THE North Perth Bowls Club is celebrating a massive resurgence, going from being on the brink of closing the doors just a few years ago to now being reconnoitred by other clubs looking to follow its success. A few years back the club’s finances were struggling to the point it couldn’t pay the power bill. …

BAYSWATER council has been split near down the middle over a contentious budget, with the new mayoral regime blaming the old regime for a rough financial situation. Rates will go up an average of 4.95 per cent, and to prevent them going any higher the council is putting a cap on new employees. It’s also…

PLEASE find my contribution to the “Feed the Chook” campaign. Symbolically it represents $2 for every copy of the paper I loved and worked on for 30 years, from the first edition in 1989 till 2019. I am enormously proud of the newspaper we all created for our readers, the unheard people we gave voices…

A LONGSTANDING ban on billboards and other third party advertising signs will remain in Vincent council’s domain. The existing few exceptions that snuck past the keeper will gradually be phased out under a refortified policy. Companies have tried and failed over the past 22 years to erect valuable billboards in Vincent’s relatively ad-free surrounds, lured by the…

PERTH’S stadiums will soon host world class soccer with the grounds now picked to host games and training sessions for the opening of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. Perth Oval (redubbed “Perth Rectangular Stadium” whenever it’s used for soccer) has been chosen to host all Perth games next July 22, 26, 29 and August 1…

MOUNT HAWTHORN’S iconic Castellorizian House has reopened following extensive preservation works.  The Castellorisian Association of WA had work done to its Anzac Street home after getting a $247,500 grant from the WA Office of Multicultural Interests which helped reroof the entire Federation building, install solar panels, a battery and universal access ramps, and build a…

QUALIFIED stylist in May, award winning HotShot in June.  Twenty-year-old Toni & Guy Perth hairstylist Tia Wright-Pihama has had a whirlwind welcome into the industry.  Despite being labelled Apprentice of the Year at the Australian Hair Fashion Awards last December, Ms Wright-Pihama didn’t come into the Australian Hair Industry Awards in June with great expectations. “I…

THE death of Perth Zoo’s Tricia the elephant this month prompted a lot of reflection about the ethics of keeping intelligent animals in zoos, but it wasn’t long ago that her fellow elephants were paraded around local parks for our amusement. After Tricia’s death Vincent’s Local History Centre historians dug out this image from the…

But ADC keeps Lyric parking concessions A CINEMA historian has decried new designs for the development that’ll sit atop the remains of Maylands’ Lyric Theatre, with more of its heritage fabric to be hacked away. The Lyric Theatre was built at 43-53 Eight Avenue in 1923 and is listed as a “category 2” site on…

A FRUGAL budget’s been passed by Perth council with a modest rate increase “believed to be the lowest announced to date of all metropolitan local governments” according to the council’s finance staff.  Residential and office ratepayers will see their bill rise an average of 1 per cent, and retail, hotel and commercial rates will go up…