'Sort it out yourself' 88-year-old Len Hesford was told by his local DHB after he was billed for home help he was entitled to for free.

Bleak weather and a move to Dunedin's Middle Beach failed to dampen the spirits of swimmers at the annual Polar Plunge yesterday.

The call for last drinks at the Cook tonight will come after a long history of serving University of Otago staff and students.

A prolonged and cruel Valentine's Day attack on a Dunedin man has ended in jail for two of his friends - the offenders.

A new $23,000 clock in Mosgiel, near Dunedin, is ''overstating'' temperatures by up to 10degC.

Move over, Gareth Morgan. A Dunedin woman concerned about the number of feral cats roaming the city has a radical solution for ridding Dunedin of such its undesirables.

A complaint against Dunedin judge Stephen O'Driscoll has led the Chief District Court Judge to decide he should no longer sit in the city's courts.

A nationwide search is on for appropriately skilled people to provide advice on fixing the Esplanade in Dunedin and retaining sand at St Clair Beach in the long term.

Controversial plans for a $100 million 27-level Dunedin hotel have been knocked back.

Scarfie favourite, Dunedin's Captain Cook Tavern, could close by the middle of this month.

A Christchurch-based right-wing political party has delivered anti-Chinese government flyers in the South as it prepares to form Otago branches.

Lifelong railways enthusiast Ken Sloper will make his last trip between Dunedin and Pukerangi as Taieri Gorge Railway's senior driver today.

Sinkholes in the Esplanade at St Clair could get bigger over the next week, but the Dunedin City Council is happy the damage is contained to that immediate area.

A University of Otago building programme to the tune of more than $350 million will be "massively positive" for the Dunedin economy, Otago Chamber of Commerce president Peter McIntyre says.

The temporary freezing of Dunedin's economy in this week's snowfall "ground the city to a halt" and cost "upwards of $10 million," a commerce expert says.

Police have appealed for any sighting of Dunedin convicted murderer George Charles Trounson, who is wanted on a warrant to be recalled to prison.

Contractors continue to battle sea, sand and snow to shore up a gap under Dunedin's St Clair sea wall.

Dozens of revellers taking part in a "student flat crawl" damaged property and invaded a North Dunedin dairy.

When meeting the Earl of Dunmore for the first time, there is an expectation one will be greeted by a Scots peer with a thick Highland burr.

Two students who started selling boxes of meat to their Dunedin peers last year have trebled their client base, hired staff and are now eyeing markets further north.

Otago Boys' High School rector Clive Rennie is backing the decisions of two teachers who had to be rescued along with 10 pupils from the Rock and Pillar Range on Saturday night.

Gareth Lawrence Smither, who murdered his ex-girlfriend in Dunedin almost 16 years ago, has had some limited unescorted ground leave, a New Zealand Parole Board decision notes.

Dunedin's central city parking is in for a shake-up as part of a push to improve cycle safety on the city's one-way streets.

The University of Otago boosted Dunedin's economy by $780.8 million last year, a new report shows.

A protester who was hit by a motorist in Dunedin while blocking a McDonald's drive-in claims he was faced with two options – "go under his vehicle, or go over it".

A crime-fighting device capable of detecting dodgy drivers, unsafe vehicles and criminals is being trialled by police on Dunedin streets.

McDonald's says protesters who blocked a Dunedin drive-through put themselves and customers at risk, after allegations that two picketers were run over.

A Dunedin ACC beneficiary is to be paid $10,000 after the Crown admitted a police search of his home was unlawful.