AN impending dust storm of biblical proportions couldn’t compete with the “Eastman not guilty” headline.

While the stunning ACT Supreme Court jury verdict moved the long-running saga into new territory, it frustratingly failed to provide either clarity or closure.

The gripping tale began with the 1989 murder of AFP Assistant Commissioner Colin Winchester at his suburban Canberra home. Public servant David Harold Eastman was charged with the assassination and eventually found guilty, serving 19 years in prison before his conviction was quashed in 2014. So who did kill Colin Winchester?

ANOTHER often shocking Canberra news staple is headed towards a happy and positive ending. Troubled NRL star Todd Carney may have found peace and a clear path ahead. The 2010 Dally M winner who debuted for the Raiders in 2004 says he has “no regrets” and is looking forward to “putting something back into the game”, mentoring youngsters as 2019 captain-coach of the Byron Bay Red Devils. Launching a new chapter in his life the 32-year-old made a plausible but naive attempt at setting the record straight: “Yeah, I’ve done some stupid things but I’ve never hurt anyone”.

STILL on headlines, the much maligned “Canberra Bubble” may have missed out on winning a prestigious Walkley award. The “Daily Telegraph’s” gong for Scoop of the Year for its front page “Bundle of Joyce” expose of Barnaby Joyce’s extra-curricular activities has been widely mocked on social media. One tweet by @Vic_Rollison summed it up: “What a joke. Daily Tele get award for ‘Scoop’ they reported months after Canberra Bubble knew, after PM held crisis meetings to stop it getting out before by-election, after social/indie media reported and after daughter used megaphone down main street. A SCOOP! Hilarious”.

BUT for the artistic eye of a former “Canberra Times” editor carrying out his daily ablutions, “Pickering’s Playmates” calendars featuring naked pollies may never have adorned the dunnie doors of a disrespectful nation. The story goes that Larry Pickering, a proofreader at the paper, was “discovered” after his work, posted on the inside of a toilet door, impressed the editor John Allen. Pickering died of cancer last week at the age of 76.

OXFORD Street, Sydney, has been put on notice: Lonsdale Street, Canberra, is the new kid on the block. Sydney’s reign of hosting the nation’s gayest parade may soon be over. Braddon traders have lobbied the Barr government for next year’s YesFest to become a Mardi Gras. In the Rainbow City such a concept will no doubt be quickly rubber stamped.

STILL in the hipster hood, one of brewer Bentspoke’s best beers is gaining a serious reputation. The Barley Griffin Pale Ale impressed the judges of the prestigious Peter Lalor Top 20 beers, who bizarrely invoked parliamentary jargon to describe it as: “Not a power-crazed party leader yelling from the dispatch box or a backbencher nursing a grudge and a knife”. The panel diplomatically proclaimed the BG had a texture more suited to a “civil servant devoted to good public policy”.

SPECULATION following the rating that Bentspoke’s boffins are busily brewing up a range of parliamentary themed beers has been downplayed. We hear of a “Barnaby Brewsky” – a full-bodied beer with the nostalgic nose and silty viscosity of a ’70s home (wrecker) brew. The BB is promoted as a perfect companion for the uncomplicated palate of an awkward Akubra-wearing Aussie bloke. And the “Malcolm Bitter” (MB), a sophisticated and dark beer brewed over years of disappointment is said to be perfect for drinking alone.

STUDENTS from a Canberra school are among the nation’s best at a sport we are not traditionally known for. Good Shepherd Primary School at Amaroo has come away from the National Cheer Competition as the best team in their category in the country. The school’s 13-member 5/6 squad travelled to the Gold Coast competition, which hosted 12,000 competitors and 1800 teams.