Byron Bay

British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, who will be performing at Bluesfest with The Imposters on Monday and Tuesday, is renowned for jumping from one genre to another over his long career in the music industry. WITH Bluesfest kicking off in two days, the who’s who of the music business are rolling into the Northern Rivers. While artists like Grace Jones and Elvis Costello are touring other parts of the country, some acts are already making their way into Byron Bay. Michael Franti heads in tomorrow for his benefit concert at The Great Northern, while others are already here. Luciano and Ernest Ranglin are here, ready for their slots on Thursday’s schedule. Elvis Costello won’t touch down in Byron Bay until Sunday, [...]

Tent master Marty Ashton busy setting up one of the tents for the start of Bluesfest on Thursday. THERE are only three sleeps before Bluesfest kicks off for 2011. Not that we’ve got a countdown going. Setting up of the Tyagarah site for the six-day event started two weeks ago, with the five stages already ready to house an estimated 44,500attendees – a 20% increase on last year’s crowd of 35,335 – and 114 acts, or around 1140 musos. With only 11% of ticket-holders residing on the Northern Rivers, an estimated 89% of attendees will seek accommodation for the festival, with around 5500 camping on-site. This year the site consists of five stages, four bars (including one VIP bar), five [...]

Brunswick Heads Chamber of Commerce president Matt Mayall says the lifting of the sewage moratorium will be good for business and ease pressure on housing. THE towns of Brunswick Heads and Mullumbimby are poised to enter a new period of growth and invigoration following the end of the 14-year Brunswick Valley sewage moratorium this week. With its new $30 million Brunswick Valley Sewage Treatment Plant finally online, Byron Shire Council this week voted to lift the ban on development, opening the door for new and more affordable housing, a 30% growth in population and an accompanying boost to business. Town planner Steve Connelly said the decision was cause for celebration. “People have been stifled from doing anything,” he said. “If [...]

Members of the Roundhouse Action Group say they will continue their fight to keep the Roundhouse site at Ocean Shores as a community asset, despite the council’s decision yesterday to have it subdivided and sold. “A BETRAYAL of the community’s hopes” is how Ocean Shores residents have described Byron Shire Council’s decision to subdivide and sell the Roundhouse site. At yesterday’s council meeting, Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham used her casting vote to go ahead with the sell-off, despite objections from community groups who wanted to see the Orana Rd site used for an arts and cultural centre. The cash-strapped council deemed the centre proposed by the Roundhouse Action Group presented too great a financial risk, instead deciding to spend [...]

Until The Violence Stops features playwright and activist Eve Ensler in a powerful film that documents how The Vagina Monologues grew into an international grassroots movement called V-Day to stop violence against women and girls. Until the Violence Stops shows women from Harlem to Ukiah, California; from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to the Philippines and Kenya, uniting and courageously revealing their intimate and deeplypainful experiences with abuse ranging from rape to female circumcision. Director Abby Epstein takes us on a poignant journey into the hearts of women and includes revealing testimonies from men, who expose social and cultural attitudes that perpetuate the pervasive violence against women. More than just testimonies and performances, Until The Violence Stops is a film [...]

The long-awaited roadworks to fix Lighthouse Rd in Byron Bay are set to start. photo: Jay Cronan THE hated “temporary” traffic lights at Byron Bay’s Lighthouse Rd will be gone by the end of October, with work on the road to commence immedi-ately after the Easter break. Byron Shire Council community infrastructure general manager Phil Holloway said the council had finally settled on a contractor to do the job. The news comes nearly six yearsafter a landslip during the 2005 floods wiped out a new pedestrian walkway and part of the road. Since then the council, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Roads and Traffic Authority have wrestled with how to fix the road. The council came close [...]

A report by the NSW Auditor General reveals that Byron Shire and Lismore LGAs took the second and third spots for highest number of cannabis possession offences in the State. TWO local government areas (LGAs) on the Northern Rivers take some of the top spots for the most cannabis offences in the State, a crime which costs the NSW economy $700 million a year, a new report states. The NSW Auditor-General yesterday released his findings on the effectiveness of police issuing cautions to people in possession of minor amounts of cannabis (less than 15 grams). Eight per cent of the NSW population are cannabis users, the report found, a large proportion of which are on the Northern Rivers. The Byron [...]

New operators of the Pass Cafe at Byron Bay, Dean Gibson and Peter Sinclair, opened for business on Monday. THE burgers and milkshakes are back at Byron Bay’s most famous surfing spot. The Pass Cafe, which closed almost two years ago, re-opened for business on Monday and is serving up the simple fare it is renowned for. New operators, Peter Sinclair and Dean Gibson, said their “value for money” philosophy had helped them win the tender from the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Many of the tenderers had proposed running it as a restaurant, but the NPWS wanted to see it retained as a reasonably priced cafe and take-away kiosk. The new menu features staples such as bacon and egg [...]

Good Days Night’s (from left) Sam Jeffery, Cameron Miller and Damon Gill. NORTHERN RIVERS band Good Days Night (GDN) has earned a place in the semi-finals of YouthRock 2011 in Sydney this week. . Sponsored by the NSW Centre for Road Safety, YouthRock has been an integral part of NSW Youth Week since 2000, showcasing student bands to the music industry. About 36 bands from across the State will contest the event. GDN comprises Damon Gill (drums), Sam Jeffery (vocals and bass guitar) and Cameron Miller (guitar). Both Damon and Cameron had played in bands in Singapore prior to coming to Lismore’s Kadina High. “We formed GDN within a fortnight of Damon coming here. The timing was perfect,” Cameron said. [...]

Karen Coyle, of Light’n’Up in Lismore, has created a special giant musical note to be used at this year’s Bluefest lantern processions. Marc Stapelberg ENGLAND may be gearing up for a royal wedding, but on the Northern Rivers there is to be a union of two beloved institutions that will be a sparkling pageant in its own right. A team of lanterneers from Light’n’Up Lismore, who present the annual mid-winter Lismore Lantern Parade, is joining forces with the Byron Bay-based Bluesfest to present a twice-nightly lantern procession throughout the festival from April 21 to 26. Artist Karen Coyle, of Goonellabah, has been hard at work at the Lismore lantern workshop making special music-themed lanterns for the event. It’s been a [...]

A STAGGERING 21 of the 96 clandestine drug laboratories seized in NSW last year were found on the Northern Rivers. While the state-wide haul represents a 43% increase on 2009 figures, NSW Drug Squad Detective Inspector Nick Iorfino says the local spike was greater – though he cautions against interpreting that as a drug crime surge. “Seventy per cent of labs are found through proactive investigations and I know that Tweed-Byron, Richmond and Coffs-Clarence commands have been very proactive in their investigations so it is probably as much a reflection on the good work that they’ve been doing. “It’s important to note that these statistics can vary dramatically from year to year so they’re not indicative of certain areas having [...]

Bluesfest fans rock out at the 2010 festival. IT’S FINALLY here. April, the month Byron Bay hosts some of the biggest names in not only music today, but in history. The occasion is Bluesfest and locals willalready know that when it’s on there’s a lot of absenteeism and a lot of music lovers heading out to Tyagarah from April 21-26 to hear and see everything from jazz to indie to rock ‘n’ roll, not to mention the blues. In less than three weeks international greats Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and TheImposters, John Legend, Leon Russell, Grace Jones, Michael Franti and Spearhead and Eric Bibb will sit alongside our home-grown heroes – Paul Kelly, Gurrumul, Wolfmother, Ash Grunwald, Kasey Chambers and [...]

Ramindjeri spokesman Darren McElroy (left) and historian Steve Strong are challenging theories that Aboriginal culture is only 40,000 years old. ARCHEOLOGICAL evidence suggesting Aborigines may have discovered America more than 11,000 years ago is being corroborated through oral indigenous histories collected by a local historian. Steve Strong, who has written three books on the subject published by American University Press, is hosting a series of public talks around the region. As word of his research has spread, more and more elders from different regions have contacted him with stories that bear a striking resemblance to new theories on the very origins of homo sapiens. Mr Strong has been aligning traditional stories and myths with new scientific evidence that suggests homo [...]

Oxford University FROM Alstonville to Oxford inEngland, 23-year-old Hannah Wills has not one but two cheques to cover her studies at the prestigious Oxford University later this year. Dr Wills landed in the United Kingdom over the weekend for aholiday, but when she heads back in October she’ll be heading to Oxford University thanks to two scholarships. Firstly she was awarded the 2011-2012 Rotary Academic Year Ambassadorial Scholarship for $27,000 to study at Oxford. She applied for the scholarship through the Rotary Club of Lismore West, beating applications from 55 clubs within District 9640, which covers an area as far north as Warwick, Queensland, west to Glen Innes and south to Grafton. While 700 of the Rotary scholarships are awarded [...]

Taking delivery: Ian Leggo, BYS treasurer, is in the driver’s seat with passenger Nicqui Yazdi, BUDDI co-ordinator. From left to right, Di Mahoney, director BYS, Lisa Fensom, youth worker and Deb Pearse, youth worker, Jemma Brunell and Richard Heazlewood-Ross, BYS chairperson. Looking out of the van, Bridget Perry. Photo Hans Lovejoy This week Byron Youth Service (BYS) takes delivery of its new Toyota 12-seater minibus for use as a mobile youth outreach service aiming to prevent and reduce youth crime around the Shire on weekends. The Turning The Tide On Local Youth Crime project will start on Friday April 1, which is the start of National Youth Week, visiting townships of the Shire on Friday and Saturday nights and engaging [...]

Byron business owner and activist Leah Aharon near the giant potholes behind the Jonson St shops. BYRON Bay retailers are worried the ever-deepening potholes in the car park behind Jonson St shops will soon swallow their cars whole. Three massive ponds up to 75cm deep have been causing parking havoc in the busy retail precinct for months and the stagnant water has created serious health and safety concerns. Self-described activist Leah Aharon, the wife of a business owner on Jonson St, said the problem had been escalating for years and was now beyond a joke. “I rang Byron Shire Council, but they said it was the railway’s responsibility and when I rang the railways they said it was council’s problem,” [...]

Tweed mayor Kevin Skinner wants no part of Byron Shire. Byron mayor Jan Barham has raised the prospect of a merger. TWEED is better off without parts of Byron Shire being added to the council area, Tweed mayor Kevin Skinner said. Cr Skinner yesterday declared the Tweed would not be interested in taking over parts of Byron Shire, such as Ocean Shores or Brunswick Heads, because the shire was already “big enough” and self-contained. His comments should come as good news to a number of Byron residents, whose Greens Party mayor Jan Barham claimed a NSW Coalition government would sack Byron council and amalgamate it with another council. Ms Barham, who is running as a Greens Party candidate for the [...]

Police were on patrol at Tweed City Shopping Centre but the brawl did not eventuate. A TEENAGER has been charged after a fight organised on a social networking website attracted the attention of more than 5000 people. Tweed police charged a 19-year-old Banora Point man with using a carriage service to make a hoax/threat late Wednesday afternoon. The charges related to a fight organised on Facebook at a Tweed Heads shopping centre on March 5, which more than 5000 people indicated they would attend. As a result police deployed additional resources to the area, but nothing eventuated. Tweed Police Inspector Greg Carey said they made numerous inquiries to identify the event’s “anonymous” creator and charged the 19-year-old man on Wednesday. [...]

The New Byron Youth Service Bus This week Byron Youth Service (BYS) takes delivery of its new Toyota 12 seater minibus for use as a mobile youth outreach service aiming to prevent and reduce youth crime around the Shire on weekends. The “Turning the Tide on Local Youth Crime” project will be commencing service on Friday 1st April, which is the start of National Youth Week, visiting townships of the Shire on Friday & Saturday nights and engaging with young people that are hanging out on the streets.  The aim of the new service is to reduce the likelihood of young people, particularly those under 18 years of age, becoming involved in criminal activities such as alcohol & drug related [...]

This week Byron United launch their Byron Naturally campaign unveiling the one ‘face’ that has been chosen to represent our entire region. I’ve watched with interest as women with faces (those too off their face were immediately disqualified; can’t have the face of Byron pulling on a bong) have competed not to be the face of a new generation but a new generalisation. This is the one face that is supposed to speak to the values and diversity of our entire community. Tolkien could have been working for Tourism NSW, because it would appear it’s his strategy that’s been employed to haul in fresh tourist meat. ‘In the Land of Byron Bay, where the shadows lie. One face to rule them all, one face to fi nd them, one face to [...]

Federal Labor’s Justine Elliot has hit out at state MP Don Page and asked to explain what policies he can deliver on health services. ‘With only a week to go until the State election, many locals have raised with me concerns that Don Page and Barry O’Farrell have failed to outline their specific commitments for our local hospitals. ‘I call upon Don Page to detail what funding commitments he has secured for the North Coast. ‘In particular, will he commit funding for the new Ewingsdale hospital? ‘Also, what funding has he secured for Byron and Mullumbimby hospitals? ‘On top of their lack of policies, the biggest threat is that Don Page’s leader Barry O’Farrell will renege on the health agreement [...]

Jan Barham RUMOURS of a Coalition policy to force the Byron and Ballina shire councils to merge are just “scare tactics”, according to Ballina MP Don Page. Byron Shire Mayor Jan Barham yesterday said many people in the community had approached her with concerns that the council would be sacked if the Coalition won government at this weekend’s election. “There are a lot of concerns within the community at the moment with a possible change of government,” she said. “People are saying that the council will be sacked, that we’ll be forced to amalgamate. “This is an ongoing issue. “Yes, Byron Shire Council is under extreme pressure. “But I think Mr Page has given his commitment that forced amalgamations will [...]

Thousands turn out to watch a previous Kites and Bikes Festival at Brunswick Heads. EXPECT to see some weird and wonderful bikes at next Sunday’s Kites and Bikes Festival at Brunswick Heads. Among them will be a modern take on the Penny Farthing, developed by Huon, a Year 10 student at the Shearwater Steiner School. The art bike project has the goal of adding some whimsy and wonder to the growing world of self-powered transport. “The bike activities are all about encouraging people to swap the car for a bike,” festival bike co-ordinator Nick Bowden said. Bring along your decorated bikes, scooters and strollers to The Terrace for the bike parade, or decorate them at the festival. Throughout the day [...]

Tweed Central Hotel owner Tom Butcher is offering rooms to flood victims. TWELVE families from the flood-ravaged community of Grantham will be treated to a timely holiday on the Tweed. Casuarina resident Linda Pennalligen-Hansen saw a lot of families in need while volunteering in the town. “A lot of people are still in limbo,” she said. “Some people are still waiting for insurance companies to come through and some people don’t have insurance and don’t now have the money to rebuild. “It’s cleaned up a lot but there’s a long way to go.” Ms Pennalligen-Hansen said a relaxing weekend on the Tweed would provide a good respite for a busload of people. “I’ve organised for J & B Bus Services [...]

Friday 18th March from 5pm @ Wilsons Creek Hall.. OEC are having a fund raiser for the survivors of the japanese earthquake and tsunami! Yummy japanese food with “kiki’s delivery service” lovely japanese film being screened followed by NANOT3K serving up up some Fat Beats!… Lets get the community together to share a meal and dance some healing vibes for our japanese family and raise some cash to help them!!! ♥ There will also be an Auction for the fundraiser – tons of really cool things to bid for … many local businesses eateries and therapists have contributed… please come along with a few $$ and bid. There are so many vouchers for cool stuff. You can do all your [...]

Renee Simone was forced to move from Byron Bay to Lismore to live after it became impossible to find a property to rent or buy. IN HER last six years living at Byron Bay, Renee Simone moved house 15 times and was homeless three times. Then things got hard. Ms Simone fronts popular local band Blackbirds and has sung backing vocals for Xavier Rudd, she is a qualified occupational therapist and, during those six years between 2004 and 2010, worked with young people at the Byron Youth Service. But a decent job, solid qualifications and brushes with fame are not enough to put a roof over your head at Byron Bay. At least, not any more. Ms Simone told a [...]

Red Cross volunteers trained in emergency services (from left) Amanda Lucantonio, Tracee Thomson, Tweed-Byron emergency services liaison officer Kodie Alderton and Byron Bay team leader Bronwyn Raphael. We’ve all seen the tragic images. Buildings in ruins. Lives lost. Byron Shire locals have looked on in disbelief – as have people around the world – at the devastation following the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Not that long before, Australia as a nation held its collective breath as Cyclone Yasi ripped through Far North Queensland, we shook our heads as bushfires destroyed homes in Perth, and could hardly believe the inland tsunami which swept through Toowoomba and the Lockyer Valley. And, in each natural disaster, there is a common feeling in [...]

The popular Main Beach area of Byron Bay, scene of an alleged sexual assault on an 18-year-old Northern Rivers woman on Friday, March 4. Police investigating the incident are yet to speak to the alleged victim. POLICE are investigating the alleged pack rape of a young woman at Byron Bay earlier this month. Tweed/Byron Local Area Command (LAC) police yesterday confirmed they were investigating claims made by the 18-year-old woman that she was sexually assaulted by a group of men. The incident allegedly occurred on a reserve near Main Beach in the early hours of the morning on Friday, March 4, Tweed/Byron LAC crime manager, Acting Inspector Laurie Moroney said. He said it was claimed there were multiple offenders involved. [...]

Byron Bay man Prem Puri may have been hit by a shark while surfing at Tallow Beach last week. The local musician and small businessman was knocked suddenly from his board while riding a wave in open water about 100 metres south of the lighthouse about 1pm last Thursday. He is pictured here with the remains of his surfboard. BYRON Bay man Prem Puri doesn’t want to know if he was hit by a shark while surfing at Tallow Beach last week. The local musician and small businessman was knocked suddenly from his board while riding a wave in open water about 100 metres south of the lighthouse about 1pm last Thursday. He surfaced soon after with a searing pain [...]

Byron Youth Service & the Youth Activities Centre 6685 7777 BUDDI-CDAT (Byron Underage Drinking & Drug Initiative) 0402013177 MindRight Institute 0402013177 Kids Helpline 1800 551 800 Lifeline 131 114 Byron Bay Youth House 6685 7264 BEAP emergency accommodation 6685 8477 The Bat Bus 6685 8771 Byron Council Youth Development Officer & Byron Youth Council 6685 9342 Byron Council Youth Activities Officer 6685 9341 Reconnect 6686 4366 Interrelate 6621 4970 Mental Health Access Line 1300 369 968 Byron Community Health -sexual health, adolescent counselling, drug & alcohol services 6685 6254 Mullumbimby Community Health -sexual health, adolescent counselling, drug & alcohol services 66841677 Drugs & Alcohol 24 Hour Hotline 1800 422 599 Domestic Violence Helpline 1800 656 463 Same Sex Attracted & [...]

Professor Baden Offord, of Lismore, is currently in Japan, but is now considering coming home amid predictions of another earthquake and concerns about nuclear radiation A LISMORE professor visiting Tokyo has described how buildings swung back and forth around him during the devastating earthquake that struck Japan last Friday. Professor Baden Offord of Southern Cross University, who is currently working at Tokyo University, described the 8.9 magnitude earthquake as a “surreal” experience and is now questioning whether he will stay in Japan given predictions of another earthquake of 7.0 magnitude in the coming days. “This, and the escalating news about the nuclear power plants 250km north of Tokyo, is not good,” Prof Offord said. “We are now seeing whether we [...]

The MindRight Institute will be presenting two Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) training courses for community members, parents, carers, teachers and community service professionals, at the Byron Youth Activities Centre in March and April. The YMHFA program offers the chance for participants to increase their understanding of mental health issues with our youth. A two-day course in Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches the signs and signals of all the common mental health problems in our youth and gives participants the skills needed to support a young person in a mental health crisis or who is developing a mental health problem. The courses run for two full days, from 9.30am til 5pm over two consecutive Mondays. There are two [...]

Yamba’s Nathan Hollis launches for the flag at the lifesaving championships at Kingscliff. KINGSCLIFF yesterday played host to thousands of New South Wales nippers on the first day of the 2011 State Age Surf Life Saving Championships. Cudgen Headland SLSC head coach Phil Klein said his 95-strong nipper team trained three times a week in the lead-up to the event. “This is the biggest event of the year,” Mr Klein said. “They’re doing the club, the community and me very proud. “On Saturday there will be mostly individual events, and I’m hoping many kids will make the finals for Sunday.” Salt SLSC team manager Craig Mandall said all the area’s clubs were doing well in excellent surf carnival conditions. “Particularly [...]

BYRON Shire residents are being robbed of basic services like road maintenance due to inequities in the State Government’s land tax and grant systems, a local councillor says. Figures obtained by Byron Shire Councillor Patrick Morrisey show the State Government has collected almost $86 million in land taxes from the Byron shire over the past five years – the highest rate in NSW for comparable-sized rural shires – yet received the lowest of amount of Commonwealth Financial Assistance Grants per capita for a comparable council in NSW. The state-administered Financial Assistance Grants are an important source of funding for local councils, which spend the money on priorities like local roads, parks and pools, libraries, community centres and waste services. To [...]

Byron Bay’s peak business lobby group Byron United and the Byron Bay Community Association are at loggerheads over the association’s push to establish asecond permanent monthly market in the town. BYRON BAY’S peak business group, Byron United, and the Byron Bay Community Association are facing off over plans to make the trial second Byron Bay monthly market a permanent fixture. Byron United says a permanent second market “is not acceptable” to its members, while the community association, which manages the market, says it is “disappointed” with Byron United’s stance. A trial second monthly market has been held at the Butler Street Reserve during summer, with the trial due to end after the March 20 market. Byron United president Sevegne Newton [...]

Trinity College Lismore student, Jye Hudson-Sheaffe, 15, is over the moon after writing a album review for Rolling Stone Magazine during her one week work experience in Sydney. SHE may not be the next Jann Wenner or Hunter S Thompson … yet. But Lismore student Jye Hudson-Sheaffe is already on the way to a stellar career in journalism. The 15-year-old Trinity Catholic College student has had her first album review published in no less a magazine than Rolling Stone. “English has been my favourite subject since kindergarten,” says Ms Hudson-Sheaffe, who is in Year 10. “And I love all types of music – everything except commercial pop music and country. Right now my favourites are The Ramones and Arctic Monkey.” [...]

Wearing their purple International Women’s Day ribbons at Kadina High School yesterday ahead of today’s celebrations are (front) student Ayana Tanaka, 16, and teacher Kirsten Rowan. Also pictured are (rear, from left) Anna Podgorczyk, 15, teacher Julie Bryant, Isabella Tremayne, 15, Chelsea Jones (holding guitar), 12, Jane Newby, Tamika Kennedy, 15, and Natalie Russell, 15. THE up and coming generation of “powerful” young women will be celebrating their gender at Goonellabah’s Kadina High School today. The students will join thousands of other young women on the Northern Rivers celebrating the 100th International Women’s Day. A select group of the students will decorate their uniform in purple accessories, the colour of femininity. The young women lwill have cake and conversation with [...]

Troy Cassar Daley will be the feature act of the Ballina Coastal Music Festival. BALLINA has joined the ranks of regional towns that recognise the cultural and community value of holding a music festival. The organising committee of the inaugural Coastal Country Music Festival has announced funding from Ballina Shire Council for an October festival, with Australian country music legend, singer/songwriter Troy Cassar-Daley, confirmed as the headline act. Ballina Shire Council has allocated $20,000 for the festival, and agreed to a street closure and central stage area at the end of Fawcett Park. The park will serve as the focal point for the planned free community and family entertainment planned to run over the long weekend between October 1 and [...]

A police air wing helicopter searches bushland in the Tweed  and Byron Shires. ABOUT $1.6 million worth of cannabis was found in two days as a police heli- copter, dogs and officers swooped on outlying villages in the Tweed and Byron shires. The NSW Police Drug Squad, along with the police air wing, dog squad and Tweed Byron Police officers began the Cannabis Eradication Program (CEP) in the region on Monday and will continue until tomorrow, Drug Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Nick Bingham said. “So far we have conducted the CEP in Huonbrook, Upper Wilsons Creek, Billynudgel, Yelgun, Upper Main Arm, Mullumbimby Creek, Coorabell and Saint Helena,” Det Supt Bingham said. Yesterday, the searches were staged in the Chillingham, Tyalgum [...]

Taking part in the School’s Clean Up Day were Byron Bay Public School students (in front) Tia Gotterson, Nikita Jeftic, (behind) Zoe Palmer, teacher Julie Pavlovich, Quinn Howarth, Sid Kennedy and Nathaniel Jensen. A LIZARD that lives under their library has taught students at Byron Bay Public School an important lesson about littering. The young water dragon recently got a milk bottle ring stuck around its neck, and although it’s okay for now, it will have to be caught before it grows and the ring gets tighter. It was a timely reminder of the problems littering can cause, principal Geoff Spargo said, as his school participated in School’s Clean Up Day yesterday. Byron Bay Public School students joined thousands of [...]

Facility co-ordinator Jordan Robinson (left) and manager of community services Paul Tsikleas inside the main auditorium of the Lennox Head Community Centre. IN about a month, the long-awaited Lennox Head Community Centre and skate park will be finished. Yesterday The Northern Star toured the facility, which includes a main auditorium, several meeting rooms, an activity room, playgroup area, the library and 60 car parking spaces. The Country Women’s Association building has also been integrated into the centre. Ballina Shire Council’s commercial services manager, Paul Tsikleas, said it was great to see it coming together after a difficult start. “In the past month or so we’ve really seen everything taking shape,” he said. “The main auditorium can fit 400 to 500 [...]

US musician Justin Townes Earle’s playing a gig in Mullum next Wednseday night 9th of March. He is a phenomenal live performer, definitely one not to be missed!! WHAT: Justin Townes Earle, Harlem River Blues tour WHERE: Mullumbimby Civic Hall WHEN: Wednesday 9th of March, 7pm FOOD BY: Coffee Oasis SUPPORT: Lanie Lane JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE – Harlem River Blues Tour Justin Townes Earle is an anomaly. He’s tall as the day is long, all angles and elbows and a hard stare, both welcoming and deadly serious. He’s Nashville North, all set up in lower Manhattan now, just like his hero Woody Guthrie, with twang and charm intact. That hard working earnestness has paid off, to say the least. Justin won the Best [...]

BELONGIL landowners have stepped up legal action against Byron Shire Council with yet another court case launched this week The latest action, to be heard in the NSW Land and Environment Court later this month, is the fifth brought against the council in less than three months. It asks that the court declare the council’s controversial Draft Coastal Zone Management Policy void, and that the State Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Frank Sartor, be stopped from certifying it. The plan was sent the Minister for review last September and is approaching the final stages of the certification process. Legal proceedings against the council began in December, when 10 Belongil property owners launched a $100 million lawsuit in the [...]

IT’S official. Splendour in the Grass will return to Woodfordia in Queensland this year. Because the application for a permanent site at North Byron Parklands is still being consid-ered, it won’t be held at the Yelgun site this year. North Byron Parklands general manager Mat Morris said: “The NSW Department of Planning are still processing the North Byron Parklands application for a sustainable cultural arts and music event venue. It is hoped that they will make a decision shortly.” The three-day music event kicks off on July 29 and finishes on July 31 in its second year at the Queensland site. Despite damage to the Woodford site during the Queensland floods, Splendour organisers are “confident” it will be restored in [...]

Filmmaker Darmin Cameron, of Billen Cliffs, will have his film Interpreting Woodford screened at the Byron Bay Film Festival. He is pictured signing the AUSLAN for applause IF the idea of making a film about deaf people at a music festival sounds a bit strange, the jokes on you. The humour in the award-winning documentary Interpreting Woodford comes largely from the exceptional talent of AUSLAN signer Jasmine Phillips, who interpreted the stand-up comedians at Woodford Comedy Festival. The documentary, which earned director Darmin Cameron his second consecutive Spirit of Woodford Award, will be screened next week at The Byron Bay Film Festival. Amid the mud and mayhem, Mr Cameron captured the humour celebrated by the AUSLAN community. The Billen Cliffs [...]

Mallams supermarket at Mullumbimby closed its doors for the last time yesterday after serving the local community for more than a century. The supermarket was sold to Woolworths, which is due to open in June. THERE was no fanfare – the owners didn’t want to make a fuss – but when Mallams supermarket at Mullumbimby closed its doors yesterday it marked the end of an era. Mallams has had a presence in town for more then 100 years, starting as a general store. Brunswick Valley historian Frank Mills remembers childhood visits to Mallams in the 1930s, when the general store was the hub of the farming community. It was in the same location, but its look and operation was very [...]

‘Walk in Her Shoes’ fundraising walk for CARE Australia, to raise some money to help empower impoverished women all over the world. Millions of women and girls walk over six kilometres a day in search of food, water and firewood. This leaves little time for school, accessing health services and earning an income. Byron Bay team, ‘Byron & Beyond’ are organising a walk on Monday 28 March from 5.30pm-6.30pm from Main Beach to the Pass and back, as part of CARE’s Walk In Her Shoes challenge. Either become a sponsor and donate some funds, or join the team, do some fundraising and the walk and help break this cycle of poverty. To donate to Byron’s own Team for this challenge, [...]

BYRON Shire Council will continue to impose a consent condition on new houses that prohibits them from being holiday let, despite questions over the legality of the practice. At yesterday’s council meeting, Cr Ross Tucker said he had received a complaint from a dual-occupancy owner in Shirley St, who had been encumbered with a consent condition prohibiting the use of the new dwelling for holiday letting. He put forward a motion that since the council did not have a policy to support the prohibition, and holiday letting is not defined in the Byron LEP, all consents granted in 2010 should be reviewed and, if applicable, have the condition deleted. “The fact of the matter is you can build a house [...]

Principals of Byron Bay Property Sales Graham Dunn (left) and Jeremy Ben- nett are all smiles after recently selling two multi-million dollar properties on the same day. THE sale of two multi-million dollar Byron Bay properties on the same day last week has injected confidence back into a tough real estate market. The two properties, both of which achieved record prices of more than $6 million, were sold by the principals of Byron Bay Property Sales, Graham Dunn and Jeremy Bennett. “We exchanged contracts for both properties on the same day last week and that was prettyexciting,” Mr Bennett said. “It’s a fantastic achievement as the market is really quiet and it puts confidence back in to the high-end Byron [...]

TOOT representatives confront Member for Lismore Thomas George and Member for Ballina Don Page outside Mr Page’s office in Ballina. THE NSW Coalition has reaffirmed its commitment to a rail service on the Northern Rivers, promising to complete a comprehensive study of reinstating the transport service if it wins the State election. Members of Trains on Our Tracks (TOOT) met with Lismore MP Thomas George and Ballina MP Don Page in Ballina yesterday to discuss how the Nationals would follow through with their long-running commitment to get trains chugging on the Northern Rivers again. Mr Page said because the rail line had been closed since 2004, the Coalition would undertake a serious evaluation of a railway. “It will look at [...]