19 Jan 2010

Summer Report: local papers

7:37 am on 19 January 2010

Tuesday's headlines: Prince William pictured on Kapiti island holding a kiwi; the housing market is toughening; Haitian construction techniques described as: one part cement with 10 parts sand.

The Press

The Press leads with how Prince William wooed the crowds in Wellington on Monday. He is also pictured getting smoke in his eye at a barbecue at Premier House.

In addition, there's a story on a man who entered the royal barbecue unnoticed by vaulting the fence.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald has two pictures of the prince in very representative New Zealand settings. One is with Prime Minister John Key at the barbecue again, this time with huge slabs of meat in front of them. Another is of William on Kapiti island holding a kiwi.

The Herald also reports more armed offenders squads now accompany unarmed police officers on call outs.

That's being attributed to more drug-related crime and an increased use of guns by criminals.

And the Cancer Society recommends motorists wear gloves in summer, to reduce their risk of developing skin cancer, even when their car windows are closed. It says glass is no protection against the sun. It's a myth.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post pictures the prime minister taking a swig of beer as William attends to the feast on the fire.

There's also an article on the toughening housing market. A tight market is fuelling rising prices, but experts say they may soon level out.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times reports a Dunedin policeman who spent time in Haiti working with the Red Cross in 2008, says the disaster there is "mind-bogglingly enormous".

He also comments on construction techniques there saying builders were known to mix one part cement with 10 parts sand instead of five parts sand, and that buildings were reinforced with smooth steel. So if the steel bends, the concrete just slides off.

Kylie Wakelin is back from the Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition where she became the first New Zealand woman to ski 900km to the South Pole.

She returned home to a box filled with Marmite after commenting on a website that she was longing for some.