WITH fingers crossed, motorists are lining up to be tested for coronavirus on the mezzanine level at Bayside Shopping Centre, Frankston. Melbourne Pathology doctors and nurses conducted scores of drive-through tests as the state government ramps up specific testing for COVID-19. Testing is available at the Beach Street building 9am-5pm daily. Up to 100,000 Victorians will be tested over the next two weeks to better understand how the virus spreads in the community and help pave the way for the potential easing of restrictions. Those tested will be contacted by phone call or SMS to notify them of their results…
Day: May 4, 2020
By Muriel Cooper* “Weird” is a common way of describing our circumstances during the coronavirus lockdown. With this “weirdness” can come a sense of being adrift, not tethered to anything, a sense of unreality; being disconnected. Our ancestors, European or Indigenous, often had to endure long periods of isolation on extended sea voyages or overland treks, and we could do worse than follow their example. How did they remain grounded? Here are a few ways in which I think they kept their sense of place and purpose: They were stoic; they did not expect life to be easy. They expected…
Correction (The News 13/5/2020) THE article “‘Green hydrogen’ nearly affordable” (The News 5/5/20) incorrectly stated that it was South Australia’s Labor government, rather than the Liberal government, that was backing the production of hydrogen from water. South Australia’s Liberal government is led by Premier Steven Marshall who was involved in a “ground breaking ceremony” at Hydrogen Park south of Adelaide on 1 December 2019. The Victorian (Labor) and the federal (Liberal National) governments have together given $100 million towards making hydrogen from brown coal in the Latrobe Valley. A SMALL processing plant nearing completion in Bayview Road, Hastings can be…
Mornington Community Information and Support Centre, Southern Peninsula Community Support, Information Centre and Western Port Community Support and Community Support Frankston will receive more than $500,000 from the federal government’s new Community Support Package. “This is such a different time with so many moving and changing challenges for emergency relief charities like ours, we have lost some important income streams just when they are most needed,” Southern Peninsula Community Support and Information Centre CEO Jeremy Maxwell said Stuart Davis-Meehan of the Mornington Community Information and Support Centre said the extra money would “enable us to expand the range of support…
ANZAC Day 2020 was like no other. Gone were the mass marches and dawn gatherings at cenotaphs throughout Australia. There were no Anzac breakfasts, two-up or the camaraderie that is always shown at a much-anticipated football game. Instead, family groups, or individuals, stood holding small lights at the end of driveways. Largely silent, the memories of past family members who fought for Australia were no less meaningful than when crowds have gathered in the past. Family members proudly wore medals, their memories stirred by the quiet dignity of the day. The small observances outside innumerable houses throughout the land were…
THE first sites of Telstra’s 5G network on the Mornington Peninsula are now up and running. The switch-on follows completion in March to upgrades of the telecommunication company’s mobile sites. Sorrento, Blairgowrie and Rye join parts of Melbourne, and several regional locations, where the 5G rollout has started. “Not all of the peninsula is covered at this stage,” a company spokesperson said, adding that work was under way in other parts of Rye, Tootgarook, Rosebud, Fingal, Boneo and Dromana. “The rollout has begun and we’ll continue to expand it as we keep building the new network across the country.” Telstra…
THEFTS of, and from, cars on the Mornington Peninsula have “dramatically dropped” after the arrest of four suspects last week. Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Tony Henry, of Somerville CIU, said the men, all in their late teens, were nabbed at Morwell but were originally from the Hastings area. The group is alleged to have stolen three cars and broken into 12 others on the peninsula as well as at Frankston, Dandenong and Croydon over a three-week period. The alleged ringleader, 18, formerly of Hastings, is facing 10 charges which include driving offences. The alleged offenders faced Frankston Magistrates’ Court last…
ONE WEEK after its sister site opened at Rosebud, headspace Hastings will provide early intervention mental health support and assistance for young people experiencing complex mental health issues in the Western Port area. Sited at the Atticus Regional Medicentre, headspace Hastings was established under a $1.5 million federal government grant to set up youth services hubs on the Mornington Peninsula. “We know headspace is a service trusted by young people, and it’s great that headspace Hastings will be able to provide help and support to young people across the region to help them get through tough times, and get back…
HASTINGS police are seeking public help in identifying a couple in relation to the alleged theft of alcohol from a shop in Baxter-Tooradin Road, Baxter, 4.40pm, Sunday 29 March. Police released a CCTV image (below) of two people they believe can assist with their enquiries. The woman, aged in her 30s, is described as Caucasian, 168cm tall, with a medium build and blonde hair. The man, also aged in his 30s, is Caucasian, 175cm tall, with a medium build. Anyone with information is urged to contact Hastings police, 5970 7800, or Crime Stoppers 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential…
MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillor and Victoria Police officer Julie Morris said the deaths of four police in a horror crash on the Eastern Freeway, Wednesday 22 April, had “been felt in police stations right across the state”. “I’d like to thank our local community for the flowers, cards and messages of support,” she said. “The kindness we’ve seen and your words of support are encouraging and we thank you for standing beside us at this difficult time, as we mourn and reflect on the loss of our colleagues and friends.” Cr Morris was speaking after Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor…
RESIDENTS pushing for the withdrawal of the contentious rural living rate have sent a 295-signature petition to Mornington Peninsula Shire Council. The increase, which adds about $900 to rate bills, was adopted unanimously by councillors when it was introduced last October. The residents claim the 20 per cent rate hike levied on the owners of 724 green wedge properties of two hectares or less is a “cash grab”. (“No cash grab in green wedge rates” The News 14/10/19). The shire’s chief financial officer Bulent Oz said smaller property owners gained greater value than the general ratepayer from programs and policies…
A NEW suitor has announced intentions to bring the grand old dame of Ocean Beach Road back to her former glory with prominent Melbourne developer Trenerry Property Group buying the 145-year-old Continental Hotel for a reported $14.5 million. The company has signed what is described as an unconditional contract after first mortgagee Manda Capital Holdings appointed receivers PKF Melbourne to again put the property on the market through Colliers International. Despite what appears to be a good cause for celebration, neither Colliers’ Guy Wells nor Trenerry director Rob Dicintio would comment on the deal last week. The derelict construction site…
ELECTRONIC warning signs are being credited with cutting the number of kangaroos that have been killed on some of the Mornington Peninsula’s rural roads. Four solar-powered signs were placed on roads with high recorded incidences of kangaroo deaths: Point Leo Road, Red Hill South, Purves Road, Arthurs Seat, and Browns Road, Main Ridge, including the end of Jetty Road, Boneo. Mornington Peninsula Shire statistics show that 10 kangaroos were killed from July 2018 to June 2019 in Browns Road, Main Ridge, with just two being killed there after the signs were erected from August 2019 to March this year. The…