AN assault charge against Leederville cafe owner Stuart Lofthouse has been tossed out of court. Police couldn’t prove the two Vincent rangers who’d tried to haul him from the council chamber were acting as “public officers performing a function of their employment”. On July 22, 2014 Mr Lofthouse had continually interjected during a monthly meeting…

A STATEWIDE review of buffer zones around industrial sites could snuff out WA Limestone’s controverial plans for a concrete batching plant on Collier Road, Bayswater. Mayor Barry McKenna is hopeful the review means his council and local community will win their four-year battle against the proposal. He supports the Environment Protection Agency’s proposal to restrict…

THE Beaufort Street Festival’s back for its sixth year today, Saturday November 14, after more than 150,000 packed the streets in 2014. While the early years resembled a bit of a big music fest, this year there’s a big family focus with a sideshow alley, the Gymbus double-decker full of tunnels and ladders, and the…

BAYSWATER police officers are taking on counsellor-like roles and becoming “more intrusive” in people’s lives in a bid to tackle domestic violence. Acting police officer-in-charge Ross Whitmore says his team has changed tactics to deal with a rising number of reports, and says an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” attitude does nothing to help affected families. Latest statistics…

THE imag_ne artwork could be removed from Ellesmere Reserve in North Perth after vandals sprayed it, just a week after its last date with a sledgehammer. The artwork by Emma Anna was installed in November 2011 and is a firm favourite with happy-snappers, but also with vandals who appear to take great joy in destroying…

ALDI is a step closer to opening at Morley’s Galleria. Bayswater council’s development committee this week welcomed the supermarket chain’s $2.3 million plans for a store at the centre, just off Rudloc Road. Set on a 17-hectare block, the store will replace the Morley library and Derrick Ernst Neighbourhood Centre. The council has plans to…

IT looks like the Manna food service for homeless and disadvantaged people is to stay in Weld Square. That’s despite ongoing concerns from neighbours who believe it’s attracting people who add to the violence and hooliganism that plagues the park. Manna recently switched meal times to 1.30pm to try to separate its clients from the…

IT’S hard to go to sleep hungry say Coral Penny and Katherine Coomer (left), and a 1.30pm meal time means your belly feels awful empty come night time. The two women have been coming to Weld Square regularly since 1975, long before Manna started its service and, along with about 12 of Ms Penny’s mob,…

PERTH thrift shops are getting creative to attract new shoppers and keep up with mainstream retailers. Staff at Vinnies’ retro stores—in Northbridge and Fremantle—are buying in second-hand stock such as scarves from Italy to add to their in-store collections of used and donated items. WA Vinnies society spokesperson Carl Prowse says a shortage of ”quality”…