Charlotte Wilkes is a news reporter for ABC Ballarat, covering online, radio and television.
The Victorian government approves plans for a new suburb in Ballarat for 13,000 residents. It will include four schools.
Topic: Urban Development and Planning
The fire gutted a tobacco store that only opened two months ago in the south-west Victorian town. Three other shops were also damaged.
A regional Victorian woman says she may never need a guide dog again after using smart glasses, but says new rules restricting usage need more clarification.
An Indian woman has been racing against the clock to settle her deceased brother's estate before her visa expires.
A one-year-old girl has died after being hit by a car near Ballarat, in central Victoria.
Topic: Accidents and Emergency Incidents
Public health organisation Quit says the war against illegal tobacco ads on social media is only scratching the surface.
Family violence workers say they are relieved an event featuring former AFL star Ben Cousins has been cancelled after community backlash.
A 71-year-old Ballarat man has died after his motorcycle hit a pothole on the Western Highway in Victoria's central-west.
Topic: Road Accidents and Incidents
Doctors from Ballarat Base Hospital and Bendigo Health have walked off the job citing exhaustion, low morale and stressful working conditions.
War memorials in two neighbouring western Victorian towns have been defaced in a little over a month.
Locals say they are feeling hurt after a 100-year-old war memorial was vandalised with slogans including "death to Australia".
A taxi driver says he is driving 12 hours a day and considering a second job to make ends meet amid rising fuel prices.
Victorian Local Government Minister Paul Hamer says he intends to appoint an administrator in order to allow the Hepburn Shire Council to continue to run.
A young girl is in hospital after being attacked by a dog inside a Bunnings in regional Victoria.
A 37-year-old man has been charged with allegedly assaulting people at an Islamic iftar dinner earlier this year.
Victim-survivors of abuse by members of the Christian Brothers organisation will be able to receive compensation for civil claims under a new payout proposal.
The woman, aged in her 70s, was flown to the Alfred Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Topic: Road Accidents and Incidents
About 20 residents in the Victorian city of Ballarat are paying a security company to patrol their streets as a "crime deterrent".
Early childhood operators say increased load on educators is taking a "huge toll" on their mental health and safety.
A road accident survivor says the organisation that helped her defy all expectations has become a nightmare to deal with.
Topic: State and Territory Parliament
Councils across regional Victoria say they are being forced to ban trucks from some bridges because they cannot afford to fix them to keep them safe.
A Victorian council is proposing to reopen a regional mall to vehicles after 44 years in an attempt to breathe new life into the area.
Topic: Urban Development and Planning
In 2022, the Victorian government promised to build a new wildlife veterinary clinic in south-west Victoria. Despite being offered access to free land, it is yet to build the facility.
At the Waubra Wind Farm near Ballarat, 40-metre turbine blades that once helped power the state are given a second life.
Topic: Recycling and Waste Management
Victoria Police charge a Colac man with murder as part of its investigation into the 2012 suspicious disappearance of St Kilda football champion Barry Breen's brother, Brendan Breen.
