The Romney Effect: How Belmont Might Change with a President Romney

Our latest installment in The Romney Effect series looks at how security, tourism, commercial development in Belmont could change.

It's just after noon on Jan. 20, 2013. Mitt Romney kisses his wife, Ann, and shakes the hand of Chief Justice John Roberts as tens of thousands of citizens stretch out in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. And in Belmont, what was once known as "normal" when the Romneys were simply longtime residents of the "Town of Homes" has come to an end. On that winter day, if it comes, Belmont would joined Crawford, Texas; Hope, Arkansas; Chappaqua, New York, the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, and a number of other communities that American presidents have called home. Belmont might add a new tag line to the "Welcome to Belmont" – something along the lines of "Home of Mitt!" What is unknown is how being the Romneys' hometown for the past …

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Romney's Belmont: Town's 'Rich' Reputation Not Exactly Earned

Patch's third installment in The Romney Effect series shows how long-time residents and census data paint a nuanced picture of "Romney's home town."

Do you want the low down about Belmont? Just ask "Raven." A prolific writer on the Democratic Underground message board, Raven told its 175,000 readers that you can learn a lot about Romney by looking at where he has lived for the past four decades.  And he contends that Belmont mirrors the candidate for president: wealthy and privileged.  "The people there live in 5,000-10,000 sf mansions on 1/4-acre parcels of land. They have summer homes in gated communities on the Cape. They have maids, landscapers, personal trainers and they send their kids to private schools like the Belmont Hill School. They commute to Boston in very expensive cars and would find it unthinkable to take the 'T,'" said Raven, who states he or she grew up near the …

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Social Romney: Mitt, Ann, the Boys and New Media

The first part in Patch's The Romney Effect series looks at how Mitt Romney and his family appear on social media.

Mitt Romney's Facebook page states he likes "East of Eden," "O, Brother, Where Art Thou?" and Johnny Cash. But you won't find anything about his hometown of Belmont on his 'likes' list. Does that mean Romney doesn't like Belmont, despite living here for four decades? We can't presume to know, but we know that comments or insights, likes (or even dislikes) about local happenings doesn't appear to be part of the presumptive Republican candidate's social media presence. More than 2.5 million Facebook members 'like' Belmont's most prominent citizen. Or about 10 percent of the 'likes' on Pres. Barack Obama's Facebook page. Social media – Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Flickr, Instagram and even newcomer Pinterest – have been considered …

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PHOTOS/VIDEO: Garbage Truck Rolls Over on Pleasant Street

See more than 20 photos and a video from the scene of Monday afternoon's crash.

PHOTOS/VIDEO: Garbage Truck Rolls Over on Pleasant Street

A garbage truck rolled onto its side Monday afternoon while turning right onto Pleasant Street from Lake Street near the Arlington-Belmont town line.

A JRM Hauling and Recycling garbage truck rolled onto its side at about 2:30 p.m. Monday while turning right onto Pleasant Street, toward Belmont Center, from Lake Street in Belmont. The one-vehicle crash, across from the Open Door Baptist Church, closed the westbound lane of Pleasant Street (Route 60) for more than three hours. Two “heavy-duty” tow trucks from Waltham Auto Tow were called in to flip the truck onto its wheels. One of the trucks then towed it away. About a dozen men from JRM and Waltham Auto Tow worked to clear the scene. In addition to righting the truck, the men put down saw dust to soak up fluids that appeared to be leaking from barrels on the truck labeled “hydraulic fluid.” No injuries were reported at the scene. The …

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michael

11:34 am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Actually he had to choose between taking the sharp right turn or smashing the line of cars in front of us because the brake gave out as we were coming off the freeway. He flew off to the right to keep passing cars out of danger and that's when it tipped I would know cause I WAS IN IT!!!!!!! in no way is Jrm a terrible company   more ›

Four Eateries Coming Soon to Neighboring Belmont

Quebrada Baking Company, which has locations in East Arlington and Wellesley, has begun the permitting process with the Town of Belmont.

The smile on Ellen Carter's face was made up of one part anticipation, one part anxiety and one part seeing her dream of running her own eatery coming true as the Belmont Board of Selectmen approved her business license on Monday, July 2, to open the Sweet Peach Diner, Belmont's first Southern-style restaurant. And after the town OK'd a variance for a outdoor service and pickup window, Carter said the diner, located at the former Althos Diner at 628 Trapelo Rd. in Belmont, will be open for business on Wednesday, July 11, at 6 a.m. "We're crossing our fingers," said Carter, as she and three other eateries are moving forward with their plans to open shop in Belmont. In addition to Sweet Peach, Belmont Selectmen also approved a "Common …

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American Legion: Arlington/Belmont Moves Past Malden, 3-1

Young Post 39 team keeping up with the big boys.

Struggling at 2-7, Belmont/Arlington Post 39 racked up a 3-1 victory Friday night at Spy Pond Field against Malden Post 69, giving coach Sean O’Brian hope that the win will pump up the team. “We’re finally starting,” O’Brian said. “It’s been a long couple of weeks so far. We play the top tier teams; I think my team’s really young. We’ve got a lot of sophomores — some of these teams have kids that are back from college. So it’s difficult, but hopefully tonight that’ll help us.” After a slow start, the game picked up in the top of the fourth inning with Arlington’s Michael Remondi on the mound. Malden’s Alexander Andon singled Remondi’s pitch up first base and was able to bring teammate Marc Woodman across the plate from third. But, that was…

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