A DAY of fun in the water at Point Leo for up to 150 people with disabilities was called off on Saturday because of sharks. It was feared sharks would be attracted to the beach by a rotting whale carcass washed up on the beach at nearby Shoreham on Wednesday. The committee of the Disabled Surfers Association Mornington Peninsula changed the year’s first event from surfing to a barbecue – although the shark threat did not deter surfers enjoying the first swell in Western Port since the New Year. DSA Mornington Peninsula president Ashley Gardner said the event’s cancellation followed…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A LARGE group of bystanders brought busy Centreway, Mordialloc, to a halt last week as police and two Good Samaritans wrestled with four alleged teenage car thieves. Six police cars, a highway patrol car, police dog squad – and even the fire brigade – rushed to the scene after the stolen car was spotted being driven erratically on Nepean Hwy. Police saw it do a burn-out and chased it into Beach Rd and then into Centreway where it ended up on the footpath. Police will allege four Berwick teens stole the $10,000 Nissan Pulsar in Berwick, 12.45pm, Tuesday 13 December,…
HARLEY-Davidson motorbikes are known for their noisy exhausts – with many owners in Frankston fined over the past year for breaching the peace. They were collared under the Environment Protection Act 1970, which makes it an offence for owning a motorbike which exceeds prescribed noise standards. EPA data released last week shows motorbikes made up about 12 per cent of the 5000 noisy vehicle notices issues since January 2014, with Harleys topping the list. A total of 465 Harley Davidson owners were required to have their bikes noise tested and to make any required modifications. Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki were…
THE release of a State of the Bays report is regarded as a “critical first step in securing the good health of our marine environments”, according to the Victorian National Parks Association. “Port Phillip Bay and Western Port are under increasing pressure as the populations of Melbourne, Geelong and the bays’ catchments continue to grow,” the association’s marine and coastal campaigner Chris Smyth said. “As a result, urban and industrial development, climate change, introduced marine pests, fishing and shipping will continue to threaten the health of the bays.” The report studied the health of both waterways, providing a stocktake of…
CONTROVERSY over a slew of speeding fines on Peninsula Link may have been avoided if motorists had been able to use Julian Varricchio’s latest innovation. The 24-year-old from Dromana has developed a free phone app that constantly displays and records a driver’s real-time speed – especially useful in point-to-point calculations, such as on freeways. The data can be used to determine an average speed and then be exported and possibly used as evidence to fight speeding infringements using what Mr Varricchio believes is incontrovertible data. “The end goal is that drivers will be recording all their trips and providing themselves…