The Press back issues from August 2007:
Van Winkle under cloud
Aug 01, 2007; ... I ron horse Van Winkle is racing against time to be fit for the$60,000 Grand National Hurdles at Riccarton Park next Wednesday. The 11-year-old veteran of 83 starts is battling a deep seatedstone bruise which burst out on Tuesday, throwing his southern tripinto doubt. The injury ...
Racing World
Aug 01, 2007 ... ROBERT CAMERON was in the limelight at the Ashburton trialsyesterday, qualifying his three-year- old Perfect Art colt, Your'eThe Captain, in 3min 08.7sec, the last 800m in 58.8, winning by 412lengths. Nigel McGrath produced James Ryan to win a two-year-old heatin 2:02.1, the last 800m in ...
Just A Swagger to tackle GN Steeple
Aug 01, 2007 ... A change of plans will give Riccarton specialist Just a Swaggerthe chance of a rare Grand National double -- or treble -- atRiccarton Park next week. Trainer Paul Nelson had originally plotted to have the dual GrandNational Hurdle winner attempt a record-smashing treble in the ...
Collapse to cost 75% of funds?
Aug 01, 2007; ... Thousands of mainly "mums and dads" who have $460 million investedin the collapsed Bridgecorp finance group may get as little as aquarter of their money back. (ed 1: might get as little ...) The best-case scenario is a return of 74c in the dollar. The receivers, John ...
'Speedy' recovery from spinal injury; TEENAGER'S TRAUMA
Aug 01, 2007; ... Speedy by name, speedy by nature. Three months ago, an accident left Rowan "Speedy" Marshall unableto move his legs. Yesterday, after 12 weeks of rehabilitation,determination and support, the 19-year-old walked out of the BurwoodSpinal Unit. On May 2, Marshall was having a ...
$400m Central Otago resort planned
Aug 01, 2007; ... A Millbrook-style resort development worth several hundred milliondollars is being hailed as the largest project in Central Otago sincethe Clyde Dam. Melview Developments Ltd, which is behind Queenstown's $1 billionKawarau Falls Station development, said yesterday that it had ...
Drug standoff 'could cost lives'; Standoff over drug 'could cost lives'
Aug 01, 2007; ... A standoff between Pharmac and a multinational drug company "couldpotentially cost lives" and see up to 150,000 heart patients payingmore for life-saving medication. Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca this week said it waswithdrawing its Betaloc heart injection from the market and ...
Prostitute felt life slipping out; RAPE TRIAL
Aug 01, 2007; ... A prostitute has told a court of feeling her life slipping awayafter she was allegedly strangled, beaten and raped by a client. The woman, 29, was giving evidence yesterday in the ChristchurchDistrict Court in the trial of a former police recruit. The man, 33, whose name is ...
Teenagers 'more vulnerable'; ADOLESCENT HEALTH
Aug 01, 2007; ... Worries about body image, family breakdown and early physicalmaturity have created the most "vulnerable generation" of teens, aleading adolescent psychologist says. Research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare hasfound mental illness, including anxiety and ...
Journalism scheme deadline looms
Aug 01, 2007 ... Aspiring journalists have until next week to apply for the 2008journalism internships offered by Fairfax Media. The scheme, now in its second year, will provide study and careeropportunities for up to 20 people with emerging journalistic talent.Applications close next Wednesday at ...
Braemar wait
Aug 01, 2007 ... HANMER SPRINGS -- The receivers for a luxury lodge at HanmerSprings say it will be several weeks before it is known how much ...
Youths chased
Aug 01, 2007 ... BLENHEIM -- Youths who stole a cash register from an Asian foodshop in Blenheim's High Street on Monday night did not count on beingseen. Witnesses called the police, giving the registration of thegetaway car, which had been reported ...
Toddler stable
Aug 01, 2007 ... The condition of a Christchurch toddler rushed to Starshiphospital with meningococcal disease last week has stabilised. The 18-month-old girl was ...
Victim named
Aug 01, 2007 ... Police have named a man who died in a road crash at anintersection near Coalgate, 61km north-west of ...
Domingo backs opera
Aug 01, 2007; ... One of the world's greatest opera singers, tenor Placido Domingo,has become patron of Christchurch's Southern Opera. Christopher Doig, who launched the new company, is "ecstatic" thatDomingo, the King of Opera, has agreed to take the position. "Domingo is one of the best- ...
Agencies fear referral spike; DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SCREENING
Aug 01, 2007; ... Community groups fear they do not have the resources to cope witha likely upsurge in the numbers of domestic-violence victims seekinghelp. Welfare groups yesterday welcomed the introduction of domestic-violence screening at all public hospitals, but raised concerns oversupport ...
Group seeks loan help
Aug 01, 2007; ... Christchurch City councillors will decide this week if acontroversial spiritual group should be granted an interest- freeloan of $162,735 to fund a conference. The Subud spiritual group has 12,000 members in 60 countries andwas described as a "charismatic group" by Christchurch ...
Election bid
Aug 01, 2007 ... BLENHEIM -- Food and hospitality consultant Jeremy Jones isstanding for election to the Marlborough ...
Queenstown plan to clear work backlog
Aug 01, 2007 ... A panel of preferred contractors has been formed by the QueenstownLakes District Council to clear a backlog of capital works, worth$125.5 million over five years. The council approved the seven-strong panel of unnamed contractorsbehind closed doors at its full meeting last Friday ...
Escape review
Aug 01, 2007 ... BLENHEIM -- Police will review their procedures after a prisonerescaped from the Blenheim police station cells, Marlborough areacommander Inspector Steve Caldwell says. Police chased the man andcaught him 15 minutes after he escaped. A West Auckland plasterer,Mark Hulme, 24, appeared in ...
Health merger
Aug 01, 2007 ... GREYMOUTH -- The West Coast District Health Board has merged itsgeneral practice at Dobson, 10km north-east of Greymouth, with itsGreymouth practice and moved to roomier Greymouth premises. TheGreymouth ...
Sensitivity to cellphones imaginary, says new research
Aug 01, 2007; ... Cellphone sensitivity is all in the mind, according to newresearch into people who say their health is blighted by cellphones. A three-year study of 44 people who reported symptoms orsensitivity to cellphone technology, along with another 114 takenfrom the general population, ...
Japanese lay wreaths for war dead
Aug 01, 2007 ... The relationship between Japan and the south Wairarapa town ofFeatherston has been strengthened, with a contingent of Japanesesailors paying their respects at the site of the former FeatherstonArmy Camp. The 50 sailors from three Japanese naval vessels laid wreaths totheir war ...
Telecom plan's mixed signals; PRICING PROPOSAL
Aug 01, 2007; ... Farmers and businesses outside the main centres can expect littlecompetition for Telecom because rival companies say proposed newwholesale phone line charges are "too bloody high". But Telecom does face growing competition in the cities after theCommerce Commission put out the ...
Big price fall 'unlikely'; HOUSING SURVEY
Aug 01, 2007; ... Housing industry groups are not expecting a big price plungedespite a survey labelling New Zealand as the riskiest housing marketin the developed world. International credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings said New Zealandwas the riskiest of 16 developed housing markets after ...
Mayoral candidates back policy of no asset sales
Aug 01, 2007; ... Christchurch mayoral candidate Megan Woods has pledged to retainpublic ownership of city assets such as the airport, the port andpublic housing. Rival candidate Bob Parker immediately struck back yesterday,claiming Woods was parroting existing city council policy. Woods ...
Moore warns against CPW 'kangaroo court'; LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS
Aug 01, 2007; ... Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore says mayoral candidate Megan Woods'opposition to the Central Plains Water scheme is a change of tack forher 2021 political grouping. Moore, who helped found the Left-leaning group, said a 2021-dominated Christchurch City Council supported the ...
Senior doctors plan stoppages; PAY DISPUTE
Aug 01, 2007; ... South Island hospitals face escalating action by senior doctorsthis week as part of nationwide protests over pay and workforceretention. Doctors in Otago and Nelson are poised to hold two-hour stopworkmeetings today, followed by colleagues in Christchurch and Blenheimtomorrow ....
Westport staff reject pay offer
Aug 01, 2007; ... The rural GP workforce is extremely vulnerable, say seniorWestport doctors. Six senior doctors who work at the Buller Medical Service andBuller Hospital yesterday unanimously rejected a July 4 pay offerfrom district health boards (DHBs), as did 13 Greymouth colleagues onFriday ....
Medicine policies 'unfair'
Aug 01, 2007; ... Government drug policies are causing harm and hardship to somepatients with chronic illnesses, Canterbury hospital specialists say. Under the existing policy, a standard prescription from a hospitalspecialist costs $15 per drug. The same prescription from a GP costs$3 ....
Robbers shoot Air NZ employee with pellet gun
Aug 01, 2007; ... An Air New Zealand employee was robbed and shot with a pellet gunin a Los Angeles carpark yesterday. Long Beach newspaper The Press- Telegram reported that the NewZealander was accosted by two men armed with pellet-firing pistols inthe carpark of a cafe in Cerritos City, Los ...
Australian acrobats construct human tower of power
Aug 01, 2007 ... Circus Oz -- the Australian acrobats who promise humour-laceddeath- defying stunts in "one of the Greatest Shows on Earth" --opens tonight at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Getting the balance rightat rehearsals ...
Video-conferencing thrills academics
Aug 01, 2007; ... A new superfast internet connection is allowing "videoconferencing on steroids" for New Zealand academics. The Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network (Karen) is afibre optic cable connecting universities and crown researchinstitutes around the country. The technology ...
Rivers beat curse
Aug 01, 2007; ... Marlborough is the final frontier for didymo in the South Island,and environmental authorities are hoping to keep it that way. No evidence of the invasive aquatic weed has been found in theregion's rivers, which has dumbfounded Marlborough District Councilsenior biosecurity ...
PUTTING IT RIGHT
Aug 01, 2007; ... Putting It Right is a weekly column of corrections andclarifications relating to stories in The Press. . In an item about a disputed Lake Hayes subdivision (July 18), ThePress reported that Graeme Todd was an "occasional" lawyer for theQueenstown Lakes District Council. He ...
'$100m difference' in parties' views
Aug 01, 2007; ... The secondary teachers' union has pulled out of pay talks with theEducation Ministry, prompting fears of widespread disruption. ARWENHANN asks whether teachers will once again walk out of the classroom. . On paper the differences between what the secondary teachers'union ...
ALLERGY TREATMENT; Children with food allergies lack SI care; ALLERGY FACTS
Aug 01, 2007; ... Potentially life-threatening food allergies are on the rise,particularly among children, yet there is no paediatric specialistcare in the South Island. Most food allergy sufferers are children, but the country's onlychild allergy specialists are in Auckland. One of them, ...
Pole trip bogs down in Africa
Aug 01, 2007; ... A Dutch actress aiming to emulate Sir Edmund Hillary by driving afarm tractor to the South Pole is two years into her quest, but isstill in tropical Africa rather than the frozen wastelands ofAntarctica. Manon Ossevoort set off from Holland in the summer of 2005 on ajourney ...
ACC CLAIMS; Deafness among farmers increasingly expensive
Aug 01, 2007; ... Farmers are suffering an "epidemic" of deafness. Noise-induced hearing loss in the farming sector is the fastest-growing cost for the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC). One in four claims from the agricultural sector are for noise-induced hearing loss. In the ...
CRIME STOP
Aug 01, 2007 ... Wanted on warrant Zara Jones, above, is wanted on warrants to arrest. PhoneConstable Douglas Adams on 374 1713. . Lost and found Waiting to be claimed at the Christchurch central police stationare a wooden box with a hinged, perspex lid with 30 cassette ...
Off-road motoring damaging birds' habitat
Aug 01, 2007 ... South Island river mouths and estuaries and fragile morainehabitat in the high country are suffering extremely from the growingnumber of two and four-wheel motorised off- road drivers who ignoreDepartment of Conservation notices, drive repeatedly into flocks ofroosting birds, and are ...
Training organisations query polytech funding
Aug 01, 2007; ... Industry training organisations (ITOs) are crying foul overfunding anomalies that see polytechnics paid up to five times as muchto train apprentices. Nationally, polytechnics are paid up to $30,000 for a full- timestudent on a three-year, managed apprenticeship scheme, while ...
Augie converts
Aug 01, 2007 ... As a television presenter, Augie Auer was unique, combining witwith humour and expertise, contrasting sharply with Television NewZealand, whose emphasis was on weatherman Jim Hickey's antics and bowtie. Soon after his appointment as chief weather forecaster, Augie madetwo ...
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE; Patient numbers predicted to double
Aug 01, 2007; ... Alzheimer's New Zealand is calling on the Government to make thedisease a national health priority, with the country facing adoubling of dementia patients in the next 12 years. It is predicted that by 2020, dementia numbers will spiral to64,000 in New Zealand, with 10,000 in ...
What's the fuss?
Aug 01, 2007 ... Reuben Hunt (July 28) suggests that the five warmest years sincethe late 1880s occurred from 1998. So what? This specious statementparrots Al Gore and proves nothing. The Earth's average temperature goes up and down all the time, asit has throughout history, so there is nothing ...
Content may offend
Aug 01, 2007 ... The comedy Niu Sila was included in the Christchurch Arts Festivalthrough the sponsorship of Creative New Zealand. When the Minister ofArts and Culture, Prime Minister Helen Clark, opened the festival,she especially recommended Niu Sila. While it was a cleverly written and ...
Dance is special
Aug 01, 2007 ... Christchurch has just hosted a special arts event, which hadstyle, panache, skill, discipline, enthusiastic stage craft,showmanship, colour, physical stamina, seamless choreographedmovements and an exemplary behind-the-scenes organisation. I refer to the New Zealand Amateur and ...
Distinction vital
Aug 01, 2007 ... Professor Charles Rodeck ("The anguish of knowing", July 21)claims that, in effect, nature, via the mechanism of miscarriage,says, "The truth is that not all human life is totally sacrosanct,"but nature "is not always totally effective and so some of theseerrors survive. What we are ...
Breeding catastrophe
Aug 01, 2007 ... Ross McKerras (July 30) says, in reference to the article aboutProfessor Charles Rodeck (July 21), that some foetuses self-abortingdoes not give the right to kill, nor should a foetus's rightsdiminish because it has yet to exit the womb. Pro-life advocates seldom stop to consider ...
Why we are there
Aug 01, 2007 ... I was disappointed to read Geoffrey Dunbar's letter about ourpresence in Afghanistan (July 25). He does not seem to understandwhat is happening in the world. New Zealand is an active member of the United Nations and ourCommonwealth, and is prepared to pull its weight in ...
Encouraging bird-strike
Aug 01, 2007 ... Would someone please tell me what is meant by "bird management"and exactly what is involved. I refer to the article in Mainlander (July 28), where those whoare backing the proposed watersports park on Lake Isaac believe thebird- strike problem can be controlled so that there is no ...
Could lessen risks
Aug 01, 2007 ... Your Mainlander piece on the stonewalling tactics of ChristchurchInternational Airport Ltd (CIAL) regarding the Lake Isaac proposalwas spot on (July 28). One point that didn't come through strongly, though, was that thefirst two reports, prepared by Ecosure, an internationally ...
Backpackers can work
Aug 01, 2007 ... The suggestion ("Backpackers' owners criticise worker scheme",July 28) that the recognised seasonal employer policy (RSE) meansbackpackers will be unable to work in the horticulture andviticulture industries is incorrect. People on working-holiday permits backpacking through New ...
No reply
Aug 01, 2007 ... In early February I wrote a letter to Cr Bob Parker regarding anissue that affects me and a large number of Governors Bay residents.Rather than reply to me himself, he passed my letter to a CCC staffmember to ...
Sport can unite
Aug 01, 2007 ... To all those who say sport is just sport, I point out the reactionof the various ethnic groups in Iraq uniting in ...
In a few words
Aug 01, 2007 ... District court judges are willing to swap fines for communityservice. A Hastings youth has had $10,000 of accumulated fines wipedin favour of 150 hours community service because he had no means topay. That equates to a take home rate of $66 an hour, or an annualsalary of $210,000 -- ...
Child abuse an issue for all - not just Maori
Aug 01, 2007 ... Another dreadful case of child abuse comes to light andimmediately the fingers come out on all fronts blaming Maori for lackof leadership and action. This is unjustifiable, unhelpful and aneasy cop-out from collectively taking responsibility for our dreadfulrecord regarding our children ....
Mother to blame
Aug 01, 2007 ... We are tired of being blamed for Maori child abuse and tired ofexcuses being made (July 30). The mother of the three-year-oldtoddler tortured in a clothes dryer in Rotorua has to take fullresponsibility for this disgusting and inhumane happening. To read she was out drinking while ...
Why so hard for us?
Aug 01, 2007 ... For all the United States' reputation for extremes (I lived therefor nine years), I cannot recall child abuse as repugnant as thatreported occurring in Rotorua (July 30). My family returned home to give our kids a better lifestyle, butcases of child abuse litter our ...
Enough said
Aug 01, 2007 ... Children with cancer being shuttled around the country, away fromfamily and friends. Millions of dollars ...
Ridding the shame
Aug 01, 2007 ... New Zealanders are horrified yet again at a suspected child-abusecase, with the latest leaving three-year-old Nia Glassie inAuckland's Starship Hospital with serious injuries allegedlyinflicted by family members. This case, on top of the previous abuse"roll of shame", published in The ...
Councils pressured
Aug 01, 2007 ... Charles Kuipers (July 27) insists on seeing some relationshipbetween councils' rates and the inflation rate. The two have noconnection. Certainly some council expenses are affected by inflation, such astheir contractors' extra costs being passed onto them, but councilshave ...
In a few words
Aug 01, 2007 ... Reconstructing part of Fred and Myrtle Flutey's paua shell housein the Canterbury Museum (July 25) is somewhat like relocating MitrePeak to Auckland, in that it will become an out-of-context curiosity.As to the elitist argument, paua to the people! VICTORIA ANDREWS ...
Redevelop heritage
Aug 01, 2007 ... Recent comments were published regarding a perceived conflict ofinterest with respect to the Arts Centre debate (July 21). We refute this perception. My comments (July 16) reflect a NewZealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) branch position, which asbranch chairman I give voice to ....
Protect rural NZ
Aug 01, 2007 ... A long line of 130-year-old oak trees was recently cut down onBirches Road between Prebbleton and Lincoln. This act of vandalismhas been compounded by the discovery that the owner of the propertyintends to subdivide this land into half-acre (2023sqm) sections. A subdivision here ...