My Account
Thanks Eddie
Louise Duncan, Orewa
Eddie Law, we are going to 100 percent miss you! You are one of those business owners who has put so much back into the community in a real and tangible way over many years. The closure of this store (HM December 12) is a loss that will be felt by all of us who appreciate good old fashioned service.
Sad to see Eddie go
Mike Williams, Little Manly
I was greatly saddened to see that Eddie Law was finally shutting up shop in Whangaparaoa, though not at all surprised. We moved to Whangaparaoa as a family 13 years ago and have always bought all of our electrical goods, large and small, from the store in Whangaparaoa from the very beginning, including a full kitchen fitout relatively recently. The staff have always been excellent to deal with and price wise the store has always competed well with the major retailers. In particular, I’d like to say a huge thanks to Gary, who has been our go-to guy for years. It’s a terribly sad indictment on the current state of Whangaparaoa’s retail climate that one of the very last few surviving longstanding local retailers is finally giving up and locking the doors. I’m sure health issues and the importance of family play a part but the reality is that no level headed retailer would invest in Whangaparaoa unless they wanted to open a nail bar or a $2 shop – and even they are closing faster than they open. The Plaza, once a thriving business hub, is now a soul-destroying and sombre empty shell of what was once the heart of the town and the Warehouse, always a slightly down-market purveyor of made in China crap must now be spending more to keep the lights on than it takes in sales. I can’t see that staying open much longer. The only very slightly attractive aspect of the Plaza these days are the somewhat optimistic and rose tinted advertisements thinly promising major improvements “coming soon”. Sadly they don’t so much offer promise as beg to be featured on the next Tui advertisement with the caption “Yeah right!”. Thank you Eddie Law and the team for being such a great part of our community for so many years. And finally, but on a more positive note, a huge congratulations to the team at Hibiscus Matters. You guys are outstanding at producing a local newspaper packed full of interesting articles, real local news coverage and relevant content. I look forward to each issue…as opposed to just dropping the Rodney Times straight into the recycle bin on the way back from the post box. Keep up the good work.
Crossing concerns
Michael James, Orewa
It can’t be a surprise to anyone that AT have ignored two of the three recommendations to fix problems at the Orewa pedestrian crossings (HM December 12). They ignored the NZTA Road Safety Procedures, they ignored the wishes of the people. And furthermore, instead of making things easier for both vehicles and pedestrians to use the same bit of road, all they have done is made the roads even more congested. AT appears to be a law-unto-themselves, why was the audit not done at the planning stage?
Monstrosity looms
Simon Hughes, Stanmore Bay
The lack of changes to the hulking apartment building planned for Stanmore Bay has been a shock for those of us who live nearby (HM December 12). We all have our fingers crossed that we will be given the chance to make our feelings felt about this monstrosity and hopefully prevent it from ever happening or get significant changes made. Not against apartments as such, but surely the design needs to be sympathetic to the surrounding coastal low rise environment? Or maybe not.
Elderly costs unfair
Jill Jeffs, Orewa
I would like to comment on North Shore Hospital treatment of the elderly who require care and assistance. When I was on the Health Board we had a problem with local construction workers parking vehicles in the car park and patients couldn’t get a space, so the Board decided to start charging parking fees. Eventually the builders moved off, but the charges continued and each year they got more expensive by the hour. So now patients have to pay a huge cost every time they need to go to the hospital clinics. As all the appointment times stated are for 9am or 1pm, the waiting rooms are full and it takes a few hours to be called for attention. This sitting in the waiting rooms can be up to four or five hours while their appointment may only take 15-30 minutes. When you add on the cost of travel from Orewa and north Rodney, the cost of parking plus transport, becomes very difficult on a pension, and most of the expense is from sitting in a crowded waiting room. When it is remembered that the cost of the land, building, facilities and staff was paid (and still is) from the income taxes paid by older folk for many years, and are still paying tax now, then it is shocking. They should only be charged for the time taken for their examination, check up or treatment. That time could be stamped on their appointment letter or card on the way out, or a free carparking card collected at reception. They should not be paying up to $20 or $30 to sit on a chair. I hope elderly folk will put pen to paper and support what I have said. You deserve respect and consideration.
Sculpture rotated
John Simons, Orewa
Whatever happened to Estuary Arts’ confidence in its own artistic competence to make it succumb to pressure and remove the voluptuous Rubenesque sculpture outside the gallery? As all good artwork should, it grabbed one’s attention, curiosity and interest. It demanded investigation and examination. It invited an emotional response and comment, it made one ponder and reflect. Sadly the replacement does none of this at any level at all. I am sure Henry Moore and Pablo Picasso would be just a little saddened at such a timid response to criticism and so am I. Not only is beauty in the eye of the beholder, response and interpretation also lie in the beholder’s mind.
Estuary Arts manager Kim Boyd replies: Thanks for your comments John. In fact, the statue was not taken down and replaced because of the heated debate. The work belongs to Philipp Ripa and it was due to be returned to him. My vision was to keep the sculpture rotating to keep it fresh for the community and visiting public. The aim is to rotate sculpture every four months or thereabouts. I am always looking for submissions from new sculptors to display their work.
Money making exercise
Adrienne Bird, Stanmore Bay
Great, another 500 homes and associated traffic coming to a road near you soon! (HM December 12). All I can say is there are people making a lot of money out of carving up land around here and selling house and land packages. I am not one of them. Not many seem to consider the impact on the community, infrastructure and environment when there is so much money to be made.
