here we go ok watch and listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six pm on channel ninety six comcast dick's finity and channel thirty you can also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four thirty pm and wednesday at twelve thirty pm on channel nine expanded he and channel twenty nine fi os listen any time on the b m c broadcast network on sound cloud and i tunes just search for the belmont media podcast network and now along to the talking news how will build one savings change when it becomes people's alephs when news of connecticut based people's united bank quiet belmont savings bank for three hundred and twenty seven million that news broke november th the meet the immediate question that may have come to many minds is how will this impact the community robert macone president and chief executive officer of belmont savings bank since and ten said customers will still see the same familiar faces in the branches or receive the same kind of personal service from branch personnel lenders and credit analysis none of the branches are closing in addition belmont's savings bank foundation will remain independent monye believes the most noticeable change initially will be the exterior signs of the two belmont branches the watertown branch and the branches inside the stock markets in waltham want to town in newton however over time there will be improvements to technology which will improve online banking and products and services available to to customers such as wealth management according to my home mahoney said he feels confident people's united will continue sponsoring events the community has depended on belmont savings on saving sponsoring such as the town day in may and turn on the town the st thursday after thanksgiving they have a very strong community ethic said m mony wanted to invite one representative from people's united to make sure they soar and understood the turn of the town tradition seven representatives attendant they were overwhelmed by it they had never seen anything quite like it said monye he said he is certain that they will want to continue the tradition mahoney said of the board of directors for the belmont savings bank foundation will remain the same he said it's unusual in an acquisition for foundations to remain intact in independent and it was important part of the deal between the belmont savings bank and people united having it separate ensures it gets spent here he said when belmont savings bank became public in two thousand and eleven the belmont savings bank foundation was established and has donated between three hundred dollars to four hundred thousand annually to local causes in belmont and the surrounding communities served by the bank which include watertown new wall pham and cambridge the bank's stock has tripled since the acquisition announcement making the b s b foundation assets worth approximately five million according to hell tovan executive vice president and chief operating officer of the belmont savings bank since twenty two m over the years tovan has said one million has been donated to causes in the communities served by the bank one of the larger donations the bank made in belmont is four hundred thousand two help the building of the new underwood pool delmon savings bank foundation has also consistently supported the foundation for belmont education annually through grants and a belmont education rewards checking account product that earns points for the f b after the acquisition of the benefits of the checking account will most likely change but the f b i will stand will still be able to apply for grants from the s b from the belmont savings bank foundation according to a hanger fisher the b s b foundation has donated eighty five thousand dollars to the f b helping fund events such as the dan scharf men memorial run the spring dinner and outstanding teacher awards peoples united is a good bank i know that people this wasn't some strange bank we didn't know aren't a regional bank they grew by community banks the people running it understand community banks said two of them too and said what he likes of zero people is united is it has the size to provide more competitive products and services but the culture of a community bank they understand to give back to the community and how important things like turn on the town and town day are east said staffing will change for approval that is mony said he helped belmont savings bank grow thirty to forty percent annually bringing its assets from four hundred million dollars to three billion dollars he said he was brought on board with the mission of helping the bank grow based in connecticut people as you noted currently has just under fifty branches in massachusetts the acquisition will bring the bank's deposits close to six billion making it the th largest bank in the state by deposits according to a nov twenty seven article in the belmont business journal and i will find my colleague clear thank you bob why is wellington's exterior peeling building committee member pat brush acknowledges the school does not look nice right now but it sure is nothing is wrong with the wood by adrian thomas just over seven years after it was built the wood exterior of belmont's wellington elementary school has changed when it was built in two thousand and eleven wellington building committee member pat brush told the belmont citizen herald the wo exterior would never need maintenance but now to the untrained diet least it appears to need work however bush says there is no need to worry in the wood itself is actually in good condition it doesn't need maintenance and it still doesn't the stain does not need to be scraped off brush said it is peeling it was supposed to peel the outside of wellington is largely made up of pay or brazilian walnut which is an extremely hard type of wood bush in mark haley another former wellington building committee member have worked on building committees in belmont for nearly three decades according to brush and haley the e p a that covers the exterior of wellington was originally coated with a topical staying when the school was built brush acknowledges the school does not look nice right now but it sure is nothing is wrong with the wood according to is best when it is near salt water which prevents mold from growing within the fibers of the wood and causing do a decay because of belmont's inland location the e side siding on the wellington needed to be coated with a topical stain to protect the wood dorrance who was not working for the time when the wellington was built says the current coating is likely latex based on whereas the latex is sitting on top of the board and it's flaking off in a lot of places there aren't said according to haley the e p a exterior of the wellington has nothing to do structurally with the school but rather is purely forest that it purposes the pay shield covering wellington's core structure is called a rain screen protecting the building from the elements the rain screens are making the building very tight so the efficiency goes up however haley concedes the building committee did not think the stain would come off the way it has we felt it was going to fade not chip haley said the e p a is so hide this thing does not penetrate wellington building committee's work is done and it is turned over the property to the town that's where dorrance comes in dorrance police the current condition of the building does not pose any immediate structural threat but if the sting is peeling is not addressed soon cost in the future could be very high we can't do anything with this until we get the funding darren said there is increasing sensitivity that we probably aren't funding our maintenance budget the way we should fund it darren said the facilities department is consulting with an architect to try and come up with a solution to preserve the wellingtons e p a exterior yeah now  thank you claire generally students take back that wall by joanna cates of alice chen or a middle school male student recently discovered hate graffiti on the rear wall and mirror of the st floor boys bathroom in an email informing parents about the incident principal michael mcallister said he was stunned by what he saw quote racist language homophobic language and profane language adorned the sidewall and the mirror wrote mcalister it was written black magic marker mcallister said this was his st time in need in his nineteen years as a belmont educator dealing with this kind of situation he believes the vandalism occurred the previous day during the last or nd to last block of the day by a student because it is a bathroom the public would be unlikely to use he took action quickly by closing the bathroom immediately documenting the graffiti and then having it removed in under ten minutes using an industrial cleaner the custody and has on hand for instances of graffiti the incident is now under investigation but mcallister felt something more had to be done to take back that wall quote we cannot simply do nothing as your school leader i cannot let this incident be swept under the proverbial rug a statement needs to be made that we are not a community that will simply let these things slide quote unquote he wrote in an e mail to parents on nov the day before thanksgiving break there was an extended homeroom to address the incident with every student in grades five through eight and an interactive discussion about hateful graffiti inside and outside school as well as what other towns like reading and melrose have experienced students were advised what helpful action action they could take if they see hateful graffiti and where to go if they feel unsafe the presentation ended with a short video in titled not in our town about how the community of billings montana once locked arms and stood up to hate and how their actions can serve as a school community wide call to action for charity to see the video visit najat and i ot dot org slash ny out dash video slash not dash our dash town dash billings dash montana dash following the presentation and discussion students were given the opportunity to respond to three prompts on colored no cards they were asked what impact does the graffiti have on you what would you want anyone who saw the graffiti to know and what message would you want to send to the student who wrote such hateful things the responses to the prompts were collected and over the thanksgiving break posted on walls doors and mirrors throughout the school including in the bathroom where it occurred mcallister said it's a statement to show that chattery is not a community that will let this kind of thing slide quote we could post words of hope on that same wall where they were once words of hate we can take back that wall with a slide in the presentation given to students unfortunately there is no single action  women and children some in colonial era garb and others in modern dress gathered around a blazing bonfire sunday to burn leaves and proclaim anyone who use the product a tra a strange sight in two thousand and eighteen but in lexington it's all about history town residents and passers by were celebrating the lexington tea burning which took place three days before the boston tea party the th anniversary of the boston tea party which will be celebrated with an immersive re enactment that includes a protest led by colonial women at the ole self meeting oh yes and the throwing of real tea leaves into boston a verb the burning gathering hosted by the lexington historical society and a local reenactment group call them the lexington minute men began in tw twelve when local author document terry documentary filmmaker and historical society member rick buyer proposed the event after recreating the moment for a film this year is the last before he and his family moved to chicago whatever your political affiliation is the idea of this is that citizens are taking pot buyers said citizens are not leaving it to somebody else to make the decisions would do things but that the citizens of one town of about seven hundred people in seven hundred and seventy three said well we're going to make our stand and say what we think should be done and that at the core is what this is all about lexington historical society board member craig stadler so the event was meaningful because rian actors ningaloo with the crowd everyone is engaging in the same act the same ritual that pulls everyone together in a way that the that riyadh acts don't he said and the crowd was invited to participate in the early afternoon ritual ale following the burning the st flames of the american revolution officially lit up lexington was st not just in the battles that sadler said but also in taking direct action against oppression and we're not saying that the that they were copying us in boston that they were taking their cues from us buyers said but let's just say that the news of the tea burning in lexington appeared in the boston newspapers on the morning of december the th michael duncan smith a member of the lexington minutemen said he joined the group because of the st tea burning in two thousand and twelve now he sighed michael duncan smith and he provides all of the reenactment actors with th century food during encampments on sunday he demonstrated th century be here rice dried peas and hard tack which is a simple but very odd biscuit i think a lot of people lose sight of up past he said we're all amateur historians and we try to bring the past alive for people especially kids who might not know the history and adults who might not know the history standing to the side of the bonfire with their family and other neilson said events like the one on sunday provide a real nice experience for children to get some context of the history of the place they're growing up and it's nice to bring the community together it's just really nice to raise them in a community like lexington she said her three children playing in front of her i think that the history here is one of the things that brings this community together joe serco vich a lexington residents in one thousand nine hundred and ninety five stopped by the team burning sunday after a reenactment actors cross crossing the street caught as i said though it was his st team burning circumvents that events like this are a part of what defines lexington the whole history of the town relative to the revolution is so important he said it's so important to the whole history of not only massachusetts but the whole country and no one to clear thank you bob t alerts of lacking in detail by adam vaccaro a train sensing catches fire that's a mechanical issue we'll falls off a coach causing a drain meant that's a disabled train m b t a officials have had their hands full on the commuter rail recently with two major incidents on the fitchburg in kingston lines but amid concerns about delayed trips and failing equipment stored another criticism from riders the t was not offering enough detail through its service alerts about what exactly was going on through social media alerts the t for nearly two hours referred only to a mechanical issue directly described some twitter uses said the vague messaging seemed to downplay if not outright hide the gravity of the trouble are you going to let people know that your train was on fire when user wrote the t has emphasized improved communication about service problem in the last year and has taken a few tangible steps on the subway the t dropped a vague set of descriptions that classified delays as quote mine a moderate or severe replacing them with time estimates for how long it may take to clear up problems station signs that estimate w now say if a train is stopped but other issues persist the pioneer institute a conservative boston think tank recently released a report that criticized the commuter rail for using very in terms to describe disruptions according to the report some alerts say a train is delayed meaning it is likely to remain off schedule for the entire trip while others say a train is behind schedule meaning it may catch up to its schedule problem is the difference is not publicly described anywhere making it more than a rhetorical issue said pioneer research assistant kayla webb if a train is described as running behind may assume they should show up to the station a few minutes late they may miss the train that catches up when i see a quote running behind i don't immediately think it might catch up i think i have another five minutes webb said while most write is probably would prefer a delay free service of a better communication is a good reason for all this communication focus several academic studies are shown there getting clear inaccurate information about transit from service alerts to real time information about vehicle locations improves rider experience transit agency should take the uncertainty away as much as possible cash and engineering professor at penn state university who studies may mass transit so why not be explicit about what exactly is wrong with the train well fishel say they must strike a balance between getting the information to ride as both quickly and accurately sometimes delay no official announcement until the problem can be confirmed by staff in case of the fire keogh list the company that operates the commuter rail a said it wasn't initially clear whether there was indeed a fire or just smoke still while keogh this eventuality confirmed the fire to news outlets it was never directly referenced in service alerts officials also note that there are different types of alerts tweets about service for example are meant to reach ride is planning a trip and may want to adjust their schedule not necessarily ride is already on a train for writers who are on a vehicle that breaks down the conductor is meant to be the primary form of communication now he has max thanks claire telethon raises money for donations poured in from noon to three pm on december nd for the th annual gifts of hope telethon to benefit the belmont food pantry raising more than three thousand dollars the fundraiser a collaboration between the belmont citizen herald and the belmont media center is part of the annual gifts of hope campaign todd blunt here is the host of belmont media centers time out for sports talk co host of the telethon along with  anchors michael crowley and roger colton and selectman chairman adam dash town administrator patrice garvin was a special guest and talked about how she helped to find the future permanent home of the belmont food pantry which will be the ground floor of town hall the move is expected to take place in early february there was live entertainment throughout the telethon provided by belmont's fred astaire dance studio instructors the red herring morris dancers songwriter and musician andrew eckel of cambridge and singers david benji monetary and food donations were dropped off throughout the telephone telefon by local businesses including lynn findlay realtor for coldwell banker watches to be used as does incentives for donors of fifty dollars or more over to you bob thank you max country club renovations underway belmont savings bank recently announced the groundbreaking to renovate the clubhouse and pool for the oakley country club in watertown belmont savings will be the sole lender providing a ten million four hundred thousand dollars loan the oakley country club is a private eighteen hole golf club which was founded in one thousand nine hundred and eight the renovated space is slated to open in the spring of two thousand and nineteen the main clubhouse is undergoing a complete renovation which will include a new pool kong plex an expanded front entry and outside decking to showcase the views of the boston skyline we greatly value up partnership with belmont savings and appreciate their commercial real estate teams expertise and seamless execution said john de vito sr the president of the oakley country club we look forward to continuing to work with the belmont savings team in the future as well as the completion of the renovated clubhouse and pool this deal highlights belmont savings bank strong commitment to the watertown community and to helping clients reach their potential said keith andre a senior vice president of commercial real estate lending at the belmont savings the oakley country club is a historic watertown locale as it is the original of noted golf course architect donald ross we are proud to support this renovation and now over to clare thank you bob sign up for an interview with the belmont story project the belmont story project b s p is a local oral history recording project modeled after n p r s story corps this project collects the stories of the people of belmont the topic can  have to do with raising your kids your work life a funny story whatever you decide whether you've lived here for six months or six decades your story matters and we'd love to add your story to the collection your voice as well it's very easy to participate interviews are recorded in the claflin room at the belmont public library you need to make an appointment listen to a recent belmont story project with state sen will brownsburg talking with his daughter carly about raising a family in belmont his work on the board of selectmen him being a massachusetts state senator for more information ought to schedule your interview  clare town announces list of owners of abandoned property abandoned property pertains to any financial asset without customer generated activity for an extended period of time it does not pertain to land or real estate of any kind an example of abandoned property is in cash checks if a resident finds their name on the list they should contact the town of belmont office of the treasurer's last tax collector to initiate the claim process and determine what documents will be necessary for verification residents should have the following information readily available name as it appears on the list current address and any prior addresses social security number and seventeen back to you bob a lot with my colleagues clara max we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you have enjoyed the show we were return next week for another edition of local news happenings around belmont