By Jared Sacks – 3 Feb 2024 Politics (or as some like to refer to it, poly-tricks) in Cape Town generally focuses on opportunistic fights between the Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC and other political parties. At the worst of times, they take the form of outright racism, afrophobia and anti-homeless bigotry. Many of you…
6 Photos and Video of Street Art by Banksy in Gaza, Palestine
VIDAR – 18 Jan 2024 In the rubble-strewn streets of Gaza, an unexpected figure emerges – a playful kitten adorned with a sassy red bow. This street art gem is none other than Banksy’s signature touch, adding a splash of amusement to a landscape of devastation… SEE MORE HERE
Boxing clever — this engineered wetland is a holistic solution to SA’s water treatment problems
Takudzwa Pongweni – 15 Jan 2024 The Wetland in a Box is a modular system that uses roots and bacteria to clean wastewater. Removing pollutants and producing biomass, it may be the solution to South Africa’s coming crisis. Gerhard Janse van Rensburg, a former information and communication technology specialist, became involved in community service in…
Get rid of Box Elders!
Please consider removing any Box elder (Acer negundo) from your property this winter. These are highly susceptible to PSHB and will die within one year of infestation, this results in a mass of beetles attacking everything around it. The Southern Suburbs are a hot spot for PSHB and there have been confirmed PSHB infestations in…
Mancomm meeting
Reminder that our next Mancomm meeting will be held on Tuesday 30 January 2024 at the Observatory Community Centre at 18:00. Zoom invitations are available on request to [email protected] See draft agenda here Mancomm meeting Date: Tue 30 January 2024 Time: 18h00 Venue: Observatory Community Centre (room 1) or via Zoom (upon request) To attend our…
WARD ALLOCATIONS – CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Good day All Please find attached Wish list notice and template for your information and compliance. The Subcouncil has commenced with the public consultation process for input into the Ward Allocation Budget for Financial year 2025/26. We would like to invite your organisation to submit proposals in compliance with the requirements specified in the attached Wish list notice. The…
Improving the Urban Environment of Lower Main Road, Observatory
In October 2022, OBSID approached Local South and requested a proposal to increase pedestrianisation of Lower Main Road and to improve mobility in the precinct more broadly. Open Obs! was conceptualised to explore how Lower Main Road could become a more pedestrian-friendly, safer and inviting space for businesses, residents and visitors. The original proposal included…
Tasmanian garden wins prize for world’s ugliest lawn
It is not so much a lawn as a moonscape: pitted craters dug by bandicoots, exhausted tufts of withered yellow grass plucked by wallabies and pitiful plants shrivelled brown under the Australian sunshine. But Kathleen Murray is the proud winner of the first World’s Ugliest Lawn competition after the Swedish contest to encourage water-saving, environmentally-friendly gardening went…
Healthy food is hard to come by in Cape Town’s poorer areas: how community gardens can fix that
The Conversation – 19 January 2024 In 1950, as part of the Group Areas Act, South Africa’s apartheid government banished people of colour to outlying areas, away from central business districts. The Cape Flats are one such area, sprawling to the east of central Cape Town, writes Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, University of Cape Town. Today…
Seven richest Africans have more wealth than the poorest half of the continent’s population
Oxfam – 15 Jan 2024 Africa’s richest 1 percent own nearly half of the continent’s total financial wealth. A tax of up to 5 percent on Africa’s super-rich could generate an annual amount of $11.9 billion, nearly enough to pay for the 2023 humanitarian requirements for Eastern and Southern Africa Oxfam urges a new era…