Articles by Utopia Support

Bonefisherman's labour of love

Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in National

American fly fisherman Jon Hall has been active in promoting Aitutaki’s bonefishery via word-of-mouth. Hall has spent months in Aitutaki with bonefish guide Itu Davey and his brothers, who have also become guides under the new Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) training programme, teaching them the ins and outs of running a business. Hall this […]

They are just like us

Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in National

A dispatch dated February 17 by Numa Mackenzie and Alex Olah aboard Marumaru Atua, 180 miles off the coast of Mexico. Kia orana tatou! We slipped lines at 10.30am yesterday morning from IGY Marina. We were the first vaka to leave the marina because we wanted to go out early and run a man overboard […]

New health clinic for Palmerston

Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in National

Palmerston Island is finally set to join its sister islands and have a purpose-built medical clinic constructed within its shores. The people of Palmerston remain the only Cook Islanders not to have a purpose-built hospital or clinic on their home island. If government plans to construct a new clinic on the island are carried out […]

Family support group re-launched

Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in National

A family support group for all those who have been affected by someone’s drinking problems has been re-started in Rarotonga. The Al Anon support group, which re-launched last month, provides people with a confidential forum to talk about how their lives have been affected by someone else’s issues with alcohol. But organisers say the group […]

Leadership posturing is just opportunism

Monday 20 February 2012 | Published in Smoke Signals

Norman George’s posturing for leadership of the Democratic Party is pretty low. For many his announcement on Saturday will be socially and culturally offensive. It’s just opportunism of him to be making political capital out of Robert Wigmore’s illness. It says more about Norman’s character than anything else, and hopefully Wilkie and the others will […]

Norman George for Opposition leader?

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Local

Ex-CIP Member of Parliament Norman George is making a leadership bid within the Opposition Democratic Party. He wants to feature in leadership structure discussions within the Democratic Party given opposition leader Robert Wigmore’s extended term of medical leave. George announced yesterday that he has re-joined the Democratic Party and renounced all affiliations with the Cook […]

Airline subsidy rises to $12.5m

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Local

A $4.5 million increase in the costs needed to guarantee flights to Sydney and Los Angeles is expected to wipe out a projected $2.5 million surplus in the Cook Islands budget for 2011-12 and push it into a $2.5 million deficit instead. Minister for Finance and Economic Management Mark Brown yesterday revealed the $8 million […]

H Factor pays tribute to CI legend

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

Two more contestants will be leaving the H Factor tonight during the competition’s second elimination night. Before that happens the eight that remain in the competition will perform a tribute to the late Apiti Nicholas – a legend of Cook Islands music. The H Factor would like to pay tribute to her enormous contribution to […]

Taku puka tata'anga no te au ra

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

Takitumu Primary School students have been learning to keep a daily diary that features some of the activities they get up to at school and at home. Playing, doing household chores and playing with friends are the main highlights children are documenting in the daily dairies. Today we share some of what grade three students […]

'Cookie in the Cooks' comes to town

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

The Beachcomber Contemporary Art (BCA) Gallery is displaying an exhibition at the Volta show in New York City from March 8 to 11, but before it goes to the Big Apple the gallery is giving its sponsors a sneak peek. This is the second year BCA was invited to Volta – an invitational solo project […]

New hands at Muri club

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

‘The Club’ is the party place to be on the country side of the island. That’s the Ngatangiia-Matavera sports clubroom bar right on the stunning Muri beach and lagoon. New bar managers Donal Campbell and Willie Kauvai are on board to grow the bar’s reputation as the place to be on the weekends for locals […]

Atiu relic fetches $176,000 at auction

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

An Atiu artefact sold for US$146,500 (NZ$176,000) at a San Francisco auction this month, fetching significantly more than any other Oceanic artefact on offer. The akatara, or ‘pole-club’, was projected to sell for between $75,000 and $100,000, but its final purchase price far exceeded auctioneers’ pre-sale expectations. The artefact was the lead object in a […]

New life for Vaka Te Au O Tonga

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Features

Sitting atop concrete blocks and partially covered in tarps at the Aitutaki harbour, Vaka Te Au O Tonga is surrounded by saws, hammers, nails, wood and wires. A generator buzzes off to the side, powering the equipment sitting around and underneath the 72-foot vessel. The tangle of tools, woodchip and noise are all signs of […]

Sand mining should be banned

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I write about the article regarding the Betela land that was sand mined with the permission of the owners or lessees (not told which party) with the gaping hole then being a target for illegal dumping of rubbish. From the story, it seems that the National Environment Service has instructed the contractors ‘to […]

Wrong motive

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Congratulations to Pa Ariki for the night market initiative at your palace grounds on Thursday evening. The response was positive from those vendors and the locals especially have shown appreciation by the vast turn out. You have made your ‘pu’ara o Takitumu’ proud and hoping, it will carry on. And oh, just a […]

Put NZ super back on the table

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, At the risk of becoming tediously repetitive, I must say that many deserving golden oldies will be dismayed by the front page news yesterday that the NZ super portability issue is off the table indefinitely. I personally know of several who are quite distressed, anticipating an unwanted change of lifestyle to mope around […]

Kata - February 18, 2012

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in Kata

Thriller league

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in League

The Swamp and Pantherland are the two spots to find this weekend’s rugby league action when the Panthers take on the Warriors at Victoria Park and the Eels host the Ngatangiia-Matavera Sea Eagles in Avatiu. The Sea Eagles and Eels match is sure to be a thriller with the Eels wanting to continue their early […]

Dead whale stuck on Aitutaki reef

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in National

Whale watchers were out on the Aitutaki lagoon catching sight of an unexpected visitor yesterday, although the visitor in question has been long dead before it even reached the island. Aitutaki’s Joe Katangi put the local Marine Resources unit and a visiting marine biologist into action yesterday morning when he spotted a whale carcass inside […]

Parents called to Tereora College meetings

Saturday 18 February 2012 | Published in National

Tereora College management strongly encourages parents to attend one of three vaka meetings next week to discuss the college’s vision for the next three years. The Parent Teacher Association and the college’s senior management team have organised three meetings – for Te Au O Tonga on Tuesday, for Takitumu on Wednesday and Puaikura on Thursday […]