Briefly: Drunk and disorderly, Name shame

Drunk and disorderly

An Aucklander brushed with law after making a nuisance of himself in Whangarei.

Sergeant Graham Povey said the 32-year-old man was initially locked up for disorderly behaviour when he was stopped on Bank St about 10.50pm on Tuesday. He was breath tested and allegedly blew 850 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath - more than double the legal limit of 400mcg for drivers 20 and over.

He was charged with disorderly behaviour and driving with excess breath alcohol.

Name shame

A woman stopped by Whangarei police on Riverside Dv temporarily forgot who she was and allegedly gave someone else's name to police.

She was stopped about 1.42 on Tuesday and when officers told her she would have to go to the station she gave them her correct name. She was charged with giving false details.

Rate hike talks

A public meeting has been called at 7pm tonight in the Russell Town Hall to discuss the Far North District Council's proposals for a new rating system. The new system would see each area and sector pay the actual costs of the services it uses - which means small towns with costly sewerage systems, such as Hihi, Russell and Kaeo, will pay significantly more in rates, while towns such as Kaitaia and Kaikohe will pay less.

The next council-organised meeting to discuss the 10-Year Plan will be in the Paihia Memorial Hall from 7pm on April 16. Council staff will also be available at the farmers market in Kerikeri on Sunday.

Unlock all articles by subscribing to this international offer

All-Access + BusinessDesk Weekly

Herald Premium, Viva Premium, The Listener & BusinessDesk

Pay just

$10

$2

per week

See all offers

Already a subscriber? Sign in here

Or

Everest a step too far

Tutukaka publicist turned mountain climber Pearl Going has had to postpone her attempt on Everest in her bid to be the first New Zealand woman to complete the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on each continent.

Ms Going was to have attempted Everest this northern summer but suffered a leg injury in a rockfall in Argentina in February. Instead she will attempt the 4884m Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, the highest peak in Oceania. She aims to reach the top around May 10-12, and may try Everest in October.

Editor steps down

The Kaikohe-based Northern News farewelled its last editor yesterday with the retirement of Malcolm McMillan. The weekly paper's first issue was on July 26, 1919, and since then it has been edited by journalists including Jim Eagles (now editor of the NZ Herald's Travel section), Mike Barrington (now a senior reporter at the Northern Advocate) and Geoff Vause (who served briefly as press secretary to former Northland MP John Carter).

From yesterday the Fairfax Media-owned newspaper will be overseen by the editor of the Kerikeri-based Bay Chronicle. Mr McMillan joined the paper in 1995 and had been editor since 2002.