YesBut what's the local news?

Once again I have been surfing the net to find interesting stories in local newspapers. I leave it to you to judge the success.

From The Chronicle, Toowoomba, Queensland - “ Stress levels rise over leaning tree”.

"VOLUNTEERS cursing a giant eucalypt tree towering over the Visitor Information Centre in James Street, have nothing to fear.

But Cr Michelle Schneider isn't convinced. Apart from the safety concerns, there were issues of nuisance debris blocking gutters and on the verandah.

She stood alone in the 8-1 vote at the Toowoomba City Council ordinary meeting last Tuesday night.

The motion was lost Mayor Dianne Thorley ruled.

"Tell that to the volunteers that get killed by it," Cr Schneider joked.

Cr Schneider called for an inspection of the giant gum, more than 20 metres high and on a distinct angle."

The Sherwood Park News, Alberta - “ County Clothesline fed up with dumped junk”.

“The County Clothesline, a not-for-profit organization that sells donated clothes and gives the money back to the community, has become a cheap alternative to the dump, and staff aren’t happy about it.
Although the organization appreciates donations as that’s what keeps it running, many items are being dropped off that belong in the garbage because they could never be resold, according to executive director Loretta Nicholson.
“We’ve changed from being the County Clothesline to the county dump,” she said as she looked at the tears in an old leather couch that was dropped off earlier in the week.
The organization doesn’t take in or sell furniture, yet many people have been dropping off old couches, dressers, mattresses and other large items. But they have no room for these items so they have to be trucked to the dump, which costs the organization money. They also receive computer equipment, which they have to pay to have recycled.
“Every dollar we have to spend to get rid of this garbage is a dollar not going to the community,” said Nicholson.”
From the Waikato Times, New Zealand - “Salty language sees youth MP booted out”.

”A youth MP was kicked out of the debating chamber after telling the Government to "stop f***ing with our futures" during a heated exchange on climate change.
Kate Steel, 16, a Green Party nominee, had been arguing The Household Response to Climate Change Bill was "rigged".
Deputy speaker Ross Robertson - seemingly forgetting a recent verbal slip by Broadcasting Minister Steve Maharey - told the unruly youth representatives the word in question had "never been used in Parliament before", and ejected Ms Steel from the chamber for five minutes.
Ms Steel withdrew her comment but her apology was drowned out by applause and cheering from her fellow MPs as she was escorted from the chamber.
The bill failed to proceed after voting ended in a 53/53 split with 14 MPs - including all the Greens - abstaining. "

From The Inverness Courier, Scotland. - “Cocktail gives the wallet a shake”.

“IT has been called Scotland’s most expensive cocktail and, at £200 a glass, it could give you a financial hangover. The Magnum Royal is a heady mix of the world’s finest Cognac, Louis XIII de Remy Martin 1999, vintage Dom Perignon champagne and a raspberry liqueur-soaked sugar cube. It was created by Mathieu Clausel, bar manager at the Glenmoriston Town House Hotel in Inverness, with its bar the first in Scotland to be supplied with a magnum of the costly Louis XIII Cognac, whose connoisseurs are said to include the Queen, Elton John and Christian Dior.
“We have been selling a lot of Louis XIII in our Piano Bar, which led to us being supplied with the magnum instead of the smaller bottle,” he said. “As we were the first Scottish bar to receive this, I thought I should create something extra special to mark the occasion and the Magnum Royal was the result.” A member of the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild (UKBG), Mr Clausel is originally from Lyon in France, where he studied and trained in his profession. He moved to Scotland last year to improve his knowledge of whisky. The Piano Bar, next to restaurant Abstract, offers more than 250 different malts. Although too pricey for the normal pocket, the Magnum Royal is a bargain compared with the cocktail named in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most expensive. The £750-a-glass Mai Tai, sold at the Merchant Hotel, Belfast, is made using one of only six bottles of 17-year-old Wray and Nephew Rum in existence.”
And after that, all I can say is “cheers”.