NIGHT-TIME taxis patronage across Frankston and the Mornington Peninsula has dived after the launch of Uber’s ridesharing service in late December, according to frustrated cabbies. US based Uber, backed by corporate goliaths including Google and investment bank Goldman Sachs, is operating its uberX service illegally in Victoria (‘Uber’s arrival challenges taxi operators’, The Times 19/1/15). Taxi owners and drivers are angry that the state government and regulators seem unwilling to act to stamp out the unregulated ridesharing service. Several have told The Times young people in the 18-30 age bracket in particular are shunning taxis and using Uber’s smartphone app…
Author: Neil Walker
THERE have been more than 900 reported dog attacks on people and animals in Frankston in the past four years. Frankston Council figures reveal there were 233 reports of dog attacks last year and 225 the year before. There were 921 attacks from the start of 2011 until the end of 2014. The Times asked for the information in the wake of a five-year-old Carrum Downs girl being savaged by a pit bull cross on Friday 20 January. Alexis Douglas had been playing outside a family friend’s house on the evening a neighbour’s dog attacked. The Rhodesian Ridgeback cross was…
KINGSTON councillors will make a decision next month on three Crown land licences for Pompei’s Landing on Mordialloc Creek. But the waters of the expressions of interest process may have been muddied with one of the parties vying for the boat ramp licences complaining to council about current tenant, Leon Pompei. The Mordialloc Boating and Angling Club, based next to Mr Pompei’s marine paints and boat repairs business at the creek, wrote to council in April last year with allegations about his “behaviour bordering on intimidation and abuse” at the site. The unsigned letter on official boating club letterhead stated:…
TENSION between councillors erupted into the open at a Frankston Council meeting last week. The first monthly meeting of the year last Monday evening had to be halted for about 10 minutes after councillors began shouting at each other across the council chambers amid “bullying” allegations. The mayor, Cr Sandra Mayer, adjourned the meeting and councillors gathered in a room at the back of the chambers behind closed doors to continue their argument away from public view. Raised voices could be heard from the room for several minutes during the meeting break. Councillors were discussing their attendance at meetings and…
FRANKSTON’S new war memorial is a step closer to reality after Frankston RSL agreed to work with council on a scaled back design budgeted at about $490,000. In November, councillors voted to a new memorial design after a $1.4 million project, announced with much fanfare early last year, was deemed too expensive to build. At Monday evening’s council meeting, Frankston RSL secretary Brent Clyne said it is time to set aside differences of opinion about the design of the new memorial which is needed because the existing Davey St memorial cannot accommodate large Anzac Day crowds. “Let’s move forward… it’s…