Stories by Diane McCarthy

"We don't have, as a council, the financial capability and capacity," a Whakatāne District Council meeting has heard.

A new agreement between a disability advocacy group and Whakatāne's council aims to make the district safer and more accessible.

"Best beach three years in a row - that's got to mean something," the deputy mayor says.

A Kawerau resident has described the smell wafting over the town from a nearby worm farm as like "pungent, raw sewage".

Graffiti artists appear to be the only Te Teko residents happy with the boat being put in the centre of town.

Whakatāne District Council has improved relationships with Māori but more work needs to be done just to keep up with legislative requirements and population growth.

Three cherished family pets have died over the holiday period after being reportedly killed by roaming dogs in Whakatāne.

A second river crossing for Whakatāne has made it onto a list of potential future growth projects for the region.

Edgecumbe farmers say large-scale solar farms on some of the Rangitaiki Plains' most elite soil is short-sighted.

Don Meads is heartbroken a kōwhai tree he scattered his wife's ashes under is to be torn out as part of flood protection works in Whakatāne.

As complaints rev up about youths on dirt bikes ripping up parks and terrifying pedestrians in Awatapu, a strategy is being hatched to turn the problem into a solution.

A new cemetery for the Whakatāne district is not as urgent as first thought, thanks to the increasing number of people choosing to be cremated.

Whakatāne Kiwi Trust is extremely grateful for the enthusiastic, nationwide response it has had in its search for lost kiwi, Tuati.

The pin oak tree has been repeatedly attacked over the past week with diesel - and the local council says tree poisoning is becoming a concerning trend for the district.

Whakatāne Kiwi Trust needs the community's help to find one of its birds - or rather, the signal that is throwing off its monitoring efforts.

Whakatāne police are rostering on extra staff to cope with any disturbances caused by the Stop Co-Governance Tour, expected to visit Whakatāne on Tuesday night.

A dog attack at the Whakatāne Heads on Monday has left a Whakatāne widower without his best mate, Buddy.

More than three and a half years after the horror of the Whakaari-White Island eruption, signs identifying Whakatāne as the gateway to the volcano are still in place.

A plan to lower the speed limit in Whakatāne district towns to 30 kilometres per hour has been described as fanatical by Mayor Victor Luca.

Eastern Bay bar owners and clubs feel they should be trusted to use their discretion about suitable closing hours.

Hundreds gathered from around the country to hear the Crown apology to Ōpōtiki iwi Te Whakatōhea on Saturday.

When Pete Montgomery started building his tiny house on a friend's lifestyle block near Whakatāne, he had no idea he was doing anything illegal.

New Zealand has had decades of warnings about the effects of deforestation of hillsides, draining of wetlands and building behind stopbanks, a freshwater expert says.

Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki face flooding, while Kawerau is looking at increased fire risk, a new report says.

A shortage of doctors in Kawerau has been cited as one of the reasons for not adding 80 more homes to the district, at a council hearing.