Weekend
Diagnosing her daughter’s dyslexia
Saturday 7 May 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
When Jean Francis found out her daughter Jasmine was struggling to learn to read, she discovered just how challenging yet amazing the world could be for people dealing with dyslexia, writes Sian Solomon.
Eco-tourism growth in the Cook Islands
Saturday 30 April 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
Two years ago Rainbow Villas section was orange and bare, today it’s wild, beautiful and teeming with life.
Mathematics in everyday life
Saturday 30 April 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
Dr Roberta “Bobbie” Hunter has helped change the way young Pacifica people look at mathematics, sharing that it can be seen everywhere, and why it’s so important.
The Cook Islands Māori calendar
Tuesday 26 April 2022 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Weekend
Traditionally, Cook Islanders observed Matariki as the commencement of the annual calendar, a calendar that reflected cycles of life in the agricultural economy of the south and the fishing economy of the north.
Smiling in the face of adversity
Tuesday 19 April 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
Cook Islanders, like others in many South Pacific nations are known for their warm-hearted greetings. Cheek-to-cheek kisses and loving embraces are followed by the laying of sweet-smelling Tiare Maori Ei on head or neck.
New tug boat costs over $1m
Saturday 16 April 2022 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, Weekend
The new tug marks another milestone in the continued infrastructural development of the Port of Avatiu, which handles about 90 per cent of the food and materials imported into the Cook Islands and 100 per cent of the fuel, says Prime Minister Mark Brown.
Restoring pa’ua populations in Aitutaki
Saturday 16 April 2022 | Written by Supplied | Published in Features, Weekend
A significant number of pa’ua, or giant clams, bred through a Ministry of Marine Resources (MMR) programme have recently been outplanted in Aitutaki in an effort to revive local populations of these vital marine animals.
Murals transform Rarotonga into open-space gallery
Saturday 9 April 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
Once upon a time, authorities in Rarotonga harassed graffiti artists and muralists regarding them as vandals. But now, the popular tourist destination celebrates and even funds their art, which can be found everywhere and supersized.
The fight against NCDs
Saturday 9 April 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
The Cook Islands is facing another health crisis on top of the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly half of its adult population affected by some form of Non-Communicable Disease (NCD).
Taking forward steps in spite of struggles
Saturday 2 April 2022 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features, Weekend
Rarotonga tourism operators Kave and Jules Tamaariki have put the pandemic behind them and are taking forward steps.
White sandy beaches lure Kiwi academic out of retirement
Saturday 2 April 2022 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features, Weekend
Professor Heather Worth thought she had retired when she settled in Ophir – a small settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand – until an opportunity came her way to swap the icy cold temperatures for the tropical shores of Rarotonga.
Tāote – Cook Islands’ medical pioneers
Monday 28 March 2022 | Written by Rod Dixon | Published in Features, Weekend
With very few resources and little official encouragement, the Cook Islands first local doctors tackled epidemics and eliminated diseases, laying the foundations for the modern Cook Islands medical service.
Breaking down mental health barriers
Saturday 26 March 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
A renowned Cook Islands researcher and psychologist has returned home to better understand and study the impacts of mental health issues in the pacific and the country.
Following in the footsteps of her grandmother
Saturday 26 March 2022 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Features, Weekend
Following in the footsteps of her paternal grandmother, Eileen Story has launched her political career and will stand in the 2022 general elections as a candidate on the island of Mauke.
Rising cost of living in the Cook Islands
Saturday 26 March 2022 | Written by Al Williams | Published in Features, Weekend
The cost of living in the Cook Islands is climbing as the world feels the credit crunch while accommodation and travel expenses here return to pre Covid-19 levels.
Managing Covid-19 outbreak
Saturday 19 March 2022 | Written by Matthew Littlewood | Published in Features, Weekend
Covid-19 is predicted to affect about half the population of Rarotonga over the next few weeks.
Redefining showbiz
Saturday 19 March 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
For the overseas television series The Panthers, creators TVNZ wanted a head of department with Polynesian descent who could help them craft certain styles and looks, and New Zealand-based make-up artist Kelly Mitchell certainly embodies this in more ways than one.
Rarotonga’s draconian old laws
Saturday 19 March 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
Hefty fines for making bush beer, forbidden tattoos and hard labour for people going about at night without a ‘proper cause’ were some of the old laws of Rarotonga’s past.
Cooks ‘greatest shamrock’
Saturday 19 March 2022 | Written by Sian Solomon | Published in Features, Weekend
Eighty-eight-year-old Irishman Paddy Lynch has lived a full and happy life.
Cooks in tourism battle
Saturday 12 March 2022 | Written by Caleb Fotheringham | Published in Features, Weekend
Cook Islands’ exclusive access to New Zealand’s tourism market is over and the country has to once again compete with the biggest rival in the Pacific.
