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What it costs to live in the town where no crime was committed

· The South African

Recent data suggests crime in South Africa is declining.

In a handful of small towns, crime decreased to the point where no crimes were reported in the first quarter of 2026.

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These towns erase the country’s reputation for violence and suggest South Africans could enjoy a safer life.

South Africa’s Safest Small Town

In the first quarter of 2026, Rhodes in the Eastern Cape highlands recorded zero crimes.

For 3 consecutive months between April and June 2026, the hamlet, perched on the Drakensberg mountain, was one of the safest places in the country.

The year before, it wasn’t as safe.

Over the same period in 2025, two crimes were committed in the area, according to data from the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Crime in Rhodes

When analysing the full year data from April 2025 to March 2026, the town reported 9 crimes.

Of these, stock theft accounted for 30% (3 crimes).

There were no residential burglaries in the 2025-2026 period and only 1 theft from a motor vehicle.

However, in the 2024-2025 period, there were 6 residential burglaries, 3 business burglaries, 1 drug-related crime, and 1 common assault.

For the full year ending March 2025, 20 crimes were recorded in this tiny village.

Crime statistics also don’t paint the full picture.

According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), South Africans report 51.8% of residential burglaries.

More stock thefts go unreported.

Could that be the case in Rhodes, where every home is within walking distance of the police station?

Data suggests it’s likely, but the town’s design suggests otherwise.

Property in Rhodes

There are no burglar bars and no tall fences on properties.

But this has less to do with the lack of crime and more to do with the town being declared a Conservation Area in 1997.

The average sale price as of September 2026 is R900 000.

Currently, there are only 12 active listings.

Buyers can purchase a 535-square-metre plot starting at R170 000.

Seven other plots of the same size are available.

The most expensive listing is R400 000.

The price point is attractive, but building isn’t straightforward.

Buyers have to navigate strict rules.

According to the Rhodes Info Centre, newly built homes must meet the town’s by-laws and get approval from the Aesthetics Committee.

The approval process entails submitting preliminary sketches for the Committee to review and provide feedback.

Then, the buyer submits a second round of architectural sketches for approval.

The Committee sends the approved sketches to the municipality.

Buyers can skip that process by purchasing a home.

The cheapest listing is R950 000 for a 1-bedroom cottage.

Property TypeAverage Price1 bedroomR950 0002 bedroomR1.95 million3 bedroomR2.3 millionVacant landR310 000

Other Zero Crime Towns

Rhodes isn’t the only town to achieve zero crimes in the first quarter of 2026.

Three other small towns and villages achieved the same feat.

Mbizeni, another town in the Eastern Cape, recorded no crimes.

In the North West, the village of Mokopong did the same.

And in the Northern Cape, close to the Namibian border, Noenieput clinched the coveted spot.

These are the only places in the country where residents reported no crimes for the three months ending June 2026.

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An island is floating around a B.C. reservoir — and it keeps disappearing

· Global News

The floating forest, which is 70 metres wide and 140 metres long, was first spotted in July near Finlay Bay in the middle of Williston Reservoir in the northern interior of B.C.

Visit esporist.com for more information.

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Los Angeles Clippers Deny NBA’s Findings, Planning “Vigorous” Fight To Prove Innocence

· Yahoo Sports

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Clippers just received a massive blow today following the NBA’s ruling on the cap circumvention investigation. After a year-long search for the truth, the league has reached a conclusion, and the Clippers have been marked as guilty. Rather than a light punishment as some suspected (including the Clippers themselves), Adam Silver came down hard, stripping five first-round picks from the team to go along with a $30 million fine. Team owner Steve Ballmer (along with other team executives) also received a personal ban for his role in the illegal payout scheme.

For their part, the Clippers have been denying guilt from the start, and they never expected to be facing such massive penalties. In their first statement since the ruling, they announced they’d be challenging the NBA’s findings, citing a major difference between what they were privately told and what has officially transpired today.

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“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” wrote the Clippers in a statement. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure its fairness and accuracy. For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith, and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”

Ballmer always claimed that he and the Clippers were victims of fraud, and nothing more, but the mounting evidence says otherwise. Clippers owners and executives were tied to several secret, exclusive endorsement deals with Kawhi, which paid him millions outside the cap with no strings attached. For the NBA commissioner, it was a clear violation of the rules, and he believes the punishment fits the severity of the crime.

“I am deeply disappointed by the flagrant violations of our rules and by the Clippers’ institutional and leadership failures that led to this misconduct,” wrote NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “The severity of the penalties reflects the seriousness of the violations.”

The Clippers clearly are not pleased with the results of this investigation, but their options for opposing the ruling are limited. Without help from the NBPA (which apparently already approved the findings), there’s not really much the team can do to fight or challenge the penalties.

“According to a source with knowledge, there is no appeal/arbitration process for the Clippers to pursue with the NBA,” reported Dan Woike. “It’s not a right teams have. The NBPA could’ve pursued arbitration, but it accepted findings and punishments. They’d need relief elsewhere.”

In the end, the Clippers are learning the hard way what lines not to cross. As much as they wanted Kawhi, the circumstances of his arrival will haunt them for many years to come. Unless they pull off some miracle and convince the NBA to lighten the punishment, the Clippers are facing a potential setback of several years and will now serve as the example of what happens when catering to athletes goes too far.

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