Articles by Utopia Support

Less for more

Monday 31 May 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, The Cook Islands’ financial situation is fragile, with budget cuts necessary and a reduction in reserves coupled with a rise in debt that is degrading our economy. So far this year tourism has been on the decline with Tata Crocombe being in charge since August last year. The tourism board wants more money, […]

Great service

Monday 31 May 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, I was present at the sports awards held last Tuesday night at the Aroa Nui Hall in Aror-angi. I would like to acknowledge the great service the young Arorangi rugby boys showed on the night when it was time to eat. The food was great and the boys were willing to go the […]

What are they afraid of?

Monday 31 May 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, The headlines in your paper last Friday raise a few issues that concern the people and country as a whole and are worth commenting on. First the injunction by the Democratic Party executive to stop “the other faction” from meeting shows that they are the ones that don’t have the numbers in the […]

Kata - May 31, 2010

Monday 31 May 2010 | Published in Kata

Pacific netball teams lining up

Monday 31 May 2010 | Published in Netball

The Fiji national netball team arrived on Rarotonga yesterday for the Pacific Series netball tournament starting on Thursday. The 12-member team has had a rocky road to Rarotonga and has overcome funding woes to make this side a danger in the three-day netball tournament. The Fiji national netball captain said her members were eager to […]

Lagoon Day flows into Environment Week

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Environment

This week’s Lagoon Day event on Thursday and yesterday was a natural beginning point to this year’s Environment Week which starts on Monday. All activities and competitions throughout the week are based on the theme ‘E tango maori te ao ora natura our biodiversity our foundation’. The week’s events will include the judging of five […]

Ban pollutants

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Environment

Minister of health Apii Phio believes a good way to protect the lagoon is to ban washing powders containing phosphorous. Piho stood in on Thursday for Minister of the Environment Cassey Eggleton at Lagoon Day. Eggleton is still away in Uruguay at a conference with the Global Environment Fund. Phio took the opportunity to suggest […]

3rd lagoon day is a call to action

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Environment

The third annual Lagoon Day event at Muri this week kicked off with a call to action from deputy prime minister Robert Wigmore. In his opening address, Wigmore said three years was a long time to research how we tackle the problem. “Now the time has come to do something,” he said. CIMRIS representative Geoff […]

Vaka spectacle will be historic

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Local

Today’s landing by the five traditional voyaging vaka will be a spectacle that hasn’t been seen for 700 years. The fleet of canoes reached Rarotonga yesterday afternoon but the official welcome will be conducted today at Avana starting at 12 noon. The two-hour long programme is expected to be a moving event and the whole […]

It's still on!

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Local

The controversial Democratic Party conference is going ahead on Monday despite the court injunction. That’s the official word from the faction led by ‘assistant president’ Sean Willis. He says the conference will happen even in the face of an injunction served by the Sir Terepai Maoate-led executive arm to prevent it. Whether the injunction has […]

Searching for Ken Graham links

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

New Zealand woman Kaye Winter is researching aspects of the life of her father Ken Graham during his time living and working in the Cook Islands in the late 1920s and through the 1930s. Winter said although this was a long time ago, there could be descendants of people he knew during those times who […]

Cook Islander named The Apprentice

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Earlier this month, a Cook Islander was dubbed the winner of The Apprentice New Zealand, a reality television series in which contestants battled it out to win an employment contract with multimillionaire Terry Serepisos. Thomas Ben, 35, won the coveted one-year employment contract at property development company Century City, of which Serepisos is chief executive […]

Te Uki Ou records history on website

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Year 7 and 8 students from Apii Te Uki Ou launched their website about the history of the school last week. They interviewed members of the community about the origins of the school, which served as an introduction to the research process. The introduction to the research process coincides with the school’s current building project […]

Thanks from Rotaract

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Member development and more funding for local projects are currently key initiatives for the Rotaract Club of Rarotonga. The club has been fundraising this month with the goals of contributing more funding to local projects, helping develop members and for other club activities. With the help of Rotary, members of Rotaract have been selling sausage […]

Te Vaerua to open soon

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Te Vaerua Community Rehabilitation Service is on the verge of opening its Arorangi office inside a re-modelled residential building. The service is free and aims to rehabilitate those with health issues and disabilities. Te Vaerua was registered as a non-charitable organisation in 2007, and in the absence of a functional office building, has been sending […]

Fine wine and a mouth-watering menu

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Wine club members and eager guests had a chance to enjoy an exquisite evening of dinner, drinks and conversation last Friday at Sails Restaurant in Muri. Chef Tim Tierney of Deli Foods whipped up a mouth-watering five-course menu, and paired each dish with an apposite wine from the Deli Foods cellar, to make for a […]

Pride and joy on stage

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Features

Cultural inheritance is a birthright and the 29 dancers who took to the dancer of the year stage on Thursday night showed nothing but respect and pride for their Cook Islands culture. In opening the night’s show, minister Apii Piho commended all the competitors for taking on the challenge. He said that although there would […]

It's just game playing

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, Jim Marurai is again playing his usual game of blaming others for his own short comings. First, he blames the QR for advising him not to call a snap election. For goodness sake! You the Prime Minister are supposed to advise the QR of what you want him to do, not the other […]

Toa deal fuels exodus

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor, While champagne flows in the TOA camp, in-fighting amongst the political parties is relentless, our country is governed by a minority group and meanwhile the voice of the people is being ignored and we wonder why our middle working class continue to leave our shores. Again we hear Sir Terepai on radio apportioning […]

Kata - May 29, 2010

Saturday 29 May 2010 | Published in Kata