Bail denied
A judge has denied bail to a man facing trial over the alleged stabbing murder of 16-year-old Ricky Balcombe in Geelong’s mall 22 years ago.
Justice Lex Lasry refused Karl Hague’s application despite his plea for bail to look after his son and his family’s willingness to put up a $270,000 surety.
Vaccination warning
Six local cases of potentially fatal meningococcal disease in 12 months have prompted authorities to recommend vaccinations for 15 to 19-year-olds before summer.
The State Government urged parents to arrange the free vaccinations through their family GPs or council ahead of the peak time for meningococcal, which has killed five Victorians over the past year.
Fewer bankrupt
Geelong people are less likely to be bankrupt than the average Victorian, according to new statistics.
Australian Financial Security Authority figures for the September quarter showed that Geelong had an insolvency rate of 29.2 for every 100,000 residents aged 18 or older compared to the state average of 33.3.
Gordon funding
A program helping Geelong’s former Ford workers find new jobs will share in an additional $2.9 million of state funding for the city’s TAFE institute.
Gordon chief Lisa Line (pictured) welcomed the cash, saying the other beneficiary would be the institute’s Geelong Technical Education Centre.
Council negotiations
City Hall will continue negotiating a new enterprise agreement with unions “in good faith”, according to chief executive officer Kelvin Spiller.
He made the pledge on Thursday after a union leader used council’s caretaker period to allege that bullying remained an ongoing problem among City Hall staff.
Geothermal welcomed
A local tourism authority has welcomed plans for a hot-springs resort opposite the 12 Apostles.
The “exciting, high-quality” tourist attraction tapping geothermal waters almost a kilometre underground would produce “significant jobs for locals”, said Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism chair Wayne Kayler-Thomson.
Beach wider
Two-thousand cubic metres of sand from Portarlington has expanded a North Shore in time for summer, authorities have announced.
City Hall put the finishing touches on the state-funded project at Moorpanyal Park Beach this week, widening the strip of sand by 10 to 15 metres.
