Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Votes "no" on transferring school land to library project, town loses $7.5 million grant on $18.5 million proposal.
By a 5-0 margin with one abstention, the Belmont School Committee effectively killed the proposed $18.5 million town library project by voting not to transfer a portion of a playing field at Belmont High School that would have become the site of a new Belmont Public Library. The vote requires the town to return a $7.5 million state grant the Belmont Board of Library Trustees received last year. What at times was an emotional meeting before approximately 40 residents, the School Committee members expressed reluctance to end nearly three years of active work by the Belmont Board of Library Trustees to construct a new 42,000 square foot library across Concord Avenue from the present site. But as a tearful Pascha Griffiths noted just before …
42.38652
-71.17051
W. L. Chenery Middle School
95 Washington St, Belmont, MA
/articles/belmont-school-committee-likely-kills-new-library-proposal
157120
/locations/9362602
Monday, May 6, 2013
The second week of the town's annual legislative gathering.
Welcome back, everyone, to the third night of Belmont's annual Town Meeting, being held in the auditorium of Belmont High School, May 6, 2013. And tonight could possibly be the final night of the first portion of Town Meeting if the approximately 300 members can finish the following articles by about 10 p.m.: • Article 28: creating an Underwood Pool and Playground Building Committee. • Article 30: a new zoning by-law on interim controls on medical marijuana in town. • Article 31: another new zoning by-law to help preserve religious and municipal buildings in town. • Article 27: a small easement at the Oakley housing development on Belmont Street. • Article 22: Criminal history background checks for door-to-door sales, cab drivers, ice …
42.39338
-71.1671
Belmont High School
221 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/belmont-town-meeting-2013-day-3
230803
/locations/9357036
Passing nine CPA project, adding eight new restaurant-based liquor licenses but only getting a watered-down Town Administrator's law passed.
If there was one lasting memory of the first week of this year's Town Meeting, it was the familiar steady voice of one of Belmont's "senior" of citizens. Standing at the podium in the well of Belmont High School's auditorium for what appeared to be for the majority of the first week of the annual gathering of the town's legislative body, Dr. Paul Solomon – former Selectman and chairman of numerous committees and boards over the past three decades – successfully led two articles linked to him to approval by the approximately 300 member Assembly: expanding (somewhat) the powers provided to the Town Administrator and the passage with little fuss of nine projects funded by the town's Community Preservation Committee. "This is what true …
42.39338
-71.1671
Belmont High School
221 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/belmont-town-meeting-2013-first-week-review
230803
/locations/9355255
Third night of the annual gathering will take up medical marijuana and sewer funds.
Tonight, Monday, May 6, Belmont's annual Town Meeting will resume for its third night of reviewing and voting on articles on the gathering's warrant. The meeting will be held at the Belmont High School's auditorium at 7 p.m. The approximately 300 members will hear and hopefully vote on a diverse number of articles including the zoning for medical marijuana dispensaries which wish to open in Belmont and the creation of a stormwater management account, which is a federal mandate on the town. The order of Monday's meeting will be: • Article 25: a senior tax-abatement program. • Article 30: a new zoning by-law on interim controls on medical marijuana in town. • Article 31: another new zoning by-law to help preserve religious and municipal …
42.39338
-71.1671
Belmont High School
221 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/belmont-town-meeting-resumes-tonight
230803
/locations/9353215
Saturday, May 4, 2013
There is a lot of campaigning to do before the Democrat and Republican face off on June 25 in the U.S. Senate special election.
After months of campaigning we now know who is going head-to-head in the June 25 special U.S. Senate election. Democratic Congressman Edward Markey (D-Malden) took the Democratic vote in the Tuesday election over fellow Congressman Stephen Lynch (D-South Boston). Political newcomer and former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset came out on top of a field of Republican candidates - including more seasoned opponents former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan and State Rep. Dan Winslow of Norfolk. With a month-and-a-half of campaigning still to come, we wanted to stop and ask: if the special election was held today - who would you vote for right now? Markey or Gomez? Tell us in our comments section below.
Recap and analysis of the week in state government.
In case voters weren't paying attention, and turnout suggested many weren't, his name is Gabriel Gomez. And now only Ed Markey stands between him and the United States Senate. "My name is Gabriel Gomez, and I'm a proud Republican," Gomez said, reciting his full name for the second time during a five-minute chat with reporters outside the new go-to, post-election Broadway T stop in South Boston Wednesday morning. The reporters already knew who he was, but part of Gomez's strategy now is to make sure everybody else does too. The newly minted face of the Republican Party captured the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday by defeating two better known names in Massachusetts Republican politics. Former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The second night of the annual gathering will tackle the nine projects from the Community Preservation Committee.
Welcome back to the second night of Belmont's annual Town Meeting. After taking a breaking for a day due to yesterday's special election, the 300 or so representatives will be tackling the nine projects that are being recommended by the Community Preservation Committee. This is the first distribution of funds – approximately $872,000 – from the account established when residents voted to approve the town's participation in the state's Community Preservation Act in November 2010. The account is funded by a 1.5 percent surcharge on both residential and commercial ratepayers. The town has just about $2 million in CPA funds. Below are the nine projects: • $10,000 to conduct a building survey and "investigation" of the circa-1853 William Flagg …
42.39338
-71.1671
Belmont High School
221 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/belmont-town-meeting-2013-day-2
230803
/locations/9338542
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
"The Judge" with Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duval propose to use the former Municipal Light Building for two days in July.
It may be the long-closed Municipal Light Department building to Belmont residents – although each month someone attempts to pay their electric bill there – but to a Hollywood movie team, the town-owned structure will be a prime location to shot a big-time film come this July. Those are the proposed plans from the production company filming "The Judge," a 2014 release starring Robert Downey Jr. (who is also producing) and Robert Duval after the town received a "letter of intent" to film for two days in July, according to Kevin Looney, the town's Building Services manager. Part of the agreement is for daytime filming as well as finding space for 30 trailers and trucks required by the crew and cast. It will now be up to the Belmont Board of…
Unofficial results from the special state primary election on April 30.
It wasn't close in Belmont as the town's US Representative Ed Markey won the hearts of three of every four Democratic voter in town to defeat challenger and fellow US Rep. Stephen Lynch in the Special State Primary for the vacant US Senate race Tuesday, April 30, according to the Town Clerks' Office. It was a surprisingly active election with nearly 27 percent of registered party and unenrolled voters taking out ballots. Markey tallied 2,996 votes to Lynch's 911. Belmont's support was more than the 56 percent in the state that Markey captured to become the Democratic candidate for the race to replace John Kerry in the senate. Over on the Republican side, the fresh new political face of private equity manager and former Navy SEAL and pilot …
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Belmont Town Hall
455 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA
/articles/markey-takes-belmont-big-gomez-win-gop-race
157295
/locations/9334085
Taxpayers can be helped with their bills by the Treasurer's Office.
Belmont's Fourth Quarter Real Estate and Personal Property tax bills are due to the town's Treasurer and Tax Collector's Office, located in the Homer Building, by 4 p.m. to avoid any late fees and such. Go to the Town of Belmont’s website and head to BelmontMA.billtrust.com to make an online payment or to sign up for paperless billing. Taxpayers who need assistance can call 617-993-2770.
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-71.17686
Treasurer & Tax Collector
19 Moore St, Belmont, MA
/articles/it-s-the-end-of-the-fourth-re-taxes-are-due-today
230709
/locations/9334114
Gale Pryor
10:38 am on Thursday, May 9, 2013
The 5-7 years timeline before the state issues more grants for libraries may be a blessing. Library designs and functions are in the midst of enormous changes. At this point, no one truly knows what libraries of the future will look like and how they will function. Far better that Belmont wait a bit to see how libraries emerge from this period of change before building our own new library to … more ›