Nelson Weekly Locally Owned and Operated
tuesday 28 June 2016
Historic plaque brings back memories page 5
ryan makes eisenhower team
Church Lane goes al fresco
Gail and Steve Webster outside their flower shop Earthbloom after they were given a 12 month visa to stay in the country. Photo: Andrew Board.
Websters given stay from deportation Steve and Gail Webster’s immigration lifeline arrived in an email and it triggered a day of good fortune that helped them “feel normal again”. Nelson Weekly reported on the Websters immigration fight last month. They were told they had to be out of the country by midnight on Friday May 20. Their immigration enforcement officer had been in touch, Steve had cleared out his desk at work and their daughter had been told by her school that they couldn’t continue to teach her after that date. But just 48 hours before that deadline, Steve
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Andrew Board Editor
andrew@nelsonweekly.co.nz received an email at midnight on Wednesday saying they had been given a 12-month essential skills work visa, which gives them time to reapply for their business visa. Steve says the email was a “weight off our shoulders”. “The stress just left us and we were just drained. We’d had it hanging over us for so long it didn’t feel real. Until we got the passports it didn’t
feel real.” Less than 24 hours after the midnight email, the Websters’ daughter Becky passed her driving test, Steve sold two cars at his work, Bowater Toyota, and the flower business they own was buzzing. Steve says it was one of the best days he’s experienced. “It was such a great day. We went to the Honest Lawyer for dinner to celebrate and had a bottle of bubbly, my boss Tony Bowater also gave me a bottle of bubbly. It was just one of
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A proposal to inject life into Nelson’s Church St has been given the thumbs up from Nelson City Council, and could see the street transform into a vibrant outdoor dining hub. Church St business owners and landowners have approached council with a view of working together to improve the inner city lane, which is home to Kush Coffee, East St Cafe and Nicola’s Cantina. Initial concept plans, which have been developed by Church St architect Tony Karston, feature outdoor dining areas bordered by planters, as well as paving, street light upgrades, bicycle parking and footpath widening. A vision for hanging sculpture that could be changed every few years with a sculpture competition, and a street festival, have also been proposed by the busi-
Kate Russell Reporter
kate@nelsonweekly.co.nz
ness owners. Although construction isn’t likely until 2017/18, on-street dining could be trialled this summer, thanks to the council revoking restrictions so as to allow eateries to apply for licences to use public car parking spaces for outdoor dining in the CBD. Andy Budd, owner of Kush Coffee, says the idea has been “on their agenda” for a while. The popular coffee spot already has a small outdoor dining space, but Andy says he would like the street to become more “pedestrianfriendly”. “In Europe you see streets where half a dozen cafes work together, and you can order from any of them
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Roll stock now in stoRe
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