[naviga:h2]Skinny dipping at Bacardi[/naviga:h2]

SOUTHLANDS

After a storm of protest over the proposed 311-suite-Southlands Jumeirah resort, Environment Minister, Neletha Butterfield signed a special development order for it, just after Cup Match.

She summed up Jumeirah Southlands as "a facility that we will all be truly proud of". The price of a fractional suite, complete with butler, would range from $265,000 to $1.2 million. Environmental campaigners welcomed several recommendations in the SDO for Southlands which required developers to mitigate the impact of the 497-bed resort, including mitigating any adverse impacts on sea birds and to create artificial longtail nests along the cliffs, among other environmental considerations.

In mid-August planning permission for staff housing was mysteriously removed as a condition of the Southlands Special Development Order.

As protests continued and an election grew near, government suddenly changed tack, saying the resort could possibly be relocated to a brownfield site at Morgan's Point. In exchange, Southlands would be turned into a national park.

In October, the possible land swap received a cautious welcome from opposition politicians and sustainable development campaigners, but the big question was: who was going to pay for the clean-up?

Dr. Brown admitted that taxpayers would have to foot the bill. Morgan's Point is a former US Naval Air Station and is heavily polluted with asbestos, metals, petroleum products and other chemicals. Any environmental remediation work could cost in excess of $25 million.

WEIRD CRIME OF THE MONTH

August 27: Police arrested six people in the early hours of the morning for swimming naked and trespassing on the property of the Bacardi International headquarters on Pitts Bay Road.

At around 4 a.m., officers arrived on scene only to discover a group of 20 people swimming in the company's landmark fountains some only had on underwear while others were nude. The suspects' charges included indecent exposure. Fourteen of the culprits escaped.

RAYNEY MURDER IN AUSTRALIA

The wife of former Bermuda prosecutor Lloyd Rayney was murdered on August 17 in Perth, Australia. The body of mother-of-two Corryn Rayney was discovered by detectives in a makeshift grave in a park in the western Australian city. She had been missing for nine days after failing to come home after an evening class. Mr. Rayney has issued denials of any involvement in his estranged wife's death.

INTERNET FRAUD

Fraudsters were targeting Bermuda residents looking for love on Internet dating sites in order to swindle them out of thousands of dollars. Con artists posing as potential soul mates persuaded victims to cash American Express travellers cheques for them and wire the funds. However, the cheques turned out to be fakes, leaving their 'dates' badly out of pocket.

WILL HE OR WON'T HE?

Tiger Woods eneded weeks of speculation about his intentions concerning the PGA Grand Slam... by refusing to play. In a polite letter to the PGA, he declined, citing family commitments and fatigue.

The decision came after he had been lobbied by both the Prmier and the opposition leader as he worked his way to the last qualifiying tournament to make the Grand Slam – the PGA Championship in Oaklahoma on August 12.

Statistics

The Department estimates that our senior population will double to 22 percent by 2030, or approximately 16,500 seniors in real terms. If only 20 percent of those seniors need care, we are looking at over 3,000 caregivers by 2030. And caregivers are pivotal to keeping seniors in their homes as long as possible.

Between May and June this year the average cost of goods and services in the Consumer Price Index rose by 0.6 percent from 104 index points to 104.6, meaning that the products that cost $100 in April 2006 now cost $104.60. The rent sector was the strongest contributor to the 12-month increase in the Index, while the health and personal care sectors also impacted strongly on the annual rate of inflation.

Almost $1 million was given to 224 students hoping to study the trades both in Bermuda and overseas by Government.

According to the Bermuda Police Service, from 2003 to the present, there have been 37 incidents of firearms offences, and two gun-related murders during the past three years.

An XL Foundation member said that although 90 percent of the company's workforce lived elsewhere in the world, The XL Foundation gives two-thirds of its charitable budget to organisations in Bermuda.

August 2007 Voices

"Families in their homes have to take up the mantle and decide it is their responsibility to raise their children and save this country from anarchy."

– Public Safety Minister David Burch, speaking on Bermuda's growing code of silence over violent crimes.

"There seems to be a propensity to carry out what appears to be planned executions with impunity. That should be of real concern to all people. This island is way too small for this type of, and I use the word reservedly, psychotic mindset."

– Charles Richardson, the lawyer of slain national footballer Shaki Crockwell.

"There were times when there were contracts that got sticky, my philosophy is if you tell the truth and stick to the truth you will never go wrong. That would be the way I would conduct myself in the House."

– Jane Correia, Progressive Labour Party candidate for Smiths South.

"We understand and support the CURE's aims and the objective of workplace equality, and strongly believe that the promotion of Bermudians is in the best interest of Bermuda business. However, our preference is not for a legislated or punitive approach, but a solution where Government and employers partner to deliver improvements that are measurable and maintain the competitiveness of the workforce and business."

– The Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC) Vice Chairman Harry Wilken.

"She's Bermudian and qualified, she's a woman and a leader, what more do we want?"

BPSU president Armell Thomas responding to rumblings from teachers and others on the appointment of Ellen-Kate Horton as permanent secretary for Education to her brother, Minister Randolph Horton.

"I am still in disbelief that it is me that is Miss Teen Bermuda but I feel this is my opportunity to shine, shine to my peers, shine to my family and to my community. It's been a great experience for me to showcase my talent as well as to show Bermuda that young women can represent themselves well."

– Alexa Lightbourne, 15, newly crowned Miss Teen Bermuda.

Deaths

Patricia Steinhoff a 58-year-old Bermudian woman died suddenly after being stranded two-miles off of Bermuda while scuba diving. At 4.15 p.m. on August 5, Mrs. Steinhoff, along with her husband and two of their friends, who were visiting the Island, anchored their boat and went diving.

After diving to about 25 feet at the popular Southwest Breakers for over an hour, the quartet surfaced to find their boat had somehow broken from its anchoring and drifted away. The Marsh accountant and senior trainer – who was a strong swimer – struggled during the long swim to shore.

Shaki Crockwell, talented Boulevard Blazers striker whose abilities on the field eventually advanced himself to the ranks of Bermuda's national football team was murdered on August 25. August 25

Police launched a murder hunt after the 25-year-old was shot in the neck and killed. It was understood the popular footballer was shot once in the neck on the Railway Trail near Loyal Hill, in Devonshire, just after 10 p.m.

August 2007 Timeline

August 6: The Rosie O'Donnell cruise may have been sunk but gay pride was buoyant in the 2007 Non-Mariners' Race. Political satire took to the waves in chaotic scenes as 14 makeshift craft took to the high seas of Mangrove Bay.

Three area residents submitted preliminary papers to request a judicial review of the controversial two-storey parking lot for the First Church of God in Pembroke. In May, Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield approved the lot application from the church's leader, Bishop Vernon Lambe in the face of objection letters submitted by angry residents. Darrell Clarke represented the applicants who he said were questioning the approval on the basis of illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety.

August 10: A meteor shower passed Bermuda lighting up the night sky. August is traditionally known as 'shooting star month' but this weekend the sky was brighter when the meteor shower Perseids passed the Island.

August 16: Government MP Ashfield DeVent called on Police to produce figures to back claims they had improved response times as he lashed out over drug-dealers operating around the clock in his Pembroke seat. His comments came after Acting Police Commissioner Roseanda Young said response times had improved after shifting resources toward community policing.

August 17: In the United States, millionaire technology guru and Tucker's Town home owner John J. Donovan Sr. was convicted of falsely claiming to police that he was shot in an attack arranged by his son. Judge Kenneth Fishman found Donovan, 65, guilty of filing a false police report, a misdemeanour, in the bench trial. Donovan was immediately sentenced to two years probation and a $625 fine. He also had to complete 200 hours of community service.

August 18: A teenager who killed a female friend riding pillion on his motorcycle through dangerous driving was jailed for three years. Jay Cody Steede was in breach of his curfew at the Co-Ed facility when he caused the high-speed smash that claimed the life of Krystle Maya Babon, 15. He was caught nearby. Steede, who was 17 at the time of the incident, apologised to Ms Babon's parents.

Government was on stand-by to assist island neighbours in the event of wide-scale death and destruction in the Caribbean, after Hurricane Dean pummeled Jamaica with winds of up to 145 mph. The Category Four storm claimed more than six lives and experts feared more extensive loss of life as it tore across the Caribbean into the Gulf of Mexico.

August 21: Companies which refused to change discriminatory hiring and promotion habits could be hit with fines as Government put teeth in laws recording race in workplaces. The move came after years of statistics showing blacks were still a minority in executive positions, down from 29 percent to 27 percent last year.

August 22: American doctor, Donald Thomas III was appointed the new chief medical adviser to the Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and became responsible for physician relations, reporting to CEO David Hill. He arrived on an initial one-year contract and was expected to pave the way for a Bermudian to take over the position in the long-term.

August 23: US Republican Presidential candidate John McCain pledged to protect Bermuda's international businesses if he was successful in his White House bid. The Arizona Senator, who spent three days on the Island meeting business and political leaders, said he understood the concerns of the insurance and reinsurance sectors about draft legislation proposing a clampdown on US business operations in so-called tax havens.

August 24

Sir John Vereker's Rover 75 collided with a wall after heavy rain. The crash happened at 11.30 a.m. as the Governor's driver was travelling with Kevin De Silva, aide-de-camp to Sir John. He said: "The car slid out on the wet surface on the corner nearing Devonshire Dock. Responding to the slide, the driver corrected the spin, yet was unable to keep the car from hitting the wall."

Police uncovered a stash of Molotov cocktails, swords, machetes as well as black clothing and bandannas in two incidents. The discoveries were made in the central parishes, the Police declined to say where. Officers warned of a rise in the number of bladed weapons being used in violent incidents.

August 29: War veterans entitled to benefits for their service still not received them despite new legislation passed earlier this year, Government admitted. Many of those who served during the World Wars have never been paid a veteran's pension. Some who served overseas were never informed by the Bermuda War Veterans Association or Government of the day that they were entitled to payments.

August 30: An appeal was launched to raise almost $2.5 million to help pay off outstanding debts surrounding the Spirit of Bermuda. The Bermuda Sloop Foundation wanted $2.25 million to pay off the outstanding debt from the building of the ship after costs overran. But it also wanted another $3 million in a longer-term project to set up an endowment fund to help pay for future programmes.

August 31: The Hustle Truck was relaunched two weeks after it was suspended due to anti-social behaviour from its workers.