* So many letters appeared in the paper about Gascoigne St I had to take a drive down to see for myself. It reminded me of that ad man having a sneezing fit while road marking.
* Thanks to Mike and Colleen and the Clive Tennis Club members who ran the most friendly and well run tennis comp last Sunday.
* We need more jobs for those without qualifications.
* To the dog owners who walk their dogs at Westshore Beach please pick up your dog poo. How would you like me to bring my grandchild round to poo on your front lawn . Why do it to ours where they play.
* To KJB Napier Rd from Havelock North end is 80k yes, but 100 metres past Thompson Rd you will see an open rd speed sign which means you can go 100k. Rather than trying to make NZ smokefree and everything else about tobacco, it's about time alcohol should be a priority to ban. Alcohol creates violence, kills in the home and on the roads. I'd rather be around a smoker than a drunk, and no, I don't smoke. MS
* Bring back death penalty for paedophiles and the scum who do home invasions. So sick of hearing how scum of the earth affect so many innocent people.
* Bus drivers dressed in green shirts and Black. No not a smart image. No not a good mix at all. Who ever dreamed this matter up has no sense of dress code. May as well have given them red shirts. As one driver said he feels like a parrot on a perch sitting at the front of the bus.
* Had my two children late 80s. Mortgage rates 18 per cent, family benefit was $3 per child. Wage coming in from husband a mechanic $345 pwk. It was tough but we made it.
* Anti parental leave people are not all old. My last child was born in 2002 and we never got it or expected it. Just saved and prepared ahead like everyone should.
* Re $13 an hour for babysitting. Give me the job! Minimum wage applies to 16 yrs or older. You can babysit at 14 yrs old. No babysitter I've hired has, to my knowledge, paid tax on their earnings. $8 to $10 in the hand per hour is more than enough to pay unless they are supervising multiple children.
* To many cooking shows. Don't buy a new digital TV, buy a microwave oven and watch it do the cooking.
* On Saturday 14th April at about 1.50pm I had just finished my walk around the Westshore estuary and was walking back to my car, ( just past the No Bike sign) when a mature lady in a light blue jacket rode past me on her bike. She stopped at the No Bike sign looked at it and spoke to a young couple in a silver car who obviously knew her about the sign. I called out, "it does mean no bikes"! The lady rode off round the estuary and I carried on back to my car walking in the gutter edge when the smart "person" in the silver car came up behind me. He swerved in at me and sat on his horn. Lucky we were off the road far enough. Can you imagine the uproar if us dog owners walked around a bike only track?
* Saturday afternoon pm at Ahuriri many little dogs running off leash on walkway as usual. Dog control van pulls into Perfume Point. Ranger tells old man with old dog just sniffing around, it has to be on leash. He spends 10 minutes talking then leaves! Little dogs still off leash further down to walk!
* Re trucks on Sunday. Marine Parade is Napier's best asset. The trucks have alternate routes to the Port.
* Fracking in Hawke's Bay must not be allowed. Do we realise the dangers? Take action now or we all suffer the irreversible consequences.
* Regarding trucks exceeding speed limit: Most modern cars come from the manufacturer with the speedo set up to 10 per cent faster than true speed. You read that you're doing 100, but you could actually be doing only 90 (a GPS will give you correct reading). This could make you think trucks are too fast when they keep pace with you.
* Is not the Hasting District much larger than Napier city ? Hence the difference in debt.
* In response to recent text regarding the phantom pedestrian crossing in Karamu Road I support the writer's concerns with the extra cost to the rate payers of which I am one of many. This is a total abuse of rate payers funds and in my business heads would roll if we delivered such an outcome. You cannot put this down to one person as with anything considered by council there is usually six meetings, four site visits and five drawings with umpten engineers involved so why has this been allowed to happen. Moving onto the next point the position of the bus stop has now created a traffic hazard where a bus stopping to uplift or let down passengers (with the backside of the bus poking out into the traffic lane) now prevents traffic from passing creating a tailback effect. On good authority I have been told the length of the bus stop is 20m - 3m in bus length 14m and 3m out which to me has also had no thought considering the position of the bus stop where it could be shortened to 14m and fix the problem full stop as you have the entrance to Video Ezy which is 4m wide and starts at the Southern end of the bus stop so no need for the 3m out at the front with a pedestrian crossing directly behind the bus also at 4m so no need for the 3m in or cause for a lane blockage on a very busy road which is also a state highway.
