THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, May 24, 2019 Page 17 Malden residents graduate from Fitchburg State FITCHBURG – The following Malden residents graduated from Fitchburg State University during the school’s 123rd commencement exercises earlier this month: Navya AvLICENSE | FROM PAGE 1 open a 3,200-square-foot retail marijuana shop at the old Kentucky Fried Chicken building at 75 Broadway. Keltic Green would lease the site, which has approximately 32 parking spaces. Standard Naturals is seeking a retailer license for a 3,000-square-foot shop it plans to build on property the company owns at 7 Linehurst Rd. The building plan includes approximately 16 parking spaces. Mass Medicum has applied for a license for a 2,500-squarefoot retail shop at 616 Broadway, the home of Bay State Motors. Mass Medicum would lease the property, which includes approximately 20 parking spaces, The Frosty Nug is pursuing a license for a 4,554-square-foot retail shop at 639 Broadway on a parcel the company will lease or purchase from the current owner, The Roast Beef Place. Craft Cultivation Group has applied for retail, wholesale and cultivation licenses for a 12,600-square-foot facility at 1130 Eastern Ave. The company intends to lease the property, which is the former JRM building. “At fi rst glance there are two locations that may need some zoning relief in the form of a variance,” said Hogan. varu, Jessalynne P. Brown, Regine Exume, Germanie R. Gourdet, Colin L. McShane, Faemy F. Thomas, Bharathan Veeramalai and Christ A. Woolley. The Midas Store on Commercial Street where Center Harvest Corp. is seeking a license for a retail shop is 130 feet from McDonald Stadium. Zoning requires a 250-foot buff er zone between marijuana businesses and athletic fi elds, parks and playgrounds. And the retail shop at 75 Broadway proposed by Keltic Green would not comply with the zoning regulation that requires a 75-foot buffer from residential properties. “It doesn’t mean that there aren’t paths for those seeking licenses for those locations; we just thought it was something worth mentioning up front,” said Hogan. Members of the commission will now dive into the lengthy applications submitted by each company and decide, up to a maximum of fi ve, which should move on to the next step in the licensing process. “We would authorize them to conduct a community outreach meeting which would lay the foundation for an application for a special permit granted by the City Council,” said Hogan. If the council approves a special permit, applicants would then negotiate a host community agreement with the Mayor’s Offi ce. Once that hurdle is cleared, they can apply to the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission for a state license. Applicants then return to the Malden Cannabis Commission to be approved for a local license. Although the Commission wants to move forward as quickly as possible, they are still waiting for the City Council to appoint a fi fth member to the board. Members agreed to hold off on interviews with applicants and reviews of each company’s experience, fi nancial strength, business plan, security strategy and staffi ng until the council makes its decision. However, Miller suggested the Commission could keep the process moving by reaching out to the ward councillors for their feedback on the applications. The Commission is required to gather input from ward councillors as part of its review. Since all the applications are for sites in Ward 1 and 8, members would only need to meet with Councillor Peg Crowe and Council President Jadeane Sica, whose opinions would not be aff ected by the Commission’s lack of a fi fth member. Hogan also reminded commission members that their review guidelines call for granting one of the fi ve available licenses to a local applicant. “Our objective is clear,” he said. “We want to fi nd the best operators for the city of Malden.” Looking for a home loan? 15 YEAR 30 YEAR RATE RATE APR* APR* Learn more about our rates at EVERETTBANK . COM by ille Understanding Medicare’s Enrollment Periods Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about the different enrollment periods for Medicare? I’m planning to work past age 65 and understand Medicare off ers Initial, Special and General periods in which I can enroll. How does this work? Medicare Illiterate Dear Medicare, The rules for signing up for Medicare can be quite confusing, especially if you plan to work past age 65. But it’s critical to understand the ins and outs of enrolling because the consequences of missing a deadline can be costly and last a lifetime. Here’s what you should know about Medicare’s three different enrollment periods. Initial Enrollment Period At age 65, the Initial Enrollment Period is the fi rst opportunity that most people are eligible to enroll in Medicare. If you’re already claiming Social Security benefi ts at least 4 months before age 65, you are automatically enrolled in Medicare, with coverage starting the fi rst day of month you turn 65. If you’re not receiving Social Security benefi ts, it’s up to you to enroll in Medicare either online at SSA.gov/Medicare, over the phone at 800-772-1213 or through your local Social Security offi ce. You can enroll any time during the Initial Enrollment Period, which is a seven-month period that includes the three months before, the month of, and the three months after your 65th birthday. It’s best to enroll three months before your birth month to ensure your coverage starts when you turn 65. If, however, you plan to keep working and have health coverage from your employer, or from a spouse’s employer, you may want to delay Medicare Part B, which covers outpatient services, and Part D, which covers prescription drugs. But fi rst check with the human resources department to see how your employer insurance works with Medicare. Typically, if your employer has fewer than 20 employees, Medicare will be your primary insurer and you should enroll. But if you work for a company that has 20 or more employees, your employer’s group health plan will be your primary insurer as long as you remain an active employee. If this is the case, you don’t need to enroll in Part B or Part D when you turn 65 if you’re satisfi ed with the coverage you are getting through your job. But in most cases, unless you’re contributing to a Health Savings Account, you should at least sign-up for Medicare Part A, which is free and covers hospital services. Special Enrollment Period If you delay Part B and Part D past age 65, you can sign up for Medicare during the Special Enrollment Period. Once you (or your spouse) stop working and you no longer have group health coverage, you have eight months to enroll in Part B. But if you miss that deadline, you’ll pay a late-enrollment penalty for the rest of your life. The penalty increases your premiums by 10 percent for each 12-month period that you don’t have coverage. The window for Part D is shorter. You must sign up for Part D within two months of losing drug coverage. If you go 63 days or more without drug coverage, you’ll pay a lifetime late-enrollment penalty that equals 1 percent of the monthly base premium (about $33 in 2019) times the number of months you don’t have Part D of other creditable coverage. General Enrollment Period If you miss either of these first two enrollment periods, you’ll have to wait until the General Enrollment Period, which is January 1 through March 31 of each year, but your Part B and Part D coverage will not begin until July 1. And you’ll be subject to late-enrollment penalties. There is, however, no penalty for late enrollment for Part A. You can sign up anytime with coverage beginning the first day of the following month. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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