PERTH council will go it alone after abandoning an agreement to build an aquatic centre at the WACA. After months of investigating the plan, Perth councillors this week voted to opt out of a deal struck with the state and federal governments and look for their own site. Premier Mark McGowan says the council should…

SUBIACO Football Club’s CEO has revealed his club didn’t pursue a chance to host this year’s WAFL grand final at Leederville Oval after getting the inside running that Optus Stadium was in the box seat. Vincent council, Subiaco and East Perth Football Club were working on a joint submission to host the final – a…

IDEAS are being sought for the Pickle District as the old industrial wedge of West Perth undergoes a rebirth as an artsy hub. Just south of Newcastle Street, it sits on a drained lake that was later home to market gardens, warehouses, manufacturers and pickling plants, which inspired the recent Pickle District rebranding. The revival’s…

In May the council approved disposal of three other dilapidated artworks in East Perth. The 1998 “Greenway Fountain” artwork installed at the corner of Royal and Fielder Street will be disposed of as it’s in very poor condition. Some controversy surrounds this artwork, as it was created by artist Nola Farman in 1998, and at…

A BACKPACKERS at 300 Murray Street will reopen soon as a 100-bed homeless shelter, five months after the McGowan government’s troubled election commitment. Boorloo Bidee Mia will take in troubled rough sleepers and provide support services on site. The shelter was announced in February in the shadow of the state election, with Labor’s presser stating…

THE Greens’ sole MP in state parliament, Brad Pettitt, says a longer term solution may lie in the state government buying up vacant buildings to convert them into housing. Dr Pettitt welcomed the interim shelter in a statement but added “crisis accommodation is not a home. A longer-term solution to ensure these people are permanently housed and…

A FORMAL agreement outlining how Perth council will work with Indigenous people has been endorsed after a year-long delay caused by the McGowan government prohibiting the use of the word “treaty”. The not-treaty was intended to patch up the council’s relationship with the Indigenous community, coming a couple of years after its heavy-handed approach to…

VINCENT council is looking at banning smoking in five town centre areas. Boundaries drafted by the city will go out for public consultation, and then come back to council for the vote. If the new rules are approved, smoking would be punished by a $100 fine in: • Leederville’s Oxford Street retail strip along with…

THE expansion of smoke shops may be curtailed under a new plan to ban any new smoking-devoted premises in Vincent.  In recent years cigar bars, smokers terraces, “paraphernalia” shops, and private club smoking rooms have applied to open in Vincent with varying success. Last month councillor Jonathan Hallett won unanimous support for his motion to investigate ways…

The most recent smoke-adjacent shop to open in Vincent was the tenth outlet of the rapidly growing UpInSmoke Empire, this one on Beaufort Street.  They sell hookahs, waterpipes, safes, and precision digital scales branded with weedlords Cheech & Chong.  They started operating before they got planning approval so had to pay a $885 fee to…