VINCENT city council’s financials are in deep trouble after $3.2 million listed as a surplus was found to be a deficit. If not tackled, the council deficit could blow out to $6.4 million. The discovery means “potentially nothing is off limits” says new CEO Len Kosova in his first tumultuous week in the job. “There…

BEING regarded a place of “considerable cultural heritage” is something most churches might praise. But Father John Anastasiou says it’s a headache he could do without. His Greek Orthodox Parish of St Nektarios in Dianella is earmarked to appear on Stirling council’s heritage list and he says that might throw a spanner in redevelopment works.…

PERTH city councillors granted the Pride Parade $45,000 for this year’s festival. Pride faced insolvency three times in the past 10 years, but management’s completed a review to tighten things up. Last year’s daytime parade was a bit of a quiet affair, with the streets only sparsely populated, but this year they’re heading back to…

THE organisation that feeds homeless people in Weld Square has bought a food truck to keep its volunteers safe from druggies. Manna Inc’s volunteers currently serve food from fold-out tables, leaving them exposed. “It is a difficult time of year and a small percentage of disadvantaged people that Manna Inc provide meals to turn to…

HE’S only been in Perth two months, but Bushy reckons he’s already racked up 35 move-on notices. “They know me by my first name down at the watchhouse,” he chuckles. After leaving Darwin he initially planned to just pass through Perth but legal troubles have him stuck here a while longer. He says the Perth…

WOOLWORTHS is withholding a key report from the public that purports to support its plan to build a 990sqm Dan Murphy’s in Maylands, says the McCusker centre for action on alcohol and youth. The $3.5 million Peninsula Tavern redevelopment will include a family-friendly bistro, which locals are happy with, but many oppose the giant bottleshop…

THE new $11.2 million Mt Lawley primary school is on budget and on target for completion in November. The 100-year-old school was burnt down in July 2012 and its teenage arsonists sentenced to eight months’ gaol. Children’s court president Judge Denis Reynolds says the duo—who admitted to being stoned and drunk when setting fire to…

SYLVAN ALBERT fears local voice will suffer under new planning rules unveiled by the Barnett government this week. The Bayswater mayor, a former state Liberal candidate, says the rules mean locals have even less say in the shape of their city and they may affect heritage. Developers can now bypass elected councils if their projects…

BAYSWATER mayor Sylvan Albert normally prefers looking at the colour blue, but he is determined to make council a healthier shade of green. The council is installing solar panels and LED lighting at the Bayswater civic centre, improving energy efficiency by 10 to 15 per cent and saving around $18,300 per year. The panels will…

A DEBATE on whether to fence off the haves from the have-nots in Mount Hawthorn has been sparked by an alleged spate of break-ins around Lynton Street. A few complaints have been been made by residents claiming Lynton Street reserve and the street “are unsafe areas due to some persons accessing Lynton Street through the…