The curse of a slow news day
And some good news if we face a *checks notes* nuclear winter
Some colleagues are on the trail of half a billion dollars of cocaine, others are in court, or waiting for politicians.
I’m. Doing. Nothing. Of. The. Sort. Welcome to my ‘slow news day’ of hell.
It started so well. I had three decent ideas. I made the pitch at my morning meeting (video call). No one’s eyes glazed over. Success!!
Or was it? I sent a couple of emails, and made a few phone calls before I headed to police for a morning briefing.
Wednesday is always the worst day, because (I base this on nothing but anecdotal evidence), virtually no-one offends on a Tuesday.
Apart from this dude. And the other police briefing of note was about an ‘alleged’ incident over a stranger offering rides to youths in Mosgiel on Tuesday, just after school finished for the day.
Well, turns out it is far more innocent than that.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond confirmed it was a misunderstanding.
In actual fact it was a father ‘‘yelling out to his own son who was behind the group’’.
‘‘It was just interpreted the wrong way by the students, so not suspicious.’’
Police also had to try and get the original post taken down from Facebook, but by then it had already been shared hundreds of time via other pages.
Bond urged people to exercise restraint when posting online.
That should be the mantra for many.
Anyway, after other stories all but collapsed, a door-knock at an empty house and a person dodging phone calls, it was time for Plan D.
Is this the city’s worst series of potholes?
Please keep on reading . . .
The potholes in question are gouged not on council-owned land, but the Omaha Beach-styled craters are an issue for anyone using the southbound exit/entrance to the big box retailers off Cumberland St.
You can see where they were previously patched-up in this screenshot from Google.
But things have gotten worse. Much worse.
I noticed when I went to pick-up my son’s stationery, (leaving in a very stressed state, I’m looking at you 3B1), where I ended-up negotiating the exit like a 4WD in a mud pit.
Undeterred, I returned to the area on Chinese New Year, with the potholes getting even wider as if they were celebrating the Year of the Rabbit.
This time I noted a hub cap lying nearby. A tragedy. I suspect it wasn’t the only one.
I spoke to a few businesses in the area about it this week. They did not want to be named, but had raised the matter (multiple times) with their landlord.
It is not a good look for a business, having craters nearby. And I can imagine the grief the DCC would get if these potholes were on council roads near major retailers.
The site in question is jointly owned by Southern Capital Limited and OFTB Limited.
A call to the former - where I asked to speak to a director - proved less than beneficial.
Instead my name and number were taken, after I briefly explained the issue of the potholes.
I never received that call back, despite being mentally prepared for the usual ‘slow news day’ retort.
Typical.
Afterall this was important: my vehicle’s wheels could have gone out of alignment, I could have lost a hubcap, or worse, disappear inside a pothole forever.
Unlike the potholes, I plan to fill you in on any developments . . . .
I note that PM Chris Hipkins has ruled out the TVNZ/RNZ merger. That is interesting locally given the initial push was made by former Dunedin South MP, Clare Curran.
I gave her a call, and then a text to see if she had any thoughts on the matter.
As it was the curse of slow news day, I didn’t hear back.
As I finished the newsletter, council sent out a statement about voluntary water restrictions. You can read more here.
I was interested to read the following comments from Pete Hodgson in an editorial in The Otago Daily Times about the Dunedin Hospital project:
‘‘The loss of the pavilion means the loss of a beautiful design feature, a facade representation of the cloak or korowai of H.K. Taiaroa.”
Monique Fouwler, of Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand director delivery infrastructure and investment group, said that although the pavilion is no longer part of the design, Te Whatu Ora was looking forward to working closely with Ngai Tahu to investigate how the korowai, or alternative mana whenua design, could be incorporated into other aspects of the new npatient building and surrounding land.
That got me curious. What did the design look like?
Late last week, after a flurry of emails, I got this from Whatu Ora
I’m fascinated to see what the final design will look like, but working out when that will be is an unknown.
Instead this is the ‘timeframe’ from Whatu Ora: ‘‘Once detailed design of the Inpatient building is complete, an update will be provided’’.
I got a statement from Trade Aid Dunedin, which is organising a Beach Clean Up at Tomahawk Beach this Sunday 12 February at 2-3pm.
It was interesting to read that other events have resulted in the following:
2 x large council rubbish bags full of rubbish at each event
1 x bag of glass and plastic recycling at each event
Most common: cigarettes butts, beer can lids, sweet and chocolate wrappers
What ever happened to being Tidy Kiwis? That message was drummed into us as kids.
I mean, here is the proof:
I attended the Waitangi Day festivities at you can read about that here.
It was interesting to note that this year’s festival theme centred on double-hulled waka, and in particular the meaning of partnership.
Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich noted the burgeoning relationship with mana whenua, which included representatation on council.
“It is fair to say the council is still developing and maturing our understanding of Treaty partnership.’’
It came the same day as Cr Lee Vandervis posted this across multiple Facebook groups.
I think the mayor’s comments are dead right.
As an aside, check out this wonderful picture from Hardwicke Knight of Taiaroa Head.
If you want too get your heart racing, try this:
The annual Clocktower race at the University of Otago Registry Building at noon on Friday, where ‘‘you and your mates make a dash for some cash by beating the bells before the clock strikes twelve’’.
More details here.
I’ve got to hand it to the events’ team at Otago Museum. Those guys are always doing something different. Tickets include a drink on arrival, a selection of sweet treats, a trip through the universe ‘‘in our romantic Night Sky Live pre-show, and a ticket to The Notebook.
If you want to know more, check it out here.
Also great to read that the All Blacks will be playing an afternoon game against the Wallabies at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, August 5.
Perfect for families, and even better for those in the hospitality industry.
The stadium will host the last of its six FIFA World Cup games on August 1, four days before the All Blacks kick-off under the roof at 2.35pm.
More please.
And now it is time for Tweet of the Week.
I love this. Brett is the author of Can’t Get There from Here: New Zealand’s Shrinking Passenger Rail Network, 1920–2020, which includes maps by former Dunedin resident, Sam van der Weerden. The book is published by Otago University Press, 2021, and you can buy it here, and there are a couple of books available from the Dunedin Library.
And it wasn’t all bad news this week. I got this press release which included the heading: NZ one of few island nations with potential to produce enough food in a nuclear winter
Uplifting.
Lastly, here is a great video/track from local faves: Death and the Maiden.
Have a great week.
*Update: I got a document dump (an OIA), sent to me at 4.56pm. Sigh.
For a “slow news day” this is a pretty good round up 😊
Your best one yet!