A ride-on lawnmower race was the kick-starter for a fundraising campaign aimed to install a World Peace Bell in the Victorian border town of Albury-Wodonga. The first race of its kind in Wodonga last month was a huge success, raising more than $1000 for the Rotary World Peace Bell project. Expected to be completed by late 2021, the Japanese Peace Bell was an initiative aimed at promoting peace in the home, streets, schools and local community. Wodonga West Rotarian Clive Fau

Decriminalising the personal use and possession of cannabis could relieve Victoria’s overcrowded justice system and steer users away from trying “harder” drugs, speakers at a cannabis use inquiry said. Victoria Legal Aid executive director for criminal law Dan Nicholson spoke at a public hearing for Victoria’s Inquiry into Cannabis Use , the first such inquiry in Australia. Mr Nicholson told the inquiry that the ability to buy cannabis in a regulated way would remove some of

Just a few months shy of Monsters Inc’s 20th anniversary, Pixar has dived back into the city of Monstropolis to bring audiences a television sequel to the hit 2001 film. The new series, Monsters at Work , picks up after the original film, as lovable and quirky protagonists Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) tackle their new roles running Monsters Incorporated. After discovering children’s laughter is a better power source than childre

Limited campus and local public transport options pose a major hurdle for students from Melbourne’s Western suburbs who want to study at university. Melton Cr Bob Turner said there was a necessity and demand for more university options in the area. “In the west, there is a predominance of young teenagers who really need this sort of education,” he said. Cr Turner said the long travel times meant students weren’t as motivated to pursue further study options. Anyone from Melton

Grasslands are one of Victoria’s most concerning ecosystems because only 1 per cent of native grasslands remain, Macedon Ranges Shire Council says. Macedon environment coordinator Michelle Wyatt said the scale of the loss was hard to understand. “Some people even say 0.1 per cent of grasslands are left. They’re highly threatened and hard for the public to identify and connect with sometimes,” she said. To an untrained eye, they look like grass, but actually, they’re native gr

Melbourne’s once vibrant creative and event industries could be going backwards without government support, experts say. Victorian College of the Arts lecturer and art curator Sophia Cai said risk-averse event organisers, entertainers and others were producing less experimental and untested work for financial reasons. “I worry about our more established institutions reverting back to more conservative aesthetics because the industry is at such a critical juncture,” she said.

The Victorian Government is being urged to legalise the use of ecstasy to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in returned soldiers. Concerns have been raised over the mental health care of Australian Defence Force veterans that has led to an high rates of suicide . Reason Party leader Fiona Patten raised the issue in state parliament last month, and said this week the matter needed to be addressed immediately.  Thirty-five clinical psychiatrists in Australia are now seeking

Byron Bay-based festival Splendour XR will ditch mosh-pits for lounge rooms with a completely online festival on July 24 and 25. With major headline acts including The Killers , Khalid , CHVRCHES , Tash Sultana and Vance Joy , the festival will run for two days and, for the first time, will be an all-ages event. Festival-goers can create a digital persona to roam the virtual grounds of the iconic Byron Bay setting, with multiple camera angles to choose from. Organisers have

Children in Victoria's child protection system are falling between the cracks, prompting calls for an independent review into Why, Nadia...

Local sporting teams may have returned to the fields in 2021 after grassroots sporting competitions were cancelled last year, but leagues are now struggling to find umpires. Southern Football Netball League (SFNL) umpire Michael Moore said umpire shortages were a growing problem. “Whether it’s the endless abuse, or older umpires simply retiring so that they can spend the weekend with their families instead, there’s less of us sticking around and less young umpires coming thr

The world’s first fully sustainable shopping centre in Burwood will create a “ripple effect” of eco-consciousness throughout the community, the project’s lead environmental architect says. Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre has incorporated a range of sustainable practices into its design, such as recycling wastewater on-site, rooftop solar panels, and air quality controls. The centre has already qualified under The International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Cha

Richmond community members say they are sick of seeing the Richmond medically supervised injecting room (MSIR) hammered in the media and are asking people to have some compassion. Victoria Street Drug Solutions founder Judy Ryan said she started the community group in 2016 to show support for the MSIR. “Despite the popular narrative seen in the media, we are a community that supports the Richmond injecting room,” Ms Ryan said. “People do not choose to have a heroin addiction