Hutt Valley

Hutt Valley: Artists & Creatives harness the power of the Web

Hear Astrid Nielsch (www.asni.net) talk about her experiences with her own website, and as a member of a number of online art, music and fan communities. Astrid explains how the internet can help you, whatever your artform. Get advice on what to look for in a website, and ideas on how to plan your own online publicity campaign.

Astrid recently set up her own web design business, Asni: Multimedia Art & Design. She draws on her experience in online arts promotion to build sites that harness the power of the internet while remaining affordable on an artist’s budget.

Her own website was originally built in 2002 with the aim to promote her career as a professional musician, specializing in medieval and baroque music performed on the harp. Within two years, the site was attracting substantial numbers of visitors, and generating a small but regular, and steadily increasing, income from online shop sales and licensing fees. For the last year, her web statistics have averaged 600 visitors a day.

As well as promoting her music, the site features her photography and artwork. This has resulted in several of her images being published internationally.

Asni also speaks as an active participant in online forums and in web communities. It was through one of those online friendships that she got the opportunity to come to New Zealand for a tour in 2003, and decided to settle here when she was offered a teaching position at Victoria University.

In 2007, Asni got stuck with a completed master tape for her “Travels in Middle-earth” CD production, and no money to print and publish the CDs. She used her website, email newsletter and promotion in online communities, and succeeded in raising the funds to publish the CD from pre-orders collected over a period of six months.

The same year, she realized that the internet had moved on from the days when one could create a successful website in a text editor. She decided to put her self-taught skills on a more solid foundation, and completed the Diploma of Multimedia at Natcoll in Wellington in 2008.

Parking is available in the Peel Street Carpark off Britannia Street, and the Arts Hub is wheelchair accessible.

Details

Arts Hub Forum Series 20 October: Harnessing the Power of the Web – Online promotion for artists

Where: Petone Community Library meeting room Britannia Street Petone

When: Tuesday 20th October 11am till 1pm

How Much: Free!

Contact: Hutt Valley Community Arts Email: benedict@hvca.org.nz Phone: 568-3488

Hutt Valley Rail: TranzMetro service to be contestable

I read with interest today that Mr Steven Joyce, Transport Minister is to make the MetroRail services in New Zealand contestable. In essence, the government will own the new rolling stock that will hit the Hutt Valley next year, (and Auckland) and will lease these to the service provider. Currently KiwiRail is the service provider.

Steven Joyce:

“The model builds significantly on the best of what we already have in place, and will ensure the operation of commuter rail services is contestable, so that we get the best possible service for commuters at the best possible price”.

KiwiRail will be able to bid to operate the services alongside other train operators, but all bidders will face the same price to lease the trains, and to access the track.

Steven Joyce:

“This move will ensure that while KiwiRail owns the trains, it is not necessarily the case that they operate the services. They will have the opportunity to bid, but it is the regional transport authorities alongside NZTA who will determine the successful operators,”

This is a laudable business model given the current structure that the tranzmetro services do not pay their own way and in effect were the reason that KiwiRail ended back in Government hands.

Mr Joyce:

“That is appropriate as it is the regional organisations and NZTA that provides the public transport subsidies that make the services viable.”

Further to that Mr Joyce also advocated further enhancements on current practice by implementing contracts that reward or penalise service standards:

“Performance-based contracts ensure the train operator is rewarded for providing reliable services and penalised when they don’t. We will ensure that operators have sufficient control over their operations to ensure they can be held accountable for performance.”

via NZRail

I hope, along with the many Hutt commuters that the standard of service improves to the point where it can be called a service, and not a joke. No doubt the last decade has seen when this service was placed in private hands that it was raped of value, with no attention or money spent on infrastructure maintanence or development.

The result, that the government repurchased the business established KiwiRail and has started on this long process of redevelopment, in the hope at the end to pass it on to private hands again. 

The circle of business continues, but at least at this point the government is putting in place caveats on performance.

One would have to wonder who would step into the fray to be a regional rail service provider. Currently Aucklands service is run privately by Veolia (following masive reinvestment in regional rail by the government) and also the bus service in Wellington by a Scottish private company (I think).

The question on every Hutt rail commuters mind is first, get the service to the level that you can call it a service that people willing pay for. It has to be a viable, reliable, cost effective alternativeto other transport.

The second outcome if successful in the first, is how much will this new and improved service cost once placed in the hands of a private contractor. The balance generally of all of this business structuring and performance contracts is nearly always in the end the user, the commuter.

Are they the one going to foot the bill through increased prices to make this service profitable again?

 

Hutt Radio: Update on developments

Following on from the earlier post on the inaugural public meeting of Hutt Radio, further details have emerged as to the current concept development for Hutt Radio. The latest from Eddie O’Strange one of the Trustees of Hutt Radio:

Our pathway to becoming a fully-fledged community station is now a bit different to how we planned and represented it.

In a nutshell, the new plan is this:

– we initially transmit from Naenae.
– we start off in a temporary studio.
– we broadcast BBC World interspersed with local live slots.
– we move into our complete studio site in two stages.
– the ultimate transmitter site is, as yet, unknown.

The reasons for the changes?

– we’ve gone past the on-air deadline imposed on us.
– the Kaukau transmission site is too costly at this time.
– the various Public Funding Agencies can’t help us yet.

Funding continues to be a real and pressing problem for Hutt Radio, and while sourcing initial funding from the inaugural public meeting,  given the current economic climate prudence in development seems an appropriate step at this time. 

If you are interested in being part of the project please contact Hutt Radio through

http://www.huttcity.com/huttradio/

or become a friend through

http://www.myspace.com/huttradio
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hutt-Radio-1061-fm/123613418758

Fire at Haywards Substation

A fire caused by an explosion at a Wellington substation has been extinguished.

Staff at the Haywards Substation were installing a new piece of equipment just before midday when it tripped and caused the blaze in a confined basement area.

The fire was under control by 4pm.

Further details at Hutt Valley Fire Police Unit website as they emerge

No-one was injured in the explosion.

Hutt Valley: Upper & Lower Hutt experiencing record temperatures

Record high temperature for Upper Hutt

By ROSEMARY McLENNAN – Upper Hutt Leader

Upper Hutt’s temperature of almost 20 degrees celsius on Saturday, August 15, rivalled the highest for any August since 1947.

NIWA’s only Upper Hutt weather station – at Wallaceville – recorded 19.9 degrees on August 15.

The highest August temperature at the station since records stated there in 1939 was 20.0 degrees in 1947.

The highest winter temperature at the station was 20.2 degrees in June 1973.

via stuff.co.nz

Following on from this, last Saturday in Lower Hutt was 20 degrees.

Is it me or are the temperatures for this time of year way above average for this time of year. Must go and do some more research, but it seems we have quickly moved from the depths of Winter in late July to temperatures that are extremely mild, equally the rainfall is way down for this time of year.

Is that the reason for the spate of earthquakes as well, so says my mum.

Well as I said some more research needed, but if this continues expect a drought come February March 2010. I said it here first.

 

Lower Hutt: Housing battle at Farmer Cres cost New Zealand more than $250,000

Housing battle costs NZ $250,000 (Source: ONE News)ONE News

The battle to evict a group of state house tenants with gang connections in Lower Hutt’s troubled Farmer Crescent, has cost taxpayers more than a quarter of a million dollars.

In March, Housing New Zealand gave five tenants who are either the partners or friends of Mongrel Mob members, three months to leave their state houses.

However the move has promoted allegations of gang intimidation, and now Housing New Zealand is paying up to protect the property.

Figures obtained by ONE News show legal costs have reached at least $15,000 whilst installation and monitoring of security systems have cost around $13,500.

But the biggest cost has been community security patrols that have cost more than $56,000 and security guards that have cost more than $230,000.

Housing New Zealand says security is part of their business where they have troubled communities.

via tvnz.co.nz

This no doubt explains the presence of security personal outside of HNZ offices at Lower Hutt in recent months, as a precaution and the protection of staff who might have been intimidated by Mongrol Mob members. This issue is still not resolved, is it a sign that we are over cautious in our dealings with gang related issues in NZ.
Is our political correctness getting in the way of protecting others from their rights, that is normal citizens. I’m quite sure Michael Laws if in charge of HNZ might have the issue resolved by now!

Posted via web from HuttNZ’s posterous

Tranz Metro – Are Wellington trains that bad?

TVNZ Breakfast yesterday did an article on Tranz Metro and the level of dissatisfaction there is from commuters who use the service. None of this is news to our regular readers, but you probably missed the item yesterday as you were travelling via rail, no doubt on time to work.

The most interesting part is the comment in the interview at the end with Kiwi Rail GM of Passenger Services and how everything should be right within 2 years. The question is will you wait that long or find alternatives?

The quality off the above video is marginal check here for the original if you wish to watch your travel woes in better quality.

Hutt Radio – Inaugral Public Meeting

You might ask what is Hutt Radio, it is the effort of a number of key players who have been trying for a number of years to establish a community based non commercial radio network in the Hutt Valley.

To gain a greater insight visit their website, but some background info is posted below along with details as to the meeting.

Eddie O’Strange is one of the key proponents and as part of the charter of the licence has called a public meeting to gauge public support as well as answer any questions.

If you are curious, can contribute, or just wish to attend, it would be greatly appreciated. 

But in brief, what is Hutt Radio all about:-

HUTT RADIO:

A terrestrial FM station for the Hutt Region, New Zealand.

Our focus is the Hutt Region. Our coverage: Greater Wellington.

Station site: Lower Hutt. Transmitter site: Mt KauKau.

Demographics Target:

The middle-aged and elderly. [This makes us unique among the 30-plus radio stations in this airspace.]

Hutt Radio is a community station. A “non-commercial” licence. The second “access” station in Greater Wellington’s airspace.

In industry jargon, here’s WHAT HUTT RADIO IS:

“Hutt Radio is a mature market, Hutt-centric, interactive, subscriber-based, non-commercial, heritage station, serving as the hub for flow-on components.”

The meeting:-

HUTT COMMUNITY RADIO   –  PUBLIC MEETING

Sunday 30th August, TAITA  RSA, 14 Tocker Street
2 pm start-time — hopefully wrapped by about 3.15 pm
(There will be time after this to meet, to mix and mingle.)

A strong show of support is needed to get this valuable Hutt Region asset underway. A well-attended gathering
will help with funding issues, and will satisfy some of the licensing requirements of various Government agencies.

At the same time, YOU will find out whatever you want to know about Hutt Radio. Questions will be welcome!

You can just turn up, but we’d prefer you to “RSVP”.
Eddie: blue.smoke@actrix.co.nz  Phone 565-3164

   Website:  http://www.huttcity.com/huttradio/
*Join the Trustees, the Patrons, and Local Dignitaries*

Storm causes damage throughout Hutt Valley

With steady rain falling from 11.00am yesterday, and several major falls throughout the afternoon the storm that hit the region unleashed its worst on certain areas of the Hutt Valley. Early indications via weather radar from Metvuw.com (excellent resource & service) showed the region was going to get some heavy rainfall. By all indications the worst bands of rainfall appear around Mid Valley from Silverstream through to Stokes Valley and further north in  Upper Hutt.

The impact was worst felt around 5pm onwards what with the combined rainfall and continuing heavy rain impacting on certain suburbs,  Upper Hutt, Silverstream, Stokes Valley and the northern Lower Hutt suburbs were most affected. At 4pm the Hutt river was 1.3 metres high. By 6.30pm it had peaked at 4.3 metres at the monitoring station alongside Hulls Creek.

At the Silverstream underpass a mother and three young children were trapped in rising waters, a fire engine rescued them by driving alongside and ferrying them to safety. The Eastern Hutt Road was roughly under about a metre of water in certain parts resulting from Hulls Creek breaching its banks and rising Hutt river flows. Around Stokes Valley several reports were coming in via our Twitter account of flooding of certain streets and access to Stokes Valley blocked, by people directly affected by the weather.

 Across the other side of the valley Sh 58 was closed due to minor slips.  The Fire Service was very busy responded to 35 weather-related callouts and further to that the Rimutaka road was closed from 8pm to 9pm due to high winds and again minor slips the result of the weather onslaught.

The biggest emergency of the night was the derailment of the Wairarapa train (5.33 from Wellington) at 6.20pm just north of Upper Hutt at Maymorn. About 300 passengers were stranded in a tunnel after the Trains locomotive ploughed into a wall of mud and debris and derailed as it left a tunnel at Maymorn.

The impact knocked the engine and one carriage about a metre off the tracks. Six other carriages stayed on the tracks but were stranded in the tunnel. No one was injured which given the time of night and number of people involved was extremely lucky. Passengers were stuck inside for more than 2 hours before being moved to the rear 3 carriages, which were pulled to Upper Hutt station by a second locomotive.

They were then bussed to the Wairarapa, but again impacted by the Rimutaka Road being closed. It was quite fortunate that this incident was not a major disaster given the timing and weather influences. This no doubt was a harrowing incident for those involved as no doubt communication of the incident etc took time to emerge and the two hours in the dark and stormy conditions. But they are a hardy bunch those Wairarapa commuters.

Today  investigators are visiting the accident site and rail engine recovery is underway. KiwiRail says it wil be several days before the line is open, as the crash site is isolated, and the short timeframe and limited replacement buses cannot meet demand so today there is no Wairarapa service.

It was an extremely wet and wild night, not to unfamiliar to the Hutt Valley but the given the timing of peak impact fortunate that fatalities were not involved, especially with regard to the rail incident. 

Thanks to everyone for their contributions last night and updates via Twitter and DM, it was busy. I hope that you were not to impacted by this weather incident. Todays weather unfortunately is a lighter version of yesterdays. Winter in the Hutt, probably a payback for last weekends brillant weather.

PS Check back later as postings become available from Emergency service websites.