VOICE cartoonist Jason Chatfield says he was told he’s “too Aussie” to be the voice of Australian-themed restaurant Outback Steakhouse. The Perth lad, now based in New York pursuing a career in stand-up comedy, auditioned for a voice-over for a commercial for the Florida-based chain, which has 1000 restaurants worldwide. He was in two minds…

AFTER a brief delay, Bayswater Waves’s 50m pool is back. The annual Baysie Waves Fest that was scheduled for January 20 had to be cancelled at the 11th hour as a planned refurb ran overtime. The family fun day has now been rescheduled for February 18, 10am-6pm ($2 entry). Last year it attracted 2500 people…

DID you know that the old mobile phone in the back of your drawer could help feed the disadvantaged? Under the Mobile for Meal initiative, for every phone donated to MobileMuster, OzHarvest will donate a meal to those in need, tackling the growing problems of food and electronic waste. OzHarvest head of fundraising Henrietta Ardle…

SOME of the most amazing works of art were born out of adversity, or in some cases, outright disaster. David Wenham’s directorial debut Ellipsis, emerged from the ashes of an aborted film project, and the Aussie actor (Lion, The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean) says it might just be the best piece…

THE MT Lawley Society says a plan flagged by Stirling council to allow Colorbond fences in heritage areas threatens to ruin the streetscapes. Fencing between front gardens in the Mt Lawley and Inglewood heritage protection zones are currently restricted to timber, stone, wrought iron and brick fences less than a metre tall, allowing open viewing…

DEVELOPERS building in Bayswater will need to retain and plant new trees under a proposed council plan to control greenery on private property. The new policy comes amid fears that left to our own devices we’ll leave Perth a barren Nullarbor. Bayswater’s aiming to hit a tree canopy coverage of 20 per cent by 2025,…

WA POLICE are on the hunt for a potential arsonist who could be behind Tuesday’s bushfire at Kings Park. The fire started early morning in the bushland, near a gravel track between May Drive and Royal King’s Park Tennis Club, before strong winds fanned it west towards Thomas Road. DFES got to the blaze around…

THE debate around changing the date of Australia Day saw numbers soar at the annual Invasion Day rally. Hundreds of people marched from Forrest Chase to the Supreme Court Gardens on Friday, chanting “Australia was and always will be Aboriginal land” with signs reading “No pride in genocide”. The rally temporarily blocked off traffic on…

CONSUMER PROTECTION is hoping Perth’s infamous “rogue tree lopper” leaves town. The watchdog recently issued another warning not to do business with Sean Robert Weinthal (aka…John) and his nephew Mitchell Craig Grisbrook, who distribute flyers offering tree lopping services in mailboxes around verge collection time. Even Consumer Protection’s calling them “dodgy”, saying they’ve had complaints…

AUTHOR Jeff Apter talks about his book High Voltage: The Life of Angus Young, at the City of Perth library on February 15. The bestselling book is the first biography to focus exclusively on Young from his life in working class Glasgow, to Sydney, and chronicles his time keeping AC/DC on the rails. It’s free at 5pm, register via http://www.eventbrite.com.au and…