Tripling of Ngawha power station's output could make the Far North self-sufficient in electricity and create up to 200 new jobs, a Top Energy boss says.

Prime Minister John Key will be invited to attend when a unique war memorial in Kaitaia is rededicated for its centennial on March 24 next year.

Having just read "An end to those 'dark az' nights" (Northland Age, July 16) I write in an emotional state bordering on apoplexy.

A Big Latch On event for local breastfeeding mums will be held at the Bay of Islands Hospital maternity unit in Kawakawa at 10am on Friday.

Northland Regional Council members have started delivering $20,000 worth of Environmental Curriculum Awards (ECAs) to more than 20 schools around the region, including seven in the Far North.

Crime in Kaitaia will come under increased scrutiny when a partnership between police, the Kaitaia Business Association (KBA) and a non-profit security company funded by the Te Aupouri Maori Trust Board begins increased CCTV surveillance of the town.

All of my life I have eagerly waited for the 'potential' of this region to blossom, unfortunately in economic terms the word potential is a meaningless gesture.

Far North lines network operator and electricity generator Top Energy has acquired the Ngawha Ginn Spa baths and farm as part of a land acquisition deal believed to cover nearly 200ha of the geothermal field.

A dozen or so Houhora volunteers who have been using their own craft to aid boaties in distress for five years are ready to become Coastguard's most northerly unit.

Well known Far North couple Donna and Paul Scutt were among the latest crop of winners of Sport Northland's Lotto Sport Maker programme.

A whopping 89 per cent of convictions for illegal hunting or possession of kukupa were for offences occurring in Northland.

The very sad and unexpected passing of Jannye Freeman has caused me to reflect on the immense amount of voluntary service Jannye has rendered to the Whangaroa community.

ONE OF the less endearing traits that has developed in this country over recent years is that of shutting down a conversation by labelling one of the parties racist. Or sexist. Or homophobic.

A meeting of financial members of the Kaitaia branch of the SPCA voted overwhelmingly last week to enter an "assimilation" contract with the Bay of Islands branch.

The council has set up a Kaitaia Water Reference Group to liaise with the community and interest groups and work to resolve existing risks to the water supply scheme in drought conditions.

A record number of 113 gymnasts representing the elite from clubs across the province competed at the annual Kaitaia Gymnastics Club competition earlier this month.

Re your front page article (July 14), about the South Kerikeri Inlet Landcare Kiwi Conservation Group reporting the death of seven kiwi in the last two months to dogs.

A dining era came to an end in Kaitaia on Friday night when Peter Bieri and Mary Jane Ardley served a full house at the Beachcomber restaurant for the final time.

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has welcomed what he described as a range of new operational changes designed to improve the transparency, clarity and enforcement of rules around swamp kauri.

One local league identity impressed with the selection of Brody Tamarua and Te Kahi Nathan for the Kiwis 16s trials in Rotorua this week was Jim Larkin.

Premier division Kerikeri Bay Builders 4 Central Brown 0 (ht 1-0): Sitting second-to-bottom, Central were never likely to give newly crowned NMP champions Kerikeri much trouble, especially at home.

Habitat for Humanity New Zealand is offering the "opportunity of a lifetime" for "everyday New Zealanders" to travel to Nepal in November to help build 100 homes.

SOMEONE should stump up with a couple of million to pay for research into how wisely a lot of the millions spent on research is being spent.

Kaitaia GP Dr Lance O'Sullivan might well have recorded a literary first for New Zealand, if not globally, last week.

"Less than 10 per cent of New Zealand's wetlands remain, and Northland's remaining wetlands are declining fast, with swamp kauri mining being a significant cause."

Champions of the kiwi in the Far North are concerned by the number of birds that have been killed by a dog or dogs around Kerikeri over the last two months.

Is going alcohol-free for a month really something to celebrate? Catherine Gaffaney asks experts what Dry July says about New Zealand's Drinking Culture.