Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Morning Report: local papers

Updated at 7:34 am on 3 August 2012

Friday's headlines: New Zealand's first gold medal at the Olympics; fanzone and big screen in Garden Place, Hamilton, for Chiefs' fans on Saturday night; Wellington commuter traffic crippled by good deed.

NZ Herald

'Kiwi Gold' is the headline in The New Zealand Herald. Rower Joseph Sullivan is pictured standing in his scull, moments after he and Nathan Cohen claimed victory at Eton Dorney. They won the men's double scull in 6 minutes 31.67 seconds, only 1.13 seconds ahead of the Italian pair.

The paper also reports on the details of Ewen Macdonald's other offending that were finally made public on Thursday, including vandalism, arson and stock killings.

Waikato Times

The Waikato Times leads with a vow by Chiefs franchise bosses to track down anyone looking to onsell their tickets to the Super Rugby final at inflated prices - no matter how long it takes.

The paper reports any opportunists found selling scalped tickets may never get to watch the Chiefs play again, with a blacklist of scalpers a possibility.

Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker has stepped in to save the day for Chiefs' fans who won't be attending Saturday's final by ordering council staff to set up a fanzone and big screen in Garden Place.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post reports on a good deed that crippled Wellington on Thursday morning. A tanker driver heading south on State Highway Two, stopped to help the victim of a car crash in the northbound lane.

However, a truck then crashed into the tanker, spilling fuel and shutting the highway in both directions and delaying up to 23,000 commuters.

The Press

The Press leads with the closure of Christchurch City Council's 89-unit housing complex in Brougham St, after a detailed engineering evaluation found it did not meet the building code.

Elderly residents, single parents and people with disabilities were offered new homes on Thursday in other council buildings. They were given a letter that said they should ''consider offers seriously'' or face a lengthy wait.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times reports a young Queenstown cancer patient Jayden Halliwell has "something very special" to do on Sunday - blow up a Christchurch building.

Six-year-old Jayden was chosen to push the button to implode the 14-storey Radio Network House building in Christchurch after eight demolition companies pooled their money to win an online auction.

The paper also reports on the storming finish for double scullers Nathan Cohen and Joseph Sullivan, with the defending world champions collecting New Zealand's first gold medal of the Games.

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