You know Belmont is taking this storm seriously as for the first time in decades, a snow storm will halt curb-side trash collection. But only for one day.
“Due to the impending snow storm there will not be any trash or recycling collection on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Trash and recycling collection will resume on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Collection for all days remaining this week will be delayed one day.”
While the likelihood the worst to happen to most people during this coming Nor’easter is battling over what to watch on Netflix, there are specific phone numbers all Belmont residents should keep close “just in case” something beyond the norm does happen.
Of course, for a true emergency in which health and safety are threatened, call 911.
Batten down the hatches, Belmont. A blizzard’s heading’ this way.
The latest information from the National Weather Service, released at 3:53 a.m. this morning, Monday, Jan. 26, is predicting snow accumulations of “around 20 to 30 inches with locally higher amounts.” This nor’easter could match the 27.1 inches of snow that hit Boston in the famous Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978.
“Those venturing outdoors may become lost or disoriented … so persons in the warning area are advised to stay indoors,” warned the NWS as it issued a Blizzard Watch for the eastern part of the state and region.
While the storm is expected to begin late today and linger into early Wednesday, the worst of the storm will be tonight, Monday, Jan. 26 through Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 27.
And once it starts, the heavy snow – falling Tuesday morning up to 2 to 4 inches an hour – and strong winds will result in white-out/blizzard conditions with near zero visibility.
Winds will be out of the north-northeast at 15 to 25 mph with gusts around 65 to 75 mph with the worst of the winds coming late tonight, Monday, into Tuesday.
“Travel will be impossible and life threatening across the entire region. Also snow may be wet enough to result in downed tree limbs and power outages in addition to the winds,” reported the NWS.
The National Weather Service is advising resident that all unnecessary travel is discouraged beginning after Monday’s commuter rush to allow people already on the road to safely reach their destination before the heavy snow begins and to allow snow removal equipment to begin to clear roads.
A pair of forwards stepped up to lead Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball to consecutive away game wins this past week as the Marauders continue on the programs best start, 8-3, in more than a decade.
Junior Sarah Stewart had 12 points and 9 rebounds as Belmont defeated Wilmington, 60-43, on Tuesday, Jan. 20 while senior Elena Bragg connected for 11 points (while being near perfect from the free throw line) and 8 rebounds in the Marauders’ 53-43 victory over a good Burlington High (6-5) squad as it snapped the Red Devils’ four game winning streak on Friday, Jan. 23.
While Belmont rushed to a 20-3 lead against Wilmington to won convincingly, the Marauders faced a team similar to itself on Friday as the hosts prided itself on playing an aggressive defense style.
But Belmont came out gunning from the start as freshman guard Carly Christofori (10 points) hit the first of two first quarter three point shots for the first basket of the game fallowed by jumper by Bragg as Belmont caused the Red Devils to turn over the ball three times in the first two minutes.
When Burlington attempted a use a full-court press – when the defensive team pressures their opponents for the entire length of the court by putting two players on the person with the ball – Belmont’s backcourt of Christofori and Sophia Eschenbach-Smith (5 points) attacked it with long passes that resulted in easy layups for Bragg and Irini Nikolaidis (6 points and 7 rebounds).
“Our defense was amazing in the first quarter,” said Eschenbach-Smith, who Head Coach Melissa Hart called “stone cold” leading the team.
“We were playing so well because we were communicating and that helped a lot when they were pressing us,” she said.
Forced out of their preferred defense, Burlington allowed Belmont to dictate the game which saw the Marauders take advantage by picking up offensive rebounds and force the Red Devils to foul Belmont players. When Christofoi hit her second three pointer, Belmont saw its lead grow to 15-2 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
But Burlington started playing a tough man-to-man defense and reduced the margin to 3 points (18-16) behind senior guard Arianna Rivera (6 points in the quarter) before junior all-around player Samari Winklaar (6 points) hit a long three pointer to stop the bleeding mid-way through the second quarter. A bucket and foul shot by Christofori and a power move by Stewart (6 points) saw the lead go back to 10 by the half, 29-19.
The second half saw Belmont nurse its lead for the final 16 minutes, during which Burlington could only crawl within five points (34-29). Yet the Red Devils could never get a scoring run against the Marauders’ suffocating defense that included senior center Linda Herlihy (4 points), Bragg and Stewart successfully boxing out a collection of tall Burlington forwards.
“Eight and three. We’re on our way,” said Hart, saying she saw a great deal of composure from the team to preserve the margin of it lead through the game.
Hart also acknowledged the bench players “who come to practice each day and works so hard to make everyone a better player. They’re the reason we are the team nearing the playoffs. They are our unsung heroes.”
A massive Nor’easter will blow into Belmont and the region beginning Monday night and lasting for 24 hours, bringing up to two feet of snow along with blizzard conditions that will make travel dangerous.
“This has the potential to be a historic storm,” noted the National Weather Service in Taunton which issued the Blizzard Warning at 12:34 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 25.
The NWS forecast calls for continuous heavy snow and strong winds between 20-to-30 mph with gusts of up to 60 mph to produce whiteout conditions with considerable blowing and drifting snow with the worst of the storm occurring between Monday night, Jan. 26 through Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 27.
The snow may be wet enough to result in some downed tree limbs and power outages. Travel may become impossible and life threatening across the entire region as temperatures will stay in the low 20s.
Photo: the Arneis Quartet on the move.
It could be quite snowy on Saturday so please call before heading out to these events.
• The Arneis Quartet will make its Belmont premier as part of the Belmont Public Library’s Music on Saturday concert series being held on Saturday, Jan. 24, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the library’s Assembly Room. The string quintet, made up of violinist Heather Braun and Rose Drucker, violist Daniel Dona and cellist Agnes Kim, is the faculty ensemble in residence at the Dana Hall School of Music. The concert will include:
Music on Saturday concerts are free to all thanks to the sponsorship of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library. Call 617-489-2000 for information.
• The First Church in Belmont, Unitarian Universalist will hold its 20th annual Piano and Organ Celebration Concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the church, 404 Concord Ave. Proceeds will be used to continue the restoration and maintenance of First Church’s Steinway grand pianos and the pipe organ in the sanctuary. Tickets are $10 at the door. Call 617-484-1054 x 206 or email alfajoy@uubelmont.org for more info. The snow date will be Sunday, Jan. 25. at 7 p.m.
After a year of meetings and extensive research, the town’s Financial Task Force voted provisionally to recommend the Belmont Board of Selectmen to accept a $4.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 budget override to stabilize the town and school budgets over the next three years.
The recommendation by the 13 member group will be presented to the Selectmen at its scheduled Monday, Jan. 26 meeting in Belmont Town Hall at 8 a.m. The first date the Selectmen can accept the task forces’ proposal and set a date to vote on the measure at its Feb. 2 meeting.
Mark Paolillo, the task force chair and a member of the Board of Selectmen, said the override vote should “absolutely” be on the Town Election ballot on Tuesday, April 7.
“We want the most residents voting on the measure,” Paolillo told the Belmontonian Friday.
A more detailed article on the proposed Prop 2 1/2 Budget Override will be in the Belmontonian on Monday morning, Jan. 26.
If successful, the property tax bill on a house valued at $844,000 – the “average” value of residential property in the town – will increase by approximately $675, according to Town Treasurer Floyd Carman.
The most recent attempted override in Belmont was in June of 2010 when a $2 million measure was defeated 3,431 to 3,043 with 40 percent of eligible residents voting. The most recent successful override measure occurred in June, 2002 when voters OK’ed $2.4 million for operating costs, 2,938 to 2,728.
“This is not an easy request,” Paolillo said of asking residents to find the money to meet a shortfall in revenue.
The need for an override is due to “a perfect storm” of limited current sources of revenue set against mounting expenses and the needs of future capital projects, he said.
The most significant cost drivers facing the town is within the School District as exploding enrollment numbers – more than 300 children have entered the district in the past two years – and skyrocketing expenditures associated with Special Education and other state mandated programs show no end to their rapid increases, Belmont Superintendent John Phelan told Friday’s meeting.
(Read about the current $500,000 budget deficit the school district is facing here.)
While expenses increase, the task force found “there are no magic bullets” to fill the expanding gap between what’s coming into Belmont’s coffers and the money rushing out, said member Paul Lisanke.
With 80 percent of the town’s revenue coming from property taxes and a significant 9 percent from state aid which has been decreasing in real terms for the past three decades, the areas to find extra cash are limited and not significant enough to raise the money needed.
In addition to the operating budget, the town must be prepared to sink some big bucks into capital projects and repairs, according to Task Force member and Capital Budget’s Chair Anne Marie Mahoney. These include a new police station and Department of Public Works facility, preparing for new High School and increased money for roads and sidewalks.
“We are now talking about safety issues because we haven’t spent the money we should have,” said Mahoney.
According to the Task Force, the town will find itself in a cumulative fiscal chasm of $4,448,000 by fiscal 2017.
A successful override will allow the town to provide funds to the school district to meet the increase in enrollment, meet special education actual costs and maintain Belmont schools as a first-rate educational community. It will so provide funds for sidewalks and streets as well as make capital improvements neglected in the past years.
“We can’t look to the state or external measures to fix our problem,” said Paolillo. “We are clearly in a deficit in fiscal ’16, ’17 and ’18.”
Snow in January? Don’t panic!
The National Weather Service in Taunton has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Belmont and most of the western suburbs of Boston, for most of Saturday as heavy snow is expected to fall on the region.
As of 4 a.m., the NWS is predicting between 4 to 8 inches of snow with a trace of ice starting in the wee hours of Saturday, Jan. 24. The precipitation may change to rain mid-day before changing back to snow for the evening.
Belmont is likely to be on the lower end of the snow fall projections as Boston and Somerville are expecting only 3 to 5 inches due to warmer costal weather.
Because the snow will be wet, large branches and wires could be brought down.
And don’t fly your private plane as visibility will be a quarter mile or less at times.
A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”
• 45 Choate Rd. #1. Townhouse condominium (1938), Sold for: $590,000. Listed at $629,000. Living area: 1,644 sq.-ft. 8 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 210 days.
• 2 Dalton Rd. #2. Ground-floor condominium (1920), Sold for: $465,000. Listed at $549,000. Living area: 1,290 sq.-ft. 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 132 days.
• 93 Walnut St. Framed bungalow (1920), Sold for: $695,750. Listed at $699,900. Living area: 1,757 sq.-ft. 7 rooms, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 75 days.
• 65 Oak Ave. Two-family (1913), Sold for: $895,000. Listed at $1,075,000. Living area: 2,976 sq.-ft. 12 rooms, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 133 days.
• 124 Sycamore St. #1. Ground-floor condominium (1900), Sold for: $410,000. Listed at $385,000. Living area: 996 sq.-ft. 5 rooms, 1 bedrooms, 1 baths. On the market: 70 days.
When I think bungalow, I remember the northern neighborhoods of Atlanta where this wonderfully regional example of residential architecture inhabits. These low-hanging homes, with their porches and woodsy appearance, just screams of someone reading “Gone with the Wind” barefoot on a swinging couch with a glass of Bourbon sitting on the floor as twilight nears.
The house at 93 Walnut St. near PQ park isn’t so romantic. In fact, it appears a developer needed squeeze something less than a Colonial onto a small lot. In 1920, you could still order a bungalow – and East Asian phrase for “a house in the Bengal style” – from the Sears catalogue as they were still a quite popular example of the Arts and Crafts-style. So in it went.
What’s missing here is the prominent, deep front porch typical of the style (A great example of a first-class bungalow in Belmont is located at 72 Cushing Ave. c. 1905, completely renovated in 2007) because the house sits practically on the edge of the sidewalk. Where could you put it? Good-bye, Scarlett.
What it does have is a wonderful recess dormer pointing to a loft space on the second floor.
And it is the interior that reveals the strengths and attraction of this homes. The interesting architectural features go on and on: the pair of columns leading into the “parlor” to delineate common from family space, wooden floors, period molding, a great fire place with a hardwood mantelpiece, built-in hutch and storage and the smart use of space on the second floor. There are some modern turns – the kitchen now has granite tops (shutter!) and the second bathroom has one of those “shower stalls,” so you can be reminded your at the gym.
OK, it’s not what goes for an “average” sized house in town, but it’s quite cosy if you are starting a family and want a first house. All-in-all, a wonderful house.
• • •
If the residential two-family at 65 Oak Ave. just off Trapelo Avenue was being sold on “The Price Is Right,” host Drew Carey wouldn’t have to worry about disqualifying either of the contestants for bidding too much for the property as it appears only two people in the world, the seller and their salesperson, believe the house is valued at more than a million dollars.
Not saying the house isn’t nice; it’s a great late-period Victorian (so it has high ceilings) with a new paint job, new windows and roof along with surviving architectural details such as built-in cabinets and old-fashioned molding. But a million dollars for it?
So when the seller listed the price of the house in the seven figures, they neglected hearing the marketplace yelling “TIMBER!” Here is the grizzly fall of the Oak:
Original List Price:
Sept. 4: $1,075,000
Sept.10: $995,000
Oct. 1: $975,000
Oct. 14: $955,000
Nov. 14: $925,000
Jan. 15: $895,000
A $200,000 plunge from list to actual sales price in just over four months. Ouch.
Emperor Phillips is a big 17-year-old – about six-and-a-half feet tall – who doesn’t look like much would intimate him.
But Phillips, a Belmont High School junior who lives in Boston, admitted he was “real nervous” as he stepped up to speak to an overflow crowd at the Martin Luther King Birthday Breakfast held at the high school’s lunch room.
Brought up by storyteller Sumner McClain, Phillips just wanted the chance to “speak from the heart.”
“I realize I have a lot to be thankful for,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Martin Luther King.”
Three years ago, Phillips attended a high school in Boston where “you entered through a metal detector, and it wasn’t very safe.”
Now at Belmont High School, “I have a solid education,” Phillips said, praising the program established by the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) – which McClain has been a longtime staffer – giving Boston children the opportunity to attend suburban school district.
METCO’s purpose is tied to King’s legacy of equal opportunity in all aspects of life, “and I’m really grateful for,” he said.
Phillips one wish was “that more of my friends could come here and get a good education,” he told the Belmontonian.
Monday marked the 21st annual celebration of the civil rights leader’s birthday, hosted by the Belmont Human Rights Commission and Belmont Against Racism, a commemoration highlighted by the expressions of hope and action during the best attended MLK event in recent memory.
Along with songs, acknowledgments and speeches, it was Phillips and the morning’s keynote speaker, WGBH Senior Investigative Journalist Philip Martin who spoke to the audience’s hopes for the future.
“What if we do nothing” in the face of institutional racism, Martin asked the audience. In a nation that “is sweltering with racial tension in the height of winter” after a year in which several African-American men and teenagers were killed by police officers across the country, “what if we absolutely nothing as the fires rage around us as children ask, ‘Do black lives matter?'”
Martin told the assembled crowd that a public consensus has grown in the past week that “it wasn’t the best way to demonstrate that black lives matter” for more than two dozen protestors to promote their cause by blocking highway I-95 in Boston or Medford to the chagrin of commuters and the public.
“But a young woman I corresponded on Twitter says, ‘What if they did nothing?'” asked Martin. Would anyone, even those commit to changing the system, be discussing black lives in mid-January if not for that direct action?
“And indeed, all lives do matter. No doubt most people believe this sincerely. But subconsciously, some lives matter less than others,” he said, referring to his reporting on the worst of humanity; those who exploit children and women “of all colors and poor” in the slavery known as the human trafficking trade.
Too many times Martin has heard exploiters said the woman “is just a prostitute” while others explain it away since “these people don’t value life at the same level [as we do].'”
“How is it that some lives are valued less than others and what if we do nothing about this?” Martin said, pointing “we lament lives lost in Paris very differently … than in Nigeria.”
A Thai father whose daughter is returned to her home after she was rescued from sexual bondage, “shed tears real and emotional stirring than any in Belmont, as any tears in New York or … Detroit.”
Speaking of Pope Francis’ conversation with a crying 12 year old in Manila who asked why does God allow children to suffer as sex slaves, Martin paused, taken by the emotion of the moment, then said Frances spoke to her with compassion and love.
“He said her life mattered. He humanized the situation. And what if we did nothing about it?” he said.
While all lives matter, Martin said there are attempts to diminish black lives with the “crucibles of imperfection,” that those victims of fatal police shootings were drinking, committing minor illegal acts, not listening to commands quickly enough.
“This crucible … is often what makes white Americans hesitant to take to criticize or take issue, to disagree with what others see at least as questionable behavior,” he noted.
While many communities and individuals in law enforcement “do the right thing, it is the system that has to be re-examined and reworked. And it is up to all of us to decide what to do in our own capacities,” he said.
“If all lives mattered, act like it matters. Behave like it matters. Legislate like it matters, Adjudicate like it matters. Black lives matter only if they truly matter,” he said.
What if King or generations of civil rights leaders had done nothing if it had settled for the normalcy of the time, Martin asked.
“Would there be a [former Gov.] Deval Patrick, a [President] Obama, the young man who was speaking from the heart earlier today?”
And if the consensus is to accept this new normalcy and wait for problems of justice and the judicial system to work themselves out, “tensions will increase and undermine our sense of nation,” he said.
“Do something to make sure that all lives matter.”
