Architects help out residents

Residents hard hit with structural damage from Hurricane Fabian can get help - many local architects have agreed to charge less for any plans they need drawn.

The Architects Registration Council and the Institute of Bermuda Architects executive council made the announcement yesterday following requests from the Department of Planning.

Planning asked the two architectural bodies to consider charging between ten and 15 percent less to homeowners needing repairs due to the hurricane and urged that the cut rate especially apply to people without insurance coverage.

The Government department stressed that its suggestion of a discount was limited to work directly attributed to hurricane damage.

In a joint release from the Architects Registration Council and the Institute of Bermuda Architects yesterday, it was noted that while neither body can mandate this consideration from any architect: "The general response to the appeal is positive therefore we encourage those in need of the service and the consideration to make use of the offer".

Buses back to normal schedule

Buses have returned to their normal schedule, the Department of Public Transportation said yesterday.

A PTB spokesman said that with the return to a regular night schedule the only variation in the usual bus schedule was that buses were not travelling over the Causeway during the day or night, and that buses were not travelling on South Shore Road between St. Mark's Church and Paynter's Road due to clean-up work still being done on that road.

Notices had been placed in the newspapers regarding the areas that were closed, he said.

When asked if he thought tourists who had not read the newspapers might still be unaware that the buses were not running in certain areas, he said: "I don't see a problem with that."