Peninsula in the News

Here is a summary of news items about the Peninsula appearing in other news media over the last two weeks.

Monday September 22 Pearl Beach Progress Association member Kay Williams continues her campaign for Gosford Council to repair Pearl Beach Dr.

Ms Williams said council has known of the risk of a "potential landslip" for more than a year following a geotechnical report commissioned on behalf of council.

Umina activist Edward James' photograph of a cracked culvert under Pearl Beach Dr was used.

Sydney Morning Herald Monday September 29 Umina resident and asbestos widow Maree Stokes said she planned to attend civil court proceedings against disgraced building company James Hardie Industries.

Ms Stokes said she will join other friends and families who have lost loved ones to asbestos-related diseases.

She said their attendance would serve as a constant reminder to the Hardie people that this is an issue of human suffering and that their loved ones would not be forgotten.

Ms Stokes' husband Eddie died of mesothelioma, a form of cancer by exposure to asbestos.

The Australian Thursday October 2 Major supermarket chains Aldi and Woolworths announce plans to build new supermarkets in Umina CBD, while the Bi-Lo store will undergo a Coles makeover.

Sun Weekly Woy Woy resident Shane Emmett has joined locals Jason van Genderen and John Roy to win the People's Choice Award and Best Film Award for their film Mankind is No Island at the Tropfest New York film festival.

Mr Emmett was the producer of the film which was shot using a mobile phone at a cost of $57.

The film documented society's attitudes towards homeless communities in Sydney and New York.

Sun Weekly Friday October 3 A 28 year-old Kincumber man will face court later this month after allegedly sexually assaulting a Umina woman at Umina Beach.

The man was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault.

Express Advocate Horsfield Bay resident and Greens Cr Peter Freewater has spoken out against proposed offshore mining off the Central Coast.

Cr Freewater said the Central Coast had "nothing to gain and everything to lose" from offshore mining.

He said the environment would be the most likely to suffer from the mining.

Express Advocate Gosford Council removed racist graffiti on a number of items in Ettalong including the suburb's welcome sign.

Ettalong Beach Business Group representative Lindy Wilson said she believed the racist graffiti was the work of just one person and not a reflection of the seaside town.

Express Advocate Umina Beach doctor Katie Dixon was recognised by the NSW Cancer Institute for her research on ultraviolet radiation-induced skin cancer.

The 26-year-old's skin cancer research was the first to demonstrate the role of vitamin D compounds in reducing tumour formation and skin cancer progression.

She was presented with a $10,000 education grant to further her studies and research.

Express Advocate Saturday October 4 Costume designer Catherine Martin, who is married to Australian film director Baz Luhrmann, revealed she was sitting on Pearl Beach with her two children when she was inspired to develop her own homeware range.

The two-time Academy Award winner created a range of rugs and wallpapers based partly on her work on the upcoming Baz Luhrmann film 'Australia'.

Martin said she was inspired by the film's design concepts and scenary.

The West Australian Wednesday October 8 Woy Woy electrical apprentice Steven Smith, 24, won the state award for the commercial-domestic category of this year's National Electrical and Communication Association Apprentice Awards.

Mr Smith will attend the national award competition for his category on November 20.

Express Advocate Woy Woy resident Akuila Uate has been selected to represent his home country Fiji in the Rugby League World Cup.

The 21-year-old moved to Woy Woy from Fiji four years ago with his father and stepmother.

Uate played in the local Central Coast Rugby League competition before being selected to play for the Newcastle Knights recently.

He said he was looking forward to returning home to prepare for the World Cup.

Sydney Morning Herald