In Memoriam…
The list keeps growing…
- Gino Villa… dedicated Belmont DPW employee.
- Donald White… Teacher and Coach.
- John Mangano… BHS 85 grad and always a friendly smile. Rough 12 months for ’85.
- John Rocca… from Cambridge both a WW2 vet and former Local 30 Cambridge Jake President.
- Dolores Fairbanks… Mom of Jen ‘86er
- Lawrence “Larry” Furnari… car lover and former resident.
- Paul Maney… Triple Eagle and longtime resident.
- Jean Tellier… Teacher and part of the Tellier/Almond crew.
- Robert Rines… Lector at St. Lukes and boat lover
- Election recap
Moderator…
Winner: Mike Widmer Loser: Paul Roberts
Roberts will keep his “out of order” nickname as Widmer won easy. Crowley is not a horse to bet on since the brutal damage caused by the School Committees Covid response.
School Committee…
Winners: Moriarty and Kraft Loser: Abercrombie
The rub is most people who run for School Committee are running to fix something wrong with the system usually as it relates to their own child. Remember the cat lady wanting a later start for high schoolers. Angus wanted a better relationship between the Teacher Union and School Committee and paid the price. The lad has ambition and drive which is great, but he needs to realize when he is being used as a pawn and by whom. (Hint… it’s not the BEA contrary to opinion). With age comes wisdom for some so keep an eye on him as he matures and determines who he is… people or things.
Question # 2 Change to appointed Bard of Assessors
This is officially going to a recount in May. How do I know? A source confirmed a great American turned in the signatures on April 11th on behalf of Democracy and transparency so stay tuned.
Select Board
Winner: Taylor Loser: Lubien Spoiler: Howard
This is a watershed moment for Belmont. The last watershed moment was in 2002 when Paul Solomon knocked off the GOAT Bill Monahan for a seat on the Board. Solomon’s win shifted the balance of power from fiscal conservative to liberal. The damage to Belmont’s middle class and fixed income has been constant since. Taylor’s win will take it even further into fantasyland idealism. Epstein will be even more irrelevant as Dionne will be focused on trying to reign in Taylor and then realize that the next board member will be another idealist and she will be irrelevant. There will be attempt to expand the BOS to 5 which will fail.
Question #1 The $8.4m Override…
Winners: Elitists, Materialists, and low info voters Losers: See below
I have had some time to think about this and with 50% of the registered voters showing up to vote and a 55-45 vote in favor it’s fair to say the result is representative of the majority in Town. It is also fair to call the Yes voters out for the type of people they are. They are people who prioritize things and wants over their neighbor’s basic well-being. It’s comical when a Yes voter says but “You don’t know me”. No, but I know your vote and that’s exactly what this vote was about. Ms. Dionne was clear a successful override would force out renters and homeowners and that is what you voted for. That was your priority so now own it. You are the evil landlord that you always rooted against in TV and Movies. Elitist and materialistic.
A DD pal told me this Town is run by kids who were bullied now getting their revenge for a miserable childhood by creating an aura of exclusivity as adults (some sort of elite nerd club?) I don’t know maybe not getting invited to that Bar Mitzvah in 7th grade still stings or hearing “Top of the Order” every inning keeps you up at night. I’d like to think its more of a generational thing with Boomers and Millennial’s of the same mindset of wanting things now regardless of having the funds to pay for it. Odd for Boomers as many of them experienced the “layaway” purchasing model. No one knows for sure but according to realtors many homes in Town are being paid for with cash so who knows.
As a side note… I will take a cash offer of $1,675,000 USD for my home and Townie Talk. That’s a $25k discount.
As for the losers…
Listen, it sucks that people are so selfish, but society has changed, and people don’t know their neighbors like they used too or even care. Here is a list of positives to thing about while preparing to sell your home.
Real Estate commissions are shrinking. What was once 5% is now negotiable. Some Realtors are using a 2% sell rate and making a commission for the buy side negotiable. So maybe you save 1% or even 2% on the sale versus what was once 5%. Yes, you could sell it on your own, but “quality” realtors can make a difference just like great investment managers can.
Homes are selling fast as inventory remains limited (when that changes prices will plummet, and it could change quick). Anyone over 50 years of age should recall October 19th, 1987, otherwise called “Black Monday”. The similarities between today and then are scary. The stock market tanked, and home prices tanked and took a decade to recover (10 years). You don’t want to be on the end of a 30% drop in home prices and a Town like Belmont is much more at risk now.
The Silver Tsunami (when Boomers downsize and move on to independent/assisted living) is upon us. That will free up an estimated 9 million homes. It’s funny that when the obvious is staring you in the face you ignore it.
Belmont is no longer immune. Covid changed the work environment. You don’t need to live close to your office in many cases making our proximity to Cambridge and Boston less valuable (Don’t believe me then look at Commercial Occupancy rates in Boston where more than 1 in 5 floors sits empty). Belmont is tied to the Education sector more so than other areas… meaning people relocating to Belmont to attend or teach at local Universities is high. The Education sector is under attack by tanking enrollment that is expected to hit in a year or two (the cliff) and strong AI (Artificial Intelligence) is expected to be commonplace between 2030-2037. That will put enormous pressure on Higher Education as many jobs will be replaced including (computer programming) so future higher education will be limited to fewer fields of study meaning less jobs and students. Less likely but under the current Biden administration we could see foreign investors flee the US market as military conflicts continue to arise daily and foreign and domestic threats are growing.
So… in the positive, it’s a good time to sell. My raw guess is you have 1-3 years to unload. The Town is not what it once was so what are you leaving behind is more memories than reality and maybe the few friends that remain will see the light and follow you. So where do you move to? I have my plan, and you can too just think positive.
For those Renter’s being forced out… when the pendulum shifts you will reap the benefit. Who knows you may even be able to afford to buy but would you want too here?
Belmont Center
A new hair salon and a new nail salon will be moving into Belmont Center. Doesn’t do me any good but good luck to the new owners and here’s hoping the Town doesn’t drag its feet on permitting.
Belmont Blunders
Have you been by the new Brendan Grant baseball field? What a shame how the BHSMS building committee shortchanged it. The netting is so low that most foul balls will end up in the Claypit. The dugouts would be rejected by Mayor Wu as temporary housing for Mass and Cass refugees. The field gives the Underwood deep end a run for depth during rainstorms.
Have you seen the Waverley MBTA station fire hoses? Faker Charlie Baker pushed a bill driving Belmont to zone thousands of units of new housing but left the MBTA in such disrepair that the Waverley station floods during every storm and the toxic runoff is then fed into the sewer system. Ironically, Belmont just warned homeowners about excess fertilizer runoff from yards causing environmental harm. Do as I say…
The Belmont skating rink architect apparently forgot it takes water to make ice. Rumor says the main water line feed was left out. The reason Harris filed had no lights was another oops. BMLD graciously put up three poles and an electric feed in record time but who is paying for these gaffes?
Irish Humor to get you past your troubles…
Paddy wants a job, but the foreman won’t hire him until he passes a little math’s test.
Here is your first question, the foreman said. “Without using numbers, represent the number 9.”
“Without numbers?” Paddy says? “Dat’s easy.” And proceeds to draw three trees.
“What’s this?” the boss asks.
“Have you no brain? Tree and tree plus tree make 9” says Paddy.
“Fair enough,” says the boss. “Here’s your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.”
Paddy stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree. “Ere ye go.”
The boss scratches his head and says, “How on earth do you get that to represent 99?”
“Each of them trees is dirty now. So, its dirty tree, and dirty tree, plus dirty tree. Dat makes 99.”
The boss is getting worried that he’s going to actually have to hire Paddy, so he says, “All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.”
Paddy stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, “Ere ye go. One hundred.
The boss looks at the attempt. “You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!”
Paddy leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and whispers, “A little dog came along and pooped by each tree.
So now you got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, which makes ONE HUNDRED!”
Dancing with the Stars…
I had Laverty, Tzouvelis, and Mahoney in my trifecta bet on DraftKings. Apparently, Twinkle Toes was the weak link. Maybe next year they can do Drinking with the Stars. I know who I would bet on.
Side Notes…
The Eclipse just wasted 1 hour of your life or nine hours if you went to NH and tried to return to Massachusetts. Good News EV charging stations were only 6 hour wait times he said sarcastically.
Tough news…
The evidence behind medical intervention for youth questioning their gender is “remarkably weak”, with some doctors abandoning “normal clinical approaches” to prescribe hormones to teens, a landmark review in the United Kingdom has found.
The long-term health effects of masculinizing and feminizing hormones on teens are “limited and need to be better understood” and such interventions should only be taken with “extreme caution”, the long-awaited review commissioned by England’s National Health Service (NHS) said on Wednesday.
NHS is the equivalent of the US FDA. This is awful news for Parents with children questioning their gender. Most parents just want to do what is best for their kids. Now it appears according to this comprehensive review that only under extreme circumstances should action be taken. Waiting till children reach adulthood is the best course of action (or inaction). Regardless of how you feel on the subject this new report is just brutal for Parents in this situation. Why the story is only making headway in the US as it relates to a JK Rowling controversy is a disappointing indictment of the politicization of American healthcare. We thought the Covid cover up was bad and now this.
Happy Patriot’s Day
Just a reminder that on the 19TH of April in 1775, Brave men fought the battle of Concord, Lexington and Menotomy signaling the start of the American Revolution. A war that was started over taxation without representation. Today, we just hold No signs and vote against Democrats and some establishment Republicans. Just like Memorial Day, the reason for the holiday has been lost and in this case is thought of as Marathon Monday. God Bless the heroic men and women who started this Country and those who continue to defend our freedoms at home and abroad. While many celebrate, many others will be on high alert protecting our citizens from domestic threats. Stay safe.
Civil War
Can I get a refund? I was looking forward to this movie for months. I thought it would paint a picture of what was dividing this Country and instead spent an hour and a half learning that embedded photographers and journalists are heartless narcissists that only care about the glory and fame. People left stunned at how lacking this movie was.