Friday's headlines: Damning report into the sinking of the Easy Rider; $11 million of suspected drug money tracked to woman's house; pay rises for councillors will follow the next elections.
NZ Herald
The New Zealand Herald says an woman faces losing her home after letting her son keep a total of $11 million of suspected drug money in her lounge for 14 months.
Dianne Ashby, 70, described herself as the jam in the sandwich between the police and her son, Lee Vincent, after police traced boxes of cash to her house in Takapuna.
The Waikato Times
The Waikato Times warns that concert-goers, sports fans, travellers and many others are facing exorbitant fees for their tickets to be "booked" or "handled" or "processed" online.
The paper found dubious charges or fees were applied to tickets at several upcoming musical and sporting events in the region.
Two teenage burglars got the fright of their lives when a Dinsdale student screamed and chased them down the road into the police's waiting hands.
Dominion Post
The Dominion Post says ratepayers around the country are about to pump an extra $3.1 million into the pay packets of their council politicians.
It says the Remuneration Authority has increased the national pay pool by nearly 9% meaning some councillors will receive increases of up to $16,000 after this year's election.
The Press
The Press says 600 people who pledged to give their time to help Christchurch's earthquake recovery in return for free concert tickets have failed to keep their word.
It says the no-shows face being named and shamed next week unless they do four hours of volunteer work this weekend and retrospectively earn their keep.
And John Key's office has spoken with Christchurch MP Aaron Gilmore over fresh accusations he threatened to have the Prime Minister get a waiter fired.
ODT
The Otago Daily Times leads with the damning report into the sinking of the Easy Rider which killed eight people.
It says the failings and poor decision-making of skipper Rewai Karetai are highlighted.
While the Transport Accident Commission's job is not to apportion blame, the report suggests Mr Karetai took extended family members out when he was not permitted to do so.
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has apologised for his "slight" against the Dalai Lama - after he sidestepped the religious leader's visit and inadvertently characterised him as "the leader of a minority sect".
