Local Opinion

The benefits of shading

A shaded ‘natural’ stream will have an average water temperature of around 16°C but open, slow flowing waterways may have temperatures peaking at around 30°C in summer months. Research has shown that one kilometre of…

Paying for public transport

Waikato Regional Council recently confirmed its proposed Annual Plan budget. Thanks to a lot of good work by our chief executive and his staff, careful consideration by councillors and following a series of workshops with…

A case of fine wine

Recently I read an article in The Australian newspaper about the cost of an aging population. It made the oft-repeated point that the burden of supporting the elderly is falling on the next generation. It…

Tale of a pioneer

When Emily Ahier was born at Pirongia in May 1911 it was around one month before her father, Aubin, died. Aubin and his wife, Julia, now had eight daughters and one son but Aubin’s grip…

Waitangi Day – and Rangiaowhia

I wonder how many of us applied for annual leave on the Friday, taking advantage of the Waitangi holiday to turn it into a long Waitangi Weekend. I suggest that if we’re honest, that will…

Volcanoes and fake views

Misinformation is not new. Sometimes confusion reigns and wrong information is innocently shared. Sometimes tabloids make clickbait headlines that are wildly misleading, so you visit their website, and they make money. Now we also have…

A forest under fire

Larrikins shooting pigeons in the Pirongia ranges were the cause of one of many fires that flared up there. These fires did a great deal of damage to the bush, scorching and killing trees at its edge….

When volcanoes shake

A very important part of volcano monitoring is understanding seismicity, meaning earthquakes or vibrations that move through the Earth that we sometimes feel at the surface. Most volcanic earthquakes are too small to be felt…

Catches and con artists

Starting with catches, police in Cambridge responded to a family harm event last weekend where a male was reported for threatening to kill a female. He had left the address but was found to also…

The Hendersons’ story

Laughter met the introduction of a four wheeled wagon from Canada when Kihikihi farmer James Henderson brought it into the country. The contraption was considered a novelty but James predicted that the old clumsy two-wheeled…

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