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Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in May: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (May 14 and 28), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (May 1 and 15), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can call the...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending or listening in to the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues the series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on April 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The April topic is “Age Legally”. Aging legally implies there are ways to age illegally. That may be partially true if one is unprepared, in a legal sense, for the kinds of dos and don’ts of later life. These can include things like wills, powers of attorney, supported decision making agreements, advance directives, and others. Fortu...
On Feb. 25, many of Alaska’s seniors woke to a disturbing surprise. They found a letter announcing unprecedented Pioneer Homes rate increases due to the Governor’s budget proposal. I am writing as the Representative of House District 20 to oppose the rate increases for Alaska’s Pioneer Homes and oppose the invasive collection of Pioneer Home residents’ private financial information. As Alaska’s seniors, you already have paid your way. After a lifetime of service, taxes and helping build our state, asking for these rate increases in this mann...
I still get the feeling that most libraries I have visited the last twelve or fifteen years are, well, naked. OK, maybe that is not the best description, but at first glance they seem to be missing something very important. Where is the card catalog? It was the brain center of every library -- a dark wooden wall of dozens or hundreds of sturdy little drawers holding thousands of index cards with key information about the library’s holdings. For decades my fingers laboriously walked through those cards searching for that part of the world’s inf...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The April meeting is April 10, hosted by the Thomas Center. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on these...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced legislation to end the Senior Benefits program, the income-based program that provides monthly cash assistance to low-income Alaska seniors. Identical bills, House Bill 60 and companion Senate Bill 58, were introduced at the governor's request in February. If passed, the legislation would end the benefits program, effective June 30, 2019. The Senior Benefits program provides monthly payments to seniors age 65 and older at three different levels, depending on applicants' income level: $250 for the lowest-income...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continue the series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on March 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The March topic is “The Tech Age and Tech Agers.” Keeping up with new editions of iPhones, Google, Androids, and apps has many of us throwing up our hands in frustration. Even the terminology — tablets and pads, for instance — often requires us to consult new online dictionaries. But, amid frustration can also come opportunities w...
A major disaster declaration was issued Jan. 31 for the state of Alaska following the Nov. 30 earthquake. It makes federal funding available to eligible affected faith-based organizations, community, volunteer and private nonprofit organizations in three jurisdictions: the Municipality of Anchorage and the boroughs of Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula. FEMA Public Assistance The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides grants through its Public Assistance program. These grants are designed to help communities, government organizations a...
As tax deadlines get closer, Tax-Aide sites continue to provide assistance around Alaska. The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns and anyone can use the service regardless of age or income. Sites are staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified by Internal Revenue Service and AARP Foundation instructors to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, these taxpayers also avoid tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free....
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending or listening in to the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other Thurs...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in March: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (March 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (March 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (March 7, 14, 21 and 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can cal...
The 31st Alaska State Legislature gaveled in on Jan. 15 with many new faces and a host of old challenges. The Senate quickly elected Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anch.) as Senate President, with a 14-6 Republican majority caucus (one Democrat caucuses with the Republicans). On the House side, as of this writing, there is no chosen leadership. Despite having a Republican majority, the House does not follow party lines so clearly. There is a Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome) until the House is able to achieve either a 21-19 majority caucus, or...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues its series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on Feb. 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The February topic is “How Does Intimacy Change with Age?” Intimacy isn’t something we talk much about, yet it is something that we need throughout our lives. This session will examine the ways the need and the capacity for intimacy changes as we age. Is it sex? Is it a very close friend or soul mate? Is it physical, emotional or...
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will meet Feb. 11-13, in Juneau for their quarterly board meeting. The meeting will also include visits with legislators and their staff to provide information on topics related to the Alaska senior population and the programs that serve them. The commission’s meeting is open to the public both in person and via teleconference at group teleconference sites including the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, Ketchikan Pioneer Home, Mat-Su Senior Services, Soldotna Senior Center, Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending or listening in to the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other...
February marks the opening of Tax-Aide sites around Alaska. The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns and anyone can use the service regardless of age or income. Sites are staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified by Internal Revenue Service and AARP Foundation instructors to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, these taxpayers also avoid tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free. Find a nearby Tax-Aide site by vis...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in February: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Feb. 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Feb. 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Feb. 7, 14, 21 and 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can cal...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formally known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The February meeting is Feb. 13, hosted by Nila Morgan, Medicare specialist at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other Thursday and weekly...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues its series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on Jan. 8, 2019, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The January topic is “Medicare Basics”. Medicare is undoubtedly one of the most perplexing issues for people as they get older. What is it? What does it do and not do? Do I have to sign up, or how do I get it? What choices do I have? Will I like it? These questions and many more will be answered by Alaska’s foremost Medicare expe...
The question of limiting the profits of health insurance companies is sparking renewed national debate. The nation’s biggest health insurers have reported robust growth in recent years, due in large part to Medicare. All of the “big five” insurers, United Health Care, Anthem, Aetna, Cigna and Humana have seen increases in enrollment growth and revenues, with profits rising. At the same time, a growing number of Medicare beneficiaries report that Medicare premiums, deductibles and out-of-pocket costs are consuming an increased share of their...
Note: The print version of this story incorrectly listed the Monday through Friday hours as noon to 6 p.m. The correct hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a new partnership in the Fairbanks area, called the “H.E.L.P. Center for our Neighbors in Need.” H.E.L.P. (Health Education Learning Project) is a pilot partnership started with three local non-profits and United Way of the Tanana Valley member agencies with each having long and successful histories (right at four decades each) in the Tanana Valley community. This team effort includes the Fa...
Alaska State Library Talking Book Center patrons who travel out of Alaska temporarily are encouraged to notify the Talking Book Center before they leave, staff say. Their service can continue while they are out of Alaska by providing their temporary address to the library. The Alaska Talking Book Center offers free access, including free shipping both directions, to audiobooks, books in braille or large print books to Alaskans who are blind, have visual disabilities or other physical challenges that keep them from reading traditional books, as...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will hold its quarterly meeting on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This meeting will be held by videoconference and teleconference at the locations below. Public comment, scheduled from 1:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., can be presented by going to the group videoconference or teleconference sites or by calling 1-800-315-6338, 53250#. Videoconference Locations Juneau - Senior and Disabilities Services, 240 Main Street, 6th floor videoconference room (907-465-3372) Anchorage – Senior and Disabilities S...
