Port Phillip Review Local

POLICE have found an Elwood man after a hit-and-run outside Elwood College.

Children’s crossing supervisor Sue Parsons was taken to hospital with a broken pelvis.

Police said they expected to charge the Elwood man with recklessly causing injury, careless driving and driving in a dangerous manner.

Ms Parsons, 61, from Oakleigh, was hit on Glen Huntly Road at 8.35am on May 10. An ambulance took her to the Alfred Hospital. St Kilda Sergeant Peter Easton said children and parents saw the incident, and a witness gave police a licence plate number.

Ambulance spokesman Paul Bentley said the woman was stable.

South Melbourne Constable Scott Hardy said the man would also be charged with failing to stop his car after the accident, failing to report to police, not giving his name and address and for using a mobile phone while driving.

Point Ormond Ward councillor Jane Touzeau said it was “an extraordinary event” and went beyond a usual general council worker safety issue.

She said students, parents and teachers at Elwood College had taken up a collection to help Ms Parsons.

PUPPET RAKUGO

Where: The Butterfly Club

204 Bank Street, South Melbourne

When: June 14–17

Call: 9690 2000

Visit: thebutterflyclub.com

Preview: Stephen A Russell

IN her canary yellow kimono and flapper-like pearl coloured headpiece, Showko, a professional puppet rakugo performer from Osaka, shines against the deep red curtains of the tiny Butterfly Club stage.

Rakugo is a 400-year-old Japanese storytelling tradition using a silk handkerchief and folding fan. Not content with sticking to the old ways, Showko chose her master, Shofukutei Kakushow, because he created his own version using hand-made puppets.

Getting his attention wasn’t easy. “You knock on their door and ask, ‘can I be your protégé, please, please’ and usually master says no 100 times,” she reveals. “You have to convince him by showing your guts.”

When Showko discovered Kakushow was travelling to London, she flew over a day earlier and surprised him at the airport. “He was so shocked, he had to accept me,” she says.

She has trained with Kakushow for a decade. He was the one who gave her the name Showko, which means laughing child, suiting her fun performance.

Her show features beautiful puppets including a one-eyed monster in blue and a no-face creature in purple, the traditional fan and hanky and a little trick she calls bamboo magic.

Looking for all the world like a sushi mat, Showko’s ingenious manoeuvres transform it into myriad shapes, from a leaping fish to Melbourne’s Arts Centre spire.

Showko moved to Melbourne with her husband and son at the end of last year and this is her first major show in Australia.

BYO bump: Hampton Children’s Playhouse is celebrating the opening of new comedy, What To Expect When You Are Expecting, starring Cameron Diaz, Chris Rock (above left) and Tom Lennon (above right). The fundraiser costs $25 (including a small popcorn or Choc Top). At Palace Dendy Brighton, 26 Church Street, Brighton, 6.30pm. Details: email hcp.movies@gmail.com. May 31.

Winter warmer: Tickets are on sale for Glen Eira City Council’s Winter Music Series 2012. The seventh annual series promises a range for all tastes, including performer Eddie Perfect. Don’t miss the opener on June 3, with the sound of the Society Syncopators and a fabulous high tea. At Glen Eira Town Hall, corner Glen Eira and Hawthorn Roads, Caulfield. Details: visit gleneira.vic.gov.au. Until August.

Mix retro with new: Fitzroy clothing store Circa Vintage is presenting a pop-up shop at Westfield Southland all month. Owner Nicole Jenkins has brought her favourites to show how to mix vintage clothing and accessories with the latest autumn-winter offerings. She is also running workshops, for which bookings are essential; call 0434 498 740 or email fashion.southland@au.westfield.com. At Westfield Southland, Westfield Style Lounge, Level 2 (near Country Road). Throughout May.

Make most of mosaics: Mosaic artist Pamela Irving will host a workshop, Adventure into Spontaneous Mosaic, at Beaumaris Art Group studios, 84-98 Reserve Road, Beaumaris, from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Details: call 9589 4917 or visit beaumarisartgroup.org.au. May 27.

Men of voice: The renowned Victoria Welsh Male Choir will perform popular classics, light opera and music from the stage at St Michaels Anglican Church, 30 Dalgetty Road, Beaumaris, at 2.30pm. Tickets $25. Details:call 9585 2758. June 3.

Sneakers as art: Check out 20 pairs of pimped-up sneakers while you’re shopping at Chadstone. Artists from around the world were invited to design a pair for London street-turned-gallery artist Remi/Rough, and the exhibition, which celebrates street art, is on display. At 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone. Details: visit chadstoneshopping.com.au. Until June 3.

Uplifting repertoire: Renowned keyboardist Tony Fenelon will pay tribute to the music performed on the Titanic in a concert in Brighton. Raising the Titanic features tunes played during the voyage and other music of the era. Fenelon has performed on more than 30 overseas tours and has been awarded the Order of Australia for service to music. At Palace Dendy Theatre, 26 Church Street, Brighton, 1.30pm. Admission $30, Melbourne Theatre Organ members $25, students $10, under 18 free. Details: call 9563 2927. May 27.

Caulfield calling: Delight your senses by touring the 100 delectable stalls at Caulfield Market. Parents can enjoy gourmet food while kids can let loose to live music, pony rides or get their faces painted. At Caulfield Racecourse, corner Station Street and Kambrook Road, Caulfield, from 9am to 2pm. Entry: $2, kids free. Details: visit caulfieldmarket.com.au. May 27.

A ST Kilda woman is fighting to remove telegraph pole advertisements offering young girls nude internet modelling work.

Gail Butterworth said she first noticed the ads, on A4 sheets of paper with pull-off tags at the bottom, stuck to poles in Punt Road in 2008.

The ads asked for women aged over 18 to pose nude for $250 per shoot in an “internationally acclaimed nude photographic project”.

They are linked to a website for a Melbourne-based company called “Feck” that advertises “quality erotica” with pictures of naked young women, which it describes as artistic images.

The women are paid for their initial shoot, and thereafter per click.

Ms Butterworth contacted Port Phillip council, which removed ads that were posted on public property, and for a while the advertising stopped. “Now it has started again,” Ms Butterworth said.

“Ultimately it’s luring young girls into something that can be awful for them.”

Ms Butterworth has been speaking with Crime Stoppers, which said the company was not doing anything illegal so it was unable to take action.

A Feck spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, denied the company preyed on young girls. She said all participants were required to provide government-issued photo ID to prove they were over 18.

Mayor Rachel Powning said the council could only deal with the ads when they were posted illegally on poles “not bookstore noticeboards”.

“Clean-ups are organised through the waste services area.” she said.

MELBOURNE Water has withdrawn its plans to build an air treatment plant at Westgate Park.

The plant will instead be built on neighbouring Port of Melbourne land in a move hailed as a win for a community group that spent 12 years revegetating the park.

However, Friends of Westgate Park is only half celebrating – as it has just discovered the park’s south-east corner is slated to be turned into the link road between the new Webb Dock development and the M1 freeway.

The group, which revegetated the park with native plants and said 129 bird species, three frog species, long-neck turtles and tiger snakes now lived there, said it was good that “common sense prevailed”.

“Our group is getting sick and tired of land grabs,” vice president Tony Flude said.

He said parts of the park had also been acquired for a go-kart track in the 1990s, by Port of Melbourne for a shipping berth that never eventuated, and more recently by VicRoads for easement under the bridge.

The air treatment plant, which would have taken 1500 square metres of Westgate Park to treat odours released from ageing Eastern Drop Structure pipelines, was fiercely protested by Albert Park MP Martin Foley.

Environment Minister Ryan Smith said he rejected Melbourne Water’s application as the Port of Melbourne had offered to accommodate the plant.

Mr Smith’s Spokeswoman Emily Broadbent said he also recognised Friends of Westgate Park and Parks Victoria’s “outstanding rehabilitation results with planting and restoring native vegetation”.

Melbourne Water asset planning general manager Paul Pretto said work on the plant would begin in June and would be finished within 18 months.

FEDERAL Melbourne Ports MP Michael Danby has mailed every household in the electorate asking residents to voice their concerns about the Melbourne Grand Prix.

Mr Danby is involved in a long-running campaign to remove the event from Albert Park, and said he received complaints from locals every year about the excessive noise and inconvenience of the event.

He spoke in Parliament last month about the escalating cost of the race and British and German investigations into F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

RESIDENTS at a Port Melbourne public housing estate say their building is infested with bedbugs, reaches temperatures of more than 50 degrees on hot days, and was once flooded with sewage.

Tenants of the 24 bedsits at the Williamstown Road property describe their units as “Melbourne’s worst” public housing.

They have called on the state government to relocate them and demolish their units.

Albert Park MLA Martin Foley called on Human Services Minister Wendy Lovell to consult with the tenants and support agencies to improve conditions.

The Department of Human Services has confirmed it has met with tenants and is seeking quotes to rectify ‘‘the immediate problems’’.

Department spokesman Karl Hale said the property’s long-term future was being investigated and the department would make a decision on redevelopment shortly.

DHS said it charged $199 a week for a bedsit. Eligible tenants can also receive a rental rebate.

Ground-floor resident Jacob Hapeta, who has been living at the estate for two years, said that in February, his unit and four others were flooded with sewage because of problems with old pipes.

The sewage spilled on to the carpet in the room that doubles as his lounge and bedroom. The carpet was not replaced.

The department said tree roots caused the blockages leading to backflow. Mr Hale said the blockage was fixed on the same day the problem was reported but he could not rule out that the issue might come back. He said the South Melbourne Housing Office was looking at ‘‘rectification works to alleviate the problem’’.

Mr Hapeta said the chronic problem with bedbugs continued despite fumigations, which had been done one bedsit at a time.

He said the problem with insufficient cooling on hot days was dangerous. One elderly resident died three years ago on Black Saturday and was not found for a week.

Mr Hapeta is leading a campaign asking leaders at council and state level for new accommodation.

Mr Hapeta said many other residents who were sick or who had disabilities suffered hardship because of a lack of lifts and access features.

Resident John Russell, who is fighting cancer, lives on the second floor. He has to climb two flights of stairs after doing his shopping or visiting the doctor.

Another resident, Peter Roberts, said in the summer the heat was often “unbearable”.

Resident John Wilson said his unit was flooded 32 times between 2008 and 2010, when his upstairs neighbour, who suffered a mental illness, flooded his bedsit.

Mr Wilson said he still had the same carpet despite continued complaints to the government.

RESIDENTS at a Port Melbourne public housing estate say their building is infested with bedbugs, reaches temperatures of more than 50 degrees on hot days, and was once flooded with sewage.

Tenants of the 24 bedsits at the Williamstown Road property describe their units as “Melbourne’s worst” public housing.

They have called on the state government to relocate them and demolish their units.

Albert Park MLA Martin Foley called on Human Services Minister Wendy Lovell to consult with the tenants and support agencies to improve conditions.

The Department of Human Services has confirmed it has met with tenants and is seeking quotes to rectify ‘‘the immediate problems’’.

Department spokesman Karl Hale said the property’s long-term future was being investigated and the department would make a decision on redevelopment shortly.

DHS said it charged $199 a week for a bedsit. Eligible tenants can also receive a rental rebate.

Ground-floor resident Jacob Hapeta, who has been living at the estate for two years, said that in February, his unit and four others were flooded with sewage because of problems with old pipes.

The sewage spilled on to the carpet in the room that doubles as his lounge and bedroom. The carpet was not replaced.

The department said tree roots caused the blockages leading to backflow. Mr Hale said the blockage was fixed on the same day the problem was reported but he could not rule out that the issue might come back. He said the South Melbourne Housing Office was looking at ‘‘rectification works to alleviate the problem’’.

Mr Hapeta said the chronic problem with bedbugs continued despite fumigations, which had been done one bedsit at a time.

He said the problem with insufficient cooling on hot days was dangerous. One elderly resident died three years ago on Black Saturday and was not found for a week.

Mr Hapeta is leading a campaign asking leaders at council and state level for new accommodation.

Mr Hapeta said many other residents who were sick or who had disabilities suffered hardship because of a lack of lifts and access features.

Resident John Russell, who is fighting cancer, lives on the second floor. He has to climb two flights of stairs after doing his shopping or visiting the doctor.

Another resident, Peter Roberts, said in the summer the heat was often “unbearable”.

Resident John Wilson said his unit was flooded 32 times between 2008 and 2010, when his upstairs neighbour, who suffered a mental illness, flooded his bedsit.

Mr Wilson said he still had the same carpet despite continued complaints to the government.

RESIDENTS at a Port Melbourne public housing estate say their building is infested with bedbugs, reaches temperatures of more than 50 degrees on hot days, and was once flooded with sewage.

Tenants of the 24 bedsits at the Williamstown Road property describe their units as “Melbourne’s worst” public housing.

They have called on the state government to relocate them and demolish their units.

Albert Park MLA Martin Foley called on Human Services Minister Wendy Lovell to consult with the tenants and support agencies to improve conditions.

The Department of Human Services has confirmed it has met with tenants and is seeking quotes to rectify ‘‘the immediate problems’’.

Department spokesman Karl Hale said the property’s long-term future was being investigated and the department would make a decision on redevelopment shortly.

DHS said it charged $199 a week for a bedsit. Eligible tenants can also receive a rental rebate.

Ground-floor resident Jacob Hapeta, who has been living at the estate for two years, said that in February, his unit and four others were flooded with sewage because of problems with old pipes.

The sewage spilled on to the carpet in the room that doubles as his lounge and bedroom. The carpet was not replaced.

The department said tree roots caused the blockages leading to backflow. Mr Hale said the blockage was fixed on the same day the problem was reported but he could not rule out that the issue might come back. He said the South Melbourne Housing Office was looking at ‘‘rectification works to alleviate the problem’’.

Mr Hapeta said the chronic problem with bedbugs continued despite fumigations, which had been done one bedsit at a time.

He said the problem with insufficient cooling on hot days was dangerous. One elderly resident died three years ago on Black Saturday and was not found for a week.

Mr Hapeta is leading a campaign asking leaders at council and state level for new accommodation.

Mr Hapeta said many other residents who were sick or who had disabilities suffered hardship because of a lack of lifts and access features.

Resident John Russell, who is fighting cancer, lives on the second floor. He has to climb two flights of stairs after doing his shopping or visiting the doctor.

Another resident, Peter Roberts, said in the summer the heat was often “unbearable”.

Resident John Wilson said his unit was flooded 32 times between 2008 and 2010, when his upstairs neighbour, who suffered a mental illness, flooded his bedsit.

Mr Wilson said he still had the same carpet despite continued complaints to the government.

A RIPPONLEA man is fighting plans to plant trees in the centre of his street.

Maryville Street resident Charles Reichman – who has lived there since 1979 – says he wants to stop white cedar and smooth-barked apple gum trees being planted as part of Port Phillip council’s greening strategy.

He has started a neighbourhood petition calling for support to keep the street “unique and wide”.

“Maryville Street is almost twice as wide as all the surrounding streets,” he said.

But the council said most residents were in favour of the plan and, if approved, planting would begin soon.

Last August, a group of Elwood residents complained about five black sheoaks being planted along the nature trip of Shelley Street. They claimed the trees were straggly, unsightly, would drop fruit along the street and block views.

The council overruled the protest, saying its $700,000 strategy of greening every street in Port Phillip was in the best interests of the community.

The council aims to plant an extra 1400 trees across the municipality by June, most of which are natives.

Species include bottlebrush, coral gum, desert ash, honey locust, jacaranda and red flowering gums.

MW reported in February that many of the bottlebrushes planted along Alma Road, Inkerman Street and Grey Street, St Kilda as part of the greening strategy were being “routinely” torn up or destroyed by vandals.

Port Phillip mayor Rachel Powning said the council’s greening policy was part of its commitment to take action on climate change.

“We heard overwhelmingly from the community that they wanted a greener city in our public places,” she said. “Council has identified Maryville Street as one of several locations with an opportunity for new street trees. In addition to replacing footpath trees, the council is asking residents for feedback on planting about 12 additional trees along the centre of the road.”