Western Morning News, The

Leaders Urge Help for Firms to Grow Again

The Government needs to cut taxes and bureaucracy strangling small firms instead of throwing taxpayers' money at companies to get the Westcountry economy growing again, business leaders have said. South West firms are throwing their weight behind a campaign to make sure they recover from the economic downturn.

The Time for Talk Is Over As Cornwall Gets Its One Voice ; It has Been Described As a Watershed Moment for England's Most Westerly County. Today, a Single Council for Cornwall Opens for Business.

It has been described as a watershed moment for England's most westerly county. Today, a single council for Cornwall opens for business. Decisions over whether to improve a road, close a school or build a factory will no longer be split between six district councils and the county council but be made by a new unitary authority from Truro Town Hall.

Town's Pounds10m Flood Defence Scheme Is Completed ; Four Years of Work has Come to Fruition with the Opening of the St Ives Flood Defence Scheme.

Four years of work has come to fruition with the opening of the St Ives Flood Defence Scheme. The town's Lib-Dem MP Andrew George formally opened the pounds10 million project, which included several engineering techniques never used before in the UK.

Change for the Sake of Change? ; Local Government has Never Been the Most Scintillating of Subjects. And That's Just As It Should Be. We Want Our Children Properly Educated, Our Roads Well- Maintained and Our Rubbish Bins and Recycling Bags and Boxes Emptied On Time. We Do Not, in the Main, Want to Be Constantly Assailed by Plans and Proposals for Changes and Shake-Ups at the Town or County Hall.

Local government has never been the most scintillating of subjects. And that's just as it should be. We want our children properly educated, our roads well- maintained and our rubbish bins and recycling bags and boxes emptied on time. We do not, in the main, want to be constantly assailed by plans and proposals for changes and shake-ups at the town or county hall. So while the Western Morning News today gives a guarded welcome to the creation of Cornwall Council - the new unitary authority th...

Council Must Live Up to High Expectations ; Today, Half a Million People in Cornwall Have Woken Up with a Brand New Council; One Level of Local Government Instead of Two That Promises to Bring Better Services, Value for Money, and More Involvement and Interaction with Local People.

Today, half a million people in Cornwall have woken up with a brand new council; one level of local government instead of two that promises to bring better services, value for money, and more involvement and interaction with local people. The root and branch change has been a long haul. Expectations are naturally high. The council has a lot to deliver, to live up to its promises.

Mps Have Soft Poodle Instead of a Watchdog ; Ohn Lyon Is the Watchdog That Dare Not Bark. More Chihuahua Than Bull Mastiff, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has Spent His 15 Months in Office Mute, Toothless and All but Invisible.

Ohn Lyon is the watchdog that dare not bark. More chihuahua than bull mastiff, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has spent his 15 months in office mute, toothless and all but invisible. Meanwhile, a string of outrages have been committed against the good name of the House he is supposed to protect. Few expect Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's latest expenses travails to rouse him to meaningful action.

A Little Grazing Goes a Long Way On Islands ; There's a Concrete Bunker Dug Deep Into One of the Highest Hills in the Scillonian Archipelago Which Plays an Important Part in How the Fabulous Natural Landscape of the Islands Is Preserved.

There's a concrete bunker dug deep into one of the highest hills in the Scillonian archipelago which plays an important part in how the fabulous natural landscape of the islands is preserved. In fact, the taxi driver who took me to the bunker reckoned it might one day be the only place where people live in the Isles of Scilly.

Visitors Can Win Chance to Help Feed the Animals at Zoo ; Animal Lovers Can Win the Chance to Feed Residents of a Westcountry Zoo This Easter.

Animal lovers can win the chance to feed residents of a Westcountry zoo this Easter. Living Coasts in Torquay is inviting visitors to take part in the Golden Egg Hunt, with the winner earning the opportunity to help the keepers feed the animals.

Charity Makes Nesting Boxes for Dormice and Birds ; Nesting Birds and Dormice Will Find They Have Luxury Accommodation Thanks to the Delivery of New Nesting Boxes at Eight South West Water Sites.

Nesting birds and dormice will find they have luxury accommodation thanks to the delivery of new nesting boxes at eight South West Water sites. With South West Lakes Trust, the company has employed Self Unlimited to make the boxes for use around its reservoirs and lakes.

Mighty Oak Anniversary for Couple Wed 80 Years ; One of Britain's Oldest Couples, Both 100 Years Old, Celebrated Another Milestone - Their 80th Wedding Anniversary.

One of Britain's oldest couples, both 100 years old, celebrated another milestone - their 80th wedding anniversary. On Friday, great-great-grandfather Walter Postings, known as Wally, and wife Beatrice, known as Pete, became only the second living couple to celebrate their oak anniversary.

Red Arrows Booked for Bay Display at Regatta ; the Red Arrows Will Be Flying in Torbay This Summer.

The Red Arrows will be flying in Torbay this summer. Organisers of the Royal Torbay Regatta confirmed they had again secured the services of the RAF aerobatic team for their August celebrations.

Beach Killer Took a Photo of His Victim ; a Sex Offender Who Battered a Man to Death On a Cornish Beach Lifted His Dying Victim's Head, Took a Photograph with His Mobile Phone and Sent It to a Friend, a Court Was Told.

A sex offender who battered a man to death on a Cornish beach lifted his dying victim's head, took a photograph with his mobile phone and sent it to a friend, a court was told. Dean Grainger-Allen, 20, was yesterday jailed for life for the brutal murder of Jody Crang, 28, at Par, near St Austell, Cornwall.

'I Wanted Him to Get Longer' Says Mother ; After the Hearing, Jody Crang's Mother Revealed Her Disappointment Over the Minimum Prison Term Received by Her Son's Murderer.

After the hearing, Jody Crang's mother revealed her disappointment over the minimum prison term received by her son's murderer. A tearful Linda Pierce expressed her sorrow that Grainger-Allen could be eligible for parole after just 12 years and 113 days. She said: "I am just devastated. I can't believe it. I wanted him to get longer - I wanted him to get 30 years for what he did to my Jody.

Mining Heritage Saved From Wreck and Ruin ; Perched Precariously On the Edge of a West Cornwall Cliff, the Crumbling Engine Houses of Wheal Trewavas Form an Iconic Image of the County and Its Hard Rock Past.

Perched precariously on the edge of a West Cornwall cliff, the crumbling engine houses of Wheal Trewavas form an iconic image of the county and its hard rock past. In its heyday in the 1830s, the mine employed 200 people, toiling to extract precious copper ore from lodes that went deep underground.

Woman Dies a Week After Being Found Unconscious ; a Murder Investigation has Been Launched After a Woman Died Eight Days After Being Attacked.

A murder investigation has been launched after a woman died eight days after being attacked. Sarah Driver, 45, died from her injuries overnight on Monday.

Charity Helps Campaign to Preserve Cemetery Chapels ; Devon Gardens Trust Is Helping a National Campaign to Document the Plight of Cemetery Chapels.

Devon Gardens Trust is helping a national campaign to document the plight of cemetery chapels. The Victorian Society has launched the campaign to preserve these historic and architecturally interesting buildings, many of which are now boarded up or derelict.

Hopes Rise for 'No Change' in County ; the Government Is Facing Fresh Calls to Look Again at the Structure of Local Government in Devon After District Council Lawyers Found a Glimmer of Hope in an Appeal Court Ruling.

The Government is facing fresh calls to look again at the structure of local government in Devon after district council lawyers found a glimmer of hope in an Appeal Court ruling. Judges threw out East Devon District Council's bid to overrule a High Court decision that left the path open for Whitehall to redraw the political map in the county, effectively abolishing district councils.

Two-Thirds of Shopkeepers Sold Alcohol to Children ; Almost Two-Thirds of Shopkeepers Sold Alcohol to Under-Age Teenagers in a Sting Operation.

Almost two-thirds of shopkeepers sold alcohol to under-age teenagers in a sting operation. The covert investigation was part of a new scheme developed by the Trading Standards Service and Devon Alcohol Awareness Partnership to check whether retailers were following the "Challenge- 21" scheme.

A30 Central Reservation Crossing to Be Reopened

Work will begin to reopen a controversial central reservation crossing gap in the A30 today after a planning inspector recommended the Highways Agency's proposed order to close it permanently should be overturned. The decision comes after a lengthy row about safety improvement measures at the Fingle Glen junction of the A30 near Exeter, which led to a public inquiry last year.

Teenagers Accused of Robbing Four Girls ; a Gang of Girls Threatened to 'Slash the Faces' of Four Teenagers During a Robbery After Bonfire Night Fireworks, a Court Heard.

A gang of girls threatened to "slash the faces" of four teenagers during a robbery after Bonfire Night fireworks, a court heard. Three teenagers - aged 14, 16 and 17 - are accused of robbing four girls as they waited to catch a bus home on the Hoe in Plymouth.