Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz Naples in 2002 was unbelievably broken down. Whole families were sleeping in the streets and even setting up house on traffic islands in the centre of town. e counted at least 100 sleeping on... Read More

Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor The news for the last two weeks has been dominated by the stranding of the Rena on Astrolabe Reef. I was fortunate enough to witness the stranding on the morning of this event, when I accompanied... Read More

Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz There is no doubt the Bay of Plenty is facing its biggest environmental challenge in recent history with the stranding of the container ship Rena on the Astrolabe Reef. Emotions have been running... Read More

Ian McLean Green candidate for Tauranga Has the response been enough? The initial response has already failed, therefore it was not good enough. No criticism of the people working against the odds to deal with this enormous problem is intended... Read More

Daz Switalla Flavour SecretsNo.1 The Strand Chef www.no1thestrand.co.nz About five years ago, I was lucky enough to stay on a fabulous Greek Island called Lefkada. As I am writing this I'm staying on another fabulous island called Motiti. Unfortunately,... Read More

Business By Waikato businessman Andy West Arguably, the Waikato region is New Zealand's best-kept secret. Even when removing the Coromandel and Lake Taupo from its geography, it embraces beaches, surf, rivers, volcanoes, mountains, hills and plains;... Read More

Don Menzies Managing DirectorTravelcom When you're Fiji bound you often just want to flop onto a white sandy beach as soon as possible - but I discovered it is well worth the extra effort to travel north to the Yasawa Islands. There are a several... Read More

Graeme ButlerSwim With Dolphins skipper Things that go bump in the night. Who would ever have thought that a huge container vessel like the Rena could ever hit Astrolabe Reef. There was probably statistically more chance that a ship such as Rena... Read More

John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz Most disease is an indication that some cell chemistry has switched from normal to abnormal function. Once cell chemistry is altered, this sets off chain reactions affecting other cells, which affects... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz It seems an eternity since the Rugby World Cup started - just over five weeks ago. We are now down to the RWC title decider, where the team in black will have no better opportunity... Read More

The Good Life with Sue Edmonds This business of self-sufficiency and growing one's own vegetables can be full of surprises; some nice - some not. After my successes during the summer in keeping myself supplied with lettuce, tomatoes, beans and... Read More

Finance with Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance Whatever way you look at it, on most farms often there is very little good governance. Governance means 'the act or manner of governing', in other words, the control. For the farmer, this means identifying... Read More