Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris If there's one thing the world could do without these days, it's politics without compromise. Our political culture is influenced by the battle between left... Read More

Clayton Mitchell New Zealand First MP As we face the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy, New Zealand First's flagship policy - the Provincial Growth Fund - will be crucial in rebuilding our regions. It was recently... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch There's a song from a guy called Afroman that I think would be the perfect theme for this year's election. Yes, there is a massive health crisis facing the world. Borders are shut, people are... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz The return of greyhound racing at the start of May became the springboard for a remarkable feat by Palmerston North greyhound trainer Lisa Cole. On Friday, May... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder The chart below shows that since 1979, when reliable satellite observations became available, there has been little overall trend in the average tropospheric temperatures, apart from milder/warmer temperatures... Read More

Winston Watusi Music Plus The music scene at the moment reminds me of one of those David Attenborough documentaries. We've all seen them: gorgeous time-lapse photography takes us through the cycles of a waterless dessert, months... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch As one of the few white men who has broken the glass ceiling and attained a middle management position, I feel it is time to stand up and be counted on the matter of bigotry and intolerance. It... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondent & historian www.sunlive.co.nz The retirement of ND and Bay of Plenty Cricket legend Daniel Flynn flew under the radar for many cricket fans with the sudden closure of the 2019/20 cricket season... Read More

Weather Eye with John Maunder The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) is a standardized index based on the observed sea level pressure differences between Tahiti and Darwin, Australia. The SOI is a leading measure of the large-scale... Read More

Winston Watusi Music Plus As I write this we are about to end level 3; as you read this we will have just entered level 2. Things are changing. Many of us - including at the Watusi Country Club and Sanitarium - just spent 50 days... Read More

Daniel Hutchinson From The Hutch There is a little bit of peer pressure at the moment to take a holiday and 'explore my own country'. The problem is, who actually feels like going anywhere in the last few weeks of autumn? I guess... Read More

Straight from city council A personal view, by Councillor Steve Morris Councils usually adopt their budgets to determine next year's rates by June 30. However, this year, several councils are looking at finalising their budgets... Read More