Chants of “ICAC” rang out from Ku-ring-gai Council Chambers on Monday evening, as councillors pushed through a synthetic solution for the troubled Norman Griffiths Oval development.

What happened: In May 2025, Ku-ring-gai Council terminated a multi-million dollar contract for the redevelopment of Norman Griffiths Oval in Pymble. Since then, the oval has sat as a wet pit of gravel, fenced off and unusable.

Caught between a legal battle with the former contractor, an outraged football club and numerous reports into what went wrong, the council found itself divided and has struggled to determine a way forward.

New leadership: But with a new mayor elected last week, councillors in favour of pushing ahead with synthetic turf held a majority of votes. On Monday evening, a majority of councillors voted to lay fake grass at the pitch, approving the project’s ninth budget increase, to $24.4 million.

Not all thrilled: This decision — along with the mayor’s refusal to host a public forum prior to the meeting — drew the ire of many residents. Outside, prior to the meeting, a faux public forum was held by disgruntled members of the public. Some appeared before the council chambers with tape covering their mouths.

Once the meeting began, over a hundred members of the public crowded the council chambers.

Mayor Wheatley threatened to remove members for their conduct, and at one point all microphones were muted as the chamber erupted into cries of “shame”.

A synthetic future: In May, council voted to send the Norman Griffiths Oval project to the state government for review. A report was returned by NSW Public Works detailing the costs and benefits of natural and synthetic turf.

Natural turf was priced at an overall budget of $24.2 million, while synthetic would be $24.4 million. The bigger differences regarded playtime and environmental impacts.

The report estimated the field would likely see over 60 hours of use from sports teams a week. It said while a high standard natural turf field could typically support around 20 – 25 hours of play, a synthetic pitch can accommodate 60 – 80 hours per week.

However, the report also states that intensive use of a synthetic turf field would accelerate wear and tear, shortening the effective lifespan of the pitch. Those opposed to fake grass at Norman Griffiths point to the considerable amount of synthetic turf fibres found in Sydney waterways.

Recent studies from the NSW Environment Protection Authority found 16.67 percent of microplastics found in the Lane Cove River were from artificial turf, against the state average of 5.5 percent.

Read the full story below.

The State Library of NSW is currently running a free exhibition showcasing the works of Australian photographer Max Dupain, including his many photographs of the North Shore. Watch our full video on the exhibition below.

North Shore police officers are pressing charges against ten individuals as part of a crackdown on shoplifting in Chatswood.

What happened: Over the weekend, NSW Police officers from the North Shore Command rolled out into the streets of Chatswood. They weren’t after a succulent Chinese meal or a sweet deal at TJ Maxx: they were on the lookout for shoplifters.

In total, the operation saw ten people charged with 20 offences, and a further 16 issued with on the spot fines. Sixteen youth cautions were also issued.

Retail theft: A media release from NSW Police alleges that items stolen include clothes and food.

One man was charged for allegedly possessing two fireworks and a small quantity of heroin.

Another was charged for allegedly possessing a small bag of methylamphetamine and clothing items police believed to be stolen.

In footage provided by NSW Police, officers can be seen detaining a man while removing groceries from a backpack, including rice, bottled water, salt and what appears to be supermarket roast chicken.

Footage also shows an individual detained while several items of jewellery are removed from a bag.

NSW approach: The three day “retail crime blitz” was part of Operation Percentile, a state-wide operation aiming to “detect, disrupt and deter retail crime offenders, with the objective of preventing stock loss, protecting customers and retail workers, and deterring anti-social behaviour”.

When asked how they defined this, a NSW Police spokesperson said “weapon possession, drug possession, shoplifting and other offences committed in public places”.

Advertising cigarettes is illegal in Australia. Meta's own policy bans them from Facebook Marketplace.

Yet sponsored cigarette posts, complete with photos of cartons, have been running in feeds.

We asked Meta about it and got no response.

The Department of Health says it works with platforms to address unlawful advertising, but the ads keep appearing.