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Great writing Chris

Dear Ed,

Do you know what I LOVE about The Sun Newspaper and your journalist's writing?

It is the fact you write fabulous articles about locals, you set the scene and the characters and tell the story step by step and sequentially and you use their first names the whole way through.

Some of the recent journalism for the online News companies is woeful.

I often have to reread it to understand what they are talking about, the timeline and because they use surnames I get confused about who they are talking about, especially when someone has a surname that can be used as a first name too.

Keep up the great writing Chris Valli.

Dear Ed,

Good on Linda Skelton for challenging the bureaucrats in Marlborough Roads and MDC over Marlborough Roads draconian style of policing parking meters in the Central Business District (CBD).

Several chaps - me included - meet regularly and it was often at a cafe CPR, in the CBD. Naturally the free hour’s parking was used.

However one morning, in High Street, the meter by CPR to enter number plate was not working. There was no indication on the meter to look for another meter. After all none was visible. So the group of us sat down and had coffee.

Forty five minutes later we left. My car had a parking infringement notice. I lodged a challenge with Marlborough Roads to no avail. The response was to take the instructions on the inoperable meter that the meter wasn’t working and seek another meter. But there was no such sticker. Nor was any other meter visible. I had to pay the fine. It’s not so much dollars as the principle of publicly paid bureaucrats being so unreasonable and dictatorial.

Rachael

van Asch Seddon

The result was our group, now regularly meets at The Haven in Redwoodtown. The CBD and businesses in town is the loser.

Tony Orman

Library closes this Sunday

Make sure you find time to get to the Marlborough District Library in Blenheim before it closes on Sunday 23 April.

When the Arthur Street library closes, there is a three-week gap while staff shift into the new library and art gallery on High Street, which opens on Friday 12 May.

Until the old library closes you can take out as many books as you like and return them once the new library opens. Items won’t be due for return while the library is closed and fines will not be imposed for any books.

Libraries’ Manager Glenn Webster suggests customers make sure they take out enough books to keep them going and reminds members they can access the online facilities while the library is closed.

“Customers can use our online resources with their membership card,” he said. Online resources include eBooks which readers can download on to their computer, tablet, laptop or phone to read, and eAudio which readers can download to listen to.

More than 7,000 national and international newspapers and magazines are available online through the PressReader service and there is a tutorial available online to guide you through using it.

The Picton Library and Service Centre will be open as normal and members can use that facility as they would the Blenheim one. The popular Justice of the Peace service, with local JPs present at the Marlborough District Library on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10.00 am until 12.00 pm, will continue at the Citizens Advice Bureau in Alfred Street, Blenheim. Keep an eye on our newspaper pages in the coming weeks for more information about the opening of the new building.

Council services on Anzac Day – Tuesday 25 April

Council’s Blenheim office will be closed from 5.00 pm on Monday 24 April and reopen on Wednesday 26 April at 8.00 am. Opening times for transfer stations, the Resource Recovery Centre, Greenwaste Acceptance Facility, composting and the landfill on Anzac Day are: Transfer stations

Blenheim

Tuesday 25 April - 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm

Picton

Tuesday 25 April - 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Havelock

Tuesday 25 April - 1.00 pm to 2.00 pm

Seddon

Tuesday 25 April - 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Rai Valley and Wairau Valley transfer stations will be closed on Tuesday 25 April.

Resource Recovery Centre and Greenwaste Acceptance Facility

Tuesday 25 April - 1.00 pm to 4.30 pm

Landfill

Tuesday 25 April - closed.

Kerbside rubbish bag and recycling collections

Rubbish bags and recycling crates normally collected on Tuesdays will be collected on Wednesday 26 April.

Please make sure your bag and crate is out on the kerb by 7.30 am.

Marlborough District Libraries

Marlborough District Library (Blenheim) is now closed until the new Library and Art Gallery opens on Friday 12 May. The Picton Library and Service Centre will be closed on Anzac Day - Tuesday 25 April.

Bus services

Bus services will not operate on Tuesday 25 April. Normal services resume on Wednesday 26 April.

Have your say on Annual Plan

Now’s the time to have your say on Council’s 2023-24 Annual Plan with consultation open until Monday 8 May. This year’s proposed budget maintains Council’s current levels of service across Marlborough. It also continues a significant capital expenditure programme focused on our core infrastructure needs, primarily roading, sewerage and water treatment.

A small number of new expenditure items have been supported by councillors, leaving an overall proposed rates increase of 7.8% for the year beginning 1 July 2023. Mayor Nadine Taylor said like every council, we are facing much higher than normal levels of inflation, with the Consumer Price Index expected to peak at more than 7 per cent this year. “Supply chain issues are driving up costs and affecting many parts of the economy, including local government,” she said “I’m very aware of the cost of living pressures on households and recognise this is a relatively high rates increase,” Mayor Taylor said.

I believe that is a fairer way of spreading costs.”

The following meeting is open to the public and anyone is welcome to attend. A copy of the agenda will be available online and at Council’s Office, 15 Seymour Street.

Extraordinary Council Meeting

Monday 24 April at 9.00 am

The time and date may be subject to change. Please contact the Committee Secretary, Ph: 03 520 7400 for confirmation.

“We have reviewed user pays fees and reduced expenditure where possible. Fees including resource consenting, environmental health and building control are proposed to be increased. By increasing fees we are reducing the impact on ratepayers by just over $1 million.

“The consultation document outlines our key priorities for next year, which affect our rates, debt and levels of service. I encourage people to take the opportunity to read it, have their say and help us shape Marlborough’s future,” Mayor Taylor said. To find out more and have your say, go to Council’s website at www.marlborough.govt.nz or pick up a copy of the consultation document from Council offices and libraries in Blenheim and Picton.

Consultation closes at 5.00 pm on Monday 8 May, with hearings scheduled for 6 to 8 June. The plan will be adopted by Council on 29 June with new rates effective from 1 July.