A motorist has died and several others are injured after a crash near Rotorua this morning.

She was a fighter who battled right up until her last minutes, but her fighting spirit wasn't enough to save wee Skyla Waters.

A woman ran into a busy Rotorua road and risked being killed by a car to escape a man who had punched her in the face and was trying to steal her backpack.

The Lakes District Health Board has moved to reassure all first time mothers they will be eligible for free antenatal classes under changes to the way childbirth education is delivered in Rotorua.

Police warn they will be proactive in cracking down on newly banned drugs under a law which came into effect at midnight.

Rehabilitation workers are welcoming the banning of synthetic highs, but say it won't be the end of the drugs.

A Rotorua teacher has admitted deliberately driving into a tree, with three children in the car.

When a Rotorua woman who drove into two pedestrians tried to explain to a judge she'd only had two glasses of wine, he asked 'What were they - buckets?'

The mystery of why an experienced truck driver plummeted 20m off a Kaingaroa Forest road is unlikely to be solved, a coroner has warned.

A Rotorua man has made his mark on the America's Cup after being commissioned to airbrush artworks onto the side of team New Zealand's catamaran.

Thousands of dollars a week are being spent on legal highs in Rotorua but dairies and non-specialist shops are on borrowed time.

A Swiss man was hit over the head when he and his Korean girlfriend were robbed at a tourist spot in Rotorua early today.

Hundreds of people converged on Te Arawa's paramount marae to farewell a woman who lived and died trying to make Rotorua a better place.

A Rotorua woman walking home alone in the dark was picked up and raped by two men, a court has heard.

Maureen Te Rangi Rere I Waho Waaka, nee Kingi, died in Rotorua about 6am today after suffering a stroke on June 16.

One of three men on trial for the murder of Tauranga businessman Gary Kimura in 2011 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter following legal arguments.

Rotorua's mayor has promised to support local Maori unhappy with the Rotorua Eastern Arterial roading project after more than 250 people marched on the council in a peaceful protest.

A high-profile Rotorua lawyer has been fined $300 for failing to stop for a compulsory police breath test.

A 77-year-old man has reappeared in the Rotorua District Court on firearms charges.