Melbourne Express, Friday, March 23, 2018

Here’s what was in The Age on this day in 1998:

• An out-of-control bushfire, which was believed to have been deliberately lit, was burning in Trentham, near Woodend. The previous day had been the hottest March day on record.
• And in an opinion piece, Christopher Bantick wrote that boys were falling further behind girls in literacy because they were spending too much time playing computer games.
• The Real Estate Institute of Victoria had published their list of most expensive and most affordable suburbs of 1997. Toorak was the most expensive suburb ($739,000 median house price), while Broadmeadows was the most affordable ($70,000).

A crash on the Western Ring Road, at Pascoe Vale Road, has been cleared. 

A crash on the West Gate Freeway at Montague Street has also been cleared. 

Both incidents were causing delays, which will take a while to clear. 

Now that the website has been upgraded, we’ve been giving some more thought to how we put together the blog in the mornings.

For example, we’re starting to include more regular content - the target word used to be something I’d include on a quiet day, but now it’s something all Melbourne Express bloggers use.

We’d like your feedback on how you’re finding the blog, both in terms of presentation and in content. If there’s something on the blog that annoys you, let us know!

The 8:34am Craigieburn to Flinders Street train has been cancelled.

Police have issued a missing persons appeal for missing Corinella woman Roberta Ives.

The 57-year-old was last seen walking along Kilburn Crescent about 8.55am on February 26.

Now the footy season is back underway, The Age's 'Real Footy' football podcast is back for another season.

This week's episode asks: Can the Tigers go back-to-back?

A Coburg resident is lucky to be alive this morning after waking up to find their bed on fire.

Firefighters were called to a bungalow behind a Cash Street home about 5am on Friday after a heater placed too close to the bed sparked the blaze.

It took nine minutes to bring the fire under control and the damage was contained within the bungalow, which had no working smoke alarms.

A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesperson said "the occupant is extremely lucky to be alive."

On this day in 1910, legendary Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa was born. He is best known for directing Seven Samurai (1954), which heavily influenced the western The Magnificant Seven (1960).

It looks like a few Expressers are battling through some of the first colds of the season. 

On the 90th anniversary of the first Australian Grand Prix, Fairfax remembers the year that Melbourne snatched the race from Adelaide.

A deal done behind the scenes, kept secret until the final minute, delivered a coup for Victoria.

Check out how The Age reported the deal in 1993.