When are disabled parking spots not for the disabled? When the Auckland City Council lets Telecom commandeer them for four days to market its XT mobile network. Convenient for Telecom, not so for others.
A blogger writes:
"Telecom effectively roped off four of the most valuable mobility parking spaces in the Auckland CBD ... So I had to park miles away, got really wet en route to class and was late. Let me get this straight. Telecom can buy mobility parking spaces, at the expense of many individuals' independence? I checked with the council, sure enough, it was all permitted and as far as they were concerned there were plenty of other mobility parks I could use." Auckland City Council's information about temporary permit parking clearly says the permit does not apply to prohibited parking areas and it must not be used for displaying advertising or promotional signs.
(Source: walkingisoverrated.com)
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John Leggott spotted this outside the Labour Party's Mt Albert "war room" in Morningside.
"I wonder just how much it costs to lease Mr Shearer?" he asks.
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A reader received a warm "performance alert" from Ticketmaster yesterday to remind her that tickets for the Super 14 semifinal between the Chiefs and Hurricanes are going on sale. "How nice and friendly of them!" she said. "Unfortunately, Ticketmaster was too eager and advertised a home semi at the Cake Tin in Wellington. Sadly for my men in yellow, the Chiefs will host the match at Waikato Stadium. Maybe somebody at Ticketmaster slept through the whole of the last S14 round!"
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Florida prison officer Walter Schmidt has been fired after Tasering at least two children during a "take your daughters and sons to work" event. Schmidt says the children's parents gave him permission to zap them. (Source: Reason.com)
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A father writes:
"Kids certainly know how to embarrass us. Like the child telling a caller that mum, who was tomato-saucing her dinner, was simply 'hitting the bottle'. My lovely daughter once answered the phone with, 'Daddy can't come to the phone now, he's crying'. I snatched the phone from her to explain I was cutting up onions."
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Lisa writes:
"The 'hitting the bottle' story reminded me of when I was young. Helping my elder sister assemble her daughter's bed, we struggled and were frustrated with the screws not fitting properly. The phone rang so I answered it and explained to her friend that my sister couldn't come to the phone because 'she's screwing in the bed'."
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A reader asks: "General dislike of politicians may be popular but what is wrong with Rodney Hide, or anyone, texting while stopped at traffic lights? The lights on Queen St can take two or three minutes to cycle between green phases so why not make use of the time and get some work done?"
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View today's Herald cartoon.
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Today's Video Webpick: As if TVNZ’s piggery expose wasn’t disturbing enough, listen to what these poor piglets have to endure...
click here. Plus, need love advice from an Aussie bloke? Write in for a no-nonsense, blunt as a truck response to your love-life dilemmas in our new column, Plenty More Fish. click here.
These are the very best online videos from Ana's online magazine Spare Room.
