Video- This is why we can't have nice things - Drunk attacks sink at Breakers, lands on his butt

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According to the person who sent this in to Everything Geraldton, the video was recorded at Breakers in Geraldton. The video was posted online around 11pm Thursday evening 13/11/14. 

The video shows an intoxicated man attempting to lay the boot in to a tap, but gets his foot caught and falls backwards dropping his beer and hitting his head. 

The person who sent the video in said:

 

"Why do people in this town, think that they have the right to try and damage the facilities and small businesses that our community works so hard for?"

Video: Wildflowers of the Midwest

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Check out this wonderful 4 minute video about the Wildflowers of the Midwest
The Wildflower Video is being primed for the tourist season and has been produced by Cineport for the City. It showcases the colours and beauty of Wildflowers within the Mid West Region.
 

Video: Life in Geraldton 1966

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A 19 minute From the Film Australia Collection. Made by the Commonwealth Film Unit 1966. Directed by Christopher McCullough. The final episode in the Life in Australia series Made by the Department of Immigration in the mid 1960s to entice immigrants from Great Britain and Europe to Australia, this film shows an idyllic picture of life in the West Australian town of Geraldton. via NSFA

Videos showcase what's great about living in Geraldton

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Congratulations to the team behind the successful Showcase Geraldton event at the QPT on the weekend. We can't remember seeing the QPT that packed. 

Attendees were treated to a fantastic video of life in Geraldton in the 60's, complete with indoor smoking, seatbelt-free kids, and suspension-free prams, all to the delight of the audience. Geraldton's population at the time of the film was just over 12,000, but many of the things that made Geraldton so appealing back then are still relevant today. It was quite a treat getting a glimpse into Geraldton life  circa1966. 

The large number of hands that shot up when asked if anyone recognised themselves or others in the video was also a pleasant surprise. 

A wonderful wildflower showcase video was also shown. The video was beautifully filmed and edited, and will be an absolute weapon as a promotional tool for the region. It really sold the wildflower experience and Geraldton in a very appealing way. 

Wildflowers of the Mid West Region.

The main feature of the event was a new episode of a show called Our Town. CGG CEO Ken Diehm pointed out that normally when Channel 7 come to town to offer to do the show, they accept payments from a handful of specific local businesses who then get featured heavily in the episode. Ken wanted to sell Geraldton as a whole, and the council chose to contribute the funding for the episode, along with several other stakeholders in town. 

OUR TOWN - Geraldton

The video does a great job of promoting Geraldton and all it has to offer, both to tourists, and people considering living or investing in the city and region. 

Also featured during the afternoon was this short music video below.  

"This short presentation is a fun celebration of life in Geraldton today. The music was written and recorded by Dave Clare and is intended for people to share online."

Video: Why you want to wear a helmet at the skateparks

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Wear a helmet

OUCH!
Heads up, the video is pretty intense

Cody sent this footage from the Tarcoola Beach skatepark in to Everything Geraldton, and recounted being there when another young person injured themselves a few days ago.

“I would just like to say to Everything Geraldton Luke was skating and he asked my brother let him have a shot back flipping, and he did it the first time and just made it, then he tried again and then he hit his head on the copping then i ran over to him and asked if he was ok, then i took his shirt off and held it on the head where he split his head open and I pressured it then asked him where is your phone he said in his car, but my brother had already gone over to the playground and got two ladies to come over and call an ambulance. 
Just something to say everyone to use a helmet."

We've spoken to the girlfriend of the young man who says he is still pretty sore but he's doing ok.

16 year old female driver tries to outrun Police and crashes into home

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It was all hands on deck last night for Geraldton's finest, and the notable Police presence was welcomed by the community. 

But Police were still busy this morning after being called to Woolworths car park having receiving numerous reports of a white Commodore driving in a reckless manner. 

This was around 7:30 am. 

Police say that while en route, they observed a white Commodore sedan on Durlacher Street. They signalled to the driver to stop but she failed to do so, instead accelerating away at speed. 

A brief 45 second pursuit followed, but ended abruptly when the vehicle lost control as it attempted to turn into Hermitage St. 

The vehicle crashed through a limestone wall and into a house on Durlacher Street.

The impact caused substantial damage to the home. 

A 22 year old male passenger who owned the vehicle and a 16 year old rear female passenger both sustained injuries and were taken by ambulance to the Geraldton Regional Hospital.

The female driver who was just 16 was taken to Geraldton Police Station. 

It was established the vehicle was involved in a series of offences, which included burnouts in the car park at the front of the Geraldton Police Station and a fuel drive off at a service station in Wonthella.

The 16 year old female driver was charged with: 

Fail to stop under circumstance of aggravation

Dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm x 2

No Authority to Drive 

and stealing.

Police said that further inquiries are continuing by Mid West Gascoyne Traffic in relation to the series of offences reported overnight. 

Video: White Commodore filmed doing burnouts at foreshore approx 4:30am New Year's Day. 

Video: Sharks circling cray pots

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Sent in to Everything Geraldton:

"Hubby shot this video this morning when pulling pots. Just amateurs, hadn't even thrown any bait over the side either, the sharks just came swirling up with the pot as it was being winched up. The longest was about 8ft. Hubby said they don't normally do that and they seemed very hungry and angry today, and more so when the old bait was tossed overboard. He said he was glad he was safe in the boat."

Video: Fire in Karloo

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This video footage was sent in to Everything Geraldton. 

It shows a fire burning on the corner of Abraham St and Assen St in Karloo, Geraldton. 

This comes on a day where a total fire ban was in place in the Geraldton area. 

Emergency services were alerted to the fires roughly 8:15 on Thursday evening, 11 Dec 2014.

While some local residents speculated that it was deliberately lit, we haven't yet had any official word on what caused the fire. 


 

Same location during daylight hours. Pic: Google Streetview. 

Video - Time lapse of tower crane being installed

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Timelapse of the Reds Global tower crane being installed at the CBH silos.

Ken Lawson Photography took this interesting time lapse of a tower crane being assembled at the Geraldton silos last week. 

Video - Blues for the Bush 2014

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Blues for the Bush was held at Charles Darwin Reserve in Perenjori in October. This wonderful video prepared by Cineport gives you a great feel for what it was like.

www.bluesforthebush.org.au

Be rip aware in Geraldton this summer

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Summer is here. In Gero that means lots of sunshine, heat and trips to the beach. 

Each year surf life savers and passing locals have to rescue swimmers who get themselves caught in rips along our coast, so take a few moments to get educated on what a rip is and how to avoid trouble. 

Info from beachsafe.org.au/surf-ed/ripcurrents

What is a rip?

When waves break on a beach, they push water towards the shoreline. Once that water reaches the shore, it has to find a way to get back out to sea, and it does this by flowing downwards into deeper channels in the surf zone. Once the water is in these deeper areas, it can flow back out to sea away from the shoreline. These deeper channels are called rip currents.

How dangerous are rips?

Rip currents are the number 1 hazard on Australian beaches being responsible for at least 21 drownings on average per year, as well as being the cause of many rescues. Rip currents often lead to drowning when swimmers attempt to fight the current trying to swim directly back to the shoreline, become exhausted and begin to panic.

Rip currents can also be deadly for non-swimmers as a person standing in waist deep water can be dragged into the deeper waters of the rip current, where they can drown if they are unable to swim and are not wearing or holding a flotation device.

How do you spot a rip?

The key signs to look for are:

  • Deeper darker water
  • Fewer breaking waves
  • Sometimes sandy coloured water extending beyond the surf zone
  • Debris or seaweed
  • Sometimes it’s easier to look for where the waves are breaking consistently, and then look to each side where they don't break consistently. That’s the rip current!

What do I do if I get caught in a rip?

If you get caught in a rip current, you need to know your options:

  1. For assistance, stay calm, float and raise an arm to attract attention. 
  2. While floating, rip currents may flow in a circular pattern and return you to an adjacent sandbar.
  3. You may escape the rip current by swimming parallel to the beach, towards the breaking waves.
  4. You should regularly assess your situation. If your response is ineffective, you may need to adopt an alternative such as staying calm, floating and raising an arm to attract attention.

These may sound like simple options, but rip currents are complex, dynamic processes and all responses also have their pitfalls. You could float on an unpatrolled beach and not be returned to a sandbank with no-one there to help. You can also swim parallel and end up swimming against a longshore current which can flow along a beach; this will see you get tired quickly.Therefore, the best thing you can do is avoid them!

The best thing you can do is stay out of a rip current in the first place!

The best ways to do this are:

  • Always swim between the red and yellow flags
  • Learn how to spot rip currents and avoid them

Dr Rob Brander of the University of New South Wales explains how to identify a rip current. For more beach safety information visit www.sls.com.au

79 year old woman wanted to bite attacker

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9News broadcast an interview with the resident of the home where this attack took place, who said the 79 year old victim was disappointed she was unable to get her teeth into him. 

 

"She was upset she couldn't get a bite in. She really wanted to bite him."

Sounds like one feisty 79 year old!

She remarkably received only grazes. 

If you can help identify the attacker in this video please contact Police. 

Posted yesterday:

Your help needed - shocking robbery of 79 year old woman footage captured this morning. 

The robbery occurred at 9:05am Tues, 18th Nov 2014 on Hutchison Street. 

The 79 year old woman was approached by an unidentified male from behind. 

As the footage shows, the woman was pulled to the ground and dragged along as the thief tried to yank the woman's bag from her. 

The video then shows the residents of the home coming to the aid of the victim. 

The offender stole property belonging to the victim and ran off down the path between Hutchison Street and North West Coastal Highway towards Rangeway.

Geraldton Detectives require the public’s assistance in identifying the male offender. 

Please share this and any person with information is asked to please contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or Geraldton Detectives on (08) 99234555.

Video - Shocking robbery of 79 year old woman footage captured this morning in Geraldton

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Your help needed - shocking robbery of 79 year old woman footage captured this morning. 

The robbery occurred at 9:05am this morning (Tues, 18th Nov 2014) on Hutchison Street. 

The 79 year old woman was approached by an unidentified male from behind. 

As the footage shows, the woman was pulled to the ground and dragged along as the thief tried to yank the woman's bag from her. 

The video then shows the residents of the home coming to the aid of the victim. 

The offender stole property belonging to the victim and ran off down the path between Hutchison Street and North West Coastal Highway towards Rangeway.

Geraldton Detectives require the public’s assistance in identifying the male offender. 

Please share this and any person with information is asked to please contact Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000 or Geraldton Detectives on (08) 99234555.

People who commit crime are not stupid

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Have you ever been at the shops and watched parents fail to control their kids? 

"Get off that now and come." Kid doesn't move. 
"Get off it now or you'll be in trouble." Kid doesn't move.
"You'll be in trouble if you don't come now." Kid doesn't move.
"I'll leave you here if you don't come now." Kid doesn't move. 
"I mean it. You'll be left behind."

You get the idea.

Many of us parents are guilty of this.

We make threats we don't or can't carry out and essentially teach our kids not to believe what we say. We eventually snap and punish the child when we're finally fed up, but really we know it's our own fault for teaching our kids to ignore our instructions.

Yet when it comes to our state's judicial system, we make the exact same mistake. We catch people for committing a crime, give no punishment; catch them again, give no punishment; catch them again, give them a suspended sentence; catch them again, give them a really really strong warning that this is the last time; catch them again, tell them they have exhausted all their chances and they're now off to jail. 

But it's too late to think jail will do much. They have become rather good at stealing and perhaps even dependent on the income it provides. And they genuinely don't know if they'll be in trouble or not each time they're caught. 

Flashback:

I was about 4 or 5 when I stole a packet of gum from the checkout at Coles. 

Mum found out. 

She didn't treat me as though I had stolen a packet of gum. She treated me like I'd stolen a car. I was in SOOOO much trouble. 

Part of my punishment was the shame of returning to the store and apologising to the staff. I was deeply embarrassed, and had stirred the wrath of my mother like I'd never seen before. 

Guess what; I didn't steal any more. 

At the time I obviously didn't want to be punished. It was painful and it could have been argued no real harm was done in taking a small packet of gum. But my mum was wise enough to know that if she didn't stamp that behaviour out right at the start, I might try stealing other things. 

Now I am grown, I'm extraordinarily grateful that I was punished as a young child and put on a better path. 

Flashback: Criminal neighbours

At 16 I realised I had reached the pinnacle of all wisdom and left home to live with a friend. 

This "friend" unfortunately enjoyed chronic amounts of marijuana.

We also happened to reside a few doors down from some folk who enjoyed drugs and living differently. 

Due to the presence of weed at our place, these delightful neighbours decided to befriend us. There wasn't really much choice on our part as to the depth of the relationship. 

I got to know these individuals and tried and find out what made them tick. Here's a few interesting things that etched themselves into my memory. 

They used to get dressed up and "go to work"

That's what they called it. They would actually decide "today we're going to go and do a bunch of break and enters." They called them B and E's because that sounded cool. They would put on the nicest clothes they had, do their hair, and venture out into the suburbs to see what loot they could find. And they called it going to work. 

They didn't have a job, and they didn't want a job

Each morning I would get up, get dressed and walk to my job at a pet shop where I would clean up animal feces, serve impatient customers, and be on my feet for around 9 hours before walking home, all for about $400 a week.

I distinctly remember my conversation with one of these neighbours who was laughing at my decision to go to work each day.

Me: "Don't you want a job?"

Him: "Why would I want a job? I get money for free!" he said half laughing. "And if I need any more we can do some B & E's."

Me: "Don't you have to look for work in order to get the dole?"

Him: "All you have to do is get the yellow pages and pick some business names and write down their phone numbers."

They knew what to do if they got caught

These guys didn't just rob the odd house on occasion. They had all robbed HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS of homes. Another of the neighbours shared some tips with me about how to avoid jail.

"Just don't say anything. Deny it. It doesn't matter if the cops catch you, just deny it. They have to prove it and they usually can't. I've got mates who have gone to jail but it's because they talked to the cops."

I was shocked, still am to be honest, that these people were so calculated in their decision to avoid legitimate employment, collect taxpayer funded welfare, and commit as many burglaries as they felt like. 

But it eventually dawned on me. They're not stupid. 

The economics of crime

Economist David D. Friedman has an interesting essay published on the Library of Economics and Liberty.

He asserts that "A mugger is a mugger for the same reason I am an economist—because it is the most attractive alternative available to him. The decision to commit a crime, like any other economic decision, can be analyzed as a choice among alternative combinations of costs and benefits."

In other words, people commit a crime after weighing up the risk vs reward, or the cost vs the benefit. 

They may not open a spreadsheet and run a calculation. 

But, when deciding whether to rob a house or not, the criminal is generally aware of two factors:

A: Roughly how likely it is they will be caught.

B: Roughly what the punishment might be if they are in fact caught. 

Megan McArdle who writes at BloombergView is the author of the book "The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well is the Key to Success". 

Earlier in the year she was interviewed by well known economist and communicator Russ Roberts, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. 

Here's a fascinating extract from their conversation:

Roberts: Part of what we are talking about here is responsibility, second chances, moral hazard. All these things tie in to these decisions that we make at the policy level. And it's interesting to me that you profile a parole system that is relentlessly unforgiving, remarkably successful, and actually reduces the problem in an interesting way. So, talk about that briefly. We're low on time, but it's such a great story. 
McArdle: It is a great story. So, it's a judge in Hawaii who looked at the normal parole system. Basically, you've got sort of a suspended prison sentence. And you have to show up for your probation appointments, take regular drug tests, and so forth.
And what happens in a lot of cases is that people violated their parole a bunch of times. And then eventually after 10 or 20 times the probation officer gets fed up and says, Okay, that's it; you are going to prison; you are not complying and we are going to send you.
The judge looked at this, Judge Alm. He said, this is crazy. He said, what we should do is what you do with your kids: every time you violate, we punish you. Instead of nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, Bam!--5 years in prison.
And so that's what he did: he said, every single time you violate, you are going to jail. But only for a few days. And it has cut the rate of people who end up with prison terms in half.
They save the taxpayer money. And the probationers love it. It's one of the rare kind of win-win.
And I think this actually goes to why bankruptcy is great, and why this works better than traditional probation. Which is, you think about punishment--failure should not, as I say--it should hurt. Which is how you say, Don't do that. But you want it to hurt in a very specific way. And how do you think about that?
First thing, the pain should not be crippling. Right? Second, it should always happen. It should follow from things that don't work. Or in the case of probation often are things that are morally wrong. It happens every time. And then the third thing is that it should enable you to move on. Right?
And that is actually what this is focused on, is keeping you out of jail, keeping you connected to the labor market, to your family, not prisoners where you can learn more about being a criminal.
And it's phenomenally successful at focusing people on the future instead of focusing on their past. Because they are still in the community and they are still learning to be functioning members of the community. So, it's a phenomenally powerful. Because it does hurt. And it hurts immediately.
Over the past 50 years we've been struggling with this crime problem. The answer, though, has been harsher. Three-strikes and you are out laws. Harsher prison sentences. And what Judge Alm said--and what Mark Kleiman, from him I learned about this and who has written a great book on this called When Brute Force Fails--is that this is exactly the wrong way to think about it. (Click here for link to book.)
The thing is not to make the punishment more terrible. It's to make it more consistent.
And it's just remarkably effective.
And I wanted to put this in the book, because I end by talking about forgiveness and how important forgiveness is, and how much cheaper it is than we usually think. We usually spend too much time worrying about abuse and too little time worrying about the people whose lives are affected when we punish them. But that in this case, you do need to punish people.
But then how do you do it so that you maximize the chances of rehabilitation and minimize the damage to both society and the person? And this is why it's such a great story. Because you don't report on a lot of policy stories where there genuinely seem to be very few tradeoffs. But this is one of them.

Click here for full interview.

I found the above conversation fascinating as it asserts that the knee jerk reaction to a crime problem doesn't need to simply be "tougher sentences".

That may be the way to win votes as it appeals to anyone who is a victim of crime, and seems to make sense. But someone has to pay for the prison guards. The taxpayer ends up getting robbed twice, once when his home gets broken into, and again when he has to pay the costs of incarcerating the criminal. 

But there are real world examples of policy makers and enforcers replacing randomised severity with swiftness and certainty of punishment by clearly specifying the rules and then delivering the promised sanctions every time the rules are broken.

And it's working. 

NewsHour Weekend profiles an innovative probation program in Hawaii that has been so successful in reforming offenders and keeping them out of prison, it's now being copied in courtrooms across the nation.

Learn more about Judge Steven Alm and Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (HOPE) program at the below links. 

Video presentation from Judge Alm

Wikipedia entry for HOPE

 

Scam alert - Watch out for FREE TRIALS

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From WA Scamnet:

Whether it’s a sponsored post in your social media feed or a pop up advertisement while you’re browsing the web, offers of ‘free trials’ or ‘samples’ are a common sight for internet users. 

But you know the age-old saying ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’. Well WA ScamNet’s research into these offers certainly backs that theory up.

Here’s a typical case study:

  • Consumer Protection receives a complaint regarding unauthorised credit or debit card transactions.
  • The consumer has signed up for a ‘free trial’ or ‘free sample’ of a product while they were online.
  • They were lured by an advert boasting promises such as weight loss by taking pills without exercise; muscle-building protein powders; teeth whitening gels; age-defying face creams; herbal medicines or natural remedies to cure health issues.
  • They had to pay a small fee e.g. $9.99 for postage/shipping and handling and this involved supplying their credit or debit card details.
  • After receiving their free trial or sample, they have received extra deliveries of the product without requesting it and their bank statement shows that they have been charged.
  • WA ScamNet checks the terms and conditions and finds that the fine print states that unless the consumer makes contact to cancel a proposed subscription they will be sent and charged for further full-priced supplies.

“Should you fail to call us on 1234-567-890 or email us at xxxx@xxxx.xxx within 21 days of subscribing to your free trial, you will be sent a 30-day supply every month thereafter until you advise us of your wish to cancel arrangement.”

  • Sometimes the business is based internationally and very difficult to contact because of the time difference and overseas contact points.
  • It is unlikely the consumer’s credit card issuer will provide a chargeback because the transaction is not necessarily fraudulent – the consumer has agreed to it.

WA ScamNet recommendations:

  • Think before you click – don’t be enticed by bold claims such as “fat-busting”, “miracle cure” or incredible “before and after” photos. 
  • Research the name of the website and product. Typing the name followed by the words ‘rip off’ or ‘scam’ into you search engine is a good way to look for negative information. You could find there is no scientific evidence to back up what’s promoted or fake photos may have been used; the website might even be bogus!
  • Watch out for hidden terms and conditions that lock you into an ongoing supply of the product. Always read any fine print you are agreeing to.
  • Beware of pre-ticked subscription sign-up boxes – uncheck them.
  • Make an appointment in your diary to cancel if you decide to go ahead with a free trial despite the subscription terms and conditions.
  • Keep an eye on bank statements if you have supplied your credit or debit card details, to make sure there are no unauthorised deductions.

WA SCAMNET is brought to you by the Dept of Commerce. Check out the Video above too from the US Federal Trade Commision which also gives a great explanation of the traps of free trials. 

Watch this 4x4 nearly lose it

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This dash cam footage was sent in to us:

"This was captured today on the corner of NWC HWY and Phelps.
I honestly thought he was going to flip and i think the thing that annoyed me the most was the look on his face as he drove past...he seemed to be proud of what he had just done."

(Around the 11 sec mark on right hand side of screen.)

Emergency beacon activation results in safe rescue

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At about 8:45pm on Wednesday 29 October 2014 police responded to an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) activation.

The owner of the EPIRB, a 48 year old man from Geraldton, had gone fishing with a friend and had failed to return to his home address.

Police say that the man had set off his EPIRB after experiencing difficulties due to an engine malfunction.

With the assistance of Water Police, a GPS location was provided where the Geraldton Volunteer Marine Sea Rescue group and Port Authority vessels were deployed, subsequently locating the stranded vessel approximately two kilometres offshore.

The vessel, with two persons on board, was towed back to the Geraldton marina safely without further incident.

Police urge all boat owners to ensure that their EPIRB’s are correctly registered with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). They can be registered at www.beacons.amsa.gov.au 

This drone could reach a drowning person four times quicker than a human lifeguard

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Every year, local volunteer life guards as well as search and rescue operators are put through their paces in the Mid West, but soon a new technology may be available to help keep our coastline safer. 

An Iranian company are planning a purpose built drone or UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) which drop life preservers to drowning people.

From Bloomberg Businessweek:

Amin Rigi says drones should be used to save lives, not spy or kill. The Iranian, who has a bachelor’s degree in robotics engineering, is launching RTS London to manufacture flying robots that drop life preservers to drowning people. His selling point is speed: A video shot on the Caspian Sea shows his prototype reaching a swimmer in 22 seconds, four times faster than a lifeguard.
Preorders have poured in from 25 countries since Rigi, 27, posted the one-minute demonstration video on YouTube. He aims to ship his drones, which could cost up to $10,000 each, by mid-2015. Rigi, who will soon relocate to London to take part in an accelerator program for tech startups, predicts his business, which is developing an array of rescue robots, “will lead a revolution,” unleashing the power of drones to do good.
Pars is an Aerial rescue robot which is designed and made for saving human lives. The first purpose of building the robot is the relief of people drowning near coastlines. By developing its applications, it can be used in ships and off shore reliefs.

Would you like to see Geraldton surf life savers equipped with technology like this?

Your vote needed for local charity

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Watch the MWCBAH video

Your help is needed!
Midwest Charity Begins at Home is a finalist in the statewide Orange Seed Project. A project that could see them win a prize to include:

* $50,000 marketing service package from Jack in the Box
* $50,000 advertising sponsorship package from The West Australia, plus a $5,000 cash donation
* $10,000 community service announcement package from Channel 7

VOTING CLOSES Sunday October 19. 

How can you help?
- Please follow the link below and VOTE for the Midwest Charity Begins at Homes video.