Thieves Target Belmont High End Vehicles With Telling Feature: An Open Side-View Mirror

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A BMW with a power folding side mirror (BMW)

In poker, a “tell” is when a player makes a subtle physical gesture – repeatedly glancing at their cards – that betrays the strength of their hand. A good opponent will quickly jump on what they see and act accordingly to either win the pot or cut their losses.

And it turns out that vehicles – especially the expensive late model kind – have a “tell” of their own, one of which certain unsavory types took the ultimate advantage at the expense of four Belmont households.

According to a media release from the Belmont Police Department released on Aug. 29, unknown perps stole four vehicles from their owner’s property in the final weeks of August. Besides being high end recently built autos, they had one other thing in common: a conveyance that turned out to give a vital detail away to the thieves – that they were unlocked and ready to be stolen.

The tell? The side-view mirrors were in their normal outward position.

“Certain model vehicles that are equipped with side-view mirrors that automatically fold in when the vehicle is locked are being targeted by thieves,” read the report. “The perpetrators drive late at night, scanning the streets for open side-view mirrors. The open mirrors on certain makes and models is a telltale sign that the vehicle is unlocked.”

A popular feature in many models of vehicles – including from Tesla, BMW, Lexus, Cadillac, Ford and Hyundai – power folding side view mirrors can be folded inward to decrease the size of a car, helping to fit a car into tight spaces such as in parking lots, or as a safety feature when driving through an automatic car wash, or parking on a busy street.

But a number of auto owners either are inattentive or careless when parking their vehicles especially at their homes.

Last year, the Fairfield Police, CT twitted that “[i]n certain luxury vehicles side mirrors fold in when the key fob is not in the vehicle. Suppose side mirrors are still open on a parked car. In that case, thieves know the key is in the vehicle, making it an easy theft target, said the Fairfield Police using information from the North Miami, Florida Police Department and the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators.

An informational notice from the North Miami Police Dept.

According to the website locksmithspro, “thieves will either take advantage of this vulnerability and try to steal the car using various engine start tricks or even the key that has also been left behind in the ignition.”

While these incidents are likely the first ones in which vehicles were stolen in Belmont under these circumstances, this theft is becoming better known over the past few years. First seen in Staten Island around 2017, it’s becoming more prevalent along the Jersey shore.

In Avalon, New Jersey, police urged people to lock their vehicles and homes after four luxury cars were stolen a week after the July 4th holiday. Avalon police say a group of suspects wearing masks and gloves stole the vehicles – a Bentley, a Mercedes, a BMW, and a Porsche – between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Three high-end cars were also stolen over the Memorial Day weekend.

Avalon detectives believe the suspects are from the Newark area and drove around before the thefts to scout their targets.

Nor is this just an east coast problem: England is suffering from this US import.

In a recent story in The Telegraph, Dr. Keith Floyd, a former police chief inspector and a criminologist at Huddersfield University, who interviewed convicted car thieves in prison, said most of their thefts stemmed from what participants described as “lazy” motorists failing to lock their cars even when they had valuables inside.

Floyd said opportunistic thieves could easily bypass all the alarms, keyless defenses, and other hi-tech security that car giants have spent millions of pounds developing.

“With many modern cars nowadays, open door mirrors equate in the thief’s mind with an open door because by default, many are set or can be modified by software to close when the car is locked as a lock confirmation. It’s as simple as that. Open door mirrors can be a green light to theft,” said Floyd.

Breaking: Belmont, Region Under Flood Watch ’til 5 PM Tuesday, Sept. 6

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Flood Watch in effect in Belmont

The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Watch for Belmont and communities in eastern Massachusetts that will last until 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Rainfall amounts of three to five inches are expected over much of southern New England with localized amounts of five to seven inches or more.

During this period, flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues to be possible.

Earlier Monday, the NWS issued a Flash Flood Warning for most of northern Massachusetts before downgrading it at 10:47 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 5. A Flash Flood Warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood prone area move immediately to high ground. A Flood Watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It does not mean flooding will occur, but it is possible.

Flooding of small creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses as well as
other poor drainage and low-lying areas is possible and citizens should stay vigilant.

Locations that will experience flash flooding include Belmont, Cambridge, Newton, Somerville, Waltham, Arlington, Watertown, Lexington, Tewksbury, North Andover, Melrose and Saugus.

The NWS warns drivers to “Turn around, don’t drown” when encountering flooded roads. Most flood
deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious in early morning hours when it is harder to recognize the
dangers of flooding.


Belmont Public Schools Opens The Doors On Wed., Sept. 7

By Leave a Comment

Photo: On the way to school

Parents may want to add a sweater to their children’s outfits as temperatures are predicted in the high-50s on the first day of school this Wednesday.

The 2022-3 school year begins at Belmont’s six on Sept. 7 for grades 1-12 with an early release – there will be no lunch – while kindergarteners will be attending school either on the Sept. 8 or 9 with each school communicating the student schedules.

The 2022-2023 school year calendar will provide information regarding religious holidays, school hours and when the vacation break occur.

Free breakfast/lunch continues: On the lunch front, the state has extended the pandemic-based free school meals for all students through the 2022-2023 school year. Every student is eligible to receive one free breakfast and one free lunch each day. All additional meals outside the first breakfast and lunch will be charged along with the school’s current meal rates. 

It should be noted that while every student may get one free breakfast and one free lunch per day, it is still very important for families to complete the household Application for Free and Reduced Price Meals for the 2022-2023 school year. The application can be found on the district website. 

Driving and parking changes at the BMHS: The Belmont Traffic Working Group has issues an update list of information concerning student parking and drop off/pick up news for 2022-2023.

Parents and guardians can continue to pick up and drop off on the campus in front of the high school, and that student parking will remain on Concord Avenue with restrictions on side streets. The biggest change is indicated by new striping that supports new bike lanes along the curb of Concord Avenue so that parking will now be located in a middle section.

Be aware that the traffic on and around Concord Avenue will be very heavy in the morning and afternoons.

Belmont Votes: 2022 In-Person State Primary Election

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The state primary election will be held in Belmont from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6

Voting in the Massachusetts State Primary will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All voters wishing to cast their ballot on Election Day must go to their assigned voting precinct.

This election will determine who will be the Democratic and Republican candidate in the general election. On Ballot: Representative in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Governor’s Council, State Senator, State Representative, District Attorney, Sheriff.

Belmont’s voting precincts:

  • Precinct One: Belmont Memorial Library, Assembly Room, 336 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Two: Belmont Town Hall, Select Board Room 455 Concord Ave.
  • Precinct Three: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Four: Daniel Butler School Gym, 90 White St.
  • Precinct Five: Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.
  • Precinct Six: Belmont Fire Headquarters, 299 Trapelo Rd.
  • Precinct Seven: Burbank School Gym, 266 School St.
  • Precinct Eight: Winn Brook School Gym, 97 Waterhouse Road, Enter From Cross St.

Inactivated Voters

Voters who have been informed that their voting status has been changed to Inactive should be prepared to present identification before being permitted to vote.

If You Requested a Vote By Mail Ballot But Prefer to Vote In Person

Voters who have requested an absentee or an early vote by mail ballot should expect that the precinct will check with the Town Clerk to determine if a ballot has already been received for that voter.

Voters who Need to Return their Mailed Ballot for Counting

Any voter who would like to return a absentee or vote by mail ballot  to be counted, must return the ballot  to the Town Clerk by the close of polls on election night, 8 pm.  It cannot be delivered to a voting precinct. There is a dedicated drop box for the Town Clerk at the base of the steps to Town Hall along the driveway at parking lot level.

What’s Open/Closed On Labor Day In Belmont; Trash Collection Pushed Back A Day

By Leave a Comment

Photo: One of the 12 Forever stamps titled “Made in America: Building a Nation” issued by the USPS in August 2013.

While most of the rest of the world celebrates workers on May 1, here in the US, Labor Day is held on the first Monday in September which makes it the last long weekend of summer.

[Peter J. McGuire, who founded the United Brotherhood of Carpenters in 1881, said the date was chosen because it fell roughly halfway between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.]

It’s one of ten holidays recognized by the federal government (France has 15 including the month of August), although the feds don’t require employers to pay workers for this holiday. Businesses traditionally provide their employees with a paid holiday as part of a benefits package because most other employers do the same.

Trash and recycling collection is delayed ONE DAY due to the holiday: If your pickup day is Monday, this week it will be collected on Tuesday, etc.

Closed:

Belmont Town offices, the Belmont Public Library and Belmont Light are closed.

• US Postal Service offices and regular deliveries.

• Banks; although branches will be open in some supermarkets.

• MBTA: See www.mbta.com for details.

What’s Opened:

• Retail stores

• Coffee shops; Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are open.

• Supermarkets

• Convenience stores and,

• Establishments that sell beer and wine are also allowed to be open.

Belmont, SEIU Come To Agreement; Three Unions Remain in Negotiations

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A successful agreement was signed Monday between the town and one of the municipal union (Twitter, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Belmont Select Board approved a collective bargaining agreement with the union representing town staff and library assistants at its Aug. 29 meeting.

Belmont’s Human Resources Director Shawna Healey said the three-year contract with SEIU Local 888 is retroactive to July 1, 2020 and will continue to June 30, 2023. The contract includes a cost of living adjustment in each fiscal year of two percent and language changes from the previous contract such as changing the holiday in October from Columbus Day to Indiginous People’s Day while also adopting the BRAVE Act – paid time off for days spent on military orders – for its employees.

The union members will also receive a one-time payment to recognize employees that worked through the Covid-19 epidemic from March 2020 to March 2021 with those mostly working “on-site” will get $1,000 and those working hybrid will take home $500.

Three union contracts continue to be negotiated, said Healey. Both the firefighters and the patrol officers have been working under contracts that ended on June 30, 2020 while the Belmont Library Association’s contract expired on June 30, 2022.

Belmont’s HR Director Proves Thomas Wolfe Wrong By Taking Same Post In Hometown Of Woburn

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Shawna Healey

For Shawna Healey, there were 500 reasons Belmont’s Human Resources Director will be leaving for the same position in Woburn.

The 500 is the distance in feet she’ll be traveling from the end of her driveway to the Woburn Town Hall when she begins her new job as its HR director in mid-October.

And with a 10-month-old son and an opportunity to work where she’s lived most her life, “it’s a life balance decision,” Healey told the Select Board at its Aug. 29 meeting. Healey’s final day will be Oct. 7.

“I’m fortune enough to have the opportunity to work in my hometown where I grew up and where I still live,” she said.

“I’m sorry to see you go but I can’t compete with being 500 feet from work,” said Board Member Adam Dash, who along with the rest of the board praised Healey for her work in finalizing at time contensious union contracts.

A graduate (BA) of St. Amselm College and (MBA) Southern New Hampshire University, Healey arrived in Belmont in September 2017 as assistant to than HR Head Jessica Porter. She became acting director in October 2020 before being named director in March 2021.

Select Board Seeks Quick Action Transforming Treasurer’s Position To Appointed Post As Carman Appears Ready To Depart

By 1 Comment

Photo: Floyd Carman, Belmont’s town treasurer

The Belmont Select Board is set to move quickly to implement one of the major reforms called for in a scathing review of the town’s governmental structure by converting the critical Town Treasurer’s position from an elected post to an appointed one as it takes advantage of the reported retirement of long-term incumbent Floyd Carman.

The board’s announcement, made at its Aug. 29 meeting, has quickly elevated the revamping of the treasurer’s job to the most pressing of the 19 recommendations from the Collins Center’s review now before the three members.

“With [Carman] not running again, this is our chance to make the change,” said Board Member Adam Dash.

The select board’s unconfirmed announcement that Carman is retiring after 17-plus years in the position came as a surprise as Carman has not made his future plans public. When reached for comment, Carman said he’ll discuss his future after Labor Day.

First elected in 2005, the former John Hancock executive has been lauded by town officials and residents for his fiscal acumen, resulting in the town’s top-tier AAA bond rating – rare among municipalities – while negotiating debt servicing that provided savings to ratepayers.

With Carman now expected not to seek re-election in April 2023, the Select Board decided to move quickly to meet a major Collins Center recommendation to overhaul the position into an appointed post. The board believes, along with the Center, the town will benefit from a larger pool of qualified applicants as is done by nearly 80 percent of large towns and cities in Massachusetts which appoints their chief fiscal leaders.

“I think we got really lucky last time around that we were able to have [Carman] interested [in the position],” said Ellen Schreiber, who commented on the proposal. “And I don’t think that it’s going to be very easy to find a Belmont resident who has these qualifications.”

‘The most important issue we’re facing’

“I would put almost everything else in the report on hold … with the exception of the budget process, but far and away the treasurer question is the most important issue we’re facing,” said the Board’s Roy Epstein.

The race to transform the treasurer’s post is twofold: the treasurer will have a critical hand in how the town – which Warrant Committee Chair Geoff Lubien compared to a large corporation in its financial complexity – implements the budgetary and fiscal changes the Collins Center addressed.

“I think that the financial situation of the town is much, much more complicated than it was years ago,” said Schreiber, who said the treasurer’s post is “a professional position” which needs to be filled by someone who has made a career in the field.

Second, the transformation will need to take place before the 2023 Town Election in April, or a newly-elected treasurer will be on the job for three-years before the town will have the opportunity to make an appointment.

The board initially supported a plan where the appointed Treasurer’s position would be placed on the Special Town Meeting warrant which will open on Sept. 12. The measure would be brought to the STM in mid-November for members to debate and vote followed by a town-wide election in January. This will than allow the town to begin the hiring process for a new treasurer before the annual Town Meeting in May.

But the board’s blueprint was put on hold when the enabling legislation was unclear on what body – the annual town meeting or the voters – has the final say. The board will seek Town Counsel George Hall’s advice on the correct path to meet its goal.

Even with a plausible framework to move the treasurer’s position to an appointed post before the Town Election, Board Chair Mark Paolillo noted the move will be “a very controversial issue with immediate resistance in town” and it will need time to “socialize” the public on the need for a change.

“Do we have enough time to help folks provide input to us about this even though we may be unanimous on this and then have an election in January?” he said.

Town Moderator Michael Widmer, who attended the meeting to provide advice, said the board should proceed with its initiative even if it’s done in “at an accelerated timeframe,” noting the town is attempting to follow up on the recommendations “as expeditiously as possible.” If someone is elected to the treasurer’s post before the change is made, it will delay the Collins Center’s guidance by three years, which Epstein said “would be very unfortunate.”

If a January vote a possibility, “I would like to see all of us hold hands together on this and have a unified front saying ‘this is what we think is best for the town,” said Lubien. “I think it’s going to take that to convince folks that this is the right change at the right time.”

Early Voting For Primary Election Underway In Belmont, Ends Sept. 6

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont Town Hall is open for voting business

Early election balloting is currently underway in Belmont for the state primary election taking place on Tuesday, Sept. 6. There is no advanced application required to beat the rush on Sept. 6.

Early voting began on Saturday, Aug. 27 at Town Hall (the only location being used for early voting) and will continue until Noon, Friday, Sept. 2.

The hours for early voting are:

  • Monday, Aug. 29, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Thursday, Sept. 1, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Friday, Sept. 2, 8 a.m. to Noon.

Mail-in ballots are also being received at Town Hall. According to Town Clerk Ellen Cushman, 3,600 of Belmont’s nearly 18,000 registered voters sought to vote via mail. They also can place their mail-in ballots into the secure dropbox at the Town Hall entrance. Cushman asks that mail-in voters to send their ballots in asap to avoid missing the Tuesday, Sept. 6 deadline.

Residents who will be out-of-town on Sept. 6, gave a religious or medical reason why they can’t come to their polling station can ask for an absentee ballot.

And voters who prefer the traditional method can show up at their local precinct between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Bring your ID to the polling station; you may be asked for it if you didn’t fill out the annual town census.

•Are you already registered to vote in Massachusetts? Check the website below to confirm whether you are registered and where you are registered. www.sec.state.ma.us/voterregistrationsearch/

•If you are not already registered or you need to change your address and you have a valid Massachusetts Driver’s License or ID Card, you can register to vote online. You must be a U.S. citizen and at least 18 years old on Sept. 6. Go to www.RegistertoVoteMA.com. Paper forms are available in the Town Clerk’s office.

Rats Are Back! What To Do When You Spot A Rodent, Also Advice To Rat Proof Your Property

By 1 Comment

Photo: Rats are back in Belmont; what to do when you see a rodent?

Rats! They’re back – well, never really left. But residents around town including in Precinct 7’s Harvard Garden neighborhood have reported an uptick in the the rodents scurrying around houses and in yards in the past months.

Geoff Lubien of Unity Avenue told the Select Board at its Aug. 15 meeting his Harvard Lawn neighborhood is experiencing ”a significant rat issue” and heard that ”other pockets” of town have similar problems.

“If they are active in the day, it means they feel safe and comfy” being in the environs they are occupying, said Lubien, who said the visitors had cleaned out his left over grass seed in his garage which has never happened in 15 years.

The Warrant Committee Chair asked if the town could issue a public service announcement to provide information on mitigating what brings rats to an area of town.

In the past week, the town and the Health Department has issued a pamphlet with a pair of messages for residents: a list of sources that provide a comfy home for your rodent co-inhabitants as well as a process mapping diagram on what to do when the rats show up (see the diagram below).

First thing to do is inspect the exterior of your house; be on the look out for:

  • Rat burrows (holes in the ground 2-4 inches wide),
  • pathways,
  • droppings,
  • oily smudge mark on walls, and
  • hearing them scurry in your walls or attics.

There are three sources that rats need to live in your neighborhood: food, water and shelter.

  • Food: Household garbage (secure it), pet food (bring it indoors), bird seed, and your vegetable garden and shrubs with fruit or berries (remove what’s close to the ground.
  • Water: Remove standing water including bird baths, pet water bowls. Repair leaks from hoses, faucets and gutters.
  • Shelter: Get rid of clutter and rubbish, cut overgrown grass, remove building material.

The pamphlet also advised that trying to poison rats is extremely harmful to wildlife that are the rodents’ predators such as hawks, raccoons, coyotes and foxes.

Or just get a cat.