Don’t blame it on Boo

I WAS saddened to read about the young man assaulted in the evening in Booyeembara Park (Herald, March 30, 2013) and hope he is making a quick recovery.
His aunt’s comments in the second half of the article blaming the incident partly on “ugly”, “scary” Boo prompted me to write as I couldn’t disagree more.
Booyeembara’s beauty and expansive open space is one of the key attractions for living in White Gum Valley. I happily walk with friends, neighbours and now take my daughters there to walk, play and soak up the sights and sounds of a rare pocket of recreated bush and wetlands in the city.
I’m confident Booyeembara will flourish into the future when the lengthy asbestos inspection and management plan process comes to an end this year.
The park has had a lot of community members involved through advisory committees and friends group activities who like myself have a love and pride for this unique and precious place and look forward to an outstanding completed park one day soon.
Stephanie Jennings
Watkins St, White Gum Valley

Saddened
I HAVE just read your article (“Teen bashed in Boo Park”, Herald, Saturday March 30) and hope the young boy who was attacked makes a full recovery.
My parents babysat for us on Stevens Street the other week while we attended a party at the Norfolk.
As they drove home past Boo Park some youths threw limestone rocks at their car causing severe damage.
Fortunately they have a four wheel drive as one of the rocks hit just under their window—if they had a sedan the window would have been broken.
It saddens me to hear about such stories in our beautiful city.
Jenny
White Gum Valley

Stop moaning!
AS a local resident for the past two years I find myself constantly sighing at the moaning and groaning in the Herald letters pages.
Lately the debate on the potential for a skate park has frustrated me. I consider the use of the area around the “mound” (of dirt with no apparent heritage value) to be a thoughtful use of the space that doesn’t actually lend itself to other uses such as sitting on a blanket having a picnic, or playing without rolling an ankle.
Not everyone is elderly or a family with young children who want flat grassy areas for relaxation or play. Not everyone is a graffiti artist and not every skate park ends up that way.
Take a look at Waitangi Park in central Wellington, NZ. The council created a skate park intermingled with seating areas, native plantings, rain gardens and of course, a stream that had been culverted under the city for decades. It gets a high patronage by skaters, families, and the elderly. The city embraced it and it’s a positive development.
I couldn’t skate to save myself but I’d be more interested in spending time observing those who do, than I would like to try and sit uncomfortably on a mound of dirt that can’t provide for much.
I look forward to seeing a development for use by our youth (and others) in an area that has good passive surveillance by the presence of those who enjoy the green open spaces, and wonderful bars and restaurants adjacent to the area.
Annette McGovern
Healy Rd, Hamilton Hill

Cringe
GREAT to see the in-depth article on Portuguese artist Alexandro Farto last week.
Pity the Sculpture on Bathers, featuring 30 local artists, didn’t receive the same coverage!
Maybe Herald journalists are suffering from that old-fashioned Australian cringe.
Robby Lang
Blinco St, Fremantle
The Ed says: Thanks Robby, but we did run a story about Sculpture@Bathers a couple of weeks ago. We went with the Farto yarn last week because of the Dorothy Tangney angle—an unheralded political pioneer from Fremantle—and because we need to share our precious space around. We look forward to your gallery (and others) advertising in our arts pages a bit more so we can get even more stories in!

A capital outcome
I WOULD like to congratulate David Kaesehagen and all his team at Ecoscape on winning first prize in the Capithetical International Urban Design competition (Herald, March 30, 2013).
Their concept is brilliant as it addresses the importance to our economy of growing and exporting food…our future.
The decentralisation issue is equally as important as is the link with Asia and the potential involvement of our indigenous Australians. Also the possibilities of building a sister capital with the diversification of government are endless. Good on you !
Congratulations also to the Herald for bringing us a good news story. Much nicer than doom and gloom.
Jono Farmer
Sewell St, East Fremantle

Red Cross makes it hard
I FEEL it is no wonder fewer and fewer donors are volunteering to give blood (“Blood drought,” Herald, March 30, 2013).
There is limited carpark space for donors in Fremantle and most times it can take quite a while to find available parking. I also feel they should open more donor clinics as Fremantle is not easy for everyone to get to.
I live near St John of God Hospital in Murdoch and would certainly be able to donate more if they opened a clinic there, I’m sure all other donors in the area would too.
Hopefully, on completion of the new Fiona Stanley Hospital, there will be a new blood clinic.
Rose
Sutherland Cres, Winthrop

Cultural precinct poorly conceived
COUNCILLOR Tim Grey-Smith, defending the “revolving door” approach to tenancies in his Thinking Allowed article last week, fails to justify a badly conceived plan for Arthur Head.
He writes about “fair and equitable tenancy” that would “ensure the throughput and dynamism…..” and that other artists “…would like a chance to work in the area”. It is Cr Grey-Smith’s reasoning for the council not wanting to give present and future artists long commercial leases for the studios and cottages.
Cr Grey-Smith writes about opportunities for teaching and mentoring, for collaboration and peer mentoring and for artists-in-residence programs. That sounds all fair and good until one compares it with the hospitality industry Tim Grey-Smith is involved in, and other professional businesses.
Would he have entered into a short-term lease for his Crowded House Restaurant in Douro Road if the landlords had told him they wanted to be fair and equitable so other restaurateurs and chefs should also be able to have a go in that location?
Stuff your goodwill, hey Tim, and the expense of building up a new business. Would Tim like to be told he must teach and mentor staff in his kitchen and on the floor if he wants to renew his lease? Would he like a committee deciding his restaurant was OK but they’d actually like some more dynamism and a different style of food or decor and replace the Crowded House cuisine with Thai, two years later with Chinese, Indian, etc, to stick to the revolving door policy of ensuring fairness for all.
Try selling such a lease to Jamie Oliver.
Cr Grey-Smith also falsely claims an arts hub will miraculously solve the maintenance problems and neglect of the properties by council because rent will be vested in the area. Artists-in-residence normally don’t pay rent at all and other (emerging, indigenous) artists will be subsidised, which means less income will be derived from Arthur Head and less money will be available for the upkeep of the heritage buildings.
I have grave fears the Arthur Head arts hub will fail and cost the council a lot of money. It will be a dark ghost town at night just waiting for anti-social behaviour and vandalism. All that is needed to revitalise the area is a cafe/bar on the beach at J Shed. That would attract sufficient people to make the area more vibrant.
Roel Loopers
(My last letter from)
11 Captain’s Lane, Fremantle

Missing Mary
JUST a short thanks for the cartoon about Mary Jenkins the other week. She was definitely one of a kind. Missed already—my in-box has greatly reduced in size each day!
I know she and the Herald did not always see eye-to-eye and she hated it when you chopped crucial bits from her letters, but this cartoon was a generous gesture. Her friends appreciated it.
Sue
The Ed says: We may have crossed swords from time to time, but Mary was the sort of person we admire: A committed, active citizen working tirelessly for her community. She’ll be missed.

Oh, for those good old days
ANNA COPELAND says the WA government is breaking the law by detaining teenagers at Hakea prison (Herald, March 30, 2013).
If they lived within the law, and did not offend, they would not be there in the first place.
Punishment for crime has become pathetic. Gone are the days when one could go out all day, leave the house unlocked, come back, and find everything intact.
Frank Cherry
Elderberry Dve, South Lake
The Ed says: But Frank, if it’s your contention lawbreakers should be shown little mercy, do you think members of the government should be in the pokey if, as Ms Copeland contends, laws have been broken by placing children in an adult prison? Or is it only the whippersnappers you want to see behind bars?