Environment Bay of Plenty councillors and staff yesterday recognised the contribution the late Hawea Vercoe had made to the regional council at its final meeting of the year.

Environment Bay of Plenty has today agreed that the draft of a high-level document that outlines management of the Bay of Plenty's natural and physical resources during the next 10 years will be release for public consultation in February 2010.

Competition for a slice of the Government's $1.5 billion ultra-fast fibre broadband fund is heating up with the launch of a Waikato-based fibre consortium.

Fisheries Minister Phil Heatley today welcomed the graduation of nine new full-time Fishery Officers following completion of their studies at the National Police College in Porirua.

Wellington, Dec 11 NZPA - A Canterbury University pyschologist, researching the impact of nutrient supplements on mood and behaviour in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is among the latest beneficiaries of an Eastern Bay of Plenty philanthropist.

The nine finalists for the 2009 Roger Award for the Worst Transnational Corporation Operating in Aotearoa/New Zealand are (in alphabetical order): ANZ, BNZ, Infratil, Newmont, Rio Tinto Aluminium NZ, Rymans, Telecom, Transpacific and Westpac.

An agreement signed on 25 November between the Ministry of Fisheries and Chatham Islands imi/iwi opens the door to more collaborative fisheries management for the region.

Wellington, Dec 4 NZPA - All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, star first five-eighth Dan Carter and Taranaki hooker Andrew Hore were today named as nominees for the rugby player of the year award.

Wellington, Dec 4 NZPA - A Bay of Plenty truck driver has been jailed for three years and five months for repeatedly physically abusing his children and assaulting his wife.

Gisborne, Dec 2 NZPA - A crowd gathered today at a small Eastern Bay of Plenty marae to celebrate one of their own, Frances Eivers, becoming a judge.