welcome to talking news we're delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beech street center marian jonathan and irene we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper brownsburg or sponsors for bills to addressed cyclists safety in june two thousand and fourteen clint page was cycling in act and when an elderly motorist made a hard right turn crashing into page and knocking him off his bicycle luckily my speed was relatively slow so i didn't get significantly hurt said page owner of wheel work central palo road and an avid cyclist of fifty years most of us who ride at one point or another have been hit louis graham another belmont resident who bikes to work at the massachusetts institute of technology can attest to this he clipped a car mirror while traveling on concord haven't you and his wife has been a common term among cyclists referring to when an unexpected car door collides with a passing bicycle in recent years as more and more cyclists have taken to the roads accidents have become a cause for concern according to a two thousand and fourteen report by the alliance for biking and walking a national coalition of local and state bicycling and walking advocacy organizations but leads are large u s cities in commuter bicycling and working levels the same study also showed that eight point five percent of all traffic fatalities in boston are bicyclists a cyclist safety report conducted by the city of boston in two thousand thirteen says boston police recorded one thousand four hundred and forty six incidents between two thousand and ten and two thousand and twelve nine of which were fake tallies the issue was stressed thrust into the limelight january sixth when the state legislature's joint committee on transportation heard testimony regarding a number of proposed bills aimed at improving road safety i have been working on this issue as long as i have been in the legislature stead's said state senator will brownsburg or democrat from belmont who is sponsoring four of the key bills several currently pending bills have been filed in the past couple of years but we have reached the point where the issue has the necessary visibility among many provisions the four bills would require side guards and convex mirrors on larger vehicles such as eighteen wheelers make standing for parking in a bike lane or other on road bike facility a ticket a bow a fence with a one hundred dollar fine in require motorists to provide a minimum of three feet when going around a passing cyclists pedestrians and road workers passage of these bills could occur within the next six months barbara jacobson who testified before the joint committee and is also programs director of mass bike and advocacy organization says the bills are an important step in addressing cyclist safety which she described as a multi faceted issue jonathan water quality improvement on taking positive strides in addressing aging infrastructure  following a federal report in twenty fourteen that showed strength water quality in the women broke and shining a light on aging infrastructure it appears belmont is taking strides in the right direction in a presentation monday night glenn clanc director of community development told selectmen that recent sampling in october two thousand and fifteen show a bacteria lovers levels in several outfalls around town that were formally in violation of the clean water act now either in compliance or had it rightly reduced bacteria levels i really feel strongly we should highlight this project said clancy it will have a direct impact on a lot of residents in belmont thank you for your patience everyone according to clancy's presentation in one thousand nine hundred ninety eight belmont was told by the environmental protection agency to investigate all falls directly  charging into little pond alewife broke in belmont cambridge seven were found to exceed the maximum standards a lot following investigations and eight million dollars spent relining sewers and addressing other sewer infrastructure october twenty fifth fifteen sampling results showed three of these seven out falls have been cleared and three introduce their bacteria levels levels by more than ninety four percent in the wind book area or as many as ninety five houses have reported sanitary sewer backups after six million dollars was spent on sewer overflow mitigation facilities and town wide infiltration inflow removal the problem has not extended within belmont or to cambridge selectman and many residents on hand praised clancy for his efforts but everyone acknowledged much more will have to be done although belmont has spent millions according to cl presentation some communities including cambridge are spending upwards of fifty million dollars the three hundred thousand belmont spends annually to investigate the conditions of the sewers and fund projects designed does not go very far clancy said thus far the presentation showed that about forty nine percent of belmont center is sewers and thirty five percent of storm drains have been investigated and twenty six percent of senators soars and some point five percent of storm rooms have been rehabilitated this is an ongoing process and classy because some sores and drains that were fined five or seven years ago now need to be the two publicly declared monday night they would vote against granting special permits to future residents attempting to use air b n b for short term rentals in a residentially zoned house with the five persons e b a board that requires four votes to grant a special permit i am to see in the cards have the power to block all those applying for a special permit for air b n b air b allows users to rent out single rooms or even their entire house for a price they set and to people they choose as senior planner jeffrey wheeler explained at a planning board meeting january fi the town categorized as air b n b rentals like a bed and breakfast in residential neighborhoods residents can rent up to three rooms in their house for seven days or longer by right short term rentals require a special permit thus far most communities are still trying to understand the overall effects of air b n b and how to regulate it the number of residents using air b n b and belmont is then at the planning board meeting january fifth wheeler said the number was closer to thirty on monday night yogurt trillian said there were about sixty seven listed with last night's decision to  and levy of taylor wrote a special permit the z b a has now deny two special permits to residents seeking to use air b n b it also follows a discussion from the planning board which said it would air b n b might violate hospitality and disability access laws they were also worried about the town being liable if someone renting an air b n b commits a crime and the fact that air does not routinely perform background checks irene board dunc's donut shop permit z b a members and residents cite traffic as main concern facing a packed house of residents monday night january eleventh the zoning board of appeals denied a special permit to nicholas leo for a dunkin donuts on three forty four pleasant street in a local business district  nicholas psion newsy who had recused himself voted in favor well c b a chairman eric smith and member tino lew chalco voted against attorney joseph noon said leo who owns the property which used to be a gas station was planning to construct a new building to house the denton donuts which would have taken up sixteen hundred square feet and included twenty one seeds i am not persuaded by the traffic numbers said  according to a traffic study presented by noon it dunkin donuts at three forty four pleasant street would have fewer total trips pre date than the gas station did however the choko said well there may be fewer trips overall there are considerably more trips in the morning peak hours which would have a huge impact jonathan belmont passes ever public records test  belmont was among a minority of communities of the largest ever audience on how communities in massachusetts respond to requests for government records results come during a time when legislators are battling over public records reform in massachusetts a state historically known for having some of the worst public records access in the country late last year the northeastern university journalism class taught by mike boda an investigative reporter for v b t v channel five mailed requests to the city or town clerk and police chief for all three hundred fifty one communities in the commonwealth asking for reports detailing the salaries of municipal workers and the use of force policies describing when police officers can use their weapons the class used an alias name ben thompson and did not mention their affiliation with northeastern university  statewide fifty eight percent of communities did not respond to both written requests within the ten day limit set by state law one hundred thirty two police departments and one hundred twenty three town clerk offices were late as well some communities not respond at all while others charge hefty fees for documents for public expects a certain amount of transparency within their police department and our philosophy is if we can share information with you we are going to do it said assistant police chief james mcgaha when you've got a request as simple as use of force policy which is on many websites now and you throw up a compliance with state law currently public agencies must respond to a public records inquiry with information including whether the request has been approved or denied a fee estimate and other pertinent information within ten calendar days if approved the agency must provide the actual records as soon as practical part of the town success can be entered into strong organization question is the times official keeper of records and maintains a file cabinet in the town clerk's office to keep track of all public records requests for each one she marks the topic and due date of request with an orange pen in the corner for requests that are outside the town  cushman said she will conduct contact the proper town department and provide it with a cover letter detailing the public records law so all their employees know exactly what they must do marion dance therapist connects with multiple generations and needs by ed care of a ski jr a long time passion for dance progress to working as a dance movement therapist for donna newman b in recent years personal family experience compelled her to focus her work on helping people with dementia my father had dementia and i saw that the care he was given was not anywhere near good enough she shared people with disabilities who cannot speak and advocate for themselves get minimal care i want to right that wrong as a modern dance student while attending college newman boosting was inspired by ailey american dance theater three consecutive nights on the third night she literally i dreamt of pursuing a dance related career she shared her dream with a coworker who suggested she consider becoming a dance therapist it clicked right away and i never looked back newman boosting said for myself i understood that dance was about healing now newman blue steen is a board certified dance movement therapist mental health counsellor and educator she has worked for over thirty five years who have people of all ages and abilities in mental health and rehabilitation settings since one thousand nine hundred two she has been a senior lecturer and teaches the clinical supervision class to second year dance there a p in turns at lesley university in cambridge additionally she provides training and workshops internationally as owner of dance for connection newman blue steen lead stance movement therapy groups with older adults and people with dementia throughout eastern massachusetts groups typically meet monthly they may or may not remember my name but for the most part they remember me as somebody they like to be with she relayed their eyes brightened when they see me they do remember people we're all hardwired to connect with other people that includes babies and people with dementia the rest of us forget it but i had those two points in life it's really important to remember of all art forms she feels that dance allows the greatest feeling of vitality instead of seeing what people with dementia can do i see what they can do and they're joyous she explained there is a human this a happening not the feelings of suffering from isolation that that they're generally experiencing because dance therapists read nonverbal behavior we're able to understand what a person may be saying through their movement or through their vocalisations if they can't speak their appeal is also effective for people who use canes walkers or wheelchairs by doing seated dancing newman boosting noted everybody moves what they can she said i try to get them to engage as much of their body as possible by doing that i'm encouraging them to express their feelings and ideas as much as possible a common trait she has found among people with dementia is their name recognition which prompts positive feedback regardless of what else they may or may not know they know when their name is spoken she said everyone is glad to hear their name over and over again the more i do that the more they offer in the livelier they get her dance movement groups typically include props such as balloons hats and streamers well similar groups use a parachute neumann boosting instead invented a stretchy interactive device called the octopus and through multiple sensory modes they're getting the message i'm connected i'm an individual and i belong to this group she said as a performer neumann boosting is one of eight members ranging in age from twenty six to ninety three of the back pocket dancers based in cambridge intergenerational dance company performs throughout eastern massachusetts irene also up on beacon hill create senior safety zones house bill five thirty one the house gave initial approval to legislation allowing cities and towns to implement senior safety zones in which the speed limit would be lowered to twenty miles per hour zones would be near senior citizens housing hospitals nursing homes assisted living facilities senior centers and other senior establishments supporters said the zones similar to current school safety zones would reduce accidents and injuries and save lives report drivers with suspended or revoked licenses a law that went into effect on january one requires the registry of motor vehicles to notify the local police department when the driver's license of a local resident is suspended or revoked the notification is only required in certain cases including vehicular homicide drunken driving if the person is a traffic offender or poses an immediate threat to public safety included in the notification would be the offenders name address license plate number type of car and driving record jonathan belmont during which no one was injured the firefighters and police closed a lot of street in belmont center to prevent traffic from interfering with work on the building at fifty leonard street that contains the a talent erie and about ten other businesses including everybody to la to the law office of lara a pound us and our point strategic communications the roads were open once the scene was cleared it was a good stop said belmont fire chief david for we kept the fire contained to the duct work which allowed which will allow it to get up and running in a few days belmont firefighters and residents on pleasant street noticed the black smoke coming from the rear of the building which once was the town's fire house when they were driving by at about four fifteen on thursday landlord brian burke said the fire sparked from a tar residue build up on a welded shaft it had and effect it didn't affect the building itself because it was contained in the shaft he said the shaft is surrounded by fireproof material after the fire was put out a faint odor stung the fri air and remnants of soot lined signed by the entrance it was a better suite going back to the place you used to work to put out a fire said for zero point two the top right window his old office of all residents and starbucks across the street said they could not see them for zell said there were actual flames the fire also destroyed an entire wall in the law office of laura a panel's displacing her staff and causing both damage to office services seven strategies to decode or your mind when we think about bringing order to our lives we often think of tossing out unwanted items another way to get organized is to d clatter our minds one let it go you are in control of your mind only you can determine whether you will be happy aggravated annoyed or even angry most things that bother us are not devastating generally it is the palette of little things that eventually gets to us do not let anything bother you for more than a short time and then let it go decide what  decide what can i control think what can i change determine what can i what can i change act what can i do to write it down when we're busy it is too difficult to remember everything writing it down helps keep you on top of a busy schedule useless to keep track of what needs to be done use a calendar to keep track of appointments three shorten your to do list long list can cause distress and be overwhelming go over your list and determine what can be eliminated identify the priorities on that list see what might be done differently to make your actions more effective for limit your interruptions at work close your door so that you have uninterrupted time at home instruct family members to leave you alone for a predetermined time answer calls and messages at a set time every day limit the amount of time you spend doing this five say no be clear on your priorities and say no to the rest if you have no intention of saying yes do not avoid the issue by saying maybe simply say no and do not feel guilty if you simply cannot say no commit to a smaller responsibility that was requested six simplify toss out all items that are cluttering your space a d cluttered space can clear your mind for more important thinking rethink your schedule and combine several errands into fewer trips seven strategize taking time to plan can save time and energy decrease stress and create more fulfilling relationships identify what you want to change use the first six strategies to change what you can control and let go of the rest irene thank you for joining us for this episode of talking news please join us next week