Catherine StewartTauranga City Councillor Well done to Buddy Mikaere and all involved for organising the many events to commemorate the 150th year since the Battle of Gate Pa. Tuesday, April 29, dawned on a cold, wet morning and then turned... Read More

Governance Matterswith Peter McKinlay In New Zealand, we seem obsessed with amalgamation as though it is the only way of lifting local government's game. Look elsewhere and you can see some excitingly different things happening. The London Borough... Read More

Matt CowleyTauranga City Councillor Last week at council, we took a sneak peak at the region's population projections for the next 50 years. Basically, the populations of developed countries are likely to hit a ceiling in the mid-2020s, causing... Read More

Independent viewsBy Brendan Horan I'm writing to draw attention to a local issue I first became aware of when my son and wife went for a walk down the beach. They came back sneezing, with eyes and noses running. I thought this was very strange.... Read More

Ian McLeanGreen SceneSpokesperson for the Green Party Housed in our collection of whanau memorabilia is a medal labelled 'ANZAC 1915' in the name of E. Sargisson. Eric Sargisson was the brother of my wife's great grandfather. He died too young... Read More

Jane NeesBOP Regional Councillorwww.janenees.co.nz From time to time we have an experience which changes or emphasises the way we think about something. The recent commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle Gate Pa is one such event for... Read More

Art Beatwith Rosalie Crawford Jimmy James Kouratoras brings to the Art Body Gallery at Mount Maunganui aluminiferous ether of colour dimensions that's both whimsical but complex. His work evokes the sense of awakening to early stories time has... Read More

Simon NeateMarketing AdminstratorSport Bay of Plenty A great aspect of my role at Sport Bay of Plenty is being able to stay in the loop with all things sport and recreation in the wider BOP community. Every week we receive a number of press releases,... Read More

Simon NeateMarketing AdministratorSport Bay of Plenty A great aspect of my role at Sport Bay of Plenty is being able to stay in the loop with all things sport and recreation in the wider BOP community. Every week we receive a number of press releases,... Read More

Sideline SidSports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz The masters of sporting spin in New Zealand are David Higgins and Dean Lonergan from Duco Events. In the last decade they've been responsible for completely reviving professional boxing... Read More

Weather Eyewith John Maunder Arctic sea ice reached its annual maximum extent for 2014 on March 21. Overall, the 2014 Arctic sea ice coverage was the fifth lowest in the 1978-2014 record. In contrast, Antarctic sea ice reached its annual minimum... Read More

Brian RogersRogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz Auditions are underway this week for the NZ version of 'The Sound of Music'. Here at RR we recognise that while this is a classic musical, it has limited appeal to some sections of the New Zealand demographic.The... Read More