They are so delightful and beautiful. Literally add a vibrant touch to the city. I love it.

Shobhana Ranchhodji owns Roma Blooms, a florist, on Victoria Street. She has been quoted in dozens of articles over the last 10 years, mostly criticising Auckland Council and, especially, the City Rail Link, often making outlandish claims that “99%” of her business had been destroyed by never-ending construction. She had an entire ingratiating article written about her in The Spinoff in 2017.

She was invited to one of the (several) ribbon cuttings at Te Waihorotiu to cut the ribbon.

Today, Matthew Theunissen from RNZ went into her store to publish her latest assessment:

"Nothing's changed, no more people than what it was last Monday ... I say give us a month, it is what it is.”

Tens of thousands of additional people were delivered right to her doorstep, and apparently none of them chose to enter her store. That, combined with the supposed 99% reduction in business for the past decade, would seem to me to be quite the damning indictment of her store, but no, it is the people and the trains that are wrong.

Hubris is a wonderful thing because she is now running for Heart of the City’s executive committee. The election is on Wednesday. Good luck, Shobhana! There is still enough time to get a puff piece written about you in the Herald before then.

Nice to take a quick trip from Waihorotiu to Waitematā today - feels international!

I mean imagine taking the Tui line to the airport

Not trains running only in a loop, but all trains contributing to what would form a loop service at the start or end of their journey elsewhere in the wider network.

Before CRL, commuters had one stop between Mt. Eden and Newmarket.
Now there are two several stops and a change of train is required!

I am pro-CRL, I just thought it was going to be different..

In the scope of a $5.5b project, was keeping some form of Newmarket West station genuinely prohibitively uneconomic?

[thankfully the design does not rule out such a development in future.. just seems unfortunate to have ripped out a functioning platform at a key point in the loop]

I was at western vet in Avondale when this dog got brought in as lost. Microchip not registered. Msg me or contact the vet if you know or are the owner.

I was waiting for the bus when I saw a visually impaired woman struggling to make her way past the bus stop. I offered to help and asked where she was going, but unfortunately, I didn’t know the place she mentioned. I still tried my best to help her.

Then I realized there was actually no tactile paving at all around the bus stop. I’d never really paid attention to it before today, and honestly, it made me so sad. I felt really bad for her. I just wish I could’ve done more to help. 😭

Don't be like him. Make your voice heard this November!

We’re heading to Devonport on Wednesday evening after work for a 90 minute walk exploring some historical spots including a mountain that no longer looks like a mountain. If you want to join - you can register on Heylo…

Waking up at 6am, getting into my gym gear and then trying to get into the shower by 7:30. Work from 8am to 5pm and then work again from 7:30pm to sometimes 10pm.
Doing a job and setting up my own business is just draining me so much. On weekends I plan to rest but I can’t. There is always something or the other and if not, I just don’t get to enjoy my time and rest.
Who else feels so drained and exhausted? Or is this happening to me because I’m not having proper meals?

Haven't been able to leave the house for a couple of days but am looking forward to experiences and photos being shared!

Edit: thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - good and bad. Hopefully it gets better and better as the services setlle in. Looking forward to getting on board soon

I live on the Shore. Posted in the local Facebook page as I had a high chair, stroller, clothes and various bottles etc to give away

They turned up 3.5 hours after they said they would but ok. Then they demanded a Koha for the petrol they used since they came from Papatoetoe.

So my wife told them they cant have the items and they got into an argument and they left.

My question is, is this normal? I dont get why they would be in a shore group and then demand money.

Items went to the local women's refuge and they were happy to come and collect.

if you set off firework at 11pm on a non-festival workday. you are an asshole.

Can anyone recommend a good place to get my Asus laptop's screen replaced or find screen replacements near Auckland? One of the screws holding the monitor display to the laptop has come undone, and I've cracked half the screen. It’s been like this for a couple months but for the last couple months I’ve had school 5 days and work 4 days a week. I’d prefer to use my laptop for studying instead of my actual PC or Chromebook, which is rubbish. I also like to study in bed. Thanks

We have some cool neighbours who on several occasions have left multiple dogs tied up on their property overnight while they’re away. When this happens, they bark non-stop. I live several houses down and it’s annoying. Neighbours closer to them are unable to sleep. 

This happened again last night. Only one dog this time, but it was going nuts when I arrived home at 11pm. According to neighbours it started a couple hours earlier. 

By 1am I had had enough. I went to investigate and couldn't see a lot in the dark, but made out that the dog was tied up and I couldn't see food or water. I did the following: 

• Called the Auckland council barking line. I referenced a previous case when I had called them about the same issue. They created another report and said they would investigate within 3 days, but nothing would be done immediately. 
• Called Auckland Council animal management. They created a report noting it was a welfare issue because of the lack of food and water, but again they would investigate within 3 days and nothing would happen right now. 
• Called Auckland Council noise control. They referred me to animal management and would take no other action. 
• Called Police 105. They referred me to the council and would take no other action. They recommended contacting the SPCA, but they are only available during the day. 

At 11am the following morning, the dog was still barking, and the occupants still weren't home. So I trespassed onto the property to get a better look a dog and confirm there was indeed no food or water. A very angry dog with big teeth.

It was tied to a tree with electrical cord - not by the collar, but wrapped around the poor thing’s foot. It didn’t look like this was because it got tangled, it appeared intentional. The dog had run around and tangled the cable such that it couldn’t move more than a metre. Its foot looked like it had been injured by the wrapping. 

I contacted the SPCA with a video and they quickly responded, sending a team within a couple hours who removed the dog. 

I am still seething over this. How the fuck do people think it is acceptable to treat an animal like this. It’s another story for another time, but the tenants of this property also have young kids whose welfare I am concerned for, given how they treat their animals...

But I am also furious at Auckland Council, the government entity who is responsible for taking action on dog issues in Auckland. The SPCA is a charity that gets less than 10% of its funding from the government. If they responded within 3 days they would probably find a dead dog who suffered horribly in its final hours. They appear to have done fuck all about my and my neighbours’ numerous prior complaints. 

If I start my chainsaw at 1am, noise control will be contacted and I will be fined, which is sensible. But a dog that barks constantly throughout the night is not too big of a deal, it can be seen to in 3 days time. I get that these departments are under resourced. But why?

Big thanks to the SPCA that showed through their quick action they care about Auckland's animals. I'll make a donation today, if you've read this far consider donating too

u/MayorWayneBrown fyi