Senior Voice -

During the last Alaska Commission on Aging legislative teleconference of the legislative session on May 17, members of the Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA), helmed by ACoA Executive Director Denise Daniello, and ACoA health and social services plann...

The Senate Finance Health and Social Services Subcommittee closed out the operating budget for FY18 for the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) on Mar. 14. The Senate Subcommittee was able to reduce the DHSS budget by an additional 5...

Governor Bill Walker’s new operating budget for FY 2018 brings welcome news for the Alaska Pioneer Homes – no budget cuts for the homes. Since FY 2015, the Department of Health and Social Services, which includes services like the six Alaska Pio...

After being put on the Oct. 4 ballot, the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s plan to phase out the additional $150,000 property tax exemption offered to Kenai Peninsula Borough seniors was voted down by the public. “Three-to-one turned it down, with 6,8...

With more budget cuts from the state forcing the loss of numerous staff positions, the state’s Pioneer Homes assisted living facilities have begun to further limit the number of residents the homes are able to receive. Vickie Wilson, director of t...

After meeting on July 26 to decide whether or not to put Ordinance 2014-24 on the Oct. 4 ballot, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to move forward with the ordinance’s senior property tax exemption phase out plan. According to a borough b...

Last March, the Senior Benefit program’s top tier beneficiaries – those who qualify for the program at the highest income levels allowed – saw their monthly payments drop from the program’s initial $125 to $47. As of Senior Voice press time for the...

There were a lot of moving parts to House Bill 13, says Michelle Kaelke, Finance and Licensing Supervisor at the Department of Fish and Game (DF&G). Last month, Senior Voice reported that the bill dealing with the DF&G’s senior licenses set out to r...

After meeting on June 21 to discuss Ordinance 2014-24, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has proposed that the borough do away with the optional $150,000 senior property tax exemption as the senior population in the Kenai Peninsula increases. The...

Update: Last minute changes in the legislation changed these particulars. As the bill reads now, the new rules are: - 65 year age limit - no three-year renewal is required. Please stay tuned, as there is confusion among sponsors and the above...

Citing low public interest and little need, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre vetoed a resolution to create a senior task force on Feb. 23. The resolution, brought forward by senior advocate Peter Zuyus and Kenai Peninsula Borough assembly...

After years of planning and feasibility reports, Skagway’s senior center is getting closer to a reality. Since being appointed by Mayor Stan Selmer in March 2013, the Senior Ad Hoc Committee has been overseeing the project, guided by the committee m...

With the state anxiously seeking ways to cut costs, one idea being discussed is privatizing its Pioneer Home assisted living facilities. The state recently took another step in exploring this possibility, and issued a request for letters of interest...

Ketchikan Pioneer Home’s administrative director, Julie Sande, has been around the home long enough to see various rate increases. Sande was a social worker when the first big rate increase was implemented, when residents went from paying $700 a m...

Tired of forgetting to start your car before you head to work on a chilly morning? Looking for a stress-free way to make your daily commute more manageable? Look no further than ridesharing. The Fairbanks North Star Borough has partnered with Zimride...

To the dismay of many, the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly voted at its Sept. 20 meeting to severely curtail the city’s senior citizens sales tax exemption. The vote was 7 to 2. The sales tax exemption will no longer apply to purchases o...

This year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is set for September 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. nationwide. The DEA-sponsored program has collected hundreds of pounds of leftover medications from Alaskans alone since the program’s premier in 2010...

Village to Village, the ever popular program for seniors throughout the Lower 48, will soon be making its way to Alaska. The planning committee along with North Star Council on Aging are planning to open a similar program in the Fairbanks area by...

Stories at the Cemetery will be an Official Anchorage Centennial Event this year, and to celebrate the year 2015, the theme will be “Fifteen for 2015… And A Leg!” says Audrey Kelly, along with her husband Bruce. “One of the character’s legs was...

Anchorage seniors, your input is needed to help the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. complete its “Live. Work. Play” report on quality of life and making Anchorage the number one city to live, work and play in by 2025. The survey is short and...