A Whangarei lunch bar and an office have been badly smoke-damaged after a deliberately-lit fire.

Police are investigating after a 17-year-old collapsed and died in a Whangarei store today.

A Whangarei motorcyclist is in a serious condition after a collision with a car on State Highway 1 near Waipu.

A Whangarei school teacher dismissed for speaking out against what he called discriminatory comments by his catholic school principal is a keynote speaker at a national marriage equality conference.

A man has been arrested after allegedly firing a high-powered air rifle at passing vehicles on an isolated Whangarei road, with one car carrying a pregnant woman.

A Whangarei man who led police on a high speed chase has found himself back in prison after he was also caught driving while over the legal alcohol limit.

Plans by the Northland DHB to privately fund an extension to Whangarei Hospital will only lead to taxpayers footing the bill if the deal sours, says Labour.

A Northland headmaster has written to John Key about his concerns over banning drug sniffer dogs from schools, saying it is "short-sighted nonsense".

A Whangarei man bashed his former partner unconscious and raped her during a drinking session because he was jealous of others in her life, a jury has heard.

A 17-year-old was "almost disembowelled'' when he was knifed by another teenager at a party in Whangarei yesterday, police say.

Items used to manufacture methamphetamine were found inside a rubbish bin kept in a wardrobe in a home where two children were living, a court has been told.

New Zealand Navy Band members' personal possessions were stolen during a weekend break-in while the band was taking part in a military parade through Whangarei.

Firefighters working to rescue a teen who had a motorcycle gear lever embedded in his leg had to erect a wall of sand as they tried to cut him free.

A transgender woman who struck a man over the head with a bottle of sparkling wine has pleaded with a judge not to send her to a men's prison.