NSW senator Deb O’Neil was in Orange on Monday to announce joint state and federal funding for the first steps of a plan to explore building a pilot plant to produce Purified Recycled Water (PRW) for Orange residents to drink.

In the same way that Orange has led the way Australia-wide to draw on Stormwater Harvesting to deliver drinking water, the next step is to use Purified Recycled Water.

It's a decision with a huge potential impact for the city’s future.

This week, we find out how it could all work.

And we meet one of the new faces recently-elected to Orange City Council

When it comes to Orange's suite of festivals, there are a couple of new kids on the block. The Orange Podcast chats to locals at the launch of the next Rainbow Festival.

And, we meet one of the new faces on Orange City Council, Cr Marea Ruddy, who’s aiming to make the work of Council a bit more approachable for the community…

The Orange community is getting behind an international campaign, called the '16 days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.'
The United Nations estimates one in three women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
In Orange there are several passionate advocates and service providers supporting victims of gender-based violence, who are raising awareness and working to prevent domestic and family violence.

The community of Orange loves a good story, but this week in town there two examples of two very different stories told in two very different ways.
This week street banners were erected which tell the story of wartime sacrifice.
And, two new public artworks are launched , hinting at why local councils should do more than build roads and roundabouts.

Orange has a reputation for its festivals. Every year we celebrate our local food and wine culture with FOOD Week and a Wine Festival: times that bring us together to enjoy the best of what we’re good at.

This week we’ve launched out latest festival. It’s the Orange Rainbow festival to celebrate local residents who can still feel excluded and on the edge.
And, first up ten years of green-lidded bins and the latest tweak we’ve all got to learn to keep using them….

This week we find out more about the project that Orange City Council has decided to contribute $18.5 million towards. It’s biggest ever single contribution to a project in Orange.

And on the eve of NAIDOC Week celebrations, the annual celebration comes at a time of sadness and uncertainty in the indigenous community.

The Orange Regional Gallery has just wound up on what could well be its biggest ever exhibition.

A sculpture exhibition, by internationally renowned artist Laurence Edwards was shown at the gallery for a couple of months and during that time no less that 8,000 people came through the doors.

The good news is that one of the bronze sculptures will stay as part of the permanent collection.

And the awareness campaign around The Voice referendum is stepping up. When a parliamentary inquiry into the legislation made their first stop for a hearing outside Canberra, they chose Orange.

In Orange they listened to evidence and questioned a number of witnesses on how The Voice could work and what difference it could make.

In this episode, a special look at what could be the biggest change to the future shape of housing in the city of Orange.

This week Orange City Council signed an MOU with state-owned developer LandCom to build a new suburb on the eastern outskirts of Orange.

With space for 200+ lots, the key differences will see around 25% of the lots to be targeted for affordable housing and with many different sizes and types of housing.