Jesse Edge stopped in at Matua School where his grandmother works to speak to some excited pupils.

A new $20 million four-storey commercial building is set to transform a large section of land on the corner of 3rd Ave and Cameron Rd.

Tauranga teen Sam Fitness reflects on the accident which has left his paralysed and on a long, hard road to recovery.

The Motor Trade Association (MTA) has offered Mount Maunganui RSA a confidential agreement to rectify the $1140 lost through expired gift cards.

Five Chiefs players got a warm welcome from a group of students at Brookfield School after the players joined the children in a Kiwi Can session yesterday.

A sting on child restraints in the Western Bay has shocked agencies - with faults found in more than half of those checked. Eleven of the 481 children checked were unrestrained, and 270 restraints had fitting faults, most of which were potentially dangerous to the user in a crash.

A search for a missing car ended in a fishy surprise when the car was finally recovered and pulled from Tauranga Harbour, reportedly years after it went missing.

Police cordoned roads around Wairoa Pa Rd and were on the hunt for a man believed to be carrying a weapon. Vehicles in Te Puna were being stopped and checked before they left the area.

Kiwi band Six60 asked fans to submit videos singing their latest son 'White Lines', with a few cameos of well known Bay stars.

More than 500 children from 20 Bay of Plenty Kidicorp centres took their cardboard cars along to the Kidicorp Box Car Derby.

A hitchhiker hit by a car in Te Puke has been taken to hospital in a serious condition. Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion said the 29-year-old Asian woman had been standing on the grass verge when she was struck by the car.

Rudd, 60, pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court to one charge of threatening to kill, as well as possession of 130 grams of cannabis and 0.7g of methamphetamine - charges he had earlier pleaded not guilty to. Rudd's lawyer comments on the case.

Traffic was heavily backed up on Takitimu Drive this morning after a container came off a truck and into two cars.

Craig Tuck is working against the clock with top Indonesian lawyers and British QC Felicity Gerry on a $330,000 appeal for 58-year-old British grandmother Lindsay Sandiford.

Thomas Yule is training up 2-year-old 'puppy' Ted to become the world's first surf rescue dog, with the backing of Surf Lifesaving New Zealand. But he still needs help.

Jade Valour, an American opera singer, vocal coach, actor and writer with 23 years' experience, visited a group of Year13 drama students to teach them how to speak in different accents.

Tauranga kayaker Tim Taylor is just days from paddling off on his attempt to break a world record which has stood for 28 years.

Tauranga kayaker Tim Taylor is just days from paddling off on his attempt to break a world record which has stood for 28 years.

The 15th anniversary of the Repco Beach Hop in Whangamata will be its biggest and best yet, volunteer organiser Noddy Watts says.

Five Bay students have won the Travel Safe Design Your Own Helmet competition, and for their efforts now have shiny new cycle helmets emblazoned with their winning designs

Kathryn Clout shares her story about being diagnosed with breast cancer, and her road to recovery since.

Young Bay of Plenty girl Pascale Sperling, a 13-year-old from Tauranga is going to represent New Zealand at the worlds biggest (and most famous) dog show, Crufts, which is being held in the UK next week. She will be the youngest NZ'er ever to represent the country at the event.

A woman videoed driving at night while apparently reading a book has come under fire from police and road safety advocates who describe her behaviour as "ludicrous" and "completely dumb and dangerous". Footage: Facebook

Raw footage of a car on fire after it crash into a power transformer in Princess Rd, Bellevue

A 32-year-old Papamoa man has been arrested and charged with murder following a hit-and-run in the Bay of Plenty last night. The crash happened on Welcome Bay Rd, near Tauranga, at about 11pm when a car hit a pedestrian. The 33-year-old male victim, from Parkvale, Tauranga, died from his injuries and the driver of a black Subaru left the scene but the car was later located, police said.

Bay of Plenty Times' George Novak captures the beauty of offer at Tauranga's tropical plant house, which might be closed as the city council consider cost saving measures.

Inspector Clifford Paxton urges motorists to take extra care while at the scene of a second fatal crash in the Bay of Plenty this holiday season.

A team of students from Otumoetai Intermediate won the supreme award at the Vex IQ Nationals - robotics challenge.

Detective Senior Sergeant Greg Turner appeals for witnesses in a media conference following the discovery of a body in Ohauiti.

An overpass bridge at Domain Rd has "quite substantial damage inside" this morning after a fire last night.