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NZ Herald
5 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
Rotorua Lakes Council pauses $10m reserve upgrade, citing budget issues
It aimed to improve safety for children by separating vehicle access from the playground area. Vehicles towing boats currently pass right by where children play, and shifting the boating area would reduce risk. Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong, who put forward the notice of motion to 'pause' the project, said projects not deemed essential would fall 'below the line'. She described plans to 'simply move a jetty' and relocate a car park as a 'nice to have at the moment'. Kai Fong said the project hadn't come to their attention during Long-Term Plan deliberations because it had been under the 'different heading of Parks and Reserves'. Councillor Don Paterson said he only recently learned of upgrade plans and found it 'quite confusing' it had 'never come before us'. Councillors Robert Lee and Don Paterson in a March 2025 workshop. Photo / Laura Smith Waikawau Reserve Management Committee chair Nireaha Pirika told the Rotorua Daily Post the pause 'was not well received around the committee table'. He could not understand how some councillors did not seem know anything about the $10m upgrade. Pirika said the plans for the reserve had been worked on for several years. The reserve committee was formed in 2019 with representatives from Ngāti Uenukukōpako, Ngāti Te Roro o te Rangi, and the Eastside Community Collective. The motion to pause had been late notice, Pirika said. Rotorua Lakes Council supported and adopted the management plan of the reserve in June that same year. A council spokesperson said the funding had been included in the approved 2023-24 Long-Term Plan. The reserve committee was informed on June 18 when the notice of motion was publicly notified. The spokesperson said more than $1m had already been spent on the reserve, which would continue to be maintained under the council's regular reserve maintenance programme. Councillor Robert Lee at a July meeting. Photo / Laura Smith Councillor Robert Lee is on the Waikawau/Hannahs Bay Reserve Committee and said in the meeting he raised questions about the project's funding nine months ago. He was surprised the funding hadn't come before councillors earlier. 'It's only right and proper that we do pause work at this time until it is properly consulted,' Lee said. Lee said the committee had gone through a lot of trouble to develop a master plan that had been progressed 'an awful long way down the path'. He said significant progress already made included the establishment of wetlands as part of an arrangement when Rotorua Airport was extended. The reserve committee's vice-chair, Ralph Mosen, called the decision to pause the project 'a waste of funds'. He claimed some of the work would need to be redone when the project eventually resumed. The council confirmed a significant amount of work in the reserve was already complete, but said concept designs for further development would not be wasted if the project was reconsidered in the future. Mosen said the board remained committed to the upgrade but expected the process would now be delayed for 'quite some' time. Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke's Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.
Eater
23-06-2025
- Business
- Eater
Culver City Is Losing a Hand-Pulled Noodle Destination
Bang Bang Noodles, a Chinese hand-pulled noodle shop, is closing its Culver location in the Citizen Public Market at the end of June. The restaurant, which specializes in Xi'an-style biang-biang mian, announced the closure in an Instagram post on June 22. Bang Bang's Downtown LA location will remain open. Bang Bang Noodles was founded as a pop-up in early 2020 by chef Robert Lee, who had previously worked at restaurants in San Sebastian, New York City, and Los Angeles. In 2023, Lee opened the first permanent location for Bang Bang Noodles at Citizen Public Market, bringing his signature tingly cumin lamb noodles tossed in chile oil to the neighborhood. In the years since opening, the menu has expanded beyond just the cumin lamb noodles to include Xi'an tomato noodles and Szechuan garlic noodles. After Bang Bang Noodles closes in Culver, those looking for a great bowl of hand-pulled noodles should try Noodle Art in the Original Farmers Market or LAN Noodle, which operates locations in West Hollywood and the San Gabriel Valley. Shiku, a homestyle Korean stand in Grand Central Market from the team behind Baroo, is donating its proceeds from June to August to non-profits that support immigrants in Los Angeles. 50 percent of profits from this summer will be donated to the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). Frogtown Mexican seafood destination Loreto is popping up at the Santa Monica Proper Hotel for the summer. The pop-up will take over the terrace at Calabra between June 20 and September 1. Expect crudos, ceviches, and seafood-topped tostadas, paired with mezcalitas, and more. Rihanna was spotted out and about in Los Angeles sporting a Saint Laurent dress and a Schiaparelli gym bag, paired with the iconic blue and yellow Fatburger soda cup. Rihanna, if you're reading this, please drop the Fatburger order. See More: Intel LA Restaurant Closings
RNZ News
14-06-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Claim councillor told another to 'f*** off' after 'true history' clash
Rotorua councillors Robert Lee and Fisher Wang clashed during a museum exhibition funding decision. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith A council discussion on adding funds to Rotorua Museum's exhibition project morphed into a debate over whether the city's "true history" would be displayed. One councillor claims another told him to "f*** off" after the meeting. The accused says he did not say those words but his message was correctly inferred. Rotorua Lakes Council decided in a meeting on Wednesday to fund a further $181,700 through debt to progress the exhibition project, to be matched by Rotorua Trust, to cover a funding shortfall. The project is preparing the exhibitions for the museum, which is set to start reopening in 2027 at the earliest, after more than a decade closed for earthquake strengthening renovations. The council had secured $1.062 million of $9.51m in funding needed for the exhibitions. Wednesday's unanimous decision means exhibition funding would not be 100 percent external as previously planned, but progressing the exhibition work secured other funding agreements, including $17.1m towards construction. Councillors debated a recommendation from the exhibition project steering group to accept a concept design and progress to a developed design. Councillor Robert Lee voted against this and began asking whether Rotorua's "true history" would be portrayed once the museum opened. He disputed that iwi gifted the land for the town. Rotorua Lakes Councillor Robert Lee at a June 2025 meeting. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith Fisher Wang interrupted with a point of order on irrelevance, and Deputy Mayor Sandra Kai Fong asked Lee to rephrase his question several times. Karen Barker repeated Wang's call. Kai Fong said they'd had previous discussions on the matter and called for other questions. "I think you have an opinion on that and I'm sure everyone has a different recollection and view on history and events," Kai Fong said. Lee later raised it again. "I've been told that assurance [of historical accuracy] is not going to be forthcoming." Wang called for a point of order for misrepresentation, which Kai Fong agreed to. Rotorua Lakes Councillor Fisher Wang at a June 2025 meeting. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith Lee said there were nine sections in the permanent exhibition wing of the museum dedicated to "tell Rotorua's story". He believed this was told in a 1948 commission of inquiry that heard "various grievances" from Ngāti Whakaue, and the iwi accepted a settlement offer. "It does say here this exhibition is to enable Te Arawa storytelling in a sympathetic way. "That's fine but if the history is not going to be told, it's not a museum exhibition I can endorse." Rawiri Waru "wholeheartedly" supported getting things moving to provide the community and those working on the project some assurance. He addressed Lee's comments on historical accuracy. "If you knew the people we are working with, their integrity is unquestionable. "They will tell it, warts and all." Rotorua Lakes Councillor Rawiri Waru at a June 2025 meeting. Photo: LDR / Laura Smith Regarding the 1948 commission, he said Ngāti Whakaue could not even choose their own representatives or have involvement in the report. His grandfather was present at the time, he said. "Maybe there's some history there that would be nice to hear." After the meeting, Wang posted to social media he and Lee later argued about the call of misrepresentation. He said Lee belittled him, called him "boy", and said "if you can't back up your claim of misrepresentation ... then you can f*** off". Wang said he could back it up, as Kai Fong ruled in his favour. "It's sad to say this isn't the first time this kind of behaviour has happened, and I know it won't be the last, but I can only bite my tongue for so long. Integrity matters." Lee told Local Democracy Reporting he hadn't actually said the words "f*** off", but had trailed off. He said Wang inferred his meaning correctly, however. Lee said it started as a courteous and quiet conversation but alleged Wang became "increasingly agitated" when pressed him on the validity of the misrepresentation dispute. Lee believed it was invalid, as he had not received the assurance he asked for. If he had received it, he said he would have changed his vote. Last year Lee and Wang clashed over a Rainbow Storytime event at the library, which Wang supported but Lee viewed as inappropriate for children. The council will consider options for when and how to reopen the museum late this year or early next year, once it had more information about the design and funding. Of the $72.35m construction cost, $56.85m is externally funded. If the museum was to reopen all at once rather than in stages, the exhibition fitout would likely be ready for a June 2028 opening. To offset the further exhibition borrowing, the council's community experience group will reduce its 2024/25 financial year operational expenditures by $181,700. The Rotorua Trust portion would be repaid if there was money left over when the project finished. LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NBC News
03-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Ukraine's massive drone attack deep inside Russia highlights how they have changed battlefield tactics
Dubbed operation 'Spiderweb,' Ukraine's audacious drone attack Sunday on four Russian air bases — one of them deep inside Siberia — has brought the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in modern warfare sharply into focus. While accounts differ on the extent of the damage caused by the drones, which were reportedly smuggled to the perimeter of the bases in the backs of trucks, Ukraine's security service, the SBU, put the estimated cost to the Kremlin at $7 billion. Russia has said little about the attacks, although the country's defense ministry acknowledged in a statement that some planes caught fire. The strikes have highlighted the increasing importance of drones for both Russia and Ukraine in the war, which entered its fourth year in February. And experts told NBC News that both sides are increasingly turning to cheap, commercially available first-person view or quadcopter drones that can often be purchased from online retailers and easily converted into deadly weapons — simple technology that is having a huge impact on the battlefield in Ukraine and further afield. Their use is 'going to become very, very common,' Robert Lee, a senior fellow at the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute think tank, told NBC News in an interview. Drones were used when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime was overthrown in December, he said. 'They're here and because they're ubiquitous, because they are quite useful and they're demonstrating that every day in Ukraine,' he said. 'There's no doubt that they're going to be used by all sorts of groups, whether it's criminal groups or terrorist groups, and they pose a quite significant threat,' he said, adding, 'I think we're a little bit behind the power curve on this and actually getting ready to counter them.' Targeting civilians As she was riding her bicycle to a cosmetology appointment in Antonivka, a rural community in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, Anastasia Pavlenko, 23, said she noticed a drone 'hunting' her. 'It took off, followed me and I zigzagged on the bike,' the mother of two said of the September attack, adding that a second drone suddenly appeared with 'a shell attached to it.' Despite her best attempts to escape, she said the second drone dropped the shell 'right on my head' and it bounced down onto her thigh and exploded on the asphalt next to her. 'Blood was coming from my neck, and there were fragments under my ribs,' Pavlenko said, adding she somehow managed to keep cycling and take cover under a bridge where she screamed for help until she started to lose consciousness. 'I just had a small purse, shorts, a T-shirt and long loose hair, so it was clear that I was a girl,' she said, adding that she was not wearing military colors or carrying any weapons when she was hit. Doctors were unable to remove shrapnel fragments from her neck, ribs, or leg, she said, adding she had been unable to return to work at her coffee shop because she 'can't handle physical stress.'
South China Morning Post
02-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong lawmakers support MPF change to make accounts fully portable
Hong Kong lawmakers expressed support for allowing 'full portability' in the city's Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) , which would allow members to move their entire pension balance to a different provider once a year. Legislative Council panel meeting discussed a legal change on Monday that would implement full portability next year. Currently, members can move their own contributions, but not those made by their employer, once a year. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu unveiled the proposed change in his policy address in October. The change would 'give more choice to employees, while also adding to competition in the industry', said lawmaker Robert Lee Wai-wang, who is also the chairman of Hong Kong-based Grand Finance Group. 'The full-portability reform aims to encourage employees to proactively manage their MPF investments and promote market competition, thereby creating room for fee reductions,' said Sharon Ko Yee-wai, deputy secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, during the council's financial affairs panel. Established in 2000, the MPF is a compulsory retirement scheme that requires employers and employees to each pay 5 per cent of the salary, up to a combined HK$3,000 (US$385) a month, into an investment account managed by one of 12 MPF providers. At the end of March, the scheme covered 4.75 million members and had total assets of HK$1.338 trillion Only employers could choose the MPF provider until 2012, when the Employee Choice Arrangement was introduced. Commonly known as 'semi-portability', this allows employees to transfer their own contributions – but not those made by their employers – to a new provider once a year. Employees conducted about 1 million transactions involving HK$50 billion under the semi-portability regime from its launch up to April of this year, Ko said.
