Snow Parking Ban Begins Midnight Monday; Belmont Under Winter Storm Warning

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Snow falling for most of the morning Monday.

A Winter Storm Warning issued by the National Weather Service on Sunday, March 3, has prompted Belmont to announce a town-wide parking ban effect at midnight, Monday, March 4. 

No information as of 3 p.m., Sunday, March 3, whether Belmont public schools will be delayed or closed on Monday.

According to Ted Pendergast, Belmont Police’s 911 Operations Manager, a Snow Emergency Parking Ban will be in effect on all roadways, as well as in municipal and Belmont public school parking lots, until further notice.  Any vehicle parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense. 

In addition to the parking ban, trash pickup will be delayed one day. Monday’s pickup is now Tuesday.

The NWS is forecasting between 6 to 8 inches of heavy snow beginning at 7 p.m., Sunday and lasting to 10 a.m. Monday. Travel could be very difficult especially around the morning commute.

Snow Emergency Parking Ban Starts At 8 PM Tuesday

By Leave a Comment

Photo: 

The midweek snow storm coming through Belmont has caused the town to ban public parking for Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, according to a town-issued press release.

“There will be a SNOW EMERGENCY Parking Ban on all roadways, as well as in municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots, effective at 8pm, Tuesday, Feb. 12, until further notice.”  

“All vehicles parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.”

Belmont’s First ‘Fix It Clinic’ Help Residents With Phone, Electronics Repairs

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Repairs being made at a recent Fix-It Clinic event at Jamaica Plain. (Courtesy Paul Roberts)

By Paul F. Roberts

On Saturday, Feb. 9, Belmont will join a growing list of towns in Massachusetts and around the country hosting repair clinics to help residents and other community members extend the use of electronics, home appliances and even furniture and clothing.

Belmont’s first Fix-It Clinic will run from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Belmont Public Library on Concord Avenue. Repair coaches will be available to share their time, tools and expertise to help residents diagnose, troubleshoot and repair all manner of non-functioning items.

“Sustainable Belmont is pleased to collaborate with Belmont Public Library to bring the first in a series of Fix-It Clinics to Belmont,” said Terese Hammerle, the chair of Sustainable Belmont. “Not only do you save money, but we keep stuff from becoming trash.  Waste not; want not. It’s still true!”

The Fix-it Clinic is a family event, Hammerle said. “Curious people of all ages are welcome.”

Repair coaches will bring their tools and know-how to help residents
 repair smart phones, home electronics and appliances - even clothing

Residents can bring small appliances to be repaired, clothing and textiles to be altered or mended, small furniture, wooden items, and anything else in need of fixing, said Hammerle. Walk-ins are welcome, but residents are strongly encouraged to register their item beforehand so that repair coaches know what to expect. An online form is available for registering repair items at https://goo.gl/K3Vkmc

“If you can carry it into the library, our expert fixers will coach you in assessment and repair of your item,” Hammerle said.

Director Peter Struzziero said the library “is proud to partner with Sustainable Belmont to offer this program for patrons of all ages. This is a great opportunity to partner with citizens and offer this service. We hope it’s just the beginning of other tech programming still being developed!”

Fix-it clinics are part of a grassroots repair movement that is gaining traction in both the US and Europe. With electronic waste the fastest growing waste stream globally, advocates say repair clinics are a way to extend the life of electronics.

“We need to take on our throwaway culture, and turn it on its head – and the first step is empower repair,” said Arlington resident Nathan Proctor, director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair efforts. “Community repair helps us build a culture of repair that challenges the idea that everything is disposable and they make it fun.

Residents who have questions about the Fix-it clinic can email: fix-it@sustainablebelmont.net.

Paul Roberts is a Town Meeting Member from Precinct 8.

Honoring Coach Lyons, From A Player And Coach Who Knows Him Best

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A collage of memories with Coach Paul Lyons.

by Adam Pritchard
Varsity Boys Basketball Coach
Belmont High School

In 1978, I first started my career in Belmont Basketball when as a third grader I was signed up for the Belmont Youth Basketball Association.  It was in its second year of existence and I fell in love with the sport. In those years following, my mom was running a needlepoint store in Belmont Center. Saturdays I would get dropped on at the high school with a bag lunch and told: “I’ll pick you up around 5:30.” Maybe it was free babysitting for her, but for me, it was the place I looked forward to hanging out at all week.

That summer, after playing organized basketball for the first time, my mom signed me up for a summer camp at Belmont High school run by the Varsity Coach Paul Lyons. It was then that I met one of the most influential people I would ever meet. I can’t say I remember much, memories are fleeting and have their own life, but I do remember coach saying my name and having me demonstrate a shooting form drill with some of the older high school players. I remember being told to “reach up into the cookie jar” and “keep your eyes on the rim.” Its hard to put to words the feelings that go into a moment like that, but I know it made me proud and wanting to work towards improving. I wanted to be part of Belmont Basketball. I wanted to hear Lyons call my name out on that court again.

DONATIONS APPRECIATED
Anyone interested in supporting this event and 
the Coach Paul Lyons Scholarship fund can follow the link below.Thanks!
Coach Lyons Court/Scholarship Fund

Following that camp, I committed to basketball. It was a love and the thing I wanted to do more than anything else.  It was my passion and that court was my home.  The court is where I tried out for Varsity.  Its where Coach Lyons met with me to tell me I was cut as a sophomore (a very difficult day).  It’s also where I was named a Varsity player as a junior (a great day),  named me captain as a senior when the other captain (my best friend) got injured.  Its where Coach told me why I wasn’t starting and later told me that I would start.  Its where I learned countless phrases like “success is a journey, not a destination” and “we over me,” “there is no ‘I’ in team” and “be a helper.” It’s where Belmont High School players for 25 years, in practice, would make a steal, an assist, a score, a rebound, or anything positive and here coach boom out… “NICE PLAY!”

Lyons introduced me as freshman coach in 1991, providing me a start in coaching and tutelage to work for one of the finest basketball minds I have ever met. His knowledge of the game was (and is) unparalleled and his teachings of sportsmanship and playing with integrity have been an example for countless players who had the opportunity to play on his teams.  As an assistant, I witnessed the care, precision, preparation, and fairness through which he helped develop players.  He was a master coach.

The Main Court is where I have had the privilege of coaching the Belmont High Boys Varsity for the past 19 years. As varsity coach, I have seen the lasting impact of Paul’s coaching on alumni, current players, and those kids who have been lucky enough to have him as a youth coach in recent years. Every year, I open the season with a call or calls to Lyons – his wife will verify if you need it.  Those calls continue throughout the season because the one thing I know is that I have the greatest resource a coach could ever have and I have so, so much more to learn still. More importantly, the blessings of his mentoring have only been exceeded but his generosity and friendship.

Simply put, I’m a very fortunate coach.

Proudly, with great thanks to the Belmont School Committee, and the support of our Marauder Basketball Association, The Belmont Youth Basketball Association, the Belmont Boosters, the Belmont High School Athletic Department staff, and thousands of basketball players, girls and boys alike who have played BYBA and for Belmont High School, I am honored to be able to coach the inaugural game on Friday, February 8, at 7:30 p.m. vs. Reading Memorial High School, on “COACH LYONS COURT”.

It will be one one of my most cherished moments as a Belmont coach and I hope you are there to share it with me.

春 節: Belmont Chinese American Association Holds New Year Celebration At Chenery

By 1 Comment

Photo: Chao Tu, Adam Dash, May Ye, Xia Zhou, and Sharon Wei at the Belmont Chinese American Association Gala Lunar New Year Celebration.

The Belmont Chinese American Association‘s Gala Lunar New Year Celebration took place at the Chenery  Middle School on Sunday, Jan. 27.

(The Chinese New Year begins on Tuesday, Feb. 5, which is the Year of the Pig, and lasts until Feb. 19.)

The celebration included a Chinese Cultural Festival in the cafeteria. There were small stage performances include a tea ceremony, lantern riddle, hand-crafts, paper cutting, calligraphy, Peking Opera costumes, Hanfu, Sugar Figure Blowing Art, Chinese specialty snacks, musical instruments display, and experiences.
The festivities concluded with a Lunar New Year Performance in the Chenery auditorium. 

Get Your Free Tixs Now For Third Annual ‘Talk Of The Town’ Tuesday, March 19

By 1 Comment

Photo: Meet Belmont.
It’s here! The third annual MEET BELMONT Talk of the Town will be held on Tuesday, March 19 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Chenery Middle School Auditorium.
This yearly community event showcases the diverse and cutting-edge work and views of Belmont residents through presentations that model after the TED Talk format. The event attracts approximately 400 residents each year and is available for viewing on the Belmont Media Center community channels.
This year’s lineup includes:

HOST: Jane Clayson Johnson, Journalist and author

PRESENTERS:

  • Leah Hager Cohen: author and Barrett Professor of Creative Writing, College of the Holy Cross
  • Gianna Burgess: Student, Chenery Middle School
  • Amanda Fernandez: Founder and CEO, Latinos for Education
  • Brianna Liu: Student, Belmont High School
  • Deb Roy: Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Co-founder and Chair of Cortico

MEET BELMONT Talk of the Town 2019 is presented by the MEET BELMONT Committee with generous support from the Town of Belmont, and is co-sponsored by Belmont Public Schools, with Belmont Books as the book partner and public safety partner the Belmont Police Department. 

Reset: Belmont World Film’s Family Festival Movies Moves To Saturday, Jan. 27

By Leave a Comment

Photo: A scene from “The Witch Hunters”

See the New England premieres of two award-winning international films for children, from China and  Serbia, at Belmont World Film’s Family Festival taking place at the West Newton Cinema (1296 Washington St.) on Saturday, Jan. 27 (both have been rescheduled due to cancellation from this past weekend’s storm). Both films also feature English subtitles that will be read aloud through headphones for young readers.

Both films are co-presented by the ReelAbilities Boston Film Festival. ​​For more info, visit www.belmontworldfilm.org​.​​​

Officially On The Hook: Selectmen Approve Bonding For New 7-12 School

By Leave a Comment

Photo: The latest from Perkins + Will architects, facing Clay Pit Pond.

There was the debate, the vote by residents, the approval of Town Meeting. And on Monday, Jan. 7, the Belmont Board of Selectmen made it official in a five-minute signing: the town’s taxpayers are now on the hook to pay for the new 7-12 school building set to open five years down the road.

And the final dollar amount that’s on Belmont’s bill was calculated by Town Accountant Floyd Carman at (drum roll, please) $212,764,911. 

That number is the difference of the total project cost set by the architect Perkins + Will and general contractor Skanska at $295,159,189, subtracting $1,750,000 approved by Town Meeting last year for preliminary design and $80,644,278 in a state grant approved by the town’s partner, the Massachusetts School Building Authority, on Aug. 29, 2018. 

If for whatever reason, the project expenses overrun the projected cost, the selectmen will be required to seek the additional funds from Town Meeting, a prospect Carman believes would not be an enjoyable one. 

Carman told the selectmen the town is set to make its first borrowing of $100 million in March which taxpayers will see in February 2020. The second borrowing for $85 million will take place in March 2021 with its impact felt in February 2021. The final short-term borrowing of $27 million will be in March 2021. The borrowing will hike taxes on a $1 million home by $1,800 in February 2022.

Town Clerk Sends Winn Brook Girl Scouts … To Jail!

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Adam Dash, Ellen Cushman and Patrice Garvin with Brownies Troop 72470.

Descending the backstairs from the Town Hall auditorium, Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman walked slowly in front of the youngsters, leading them all to … jail! Carrying the big brass key to open the cell’s heavy metal door, Cushman was about to introduce the group to Belmont’s cooler, pen, slammer, poky and Sing Sing.

While the moderate-sized room was once the town’s Hoosegow, the Winn Brook Brownies Troop 72470 weren’t being incarcerated but now visiting what today is the location of files and office equipment kept by the town.

The nearly two dozen girls along with a half dozen parents paid a call to the Town Hall as part of a badge requirement on government. Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Adam Dash discussed how Belmont is run, the differences of a town and city and other interesting facts while Town Administrator Patrice Garvin spoke on how just a few years previously, there weren’t that many women in her position and how today’s Brownies will help change that.

Besides throwing the kids into the town’s “clink”, Cushman showed them the town auditorium – once the home of Town Meeting – and described how her office is the local record keeper, showing them documents of 100 years ago.

Now There Are Two: Warrant Committee’s Epstein Pulls Selectman Papers

By Leave a Comment

Photo: Roy Epstein

It didn’t take long for the race to fill the open seat on the Board of Selectmen to became a real contest.

Warrant Committee Chair Roy Epstein picked up nomination papers at the Town Clerk’s Office on Friday morning, Jan. 11, two days after Town Meeting member Jessica Bennett obtained hers, setting up a particularly interesting town election with two – for now – possible candidates with strong views on the direction the town should take.

A well-known member of numerous boards, working groups and committees – he currently serves on four and sat on five others in the past – the 24 year resident touts his extensive knowledge working on the financial and policy nuts and bolts of Belmont’s town government.

“Why me?  I have the professional background and actual town experience that has an unmatched record of solving the hardest problems and saving the town millions of dollars,” said the adjunct professor of finance at Boston College who earned a PhD in Economics for Yale after matriculating at Wesleyan University.

“I think I will do the best job for the town as a whole. I will continue to be an independent, reliable voice and will always welcome public input from everyone; left, right, or center,” said Epstein who lives with his family on Cushing Avenue.

(The Belmontonian will conduct detailed interviews with all candidates after nominations close on Feb. 12).