Hamilton City Council will vote today on whether to keep the city's water fluoride free, or to put the chemical back in.

A man is dead after being involved in an alcohol-fuelled brawl at a Waikato property yesterday.

Work and Income New Zealand has apologised to a woman with a debilitating medical condition for placing her on a benefit requiring her to find work.

A woman ran over her partner several times with a car in front of stunned onlookers at Hamilton shops before fleeing from police and crashing into the Waikato River today.

A Canadian tourist suffered serious facial injuries when a fence post smashed through the windscreen of his car in a crash on Hamilton's southern outskirts last night.

Community social housing projects in Wellington, Tauranga and Hamilton have been announced by Housing Minister Nick Smith.

Hamilton residents are being advised to check their home security following a series of intruder incidents in the east of the city on Sunday.

The Mayor of Hutt City is vowing to visit a legal highs shop in Naenae this morning to tell its owner to stop selling synthetic drugs.

A young pilot is in "deep shock" after crashing a light plane into another shortly after take off this morning on his very first solo flight.

A forensic examination into the death of a young Hamilton woman has raised more questions than it has answered for officers investigating her death.

The country is in for a mixed bag of weather over Labour Weekend, with sun, wind and rain predicted.

A man who kidnapped a woman and held her captive in a Hamilton shed has been jailed for nearly three years.

A man arrested for stealing a police patrol car over the weekend has admitted he didn't realise what type of vehicle it was - despite its flashing light.

A man fled a crash scene in stolen police car while officers struggled to arrest a repeat drunk driver who hid in a bed at a nearby house.

A teenage girl and a man have been arrested over the theft of a cache of firearms in Hamilton this week.

Loud moviegoers will be shown the door and latecomers turned away under a "no disturbance" policy at a new Hamilton cinema.

A routine vehicle stop in Hamilton by police has netted thousands of dollars and a large quantity of a controlled drug.

A Chinese woman involved in a gambling scam with her ex-boyfriend and a casino worker that stole more than $50,000 has avoided a jail sentence but will be deported.

A bus driver and members of the public stepped in to stop five youths attacking a man for his cellphone in Hamilton.

A Hamilton dairy owner will appear in court accused of selling synthetic cannabis in the country's first such case since new legislation came in last month.

A psychiatric assistant who forced a young autistic patient to the ground and held him in a head lock was justifiably dismissed, the ERA rules.

A pizza delivery driver was lured to a vacant Hamilton house where he was bashed with a metal bar last night, police say.

It's all hands on deck as Hamilton's hospitality industry pulls together for its biggest night of the year the Super Rugby grand final.

A man has denied raping a woman during a kidnap but the Crown says he was "10,000,000,000,000,000 times likely" to be a contributor to crucial DNA evidence.

Hamilton is getting set for its biggest night of the year when the Chiefs host the Brumbies for their second Super 15 rugby grand final appearance at home in two years.

A 19-year-old woman's body was found off the coast of Raglan early this morning after her family raised grave concerns for her welfare.

An elderly man's death in his Hamilton home is no longer being treated as suspicious following a post-mortem examination yesterday.