Two a penny

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Michael Jackson’s family has arrived more than hour late for the pop singer’s funeral, keeping 77-year-old Elizabeth Taylor and other celebrities waiting on a hot summer evening.

A police escort ushered the motorcade of 31 cars, including Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs, to Forest Lawn Glendale on Thursday.

The motorcade from their Encino compound departed more than a half-hour after the funeral was to begin.

The planned start of the service came and went as the crowd of about 200 awaited the arrival of Jackson’s parents Joe and Katherine and the singer’s children.

Other mourners included Barry Bonds, Macaulay Culkin and the Rev.

Temperatures hovered at 90 just before sunset, with some mourners fanning themselves with programmes for the service.

The air was scented with smoke from a devastating wildfire that was about 10 miles distant from the cemetery. Al Sharpton

The delay meant that the 77-year-old Taylor and others were kept waiting on a muggy night at which temperatures hovered at 90 just before sunset, with some mourners fanning themselves with programs for the service at Forest Lawn Glendale. The equipment raised the possibility that the footage would be used for the Jackson concert documentary “This Is It.

A large, blimp-like inflated light, the type used in film and television production, and a boom camera hovered over the seating area placed in front of the elaborate marble mausoleum. Nearly double the number of media credentials, 435, were issued to reporters and film crews who remained at a distance from the service and behind barricades.”

About 250 seats were arranged for mourners over a green surface.

“Can you please put these flowers on his grave?” she told him.

Maria Martinez, 25, a fan from Riverside, California, who was joined by a dozen other Jackson admirers at a gas station near the security perimeter, gave a handful of pink flowers to a man with an invitation driving into the funeral. . Martinez said she picked them from a nearby park.”

The man consented, adding, “God bless. I’m not going to be able to get close, so this is as close as I could get to him.

Michael Jackson will share eternity at Forest Lawn with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and W.”

Glendale police said all was going smoothly early in the evening and there were no arrests. Fields, entombed alongside them in the mausoleum that will be all but off-limits to adoring fans who might otherwise turn the pop star’s grave into a shrine.C.

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The sentencing today of Christchurch dad
James Mason provides some clarity over the boundaries of the so-called
anti-smacking legislation, say police.

The musician escaped jail for punching his four-year-old son in a case widely seen as a test of the new law, with Mason publicly claiming he had done no more than administer a flick on the ear.

He was acquitted of two other charges of assault in respect of the four-year-old and another son.

The 49-year-old was sentenced in Christchurch District Court to nine months’ supervision and ordered to undergo anger management courses after earlier being found guilty of assaulting his son.

“Mr Mason was seen by two very credible witnesses to punch his child and he was subsequently charged with this offence.

Christchurch central area commander Inspector Derek Erasmus said that some media had incorrectly portrayed what was a “straightforward case of an assault”, reported by concerned witnesses, as a challenge to a parliamentary law.

The jury deliberated for 9½ hours on May 19, before returning the guilty verdict. .”

Outside the court today, Mason, a father-of-six, continued to deny he punched his four year old son.

In sentencing, Judge Michael Crosbie said: “This is not a case that would have been dealt with any differently prior to the legislation being changed. Kind of like ‘did David Bain kill his family’?”

Mason said the verdict would ”not really” change his behaviour as a father.

”Just because I’ve been convicted of something doesn’t mean I did something.

Judge Crosbie said the case was described by the Crown as an inappropriate response in a stressful parenting situation.

Defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger had sought a discharge without conviction.

They were then scolded and one of them was assaulted by Mason, the jury found.

The children had gone down a ramp on a bridge on their bikes and one had fallen and hurt his head.

Latest figures show from between April 5, 2008 and October 3, 2008 police attended a total of 258 child-assault events, including nine smacking cases and 49 of minor acts of physical discipline.

The so-called anti-smacking legislation came into effect in June 2007 and remains under review by police.

– and

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There were four prosecutions of “minor acts of physical discipline”, three of which resulted in convictions

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Two burglaries in Methven today are thought to be the work of elusive fugitive William Stewart.

The burglaries came within about five minutes of each other, police said, and a vehicle sighted fitted the description of a 4WD ute believed to be in Stewart’s possession.

Stewart, 47, has been on the run since he allegedly threatened a police officer with an iron bar in central Canterbury on February 10 before disappearing into bush. .

There are five warrants out for his arrest and he is thought to have committed a string of burglaries and car thefts while on the run.

On March 21 Stewart eluded the armed offenders squad southwest of Christchurch before stealing a purple late model Ford Falcon XR6 and picking up hitchhikers.

He is believed to be a P addict and his burglaries include hauls of drug products from South Island pharmacies.

Stewart offered the hitchhikers a ride from Hororata, Mid-Canterbury, to a close toby motorcycle rally and asked them to get him the drug P.10am when a window was smashed to gain entry to Methven chemist’s shop, and a fishing rod was taken.

The man leading the hunt for Stewart, Senior Sergeant Stewart Munro, of Selwyn, said today the first burglary was about 4.15am the front door of the Mobil Service Station in Methven was smashed and a quantity of tobacco taken.

About 4.

The suspect vehicle was believed to be registration number ETU351, a grey 2009 Hilux twin cab, well side ute with a canopy.

Mr Munro said the vehicle sighted at both burglaries was a 4WD double cab ute, coloured grey. It was thought to be in the possession of Stewart. It was thought to be in the possession of Stewart.

He also advised farmers in the area to ensure that their properties, out buildings, farm houses, huts and vehicles were monitored and secured.

He asked that farmers and occupiers of properties in farming areas report any suspicious vehicle movements or people on their property to southern police communications on 111.

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Insect bites sting ACC for millions

– Sunday, 01 March 2009

Mozzies are costing taxpayers money.

BITES AND stings from mosquitoes, bees and other creepy crawlies have cost taxpayers more than $11 million over the past four years, as Kiwis troop to their doctors suffering from allergic reactions, infections and rashes.
Victims can claim compensation from ACC if the symptoms from a bite or sting are bad enough to be deemed an injury. And payments are on the rise. They also cover hospital treatment, often necessary if the area becomes seriously infected. The payments cover everything from doctor's appointments to antihistamine tablets, antibiotics and ointments, and adrenalin injections for the severely allergic. That's more than double the $1,496,957 it paid in the year up to June 2004. In the year to June 2008, ACC paid out $3,302,523 in insect bite claims.85m. The total over the four years from 2004 was $11. Bites from fleas, ticks and flies racked up almost $50,000 last year, while bedbugs were the least costly, with just five claims totalling $184 last year.
The stingers bees, bumble bees and wasps top the payout lists, with spiders second and mosquitoes third.
Auckland GP Jonathan Fox, head of the Royal New Zealand College of GPs, said while most people won't go to the doctor with an "ordinary" bite, some need treatment for allergies. Another $2m in claims were attributed to "unspecified" creatures. I have seen some really unpleasant infected legs, and things like that, from infected insect bites. "But probably the most common thing we see is infection.
"If untreated, infection can be quite debilitating."
Any kind of bite or sting anything that breaks the skin can lead to cellulitis and other serious skin infections, said Fox. [The rise in ACC payments] may be a reflection of that that families have been taking children with infected insect bites to the doctor more often, knowing it's going to be covered by ACC. In areas such as South Auckland there have been major campaigns to try and cut down on skin infections. ."
ACC spokeswoman Stephanie Julian thought the increase could be due to a computerised system, and public awareness.

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‘Clip-on’ theatres to boost surgery

By REBECCA PALMER Saturday, 28 February 2009

Two "clip-on" theatres will be used to boost the number of operations carried out at Hutt Hospital until its expansion is finished.
The operating theatres, being made off-site, will be erected next to the day surgery unit on the first floor of the emergency department and theatre block by October. That expansion will double the number of permanent operating theatres from four to eight, increase the size of the emergency department and add a new intensive care unit.
They will be used until 2011, when Hutt Valley District Health Board's $82 million revamp is due to be complete. "Without them, we would have no hope of meeting the new Government's requirements for increased elective surgery.
Acting chief executive Michael Hundleby said the two temporary theatres were needed to provide extra space until then. It would be used for day surgery. .5 million, including more than $1 million worth of medical equipment that would be transferred to the permanent operating theatres once they had been built.
It would cost about $2. Because most of the construction would take place off-site, there would be "minimal disruption" to the hospital and its neighbours, Mr Hundleby said.
The temporary theatres would then be removed and sold. Last year its staff performed 8092 operations, of which 3954 were elective (non-urgent) the most procedures it had ever done.
The hospital had been designed to care for about 25,000 people a year but was now coping with more than 40,000.
Mr Hundleby said that, for the past few years, the district health board had been using the national mobile surgical bus and private hospitals to supplement its operating theatres. The board expects to perform even more surgery this year and for demand to continue increasing."
Health Minister Tony Ryall said this week that he planned to talk to both Hutt Valley and Capital and Coast district health boards about the possibility of an elective surgery "super-centre" for the Greater Wellington region. "But both these options have become increasingly hard to access.
Mr Hundleby said that, while Hutt Hospital's expansion would double its number of operating theatres, it was already time to start planning beyond that.
Three Auckland health boards have already put together a proposal for extra operating theatres there.
A Health Ministry report made public this week says the country needs 26 extra operating theatres by 2026, in order to meet surgery targets and increased patient numbers.
Hutt Valley DHB was keen to work with other health boards on a proposal for another four theatres for the Greater Wellington region, he said.

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Dash for blood saves unborn baby

By FINBARR BUNTING – Sunday, 11 January 2009

RARE CASE: Natalie Wong’s particular family of antibodies meant there were only a few suitable blood donors in the country to save her unborn child.

When doctorstold Natalie Wong her unborn baby urgently needed a life-saving blood transfusion, they also told her there were only seven suitable registered blood donors in the country.
It was during a routine scan at Waikato Hospital last month that Wong, 22, discovered her baby needed help.
But with much of the country on holiday, finding one of those seven was a difficult task.
Professor Peter Stone, of the maternal foetal medicine department at National Women's Health, says the particular family of antibodies Wong has meant there were only a few suitable donors in the country. The antibodies in her blood were attacking the red blood cells in her baby's blood, which meant the baby could suffer cardiac arrest.
After receiving a call from the Blood Service on Monday, Pratt drove the 60km to Napier Hospital, just making the 11am deadline.
One of those was 62-year-old Auckland real estate agent Barry Pratt, who was on holiday in the Hawke's Bay. .
"I managed to give them a pint of blood which wasn't too polluted with pinot noir. "We [were] told that there were seven people in the country who have the same kind of blood that Natalie does and this guy was the only one willing to come back from his holiday."
Wong and husband Steve, 23, say they are very grateful for Pratt's help.
The intrauterine transfusion operation was successfully performed on Thursday. We are very happy," Steve says.

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No better gift for dad

Friday, 26 December 2008

CHRISTMAS PRESENT: New parents Christopher and Nikki LaMonica with Olivia. Not due till tomorrow or Sunday, she sneaked in early, arriving at 12.57am yesterday at Wellington Hospital, the capital’s first Christmas baby.
Not due till tomorrow or Sunday, she sneaked in early, arriving at 12.

BabyOlivia LaMonica wasn't expected on Christmas Day but she is the best gift her father could have imagined. .57am yesterday at Wellington Hospital the capital's first Christmas baby.
But her father. "University students go on drinking binges on their birthday. Christopher LaMonica, a Victoria University politics lecturer, foresees an unexpected silver lining. I like that. But she'll always be home.720 kilograms (8lb 3oz), made it all worthwhile."
Despite the feast planned by Mrs LaMonica's mother, who is visiting from America being put on hold and their presents still at home unwrapped, the tiny sleeping bundle, weighing 3.
"It will be a very, very special day," Mr LaMonica said.
"It will be a very, very special day," Mr LaMonica said."

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Blind date for loveless lions

Wednesday, 24 December 2008

NATALIE SLADE/
SLEEPING BEAUTY: Zookeeper Dave French checks on a sedated Malik before his trip to Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch.

Malik and Zulu can't feel the love tonight – but if everything goes to plan, Wellington Zoo's bachelor lotharios will soon be masters in the art of seduction.
The 4½-year-old lions are set to complete their final rite of passage after boarding a love boat yesterday, bound for a one-year stay at Orana Wildlife Park in Christchurch.
Wellington Zoo vet manager Katja Geschke had hoped to inject the 190-kilogram hunks with anaesthesia before all available hands were used to transfer them into crates.
Their reason for the visit to the South Island is twofold, with Wellington Zoo unable to house litters of cubs because of space and Orana suffering from the lion equivalent of a man drought.
But after the lions became "a bit stroppy", they had to be quietened with a combination of a blow dart and a jab with the drugs.
"They've been trained to lean against the mesh for injections, and this really does minimise any stress they face during such procedures," she said. They were also to be given a long-acting sedative for the journey south.
"While the boys are away, we'll look at renovating the big cats' enclosures so that one day we can house the males and females together as a pride.
Wellington Zoo operations manager Mauritz Basson said staff would miss the lions, but the females would keep the visitors and keepers busy and interested. ."
He hoped the lions would mate with the zoo lionesses and that any offspring would be "strong and healthy in terms of genetics".nz to see video of the lions

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Swim or sink: youth warned as pools close

, – Thursday, 18 December 2008

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WATER BABIES: Brooke Overend gets a helping hand from swimming instructor Eleanor Harrod at QE II Pool. Water Safety New Zealand says the recent spate of school pool closures around the country could lead to ‘appalling’ drowning rates as fewer and fewer children learn to swim.

Another school swimming pool has been lost, with water-safety experts predicting more youth drownings.
Water Safety New Zealand general manager Matt Claridge said closures such as the one at Shirley were a strong contributor to young people being consistently over-represented in drowning statistics.
The Shirley Boys' High School pool in Christchurch was yesterday filled with concrete, just as new research from Water Safety New Zealand showed 239 school pools closed between 2003 and 2005.
"We can expect 150 to 180 fatalities from drowning next year, and New Zealand already has one of the worst drowning rates in the world," Claridge said.
The mass of pool closures led to projections the country would return to the "appalling" drowning rates of the 1980s. "It's not just the students at Shirley Boys' High that are missing out, it's the outlying and surrounding primary schools and the greater community.
Repairs would cost far more than $1 million money the school could not spare, despite a $1. .
"Unlike the schools that have been around for a while and have got big foundations, it's a pretty modest support base, economically speaking, on this side of the town, so we couldn't do much about it," he said.28m cash injection from the Government that went towards upgrading other facilities."
Ministry of Education southern regional manager Michael De'Ath said it was decided with the school that it would be more cost-effective to demolish the pool and use the land for much-needed changing sheds. "All our avenues came to zero.
The ministry funded the $118,000 required to decommission the pool.
The ministry funded the $118,000 required to decommission the pool.
Claridge said this often led to the end of swimming teaching.
Laurenson said the closure meant many primary schools that had used the pool for learn-to-swim programmes and swimming carnivals would have to look elsewhere. A quarter of Year 6 pupils were not able to swim 25m or tread water.
New research showed the level of pupils' aquatic skills was falling.
Queen Elizabeth II Park Swimsmart co-ordinator Faye Gread said the demand from parents and schools for private swimming lessons was high.
Having no school swimming programmes meant parents looked to private coaches, who were overrun by demand. It's definitely grown," she said.
"We have been open now for three weeks and we have been sitting at about 80 per cent full for 2009 term one."
The swim school had scattered bookings through to 2011 as schools scrambled to secure lessons for children who otherwise would not get close to the water.
"We could fill more than that if I had more tutors, and it's pool space as well.
"Those with the money can book them in.
"Those with the money can book them in. Parents have to weigh it up, I suppose. What's more important piano lessons or a swimming lesson? You would hope most people would go for swimming," she said.
Parklands mother Lisa Overend decided to send both her children to private swimming lessons.
Daughter Brooke, five, had been learning for at least two years to supplement the lessons she got through her school, which consisted of two weeks of lessons every two years.
"When Brooke had the school lessons, there were some children that were not that comfortable with putting their heads under because they're not used to the water," Overend said. "When I went to primary school, we had our own pool. We were there every day in the summer and it was great."

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Habitat house is Christmas gift for hard-up mum

By TAMMY BUCKLEY – Sunday, 14 December 2008

Hard-luck mum-of-five Margaret Morunga has been given the ultimate early Christmas present -her own home.
Instead of spending Christmas in a cold state house, Margaret and her children will be opening presents in their new four-bedroom home, thanks to Habitat for Humanity; a global charity that helps low-income families to own homes.
For Margaret it is a dream come true. It's a security thing," Margaret told .
"It's anyone's dream to have a home.
"I'm very grateful.
Margaret and her five children aged between 16 and eight were handed the keys to their new home last weekend and she said they couldn't be more happy. It was a gift knowing that we were chosen in the first year (to get the house) and now it's a gift that we are in it."
The family also got numerous household items from Noel Leeming, who sponsor Habitat, and who provided volunteers to help build the home. This is my Christmas present.
"It was the phone call we were waiting for.
Margaret's dream began last Christmas when Habitat called her to say she would receive one of three homes the charity was building in west Auckland.
The youngest of eight, Margaret left school at 14 with limited literacy and worked as a seamstress and caregiver before having her first child at 21."
Home ownership was something Margaret never thought she would achieve.
The 28-year-old was a stay-at-home mum to her and her partner's children until 2000, when she left the relationship after years of domestic abuse.
The 28-year-old was a stay-at-home mum to her and her partner's children until 2000, when she left the relationship after years of domestic abuse."
So Margaret enrolled in the Waitakere Adult Literacy course.
"From that time I just wanted to better myself.
"There are still a lot of adults who deny they've got these issues.
"When I was young my dad taught us hands-on, not reading and stuff, but for my kids I wanted to do better."
She graduated from the course and studied to become a teacher aid, finishing in time to start building her new home in May."
"It's like they are ashamed but there's nothing to be ashamed of.
But Margaret doubled that, dedicating 1043 hours to building her new home.
Part of the conditions of Habitat is that families must pay monthly mortgage payments and that each family invests 500 hours of labour.
Margaret said helping build the house meant she could now do her own DIY and fix things.
"Because I had the time I wanted to be part of it," she said.
"It does mean more than just a house.
"It does mean more than just a house. My daughter is going to appreciate the walls better because she plastered them. .
"My goal is to look for work and pay as much as I can off my mortgage."