OF INTEREST
Racism…
Are you racist? It depends on whose interpretation of racism you use. If its what we all grew up being taught to judge people on their character not their skin, then No. If it means taking anti-racist positions even if that results in racism itself, then I would have to answer that anti-racism is a flawed ideology and makes victims guilty of becoming the same people that victimized them. As a teen attending school in Boston just years separated from the busing crisis… I have seen hate and violence from both Black and White. It was a bad decade in Boston. As an Adult, my greatest exposure to racism involved the most progressive of people who would never consider themselves racist but in whose minds Black people were lesser humans and acted in such manner. That is about as racist as they come and the only thing separating them from hate groups is the missing element of violence.
This coming week the trial of a White man who killed a Black man on Upland Road in Belmont should conclude. The jury is tied up deciding between pre-meditated murder (1st degree) and possibly a lesser verdict in (2nd degree or involuntary homicide). The man hurled a racial slur at the victim prior to striking him with his car and leaving him to die in the street. Whatever the jury decides… most will view this as an evil act. Who strikes someone with their car and leaves the scene. It’s inhuman. TT has held back on reporting the details of the trial and is hoping the family gets some form of comfort from the verdict.
Cycling on Concord Ave a great risk according to Cambridge study on separated bike lanes…
Based on the most recent analysis of the new safety street improvements in Cambridge MA, the data shows 2.5 times more cyclists’ injuries and 3.5 times more motorist injuries occurred on street segments after separated bike lanes were installed 4 years ago. Almost 2/3rds of all cyclist crashes resulted in transport to the hospital. These numbers are staggering given the 23% decline in bike traffic over the past year in Cambridge. Belmont now has a study using Police reports supporting the removal of the Concord Ave bike lane reconfiguration. Will the SB take note and correct this hazard or wait for a fatality?
Linda’s Donuts…
Many foods and beverages have been bastardized over the years from Coffee to Chicken Wings. A donut connoisseur would never eat the garbage nouveau cake like donuts being shilled at some shops nearby. With that said, as a donut connoisseur and Belmont’s elite journalist, I can say with certainty that the Butternut donut is a top 3 creation. On a recent stakeout for Townie Talk, I discovered there has been supply chain issues for butternut topping. It is so bad that Linda’s has taken to making the “more commercial” toasted coconut topping. I applaud them for the effort and the donut still outperforms any nearby competitors but let it be known…. Bush may have killed Ohlin’s, but Biden killed the Butternut donut.
Pain in the Biden… $480 annual fee coming.
Belmont mortgage seekers with good credit are about to get hit hard with fees to bail out high risk borrowers. It’s called “equity” these days which usually means punishing hard work and success. If you voted for the “Big Guy” Joe Biden, then you get what you voted for and some drool on the side. Mortgage seekers can expect to pay $40 a month more on a $400,000 mortgage if they hold a credit score of 680 or better. $480 for the year and $15,000 over the life of the mortgage. If you have a bigger mortgage, you pay more. It would go into effect in May. Biden is the sole reason… this was not passed in a bill.
Trivia answer…
Jake Bobo a 6’5 215lb Tight End, out of UCLA, via Belmont Hill School in Belmont Ma did not hear his name called this week at the NFL Draft but there is till hope as teams fill roster spots.
Election Recap… Rink and Treasurer
Thanks to Progressives staying at home, the Skating rink debt exclusion passed for now. As my friend Paul Roberts will tell you… Progressives largely ignore local elections, so Hockey was saved in Belmont at least for the moment since his people stayed home. 5,408 November voters stayed home. The rink won easily as a result garnering 61% of the 6,352 votes cast.
Treasurer…
The period of having an independent treasurer is over. Voters defying common sense chose to allow the Town Administrator to appoint a Treasurer. True to form and as predicted in TT prior to the election… the Town Administrator appointed Jennifer Hewitt as interim Treasurer. I think Hewitt is more than capable, but I would have preferred the checks and balances that an elected Treasurer would provide.
Town Clerk…
Whether it was Delores Keefe or now Ellen O’Brien Cushman, Belmont has always had an independent elected Town Clerk. We have been blessed with two people who have excelled in their professionalism. How long until a push is made to bring the Town Clerk under the Town Administrator???
Belmont Dominatrix…
I had to look it up just to verify, but we have a dominatrix in Belmont. Don’t google it or your Facebook page will get lit up with creepy ads. No idea what the going rate is but it will go into the “cuddling parties” and Washington Street “swingers’ hot tub” file in Town.
A brilliant quote… unsourced.
“We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced.
so that stupid people won’t be offended.”
BUD LIGHT…
Yes, I stopped drinking Bud Light. No, I don’t care that Transgenders drink beer, but I do care that a beverage company felt it Ok to jump into provocative politics.
Transgenders…
Rachel Dolezal resigned as President of the local chapter of the NAACP in Spokane Washington after it was discovered that she was identifying as a Black woman but was a White woman.
For her part, Dolezal is doubling down on her insistence that she is “transracial” — a woman who is the product of two white parents but identifies mentally, emotionally, physically, and culturally as black. “I feel that I was born with the essential essence of who I am, whether it matches my anatomy and complexion or not,” Dolezal told The Guardian earlier this week. “I’ve never questioned being a girl or woman, for example, but whiteness has always felt foreign to me, for as long as I can remember. I didn’t choose to feel this way or be this way, I just am. What other choice is there than to be exactly who we are?” source Denene Miller March 2017 Codeswitch
The push back against Dolezal was quick and widespread. Her argument is no different than that of a transgender. One can’t expect society to reject Dolezal but accept transgenders. It’s hypocritical but also harmful. Transgenders prefer to identify as male or female but are not. One’s DNA is ones DNA. There is no harm in a man dressing as a woman and using a woman’s name or for Dolezal having dread locks. There is harm when we distort sex by using pro-nouns inconsistent with actual sex. There is harm when we allow this distortion to get to the level of allowing males to compete in women’s sports and allowing Dolezal to be the leader of an NAACP chapter. There is harm when women like Riley Gaines, JK Rowling, and Martina Navratilova are harassed and silenced for speaking the truth. Transgenders are their own category of humans and should be accepted for their uniqueness but not as something they can never be as Dolezal will never be Black neither can those born with male DNA be female and vice versa. The activist push to force this charade on society should end.
US is major outlier in teens who identify as LGBT…
One in 4 US Teens identify as LGBT. That is a huge jump from 2015 when it was 11%. The 25% US figure is a worldwide outlier and inconsistent with most including the UK where 8% of students identified as LGBT. It is hard to believe that social indoctrination in the schools is not a factor. I do know of a Lesbian couple whose white straight child was anxious and depressed because she was straight and white. Shame on a society that builds up one group by tearing down the other.
Fears mount among Hockey supporters…
While the Town supported a debt exclusion for a new rink, rumors are circulating the School Department will not fund Hockey next season as a fear mongering tactic. As a result, the Building Committee is rushing to try and get the rink built in time for next season.
$1 million dollar scandal or good fortune…
Remember how the Town was pushing for new above ground fuel tanks at the Town yard. A citizens campaign aggressively fought the change and argued the tanks should remain below ground for safety. Town Meeting and TT agreed with the residents and the Town estimated the cost at $1.9 million. The low bid came in sub $1 million. That is not good fortune but rather inept budgeting or worse intentional to make the cost of below ground tanks appear higher to sway the vote or maybe Belmont is now inflating all projects costs to create slush funds? Something to keep an eye on as budgets tighten.
Rumor…
Town meeting will have a special section for TMM’s that still feel the need to wear masks indoors. Better yet they will be spaced with empty seats between them. I feel sorry for those so filled with fear that they are stuck in the past believing masking worked against Covid. Their lives have been permanently altered. Very sad.
POLITICS
“Wreck It Ralph” Jones strikes again…
Article 7… Citizen’s petition to amend Section 7.5.2(a) of the Belmont Zoning Bylaw to add a Development Impact Report if said project meets any of 4 criteria he listed.
On its face this looks like an attempt to inflict pain on Belmont Hill’s proposal to build a parking lot and maintenance depot. Here is where it gets fun. Jones language would also force both the recently approved Skating Rink and Mega Library to also undergo DIR’s. This is a costly and time-consuming process. It also comes with great risk knowing the library is in an environmentally sensitive area that impacts wetlands and wildlife, and doing a real report could “wreck” the project as it would require a deeper dive than the BCC looking at landscaping. Select Board Chair Paolillo let out an “oh my” when informed by Town Administrator Patrice Garvin this petition would most certainly apply to the Library and Rink. Belmont Hill likely has attorneys on call.
Sources now say that Jones is going to change the language or withdraw the petition. Jones says “my intent was to ensure that future large developments in Belmont receive a rigorous review of their environmental impacts on the Town and its residents. The devil is in the details, particularly the criteria used to define a “large” project)”. TT interprets that as… I was trying to make the Belmont Hill project painful to them but accidently included the Rink, Library, and Housing in the mix.
Whether Jones removes his petition or modifies it… Town meeting has some soul searching to do. Should the Library, Rink, and Housing be subject to a DIR? Jones should be asked to answer that question at Town Meeting and while on the podium clear up whether he contacted Library Trustees of the imminent danger the library posed.
Gi Yoon-Huang… Precinct 8
Article 6… Sidewalk Safety
Wondering why parking tickets are rising to $25? You can thank precinct 8 voters for electing Gi Yoon Huang to Town Meeting. Huang is unhappy with people partially blocking sidewalks while trying to cramp their cars into their driveways at night. Her crusade led the SB to consider increasing parking ticket fines. (You know feel the pain). Enforcement of this falls on the understaffed and underpaid BPD and is making a mountain out of a mole hill. Rest assured as the first tickets start flowing that a tsunami of complaints will come into BPD about all nuisance issues as neighbors look to extract revenge on each other. Can’t wait till 24 hours after the first snow this Winter. Revenge calls of failure to remove snow will soar.
Is it Lizzie or “Lovey” Dionne…
Lovey Howell was the sweet but tone-deaf wife of Thurston Howell III on Gilligan’s Island. Lovey seemed to be unaware of the disparate lifestyle between her and her fellow castaways.
During the Select Board meeting follow up to the Article 6 citizens petition on raising tickets fines, Lizzie was excited about the ability to increase the ticket fees to $50 to $100. Apparently, $20 is not enough of a deterrence for Lizzie’s bank account. Travel to Cambridge and for “Equity” reasons, the city is eliminating the Towing of vehicles parked in Street Cleaning areas as the cost discriminates against the less affluent. Gilligan!!!
On a side note…
The cost of buying my home is now $1,725,000. I might have a small house, but I have a double wide 4 car driveway. It cost me over $1,000 just for the plot plan so I could replace and widen the driveway. I figure new driveways will run $20k or so with Bidenflation and all. Think about all the parking fines you can avoid ($9,125 per year). Heck, you can charge neighbors to park if you have extra spaces. Dig into those Trust funds so I can leave Town please.
The Roger Wrubel Tax… Article 10
I call him Mr. Habitat, but he has retired since. Roger loves nature and is a TMM from Precinct 5. As a kid, I loved going to Habitat, especially at night with a red solo cup in hand. Best keg parties and lots of directions to run just in case. Anyways, I digress. Roger will present a citizen’s petition. Article 10: A citizen petition to replace General Bylaw 60-310 with Specialized Energy code. Why is this bad? For starters it would force Belmont to spend wads of cash to comply. Patrice knows how burdensome this Article would be to the Town and I am sure she will let the board know. Just another step closer to insolvency.
Which will come first?
Belmont going insolvent and needing to appoint a receiver or a progressive buying my home for the price per sf of the oversized pimped out new Library? Odds are heavily in favor of insolvency.
National news…
Another bank is on the verge of collapse. War Drums with China keep getting louder. Media personalities are getting fired as earnings suffer. Joe Biden is running again at least that is what the teleprompter told him to say. President Trump is running again. Iran is a growing pimple on the butt. Texas is implementing a $200 annual fee on EV’s to force those drivers to contribute to Road and Highway funds.
Warehouse space is the lone bright spot in commercial real estate as the US will need to stockpile critical materials to position itself when China and Russia move from threats to action. A Military draft is all but certain as the younger generation show no interest in joining the armed forces.
Bad Grandpa….
Apparently, Joe Biden is disowning his 4-year-old grand-daughter. Joe’s son Hunter impregnated a stripper, and she had the child out of wedlock. The Big Guy pretends she doesn’t exist.
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful spring colors as Prom and Graduation season is upon us. The Town has a couple more explosive issues in front of it and you can trust TT will do its best to keep you informed and entertained as we continue the path to insolvency.
Cheers,
PJ Looney
TownieTalk02478
“AMDG”