Hail Little Ceasars – Council couplings not far off – Arise St George of Erko
• The news that all-American fastfood import ‘Little Ceasars Pizzeria’ is taking up space on Leichardt’s foodie throughfare of Marion Street has already got our arterial fat deposits curdling. In the US Little Ceasars is a big thing, the third-biggest pizza chain and also the cheapest. A pepperoni pizza will set you back $7.95 – and more than a day’s worth of kilojoules. Could this present killer competition to the drunk-dinner options along the 438 bus route? Stanmore Maccas and Norton St kebabs look out!
• The chance to respond to a State Government report on merging Strathfield, Canada Bay and Burwood Councils has now ended. An initial report supporting the merger was scrapped last year when Strathfield Council challenged the Office of Local Government’s findings, stopping a forced merger going ahead. The new report, which was charged with addressing geographic cohesion and community interests, while dated September 2016, was only made public on December 21st, giving councils and residents only a month to respond. A request to extend the submission window was denied. If the report is validated in court, 2017 could be the undoing of three quite different councils – united by significant projected population growth in the next two decades. Will there really be just 12 councillors to rule them all?!
• Local musicians Paul Mac and Johnny Seymour commissioned a 20-foot mural of their friend George Michael on the side of their residence on Concord St, Erskineville. It’s also visible from the Illawarra train line. The artist, Scottie Marsh, (who also painted the famous ‘Casino Mike’ mural off Australia Street) named the portrait ‘St. George’, the patron saint of Sydney’s LGBTQ community. He is shown calmly smiling with a joint and a bottle of amyl in hand, replete with a glowing rainbow halo.
