Articles by Utopia Support

Move Shorty

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I agree with the LDS president Danny Williams concerning the adult TV programme Shortland Street. I tried to contact the CITV three times to air my views about the programme too mature for our young children to watch with their parents. I definitely wouldnt want to watch that type of programme with my […]

Musings of an aware indigenous Pacific person

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Allow me, please. To Wanda did you know that Wanda in the movie called A fish called Wanda was intended by writer and comedian John Cleese to portray stupidity? Obviously you never got what I said in my comments. It is probably because you dont have the mind frame of an aware indigenous […]

Kata - September 17, 2011

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in Kata

Netball rewards logo designers

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in Netball

Netball Cook Islands will soon unveil its new logo to reflect the exciting changes in the sport. Earlier in the year Netball Cook Islands ran a logo competition where local artists and the public at large were encouraged to put their creative talents to good use to create a standout Netball Cook Islands logo. The […]

Short stories on my favourite things

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

My home The nice breeze lets you hear the noise of the trees surrounding the house. The soft painted wall in the hallway of the house is just so soft that you would want to rub your cheeks on. You can hear the sounds of the ocean crashing against the rocks. When the sun sets […]

Dialling in a cover shot

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Telecom Cook Islands is offering artists and photographers the chance to have their work reach every home, business place and hotel room in the country. The companys annual telephone and business directory cover competition is closing on Wednesday next week and organisers are seeking a photograph, painting, drawing or collage that reflects life in the […]

Caf culture lovers take over Jireh

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Cafe Jireh has inherited two important things from Warkworths wildly popular Ginger Cafe its custard squares and its managers. The cafe, situated across from the airport, has come under the management of Brian and Rachael Aitken, a Kiwi couple with a passion for high-quality food and a love for the island of Rarotonga. They recently […]

Pacific Snapshots well received

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Tereora College performers elicited a resounding applause from the crowd that filled Nikao Hall on Thursday night. They performed a number of skits adapted from scripts written by Pasifika writers and dance numbers in their home-grown production Pacific Snapshots. Performing arts teacher Claire Waldron has received a flood of positive feedback since Thursdays performance. Her […]

Rakahanga gets $1m for renewables

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Rakahanga will receive more than US$1 million to pay for the islands conversion to renewable energy. The Cook Islands government announced this week that the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat had approved its funding allocation to help the northern group island move away from its reliance on diesel generators to solar power as the source of […]

Hot air and climates changing

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Climate science is fascinating. Im taking it this semester on USP Moodle. No matter how much the opposition camp challenges the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the panel has convincing figures that show that in the last 50 years the upward swing in global heating is true and urgent and predicts that by the […]

Break the stigma around asking for help

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Another suicide prevention week has come and gone, but the community should continue to think about suicide, which is now as a pertinent and pressing an issue as ever. Te Kainga director Mereana Taikoko says the Cook Islands needs to change its perceptions of mental health in general in order to stem the rising tide […]

Harbour works using 0.2% of Rarotongas water

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Concrete mixed for use in the $25 million harbour upgrades at Avatiu wharf is accounting for less than one percent of Rarotongas daily water use, but people in the town area will be feeling the impact more than people who live in other areas. Rarotongas water storage levels are at about 50 percent of capacity […]

Georges travel in public eye

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

On the heel of his comment this week that government travel is obscenely excessive, lawyer and independent member of parliament Norman George has departed the country. He is in New Zealand as a spectator of the Rugby World Cup and is expected back in Rarotonga by the end of the month. This trip is at […]

Brown says travel pays dividends

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

The cost to government from its Civil List for international travel pales in comparison to the value of benefits for the country as a result, finance minister Mark Brown says. In the two and a half months of this financial year, the Civil List budget of $330,000 has been reduced by $200,512. Civil List money […]

Crackdown on truancy

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Rarotongas schools will team up with Cook Islands Police and government agencies to crack down on school absenteeism on the island. Members from all three groups committed to increasing their efforts in reducing truancy levels at Rarotonga during a meeting held on Thursday. Representatives from the ministries of internal affairs and education met with members […]

$200,513 on travel in 2 months

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

Government ministers and members of parliament have spent $200,513 from the Civil List on international travel in the last two and a half months. The $200,000 taken from governments Civil List covers only a portion of the cost for that international travel, for which donor organisations and governments have also forked out. Government has not […]

Zumba hits Edgewater

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in National

The zumba craze has been sweeping through the Cooks in the last 12 months and The Edgewater Resort & Spa has been caught up in it. Mexican Maria Teresa Stone, who is one the few Zumba Education Specialists in the world, is being hosted by The Edgewater. She ran a free aqua Zumba session in […]

30ks motu to motu

Saturday 17 September 2011 | Published in Smoke Signals

A smoke signaller writes to TXT188: So we have to drive 30km/h from the Avana bridge to Vaimaanga? Police officers sound desperate to fine people for their money. SS: You must have your streams confused as the reduced speed zone area extends from Avana bridge to Paringaru bridge at the southern end of Muri, just […]

Why is my boy wandering?

Friday 16 September 2011 | Published in Church Talk

PART 2: Many are in the wilderness because of following the poor example set by leaders in homes and communities. Traffic in this area is most congested and confusing. Pornography, fornication, adultery, and homosexuality are permitted and practiced in the world today to such an extent that we are truly following the ways of Sodom […]

Building on my strengths

Friday 16 September 2011 | Published in Church Talk

Most people struggle with three issues: The first is the issue of identity Who am I? The second is the issue of importance Do I matter? The third is the issue of impact What is my place in this life? The reason for this is because some people do not realise that God has uniquely […]