IT’S not the sort of thing you expect to see at 1pm on a Tuesday, not even on Charles Street: a man seemingly unconscious on the dirty paving of a bus-stop, a bottle of liquor at his feet, traffic zooming past. Voice photographer Matthew Dwyer stumbled across the scene while out taking photos: he tried…

A NEW bike library will let wannabe cyclists check out treadlies to give them a whirl. Vincent council’s new system will let anyone (with ID) to borrow bikes for a few hours to try them out for free. Residents can check them out for a few days for a nominal fee, while non-residents must shell…

BAYSWATER mayor Sylvan Albert says council mergers will cost ratepayers at least $1.5 million—and possibly more—with the Barnett government telling councils this week it will not pay the entire cost of its program. The WA government has budgeted just $15m over three years to pay for mergers and expects councils to take out low-interest loans…

MARK McGOWAN and Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker are hosting a community forum to protest the Barnett government’s treatment of the Swan River Trust. Last week the government introduced a bill to fold the Trust into the WA parks and wildlife department. Ms Baker claims the cost-cutting measure will strip the Trust of its powers:…

THE fences are coming down at Leederville’s HQ skate park, making it free and fully accessible. It currently costs $5 to use the park making it “cost prohibitive for some” says deputy mayor Ros Harley. The council had been considering building another skate park but decided it made more sense to make better use of…

STEAMPUNKS will invade Government House ballroom next weekend for the grand steampunk charity ball. The science fiction subgenre imagines a world where steam-powered machinery brings technology to a Victorian era, with gentry wearing sprocket-laden gear going on wild adventures. Medical researcher Ngaire Lowry and personal trainer Gavin Downes are two members of the Perth steampunk…

DEMOLITION of the historic Seventh Avenue bridge in Maylands will start next week. It was closed Wednesday in preparation for the work. Traffic will be diverted via the Third Avenue bridge and the Caledonian Avenue level crossing. There will be a reduced speed limit of 40kph in the vicinity of the Seventh Avenue bridge during…

AROUND 200 drummers will bash their pig skins in a Perth drumathon to raise money for children’s cancer research. Funds from Drumstrong—a six-hour drum marathon in East Perth—will be donated to the children’s leukaemia and cancer research foundation. All instruments will be provided and drummers can choose to either make a gold coin donation or…

DEVELOPER Innocento Tizzano is appealing Vincent council’s refusal to allow him to install a gym on the ground floor of his troubled Fitzgerald Street project. The four-storey block’s construction had been plagued with troubles, the council heard in March. Parked cars had been damaged, 10-litre paint tins had fallen from the third storey, staining the…

REMIDA’S open day mannequin auction last weekend raised $2000 for cancer charity No Matter What–The Evie Charitable Association. North Perth couple Alison Elgar and Michelle Rogers started the charity after their daughter Evie died of cancer. The plucky 11-year-old’s motto was “cancer sucks”. For the auction the pair teamed up with Remida WA, an arts…