A suspected serial arsonist struck four times within half an hour in Wanaka on Monday and investigators are warning many people's lives could have been put in danger if the fires had spread in the tinder dry conditions.
Wanaka police have had no luck identifying the culprits behind 10 fires lit deliberately in the town since January 9.
Wanaka freeskier Jossi Wells (19) has won a silver medal in the men's super-pipe at the 14th Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission's report on Haast pilot Morgan Saxton's fatal helicopter accident on Lake Wanaka in 2008 is unlikely to be completed before May.
Cardrona Alpine Resort has begun the trail works necessary to introduce a fourth chairlift run, open up new terrain on lower Mt Cardrona and increase the number of intermediate and advanced runs.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council's investigation into Wanaka's unpleasant odour continues next week with a re-examination of the decommissioned oxidation ponds on Ballantyne Rd.
Three of Wanaka's Christian faith communities are responding to the pressures of town growth with building projects of their own. Marjorie Cook reports.
The Otago Regional Council has approved the New Zealand Transport Agency's resource consent application for ongoing flood maintenance and highway protection works at Pipson Creek, near Makarora.
Dunedin cross-country skier Andy Pohl (21) improved his FIS-ranking and beat his Australian rivals at the world under-23 cross-country championships in Germany yesterday on his way to finishing in 50th place in a field of 64 athletes competing in the 15km classic race.
Water in the Hawea river probably contained more E-coli contamination than the town's water supply, even though routine testing of the water supply revealed a single count of the bacteria, the Wanaka Community Board was told on Tuesday.
The police investigation into a series of arsons in Wanaka this month has stalled.
Senior Sergeant Allan Grindell said there was still no firm suspect.
Six fires were lit on the corner of Chalmers St and Stratford Tce between January 9 and 19.
Five were vegetation fires and one was set next to a parked Ford Falcon station wagon, which was destroyed.
Wanaka developer Bob Robertson, of Infinity Investment Group, says the recession appears to be over, after 30 sections sold on Saturday for a combined total of $7.5 million.
Forest and Bird Society advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell has poured cold water on Christchurch businessman Earl Hagaman's proposal suggesting the Government should build a road between Haast and Hollyford.
Queenstown skiers Michelle Greig (21) and Tim Cafe (22) and Dunedin skeleton racer Toinette Stoddard (30) have been confirmed as members of the New Zealand Winter Olympics team to travel to Vancouver next month.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee yesterday confirmed 10 athletes in the team, with further announcements regarding snowboarders to be made early next week.
Wanaka police are relieved no fires were lit on the corner of Chalmers St and Stratford Tce yesterday but continue to chase every lead as they hunt the person responsible for six deliberately-lit fires at the site since January 9.
An arsonist has struck again in Wanaka and must be stopped for both the community and the offender's sake, police and fire safety officers say.
Fresh complaints have been laid about bad smells coming from Wanaka's Project Pure wastewater treatment plant, prompting a new investigation by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
New Zealand hopes to send a team of between 15 and 18 athletes to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver next month but cannot announce who will definitely go until next week, after overseas sports bodies finalise national quotas.
Albert Town's first early childhood education centre, which will open next month with at least 40 enrolments, will boost the number of Upper Clutha pre-school child-care facilities to eight.
Wanaka's proposed $7 million integrated health-care centre is undergoing some minor design changes but it is hoped construction can begin soon, in time for completion in the first half of 2011.
