NewsBank (Otago Daily Times (New Zealand))

BLUFF Oyster and Food Festival organisers are pleased their liquor licence has been approved, but feel they have been punished without doing anything wrong.

THE council and iwi group leading the West Coast’s one plan project have been given a detailed breakdown of its costs — after lamenting a budget blowout last month.

NOT everyone can say they love going to work every morning — but Dunedin pet store owner Judi Johnson says she sure has.

FLY-TIPPERS have left rubbish strewn at one of two historic Beach Rd dumps cleaned up by the Waitaki District Council in a multimillion-dollar operation.

A TINY subterranean worm has made its home underneath the site for the new Dunedin hospital, prompting concerns the hospital could be further delayed, or worse.

A FIRE led to the evacuation of the University of Otago’s animal testing building yesterday.

GREYMOUTH’S lone pine tree in Dixon Park has partially collapsed, and the branch was being cut up yesterday morning.

MAINLAND Poultry has been granted Overseas Investment Office approval to buy 126ha of land near Ranfurly to establish another free-range egg farm.

THE last day of the season is shaping as a tough one for Otago.

NEIL Ives has not had a lot of sleep the past few days.

SEA lion pups are being brought to Otago Peninsula nurseries later this year than in the past and several mothers have eluded Department of Conservation staff trying to keep track of the species’ numbers in Dunedin.

A RUGBY player was in ‘‘excruciating pain’’ as he waited for an ambulance at a Dunedin sports ground for more than an hour as a busy Hato Hone St John prioritised other jobs.

JACK Mesley will be delighted if the Highlanders become Super Rugby champions again.

HANNAH Smith says she is often taking ‘‘strange things’’ on to aeroplanes.

THE man who died in a plane crash near Hāwea has been remembered as a pillar of the community who worked tirelessly for Gore.

A 19TH-CENTURY tea gown and a beanie belonging to the late Ralph Hotere are among historical garments being unveiled to the public as part of a rare tour at Tuhura Otago Museum.

THE quick-thinking actions of a Macandrew Bay gallery owner armed with a pair of fire extinguishers meant no artworks were destroyed when an early morning blaze erupted at his business.

AUTHORITIES have launched a crackdown on social media influencers promoting offshore online casinos, warning they face hefty fines if they fail to remove the illegal content.

THE University of Otago is standing firm on its affirmative action programmes, despite Act New Zealand launching a members’ Bill that proposes to ban them.

TWO men who tried to dodge police checkpoints in Dunedin at the weekend were tracked down by officers and both blew about four times the legal alcohol limit.

A GROWING GST debt burden could be creating a wave of ‘‘zombie companies’’, one tax expert says.

A BUOYANT property market has doubled the demand for land information reports and is placing Invercargill City Council staff under pressure.

FORBURY Park’s biggest neighbour say they have no definite idea about what should be done with the large, largely vacant land next door.

SILVER Fern Farms Ltd chief executive Dan Boulton says a second consecutive full-year loss of more than $20million is disappointing.

A NEW loan is offering to help people get into a retirement village without having to sell their own homes first — but there is a warning it comes at a price.

A DUNEDIN man was pleasantly surprised to find the morning sky lit up by a meteor while he was on his way to work yesterday.

NEW Zealand’s red meat exports hit $1.1billion in February — a 25% increase compared with the same month last year.

A MAN who was left in a critical condition after falling from a moving trailer is in ICU fighting for his life.

AN Invercargill Licensing Trust manager says the regulation of online gambling will not affect its business model, and will be a good thing for New Zealand.

THERE were tears of relief — mingled with frustration — among staff at the National Public Health Service yesterday at the news Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) had abandoned plans for further job cuts and restructuring.