welcome to talking news we're delighted to have you with us listening to our presentation by members of the beach street center marian jonathan and irene we will be reading local news and happenings from the community newspaper alexandria ruben to run for selectman ruben who moved to belmont in two thousand and thirteen said she plans to campaign on transparency as a citizen said ruben it's very hard to find out what is next and where we are ruben said she was compelled to run for selectman following the town's recent decision to extend a contract with somerville firm f w wrestle and sun the company that handles recycling collection in town while reuben said she thought the town was going to investigate new vendors the contract was extended for another two years despite a significant cost increase where the bids how did we evaluate asked ruben this was not transparent originally from moscow russia ruben has lived in the greater boston area for more than twenty years she said she moved to belmont because of the schools and for a small town still in close proximity to boston the mother of a three year old and a twelve year old ruben runs her own part time business consulting for small businesses primarily with four fewer employees prior to this role she worked for a number of large corporations and nonprofits including sallie mae i t world and new york life insurance company because it's part a part time business i have time to devote to this role said group and i have time to go through the two hundred page documents and make informed decisions in trying to beat out pillow ruben faces a tall task not only has a low lived in belmont since he was in eighth grade but he also has a wealth of local political experience in his six years on the board of selectmen pay a little low helped to advocate for a four point five million dollar proposition two and a half override served as chairman of the financial taskforce and help tire town administrator david kale but ruben said she has hit the ground running she already has formed the committee to elect alexandra ruben and recently teamed up with erin lou b m her new communications director last year and served as campaign manager to selectmen jim williams who shook things up when he ousted incumbent andy rojas who was who not only had been chairman of the board at the time but also raised thousands of dollars more in campaign donations than williams the big thing and i think it's evident is the lack of information sharing in the town said libyan who said this campaign is completely independent from that of jim williams and that is what drew me to jump in and support alexandra in a communications capacity because it has to change if it's this hard to run a town then we are clearly doing something wrong ruben stress the campaign has nothing to do with pale low i think he is a good guy he has been in politics for six years he has a lot to offer said ruben who said she has already received lots of encouragement to run i am not running out against mark i am coming out and saying this town needs to have a plan and a vision and a way to be more transparent reuben will hold an open house on the afternoon of february twenty eighth at a location to be determined and welcomes all residents to attend jonathan whole weeks of twenty fifteen the board which was put in place by gov invader last summer has been discussing options to save as much as forty six million dollars from the twenty seventeen fiscal year budget for the ride some of the options under consideration raising one way fares to four dollars and twenty cents the maximum allowed under americans with disabilities act and cutting out premiums own service entirely pr of the same day appointments or trips either to or from an address more than three quarters of a mile from a bus or subway stop over eight thousand seniors and this is a disabled riders took more than two hundred ten thousand such trips last year and acting in these extreme measures would be a slap in the face to massachusetts residents who rely on the service and them side members and allies who fought so hard to keep it affordable such  be discriminatory to the most vulnerable riders poor elders and people with disabilities or live far away from urban areas because of the high cost of housing furthermore the projected savings from raising fares and cutting premium service for the ride in the tens of millions of dollars stand in stark contrast contrast expenses for other projects on the n b t a's to do list including the green line extension push number in the billions the right cost ninety seven million dollars last year the state subsidizing forty seven dollars per ride may be an expensive the absolutely vital service the ride serves about thirty thousand who take two point one million trips per year or seven thousand per day and sack members quickly mobilized in response to the n p t s attempt led by transportation secretary stephanie pollack to cut premium service thousands of seniors and people with disabilities depend on the ride to stay active in their communities and meet basic needs without it they would have no transportation alternatives now left secretary pollock and stuart ninety one it is a lifeline for thousands it connects people to doctors grocery stores jobs in the community in october twenty fifth the numbers rallied in the state house with allies against the broader issue of transit privacy privatization which governor baker has favored the mc gathered for a second rally in november of this time of the governor's office demanding that he intervened to stop and in cuts the riot and sack is form requested a meeting with the governor to discuss all policy solutions that do not involve cutting vital service areas since november m sacked has also attended and testified that every weekly meeting of m b t a board most not oppose other cost saving measures under consideration by the board including state subsidies for taxis and rajouri services like as well as training for riders to use abundantly clear that the n p t any should work with seniors in the disability community before considering any policy changes that would harm riders the overall situation reflects the m b t is ongoing lack of public accountability as many member remember in two thousand and twelve the m b t a more than doubled fares for drawn from three dollars to four dollars and then five dollars many suffer imprisoned in their homes and cut back on groceries and medications after consist of advocacy education and civil disobedience but helps our members and their allies and disarm or twenty thirteen the m b to your knowledge the hardship move to reverse the fare increase and develop  more than low income riders especially in light of the physical control wars recent discussions raise fares and cut service mary dental care coalition pushes for poor affordable c most seniors are well aware of the growing need for affordable oral health care for decades oral health disparities have persisted the burden of dental diseases highest with low income residents racial and ethnic not minorities people with disabilities seniors and those living in rural areas and inner cities many struggle to access dental care because they lack any dental coverage social security income was adjusted she lost math health and with her dental coverage soon after her gum disease progressed and she began losing her teeth to infection eventually jeopardizing her health to the point that she had to go to the hospital they removed my remaining seventeen teeth in one visit and sent me on my way remembers kathleen i do not want to describe to you the painful recovery i had gerd and here i am nearly four years later without teeth and unable to afford dentures i strongly believe that if i had continued to receive the regular dental care i had under mass health i would not have had to lose my teeth or the very least would have the lady they removed recently and saks state board voted to join a dental care for massachusetts coalition a group of health care providers non profits and foundations the coalition is currently supporting legislation that would authorize a new group of dental professionals in massachusetts increasing dental access for boehner bill populations and making care more affordable massachusetts needs more providers who can deliver cost effective dental care to those who most need especially in settings beyond the traditional dental office the new legislation would authorize dental hygiene practitioners in massachusetts thereby increasing dental access for vulnerable four he then attended roger williams university and american university from which he graduated in two thousand and nine before moving to l a in two thousand and ten aside from landing ever right he of small acting roles baron also owns his own production company called just another production productions barents latest achievement was scoring a small part in the coen brothers latest film hail caesar which debuted feb fourth baron scene is opposite well known actors scarlett johansson and josh brolin the citizen harold spoke to barron via email about his time in belmont trying to make it in l a advice for aspiring actors and more this conversation has been edited for length and clarity question is there anything you learned at belmont high school that you apply to your current career answer b h s taught me how to balance different challenges simultaneously from being captain of the lacrosse team to acting in plays to homework i also remember one acting teacher at b h s who was known as mrs e she called my mother after i didn't sign up to audition for the school play tom stoppard's fifteen minute hamlet mrs c asked my mother to speak with me about reconsidering i ended up edition for the play booking a role and falling in love with acting i also took my first improv class at b h s question tell me about your role in hail caesar how did you get it answer the role is a small one of the as they say there are no small roles only small actors and this is speaking part which means that my name appears in the credits i play a production assistant on the set of a movie within the movie my scene features scarlett johanssen character she plays a diva and i have to tend to her josh brolin is also in the scene my managers at entertainment lab got me the ideation after reading in a few different additions one which is and was in front of joel and ethan coen i got a call from my manager the following friday telling me i had booked the in question tell me about your production company answer my co producer ross will at and i started just another production productions in february two thousand and eleven we originally created the company as a way of getting me into the union sag aftra we soon realized that we didn't want to wait around for casting to give us the opportunity to act we decided to jump in and start creating weekly sketch comedy skits on you tube we currently create write direct shoot edit and release a new video every wednesday at ten am eastern time now our channel has grown and our videos are often featured on network television shows we have also been hired to produce commercials and short films question when did you decide to go into acting and production answer although i have been acting since i was nine  never considered it a career in two thousand and eight i was on track to graduate from american university with a major in broadcast journalism and a minor in theater in my final semester i took the advice of my mentor and professor karl manager and spent an extra semester turning my theatre minor into a major after graduation i booked a lead role in an independent feature film adams morgan the movie when the production wrapped i packed up my car and drove across the country with one of my best friends question is life in showbusiness all it's cracked up to be answer i'm not sure what people's assumptions are about hollywood but i'd say no it's not many people move out to l a to become a movie star but don't realize how much hard work and passion you need to get agents additions and roles it doesn't matter how pretty  talented you are there are one hundred other versions competing with you on a daily basis you have to find a way to stand out above the other ninety nine i found that my production company is my way jonathan conversation is a call three nationally and internationally recognized textile artists are coming together under one roof for a colorful and unique will to exhibit conversations  examples of still life flowers graphic compositions using a very lyrical alphabet in other subjects which are her loves her favorite pieces called passageway in the old city addicted grid after a photograph she took of the old city in jerusalem how terms of all of her crowds tell stories her grandmother made one quilt that incorporated pieces of her mother's articles school clothing that's yours as a jumping off place to tell her stories about her youth the title of the show conversations and call of i mean many different things i converse with my girls while i make them sometimes we argue the girls always win then the girl may go to the show or it has a different conversation with his viewers or after hours with the other girls like why are you so dull why are you so off topic or maybe i had my ears color you're obviously full of ideas she said scally wants to ensure the land underneath the school is safe at a special title meeting feb twenty second scally will as town meeting members to have their own high school building committee which will likely be created to oversee if usability study for a revamped v h s conduct and evaluation of the school site conditions according to a january two thousand and thirteen edition of the belmont which is located right next to the high school has also had a number of water quality issues over the years this all happened before we knew the words hazardous waste said scally we can't build a school on a landfill we're not going to get any money if the school is unsafe skellies main concern stems from the fact that a number of people who worked at b h s in its early years were diagnosed with cancer later in their lives town clerk ellen o'brien cushman said her mother arlene o'brien who passed away in two thousand and six after contracting cancer worked at it in the b h s guidance department in the one nine hundred seventy s and one nine hundred eighty s several other members who worked in the guidance department with arlene were also diagnosed with various types of cancer later in their lives  d i agree with the spirit of the amendment she said i think the land should be examined david alpert chairman of the board of health said with or without the amendment the school cycle will be examined because no one will lend the town money for a school if the site is not deemed safe however the two agreed with the spirit of the amendment what i believe mrs scally is trying to do is inform the people what we are working with said alper this is the proper procedure for the sake of the citizens and because this is what you do when you build these type of projects in a town both  scally said if something hazardous is found there are ways to eradicated are potentially work around it one possible solution suggested scally is to move the school to the current location of the sports chinese new year gala at the beach street center local chinese families and their guests celebrated the year of the monkey with chinese food traditional chinese music dancing and other activities selectman gym williams and his wife melissa also attended the celebration the beach street center hallway was decorated with traditional lanterns spring festival couplets on red paper on the walls a community board with local group  donor information each round table in the dining room was covered with a red tablecloth with a centerpiece and fortune are inches the color red is considered a lucky color during chinese new year a donation box was provided for natural disaster relief in taiwan the event started with a potluck dinner at six pm followed by guest speaking at seven thirty pm and a performance at seven forty five p people brought homemade specialties such as dumplings rice cakes and chicken children did crafts including chinese calligraphy paper cutting and face painting poster exhibitions about chinese culture and community activities around belmont were featured the highlight of the party was the performance of the traditional instrument visitor singing and folk dance jonathan except t started to see some actual flames you want area anything involving a pipe shapes could come up the chase very quickly he said you have to stop the chase very quickly before the fire goes vertical the farmer was reported millions of americans face published and there's thing of every this twenty fifteen by the common dreams by every age or minus senator is elizabeth warren democrat of massachusetts and bernie sanders independent  never mind introduced legislation last month that would provide tens of millions of americans with an emergency payment while tackling a corporate loophole that moves c e o pay the legislation t same benefits act is in response to the blow dealt roughly sixty five million americans last month when the social security administration announced that there would be no annual cost of living increase for two twenty sixteen it would provide an emergency payment of about five hundred eighty dollars that's equal to three point nine percent of the average annual social security benefit which will help some seventy million seniors veterans people with disabilities and others and we predict only needs a statement from the senators explaining the three point nine percent isn't around and figure that's the increase in o compensation for the top three hundred fifty u s firms last year the average salary of the c e o s was sixteen point three million dollars this discrepancy between increased c e o compensation and a lack of brains for social security beneficiaries isn't an accident it's a result of choices made by congress a fact sheet for the act states the legislation would fund the