Boycott in battle of the burgers
Bermuda College students boycotted a campus café in protest at its prices.
They said $12-15 for a Panini and a soda ate into their budgets.
The week-long protest was so successful, café-owners Buzz initiated a range of concessions. The company offered students and school pupils a five per cent discount at its cafés island-wide.
Buzz also offered a 10 per cent discount at the college café Thursday to Saturday, and pledged to create a “very affordable” menu.
Island of chubby drinkers
The 2011 Health Survey revealed islanders were fatter and boozier than five years ago.
A third of us were classed as regular binge drinkers – compared with one in four people in 2006.
Seven out of 10 adults were also overweight or obese — two out of three.
Wolfing down those treats
‘Grandma’ took a peek in Little Red Riding Hood’s basket before a ‘Hallowe’en Hounds’ costume contest.
The competition was part of the Bermuda Kennel Club’s 2011 Dog Show, at Somersfield Academy.
Census: ‘greying’ Bermuda
Bermuda has to brace itself for an ageing population.
That was the message from the 2010 Census, which showed seniors were expected to make up 22 per cent of the population by 2030.
The number of Bermudians grew by four per cent — to 50,533, and non-Bermudians by two per cent — to 13,513.
Eight per cent described themselves of ‘mixed’ race and 55 per cent as ‘black’ — a drop of one per cent. The ‘white’ population fell from 34 to 31 per cent.
Jury clears Andre Curtis
Andre Curtis was cleared of stealing $130,000 of public money in the Faith-Based Tourism project.
The businessman was awarded the Government contract in April 2007.
He was given $400,000 to organize 10 religious events, in order to attract 2,200 tourists.
A Supreme Court jury found Mr Curtis, 49, not guilty of stealing $130,000 and of false accounting. He was also cleared of stealing $141,000 from Andrew Smith — money allegedly paid for building work.
More economic woes
The Bermuda Sun revealed that Carnival Cruise Lines was cancelling its trips to the island, to just one visit next year.
In 2011 Carnival made 15 trips, and it was expected to confirm 12 visits in 2012.
The decision meant the loss of millions of dollars to the island’s economy.
Meanwhile, Bermuda’s retail sector continued to struggle. Car dealerships faced the worst slump for decades, with vehicle sales for July down 44.7 per cent compared with July, 2010.
Bradley claims pink jacket
American Keegan Bradley won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in a tightly-fought championship at Port Royal Golf Course.
Bradley defeated Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke, and South African Charl Schwartzel, to claim the $600,000 prize purse and pink jacket.
He finished one shot clear of Schwartzel with a four under par.
Clarke meanwhile was enjoying his time in Bermuda so much, he cancelled his next fixture at Valderrama, Spain, to holiday here with his family.
Bowling alley strikes out
October saw more job losses across the island, with the closure of Southside Family Bowl.
The bowling alley was forced to shut down after racking up debts on electricity bills. Seven jobs were lost.
In the west end, Oleander Cycles was forced to close its Southampton branch. General manager Gregory Bluck blamed the drop in tourists and closure of the Nine Beaches Resort. He said: “No one likes to make adjustments like this but in these economic times demand is down and we have to make hard decisions.”
Three members of staff were transferred to the rental firm’s Dockyard and Paget branches instead.
Year in Review 2011