This school year, a new scheme has been set up allowing the youth of Penarth to give something back and dispel the myths associated with their age bracket.

More than 100 commuters an hour could travel from Penarth to Cardiff by boat as a Cardiff company takes the first step towards having regular water bus services.

At 25 minutes, the journeys on a fleet of five £90,000 boats, which would run every 15 minutes between around 7am and 7pm and stop at Cardiff Central station and Bute Park, could be quicker than commuting by car.

Yet company owners have criticised the Cardiff Council-controlled Cardiff Harbour Authority, saying the boats could go twice as fast if speed restrictions on the River Taff were lifted.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS big and small gathered in Cardiff yesterday to watch a film which was funded by donations from more than 300 people. Film director Franny Armstrong, famous for her film McLibel about a couple who were sued by McDonalds, “crowd-funded” campaign movie The Age of Stupid by raising more than £700,000 from investors. Yesterday environment experts and members of the public gathered at the Channel View Centre in Jim Driscoll Way, Grangetown for the free screening.

The Welsh Assembly decision on whether electronic pet training devices should be outlawed may raise support for a simultaneous campaign against cruelty to greyhounds today.
The vote to decide on the Assembly Government’s proposal, put forward by Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones last month, to ban the use of collars administering electric shock to dogs or cats, will be held this afternoon.
Ms Jones AM said: “The legislation I am bringing before the National Assembly for Wales today will, if approved, ban the use of electric shock collars in Wales.
“This has not …

City life can be stressful and exhausting. The daily nine to five work routine can wear anyone out, so if life’s pressures are getting too much, we have picked out two Welsh holiday retreats for you to get out of Cardiff and away from it all.

Heartspring (www.heartspring.co.uk) retreat in Llansteffan, Carmarthen, is in the heart of the Welsh countryside and set among acres of stunning coastal scenery. It provides nurturing mini-breaks to escape the hustle and bustle of urban life and has everything you could possibly want to reconnect with your inner self and relax.

Palestinian olives were on the menu in Cardiff today as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.
Speakers from Oxfam and the Palestinian Farmers Union addressed shoppers in ethical store Fair Do’s in Canton and told them they were helping 9,000 farmers in Palestine by purchasing olives and olive oil from the Middle East.
Thomas Cazalis, co-ordinator of the union’s olive oil programme, said the industry was vital for the farmers. He said: “There is a meaning beyond the product itself. It’s a question of dignity for the farmers and opening the world to these …

Up to 8,000 new jobs for Cardiff could be at risk after inspectors blasted plans for an International Business Park next to the M4.

The regeneration of a Cardiff community will begin within three months after a construction contractor was appointed, it was announced yesterday.

Cardiff Community Health Council also announced its provision for healthcare services within the development.

Leadbitter have been confirmed as the contractors for the Loudoun Square regeneration, in Butetown, and work is scheduled to start in May.

Wind-lashed and stormy, Flat Holm island, just five miles from Cardiff,  is a popular destination for day trippers who clamber aboard the Lewis Alexander boat for the sometimes choppy 45 minute trip from the Bay.
However for Matt Lipton, the warden of Flat Holm, it’s much more than a day trip destination; it’s home. Since March last year, Matt, 25, has spent three weeks out of every four on the island, living in a beautiful 16th century farmhouse and disturbed only by the gulls and sheep with whom he shares the …

It was all change yet again in Cardiff city centre last week, as the council implemented phase one of its plan to pedestrianise St Mary Street and High Street.
Of course, you could be forgiven for thinking we were well past the early stages of the plan and nearing completion. But the last two and a half years, which have seen partial pedestrianisation and the replacement of gas pipes running under the street, have in fact been nothing but a prelude.

Presenter Sian Lloyd was doing her bit to help Cardiff residents fend off the cold weather today.

The former weather girl was in the Queen’s Arcade shopping centre along with the Home Heat helpline roadshow.

She said: “I think in Wales, heating is even more of a problem because we have even older housing stock, which just haemorrhages heat.”