ALL gifts and hospitality given to Vincent’s elected members are to be published online as part of the council’s transparency drive. Deputy mayor Ros Harley had requested the register go online to make it more easily accessible to locals. Under Vincent’s rules councillors must declare any gift valued over $50 (and refuse any above $300).…

PLANS for a $320,000 heritage facelift of Barrack Street have come unstuck following opposition from Perth city councillors. Officers had recommended that building owners be issued grants to spruce up their properties, but councillors refused to back the idea, sending it back for a rethink. The street is currently being upgraded to the tune of…

WA’s biggest local government, Stirling city council, has set its lowest rate hike in almost 20 years. As part of its 2015/16 budget, the council this week locked in a 1.9 per cent rate rise—the lowest since 1997/98 and likely the most modest of any across Perth. Homeowners will get an average rates bill of…

STIRLING city council is getting frustrated with the Barnett government over a planning rule that allows high-rise apartments to be built in quiet suburban streets. The council says it alerted the government to its concerns three years ago and asked for a specific amendment to be made last year. Meanwhile, the towers, worth hundreds of…

A BARDON park food truck trader says a ban on footpath advertising is killing their business. Ian and Annie Gibson, who run Annie’s Woodfired Pizzas food van, say they need signs and a banner to attract customers to his secluded spot at the park. “Not many people realise what I’m doing because they’re not used…

SALLY PALMER is keen to get back on Bayswater city council and will stand for central ward in October. If successful the former councillor and well-known local real estate agent would replace either deputy mayor Michael Sabatino or Cr Chris Cornish (Cr Barry McKenna’s term ends in 2017). Ms Palmer, 69, hopes it’s Cr Sabatino…

BAYSWATER city council rates will rise by 3.75 per cent in 2015/16. The council passed its budget Monday night after rejecting deputy mayor Michael Sabatino’s bid to lower the hike to three per cent. Cr Sabatino had told colleagues the “economy is ballistic” and residents shouldn’t be hit with the larger rise. Cr Chris Cornish…

VEGIE scraps from local cafes, supermarkets and shops aren’t going to waste thanks to a group of volunteers. Over the past five months, folk from the environmental group Transition Town Mount Hawthorn have been collecting green waste and chucking it on a compost heap at North Perth Community Garden to make potting mix. The year-old…

YOUNG children have helped design and install a new nature play area at Bayswater primary school. Concepts drawn from pre-primary students’ paintings of an “ideal garden” were incorporated into the school’s final design. Kids wanted their garden to include plants that “smell good”, plants that can be eaten, rainbow-coloured flowers, trees to play under and…

FRIGHTENED customers, blood-soaked knifing victims invading restaurants and constant drunkenness and fighting. Life is getting worse down at Weld Square say nearby traders and residents. Simon Psaros opened Brika restaurant on Stirling Street a couple of years back but is a long-time resident of the area. He says it’s as bad now as it’s ever…