FRUSTRATED by the McGowan’s government slow response to solving homelessness, Perth council is planning to open “pop up” accommodation for rough sleepers in carparks or vacant buildings. Lord mayor Basil Zempilas moved the motion at Tuesday’s council meeting, noting the number of people sleeping rough in the city was up to 191 in March, rising…

PERTH CBD has lost out on WA Day celebrations after organisers didn’t get the cash they wanted from Perth city council.  The major events will return to Burswood Park where they took place in 2019. Perth council had a chance to nab the big June 6 and 7 events but organisers Celebrate WA wanted $500,000 in sponsorship and the council…

Noelle the ultra-cute pooch tries out Ozone Reserve’s new dog agility park, the first one in the Perth CBD. It has jump bars, weave poles, a pyramid ramp and a few amenities for accompanying humans. The spot was chosen as there’s about 250 dogs in a 1km radius and the agility park’s a two year…

BEWARE cracked footpaths or uneven paving: Vincent council won’t accept liability for injuries unless they’ve previously been warned about specific problem spots.  Vincent resident Chris O’Connor reckons locals should start reporting every trip hotspot after his experience of being palmed off when he had a fall on a hazardous stretch near the corner of Vincent…

PERTH council planners have objected to the huge number of car bays at a tower proposed for Elizabeth Quay, not wanting a supposed pedestrian precinct to become a motorway. The state government’s planning superbody DevelopmentWA gets the final say. The Barnett government instituted a limit of 0.7 car bays per apartment at Elizabeth Quay towers…

A HISTORY of London Court was launched over Heritage Weekend telling the swank arcade’s 85-year life story. Local history non-profit Museum of Perth recently branched out into a vacant shop there and set up the volunteer-run London Court Books. Volunteer Nicki Blake set about writing the court’s history, delving into archives to discover the lengths founder…

A CAUTIOUS operation has seen the Maylands swan mosaic removed for preservation.  The swan was installed at Maylands Waterland to mark 1979’s “WAY 79”, the 150th year since the founding of  the Swan River Colony. The sesquicentennial swan was ubiquitous back then and ended up on a swag of cultural items including coasters, ash trays, tea towels, bottle…

AN exhibition paying homage to Fremantle’s fishing community, as well as trying to preserve some of their dying arts, will headline a bumper local contribution to the Australian Heritage Festival which opens this weekend. Fish Shack Exhibition will take over the B-Shed on Victoria Quay, with everything from fishermen showing how to make sticky cray…

In this week’s tale from the Vincent Local History Centre, we hear of the charitable efforts by returned servicemen who rebuilt their lives while rebuilding homes. THE story of Anzac Cottage – the Mount Hawthorn house built in 1916 by community volunteers for returned WWI veteran Private John Porter and his family – is well…