Cr Bill Faulkner Faulkners Corner www.sunlive.co.nz At full council last week elected members grappled with a most unusual dilemma - what to do with $2.7 million surplus money, your money. Staff told us the surplus arose from better than expected... Read More

Claire Rogers All about wine www.sunlive.co.nz Mt Difficulty wines feature quite frequently in my wine rack, (but not for very long). I do really enjoy the Pinot Noir produced by Mt Difficulty, which really did put the winery on the map. Central... Read More

Ian McLean Green candidate for Tauranga It seems Treasury forecasts made in October, used by National to promise balanced budgets by 2015, were overly optimistic. Tax revenue will be lower than forecast and the deficit will be higher. That means... Read More

Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz Dear Santa, This year's been a hard one, but we've tried to be good. We were given the Rena and we've done what we could. Progress was made on lakes, harbours and streams, but floods damaged... Read More

Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz The council's new property revaluations are worrying for a number of reasons. My bank manager a couple of years ago told me that most of his customers still owed 90 per cent of their mortgages.... Read More

Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor Local Government politics has played second fiddle to Central Government politics in recent times. Political junkies like me have remained glued to the media - awaiting decisions outside my control.... Read More

Brent Trail Managing DirectorSurveying Services Ltd Subdivision can add value in more ways than one, but if you live in a rural area, those opportunities are likely being taken away as you read this. Obviously, if you live in a desirable location... Read More

Finance with Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance These thoughts and my life experiences may help you improve your future farming business decisions. • Do not starve your business of working capital. If you spend all your available working capital... Read More

Wendy Macphail Employment Law Services I am often asked 'What is a constructive dismissal?' A constructive dismissal is where an employee has actually resigned, but the resignation is considered to have resulted from pressure, coercion or some... Read More

The Good Life with Sue Edmonds I guess I've always been a countrywoman at heart, although I've had several stints of city living during the years. Some of my antecedents were lowly farm workers in England, and most of my early memories (in the... Read More

Rosalie Crawford of Webhealth www.webhealth.co.nz In the Bay of Plenty we have more than 250 services working with and for our children. We have more than 170 health and social services here that are involved with family and more than 60 Kaupapa... Read More

Daz Switalla Flavour SecretsNo.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz Like Eve, I have often been tempted by an apple and if Jazz apples were around way back then, I can see why Eve took a bite. Traditional customs are still practised in countries... Read More