Stormy Weather Early Wednesday Morning

By Leave a Comment

There is low to moderate risk that Belmont and the rest of eastern Massachusetts will experience a few strong to severe thunderstorms overnight and into early Wednesday morning, Oct. 8, according to the latest update from the The National Weather Service.

The likely peak of the Hazardous Weather Outlook issued by the NWS will be from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., Wednesday.

Due to the strong winds which will accompany the storms, down branches and perhaps some downed power lines are possible as trees are still full of leaves, said the Service in a report issued at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7.

If residents should experience a power outage, they should call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800.

Yet the NSW said it can not rule out small hail or even an isolated tornado coming from the storm.

Despite the possible stormy weather, clouds will pass with sunshine likely in the afternoon.

Photo of the Day: Rising Community Tide for New Underwood Pool

By Leave a Comment

IMG_0713

In Jane Austen’s day two hundred years ago, you’d communicate with your neighbors or a friend by leaving a note on a fence post or in a nook of a stone wall.

And while today, there is high speed G4 internet and instant messaging available to keep us informed, the people raising $200,000 to meet the new low bid to construct the new Underwood Pool has decided to use the Austen-like “note” to the community at Belmont’s major intersections.

With just under four weeks remaining, the effort to preserve the 2015 summer swimming season by building the new Underwood has raised more than 80 percent of its goal.

Sold in Belmont: High Prices Take a Tumble, History Sells for a Premium

By Leave a Comment

A weekly recap of residential properties bought in the past seven days in the “Town of Homes.”

• 16 Garfield Rd. Semi-brick Colonial (1936), Sold for: $1,050,000. Listed at $1,289,000. Living area: 3,354 sq.-ft. 12 rooms; 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths. On the market: 162 days.

• 85 Woodbine Rd. Stone and concrete Spanish-inspired Colonial (1948), Sold for: $1,400,000. Listed at $1,725,000. Living area: 3,244 sq.-ft. 9 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 209 days.

• 4 Pinehurst Rd. A ranch with a built-on central turret (1952), Sold for: $1,160,000. Listed at $1,195,000. Living area: 2,558 sq.-ft. 8 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths. On the market: 42 days.

• 80 Washington St. Historic Italianate Farmhouse (c. 1853), Sold for: $950,000. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 2,439 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. On the market: 42 days.

• 44 Townsend Rd. Colonial (1940), Sold for: $899,000. Listed at $899,000. Living area: 2,350 sq.-ft. 11 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 53 days.

• 37 Franklin St. Colonial (1937), Sold for: $925,000. Listed at $799,000. Living area: 1,896 sq.-ft. 10 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 58 days.

• 136 Alexander Ave. Garrison-style Colonial (1940), Sold for: $835,000. Listed at $825,000. Living area: 1,756 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 3 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 36 days.

• 57 Creeley Rd. Colonial (1914), Sold for: $620,000. Listed at $629,900. Living area: 1,441 sq.-ft. 7 rooms; 4 bedrooms, 1.5 baths. On the market: 101 days.

Belmont’s DPW Chief Peter Castanino Stepping Down

By 1 Comment

Peter Castanino, the long-serving director of the Belmont Department of Public Works, is retiring after 33 years of service, according to Town Administrator David Kale at Monday’s Board of Selectmen’s meeting, Sept. 29.

“Too bad we can’t lock his door and keep him here,” quipped Selectman Mark Paolillo who said Castanino’s departure is “a significant loss” to the town and that replacing him “will be very difficult.”

Kale, who said Castanino will be leaving his position before the end of the year, said the director of the approximate 65 employee department with a budget of $21 million is “irreplaceable” due to his significant institutional knowledge of the town.

Every resident have had some direct involvement with Castanino and his department which maintains streets and sidewalks, plows the roads after snowstorms, oversees garbage and recycling collection, takes care of Belmont’s playing fields and parks and runs the Recreation Department. One of the most significant responsibilities under the DPW’s wing is water and sewer maintenance and construction.

In addition, Castanino has helped shepherd town projects and proposals – the two most recent being the new Underwood Pool and the restoration of the turf field and running track at Harris Field – through the planning and construction process.

Castanino’s departure will end his family’s long tenure of service to Belmont. Castanino’s father, James, was Belmont’s highway superintendent – when the public works and highway departments were separate divisions – until he retired in 1988, working for the department for a total of 42 years.

Belmont Health Collaborative Set to Begin Wellness Conversation

By 1 Comment

For Stacey Hammerlind and Lisa Gibalerio, the health of a community is based on what it knows not just how it feels.

The founders of the newly-formed Belmont Health Collaborative are hoping their organization will become a clearinghouse for all things related to wellness in Belmont.

“Our motto is ‘to inform, empower and engage,’” said Hammerlind, who is a registered nurse and certified care manager.

“The main goal is to be collaborative, to work with any organization in town that is interested in partnering up or to invite people who would like to speak about an issue they are passionate about,” said Hammerlind.

The pair saw a growing gap in health education services as traditional avenues from the town’s Health Department to the school department’s health employees are being stretched thin with greater responsibilities placed on their time.

“It seems that we are not providing information on subjects like nutrition, stress or AD/HD in kids in a thorough manner,” said Gibalerio, who earned a master’s of public health at Boston University and has a long background in health education.

“There’s an amazing amount of resources and sometimes it takes a little bit of hunting to find them,” said Hammerlind, saying the BHC’s web site will hopefully become the local resource on all health issues.

By leading interactive seminars, small group discussion and expert instruction, “we can address … issues that impact everyone in town from the young to the [elderly],” said Hammerlind.

She and Gibalerio will be looking to nearby centers such as McLean Hospital for mental health and Mt. Auburn Hospital and other sites for medical issues, solicit local residents with health or medical backgrounds or discover people who simply are passionate about a subject.

“There are people who have been affected by a health issue, such as suicide, and [might] be willing to be part of a panel discussion on the effects a suicide had on their family,” said Gibalerio.

The collaborative can also quickly pivot to answer questions when there is a flare-up of a disease or a rise in mental health issues in a targeted community.

“If there is an outbreak of, let’s say meningitis, we could begin the discussion as well has find experts on the subject,” said Gibalerio.

The partners have been working on a calendar with each month dedicated to a wide-ranging idea, such as loss whether it be the death of a loved one or if a spouse is suffering from dementia.

“We want to keep it fairly broad, so we don’t eliminate anyone from the discussion,” said Hammerlind.

The BHC’s first event is Wednesday, Oct. 1 when hip hop artist Juma Inniss will talk to Belmont High School students on media literacy at the Belmont Media Center. On Thursday, Oct. 2, Erin McNeill, President of Media Literacy Now, will talk to parents concerned about their children, the internet and other forms of media.

In determining future topics, the collaborative will focus on the answers to a short online survey on the BHC’s website.

“The whole impetus for the survey was to hear what the community wants to focus on and learn more about,” said Gibalerio.

While advocating for health education, the collaborative will likely take the role of being a facilitator including hosting events on emotional issues – such as the need for childhood vaccination – “where people of differing opinions can get together and have a discussion that is moderated,” said Hammerlind.

Photo of the Day: A Cry of Help From the Modern Work Force

By Leave a Comment

IMG_0663

They’re called Starbucks squatters, coffee-shop campers and laptop hobos. They are the workers who have gone into business on their own or are hired by a firm as a freelancer or under a contract. While the independence is wonderful, their work place is no longer a cubical but a table at the friendly eatery with a Wifi connection. But for many, the convenience of the coffee place is trumped by the longing for a “real” office to work from. This Belmont resident has raised the white flag of surrender as they seek the normalcy of a desk in an office, like the good old days.

Rosh Hashanah: 5775 and Counting

By Leave a Comment

Written by Len Abram

The Rosh Hashanah holiday observance begins at sundown on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 24, continues through Friday, Sept. 26.

The season is fall, with dead leaves under foot, a surprising a time to celebrate a new year. The traditional American observance for the new year is itself at the end of December. What we call the dead of winter, like the death of nature in the fall, may be just the right  time to express the hope of renewal.

Jewish people across the world are about to celebrate a New Year. From the evening of Sept. 24 in the evening through Sept. 26. Rosh HaShanah, literally “the Head of the (New) Year,” is celebrated for two days. These two begin ten days of life review, called the “Days of Awe,” or “Days of Repentance.” The awesomeness of the time might have something to do with tradition that the outcome of the following year, the fortunes and misfortunes for a person, may be at stake.

The Rabbis of old, for example, imagined a book of life and death, wherein is  written the fate of each Jewish person. Even as metaphor, the images reinforce the seriousness of the period, which end in a 25-hour dry fast. The Jewish calendar for the coming year is 5775. Traditional Jews count the years of earthly existence not by geologic time, but by their estimation of Creation in the Bible or Torah. This year is the 5,775th year since the words, “Let there be light,” were spoken, when a theological Big Bang set in motion what would become all that we see around us, including us.

The ten days of prayer and reflection lead to the most sacred day in the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur, “the Day of Atonement.”  This year it is observed from Friday to Saturday night, Oct. 3 and 4. Just like the traditional American celebration with its New Year’s resolutions, Yom Kippur  is often accompanied by vows to improve a person’s life. The Jewish community not only makes vows to improve, but also asks to be excused or forgiven for vows not completed from the previous year.

There may be historical background to the Kol Nidre or “All Vows” prayer, which begins the solemn evening with beautiful music. Jews ask to be forgiven for broken vows. During times of persecution, Jews were required to renounce their faith and take another. Although the prayer is hundreds of years older than persecution in Spain, the prayer fits the common theme of forgiveness.

When the prayer Kol Nidre is repeated three times, so as to give everyone in attendance the chance to participate, the vows referred to are individual vows. It does exonerate a  Jew from legal vows  or from vows between a Jewish person and someone not Jewish.

At this time of year, Jews are encouraged  to make amends for their mistakes and offenses between themselves and their Lord and themselves and their fellow human beings.  Repentance, prayer, and good deeds, such as charity, help in the process of cleansing the soul. The  end of the fast and a renewed spirit to do and be better are celebrated by a tradition several thousand years old,  the blowing of a ram’s horn, called a shofar.

This past year has been particularly difficult for Jews. Israeli Jews have been under rocket attack and have gone to war with Hamas in Gaza. In addition, anti-Semitism has increased, especially  in Europe, where virulent anti-Semitism contributed to genocide 70 years ago.  No doubt this will be one topic for the many sermons given at synagogues, as Jews look forward with hope to another year.

Services will be held across the Commonwealth and locally at Beth El Temple Center on Concord Avenue.