Author: Press Room

An artist whose 5.5 metre steel sculpture was stolen from his West Auckland studio believes the thieves mistakenly thought it was made from copper.  Chris Moore’s sculpture, worth $50,000, was stolen from his studio in Oratia yesterday morning. His neighbour initially believed it was him when they heard noises around 6am, but “when he realised it wasn’t, he turned the lights on, and I think that startled the people who were stealing it, and they took off up the road”.  His neighbour got in their car to follow the vehicle and watched as the artwork, which was not entirely on the…

Damage to a stopbank caused by 4WD vehicles has cost Hawke’s Bay ratepayers $4000.A Hawke’s Bay Regional Council ranger on a routine patrol came across the damage in Ford Rd, Waipukurau.A council spokesperson said they were “gutted”.“We’ve spent more than $25 million repairing stopbanks following the cyclone,” the spokesperson said.“A critical part of these repairs is establishing adequate grass cover. Mature grass is essential because it protects the stopbank from erosion caused by river flow.“Without it, the stopbank weakens, and during a high-flow event, this can lead to significant erosion and potentially more serious consequences.”They said the stopbanks are vital…

New Zealand opera singer Hayley Westenra says she is “completely heartbroken” following the murder of two long-time friends at their Los Angeles home earlier this month.American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband Tom De Luca were found dead in their Encino home by police on July 14.The incident occurred four days earlier on July 10.Westenra took to social media to express her sadness earlier this week.”My heart is broken into a million pieces. My surrogate aunty and uncle Robin & Tom were brutally murdered in their home on the 10th July in LA. Somehow I only found out…

A new outpatient hysteroscopy service at Auckland’s North Shore Hospital will help women get a faster diagnosis, says Health Minister Simeon Brown.Brown said the service would combine the first specialist assessment and a diagnostic procedure into a single visit.”This is a practical, patient-focused pathway that means women can get the answers they need sooner, without the stress and delays of multiple appointments or hospital admission.”A hysteroscopy is a procedure used to look inside the womb and its lining.A sample is generally taken as part of a diagnostic hysteroscopy to look for abnormalities.Previously, women needing a hysteroscopy would attend an initial…

The NZ Warriors could find no miraculous comeback on Saturday, as they slumped to a 24-16 defeat against the bottom-of-the-table Gold Coast Titans at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium.Early tries to centre Adam Pompey and second-rower Leka Halasima put the home side in prime position, but they conceded the next 24 points, including try doubles to Titans centre Jojo Fifita and winger Phillip Sami, to lose control of the contest.They lost hooker Wayde Egan to concussion in the first half and then had to play short-handed, when winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was sent to the bin for taking out a player without…

A Kiwi tradie who was living on the Gold Coast became paralysed from a surfing accident just 24 hours before flying home for his engagement party last year.Jonathan ‘Johnny’ Konings, now 32, moved to the beachside neighbourhood of Kirra in Queensland in 2022 with his partner of seven years, Charlie. Coming from Hamilton, the couple hoped to start a life full of sunshine, beaches, and surfing.  However, on June 18 last year, Johnny had a freak wipeout while surfing at Duranbah beach, landing him in a wheelchair potentially for the rest of his life.Johnny told the Daily Mail the morning of the…

Auckland FC pivoted on plans to create their own home base and are now planning to seek to stay longer in their council-controlled split stadium situation.The owners of the A-League club this month withdrew their plans to transform Western Springs Stadium into Auckland Arena which would have been their home ground and training facility.Challenges with public land led them to withdraw their proposal for the privately funded venue, according to the club.Last year Auckland FC signed a five-year deal with Go Media Mt Smart Stadium to host their home games and a three-year deal with North Harbour Stadium to be…

Council-led roading projects will now only receive central government funding if new risk-based national guidelines on traffic management are followed, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says.Between 2021 and 2023, around $786 million was spent on temporary traffic management, including stop-go signage and road cones. Bishop said the introduction of the new risk-based guide nearly halved those costs.”The code was 500 pages long and specified road cone usage down to the centimetre. That’s what drove the enormous blowout in costs,” he said.”Vast swathes of road cones down quiet cul de sacs for just really simple jobs helps no one, protects no one,…

Should you stay home from work, and if you do, should you work from home or just lie in bed? By Alex Veen, Hannah Kunst and Nate ZettnaWhether it’s your first or fourth cold of the season, many Australians are waking up at the moment with a sniffle, a sore throat or feeling more tired than usual.June to August is peak flu season in Australia (and New Zealand). There are also high rates of COVID circulating, along with other respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and adenovirus.Sometimes it’s clear when you need to spend the day in bed:…

Police are appealing to the public for information after a cyclist was hit by a car in Christchurch earlier this week. Emergency services were called to a crash between a car and a cyclist, at the intersection of Grahams Rd and Westburn Terrace, in Burnside shortly after 9am on July 23. The cyclist was taken to hospital in a serious condition.”While the driver did stop at the scene initially, he left shortly afterwards, failing to stop to check on the injured cyclist,” a police spokesperson said. The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Hulk Hogan dies, sentencing for a New…