welcome to talking news we are delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation i members of the beach street center marian jonathan and martha we will be reading local is in arlington struggle one continues to thrive by capital of saying on customer service kathryn and ski owner of holiness is  an independent clothing store with locations in on massachusetts avenue and cushing square in belmont announced last week that the store would expand to offer personalized shopping and styling services the new services will include shopping and styling by appointments private shopping parties fundraising events personal styling workshops and a water drop cut consultation for at least the last five years customers have been making and as for more then ski tote and vincy told the advocate more time more center in two thousand and five and then adding the close you square location in two thousand and twelve but the idea to broaden the horizon for customer experience really came two years ago with the arrival at the end skis fence skis friend emma march the store's assistant manager and now head of the new service is division it's the most excite excited about helping women look at their wardrobes with an who they are now to create a wardrobe that brings comfort and ease to their lives march stated in a press release that a company hours offering more flexible options around work schedules and lena's wills also hold evening shopping parties with six or more people of styling styling tips and ten percent off all purchases the biggest new feature out wherever is the wardrobe  station where clients can hire a arena's style for eye for a three hour visit to their personal closet at their home according to a leaders website stylists during a wardrobe consolation would eliminate unnecessary outdated clothing styles before new outfits from existing wardrobe create shopping lists of new clothes and accessories to buy and  store stylings visit at helenus with pre selected pieces the role first for a standard wardrobe consultation is eighty five dollars as three hundred eighty five dollars of cording to the website although the expansion catalinas homes during a time when retail is losing around the country to commence clothing stores are finding access primarily because they can offer a personal touch that a website such as amazon cannot duplicate i have really built i thought customers trust in me said venky but it's also my staff they are so dedicated in both of us communities the belmont manager is really attached to the business and because she was square i had been in arlington so don i feel like family jonathan test drive an electric vehicle in belmont belmont drives electric is a new campaign sponsored by the belmont energy committee the belmont lite sustainable belmont and other belmont residents to promote driving electric vehicles the belmont high school parking lot h transformed into an electric vehicle car show october thirteenth and october fifteenth do you have anyone interested or curious to have the opportunity to learn more and even test drive a electric vehicle marty bittner co chair of the belmont drives electric campaign was very pleased with the turnout over the two day period we believe that most people are not aware of how enjoyable lector cars are to drive and the doing a test drive is the best way to get people to consider electric vehicle ownership additionally connecting interested residents with current electric vehicle owners yes people a chance to get their questions answered about what life is like with an electric car said bittner belmont resident claus becker is leasing his third involved he changed to electric to be part of the solution of a problem when it comes to climate change fast tons of tarc cheap to own luxury asli quiet and comes with a community of fun people said becker the only disadvantage she could think of is the limited selections that you can get an electric snow hasn't been an issue for him with a vote which channels well in the snow one out of every five car sales in norway is an electric car if they can work there they can work here said butler adding al though the driving range decreases somewhat in the cold weather it is not so significant because someone parents address speeds on walking routes launched drive like your kids live here campaign by joanna k s dualists several residents who live in the vicinity of burbank elementary wellington elementary and chandlery middle schools have decided to focus on making the area safer for students who walk to school because they are concerned traffic in the area travels too fast too many drivers are distracted and there are too many pedestrians for it to be safe to help make drivers more conscientious about their speed while driving on a school street and surrounding streets in the vicinity of the belmont schools parents have joined forces and put out red and white signs reading drive like your kids live here a campaign which was founded in connecticut in twenty ten was a mission to provide a safer environment for children and a primary goal to slow down aggressive and distracted drivers in neighborhoods prevent unnecessary injuries and deaths and win back the streets for their children traffic speed on school street has been an ongoing concern for residents and parents of kids attending burbank wellington and chan or the current campaign began with burbank parents and their neighbors wanting to make their concerns visible to drivers by displaying signs and being out on the sidewalks the morning of october fifth international walk to school day said harriet wong a burbank parent jesse bennett co president of the burbank p t a was one of several burbank families who held signs on october fifth to raise awareness of pedestrian safety and responsibility when driving on school street the street is a narrow two way street with sidewalks and curbs of widely varying width and quality and it's a high traffic artery that serves but as transfer three schools burbank wellington and gen the signs are an offshoot of the work the burbank walks committee has done over the past several years she added we've done safe walking training at schools with kids we put together walking school buses to help kids walk together increasing visibility at crossings and we have worked with the town to address concerns for a period of time there was a big sign on school street  three mine people have their speed and tell him to slow down but the town only paid for it to be there for a short time said bennett last year burbank was honored by the massachusetts department of education a safe routes to school exemplary program for the work done to promote safe walking and biking to school burbank parent have their bar said concerned parents have met their rector of community development glen clancy about the speeds and adding signage to increase safety clancy recognized the need for signage and has been trying to procure radar speeding signs for the area close to burbank and then follow with signs at other town school said by our martha new workforce program focuses on retail trotty employers and labor as officials hope a do fondue thousand dollar grant program will boost workforce development in the retail section and help retail employees find pathways to career advancement too often we tend to overlook or take for granted the opportunity is the jobs and the career that airs in the retail sales section said johnny b hirst president of the retailers association of massachusetts there are truly outstanding career opportunities hearst was among many invited guests in attendance september twenty eighth when labor officials and retailers gathered at the cambridge side galleria to launch the new workforce development program the funding is part of a ten point nine million wal mart foundation grant to provide training for retail workers and job seekers across the country the metro dorothy regional employment board is one of ten organizations nationwide wide to receive funding it will be eligible to apply for an additional four hundred thousand dollars next year this is a great starting point point and training for employees who want to further their careers in retail said jerry  dickinson owner champion sporting goods in belmont the metro north regional employment board which serves twenty eight communities north of boston expects the funding will support programs to help three hundred and fifty job seekers and retail employees and fifty retail employees the goods of the program ah to promote career advancement in the retail sections and reduce turnovers in the industry nationally the retail sector supports one in every four forty jobs we want to make sure and easier and easier for front line workers to make up the ladder and work careers and build stronger communities said david mum ski market manager for wal mart  equally seventy five percent of wal mart's management team was prominent from the hourly ranks  program to look for lessons that can be applied statewide undersecretary for workforce development at jennifer jones price said we are really metro north program for retail opportunities said the retail sector often faces widespread public misconceptions only have about half the jobs in the sector are on the sales floor she said other retail positions in management security just sticks marketing schooling and finance jonathan recent home sales in belmont by joyous over last a sampling of twenty belmont properties recently sold shows the majority selling for above the asking today vice president of remax lending image involved who has been in real estate business for the past after fifteen years since it is definitely a seller's market and has been for the past four years she advises buyers interested in the belmont market to be well prepared positioning yourself as key to select a lender and give him all of yours a national information so you will be ready to go select a home inspector you would like to choose and have a conversation about if he can't accommodate a last minute inspection if a seller is allowing buyers to inspect the house prior to making an offer is a great opportunity to write a stronger offer the fewer continues these buyers write into off an offer the better but taking out contingencies is risky so you need to do all your homework ahead of time sentiment she recalls of market not being as hot and element in twenty two thousand and three while homes were on the market for an average of seventy eight days and very little went over the asking price however belmont typically has a low inventory we are a small town and a very rooted town there are many generations of families that will always have roots here said mcvay marion children's museum features she captures the beauty of a mother goose and her babies at clay pit pond with her camera lens over the course of a week in may of two twenty fifteen the intriguing photos are now on display in the group show all things animals at the gallery at boston children's museum through november twenty third the exhibit features the work of forty artists from around the world including cambridge while sam it's quite a thrill for my gosling photos to be on exhibit at boston's children's museum one of the best parts of photography is seeing people's reactions to the photos and discovering how close the bonds are among the goslings and with their mother said crabs visitors to the all things and will exhibit have the opportunity to walk talk and play like the animals featured which are presented in a wide array of shapes sizes and mediums such as a five foot tall polar bear and a five inch tall ladybug cribs photos are displayed digitally on a television screen at the museum that volunteers volunteer activities act to this have been sorting through that eggs of a so donated winter clothing october thirteen to fifteen at s joseph's parish one thirty common street and belmont to ship to the soft texas refugee camp in northern greece the camp is home to eighteen hundred syrian refugees living in family units in three hundred fifty tents the volunteers comprise an interdenominational consortium of churches from local communities the volunteers sorted through a small mountain of clothing packaged pats shirts shoes and the warm jacket for each camp resident specifically sized to fit each man woman and child the clothing will arrive at the camp just after thanksgiving in time for the onset of winter although the media no longer reports on the syrian refugee crisis as they once did the plight of these people still remains dire and uncertain said leicester fly jenkins a cambridge resident who initiated the adopt a tent program as part of her american for refugees in crisis a r c efforts to build awareness and provide basic quality of life measures opportune cities at the soft x camp the very few g s at the soft x camp as well as the other sixty eight thousand syrian refugees in greece are currently in limbo imprisoned reality with minimal government or outside support this clothing will at least help the soft x families keep warm in the company coming months the bags was shipped from boston the week of october seventeenth and jenkins will meet the main the containers and oversee th distribution with remain ten ten as the needs of the welcome foundation of the los angeles part and of the soft x bakery in cambridge which along with her social media network serves to educate customers about the  sorry about the ongoing crisis and raise funds for her various camp projects including the adopt a tent initiative we've at the bakery and on social media i remind people these families are not only still suffering but also have been a vendor and with little or no recourse to be able to help themselves of course it's only natural that people develop and out of sight out of mind attitude as the press headlines vanish and my mission is to push against that inform and show them ways they can help the response so far has been fantastic and heartfelt but it needs to be more and ongoing in addition to her adoptive attendant program jenkins a r c work hat they soft lets includes establishments have a camp vegetable garden starting learning center with twenty computers for job training and online business ventures and setting up a small business trade center to teach residents various arts and crafts skills a r c a is trying to give people a mainstay to become self sufficient while being able to work and wait to be recognised as families in distress live in ten behind wire fences and said it so builds their self confidence and self esteem and gives them some business peace of mind that s they will have a better future jonathan news from bacon hill a bill for seniors at home with technology the committee on children families and persons with disabilities sent to a study committee a bill that would require the use of technology to allow seniors and people with physical developmental or emotional disabilities to live at home with the help of technology designed to maximize their independence the executive office of health and human services would drop regulations to implement this measure technology to help seniors live at home including computers home security systems personal emergency response system systems like lifeline health tracking gadgets home monitoring service systems and smart medication telemachus that offer autumn or visual cues for seniors to remind them to take their pills and the proper time marian belmont savings bank to host children's book belmont savings bank announced it will have a children's book drive to benefit ben to the library residents can bring in any older unused children's books to the banks main belmont branch before october thirty first and the books will be donated to the bent to the library the benton library is  nonprofit independent community library in belmont run by volunteers and supported entirely by step donations the historic site was designed in eight hundred ninety two a chapel for the belmont school for boys and was eventually purchased by colonel everett c benton in one thousand nine hundred three who made the chapel available for belmont public meetings after his death his family are offered the chapel to the town to use as a library belmont savings bank is located at two leonard street in belmont center it will accept book donations during normal hours of operation martha thank you for joining us for this episode of talky news please join us next week