Rosie Manins

Poachers beware - the spotlight is being focused on illegal hunting in and around Central Otago.

Power retail companies got the blame at a public meeting in Alexandra last night when about 360 angry residents demanded answers about the high and rising cost of electricity.

The fight for lower power prices has only just begun, says Central Otago Mayor Malcolm Macpherson, who will lobby the Government to take action on behalf of disgruntled residents.

Alexandra's promotion group has survived - just - and will operate with a skeleton crew of four committee members.

Celebrity sheep Shrek once again has the attention of international media - five years after he first made headlines throughout the world with the televised shearing of a 27kg fleece grown while roaming the Bendigo hills in Central Otago.

Bannockburn will be home to the first Immune Deficiencies Foundation of New Zealand (IDFNZ) respite care facility in the South Island.

New life is being breathed into historic buildings established at Alexandra and Fruitlands in the 1800s.

Gold deposits at Earnscleugh are just weeks away from being taken out of the ground by L and M Mining, which plans to extract more than 110,000 ounces of the precious metal.

A war of words has broken out in the wake of a rowdy public meeting in Alexandra more than a week ago protesting against rising power prices.

Despite living in one of New Zealand's most inland communities, a Bannockburn resident is raising about $50,000 to help save Hector's and Maui's dolphins.

TrustPower is challenging notions Central Otago residents are forced to pay more for electricity than others, citing statistics which indicate the average household power consumption in the district is less than in many other areas throughout New Zealand.

An Alexandra vineyard won two top trophies at the 2009 Romeo Bragato Wine Awards, announced in Napier on Saturday.