Mayor4Unley

I've just received an email from the community engagement officer at the State Government Transport Department. It was an update about the Greenhill Road Median Safety Improvements Project. The project team is reviewing the feedback received and further discussions will be held with Councils and other stakeholders (whomever they may be). A summary of the working group sessions and responses from the project team will be released to the residents in a few weeks. Given the session I attended with the Wayville residents, I am confident that the final design will be accepted by the residents. I hope so!

It’s that time of the year for home cooks to consider entering the annual Royal Show judging competition. It may be a favourite sauce, chutney, biscuits, cake, pudding or sewing, embroidery etc. The cost of entering the baking competition is only $5. But be prepared for a harsh critic. The judges have been at it for years and they will show you no mercy. We are assured that the winners are picked absolutely on merit. I am considering entering my Harissa made with home grown chillies. Give it some thought. If you reckon your biscuits are the best in the street, then enter the competition and see what the judges think. For more information go to  the Showground website .

An international cycling conference has just concluded in Adelaide. It was a huge event with 1,000s of overseas delegates. The Bike SA group has highlighted snippets and outcomes from the conference. Here are a few … 1. There is no such thing as a cyclist In Australia, we're obsessed with defining people by their mode of transport. Many speakers at the conference were keen to point out that people don't care what mode of transport they use... they just want to get from A to B. Time for us to move past the "Us vs. Them" mentality and realise that we're all just people - and we all choose different modes of transport.  2. Modal share follows the money If you don't invest, then you don't get more bums on bikes. Cities that saw substantial increases in people cycling (Seville, Nantes, Paris etc.) all decided to spend serious amounts of transport funding on cycling.  South Australia spends 0.5% of the transport budget on bicycles. That's wh...

Unley Council needs more women as Councillors. We currently have 2 out of 12 and a male Mayor. Rather woeful. I can understand that it will be harder for women to nominate and campaign and attend meetings given that they do more than their share of duties at home. At the coming election in October/November, my forecast is that there will be up to 5 new faces on Council in 5 of the 6 Wards. So, why not consider nominating? You may nominate as either a Councillor in a Ward or for Mayor. If you are interested in nominating and just want a chat about process and my time on Council, then contact me. I will be glad to encourage anyone running in a Ward other than Goodwood.

A plea from the Premier's Council for Women ... Here is an extract from a State Government website ... Help us find out what matters to SA women The Premier’s Council for Women wants to hear from South Australian women of all ages on what matters to them. The Council has put together a survey to find out more about women’s views on important issues such as employment, family, health and safety. You can complete the survey online at www.saplan.org.au/yoursay until Friday 13 June 2014 . The Premier’s Council for Women provides quality, independent advice to the South Australian Government and advocates for improved opportunities, wellbeing and services for all women in South Australia. Survey results will give the Council a sense of what is important to South Australian women and will guide its choice of issues to focus on over the next few years.  You can also pick up a copy of the survey to complete from the Women’s Information Service 91-97 Grenfell St, Ches...

Some Apple iPhone and iPad owners recently found themselves locked-out of their devices and were held to ransom (for $100) by a hacker called Oleg Pliss. It seems that the Australian Apple iCloud was hacked and accounts were compromised by linking known passwords with account names. The following link provides more details and offers advice of what to do if you get hit. A proactive step you should take now is to change your password and not use the same password for multiple accounts. According to an expert ... most users use the same passwords for multiple sites and services, passwords attained from other sources were likely used to gain access to iCloud Read more here

I have noticed that a lot of street lights are dull and don't give much light at night. I would say that the majority need replacing. Stand on the road and ensure that they cast a strong shadow (of you). It is important that residents take ownership for getting light bulbs replaced. The street lights are maintained by SA Power Networks (formerly ETSA). It's easy: either ring 131366 or preferably go online via  this link. Online you can select the light location and mark a fault. Tip: there is no option for a dull light so select ' The light is off at night '. Turn-around seems to be 1-3 days. If you provide a mobile number then you will get an sms when the light has been fixed. I encourage you to adopt the street lights near you and ensure that they throw a strong light. If trees block the light then phone Unley Council on 8373 5111 to arrange pruning.