A MAN’S been arrested after a small bomb went off in Leederville on January 20 and a second unexploded device was found on King Street in the CBD.
Police have charged 29-year-old Queens Park man Yarran Leslie over the incidents and they’ve alleged he set off the bomb after a Sombrero’s worker rejected his advances.
Police described the bomb as an “improvised explosive device” and it scattered debris about 10m away.
That night police got a call from someone who’d taken a similar device out of a car on King Street and the intersection with Wellington Street was sealed off to get the bomb squad in to render it safe.
Leslie’s in jail ahead of his next court date in February.
Shallow nests don’t offer fairy tern eggs much protection.
A NEW community-led strategy to help protect the threatened Australian Fairy Tern was launched last week.
The initiative brings together a network of conservation organisations, government agencies, councils and community groups to help protect fairy terns along the west coast.
The Australian fairy tern is one of Australia’s smallest and rarest seabirds, measuring less than 25 centimetres from bill to tail and featuring a distinctive black ‘head cap’ and bright orange bill.
The terns build their shallow nests on sandy beaches and near estuary mouths during the summer months, but that’s not much protection for the eggs, making them vulnerable to vehicles, pets and feral animals.
It’s estimated there are fewer than 3,000 breeding pairs in WA with 700 of those in the metro area, adding the threats of coastal development and recreation to the mix.
The WA Fairy Tern Network was formed by the Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) in 2015 to coordinate a collaborative approach to protecting the terns, and its new strategy has the backing of Melville and Cockburn councils, and Fremantle Ports which has been nurturing a tern colony on its patch for several years.
Nic Dunlop from CCWA, said: “Fairy Terns are unpredictable and have a tendency to move between multiple sites along the WA coast. This means that they may be commonly found on either government, public or private land and it can therefore be difficult for one group or organisation to monitor them effectively.
“By strengthening the ties between each of the network members – as this strategy sets out to do – we hope it will become much easier to protect this species across its many breeding sites in the region,” Dr Dunlop said.
CCWA citizen science manager Claire Greenwell, said with careful and coordinated management, urban environments can continue to be prized habitats for terns.
Fremantle Ports recently contributed $5,000 towards monitoring predator interactions with the fairy terns and a further $5,000 towards a Fairy Tern Conservation Management Plan.
For more information about the WA Fairy Tern Network, visit ccwa.org.au/fairyterns.
• Contestants on a fun, raunchy scavenger hunt in Perth.
ARTS lovers fear not – there’s still time to catch some great shows at Fringe World, which runs beyond the school holidays until February 13.
If you need some light relief after the never-ending gloom of Covid, then Daniel Delby’s 33 Years Single could be just the tonic.
The show will provide solace to anyone who has wandered aimlessly in the dating ‘desert’ for years, with Delby poking fun at being rejected by the opposite sex for decades.
There’ll be plenty of crowd interaction, call-backs, freestyle rap and love songs in the entertaining show, which is the sequel to 30 Years Single (Delby did briefly get a girlfriend after that, but it only lasted three months because she was “way out of his league”).
33 Years Single is at the Comedy Shack, Hyde Park Hotel in Northbridge until February 13.
If you always fancied being on shows like The Amazing Race, then grab your sneakers and lycra and head down to the Adults Scavenger Hunt in Perth.
A wacky and raunchy take on the traditional treasure hunt, you and a partner travel around Perth on the back of a rickshaw with your own personal chauffeur and compete against others, completing a number of hilarious challenges designed to test your courage, creativity and wit.
The night-time hunt starts from the corner of James and Parker Streets in Northbridge and is on until February 13.
A Boy Named Cash: Johnny Cash Experience is proof that Fringe World is not all risque adult shows with plenty of family entertainment too.
Fans of country music will love Monty Cotton belting out all the old Cash favourites at The Royal Theatre.
Once upon a time, Cotton was more at home with ledgers and tax returns, working as a corporate accountant in Sydney.
But he ditched the abacus to pursue a full time career in music, performing as Johnny Cash all across Australia.
His career has gone from strength to strength and he isregarded as one of the best cover acts in the business, appearing on national breakfast television and hit shows like The Voice Australia.
• A senior prepares for a stand-up paddle board class.
ATTENTION portly seniors who ate too many selection boxes and mince pies over Christmas.
If you’re looking for a fun and slightly adventurous way to shed those unwanted festive pounds, stand-up paddle boarding could be just the ticket.
Held every weekend on the Swan River, the SAP (SUP-er Adventurous Seniors) classes are specifically designed for 60-year-olds and above.
The low impact sport is great for improving core strength, balance and fitness, but with the gorgeous river scenery and social aspect, it feels more like fun than exercise and is great for your overall mental and physical health.
The classes are held every Friday from 4pm-5pm at Sandy Beach Reserve on West Road in Bassendean.
Classes run until June with bookings at trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=832641&
If you are a senior with less mobility or simply want to ease back into exercising, chair yoga could be the answer.
Invented in 1982 by yoga practitioner Lakshmi Voelker – after one of her pupils was unable to do floor poses because of arthritis – it has grown in popularity over the years and is now widely practised around the world.
Chair yoga deepens flexibility, increases range of motion and strengthens body awareness with yoga postures, breathing techniques, meditation and relaxation methods.
Free introductory yoga chair classes are being held at the new Walyalup Civic Centre in Fremantle Library until February 11.
Find out more at seniorocity.com.au/whats-on-perth/come-and-try-for-over-55s-chair-yoga-with-wayan-january/
If you just want to chill out after all the festive madness, then check out the Sound Healing and Guided Meditation class in South Perth.
Internationally accredited sound therapist and meditation teacher Andrew Cox and his partner Servane will take you “on a beautiful journey of sound and meditation” using their eclectic range of instruments with tibetan bowls, crystal singing bowls and French koshi chimes.
The class will be held on Friday February 4 from 7pm-8pm at the South Perth Senior Citizens Centre on Coode Street.
THIS little Mount Lawley gem is perfect for the first time buyer or investor.
Situated on Longroyd Street, you are a short walk from The Astor Theatre and all the cafes, pubs and restaurants in the heart of Mt Lawley.
And when you feel like some exercise or downtime, there are numerous green spaces nearby including Hyde Park, Hamer Park and Mt Lawley Golf Club.
Part of a well-kept leafy complex with only 16 units, this one bedroom one bathroom apartment is tucked away in a peaceful nook.
The main living area has plenty of natural light, courtesy of the large glass doors opening onto the balcony, and lots of room with enough space for a decent dining table, lounge and a spacious kitchen.
The light wooden floors enhance the sense of space and it doesn’t feel cramped or dim, even though it’s a one bedroom number.
The kitchen is functional and clean with lots of cupboard space, but further down the line you’d probably want to upgrade and perhaps add a splash of colour here and there.
No such issue in the lovely ensuite bathroom, which has a fitted dark wood vanity, a lovely shower cubicle and white tiles.
It looks impressive and has been well designed.
The bedroom is even more impressive with natural wood built-in robes and wooden floorboards – a lovely place to catch some zzzs.
Let’s face it, one bedroom apartments are not huge, so the private balcony in this one is a real bonus, giving you a little outside area to have a coffee and the illusion of being in the great outdoors.
The complex includes parking, communal laundry and strata fees of $969 per quarter.
This top-floor apartment would be a great investment or starter flat for a young couple who want to live in the heart of Mt Lawley, but enjoy peace and quiet in a boutique complex.
High $200,000’s 13/15 Longroyd Street, Mt Lawley Mt Lawley ACTON 9272 2488 Paul Owen0411 601 4209
House of Tartan’s Jennifer and Greg McAdam flanking federal MP Patrick Gorman with their new tartan to be named “Spirit of Australia”.
A MAD rush is afoot to get a locally designed tartan recognised by the Scottish Registerof Tartans in time for January 25.
Inglewood’s Craig Hollywood has been nominated in the local hero category of the Australian of the Year awards forhis charity Short Back & Sidewalks, which gives free haircuts to homeless people and helps them make connections (‘Fringe benefits’, Voice, November 6, 2021).
Mr Hollywood, originally from Scotland, won the WA local hero award last year and recently walked into the House of Tartan on Walcott Street looking for a kilt to wear to the nationals on January 25.
House of Tartan’s Jennifer and Greg McAdam had coincidentally been working on a design that’d be perfect for the occasion, and meeting Mr Hollywood prompted them to come up with the name “Spirit of Australia”.
Mr McAdam tells us the design process is “similar to someone writing a novel: Jennifer and I sit down with a blank piece of paper and a glass of red and come up with some themes we’d like to incorporate”.
In this tartan the blue represents oceans, there’s gold for our minerals, white for beaches, red for the soils, and the grey “is the much-needed rains that we require in Australia,” Mr McAdam says.
Local hero Craig Hollywood gives free haircuts and connections to homeless people.
But the Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans in Edinburgh follows a strict process before registering a design, with many pages of requirements to be followed before the board bestows recognition.
And featuring the word “Australia” requires extra “evidence of authority” to use the name.
“It used to be a matter of getting the chieftain of a clan to endorse it,” Mr McAdam says. “They’ve now made it more difficult by requesting federal endorsement because it has the name ‘Australia’ in it… and we needed a federal member to support it.”
Spirit of Australia
With time ticking they contacted federal Perth MP Patrick Gorman, who wrote an official letter of endorsement supporting the use of “Australia” in the name.
Mr Gorman says “asI believed this tartan, the‘Spirit of Australia’, has the potential to strengthen already strong ties between Australia and Scotland, I was happy to support Greg and Jennifer’s request.
“This is incredibly exciting for both Australia and for the Scottish community here in WA.”
The board is due to meet before January 25 and Mr McAdam says he’s “been assured by the staff at the registry that everything for the application is complete and it lookç like everything is appropriate to lodge to the board for signing”.
Hot plane trees are shedding leaves and losing shade.
CITY trees are suffering in this heat with some losing 50 per cent of their canopy in recent sweltering weather.
The CBD’s seen an unseasonal leaf drop especially from London Planes and Moreton Bay Figs.
At the peak of the leaf drop in December, Perth council staff were mechanically sweeping the leaves twice a night in Murray and Hay Street malls to clear the slip-hazard carpet of leaves.
Water had to be tanked in to help reduce the stress in hopes they’ll endure the ongoing weather.
While London Planes have been Perth council favourites for decades for their bountiful canopy, recent research has questioned whether they’re a good fit for increasingly hot cities.
A study published in 2020 by urban ecosystem researchers Ruzana Sanusi and Stephen J Livesley found London Plane trees were prone to lose much of their canopy after just a few days of temperatures above 41 degrees in Melbourne.
Once their canopies are withered people trying to shelter under them still experience“extreme heat stress”.
The study “questions the wisdom of planting P. acerifolia” in cities that experience heat waves above 40 degrees, and recommended looking into whether other species might be better urban shaders.
SKYWORKS will go ahead on January 26 with “Covid marshals” carrying out spot checks to ensure spectators are double vaccinated.
A City of Perth statement says: “With the safety of the WA community in mind and with current Covid advice from the WA government, all attendees to Skyworks 2022 must be double vaccinated.”
There’ll be check in QR codes and manual registers at the viewing sites, and “Covid marshals will be doing spot checks and people are required to have proof of vaccination on hand”.
The City of South Perth has confirmed it’s the same deal on its patch of the foreshore with marshals patrolling for double vaccination proof for over-16s, and warning “if you don’t have proof, you will be asked to leave the event”.
Along with other attractions like the Langley Park family entertainment zone and the Birak Concert, there’ll be a pop-up vaccination clinic offering booster shots for people who’ve already had two vaccines.
Meanwhile cancellations have started to trickle in for events scheduled for after the February 5 state border opening as 2020’s uncertainty returns.
The Perth Festival has cancelled its big opening event Escape that was due to run across multiple sites along Bathers Beach and Victoria Quay in Fremantle, “due to uncertainty around the Omicron Covid-19 variant”.
The festival’s other events are still on but organisers said Escape was too hard to run due to “the challenge of checking vaccination status in the large footprint of the event area and the availability of staff, artists, volunteers and contractors due to potential illness or isolation”. It was going to feature hundreds of artists, staff and volunteers and was forecast to bring in tens of thousands of visitors across two nights on February 11 and 12.
Also cancelled are Rod Stewart’s March concert, the City to Surf run that was scheduled for August, and April’s Surf Life Saving Championships has switched locations to Queensland with a plan to return here for 2023.
A SILENT auction fundraiser and exhibition of contemporary street art opens this week to help out four-year-old Isla Hewett and her family as she undergoes a long treatment plan for cancer.
Isla was diagnosed with the fast-acting acute lymphoblastic leukemia in September 2020, the weekend of her second birthday.
The family’s faced financial stress along her lengthy 2.5 year treatment plan, and family friend Nik Rogers came up with the idea to tap into the art world for help.
Street artist Faile’s Size of the Fight.
Street artists from across the globe donated works for the‘Love-Lane’ Isla Auction and Perth’s community of framers pitched in to frame the works.
Artists include Iran’s Artnafir, Norway’s Martin Whatson, Spain’s Escif, Holland’s Super A, and local grown works from Ben Frost, Beastman and Andie Taylor.
The silent auction runs til February 4 at Stala Contemporary Art Gallery, 12 Cleaver Street in West Perth.
VINCENT community members should be aware that the Annual General Meeting of Electors will be held on February 2.
The AGM is a once a year opportunity for community members to raise issues and move motions that the council must consider if there is sufficient community support.
Whilst there isn’t a great track record of the Vincent administration supporting motions from the community, you have to be in it to win it.
Last year the community moved that the city investigate alternative ways of funding the undergrounding of power.
While the administration didn’t support this, the council did, and we finally have had an independent review of options – basically we’re taking the first step even though some of our neighbouring councils have completed the process.
This was an initiative that came from the community, not the council, not the administration.
It came from people like you and me.
One of the motions passed at last year’s AGM was that the city advertise the AGM more extensively and make it clear that it is the best opportunity for the community to raise issues and initiate changes.
The administration saidthey would do the right thing and advertise it properly, then promptly forgot.
It is hard to imagine them doing less to engage the community.
I’m not sure if it is incompetence, forgetfulness, or a deliberate attempt to silence the community – only they know.
All I know is that they have done a shameful job, doing the minimum required and only stating that the purpose of the AGM is to accept the Vincent annual report.
They have completely failed to inform the community of the ability to raise issues and move motions.
The only requirement to move motions and vote is to be on the electoral roll.
So come along to the North Perth town hall at 6pm on February 2.
Speak up and encourage your friends and neighbours to come along.
Perth Voice Interactive 