A brightly coloured mural illustrating Tauranga's cultural sites of significance now covers the lower level of an inner-city carpark. One hundred community members got stuck into the project on Spring Street last weekend as part of local street-art...

‘IronMike’ Stowers has run more than five kilometres, every day, for the last 2116 days of his life. He hasn’t had a rest day since April 1, 2014, and the motivated Tauranga Half triathlete says he has no plans to stop his run streak...

Not all tennis balls are the same apparently. Ask the young hotshots at Gate Pa Tennis Club. The 320 million balls produced annually are mostly the regulation fluorescent yellow balls of between 56 and 59 grams and up to 6.86 cms in diameter. And...

An 11-year-old Bay of Plenty boy may look like an ordinary child, but the challenges he has faced and the struggles he’s overcomes set him apart from the crowd. David – not his real name as he didn’t want to be identified –...

He’s been labelled ‘Mr Miserable’, accused of being a ‘cowardly couch complainant’, and then invited to ‘enrich his life and have some fun’ by exercising with the very Zumba class his serial complaining made...

Auckland Anniversary Weekend sees the 20th anniversary of the Mount's successful annual book fair. Hosted jointly by Mount Maunganui and District Lioness Club, in conjunction with Mount Maunganui Lions Club, the book fair is held over three days....

Groups working in the Tauranga social sector will soon receive a hand-up. SociaLink launched its Community Insights Lab this week, an initiative set to collect and distribute ‘big data’ to the 225 social organisations operating in Tauranga. “We...

When the crowd goes into deep meditation at Simpson Reserve next weekend they will reflect on four deaths – four young people from Papamoa who took their own lives last year. “It’s to share love and raise awareness because I have...

Some Tauranga horse riders are calling for increased accessibility on cycle tracks around the region, saying they are fed up with being restricted to paddocks and arenas. Local rider Lou Reid was recently told by Tauranga City Council that “under...

It’s a tantalising morsel from Katikati’s archives. Burned down by arsonists 30 years ago and buried beneath a housing estate, then ‘reincarnated’ and now sitting in a dilapidated tin shed at Sulphur Point. It’s the Katikati...

“Be proactive, not reactive.” That’s the motto for surf lifesaving clubs across Tauranga and members are making it their mission to do no big rescues in 2020. “Our focus is to take as many preventative measures as possible,”...

There’s a fresh round of speculation over a proposed metro-style CBD supermarket for Tauranga. But this time, it seems it is more than conjecture. It’s a case of when, not if, according to Priority One – the regional economic development...

  Watching what’s happening in Australia is horrible and terrifying for most people, but it hits a bit closer to home for Kacie Gauld.   The new Mount Maunganui local moved from Brisbane with her partner and son in November and says...

  A bright red 1938 Ford V8 vintage fire truck sits outside the Te Puke Fire Station.   Paint’s peeling, there’s some cosmetic rust but the engine purrs like new. “All the bones of it are there, it just needs is some...

  It is not easy being a Black Caps fan.   Over the last 12 months the team has provided the sporting highlights and lowlights, ahead of the inspirational Silver Ferns winning the Netball World Cup and the disappointing All Blacks who won...

The Greerton Hall serial noise complainant seems to have won the day. There will be no loud or amplified music from the hall in future – especially the booming base sounds that led to 82 noise complaints in two years… and all from the...

  Whakatane District Council and Tourism Bay of Plenty are encouraging visitors to explore all that Whakatane and the Bay of Plenty has to offer and support the region over the summer months.   Mayor Judy Turner says the Whakatane community...

Papamoa Rugby Club is launching a boot camp this month in an effort to boost club membership. The club is banding together with local fitness businesses to deliver eight-week programme PapFIT for community members over the age of 16. Junior rugby...

  He’s 16, a model train fiend, and likens himself to the fictional and anthropomorphic James the Red Engine from TV’s ‘Thomas and Friends’.   “Yeah. He’s a bit like me,” says Damion Wilson. TV’s...

  The Western Bay of Plenty District Council is advising that the Te Puke Memorial Pools will be reopening on Monday.   “The motor has been rewound, installed and is running. Western Bay of Plenty Council will do more work over the...

  A street-art festival is putting Tauranga on the map for being more than just a beach city.   “After this festival, there will be more street art in Tauranga than any other city in New Zealand. That’s the story we want to...

  “Progress - it’s all about progress,” says a philosophical Bram van Berkel, apartment owner and manager of the Quest Apartments in the Kingsview Towers on Durham Street, Tauranga.   He’s standing on the balcony...

  Pinecones “heavier and harder” than pineapples fell from trees in Mount Maunganui on Monday as strong winds swept through the Bay of Plenty.   A Tauranga couple had a near-miss with the pinecones as they were looking for a...

  It would have been a sorry sight. A 71-year old homeless woman, parked up in Bethlehem as the setting sun crashed into the Kaimai Range – chatter on the radio, having a cup of tea and waiting for the traffic to subside.   Earlier...

  If the Tinetti household had its way, November would only have 29 days  - the 22nd would be struck from the Gregorian calendar. And with good cause.   Because 20 years ago on November 22, 1999 Dave Tinetti had a stem cell transplant...

  ‘He iwi Kotahi’ – one people.   That’s the ethos, the spirit and title of a major Waitangi ceremony and celebration to be held at the Historic Village on a special day for New Zealand and New Zealanders –...

  Entries for the Trustpower Photographic Exhibition close at midnight this coming Friday, January 10.   The exhibition challenges aspiring and professional photographers across New Zealand to capture images that represent this year’s...

  The Mount Festival has attracted a large international field to its 2020 event which takes place on Saturday, January 11, 2020.   To date, 25 international athletes have entered the four main events that make up the festival programme...

  Toby Lipinski has made it his mission to raise the profile of powerchair football in Tauranga.   Playing at a national level for three years running, the 17-year-old is determined to see more people take part in the sport recreationally...