Elspeth McLean

Some people's attachment to their cellphones is such they feel they cannot do without them, even in the operating theatre.

In the 30 years Shirley Woodrow has been giving budgeting advice, the typical debt of people seeking help has risen from $2000 to $3000 to about $50,000.

There is an emerging consensus cats need to be managed, starting with microchipping, economist and author with the Morgan Foundation Geoff Simmons says.

If dog adoption numbers continue to drop in the city, Dog Rescue Dunedin says it might need to switch its focus.

Nine of the almost 17,000 dogs registered by the Dunedin City Council are classified as dangerous, none of them pit bull terriers.

Who wants to chair a Dunedin primary school board of trustees? Not many people, it seems.

As the refurbishment of historic Otago Harbour ferry Elsie Evans nears completion, options for her future operation are being considered.

Dear Mrs Porter,

Solar panels positioned on a hillside in Blanket Bay have overcome the need for a noisy generator to power up tools being used for a house build.

Rats and mice are abundant in the South this autumn after two summers where they have had access to ‘‘enormous'' amounts of food, Pest Management Association of New Zealand executive Bill Paynter says.

The Southern District Health Board called it quits on its long-running multimillion-dollar dispute with South Link Health this month, but many details about the stoush have been kept under wraps. Former Otago Daily Times health reporter Elspeth McLean reports on the outcome of her attempts to get official information on the dispute.

Documents released under the Official Information Act illustrate the breadth of opinion about the controversial use of predictive risk modelling to identify those at risk of child abuse. They show Social Development Minister Anne Tolley was not alone in opposing an observational study of 60,000 babies. Elspeth McLean reports.

When the Serious Fraud Office decided in winter not to pursue a complaint about the spending of millions of dollars by South Health Link, some thought that was the end of the matter. But, as Elspeth McLean reports, the Southern District Health Board says it is still not resolved.

Dear Michael, The recent furore over the dangers of worm farming has been disconcerting for me.