watch and listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six pm on channel ninety six comcast ticks finity and channel thirty for rise and it can also be heard mondays and tuesdays at four thirty pm and wednesday at twelve thirty pm on channel nine x finity and channel twenty nine fi os listen any time on the b m c podcast network on sound cloud just search for the belmont media podcast network now on to the talking news residents give input on traffic study by engine told toma after outcry from the community of boat traffic and in response to the results of the belmont high school projects traffic study the town hired a traffic consultant to conduct a town wide traffic study the traffic advisory committee invited the public to a forum to express their needs and concerns regarding traffic at their macho eighth meeting resident input is such a critical piece said glyn clancy director of the community development there is no substitute for what you are experiencing day in and day out as residents of the town two main concerns kept arising cut through traffic and pedestrian cyclist safety over the past couple of years cut through traffic in belmont has increased in pot due to new smart phone mapping software apps like was direct people around congested street a down quiet side streets new apps on smart phones upbringing cars down every side street to brighton said evan arris a resident of statler road brighton street is a serious problem the volume of causes astronomical people will not let me out of my driveway said terraces wife joanne it takes everyone a long time to get to work ca idling for minutes at a time and it's getting worse it is a circus mizzy many residents from around brighton st attended the much eighth meeting to comment on the traffic volume in the neighborhood residen said cars backed up on busy roads and polluting the neighborhoods residents also expressed concerns about speeding as there are fears in the community that someone is going to get hurt walking down their street clancy said the committee was looking into a video monitoring system to discourage speeding and a number of people suggested lengthening red lights or adding sign restricting cars from passing through side roads during rush hour another option residents raised is the use of an electronic toll collection on the main arteries of belmont with a resident exception clancy appeared wary of this suggestion we want to be careful we do not create a ripple effect around municipalities he said so we do not we do not have to pay to drive through cambridge wall fare are a another major topic centered around creating a more walkable belmont residents want to see more access to school buses and better sidewalks there are a number of streets in town that do not have any cross walks threatening pedestrian safety tamika sally a resident of walnut street and co leader of belmont's safe routes to school chapter spoke about creating infrastructure in town to make belmont more walkable without the infrastructure in our communities we are not slowing down traffic she said selectman adam dash who was present during the meeting addressed the sidewalk problem it is a town wide problem he said a number of years ago the selectmen passed a policy that separated fixing streets and sidewalks the purpose was to stretch money for a much needed road repay is the selectmen are now revisiting this topic to encourage more balanced allocation of resources that prioritize walking and now over to clare  learning girl empowerment and leadership by christiane strong as assistant principal at belmont high school lisa her to be noticed something about leadership roles among the students the girls weren't as vocal about leadership as the boys and most of the latest ship rescissions were held by boys her desire to pursue the reasons behind this inequity was what drew her to an initiative called the girl her road project at lesley university i star in need at the high school said her to be the girl heard project education empowerment and leadership is a program fo focusing on the social and cultural construction of girlhood and the ways in which cultural practices influence how girls form their identity as the professor running the project dr amy reid steen riley created the course of study eleven years ago at lesley which is one of the few universities in this country to offer a girls studies focus her to be this approach to root staying riley about the possibility of collaborating with belmont high school and was greeted with enthusiasm for the idea i want to help give a voice to girls with diminished opportunity who feel marginalized said would sting riley her to be received a learning excellence a grant from the foundation for belmont education as well as support from the belmont had a parent teacher student organization to fund the cost for her and twenty belmont students to attend a weekly course called girlhood identity and girl culture taught by redstone riley leslie the selected students represent two groups of high schoolers who are particularly numerable females in students of color these are girls that have potential but we haven't seen them participate in school culture explained her to be as the high school students ranging from ninth to twelfth grade i taught and mentored by list lee undergrad students on topics such as filling in negotiating identities and the possibilities for social change each week the b so it brings us together as a community in this comfortable and supportive safe space the participants then engage in activities that revolve around issues of gender with discussion and reflection central to the process the student's insights are so incredible her to be so enthused their high school students participating in an intellectual community at a university and the intimidated one recent class activity involve the group tracing two of the girls outlines on huge sheets of paper and then discussing body image and how girls are judged and judge themselves based on the way they look for the body mapping activity we wrote the negatives on one of the body outlines and the positives on the other explained her to be as it was a very emotional discussion this process dean riley says helps the girls to recognize that it's not just their own individual lived experience but rather their shared experience within the social structures and context that shapes and produce their sense of self as girls and women the next step after the class ends in early may is for the b h students to take what they have learned form and form a girls affinity group as part of the student leadership team at the high school the goal is to have be h s students lead trainings on girlhood education empire ment and leadership and to create a project for social change in the companies pack spring musical nine to five based on the hit one nine hundred eighty movie starring dolly parton jane fonda and lily tomlin as many messages relevant to today's headlines about sexual misconduct and discrimination pac producer and director ezra flam said he chose the musical not only for its music but for its message i wasn't sure what show to do it it just sort of fell in my lap i read it on a lark and discovered how timely and important it was he said sure nine to five will raise some eyebrows and make some mouths drop it's about three female employees tired of being overlooked belittled and harassed by their boss i am not afraid to put material on stage that is challenging to people to watch and think about and i always have in my head when i'm doing that what is best for students education i think about what kids are going to learn from being part of the show from being in the show and from seeing the show flam said some of the material is not appropriate for younger audiences there are moments that are really pushing boundaries on how how do we as a society respect and treat women and do we have fair workplaces and what is the culture and i think for people to be really challenge and uncomfortable by that is not necessarily a bad thing to do on stage because i think ultimately it's in service to show to show a show and a message that is strong and positive and empowering said fl mm this is the fifth b h s musical for choreographer jenny listen she said the set was challenging for this show set in the one nine hundred seventy s when there's giant desks on stage and file cabinets and costumes that have to look timely those are all things that change what the dancing looks like ninety five was nominated for a tony award for dance and had the same choreographer as hamilton and cats more than eighty students are in the cast and more than seventy have been working tirelessly behind the scenes on tech crew graduating seniors olivia pierce and elise allen and miriam cubs did play the lead roles of dora lee pierce violet allen and judy pierce said she has family in the south which helped her portray door leads southern accent alan said she is grateful she is able to play violet who is strong resilient and firm but has a lot of layers this is been a great opportunity because i'm able to stretch myself and develop more of my acting side said allen stead said she enjoys playing judy who has two sides the overt did see clueless innocence side in the strong side which stands up for herself there's a big moment when she takes her life into our own hands and says she's not going to let other people push her around and says this is who i am and i'm not going to settle for anything else over you bob thank you max school eliminates styrofoam thanks to dustin o'brien director of belmont public school food services and mike mcallister principal of the generally middle school generally students now receive their lunches on compostable trays this change significantly reduces styrofoam trade usage in the belmont public schools currently b p s uses approximately two hundred  sixty thousand single you stara foam trays personally here according to the e p a polystyrene styrofoam accounts for close to thirty percent of landfill volume can lead to soil and water contamination in belmont we incinerate these trees along with all other trash and food waste this introduces carbon dioxide and other toxins slash p t o green alliance to reduce the environmental impact of our schools a full stream recycling liquid poor off chipping and stacking of trees composting food and trees and food recovery and the belmont public schools could divert about eighty five percent of the current volume of school trash away from incineration the alliance estimates that these changes could save delmon over eighty thousand dollars per school easier as the schools would reduce the need for daily trash pick up at each school thus reducing the waste hauling cos a composting service would pick up food waste and recycled nutrients back into the soil the substantial changes that schenn are a part of an ongoing effort to be responsible stewards for the environment student group who supervise and assist with an expanding recycling stream in the cafeteria during lunch with the help of fifth grade teacher michael williams the program has now expanded to fifth be a four on the plastic bag bin from seven o'clock to eight thirty mights twenty seventh in the assembly room of the belmont public library three thirty six concord out speakers will include belmont organizes as well as environmental activists citizens are welcome to attend hear details of the proposed by law and ask questions the belmont bag a big fan group is hoping belmont will join the sixty one towns in cities in the commonwealth and hundreds across the country and world that approved similar beings one of these organizes to raise him hammer mail is excited that belmont is poised to be part of a growing list of districts moving towards a more environmentally sustainable future simple alternatives such as re usable shopping bags and  shopping bags are available everywhere and the belmont bag group is working to ensure that anyone who needs reusable bags has access to them have merrill said paper bags which bio degrade naturally will still be available at no cost to the customer several stores in belmont are already prepared because they operate in communities in which a plastic bag ban is in effect hammer trillion single use plastic bags are used worldwide each year harming wildlife in littering our environment making up the third largest type of litter from land based sources found on us coast while plastic bags are convenient and cheap the sierra club cautions the inviting them and told expense far exceeds the cost retailers pay to provide them the flimsy material harms wildlife as they are often mistaken for food in our waterways and are sometimes used as a nesting materials now over to max thanks clare the bradford project begins to take shape  drawing a case of alice it has been about one year since demolition began for what is now being called the bradford a mixed use development formerly called cushing village located in cushing square on the corner of common street propellor road and belmont street the developer toll brothers apartment living is currently in the process of working with the belmont planning board to get the building permit they need to begin framing the first of three buildings a lawsuit for twenty million dollars filed against toll brothers apartment living by smith legacy partners the original owner of the property and stakeholder for the retail component of the development is still in progress in the meantime residents and businesses in the surrounding neighborhoods have been looking at a giant hole in the ground for months as it is slowly take shape and wondering when it will be done the project will consist of three mixed use buildings with a total of one hundred twelve luxury apartments and thirty eight thousand square feet of retail space the buildings are currently referred to as the pub mona winslow and highland the winslow whose steel frame is slowly forming on the site is the smallest of the three and will have starbucks as its anchor tenant the promoter a is the largest of the three building and is where a grocery store could possibly be located beloved regional director of acquisitions for toll brothers apartment living said the time line of the project is a few months behind they are planning to open both the highland and winslow buildings this fall and hope to have the entire project completed by early next spring he said they decided to delay the opening of the winslow and open the two building simultaneously to provide tenants the amenities which the highland will have such as the outdoor courtyard leasing roof sorry leasing office roof deck exercise room and library the underground parking garage currently being constructed after tons of soil has been decontaminated and excavated will include approximately one hundred thirty public parking spaces twenty two hundred grade and approximately one hundred eight in the garage the twenty two on grade spaces will be short term one hour and the remaining spaces will be two hours spaces there is no cost for the public spaces vehicles will be able to enter the parking garage from a two way driveway on common street or a one way driveway entrepeneur road this project is a long time coming the land was owned by a family with belmont roots related to christopher star of smith legacy partners since two thousand and eight smith legacy partners has been trying to get the property developed and after going back and forth the drawing board three times they finally got approved for a first special permit with conditions by the planning board in july two thousand and thirteen however smith legacy partners was unable to get the financing they needed to get it off the ground which is why they sold the land to told brothers in october two thousand and sixteen for about fourteen million dollars the deal between toll and smith legacy was that smith legacy could keep the retail option which means the family would still reaped the benefits of getting a rent every month from retail tenants less september smith legacy filed a lawsuit for twenty million dollars against told brothers for what they allege to be an increase in the budget for the decontamination which smith legacy agreed to pay for up to two point five million if the original amount estimated increased the agreement was changes had to be mutually approved according to star star said the decontamination budget originally estimated to be one point nine million went up to four point two million and smith legacy has yet to see proof of why it increased so much more than the original estimate according to star toll brothers has asked smith legacy to sell out its retail option if they do not want to pay the extra cost for the contamination which is why smith legacy decided to file a lawsuit starr said smith legacy is also seeking additional damages in the lawsuit up to one hundred million dollars told others would not comment on pending litigation lovett said the lawsuit is not affecting the progress on the project starr said he has had interest in the retail space for the bradford but due to the pending lawsuit it is difficult to get any prospective tenants to sign a lease over to bob you max international film festival to be held in belmont nine films from the world's top international film festival premier at belmont world films seventeenth annual international film series which started on march nineteenth and runs through may fourteenth at the studio similar to seventy six triple zero road in belmont most films will screen at seven thirty pm mondays all films will be followed by discussions led by experts speakers and occasional occasionally cultural performances the opening and closing night films preceded by dinner reception's featuring culturally relevant cuisine at the theatre this year's series bound by beliefs features films that show how difficult it is to implement change in the face of long held societal or community beliefs all but one film is either a north american east coast or new england premier and several are also their country's submission to the academy awards best foreign language film category as in the last several years a third of the films directed by women we don't have to look much further than the hollywood sexual harassment scandal to understand how long it takes or how hot it is to change the status quo says belmont world film executive director ellen get home and the characters in each of the nine films are not always successful in standing up to their month savings bank recently announced it will be sponsoring a belmont thirty annual back a p c five k on april twenty nine the race will begin and end at the belmont high school track located at two ninety seven concord have registration begins at seven thirty am the five k begins at nine thirty am and the one mile kids run starts at nine am in addition to the run organized baca and the belmont boosters there will be a motivational talk and meet and greet featuring p c up belmont high school on april fourth we are excited to be sponsoring the thirty and  as well as her april fourth speaking event which allows us to show our support for such a wonderful member of the community bob mahoney president and chief executive officer for server at belmont savings bank said will begin at seven pm table for at the belmont high school auditorium to twenty one concord of the event will be followed by a meet and greet and will give attendees an opportunity to speak with c about the importance of hard work and good health as well as autographs and photos all are welcome i am thrilled to join members of my hometown as well as the belmont running community the third year in a row as part of the annual back a p c five k p z said i am especially thankful to belmont savings bank for its continued support in making this event possible now over to max thanks claire citizens police academy starts on april third chief richard mclaughlin recently announced that the belmont police department will again host a citizen police academy from six thirty to nine thirty pm tuesday evenings from april third to may twenty ninth in the town hall for five five conquer to have this course offer citizens the opportunity to experience police training how the department serves the community and learn about the men and women who wear the badge the classes will be taught by the departmental personnel and will include criminal law invest investigations use of force and juvenile issues right along with police officers will be part of the class curriculum participants must live or work in belmont and be at least eighteen years old interested citizens may obtain an application in the police station lobby or on the belmont police department's website under police alert news class size is limited for information contact lieutenant daly six one seven nine nine three two five five four over to you bob along with my colleagues claire and max we thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you've enjoyed the show we will return next week for another edition of local news happening around belmont