Tourism Minister Ewart Brown this week said that confidentiality agreements prevented him from updating reporters on progress at the former Club Med site. He said there were new developments and a ?string of things? were being done ? but that he was ?not at liberty to reveal them today?.

Dr. Brown made the comments after being asked for an update on the development at St. George?s during a press conference unveiling a new Bermuda flight to Washington DC.

Dr. Brown said he would be delighted when the package was finalised and he could tell the ?prophets of doom and gloom? it represented progress and added that he would be the ?happiest man in Bermuda? when he could tell reporters details about the deal.

It was revealed last month that the new developer at the site was Connecticut-based KJA Development Inc. For most the of the past 20 years the hotel overlooking St. George?s has stood empty.

Questions were asked in the wake of the announcement, including why a $220 million plan for a Four Seasons Hotel was dropped after two years of talks. Dr. Brown has refused to discuss past negotiations.

Government is exploring the idea of opening more facilities for child care because its sole centre for the under fives ? Happy Valley Child Care Centre ? is over subscribed.

Health Minister Patrice Minors said last week the centre catered to around 40 children and priority was given to children referred by the helping agencies ? 93 percent of which indicated they were happy with the service. However satisfaction levels had fallen slightly.

Mrs. Minors said: ?This is directly related to the over-subscription of the service and the inability to accommodate the increasing demand for special needs children. We continue to be very pleased with the progress of the Happy Valley Child Care Programme.?

She said last year the Department continued research into setting up additional centres all over the Island to address over subscription and the demand for specialist child care.

During the coming year parenting workshops will be enhanced while upgrades will be made in security and physical plant.

Opposition MP Jon Brunson demanded that Government give assurances on work being done to strengthen Bermuda?s foreshore ? but was told there are no guarantees where Mother Nature is concerned.

The Shadow Works and Engineering Minister spoke out in the House of Assembly on Friday after hearing that the Government was having to spend $3.2 million on foreshore protection works which it had not budgeted for last year. Mr. Brunson said the Government?s description of the work as ?post-Fabian? was hard to swallow.

?I have to remind this house that Fabian was in September 2003,? he said. ?It was three years ago. I find it extremely hard to believe that this Government did not know that this work had to be done.?

He asked what assurances the Government could give on the work in the event of another hurricane.

Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield said the Government had only become aware of erosion at islands off Castle Harbour in the last year, which was why the amount did not appear in the original budget.

The House also heard that the memorial for those lost at sea at Great Head Park, St. David?s, had cost Government $250,000 more than was budgeted for.

Registered charities and Government agencies which provide direct services to children, seniors and disabled people are being urged to ensure they are included in a new directory.

The Health Promotion Office of the Department of Health is preparing the 2006 edition of the Directory of Services and wants those organisations wishing to submit or update their details for the directory to do so by March 27.

A Department of Health spokeswoman said: ?All registered charities that provide services to children, seniors and persons with disabilities are eligible to be featured in the directory.?

For more information call contact Pauleter Stevens at the Health Promotion Office on 278-6504.

A drive to improve the health of children on the Island is likely to see Government Ministers and civil servants leading by example by adopting healthier diets and taking exercise.

That is the intention of the Health Ministry as it continues its Healthy Schools Project and starts a pilot programme involving so-called Wellness Clubs across the Island.

Six schools are involved in the pilot programme and a further 12 will be implementing parts of the programme, which is ?designed to focus students on increased physical activity and healthful eating habits,? according to Health Minister Patrice Minors.

Bermudians can learn to be more litigious thanks to a new free booklet from Consumer Affairs. The booklet, titled ?Bermuda small claims procedure at Magistrates? Court: Questions and answers for consumers? was written in collaboration with justice officials, Consumer Affairs said in a release.

But Consumer Affairs said their booklet answered the most commonly asked questions and provided important information that allowed consumers to handle small claims on their own.

?Small claims court is one avenue for consumers to pursue a legal judgment in civil disputes where the claim for damages is valued at $25,000 or less,? it said.

Interested consumers may pick up a copy of the booklet from Magistrates? Court, all post offices, the Bermuda National Library, the Transport Control Department (TCD), ?The Centre? on Angle Street and the Consumer Affairs office on Front Street.

An arson attack on a bus depot was largely to blame for the Government having to spend an extra $875,000 on drivers? wages, the House of Assembly has heard.

Michael Scott, Minister of Telecommunications, told members on Friday that the overspend on the budget for 2005/06 was because of bus drivers? overtime after the fire at the Somerset depot last Easter, which destroyed seven buses.

Shadow Finance Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin questioned why having less buses would increase the number of hours worked by drivers.

?It would seem that the people who were driving the buses would not have a bus to drive,? she said. ?It would seem to me there would be more labour available.?

She questioned how a reduction in the fleet could give rise to drivers working more hours.

Finance Minister Paula Cox said that because all the buses that were damaged were from the Somerset area, drivers from other areas had to be used. ?They were doing something outside and above their normal duties,? she said.

The total overspend for the Public Transportation Board was $1.2 million, said Mr. Scott. The rising cost of fuel accounted for $250,000 of that and the remainder came under salaries and stores.

?Members will no doubt have noted the increase in fuel prices around the world,? said Mr. Scott.

Shadow Economic Empowerment Minister Jamahl Simmons asked if the Government still projected ahead on fuel costs.

?There is the ability to get this information from the fuel companies,? he said.

Ms Cox said the Government did.