an independent cost and quality control/feasibility study of the proposed waste-to-energy plant that is to be built by Windward Roads Infrastructure to tackle the island’s growing garbage problem.

Approval for the control was tabled in the Central Committee Monday, because it will cost more than 100,000 euros, which excesses the amount that the Executive Council is allowed to sign off on without Island Council approval.

SXM Pride - World Wetlands Day Tree Planting

This coming Friday February 5th at 4pm EPIC, St. Maarten Pride Foundation, Nature Foundation and the Seaside Nature Park will be planting 25 Buttonwood Trees (plants found along St. Maarten's coast) at the Seaside Nature Park’s grounds in Cay Bay in commemoration of World Wetlands Day which is on February 2nd, 2010 and in recognition of the importance of St. Maarten’s wetlands and coastal zones. The Foundations are asking all volunteers, organizations and interested individuals to come out and help.

SMNN -

Philipsburg: --- With the reports from SOAB now in the open SMN News has learnt that the head of the permits department at ROB Mr. Guy Gumbs has submitted his resignation from that department. Sources say that the department head has claimed that he has health conditions and as such, he can no longer hold the position (head of permits) thus he resigns with immediate effect. Gumbs submitted his letter to general affairs on January 25th 2010. He also requested that the executive council reinstate him to his former position as project manager at the department of New Projects and Beheerdienst with the same legal position prior to his departure in April 2009. The letter was sent to the executive council and copied to Commissioner Theo Heyliger. SMN News managed to retrieve a copy of a memo Gumbs sent to the director of ROB Mr. Joseph Dollison on August 31 2009 informing him that he would not be signing the permits for Olzina N.V. belonging to Samir Andreos.[More....]

SXM Pride - World Wetlands Day has been commemorated annually since 1997. Hundreds of Non-Governmental Organizations and other community based groups around the world make use of this second day of February to take special action aimed at raising government and public awareness of the importance of protecting wetlands.

Today Tuesday February 2nd, 2010 “World Wetlands day”, marks 39 years since the adoption of the Ramsar Convention/Convention on Wetlands in the Iranian City of Ramsar in 1971. “The Convention’s mission is the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local, regional and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”. (Ramsar COP8, 2002). Presently there are over 150 signatories to the convention with more than 1800 wetland sites designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Significance.

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SXM Pride - While St. Maarten Pride Foundation understands and agrees with Commissioner William Marlin that there is a need for affordable housing, the foundation advocates that any and all development should respect St. Maarten’s Natural and Cultural Heritage and take place in a sustainable manner.

Recent reports indicating Commissioner William Marlin’s plans to fill-in areas of the Great Salt Pond for what he estimates to be 200 homes are therefore a source of serious concern.

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Attorney General Wants Appeal Court to Uphold Verdict---- Laviest Broke Down in Court ---- Says his Mistakes was Not of Mal-Intent---To know Fate on February 11th.

And he burst into tears as he accepted the award.....

The Daily Herald - PHILIPSBURG--ROB Sector Director Joseph Dollison and New Works and Maintenance head Claudius Buncamper eviscerated the SOAB concept report in October 2009 that outlined alleged wrongdoings at the department and concluded that both should be dismissed from their functions for mismanagement of the department and possibly should face criminal charges.

In their 20-page response to the concept report, which they sent to SOAB in October 2009, Dollison and Buncamper addressed the allegations in the report point for point and told SOAB its concept report was suggestive, filled with non-factual statements, lacked understanding of the functioning of ROB and VROM, misinterpreted a number of procedures, and was based on hearsay from the convicted former head of VROM.

SMNN -

Philipsburg: --- Constant rumors around the island are linking a former police officer to one of the recent murders. SMN News has learnt that the officer was fired from the force over a year ago after he allegedly was involved in a kidnapping case. This media house understands that the officer was subsequently fired. SMN News on more than one occasion contacted Prosecutor Rienk Mud for a comment. Mud said on Wednesday that he would not confirm neither denies if the rumors have any bearing on any of his five murder investigations. SMN News also contacted Chief of Police Franklyn Richards who said he was not aware of the case. On Friday when contacted again on the information we are receiving, Mud said that he had no comment to make about the rumors. On Friday, we provided the name of the former police officer to Mud but he maintained that he had no comment to make. [More....]

SOAB is the organization that functions as the internal auditor of the government of the Netherlands Antilles. Fifteen (I always thought 2010 – 1994 = 16…) years in business and claims to ‘know government’; SOAB has conducted research on how permits were and are granted within the sector ROB (ruimtelijke ordening & beheer/area planning and management). They were requested to do so on the third of February 09 by the ExCo. A year later their 32 page report, with an analysis of the administrative organization of ROB and its internal control measures, appeared.