It's easy in these times to get somewhat depressed, both about the state of Bermuda and the world.

A drooping economy, realistic warnings about the condition of international business from a leading chief executive officer, Premier Dr. Ewart Brown's strange race-baiting over the election of Barack Obama as US President, his brother Phil Butterfield's tirade towards the head of the teachers' union, the foolish row between Home Affairs Minister Sen. David Burch and Shadow Finance Minister E.T. (Bob) Richards, a spate of violent crimes ... the list goes on and on.

But there is some good news around.

The Royal Gazette has recently featured a series of voluntary efforts that show the spirit of giving in Bermuda is not dead. Volunteers under the coordination of Keep Bermuda Beautiful cleaned up and painted Fort St. Catherine, presumably saving taxpayers' money in the process. Volunteers from Ace Ltd. cleaned up the Rebecca Middleton nature reserve last week. The list goes on. Volunteers are critical to Bermuda's welfare and they should be saluted. Better yet, they should be joined.

Next year, Bermuda will again host the ALARYS conference that promotes insurance business in Latin America. That deal was secured by Premier Dr. Ewart Brown when he went to the conference this week in Buenos Aires. Latin America, in spite of the recent economic turmoil, is an important growth area for Bermuda, and at the risk of leaving others out, Applebys law firm executive Eduardo Fox in particular has been tireless in building this new sector for international business.

Rickeesha Binns won the increasingly popular Bermuda Idol contest on the weekend. This contest is critical in developing the next generation of Bermuda singers and the organisers too deserve credit.

On a sad note, Remembering Our Loved Ones, a grassroots organisation dedicated to improving road safety, held an emotional remembrance ceremony on the weekend. If their efforts lead to a reduction in road deaths, then that's a good thing.

On a related note, Government is now planning to introduce graduated licensing for young motorbike riders. It's long overdue and the credit for pushing this initiative largely belongs to former Road Safety Council chairman Dr. Joe Froncioni. He's got other good ideas and they need to be taken up.

Contrary to popular belief, births to teenagers declined again in 2005 and only two children were born to women under the age of 16, compared to five in 2004, according to Government statistics. While more recent statistics would be helpful, this reflects an ongoing trend and should be welcomed. There's more on this in today's Youth News, the newspaper produced by some of Bermuda's terrific young people and supported by The Royal Gazette.

And to prove that Bermuda's famed hospitality is still alive, former St. George's Mayor E. Michael Jones lent his expensive camera to some tourists desperate to remember their trip – and got it back! All of these stories were taken from Royal Gazettes of the last week. They show that Bermuda has amazing people, doing amazing things in their own ways. As the Island confronts the challenges of the next few months, we need to remember that.