‘World’s Worst Mom’ Comes to Belmont Monday to Talk about Raising Free-Range Children

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Photo: Lenore Skenazy
In 2008, Lenore Skenazy gave her nine-year-old son, Izzy, a subway map, a MetroCard, $20, and several quarters, left him in midtown Manhattan and let him ride the New York City subway and a bus home … alone! Then she shared the event in her New York Sun column. You can only guess the reaction; Skenazy was called “crazy,” was accused of child abuse and was soon reported nationwide.
For Skenazy, the incident began a conversation on how parents are “swimming in fear soup” raising their children. While “it’s hard not to worry when all we hear about are the dangers posed by bullies, germs, predators, plastic, and the perils of a non-organic grape,” Skenazy tells parents that there is way to “raise safe, self-reliant children without going nuts with worry.” Her Free-Range Kids is a commonsense approach to parenting in these overprotective times.
Keeping with her philosophy, Skenazy is sponsoring the fifth annual “Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day” on May 9.
This “Free Range” method of parenting made the news in December when police and state children welfare official investigated Danielle and Alexander Meitiv for let their two children, 10 and 6, walk a mile home through Silver Spring, Maryland, alone. The outcry against the state’s intervention has actually crossed political line with support from Bill Mahr and Fox News Kennedy.
Belmont After School Enrichment Collaborative presents a free talk, “How Did We Get So Afraid For Our Kids; A Hilarious Talk With Free-Range Founder Lenore Skenazy” on Monday, April 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chenery Middle School Auditorium.

Sponsored in part by Belmont Savings Bank Foundation.

This Week: Preparing for Town Meeting, Planting Party, Gallery Talk

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Photo: Get your plants started now.

On the government side of “This Week”:

  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen and the Belmont School Committee will be holding a joint meeting at 8 a.m. on Monday, April 26, in Town Hall to discuss the fiscal 2016 budget and review the third quarter of the 2015 budget.
  • The Belmont Housing Authority is holding its annual meeting in Town Hall where it will elect its officers at 5 p.m., on Monday, April 26.
  • The Belmont School Committee holds its scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, where it will plan to address the current budget deficit.
  • The Belmont Planning Board meets at Town Hall at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27, where it will discuss the upcoming Town Meeting.
  • The Board of Selectmen, the School and Warrant committees will come together in a joint meeting to take apart the fiscal year 2016 town and school budgets on Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chenery Middle Schoool. 
  • The Capital Budget Committee will vote on the final budget it will present to Town Meeting on Thursday, April 30, at 5 p.m. in Town Hall.

• She’s back! Music & Movement with Rubi is all about moving to songs; recommended for ages 3 to 5 but 2 year olds are welcome.  There will be two sessions, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 27, in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room.

• The Belmont Food Collaborative – the people who run the Belmont Farmers Market – is meeting on Monday, April 27, at 7 p.m. in the Flett Room of the Belmont Public Library.

• Tuesday 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. 
  • 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. 

• The Beech Street Center is celebrating the arrival of spring with an outdoor’s Planting Program on Tuesday, April 28, at 10 a.m. They will be planting seeds to take home and also have some simple garden crafts; don’t miss this opportunity to connect with nature. All supplies will be provided.

• Be the next Charles Schultz or just someone who will have fun drawing as the Belmont Public Library presents “Learn to Cartoon,” a two-hour workshop on Tuesday starting at 6:30 p.m. See more here. 

 • The monthly meeting of the Belmont Art Association will take place on Tuesday, April 28,
7 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room.

• The Belmont Democratic Town Committee Meeting is meeting on Tuesday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. in the Selectmen’s Room in Belmont Town Hall for socializing and to hear State Sen. Mike Barrett  discuss his proposed legislation on climate change.

• Sustainable Belmont is meeting in the Belmont Public Library’s Flett Room at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29. 

• The annual meeting of the Board of Library Trustees will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 29, in the Assembly Room.

• Photographer and historian Jonathan Hansen will be giving a gallery talk on his show, “Cuba from a Different Angle, An intimate, knowing look at Cuba’s geography, its architecture and the lives of its people” on Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Belmont Gallery of Art, located on the third floor of the Homer Building (in the Town Hall complex), 19 Moore St.

• Aneta Braam, Springwell’s registered dietitian, will present a workshop on “Cooking for One,” a cooking demonstration about how to prepare easy, delicious, and healthy meals for one or two people. There will be a taste test of the dishes afterward. The demonstration will take place on Friday, May 1, at 1:15 p.m. at the Beech Street Center.

Belmont Yard Sales on April 25-26

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Photo:

• Rummage sale, Plymouth Church, 582 Pleasant St.(Rt. 60), Saturday, April 25, 9 p.m. to 2 p.m.

• 25 Aberdeen Ave., Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 22 Brettwood Rd., Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• 51 Slade St., Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday, April 26, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Indoors

• 37 Stewart Terrace, Saturday, April 25, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Estate sale.

‘This Weekend’: American String Quartets, Rummage Sale, Taking on Homelessness

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Photo: The Arneis Quartet (photo by Eugenia Chung)

• The Arneis Quartet will perform Anton Dvorak’s “The American” and other American music (Gardel’s Por Una Cabeza and Wallace’s pale reflections…) for string quartet in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library on Saturday, April 25 at 3 p.m. as part of the Music on Saturday program sponsored by the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

“As a relatively young quartet, they have already achieved something it often takes years to develop: a unique, collective sound which is as warm and full of sparkle as liquid gold.” said the Boston Musical Intelligencer.

Playfully named after the Arneis grape – a varietal that is difficult to grow, but which yields an exquisite white wine – the Boston-based quartet was hand-picked by the St. Lawrence String Quartet for its inaugural John Lad Prize.

The Arneis Quartet is made up of violinists Heather Braun and Rose Drucker, violist Daniel Dona, and cellist Agnes Kim. The Arneis Quartet is the faculty ensemble in residence at the Dana Hall School of Music.

• The annual Spring Rummage Sale at Plymouth Church on Pleasant Street will get underway Friday, April 24 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and continue on Saturday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• The Tricommunity Coalition to End Homelessness is sponsoring “The Many Faces of Homelessness,“ a forum to discuss homelessness in the communities of Belmont, Waltham and Watertown on Sunday, April 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish Hall, 130 Common St.

Belmont Commemorates Centennial of Armenian Genocide

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Photo: The proclamation commemorating the Armenian genocide, April 21, (from left) Jim Williams, Jirair Hovsepian, Mon. Atamian, Sami Baghdady and Mark Paolillo. 

It’s remembered as “Medz Yeghern,” the “Great Crime”, the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in present day Turkey in the midst of World War I. 

Historians said the mass extermination of Armenians began on April 24, 1915, the day Ottoman authorities arrested and later executing 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople.

To recognize the events of a century past, the Belmont Board of Selectmen issued a proclamation, the seventh in as many years, on April 21, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the deaths of more than a million Armenians. 

“It is an event that should never be forgotten,” said Selectmen Chair Sami Baghdady.

Before the proclamation was signed, a Belmont resident spoke out on why the town’s declaration was important.

“We will altogether stand up and raise our voices in a well-tuned unison,” Jirair Hovsepian, a Chandler Street resident, told the selectmen.

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“We will continue to proclaim loud and clear that the organized annihilation of 1.5 million innocent people, our ancestors, is not the fruit of one nation’s imagination or a leisurely invented brutal fairy tale,” said Hovsepian, a member of Boston Armenian Genocide Commemoration Committee

Home to generations of residents of Armenian heritage, Belmont has been a hub of expatriate activity and life, where survivors of the genocide – including Pastor Vartan Hartunian of the First Armenian Church in Belmont – would keep the experience alive. 

Monsignor Andon Atamian, the pastor of the Holy Cross Armenian Catholic Church in Belmont, said a prayer for the “martyred saints and our homeland.”

Hovsepian said the survival of the Armenian people “is a proclamation in itself,” ending by recalling the words of William Saroyan:

“Go ahead, destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a new Armenia.” 

St. Joseph Hosting Forum on The Many Faces of Homelessness This Sunday

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Photo: Everyone should have a home.

With three-quarters of Americans living paycheck-to-paycheck, with little to no emergency savings to draw on, the specter of homelessness is as close as losing a job, a medical emergency or some other unexpected event.

To raise awareness of the unprecedented growth in the number of homeless families and individuals in Massachusetts, the Tricommunity Coalition to End Homelessness is sponsoring “The Many Faces of Homelessness,” a forum to discuss homelessness in the communities of Belmont, Waltham and Watertown.

 The forum will be held on Sunday, April 26, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Parish Hall, 130 Common St.

Supported by local civic and religious organizations, the event focuses attention on the realities of the homeless populations in our towns. The founding members of the Tricommunity Coalition include New Roads Catholic Community (the parishes of St. Joseph and St. Luke) and the Advocacy Network to End Family Homelessness.

Doors will open at 1 pm for refreshments and an opportunity to meet with representatives from more than a dozen organizations that serve the homeless in our communities who will staff exhibits and provide information on their work. This will also offer an opportunity for individuals attending the forum to become involved in programs that assist homeless individuals and families.

Libby Hayes, Executive Director of Homes for Families and advocate for improving housing options, is the keynote speaker. Representatives from local social service, housing and public safety organizations will participate on a panel to discuss their programs’ impact on homeless families, individuals and youth. Panelists include:

  • Tori LaPon from Mary House, a family shelter in Waltham;  
  • Brian Costello, director of the Watertown Housing Authority;  
  • Sgt. Robert Scarpone, Waltham Area Homeless Assistance Coalition;  
  • Dick Rogers, Bristol Lodge Men’s and Women’s Shelter; 
  • Ann Copeman, Homeless Student representative, Waltham Public Schools
  • Julie Land, Waltham Day Center.

Individuals who have been homeless will share their experiences.

Local legislators State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Reps. Dave Rogers, John Lawn, and Jonathan Hecht will offer their perspectives on pending legislation and respond to questions from attendees. 

It’s Official: Town Day Set for Saturday, May 16 in Belmont Center

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Photo: Town Day in Belmont.

Town Day will take place on Saturday, May 16 in Belmont Center after the Belmont Board of Selectmen gave the annual event its blessing at its meeting on Tuesday, April 21. 

Hosted by the Belmont Center Business Association and sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank, kiddy rides, a petting zone sponsored by the Belmont Lions Club, food, and tables manned by organizations and businesses will be located along Leonard Street.

Any group, business or individual seeking to rent a table at Town Day can do so until May 1 at the BCBA web site.

The morning and afternoon event takes place the day after Belmont High School celebrates its prom. 

This (Short) Week: Mega Meeting on Minuteman Tuesday, Earth Day Talk Wednesday

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On the government side of “This Week”: 

  • The big four Belmont governmental bodies, the Board of Selectmen and the School, Capital Budget and Warrant committees, will conduct a joint meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Beech Street Center to discuss the latest update on the proposed building project for the Minuteman Regional Vocational High School in Lexington. 
  • The Belmont Board of Selectmen will hold a “quick” meeting before the Minuteman presentation on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center to sign a proclamation on the centennial of the Armenian Genocide and approve water and sewer rates for the coming fiscal year. 
  • The Community Path Implementation Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in Town Hall to identify challenges facing each of the proposed path routes up for consideration. 

• There is no school this week due to Spring Recess. 

• US Rep. Katherine Clark will be holding office hours at noon on Tuesday, April 21 at the Beech Street Center. Her staff frequently bring coffee, so come by and chat.

• The Belmont Garden Club is holding a floral workshop on Wednesday, April 22, from 10 a.m. to noon in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. 

• Celebrate Earth Day by attending a talk by Environmental Toxicologist Dr. Emily Monosson on “Evolution and Environmental Toxins” presented by Science for the Public on Wednesday, April 22, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room. Monosson, an adjunct professor of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, will speak on how the world is exposed to an unprecedented environmental challenge: try to adapt to countless toxins in air, water, soil and how environmental toxins affect evolutionary mechanisms.

• Fossils and dinosaurs will be front and center during a wonderful children’s program at the Belmont Public Library’s Assembly Room on Thursday, April 23 from 2 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

• Robin Bromberg of the Alzheimer’s Association will speak at the Beech Street Center on Friday, April 24 at 1:15 p.m. to identify the 10 warning signs of Alzheimer’s Disease to help determine if it’s time to speak to your doctor for a diagnosis for yourself or someone you care about.

This Weekend: Jazz Times Three on Saturday, See Cuba from Belmont

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Photo: Cuba From a Different Angle

• The John Arcaro Trio will be part of the Music on Saturday concert on Saturday, April 18, at 3 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Playing classic American jazz, John Arcaro is an internationally known pianist, recording artist, and clinician. Music on Saturday concerts are free to all thanks to the sponsorship of the Friends of the Belmont Public Library.

• The Belmont Gallery of Art explores the intimate lives of the Cuban people as well as the country’s architecture and geography with “Cuba From a Different Angle” by photographer and Harvard lecturer  Jonathan Hansen. The gallery – located on the third floor of the Homer Municipal Building, 219 Moore St., in the Town Hall complex – is open on Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Easier Than Ever to Drop off Household Hazardous Waste; First Collection Date Saturday

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Photo: Deposit hazardous waste drop off set for Saturday, April 18.

Half-used paint, mothballs, antifreeze and insecticides are just a few of the common household products that are classified as hazardous waste that most residents have in their homes or garages.

Belmont residents looking to clear their homes of these harmful chemicals as part of their spring cleaning will have an opportunity this Saturday, April 18 as Belmont residents can haul those materials to Lexington’s Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility site at no cost. 

And now it’s easier than ever to drop off the material; advanced registration is NO LONGER required; all Belmont residents need to bring is some state approved official identification (driver’s license) or proof of Belmont residency such as an utility bill to participate in a collection event. 

Here is a list of acceptable and unacceptable materials as well as a video on the do’s and don’t’s when heading off to the facility.