IT’S the eternal bugbear of Beaufort Street: the notoriously clogged and unsafe intersection with Walcott Street remains stagnant despite years of back and forth. Labor’s candidate for the federal seat of Perth hit the streets last week, collecting signatures for a petition to get things fixed. Essentially a state and mainly local government issue, the…

PERTH lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi is flying to Sydney to talk about “rebuilding public confidence”. The trip to the National Infrastructure Summit will cost Perth ratepayers $7475. Ms Scaffidi’s been invited to be key speaker at the Australian Financial Review-run conference on June 15 and 16. In justifying the outlay, city staff point out it’s…

THE annual hunt for historic photos and stories of the Vincent area is on again, and the local history centre is hoping people have photographic gold hiding in dusty old boxes and forgotten drawers. The local history awards have helped populate the history centre’s collection over the years and the whole inventory is now online…

FEARS Northbridge could lose its soul due to whingy residents moving in have spurred Perth city council to develop some flexibility on noise rules. Already, complaints from people living in apartment towers built close to live music venues are being lodged. The city’s taken to making people sign waivers before moving into a block near…

LOCAL walking enthusiasts will roll out this week in memory of a tradition inspired by urban activist and writer Jane Jacobs. “Jane’s Walks” have been held worldwide annually since Jacobs’ death in 2006. Last year the event took place in 189 cities, and walkability enthusiast Tina Askam has been organising events in Perth. Jacobs believed…

JOHN CAREY (right) has released a 25-page manifesto, Raising the Bar, which challenges councils across WA to get real about transparency. The Vincent mayor’s report is damning of local government, saying councils often “do not demonstrate or show any interest in improving the public’s access to information”. Neighbouring Perth city council, for example, had to…

A HUNDRED years ago in the Barrack Street building that now houses the Museum of Perth, Denis Dease photographed more than 600 soldiers before they sailed off to war. After the studio closed, thousands of glass negatives were forgotten. Museum chair Reece Harley says they remained undiscovered until “they were found in the basement of…

FEDERAL MP Alannah MacTiernan will host a forum seeking to wind back the powers of WA’s controversial development assessment panels. The retiring Perth Labor MP says the DAPs — a brainchild of premier Colin Barnett — are “undermining people’s faith” in town planning, with unelected panellists exercising too much discretion and “inserting their own opinions”.…

POLICE are hunting a predator who molested two children lured from a holiday program in North Perth. The children, aged 4 and 5, had been attending school holiday care at a Fitzgerald Street premises on Tuesday when they reportedly walked off with a man unknown to them. Police believe he took them around 11.15am before…

PERTH’S notorious Grand Central Backpackers has closed, with a new operation called Akara Hotel opening phoenix-like in its place. The building is owned by Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and hubby Joe; their previous tenant ran a very poorly reviewed backpackers that had clocked countless complaints over the years. As reported by the Voice, the…