Articles by Utopia Support

Disadvantaged

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I am writing regarding articles in your paper of the last few weeks. To assist in getting my point across, I will mention a story about a bank’s ATM money machine which dispensed cash in error, issuing $100 notes and debiting someone else’s account by mistake, one customer realised this and went each […]

Singing undermines position of PM

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would like to congratulate the government for taking the initiative to host the Forum this year. The exposure that this event has generated especially with the visit by Hillary Clinton will have tremendous spin-off effects for the Cook Islands. The only setback I saw was when our prime minister sang at the […]

'Man in glass house throws stone'

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, It is perhaps unsurprising and to be expected that a payer of import levies might protest on finding a competitor had paid less on imported soft drinks than he had, even though the lower payments were within the law. However, I don’t think any of us expected that anyone, speaking for someone who […]

Kata - September 17, 2012

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in Kata

New O3b network connects the Amazon

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

The undersea cable debate is superfluous, believes Telecom’s chief executive, as the country already has a plan for fast internet through Ob3, which has recently expanded its services into South America. During the Pacific Leaders Forum week, a New Zealand-based company announced its plan to build an undersea cable stretching from Hawai’i (through California) to […]

Warping bollard adds to ship safety

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

The Avatiu port is adding more safety for ships coming to dock with the installation of a warping bollard – a finishing touch to the port redevelopment. It is another improvement to the port after it recently completed the $27 million redevelopment project that included the dredging of 73,000 cubic metres of material from the […]

Veranda checks crucial for safety

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

MOIP building controller Louis Teiti has called on double-storied home owners to get their exposed verandas assessed ahead of what he predicts will be an “intense” cyclone season. It comes as warnings are being made over veranda safety in America after a student at UNC-Charlotte broke her ankle after a University City apartment balcony she […]

Books come alive at Te Uki Ou

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

Story and comic book characters came to life at Apii Te Uki Ou on Friday as students dressed up to celebrate world literacy week. Students were also given the option of dressing up as their favourite super hero or movie character making for a colourful day at the school. The school playground was a scene […]

Market stage development underway

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

The BTIB’s continuing involvement with the Punanga Nui market has a very visual reminder as construction of the new stage area continues to make progress. With John Short Construction successfully winning the tender after consulting the finance ministry’s tender committee, builders were last week working on the two main beams at the front of the […]

Young boy admits to 23 burglaries

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

A 12-year-old has admitted to committing 23 burglaries on homes and tourist accommodation around Rarotonga. The boy was caught by police as part of a special operation which kicked off last Monday, targeting people allegedly involved in criminal activities on the island. The boy, who cannot be named due to his young age, was already […]

Unanswered questions anger pair

Monday 17 September 2012 | Published in National

Two of the biggest critics of the Punanga Nui Market committee have refused to back down after the public meeting held last Tuesday night. A crowd of over 100 people attended the meeting called by the committee that was intended for stallholders, vendors and hut owners to ask questions to the group. Designed to calm […]

Unusual whale sightings

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in Features

This marks the first season in 15 years that the Cook Islands’ resident whale expert Nan Hauser has recorded blue whale sightings off Rarotonga. She has logged four blue whale sightings, supported by photographic evidence, and has also documented a Sei whale swimming near motu Taakoka. It’s halfway into whale season, and Hauser says thus […]

Rethink marine park's location

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I’ve been watching a documentary on CITV and reading articles in CINews on the proposed Cook Islands Marine Park, and I wanted to share my thoughts regarding this. Although I strongly support the idea of establishing this park in the Cook Islands, for some reason, the way we are going about it just […]

Sounds dodgy

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, To ‘Real Non Nikao SFC Supporter’, are you really going to taint Stephen Willis’ name in the national paper over a bloody soccer match! Firstly, any dignified person giving an example of the indiscretion would have merely stated ‘Tupapa Player’ and ‘Nikao Player’ in their description of events. Sounds a little dodgy to […]

Back roads awful

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, As a person who lives inland on Rarotonga, I have never seen the conditions of the back roads in such an awful state. Huge crater-like potholes that are not only very damaging to motor vehicles but, more importantly, dangerous to motorists. I know of at least five persons who have come off the […]

Cola Gate – 'another rip off'

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I would like to add my support to the concerns raised by Mr James Beer recently in the Cook Islands News regarding CITC’s special arrangement with its imports since 1980s. I would even go as far as saying that there appears to be a “rip off” of sorts that was occurring from the […]

Rito – health and beauty from the tree of life

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in National

Producing coconut oil at its finest, is all part of a day’s work at Rito Cook Islands. Rito is a relatively new business, owned and operated by Robert and Susan Wyllie, and the only business on the island to produce cold pressed coconut oil. They are hard at work producing the oil three to five […]

Auckland University MOU comes alive

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in National

The memorandum of understanding signed earlier this year between Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and the Cook Islands government, providing opportunities for Cook Islands students to study part-time and full-time in the Cook Islands through AUT, came to life last week with the arrival of a group of Cook Islands postgraduate students for their initial […]

Suicide psychobabble?

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in National

Self-esteem. The term evokes stuffy, politically correct and packaged approaches to childhood education. It reeks of psychobabble and clinical textbooks and international declarations, but we need to perceive it through a new lens. If we want to keep a rising tide of suicide at bay, we have to focus on building the self-esteem of every […]

DPM takes minerals story to Brussels

Saturday 15 September 2012 | Published in National

Deputy Prime Minister Tom Marsters is representing the Cook Islands at the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States in Brussels. The JPA meets twice a year in plenary, once in Brussels and once in an ACP state. European Union (EU) funds are provided to enable parliamentarians to attend […]