John Cronin BOP Regional Council Chairman www.envbop.govt.nz To progress the Bay of Plenty and Tauranga in particular we need to grow the job market. To grow the job market we need to up-skill our labour force. To up-skill our labour force, we... Read More

Jane Nees BOP Regional Councillor www.janenees.co.nz Following the removal of mangroves from the harbour margin at the end of Prestidge Road area at Aongatete, large numbers of godwits have returned to this area and are feeding there for the... Read More

Ian McLean Green candidate for Tauranga An enormous amount of hard work goes into an election and I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all the candidates who stood in Tauranga and Bay of Plenty. By doing so, they maintain... Read More

Brian Anderson The Western Front www.sunlive.co.nz From a pre election survey, 47 per cent of the country believes the Global Financial Crisis is going to hit New Zealand sooner than later, but you would be hard pressed to remember any politician... Read More

Andrew von Dadelszen Former Regional Councillor What will make the biggest difference for economic growth in the Bay? A university will. Youth unemployment is a huge issue for us locally and the answer is education. Young adults can't have aspiration... Read More

Dennis McMahon McMahon Commercial mcmahoncommercial As if it wasn't already a difficult enough market for commercial property owners, we have just witnessed a whole new threat evolving from an unexpected quarter. I am referring to the trend amongst... Read More

Rosalie Crawford of Webhealth www.webhealth.co.nz I quite like working alone, but working with a team is also great for camaraderie and mutual encouragement. I remember at age 18 coming face to face with workplace bullies. These social ogres of... Read More

Legal Brief with Alan Tate of Harris Tate www.harristate.co.nz If you live in a property governed by a Body Corporate, you should by now have come to grips with the changes in how your property is governed that came into effect in June 2011. Most... Read More

Claire Rogers Cool products and foodie things www.sunlive.co.nz Panettone - a delicious type of sweet bread originally from Milan - is a Christmas holiday favourite in Europe and I can see why. I got to sample both the traditional flavour and... Read More

Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz While the Western Bay doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the big ticket stadiums and arenas that are dotted around the country, the region still manages to attract some smaller... Read More

Dr Anna Rolleston The Cardiac Clinic Don't stress about stress. Just do something about it. Stress on its own is not detrimental to our health - it is our response to stress that causes all the issues. You've most likely heard about the ‘fight... Read More

Pete Morris Art blogger www.sunlive.co.nz Artist Jaynice Lace has just completed two years studying art at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic and has graduated with her Aka Rakai Toi - Diploma in Art Level 6. It was at the Year 2 group exhibition at the... Read More