CAMPING out in cars in Vincent’s streets has been banned after backpackers ruined it for everyone with boozy, messy sleepouts. More backpackers have been camping out on streets now that FIFOs have started filling up local hostels. Mayor Alannah MacTiernan was unsure about the ban, saying she didn’t want the genuinely homeless to be targeted…

FOR years Perth has been the only major city in Australia without a jazz festival (OK, Darwin too). But after a few local jazzy sorts like Graham Wood from Ellington Jazz Club and saxophonist Jamie Oehlers got together, Perth will see its inaugural International Jazz Fest kick off later this month. Mr Oehlers says, “there’s…

BIG BROTHER is watching you in Beaufort Street. Stirling city council has added another four CCTV cameras to the Beaufort-Walcott Street intersection, taking the total number of cameras in the area to 13. The cameras are clustered around the eastern side of the crossroads, stretching up to the NAB bank. The new hi-tech fixed cameras…

A COUNCIL-sponsored community bus is on the cards to deal with a “problematic and grossly inadequate” public transport network. Vincent city council staff say there’s a “poor connecting transport network in the city, in particular the east-west connections”. The situation wasn’t helped when Transperth nixed the 401 route saying it was underused (the council says…

BUNNINGS has appealed Stirling city council’s rejection of its retrospective planning application for its Inglewood garden centre. The Wesfarmers-owned hardware giant has operated a garden centre without planning permission since 1994, infuriating locals who’ve long complained about traffic problems. Insufficient parking at the store, at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Beaufort Street, means customers…

WA POLICE are refusing to get involved with Vincent city council’s “name and shame” scheme. The council is so fed up with street prostitution plaguing Highgate it’s resolved to name offenders. But in a meeting with mayor Alannah MacTiernan, police refused to back the plan. Central metropolitan superintendent Paul Coombes told the Voice police have…

FOLLOWING outcry from fans, Jon Bon Jovi has added Perth to his Australian tour, bucking the trend of major musos skipping our city. After the first announcement of tour dates failed to include WA, several online petitions were started. Most creative petition goes to Jodie Digney from Perth who implored the band: “Because We Can…

THE tree commemorating the Halliday family has died. The family were pioneers in the early days of Bayswater, and their nearby house on King William Street served as a meeting place for the local Baptist congregation. It’s now a museum and the HQ of the Bayswater historical society. But the tree planted in Halliday Park…

SPORTS clubs under threat of closure or amalgamation by Bayswater city council have been granted a reprieve. Spiralling maintenance costs on old buildings and plummeting membership have put pressure on clubs to merge and become more self-sufficient. Five Bayswater clubs fought for their survival on Tuesday night, presenting deputations to the council to show they…

SCORES of Ringo Starrs will play in a Perth drumathon to raise money for the WA cancer council this Sunday. The event is part of the global fundraiser Drumstrong, which will see drummers from across the globe unite to fight cancer. Perth participants will be able to play along with overseas drummers via a Skype…