News Events of the World -- Belmont (MA) Style

Cannot say too much about this other than it gives new meanig to Catfighting.

Belmont Citizen-Herald
Posted Apr 14, 2010 @ 04:32 PM
Belmont, Mass. — Police responded to a Creeley Road residence last week for a dispute between roommates that allegedly led one roommate to throw a cat at the other, according to a police report.

Officers responded to the scene just before 11 a.m. on April 8, where a male resident told police an argument erupted between him and his roommate, who claimed that the man had left the lid off a trash can, which attracted a skunk that wound up spraying the man’s cat.

The man said that during the argument, the roommate threw the cat at him.

Officers interviewed the roommate, who confirmed the two had argued but said he did not throw the cat.

Both men declined assistance in obtaining a restraining order against the other.

No charges were filed against either of the residents.

Copyright 2010 Belmont Citizen-Herald. Some rights reserved

Dr Leaky Then Zoo

That ditty up top has nothing to do with paleontology (Dr. Leaky and family in Africa -- remember from High School...or National Geographic?) It happens to be an anagram up top.

You see, folks, I had the pleasure of trying to do business with another broker this week. A broker who had more titles after her name than the Queen of England. Herewith are the business card busting "designations":

XXXXX XXXXXXXXX

ABR, ASR, CBR, CRB, CRS, GRI, ITI, PMN, RECS, SRES

Broker/Owner, Justice of the Peace, ABA Certified Paralegal

Now I have some "desigs" myself but they mean nothing to my clients and I don't put 'em on my cards. However in this case there may have had a higher purpose: all those letters -- a litany of triandic digits got me thinking, and the above anagram popped into mind.

It really works. Perhaps you know her (let me know if you want the solution). Perhaps not (still want the solution?). Perhaps you suddenly have a hankering for studying English or doing a puzzle in the Herald. Or maybe you'll pull out the old High School book and re-read up on Paranthropus Man.....

What's in a Name?

This morning I was int he process of tuning out a commercial on the radio when the announcer go a few words through my haze. The commercial was for ome sort of medical facility. The announcer, in touting the advantages of the particular sawmill, noted a good doctor by the name of YAO.

That got me going...

Yao, you see is the sound I make when I get a shot; it is the sound I make when I stub my toe. It is the elocution evacuated when I sliced my finger with the butcher knife...It is NOT the sound I want to hear when my doctor hands me his business card (you may well hear it when I get the bill!).

I supposed that rose-by-any-other-name gig kicks in here, but still...my doctor's "handle" being the sound of pain?...I think not.

Now my name as, well, guttural as it is, has an appeal, of sorts in my line of work, and my "StreetSmarts" TR (that's trademark) is an easy evolution. All this got me thinking about the names and slogans of a few of the folks with whom I associate.

My 2 favorites are competitors in the disagreeable area of septic tank cleaning. We all know what septic tanks are -- they are where all that, uhhh, flushing goes, and a cleaner of septic tanks keeps all that stuff running in the right direction (read that as not back up your pipes.

One company bills itself as, "we are number one in the number two business". Yup...right on the side of the trucks. The other is more scatological. That second company touts the benefits as it is by telling us, "a Royal Flush is better than a 'Full House' ". Not a bad poker play on words.

I supposed a doctor with a painful name may be good...certainly I remember it. It's not like my friend, Dr. Bottom --- the proctologist.

Is it a PUN? Belmont (and other thefts)

MY ditty from yesterday's papers (4/2/10), needs a tad of updating. For those who cannot remember yesterday, I will say that Vin Cedrone, whose folks own the chateau at 315 Crafts in Newton got bagged stealing expensive plaques from buildings and monuments. Pulled from sources is the quote below:

"In a statement, District Attorney Gerard T. Leone called the thefts “brazen,’’ saying Cedrone targeted public property in the three communities to sell. He estimated the damages to be in the tens of thousands of dollars."

The word "brazen" has taken on a meain inour vernacular of being tought, audacious -- sort of devil-may-care, damn-the-torpedoes sort of feel, yet there is more to the word. Here comes the fun.

The key to all this is the word "BRAZEN". The word stems from the Old English BRAESEN. It means, get this, B R A S S!. Yeah, brass as in metal... expensive metal, as in plaques on buildings! yeah, is it a pun? Is DA Leone exceedingly witty?...or most likely just a limited vocab kind of guy who hit it big today.

Anyway, it's wonderful. I hope the Perp ("brass balls" included) gets to hack his way through some metal bars soon.

The Belmont and Watertown and Newton and...THIEF

This is right outta the local Belmont (MA) "rag". It is too funny not to copy. Check out the "Perp's" Mode-of-Op...

By Dan Atkinson, Jen Thomas, Christian Schiavone and Emily Costello/belmont@cnc.com
Belmont Citizen-Herald
Posted Mar 31, 2010 @ 05:04 PM
Last update Mar 31, 2010 @ 05:27 PM
Newton, Mass. — Newton police have arrested a suspect in connection with last weekend’s theft of a bronze plaque from the Homer Building in Belmont, as well as a similar theft in Newton.

Vincent Cedrone, 52, of 315 Crafts St. in Newton, was charged with two counts of receiving stolen property, according to Newton Police Lt. Bruce Apotheker. He reportedly stole a bronze plaque from the Chestnut Grove condominium complex at 1175 Chestnut St. as well as the plaque in Belmont, Apotheker said.

Belmont police have also charged Cedrone with larceny over $250 and defacing property in connection with the March 21 theft of the Homer Building plaque, which was captured by several security cameras. The plaque is valued at about $1,900.

Cedrone’s arrest isn’t the first time his name has been connected to a missing historic plaque.

Last January, he received a $1,000 reward for returning the Belfry plaque stolen from Lexington’s Battle Green, according to one of the three businessmen who offered the reward.

Several weeks after the plaque went missing in December 2009, a Lexington police officer reportedly spotted Cedrone trying to load it into his car. He allegedly told the officer he found it and wanted to return it.

Now Cedrone is suspected of similar thefts in Belmont, Newton and Watertown, according to police officials in the three towns.

Lt. Richard Santangelo, a spokesman for the Belmont Police Department, said police received information that led them to Cedrone after releasing the security camera videos to news outlets, including one that aired the footage on the evening news.

The footage shows a man pulling into the Town Hall complex in a small white coupe at 4:30 p.m. The man appears to first try to pull off the bronze plaque on the school department building across the driveway, but gives up and moves on to the Homer Building.

“It was definitely the result getting the pictures out there to people,” said Santangelo. “Right after the broadcast we got some information.”

Santangelo declined to say what type of information police received and said he didn’t know whether it came first to police Belmont or Newton. After a joint investigation between police in Newton and Belmont, Newton officers made the arrest, Santangelo said.

So far, the Homer Building plaque has not been recovered and may have already been sold for scrap, according to police.

Santangelo said Cedrone is also a suspect in the theft of four other plaques from the Waverley Square area. One was mounted on a concrete post on the railroad bridge running along Trapelo Road. The other three were smaller plaques set in stone monuments around the triangular grassy space over the Waverley Square Commuter Rail station.

Historical plaques have turned up stolen in Newton and Watertown in recent months. Tablets have been swiped from Newton's Country Day School, Memorial Monument Rock at Newton City Hall and the Johnny Kelley statue.

Watertown had seven plaques stolen — three from Arsenal Park, three from in front of the Commander's Mansion on Talcott Avenue and one from Watertown Square. All appear to have been pried off.

Lt. Michael Lawn of the Watertown Police Department said police believe the thefts in Watertown, Belmont and Newton are related. Though Cedrone has not been charged with any of the Watertown thefts, Lawn said the police are "confident" the crimes were committed by the same person.

Thieves did not get away with another plaque at the George Washington monument in front of the Watertown Free Public Library, though the plaque suffered some damage from what appears to be an attempt at dislodging it.

Police believe the plaques were stolen so the metal could be scrapped.

Newton's Apotheker would not comment if Cedrone is connected to other plaque thefts, referring questions to the Middlesex District Attorney's office. The DA's office has not returned phone calls for comment.

At least a dozen plaques have been reported stolen in the Newton area over the past few weeks.

Despite Cedrone's arrest, John Carroll, one of the Lexington businessmen who gave Cedrone the reward, said he was just happy to have the plaque back.

“When we made the offer, it was no questions asked,” said Carroll, who owns Stone Meadow Golf on Waltham Street. “We were more interested in getting the plaque back and making sure it wasn't sold for scrap. It turned out well in the end.”

Copyright 2010 Belmont Citizen-Herald. Some rights reserved

April Fool's Day

Other than the fact that Rambler (Actually by then called American Motors) introduced the piece of crap "Gremlin" "car", we see nothing very funny happening on this day of fools.

We cannot even find a reason, other than of the Urban variety as why this day is noted as such. Some say it has to do with the changing of the New Year to January (instead of timing it with the beginning of spring -- that was foolish), but that seems not the case as Chaucer in the 1300's talks of Fools Day and the switcheroo to January took form a couple hundred years later.

One thing is certain -- pranks will be played, for humor is the name of the day. Lest, however we forget what humor is, we must be reminded at ALL humor needs a victim. Someone needs to fall, or have his face flattened by a frying pan, or be ridiculed in public. In order for an audience to laugh, some ONE person has to cry. So go out and do one's thing on this day...the village idiot is waiting to be slapped.