According to my records, rainfall so far this year has just passed the 400mm mark. Compared to previous years, we have had more rain so far this year than for all of 2006, and are on par for 2005, 100mm ahead of 2004, and 50mm ahead of 2003 for the same period.

(The little [...]

Andrew Barr has announced that by 2010 all public primary schools in the ACT will offer a language other than English. The ABC has it here, and the press release is here.
I’m all for language learning. As Barr says, it allows students to be “internationally engaged and sensitive to cultural diversity, with the skills to [...]

The team (well, me) at Just Bands have finally found some time to work on a new version of the site & it’s now available. The new site features a much improved gig guide, better formatting & will be updated more regularly with local music news & reviews. Check it out.. Just Bands

ABC online is reporting that the Federal Liberal party has committed a re-elected Coalition Government to releasing 32 hectares of Commonwealth land in north-west Canberra, to help combat the housing affordability crisis.
The Defence Department land, at the old Naval Tracking Station site at Lawson off Ginninderra Drive, would be released for housing development in 2009.
Is [...]

Canberrans are urged to show their support for the SES by wearing something orange to work tomorrow (Wednesday).
“ACT SES volunteers have been involved in numerous activities including 15 days of continuous interstate deployment. Nine days searching for a missing person in the Namadgi National Park. 21 days assisting TAMS during the horse flu influenza [...]

The SMH is reporting that Sydneysiders are being encouraged to ditch the rat race and move to a better lifestyle, free of road tolls and traffic jams, in the national capital.
Three Live in Canberra seminars began on Monday highlighting the city’s employment and lifestyle advantages.
Acting ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher said the campaign aimed [...]

When I bought a house in Perth in 2005, I was sent by my local council a letter to advise me of the days for rubbish collection, a card for my fridge to advise of my watering days and a voucher for free mulch from the local tip amongst other things of interest and as a [...]

ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope has launched a stinging attack towards NSW authorities over the leaking of 1.5 million litres of raw sewage in Lake Burley Griffin, according to the SMH.
Mr Stanhope said, ‘People (were) continuing to use that (lake) for recreation for five days without notification of what was potentially a major health hazard [...]

In what appears to be a bit of bacon giving, Senator Kate Lundy has revealed that Federal Labor has committed $500,000 towards the restoration of the Albert Hall, according to the ABC online.
Senator Kate Lundy says Labor is recognising the importance of the Albert Hall to Canberra and said, “Once upon a time it was [...]

As we all know, Sammy’s Kitchen has moved over the road out of Garema Place Precinct and into the new Canberra Centre development – here’s a blow by blow comparison.
An Old Sammy’s Kitchen Laksa for comparison purposes is a straight 10/10/10
NSK Taste (Flavour) = 10
Size = 10
Ingredients = 10
Decor/Cutlery = 9
Waiting Staff = 10
Cost [...]

Get Real Forum and Faking It launch in Canberra November 17
We are really happy to let you know that Women’s Forum Australia (WFA) is holding a “Get Real Forum” on body image issues, the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls, to be held at the National Museum in Canberra on November 17 [...]

This weekend U-Brew It opened in Canberra (23 Raws Crescent, Hume – 6260 1160). These guys are a DIY microbrewery, where customers mix up and boil their wort – for the uninitiated that’s water, hops, grains & malt which is fermented into beer. The wort is transfered into a fermenter, which is left to brew [...]

Apparently the Queanbeyan folk have decided to show Canberra what they really think of us – by leaking their sewerage into the Molonglo River – and thus into Lake Burley Griffin.
The NCA says there are unacceptable levels of “faecal coliform bacteria” in the lake, apparently the result of said leak, and all use of the [...]

The heading says it all really.
This Saturday the 10th of November sees the holding of the 2007 RiotACT Bicycle Bar Crawl.
Kick off time is 10am @ Edgars in Ainslie.
All you need is a bicycle and willingness to meet and share a drink (it doesn’t even have to be alcoholic) with some fellow Rioters. Past BBC’s [...]

WALK AGAINST WARMING YOUTH CONTINGENT
1pm Sunday 11 November
The Rotunda @ Glebe Park
It’s finally arrived!
For months the groundswell has been building; chats around the water cooler, whispers in the classrooms, murmurs in the lecture halls, posters on pillars, leaflets in letterboxes, emails running hot, ads in the newspaper, sound-bites on the television – all leading up [...]

Saturday 10th November
1:00pm-10:00pm
Music Industry Centre
Building J, Southside Campus
Canberra Institute of Technology
FREE Entry

MICfest is a student driven music festival that is planned and implemented by a collaborative team of 1st and 2nd year communication, media and music students and their tutors.
View the MICfest promo (MP4 – 1MB).

Video from the Gungahlin meet the Candidates Event is now online (via YouTube) at the Gungahlin Community Council Website.
There is an initial introduction by Alan Kerlin (president of the GCC) then presentations by the candidates in attendance (in the order in which they spoke):
* Meredith Hunter – Greens,
* Bob McMullan – ALP,
* Farida Iqbal – [...]

I’ve commented before that childhood obesity is a fashionable cause to which Andrew Barr is partial. He’s now announced even more funding for specialist PE teachers in primary schools to enable “primary school teachers to deliver quality PE for students over the next three years”.
First of all, primary teachers are already qualified to deliver quality [...]

A bit of a tenuous Canberra link here, but some of the researchers were from ANU so I’ll run with it. I just thought it was hilarious.
The story is that 600 women “moved their child’s birth from the last week of June 2006 to the first week of July so they could receive the extra [...]

Just in ABC radio reports that a plane at Canberra airport coming in to land did a go around just metres from touch down because there was another 737 still on the runway. Apparently landed planes need to be 52 metres away from the runway to consider it having cleared. The pilots of [...]

The Canberra Walk Against Warming is on this weekend, Sunday at 2PM starting from City Walk. Details are available from the Walk Against Warming Website here.

After a very vigorous debate here on RiotACT, as well as stories in all major news outlets across Australia, it turns out claims that Stromlo High School gave permission for a year 10 student to smoke are false.
Note to journalists: check your facts.
I’m pleased to note that a few of the comments here were sceptical [...]

The idea of a public holiday for a horse race in Melbourne is a joke. However I’m not one to look a gift racehorse in the mouth and I enjoyed my free day with my family and community. I forgot to watch the race, but plenty of Canberrans had a flutter with ACTTAB reporting no [...]

Lately in the news the residents of Pialligo have been complaining about the land grab that the airport will do placing the new entrance roads to the airport within 5 metres of a house boundary: Canberra Times article here.
The new road will be 11metres closer to the house boundary, or about the width of my [...]

Meet the Candidates – help decide the balance of power this Wednesday!
Polling is showing that the voters of Canberra may well decide the future of
the incoming government’s reform agenda – whichever party dominates the
House of Representatives.
Traditionally regarded as having safe seats, Canberra has now become
critical, with a single Canberra Senator potentially holding the Senate
balance of [...]

Anyone interested in doing Boot Camp in Canberra tonight?
Dan and James from Professional PT are running another month of boot camp, reasonable prices at reasonable hours.
12 sessions for November on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Reconciliation Place (the grass bowl by the lake in front of Questacon)
Starting at 5.45 PM tonight and going for an [...]

Amber Jane Westin has rammed another elderly woman and been sentenced again, this time for assault with a shopping trolley (no license for that either) according to this ABC story. Shes been sentenced to 2 months gaol to be served at the same time as her current sentence.
The story says that she [...]

All,
I am interested, there has been a plethora of comments, mostly against (how can there be a problem with a day off?) in regards to the upcoming holiday tomorrow.
After close to three weeks of sitting in meetings listening to our esteemed business leaders speaking about this at length, I wondering what the dear RiotACT rabble [...]

So…I hear that Woolies supermarkets are open tomorrow.  But what else?  I wouldn’t mind a wander about the shops and the coffee, but are my chances Buckleys…or none?

All the other RiotACT admins are too baby faced to grow a mo, so I’ll be flying the team RiotACT flag for Movember this year. RiotACT have registered a team with movember.com so if you want to get onboard with us drop me an email kramer(AT)the-riotact.com and I’ll send you the official invite. As Che [...]

Not wanting to start another Bun fight. But has any one noticed the new “Covered” Speed Camera signs on the Hindmarsh overpass?

Sadly I can find nothing online about this. However, various radio stations are reporting that a girl at Stromlo High is allowed to smoke during school hours as she needs to do so to get through the stress of it all.
Apparently the school has given her the go ahead, and it is thought that she [...]