THE more visually pleasing a street tree is, the pricier it will be to axe, dictates a new Stirling council rule aimed at combating developers’ penchant for cutting them down. The council at its last meeting decided to start monetarily valuing trees’ “visual amenity”. The new policy also compels developers to lodge a bond for…

SHE was punched so hard, her right eye ruptured. It’s been two years since Sarah Kelly’s ex-husband, the father of her two children, beat her in public at Hillarys Boat Harbour. Now empowered after gruelling months of court and medical appointments, Ms Kelly helps others identify and escape the cycle of domestic violence. She’s part…

IT’S been nearly four months and TV reception at the WA housing department-owned Ray Healy Towers is still on the fritz, leaving some elderly residents with nothing to watch over the Christmas break. Residents have now missed months of news, the footy grand final, the rugby, the Melbourne cup, the Christmas pageant and the Dr…

“OH là là,” were, apparently, Cathrine Summer’s first words. It was the 1980s and English baby Cathrine, now in her 30s, had cried out to her mother during what would be a three-year residency in France. Decades later and following migration from England to Australia nine years ago, she still has French on her mind.…

A NEW residents’ group is pushing for Bayswater council to hold the line against opponents of its plans for a five-storey city centre. Future Bayswater formed after groups such as Keith Clements’ Bayswater Deserves Better started pushing for the council to put a three-storey cap in a structure plan for the precinct that it’s currently…

INSTALLING more streetlights and better connecting rail, bike and pedestrian ways have been suggested as part of Bayswater council’s plan to improve safety. More than 160 locals identified their biggest safety concerns — theft, public illicit drug dealing or use, and drunken and disorderly behaviour — and offered suggestions for improvement. It comes as the…

A GRINCH was operating in Shakespeare Street over the holidays, stealing Christmassy signs that pro-bike boulevard folk had hung on their verge trees. Mount Hawthorn locals who want to see a bike-friendly boulevard installed as part of a transport department trial had hung signs saying “all I want for Christmas is a bike boulevard” in…

MAYLANDS music institution Plastic Passion has lifted the needle for the last time. The Eighth Avenue record store — which specialised in original, rare and unusual vinyl and CDs — shut up shop new year’s eve, bringing down the curtain on 30 years of continuous trade. Owner Stuart Penney took to Facebook with parting words.…

COUNCILS should have the power to force developers to be more mindful of neighbours, a Stirling councillor says. Cr Karen Caddy says Stirling has historically had its hands tied when residents complain about a lack of privacy and impacts on the look and feel of their properties caused by nearby construction. She has the support…

BLACK swans at Lake Monger have accepted a refugee white swan into their midst. Voice reader Ken Gibbons let us know the mute (white) swan’s been there about two weeks, likely up from the Avon River colony in Northam where conditions can get pretty dry. He says it appears quite at ease with the local…