A 2015 parking report revealed that Pittwater Council has pulled in the record amount for the northern beaches with an alarming $2.86 million collected in parking fines, an increase of 10 per cent from the previous year.
Pittwater Mayor Jacqueline Townsend is looking forward to 2015 saying she is exited about the Mona Vale Place Plan and can’t wait to get some Quick Wins. Mayor Townsend is committed to supporting active transport in Pittwater where there is a ground swell of residents wanting to walk or cycle to their destination rather than use their motor vehicles and to support this Pittwater Council has almost tripled the spending on the footpath network. Peninsula Living January 2015
MANLY DAILY 7 NOVEMBER 2014
PALM TREES IN TROUBLE - MYSTERY ILLNESS HITS NORTHERN BEACHES’ BELOVED FLORA AN EXPERT has been called in to investigate a spate of suspicious palm tree deaths along the northern beaches. The mystery illness has baffled Pittwater and Warringah councils and affected several trees from Palm Beach to North Narrabeen. Pittwater Council reserves and recreation manager Les Munn said palm trees had never died “en masse” like this before. Councils are warning residents to take preventive measures and want to be notified about dying palm trees on any properties. A SIGNIFICANT number of native cabbage tree palms along the northern beaches appear to be dying, say council officials who have called in an expert from the Botanic Gardens to investigate. So far, areas affected include Bayview, Church Point, Palm Beach, Bilgola, Avalon, North Narrabeen, and at the bottom of Middle Creek Valley, along the Wakehurst Parkway. The affected trees, which are about 10-15m high and normally have a crown of shiny leaves, are a symbol of the northern beaches and significant in local Aboriginal culture. One of our most famous beaches, Palm Beach, was named after the species. Pittwater Council reserves and recreation manager Les Munn said individual trees died all the time for various reasons but that this was different. “We’ve not had palm trees dying en masse like this before,” he said. “As a result Pittwater Council has engaged the services of an expert from the Botanic Gardens to take samples from some of the affected trees and undertake testing in an attempt to identify the cause. Mr Munn was unable to confirm how many trees were affected but said there were small clumps dotted across Pittwater. At Bilgola there were about eight trees. Those that have died will be removed but there are several in the process of dying, with the majority of the canopy dead or yellow. Warringhah Council, which also has dying trees along the Wakehurst Parkway, originally thought they were going through a natural shedding process. It is now thought the trees are sick with whatever is affecting palms in Pittwater. Both councils are refusing to speculate on whether the trees could be suffering from a virus, an infestation of deadly insects or something else, until the test results come back in two weeks. However, they are warning people to take preventive measures and appealing for residents to alert the council if they have dying palm trees on their property. “Council, at this stage, advises that residents, tree contractors and gardeners working on cabbage tree palms should observe good hygiene practice and sterilise equipment prior to and after use on the trees,” Mr Munn said. The Manly Daily was first alerted to the plight of some cabbage tree palms along Wakehurst Parkway at the end of August. Ron Brodhurst, 71, of Ingleside, had feared the trees had been poisoned during regeneration work by the council. “Warringah Council can confirm that the palm trees along the Wakehurst Parkway that have taken on a brown appearance have not been affected by poison,” a spokesman said. “We are continuing to monitor the situation and have noted that some palms have begun to show new signs of growth.” LESSONS NOT LEARN'T BY SOME ON COUNCIL - MANLY DAILY 7 JUNE 2014
AT PITTWATER Council’s meeting on June 2, councillor Kay Millar requested a review of Warriewood Valley development before Ingleside commences. The general manager replied: “There are no real lessons to be learned from Warriewood Valley” and this was immediately following half the public gallery storming out calling “Shame, Pittwater, Shame”. And that following a similar walkout at the previous council meeting by a separate Warriewood crowd. No real lessons? PHIL WALKER, Mona Vale Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy: The First Follower - Watch the dancing guy, it just takes one person to start a movement and others will follow.
Learn some lessons about leadership from a shirtless dancing guy. Watch the dancing guy create a movement, from start to finish, in under 3 minutes, and during this, you will hear in the video as it dissects some fascinating lessons about starting a movement, leadership, and becoming an activist.
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