Sorted by date Results 885 - 909 of 959
This year, I have assumed the duties of the Democratic leader in the Senate. Senator Johnny Ellis passed the torch to me, and taking over from such a people’s champion is humbling. I want to take a moment to bring you up to date on what’s happening in Juneau. Last spring I wrote about oil tax reductions that had narrowly passed. I reported that as a result of that decision we had lost $4.5 billion to three of the richest corporations in the world, and I expressed my concern that this would lead to a loss of funds for vital services such as K-12...
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 for business and agency representatives. The March meeting is March 12, hosted by the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 3903 Taft Dr. Begins at 8 a.m. Call Older Persons Action Group for more information on...
Every day, Alaska senior volunteers generously give their time and service to help others. Now here’s your chance to give back by nominating a deserving older adult in your community for his or her outstanding service through the Salute to Senior Service® program. Sponsored by Home Instead, Inc., the franchisor of the Home Instead Senior Care® network, Salute to Senior Service recognizes the invaluable contributions of adults age 65 and older who give at least 15 hours a month of volunteer service to their favorite causes. “Seniors have so mu...
Alaska's Elder Mentor/Foster Grandparent program is resuming service under new funding through the Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP). Lower income elders and seniors who volunteer receive a small stipend for working at least 20 hours per week with children in schools, preschools, Head Start centers and other community-based programs. These volunteers mentor youth who need assistance in succeeding academically and in developing positive social skills. In circumstances where...
This year, AARP Foundation is again providing free tax assistance and preparation for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in its 45th year, is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, giving special attention those 60 and older. You do not need to be a member of AARP or a retiree to use this free service. In 2013, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide’s 35,000 volunteers at nearly 6,000 sites provided 2.6 million people with free tax help. Taxpayers who use...
Mabel T. Caverly Senior Center is pleased to announce that membership is now available in the Anchorage Senior Friendly Project. This is the center’s newest program After five-plus years of planning, and with the assistance of the Older Persons Action Group and the Municipality of Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission, the center launched the program on January 1. This exciting and worthwhile program will impact Anchorage’s growing senior community in amazing ways. The mission statement of the Anchorage Senior Friendly Project is “Bu...
Editor’s note: This press statement was received on Jan. 27, 2014. Alaska and Hawaii’s Congressional delegations today introduced legislation that would exempt residents of the two states – and communities that rely on essential air service as subsidized by the U.S. Department of Transportation – from the increase in air travel fees included in December’s budget deal. This exemption would protect interisland flights from increased air travel fees, which would more than double from $2.50 to $5.60. “This bill provides a much-needed reality che...
President Reagan's quote, "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help," is often used to disparage the "help" offered by many bureaucrats; but it's a completely different feeling when you call or drop by Alaska's Medicare Information Office (MIO). First, you're greeted with a smile and a meaningful, "How can I help you?" You truly get the feeling they want to help. The office recently moved to 400 Gambell, with easy parking and private offices for confidentiality – a nice change after y...
Anchorage’s April 1 municipal election will include six assembly seats, two board seats and bond and ballot issues. Although April 1 may seem far away on the calendar, new voters need to register 30 days before the election, by Sunday, March 2. Those who are already registered do not need to re-register, but those who have moved should file a new registration form with the State of Alaska elections office, 522-8683. The state maintains the file of registered voters for the entire state. There are several ways to register including online at w...
Members of the Alaska Commission on Aging will gather in Juneau, Feb. 10-13, for the quarterly commission meeting and to hold a community forum at the Juneau Senior Center. The commission meeting will be held in the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation Building (Goldbelt Building), Suite 302 in the Hugh Malone Conference Rm. Hours for the regular meeting sessions are: Feb. 10 from 3 to 5:15 p.m.; Feb. 11, 12:40 to 5 p.m.; and Feb. 13, 8:30 to 11 a.m. The commission will conduct a community forum at the Juneau Senior Center on the morning of Feb....
There are all kinds of advice out there about how to break bad habits or form good ones. Not to mention that we’re all adults and probably know what we need to do anyway. Habits are part of us. They make us the people we are, for better or worse. But at the beginning of each year many people grow a little introspective about the things we need to change. Whether or not you are a person who makes New Year’s resolutions, chances are there are at least a couple of things you’d like to do differently – quit smoking, lose weight, get in shape,...
Anchorage seniors ride the People Mover buses at half the cost of others on board. But all fares have been raised effective New Year's Day. The fare schedule has also been simplified so that regardless of whether one buys a pass or pays for each trip individually, the reduced fare is half the full fare. Seniors and others who qualify need to have one dollar in exact change, instead of 50 cents, when they board for one trip. They also need to show proof of eligibility which includes a picture ID...
The Anchorage Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) is offering a free “Brown Bag” educational series, with guest presentations from various senior-related agencies. The presentations take place on the second Tuesday of each month, noon to 1 p.m., at the Anchorage Dept. of Health and Human Services Bldg., 825 L Street, in the Jewel Jones Conference Room on the fourth floor. Bring a lunch and learn something new. The presentation schedule: Jan. 14, Alaska Legal Services Feb. 11, Medicare Fraud March 11, Alzheimer’s Resource of Alask...
Governor Sean Parnell’s refusal to expand Medicaid that would cover 41,000 Alaskans is a bitter pill for older Alaskans. Of the 41,000 people who would have gained health coverage under this opportunity, over 11,000, or nearly 30 percent, are between the ages of 45 and 64. These individuals who are aging but not yet eligible for Medicare are left in a precarious spot if they don’t have other insurance coverage. These are people we know. They are helping to raise their grandchildren or nieces and nephews. They cannot work full time because of...
Did you know that the Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) monitored a total of 45 bills and resolutions and actively supported 25 pieces of legislation that affected seniors during the FY2013 legislative session? We also provided committee testimony and letters of support to bill sponsors, legislative committees and Congressional members. Senior advocacy is a “team effort.” We invite you and other Alaskans in your community to be active this legislative session by participating in the 2014 ACoA Senior Legislative Teleconferences. The purpose of...
While we all look forward to retirement, retirement isn’t always ready for us. There are ways to prepare yourself and your loved ones for the time that you do retire. Older Persons Action Group will offer a free, informative seminar Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in conjunction with New York Life. Presenters will be Carin Wise, Investment Product Consultant for NYLIFE Securities LLC, and Robert L. Barrett Jr., LUTCF, CLTC Financial Services Professional with New York Life. The event will be held in Anchorage and also teleconferenced. Advance RSVP is r...
Only six percent of centenarians say they wished they had more money. This is indeed surprising because most people don’t expect to live to age 100, so many have run short of retirement savings before reaching this advanced age. This small proportion who indicated they were okay financially was among the findings in a survey conducted last spring by the GFK Roper firm for UnitedHealthcare insurance company. Having a longer life doesn’t mean having a longer list of regrets either. When asked what these centenarians would have done differently if...
Older Persons Action Group held its annual meeting on Nov. 15, conducting general business and board member elections. Existing board members were re-elected, and a new member was added. Welcome Edgar Blatchford, associate professor in the Department of Journalism and Public Communications at the University of Alaska Anchorage. He also has taught journalism at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, owned and published the Seward Phoenix Log newspaper and served as mayor of Seward from 1999 to...
In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, email scams which solicit the wiring of money to stranded victims in the Philippines are surfacing. Better Business Bureau and the Alaska Attorney General warn willing donors to give cautiously over the next few weeks. “Our hearts go out to the families who have lost loved ones in this devastating storm,” says Tyler Andrew, CEO of BBB serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. “However, it’s important for donors to understand that not all pleas for help are legitimate.” “I urge Alaskans who want to don...
As one of only 39 housing finance agencies across the country recognized by the federal Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) as Moving to Work, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) is announcing the first major overhaul of how public housing is administered statewide. “Families are staying in public housing much longer than they were a decade ago,” says AHFC CEO and Executive Director Bryan Butcher. “For every unit available, there are four families seeking assistance. Rent Reform is designed to support the increasing deman...
SENIOR VOICE STAFF A series of online trainings will be available beginning in January, sponsored by the Area Health Education Center (AHEC), UAA Office of Health Programs Development, and the Trust Training Cooperative. The series is a partnership with the Northwest Geriatric Education Center, and will offer 10 weeks of trainings from January 7 through March 11, to Alaska via virtual classroom on the Internet. The series is designed to give community-based providers working in the field of aging – physicians, nurses, physical and o...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will hold its quarterly meeting Dec. 11 and 12 in Anchorage. The first day will be an orientation for new commission members at the BP Energy Center, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Dec. 12, the meeting takes place at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. Public attendance is encouraged. Commissioners will hear presentations from and about senior service programs and agencies, including the Division of Senior and Disabilities Services; Senior Benefits program; Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education; A...
Seniors in Yakutat and Saxman will soon have new staff available to help link them with supportive services, thanks to federal funding. Catholic Community Services announced in early October that HUD had allocated funding to the Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority to hire "service coordinators" in Yakutat and Saxman to work directly with residents to assess their needs and connect them with services available in their community. The goal is to promote independent living and aging-in-place....
The Alaska State Medicare Information Office is spreading this alert about a prevalent scam: Scammers pretending to be Medicare representatives have been calling Alaska seniors recently looking for their Medicare numbers and banking information. They say they need the information so that the senior can get a new Medicare card. (Frequently they say it is needed under the Affordable Care Act.) Medicare will never contact beneficiaries by phone, email, or at their door seeking personal information. Neither Medicare nor Social Security needs...
"Our objective is helping people to live as independently as they would like. Confidence is our goal." Lowell Zercher, Manual Skills Instructor for the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, chooses these words to explain the mission of the center. "We want our clients to be involved in life, to meet their life and work goals and contribute their talents to others, to the community." Lowell has worked at the center in Anchorage for 14 years. He is often found in the shop at the...
