Belmont High Girls Rugby To Be Honored By Red Sox Aug. 20: Get Your Tickets

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont High’s Girls’ Rugby team.

The Boston Red Sox organization will honor the Belmont High School 2018 Girls Varsity Rugby Team after winning the 2018 MIAA Division 1 State Championship in a pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park before its game against the Cleveland Indians on Monday, Aug. 20. 

The Marauders won its second consecutive state championship defeating Lincoln-Sudbury Regional, 20-10, on June 23.

The Red Sox has made available for the Belmont community to purchase tickets and support the team and school. Please go to the website listed below to purchase tickets: https://groupmatics.events/BelmontHSChamps

Belmont Manor Seeks Assisted Living Facility On Pleasant Street, First In Town

By 1 Comment

Photo: A draft design of a proposed assisted living facility in Belmont.

In the first step of the commercial redevelopment of South Pleasant Street, the owner of Belmont Manor Nursing Home is proposing a 75,000 sq.-ft., 85-unit assisted living facility at 1000 Pleasant St. adjacent to the Star Market parking lot and the Belmont Car Wash.

The three-story building with 30 parking spaces would be the town’s first assisted living facility.

The proposal presented before the Planning Board on July 31 by Steward Karger, Belmont Manor’s full-time administrator, would meet the pent-up demand from aging residents “who would rather stay in Belmont” when they need more help with everyday tasks. Today, assisted living facilities in nearby towns are running at 95 percent capacity with a current need for 400 additional units. 

“It’s a use that’s needed in Belmont with minimal impact on schools and traffic,” said Karger.

The preliminary design calls for the 32-foot tall building to be constructed where a two-story office building owned by the Tocci family currently stands, said Andy Rojas, the project’s architect.

The plans call for three floors occupying between 23,400 and 26,100 sq.-ft. with units averaging from 400 to 600 sq.-ft. The first floor will have a reception area along with units with the second floor mainly apartments. The third floor will be dedicated to residents with dementia and memory loss. A basement will include mechanical space, staff break rooms, laundry area and resident services.

Rojas said the design is in draft form as the land will need to be rezoned – the site lies in an LB-2 zone – to allow for a third floor and a change in use without seeking a Special Permit. Rather than alter the town’s zoning map, Rojas suggested the creation of an overlay district, in which a special zoning area is placed over the existing base zone. The town has created overlay districts in Cushing Square to assist in building the Bradford complex, in the Oakley neighborhood and for the placement of medical marijuana facilities. 

Rojas said the best solution would be to overlay the town’s LB-1 zone on the site and extend it over the neighboring property owned by the Tocci family to Citywide Subaru at 790 Pleasant St. Rojas said with the overlay in place, “you’re going to see that this will be a catalyst for other things” along Pleasant. Rojas predicts the future redevelopment of the Tocci-owned Belmont Car Wash on Trapelo Road and its property further down the street “would be mixed use with retail [on the ground floor] and residential above.”

Despite available land adjacent to the proposed facility, Karger said there are “absolutely no plans” to move Belmont Manor from its current Agassiz Avenue location. He also said he is talking with the Tocci family on the purchase of the land. 

Reaction from the Planning Board was mostly positive with Chair Charles Clark saying it was a “very interesting proposal and a very positive development” in light of the recently passed Housing Production Plan which called for additional housing for the elderly.

The proposal is the second new development set to be built in the South Pleasant Street/Waverley Square. In June, the Zoning Board of Appeals approved the construction of a pair of retail/residential structures on Trapelo Road and White Street by local developer Joseph Destefano. 

Smokey Blaze Closes Popular Shangri-la Restaurant On Belmont Street

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The closed restaurant Shangri-la on Belmont Street 

A favorite Taiwanese restaurant on the Belmont/Watertown/Cambridge lines is closed after a smokey fire emanating from the kitchen brought the entire Belmont Fire Department to the scene on Saturday afternoon, July 21.

Heavy, black smoke billowed from the front and back doors of Shangri-la at 149 Belmont St. as passersby called in the fire to Belmont dispatch “at 3;34 p.m.,” and then confirmed by an off-duty police officer, according to Belmont Fire Chief David L. Frizzell who was at the scene. The blaze reached the level of a “working fire.” 

The fire, located in the cook line, started when an employee was using a wok with oil. Belmont Street inbound toward Cushing Square was closed as apparatus from Belmont and Watertown arrived with Belmont and Watertown police. Mutual aid came from Cambridge and Arlington which manned Belmont’s stations.

After a few minutes, “the fire was contained to the [kitchen] and no [firefighter] was injured,” said Frizzell.

The blaze appeared to remain in the kitchen and did not jump to the walls or the building’s superstructure, said Frizzell. The fire remains under investigation and investigators could later request that “things be pulled apart” to search for hot spots. 

“But they have a lot of cleaning up to do,” said the chief. 

Back Again: State Finds West Nile Virus In Belmont

By Leave a Comment

Photo: There are effective ways to prevent the West Nile virus from infecting you and your family.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced in a press release Thursday, July 19 that West Nile virus has been detected in mosquitoes collected from Belmont. Accordingly, MDPH has raised the risk of WNV infection from “low” to “moderate” in Belmont and surrounding communities in the Greater Boston Area.

This marks the fourth summer in the past five years that the virus has been found in mosquitoes from Belmont. 

WNV is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the Bay State and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection.

By taking a few, basic precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

  • Be Aware of Peak Mosquito Hours. The hours from dusk to dawn are peak biting times for many mosquitoes. Consider rescheduling outdoor activities that occur during evening or early morning. If you are outdoors at any time and notice mosquitoes around you, take steps to avoid being bitten by moving indoors, covering up and/or wearing repellant.
  • Clothing Can Help reduce mosquito bites. Although it may be difficult to do when it’s hot, wearing long-sleeves, long pants, and socks when outdoors will help keep mosquitoes away from your skin.
  • Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m- toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8- diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. 

Mosquito-Proof Your Home

  • Drain Standing Water: Many mosquitoes lay their eggs in standing water. Limit the number of places around your home for mosquitoes to breed by either draining or getting rid of items that hold water. Check rain gutters and drains. Empty any unused flowerpots and wading pools, and change water in birdbaths frequently.
  • Install or Repair Screens: Some mosquitoes like to come indoors. Keep them outside by having tightly-fitting screens on all of your windows and doors.

Information about WNV and reports of current and historical WNV virus activity in Massachusetts can be found on the MDPH website.

Christmas Cappuccinos? Starbucks Looking At Late November Opening at Bradford

By 3 Comments

Photo: Design for the new Starbucks in the Bradford development. 

Belmont will soon have a third Starbucks Cafe in the Town of Homes as the Zoning Board of Appeals approved unanimously a special permit allowing the Seattle-based coffee mega-chain to run a “fast food” restaurant at The Bradford, the retail/housing/parking development under construction in the heart of Cushing Square.

Plans submitted to the town shows a narrow 2,500 square foot cafe/store located on the left side of the two-story Winslow Building which is being built approximately on the site of the former Starbucks’ location on Trapelo Road. The store will have two entrances, in the front and rear, with 42 interior and 12 seasonal outdoor seats located in the back. The cafe will seek to operate most days from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., employing four to six workers per shift. There will be 22 parking spaces – including two handicap spaces – dedicated to the store located between the Winslow and the main Pomona buildings.

The cafe is the first business to commit to The Bradford – previously known as Cushing Village – which has close to 38,000 square feet dedicated to retail. The project, which includes underground parking and 112 apartments, is being developed by Toll Brothers Apartment Living, which rescued the proposal after the original developer, Smith Legacy Partners, failed in its efforts to secure the necessary funding.

Danial Brennan, a consultant, assisting Starbucks in securing municipal permits in New England, said the current schedule is for construction of the cafe to begin Sept. 15 with an anticipated completion date “hopefully at the end of November.” 

“But [the dates] are always estimates,” said Brennan.

Unlike other fast-casual restaurants and quick stop retail operations that came before the Zoning Board of Appeals – a proposed Dunkin’ Donuts on Pleasant Street comes to mind – there was no resident opposition or comment concerning Starbucks, which operates approximately 28,000 stores around the globe.

Zoning Chair Nicholas Iannuzzi noted the last well-known “fast food” restaurant to come before the board, for a Subway franchise in Belmont Center, required four meetings before it received a “special” to operate.

“God bless America. God bless Starbucks,” he said.

Tree Branch Cause Of Large Blackout Monday Night

By 1 Comment

Photo: Lights and air conditioning went out Monday at 8:15 p.m.

At approximately 8:15 p.m. on Monday, July 9, a fallen tree branch struck Belmont Light electrical wires, resulting in a large power outage affecting customers in the eastern section of town, adjacent with Cambridge.

Approximately 2,000 customers were initially without power in the area east of Common Street. The Belmont Light Operations Team worked quickly to assess the damage and determine a course of action. By 9:10 p.m., power was restored to approximately 1,500 customers, with 500 customers in the Winn Brook area awaiting restoration as Belmont Light made necessary repairs to its system. By 10 p.m. repairs were completed and power was fully restored to all customers.

Belmont Light credits a customer on Lodge Road for spotting the fallen tree branch, which caused a series of events to occur, ultimately shutting down four feeder cables. The customer posted their observation on Belmont Light’s Facebook page, allowing the Operations Team to pinpoint the problem in an efficient manner. 

“We encourage all of our customers to contact us when they see a problem like a fallen tree,” said Chris Roy, Belmont Light General Manager. “Whether it’s a phone call, a social media post, or some other method, the communication allows us to get power restored quicker so that we can better serve all of our customers.”

“Belmont Light thanks customers for their patience during the repair work. At this time, Belmont Light does not foresee any additional issues to arise.”

Correction: In an earlier version of this story, the date of the disruption was noted as Monday, June 9. The correct date was Monday, July 9.

Opinion: Rules Of A Safer Road For Vehicles And Cyclists

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Sharing the road safely.
By Will Brownsberger, State Senator

When I cycled across the country in 2011, I saw a lot of roadkill. I was constantly aware that all it would take was one mistake by me or by one of those caffeinated guys in big rigs and I’d look about the same.

On the open road, I developed a profound gratitude towards the tens of thousands of drivers who did not hit me.

The Senate just approved a safety package that would require a clearance of at least three feet for vehicles passing vulnerable road users like highway workers, cyclists and pedestrians. It would add an additional foot of required clearance for every ten miles per hour of speed.

The package also would mandate side guards on big trucks used by or for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We cannot regulate trucks in interstate commerce, but the measure is a start towards reducing the gruesome slide-under accidents that are all too common on urban roads.

The bill includes several other modest measures: better reporting on accidents involving cyclists and pedestrians, lower speed limits on state roads in thickly settled areas (governed by local choice) and a requirement that cyclists have rear red lights (in addition to the already-required white front light and rear red reflector).

The package should help reduce road injuries and I’m hopeful it will also pass the House.

The most important thing we could do to improve safety for everyone is to reduce distracted driving. I’ve now voted twice now to ban hand-held cell phone use by drivers, but so far that legislation has not made it to the Governor’s desk.

An idea we should keep studying is automated enforcement — red light and speed cameras. Cameras raise privacy concerns. In other states, municipalities have abused cameras to generate revenue. Automated enforcement hasn’t gained traction in Massachusetts, but I’m hopeful that, perhaps in the next session, we can develop an approach that works.

I often hear from annoyed drivers and frightened pedestrians calling for licensing of cyclists and registration of bikes. Their complaints are legitimate: Cyclists tend to continue or swerve when they should simply stop. Starting on a bike can be hard work for tired legs. Because stopping means starting, subconsciously cyclists hate to stop.

Still, I’m opposed to cyclist licensing. It wouldn’t be cost-effective. We license drivers and register motor vehicles because of the enormous damage they can do — motor vehicles are vastly heavier and faster than bicycles. Cyclists often annoy drivers. They often frighten pedestrians. They very occasionally harm pedestrians, but they do a minuscule fraction of the annual damage that motor vehicles do.

There is a conversation that we need to keep having with and among cyclists about road behavior. In 2008, I helped pass legislation to make it easier to ticket cyclists. Unfortunately, the truth is that urban police rarely have the time to ticket motorists, much less cyclists.  So, it’s more about education.

Cycling and walking are healthy, exhilarating and good for the environment. I will continue to work to protect cyclists and pedestrians, but also to encourage cyclists to ride responsibly.