SALFORD COUNCIL REJECTS STAR APPEAL

"…you haven't published any positive stuff on MediaCityUK" John Merry

Yesterday, Salford City Council's Cabinet rejected Salford Star's appeal against the Council's decision to stop the city's community committees from funding the community magazine. One of the reasons given was that Salford Star hadn't done any positive stories on MediaCityUK.

Meanwhile, evidence that the Council brought to the `trial' purporting to show that the Salford Star was `not balanced' in its coverage, we believe, was totally discredited. But the goalposts kept shifting…

`DERANGED GOVERNMENT' JIBE AT CONDEM COALITION

During today's Salford City Council Cabinet meeting Councillor Peter Connor, Lead Member for Housing, referred to the current ConDem coalition government as "deranged".

The jibe came during an agenda item on a new report into Child Poverty which revealed that close to 60% of the city's children are currently living in poverty. Councillor Connor accused the Government of undermining the Council's attempts to ease child poverty in the city through its cutbacks.

SALFORD COUNCIL REVEALS ALMOST 60% OF OUR KIDS LIVE IN POVERTY

A report out today titled `Ending Child Poverty IN Salford' sets out the true extent of child poverty in Salford. And it's absolutely shocking.

While previous estimates and official statistics have been based on children living in `workless households' and shown a rate hovering around 30%, new figures taking into account `low income working households' show that "the true level of all child poverty in Salford could be closer to 60%".

DEER SPOTTED ON KERSAL MOOR

For weeks there have been reported sightings of deer on Kersal Moor, now, at last we have a photo of one of them.

REDS `ICONIC' STADIUM SHRINKS TO 12,000 CAPACITY `BOX'?

Salford Reds supporter Jack Rogers goes on an epic search through Salford Council's planning department to find some truth in the `iconic' new stadium saga…

REDS SILENCE ON NEW STADIUM

The City of Salford stadium - iconic heartbeat of the city's sport, or a box?

Mystery still seems to surround final design of Salford City Reds' new stadium, with conflicting images and a wall of silence. The site at Barton is being cleared but what will go there?

MEDIACITYUK BUS TERMINAL?

A new bus service linking MediaCityUK with Central Salford is now a major doubt, according to a report by Salford City Council.

The new £382,076 bus service was to link Salford Crescent station and MediaCityUK, via the Precinct, but the report states that it is "expected" that the bus route "will be lost" in Government cuts. 

THE STORY OF THE SALFORD STAR
Wednesday 21st July 2010 6pm free
Working Class Movement Library
51 The Crescent, Salford M5 4WX

Battles with Salford City Council, battles with finance, battling over the truth. The Salford Star, born in May 2006, is still battling against all the odds.

At 6pm on Wednesday 21st July at the Working Class Movement Library, hear how the Salford Star fits in with a radical publishing history dating back centuries. It's a short talk followed by questions and discussion, as part of the Invisible Histories Exhibition at the Library.

ORDSALL FESTIVAL AND DOG SHOW
Saturday 24th July 2010 10am-5pm
Ordsall Park, Salford M5 3AD Free entry

This Saturday the Ordsall Festival promises a Dog Show from 10am -12noon, and, at the Festival that follows, Elephants, Lions, Monkeys and Snakes – but are they real? Find out on Saturday…

SALFORD'S GOT TALENT?

Can you dance? Sing? Act? Tell a Joke? Got a Talent? Want to perform?

On 3rd September there's going to be a top variety show at The Willows in Weaste, with a celeb panel including Peter Hook and Terry Christian. It's to raise money for the Christies appeal and organisers Silky Productions are looking for anyone with a talent to try their luck.

£307,000 VICE CHANCELLOR GETS HONORARY DEGREE…

Part Two

Tomorrow, former Vice Chancellor Prof Michael Harloe will be awarded an honorary degree – "the highest honours the University can bestow as an institution".

In his last year, as the University was axing jobs to save money, Prof Harloe picked up payments of £307,000, while the number of staff earning over £100,000 at Salford University more than doubled…

STUDENT BANNED FROM CEREMONY WHILE CONTROVERSIAL EX VICE CHANCELLOR GETS HONORARY DEGREE…

Part One

Today, Dr Gary Duke should be collecting his PhD from the University of Salford in a glittering ceremony at The Lowry. But he has been banned from the event for `bringing the University into disrepute'. Gary brought out a spoof newsletter - satirically written by the University's `Vice Consul' – as a way of attacking job cuts and the huge pay rises being awarded to top staff at the University.

Meanwhile, tomorrow, former Vice Chancellor Prof Michael Harloe - instrumental in pushing though the job cuts and the recipient of over £1million in payments from the University over the last five years - will be awarded an honorary degree... "the highest honours the University can bestow as an institution"

SALFORD STAR RESEARCH BACKED UP BY NEW SHELTER REPORT

"Products have been developed as a means to help developers and housing associations to generate revenue" Shelter.

Housing and homelessness charity, Shelter, has produced a new report slating the Government's attempts at providing `affordable housing' through shared ownership and `intermediate' housing, arguing that current schemes benefit developers, housing associations and `high middle income' earners rather than low income households in most need.

The hard hitting report backs up Salford Star research published earlier this year which showed only 10 low earning families in the city benefitting from the various `affordable housing' schemes.

Under Shelter's terms, none of the heavily subsidised Urban Splash housing at Chimney Pot Park could be classed as `affordable'.

CELEBRATION EVENT
Monday 12th July 6pm
Salford Arts Theatre

Creative Industry in Salford (CRIS) and Salford Community Media Partnership (SCMP) are holding a celebration of local creative talent which will include screenings of the films feature in the Salford Media Scene magazine (click on advert for full PDF) and presentations to people involved in creative projects around Salford.

The event is free but anyone going must register in advance.

WHO YOU LOOKIN' AT???

Way back in the post punk day, Mike Sweeney's Salford Jets hit number 72 in the Top 100 chart for pop pickers. Now, exactly thirty years later, the attitude has been re-born and the classic track is being re-issued to raise money for the bloke's cancer charity, Men Matter.

A top video goes with the track, filmed at Salford Quays and featuring the likes of Sean Wilson from Coro Street, Mike Joyce from The Smiths and Tony Hirst from Hollyoaks.

DREAMFEST
Constance Fearn
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Until September 2010

Dreamfest is a new exhibition by local artist Constance Fern. From poster paint sketches to intricate pieces, her work opens your eyes to the beauty of Salford and Manchester by re-imagining familiar buildings with an almost Eastern feel.

SALFORD FILM SHOWS DARKNESS AND BEAUTY

A debut feature film called Jerusalem, made by Salford's Paul McDonahue, and being shot over the summer on a budget of nil, is promising to stream out some hard hitting messages to the Government about our `green and pleasant land'…

DEBBIE RUSH URGES COMMUNITY TO USE NSPCC HELPLINE
0808 800 5000

"It is a community responsibility and it is something that we should all be involved with…" Debbie Rush

This week - at the same time that Salford's councillors were meeting behind closed doors to demand answers, explanations and action over the city's latest `inadequate' rating over safeguarding our kids - Coronation Street star, Debbie Rush, was at the NSPCC base in Salford Quays to promote awareness of its Helpline which aims to protect children from harm…

SCRUTINY IN THE DARK

We do hope there wasn't anyone in Salford who was thinking of scrutinising Salford Council's record in regeneration at this afternoon's `Sustainable Regeneration Scrutiny' meeting…