A PERTH forum on euthanasia laws will be hosted by John Carey, who lost his mum to brain cancer in 2007. The Perth MP nursed his mother through her final days and says he decided to host the forum “because I know there are a lot of people who have strong views on it both…

BAYSWATER council is reviewing its use of glyphosate after a number of US employees claiming they got cancer from the weedkiller won court cases. Councillor Lorna Clarke successfully moved a notice of motion to get clarity on how glyphosate/Roundup is used by city workers, and has asked staff to develop options to “eliminate or significantly…

STIRLING staff getting into prangs in their council-funded cars are costing ratepayers about $240,000 every year. Woodlands resident R Hadley recently asked how much was being spent on panel beating during council’s public question time, after he noticed that the $185,000 budgeted annually for smash repairs was ballooning out every year for the past five…

THERE’S one last square of hope for opponents of the public toilet to be installed at the Seventh Avenue Bridge in Maylands. Locals have been crying out for a toilet near the Maylands train station for years as people have been defecating and urinating in nearby streets. Council voted in February to install a $148,000…

THIS year’s Local History Awards in Vincent has a new category for photos taken after 2000. Over the years the Local History Awards has helped build up a thriving stock of valuable photos and stories. Mayor Emma Cole says the aim is to encourage people to “rethink what they would normally consider to be history”.…

VINCENT council is set to spend $330,000 on revitalising Beaufort Street after another two long-term businesses there closed in the space of a week. Clarences bar at 566 Beaufort Street closed May 27 after a decade on the strip, with management saying “due to the greed and ignorance of landlords, another one bites the dust…

PRODIGIOUS numbers of flowers and plants are still being stolen from Kings Park. Police made three arrests relating to mass flower theft late last year (some of those may have been the same serial flora thief) but greenery is still going missing. On May 27 the Kings Park and Botanic Garden Authority put out a…

VINCENT council has voted to keep its policy prohibiting circus animals on council land. The obscure rule, which ropes in travelling menageries, has been on the books since 1996, and last week the administration recommended it be repealed as part of a routine review into defunct policies, as no one has ever applied to bring…

THERE’S an early bird for the Vincent council elections in October, with Beaufort Street Network chair Joshua O’Keefe announcing he’ll run for South Ward. Usually candidates don’t announce they’re running for council until a few weeks out from polling day, but Mr O’Keefe says “the conversation about the future of Vincent deserves more than just…

THE director clear-out at Perth City Council will now happen behind closed doors at the behest of commissioners. The city’s currently advertising for four “general managers” to replace five outgoing directors, and commissioners standing in for elected councillors have decided that the hiring and firing process should not take place at a public meeting. At…