Regional councillor Tom Belford, champion of transparency and open government, ceaseless critic of secret public excluded meetings

Since I was sworn in I have been asked many times "what's it like being a councillor?" It's been a steep learning curve as well

Many New Zealand families will be making the most of their summer break to travel around the country, while many businesses will be

You do it when you go to the gym, go for a run or sometimes when you go for a walk, but what about warming up before those holiday

What a year it has been in the Bay. There has been no shortage of news, shocks and surprises, but what may have been overlooked was

'Tis the season of goodwill and there's plenty of it about in Hawke's Bay. One group, Out and About Living is Giving's charity drive

Our new and improved postal service gets plenty of flak and some of it is deserved. The variations are certainly hard to fathom

In the lead up to Christmas, many parents may feel a pang of uncertainty about whether they are somehow deceiving their children when

The results are out for the most searched Google items in 2016. According to today's story on p3, "Donald Trump" and "Major Lazer"

There is a certain irony in the Hawke's Bay Regional Council supporting Tom Belford's denial of an official information request in

If money is what drove the unfortunate rush by HBRC to prosecute HDC, then serious questions must be asked about the reappointment

Why does everything have to be done before Christmas? It's funny how we all get in a flap about cleaning windows, cleaning the oven

The well wishing Merry Christmas can be read a number of ways. For the majority, the 'merry' is most commonly associated with happiness

When I started this job I gave myself 60 days to settle in and to achieve certain objectives and highlight others. Some of us had

One of the many wonderful aspects of exhibitions are the conversations they spark between members of the public and staff here at

With John Key riding into the sunset, the new National Party Leader and Prime Minister, Bill English was sworn in and immediately

By Professor Peter Lineham There is an oft-heard lament that Christmas is becoming too commercial. Horrified at the way in which

Firstly, happy holidays and best wishes to you all during this festive season. It's a great chance to catch up with friends and family

Ken Crispin is, of course, entitled to his opinion. However, his claim that KiwiRail's process for seeking expressions of interest

It has been almost a month now since the Hurunui/Kaikōura magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit. Strong to severe shaking was felt throughout

Stayed in Saturday night. It's becoming a more common option these days though I have to add I was right up there in the mosh pit

IT IS certainly turning out to be an eventful end to the year in politics. First we had Prime Minister John Key's bombshell resignation

On 28th November without any community taxpayer consultation a secret rail tender process was entered on the KiwiRail Government electronic

My weekly visit to the Hastings City Night Market took a rather odd turn last week. I left the office on my dinner break and headed

A friend admitted a few months back to being addicted to the growing genre of gritty TV drama series. The likes of Game of Thrones

Authors Professor Christine Stephens and Dr Agnes Szabo. Renting versus home ownership Owning a home is central to everyone's sense

Since my first (albeit unsuccessful) foray into politics during this year's local government elections I've had time to reflect on

December is a busy month. There are Christmas parties to attend, prizegivings and end-of-year recitals, to name but a few. The dilemma

It appears that many of Hawke's Bay's mayors and councillors are absolutely convinced it is quite acceptable for them to exclude the

Marine Parade has a new attraction opening soon, "Bay Skate" will be a Napier City Council-run skate park opening on the site of Napier's