Featured
- HB councils employ 1,665
As of 30 June 2024, a small army of 1,665 full-time employees were labouring away across HB’s five councils on behalf of our region’s ratepayers. Collectively, they are paid $176.8 million, making the average salary $106,186. And combining both operating and capital expenses for the current financial year (FY2024/25), they… Read more: HB councils employ 1,665
‘Official’ News
Click the graphic below for the latest informative media releases from official sources: Councils, Health & transport authorities, Civil Defence, Gov’t agencies, Unison. Information you need, that we don’t need to ‘re-package’.
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Environment
- John Cheyne, HB’s retired wetlands guru
I apologise for being asleep at the switch and overlooking the recent retirement of local conservation legend John Cheyne. Having spent hours over the years conspiring with John on various environmental missions, I came to hugely admire his wisdom, passion and pragmatism. John could be just as ticked off about some environmental mischief as any… Read more: John Cheyne, HB’s retired wetlands guru - Stream protection … council(s) style
In July citizens complained to Friends of Havelock North Streams about the situation you see above. Discarded tyres littering the side of Te Kahika Stream in Havelock North. The HB Regional Council was alerted and the photo above was taken at the time. The complaint then ping-ponged back and forth between the Hastings District Council… Read more: Stream protection … council(s) style - Fast-tracking Ruataniwha Dam 2
Among the 149 projects announced Sunday for fast-track treatment is the Ruataniwha Dam 2, now re-styled and spun as the Tukituki Water Security Project. Five other projects will also be fast-tracked, including expansion of the Expressway. Going forward, for writing efficiency BayBuzz will simply refer to the scheme as RD2. Make no mistake, RD2 is… Read more: Fast-tracking Ruataniwha Dam 2 - A community trust or a handout?
Recently environmental advocacy group Wise Water Use HB (WWU HB) brought BayBuzz’s attention to an under-the-radar initiative at the CHB District Council to create a ‘Community Trust’ with a mission to address the district’s ‘water security’ issues. As it turns out, CHBDC has spent several thousands on legal work to fashion a trust deed, whose… Read more: A community trust or a handout?
Culture
- I am not a robot
I have a new friend. It’s following me around like a stalker: I’m here for you. Can I help? What do you need? Whatever it is you’re up to I’m in. AI is suddenly everywhere. It has slid into my DMs with a perky Ask Me Anything. I ask what it wants from me. It’s… Read more: I am not a robot - Kristyl Neho presents Tangihanga
Storyteller Kristyl Neho is touring her solo show Tangihanga with dates in Hawke’s Bay in October. The show follows Jess, the family glue, as she navigates the days after her father’s death. Rather than being a work heavy with grief, it deftly covers the full gamut of emotions such an intense time brings to a family. It… Read more: Kristyl Neho presents Tangihanga - Richard Brimer’s 40 Vintages
[As published in September/October BayBuzz magazine.] When Richard Brimer had just finished his photography apprenticeship back in 1982 he found his way into a cellar job at Vidal in Hastings. This is where he met life-long friends, and began his life-long love affair with the Hawke’s Bay wine industry. To chat with Richard is to… Read more: Richard Brimer’s 40 Vintages - Black Barn Market … a pause or the end?
After more than twenty years, there will be no Black Barn Market this summer. Here, excerpted from an announcement sent to the market’s friends and collaborators, is how the team described its situation. “After much talking and analysis, we have sadly come to the conclusion that we are going to have to close the Black… Read more: Black Barn Market … a pause or the end?