Articles written by dimitra lavrakas
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Going the extra mile to fight cancer
For the second year in a row, Alaska Airlines and GCI have teamed up to donate one million miles to the American Cancer Society and their program to help Alaskan cancer patients travel for their treatment. Whether traveling from remote areas of the...
Cruise ships sail into the far north
In 1994, when I first moved to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), the Russian icebreaker "Yamal" cruised into town with tourists aboard. It took 13 helicopter trips just to unload their luggage for...
At-home clinical trials
There are many new clinical trials available to Alaskans that are conducted at home. Clinical trials are medical research studies designed to test the safety and effectiveness of new investigational drugs, devices or treatments in humans. These...
Last-minute flights, airfares for funerals
When someone in your family is dying whether, it's in-state or the Lower 48, you want to get to them fast. When I was visiting a friend in Kodiak, her mother lay dying in Alabama, and we managed to...
Flying legal: Your cannabis and the law
Twenty-one states have decriminalized possession of cannabis and some allow growing for your own use. Pot shops have popped up all over and the taxes from the sale of marijuana in specialized stores...
Bonanza for at-home medical studies
PicnicHealth is a business with a new approach to medical studies. It will take the information from your medical history through an online portal and share it with researchers. All of your records, no matter how many times you move, will be...
Whales, eagles, nutcrackers take center stage
November brings a flurry of seasonal salutes to the whales and eagles that enhance our life here. In Haines, thousands of bald eagles gather to chase the late chum and coho salmon run, while in Sitka...
A bright pink ice cream adventure in Chicago
As winter's chill comes on, Alaskans start thinking about keeping warm. Aside from muktuk, bacon and caribou soup, the fat Alaskans love most comes from ice cream. If you have children and...
Helping grandparents raise their grandchildren
I'm 73 years old, and after taking care of my five-year-old granddaughter Eliza for four hours, well, I'm ready for a nap. So I have nothing but deep respect and awe for grandparents raising their...
It's the season for Alaskan travel discounts
Fall in Alaska is to be treasured by Alaskans-no tourists, no tour buses clogging the roads, no sightseeing planes or helicopters flying overhead. Just the sound of the tree leaves floating through...
Winter nights bring dancing lights
Fall in Alaska comes with many perks - sightings of migratory birds and Alaskans heading to warmer climes, but best is the darkness that brings the awesome Aurora Borealis. Now Explore Fairbanks has...
Clinical trials and tribulations
I’ve been writing about the chance to participate in medical research by applying for clinical trials that could not only help oneself, but countless others. Being in the Chicago area, there are plenty of medical trials to choose from, so I decided o...
Big bears, big trees beckon you
To get a taste of how lush Haida Gwaii in British Columbia is, once called Queen Charlotte Islands, think back on that Alaska Marine Highway ferry ride to Bellingham or Prince Rupert. Sailing past...
Alaska welcomes you to summer
While travel by car seems prohibitive with gas prices at an all-time high of $5.51 in June, a drive to a festival may be the cure for he several years of isolation due to the pandemic. Get out and mee...
You can help with reproductive cancer research
Since writing about clinical trials several editions back, I’ve earned about $40 in gift cards. Now I search for more. Participating in clinical studies can put a jingle in your pocket while contributing to medical science. Even my 5-year-old g...
Assistance program aims to make internet more affordable
Low-income Alaskans now qualify for discounted or free internet access, thanks to an expanded federal program announced by the White House May 16. The White House estimates the program will cover 48 million households, or 40 percent of the country....
Alaska Natives to see new broadband effort
The $41.5 million provided by the federal Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program will make fast internet more affordable so rural residents can access telehealth appointments, and provide access for economic growth and remote learning. As is usual...
Museums statewide offer deals for seniors
Alaska has museums from Dutch Harbor, to Sitka, to tiny Anaktuvuk Pass in the middle of the Brooks Range. But the most striking-looking building in all of Juneau, and surely anywhere else in the...
New annex brings seniors back together in Fairbanks
Knowing all too well the effects of social isolation on the health of seniors, both mental and physical, the Fairbanks Senior Center has temporarily pivoted to a new rented space at Shoppers Forum Mal...
Airline mask mandate: It's all up to you now
On April 13, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the Transportation Security Administration had issued an extension of the mask mandate until May 3 after the CDC’s “close monitoring of the COVID-19 landscape in the United St...
COVID restrictions lift and travelers are raring to go
The planes and ships want you back - desperately. But only you can decide if you feel safe enough to go. I ping-ponged back and forth from Alaska to the east coast three times between late summer and...
Canada drops COVID tests
On April Fool’s Day, no kidding, Canada will drop the requirement that travelers entering Canada either through airports or land borders prove they have a pre-arrival COVID-19 test result. But only for those fully vaccinated. This is a big sigh of r...
Federal deadline for a REAL ID is next year
Passed by Congress in 2005, the REAL ID Act enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The Act established requirements for sta...
Clinical trials in Alaska focus on colon cancer
Editor's note: This story has been updated, with corrections. March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and there are ways you can help find a cure. We are at the age when we know of someone who is suffering or has died from colon cancer,...
Winter travel preparation could save your life
In early January, hundreds of travelers taking Interstate 95 through Fredericksburg, Virginia, ran into a winter storm and spent overnight in below-freezing temperatures. And in mid-November 2021,...
