St. Maarten Private Eye

Front Page as it happens, I'll try to put it on tonight if I can.

Flipper

Joan picked up her license yesterday as was reported may happen in this Daily Herald article

Miss B’s licence renewed, but Friday’s march still on - 29th March 2007

It's a rather telling and revealing report, but considering what we know about certain commissioners having their own lackey 'journalists' (sic) on call, not surprising. From reports coming in, her license did not go through the channels that it should have done, it is a rush job.

The DP are afraid of this march today, in fact, everything about their actions these past few weeks stinks of fear. Giving out land lots, new road paving, senior center, a new school being planned, Theo and his salt pickers statues and improvements. (The opposition should be questioning how much is being paid for these statues, why do they all come from Ikemba?).

The deal mentioned in the DH report, which was shown to them (By Roy or Theo?) is not signed by Joan, she only initialled it to indicate she had read it. This deal and new location for her business will also be requiring a new permit, it is reasonable to think that she will be f**ked around with that too.

AVS - Joan Verwood gets licence - 29th March 2007.mp3

I hearby nominate the weasel as the DP mascot. Sorry weasles.

The speeches will be broadcast live on 1300am Voice of St. Maarten

Hady

Told Wednesday about reliable reports reaching The Daily Herald that her license has been renewed by the government, Verwoord said she had not yet received any formal notice from government about the renewal. She said she would enquire about the renewal of the license....

It is now confirmed. The Daily Herald is the official organ of the Democratic Party of Sint Maarten and conduit for announcing official policy and government information. Subscription will soon be mandatory. How else can one explain that Verwoord has to learn via that newspaper that her license is granted?

The reliable report that reached the Herald is nothing else than a government official calling Singh and instructing her to write the story one day before the march. It is not a coincidence. The anti-government sentiments sparked by Joan Verwoord's initiative had to be extinguished cause elections are around the corner. The initiative was indeed a smart move although sad that she needed to resort to public outcries to make this government act. Let’s face it. If Joan had not organized the march, she would never have gotten the renewal of her license. She would have been looking for a job instead.

What really hit me however is the article mentioning that Joan’s private documents were shown to the Herald. Excuse me? Shown by who? Am I to understand that government shows all kind of private documents concerning their citizens to the press? The Herald should enlighten us and question this practice. It is a violation of privacy principles and a sick thing to do. But I guess the Herald missed that point deliberately. Their government seems to be infallible and criticism is not in their bible. We will probably never read about it again.

For those who don't know who Maurice Lake is, some call him Theo's right hand man, some call him Theo's right hand. His pathetic letter on Friday, targeting Joan Verwoord for not having faith in his and his political masters promises about her licence is laughable and just plain hackery.
The DP is for locals Mr Lake, but only those locals your party favors or the ones they create by handing out permits. Your party couldn't even give the local crafters of the island a place at the airport and the so called arts and crafts area by Belvedere is still an eyesore. That was you boss's project was it not??

Maurice, your DP government stood back from it's responsibilities and pimped Dawn Beach to Columbia Sussex and Duck, you made NO effort to ensure the public right of the beach and you let Joan bear all the burden of that fight. Now you want to come and say you stood by her?? Why does she have to wait for 6 months to get her permit renewal? Care to enlighten us on what the hold up has been?

DP writers are all starting to sound like Bagdad Bob, you know, the guy Saddam had as press officer. Disconnected from reality and full of bs.

This Exco needs to become the Ex- Co.

Hady

Letter - Maurice Lake - Policial Hack - 30th march 2007

The letter to the editor written by M.Lake has as a headline that Verwoord has a hidden agenda.
Every time that this government is in a rut due to their own malfunctioning they claim that the people who are speaking out have a hidden agenda.
I cannot fanthom what hidden agenda Joan could have, she was waiting six months for a renewal of her vendors license.
She was afraid that government would leave her without a license and inspectors would show up one day and shut her down.
I applaud Joan for not rolling over and allowing government to do as they please.
She spoke up, she stood up and she had the courage to stand in front of the government building with supporters.
This takes enormous courage, many St.Maarteners are still afraid of coming out to support anyone who is in trouble with government.

Duck International in Court with Residents of Dawn Beach - 3rd April 2007

Is there any connections between Carib International and Caribsports ?

The news story above has some very interesting nuggets. Theo apparently visited Joan's home to get her to sign an agreement with Duck, about removing her bar and taking ove a location provided by them.

Also, Joan was called to the police station and questioned about her march on Friday?? It is well known that certain politicians were not happy about the march, did they have the police put pressure on Joan to stop it?

Are you concerned about politicians influencing the police? How about you Chief Richards? Did you have the police call Joan in and question her? Was your "Riot Squad' on standby maybe?

Hady

I am not a DP supporter. But let's be clear. Joan was winning every Court battle against her. Yet she settled with Duck. If you are winning everything then WHY?She did. Joan settled with Duck. What is this about "I only initialed the pages?" What does that mean? I am sorry but we initial pages when we agree. She agreed. And maybe she is having second thoughts. What this has to do do with a discontent about her license.... ? Only one thing.. without the renewal of her license her bargaining position with Duck is nihil. That is why the sudden march and blah blah. Without that license ... her sell out price would be so much lower. Joan is an opportunist...and she is learning from the best. Those sharks she has agreed with.

The documents that were initialed is to prove that she complied with a court order to negoitaite. If it was signed why is there another agreement, why Theo had to renew her vending license?

(Comment edited)

Next time I see a comment that calls someone a name or tells them to shut their mouth, it will be deleted with no second thought. I will not let this site decend into name calling and personal attacks. So far I have been lenient, I do not like censoring or editing, but there does need to be moderation.

Agan, no name calling, personal attacks or telling other people to 'shut their mouth'. Such comments are not welcome in our discussions here. Flipper

Sorry, but initials to indicate that you have read the page is not the same as a signature. In fact, the best solution for this whole problem would have been for Duck to work with and include Joan into her plans, instead they tried to get rid of her. The deal she is being offered is not a good one, for several reasons. The first is that she will have to sell lots and lots of ribs in order to meet payment schedules, and after 3 years she must pay $200,000. The only way she is going to be able to do this is with a bank loan.
With that in mind, you should take a look at the beach access to the beach front, it is an alley about 4 ft wide and two parking spaces have been placed at the road end of it. Yes, thats right, TWO. We will be trying to obtain a copy of their permit, but from looking at the layout, these two spaces seem to be the only Public parking spaces that will be available. Joan has to be sure that business will come to the beach and use her establishment, if not then any 'deal' with Duck is very risky. Perhaps that is 'Ducks' plan??

The only people here with hidden agenda's are Duck, Peyton Cromwell, Westin, Columbia Sussex, and one of those agenda's is to make Dawn Beach as unwelcome to locals AND other tourists from other resorts or ships as they possibly can. They are selling these ugly ass concrete boxes for ridiculous amounts, they don't want the riff raff on 'their' beach.
The other hidden agendas are those of govt, the main one of which is to appease and sell out the island's people and it's beaches to investors. Govt had an OBLIGATION and RESPONSIBILITY to ensure that the meit briefs that show beaches and water ownership are changed. They let it go by, in fact our Kadaster was put under pressure to sign new meit briefs that were the same as the old ones. The Govt, by failing to stand up for itself and the peoples ownership of the beach opened this whole can of worms. They have only themselves to blame and it should be placed squarely and firmly onto their shoulders.

Really, the picture is very clear about the kind of people we have taking over Dawn Beach. Westin have apparently arranged to manage Coral Beach as their luxury units, in case you didn't know. Here is the lastest from our island friend, Westin.

Taxi Drivers not allowed in lobby or toilets at Westin

Flipper

She signed. Initialling the agreement in front of the judge meant she signed the settlement agreement. that btw has nothing to do with her needing a renewal of her license...

Flipper, what in the world is wrong with these people?
Why are they so against Joan renuewing her vendors license? is it because it looks bad for their DP government? Theo says Joan is playing politics, but it is sad to say that in order to get anything done right, one has to play politics.
Duck is offering Joan a space in a building that is in violation of their building permit.
Thats right!!! Duck built a 3 story building while their building permits says only 2 floors. And why is Duck offering Joan this space which is located on the road? She will never get the same clientele again, if any, as there are too many restaurants in that congested area with no parking. Mr. Busby;s Bo Bo;s, that man who used to work for Chesterfields and Boathouse just opened up a new restaurant at the Boat Dock.
If Duck had offered Joan to be part of their beach villas on the beach, they would get more respect. Joan should not make an agreement with Duck at this point as it is not in her interest. The girl was there doing bussiness before Duck came along with their imperial ways, she should remain right where she is.
And by the way, for those of you who are using this issue now as damage control for your real esate firm or your political party, This is Joans livelyhood, and while she does not have a hidden agenda, she sure has an agenda and that is she invested in this business and it is hers to keep people employed and income for herself.
Nothing wrong with that.

And read the front page. Theo is suggesting she sign it. Meaning, she HASN"T signed it yet. It was clearly explained in a previous comment, initials were so that judge could see that the parties were negotiating.

And it is linked directly to her having to wait 6 months to get her permit renewed.

Hady

That story in the Today is from SMN News, even the photos.
I read that on SMN News. Today need to go investigate themselves...
Stop loafing

SMN News

Philipsburg: - The case of Joan Verwoord has been postponed for yet another time by a judge in the Court of First Instance yesterday, the businesswoman told SMN News shortly after exiting the court house.
Verwoord who has been fighting a number of Court battles brought against her by Duck International said that the lawyers for the Island government and the Duck International requested a postponement from the judge saying that that parties are still negotiating. The businesswoman said that she arrived a few moments late in the court room after the judge had handled the case; she said she is representing herself in the civil case.
However, businesswoman was able to explain the judge that there has not been any negotiation between and the two other parties. She said that the judge seemed surprised to learn that he was lied to and expects to deal with the case late June 2007.
The case against Joan Verwoord of Ms. B’s was brought against her by Duck International after the developer some four years ago bought the properties in Dawn Beach to construct some 21 plantation villas. The developer who has a certificate of ameasurement (meetbrief) indicating that the buyer of the property (Duck International) is the owner of the Beach is taking Verwoord to court so that she can remove her restaurant and other structures on the beach which is supposedly on the land belonging to Duck International. SMN News understands that the island government was in the process of changing the certificate of ameasurement (meetbrief) for Dawn Beach where Duck International is the developer but that company has rejected the proposal.

Meanwhile, there have been information indicating that the old meetbrief has some changes but this media house understands that the regulations is as old as 1996 and there has been absolutely no adjustments made to the articles of incorporation.

Verwoord who just recently received her renewed business license after she organized a peaceful march protesting what she described as injustice against local business people said that she intends to travel to Curacao or as far as the Netherlands seeking justice. Verwoord said she has absolutely no intention to negotiate with the parties and she intends to fight back against the injustice until her last breath.

As a regular visitor to the island of St. Maarten for the past 10 years and a loyal supporter of Ms Vewoord’s cause, I am confused about the recent developments of her situation. I understood on Friday, March 30th 2007 Ms. Verwoord and her supporters organized a protest march with 3 objectives: to protect the people of St. Maarten, to protect and safeguard the islands beautiful beaches and to renew Ms.Verwoord’s vending license. Though I could not be present at the march, I was with her and her fellow protesters in spirit.
Now based on media reports, I further understood that she had her vending license renewed by the government as well as signed a MOU and letter of intent. The deal according to my understanding is that the developers will provide her with the option to purchase a 2500 square foot restaurant and use of a patio area for seating her guests, a storage area for beach chairs and umbrellas and a mini market. The space is being offered at US $200,000 with terms seemingly favorable. When I read this my initial reaction was BRAVO Ms Verwoord we finally won! Based on my experience in the USA, I have never seen a case where a small business stuck to its guns and stood up to a big developer to negotiate inclusion into a project. Normally, what happens is that the small businesses cave in and sell out for large sums of money. So Kudos to Ms. Verwoord, she held her own and got what appears to me to be a steal of a deal. But now I am confused as to what the further developments are.
Has the offer been accepted by Ms. Verwoord? I would have grabbed that deal and ran. And if she hasn’t accepted then I need to know what is she thinking? I would also like to know what Duck’s take on the issue is. Is the Beach still open? When is Ms Verwoord moving into her new digs? Is the issue finally at rest?
I think there should be some clarity on this issue so I know whether to celebrate for Ms Verwoord or continue the struggle.
Mary Shepard
Alexandria, Virginia

A new blog post about Dawn Beach and Ms' Bs will come soon, we will try to get some copies and details from her about this deal. It has been pointed out though that even if Joan takes up the new location, she has to have plenty of business to survive and pay for it. It looks like 2 public parking spaces are available at the entrance to the beach, which is also very narrow and awkward. Do you think Joan would get the business she needs to survive just from the Coral Beach owners and renters? I don't.

Again, these developers DO NOT WANT other people, locals or tourists staying elsewhere to come to "THEIR" beach. The government is a disgrace in not dealing with this whole issue of ownership of beaches in the beginning. Now they leave it open for others to follow suit. By failing to stand up for and ensure that Meit Briefs are adjusted according to federal regulation, they have basically given the beach to the developer.
I have not yet heard one politician address this issue about this case.

Hady

Hady

I can understand why Joan did not jump for this so-called great offer that was offered to her by Duck Development group of imperialist foreigners.
The ground floor of a 3 level building that Duck is offering to Joan is not on the beach, it is on the roadside and as pointed out by previous writer it has almost no parking facilities.
Duck built this 3 level building in violation of their building permit, which states 2 levels.
Again, not one politician has come out and said anything about this, oh no, they are too busy trying to protect Ducks interest over that of local Joan and are even going so far as to allow foreign developers to continue with their illigalities.
Theo response was that he waiting for Joan to sign the agreement so that he can give her a restaurant license, and he is fooling the dumb ass people that would vote for he as he sounds stupid!
You see....... why would a Commissioner be waiting for a local to sign an agreement? it was his job to renew her vendors license, not be waiting for an agreement.
If Joan had enterered into an agreement, then he would issue her restaurant license when the vendors license expires, which is in one year!
So his statement is sound stupid to the ears.
Then the matter of Sarah saying she would not go against her government decision, well, we can see that now.
So the Commissioners screw up and madam leader of government does not help the people who elected her.
She even supported Roy in the IC with his badhandling of the Belvedere land lots.
She did not support the Belvedere people who still hasn't seen the list of names of the DP supporters who qualified in one weekend for land.
But back to Joan, Joan has every right to stay as a vendor with a vendors license on the beach.
If Joan accepts the offer from Duck, she will be in a building where most likely the top floor could be demolished, leaving her first floor with cracks.
And as previous writer pointed out, not one politician has brought forward the issue of beaches.
If we allow this, every tom dick and fu*&*ng peytons will be owning all of our beaches, later on every leroy will be busy selling beaches to every foreign developer.
What I do not understand from previous writer is the statement about Meetbriefs being adjusted by Federal regulations.
Correct me if I am wrong, but all beaches, stranden ter zee, were transferred to the Island Government a few years ago.

Joan Verwoord and Duck Int

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How about if a bunch of us decided to have a Sunday picnic with our kids and a bbq, etc. at Dawn Beach - would we be asked to leave? How about we all get together during the school holidays at the end of this month, say April 29th, and have a great beach day?

We should do it !! Let's organize a family fun day at the beach (DawnBeach) of course with dj's and everything and see what happeneds.

Micheline