Rebecca Fox

A burn-off at the Otago Golf Club on Balmacewen Rd is being investigated by the Otago Regional Council after smoke was seen across the city yesterday.

Giving an impression of nudity without making her men's design X-rated was Dunedin woman Grace Oxwell's biggest challenge for her entry in Wellington's World of WearableArt.

After months of consultation and controversy, the final draft of proposed changes to protect Otago's significant wetlands is being publicly notified today.

Public criticism of dog fouling on the city's walkways has led the Dunedin City Council to encourage more dog owners to pick up their animal's faeces by sending out a bag holder to registered owners.

Community and fishing groups who oppose Port Otago's Next Generation Project will be meeting this week to decide whether to appeal the granting of consents for the project.

The Otago conservancy office in Dunedin will be affected by the Department of Conservation's plans to cut 100 jobs in the organisation, but it is not yet known to what extent.

Otago Regional Council ratepayers in Lindsay Creek will face significant decreases in their flood protection rates for the coming year but should not expect a refund on the rates they have already paid.

The Otago Regional Council has officially pulled out of the "failed" economic development body Otago Forward after two years of debate.

Temporary weirs will be placed in the lower Water of Leith in Dunedin to improve the look of the concrete flood channel, described as "appalling", "godforsaken" and "sterile", hopefully in time for the Rugby World Cup games in Dunedin.

Taieri farmers have been left considering their options - a judicial review or going to the ombudsman - after their fight to delay the adoption of a new rating review failed yesterday.

Cuttings of the rare orange rose Mary Summer transplanted from the Dunedin Botanic Garden to a Hastings garden last year are doing well.

Despite extensive opposition to Port Otago's Next Generation Project, the company has been granted resource consent to dredge Otago Harbour and dispose of the soil at sea.

From toe-tapping tangos to the more serious requiems, secondary school choirs from Otago and South Canterbury showed off a variety of musical styles at the Big Sing at the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday.

A painting by Charles Goldie, photographs, a blues blazer and glass plate negatives form just some of recent donations to the Hocken Library.

Proposed changes to Otago Natural History Trust's constitution to allow trust members to be appointed is undemocratic, its founder and former chairman Ralph Allen says.