Good morning Edinburgh.
Despite campaigns to turn the Bonaly Primary school Annexe into a community centre, the Evening News reports that the building could be sold to private developers for £800,000 below its 2007 value. This is the third time it has been put on the market. Locals including Councillor Jason Rust have campaigned for it to be used as a community facility, arguing that the current asking price is poor value for taxpayers.
Do you live in or near Bonaly? Should the building be sold or kept by the council? Let us know your thoughts below.
Scientists at Edinburgh University have come up with a new way of tackling bodily viruses. Researchers have developed a procedure which makes the habitat in which viruses grow less friendly, helping increase the impact of antiviral drugs. The new method can also target more than one virus at a time, an advance on most current treatments.
A week after the one-year anniversary of the death of fire fighter Ewan Williamson on duty, the campaign to have him awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal has been backed by local MP Alistair Darling. The decision on whether to give Williamson the award has been delayed pending a health and safety executive enquiry, but Darling has said that he sees no reason for postponing a decision.
After all the press surrounding British Airways and Unison's dispute over conditions, tech-savy travellers may be attracted to the airline after it launched a mobile check-in application for flights from Edinburgh to London. Members of their Executive Club can download the application to their iphones, with a similar service to be introduced for Androids and BlackBerrys. There are plans to expand the scheme to cover domestic flights and eventually all flights on the airline.
With the Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade on 8th August, Craigmillar Community Arts are appealing for volunteers to represent them alongside their float. Anyone interested should contact Leanne (admin@craigmillarcommunityarts.org.uk) or Emma (events@craigmillarcommunityarts.org.uk) for more info.
Some sports news
After launching their new kit yesterday, there has been some debate between Hearts' fans about the decision to deviate from a largely maroon strip. Fans on football forums have been debating the merits of the new white stripe approach, which some have compared to Dutch side Ajax's home top.
And whilst most golfers have been transfixed by the Open for much of the past week, Cameron Rose finds time to praise Braid Hills Golf Club member Colin Gillies after his victory in the Prestonfield Golf Club pro-am tournament at the weekend.
And finally, a new baby black howler monkey has gone on show at Edinburgh Zoo. The six week old chimp was the first to be born in the group since the death of another of the zoo's howlers, Molly, shortly after giving birth to her son Diego. The youngster consequently had to be hand-reared by staff before being brought back into the group.
Lorna Hughes, Head Keeper for Primates at the zoo said:
"After the sadness attached to Diego's birth we are thrilled that this time around this youngster will have its mum to rear him and we'll have less sleepless nights. For Diego, it is good for him to see the normal rearing process within the group environment and also for him to have a new playmate."
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