I wonder why?

In it’s wisdom the government* deemed that community newspapers such as the Star are not essential and so, as part of the plan to stop the spread of Covid19 , forebade their production. 

This was a great pity as the  April edition of the Star, which was print ready when the lockdown was anounced, contained information of the particularly local services which were to be available during the lockdown period, such as the special arrangements made by P&K to ensure that grocery products were available to all residents. Only community newspapers are in a position to give blanket coverage of such local information.

Are newspapers safe to read given the potential of spreading Covid-19?

The International News Media Association – drawing on research by scientists, experts and the World Health Organisation – is unambiguous in its message: There is no documented incident whereby the Covid-19 virus was transmitted from a print newspaper or magazine.

The reasons for this are several. Covid-19 lasts longest on smooth, non-porous surfaces. Paper, on the other hand, is incredibly porous. The printing process and ink used also adds to the sterility of newspapers (remember that people used to eat fish n chips from papers for that very reason). The printing, counting and stacking process is fully automated. The printing shifts are split – and kept apart – to prevent any cross-infection should anyone become ill. … Continue Reading

51 Jellicoe Smart Hub Co-working in the Heart of Martinborough Village

Without doubt the Coronavirus pandemic has fast-forwarded the Remote Working Revolution. Add to this the changes in work habits driven by digital technology, internet connectivity, and Online business models, and you can begin to understand the increasing popularity of Co-working office spaces.`

The growth of Co-working spaces has been driven by the need for professional workspaces, contributing towards our motivation with division between home and work life to ensure we remain productive.

51 Jellicoe Smart Hub in the centre of Martinborough is a new professional co-working space. We are open 24 hours, 7 days a week, for Members who want or need to access the facilities in the Smart Hub. New Members can work in a disciplined manner or relax and use their time strategising business winning ideas in their new creative think space. … Continue Reading

Councillor Comment

It is lovely to have the Star back up and printing now that the Government has moved to Covid-19 Level 2. Thank you to everyone in the STAR team for the electronic version of the April issue and for holding the fort so that we can now print the June issue.

Martinborough Ward Councillors would like to acknowledge and sincerely thank all those essential services and workers who carried us through Levels 3 & 4 – Medical Centre, Pharmacy, Pain & Kershaw, 4 Square Dairy, Ambulance, Fire Service, Garages, Foodbank, Earthcare and all those individuals who worked tirelessly over this period – we could not have got through without you all. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

A great initiative over the lockdown period was that Council staff ran an online training session on Food Control Plans – approximately 104 food providers registered interest and 76 people attended the course and this was provided free of charge to all attendees. There were four sessions of one-hour duration over four consecutive days and covered the “A-Z” of a Food Control Plan. There were both experienced and new providers participating and the idea was that each learnt something to assist going forward. From the comments around town, this was very well-received…. I understand that the intent, going forward, is that Council staff will look to use this type of training in the future. … Continue Reading

Essential Service Introduction

It’s a date that willl go down in history.  At 11.59pm on 25 March New Zealand moved to COVID19 Level 4.  We could leave our homes only for essential shopping, medical attention or exercise. Those over 70 or with health issues were asked not to go out at all.   That might have been challenging but so long as we observed the rules we were largely protected from infection.

For one group of people though, this wasn’t the case. Those involved in essential services had to continue to go out to work to keep the country running.  For many it was also an economic imperative.  On lockdown day 50 new cases had been reported, understanding of the virus was still evolving so it was a very scary and potentially dangerous time to be out and about.