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Can Stockton Beach be restored?

Of the 13 options considered as part of a coastal management plan to replenish the eroded Stockton Beach, only two are considered viable.

The multi-million-dollar plan has been released to the public this week and considers how to replace the 112,000 cubic metres of sand lost each year to coastal erosion. 

'Unbelievable vandalism' at Hunter Wetlands Centre

A fire has destroyed four sheds and caused tens of thousands of dollars' worth of damage at the Hunter Wetlands Centre in a suspected arson attack.

A motion camera set up to monitor feral animal activity captured a group of men in the area before the fire. Police are investigating.

Backyard veggie patches sprouting local seeds

The Maitland Seed Library, which launched just as the coronavirus pandemic hit, has attracted hundreds of members, as food shortages prompted people to start planting.

Jacqui Purcell was among the first to sign her young family up after all her attempts to source seeds elsewhere failed. 

"To them, food comes from the backyard, not from the supermarket necessarily, and that's everything to me."

Drive-in movie boom predicted after COVID-19

Did you know there are only three drive-in movie cinemas left in NSW, and Heddon Greta in the Hunter Valley is one of them.

Operator Scott Seddon is fairly confident people will be able to drive in to watch a movie before the indoor cinemas open.

What else made news this week....

• Concerns that the Hunter's free after hours medical service may have to introduce fees to make up for funding cuts, have been allayed. Hunter Primary Care was facing the loss of 12 per cent of its funding next financial year.

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison paid tribute to police officer Glen Humphris in parliament. Constable Humphris, who left Newcastle to live in Victoria, was one of four officers killed when a truck crashed into them on a freeway in Melbourne last month.

• Merewether Golf Club says retaining ownership of the land was key to members supporting a $120 million seniors living development on the site.

• A Hunter beef cattle farmer says the temporary closure of a northern New South Wales abattoir affects about 30 percent of their export market to China.  

What people liked on Facebook this week.

• A Fire and Rescue NSW officer has delivered a baby girl on a roadside in the Hunter Valley.
•  The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says the $15 million operation to salvage scores of shipping containers off the coast of Newcastle rates as one of the most complex sea-bed clean ups in the world.
• A Morpeth publican says allowing her pub to have diners is a great step forward, but she'd like to see the easing of coronavirus restrictions go further.
• Newcastle's Anglican diocese has revealed its liability for redress payments to victims of child sexual abuse could reach $32 million.

Best bits on-air this week....

• Help solve a history mystery. Lake Macquarie City Council is trying to work out the purpose of an intricate pattern of cobblestones unearthed at Argenton. Karen Partington, the Manager for Infrastructure Assets with Lake Macquarie Council spoke to ABC Breakfast's Dan and Jenny.
• One of the biggest music gatherings in the world, Eurovision, has been cancelled this year. So how are fans coping and still sharing the music? Eurovision fan and academic Dr Jess Carniel spoke with Kia Handley from ABC Newcastle Mornings.
• They've plagued humans since the dawn of time. They're annoying, sometimes hilarious and always last longer than needed. Hiccups..why do people have them and how do you get rid of them? ABC Newcastle's Laurise Dickson put on her lab coat and investigated.
• As you've been watching the television, have you noticed more Auslan interpreters sharing important information with the deaf community? Marnie Kerridge is a teacher of the deaf and spoke with Kia Handley through a translator.

Meet our Operations Co-ordinator Grant Wolter.

Grant Wolter makes sure we go to air everyday. If there's a technical glitch, Grant's your man. Grant says he loves finding creative solutions to technical problems and helping people out of a jam.

His favourite food is coffee??!!  Outside of work, Grant devotes his free time to family and music. Going to gigs, obsessing over new releases and collecting albums are his hobbies. He loves to spend time in his music room playing guitar while his wife plays drums, and his beautiful two year old son conducts.

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