Weather Eye with John Maunder In the bleak mid-winter, Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone, Snow had fallen, Snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter, Long ago. These words, from...... Read More

Winston Watusi Music Plus Rick Bryant, whose funeral was on Wednesday, was in two of my all-time favourite Kiwi bands. His death wasn’t as widely reported as I would have expected for a man who spent 50 years making great...... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch Learning to live with your neighbours isn’t always easy but some people seem to find it harder than others. Our feature on page six and seven today is a good example of this. Hundreds of people...... Read More

Jan Tinetti Labour MP My last column of this year is dedicated to saying thank you and I have a lot to be thankful for! Schools, teaching and children have been central to my whole career so I’m very thankful to the Government...... Read More

Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP Forestry is one of New Zealand's most valuable economic assets, yet we are missing out on the untapped potential that it could offer our economy. As a nation, we are using an old trade...... Read More

Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris At time of writing it’s Monday evening and I’ve just returned from delivering flowers to the port gates with my eldest child. Ovation of the Seas...... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz Last weekend was a couch potatoes heaven with multiple live sport action broadcast on Sky, with two international events staged in this country, keeping Sideline...... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder Each month Professor Ole Humlum of the The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), in Norway publishes on the web his very comprehensive web site updating a large number of charts and related analyses...... Read More

Winston Watusi Music Plus It is rather stating the bleedin' obvious to point out that it gets busy at this time of year. So busy that last time I missed out mentioning a fantastic show happening this weekend at The Jam Factory....... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch Aaaah Christmas is nearly upon us, so it’s nearly time to panic. Usually I leave these thoughts until much later but consumerism caught me with a sneaky jab to the thorax. This year, to get...... Read More

Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP I recently completed a two-day placement at the Ports of Auckland through the Business Parliamentary Trust, which is an organisation that works to foster goodwill and understanding between Parliament...... Read More

Simon Bridges National Party Leader simonbridges.co.nz Last week National released the seventh in our series of Discussion Documents, this one on law and order. As the party of law and order, this is in our DNA. The number of...... Read More

Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris “He’s predicted twelve of the last three recessions,” it was said about one economic commentator. Economists rarely forecast the future...... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz The recent death of legendary Australian bookmaker Bill Waterhouse, at 97 years of age, closed the chapter on the life of one of the most colourful and controversial...... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch My confidence has been eroded this week. It all started on Sunday when Civil Defence sent out its mobile emergency alert to everyone in the country – except me. What’s that all about?...... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder The NASA solar physics website, and other websites such as the Royal Observatory of Belgium, include information on sunspot numbers, spotless days, the ‘Maunder Minimum' and sunspot cycle...... Read More

Winston Watusi Music Plus Everything has its time and eventually that time passes.  For better or for worse, things change. Ever since I arrived in Tauranga in the mid-eighties there has been a Chinese restaurant at 88 Devonport...... Read More

Jan Tinetti Labour MP It all started last year when I visited the Solomon Islands and went to a school with a library but no books. The children were so eager to learn and they read anything they could get their hands on, even...... Read More

Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris It’s easy to forget that Tauranga’s Bay Hopper is run by BOP Regional Council and not TCC. Last month, Parliament enacted legislation that allows...... Read More