Briefs
Thieves have used a ute to ram-raid three Geelong businesses in separate suburbs within one hour.
Police believed the raids at Highton’s Vallis IGA, Manifold Heights’ lotto outlet and a North Geelong bottleshop early Saturday could be linked to a Corio ram-raid previous day.
Jobs lost
Two of the region’s biggest retailers have launched redundancies at local offices.
Staff at Torquay’s Quiksilver and North Geelong’s Target, which last week revealed plans to shift headquarters to western Melbourne, confirmed dozens of jobs had gone in the cutbacks.
Bus jobs
Five-hundred jobs could be created building electric buses at Avalon Airport, a manufacturer has revealed.
Avass confirmed it was already working out of a hangar at the airport, with plans to export its vehicles around the world.
Merc menace
Police are hunting the driver of a luxury S-class Mercedes over “several serious traffic offences” around Geelong.
The black S 320 was “known to frequent Newtown, Grovedale, Corio, Norlane and Whittington areas”, police posted on Facebook.
Players suspended
A Torquay footballer has been suspended for six weeks over a sling tackle that left a Modewarre opponent unconscious with a dislocated shoulder.
Lachlan Baker’s ban was among a series of AFL Barwon tribunal hearings this week, which included a three-week ban handed down to St Albans captain Ben Evans for rough conduct.
Started up
Twenty new Geelong businesses covering everything from steel fabrication to African beauty products have gone on show at the city’s library and heritage centre.
Organisers said the G21 Start-Up Program Showcase demonstrated the program’s achievements in helping entrepreneurs develop their ideas for commercialisation.
Weight worries
Geelong businesses should encourage healthy habits among employees to help combat the city’s obesity problem, according to Cancer Council Victoria.
The council said weight problems were a significant cost-burden on business, particularly in Geelong where 56 per cent of the population was overweight or obese.
