News

Local sports clubs, including a Daylesford fight club,  are among those to benefit after the state’s community sport minister announced that 875 grants will go to more than 740 clubs.

There were 578,762 criminal offences recorded in Victoria in the twelve months to September 2024 – an increase of 68,536 offences or 13.4%, the latest crime statistics released by Victoria Police reveal.

Expressions of Interest (EOIs) have opened for the Castlemaine State Festival’s 50th-anniversary event set for March 19-29 in 2026.

The Hepburn Shire Council’s road reseal program started recently, in the lead up to Christmas, and following the festive season break will progress to take in rural areas around Dean and Smeaton along with urban roads in Daylesford, Clunes, Creswick and Trentham.

Not just for Christmas  Like puppies and kittens, they’re to keep and cherish for their lifetime. I’m talking  about house plants, because, with a little care and the right treatment and conditions  they can be expected to last for years - especially if they're presented in an attractive, decorated pot.

Local music lovers will be pleased to hear that a popular series of free live music events is returning to liven up Sunday afternoons in Ballarat this January.

If you are one of those smiling, doughy-looking characters who mean well but whose biggest thrill of the year is to light up your front yard with inflatable plastic creatures that have nothing to do with a southern hemisphere Christmas celebration while drawing 150,000 amps per minute from the grid, don’t read on as you will find this column offensive.  

The Hepburn Shire Council is inviting local residents to attend a special event celebrating the shire's Community Award winners for 2025 and welcoming its newest Australian citizens.

Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has launched a project in Vietnam to demonstrate AquaWatch Australia, a new water quality monitoring and forecasting system. 

Designs for the proposed new Ballarat Regional Animal Facility have been finalised, showcasing a state-of-the-art resource that's expected to provide care for thousands of animals across Ballarat and the wider region.

Mount Rowan in Ballarat is now home to a new purpose-built Incident Control Centre (ICC), with emergency management crews ready to respond if required this summer.

As a journo of some years, let’s say 40, I have a love for words. I also like that language is always evolving. So it is always interesting to hear what the word of the year is, especially from the Australian Macquarie Dictionary.  

Goldfields Crime Investigation Unit detectives are investigating after multiple grass fires broke out in the Goldfields area last week.

A crowd of 250 to 300 people gathered in perfect conditions in the crater  of Lalgambuk (Mount Franklin) on Wednesday, December 11 to celebrate  International Mountain Day at a special event hosted by DJAARA.  

Hepburn Shire's Kerbside bin collection trucks are sporting a new look.

Victoria Police is putting family violence perpetrators on notice this Christmas as new data shows a rise in offending across the festive season.

Helen Hayes has always been a keen gardener but a busy corporate career kept her from creating something on the scale befitting her imagination. 

Dean Recreation Reserve president Brian Maher has presented a couple of cheques to some well deserving locals.  

A further round of fundraising will start in the New Year, including two gala dinners. And the pleasing flow of money from events such as this reinforced a point made by a character in the film shown at the fundraiser, Miracle on 34th Street.

Development of the Ballarat Major Event Precinct has reached a key milestone with the awarding of the contract to lead the redevelopment project.

For the second year in a row, The Local Publishing Group has been awarded Best Regional Home & Country Lifestyle Media Publishing Group in APAC Insider’s ninth annual Australian Enterprise Awards. 

Glenlyon’s Claire Clifton is a great example of how being told you’re no good at something may just lead you to become very good at it indeed. 

The City of Ballarat’s partnership with the Western Bulldogs has been strengthened after the signing of a three-year partnership extension to continue hosting AFL and AFLW matches in the city. 

Victoria’s aerial firefighting fleet is ready to respond to what is forecast to be one of the most high-risk fire seasons in recent years for much of the state this summer, the CFA says.