Strike action by radiographers at Tauranga and Whakatane Hospitals means some people who visited emergency departments for treatment have to return on Wednesday for x-rays. Twenty-eight radiographers from Tauranga Hospital and nine from Whakatane Hospital went on strike as part of continuing industrial action underway since August 2. Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief operating officer Phillip Balmer says the industrial action has had a major effect as 80 per cent of people going More...

BayTrust has established a new $500,000 fund aimed at helping Bay of Plenty communities tackle their trickiest problems. Trust head Paula Thompson says the Henry Duncan Fund addresses root causes of community issues by supporting projects which don't attract existing funding sources. She says these could include projects using innovative methods or practices to address community issues, or those which despite their potential, have a risk element that conventional funding sources would not More...

Tauranga residents are able to make donations for Canterbury earthquake relief at Bayfair Shopping Centre. At the shopping centre's information desk is a collection point that is accepting non-perishable food products to be taken south. This is a nationwide effort being made at each of the five AMP Capital Shopping Centres in New Zealand. Bayfair Shopping Centre's Retail Solutions Executive Debbie Hickson makes a donation at the collection More...

The devastating earthquake which hit Christchurch on Saturday caused much less damage to modern buildings and bridges than similar quakes which hit Kobe, Japan in 1995 and Haiti earlier this year. And that's due to the exacting standards of New Zealand's structural engineering profession and modern earthquake engineering standards, the Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) says. This building on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Montreal Street in Christchurch is an example of how More...

Karen and Mark Fredrickson from Paengaroa are back on non-shaky ground after returning from visiting their son in Christchurch over the weekend. "We were shaken up, but they had no damage," says Karen. "There wasn't building damage in their suburb at all." Rubble in central Christchurch. They did as they were told and kept away from the CBD, says Karen and a trip to Akaroa was called off because of reports of damage.  "There wasn't a lot to be seen More...

A 44 year old former bank teller has pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court to stealing more than $25,000 off a customer at the Cherrywood branch of the bank where she worked. Police say Vicki Lee McCaskie, now unemployed, stole the money from the account of an 84 year old Cherrywood customer who befriended McCaskie after her husband died. Vicki McCaskie admitted in Tauranga District Court on Tuesday morning that she had defrauded an elderly woman of $25,000. Lawyer Rachael Adams' More...

Volunteer Surf Lifeguards in the Bay of Plenty are benefitting from easier access to first-aid training thanks to a $17,000 grant from Pub Charity. Surf lifeguards administered first-aid to 1800 people last year with 55 per cent of the incidents not water related. This is a 42 per cent increase from 10 years ago. Administering first aid is a major part of being a surf lifeguard. "First-aid incidents are increasing and varied, with surf lifeguards often the first port-of-call for a More...

Traffic was slow in Papamoa and on State Highway 2 following an accident there near Maungatawa Lane. A white van travelling towards Tauranga is thought to have collided with a following logging truck at about 8am and then crossed the road and into a ditch on the seaward side. This van ended up in a ditch following a collision with a truck on Tuesday morning. No-one was taken to Tauranga Hospital, with one person, a 26 year old male, suffernig the only injuries of note. They were minor More...

A 16 year old driver who crashed her car in Te Matai Road on Monday night was taken to Tauranga Hospital with whiplash injuries. Te Puke St John ambulance was called to the single vehicle accident at 10.40pm. The 16 year old was the driver and sole More...

Industrial action by Medical Radiation Technologists (MRTs) means no radiology services will operate at Tauranga or Whakatane Hospitals on Tuesday, September 7. The action means there will be 38 hours of no radiology services at either hospital as the radiographers strike from 4.30pm Monday, through to 7am on Wednesday. Services affected include x-rays, ultrasound, and CT scans. Mammography, bone densitometry and MRI scanning are not affected as they are provided under contract by private More...