IAN KER is mounting a self-funded legal challenge to the Barnett government’s council mergers. The former Vincent councillor is hiring John Hammond—a high-profile lawyer and former Cottesloe mayor—to take on the state. “We’re not simply going to roll over,” Mr Ker says, defiantly. In recent months the quietly spoken council veteran has emerged as a…

AN architect with 10 years’ experience has labelled Vincent the slowest council she’s ever dealt with. Ara Casella from AJCD has been representing Anthony Bryson who wants to build a two-storey house on Hunter Street in North Perth. It’s taken eight months for his plans to be approved, after being deferred twice before. “I’ve been…

THE Classroom’s bartender Andy Bennett has been labelled best in town. A co-owner of the Charles Street small bar, he says the Shaken and Stirred local competition is “by bartenders, for bartenders”. “With so many more bars and bartenders flocking to Perth, competition in the industry is getting more intense,” he says. “We’re an industry…

MT LAWLEY shop owners are losing patience with Beaufort Street roadworks that have taken nine months so far, with no sign of being completed anytime soon. The works are scheduled to finish in July and include widening to accommodate bus lanes, upgrades to drainage pipes and new footpaths. Memory Lane owner Gail Pether says some…

TERRY KENYON has requested an urgent meeting between Bayswater city council and residents of Mertome aged care village. “Residents want to know if the village is going to be sold or if there will be a commitment to the future tenure of the village,” the former mayor told council. The council is considering a $175…

A FITZGERALD STREET developer has lost a bid to include a 24-hour gym in a project Vincent mayor John Carey calls a “horror development”. Narrowly approved under the Nick Catania-led council in 2007, the four-storey commercial development has been problem-plagued from the start. First, hairdresser Jason Outten showed the Voice photos of cars belonging to…

THE number of courts at Maylands Tennis Club has been slashed from 17 to 11 in a cost-cutting drive by Bayswater city council. A council review revealed the club has just 78 members and costs ratepayers around $1400 per head per year. The council is responsible for most maintenance of 14 grass and three acrylic…

MAYLANDS commuters have waited two years for a new bus shelter—but it’s in worse shape than what it replaced. One local wonders whether the same thing ever happens in Nedlands and Subiaco. The original Clarkson Road shelter “disappeared” without warning in 2012 and was replaced six weeks ago. Mike Coffrey, who’s caught the bus to…

A BEECHBORO man has been charged with robbing two pharmacies in Mt Lawley and Highgate. On March 10 the accused allegedly entered McKenzie’s Chemist on Beaufort Street and threatened staff—intimating he had a weapon—and stole medication. On March 13 he allegedly threatened staff and stole medication from Superchem Pharmacy on Beaufort Street. The 33-year-old has…

MAYLANDS cultural icon Old Bakery on 8th shuts the doors for good this Sunday. Four friends started the gallery in the old bakery building 17 years ago to showcase local artists. But Kath Lymon says she, Anne Butorac and Ross and Rosemary Cant “felt that we’d taken it as far as it could go”. “We…