Michael Jackson fever has hit Tauranga. Any home with C4 coverage and a radio will no doubt have heard the news, Michael Jackson has passed onto an ethereal existence, if he hadn’t already done so years ago. But we, the peoples of Tauranga have not passed MJ. Every cloud has a silver lining; the resurgence of His music on local radio has been awesome. In Tauranga we will never tell Michael Jackson to Beat It, because Behind the Mask is the man who tells you that You Are Not Alone, and that You Are the One. Some extremist fans have taken to communicating only in his song lyrics and titles with one another. How could you get enough of that? We Rocked His World, his music was the voice of a generation where music was about combining a rockin’ beat and lyrics with mega dance moves. Recent MJ topic discussion at Tga house parties attended shows divisive opinion on the amount of coverage devoted to Michaels passing, along with the now often played number one hits. Some say they have had enough, but many haven’t and won’t. MJ reminds me as well as many of my contemporaries of a time where the music was about holistic talent. Sure it was pop, but it was catchy, crafty, and always choice. There is a place for MJ always in the hearts of the people of Tga and its bars and nightclubs. Don’t stop ‘you get enough: More please! In other news in the cardiac arrest category and related to the fine water city of Tauranga, there has been a burglary which has proved particularly perplexing to Tga RSA members. A 42” plasma television, full portable sound system, DVDs, videos and cameras were stolen from the RSA on Cameron Road near Tauranga Hospital at 3.20am on July 6. The television, and other stolen goods listed were used for Anzac Day, funerals and other RSA celebrations. In other local news there has been some dialogue as to street names. Bill Griffiths, 56 of Matua says “I would change Hamilton Street to brighten it up. It’s a street with such a prime location overlooking the water, why call it Hamilton?” Fair point Bill, Hamilton doesn’t have water views so it doesn’t make sense. Interestingly, there was a fire at an Ohauiti property recently, caused by a fire in a sauna because someone took a duvet in there which caught on fire. Saunas are meant to be hot right? Upon hearing this news, sometime Australian (now Tga) resident Sheri Young exclaims “Why would you take a doona [duvet] into a sauna!” A duvet does seem superfluous to your body warming needs in a sauna. In any case, the sauna had to be disassembled by fire servicemen who had difficulty in getting to the scene because of an ‘overgrown and unkempt’ driveway, so the message has been issued to Tga residents to ‘please maintain your driveways’…a fun winter activity suitable for students and perfect for procrastinating.