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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 15, 2020 Page 13 HERO | FROM PAGE 2 off their kids in the middle of Salem Street was not as egregious as I once thought. The jaywalkers in the Square – how I wish they would return. Quickly. Bumper to bumper traffic from Auburn Street to Main – you are forgiven. The MBTA morning bus drivers who cut me off at least twice a week, you are also forgiven! I want to see City Clerk Greg Lucey walking out of Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street in early morning as he heads to his office. I need to see Mayor Gary strolling through the Square keeping his pledge to eradicate litter in our lifetime. It would be such a pleasure to see Paul “Hurricane” Haven sitting early morning on his perch in the Square slow drawing on a smoke and holding that coffee cup close. I look forward during the day to checking into Facebook to see how others are coping. My day is made when Cathy Leblanc posts yet another meme that brings a smile to my face. Seeing pictures of my twoyear-old grandson, Jack, angrily throwing his Easter basket down a flight of stairs! He is so cute when he gets angry! Videos of grandchildren Christian, Lola and two-month-old Lana again in real time – priceless. Facebook a joy since I discovered the “unfollow” feature! Eliminating all those sour individuals out there has been a godsend. No more inane, foolish and downright idiotic political rants by old and new friends alike. All those “pompous pipsqueaks” – as Dr. Zachary Smith would call them – I unfollowed them! Felt good, too. Insert a great big smiley face emoji. Back in real life I sit and wait for my daily dose of “comfort TV.” His name: Andrew Cuomo! Where have you been my whole life! Such class. Such dignity. Such confidence. Such a mensch! He makes these dark days a little easier to navigate; America’s Governor, for sure. Let’s have a Ballantine Ale together some day, my friend. I’ve been deep diving YouTube TV also. Did you know that Audie Murphy starred in a mid-fifty’s western called “Whispering Smith?!” Neither did I. He plays a police officer in late 1860’s Denver. If you do not know who Audie Murphy is, please Google him. We throw the word “legend” and “hero” around these days until it is virtually meaningless. Meet Audie Murphy, real-life superhero. I am “Naked City” binge-watching also. Saw a wicked cool one last week with a very young Dustin Hoffman playing a stick-up man who gets shot by a guy impersonating a cop. In episode 34 of season 4, Law & Order’s Steven Hill starred in “Barefoot on a Bed of Coals” as a NYPD wannabe/imposter. It did not turn out well for him. Not your cup of tea? I searched and found “The Battle of Maldon” on YouTube. Twelve minutes, thirty-two fascinating seconds of the Viking invasion in 991 AD of the town in England for which Malden was named. Okay, I’ll stop at this point. “This is the end, beautiful friend; this is the end, my only friend, the end...” Our first Zoom session went swimmingly well. Niece Dorothy (Levine) held our hands, guiding us through 21st century technology; unthinkable when these eight participants were her very same age. Not our fault we grew up with eight-track cassettes and vinyl records. It went so well it is now a Friday night ritual (hopefully, for not much longer though). Super of Cems Jimmy “Stinger” Cahill, Rec Director Joe Levine, Jack Freker, Greg “Son of Paul” Phaneuf, Tony “Mr. Grease Pole” Della Gatta, Sal “Sonny” Trioli, Paul “Hoss” Condon, Billy Settemio and myself made like a normal Friday night at the Italian American Citizen’s Club and for an hour or so enjoyed that old-time campground camaraderie, busting chops just like the old days. I miss those slugs! Ya know, seeing people in person? Even the ones that annoy you from time to time. Who else wants even the annoying ones back in their lives!? Raises hand. Next week we’re trying to recruit City of Malden Controller Chuckie “Superstar” Ranaghan. His wit, wisdom and that special way he needles his pal Stinger we all miss since they locked the doors on us at the IACC. Postscript 1: Hang in there, Malden. Stay inside! Keep washing your hands! Stay strong! Before you know it, we’ll be chowing on steak tips with salad (with that great P.S.S. salad dressing) as Paul Solano greets us at the door at Pearl Street Station. Before you know it, Jackie Bouley & Douglas Tran will be charming you at All Season’s Table as you enjoy the jazz combo and a cosmo at the bar. Before you know it, summer will be upon us. We’ll cautiously watch this horror show disappear in the rearview mirror humming the Jerry Mungo classic “Summertime” – “In the summertime when the weather is hot “You can stretch right up and touch the sky “When the weather’s fine “You got women, you got women on your mind “Have a drink, have a drive “Go out and see what you can find.” Postscript 2: Thank you once again to the everyday heroes we so take for granted: Officers like Trent Headley, George MacKay and Kevin Killion; healthcare workers; Cataldo Ambulance; firefighters like Martin Cahill, Jimmy Connelly and Lenny Dunn; the folks who stock the shelves, serve us meals. I can go on, and I will. Thank up from the bottom of our hearts. Temple Emmanuel of Wakefield seeking lead educator for Hebrew School T emple Emmanuel of Wakefield is seeking a part-time educator, for the coming school year and beyond, to lead its Hebrew School. This role includes preparation of curriculum, instructional leadership, and communications activities, among other responsibilities. The educator would be responsible for working with the school committee and Rabbi Greg to create curriculum, as well as working with students, their parents and the Temple Emmanuel community. The purpose of the Hebrew School is to make each student proud of their Jewish identity and to be part of a loving, Jewish community. Temple Emmanuel is affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement and it is dedicated to creating a caring and inclusive community and to enhancing Jewish life through learning and communal activities, with the intent to pass on values and traditions to future generations of Jews. The position is eight hours per week, with a start date of mid-July 2020. Each class of this school met once a week. The position includes membership at Temple Emmanuel of Wakefield. Please submit a resume, cover letter and two to three references to the chair of the Search Committee, yshikhanovich@ gmail.com. And, for more information, visit www.wakefieldtemple.org. Temple Emmanuel of Wakefield is in Wakefield’s historic park area at 120 Chestnut St. Although the Temple building is currently closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, services with Rabbi Greg Hersh and other temple events are being held via Zoom. A calendar of events can be found at www.WakefieldTemple.org. For more information, call 781-245-1886. ~ LEGAL NOTICE ~ Bid Solicitation Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Resurface/Repair Parking Lot at 770 Salem Street, Malden, MA Project # 21-200 Bid specs available on May 14th at 11 AM Bid responses due May 28th at 2 PM Contact Rick Veilleux at rveilleux@mvrcs.org for bid documents. May 15, 2020 Changes To Required Minimum Distribution Rules T he Secure Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) may very well have the largest impact on retirement accounts since the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006. Although the Secure Act did away with the IRA stretch provisions that allowed beneficiaries to stretch out distributions from the IRA account over their lifetimes, it also increased the age at which IRA account holders are required to take out minimum distributions (RMD’s). Section 114 of the Act increases the age at which an IRA owner or participant in an employer-sponsored retirement plan must begin taking RMD’s from 70 ½ to 72. Participants in 401(k), 403(b) and similar Non-IRAbased employer-sponsored plans will still be able to delay taking RMD’s provided they are still working and meet the requirements of Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9). The new required beginning date for taking RMD’s is now April 1st following the year in which the IRA owner reaches age 72. If you choose to take an RMD in the following year on or before April 1st , you will still have to take another RMD in that same year representing the age 73 RMD. This would double up your RMD for that particular year possibly putting you in a higher income tax bracket. Therefore, it might not be to your advantage to defer taking your RMD in the year you actually turn age 72. You might also get hit with IRMAA (Income Related Monthly Adjustment Amount) thereby increasing the amount of your monthly Medicare Part A premium. For anyone that actually turned 70 ½ in 2019, the RMD’s still need to be taken in 2020 if not already taken in 2019. The Secure Act does not allow those individuals to delay RMD’s until age 72. The life expectancy tables have not changed under the Secure Act. These are the tables used to determine the amount of the RMD to be taken each year. Some individuals may wish to take more out of their IRA accounts than the RMD’s. Why? For Estate/Medicaid planning in order to transfer assets to children. Parents may also be in a low tax bracket so taking more money out of IRA accounts now might make sense. Income tax rates could increase with future changes in the tax law. Someone has to pay the income taxes on IRA distributions. Sometimes it makes more sense for the IRA owner to pay the tax and not the children. Asset protection is always a consideration as maybe older Americans are very concerned about nursing home placement and do not have long-term care insurance. They are looking to transfer assets out of their name sooner than later. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certified Public Accountant, registered investment advisor, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.

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