This week we added a series of puzzles to our website we hope you are enjoying them. If you haven’t seen them, click on this link.

As we prepare for Christmas, the streets of Warrnambool’s CBD are getting busier. That’s good news for traders, who suffered signficant pain when Liebig Street was dug up and given a generational face-lift.

This week we revealed spending is up in Liebig Street and traders are starting to benefit from the raft of works that transformed the main street.

Warrnambool City Council copped plenty of criticism for the project, the length of time, the cost, the impacts and the seismic shift of pedestrians first, traffic second.

But it is better to be criticised for doing something than to be criticised for doing nothing. This doggerel is cold comfort for governments or organisations that find themselves trapped in the mire of opinion but it is true, nonetheless. It is also true of the council’s CBD renewal project.

There are predictions $38 million in private investment will come through new retail and trading opportunities. The positives outweigh the negatives. The long view overrides the short.

The week was marred with tragedies, so please be safe in the lead up to Christmas. And enjoy the festive spirit. This week our photographer Morgan Hancock got in on the act, snapping images of a Christmas elf at iconic locations across the region.

Here’s a selection of stories that shaped the week.