Author: Neil Walker

A DECISION by Kingston councillors to split three licences held by the Pompei family estate has failed to quell troubled waters at Mordialloc Creek. After a long-running expression of interest campaign councillors decided last month to award a Pompei’s Landing licence for a slipway and boat maintenance area to Leon Pompei and a boat ramp licence to the Mordialloc Boating and Angling Club (‘Pompei creek leases by councillors’, The News 25/2/15). Council will take over a third licence for moorings in the area. Mr Pompei, son of the late “Mr Mordialloc” Jack Pompei, said he is unhappy at council’s decision…

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COMMUTERS using Frankston train station in future may have to pay to park as part of the redevelopment of the transport hub. Labor pledged to spend $50 million to upgrade the train station and its surrounds before winning last November’s state election. The project may become a private public partnership joint venture. A Frankston Station Precinct Taskforce headed by Labor MP Paul Edbrooke has been established and formally met for the first time last Wednesday (11 March). “We are seeking private investment into this project and that might be in the way of buildings around the station [or] it could…

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A PUSH to overturn a ban on dogs in Frankston’s city centre has been called “poor public policy” by a former mayor. Kris Bolam said the move, pursued by mayor Cr Sandra Mayer, has come out of the blue to “seemingly placate a few people that want to have their canine by their side when they are sipping on lattes”. “What about the undesirable element that we often see and encounter on Young Street?” Mr Bolam asked. “Are you going to let these people bring their canines to our town centre and create even more problems? Many of them are…

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THE first hints about where level crossings may be removed first along the Frankston line have emerged. Traffic measurement devices were installed around Bentleigh and McKinnon train stations last week. The state government has pledged to separate 50 road level crossings from rail tracks across Victoria with 20 to be separated within four years. Eleven Frankston line level crossings have been earmarked for removal. Before November’s state election Premier Daniel Andrews called level crossings Victoria’s “number one traffic nightmare”. “They hold up cars, they slow down trains, they take young lives, they’ve got to go,” the then opposition leader said.…

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CARRUM Downs residents Trevor and Betty Dyer are among the lucky 8000 Australians to receive passes to attend the Anzac Day dawn service at Gallipoli next month. The ceremony will be the highlight of a month-long holiday taking in Paris, Amsterdam, Rhine river cruise, Prague and then Istanbul. A nine-day tour of Turkey will take them to Gallipoli and then home. While on the battle field their thoughts will be with Trevor’s father – Frederick James Dyer, a corporal in the 4th Australian Light horse – who fought and was wounded in bloody trench battles in the celebrated conflict. “It…

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