PERTH council has rejected an application from lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi and her husband Joe to erect a digital billboard outside a CBD hotel they own.
Ms Scaffidi and developer husband Joe Scaffidi are shareholders in Central City, which applied to erect the $700,000 sign outside their Akara Hotel on Wellington Street.
Planning committee presiding member Cr Judy McEvoy said the proposed 5.3 x 8-metre sign was refused because it was “not compliant with signage regulations”. Main Roads WA guidelines recommend a 45-second gap between content on billboards, but the proposed sign had a 25-second transition time.
Placing the sign at the Wellington and Barrack Street intersection posed a “potential risk for vehicles and pedestrians” and damaged local amenity, according to a council report.
“It is a general objective of the signs policy to prevent visual clutter caused by the unnecessary proliferation of signs that can detract from the visual amenity of the city,” the report stated.
It is not the first time Ms Scaffidi has faced billboard backlash: last year the Voice reported that an East Perth building owned by Mrs Scaffidi provided billboard space for then-Liberal Perth candidate Eleni Evangel, free of charge.
The item will come before full council later this month.
Hands off my school
I AM writing to you to express my concerns about the Labor Party’s plans for the school that I am currently attending, Perth Modern School.
I am a Year 8 student at Perth Modern School and I really enjoy the fact that I study there, the great teachers and friends I have made there so far, and all the academic awards I have won.
The school is really supportive and has an extremely friendly environment and I couldn’t imagine going to another high school.
I am very proud of my school’s long and vivid history and national heritage, all the great students and teachers it has had over the years, and all its old, great buildings.
I was completely shocked when I heard that the Labor Party had plans to move the school to a high rise building, effectively taking Perth Mod’s proud and treasured past away from us.
What will happen to our school when we are moved away?
Who will inherit our name, our buildings, our story?
Also, as you may already know, the school is planning to build a new multi-purpose auditorium, raising money through numerous fundraising activities, many of which I participated in.
If the school is moved, what will become of these plans?
As much as I enjoy my studies, I also cherish the moments when I run around or stretch myself on the green grass during break-time, kick a ball during sport, or read a book, or just relax and enjoy my beautiful surroundings.
I believe that we have full right to stay just as we are, keep our history, keep our name.
I want our school to continue to flourish and produce scientists, mathematicians, doctors and musicians for our country.
We are Perth Modern School, and we will act to keep it that way. Arthur Caspelherr Perth Modern year 8 student Perth Modern School
Renewable government
I AM extremely disheartened to see the Liberal Party scare campaign that Labor’s 50 per cent renewable energy target equals blackouts, higher power bills and higher household fees.
This is such an offense to the educated people of WA.
In fact, renewable energy is reliable, cheaper than coal and has no health impacts.
People and businesses both in Australia and even in the poorest countries in the world are going renewable.
The renewable energy sector will produce jobs and new infrastructure that WA desperately needs.
A government that wants to keep us in the 19th century by digging up and burning dirty polluting coal is not one I will be voting for. Gilda Davies Comer Street, Como
MANDI PARKER has been running markets around Perth for more than 10 years, but says lately the scene has become over-saturated as every fundraiser and their dog thinks it’ll be easy to casually throw one together. Sometimes there are up to six markets running on the same weekend. In this week’s SPEAKER’S CORNER Ms Parker argues the result is cowboy operators with no experience, no insurance, and stallholders finding it ever harder to make a quid as the crowds get spread out.
ASK anyone who has been running markets for the past 10 years and they have the same question — what is going on in Perth?
How much is too much?
Since when did everyone become a market coordinator?
At Barefoot we run all kinds of events, all over Perth, but our roots were in running successful markets north and south of the river.
Once upon a time, when I had an event booked, I could look at the calendar to see what was running and when.
I appreciate we must all start somewhere, but if you are functioning like a business, then register your business.
• Successful markets run by Mandi Parker in Perth. Photos supplied
If you are not-for-profit, then register as not-for-profit.
If you’re not either of these then you should very well reconsider whether a market’s a good idea.
Over the past two years we have gone from one or two markets a weekend to — I kid you not — 27 just in February.
There is not just one in an area but four or five running at any given time right now.
Shire permits need to be looked at more closely.
Regulations
How many shires are approving multiple markets, let alone in the same shire on the same weekends?
If you are not a registered events business or a not-for-profit, I’m sorry but you should not be running events.
We have regulations we must comply to and if you don’t know what they are, then you should not be running these events at all.
I had a conversation the other night with a lady who had started a new market that was due to run the very next day.
She said: “I don’t need event insurance if my stall holders have insurance!”
Are you for real?
I hung up on this lady after she called me a bitch because I questioned how many events she had run and what experience she had.
These kind of markets are giving us event coordinators a bad name.
Stallholders, I have some friendly advice for you also: if it’s a coordinator you do not know or have not heard of, please ask what experience they have.
Ask to see their public liability.
We ask to see yours, so ask to see ours.
Ask about what advertising they do.
Any real coordinator will happily tell you this information because we have nothing to hide.
I understand you are all feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, but wouldn’t it be better to attend maybe four well -run, well-coordinated markets from coordinators who have the skills and knowhow to put together a successful market, rather than attend every market you can get your hands on?
I am sure this costs you more in the long run.
The more markets, the more spread out the crowds and stall holders become.
It’s affecting all markets right across Perth.
If the market is offering customers something different they will not go out of their way to attend because they can go to another one the very next day.
You must have noticed the decrease in crowd numbers, as the crowds are now spread over many markets in one weekend.
Downturn
Organisers have certainly noticed the downturn in stallholder numbers: once upon a time, 100 stall holders per event were easy and the norm.
Don’t get me wrong, the quality of the stallholders is now fantastic.
I just ask you to do a little research before attending an event, please.
I take pride in how much blood sweat and tears goes into our events.
We put hours of work and love into what we do.
Our staff work incredibly hard to make our events come to life.
Please remember this. It shows in the events and markets that are run by passionate coordinators.
HUNGER, laziness and boredom were the lethal trifecta which compelled me to seek culinary advice from the Google Gods last week.
In a last ditch attempt to breathe life into an uneventful Thursday evening, I desperately typed “restaurants near me”.
I thought nothing would be able to satiate my ravenous appetite until I laid eyes on a restaurant that stood out from the rest — Annapurna Nepalese Kitchen.
I was delighted, as it felt like a lifetime since my first encounter with Nepalese cuisine.
I reminisced about tasting the elusive and delectable ‘momo’, which I ignorantly called a “Tibetan dumpling” for longer than I’d care to admit.
Salivating at the thought of devouring those tasty morsels, I asked my friend to join me on my Proustian trip.
Have you ever built up a moment so pristinely in your head that disappointment is inevitable?
Well, this was how I felt when I first laid eyes on Nepalese Kitchen.
For whatever reasons, I expected a Nepalese restaurant to exude a sort of hippie, ‘Free Tibet’, chilling-out-on-top-of-Kathmandu vibe.
This vision was extinguished by the farrago of red velvet chairs, ruby tablecloths and exposed brickwork.
Nevertheless, there were hints of Nepali décor and spicy aromas wafting from the kitchen, so we took a seat.
The menu had a wide selection of dishes, which was an issue, given my indecisive nature.
My sweet tooth was disappointed by the dessert menu which only offered gulab jamun, a dish that I never particularly enjoyed.
Feeling particularly famished we decided to kick off the night with chicken and vegetable momos (both $8.50).
To my delight, they looked exactly how traditional Nepali momos should and tasted as good as I remembered.
The pastry was moist and the delicately spiced innards packed a flavoursome punch.
Peculiarly, there was little authentic Nepali food on the menu but rather an assortment of classic Indian dishes that Australians have come to know and love.
After much deliberation we settled on the ‘chef recommended’ chicken madras ($19.50), paneer makhani ($17.50), garlic naans ($4) and basmati rice ($4).
The subtle hint of coconut and chilli in the tender marinated chicken was divine, while the garlic naan was perfect for mopping up the rich sauce.
My friend’s paneer makhani was less inspiring: he complained it was too sweet, unnaturally bright red, and overall a little bland.
Nepalese Kitchen may not have lived up to my Proustian expectations, but I still really enjoyed my meal and sampled some delicious cuisine.
Once I embraced the quirkiness of this curio, I realised that it delivered where it mattered most.
by JASMINE KAZLAUSKAS
Annapurna Nepalese Kitchen 340 Beaufort Street Highgate 9228 8944
DERELICT carparks, fetid alleyways and the odd crooked road sign gleaming in the moonlight; artists Ian Williams and Nathan Brooker love to document mouldering urban landscapes in thick slathers of oil.
They call the subject matter deadspace: functional areas that have been abandoned and are no longer of use to society.
In a modern update of traditional French open air painting, Williams does “virtual en plein air” by painting dingy scenes from video games like Grand Theft Auto.
“I like examining the relationship, or lack of relationship, that exists between a physical object and its virtual representation — it fascinates me,” he says,
• Alfresco Run by Ian Williams
“In games like Grand Theft Auto and Dying Light there are lots of non-places like car parks that are no longer used, but are part of the environment.
“I must admit, some games are hard to paint because people are trying to kill you all the time.”
Brooker, meanwhile, likes to visit eerie locations and document them at night.
In a twist for their latest joint-exhibition Deadspace, the pair have decided to swap working methods.
“I found myself creeping about carparks and alleyways in Cannington with a flashlight at night,” laughs Williams.
• Viewpoint by Nathan Brooker
“It was a bit scary at times and I wondered if the cops were going to come over and ask what I was doing.
“But it was great to try a different method of working for a while — it reignites your imagination.”
Oil paintings of “non-places” at night, many monotone, have a surreal and slightly eerie quality. The brain naturally expects the negligible to be represented in ephemeral or modern mediums, not by the traditional grandeur reserved for oils.
Williams, 40, works as a paint technician at Curtin University and says, surprisingly, that oil painting is popular among students, despite the longer drying times compared to acrylics, and the patience and skill required to build up sophisticated layers.
“It’s a fantastic medium and adds a strange beauty to our work,” he says.
Deadspace is at Turner Galleries, Northbridge, until the end of March.
ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20) The Moon lights up your desire for innovation and change early in the week. This desire is pitted against all those parts of you that would rather take things slowly and embrace the status quo. As the Moon becomes full, so you may just have a major breakthrough. Trust your intuition.
TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20) Mars has just moved into Taurus. You finally have the grunt you need to get you out of the lack of creativity that has crept in to your comfort zone. Motivation is not lacking; and it’s not going to be for a while yet. The full Moon during the week will give you access to a soft, reflective clarity.
GEMINI (May 21 – June 21) Mercury stays in Pisces. The full Moon charges up the atmosphere, and so you remain tied to your feelings rather than your normal mode of thinking. These feelings are particularly dream-like and almost visionary. You are dipping into getting a larger sense of where your life needs to go.
CANCER (June 22 – July 22) The Moon is full in Virgo this week. This gives you a strong sense of what you need to do, of what practical measures you need to put in place, to give you an even stronger sense of being at home here on planet earth. Figure out how to overcome any feelings of being judged you may have.
LEO (July 23 – Aug 22) The Moon begins her week in Leo, sparking a wave of feelings about what you need to do to bring a sense of satisfaction into your life. Soon she moves into Virgo, where she will help you to put practical steps in place, to make what you feel, real. Be patient with any form of resistance.
VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22 The Moon will soon be full in Virgo. She will fill you so full of feelings that you may think you will burst with emotion. There is no harm in bursting, so let it happen if it wants to. Better out than in. The more acutely you can feel, the deeper your capacity to find mastery of your medium.
LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)
While others are navigating the Moon’s transit through Virgo, you are busy with the continuing effects of the Sun’s passage through Pisces. With Jupiter in your midst, constantly goading you to have a bigger sense of your own possibilities, the Pisces Sun gives you intuitive guidance.
SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21) Life is changing. You can white-knuckle your way down the highway, or relax and ride change as if you were rafting rapids with all the joy of a child. Fear or love – it’s a simple choice. One brings joy, the other brings kidney cramps. Let go of pining for yesterday. Embrace tomorrow.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21) The Pisces Sun is playing havoc with your ability to get off the starting blocks without slipping. Still, there multiple blessings afoot that you might want to see. Uranus in Aries is making it as clear as clear can be, that change is incontrovertible. Find new ways to go about your business.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19) It’s your sense of humour that will get you through this particular narrow passage. As you try to find your footing, you are being buffeted by the winds of change. Goats don’t like it when they can’t find their footing. Be prepared to lose some pride as you make your way as best you can.
AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18) While everybody else is busy navigating the effects of a rather turbulent full Moon, all you have to do, is stay out of trouble and stay close to your buddies. It is community and the hope that comes through the gathering of like minds, that will inspire you and give you access to a deft touch.
PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20) The Sun, Mercury, Chiron and Neptune are in Pisces. The Moon is full in Virgo mid-week. The full Moon will ask plenty of you. Mostly it will be life-checking that you are on track with the things that you hold most precious in your soul – or seeing if perhaps you have gotten distracted.
ROSLYN is emblazoned across the front of this art deco apartment complex on Walcott Street, and I couldn’t help wondering who the mysterious lady was.
Daughter, wife or a lost love of the developer perhaps?
Was she one of the “bright young things” of 1930s Perth?
As I stepped into the vast entry foyer, with sweeping tiled flooring and aged-steel chandelier, I pondered if she’d called one of these spacious dwellings home.
With a shell-shaped fan light over the leadlight front door, this cavernous space is reminiscent of an art deco cinema.
Aged jarrah forms a soaring floor-to-ceiling frame, anchoring the double leadlight doors that stand sentinel to a central lounge.
Jarrah floors, decorative ceiling roses, a fireplace, and timber plate rails are just some of this elegant home’s heritage features.
Like many of the rooms it still has its original light fitting.
The kitchen is pure 1930s, and is so cute I can see why it hasn’t been modernised, bar the addition of a fancy new stove and a coat of fresh paint.
And there’s no lack of storage in the white-timber cupboards that have stylish deco-sculpted corners.
Sun room
An extension has created a light-filled sun room beside the kitchen, which has access to a rear laneway and parking area.
It would be no effort to add a door to the sunroom to create an alfresco area in the side lane, which is on the apartment’s strata.
Install some fancy gates and potted palms, and privacy is assured as you relax outside.
Bracketed by two sets of stairs — one to this apartment and the other to the neighbour’s — is a small garden that by a quirk of planning is also on the strata.
Fashion and food has changed since Roslyn’s day, but nearby Beaufort Street was always a hive of shops and cafes, and of course the popular Astor Theatre is a two-minute stroll away.
Renowned local business provides quality bedding & outstanding service
European Bedding has remained at the forefront of adjustable bedding and pressure relieving natural latex mattresses for 31 years. Built on integrity, quality, care and outstanding customer service, European Bedding has a bedding solution for your family, whether babies, teens, young adults or seniors. Founded in 1986 by Ronda Rohrlach who continues to be very much involved in the business, it has recently been handed down to Ronan Kelly from his father-in-law, Art de Boer, who also remains with the business
Sourced from the Hevea Brasiliensis tree, latex is a 100% natural material that provides superior support and comfort. We all know that getting a good night’s sleep is absolutely vital to our health, so it stands to reason that sleeping on the highest quality latex mattress is the way to go.
“When the average person spends almost a third of their life in bed, what you sleep on should be as important a decision as buying your home or your car. Unfortunately, the unregulated bedding industry is full of businesses that will sell you empty promises. There is so much noise about adjustable bed discounts and differing mattress properties that it’s easy to see why there is a lot of consumer confusion,” said Ronan.
“Our commitment is to give you a good night’s sleep.” Art de Boer, Ronan Kelly and Ronda Rohrlach
“Customers have come to trust us for our experience and deep knowledge. We are able to guide them through the complexities of purchasing a bed because European Bedding has being doing this successfully for over 30 years. There is a great benefit to be had from being the well-established brand who has done one thing well for a long time.
“In the 12 months I have been involved in the business I have been bowled over by the number of repeat clients. The most recent was a couple who returned after 24 years for a new natural latex mattress and added an adjustable bed. We also have many young people moving into their first home and wanting the same mattress that their parents purchased for them from European Bedding.”
At European Bedding, they don’t do fads, it’s all about classic and contemporary designs, expertly built and made to stand the test of time. The store carries a range of natural wood bedroom furniture and headboards which can be customised in a choice of materials. Can’t see what you’re after in store? Not a problem – European Bedding can customise a design just for you.
“We are not a discount bedding store! But if you come in with a copy of the Perth Voice or Fremantle Herald during the month of March, we will happily offer a 10% discount on our natural and organic mattresses,” Ronan said.
BEES are being brought to Bayswater in a new 12-month trial to support healthy bee populations and show people that the fuzzy fliers aren’t scary.
Following a motion tabled by Cr Michelle Sutherland, the first of the trial beehives has been set up at Maylands Brickworks by Bayswater council and the WA Apiarist’s Society.
Dean Wood from the WAAS says “fear is the biggest hurdle” to getting councils to accept bees and this trial will hopefully show people that bee hives are safe.
“It was only a few years ago that Subiaco council banned honey bees in their local authority area,” he says. “They’ve just rewritten their policy, and are now allowing beekeeping.
• Apiarist Dean Woods with the new bee hive at the Maylands Brickworks. Photo by Steve Grant
“The exciting thing is there’s just been this change over the past two years, and to have councils who in the past have been extremely cautious in giving approval to individuals having bees in their back gardens, to having councils wanting to keep bees in their public parks, is an amazing change of attitude.
“Honey bees are major pollinators…without the pollinators the food can’t be produced here, and that is a threat to our food production.”
As part of the trial the society’s come up with a code of practice for urban beekeeping to help minimise any risks.
For example, Mr Wood says if the bees have an entry to their hive above head height it’s highly unlikely they’ll sting anyone.
“Bees choose the most efficient flight paths between their home and the food source,” he says.
“If you can get the flight path from the hive above head height, you’re then diluting the exposure of bees to people.”
And when bees look their scariest in huge swarms looking for a new home, that’s actually when they’re least likely to sting.
He says the society’s increasing membership means people without their own space, or who already have a colony on their property, can use the trial sites as communal bee yards.
“The Society is very keen to have communal sites,” he says.
“Beekeepers have all sorts of reasons they’d want to keep bees there.”
If you’re starting a new colony you have to move it at least 3km away from the old one, otherwise the loyal bees just buzz back to their queen and don’t start a new hive.
Mr Wood says it’s an urgent time to get more bees out there and to make the public more aware of them.
“There is a worldwide demise in bee populations,” he says, and Australia is a safe bastion for them.
PICCADILLY Theatre’s future is looking bleak after Perth council’s sponsorship committee refused to grant developers funds at a meeting on Thursday night.
The iconic art deco cinema building, located in Hay Street mall, opened in 1938.
Mellen Events were seeking $1.7 million over 10 years in city sponsorship to proceed with a $3 million-plus redevelopment.
Mellen said the funding would help activate Hay Street mall at night and allow the council to use the venue for up to four events a year.
Sponsorship deal
The meeting was chaired by Cr Janet Davidson, who moved for a refusal of the sponsorship deal.
Her move was supported by Cr Keith Young.
Cr James Limnios was the only committee member who supported the revival of the historic venue and said the community would benefit from its redevelopment.
“The item was well researched and analysed by administration, demonstrating strong positive social, financial and activation outcomes for the city and Hay Street mall precinct,” Cr Limnios said.
Perth CBD has been without a cinema since the iconic picture house closed its doors in 2013, after leasers defaulted on rent payments.
The item will come before full council later this month.
Perth Voice Interactive 