TOP STORY: Boom times in Bay

The Western Bay economy is surging ahead - fuelled by a strong property market and high business confidence.
Surveys show the Bay is one of the six fastest growing economies in the country, and Tauranga city residential property prices soared 11 per cent in the last three months of last year alone.
The monthly median property price in Mount Maunganui/Papamoa jumped $21,000 to $391,000 last month.
The findings are great news for businesses, workers and property owners but will add to the woes of people struggling to save for their first home.
A National Bank regional trends survey showed that economic activity climbed 1.1 per cent in the three months to December, after easing 0.8 per cent in the previous quarter.
National Bank economist Steve Edwards said business confidence in the Bay was the second highest in the country and consumer confidence the third highest among the 14 regions surveyed.
The Bay also recorded the nation's second-biggest increase in the value of dwelling consents issued in the quarter.
The sixth placing for growth was a rebound from the September quarter's 13th ranking.
For the whole of last year, the Bay finished up in the top five for economic growth, with Taranaki heading the field.
Mr Edwards said rural New Zealand continued to lead growth, with commodity prices hitting record highs overseas and domestic unemployment falling to a 20-year low of 3.6 per cent nationally.
Craig Garner, Tauranga Chamber of Commer chief executive, said businesses were in a buoyant mood.
"The activity didn't really slow down at the end of the year. It was almost like Christmas was an inconvenience. People are focusing on exporting which is a good sign," he said.
Terry Wynyard, Tauranga City Council group manager environmental services, expected the number of building consents to drop off after a flurry last June to beat the increase in development fees. But that had been far from the case.
"You look around the city, there's quite a bit of construction going on and consents are holding their own," he said.
The total value of building consents issued for the December quarter totalled just over $90 million - up $4 million on the previous three months.
Last month was also busy, with 200 consents worth $32.5 million issued.
Consents for new houses made up 112 of that total.
Bay house prices are holding, though the number of sales fell last month.
The January median selling price at Mount Maunganui and Papamoa rose $21,000 to $391,000, with 89 sales.
That was the second highest monthly median, falling just short of the $405,000 recorded in August last year.
In Tauranga, the median slipped from a high of $320,000 in December to $296,500 in January. The number of sales slumped to 166, the lowest for a month for 2 1/2 years.
But based on the three-month average, Tauranga prices are at an all-time high. The average sale in that period was $303,000 compared with $271,600 in the middle of last year.