Update on effects of poor weather

Tuesday, 17 August

Here's the afternoon/evening update. We've had a pretty quiet day. Thanks for your help in keeping the public informed. 1) Sports grounds All sports grounds will remain closed at least until Thursday morning (19 Aug) for matches and practices.

2) Streets We shut the top end of Dyers Pass Rd again this morning, but not for long. Summit Road is still closed, however. The guys who are out and about say there's still a lot of ice up around the tops and it's not a safe place for driving.

3) Driving general The police are concerned about some drivers ignoring road closures. The City Council shares their concern. Roads are closed because they are dangerous. As well as urging people to drive safely given the conditions, the Council joins the police in asking people to stay off streets and roads which have been closed. Drivers ignoring these warnings may be putting not just themselves and any passengers at risk, but also any emergency services personnel that may be called to an accident.

4) Today's random snow fact After there's been a snow is that we get a marked uptick in the number of pothole calls. The maintenance troops says it's been dry for a long time and weak spots hold together longer in the dry. As snow melts, the water is slowly released and it seeps into weakened paving and half floats it so vehicle wheels easily pop it out. So, a marked increase in calls asking for them to be fixed and filled.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>