Atlantic seaboard’s highlights and lows

The year 2022 was filled with drama for residents of the Atlantic seaboard, as blackouts and murders rocked the popular tourist destination.

Matriculants celebrated their results in January (“Mixed emotions for Atlantic Seaboard Matriculants”, January 26), while grade Rs and 1s arrived at school, with their parents were clearly happier than them - taking selfies and photos (“Back to school”, Atlantic Sun, January 27).

We reported on a perplexing road issue in the Bo-Kaap in February (“One-way ignored at Bo-Kaap intersection”, February 3) that was resolved later in the year. Meanwhile, in Camps Bay, the ratepayers' association halted a building development (“Camps Bay ratepayers' action halts development”, February 3).

A marine outfall station in Camps Bay also stopped working (“Camps Bay marine outfall causes a stink”, February 11), causing quite a stir at this well-known beach. We spoke with Vista High and Sea Point High School students about their experiences travelling from Langa and Khayelitsha, an unpleasant but necessary task for these teenagers (“Pupils talk about hitting the long road back to school”, February 11).

The month of March began with the Gay Pride celebration at the Cape Town stadium, where thousands wore colourful costumes all day and night (“Celebration of Pride”, March 3).

Then there was a six-hour load-shedding period that hurt businesses (“6-hour blackout on Atlantic Seaboard”, March 16), and there were talks about making the promenade only for pedestrians (“Plan to ban wheels from promenade”, March 17), but nothing came of it.

Another sewage spill occurred in April (“Impact of sewage spills at Clifton beaches 'low'”, April 7) that the City of Cape Town deemed to be minor, despite criticism from environmental academics.

Artists were commissioned to give the walls of the promenade's public toilets a facelift (“Artists add colour to the promenade”, April 14), and Autism Western Cape held an awareness day at Green Point Park on April 14 (“Creating awareness for autism”, April 28).

The illegal settlers' occupation of the Helen Bowden building kicked off the month of May, (“Occupied building back in the spotlight”, May 5) as the City's Human Settlements Directorate allocated R2.8 billion over the next three years.

Firefighters were honoured (“Firefighters honoured for their service”, May 10) as were local black surfers for their influence (“Surfers riding waves of change feature in digital series”, May 5).

Three people were shot dead at Somerset Hospital (“Sea Point constable among three killed at Somerset Hospital”, May 10) and days later they celebrated Nurses Day and the heroic nurse who stopped the killer (“Somerset Hospital celebrates Nurses Day”, May 19).

The Mayor of Cape Town informed Sea Point residents of his stance on illegal settlers (“Mayor refuses to budge on squatting”, June 9), and as the winter rains swept the cape, the homeless chose to face the elements directly (“Homeless reluctant to go to shelters despite the weather”, June 15).

Despite the short notice, the City and Bo-Kaap businesses organized a street festival (“Thousands flock to Bo-Kaap street festival”, June 30).

Daniel Meyer told the Atlantic Sun in July that he plans to cycle from Copenhagen to Rome to raise money for Operation Smile (“Devil's Peak cyclist takes on 3000km trek for Operation Smile”, July 5).

We also learned about Friends of Child Protection's sad reality (“Friends of Child Protection supplies comfort packs to FCS units”, July 14) while NGO's waited for government funding (“NGOs eagerly await PEP approval”, July 14).

In August, Bo-Kaap residents voiced their concerns about an increase in rats are a problem (“Rats gnawing at Bo-Kaap residents’ nerves”, August 18) and a fire destroys shacks at the quarry two months in a row (“17 homeless as fire destroys quarry shacks”, August 18 and “Another fire at the quarry”, September 22).

Also in September there were a massive celebrations (“SA Children’s Home turns 214”, September 8) and a street festival in Sea Point was a major success (“Sea Point street festival”, September 29).

Two men were killed at Camps Bay beach which rocked the community (“Two killed at Camps Bay beach”, October 12). The killer has not been arrested.

A fire broke out on Table Mountain (“Fire damages part of cable car boardwalk”, November 3), but it was quickly extinguished, and the cable car resumed service within days. The alleged killer was arrested after a man was stabbed and died at the Sea Point SAPS station (“Unknown man dies at Sea Point SAPS”, November 17). Residents of Sea Point organized a march to draw attention to the increase in crime in the neighborhood (“Residents march to highlight crime in Sea Point”, November 24).

A man was killed in the Bo-Kaap (“Man, 20, killed in Bo-Kaap shooting”, December 1), but the killer was never apprehended, and the FCP continued their good work (“FCP prep for holiday rape victims”, December 8).