LOCAL wetland fans Sally Lake and Dudley Maier are leading a tour on the history of Perth’s wetlands from the pre-colonisation days to when development north of town saw most disappear. The WA Naturalists’ Club asked the retired Vincent councillors to dig into their memory banks to lead the tour and spin a few history…

A $25 million redevelopment of Frank Drago Reserve is being opposed by local residents, who’ve launched a petition. Last month, Bayswater city council unveiled its draft masterplan for the site but petitioners claim it was developed with insufficient community consultation and unequal input from the soccer, tennis, bowling and croquet clubs that share the reserve.…

BEING encased tightly in old fishing net on a beach, in crocodile-infested territory, seemed like a good idea at the time but Cecile Williams got cold feet as the tropical waters lapped. “I thought it would make a good photo, but after that experience I wouldn’t do that again,” she tells the Voice. The Denmark-based…

DISCORDANT presumes there’s a concordant, but it’s really a matter of what the ear is used to, Tura New Music artistic director Toss Mahoney says. And that’s down to cultural conditioning: “Because it’s what we have been hammered with for so long…we think it’s wrong, but it’s impossible to be wrong with art.” This year…

A 39-year-old man was admitted to hospital last Thursday evening after being stabbed in a William Street car park. The man was allegedly stabbed after an altercation with a 20-year-old man, who has been charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. An 18-year-old woman who was with the 20 year old man at the…

PROGRESS STREET in Morley is getting a funky make-over. The highlight of the upgrade is a cool wall mural by local artist Steve Buckle at pocket park. Cr Michelle Sutherland, who wants Bayswater council to set aside $80,000 for urban art in the city, says she’s “thrilled”. “It makes the area so much more liveable…

A DRAB wall facing a kids’ playground in Bayswater has been beautified with a kids’-designed mural. Local artist Namo Osaki spent a week painting designs, created by local youngsters, onto the wall at Bayswater library on King William Street. She finished off the Bert Wright Park mural with her own manga-style artwork in the middle.…

A NEW heritage policy that could see non-owners nominate a building for heritage assessment input has won a lukewarm response at Perth city council. Currently the council only assesses places for heritage value if the owner asks, and very few do. Lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi had to step out of the room for the debate,…

BEFORE the last state election North Perth voters were promised cutting-edge light rail. After the election that was downgraded to a you-beaut rapid transit bus system. Now—given state revenues have fallen through the floor and debt is crippling the Barnett government—the latest offer is for a bog-standard bus lane up Fitzgerald Street. Vincent city council…

PERTH city council CEO Gary Stevenson has been hounded with phone calls, texts and emails from activists after an image of him arguing wth an Aboriginal activist on Heirisson Island was circulated online, accompanied by defamatory text. The text included defamatory allegations about Mr Stevenson’s handling of the Heirisson Island campers and his phone number.…