allegedly refusing to refer patients to visiting specialists from the renowned Lahey Clinic in Boston.

He has long argued that Bermudian patients could get better care at better rates if specialists were brought into the Island instead of individual patients being forced to fly abroad at great expense for consultations -- and he is probably right.

At the same time, it would not be surprising if members of the clubby local medical field resented having to steer patients Dr. Brown's way, especially if King Edward VII Memorial Hospital could provide the same services.

That is mostly an argument for the medical profession to sort out.

Where Dr. Brown may have overstepped the mark is in advising his colleagues to sort out the "horrendous'' problems at the hospital instead of picking on him. When he was asked by this newspaper to explain what those problems were, he would only say they were "internal problems'' and not intended for the public.

That will be news to the members of the public who use the hospital and have every right to know about its problems, especially if they affect their own health care.

Perhaps Dr. Brown, as a Cabinet Minister, has at least informed Health Minister Nelson Bascome about the problems. And perhaps Mr. Bascome will tell the people about them -- after all, it is the public, through taxes and insurance, who pay to keep the hospital running and pay the ministerial salaries of Dr. Brown and Mr. Bascome.

STOP LITTERING EDT Stop littering "We will have to learn how to be responsible about our litter. It is not hard to hold onto litter and dispose of it properly.'' Every Bermuda resident should take the words of Scott Kitson, the president of Keep Bermuda Beautiful, to heart.

Speaking after the KBB's annual spring clean-up netted more than seven tons of trash, he noted Government is doing a good job of keeping the Island's roads clean -- it's what is thrown "over the wall'' that is mounting up.

Letters to the Editor from visitors and residents increasingly echo this theme -- Bermuda, once renowned for its cleanliness, is becoming a nation of litterbugs.

One writer has said Keep Bermuda Beautiful should even change its name, because the trash everywhere means the Island is no longer beautiful; Make Bermuda Beautiful Again might be better these days.

Government's resumption of twice a week trash pick-ups could go some way to improving the situation. But it will not reduce trash thrown over the wall, into hedges, onto the foreshore and along the Railway Trail.

The reasons for keeping the Island clean go beyond looks.

Visitors come to Bermuda because it is clean and beautiful. If it becomes a dump, they will stop coming.

There are health and environmental reasons for keeping the Island clean. Open cans which fill with water and rotting food breed disease. And trash -- especially the plastic six-pack holders -- can be a killer of land and marine animals.

Some years ago, Parliament passed anti-littering laws; isn't it time they were enforced?