PARENTS have urged education minister Peter Collier to try harder to negotiate a deal to secure a new western suburbs high school. The state government wants to relocate the International School of WA and build a new high school on its site, but ISWA has dug in its heels because it can’t get the deal…

MOST residents living near the proposed West Perth fire station are dead against the plan. WA’s planning department has the final say on the proposed station at 27 Carr Street, but Vincent city council is handling the public consultation. The city got 56 submissions; nine were in favour, two were “general concerns” and 45 people…

ABOUT 200 white corellas will be culled around Stirling during late spring and early summer. Since a few pets were released a little more than a decade ago, the invasive species have been breeding rapidly and are now a major pest around Perth. They have no predators (other than contractors) and have abundant food in…

FORMER Perth city council CEO Gary Stevenson has a new gig as the CEO of Isaac Regional Council in Queensland. The populations of the two councils are roughly the same (22,000 odd) but Mr Stevenson has gone from presiding over the 8.2 sq km City of Perth to the sprawling 58,862 sq km Isaac region.…

STIRLING council has moved to demolish three former pre-primary buildings on its land. At its last monthly meeting, the council decided that the buildings on Inverness Crescent in Menora, Carcoola Street in Nollamara, and Wrigley Street in Dianella were no longer needed. The Alexander Park pre-primary was built in 1940, and was leased out to…

A DAWDLING 40kph speed limit could be applied to the southern half of Vincent’s residential streets. The council is looking at introducing a two-year trial of the speed limits, with plans to drop the streets around schools to just 30kph. Mayor John Carey says it won’t affect major corridors like Charles and Lord Streets, and…

HOMESICK migrants missing their wives and families back in Italy formed the Laguna Veneto Bocce Club in Dianella more than 50 years ago. “A lot came from the same region [of Italy]. They had no family and started getting together playing cards,” Elizabeth Baldassar tells the Voice. Keen to play traditional Italian bowls — bocce…

THIS year’s annual Italian Festival marks the 60th anniversary of the Italo-Australian Welfare and Cultural Centre,. The centre was set up in 1956 to help the wave of post-war Italian migrants settle into their new home down under. “It had the full support of the Italian consul of the day, and key leaders of the…