Yesterday I was treated to an in-depth analysis — looking at an existing dairy farm in CHB — that modeled the costs and benefits of adding irrigation (at the costs […]
Into the Retirement Home
You see them everywhere. Baby boomers in mobile homes. They mark their individuality with special names emblazoned on the front and back like Wanderlust or Takin’ It Easy. Dad is […]
Speed Dating for Seniors
For some years I have lived alone, apart from the past six since Basil moved in. He is very good looking, nicely set up, fit, well-socialised, healthy and very hirsute. […]
Making it Personal
Roger King and Liffy Roberts live across the road from the sea at Te Awanga. Their place is laid back, pared back, classic and contemporary, a scattering of humble boxes […]
Brains First, then Hard Work.
When did education get so complicated? I don’t mean the complexities of solving a difficult algebraic equation, or developing a scientific hypothesis, or scratching our heads over the meaning of […]
The Best Years of Our Lives: Midlife Career Change
When Charlie Bazzard (solicitor) was 43, he was informed by his employer they were going to close down the law practice in England where he worked. It triggered something of […]
Administrivia hobbles charities
Keith Newman talks to Megan Rose, who’s championing a new web portal to directly connect philanthropists and community volunteers with each other and Hawke’s Bay’s needy. Mountains of paperwork, duplication […]
Grow Local
Has anyone noticed that in the cacophony of messages assailing us from the media there are two wildly contradictory forces straining to pull us in opposite directions? On the one […]
Smart Green Agriculture
In a recent National Business Review article, Greens preparing for government, Matthew Hooten, noting the Green Party’s strong standing in current polls, wrote: “The business community and the Greens will […]
Our Health and the Environment
Our relationship with the environment is dictated in many ways by the decisions and actions of our governing bodies. As citizens we have a say through council processes, and as […]
A House to Match My Prius
Simply put, an ‘eco-house’ is an environmentally low-impact home designed and built using materials and technology that reduces its carbon footprint and lowers its energy needs, creating a legacy of […]
Resilience Key to Smart Farming
Soil and water guru Dan Bloomer tells Keith Newman he’s confident Hawke’s Bay farmers can rise to the challenge of smarter farming despite the obstacles ahead. If Hawke’s Bay farmers, […]
Damming Conclusions on Irrigation
With Hawke’s Bay teetering on the brink of yet another drought, an equally hot and damaging storm is brewing over water storage and irrigation in the region. To its proponents […]
Beware of Witches
A coven of witches has risen. They practise their dark arts and expound their beliefs in broad daylight. Check over the fence and you are sure to find a fervent […]
$800 million… a lot of money
As the region hears about unemployment, the state of the economy, local government reform and the Ruataniwha Dam project, the Government is quietly spending $2.2 million a day ($800 million […]
Selling the Bay
How do our councils spend millions promoting the Bay… and their own initiatives?
Programmes that work
With a bit of help from council, the people get it right on job training and food assistance.
It’s Official… the Amalgamation Debate Has Begun
A plan to create one HB council has been submitted to the Local Government Commission.
So, Who’s Got the Drugs?
Mark Sweet takes an inside look at drugs and drug dependency in Hawke’s Bay.
From the Editor
NOT business as usual In February, A Better Hawke’s Bay formally submitted its reorganisation proposal – recommending one council for all of Hawke’s Bay – to the Local Government Commission. […]