SEAPLANES will start using the Swan River over the next 12 months after authorities caved in to persistent pressure. Catalina Airlines spent nearly two years trying to get access to Perth’s iconic river (‘Green tape strangling Swan River venture’, Perth Voice, October 5, 2013) and this week, the Swan River Trust approved its application to…

THE old police station in Maylands is set to get a $146,000 facelift to attract more visitors. The Maylands Historical and Peninsula Association moved into the 1908 federation building last year, but has struggled to attract visitors to exhibitions. The planned facelift includes a new timber verandah, wheelchair ramp, drinking fountain and a new roof…

NEW Bayswater councillor Stephanie Coates wants plastic playgrounds replaced with nature-style play areas. The 39-year-old mother of three says organic play areas—using mulch, timber and sensory areas—are more stimulating and interactive for kids. “When plastic playgrounds come to the end of their life I’d like to see council replace them with nature areas,” she says.…

AMBITIOUS plans for a market outside The Rise in Maylands have been scaled back after the venture failed to attract a single sponsor. The planned market was a joint venture between the Maylands Lions and Events and Beyond company, which had hoped to raise $30,000 for start-up marketing, advertising and logistics costs. Events and Beyond…

THOUSANDS of Western Australians have signed a petition opposing radical changes to the WA mental health act which, if approved, will give psychiatrists the authority to treat children with or without parental consent. The 6975-signature petition, presented to the WA parliament by Maylands Labor MP Lisa Baker: • opposes psychiatric treatment—including electroshock and psychosurgery—of children…

An arsonist has set fire to an historic tree in Halliday Park in Bayswater. Neighbour Greg Smith says Bayswater city council is partly to blame because of poor maintenance: It hadn’t cleaned the peppermint tree of leaf litter, providing ready fuel as the weather warmed. Mr Smith says after only a cursory inspection, two council…

THE Leederville Hotel has been granted approval for a big overhaul, but not without dissent from some local traders. Vincent city council staff were all for the project, saying the current looming frontage is “dark and uninviting” and offers little interaction to the street. “I think we all know the elephant in the room is…

PEOPLE living in the outer suburbs are fuelling Perth’s traffic gridlock, according to a report by Committee for Perth. The Perth think-tank’s research shows people living in the hinterlands have a higher rate of car ownership because the public transport system is inadequate and they have no alternative means of getting around. Committee CEO Marion…

Class sizes in WA schools will increase next year because no teachers are being employed to cope with almost 10,000 extra students. Education minister Peter Collier’s media minder Russell Yeo confirmed to the Voice this week the state’s 21,000 teachers will have to absorb “less than half a student per teacher” as a result of…

STIRLING mayor Giovanni Italiano indulges in some friendly sledging outside the new $4.66 million changing rooms at Grenville Reserve. After seven years planning and work, the rickety club and change rooms in Tuart Hill have been replaced by a state-of-the-art sporting and multi-use facility. Users include the Titan’s Woman’s Football Club and Tuart Hill Cricket…