2009

The Collectivité has distributed letters in French/English to all mailboxes explaining how to separate household trash. In 1998, St Barth was the first French overseas municipality to start a recycling program. But in spite of numerous informational campaigns, many households on the island still do not separate their trash properly...

The wooden walkway along the waterfront in Gustavia that was destroyed by hurricane Omar was reopened on November 30 by a concrete dock after four months of reconstruction under the supervision of the island’s technical services office...

On November 9, after much discussion, the territorial council voted unanimously (less one vote) to enact “blue zone” parking in Gustavia as of December 15, 2009. On the drawing boards since 2006, the idea has had its share of criticism: the main objection is that without the addition of new parking spaces, and the plan to institute paid parking in the large lot along the waterfront, the blue zones would not solve the parking problem in town, and would, on the contrary, make it even more difficult to find a place to park during the day...

Mega-yachts have been streaming into the port since early December, with the Quai de la République and the Quai General de Gaulle full and the dock by the Wall House almost full as well...

During a press conference on November 20, The Collectivity of St Barth, the Tourism Committee of St Barth (CTTSB), and the St Barth Yacht Club announced a new sailing event, Les Voiles de Saint Barth, which is open to all sailboats, from classic and contemporary to super yachts, racing cruisers and multi-hull racing boats...

In commemoration of Sweden’s retrocession of St Barth to France in 1878, and the 31-year twinning of St Barth and Piteå in Sweden, ASBAS and the Collectivity of St Barth organized a weekend of festivities on November 14 and 15. A highlight of the weekend was the 19th edition of the Gustavia Loppet, or Swedish marathon...

‘Tis the season for sure, with Christmas lights twinkling and the scent of fir trees in the air...

Funny how the celebration of a bar’s 60th anniversary can take on epic proportions on such a small island...

A large crowd attended the territorial council meeting on July 16, 2009 as island residents have a vested interest in the items on the agenda that day; especially the debate about a new urban planning map for Saint Barth—the document that defines zones where construction can take place, and outlines how the code of urbanism voted on by the elected officials of the COM is actually applied...

Can it really be 10 years since the last gathering of parrot heads—alias Jimmy Buffett fans—on the island?...

This past July, Susanna Freer Passburg of the Swedish Design Centre of St. Barthélemy announced a new initiative that certainly has merit...

I’ve often said that while Saint Barth might not have golf courses or casinos...

There is a project underway to give a specific street address to every home in Gustavia. The municipal council voted in May 2007 to rename some of the city streets as well, and this has been done. The Collectivity’s cultural affairs commission decided to complete the renaming of the streets in time to publish a new, more precise map of Gustavia in March 2009...

French sailor Philippe Poupon, with his wife Geraldine Danon and their four children, 12 year-old Nina, nine year-old Loup, two year-old Laura, and one year-old Marion, stopped in Saint Barth recently before setting off on a grand adventure: Poupon is going to attempt the Northwest Passage, a sea route which goes through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...

Dear Readers, how can it be almost the end of June already? Last I looked it was only May! But I must admit I have been so busy on Facebook...

The eighth annual St Barth Theatre Festival—organized by the local troupe, SB Artists, and their director, Nadège Emmanuelian—took place May 6-16. An eclectic program was rich in comedy, with hilarious performances alternating with more serious subjects...

The first weekend in May, the island’s attention turned to sailing. In the Bay of St. Jean, the St Barth Nautical Center (CNSB) organized “Tour 2009,” the sixth annual around-the-island competition for windsurfing and sports catamarans, with small sailboats from the St Barth Yacht Club (SBYC) added to the mix for the first time. In the first edition of this event in 2004, the records set by Ricardi Maricel for windsurfing— 1h 14mn 37sec— and by the team of Jeff Lédée/Vincent Jordil for catamarans —1h 32mn 50sec— were still the times to beat going into this year’s event...

The Overseas Collectivity of Saint Barthelemy has set roots and is slowly emerging and growing into its own as the administrative and legal issues that are inherent to such a process are addressed. At this time, many of the outstanding questions and issues still pending a year ago have been resolved- favorably for overseas investors and island residents.

Held April 23-26, 2009 the second annual Book Festival included workshops based on the theme “Why do I write?” as well as a book exchange in front of the Wall House. Invited authors Inès Bouchaut-Choisy, who presented “The Adventures of Monbarsgold,” the first book in a new series for children, Gisèle Pineau a writer from Guadeloupe, and Stephanie Blake, an author and illustrator of children’s books, visited the island’s schools throughout the week, and hosted book signings on Sunday morning...

As Saint Barth’s cultural calendar developed over the years, April and May became the big months for local festivals. From April 25 through May 16, a film festival, book festival, and theatre festival follow on each other’s heels in a span of less than one month...

I hope by friend Lu doesn’t mind, as this little musing is about her, while at the same time about life on an island...

The Caribbean version of the Newport Bucket (originally the Nantucket Bucket), which takes place every summer in Newport, RI, the St Barth Bucket brings some of the world ’s most spectacular sailboats to the island the last weekend of March for three days of regattas around the island...

On Saturday morning, March 21, the president of the Collectivity of St Barthélemy and members of the UMP political party were at the airport to meet the French Overseas Secretary of State when he arrived from St Martin with his wife. During his brief visit to St Barth, Yves Jégo first met with the gendarmes to discuss various aspects of their new mission as frontier police...

There’s no doubt about it…

Since June 2008, the staff of Saint Barth’s Marine Park has posted a monthly report of its activities on the Internet. More the 200 people also receive this monthly report via a newsletter sent by email...

The local choir, La Chorale Aux Bons Chœurs, held two special concerts on February 27 and 28 at the Anglican Church, in celebration of the tenth anniversary of “Ounalao,” the non-official hymn of Saint Barthélemy, which is often sung on official occasions...

Carnival festivities began in mid-January with weekly parades organized on Sunday afternoons in Gustavia by the group, La Pointe en Mouvement, and continued on February 20—the last day of school before vacation...

It’s springtime, which means that the mega-motor-yachts, which grace Saint Barth for the end-of-the-year festivities...

Financed by the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy, which is also the construction/project manager (a responsibility taken on since the island became a COM and not part of a department), the building of an assisted living retirement home (EPAD) was recently voted for by the island council. In an official announcement, COM president Bruno Magras...

Don Comb is an American biochemist and founder of New England Biolabs, a unique scientific research and biotechnology company he started in 1973. He has been coming to Saint Barth for over 30 years, and has a lab set up at his home in Lorient, allowing him to keep up with his research during his stays on the island...

Since last December, there has been an ongoing series of art exhibits in the island’s galleries. One of the most anticipated exhibits for February is that which has been organized by artist Jennifer May in her studio in Gustavia, across from the Crédit Agricole bank...

During its meeting held on April 3, 2008, the executive council of the island’s territorial council designated Jean Belotti as the official mediator of the Collectivity, a direct, free means of legal recourse...

I defy anyone to tell me there is nothing to do in Saint Barth...

Numerous celebrities rented yachts as well as villas to celebrate the New Year in Saint Barth. Beyoncé and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, were installed aboard the yacht Galaxy, while actor Eddy Murphy opted for the luxurious Sherakan. Mariah Carey and her husband, Nick Cannon, were also presents and the two divas sang together at a party organized by the sons of Khadafi at Nikki Beach on December 31...

The new Territorial Tourism Committee of Saint Barthélemy (CTTSB) is a non-profit association created after a decision made by the island’s Territorial Council on March 13, 2008. The CTTSB replaces the island’s municipal tourist office; its goal is to define the politics of tourism for the COM...

The month of December began with the arrival of the sailboats participating in the Lagassé Classic Transat. For many years, the owners of these classic yachts dreamed of a transatlantic challenge, and Loïc Blanken organized this first edition of the event for traditional sailboats (commercial boats were not included) that date from before December 31, 1975...

It may not be obvious to the casual visitor, but St Barth is a beehive of artistic activity...