Eileen Goodwin

For a teenager, Tenzin Lhundup carries with remarkable aplomb the belief he is the reincarnation of a former Dunedin lama.

Being close to people during both the highs and the lows of their lives is the great privilege of a religious minister, retiring Northeast Valley vicar, the Rev David Crooke, said.

Dunedin Botanic Garden's just-opened Mediterranean garden has been attacked by vandals in the latest of a spate of attacks that have garden staff perplexed.

At the "sharp end" of medicine as an intensivist at Dunedin Hospital, Australian Dr Mat Bailey says New Zealand's intensive-care units are less likely to unnecessarily prolong suffering.

Families "budgeted to the hilt" and struggling after footing extra costs at Christmas have flooded a Dunedin foodbank, Anglican Family Care administration manager Lynne Campbell says.

The worlds of diplomacy and the military are full of ''shadows'', says a University of Otago researcher, who hopes to cast some light on a largely overlooked piece of history.

Dunedin's first baby of 2011, Amelia Joy, arrived early, at 1.22am on New Year's Day, delighting first-time parents Bonny and Timothy Adams.

Numbers were down on last year, but thousands still turned out for Saturday's New Year's Day race meeting at Waikouaiti.

Too shy to ask himself, Alfred Sullivan got his friend to introduce him to the young woman who would become his bride.

Strict health and safety rules keeping children away from horses at race days have prompted the development of a course which gets them right in on the action, Harness Racing New Zealand Otago Southland education officer Steph Green says.

The historic Richmond Shilling award to Dunedin Hospital patients is the biggest ever this year - with a little help from the fund's friends.