Latest from Hawke's Bay

Man pleads guilty to axe attack on stranger
Passersby leapt fence and attacked strangers welcoming a new flatmate.

Firefighters battle Hawke's Bay Opera House fire
Emergency services are at the scene of a blaze at the opera house in Hastings.

Large scrub fire in Hawke's Bay wine country near Hastings
Ten fire engines and a command unit are fighting the blaze and a helicopter is on standby.

PM pens letter to 12-year-old Metallica fan after seeing petition
The Prime Minister has responded to Metallica fan William Bush's call - will the band?

Steve Braunias: The bodyguard at the end of the world
Braunias interviews a Kiwi who claims to be selling million-dollar bunkers and shelters.

Speedway: Ministocks and Minisprints at Whanganui tomorrow night
First titles of the season on the line at Oceanview.

Seabed smothered in forestry sediment
7.5m tonnes of sediment is flowing into Hawke's Bay. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Local Focus: Hawke's Bay seabed smothered in forestry sediment
7.5 million tonnes of sediment, much of it with forestry slash, flowing into Hawke Bay. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

For love and roses
Hastings garden growing love and roses. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Tax evasion: Husband and wife restaurateurs sentenced
Business owner who evaded tax payments sent to jail.

Diver dies on the Māhia Peninsula near Gisborne
Emergency services are attending an incident at Mahia Boating Club.

'It was beautiful': Touching scenes as sick dad reunited with daughter
Critically ill Napier man Jarred Thompson has been reunited with his daughter in Auckland.

Blade shearing still cutting a swathe 150 years on
A shearing milestone has been marked in Waipukurau. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Local Focus: Blade shearing anniversary
Shearing milestone marked in Waipukurau. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Farmers warned of tinder-dry summer
Hawke's Bay farmers asked to look out for each other, with a dry summer in store

Napier mother: 'I just need Maddison to be able to say goodbye to her father'
The family of a man fighting for his life in Fiji want his daughter to say goodbye.

Through the glass ceiling: Sue Schwalger's journey to top of the cops
Now she's through the glass ceiling, she plans to help get others through, too.

Jellyfish swarm Westshore beach
A warning to Hawke's Bay beachgoers who want to touch these predators - don't.

'Predator' jailed for grooming 13-year-old
Napier man asked how old boy was and was told '14', then arranged to meet him.

Increase to seasonal apple-pickers quota welcomed
Growers hope quota increase will help them head off a repeat of apple picking crisis.

Why Kiwi centenarian credits wife for his long life
Hastings man Richard Rowe is 100, and blunter than a broken corkscrew.

Number of jobless in Hawke's Bay halves in a year
An extra 4400 people are in work in Hawke's Bay compared with the same time last year.

Jefferson Starship rocker still flying high at 80
David Freiberg relives his lengthy career aboard the Jefferson Airplane and Starship.

Security guards block Craggy Range track
Use of security guards on now infamous Craggy Range track labelled "atrocious".

Horse that changed kids' lives dies of 'stress' after fireworks
Peaches died after developing stress-related condition over the past few days.

Hawke's Bay baby battling rare skin disease
Only about 100 cases of the disease have been reported worldwide.

Cat's leg amputated after shooting
One Napier resident has a $1200 bill after his cat was shot through the leg.

11 VC winners from New Zealand
Eleven men in NZ armed forces were awarded in the Victoria Cross in WW I

'Absolute scorcher': 30C days here as Hawke's Bay's hot summer starts early
It's already drier than normal, and farmers are being urged to look out for each other.