The Melbourne Snap⚡- Monday 3 February
Thunderstorms crash over Melbourne, body discovered in water at Sandringham, celeb chef apologises after groping allegations and the wandering wombat.
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⛈️Let’s start with the weather because even by Melbourne standards yesterday was a little crazy.
➡️The mercury climbed to 39/40C in parts of the city yesterday before thunderstorms rolled in and drenched many areas. Across the city, people were kept up by the lightning storms and crashing thunder overhead.
➡️On Sunday several suburbs were blasted by rain and thunder in what forecasters branded an “unstable day”.
➡️Residents in Geelong, Queenscliff and Melbourne's outer west were advised just before 7pm on Sunday to prepare to take shelter ahead of forecast thunderstorms. There was even hail in Geelong at one point. - BOM
➡️Pakenham, on the city’s eastern fringe, got a short but intense deluge as the storm front moved across the bay.
➡️Spare a thought for parts of the inner-west where power cuts were reported during last night’s stick evening. AusNetServices/Twitter
🏙It’s been talked about at length how Melbourne will overtake Sydney as Australia’s biggest city. It was predicted to happen in 2026-2027. However, now government forecasters say Greater Melbourne is projected to grow to 6.43 million (it’s around 5.3 million now) by 2035 but will remain just behind Greater Sydney, which is forecast to reach 6.5 million. Our NSW neighbours have higher overseas migration contributing to its faster growth. - Matt Wade, The Age
⛅ Monday weather
Crime Watch
This section is dedicated to crime news. Scroll on if you want to skip to lighter news. The section tends to be longer than normal after a weekend.
🕵Homicide detectives are investigating the deaths of a man and woman found hours apart in Melbourne. The woman was discovered in Ascot Vale on Friday afternoon and the man was found critically injured on the Princes Freeway in Little River before dying at the scene. Authorities believe the pair knew each other and are not seeking other suspects. - Mikala Theocharous, Yashee Sharma - Nine News
🏛️A third man has been charged over the deaths of two people during an alleged altercation in Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula last December. The 28-year-old Narre Warren man faces charges including murder, aggravated home invasion, and armed robbery, following the deaths of a 29-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman who were found with gunshot wounds. - Victoria Police
💊Two travellers have been charged after Australian Border Force officers discovered 18kg of methamphetamine and 2kg of cocaine in vacuum-sealed bags at Melbourne Airport. A 22-year-old Lilydale woman, arriving from Los Angeles, was selected for a bag search on January 29 and charged following the discovery. A second woman, a Portuguese national, has been arrested too. - AFP
🚨Two people were arrested just south of Frankston, and three allegedly stolen vehicles worth over £200,000 were recovered, during a raid at a Baxter property on Sunday. A 35-year-old man was charged with vehicle theft, drug trafficking, and handling proceeds of crime. An 18-year-old woman was released pending further investigation. - Victoria Police
🏍️An 18-year-old woman was arrested after reportedly performing dangerous stunts on her motorbike, including reaching speeds of 184 km/h on the Monash Freeway and touching trucks in traffic. Police in the eastern suburbs arrested the alleged hoon at an address in Rowville. - Victoria Police
🔨 Cops are investigating an attempted robbery and assault outside a Cranbourne Road shopping centre on 21 January, where a man was attacked by two males, one armed with a hammer. - Victoria Police
⚫Beachgoers in the Bayside suburb of Sandringham were left shocked after a body was discovered floating in the water yesterday. The yet-to-be-formally identified person was found drifting in the sea off Jetty Road just after 7am. - Emily Dann, Herald Sun
🔥Victoria faces an extended heatwave which is raising bushfire risks in western and central districts - including Melbourne. Fires continue to burn in the Grampians National Park, and while the threat in west Victoria has eased, firefighters are preparing for a prolonged fire season amid dry conditions and minimal rain forecast for February. - Poppy Johnston and Melissa Meehan, AAP (via 7 News)
👨🍳 Celebrity chef Guy Grossi has apologised unreservedly following allegations he groped a female journalist at a Melbourne industry event in 2022. The journalist claims Grossi - who co-owns Grossi Florentino on Bourke Street - put his arm around her, stared at her cleavage, and grabbed her breast without consent. - Charlotte Grieve and Ellen Fraser, The Age
🚗At least two children are reported locked in cars daily in Victoria, with Hoppers Crossing, Frankston, and Pakenham identified as the worst suburbs for such incidents. Ambulance Victoria has responded to 230 call-outs this summer alone, with dozens requiring treatment and four hospitalisations, prompting a warning from paramedics ahead of the week’s scorching temperatures. - Alex White, Herald Sun
📻Philip Brady has retired from radio after nearly 67 years in the broadcasting industry. The popular 3AW host, aged 85, said it was time to “give the younger guys a go”. - 3AW
✈️Melbourne has secured three new weekly direct flights from Los Angeles to Melbourne which will start in December and be operated by Delta Airlines. - Vic Gov
🎬The Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) returns to Melbourne this March, hosting over 40 sessions- some from Oscar-nominated filmmakers - and 115 speakers at ACMI. - ACMI/Instagram
🛍️Vinnies Victoria has launched an online thrift store offering a wide range of secondhand goods to meet the growing demand for sustainability and affordability, as op shops nationwide embrace e-commerce to fund social programs and compete in the digital era. - Cait Kelly, Guardian Australia
🏨Box Hill’s emergency department experienced above-average heat-related hospitalisations in late January, as the impact of the recent heat wave that loomed over the eastern suburbs took its toll. - Matthew Sims, East Melburnian
🚅Buses replace trains between Heidelberg and Eltham on the Hurstbridge line while project works take place until 27 March. - Metro Trains
✊ Maribyrnong Council rejected Steel Cement's Yarraville expansion amid strong community opposition over pollution and health concerns, as residents rallied to push back against developments threatening inner west livability. - Jorge Jorquera, The Westsider
📢Community Noticeboard📢
📌”Starting Over Dog Rescue is well and truly at capacity. Over 70... yes, 70 dogs and pups just waiting for their forever families to take them home. Devastatingly, these guys are just not getting adoption applications. Not even the cute puppies! If you're ready to adopt and looking for a special fur baby to share your life with, look no further!” - More details
📌”Join us in February and March for a free #caseygirlscan women’s soccer program run in collaboration with Melbourne City FC. Coaches will guide you, making it perfect for all abilities as you gain confidence in the sport over the 6-weeks.” - More details
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And finally…This little guy was in a hurry after he was spotted in a park in north-east Melbourne yesterday. The wombat was caught on film scurrying off at a brisk pace in Heidelberg at the weekend. - Instagram/JacquiFelgate
Thank you for reading edition 54 of The Melbourne Snap. If you missed Friday’s edition you can read it here. This newsletter is 100% independent and free for all. I write in the early hours every weekday morning so it gets to you after 7am. Any support you can give, either by becoming a paid subscriber or simply sharing this with a friend, is greatly appreciated. See you tomorrow.
8mm of unexpected and totally needed rain in my peri urban town.
And I wish the govt would pause the stuffing of people into the country until housing etc had caught up. It’s destroying our quality of life and making our biggest cities awful places to live.