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Saba
Tourism month events
The Saba Tourist Board has announced September as Tourism Awareness Month. "This annual initiative highlights the essential role of tourism in Saba's economy, culture and community life, bringing together residents, visitors and partners through a diverse program of events," said the Office in a press release. through a diverse program of events," said the Office in a press release relayed by Saba News. Since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization has celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27. The theme for 2025 is "Tourism and Sustainable Transformation". The Saba office writes: "Fully harnessing these benefits requires an inclusive approach that places sustainability, resilience and social equity at the heart of decision-making. Tourism Awareness Month is an opportunity to celebrate the people, partners and natural beauty that make Saba unique, while strengthening ties with our community." Saba's monthly program focuses on sport and fitness, youth, and cultural and community events. These include a 10 km run with Colibri Café and Event66, the Saba Ski Fest organized by Juliana's Hotel, an island tour and reel contest with The Spot youth center, a handicraft fair at Amonhana restaurant, the Saba Ski Fest organized by the Juliana's Hotel, an island tour and reel contest with The Spot youth center, a handicraft fair at Amonhana restaurant, and the Saba Ski Fest organized by Juliana's Hotel . Amonhana restaurant, a street party and an "Oktoberfest" (in September...) organized by Deep Dive Brewery in collaboration with Juliana's Hotel and Tropics Café. For more information, visit www.sabatourism.com/events.
Dominican Republic
Customs duties: Inposdom suspends parcel shipments to the USA
The Dominican Postal Institute (Inposdom) has announced the temporary suspension of parcel shipments to the United States following the entry into force of new US customs regulations. The Dominican Toiday states that this measure will remain in force until official protocols for the application of customs duties have been established and communicated. According to Inposdom, quoted by Dominican Today, as of August 29, 2025, the U.S. government has abolished the "de minimis" tariff exemption, which means that all imports from the U.S. will be subject to the same tariffs."This means that all packages sent to the US territory will now be subject to taxes and duties, regardless of their value. Exceptions include mailings of letters and documents, as well as gifts of up to one hundred dollars sent to family and friends, provided they are clearly marked as a "gift". Dominican Today points out that the suspension applies only to shipments of goods. Inposdom also warned that delivery times could be affected by the new inspection procedures, and stressed the importance of declaring shipments accurately. "Users are advised to follow updates through official channels while coordinating with U.S. authorities," Dominican Today states.
Puerto Rico
Brief calls for suspension of solar energy fees
An article in the San Juan Star reports that the Puerto Rican Solar Energy and Storage Association (SESA) and Solar United Neighbors of Puerto Rico (SUN) filed an amicus brief with the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau (PREB) on Tuesday, September 2. The purpose of this filing is to provide the energy regulator with all the information needed to immediately suspend the $300 fee imposed on more than 42.000 solar energy customers by Luma Energy, the private operator of the island's transmission and electricity grid. Javier Rúa-Jovet, Director of Public Policy at SESA, said: "As amicus curiae in the case brought against these charges by the Independent Office of Consumer Protection (IOPC), we raised with the Bureau the illegality of the charges.the illegality of these retroactive charges for customers who installed solar systems on their homes between December 2023 and July 2025. These fees, which directly affect consumers, stem from outdated regulations that are incompatible with Puerto Rico's Public Energy Policy Act."At the last compliance hearing on interconnection progress reports on August 26, the San Juan Star recalls that Luma also declared its intention to charge a $300 fee to more than 96,000 solar customers. "This represents an illegal tax of around $30 million," pointed out Javier Rúa-Jovet, who added: "These fees penalize families who contribute to maintaining a reliable, clean and affordable power grid."
Sint Maarten
Justice professionals work uninsured
The Daily Herald reports in an article published on August 28 that the NAPB police union has expressed concern that legal professionals still do not have adequate insurance cover. In addition, they are still experiencing delays in the processing of their protection orders. In his first appearance in Parliament as president of the NAPB, a "visibly nervous" Marcus Pantophlet, writes the Daily Herald, told the Justice Committee that insurance remains one of the most pressing challenges facing legal professionals. He recalled that in May 2025, during a prison riot, police officers had to intervene to restore order when they were not properly insured. Janice Philips, NAPB treasurer, backed up his statements, pointing out that members have been paying insurance premiums since 2022. She said that, although members had been paying premiums from 2022, coverage ended in 2023, when deductions ceased under the national decree. In addition, union representative Grace Scot explained that two insurance policies were initially in place: NAGICO and Boogaard. NAGICO had proposed improved coverage, including a 100% payout in the event of death and a 200% payout in the event of death on the job.but the cost of 45 guilders per person was deemed too high for the government. The final agreement was for employees to pay 20 guilders and the state 25. The insurance was introduced after it became clear that the families of deceased officers were not receiving adequate support, and were often left without the income of the head of the family.
Guadeloupe
Worrying staff cuts at Fonds-Sarail prison
The FO (Force ouvrière) Justice union has sounded the alarm over the situation at the Fonds-Sarail prison. Against a backdrop of persistent prison overcrowding and steadily declining staffing levels, the union denounces a worrying deterioration in working conditions for prison guards, writes La 1ère in an article published on Wednesday September 3. According to the union, whose comments were relayed by La 1è;re, prison staff affiliated to the union are expressing "great suffering". For FO Justice, this is all the more worrying given that the average age of the staff is over fifty. Yet they are under increasing pressure, assures the 1st, who points out that overtime is piling up, sometimes paid late, and reminders about rest days are multiplying. According to the union, a few years ago there were still 23 supervisors on each shift. Today, there are just 14 to 15. No new trainees or student supervisors are expected in the short term, adding to the staff's sense of isolation. FO Justice is calling for urgent reinforcements, and warns that it will be impossible to hold out without additional support. The article in La 1ère points out that the issue is due to be discussed at the departmental social administration committee meeting scheduled for September 12 at the headquarters of the inter-regional overseas prison services directorate (DSPOM) in Paris.
Saint-Martin
Sargasso puts Pinel pier ferrymen to the test
The Soualiga Post has devoted an article to the difficulties encountered by boatmen on the Pinel islet since the massive invasion of sargassum. Around the Cul-de-Sac pier, it's impossible to miss, writes our Soualiga Post colleague. "The rafts of sargassum are piling up, the sea is impassable and the smell difficult to breathe", he observes. For the smugglers, whose income depends on the crossings, the situation is complicated. "Sargassum is a scourge that could have been dealt with a long time ago, but the Collectivité doesn't treat it as a real problem. They're taking it a bit lightly," lamented one of them in the article published on Tuesday, September 2. This same ferryman insists that the season has been "largely wasted" and recounts: "We closed from the third week of June and didn't reopen until the beginning of August. Five weeks without any activity. Not to mention the other days, outside this period, when we didn't work either" The professionals submitted numerous proposals to the elected representatives of the Collectivité to effectively combat the sargassum. Faced with these proposals, the institutional response always seems to be the same," complains one professional, "studies are underway" - a response which, when seen from Saint-Barth, is vaguely reminiscent of something else.
Virgin Islands (US)
313 million contract to rebuild St. Croix and St. Thomas hospitals
After years of planning, the project to rebuild the Juan F. Luis Hospital on St. Croix and the Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas is moving forward, reports the Virgin Islands Consortium in an August 29 article. Last Thursday, the Office of Disaster Recovery (ODR) received board approval for a $313 million contract with Clark-MCN USVI, a joint venture selected to lead the first phases of these long-awaited projects. This decision follows several attempts by ODR to attract qualified bidders, the Consortium details. In the end, only two responses were received to the call for tenders, with Clark-MCN winning the approval of the evaluation committee. Adrienne Williams-Octalien, Director of ODR, said the joint venture had no intention of self-performing the construction work. "They have indicated that they will simply manage the processes," she explained. Instead, the companies will rely on their "national network" to provide the resources and manpower needed to complete the projects. The companies submitted separate bids for each hospital. Clark-MCN estimated the reconstruction of Juan F. Luis at around $678 million, while Schneider Regional was valued at $836 million. Williams-Octalien explained that JFL is already "fully designed", while Schneider is still in the early stages of its design-build process, which explains the cost difference. Thursday's approval covers only the first two phases of work at the two hospitals. The contract is worth just under $313 million, split between $139.3 million for JFL and $173.6 million for Schneider Regional.
Dominique
A "historic" 10 Megawatt geothermal project
According to an article in the Caribbean National Weekly on September 3, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has finalized financing for Dominica's historic 10 MW geothermal power project. This is the first geothermal project in the region to reach this stage with a private sector partner, CNW points out. The project will be implemented by the Geothermal Power Company of Dominica (GPC), a 100% subsidiary of Ormat Technologies Inc, an international leader in geothermal development. The 10 MW plant is being developed under a private sector initiative, with BDC as lead financial arranger. The project received $34.8 million in concessional financing: 25.4 million dollars from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), through the Sustainable Energy Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and a furthervelopment (IDB) and the FVC for the Eastern Caribbean program, and $9.4 million from the Canadian program supporting the Caribbean Resilient Green Energy Initiative (SuRGE). The Caricom Development Fund (Caribbean Community) is contributing $15 million in the form of a loan under its Dominica Assistance Program.
