City life
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Environmental threats
The asbestos clean-up in Melbourne parks has begun. It will cost ratepayers more than $500k
Residents of Hobsons Bay City Council are on the hook for over half a million dollars to replace asbestos-contaminated mulch, first found by a local father in April.
- by Rachael Dexter
Latest
How Maya – who was banned from dancing – found her groove
As a girl in Iran, she watched music videos in her room but being a professional dancer was not feasible. That changed when she came to Melbourne and joined hip-hop crew L2R.
- by Carolyn Webb
The ‘deep animus’ behind the beef between ABC boss and a radio legend
ABC chair Kim Williams says he hasn’t spoken to broadcaster Phillip Adams in 35 years and is puzzled by the animosity the former Late Night Live host has for him.
- by David Estcourt and Kishor Napier-Raman
Victoria needs 6000 new place names. It wants most to be the names of women
A survey found over 1400 places and roads around Victoria named after men, compared with 200 honouring women. A new campaign aims to tackle the disparity.
- by Tom Cowie
The postwar homes in Bayside at the centre of a heritage fight
Some residents are concerned that modernist mid-century homes will be at risk of demolition if councillors spurn a heritage protection push.
- by Cara Waters
Postcards from the edge: Relics tell true tales of Antarctic explorers
A piece of a ship is among the Antarctic exploration relics that Tony Shields has collected.
- by Carolyn Webb
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Three votes, Kouta: Carlton champ mulls run for Melbourne Lord Mayor
Blues legend Anthony Koutoufides is weighing up a run for Lord Mayor of Melbourne in the upcoming October council elections.
- by Cara Waters and Broede Carmody
Opinion
Opinion
The pictures show happy citizens lolling about in a new nirvana. The reality will be a grey urban ghetto
The massive new Arden development in Melbourne’s north is going to end up like Docklands, maybe worse, with dark streets cutting through major blocks of construction, and an appearance of little useful public open spaces.
- by Norman Day
Single, lonely, eccentric: reclaiming the ‘sexist’ cat lady stereotype
Music megastar Taylor Swift is the “the poster girl for cat ladies”. So why does the trope persist as shorthand for a single, lonely, eccentric, sexless woman?
- by Cara Waters
Whiskey wars: US distillers warn Australia to stick to spirit of the law
Complaints about Australian distillers mislabelling products as whiskey and bourbon risk triggering a trade dispute with the United States.
- by Andrew Taylor
Not far from the old Ford factory in Melbourne’s north, caravan-makers are booming
Almost a decade after the Australian car manufacturing industry died, caravan-makers now employ more workers than carmakers did at their peak.
- by Adam Carey