Over Queen’s Birthday weekend we received sad news that Jess, a well known and loved local border collie, died after eating rat poison.
There was shocking news in the heart of our community last month with a mother and her adult son being stabbed in Grey Lynn during an unprovoked, violent, attempted armed robbery of the Hylite Dairy on Great North Road. Perhaps we need to promote a fundraising campaign to look at protecting our dairies (and their owners) with, dare I say, bullet proof and shatter proof glass enclosures which could offer some protection.
Following its appearance on last month’s cover, John Elliott and I went and met James Calver, the co-founder of Ecoware. We were impressed with his business philosophy, “If you have a vision and work hard at it, you will succeed.”
We have had some comments on our usage of flow-wrap on our magazine. Many of our readers have thanked us for delivering a dry, pristine magazine, especially in the winter. I would like to remind readers that we are using eco-friendly degradable plastic on our hand-delivered copies. There is much controversy regarding different grades of plastic and their compostibility, so we will monitor this issue regularly because we, too, are environmentally conscious.
After two meetings with Sian Buley, the pest control coordinator at Auckland Zoo, one of which included representatives of predator-free groups around West Auckland, we are convinced that an urban sanctuary could become a reality. This would fit in very well with the New Zealand Predator Free 2050 campaign.
Perhaps our constant campaigning against the carcinogenic glyphosate may be close to success, as we understand and are pleased that the Waitemata Local Board is committed to completely eliminating glyphosate use. Our question is just this: When? Meanwhile readers can call council on 09 301 0101 to make their berms spray free.
In this issue we have covered the proposal by Auckland Council to mitigate stormwater and sewage disposal in the St Marys and Herne Bay areas. Like the residents, we are concerned that the proposal will still allow raw sewage to be pumped into the harbour. Better solutions can surely be found.
During the winter we need to take extra care of ourselves. In this issue we have some suggestions in our Good Living section.
Our cover stars this issue are Kate Rogan and Eva Nash, who run their own architectural firm Rogan Nash. These two locals bring a wealth of international experience to their practice. They’ve worked on office design in London as well as high-end houses here in Auckland.
We are always pleased to receive letters complimenting the work of Ponsonby News. This month we got praise for Heidi Padain’s column on birds which gave a local Westmere resident much pleasure. (MARTIN LEACH)