The Three Belmont Phone Numbers You’ll Need During the Nor’easter

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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.

  1. The Belmont Department of Public Work’s Snow Emergency Hotline: 617-993-2698.
  2. To report a power outage to Belmont Light, call 617-993-2800. Do not call 911.
  3. After the storm has ended, if you have a question about street cleaning and other issues, call the Belmont Public Works Highway Division at 617-993-2600.

Latest Nor’easter Update: Yup, A Big, Bad Blizzard Heading to Belmont

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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.

This Weekend: Stings and Ivory in Concert Saturday – But Call First

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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:

  • Gardel: Por Una Cabeza
  • Wallace: pale reflections …
  • Dvorak: String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, “American”

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.

Snowy Saturday: Winter Storm Watch Issued for Belmont

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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.



Belmont’s MLK Breakfast: Act for Change to Make All Lives Matter
 

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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.”


		
		


This (Short) Week: Visit the Savannah and Journey 100 Feet in a Movie
 

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• On the government side of the week: The Belmont School Committee meets on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School to discuss among other things, budgets; present and future. The Belmont Water Advisory Board will talk about this year’s and next fiscal years capital projects on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. at 35 Woodland St.


• Remember that street side trash and recycling has been delayed one day due to the MLK Holiday.


• Tuesdays are story time at both of Belmont libraries. Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex. Over at the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2’s and 3’s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 


• U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark’s staff will be holding office hours on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Beech Street Center. 


• Join Earthwatch volunteer Mark Hopkins for a photographic visit to the savannahs of South Africa, and his hikes through scenic Thornveld landscapes accompanied by an armed Zulu ranger, counting wild rhino, giraffe, buffalo, elephant and a dozen other large mammal species. The journey takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.




• The Belmont Garden Club will hear from Suzanne Mahler on “Architectural Plants for the Summer Garden on Wednesday, Jan. 21 in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. Light refreshments will be served at 10 a.m. with the program beginning at 10:45 a.m. 


• The Belmont Book Discussion Group will discuss Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson on Wednesday, Jan. 21 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the library’s Flett Room. Everyone is welcome to attend. Copies of the book can be requested through the library catalog or call the library Reference staff at 617-993-2870.


• The Beech Street Center will be screening the film, The Hundred-Foot Journey, on Friday, Jan. 23, at 1 p.m. The Golden Globe award-winning comedy stars Helen Mirren, and produced by Stephen Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey. An Indian family opens a restaurant directly opposite Mirren’s Michelin-starred establishment in France. Culinary and cultural “wars” ensue.


• The Belmont Public Library’s OTAKUrabu program, which is meeting on Friday, Jan. 23 from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the library’s Assembly Room, lets teens from 7th to 12th grade meet up to watch anime, talk manga and games, do a craft/activity, and plan for future events. Japanese snacks provided free while they last. Just drop in, no registration required. Sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.


• The Belmont Art Association and unCommon Finds, 432 Common St., is holding an artists reception on Friday, Jan. 23  from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., in conjunction with The Spirited Gourmet, 448 Common St., wine tasting (from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) for BAA artists, Dennis Kavanagh and Namoi Ellenberg-Dukas. A coupon for dessert (with two entrees purchased) at Savino’s Grill will be available at reception.


Come Support Belmont High in the Audience at High School Quiz Show this Saturday
 

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This Saturday, students from Belmont High School will go toe-to-toe with their contemporaries from Shrewsbury High in the first round of this year’s WGBH’s High School Quiz Show!


Thomas Zembowicz, Rahul Ramakrishnan, Clare Lai, Lucas Jenkins, and Sai Sriraman will begin taping in front of a studio audience on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 3 p.m. at WGBH’s studio at 1 Guest St. in Brighton. 


Students and residents can reserve FREE tickets to the taping at http://www.wgbh.org/quizshow/


The BHS quintet will be competing in season six of High School Quiz Show after scoring in the top 16 out of 120 teams from across the state in a fierce tryout at the WGBH studios on Nov. 16.


“The students did a phenomenal job. The breadth of knowledge they collectively possess is extraordinary,” said BHS science teacher Stacy Williams who is the team’s faculty advisor/leader/cheerleader.


The High School Quiz Show is a single-elimination tournament with qualifying matches; quarterfinals, semifinals, and a state championship match. The team that wins the tournament goes on as Massachusetts state champion to compete in the third annual Governor’s Cup Challenge, a “winner-take-all” matchup against the winning school of Granite State Challenge, New Hampshire’s public television show. This year the Governor’s Cup challenge will be hosted by WGBH.


The show will premiere on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m. on WGBH 2. The show is hosted by local radio and television personality Billy Costa.


Questions? Contact Williams at sawilliams@belmont.k12.ma.us


This Weekend: Belmont World Film’s Family Film Festival, Giraffes in the Library, Photos and Book Sale
 

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• You know that “Giraffes Can’t Dance!” This Saturday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., you’ll learn why when you and your children join Belmont’s Powers Music School faculty members – Vanessa Schukis, narration; Kathy Rosenbach, piano; Ellery Klein, violin; Erica Klein, cello; Todd Brunel, clarinet – at the Belmont Public Library for this free original musical story performance that feature live music and age-appropriate stories for children. These interactive programs are specifically developed for children ages 3 and up, but all ages are welcome to attend.


• This holiday weekend, the Belmont World Film is holding its 12th annual Family Film Festival for children and young teens. The festivities start Friday, Jan. 16 and runs to Monday, Jan. 19 at Arlington’s Regent Theatre, (7 Medford St., Arlington) and Jan. 17 and 18 at the West Newton Cinema, (1296 Washington St., West Newton.)


In honor of the event’s 12th year, the festival will feature and premiere a dozen animated and live action film programs from Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland as well as a tribute to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Martin Luther King Day, Monday, Jan. 19.


Opening night, Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Regent Theatre will be the East Coast premiere of “Captain Sabertooth and the Lama Rama Treasure,” a thrilling yet funny live action film set in the 18th century that features a band of clever pirates — both male and female — led by Captain Sabertooth, as well as a group of children who demonstrate courage, shrewdness and vigor (recommended for age 6-15). Prizes will be awarded for attendees with the best pirate costumes.


Individual tickets are $5 for programs that are 60 minutes or less and $8 for programs that are longer. Full festival passes are $40, and day passes are $20. Tickets are available in advance online at belmontworldfilm.org or in person at the box office on the day of show. For full film descriptions and more information, visit belmontworldfilm.org or call 617-484-3980.


• Come to the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, on Saturday, Jan. 17 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., for the library’s monthly book sale. The books are gently used and reasonably priced. All proceeds benefit the Benton. Browse the regular collection. The Library, which is open the third Saturday afternoon of every month, is located at 75 Oakley Rd.


• The exhibit “Photovoice: A Lens into our Lives,” continues at the Belmont Gallery of Art this weekend and through Jan. 29.  The exhibit showcases more than 30 photographic and text-based works made by individuals enrolled in photography and creative writing workshops at Waverley Place, the Community Program of McLean Hospital. The gallery will be open on Fri., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The Belmont Gallery of Art on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex.


This Week: Lots of Authors and Speakers and a Trip to See the Harvard Rothkos
 

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• A quiet week on the government side: the Belmont Conservation Commission will discuss an application for keeping bees at Rock Meadow while there will be an update of the construction of the Underwood Pool by Town Administrator David Kale at the Recreation Commission. Both meetings are at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Town Hall. There will be an update on the off-leash program (that’s for dogs) at the Board of Health meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall. The Community Preservation Committee will be review the final application for grants at its meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at 5 p.m. at Town Hall.


• Author Richard Primack will speak on his book Walden Warming:  Climate Change Comes to Thoreau’s Woods, as part of the Belmont Public Library’s Books and Bites program on Monday, Jan. 12 at 11 a.m. A Boston University professor and Newton native,  Primack searched for evidence of climate change at Concord’s Walden Pond, made famous by Henry David Thoreau. Primack tells the deeply instructive story of the challenges he and his dedicated graduate students faced during the past decade as they identified the many plants that have disappeared since Thoreau’s time and those which are flowering earlier in successive years as spring temperatures rise. All are welcome to attend this free program.  Refreshments will be provided.  Books will be available for purchase and signing.


• Tuesday, Jan. 13 is story time at both of Belmont libraries. Pre-School Story Time at the Benton Library, Belmont’s independent and volunteer run library, at 10:30 a.m. Stories and crafts for children age 3 to 5. Parents or caregivers must attend. Siblings may attend with adults. Registration is not required. The Benton Library is located at the intersection of Oakley and Old Middlesex. Over at the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue will be holding two sessions of Story Time for 2’s and 3’s, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. 


• Photographer Carole Smith Berney will present a multimedia show with images and music at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 1:15 p.m. as she shares the surprising variety of the local natural world, including colorful flowers, autumnal fruits, and even winter wonders. Berney’s photography exhibit, “Seasonal Colors,” is currently featured at the Center. 


• The Friends of the Belmont Public Library welcomes author Adam Tanner who will speak on his book, What Stays in Vegas: The World of Personal Data – Lifeblood of Big Business – and the End of Privacy As We Know It, at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at the Belmont Public Library. Tanner takes readers beyond the headlines of national government snooping to unveil how private businesses are gathering personal data on multitudes of individuals every day. Books will be available for purchase and signing.


• Dr. Jolene Ross of the Foundation for Wellness Professionals will speak on “Natural Solution to Executive Function Struggles and ADHD,” on Wednesday, Jan. 14 at  7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library. All are welcome to attend this free program.


• The Council on Aging will be visiting the newly-opened Harvard University Art Museum on Thursday, Jan. 15 with the bus leaving Belmont at 9:30 A.M. and returning at 1:30 p.m. The cost is $17; $13 for admissions plus $4 for the bus transportation. Harvard spent six years renovating their Quincy Street space, incorporating three of its existing museums. The result is exquisite. Current exhibits include the famous Mark Rothko (restored) Harvard murals and bronzes from the Mediterranean and ancient Near East.


• The Book Discussion Group for Lower Middle School students in 5th and 6th grades will take place on Thursday, Jan. 15 from 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.


• The Belmont Stormwater Working Group meeting will take place on Thursday, Jan. 15, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. 


• State Sen. Will Brownsberger will be holding office hours at the Beech Street Center at 10 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16.


• Well-loved local musician Liz Buchanan performs original songs and traditional favorites at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 16, in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. 


This Weekend: Chamber Music, Snapshots and Flying Nelsons
 

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• The Powers Music School is holding the 2015 Stein Chamber Music Festival on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 5 p.m., at All Saints’ Church, 17 Clark St.  The festival is a musical celebration that gives area musicians an opportunity to perform and enjoy chamber music. The festival includes music of all genres performed by musicians of all ages, ranging in abilities from beginning students to amateurs and professionals.


• The 14th annual Brendan Grant Wrestling Tournament is taking place on Saturday Jan. 10 from noon to 6 p.m. at Belmont High School’a Wenner Field House.  Last year thirteen high school wrestling teams competed in this all day tournament.  Previously referred to as the Belmont Invitational Wrestling Tournament, for the last 34 years this event has become one of the classic High School Wrestling gatherings of its kind in the Northeast region with approximately 600 attendees throughout the day.


• The Belmont Gallery of Art is presenting for its latest exhibit, “Photovoice: A Lens into Our Lives,” on Sunday, Jan. 11 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The gallery is located on the third floor of the Homer Building in the Town Hall complex at 19 Moore St.