The Marlborough Express

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: College old boys drop in for a flying visit

Two Marlborough Boys' College old boys dropped in to their old school yesterday. Well, they did a few laps of the field and a hovered over the goalposts first. Royal New Zealand Air Force Squadron Leader Oliver Bint and Royal New Zealand Navy...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Pupils watch porn on bus

Children as young as 12 have watched ‘‘hardcore porn'' on a cellphone on their way to school in Blenheim, according to a Marlborough woman. Sheila Goldthorpe, of Okaramio, said a young boy saw a friend on the bus had a cell phone that could log into...

7/30/2010: FRONT PAGE: Police pepper-sprayed teen in Mob house

At least two police officers used pepper spray in a callout to a Blenheim house where a patched Mongrel Mob member lived with his partner and six children, the officers said in the Blenheim District Court yesterday. A defended hearing began yesterday...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Carter shunned by Labour

Chris Carter will be a lonely MP until the next election. Although he says he will consider himself still a Labour member, that isn't the way the party or Parliament will treat him. He has been thrown out of caucus on a unanimous vote and on August 7...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Latest MPs' costs more restrained

Taxpayers have forked out almost $2 million on MPs' flights, travel and accommodation in the past three months and $2855 to wine and dine rugby officials. The details of spending on ministerial credit cards were released yesterday. Years of receipts...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Child support debt to hit $7 billion

Inland Revenue (IRD) estimates that child support debt and unpaid penalties will reach $7 billion by 2018 and most of it will never be collected, auditor-general Lyn Provost says in a report to Parliament yesterday. She said the department was doing a...

7/30/2010: NEWS: ‘Friend of China' dies

Victor Percival, a man officially listed as one of China's 500 special friends of the 20th century, has died in Auckland, aged 81. In April 1997, the Chinese Government published the Friends of China Directory. It contained the names of 500 people the...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Best cafe in Marlborough

Raupo Riverside Cafe in Blenheim has been judged Marlborough's best cafe. The Symon's St business took out the regional category in the 2010 New Zealand Best Cafe Awards. Cafe Home on Main St was runner-up. The River Kitchen in Hamilton was crowned New...

7/30/2010: NEWS: No DHB candidates

No-one has put their name forward for the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board yet, three weeks before nominations close on August 20. Sole Marlborough board member Lynette Jones is standing down. Candidates are voted for across Nelson and...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Flu cases climb

Cases of flu are climbing as winter progresses, particularly in the upper North Island, the Ministry of Health says. Fifty-nine people were admitted to hospital in the last week with influenza-type illness, bringing to 158 the total admitted to...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Body found in flat

A woman whose body was found in a Wellington flat may have been dead for days, police say. The body was found at the councilowned Newtown Park Flats on Mansfield St, in Newtown, shortly after 3pm Wednesday. Police are treating the death as suspicious....

7/30/2010: NEWS: Grumpy drunks

A Tauranga bar has been named worst in the country for drunken customers having their last drink there before getting into trouble with police. Western Bay of Plenty area commander, Inspector Mike Clement, said this week the Grumpy Mole on The Strand...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Centre open day

The Vet Centre will hold an open day on Sunday. The Redwood St business, in Blenheim, will open from 11am to 2pm. As well as animals, displays, competitions and a free barbecue, diagnostic and treatment options for companion animals will be on show.

7/30/2010: NEWS: Centre gets the nod; now for the funding

Plans for a $750,000 early childhood centre in central Blenheim have been approved by the Marlborough District Council but the project is waiting for funding. The Nativity Church, which operates under the Diocese of Nelson, applied for resource...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Yealands valued at $75m

Record harvests and an oversupply of grapes may have hurt New Zealand's wine sector, but big names on the National Busi ness Review Rich List this year show that some in the industry are still doing well. The Giesen family, Jim and Rosemari Delegat,...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Deputy Mayor up for fifth term

Deputy Mayor Jenny Andrews has put her name forward for a fifth term as a Marlborough district councillor. Mrs Andrews filed her official nomination forms yesterday for the October local body elections and will stand for the Blenheim ward. She has...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Severe winds, rain headed this way

Exposed parts of Marlborough could be battered by severe gales this weekend, Weather Watch warns. Severe gales and torrential rain were on the way for a number of regions this weekend and into early next week as a low pressure system quickly explodes...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Takeover at Tohu Wines

Wakatu Incorporation has taken complete control of Marlborough wine company Tohu Wines. Wakatu is a private company owned by Maori from the top of the South Island and based in Nelson. Wakatu Incorporation chief executive Keith Palmer said it had...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Tagging spree arrest

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested after central Blenheim buildings and two cars were tagged on Wednesday night. Police said information from members of the public helped lead police to the youth. Black spray paint was used to deface the Blenheim...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Police bust dope smokers

Police stumbled on a cannabis smoking session when they visited a Blenheim house to find a person wanted on a warrant. Constable Michelle Stagg, of Blenheim, said a 31-year-old male sickness beneficiary was charged with possessing cannabis and...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Marketing group is growing

A nationwide motel marketing group managed in Blenheim has grown to almost 30 members in three years. Blenheim moteliers Doug Robinson and Dorothy Nolan have run a nationwide motel marketing group from the Sundowner Motel for three years. Mr Robinson...

7/30/2010: INSIGHT: Save the station

New Zealand's love affair with old trains doesn't appear to stretch to old railway stations. Blenheim residents Robert Crichton and Bill Cox are having a crack at getting someone to care about the Blenheim Railway Station, which as either a first or...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Designer rides wave of success

An industrial design graduate from Wellington has won a competition with a boot to help wakeboarders keep safe. Julian Schloemer, 23, was inspired by a knee injury suffered while wakeboarding, a sport that combines techniques from water skiing, snow...

7/30/2010: NEWS: Adventure tourism takes high toll

Sentenced to 400 hours' community service yesterday, Palmerston North bridge swing operator Alastair Ross McWhannell stretched the list of adventure tourism operators punished by the legal system for their part in fatal misadventures. McWhannell, held...

7/30/2010: HOME & GARDEN: TREND TIPS

Work by artisans from many Third-World countries makes a vibrant and eclectic mix of goodies at Picton's Trade Aid shop. From bedding, rugs and furnishings to ceramics, jewellery and functional household utensils, there is an amazing array of items to...