RETAIL trade across Portland has reached impressive heights this holiday season, after almost two years of restrictions putting pressure on the industry. Tourists have flocked to the seaside community to celebrate the New Year, with some retailers reporting record customers in recent weeks. Bi Rite’s Liz Lindsey said there were more tourists in Portland than […]

WITH temperatures set to soar over this long weekend, Victorian fire agencies have warned people living in or travelling to regional Victoria to monitor fire conditions.

REVELATIONS this week that the State Government attempted to cover up an earlier assurance about keeping QR code contact tracing personal information private and safe have been met with sharp criticism by a local member of parliament.

National cabinet agreed on a nationwide definition of a close contact of a COVID-19 case on Thursday – under the new definition a close contact must have spent over four hours with a positive case in a household or household-like setting.

RESIDENTS in the Southern Grampians are being urged to stay away from unauthorised fireworks displays this summer, with Hamilton Police warning they can cause injury and unintentionally start bushfires.

FORMER Portlander Liam O’Brien is ready to surf the world stage, after earlier this month qualifying for the 2022 World Surf League Championship Tour. Qualifying during the Haleiwa Challenger event in Hawaii, the 22-year-old will now face off against 35 of the world’s top surfers in an 11-stop tour. He was in Portland to visit […]

THE Local Government sector and community members have been invited to have their say on the Local Government Culture Project Discussion Paper.

HEYWOOD residents will be waiting until the new year to enjoy the town’s pool, after a “mass shortage” of lifeguards has left the facility in limbo. In a post on the pool’s Facebook page last week, Belgravia Leisure said there had only been three participants willing to undertake training required to be a lifeguard at […]

This weekend, Hamilton Racecourse will become the backdrop for the music and arts festival, Tabula Rasa 2020 (TR2020), as hordes of New Year's Eve revelers make their way into town for the three-day festival.

POLICE are currently investigating an alleged hit and run at Penshurst last week, where a white ute failed to give way and collided with a Nissan Navara before fleeing the scene.