The problem with religious holidays is that so often the core message - in this case, peace and love - gets lost amid the trappings of religious and commercial power.

Boxing Day is now the busiest shopping day of the year for many retailers. How times have changed, writes Linda Hall.

Bruce Bisset: As the chances of a terrorist incident erupting in our midst increase, it is all too easy to blame the evil of Islamic State and other Middle Eastern militants.

Roger Moroney writes: Well, it's not quite a one-day thing here in Hawke's Bay but over the past four days we have had all four seasons.

The unwholesome discharges coming from the central Hawke's Bay sewage scheme are a classic example of why we need councils to provide oversight and direction each to the other.

One of the first places of natural beauty I encountered when I moved to Hawke's Bay was the Tukituki River.