watch and listen to the talking news every day at twelve noon and six pm on channel ninety six dollars comcast six finity and channel thirty verizon fi os it can also be aired mondays and tuesdays at four thirty just search for the belmont media podcast network and now on to the talking news santa maria once known as the red sox hospital by diane loughlin one sanctum urrea nursing facility closes in december it will leave behind a seventy year legacy of hospital earned the nickname the red sox hospital because of the number of players who received care there initially located on memorial drive in cambridge a little more than a mile across the river from friend way park the hospital provided a convenient place for treating play is injuries and ailments the nuns on staff members of the daughters of mary of the immaculate conception would receive a call from the team doctor or trainer asking is a room empty according to one thousand nine hundred and forty nine boston globe ah tickle the nuns would start preparing the red sox room described as a pleasant blue room with a l open fireplace in cheery floral hanging the staff seemed to enjoy caring for the play is the nuns have met so many red sox players and their wives either as patients or visit is that they have a frequent sanctum urrea patient was ted williams during his legendary red sox career he spent time at the hospital recuperating from a broken elbow a fractured call of bone and other ailments williams occasionally spoke to the press from his hospital room and photographers would often capture him exiting the building with one of the nuns by his side the red sox were not the only baseball players receiving kid there early in his korea future a hall of fame fame or jim catfish hunter was scheduled to pitch at fenway park for the kansas city athletics in july of one thousand nine hundred and sixty six he complained of pain in his side the globe history santa maria inevitably played a role in some notorious red sox moments as well in ted williams the biography of american hero lee monfils writes that in september of  fifty eight williams was angry himself a striking note he swung his bat intending to release it to in the dugout instead instead the bat flew into the stands hitting sixty year old gladys h weeks at santa maria during a period of poor health the former boston university football star who today is memorialized on campus with a statue and namesake arena suffered a fatal pulmonary tragic upcoming closure of santa maria nursing facility points to concerning national trend by diane mc laughlin cambridge is saying to maria now seem to sillett he celebrated two significant milestone with a cookout in early august two weeks later it announced plans to close in december citing financial challenges the nonprofit facility which cares for both short and long term nursing homes throughout the country saying to marie a nursing facility administrator nicholas gilbert told the cambridge chronicle that after joining the staff fourteen months ago he thought the facility would overcome financial challenges experienced in recent years but this past spring he said the board of directors began to realize the facility would not survive another year people are sad i personally am sad gilbert said it's a disappointment when a facility as good as this closes down according to medicare's website nursing compare comparison governor said that  to maria had an above average rating for staffing while registered nursing staff was much above average the highest rating the facility received an overall  eighty nine the hospital converted to a nursing facility caring for long term residents including dementia patients in providing short term rehabilitation services the facility also care some of the long term patients have physically immense but remaining cars cognizant and engaged members of the community gilbert said this year mike saying to maria's th anniversary as well as mary lucio binoche have ministerial roles on the facilities staff gilbert said santa maria is board of directors has begun exploring opportunities to sell the building including two other health care providers multiple challenges one reason for saying to maria's financial difficulty was their patients mix gilbert said the facility cared for more long term patients those covered by medicaid or mass health than short term patients covered by medicare intraday health care system facilities receive lower reimbursements for medicaid compared to medicare gilbert said santa maria which has one hundred and thirty four beds adjusted the patient mix during the past year to an equal number of long and short term patients but the adjustment was not enough to overcome the financial difficulties rising maintenance costs for the fifty year old building also contributed to the financial burden as well as a nursing shortage gilbert said providing a relatively high number of nursing now is for patients each day the nonprofit facility had difficulty competing for quality nurses who can find higher salaries at hospitals now he has max thanks claire this is a continuation of the santa maria story concerns across the country david ski a professor of health care policy at harvard medical school said medicaid and medicare reimbursements have affected nursing facilities looking to provide long term care i think the tension playing out at the nursing home in cambridge is playing out across the country he told the chronicle nursing homes have also seen a change in long term patients in recent years people who in the past might have moved into a facility now have more options for receiving care at home grabowski said often people living in nursing homes have acute conditions that require more care from staff staffing is one of the main challenges for these facilities grabovski said higher staffing levels often lead to better outcomes for patients but outside massachusetts some facilities choose to understaffed leading to problems with the quality of care the simplest solution grabowski said is for states to start increasing medicaid reimbursements but with no evidence in either political party of moving toward this said another alternative is to look at ways to integrate medicaid and medicare payments many many patients are eligible for both programs and paying rates through a coordinated system could help address issues that reimbursement many nursing facilities that have closed served urban areas with more medicaid patients grabowski said adding that they often provided high quality care do we need to treat these nursing homes differently if we don't address reimbursements i think we're destined to see this story repeat itself gilbert has started to hold information sessions for families to discuss the closure and the process of finding new facilities for patients he is encouraging people to begin the process early to avoid problems in december santa maria for as long as fifteen years several have developed friendships after living together for a long time gilbert said he would like to find a way to keep these residents together in a different facility gilbert sees the challenges leading close as evidence of broader concerns for the future of long term care what's going to happen if all these facilities close what's going to happen to all these elderly people in the next generation gilbert asked that something as a society we should be thinking of over to you bob thanks max learn more about the special election ballot question the league of women voters of belmont is is having a marijuana or information session from seven to nine pm on thursday september th at the cherry middle school community room near the parking lot entrance to help educate voters before the of cultivation manufacturing and independent testing labs in belmont and limit the number of state issued retail licenses available in belmont to to right now twenty percent of the number of current alcohol retail licenses a no vote would allow all types of marijuana establishment in belmont and would not limit the number of retail establishments retail stores as well as cultivators manufacturers and testing labs could apply for a license from the state to operate in belmont what this bal number of licenses that would be available for issuance by the state it does not circumvent zoning bylaws the planning board is diligently drafting bylaws for adult use marijuana or establishment to be voted on at town meeting later this fall there was a planning board public hearing to discuss the current draft of the zoning by law for adult use recreational marijuana in belmont on tuesday september th at seven pm at the home or municipal building odd gallery the rd floor it does not pertain to medical marijuana that's an additional issue and sixteen november general action question for past allowing adult use recreational marijuana in massachusetts different rules apply to a yes town a majority of citizens in the town voting for compared to an old town belmont is a yes town thus belmont is required to have a special election for any restriction on adult use marijuana and over to my colleague claire thank you bob special town election information get out in vote on september th the town of belmont will hold a special town election tuesday september twenty five there will be only one question on the ballot as shown below polls will be open from seven am to eight pm at the town's eight voting precincts question one shall the town vote to amend the town's general by law by inserting into the title of chapter sixty article one after the word tobacco a comma in the word marijuana and by adding a new section sixty dash one o seven as follows a consistent consistent with m g l ninety four g all types of marijuana establishments except for marijuana retailers both as defined  l ninety four shall be prohibited within the town of belmont provided however that a registered marijuana dispensary shall not be deemed to be a marijuana establishment be consistent with n g l ninety four the number of marijuana retailers in belmont shall not exceed a number that is equal to twenty percent of the number of licenses issued within the town of belmont for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises were sold summary by the town council the new sixty day one hundred and seven of the town's general bylaw as printed above was approved by a special town meeting on may nd two thousand and eighteen but by state law it does not go into effect unless it is also approved by the voters under this bal question if approved by the voters last sixty dash one o seven would prohibit the state's cannabis control commission from licensing any kind of marijuana stablish mint in belmont other than a retail store registered americal medical marijuana dispensary swith continue to be allowed under a separate statute the types of marijuana establishments that would be prohibited because they could not be licensed by the state would include marijuana kelter vader's marijuana product manufacturers and marijuana testing facilities the number of retail marijuana would also be capped at twenty percent of the number of licenses issued for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises also known as package stores rounded up to the next whole number belmont is authorized to issue and has issued six such licenses which means that the state could issue a maximum of two licenses for the retail sale of marijuana and marijuana products six times twenty percent is one dollar which rounds up to two that number would remain at two unless the and until the town obtained authorization from the state to issue and did issue more than ten package store licenses the new by law would not guarantee that any marijuana retail stores would be located in belmont know to term and where they could be located those questions would be determined through the state's licensing process and through zoning bylaw provisions and other quote time place and m taught th grade chinnery middle school for the past ten years over the summer she was from zero to the role of assistant principal at the china rate her new role differs slightly from the upper and lower school assistant principal roles found us is responsible for quote encore programming unquote focusing more on supporting the teachers and students when an art physical education technology world languages music and health i am supporting those students in their encore classes the same way as our schools other administrators socially emotionally and academically it has been extremely rewarding so far i'm continuing to support students who have taught in the past and now i'm able to support even more who i wasn't fortunate enough to have t t road fund us in an e mail to the citizen herald the belmont citizen herald asked the new assistant principal at the general middle school some questions to help readers get to know her a little better here are the responses she sent via email what are you looking forward to most about being the new assistant principal chinnery middle school i am very excited and feel blessed to be continuing my work in belmont in this new position i worked in belmont for ten years and over the last couple of years i worked very closely with the district initiatives of social emotional learning and the district's vision committee as we prepare for the new bill mont high school i'm excited that i am able to continue that meaningful work that i have been doing over the past couple years and most importantly supporting the students and staff of chattery who i care deeply about what do you think your greatest challenges will be in this new role this is a good question i'm lucky as most new administrators begin their new positions in a new district but since i'm remaining in belmont where i've been for ten years i feel confident in the work that i'm doing i know there will be hurdles and obstacles along the way but i'm fortunate to know exactly who i can call for help and feel supported as i step into this new position how do you think being a teacher at the school in the past ten years is going to benefit you in your new role since i've been freshly out of the classroom i understand the teacher's perspectives and concerns this students and parents returning to burbank elementary school in september th noticed several changes to the campus for modular classrooms with bathroom facilities a covered walkway with  ramp connected to the building a new synthetic turf playing area a wider newly paved entry and exit driveway new sidewalks a lodger pocking lot and new landscaping upgraded wiring and fire safety systems and new basketball hoops just some of the improvements the school received over the summer thanks to the approval of borrowing in appropriat and thirty four thousand for the project at a special town meeting last november the new classrooms will be used to how's the th grade students at the burbank basically we're going from a three classroom per grade school k through four tool for classroom per grade so now we'll have twenty classrooms here at the burbank schools said dr trish sure cliff and principal of the burbank emma elementary school according to superintendent john failon the modulus will receive will reduce class size two or more acceptable level for teaching and learning in kindergarten through th grade he said there will be no more than twenty two dollars students in each kid in a garden and st grade class and no more than twenty four students in nd through th grade and rollman has grown by about one hundred and one students every and eleven and failing doesn't see the trend slowing down before two thousand and twenty one and no one to clear thank you bob samaritans to hold a suicide prevention five k run road brighton belmont resident carrie how it or will participate in the samaritans th annual five k run for suicide prevention for a very personal reason how to lost her father to suicide and has made it her personal mission to break the stigma that surrounds suicide and mental illness this is her th year participating in the event nearly two thousand runners walkers families and team members will support samaritans mission to prevent suicide registration will begin at eight am for the ten am event which includes a family f appearance by wally from the red sox auction and raffles and massages register to participate or read about the inspiring teams involved in this year's event many of whom will be running  walking in memory of loved ones lost to suicide our th annual five k event will serve as a memorial for those who have died by suicide as well as a celebration of their lives said steve mong o executive director for the past twenty years the event has been one filled with hope and promise as people of all ages and walks of life come together to make a difference the samaritans hope to reach their fundraising goal of four hundred thousand dollars from the money raised from registration fees donations and corporate donors sponsorships now over to max  organize a tennis tournament in memory of moranbah son nicholas nicholas love playing tennis and was a student of warner's on april th two thousand and ten he passed away at the age of nine as a result of an injury from a tree limb which fell on him while he was playing with friends at a home on show ruud this year's nicholas marama tennis open will take place on saturday september th nine am to one pm at the wynn brook elementary school tennis courts all proceeds raised from the event will benefit the children's room in arlington the children's room helped my rama's younger daughter ella who was seven when nicholas passed away by giving her the opportunity to meet with other children who had lost siblings she was able to find comfort and safety by doing projects with them and talking helping her realize there were others who felt the same way as her and she was not alone quote when my nick passed away we faced the worst time of our lives the pain was unbearable even though we were surrounded by the love of our family and friends it was children rich children's room that brought us hope and showed us ways of survival even after we thought our hearts would never be able to go on through meetings with facilitators and other families and parents element with other children that lost siblings it was truly a life saving experience i'll be forever grateful to the children's room said it was amy chung coworker of a well said her son preston was best friends with nicholas since kindergarten and when brooke elementary they took tennis classes together since nicholas was such a wonderful loving child we considered him as a part of our family for him to be taken away from us so soon is so heartbreaking so having this event helps us remember what a wonderful kid nicholas was to us by having a tournament using his favorite sport she said adding the children's room is a worthy cause because it helped them rama family deal with sudden tragic loss keith warner was nicholas's tennis coach back to you bob thanks max fifty plus job seekers networking event to be held by weekly the beach street center will hold a regional networking event one hundred and thirty dollars to three thirty pm on the st tuesday of each month starting on september  the th at the beach treat center two hundred and twenty six beach street in belmont this free program offers support training education and networking to people ages fifty and older who are seeking help with career direction and employment the group facilitator will present a new topic each week one to one speed coaching speakers workshops and weekly job recruiters will be offered attend will be taught how to develop new skills tools and strategies to help in korea transitions doors will open at one pm for early signing and casual networking but  meetings in any regional location group facilitate a mock sense he is a is a career management professional who specializes in coaching training in interview preparation he thank you for listening to the talking news and hope you've enjoyed the show we were return next week for another edition of local news happening around belmont