Stories by Laura Smith

Rotorua's council has taken a U-turn from a "blanket" approach to reducing speed limits and will instead work with schools to set them.

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell will travel to Japan and China in April for a sister-city visit, at a cost of $10,000.

Nine homeless people in Rotorua have rejected offers of help - and could face being trespassed from the city's reserves.

After two years of petitioning her council landlord to replace her deteriorating windows, pensioner Mary Smith's home is warm and draught-free.

A Rotorua councillor questioned the seriousness of bus-stop bashings in a council meeting but later says he conflated incidents.

Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell talks about the highs and lows of her job - and the little girl who makes her smile even on the hardest of days.

Officials are searching Rotorua's Lake Ōkataina amid fears of invasive freshwater gold clams.

Te Pāti Māori's first general seat candidate has come out on top in an unscientific audience poll at a business chamber election event in a district held by National since 2008.

A Rotorua woman who once took a weedeater to overgrown council grass is now tackling the city's "massive" litter problem,

Geoff Williams has led the council for 10 years.

The estimated number of Rotorua adults dying early from the impacts of poor air quality has halved in 13 years - contributing to a social cost saving of more than $100 million, district councillors…

Mary Smith just wants to be able to live out her last years in warmth but Rotorua Lakes Council has not been able to find contractors to do the work.

Rotorua councillors are questioning the safety and legality behind a government directive to fluoridate the city's water supply.

The mayor says the last thing she wants is for the building to become "a black hole of spending".

National's Todd McClay disputes the information, saying his party invested "significantly" during its terms.

A Rotorua retailer who's had violent robbers strike his business six times in 18 months says they have affected his mental health and taken a toll on his family.

Rotorua Lakes Council has come up with a potential way to pay the nearly $28 million needed to complete the troubled project, but uncertainties in the funding plan are making some elected officials…

Cemetery reserve land could be returned to iwi and developed to help address a housing shortage.

There have been flooded homes, threatened highways, and months of anxiety for Rotorua's lakeside communities. LDR's Laura Smith reports on the widespread impact of months of heavy rain.

A prominent businessman is calling for a ban on begging in the city after customers were "pestered" and staff had to be given panic buttons as beggar numbers rose.

Two rafting companies believe they and others have collectively lost at least $1 million as high flows keep them off the Kaituna River.

The development of a 13ha block of former forestry land has been announced for a city Regional Development Minister Kiri Allan says is "bursting at the seams".

New laws aimed at cracking down on gang activity were used for the first time yesterday following a funeral procession near Whakatāne for a slain Mongrel Mob boss, Justice Minister Kiri Allan says.

Abuse faced by city workers in Rotorua has more than tripled, with incidents including verbal and physical threats.

Rotorua's mayor has spoken about the "truly special" moment, and criticised the sector's staff shortages.