The Melbourne Snap⚡- Friday 18 July, weekend edition
Babies with DNA from three people could soon be born in Melbourne, woman gets attempted murder charges after fire, chemical spill explained and best Japanese restaurants.
G’day and welcome back to The Melbourne Snap. Hope you enjoy it. Here’s Friday’s edition.
🧬 Babies with DNA from three people could soon be born in Melbourne, as Monash University prepares a local trial of the breakthrough “mitochondrial donation” IVF technique following successful births in the UK aimed at preventing deadly genetic diseases. - Monash University
📵 The investigation into 27-year-old doctor Ryan Cho, accused of filming hospital staff in a toilet at Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, has expanded to include multiple hospitals across Melbourne and regional Victoria where he worked between 2020 and 2025. - Broede Carmody, Grant McArthur, The Age
Weekend weather
⚫ A 66-year-old woman has died in hospital after being hit by a cyclist while crossing Dandelion Drive in Rowville on 26 June. - Victoria Police
🚧 It’s been a gruelling week for commuters. Yesterday all citybound lanes on the Princes Freeway at Laverton were closed after a crash involving four cars and a truck. It reopened in the afternoon. - Vic Traffic (X)
➡️ On Wednesday, parts of the Monash Freeway were closed after a big smash and trains on the Hurstbridge and Mernda lines remain suspended after a weekend incident.
🛠️ A CFMEU-linked redundancy fund has received $12m in state grants since 2018, as Fair Work investigates its financial ties to Master Builders Victoria. - Kieran Rooney, The Age
🧪 An explanation has been given for the chemical spill that turned Banyule Creek in Rosanna bright blue (covered yesterday), with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) confirming a dust suppressant from the North East Link Project caused the leak. - Banyule Council
💸 A Melbourne man lost $570 after unknowingly ordering pizza through a fake website linked via a sponsored Google ad. - ABC Radio Melbourne
🏀 Melbourne will host NBA team New Orleans Pelicans in October and Europe’s Pavlos Giannakopoulos Tournament in September. - Mayor Nick Reece (LinkedIn)
🩺 James Farnham, youngest son of Australian music icon John Farnham, has revealed he successfully underwent surgery to reverse a colostomy following years of health struggles, describing the past year as “life-changing”. - jimbofarnham (Instagram)
📊 On the issue of whether men should be banned from working at childcare centres (story in Thursday’s edition), the Snap readers were fairly united. Here is the poll result.
📸 A Melbourne marketing exec has gone public after being filmed without consent in a viral video with AFL great Wayne Carey at Toorak Cellars, calling it “cyber-bullying” and saying it’s caused serious personal and professional harm. - James Dampney, news.com.au
🏗️ Victoria’s home building regulator raided properties linked to Homespace Builds after it allegedly carried out unregistered work across Melbourne’s outer suburbs. - Herald Sun
💰 Victoria’s gambling regulator is considering an unprecedented intervention that could limit how much the AFL earns from betting. - Henry Belot, Guardian
🎓 Melbourne has retained its title as Australia’s best student city and ranked fifth globally, with new rankings praising its education quality, affordability (I can sense eyebrows raising here), liveability and cultural diversity. - QS Best Student Cities 2026
🎭 The cast of Tarzan – The Stage Musical gathered at South Wharf’s Polly Woodside to launch the Disney stage show yesterday, which swings into The National Theatre, St Kilda this October. - Sean Car, Southbank News
🕯️ A state funeral for former Victorian MP and football legend Brian Dixon will be held at 10:30am, Friday 25 July at St Patrick’s Cathedral. - Vic Gov
🎤 US comedian and actor Kevin Hart will bring his Acting My Age tour to Melbourne in September, with phone-free shows. - LiveNation
🍰 Camberwell patisserie Sucre du Jour has opened a second location on Spencer Street in the CBD, offering French pastries with Southeast Asian influences. - sucre_du_jour (Instagram)
🎬 Hoyts will open a new IMAX screen at Melbourne Central by the end of 2025. - Sarah Ward, Concrete Playground
🍩 The usually Caulfield South-based Sebby’s Scrolls opens this Saturday on Acland Street, St Kilda, serving fresh-made cinnamon scrolls including fan favourites like Cinnamon, Cheese & Vegemite, and its viral Bueno, for one weekend only. - sebbys.scrolls (Instagram)
📈 The most-visited links from the last week
❗This is a particularly long edition today. If the email version is cut off in your inbox, you can read the online version here.
🎉5 things to do this weekend
🍽️ The Little Food Market is back and running at the Royal Exhibition Building from 18-19 July, featuring 200+ top Australian producers and passionate culinary creators sharing their food and drink offerings. Tickets from $10, kids under 12 go free. - More details
⛸️ Disney On Ice is currently running at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena until 20 July, with Mickey, Moana, Elsa and more skating through epic adventures. There are morning, afternoon and evening shows. - More details and tickets
🃏 Swap Meet: Trading Cards Edition takes over the Queen Victoria Market sheds on Saturday 19 July with free entry, featuring Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, sports cards, vintage games, anime-themed rugs, DJs, roving performers and street food. - More details
🎪 EziStreat in North Melbourne will transform into Street Food Across the Globe during the evening of Saturday 19 July, 5pm–10pm, with free entry, passport stamp fun, artisan stalls, face painting, balloon art and dishes inspired by night markets from Tokyo to Istanbul. - More details (Instagram)
🇨🇴 The Colombian Independence Day Festival returns to St Kilda Town Hall on Saturday 19 July with 13 hours of Latin music, food, dancing and family fun from midday to midnight. - More details
📩 Did I miss anything? Fill in this form to submit your news, event, business opening or campaign. It’s the best way to get on the community noticeboard
Crime Watch
This section is dedicated to crime news. Scroll on if you want to skip the final section.
🔥 A woman has been charged with two counts of attempted murder after a house fire in Terrigal Street, Cheltenham, on 21 May left her and two young girls critically injured. - Victoria Police
➡️ It’s been reported she was the mother of the children. - Madelaine Burke, 3AW
🔥 A 20-year-old man has been charged over the theft of a car used in the politically-motivated arson attack on Ripponlea's Adass Israel Synagogue, as counter-terrorism police continue to investigate last year’s incident. - Victoria Police
🚨 A Reservoir 3D printing shop suffered over $80,000 in damage after three masked offenders ram-raided the premises early Thursday, stealing 15 high-end 3D printers in two violent hits using a stolen white Nissan Navara. - 3D Printing Gear (Instagram)
🚔 Nine teens have been arrested after a stolen car was tracked to Wyndham Vale, following an aggravated burglary in the western suburb of Aintree on 16–17 July. - Victoria Police
🏹 A man armed with a bow and arrow barricaded himself inside a property in Hampton East on Wednesday before police resolved the incident and took him to hospital for assessment. - Madelaine Burke, 3AW (X)
🚴 A man has been charged with 130 counts of theft after allegedly stealing $14,000 slabs of alcohol from Melbourne, Docklands and Fitzroy bottle shops. - Victoria Police
🔫 A stolen car led police to a Notting Hill home where they found a modified shotgun and a 3D printer producing a firearm part in the south-east suburb. Two men were arrested. - Victoria Police
And finally…
🍣 I usually end the Friday newsletter with a light-hearted listicle. Last week, we looked at the city's best pizza joints, so this week I thought I'd go east for Melbourne’s best Japanese restaurants. From omakase artistry to cheap and cheerful comfort food, here’s a curated shortlist for your next sushi fix.
✍ Thank you for reading edition 164 of The Melbourne Snap. This newsletter is free and 100% independent.
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