29/07/10 Liquor Licensing
With alcohol in the national spotlight this week The Hauraki District Council today receives it report from the Districts licensing agency.
A look back at the year shows that the agency received a total of 170 applications for the year ending June 30.
Of those 167 were granted which included renewals and special licenses while there were three new on licenses granted.
On the plus side the report shows that 24 hour liquor ban in the Central business areas of the towns of Waihi Paeroa and Ngatea resulted in no issues and feedback from both Police and Public has been positive.
29/07/10 Whitianga Violence
Police in Mercury Bay have issued notice to those in the community that they intend to use the full force of the law if any more unprovoked attacks on innocent occur again
This follows on from an incident in which 2 assailant’s attacked a youngster on Buffalo Beach Road recently.
Police Constable Callum McKilvrey says that both offenders are before the courts but he says the situation surrounding the incident is intolerable Audio
29/07/10 Key/Mining
Prime Minister John Key does not expect to be told who leaked Government information despite an extensive inquiry by State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie.
Cabinet papers on the stock take of minerals in conservation estate were made public before Government announcements which caused a public furore and forced the Government to back down on its stance on Mining in areas like the Coromandel
In March, Forest and Bird spokesman Kevin Hackwell said the organisation had "learnt" the Government wanted mining to be allowed in West Coast's Paparoa National Park, Great Barrier Island and on the Coromandel Peninsula.
29/07/10 Noddys Off To the USA
Whangamata’s Noddy Watts is off to the USA today and he is on a mission.
The event manger for the Beach Hop is off to pick up a 1962 Thunderbird that he will use as a promotional vehicle as he travels across America promoting the Beach Hop as a part of a tour that he and a few locals from the region have put together.
Audio
29/07/10 Scallop Festival
The Countdown is really on now for this years Scallop Festival and event manager Dave Sparks is getting really excited about how it’s all coming together.
He says that the main cooking stage will be a bit different this year with Comedian Vaughn King being the MC along with celebrity Chefs Nicky Wicks whose a handful at any time.
Mr. Sparks is still urging festival goers to ensure they purchase their tickets early to avoid disappointment
29/07/10
A small café just outside of Whenuakite The Colenso Country Café is this week celebrating its success after being named as the runner up in the National Café Awards.
As expected the Colenso Country Café also took out the regional prize with Thames Café Sola being named second.
And while on the subject of awards The Banana Pepper Old Style Coffee Lounge in Waihi received a bronze award in the recent NZ Bakels Pie Awards in the Vegetarian section for their spinach Feta and sweet chili Pies