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Marriage, adoptions, estate planning, wills, and many other issues have been rapidly changing for the LGBT community over the last few years and bring up challenging legal issues for all ages. You are invited to attend a two part seminar sponsored by SAGE Alaska to discuss these issues and solutions. Mike Walsh of the Law Office of Michael J. Walsh will present information regarding estate planning and probate matters, family law situations and a summary of the legal commentary regarding the future of Obergefell v. Hodges (recognizing gay...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Interagency Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all of the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The January meeting is Jan. 11, hosted by the MS Society. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group for more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list, 276-1059...
January 16 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — a national holiday and a day of remembrance. Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to creating and fostering equal rights for African Americans, and he died during his efforts to make his dream a reality. Many people commemorate this holiday by serving their community and giving to others who may be less fortunate. In many ways, this is what Social Security does every day, all year long. A great way to be of service to others is to help someone you know who may need assistance applying for S...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Jan. 10 and 24), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Jan. 4 and 18), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26), 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 Jun...
Pat Howard, living with multiple sclerosis for decades, gets around in a powered wheelchair since she can no longer put any weight on her legs. Last summer, her daughter Cindy was driving her 74-year-old mom back from an adult day care facility 30 minutes from her Santa Clarita, California, home when the car overheated and broke down. “We were stuck,” Cindy recalled in a recent phone call. “I was freaked out about driving the overheated car and worried about our safety. Our only vehicle was now sitting by the side of the road.” They called for...
It's the holiday season and that means visitors, decorations and lots of food. All of which is fun for humans but might be stressful or even dangerous to your pets. Here are some tips to make this a safe and fun holiday for your four-legged family members. Food, the center of all holiday gatherings Many human foods can cause intestinal distress or may even be poisonous to our animal friends. This list includes: • chocolate – remember that dark chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. • a...
Every day across the country more than 4,800 home burglaries occur, mostly in daylight hours, and in one out of three of those break-ins, a family member is home. The U.S. Justice Department says in about 7 percent of cases, violent crime is involved, and in less than 14 percent of burglaries, arrests are made (according 2014 statistics). And even when an arrest is made, chances are, the victims don’t get their stolen property back. What can you do? Two separate groups of researchers asked inmates serving time for home burglaries how they c...
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will hold several meetings in December, including its quarterly meeting December 7, 2016, via videoconference and teleconference from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The videoconference sites for the quarterly meeting are: • Anchorage Senior & Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave., Room 201 (Contact: Allison Morrow, 269-3666) • Juneau Senior and Disabilities Services, 240 Main Street, 6th Floor Conference Room (Contact: Lesley Thompson, 465-4793) • Palmer Mat-Su Senior Services, 1132 South Chugach Street (Cont...
Family caregivers spend an average of nearly 20 percent of their income providing care for a family member or other loved one, according to a new AARP Research Report, “Family Caregiving and Out-of-Pocket Costs: 2016 Report.” The report shows that family caregivers spend an average of $6,954 in out-of-pocket costs related to caregiving, with Hispanic/Latino and low-income family caregivers spending an average of 44 percent of their total annual income. “This study spotlights the financial toll on family caregivers – particularly those with mo...
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles Senior Voice will publish in coming months on various topics from the Diverse Elders Coalition. Each article will cover a different segment of the elder population. Despite their resilient nature, Hispanic older adults continue to face a plethora of challenges, which include retirement insecurity, lack of access to health care, housing and programs, as well as hunger and chronic disease. The National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) — the leading national organization working to imp...
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has released its first Tlingit podcast for students who want to learn the language through their mobile devices. The podcast is part of SHI’s “Learning Tlingit” app, which was released in August. It includes 26 episodes that cover a wide range of topics, including verbs, tools, colors, places, carved objects, anatomy of a building and cooking phrases. The episodes are offered in audio (.mp3) or video (.mp4) formats. “Our ‘Learning Tlingit’ app currently offers audio sections on vocabulary, phrases and the alp...
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 6,888 not in favor and 2,754 saying yes,” said Larry Persily, assistant to Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre. “The results were pretty resounding.” The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one of the few municipalities in Alaska to offer an additional $150,000 property tax exemption along with the state’s m...
It’s not a very holiday-like subject, but if you seldom see your older relatives except at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s an important time to be alert for signs of elder abuse. Not that you should necessarily talk about it, but keep your eyes open for obvious and for subtle signs of problems. For example, does Uncle Edward have bruises on his arms he can’t explain? It’s often true that seniors bruise easily, but it doesn’t hurt to ask him about it. Does he seem nervous about answering? If so, do what you can to get to the bottom of it. Th...
Senior citizens are “super voters.” I like that moniker. I am proud of that moniker. And in the spirit of wanting to know how our state candidates (incumbents and challengers) would address issues of importance to seniors of all stripes I sent out a questionnaire to elicit answers. What you read in the following is a summary of the state candidates’ responses to three questions. If you would like to know the specifics of your candidate’s perspective, I urge you to call her or him directly. Fiscal approaches “What is your view of how the legisla...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received Oct. 19, 2016. Today’s announcement of a 0.3 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is another major disappointment to the 60 million people who depend on Social Security, says The Senior Citizens League (TSCL.) “The consumer price index (CPI) that the government uses to determine the annual COLA is simply not doing the job of protecting the buying power of older and disabled Americans,” says Mary Johnson, TSCL’s Social Security policy analyst. Johnson says that the federal governmen...
The federal government is trying to stop nursing homes from forcing people into using private arbitration instead of lawsuits when people bring cases of elder abuse, wrongful death and sexual harassment. The private arbitration issue is actually much larger than just a problem for seniors. Over the last 10 years, thousands of businesses across the country – from big corporations to storefront shops – have used arbitration to create an alternate system of justice. You probably haven’t noticed or paid attention to the notices buried in writt...
This is the ideal time for all people on Medicare to consider whether they have the best prescription drug coverage available. Other times to enroll in Part D are when you are first eligible for Medicare and you join during your Initial Enrollment Period (the seven months around your birthday month) and during the Special Enrollment Period, such as if you’ve lost creditable prescription drug coverage from an employer or union, you’ve moved from your service area, you moved in or out or live in a long term care facility. Here is a chart of Ala...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Nov. 8 and 22), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Nov. 2 and 16), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Nov. 3, 10, 17), 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 Juneau Soc...
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 the Alaska Pioneer Homes, believes that reducing the number of new residents will allow the remaining staff to give the quality and level of care the homes are known for. “We won’t risk safety or quality by admitting too many people, and I’ve told many people that,” said Wilson. “Our level of care is...
In Alaska, nearly one in four adults has experienced a disability. People with disabilities experience more health disparities than people without disabilities, and these disparities are similar to those reported by other minority groups. This is particularly true for the 18,000 Alaskans with intellectual disabilities. This crisis becomes more critical as Alaskans with intellectual disabilities begin experiencing the health-related challenges of an aging population. Research has shown that individuals with intellectual disabilities are living l...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication “Senior Voice” in the 25th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. Senior Voice received a Merit award in the Local/State media division, Newsletter/Newspaper category. And Senior Voice writer Mackenzie Stewa...
Feeling squeezed by adult kids living with you? Or, maybe you’re okay with it. One thing is certain, you’re not the only ones in your situation. Living with Mom and Dad is now the most common living arrangement for young adults, according to the not-for-profit Pew Research Center. Remember when you were in high school and couldn’t wait to get out on your own? Maybe you planned to go to college and live in a dorm or get some roommates and have your own space? These days, the number of young people (age 18 to 34) who live with their paren...
Bring your sensitive personal and financial documents for secure shredding; turn in old, no-longer-used cell phones; learn about ways to improve your financial well-being, all for free at the annual “Secure Your ID Day and Financial Fitness Fair,” Oct. 8 at the Sears Mall in Anchorage. The event is presented by the Better Business Bureau along with sponsor partners Money Management International, GCI, NeighborWorks Home Ownership Center, Shred Alaska, Wells Fargo, KFQD, Anchorage Public Library and United Way. In the Sears Mall parking lot...
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 brochure explaining the ordinance (a link to the brochure is published below), current eligible seniors are offered up to $350,000 in property tax exemptions. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one of the few municipalities in Alaska to offer an additional $150,000 property tax exemption to seniors along w...
Rep. Diane Black, a Tennessee Republican congresswoman, and Earl Blumenauer, a Democratic congressman from Oregon, don’t agree on very much about health care. Both sit on the powerful House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee and both tend to vote on the opposite side of most health care issues. Black, a nurse by training, has called President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act an “abject failure,” which she argues was “built on a grand deception.” Black’s dislike of liberal health care policies is well known. She’s best known on Capitol Hill...
