It`s the first day of Summer and we have weather to match. It`ll be 29 in the city and 31 in Parramatta. Still, there`s an even-chance of showers in the morning and early afternoon. Here`s today`s news. 

Heavy spin on light rail

This is more than cheeky. When news came out that the Baird government`s budget for a light rail network from George Street in the CBD to the eastern suburbs had overshot the mark by more than half-a-billion dollars, we were told it was, in fact, a good thing.

The government said that the increase reflected the costs of new "customer improvements" like extra capacity and "huge wins" for commuters.

Now, the state's Auditor-General has found a more relevant factor at play. About 94 per cent - not to put too fine a point on it - of the $550 million blowout was in fact due to poor planning and budgeting.

The state's current and former Transport Ministers are now facing a grilling. Current Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian says she was "always upfront".

Meet Wilmer

The duo whose last pop-up, Alfio's, was a Sydney sensation will this week open a new Italian joint in the Cross.

"I want it to be the kind of place where you could swing by for a pasta solo on your way home," says founder Harry Levy.



Back to work for striking councillors?

The Industrial Relations Commission last night "recommended" that workers at Sydney's Blacktown council return to work today and pick up rubbish its 350,000 residents have left on the curb since workers walked off the job yesterday. Two pools are also closed.

In a sure sign the union movement hasn`t lost its knack for PR striking staff said that they were walking out over concerns that their bosses didn`t deserve their jobs. They will vote this morning whether to return to the job.

Pharma bro showed

When New York pharmaceutical entrepreneur and nerdy `pharma bro` Martin Shkreli jacked up the price of Daraprim, an anti-parasitic drug, from $13 to $750 a dose he became the centre of the American election and a debate about predatory pharmaceutical pricing.

Now some Sydney high-school students have shown up the absurdity of those prices by synthesising the same drug in their school lab for about $2 a dose.

Singo sells out

Businessman-wag John Singleton is selling the pub with the stickiest floors in Sydney, Newtown's Marlborough Hotel and also the Kinselas in Darlinghurst.

The move, with business partner Geoff Dixon, is designed to take advantage of Sydney's red-hot pub market.

Offers on the Marley – described by an estate agent as being "part of inner west folklore"- start at north of $12 million.

No more phones

From today, a new rule bans all P-platers from using a mobile while driving, including P2 drivers. No Google Maps, no playing music, no talking to your stockbroker on a bluetooth headset.