The Melbourne Snap⚡- Thursday 23 January
AFL boss steps down in disgrace, car ploughs into home, community rally to rescue kitten in drain and homeowner finds a rifle stashed in their wall.
G’day and welcome back to The Melbourne Snap. We’re approaching two months since the Melbourne Snap publicly launched and it’s now sitting at over 330 subscribers! Cheers for the kind words some of you have sent in recently. It makes these early mornings a lot easier. Now on to Thursday’s edition.
📱Carlton boss Luke Sayers stepped down as president of the footy club despite the AFL concluding their investigation into his lewd photo scandal, finding his “X account was compromised”. - Carlton FC
➡️A photo of a man’s genitals was publicly tweeted from married Sayers’ X account on Wednesday, January 8, along with the name of a senior female executive of health insurer Bupa, an official member partner of the Blues.
🚑Four people were taken to hospital after a car crashed into a home in Melbourne's south-east. Police say the driver was travelling along Hallam Road in Hampton Park when they lost control and crashed into a house at about 4:30am on Wednesday. Amazingly no one suffered serious injuries - Allanah Sciberras, Nine News
🌦️ Thursday weather
Crime Watch
This section is dedicated to crime news. Scroll on if you want to skip to lighter news.
🚨A man has faced court over the alleged murder of a 36-year-old father whose body was found in a park on Melbourne's western outskirts. As reported yesterday, Anmol Bajwa’s remains were discovered around 7:30am at a children's playground near Elementary Road in Mambourin. Investigators have charged a 31-year-old Brookfield man with murder. - Victoria Police
🔪A 15-year-old boy accused of slashing a man's skull with a machete has 'notoriety' with other young offenders who look up to him, a court has been told. He is charged with intentionally causing serious injury, assault with a weapon, possessing a controlled weapon and armed robbery after he allegedly attacked a 39-year-old man while trying to steal his car in St Kilda on January 12. - Emily Woods, AAP (via Yahoo)
⚖️A Melbourne stalker who tormented two women has been jailed, with a magistrate describing his offending as "a relentless and protracted campaign of abuse". Brooklyn man Martyn Boylan has been sentenced to 20 months jin ail after pleading guilty to offences including stalking and distributing intimate images. - Kristian Silva, ABC
🚧A man has died in hospital following a collision in Pearcedale on Saturday, 11 January. A Toyota Camry collided with a Mitsubishi Triton at the intersection of Baxter-Tooradin Road and Craig Road on Melbourne’s south-eastern fringe. The driver of the Toyota, an 87-year-old man, was taken to hospital where he died on 18 January.
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🐱Now for some good news now. Remember the stuck kitten in the stormwater drain in St Albans on Tuesday (reminder here)? Well after a heroic effort from the local community, the kitten was rescued yesterday. Firefighters tried and failed, locals popped out at night to feed the little creature but it was eventually rescued yesterday with the help of some crackers to lure him out.
➡️Emma Gracic, the resident leading the rescue efforts, thanked everyone in the north-western suburb who had helped. The cat has been taken to the vet with eye injuries but will hopefully be on the mend now. People power saves the day. - Brimbank Community (Facebook)
🚢A cruise ship company has been left mortified after a video of crew members on a ship from Melbourne appeared to show the group wearing Ku Klux Klan costumes. According to the company, P&O, the group were dressed as “snow cones” for a festive family event in December on the Melbourne to Hobart journey. - Molly Magennis, Bethan Yeoman, 7 News
🍺The pub group, Australian Venue Co, that apologised about a controversial Australia Day celebration ban is still refusing to acknowledge the national holiday, instead encouraging Aussies to celebrate the “long weekend”. - Jade Gailberger, Herald Sun
➡️That may prove controversial for Herald Sun readers but perhaps less so for Melbourne Snap readers. In a poll in yesterday’s edition, 60% of readers said they refuse to celebrate Australia Day.
🏳️🌈Victorian police officers will not participate in this year’s Midsumma Pride march after organisers announced officers would only be allowed to march if they did not wear uniforms.
➡️About 100 police, including the chief commissioner, Shane Patton, marched in the event last year, but police were confronted by a group of 50 protesters, leading to a clash between the two groups
➡️ Midsumma bills itself as “Victoria's premier festival of LGBTQIA+ art and culture.” It runs from 19 January - 9 February. - Josh Taylor, Guardian Australia
🦸♂A Marvel-inspired parody show, MARVELous The Show, is coming to Melbourne’s National Theatre in April 2025. The production offers a comedic and risqué take on the popular superheroes, catering to adult audiences with its playful spin on the Marvel universe. - Waitlist and more info here
🎤British comedian Ed Gamble is set to return to Melbourne with his new show Hot Diggity Dog. The comic, who co-hosts the Off Menu podcast, will play the Athenaeum Theatre in the CBD on April 15-20, 2025. - Beat
😔Evacuated McCrae residents have been told it could be months until they’re allowed back to their properties after a landslide in the Mornington Peninsula suburb last week. - realestate.com.au
🔫A resident of Crevelli Street, Preston claimed to have knocked down a wall in their kitchen only to find an old rifle stashed in the wall. Locals in the northern suburb speculated as to whether it was a collectible or a throwback to the area’s tough past when it was dubbed ‘Little Chicago’ due to the crime. - Reservoir 3073 (Facebook)
🔑The Victorian government yesterday announced a $15 million expansion of financial counselling services, aimed at supporting residents experiencing mortgage and rental stress across the state. - Vic Gov
🏘️Victoria’s Government declared they have built thousands more homes than any other state, with more than 61,000 home completions over the past 12 months – equivalent to building around 168 homes every single day. - Vic Gov
➡️Why is the governent announcing this? Likely a response to the fact that on Wednesday the Property Council of Australia found the whole nation was behind housing build targets - although Victoria is only fractionally behind. - Property Council of Australia
📢Community Noticeboard📢
📌”Sidewayz Fridays Launch Party! After major renovations, this iconic spot in the heart of Mordiallic is set to be the new heartbeat of your Friday nights. Expect cutting-edge beats, electric vibes, and a venue like no other.” - More information here
📌”Celebrate, Connect and Be Inspired! Join us at Bunjil Place [Narre Warren] on Wednesday 5 March, for an unforgettable International Women’s Day event! Enjoy a mimosa and delicious morning tea, followed by inspiring talks from media personality Jo Stanley and a panel of trailblazing female business leaders” - More information
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🐍And finally…A baby inland taipan snake can kill more than 100 hundred people, making it the world's deadliest reptile. Thankfully they live deep in the outback in Queensland and along the SA and NT border. Well, almost. Nine of the species have just been born in Victoria, specifically Ballarat Wildlife Park. - 10 News First
Thank you for reading edition 47 of The Melbourne Snap. I write The Snap in the early hours every weekday morning. If you can afford to support the newsletter you can do so for as little as $10 a month. Or share simply share it with a friend. Thank you, see you tomorrow.