Fruit fly pathways

A 37-year-old Kaikohe woman who chained up a dog and let it starve to death has been convicted in the Kaikohe District Court.

Top of Kaeo man Tom Gordon's shopping list is a personal locator beacon.

The appointment of a commissioner at Pamapuria School will be of minimal cost to the school, vastly less than the $206,000 cited on Tuesday (School kids going without to pay the commissioner, Northland Age April 15).

Luck played no part in Muriwhenua's stunning success at last weekend's Te Tai Tokerau senior kapa haka competition in Whangarei.

There's no doubt the Tigers - one of the most successful Bay of Islands teams in the province over the past decade - are hurting.

The biggest turnout ever by students representing schools across the province in this year's Northland Scholastic Surfing Series left organisers in no doubt the sport was currently enjoying a massive surge in interest.

The worm is turning

Blame the mayors

Taipa teenager Talia Rogers was crowned Miss Far North New Zealand 2014 at Te Ahu on Saturday night.

The Ministry of Education-appointed commissioner at Pamapuria School has cost the school more than $200,000. And that has outraged at least one Pamapuria parent.

Northland athletes completely dominated the top places in the fourth annual Craigs Northern Crossing, which took place between Omapere and Kerikeri on Saturday.

The first leg of the 2014 Northland Secondary Schools Clay Target Shooting Competition went ahead at the Kaeo Clay Target Gun Club.

Fresh air

Students rarely expect to leave a school assembly with $750 in their pocket, but Javia Maheno did just that on Tuesday afternoon.

The man who organised the Reinga Basin hikoi to Waitangi earlier this year said he was shattered by the news from Energy and Resources Minister Simon Bridges...

Far North-based Labour list MP Shane Jones is beginning to wonder if the North's planners were trained by the CIA.

We are very lucky to have bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, New Zealand fur seals, little blue penguins, orca, and lots of different types of whales that visit our waters.

There’s no escaping the truncated little critters known as acronyms, initializing, pseudo-blends and text speak.

Nearly all the major wine growers in the Far North have picked their grapes by now, although what week of the month they picked depends on where the vineyard is situated and, like all farms everywhere, was weather dependent.

Mangonui senior club rugby kicked off on Saturday in fine autumn conditions, and in traditional fashion with all four games being played at Arnold Rae Park.

An up-and-coming golfer from Rotorua who has started making a name for himself on the professional circuit won the Harcourts Waitangi Pro-Am title on Friday.

We want action - now

Many tributes were paid to Murray Arnold Rae at Wednesday's funeral, but perhaps the most fitting of them was the venue.

Who cares?

It wasn't too long ago that the Far North was collectively concerned about the migration of its people to Australia, heading there in search of jobs and opportunities that weren't available at home.

Finding out what others think of Holden's new and pretty little SUV called Trax can be misguided. Jeremy Clarkson initially thought it would be a 'gutless mums' taxi'. Gutless mum? Try having a baby, Jerry.

A remarkable woman who, perhaps more than anything else, demonstrated that humble beginnings and adversity need be no barrier to success, passed away in Kaitaia last week at the age of 93.

Kaitaia's protest against the continuing sale of 'legal highs' wasn't the biggest of the 24 that took place simultaneously around the country on Saturday, but it was passionate.