Green Built Homes Perth

With more people, not only in Australia but around the world becoming aware of our negative impact on the environment change is coming fast.

• There are increasing responsibilities for governments and businesses on a global stage                                       
• Governments are changing legislations
• Businesses are making changes
• People may soon be responsible for their individual carbon footprint
• Green build homes are no longer a dream of hippies

If you are building a new home, now is the time to make a difference and to be sure your new home is built to emit a low carbon footprint.
Making this choice now not only lessens the impact you have on the environment, it also saves your hip pocket.

Green built homes are solar passive in their design. They reduce heating and cooling costs, use less resources and save you money.
Alternative Living’s solar passive home designs encourage:

• the sun’s natural light to comfortably heat and cool your home
• cross ventilation though design layout and positioning
• a naturally occurring comfortable living space through the use of a thermal mass in the slab of our home designs; reducing extremes in temperature
• Use compact fluorescent lighting through our entire range of eco-friendly homes, using a staggering 1/5th of the electricity of normal lighting.
• www.alternativeliving.com.au

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Look out Outlook, Google’s Wave is coming to swamp you

A team of Google engineers from Australia has unveiled a prototype replacement for standard email that abandons the reliance on the chronological sorting and stacking of messages which has been the hallmark of one of the internet’s first and still most popular applications.

Christened Google Wave, the new feature was given its first public viewing in San Francisco earlier this morning Australian time at Google’s annual developers’ conference.

“I think you will see a form of interaction that you would not have previously imagined,” Google co-found Sergey Brin told a post-launch press conference.

Wave – which began life as a project codenamed Walkabout – is a combination of email and instant messaging and document-, maps- image- and video-sharing all housed under one roof.

Much like a conference call, it also allows for conversations between more than two people to happen simultaneous.

And because it all happens inside a web browser, there is no special software to download or plug-in – which means it can be used from any computer or internet-enabled mobile phone.

“Our communication space is very fragmented today. We have a million different tools for different things with lots of different kinds of overlaps,” said Lars Rassmussen, a senior software engineer with Google Australia

“The most natural way to try and solve that problem is to take all those different tools and try to make them smaller and fit into a single package and maybe integrate them across the boundaries.”

Wave is being released so that the developers – independent software creators – can help iron out the remaining bugs and cook-up a swag of new uses for the service and the platform upon which it is based ahead of a public release later this year.

But Wave is more than just another of Google’s ubiquitous free web services. It’s also a protocol – meaning that it is going after email’s mantle as the predominant internet communications tool.

And despite the recent growth of web-based email services like Hotmail and Gmail, most of the world’s email runs through Microsoft’s Outlook client.

And to encourage organisations to catch the Wave, Google is offering it up as an open source protocol, meaning that anyone – even a competitor – can box it up and host it on their servers.

Wave is the creation of Danish brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen, who together with Australian Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma – founded and later sold what became known as Google Maps to Google for an undisclosed sum in 2005.

Lars has worked for Google and lived in Australia since the sale and enticed Jens to leave Google’s headquarters near join him in 2007.

The pair and the Wave team – who have been given the full backing of Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page – have been working on the project out of Google’s offices in Sydney.

Stephen Hutcheon is attending the San Francisco conference as a guest of Google.

Source: www.watoday.com.au

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WA Perth University Student wins $13 Million on the Oz Lotto with Old Ticket

A PERTH university student is more than $13 million richer after she presented her winning ticket this week, ten months after her numbers came up.

The Perth Student received the ticket as a gift from her father, purchased  from Beechboro Newsagency in a $50 million OZ Lotto jackpot draw on July 22, 2008.

The winning ticket was a Systems 8 Slikpik costing $8.70.

At first glance, the woman thought she had won just over $13,000 but was later informed that it was actually $13,185,273.                  

“I checked the commas and decimal places and then realised,” she said.

The prize remained unclaimed for 10 months.

The woman said she only decided to check a bundle of tickets because she was worried about her family’s finances.

She was unaware of the 12-month expiry on Lotto tickets in WA.

“Something made me think to check the tickets and I thought that if I win something, then I could help Mum and Dad out,” she said.

“I always remember Mum telling me that if I won Lotto, not to start jumping up and down in the shopping centre.”

She is yet to decide what to do with the unexpected windfall.

“The people close to me will be looked after and I might give some to research or a charity of some kind. It’s nice to have this much to fulfil my dreams and the dreams of the people around me,” she said.

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WA Chelsea fans bleed blue and white

BLUE and white blood runs in their veins. They eat, breathe and sleep blue and white, and bleed blue and white blood.            

Who are they?

They are the Perth Chelsea Football Club Supporters Group, and they might be coming to a pub near you.

About 70 people, some from the northern suburbs, make up the blue and white army, a small but dedicated band of followers whose mission it is to support and celebrate, lose and lament with the team from their Perth base.

Their fearless leader, president Steve Van Doorn, from Butler, co-ordinates the group’s activity, which mainly consist of late-nights and early mornings in various pubs or supporters’ houses to catch live telecasts of each game in the October to March season.

“The northern suburbs have a strong contingent of more than 35 members who have been meeting regularly in Butler, Quinns, Kinross, Banksia Grove or Landsdale for the last six years,” he said.

Mr Van Doorn said the group ranged in age, from the four- and five-year-old children of members, to men and women in their 60s, some London ex-pats whose passion for the round ball game followed them across the ocean.

FA Cup fever has gripped the group, with a Chelsea versus Everton final on Saturday, May 30.

“It’s a 10pm kick-off, which is really an early night for us considering the telecasts of most games start about 2.45am here,” he said.

“One of our members wore a ‘The Who’ T-shirt to a game we won so now he can’t take it off until we’ve won the final – it’s just a superstition but he wears that shirt like a badge of pride.”

Source   www.inmycommunity.com.au

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Ocean Reef Marina Concept Plan

The Concept Plan and Structure Plan that details how the Ocean Reef Marina site should be developed and how it should look in the future.

The concept plan has been developed using feedback and input from the Community Reference Group, Ocean Reef Marina Committee (of Council) and the Ocean Reef Marina Steering Committee.

Based on input from the above, the key issues identified in developing the Ocean Reef Marina site were the provision of: 

• An iconic marina development accessible to all residents                                    
• First class boating facilities and infrastructure
• Quality marine recreation facilities
• Best practice environmental conservation and preservation 

The Ocean Reef Marina development has the potential to provide the City’s residents with a world class recreational, residential, boating and tourism marina, development that encapsulates high levels of environmental sustainability, community amenity and delivers economic growth and social benefit. 

Preliminary studies and research in the areas of environmental impact and sustainability, structure planning, coastal engineering and hydrology, and financial and commercial viability have been completed and indicate that the site does have the potential for a development of this nature.

Source   www.joondalup.wa.gov.au

 

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Millionaire Eileen Bond selling Peppermint Grove home

 

WHILE the plunge in western suburbs property prices is common knowledge, at least one prominent millionaire is willing to test the waters.

 

Eileen Bond, ex-wife of businessman Alan Bond, wants to sell one of her plush Peppermint Grove homes. 
The View St mansion, which is on the market for $6.35 million, has been used as a guesthouse for “Big Red’s” family and friends since she moved to Leake St to live behind her daughter, Jody, three years ago.

Real estate agent William Porteous said Ms Bond was downsizing and looking for something more practical.

Her daughter lives in another part of Peppermint Grove and so she bought a house directly behind her daughter’s which is just more practical for their day-to-day lives,” he said.

Jody Fewster lives with her husband, Damian, and their two sons, aged six and 10.

Ms Fewster said they had always been a close family.

We even lived in View St with her for a short time when we first came back from Sydney; it’s a fantastic house, she said.

Ms Fewster said her house was attached to her mother’s through an adjoining room and gymnasium.

We love having mum here, we have a ready-made babysitter, she said. Ms Fewster said the View St home held precious family memories.

I really miss the tennis court there, she said. At Christmas we’d all be out there playing cricket under the lights.

The classic Italianate residence has four bedrooms and four bathrooms, and a marble ensuite to the master bedroom.

It also has a swimming pool and a two-storey foyer, and is on a 1500sqm block.

Source  :  www.news.com.au

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The Parents Paper in Perth

What is Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper?                                          

Targeted at parents with children aged up to 14 years, Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper is a FREE monthly newspaper that can be found all over the metro area and in some regional centres. The largest, longest running and most popular parenting publication in Western Australia is distributed at the beginning of every month. Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper has been published since 1995.

Where can I find a copy of Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper?
We are available at over 600 outlets in the metropolitan area – north to Yanchep, east to Mundaring Weir and south to Mandurah and through selected regional outlets.

What will I find in Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper?
Each month you will find news for and about families in Perth including:

 Education and Literacy
 Health and Nutrition
 Competitions
 Entertainment and Events Diary
 Sport and Recreation
 Birthday Party Page
 Just for Mums
 Performing Arts
 The Nursery
 School Holidays Features

How many people can you reach?

The print run is 75,000 copies per month, with a CAB audited circulation of 71,251
Web exposure at www.kidsinperth.com 
Readership is estimated to be around 130,000 and is broken down into:
90% mothers
10% fathers and grandparents

How do we keep Kids in Perth – The Parents’ Paper in households for a month?

The Events Diary, which is in the centre feature of every issue, provides a list of things happening in Perth that are of interest to families. This spans the first to the last day of the month and ensures the longevity of the paper.
Find us in:
 Supermarkets (Woolworths, Coles, IGA)
 Bounty Bags given to new mums
 All metro MacDonalds Family Restaurants
 All Guardian Pharmacies (including regional)
 Shopping Centres (at the information desk or in stands)
 Public Libraries
 Selected childcare centres, pre-primary and primary schools
 Places of family interest (Scitech, WA Museum, Adventure World and Kings Park)

For more information please contact the Sales Office on (08) 9388 1600

 

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Gordon Ramsay – Down Under in Perth – 24 June 2009

Listen to the real man behind the television personality as Gordon talks about weathering the tough times and how the belief in yourself can pull you through. With personal anecdotes of his success and his failures, Gordon will dish up his advice and where he sees the future for Gordon Ramsay. 

Be ready with your questions from 8.30am to get some of your own personal advice from the award winning Chef who currently has 25 restaurants in his empire, not counting the soon to open Maze in Melbourne.

www.pcec.com.au

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The National Careers & Employment Expo

19 – 20 June 2009

The Perth Convention Exhibition Centre                                                          

The National Careers & Employment Expo brings careers, employment and training opportunities to the general public by connecting organisations with thousands of career minded individuals. The Expo provides a non-threatening environment which enables employers, education and training providers to communicate directly with potential candidates. Operating in regional & metropolitan areas throughout Australia, the Expo also focuses on the broader aspects of ‘living, learning and working’ in Australia.

Through the continued support of State and Federal Government, leading organisations and major media groups, the National Careers & Employment Expo has become the largest careers & employment event in Australia. 

With free career advice, real jobs on offer and an abundance of information available, this event is not to be missed, and best of all admission is FREE. 

For more  information please visit our website www.pcec.com.au  or 

 CALL  1300 66 71 21.

 

 

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First-homebuyers urged to take mortgage help on board

An innovative house and land finance package developed in Perth could help more first-homebuyers to secure a home loan reduce their loan repayments. 
  
Based on a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home using part of the home as a rental, therfore allowing first-homebuyers  to afford a buy, part of the home is sealed off from the rest, creating a rentable one-bedroom, one-bathroom home.
  
The rent is taken into account when assessing borrowing capacity and surplus income can be used for bigger mortgage repayments.
  
Housing Edge director Dennis Ward-Fay said the new approach would bring home ownership within the reach of many more first-homebuyers.    
  
“Every application has to be assessed on its own merits but as an example the top four banks would require a couple borrowing for a house and land package valued at $380,000 to be earning an average salary of $63,275. The same couple applying for a Housing Edge loan would require a combined salary of only $56,510.
  
“The home can easily be converted back to a standard four-bedroom, two-bathroom home at a later date if the owners wish,” he said.
 
Homeowners are advised to use a property manager to handle the rent collection and tenancy details.

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