BRENDON HANSON was wonderfully repellent as special prosecutor Kenneth Starr in Clinton the Musical in 2016. And the WAAPA graduate is just as memorable in his latest role, John Wilkes Booth, in the musical Assassins. The show won a Tony Award and ponders what motivated people down the ages to try and assassinate American presidents.…

VINCENT councillors have voted to scrap rules banning swings, rope ladders and cubbies on verges after reading an emotional letter from a parent. At Tuesday night’s meeting councillors also gave the tick to residents who want to tart up their verge with raised garden beds, seats, logs or rocks. In November, Vincent council removed a…

AFTER years of delays the Grand Central building—part owned by lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi—has been heritage listed by Perth council. Commissioners ended the three-year saga by approving the listing at Tuesday night’s council meeting. City of Perth heritage experts have wanted to list the Wellington Street building for years, saying it’s historically significant having been…

Before it was renovated in 2016 and rebranded Akara Hotel, it was one of the worst-reviewed backpackers’ lodgings in town. There had been years of complaints sent to the city, complaining of cockroach infestations and dangerous conditions, but no action was taken to shut the place down. Even the renovations caused controversy: A bunch of…

VINCENT’S latest local planning scheme was more than a decade in the making—but it’s stumbled at the finish line with 6300 letters sent out with the wrong address. Anyone who was affected by the rezoning was sent a letter that was meant to explain the change to their property, but every letter stated “your property…

COMMISSIONERS filling in for suspended Perth councillors will take home more than $300,000 a year—10 times a councillor’s salary. The fee for commissioners are set by local government minister David Templeman. Chair commissioner Eric Lumsden will be paid $320,000 and his deputy Gaye McMath and commissioner Andrew Hammond will get $310,000 each. They will also…

MARK LOADER hopes that one day his business Cleanamarina will go bust, because that will mean WA has finally got pristine and pollution-free waterways. The South Freo local been involved in maritime endeavours for almost 50 years, including various transport roles and delivering vessels around the world. He’s so passionate about cleaning up WA waterways…

PERTH council will continue to provide generous financial backing to the Perth Fashion Festival, despite city staff recommending funding be slashed from $200,000 to $50,000. After listening to a deputation from the Fashion Council WA at Tuesday night’s council meeting, commissioners Gaye McMath and Andrew Hammond decided to give the festival $200,000, plus $30,000 of…

SPIDERS at Lake Monger have gone into overdrive and covered a huge stretch of trees with their web. Locals who regularly walk around the lake are used to a seeing a few webs, but they told the Voice they’ve never seen the trees so thoroughly coated. It’s been a bad season for midges and Cambridge…

PERTH council will spend $17.5 million transforming the sleepy East End of the city into a lively, pedestrian-friendly zone. This week city commissioners approved a five-year plan to turn the Pier–Irwin stretch of Hay Street into a pedestrian priority zone. Two-way traffic will be reintroduced to Hay Street, speeds will be lowered, there’ll be wider…