TWO men in their seventies have been charged following a police blitz on street prostitution in Highgate. The crackdown has led to 13 arrests, including those of a 77- and a 72-year-old man. The ages of men charged ranged from 20 to 77, from as far-flung as Clarkson, Karrinyup and Hillarys. The dragnet included two…

A $13 million unit block planned for Aberdeen Street has attracted the ire of the local Business Improvement Group Northbridge and the nearby The Deen (formerly the Aberdeen). BIG N and the Deen objected to the 68-unit block worried it’ll kill licensed venues nearby when new residents inevitably complain about noise and behaviour. Their submission…

Voice cartoonist Jason Chatfield is still in the States following his hosting gig at the Reuben Awards, the Oscars of the cartooning world. He and his comic wife Sophie Miller (we’re not being rude, she’s a funny woman) are enjoying a belated “Hawaiimoon” so she probably didn’t appreciate our early morning SMS to Jason, who…

WORLD Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment Since then, it has been held every year on June 5 and is celebrated around the world. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) sets a different theme and host country…

KILL a tree in Perth and you could be out of pocket a quarter-of-a-million dollars. Perth city council has unanimously approved a new policy that dramatically increases the stakes for vandals and lazy developers. Previously, only a “minimal monetary value” was requested to fund a replacement. That’s led to mature, healthy trees being replaced by…

VINCENT ratepayers are looking at a 4.14 per cent rates increase this year—well above Australia’s 2.5 per cent inflation rate. The budget was previewed Tuesday night with some councillors concerned about where the cash is going. Cr John Carey was scathing of the amount put aside for bike infrastructure, saying the couple of hundred thousand…

THE Barnett government’s decision to remove the Grand Palace restaurant from the Perth Esplanade has cost WA taxpayers $6.3 million—so far. Figures obtained by the WA Labor opposition last week revealed the WA planning commission handed a $5m initial payment to the restaurant lessee in February 2012. A final settlement figure for buying out the…

THE Les Hansman Community Centre in Morley is set for a multi-million dollar rebirth. Bayswater city council is set to tear down the existing centre, built in the 1970s, and build a new civic and commercial mixed-use facility in its place. The multi-storey development could incorporate services currently at the Galleria, including the library, Max…

ALANNAH MacTIERNAN says it’s “very interesting” that a mystery letter writer slagging off councillor John Carey hasn’t come forward. It’s been three weeks since the Voice put out a call to “Naomi Clark” asking her to come forward and prove she exists. At the time Ms MacTiernan checked both the electoral and ratepayer rolls and…

PUBLIC art planned to beautify the Guildford Road underpass in Mt Lawley may be scrapped over a bureaucratic squabble. The Public Transport Authority wants to charge councils rent for the display of public art on bridge walls. PTA bugle David Hynes says a fee would cover “maintenance” costs. The move has incensed Stirling, Bayswater and…