Compliance and punishment – Dog burglar– Singo puts Marly on sale
• The Inner West Council is seeking more power over the actions of WestConnex contractors, asking the State Government to grant it the power to monitor and penalise non-compliance with construction conditions. Administrator Richard Pearson is getting complaints from Haberfield and Ashfield residents about the levels of noise at night, trucks not adhering to approved routes, dust, employees parking in streets and road closures.
• A man’s pet pug was stolen at knife-point in Homebush’s Olympic Park last week and has so far not been found. The 14-week old puppy, named Egg, was snatched after its owner was approached by three armed men. We hope the robbers just really, really love caring for pugs, especially with the heat-wave that hit last weekend. The popularity of the breed was illustrated in the huge response to the story of Egg’s kidnapping; his photo was shared over 4000 times on Facebook. Does that mean another 4000 suspects for police to interview?
• Friends and business partners, John Singleton and Geoff Dixon are selling off Newtown’s iconic Marlborough Hotel (or ‘Marly Bar’) after selling another three pubs late last year, the Peakhurst Inn, Como Hotel and Bristol Arms Hotel. The Marly, however, is a different beast incorporating a number of popular venues including Miss Peaches, Tokyo Sing Song and The Garden Bistro. Making sure it ends up in the right hands is vital, with The Marly Bar serving an important function in the suburb as the official after-party venue of the Newtown Festival. Singleton said the sale was part of the divestment from his portfolio of 20 previously under-performing hotels which his group bought with the mind of reselling at a higher price down the track. Will Justin Hemmes build on his Inner West beachhead – or is he too busy overseeing his pricey dumplings at The Queen in Enmore?
