Waikato Times

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Beams bring up milestone for Kopu project

Transport Minister Steven Joyce says excellent progress is being made on the one-year-old $47 million Kopu Bridge replacement project. The first anniversary of construction was marked yesterday with the last of four steel bridge beams that connect the...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Bar to stand up to closure

A Hamilton bar has been shut down by the Liquor Licensing Authority for encouraging ‘‘vertical drinking''. The Pie Lab, on Victoria St, was before the authority to answer charges of selling alcohol to intoxicated people and selling a potent shot mix ...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Teams chow down ahead of rugby feast

A feast of rugby this weekend was kicked off with a breakfast in Hamilton today. The third annual Waikato club rugby final breakfast was held at Waikato Stadium involving the two teams that will contest tomorrow's Waikato Breweries Shield grand...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Mobster shows up in court with new facial tattoo

A Waikato Mongrel Mob member at the centre of an extensive police manhunt has appeared in court sporting a new facial tattoo. Colin Rangi Robyn Kiriona, 25, yesterday was remanded in custody without plea after a brief appearance in the Hamilton...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: OFFBEAT

A black bear walked into a New Hampshire, US, house through an open door, ate two pears and a bunch of grapes, took a drink from the family fishbowl and grabbed a stuffed bear on its way out. Homeowner Mary Beth Parkinson said the bear apparently took...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Clue master's habit keeps mind sharp

It's a wonder Nick Clothier, as a drama, English, PE and art teacher at St Pauls Collegiate, finds time to write anything. But he somehow managed to find time to write the verses for The Great Hamilton Poem Hunt, which finished yesterday. He came up...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Gang arms up for ‘war' over drugs

King Cobras, New Zealand's oldest patched gang, is tooling up with stun guns and silenced pistols in what police say is part of a war to control and tax Auckland's illicit drug trade. The re-emergence of the predominantly Samoan-Tongan gang was...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Family denied apology over death

The lack of an apology from the bridge swing operator who allowed Catherine Peters to fall to her death has made her passing even harder to bear, her mother says. Alistair McWhannell, 47, was yesterday sentenced to 400 hours' community work over the...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Two sought after attack on jogger

A runner was kept in hospital for two days after what police say was a random attack on the man in Ngaruawahia on Tuesday night. Police only today revealed details of the attack in the hope someone knows the two teenagers responsible and can help to...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Fault cuts baby's oxygen

A Christchurch baby on an oxygen machine was given oxygen from an emergency supply after a prepay-meter fault left her family home without power. People using Meridian Energy's PowerManager system could not to top up their meters yesterday morning due...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Fines for importing insect

Two horticulturalists were fined in the Auckland District Court yesterday over the illegal importation of an insect to control whitefly, after they pleaded guilty to charges earlier this year. Reporoa horticultural business Great Lakes Tomatoes Ltd,...

7/30/2010: NEWS: IRD gets new pricey HQ

Inland Revenue is spending $31.6 million to furnish its new head office in Wellington, and is understood to be paying about $12m a year for eight floors of the city's biggest new office block, just across the road from Wellington Railway Station. IRD...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Man denies guns were his

A Christchurch sex-industry kingpin denies owning three shotguns found at his home during an armed police callout. Terry Rex Brown, 53, pleaded not guilty in the Rangiora District Court yesterday to possessing three firearms without a licence. Police...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Pupils taught key to success

If National lose the general election next year John Key could always become a teacher. The prime minister had the children at Te Kura Kaupapa o Whakawatea eating out of the palm of his hand when he visited them yesterday. Mr Key told the children,...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Standards seen as answer to literacy woes

The controversial National Standards for education loom as the Government's answer to improving low rates of Maori literacy. Speaking during his visit to Hamilton this week, Prime Minister John Key placed plenty of emphasis on National Standards,...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Overhead lines letdown

About 60 per cent of homes connected to Wel Networks' electricity lines still use overhead lines. The lack of progress in undergrounding electrical supply in the Waikato was highlighted during Wel Energy Trust's annual meeting of beneficiaries...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Muslim burial zone on way

A separate Muslim burial area at Hamilton Cemetery is expected to be approved today after issues plagued an earlier site. New Zealand Muslim League president Mohammed Hassan said there was limited control over the previous site. The league approached...

7/30/2010: NEWS: CYF look into dealings

Child, Youth and Family has launched an investigation into its dealings with the family of dead baby Cezar Taylor. The six-monthold South Auckland baby died in Auckland's Starship Hospital on Wednesday night after being admitted with severe head...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Drop in gang members

Police attribute an estimated 15 per cent drop in gang members in Whanganui to the council's ban on gang patches and strong police anti-gang operations. Under a bylaw introduced by Whanganui District Council last September, people wearing gang insignia...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Missing items in case

Several items belonging to missing Auckland mother Carmen Thomas and her car are unaccounted for. Ms Thomas was reported missing on July 13 after she failed to collect her five-yearold son. Her Nissan Pulsar car was found abandoned in Hamilton on July...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Student wins exchange

Putaruru College year 12 student Katy Hendrikse has been selected to represent New Zealand in Singapore next month as part of the FedEx Express/Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge. The 17-year-old was selected along with five others from...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Bad weather for skiing

Severe gales may spoil plans for skiing this weekend. Strong winds are expected about Mt Ruapehu and Taranaki late tomorrow or during Sunday. WeatherWatch.co.nz says the stormy weather is likely to peak on Sunday and Monday, with strong westerlies and...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Armed robber stole cash

A Fairfield resident was robbed of cash at knifepoint after a man invited himself into her College Pl house yesterday afternoon. Hamilton police Detective Sergeant Neville Ross said the man was described as male Maori, in his 30s, 1.83-metres tall,...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Keno results

Draw 7168: 4 11 13 16 27 31 33 37 39 42 47 49 55 58 59 64 66 69 70 80. Draw 7169: 1 4 11 12 13 15 16 24 32 39 43 45 50 61 65 66 73 77 78 80. Winning Bullseye Number: 911083.

7/30/2010: NEWS: Kiwis ‘sing with US accent'

Bugger the Kiwi accent disappears as soon as we start to sing, according to new research. Pop artists from Ladyhawke to Crowded House are part of the trend which sees us adopt American accents whenever we're crooning. Auckland University of...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Govt targets expat Kiwi student loans

The Government is considering ways to get more student debt back from New Zealanders living overseas. ‘‘There are some big issues around how much we write off on student loans,'' Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said. ‘‘And one of the reasons...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Law change could hit spearguns: dive shops

Spear fishermen could be unfairly targeted by a proposed new law for high-powered air rifles, dive shop owners fear. The Government plans to change the Arms Order to require anyone who bought or owned a pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifle to hold a...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Early dialysis may not help, study shows

Starting patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis early may not improve their chances of survival, a ground-breaking study involving Kiwi patients shows. The study was led by Australian medical researchers who, over eight years, randomly...

7/30/2010: REGION: Gathering power from a weed

Shane Carter wants to turn a pest plant into a power source. Mr Carter, a Waikato University chemistry and engineering PhD candidate, is working on a project which could see small lake or riverside communities potentially generating their own energy...

7/30/2010: REGION: Park owners defy protesters in row

The proprietors of the Coromandel's Papa Aroha Holiday Park are denying a claim by members of the Ngati Rongo-U iwi group occupying the site it is council land for which the lease has expired. Members of the northern Coromandel Peninsula hapu began an...

7/30/2010: REGION: Footage gives attack-trio clues

Hamilton police are still on the hunt for three men who attacked a service station attendant after forcing their way into the shop early on Tuesday. Caltex Avalon Dr owner Gary Smith said although no weapons were used the attendant had received a...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Poems will have city awash with words

National Poetry Day swings around again and the local and national poets once more show their heads above the parapets and venture forth into the daylight (and dusk) to deliver their poems to the public in an orchestrated series of events, readings and...

7/30/2010: OPINION: It's untidy in the workplace

Industrial legislation that took effect on March 1 year last year allowed employers with fewer than 20 employees (that's most of them) to hire staff for a trial period of 90 days. If the employment relationship did not work, the employment could be...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Constructed ideas

Responding to letters ‘‘Rational response'' and ‘‘Morality, motive'' ( Waikato Times, July 23): it is of no consequence what my belief system may be and it is wrong to attribute the moral high ground to any one philosophy. All philosophies are as...

7/30/2010: OPINION: No 5 astray in top game

I have been complaining all year about the wrong numbering of NRL teams, Warriors excepted, with No 5 on the right wing, but was surprised when the two Waikato teams Hamilton City Tigers and Taniwharau did the same in the Waikato grand final. I...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Meaning clear

John Fong ( Waikato Times, July 23) claims I am confused between morality and motive, and that I secretly know that my argument was on shaky ground in relation to Hitler, Stalin and atheism. He then condescendingly seeks to re-interpret what I...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Political reasons

Atheist writers always focus on the sufferings religions have caused. They do not distinguish whether the actions causing such sufferings are expressions of these religions' beliefs. They ignore the fact atheistic regimes have killed more people than...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Waikato Times: the way we were

We turn back the Times 99, 50 and 25 years ago to see what Waikato Times readers were reading about. 99 YEARS AGO Walton. There is a great stir in this district at the present time, the new settlers who have taken up land here are getting ready for...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Arm police now

There are good reasons why we must arm our police now. We wouldn't send our army out against al Qaeda with toy wooden guns. Police are dealing more and more with well-armed criminals and drug dealers. These people have sophisticated weapons and aren't...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Errant sign

A sign has appeared on a lamp-post at the traffic lights on the Pembroke St/Lake Cr intersection in Hamilton which depicts three traffic lights, the top being red and the two below it white. The message alongside reads ‘‘Stop on red'', no doubt a...

7/30/2010: OPINION: Debt concerns

I read recently that Hamilton's debt is almost half a billion dollars and that most of this debt was incurred over the past five years. I am concerned, especially when I look at what we have got for it the Hood St debacle, stadiums that lose money,...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Mother admits killing eight of her babies

Paris A 47-year-old woman has confessed to killing her eight newborn children and hiding their bodies in a village in northern France, a judicial source said. The woman and her husband, also in his 40s, have been in custody since the bodies were...

7/30/2010: WORLD: ‘I felt teeth, heard bones breaking'

aggravate him. He sunk his teeth into me again,'' she recounted from her hospital room in Cody, Wyoming. ‘‘So I decided to play dead and mean it,'' she said. When she did play dead, the bear, which she believed was a grizzly, let go and lumbered...

7/30/2010: WORLD: More woes for Toyota as it recalls US cars with faulty steering

Tokyo Toyota is recalling 412,000 passenger cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the United States for steering problems in which three accidents have been reported, the carmaker said today. The 373,000 Avalons being recalled range from the 2000 model...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Vicar guilty of sham nuptials

London A vicar has been found guilty of conducting hundreds of sham marriages between Africans and cash-strapped Eastern Europeans to allow illegal immigrants to gain residency in Britain. The Rev Alex Brown, 61, presided over 360 fake ceremonies...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Woman awakens to bear feasting on arm

Salmon, Idaho Deb Freele was asleep in her tent near Yellowstone National Park when she awoke to a bear crunching on her arm. A mother grizzly bear and two of her three cubs have been captured after killing a Michigan man and injuring Freele and...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Obama won't be at wedding

Washington President Barack Obama says he did not make the guest list for Chelsea Clinton's wedding. In an interview on ABC's television's talk show The View, Obama said he was not invited because former President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Damaged tanker may have run into mine, submarine

Fujairah/Tokyo A Japanese supertanker that reported suffering an ‘‘explosion'' near the Strait of Hormuz oil shipping route might have hit a submarine or a mine, United Arab Emirates port officials examining the ship say. Damage to the massive crude...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Thai govt eases up security

Bangkok Thailand's government lifted a state of emergency in six provinces last night but said the special security law would remain in 10 others, including the capital Bangkok, which was hit by a deadly bombing earlier this week. The emergency...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Celebs say they knew of Taylor's gem gift

The Hague Actress Mia Farrow and modelling agent Carole White will testify next month about a ‘‘blood diamond'' British model Naomi Campbell is said to have been given by former Liberian leader Charles Taylor, court papers show. The women's names...

7/30/2010: WORLD: It's only a fashion crime, says judge

New York Wearing saggy pants is not a crime, just foolish. That's how a New York City judge has ruled in throwing out a summons issued to a man wearing low-slung pants that exposed his underwear. The New York Post reported that Judge Ruben Franco...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Churchill teeth sell for $33k

London A partial set of dentures used by former British leader Winston Churchill described as the teeth that saved the world sold at auction in England yesterday for £15,200 (NZ$33,032). The upper dentures, one of several sets specially made for...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Ministers help run France but who is really in charge?

Paris The mood was of luvviness all kisses and smiles as Carla Bruni-Sarkozy made her acting debut this week in front of the cameras for Woody Allen's next movie. But French government ministers were less enamoured as the First Lady's foray into...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Polanski named in fresh rape allegation

San Francisco Another woman has claimed she was raped by film director Roman Polanski. Edith Vogelhut, a former model, said she went to Jack Nicholson's house with Polanski after a dinner party in 1974. They had a drink before Polanski gave her an...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Jacko's doctors off hook

Investigators probing the death of Michael Jackson have decided not to bring charges against seven doctors who treated him. A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jerry Brown said one of the doctors had been referred to the California Medical Board for...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Mayor seeks wheel savings

A fleet of 6000 bicycles for hire has hit the streets of central London as the city's mayor, Boris Johnson, launches a scheme intended to fuel a cycling revolution in the congested capital. The initiative, which follows similar projects in Paris and...

7/30/2010: WORLD: PM protects crown jewel

The real jewel in Britain's actual crown will not be returning to India, Prime Minister David Cameron said, as he ruled out any repatriation of the famed Kohinoor diamond. The 105-carat gemstone set in the coronation crown of the British royals was...

7/30/2010: WORLD: Tonga to send soldiers

The Tongan government has agreed to deploy 275 soldiers to Afghanistan during the next two years at the request of the British government. Prime Minister Feleti Sevele put the motion before the nation's Parliament, which voted 22-0 in favour of the...

7/30/2010: TELEVISION: The laughs are always greener . . .

Twitter is for more than just tweeting. Using millions of Twitter messages, or tweets, from the popular social networking site, researchers at Northeastern University in Boston have created a Twitter Mood Map to measure the moods of the...

7/30/2010: BUSINESS DAY: Big events will benefit iwi, says PM

Prime Minister John Key believes Maori businesses can capitalise on the major world sporting events New Zealand will host over the next 18 months, and boost Maori economic development. Mr Key, in Hamilton this week to visit numerous iwi organisations...

7/30/2010: BUSINESS DAY: The ups and downs of our rich

Two high-profile businessmen are missing from this year's rich list because of uncertainty about their net worth, but two familiar Waikato faces made it into the top 10. The National Business Review, has dropped Allan Hubbard and Terry Serepisos from...

7/30/2010: BUSINESS DAY: Bollard warns of slow growth

Fixed-term mortgage rates could be set to ease, economists predict, after a warning by Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard that the economy is likely to grow more slowly than expected. The Reserve Bank announced the second official cash rate (OCR) hike...

7/30/2010: BUSINESS DAY: Farm consents quashed

Land use consents granted for a controversial large-scale factory dairy farming proposal in South Canterbury have been quashed, the Environmental Defence Society (EDS) says. The EDS launched a legal challenge in the High Court in Timaru challenging...

7/30/2010: CLUB RUGBY: Taupiri on the cusp of a new golden era

Taupiri could justifiably look back on the 1980s and early '90s as its golden era as a rugby club. Not only did the club establish and build one of New Zealand's biggest and most popular club sevens tournaments, but there was also the crowning glory...

7/30/2010: CLUB RUGBY: Tight contest expected for Lion Cup final

Te Rapa and University have made a habit of contesting close encounters in recent times and it seems that tomorrow's final of the Lion Cup should be no different. The two sides which assured themselves promotion to next year's 10-team premier division...

7/30/2010: CLUB RUGBY: Hautapu's older statesman a mentor for younger players

Keith Lowen has copped plenty of stick while on the rugby field for Hautapu this year. But the former Waikato, Chiefs and one-test All Black midfielder has been an integral part of the club and a mentor for the younger players, and has seen the...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Tupou's eyes on shifting NRL line

A prolific try scorer at under-20s level, New Zealand Warriors winger Bill Tupou is looking to break his duck in the National Rugby League (NRL) on Sunday. Tupou's year has been divided between the Junior Warriors and the club's first-grade side, for...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Taupo venue attracts Cronulla Sharks for next year

Taupo District Council and the King Country Rugby Union have dismissed talk of a A$600,000 deal with the Cronulla Sharks National Rugby League team, but are confident the club will play the Warriors at Owen Delany Park in the coming three...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Noddy versus the Apprentice in Dogs-Souths clash

A classic master versus apprentice battle is set to unfold when Canterbury's Brett Kimmorley goes head-to-head with South Sydney's Chris Sandow in tomorrow's crucial NRL match at ANZ Stadium. Former test and NSW halfback Kimmorley is due to make a...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Cycling bid goes south for tour

An ambitious bid to one day have a New Zealand team riding in the Tour de France will push for its initiation at this year's Tour of Southland. Carl Williams, the former Team New Zealand sailor, found success with his Bici Vida team in last year's...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Taranaki fumbles against Northland

Northland's Rene Ranger runs over the top of George Pisi, Taranaki, in the first round of the ITM Cup at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, last night. Taranaki disappointed their fans last night, slumping to a 26-19 loss to Northland at Yarrow...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Newcomer happy to tackle challenge of playing fullback

Christian Lealiifano is a five-eighth with the Brumbies in Super rugby but he says playing other positions for Waikato was one of the reasons he came here for the national provincial championship season. The 22-year-old, who sought a one-off season in...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Muliaina stays calm in tactic storm

Mils Muliaina doesn't care that the world has copped an eyeful of the All Blacks' tactics. Despite a photograph exposing their strategies ahead of tomorrow night's Bledisloe Cup test, Muliaina was adamant the players were not alarmed about their...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Itchy feet send McQuoid into new-look Bay backline

Grant McQuoid never planned to play rugby again in New Zealand after finishing a four-year playing stint in Japan in February. But the Bay of Plenty second five-eighth, who made his debut for Waikato as a teenager in his first year out of Matamata...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Re-calls, bolter feature in Ferns

The Silver Fern team to defend their Commonwealth Games gold medal was named today with three re-calls and a bolter. As revealed in the Waikato Times yesterday Waikato-based defender Leana de Bruin was recalled along with fellow new mother Daneka...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Development squad

Waikato Development rugby coaches have named a squad of 24 players plus seven train-on players for the coming season. The squad includes several players with representative experience for the A squad including halfbacks David Bason and Malcolm Barnes,...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Lockyer plays on

Brisbane Broncos rugby league captain Darren Lockyer has confirmed reports he is considering playing on until 2012. However, the Queensland and Australian skipper says he hasn't signed a new deal, with his current contract set to expire at the end of...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Double century

Suresh Raina stroked a century on debut and Sachin Tendulkar coasted to his fifth double hundred to lift India to a massive total of 669-9 in the second test against Sri Lanka in Colombo last night (NZ time). Raina made 120 and Tendulkar, pictured,...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Rowers trial

All the usual suspects were named as New Zealand triallists yesterday for the world rowing championships trial. Nineteen Waikato rowers will join the likes of Mahe Drysdale and Emma Twigg for the trial at Lake Karapiro from August 2-6. The world champs...

7/30/2010: SPORT: BMX champions

New Zealand BMX has three more world champions after the first day of the age group Challenge classes at the UCI World Championships in South Africa overnight (NZ time). North Harbour's Rico Bearman won the 7 years boys title, Rotorua's Lachlan...

7/30/2010: SPORT: De Villiers' misconduct

Springboks rugby coach Peter de Villiers has been issued with a notice of alleged misconduct by Sanzar. De Villiers suggested his team had been victims of a conspiracy to assist New Zealand ahead of the World Cup. A Sanzarappointed judicial officer...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Transfer okayed

Super League champions Leeds have granted New Zealand international Greg Eastwood's request for a transfer. Eastwood, 23, only moved to Leeds from Canterbury at the start of the season, but the second-row forward has struggled to settle in England and...

7/30/2010: SPORT: Morgan maiden

England batsman Eoin Morgan scored his maiden test hundred to guide his side to a commanding 331-4 on the opening day of the first test against Pakistan at Trent Bridge overnight (NZ time). Morgan will resume on 125, along with Paul Collingwood who is...