By Shane Scanlan If you live in the CBD, you may not have noticed that there is a state election on November 24. The urban renewal areas of the Melbourne electorate, CBD and Docklands, have become a virtual no-go zone for candidates who are more at home in the traditional inner-city suburbs to our north.…
No butts about it
By Shane Scanlan CBD residents are sick of their streets and lanes being treated as a giant ashtray and they want smokers and businesses educated or prosecuted. Resident groups EastEnders and Residents 3000 have both weighed into the issue and are clear about what needs to be done. EastEnders president Jenny Eltham wants the City…
Public contributes its own “new” open space
By Shane Scanlan The CBD is to get a new 1850sqm park, but the history of the site has muted the celebration. The new park comprises 474sqm contributed by developer Cbus, with the remainder being taken from adjoining Market St, which is being closed to one lane. The entire block bounded by Collins, William and…
Culture Kings backs down on Hosier
By Meg Hill Streetwear giant Culture Kings, which sparked outrage last month by calling the police on street artists in Hosier Lane, has retreated and issued an “embarrassed” public apology. The back down came after the Victorian Socialists launched a campaign against Culture Kings following CBD News’s articles on the incident last month. Their campaign…
Public and private visions don’t mix
By Meg Hill Disgruntled Melburnians gathered in Federation Square on September 19 to protest the Apple flagship store planned to replace one of the square’s buildings. The rally was organised by Citizens for Melbourne and guest speakers included National Trust CEO Simon Ambrose, Greens councillor Rohan Leppert and Victorian Socialist candidate Stephen Jolly. The state…
NO GO ZONE
By Shane Scanlan The City of Melbourne (CoM) has declared a public lane off-limits for its compliance officers because they feel threatened by rough-sleepers. In an email to a local resident, local laws team supervisor Kosmo Kanatsidis said he had determined Rutledge Lane was too risky for his staff to enter. “It is my determination that…
Killing the culture that laid the golden egg
By Meg Hill In a fairly foreseeable series of events, the move of monolithic clothing chain Culture Kings into Melbourne’s iconic Hosier Lane has proved antithetical to the preservation of culture. There’s no lack of irony in this story. A corporate enterprise decides to trade on the currency of culture, even claiming to be the…
Reflections on “full pelt”for 100 days
By Shane Scanlan Some 100 days into the lord mayoralty, Sally Capp’s energy is undiminished and her learning along the way has sharpened her capacity to effect change. It’s a very different council with Cr Capp in the chair. The council has become open and available. Collaboration and co-operation are present where, not so long…
Critics open fire on Melbourne Day
By Shane Scanlan The “invasion day” label, which has controversially dogged Australia Day in recent years, has caught up with the CBD-based Melbourne Day, with immediate consequences. After decades of support, Melbourne Day is this year proceeding on August 30 without any funding from the City of Melbourne. Melbourne Day chairman Campbell Walker told CBD…
Telstra plunders CBD for profits
By Shane Scanlan After years of incremental encroachment into the public domain for private profits, Telstra appears to have crossed a City of Melbourne “line in the sand” with its latest rollout of monster digital advertising. Locals would have witnessed the recent unveiling on CBD footpaths of about 40 3m x 1.1m digital signs – advertising…