watch and listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six pm on channel ninety six comcast six finity and channel thirty verizon fi os it can also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four thirty pm and wednesday at twelve thirty pm on channel nine x finity and channel twenty nine fi os listen any time on the b m c podcast network on sound cloud an i just search for the belmont media podcast network now want of a talking news former resident sentence for indecent assault and battery on a child by joanna case of alephs after more than twenty years of the looting authorities or overseas and spending time on the massachusetts state police as most wanted list a former resident of belmont and lincoln was sentenced to prison on january twenty fifth richard how seventy five waived his right to a jury trial elizabeth volk spokes person for the middle six district attorney's office on the count of failure to appear the defendant was sentenced to fifteen months in the host of correction from and after a grand jury indicted haag in one nine hundred ninety two but charges of rape of a child indecent assault and battery on a child under fourteen assault with intent to rape a child and providing obscene material to a minor all incidents occurred in lincoln ware did at the time according to his defense attorney steve weymouth how who had moved to belmont by the time of the indictment posted bail and then never appeared for his trial on august twelfth one thousand nine hundred two he instead fled the country years after how became a fugitive serving time on the massachusetts state police is most wanted list the state police's violent fugitive apprehension section along with belmont police found how residing in colombia early in two thousand and thirteen as previously reported by the citizen erald state police reached out to the u s state department in may of two thousand and thirteen and after failing once the state department's diplomatic security service and colombian immigration officials developed new information on how whereabouts and arrested him in february two thousand and fourteen state and belmont police as well as the u s state department were able to find and arrest him while he was taking a taxi between the colombian cities of cali and caught the haney during his time away october twenty fifteen pled guilty to using multiple fake businesses and aliases to defraud more than one hundred fifty universities seminaries churches and individuals by taking it vans to payments for various encyclopaedias one of which he claimed to have authored despite not possessing the books or having any way to obtain them how good was sentenced to twenty months of time served in prison and to pay restitution of one hundred sixty seven thousand eight hundred eighty three dollars and over the clear thank you bob now mourned high school building committee moves forward with project the belmont high school building committee school committee and school administration and belmont selectman made significant decisions regarding the belmont high school building project on january twenty third the belmont school committee voted unanimously to a prove a seven to twelve grade configuration model for the project the belmont high school building committee voted unanimously to go forward with the design scheme of a major addition with a minor renovation for the project there by maintaining with upgrades the existing field house and pool the decision to go forward with a seven to twelve school configuration and the major addition with a minor resin renovation design scheme was based on extensive research including moment trend analysis community design workshops educational programming analysis and environmental and sustainable design study cost modeling and analysis site constraints study social emotional learning analysis building systems assessment traffic pattern and options analysis grade configuration and district wide space analysis community feedback including seventeen hundred ninety four survey responses three educational visioning workshops and teacher in school administrator in port supporting documentation including reports and materials for the items mentioned above is available at belmont high school project dot org the belmont school district is experiencing skyrocketing enrollment the a moment has increased by six hundred thirty one students over the past six years furthermore the m an independently contracted demographer retained by belmont both project a steady upward trend of an additional one hundred plus new students coming to the district every year for the forseeable future these are moment numbers represent a primary factory fact or in both the grade configuration and design scheme decisions the selected building scheme will address the education and  belmont's students and will support continued in moment growth and evolving teaching models the square footage of the proposed design is based on the number of students and the educational program the current size of the nine to twelve high school is two hundred fifty thousand one hundred twenty square feet the design in roman for the new seven hundred twelve building is two thousand two hundred fifteen students leading to a square footage of four hundred fifty one thousand five hundred seventy five square feet at this  project estimated project costs are primarily derived from the square footage of the building the square footage cost estimate consisting of both renovated into new spaces is created using current building industry crossed specific to large high schools in this region tom get soonest did daily is projects and the owners project manager for the belmont high school building project and floyd carmen belmont's town treasurer have determined that the estimated cost for the seventy twelve facility will be estimated project cost three hundred and thirteen point two million dollars estimated m s b a dream burst mint eighty one point four million dollars estimated belmont cost two hundred thirty one point eight million dollars approximately seventy four percent predicated on these project cost estimates the real estate tax burden to go months homeowners based on a thirty year debt exclusion will be one hit hundred eighty four one hundred thousand dollars of assessed home value the b a h s b c will continue to focus on finding cost effective projects solutions that are fiscally responsible in both capital and operating costs now over to max thank you cler pipeline advocates renew calls for expansion read operators one fuel supply is precarious by gary t debate over pipelines in new england is intensifying as the region's power grid operators warn of dire scenarios in the future without additional natural gas pipeline capacity rolling blackouts or other emergency actions will likely be needed by the winter of two thousand and twenty four to two thousand and twenty five to keep the power system operating reliably according to a january seventeenth report from iowa so new england the region's electrical grid operator fuels security is a growing concern in new england the regional power system is increasingly dependent on natural gas for power generation the capacity of those of the region's natural gas infrastructure is not always adequate to deliver all the gas needed for both heating and power generation during winter and natural gas is the fuel choice fuel of choice for a large segment of new power plant proposals the report stated over the past several years new england has become increasingly dependent on natural gas for energy production roughly forty nine percent of the region's electricity is produced by natural gas power plants up from fifteen percent in two thousand according to iowa so new england the increased use of natural gas has offset the closure of oil and coal power plants throughout the region while renewable energy sources have become more widely used in that span they still account for just ten percent of new england's electrical energy production due to constrained capacity on the pipelines bringing natural gas into the region however natural gas has been subject to volatile price humps during high demand periods during the cold snap in early january the constraints on available supply cause the price of natural gas to spike prompting energy producers to turn to oil to generate electricity according to its own new england against that backdrop of many in the natural gas industry have renewed calls for expanding pipelines  new england there has also been considerable opposition to new pipelines including from environmental groups we've heard this before said joel wool of energy and environment advocate with boston based clean water action when it gets cold the gas industry revs up the p r engines to promote false and destructive solutions while aggressively lobbying against renewable energy in the state house he said there's a financial as well as environmental component to his opposition to more pipelines rather than investing in natural gas infrastructure he advocates increasing energy efficiency and expanding the use of renewable energy it's a broken logic when people say we're very reliant on gas so we need more gas he said when we are overly dependent on something the idea of promoting other kinds of solutions and the idea is promoting other kinds of solutions the more we get on one single resource and the more risk we're exposed to and the less we can control we have over our energy costs the massachusetts sierra club criticised the i assume new england report this report inexplicably underestimates the amount of renewable energy i e solar and wind that we know will be coming online in coming years yet even a report rigged against clean energy shows that new england can affordably and reliably replace most of its old dirty dangerous and on economic power plants without spending billions of dollars on unnecessary gas pipelines massachusetts sierra club director emily norton stated on the opposite side of the issue proponents of increasing natural gas pipeline capacity say more natural gas is needed to support a system that includes a growing portfolio over new sources over you bob market strives to make store a success home delivery and curbside pick up foods market customers can shop online full home delivery orders using the service rosie app dot com and foodies employees will hand pick the items and deliver them in the special foods van for customers shopping in person at the store curbside pick up makes it easy you'll pull be a car up to the entrance and will bring your groceries raido said mcphail prepared foods make fresh made fresh install off hot and cold bar soups salad and ready to go rotisserie chicken and a variety of goal main meals are available in foods prepared foods section daily are prepared foods and made in store from scratch said mcphail this includes the bakery section where store patrons can find items like freshly baked bread and elaborately decorated cupcakes meat department with on site but his shop beef is all high quality angus beef and our sausages a made in store as well as our ground beef we get fresh fish every single day from captain martin's a very local fish company belmont  geoffrey stone can cut any meat toward or people want more personalized service and human interaction they want someone who's listening said stone custom the gift baskets food is makes up  gift baskets and fruit baskets for any occasion such as valentine's day customers can pick up their favorite products from anything in the store and customer service will put together a custom basket the in store wine and beer selection provides additional options catering foodies made custom made veggie fruits cheese and sandwich platters for any catering event such as super bowl parties mcphail said even if it's not on the catering menu do it we have a chicken z t broccoli meatballs but if you want shrimp scampi something else will the intense period of cold weather and heavy snow that kicked off the new year caused a range of problems in belmont and many other boston area communities the winter of two thousand and eighteen has been a cavalcade of storm events arctic temperatures and even genesis cyclon these weather events can cause devastating damages said robert ramsey how to prevent pipe freeze ups insulate pipes on outside walls in crawl spaces in attics siol any leaks around pipes that allow cold air in disconnect outdoor garden hoses and use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water leading to outside faucets know where your main water shutoff valve is located and how to use it if you will be traveling or you know the temperature is going to plummet thermostat on at least fifty five degrees in extreme cold it's advisable to go even higher leave cabinet doors open below the kitchen and bathroom sinks arrange for someone to check your home or business daily while you are away to make sure it's warm enough contact a professional to shut off and drain your system if you will be away for an extended period what to do if your pipes do freeze despite preventative measures if you turn on your fos it's a nothing comes out leave the faucets turned on and call a plumber do not use electrical appliances in the areas of standing water you could be electrocuted do not try to thaw a pipe with a torch or rather open flame because it could cause a fire you may be able to thaw a frozen pipe with the from a hair dryer start by warming the pipe as close to the faucet as possible working towards the coldest section of the pipe if your water pipes have already burst turn off the water at the main shut hundred twenty seventh out of three hundred fifty one towns to sign a community compact agreement with the commonwealth of massachusetts on january twenty ninth a total of thirty thousand dollars from the state program will be used for comprehensive financial planning and long term financial planning the community compact is a voluntary mutual agreement entered into between the baker polito administration and individual cities and towns of the commonwealth compact also articulated the country commitments the commonwealth will make on behalf of all communities including helping the community attain their chosen best practice this was newtown administrator patrice garvin the first major accomplishment in her role for belmont in seven days she wrote a grant it's got to be some kind of record said selectman chairman jim williams police said she met garvin when she introduced the community compact program to shirley when she was town administrator there to come here and make that one of the first orders of business for the community under your leadership thank you said police community compacts are one of the various tools the administration utilize s to strengthen the partnership between cities and towns and the commonwealth by entering a community compact a community agrees to implement self selected best practices they select from across a variety of areas as part of this partnership the commonwealth agrees to fulfil a set of commitments and works to provide assistance for a specific community based on their chosen best practice lieutenant governor police who has signed over three hundred twenty five compacts with communities across the state and some additional applications are pending through its compact belmont but work with the commonwealth to implement the following best practices develop a set of formal financial policies and practices and develop and utilize a long range planning and financial forecasting model those are really important studies to undertake and to plan for the future for in the future so that you can free up the dollars needed in this community for the essential services that make up the quality of life here in belmont over to you bob thank you max according to ally dot com that's a dot com here are the best ways to avoid hitting potholes slow down the fast driving when you hit a pothole the worst the damage is likely to be given some space should the car in front of you fail the world void applaud whole you'll give yourself the time to react if you leave a good deal of space between you and the other driver prepare for puddles when you see a puddle in the middle of the road it's impossible to know how deep that cradle will be so be very cautious hold tight potholes can cause a violent jolty a car so it's very important that you have a solid grip on the steering wheel otherwise your car can veer into the next lane or you can lose control entirely don't break you'll want to avoid breaking as you hit the pothole because doing so can actually cause more damage and finally keep the a tie is full properly inflated tires will give your car added protection from plot holes and now over to clare thank you resource night for substance use recovery are you looking to enter into recovery do you have a loved one that struggles with substance abuse representatives from local treatment providers will be available to provide information and assistance five to eight pm on friday eighth at the beach street santa two sixty six beach street in belmont some of the representatives include spectrum health systems learn to cope magnolia new beginnings early house square medical column health right turn and the phoenix for more information please contact lieutenant kristin daly belmont police department six one seven nine nine three two five five four thank you now he has max thanks claire belmont nonprofits receive community grants harvard pilgrim healthcare foundation has announced the two belmont nonprofit organizations were awarded a total of seven hundred fifty dollars from the foundation's community spirit nine eleven many grant program the organizations receiving funds are belmont high school with a five hundred dollars grant and united states conference of catholic bishops with a two hundred fifty dollar grant to commemorate those harvard p members who lost their lives on september eleventh two thousand and one harvard pilgrim in the foundation created the community spirit nine eleven many grant program this program allows each harvard pilgrim and n t t data employee to award a two hundred fifty dollars to five hundred dollars grant completely funded by the foundation to the local charity of his choice each calendar year since this community grants program began in two thousand  harvard pilgrim employees have directed more than five point two million dollars to thousands of organizations throughout connecticut maine massachusetts and new hampshire new study racism linked to higher rates of police shootings of african americans by christine to sont researches examined the relationship between a state's structural racism and the disparity in the rates at which police shot black and white people eric garner michael brown to mia rice their death sparked national nationwide outrage from those who say there was a connection between racism and police brutality and received nationwide criticism from those who argue that black people just have more interactions with police now experts have weighed in to say that racism is a factor when black victims die at the hands of police according to a study out of boston university states with more structural racism have a higher racial disparity when it comes to fatal police shooting of victims researches and be used school of public health found the study published recently in the journal of national medical association is the first of its kind be you said though there is plenty of dr on how do you the use of force by police is more likely to affect black communities studies have shown that police kill black people at disproportionate rates and even that offices a less respect full to black dr as there has yet to be an examination into the connection between those racial disparities and structural racism at the state level according to be you structural racism  pertains to the social forces systems in institutions that reinforce inequities for this study researches created an index of structural racism at the state level measuring residential segregation and disparities in economic status employment status educational attainment and incarceration rates research is also looked at daughter on fatal police shooting of victims between january one twenty thirteen and june thirty twenty seventeen from a mapping police violence project as a state's racism index increased the research is found so did the ratio measuring the disparity between police shootings and unarmed black and white victims this suggests that the higher rates of fatal police shootings of black victims not merely a result of more interactions between police offices and black suspects said co author of a need or cope off in a statement instead o results indicate that there is some states there is a systematically different response based on the race of the suspect looking at segregation led to the biggest association with police shootings research said for every ten point increase in the state's racial segregation index there was a sixty seven percent increase in the state's ratio of police shooting rates of black victims to white victims wisconsin had the highest state racism index according to the study at seventy four point nine zero out of a rating of one hundred there the rate of black people by police was fifteen point nine times higher than the rate at which white people were shot by police montana the state with the lowest racism index showed no difference in the rate at which black and white people were shot by police along with my colleagues claire and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and we hope that you have enjoyed the show we return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont