THE Wildnerness Society is hitting the Mt Lawley electorate hard in an attempt to unseat pro-fracking incumbent Michael Sutherland. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling underground and pumping in a mix of water, chemicals and sand to force open tiny fractures and release gas. Proponents see it as a more environmentally-friendly energy source than coal,…

THE Barnett government is pledging 650 new spots for the bustling Mt Lawley senior high school with $39 million on the table if re-elected. The lack of school spots has been a growing issue for parents in the area, with the other major high school nearby, Churchlands SHS, full to bursting. The number of students…

THE annual Pride Fairday scheduled for February has been cancelled. Pride WA announced on January 26: ”It has been decided by the committee of management to change from the February timing of Fairday and as such Fairday will not be held in February 2017. “Pride WA would like to convey to the community our apologies…

RENOWNED techno-biological performance artist Stelarc has chosen Maylands for his latest exhibition, again probing at the boundaries between human and machine. The Cyprus-born artist’s previous projects exploring “contestable futures” have often involved blurring the lines between the body and robotics: He’s worn a robotic third hand, allowed people to remotely control his arms via the…

A HANDFUL of everyday heroes in Stirling were recognised at the annual citizen of the year awards on Australia Day. Michael Playforth took home the big award for 30 years of full-time volunteering at St Vinnies in Osborne Park. In the under-25 category, Wahida Samim won the award for her work representing multicultural youth issues,…

BIBLIOPHILES can top-up on Vitamin D while lounging on a deckchair at Inglewood library’s new outdoor reading room. Stirling is trialling the alfresco reading rooms at Inglewood and Scarborough libraries until the end of 2017, but they could be made permanent if successful. Replete with sun-smart parasols, soft grass, and free wi-fi for downloading e-books,…

WA doctors, farmers, faith groups and unions have gathered together to call for immediate action on climate change from WA pollies in March’s election. Renew WA is a new collective of 40 disparate organisations ranging from the Urban Bushland Council of WA to Catholic Earthcare to the Buddhist Council of WA. They’re holding a forum…

DIANELLA resident Vanessa Vlajkovic has become the first deafblind Western Australian to enter university. The 19-year-old, who was named WA’s 2016 young person of the year, has signed up to study journalism at Edith Cowan, but admits she’s not sure whether it’ll take off as a career. Ms Vlajkovic says she’s got humble ambitions at…

STIRLING will hold a councillor workshop early next year to consider whether to swap to a popularly elected mayor. The mayor is currently chosen through a vote of councillors. Councillor David Boothman spearheaded the current motion, despite voting against popular elections when they were floated by Councillor Elizabeth Re during his mayoralty. Cr Boothman said…

THE Guildford Road side of the Maylands town centre is about as green as Death Valley, prompting local Elli Petersen-Pik to start a tree-planting campaign. “It’s not a pretty streetscape, it’s not very inviting,” Mr Petersen-Pik says. “It’s not responsible or acceptable that not even one street tree has been planted to shade pedestrians along…