There was much talk of mousse on the menu in the restaurant at 1 The Strand this week and it reminded of a picture that a mate emailed me this week. When they said mousse I thought they meant moose. I'd hate to think of the mayhem of a moose loose in... Read More

Council has been doing the hard yards as elected members consider the 10 year plan as well as the regular committee functions. There is a lot to be done in order that we can get the drafts for some 'light reading” over the Christmas break. Green... Read More

An agenda item for a council meeting I attended in August this year was about the proposed redevelopment of the Mount Hot Pools by Tauranga City Aquatics Ltd (TCAL). This included a presentation by first-term Cr Catherine Stewart in support of her second-attempt... Read More

Are cheque-writing ratepayers again going to have to underwrite a City Hall-sponsored commercial operation? Last time, just a year ago, City Hall, backed by a recommendation from the mayor, bulldozed councillors into voting for a resolution calling for... Read More

"It's an illusion, then?" asked Cr Rick Curach on the fourth day of a Monday to Thursday paper war and interminable talkfest to dispose of the first stage of a three-year review of the city's official ten-year plan. He was at the time seriously questioning... Read More

It's been a big week with the elections and the impressive pace at which the newbies are whipping a government into shape. A far cry from the pendantic, time wasting nonsense that went into organising some previous coalition stitch-ups. Our congratulations... Read More

When the boss said he was looking forward to Sunday School, I had visions of purity, holiness and some nice stories involving dudes with long hair, beards and comfy sandals roaming around the desert; turning water into wine and breaking loaves. It... Read More

More progress for the city with a successful bond float for investors of $50 million. It is filling rapidly upon opening and demonstrated great confidence from the market in council, staff, our policies and directions. The naysayers would have had... Read More

The good news is that our Tauranga City elected officers are definitely in the mood to rein in expenditure. The triennial talkfest (Monday November 10 to Thursday November 13) preceding the review of the Long Term Council Community Plan kicked off this... Read More

In my article titled 'City Hall - Who controls whom', I wrote that legislation in the late 80s had changed the way regional, city and district councils operated. The essence of that article was that once councillors had appointed their council's CEO,... Read More

If there was ever any doubt as to who is really running council affairs, the recent highly unusual appointment of Mayor Stuart Crosby as a director in the company now running Baypark on behalf of council must dispel such doubts entirely. The appointment... Read More

On the eve of the general election, we have a lot to be thankful for here in the Bay of Plenty. Thankful that we have a lot of entertaining and motivated election candidates. Regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's voting, we should be grateful at... Read More