HIGHER parking fines and paid parking are Bayswater’s new year gifts for motorists. A draft of the council’s new parking policy reveals many fines will skyrocket from $50 to $80 or $85, including fines issued for parking on median strips or failure to park wholly within a parking area. Hefty $150 fines will be meted…

HAVING been turned down for heritage listing, the rare 1930s Grafton Flats at 49 Ventnor Avenue were demolished this week. Perth councillor Reece Harley lived in one of the West Perth units for a year and said the doomed building deserved saving. Despite an independent heritage report extolling its historic virtues, both the WA heritage…

BAYSWATER City Residents’ Association wants council meetings recorded and made available to the public. The proposal by BBRA president Tony Green won approval at last week’s council AGM, which means the council is now required to formally consider it and, if it’s rejected, give a reason for rejection. “Other councils, including Bassendean do it, so…

Delicious dummy spit WHAT a delicious quote within your article last week “Morley off the map for NBN” (Voice, December 6, 2014) where your favourite media go-to line-grab girl is having yet another bleat. In it, the Labor member falsely “reckons the new schedule favours Liberal seats”. Dummy spit or what? It must get terribly…

IT was the biggest Light Up Leederville Carnival yet, with 80,000 people lining the streets on Sunday December 7. To keep people from having to pack in like sardines the event expanded up through Oxford and Newcastle Streets to cater for the eight stages and 250 stalls. The day kicked off with hundreds of Santas…

CHRISTMAS is cancelled at the Central Institute of Technology, amid fears an ostentatious display of cheer at the publicly funded school would be “inappropriate” in times of austerity. Managing director Neil Fernandes issued the missive to staff informing them that “after much thought, executive has made the difficult decision to cancel the staff Christmas party…

IF you’re wondering if you missed the Maylands Street Festival originally scheduled for last month the answer is no: it was scrapped because the organisers, MBA, failed to get enough funding and were too busy to sort it out. They’ve asked Bayswater council for permission to stage it in March instead. In April the council…

THE Origin New Year’s Eve party rejected by Perth city councillors has found a home in Subiaco. The PCC was split over the decision, with councillors Rob Butler and Reece Harley voting to let the party go ahead but the rest of the gang worrying over the impact on neighbours. Festival organiser Saran Bajaj says…

A FIRE at a medical centre on Beaufort Street has caused at least $1 million of damage to a local radiology firm. The fire broke out in InSight Clinical Imaging on Sunday night at around 11.45pm, and was put out by fire services at 2 am. InSight CEO Josh Zucal says the fire was started…

PLANS to erect a council-funded memorial to former Bayswater mayor John D’Orazio (Voice, November 29, 2014) have upset the local residents and ratepayers association. BRRA president Tony Green says the late Mr D’Orazio already has a park named after him, an oil painting in the council foyer and he’d been honoured as a freeman of…