View or download the July–August 2018 issue as a color PDF here, or read single articles below.

 

Articles in this issue:

Belmont Community Path Update, Part Two

Feasibility Study Plan Offers Health and Safety Benefits 

by Vincent Stanton, Jr.

Design and construction of a bicycle and pedestrian path through Belmont have been on the town’s agenda intermittently since 1993, when the selectmen first appointed a temporary committee to study possible routes. In the May/June issue of the Belmont Citizens Forum Newsletter, I highlighted three important aspects of the community path plan recommended by Pare Corp. and K3 Landscape Architecture (the Pare team). This issue picks up where we left off, with three more benefits (#4, 5, 6) of the proposed path. Read more.

 

Tell Us How We’re Doing: Reader Survey

As the new editor of the newsletter, I’d like to get to know more about our readers and your interests to ensure that we are reporting on the issues you care about. Will you please take our five-minute, anonymous reader survey? Read more. Or click to take online survey.

 

Getting in Tune with Belmont’s Music Community

Opportunities Abound for Making and Enjoying Music with Neighbors

by Sara McCabe

Whether you sing or play an instrument yourself, hope to do so someday, or just enjoy live performances, Belmont has community music opportunities for all ages and all ability levels. And with the Payson Park Music Festival in its 28th year this summer and the first annual Belmont Porchfest coming up in September, now is the time to jump on board. Here is a brief roundup of current offerings. Read more.

 

Cambridge Residents Support Climate Safety Petition

by Ann Stewart

Heat, flooding, and sea level rise are all concerns for the new Cambridge Climate Safety committee, a group of Cambridge residents organized this spring to guide new development. Members Doug Brown and Mike Nakagawa wrote a zoning petition requesting that the Cambridge City Council require new buildings in the floodplain to be climate-ready. Read more.

 

Great Blue Heron Chicks a Welcome Addition to Alewife Reservation

by Sara McCabe

Birders and conservationists have been overjoyed by the discovery this spring of a great blue heron rookery in the Alewife Brook Reservation. Many believe this to be the only great blue heron roost for at least 20 miles. Read more.

 

BCF Director Anne-Marie Lambert Celebrated as a Massachusetts “Unsung Heroine”

Congratulations to Belmont Citizens Forum board member Anne-Marie Lambert, who was chosen by state Representative Dave Rogers as the 2018 “Unsung Heroine” for his district and received the award in the Great Hall of Flags at the Massachusetts State House on June 20. Read more.

 

Letters to the Editor

Readers respond to “Part One” of author Vincent Stanton, Jr.’s two-part article on the benefits of the proposed Belmont Community Path from the May-June issue. Read more.

 

13th Season of the Belmont Farmers’ Market in Full Swing

It’s July, and the Belmont Farmers’ Market is bursting with blueberries, corn, arugula, beans, beets, broccoli, peas, peppers, fish, meat, poultry, cheese, baked goods, pasta, prepared foods, and more. Read more.

 

Environmental Events, July–August 2018

Native lawns and plants, Meet Belmont! Fair, and more. Read more.