Jazz hands are set to clap at the historic Maylands Hall. Bayswater city council will negotiate a lease with the WA Youth Jazz Orchestra for the hall, which has been empty since the Maylands library relocated to the the Rise on Eighth Avenue. The jazzers saw off competition from several other interested parties, including ARENAArts…

The Barnett government has back-flipped again, deciding to honour after all its $1.25 million pre-election pledge to Mt Hawthorn primary school. In the state budget the government cut the funding primise to $750,000, sparking claims of broken promises and leaving local Liberal MP Eleni Evangel—who’d secured and promoted the original promise—red-faced. The $500,000 cut threatened…

Stirling mayor David Boothman—normally a bashful, softly-spoken individual—is continuing his flamboyant media campaign against Colin Barnett’s council amalgamations. This week he’s got his lightsabre out in full view, pretending to be Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. The poster is the latest in a series of iconic images created by Stirling city council to protest its…

Locals are coming forward with stories of why they want Vincent to stay as one single community instead of being split between Perth and Stirling. The stories are being collected as part of the campaign to keep the council together. Highgate couple Sara Haddock and Joy Wilcox says Vincent is “perfect for our lifestyle”. “It…

Alannah MacTiernan bucked Australia, securing a 2.1 per cent lift in Labor’s primary vote in Perth at last weekend’s federal election. When all preferences were distributed just 0.9 per cent had been shaved from Labor’s margin. The Greens’ Jonathan Hallet didn’t fare nearly as well, shedding 5.85 per cent from his 2010 vote, nearly twice…

Josh Topelberg will seek another term on Vincent council. First elected in 2009 he says he only decided to run again when colleagues urged him to do so. He says he’s really enjoyed his four years and reckons he’s done a good job making logical and consistent decisions. He’s initiated projects like the local men’s…

A $5000 custom mountain bike has been stolen from a secure lock-up in East Perth. Crims smashed doors to get to Kurt Asplin’s prize bike at his Wellington Street home. “It took me a year to save up for the bike and put it all together,” says the despondent 24-year-old bike mechanic. “They jumped over…

Stirling Liberal MP Michael Keenan comfortably held onto his seat at last weekend’s federal election, with 51.2 per cent of the primary vote. Now he has to wait to see whether he’s kept his spot on Tony Abbott’s front bench. The real estate scion enjoyed a 4.4 per cent swing to take his final margin…

Reece Harley will run for Perth city council. Soon turning 27, if elected he’ll be the city’s second-youngest ever councillor (Chas Hopkins first won at 26 and later went on to become lord mayor). With recent data showing almost half the city’s residents are aged 20–34, Mr Harley says the PCC needs youth in its…

A divided development assessment panel has approved a six-storey project on Brewer Street, tossing aside the usual three-storey plus loft height limit for the area. The elected members on the DAP—Vincent councillors Dudley Maier and Josh Topelberg—voted against the plan but the two state-appointed members Megan Bartle and Clayton Higham gave the 37-unit Danny Psaros…