Lawyers wanting documents officially stamped as authentic will have to do so through the Office of the Parliamentary Registrar as of April 1.

The Parliamentary Registrar has been asked by Government House to take over the function, which is currently being done by the Deputy Governor.

Lawyers take their documents for an official seal of authenticity ? known as apostilles ? especially if the papers have to go abroad.

"It's done through various law firms generally but it's anything that typically has to go outside Bermuda. The lawyers in Bermuda will confirm its authenticity and we provide the Government's seal to verify its authenticity," explained Registrar Sabrina Phillips. "It could be any document that's typically signed by a notary public."

She said that the decision to move the function to her office will not involve any additional public funds and that typically a "few hundred" documents are stamped every month.

Deputy Governor Nick Carter said that Government House wanted to offload the apostilles because they were swamped with work.

"We were asked and we were more than willing to do it," said Mrs. Phillips.

She said the fee for an apostille was being increased by a dollar to $17, but they will be issued at the same times ? from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Multi-millionaire and former US presidential candidate H. Ross Perot has applied for permission to repair the rock face and foreshore on his beach front Tucker's Town property.

The application, filed with the Development Applications Board, said the rock face at "Caliban" had eroded as much as 20 feet and was in danger of undermining the lawn above, while further exposure would lead to the collapse of the wall.

The application stresses concern for building something environmentally and structurally sound.

It noted that 50 percent of the nesting sites for Longtails had been destroyed during Hurricane Fabian and promised a number of "igloo" nests would be constructed if the application is approved.

Crown counsel Shakira Dill is to appeal to Environment Minister Neletha Butterfield after the Development Applications Board recommended enforcement action on her apartment.

The board had ruled last month that the retroactive application sent last November, for a third dwelling unit at the family homestead in Northcliff Lane, Devonshire had given insufficient information.

And no consent letter had been submitted by Ms Dill while the application exceeded the number of units per acre and did not provide sufficient living space.

However in her appeal, Ms Dill said the conversion had been done by her now deceased grandfather in 1987, before the Bermuda Plan of 1992, and so could not be governed by it.

She further argued, in a document filed with the Ministry, that her previous agent had not passed on her signed consent letter and that there was enough living space as everyone in the building was her family.

A 22-year-old man who appeared in Supreme Court without a lawyer yesterday had his sentencing adjourned.

Lemuel Malachi Weeks, of Somerset Road, Sandys, had pleaded guilty on a previous occasion to grievous bodily harm and being in possession of an offensive weapon.

Crown counsel Juan Wolffe informed the court that law firm Wakefield Quinn had withdrawn from his case last week.

Puisne Justice Charles Etta Simmons instructed Weeks to apply for legal aid and set the matter down for the May arraignments session.

A man who was in breach of his probation less than a month after it was issued had a warrant for his arrest issued in the Supreme Court on Monday.

Kaream Tsun Gibbons, 27, of Rambling Lane, Pembroke, received probation and a one-and-a-half year suspended sentence after he stabbed a bouncer at the Ozone nightclub in March, 2003.

He was also ordered to pay $600 compensation to the victim.

However, Gibbons failed to appear in court on Monday and Puisne Judge Charles Etta Simmons issued a warrant.

Crown counsel Oonagh Vaucrosson appeared for the Crown and lawyer Victoria Pearman appeared to represent Gibbons.

Developer Kirk Kitson has applied for permission to proceed with phase two of an apartment complex in Paget.

Nine two-bed townhouses have been built at Honey Hill on the South Shore, ready for completion in the next few months.

Twelve more had been planned, but this has been scaled back to six three-bedroom units in an application to the Development Applications Board. The downscaled project will free up space for a swimming pool for residents.

Mr. Kitson said work on the first phase had been slowed by damage from Hurricane Fabian.

A 40-year-old Paget man was caught red-handed breaking and entering into a home on Pokiok Crescent, Smiths on Sunday.

A resident noticed the man acting suspiciously and observed the would-be thief walk to the rear of a neighbouring house then climb onto the roof. Police were alerted and the suspect was apprehended trying to leave the area by car.

Cyclists riding with cell phones lodged into their helmets could face a $1,000 fine and/or six months off the road. Police have noticed an increasing number of cyclists doing this.

Police are advising the public that this is an unsafe practice which could result in an accident.

Individuals doing this or causing an accident because of it could be charged with driving without due care and attention.

Over the weekend there were five reports of breaking and entering: one in Paget, three in Warwick, and one in Smiths. There was one report of prowling in Smiths, 17 damage only accidents, and five accidents resulting in injury.