A $275 million dam and irrigation scheme proposed for Central Hawke’s Bay is a step closer after Hawke’s Bay Regional Council voted to invest up to $80 million in the scheme.

Bringing up the next generation with community spirit has gained Napier woman Gabby Allen a Pride of NZ nomination.

No longer a sleepy village, this Hawke's Bay locale is now a sought-after destination.

"Maybe now he's learned not to play with goats," said the flatmate of a man who was chasing wild goats, lost his footing and fell 40m down a cliff.

Peace, quiet, breathtaking views and a top golf course await guests at Cape Kidnappers, writes Rob Cox.

Police were justified in shooting a Hawkes Bay man left paralysed as a result, an independent report has found.

A man whose body was found buried in a shallow grave months after he disappeared was bashed with a taiaha, a court has been told.

A pensioner who lay dead in a car next to his trapped and injured wife for 15 hours has been named as Alan Henry Skittrup, 94, of Taradale.

An elderly woman lay trapped and badly injured overnight next to her dead husband after their car left a driveway and rolled up to 30 metres down a steep bank.

Three people will appear in Gisborne District Court over an armed hold-up of a Mexican tourist in Hawkes Bay yesterday.

Hawkes Bay wine producers are joining forces to try to cash in on the growing wine market in China.

Any talk about the retirement age being upped to 68 or 70 would result in a sort of "so what?" response from Trevor Page of Napier.

A quick-thinking Hastings resident scuttled the mischievous plans of an alleged burglar in Parkvale yesterday - by sitting on the offender until police arrived.

A Hawke's Bay police officer accused of indecently assaulting five teenagers told two girls they were drunk and "no one would believe them", a court has heard.

A spectacular showcase of flavours from Hawkes Bay launches the winter, writes Catherine Smith.

A loving 28-year-old father who fell from his motorcycle in Waipukurau nine days ago has passed away in Wellington Hospital.

One man remained in a critical condition at Hawke's Bay Hospital this morning after collision between a van and a logging truck in Hawkes Bay yesterday.

Two men have died after a car crashed on a rural road and rolled 600m down a bank near Te Hauke, south of Hastings.

An elderly man has been seriously injured after his shirt caught fire while using a grinder in Central Hawkes Bay.

Protesters egged Prime Minister John Key's ministerial BMW as it collected him from a state housing development in Napier this afternoon.

A Hawke's Bay volleyball coach has been sentenced to home detention after she admitted engaging in a "damaging psychological relationship" with a young female student.