Keeping it short for Thanksgiving….
Belmont Football plays Watertown in the 101st Thanksgiving match up this Thursday 10am at Victory Field in Watertown.
Geoff Lubien (Warrant Committee chair) has formed a committee to run for Select Board. Mark Paolillo is the incumbent whose seat is up, and he is not expected to run after a turbulent term. https://www.lubienforbelmont.com/news for more info.
Belmont US Congress Representative Katherine Clark needed to be ushered to safety after an insurrection by a mob of violent Democrat Socialist of America protesters (advocating for the eradication of Israel) stormed DNC Headquarters. The pendulum is turning against the Socialists here in the US and they are becoming more aggressive and violent as a result. Just yesterday three Synagogues in Mass were the targets of hoax bomb threats. To his credit President Biden is not backing down and continues to support Israel although several staffers and loyalists are abandoning ship. His prior partner in crime (President Obama) has come out on the side of Hamas by implying equivalency exists when in reality if not for Obama allowing Iran to bypass the oil embargo… Hamas would have lacked the money to finance the barbaric assault on Israeli Women and Children.
Good News… Town Meeting passed a couple of articles that potentially can reduce the burden on residential taxpayers. The first makes it easier for restaurants to open in Town and the other makes Belmont Country Club pay a fairer share in property tax. Small progress but better than nothing.
Christmas Tree Lighting… Mark your calendar as the Town Christmas Tree lighting takes place Thursday November 30th between 5:30-8pm in Belmont Center. The Town will also host a Holiday Tree Lighting on November 32nd at 2am somewhere on Mass and Cass street in Boston.
RIP
Retired Police Chief Ronald Blanchette passed last week. Blanchette began his service in Belmont in 1970 and retired in 2002.
“Higher home prices and higher taxes keep the riffraff out” was a recent opinion shared to me by a resident in response to why they support overrides.
Just to clarify … riffraff means disreputable persons. Apparently, Town Meeting members support the concept as they voted to make future new home development “wicked expensive” by adopting a “specialized energy code” that builders must abide by. One TMM’s decision was based on his belief that global warming/climate change/the environment is the greatest threat to mankind. I wanted to respond the greatest threat to mankind is Radical Islamist’s followed closely by China, but it was his opinion, so I suppressed the urge.
Angus Abercrombie
The young lad who is distinguished at Town Meeting by his age and that he wears a suit regularly is rumored to be exploring a run for School Committee. Angus are you Team Israel or Team Hamas? Pro DEI (mediocrity) or Pro reaching each kid at their own level?
Belmont Elementary Schools
The grossly underfunded?? Belmont Schools were recently rated as follows … Winn Brook #2, Burbank #6, Butler #20, and Wellington #25 in the Top 100 elementary schools in Massachusetts as determined by US News and World report. These rankings again prove what many have been saying about Belmont Schools… the results are a combination of heavily invested Parents and quality Teachers.
Notice I use the term quality and not quantity. It is one of the reasons I attended and supported the BEA rally when they were being strung along in contract negotiations by the Town. A well-paid Teacher will always strive to do their best whether they have 18 kids in a classroom or 26. A poorly compensated one will quickly reach the frustration point and move on. A highly trained Teacher costs more but the return on investment is greater.
There is a push among School Committees statewide to dumb down Teacher mandated requirements and eliminate incentives like further education because it will increase the pool of Teachers and lower the cost. The obvious problem is better educated Teachers can identify the specific learning habits of the individual student while glorified substitutes can’t. If we are to accept lesser trained Teachers, we must dumb down the curriculum and focus on the whole and not the individual. We are seeing the early stages of this with one size fits all curriculum programs like Lucy Caulkins and DEI movements that fight against advanced math courses citing equity. The nationwide push to keep parents out of the classroom is not imagined. Pay attention parents as its your tax dollars, your children, and your responsibility. Rampant grade inflation is easily exposed when standardized test results don’t measure up. Your involvement and well trained Teachers are what makes the difference.
Thanksgiving Dinner topics…
- There were 8 people on the SS Minnow when it set sail yet only two crew and 5 passengers are mentioned in the theme song. Be creative as to who the 8th person was and why they are missing? Bonus discussion? How did Mary Ann even afford to be on a cruise with the others?
- How did the alphabet get put in the order that it is?
- For the Butler people… What breaks as soon as you say its name?
- Why do we think people with more degrees are smart when they have to pay to have others teach them to be smart?
More signs…
Is it me or is Concord Ave starting to look like a long line of participation trophies? And School has been open since early September folks… if they don’t get the message to slow down by now the signs aren’t going to help.
The Nasty….
I am working with Belmont Briefing to have the final roll call vote results for Article 8 posted online.
This was possibly one of the worst displays of Union bashing and dereliction of responsibility in Town Meeting history.
The skinny… The Select Board wants the Belmont Police out of Civil Service claiming a dearth of candidates. Chief MacIsaac let slip that 2 of 3 recent candidates chosen to move forward in the hiring process chose not to pursue the Belmont jobs. Their decision speaks volumes but not to a lemming filled Town Meeting. Civil Service was designed to prevent nepotism and excessive concentrated power in local Governments by having a defined and regulated hiring process paid for and performed by the State. Civil Service has guidelines for hiring, firing, and promoting officers and superior officers.
The Select Board commissioned a SCIG report that recommended the Town vote to leave Civil Service upon a successful collective bargaining with the Police Union on a replacement plan and a full analysis of the costs associated with leaving vs staying. Neither of these occurred. Speaker Widmer would not allow discussion on collective bargaining even though it was instrumental by the report’s conclusion and to most of the 100 who voted against the anti-worker action.
So, at Town Meeting… (no joke here) 160 Town meeting members voted to kick the Belmont Police out of Civil Service with no known replacement plan and no known cost of a replacement plan (someone needs to pay those who are now going to do all the work the State did for free). They voted to remove any leverage the Union had in negotiating this change in contract and they did all this based on as Mark Paolillo said, “trust us”.
You might wonder if the Yes voters consumed too many mushrooms on their way to selling out the working class by forcing a change in contract without negotiation. You might wonder why they pursued a Town Meeting position (the check and balance entity for the Town) when their actions are just a rubber stamp for the Select Board. Maybe you should ask them yourself.
Will Townie Talk post the roll call? Yes. Soon and then prior to Town Meeting elections so the good folk can decide for themselves if their neighbors represent their own values and are diligent. Is this the end of the issue… No. More to follow. Police are generally disliked in Town until you need them for an emergency. Then they are the hero’s that keep you safe or comfort you when a loved one has passed. Now they could use your help by emailing the Select Board and expressing your disgust with this action.
Again… 2023 has been an awful year and 2024 is looking even worse as the consumer cuts back and inflation starts to impact the labor force. Take advantage of celebrating the upcoming holidays. Be smart, be safe and speak up.