Brian AndersonThe Western Frontwww.sunlive.co.nz This has been the week of submission hearings for the Western Bay of Plenty District Council's Long Term Plan. Very few ratepayers have been able to read the 415 page document but 600 submitters... Read More

Andrew von DadelszenFormer Regional Councillor Reading through the submissions to our regional council Ten Year Plan I have been disappointed at the negativity to high rate increases without any suggestions for solutions. For me if the regional... Read More

Jane NeesBOP Regional Councillorwww.janenees.co.nz There has been a lot of concern from the Western Bay district about the forecast increase in the Bay of Plenty Regional Council's general rates for the district as signaled in the draft Regional... Read More

Biting Back in the Baywith Pinky Green Last week there was a recovery from the marked fish drop off the week before and the 'no fish' in most of the inshore, middle area, and local fishers' spots. However last week, put off by the 'no fish' stories... Read More

Clever dogs and crazy peoplewith Wendy Graydon The Dog Trainer There are so many ways to train a dog. Just look on the internet under any heading you can dream up! Then think is it the right way and what works for my dog? Will it be easy to teach... Read More

Daz SwitallaFlavour SecretsNo.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz The recipe folder has some recipes that I have not used for years. One of the most used in all the cafes has been a carrot cake recipe. Carrots are famous for containing beta... Read More

Sideline SidSports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz For the next four weeks, Sideline Sid weekly piece is being written from the other side of the world, as Sid and Mrs Sid go on their big OE. We arrived at Heathrow Airport in London... Read More

Paula ThompsonBOP Regional Councillorwww.envbop.govt.nz The new wave of reform about to hit local Government is, in part, about local government doing things better for its communities with the public wealth it has. Most seem to be seeing this... Read More

Simon BridgesNational MP simonbridges.co.nz In the last fortnight I've gone around the country as Minister of Consumer Affairs to talk to people about a significant piece of consumer law reform I'm leading: tougher loan shark laws. The Government... Read More

John ArtsAbundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz The endocrine system is a network of glands that produce chemical messengers called hormones which exert a major influence on all body systems. The most common endocrine disorder is diabetes mellitus... Read More

Brian RogersRogers Rabbits www.sunlive.co.nz The English family of a victim in the skydiving crash are getting pretty worked up about what they believe are slack standards, and urging people to not visit NZ because it's unsafe. That's understandable... Read More

News HoundsAdy & Flo www.sunlive.co.nz Move over, Rachel Hunter. Flo Rogers is the new name on the catwalk, or should that be dogwalk?And this bitch is gonna leave those has-beens in her wake!Flo was called up for her first modelling assignment,... Read More