Winston Peters making a Provincial growth fund announcement. Photo / File
Winston Peters making a Provincial growth fund announcement. Photo / File
The Rotorua Daily Post is looking back at the stories of 2020. Here's what made headlines in June.
June 2
Rotorua Moteliers Association chairman and owner of the Arista of Rotorua motel Mike Gallagher. Photo / File
An influx of out-of-town visitors boosted morale for tourism operators over Queen's Birthday Weekend with one hitting record numbers.
Weeks of lockdown restrictions had crippled many retailers, however, Rotorua Moteliers Association chairman and owner of Arista Rotorua motel Mike Gallagher said it had been a "really good" weekend for accommodation providers, with full rooms and a much-needed cash injection.
Tania Tapsell, National Party candidate in the East Coast. Photo / File
Rotorua District Councillor Tania Tapsell was named the National Party candidate for the East Coast electorate.
She told the Rotorua Daily Post she could do more to make change as an MP than as a councillor.
Tapsell would not reveal what her plans were with her role on the Rotorua Lakes Council, where she was chairwoman of the operations and monitoring committee.
June 11
Decades of fighting for speed limit reductions on two "dangerous" highways ended in success for two rural Rotorua communities.
Residents from Okere Falls and the Waikite Valley had been pushing for changes to speed limits on State Highways 5 and 33 after years of serious crashes.
The NZ Transport Agency announced reductions for both roads.
June 18
Principals at up to four Rotorua schools were giving parents the option to keep their children at home after a flight attendant on the plane with two women who had Covid-19 visited the city.
Matua Koa, principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Koutu, offered parents the opportunity to keep their children home until the affected whānau had been tested.
Ngāti Rongomai principals held a hui to inform staff and parents of the situation.
The other two kura were Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hurungaterangi.
June 21
Rotorua's Ibis Hotel was being used as a quarantine facility for inbound flights. Photo / File
Rotorua became the base for two new managed Covid-19 isolation facilities, housing 232 Kiwis returning to New Zealand from overseas in quarantine.
The new facilities were created in Rotorua after Auckland reached capacity.
Some of the city's leaders were "furious" at being kept in the dark while others said there needed to be trust in the protocols put in place to protect citizens.
June 27
Rotorua's Alysha Ashby had her first child, Kylan, during lockdown. Photo / File
First-time mum Alysha Ashby shared her story of giving birth during lockdown to a baby with a heart defect.
Ashby gave birth to Kylan Black in Auckland. She and her partner Christian Black were not even allowed to see Kylan at the same time until four days later.
Kylan was born with transposition of the great arteries and pulmonary stenosis, as well as two holes in his heart. He needed open-heart surgery eight days after he was born if he was going to live to see his first birthday.
She told her story during Heart Kids Awareness month while holding her 2-month-old healthy baby boy.
June 27
Winston Peters making a Provincial growth fund announcement. Photo / File
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters joined Rotorua-based MP and Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development, Fletcher Tabuteau, to announce the museum restoration would be accelerated with $2 million from the Provincial Growth Fund.
The money will be used to replace the category one heritage building's roof.
Another $90,000 was also allocated to bring forward work on a new visitor centre as part of the Whakarewarewa / Tokorangi development.
The NZ First MPs' announcement meant the Government had put a total of $22m towards the project with $17m from the Provincial Growth Fund and $5m from the Regional Culture and Heritage Fund.
