shortages at the airport are timely and deserve close attention.

The airport and the Transport Ministry have worked very successfully to make arriving on and leaving the Island a much more pleasant experience than it was a decade ago.

But there is little benefit in passengers getting a warmer welcome as they pass through Immigration and Customs if they then hit the kerb and have to wait 45 minutes for a taxi.

Complaints by taxi drivers that they sometimes have to pay to wait for passengers should be addressed and if the drivers were promised a place where they could wait for the arrival of planes, then that should be done as well.

But the taxi drivers must come to the wicket as well. Depriving residents, and especially visitors, of transport as they arrive on the Island is self-defeating, as is the apparent refusal of some taxi drivers to carry radios.

Taxi drivers serve a vital service in Bermuda. Refusing to serve their clients will guarantee one thing -- one day they will have no passengers, and when the drivers complain then, they will have no-one to blame but themselves.

TAKE PRIDE EDT Take pride PRIDE's Red Ribbon Week deserves the support of the whole community.

There are few issues which affect more people and have the potential to do more damage to the entire community than drug abuse.

Some people will argue that drug use in moderation is not dangerous; the problem is determining when moderate use becomes excessive, and in the cases of "hard drugs'' such as cocaine or heroin, they are so powerful that "just saying no'' is nearly impossible.

By the same token, crackdowns, whether on users or suppliers of drugs, are of only limited use unless they are accompanied by rehabilitation and counselling of the user. Even then, the chances of success are relatively limited.

Prevention and convincing young people never to get started is the only real long term solution.

That is where groups like PRIDE (Parents Resource Institute for Drug Education) and Youth to Youth are vital. If young people can be convinced that drug use is against their best interests, then they will make the right decision.

This week's events are aimed at "celebrating'' those engaged in the thankless and lonely task of convincing others not to use drugs; they deserve the recognition and encouragement of the community if they are to succeed in preventing the loss of more young, productive lives to the community.