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 o's it can also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four thirty belmont media podcast network and now on to the talking news raising a puppy to become a service dog by joining a case of alephs last february belmont resident jane slave n ventured to logan airport to meet an eight week old black lab named her the young puppy was shipped to boston from california by canine companions for independence a nonprofit organization which breeds raises and trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities slaven has volunteered to train her as she which means he will be under her care until august of tw nineteen since day one it's been her responsibility to care for her she as if he were her own including grooming and veterinary care it is also slavens role to socialize  basic manners and training him to learn thirty commands such as sit down no speak under and turn slaven takes her is she to a weekly training session with the new england dog training club and also goes to a monthly training session which c c i has with other local puppy raisers outside the home he is required to wear a gentle leader at color which functions like a halter on a horse when her she is done with his training with jane he will be returned to c c to undergo six to nine months of professional training where he will learn skills such as opening draws and daws pulling a wheelchair and turning the lights on and off when hershey is done with his professional training he will either assist an adult with physical disabilities by performing daily tasks assist someone who is deaf or hot of hearing by alerting them to important sounds work with clients with special needs visitation education criminal justice or health care setting or he will be skilled companion for a child or adult with physical cognitive and developmental disabilities according to slave her she has adjusted well to living with her and her husband dan with their two sons ben and jake and their golden retriever paysan hershey has been an easy dog to have we have we he has weaved his way into our family labrador retriever who stayed with her family until the spring of two thousand and fifteen gala successfully completed her professional training and was placed at a facility at a faculty dog at as a facility dog at gaylord specialty hospital in connecticut seeing my st puppy achieve the goal of becoming a working dog was very motivating only forty percent of the puppies in the program make it through the programs slaven slaven has says she has long admired service dog work and has the time and energy to raise a puppy for someone else puppy raises get asked all of the time how can we give give up puppies up we don't give our puppies up we give up puppies too there are many people out there who benefit from having a service dog sit slaven and i will have to to my colleague bob thank you what it will take to reduce emissions bellman energy committee proposes steps to reach cap goal by two thousand and fifty by lexy piri residents are on their way to reducing carbon dioxide emissions as part of the goals set in the climate action plan but energy committee chairman roger cohen who said it isn't enough at the special town meeting  nov th coltan proposed four points to help the town reach the standard of lowering c o two emissions by eighty percent by two thousand and fifty this standard was set in two thousand and nine with the pas of the cap coat no noted improvements the town have made since two thousand and nine including creating the energy committee in the belmont better homes program since two thousand and nine when one has claimed the title of the highest percentage of solar panel roofs in the commonwealth according to quote one of the improvements is that belton belmont has the highest percentage of electric cars in any zip code in massachusetts town meeting member mary in two sangean precinct six said this stat was a surprise i don't see that many electric cars around because the engines but i know my hasn't is interested in buying an electric car is not only doing well but better than any other community because despite the records and successes we're not going to make it we won't achieve our goal a plan to reach goal holton presented four points to make it possible for the town to meet the cap goal of reducing emissions by eighty percent by the year two thousand and st one hundred percent of belmont lights electricity generation must be emission free according to coal to do so belmont light must agree to the proposal representatives of belmont light said according to call the department takes direction from the community belmont li believes town meeting would be the best place to get that direction from residents the nd point cotton presented is fifty percent of new oil heating replacements must be  heating replacement should be heat pumps by the year two thousand and thirty two upon presenting those four points cause stress the st point must be met for the other points to follow see you in seven months include the end of his presentation town meeting members who will vote on the proposal during the annual town meeting in the spring in the meantime the energy committee will be educating residents about t proposed points and i want to my colleague max thanks bob local cable faces f c c threat f c c rule could eliminate massachusetts t v stations by maria as snow scattered lightly across the sleepy belmont those inside belmont media center in waverly square were busy in the podcast studio several impassioned students from belmont high school hustle to get the latest episode of the humble high school podcast ready in studio a two brothers angelo and felix friends patiently prepared for the next television broadcast of the belmont business report their hard work represents some of what belmont citizens will have to live without if the prospective federal commune communications commission moves toward adopting a rule that commutes community television groups say would cut funding for public educational and governmental channels the proposed rule moving quickly toward regulatory approval would allow major cable companies such as verizon fi os comcast x finity and r c n to limit the amount of spending for community programming that has been negotiated as part of their licensing agreements with cities and towns across the country belmont and other similar communities around the country who's now face the wipe out of local news according to jeff hansel belmont media the center's executive director there are many critical questions to be considered in light of this new f c c rule which will give large cable networks like comcast and verizon greater power to dictate how much they donate to local media what happens month media center no longer exists who in the community stands to be affected and how and who in belmont will miss it when it's gone hansel believes community news is symbolic of the st amendment quote it's one of the last bastions of local free speech platforms unquote he said this is not the st battle he's faced with the right of free speech during hensel's time studying radio and television that miami university in ohio he ran an extra curricular film program on two occasions the school tried to shut it down after showings of politically controversial films and according to hansel the students won both cases it's something i've been preparing to fight all along hansell said i saw the value of free speech but for belmont a lot stands to be lost belmont media center is responsible for connecting residents to their local government gone would be the coverage of town meetings were important decisions like budget allowance allowances and votes on new infrastructure would be aired gone would be any live broadcasts of debates between belmont politicians during elections government officials rely on our operations for local governance and hansel if we weren't here it would be damaging to local government itself because we provide a fundamental communications link and it's not just local government that will be affected by the new rule programs and education tools for other members of the community could face diminished funding belmont media center provides engaging activities for the town seniors we have equipment and staff at the senior center where we provide training and education said hansell we all also started a virtual reality video lab and are using this as an activity that has some therapeutic value hansel also talks about the studio the center has built a channel school which is used every day by the students they report the news of the day and use it for various curriculum it's a teaching tool across the country similar programs face tremendous loss if the new f c c rule passes according to information provided by  berry communications director for senator edward j markey quote there are more than one thousand five hundred public educational and governmental studios operations and an estimated three thousand p g channels in america religious programming represents thirty percent of local access programming tens of thousands of hours of programming is produced by veterans seniors the disabled and ethnic minority and nd language groups unquote those working at belmont media center continue to encourage people to contact congress members and senators like markey in order to get their voices heard last month markey sent a letter signed by ten other senators protesting the ruling we f proposal result in a dire drop in resources for p g channels throughout the nation the senators in the letter said for now the question of whether the f c c could put an end to local cable news remains on known but the potential consequences are drastic for those who work to enrich the community experiences in towns like don't want to quote it will be upsetting to a lot of people who have assumed we would always be here because we are the community t v station providing all these services unquote said hansel the f c c accepted public comments on the rule change until november th but there is a thirty day period for the public to reply to comments already made which ends december th over to you bob thank you max is withdrawing from minuteman the right choice by rachel kelley superintendent john failon ass residence to reconsider belmont's withdrawal for the minuteman regional vocational technical high school district in a presentation at special town meeting on nov th following belmont's vote on october th dean to withdraw as a member of district two minuteman failon commissioned a working group to research the town's options following the impending withdrawal set to be effective on june the th two thousand and twenty the group was comprised of school and town administrators belmont public school educators town meeting members parents the belmont representative of the minuteman school committee and other community members the working group was organized and shared by anthony director of finance for the belmont public schools after considering space availability and enrollment academic social emotional and student life factors as well as long term sustainability and financial factors the working group concluded that belmont should continue as a member just stripped of minuteman to provide the best options for belmont students pursuing minuteman school committee but to supported in the working group he said he was impressed by the comments made by the teachers and guidance counselors or members of the working group while minuteman serves a relatively small group of belmont students it is an important and valuable option for those students who do attend he said and over to bob thank you new opportunities for age restricted as presented his idea to the planning board in july for a system living facility to be located at one thousand pleasant street next to stan market and behind belmont carwash  community from us fifty one years through a feasibility study he learned people like to stay in the mine and sees a need to expand his brand to an assisted living currently there are no other assisted living facilities in belmont according to kargar the feasibility study showed the need in two thousand and eighteen to be for two hundred and forty two dollars additional assisted living traditional beds and one hundred and forty one dollars memory care beds design presented by rojas in july is a three storey thirty two feet high building  thousand square feet with thirty parking spaces and eighty to eighty five units the st floor of the assisted living facility would offer services for residents such as hair and nail salons therapy rooms dining and gathering areas the nd floor would have traditional assisted living units four hundred dollars square foot six hundred square feet each the units would be mostly studio with a few one bedrooms with small kitchenettes bathrooms closets and common areas for congregating the rd floor would be for dimension and memory can residence with an outdoor deck and common areas and out to max thank you bob belmont to reduce interest rate on property tax for eligible seniors by sam bakker meant the town meeting members approved reducing the interest rate for eligible residents who are involved with the property tax deferr program at a special town meeting nov th only needing a majority vote to pass an overwhelming two hundred and sixteen dollars voted in favor of the motion well twenty one dollars opposed as a result of the vote the rate for eligible seniors will now be reduced from eight to four five percent chairman of the board of selectmen adam dash percent of the article and voice to support of approving the motion he emphasized there will be no risk to belmont since the town won't lose any money because it will be given back over time with interest seems like a win win for everybody he said we're doing what we can to help low income seniors stay in their homes and stay in the town nash also said he hopes this article will increase the number of residents benefiting from tax deferral since there are only thirteen people currently using the tax deferral program dash believes now is an appropriate time for this article especially since town meeting members had just approve the new belmont high school proposal which will cost over two hundred and ninety five million dollars town treasurer floyd carmen however did not support this article he believes there is a larger benefit to people who live outside of town like the children of elderly belmont residents we are deferring their taxes not cutting checks he said the money goes to people that lived outside of belmont roy epstein chairman of the warrant committee acknowledged the warrant committee unanimously supported the property the proposed reduction of the property tax rate because so few residents participate in the program but epstein cautioned that if the program expanded exponentially it could suddenly open up a one million dollars cashflow problem for the town over to you bob dollars of community of asian funds to design an underpass below commuter rail lines joining alexander avenue and the belmont high school property this is the st phase in just signing the belmont when the town st began talking about the project he said it will benefit precinct eight the windbreak neighborhood by giving residents the ability to access the rest of town and preventing students from crossing the tracks the alexander avenue underpass will be part of the belmont community path connecting wall famine cambridge belmont has been a missing link in the vast network of community pav in massachusetts long and torturous torturous route indeed this is been going on since one thousand and eighty three along the way we have been moving that slowly so that we can have a play path for the towns the dash dash said that breaking up the path into smaller pods like the alexander avenue underpass will make the design process of the community path the zia furthermore dash emphasized the benefits of the path of belmont it will create a linear park which will be a recreational asset it will reduce traffic congestion by offering alternative modes of access to the center of town and it will improve public safety by venting people from crossing commuter rail tracks additionally he said there are benefits to health and environment according to state senator william brownsburg or construction of belmont community path are eligible for state and federal funding which will cover ninety percent of the costs and i wanted my colleague bob thank you committee given ok to move forward to granting the authority to enter into contracts and hey invoices this is critical as we prepared to go out to bid on both projects said emery mahoney chairman of the d p w b p d building committee preceding the vote mahoney gave an upbeat report updating bellman residence on the progress of the building projects where full speed ahead she said the committee appointed to the two project is a jo made of eleven members including police chief richard mcglothlin fire chief david frisell and director of community development glen clancy committees architect ted galanti one the most praise pony she lighted his design creativity abilities to overcome unforseen obstacles on the renovation designs on both projects with regards to the public works building renovation galanti cern drafted dozens of designs according to monye ultimately he managed to come up with an updated design for the facility that dodges an unforseen sewer pipe running parallel to the building a design that will not obstruct the community path and avoids the railroad the project is set for completion in the winter of two thousand and twenty according to my only the schematic design for the police station renovations was slightly more problematic than that of public works completion has been pushed back to summer of two thousand and twenty because of how extensive the project will be the police will have to relocate temporary temporarily to the town hall auditorium during construction in the n t has been able to create an updated police station that solves many of the issues with the original structure mahoney spacious locker rooms will be available for both genders as well as new holding cells safe and secure entry and booking space for prisoners on the ground floor the architect was also able to add an elevator to the building making it handicapped accessible back to bob i'm sorry back to max ok thank you eventually bob town meeting vote to limit recreational marijuana zoning by ellie french until case law and recreational marijuana has officially been zoned in belmont with its sale limited to a district on pleasant street just under a mile long town meeting voted in favor of the measure two hundred and seven thousand two hundred and fourteen easily surpassing the two thirds majority that it needed for approval the measure was also unanimously supported by the board of selectmen and the planning board quote if you had asked me fifty years ago when i lived in berkeley california whether i thought i'd be in a town meeting in belmont in two thousand and eighteen talking about this i would have wanted to know what you were smoking said steve pinkerton vice chairman of the planning board pinkerton said over the past few months the planning board has been tasked with looking into three basic questions where would recreational marijuana be zoned what would the buffer zones be and how would the permanent process work as a result of the september special just two retail stores will be of allowed to open in belmont but pinkerton said their research has shown this area provides quote ample room quote even for two relatively similar stores with relatively similar product the measure up holds the state's five hundred dollars foot buffer zone between dispensaries and schools though the pleasant street zoning provides plenty of distance in and of itself as an additional restriction to keep marijuana out of the hands of teenagers the age limit  recreational marijuana in belmont is twenty five store hours are also limited eight am to eight pm by town by law back to you bob along with my colleagues bob and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you have enjoyed the show we wish our listeners a happy hanukkah we will return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont