Plus, COVID-19 cases stabilise, local muso sentenced over cocaine yacht trip, and the whales are back!
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Street-side birthday bash for 103yo Alf | |
| WWII veteran Alf Carpenter turned 103 this week and he didn't let a little home isolation stop him celebrating. Locals in the Newcastle suburb of Georgetown passed on their birthday wishes as he sat in his front yard with a beer. | |
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Muso jailed over cocaine yacht trip | |
| Newcastle sailor and musician Craig Lembke insists he sailed from Tahiti to Lake Macquarie in 2017 unaware of the massive haul of cocaine on board the boat he was on. He's now been sentenced to at least six years in jail. | |
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What else made news this week? | |
| Monday: A ship bound for Newcastle was cleared of a coronavirus scare. The captain was taken off the Asphalt Transporter two weeks ago after feeling unwell, but the company that chartered the ship, Koppers, confirmed he has since been tested and cleared of COVID-19.
Tuesday: Dungog paused to remember five years since devastating floodwaters swept through the town, washing away homes and claiming three lives. Mayor John Connors says he hopes the community spirit that brought the town together in 2015 will help them through the current downturn caused by coronavirus.
Wednesday: Fire crews have responded to a spate of house fires across the Hunter. Three homes have been severely damaged or destroyed at Maryland, Raymond Terrace and Stockton. Locals are being urged to check their smoke alarms are working.
Thursday: Public transport in Newcastle has suffered a 70 per cent fall in patronage due to coronavirus. Keolis Downer, the private operator of the city's buses, ferries and light rail, says all services are being maintained despite the drop in passenger numbers, although light rail is closed this week for maintenance. | |
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Hunter unemployment doubles | |
| New data shows 19,000 jobs were lost in the Hunter between February and April this year, as coronavirus hits the region hard. Business NSW estimates the region's unemployment rate has risen to just under 10 per cent, up from 4.5 per cent.
Hunter Business Chamber chief executive Bob Hawes told the ABC the staggering trend in job losses was expected to continue, with profits, sales revenue, investment and staff numbers all on a downward slide. | |
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What people liked on Facebook | |
| The whales are back! We just had to look out to sea for some positive news this week, with whales once again heading north up the east coast to breed. Keen whale watcher Leanne Maffesoni of Port Stephens captured this happy moment of her first sighting of the season. It's ciao from Arrivederci. This Italian eatery is a Newcastle institution, where memories have been made over decades. But coronavirus has taken its toll on the family-run business, which closed its doors this week. Want to learn how to make perfect scones? This video of 92yo CWA member Muriel Halsted will show you how. A five-star hotel has been approved for Newcastle's former DJs building in the east end. To be known as QT Newcastle, the 104-room hotel will sit behind the building's 1880s facade. | |
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How's your Anzac Day weekend looking? | |
| Seventeen-year-old Kye Jeffriess will be up at dawn on Anzac Day on Saturday playing The Last Post on a bugle dating back to the Boer War. If you live in Maryland you may hear him performing from his driveway. Otherwise, you can watch him live here.
And we'll be live from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra from 5.30am. You can listen live here. | |
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