Hervey Bay Gossip

There’s a new real estate agency about to open its doors in Hervey Bay. Aquamarine Reality will soon be opening next to the Scarness Newsagency on The Esplanade at Scarness.

The first whales of the season were sighted at the top of the Bay last Wednesday. Whalesong reports that a few young whales were spotted and undoubtedly more will follow.

… expect to pay more for popcorn

At least that’s the way it seems to be in the United States where the price of popcorn has risen by 40% since last year.

And the reason for this sudden rise in the price of popcorn? More and more corn is going into the production of ethanol and so the popcorn producers now have to pay more for the basic ingredient of their product.

When the property group Bridgecorp collapsed earlier this month it took a lot of small investors’ money with it and there seems little chance that most of those investors - many of them self-funded retirees - seeing any of the money again.

Yesterday the receiver indicated that the failed company was owed $18 million dollars by just one developer. Now it seems that developer provides the link between Bridgecorp and Hervey Bay for the Sydney Morning Herald has discovered the identity of that person.

They’ve named the developer who happens to be a well-known cricket identity and who, it seems, borrowed the money from Bridgecorp to fund the purchase of the land his company is currently selling as house and land packages just to the north of Hervey Bay.

You can read the full story on the Herald’s website here

A community celebration, with entertainment and activities for the whole family, will be staged in Hervey Bay on Sunday 15 July to launch this year’s Disability Action Week.

Disability Services Minister Warren Pitt will attend the free family fun day at Scarness Park, where Queensland Governor Quentin Bryce will officially launch the statewide awareness week.

“This year’s Disability Action Week will encourage Queenslanders to ’see beyond the disability’ and focus on abilities instead,” Mr Pitt said.

“Disability touches the lives of thousands of Queenslanders, their families and carers. This week’s festivities are dedicated to celebrating diversity, raising awareness and encouraging positive attitudes.”

The free community event will be staged at Scarness Park on The Esplanade from 9am to 1pm.

“The Queensland Government is committed to helping people with a disability live in and be active members of their communities. This event is another great example of this commitment,” Mr Pitt said.

“Hervey Bay is renowned for its laidback lifestyle, wonderful weather and rapidly growing population, making this the perfect place to launch a week dedicated to celebrating the diversity of our communities.”

The community celebration will feature a performance from the Wheelchair Dancesport Australian Rhythm on Wheels Team and the Dorothy the Dinosaur children’s show.

“I hope people in the Hervey Bay region will come along and enjoy the family fun day while helping to build more inclusive and supportive communities,” Mr Pitt said.

“Besides the Hervey Bay launch, there will be hundreds of other events across the state to mark this year’s Disability Action Week.

“I am particularly looking forward to the announcement of the 2007 Disability Action Week Awards on Tuesday 17 July in Brisbane.

“The awards are another way to celebrate the achievements and efforts of individuals, groups and organisations who have contributed to a better quality of life for Queenslanders with a disability.”

Do you remember the newborn baby that was found in a toilet block at the Chevron Renaissance at Surfers Paradise in March?

It seems that his story has a happy ending for in May he was flown to Ireland to be placed in the care of his family. Considerable administrative difficulties had to be overcome including obtaining Irish citizenship for him and an Irish passport but now he is back with his family and doing very well.

When you sit there at your computer surfing the Net your monitor is a window that lets you look into a strange world where things that may have absolutely no substance may be worth far more than you might ever dream of.

Domain names are one of those ethereal things that can have a huge value and there are people out there who make millions from domain names.

Herveybaygossip.com is a domain name. It’s not something we can hold in our hand, it’s not something that has a three dimensional shape and it cost us less than $50.00 to register but these days that domain name is worth much more - but compared to some domain names its worth is nothing more than a speck of dust on the screen of a domainer’s monitor.

Domainers are the people who buy and sell domain names and make a huge amount of money while they’re doing it. Their domain name portfolios can measure in the hundreds of thousands and are worth hundreds of millions and their businesses are growing.

The Man Who Owns the Internet is a fascinating look into the world of people who make huge profits from buying and selling things they can’t see or touch.

You might be surprised to learn that even here in Hervey Bay there’s at least one person who buys, sells and brokers domain names and makes a tidy income from it.

The weather radar that so many of us here in Hervey Bay use to see what is going to happen with the weather will be switched off on July 10. The Bureau of Meteorology’s Mt Kanigan Radar will be switched off for a period of around six weeks while new radar equipment is installed.

If you can’t live without your daily fix of weather radar during that time then coverage for Hervey Bay will be provided by the 256 km Gladstone Radar. If you live further south towards Gympie you will find some coverage of your area will be provided by the 256 km Brisbane (Mt Stapylton) Radar. That radar provides coverage as far north as Tiaro.

Are you one of those people who loves to shop on eBay? Do you spend hours checking the auctions that you’re participating in?

Well now you don’t have to because the eBay Toolbar will keep you updated on your auctions and it will help you search for new treasures to bid on.

Installation is simple so just about any computer user can have it up and running in just a few moments. You can read more about it and download it here.

During most of the winter months Hervey Bay has balmy days and cool nights but over the last couple of days of last week the temperatures were a little lower than what we’ve been used to as some cold winds blew up from the south.

However wasn’t all been bad because those cold winds brought some early morning cloud and those clouds helped to give us some great sunrises. This was the sunrise on Saturday.

By Sunday the clouds had gone and this was the sunrise from a Hervey Bay cafe on Sunday morning