The first apartment development in the $600m Serenity 4212 community on the northern Gold Coast has topped out. Lakeside at Helensvale is being built by joint venture partners Keylin and Kinstone Group. Developers say 70 per cent of buyers so far are aged over 50. A new collection of top floor residences, with two and three-bedroom homes starting at $1.22m, has been released. Residents are expected to move in by spring 2027.
Yarrabilba resident Jan Ebbers has been playing Pokémon GO since it launched 10 years ago, and now leads a local community. She is a Community Ambassador, a volunteer role run by the game's developers, and was accepted after an extensive background check. The Yarrabilba group has about 800 members on the Campfire app and 300 on Facebook. Meet-ups are held several times a week, often at Darlington Parklands. Ms Ebbers says the group welcomes players of all ages and experience levels.
Shop owners on Gallery Walk were left shocked after a plant was stolen from outside their business on September 23. Kenneth Veitch, who owns A Wee Bit o' Scotland with his wife Laura, saw a woman take the plant and walk away up the road. Laura said the shop has often had cuttings taken from its plants, but removing a whole plant was different. Volunteers from the Tamborine Mountain Garden Club had recently revitalised the gardens ahead of Springtime on the Mountain. Kenneth said the theft has made him reconsider replacing the plant.
Shontae Iafeta is building practical experience while she studies journalism. She feels a strong commitment to regional reporting and believes it matters to the communities it serves. Iafeta is known for forming genuine relationships with the people she interviews. She holds the view that everyone deserves a chance to have their experiences shared publicly, and she often points to the idea that everyone has a story worth telling.
First-home buyers have been locked out of 169 previously affordable Queensland property markets since the federal 5 per cent deposit scheme was expanded a year ago. An analysis of Realestate.com.au data found that 852 of 890 house and unit markets have risen in value. Deagon houses jumped 31.2 per cent to $1.187 million. Since October, new Queensland mortgage lodgements have fallen 30 per cent, with first-home buyer applications down 18 per cent, according to Loan Market. Buyer's agent Lauren Jones said rising interest rates and living costs have cut borrowing power, leaving young buyers largely absent from the market.
Young artists aged 12 to 16 can explore drawing, painting, collage and visual journaling at The Line & Rail Artspace in Beenleigh. The Young Artists Studio runs from 3.30pm to 5pm on Thursdays in November. Sessions include Portraits and Identity on 5 November, Drawing Your World on 12 November and From Realism to Abstraction on 26 November. Each individual session costs $15. Bookings are made through the organiser on Eventbrite.
Women in business in the Logan area are invited to a breakfast on Thursday 5 November that looks at speaking up and managing hard conversations. Hosted by Logan City Women in Business, the event runs from 6.45am to 8.30am at Froggies Rest in Logan Village. Guest speaker Antonella Spatola will deliver a talk titled The Permission You Never Needed. Topics include clear communication, setting personal boundaries and finding useful phrasing for difficult discussions. The morning also leaves room for attendees to build local business contacts. Tickets and booking options are available through TryBooking.
Logan business owners can learn how to start blogging in an online workshop on Thursday 5 November. The Blogging for Beginners session runs from 5pm to 5.45pm through the Beenleigh Yatala Chamber of Commerce. It covers choosing topics, structuring posts and improving search visibility. Participants will also look at how blog content can be reused in email and social media. Tickets cost $15 and are booked through the chamber.
Police are investigating a dangerous driving incident in Surfers Paradise on the evening of 23 October. A Toyota Hilux was reportedly driven erratically along the Esplanade before stopping near a metal barrier at the Staghorn Avenue intersection. The vehicle was allegedly driven deliberately into the barrier, causing it to fall and injure a 40-year-old Labrador man. Bystanders tried to restrain the 31-year-old Surfers Paradise driver, who allegedly fled before officers arrived. Police located him nearby shortly afterwards, and he received a dog bite during arrest. Both men were taken to hospital, and inquiries are continuing.
A Queensland adjudicator has rejected an urgent bid to switch off an electric vehicle charger at The Pavilion Apartments in Bulimba. Resident Kin Chen argued that the basement car park lacked fire safety systems to deal with a possible electric vehicle fire. The adjudicator found there was no immediate urgency, noting the charger has operated since about 2020. The body corporate committee had granted retrospective approval last month, with conditions including annual servicing. The broader challenge to that approval has yet to be decided, and the charger remains in use for now.
Hope Vale angler Justin Convent won the adult prize, a Quintrex boat with a motor and trailer, at the Cooktown barramundi competition. More than 1100 anglers entered the event held from Friday to Sunday. Junior winner Nickalah Cobus also took home a boat. Thomas Hone caught the heaviest fish, weighing 7.4 kilograms. Local business owners said the weekend brought many shoppers into town.
Logan has about 206 hectares of vacant industrial development land, the Property Council says, offering room for new investment as greater Brisbane faces a shortage of industrial space. Property Council Queensland executive director Jess Caire said infrastructure such as roads and water must keep pace with demand. The council is calling for a $500 million industrial infrastructure fund and a coordinated state strategy to unlock more employment land. Average sale prices for smaller industrial sites rose about 44 per cent over the year to June 2026.
Livingstone Shire Council is asking residents to nominate people who make a difference in their community for the 2027 Australia Day Awards. Nominations open on Tuesday 27 October and close at midnight on Friday 11 December 2026. Recent winners include 2026 Citizen of the Year Robert Lang, who has spent 53 years with the Rural Fire Service, and 2026 Young Citizen of the Year Myilly Symington, a former Cultural Captain at Yeppoon State High School. Award categories include Citizen of the Year, Arts and Culture, Environmental Achievement and Business, Innovation and Corporate Responsibility.
