Berra-like "deja vu all over again'' feeling after reading yesterday's newspaper.

There was outgoing Housing Corporation chairman Larry Burchall announcing that Government will not be building any more homes and will instead focus on renovating existing structures.

Mr. Burchall noted that Bermuda is not suffering from a lack of available housing; it's a lack of affordable housing that is causing the problem and there are plenty of empty homes which can be fixed up and put back on the market.

Mr. Burchall may be right. Indeed, he took a Royal Gazette reporter on a tour of north Hamilton and Pembroke to prove his point.

And there was Housing Minister Nelson Bascome a few weeks ago becoming defensive on the subject of the homeless, saying there was little that could be done to help them if they did not come forward for assistance.

Again, he may be right. What is funny about this is that the United Bermuda Party was saying virtually the same thing in the run-up to the 1998 General Election when the housing crisis was apparently at its peak.

The UBP then was criticised for being heartless and out of touch. Couldn't it see there was a problem and shouldn't it be doing something about it? Today, when the new Government says virtually the same thing, it is greeted with silence. To be fair, it has put new housing stock on the market and has more in the pipeline. But rents and house prices remain very high, and the media is still full of stories about people desperately in need of adequate housing.

It is enough to make you believe that housing crises are solved not by making more homes available, but at the ballot box.

WORTHY CALL EDT Worthy call Health Minister Nelson Bascome's call for funds to be donated to the hospital to improve the wards deserves support.

Bermuda has a fine hospital and good facilities for a community of this size, but hospital visits are intimidating for anyone, and anything that can be done to make patients more comfortable and care more efficient is crucial.

Mr. Bascome and Health Alliance chairman Jane Spurling both acknowledge that there are parts of the hospital which need improvement. In some cases, this may be a matter of a new and brighter coat of paint. Other areas, such as the laundry, need major renovations.

Getting donors to put their names on a new laundry, as opposed to a hi-tech surgical wing, will always be difficult.

But clean linens and an economic and efficient laundry service is important both for the comfort and recovery of patients and so that money and resources can be devoted to other services as well.

Shadow Health Minister Kim Young has said that Mr. Bascome should not be involved in this campaign because Government does not pay for the refurbishment of the wards.

That may be technically correct, but this would be a great opportunity for Mr.

Bascome and Ms Young to join forces on a non-partisan basis to lead this campaign.