Nine To Noon

Local councils are facing a long list of expenditures from water services, to roading, to storm repairs and on top of all of that a planned rates cap. So how do councils keep up public amenities such as walkways?

The fuel crisis and all the hardship it's causing has brought into focus how under prepared New Zealand is to deal with major threats to this country's wellbeing.

The Wellington Phoenix women's team are off to a grand final, while in men's football Auckland FC are one step away. The All Blacks bring back a legendary former coach to the selection team, while New Zealand Rugby League has a new chief executive.

Like so many kids, Guy Hessell's first job was mowing lawns. When he started redesigning his parents' garden - with dubious results - they passed it off as a phase. But it didn't pass - and Guy went on to get a degree in ecology and ran a successful landscaping business. He was head gardener at Summerset Retirement Village, and Garden Manager at Whangarei Quarry Gardens. He's now sharing his wealth of gardening knowledge in a new book called Let's Go Native: From Back Yard to Bush, Landscaping with Native Plants. It includes how to create native gardens of any size, the benefits of riparian planting and practical advice for the complete beginner.

Hamish also discusses Rocket Lab reaching record-breaking heights with new contracts, while Pacific Edge launches a $24 million capital raise to survive the loss of its primary US revenue stream.

Emma Hislop reviews The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch, published by Allen & Unwin.

Peter discusses the planned managed retreat of the township of Whirinaki, the social housing planned for a flood zone in Kawakawa, the mystery death of a dirt biker in Northland and victory for the people of Rawene who have battled for a decade to keep wastewater out of their harbour.

A Supreme Court ruling in 2024 ruled Mike Smith had the right to sue the New Zealand-based companies.

When Paul Auster died his wife Siri - herself an acclaimed novelist and essayist - was haunted by his loss and her latest work is a memoir called Ghost Stories, that weaves together the various pieces of their lives.

Simultaneously, a recent Supreme Court decision has sparked a redistricting surge in Republican-led states, potentially shifting the balance of power in the upcoming elections.