5+ mon, 5+ day ago (232+ words) Author, blogger and social media foodie Sasha Gill writes from a firmly-held conviction that we can all benefit from a little bit of vegan in our lifestyle. Sasha Gill was attracted to vegetarianism ... Fibre is your friend . . . Te reo Maori theatre to grace Gisborne stage "SEEING THE VIEW FROM THE BEACH" British High Commissioner speaks to The Gisborne Herald about the importance of seeing things from a different perspective Schools orchestrating the moves Empowering people by giving them 'a hand up, not a hand out' Move toward the darkness Proud to represent her culture Next Excellent Drawing Class South of the border Time back in Gisborne allows busy international fashion designer and salsa dancer/teacher, Sheryl May, opportunity for a recharge Hell SmashFest is getting heavy Maori land, with a new view Fibre is your friend . . . Te reo Maori theatre…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (526+ words) Media giant NZME has today revealed the six names vying to become new members of its board, in a battle that shapes as a pivotal moment for the future shape and direction of the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB owner. The company has also indicated it will advise at a later stage whether all of the nominees are, in the view of NZME's directors, eligible under NZX rules to be independent board members of the publicly listed firm. Auckland-based Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon " who has opened up about some of his plans for the NZ Herald if successful " leads a group of four potential new directors seeking to overthrow the current board at the company's annual shareholders meeting on April 29. Alongside him are his three fellow nominees: lawyer, NZ on Air board member and prominent blogger Philip Crump; the managing…...

8+ mon, 2+ week ago (665+ words) Billionaire Jim Grenon has won the backing of some other shareholders in his bid to shake-up the NZME board. A boardroom battle is under way for the future of one of New Zealand's biggest media companies. Auckland-based Canadian billionaire Jim Grenon has emerged as one of the biggest shareholders in NZME " the owner of the NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB, OneRoof and many music radio stations. He now owns 9.97% of the company and hopes shareholders will vote out the company's current board members and install himself and three others at an April 29 shareholder meeting. A majority of 50% of shareholders' votes is needed to roll the current board. Media Insider and NZME editor-at-large Shayne Currie told The Front Page that while Grenon may have seemed a mystery man initially, more details are emerging of his business background. "He is a Canadian billionaire…...

2+ mon, 3+ week ago (422+ words) The centre-left parties could form Government on a new poll released today which shows gains for all of the current parliamentary parties bar Act. The Taxpayers" Union-Curia poll, conducted between August 31 and September 2, has Labour holdings its position as the largest party, gaining 0.2 since last month"s poll and reaching 33.8%. That compares to National, which is up 1.3, but sits just behind Labour on 33.1%. National"s current coalition partners New Zealand First is up 0.3 to 8.1%, while Act has suffered a fall of 1.9 down to 6.7%. Labour"s friends have both seen slight increases. The Greens have gained 0.9 to get to 10.7%, while Te P'ti M'ori has increased 1.1 to 4.3%. When looking at how this translates into seats in the House, the centre-left parties have 61 seats, while the right have 60 seats. Labour would have 42 seats on this poll, with the Greens getting 13 and Te P'ti…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (656+ words) NZME owns the NZ Herald, BusinessDesk, Newstalk ZB, OneRoof and a suite of other radio stations and regional newspapers. A new NZX notice reveals latest numbers and support for billionaire, while the journalists" union says it"s "deeply concerned" about the risk to an important media network. A billionaire looking to clean out the board of NZME " owner of the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB " says he now has almost 50% support of the media company"s shareholders. Auckland-based Canadian Jim Grenon had indicated on Thursday he had support from about 37% of the company"s shareholders for his plans to bring on four new board directors. That has increased to about 47%, according to a new advisory on the NZX from publicly listed NZME on Friday afternoon. The 47% support includes his own almost 10% shareholding. NZME said it would send a further update…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (512+ words) It's set to be a warmer-than-usual autumn, despite some chilly mornings lately. So, don't put away your togs for the year just yet. Niwa meteorologist Chris Brandolino told The Front Page airflow can be credited for those noticeably colder draughts. "Where is the air coming from? Over the past couple of days, and probably for the next several days, we're going to see a propensity for air flows to come from the south. That is a cool wind direction. "So, that is driving not only the cool lean we have experienced the past few days but [what we are] going to experience in about the middle part of the month. "But, it's also going to drive the dry conditions this autumn as the days are getting shorter. "Naturally we're going to get cooler with time, but certainly early mid-March is…...

9+ mon, 2+ week ago (513+ words) Meridian Energy's Ruak'k' solar farm will include 250,000 solar panels across 200ha, but a 9ha area of wetlands will now be saved. Meridian Energy has been given a green light to build a 120MW solar farm in Northland's Ruak'k' after more protections for wetlands in the area were signed off by the Environment Court. The solar farm will include up to 250,000 solar panels across 200ha and will be capable of producing 150 to 200 gigawatt hours of electricity a year " enough to power more than half the homes in Northland. It will form stage two of Meridian's Ruak'k' Energy Park, which includes a 100MW battery energy storage system due to be running by April. Solar farm construction is planned to start in the middle of the year, subject to a final investment decision by the Meridian board, which is expected in March. Northland Regional Council granted resource consent…...

9+ mon, 1+ week ago (520+ words) Appliances Online New Zealand general manager Troy Tindill. One of Australia's most popular appliance delivery - and removal - retailers has moved into New Zealand, aiming to "disrupt" the $2.3 billion domestic appliance market. Appliances Online, which last year topped a major consumer survey in Australia, has started operating today, with delivery services in Auckland, Hamilton, Whang'rei, Tauranga, Taup, and Rotorua. It says it hopes to expand across the rest of the country "in the near future". The online company's model is based on free next-day delivery of an appliance to a customer's home, along with free removal and recycling of the existing appliance. In other words, if the fridge is broken down, the company says it will have it replaced by the next day. "In New Zealand, the experience of buying appliances has remained largely the same for decades," said Appliances Online…...

7+ mon, 3+ week ago (649+ words) Police are due to share more details about the unexplained death of a man whose body was found outside his home in Wellington. Mystery surrounds how Simon Bird, who was in his 60s, ended up dead in ... Police are due to share more details about the unexplained death of a man whose body was found outside his home in Wellington. Mystery surrounds how Simon Bird, who was in his 60s, ended up dead in the suburb of Northland on Tuesday. Police had scheduled a media stand-up outside the property yesterday but called it off at short notice. "Police are awaiting the completion of the post-mortem and will share more details when they are available to us, police said yesterday. Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard is giving an update at 1pm today. The press conference will be live streamed from the top of this article....

5+ mon, 1+ week ago (755+ words) A Hawke's Bay logging company in voluntary liquidation has had its machinery damaged in dramatic circumstances Hawke's Bay disability fitness programme finalist in NZ awards again. Video / Rafaella Melo The solo-duo winner was Heaps Moore, interpreted by Lily Moore and Thomas Heaps from Havelock North High School. Watch as the first motorists travel the new highway on opening day. Video / NZTA Hastings Deputy Mayor Tania Kerr and Takitimu M'ori ward councilor Ana Apatu talking about M'ori wards. Video / Hastings District Council Educators describe the decision as "unjustifiable," fearing negative impacts on students with complex literacy challenges. Video / Rafaella Melo The project will expand a 6.5km stretch to four lanes. Funding approval is pending, with a decision expected later this year. Video / NZTA Celebrating the Knights and Dames appointed in this year's King's Birthday Honours list. Video / NZ Herald StarJam's collapse in…...