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The Statewide Summit on Aging is coming up in October. It’s an opportunity to connect policymakers, service providers, state agencies, advocates and the public. The summit was inspired by the Aging and Disability Summit traditionally held at Special Olympics in Anchorage. The Alaska Commission on Aging partnered with Special Olympics and several other organizations to make this larger summit possible this year. The summit is Thursday, Oct. 15-Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Turnagain Social Club in Anchorage, 630 E Tudor Road. The full agenda is a...
There are moments in dementia care that can feel almost like a door opening. A familiar song begins to play. Someone who has been quiet starts tapping a foot. A few words of a chorus emerge. A smile appears. Perhaps a story follows about a childhood home, a wedding, a parent, or a song once heard on the radio. For families living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, moments like these can be powerful. They are also helping researchers better understand the remarkable relationship...
National Centenarians Day honors individuals who have reached the age of 100 or older. Many months, we profile a centenarian. If you know someone who has reached this milestone, contact the Alaska Commission on Aging at 907-465-3250. The governor’s office will send a special gubernatorial letter and commendation recognizing your loved one. You can also email editor@seniorvoicealaska.com to notify us about the potential for a story about your 100-year-old or older Elder. You can see past profiles about centenarians on our web...
The Palmer Senior Citizen’s Center, Inc., which does business as Mat-Su Senior Services (PSCC/MSSS), has appointed Elda McCraw to the position of chief executive officer. Elda has been active in the organization and in the Mat-Su community. Elda is a lifetime member of PSCC/MSSS and has been on the board for more than six years. As a director she has volunteered many hours as well as financially invested in many of the board projects. She has worked to address projects that had languished due to lack of funding or lack of hands. This i...
Could someone steal your credit card information while it's still in your wallet? Technically, yes. But before you panic, you should understand what tap-to-pay is, how these scams work, and if the risk is significant enough to worry about. Tap-to-pay technology Contactless cards use a secure, short-range form of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology that transfers information between a card and a card reader via radio waves. Despite what many people think, using tap-to-pay doesn't...
Like a scene from the 1950s or a lost episode of "Mad Men," it's not unusual to see people at the Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired sporting a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. While they may look stylish, these smart glasses have become much more than a fashion accessory for people who are blind or have low vision. When Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses first hit store shelves in September 2021, they were marketed to consumers as a hands-free way to access music, take photos and...
Anchorage’s economy faces challenges—an expected natural gas shortage is just one of them—but a few developments are positive. That was the message at the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation luncheon in early August. Twice a year, the group invites more than a thousand businesspeople to the Dena’ina Convention Center to examine economic trends facing the municipality and southcentral Alaska in general. As AEDC CEO Jon Bittner described it, Anchorage is in the third era that began in 2015...
This is the month that termination dust arrives on the mountains, and the birch leaves turn a stunning gold. It’s also the first opportunity in months enjoy a darker sky, including the chance for glimpsing the aurora borealis. A plethora of festivals and other events this month wrap up summer and let us know fall is here. The Alaska State Fair runs through Sept. 7 at the fairgrounds in Palmer....The Anchorage Museum’s informative exhibit Cold War to the Cosmos runs through Sept. 7....The Anchorage Community Theatre is presenting “1776: The M...
The University of Alaska Fairbanks Tribes Extension program and the Rural Alaska Community Action Program are sponsoring berry-related workshops in Bethel and Aniak in August. Led by Tribes Extension educator Heidi Rader and Chugiak berry grower Josh Smith, the workshops will be held in Bethel on Aug. 2, and in Aniak on Aug. 3-4. Rader will lead off the workshops on Aug. 2 at 4 p.m. at Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center, 420 Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway, Bethel, with a presentation on growing and managing berries. At 5 p.m., Smith will discuss...
Aug. 18 is the Alaska State primary election. Alaska uses a nonpartisan top four primary to determine the top four vote getters that will advance to the general election, regardless of political affiliation. A primary election candidate does not have to be a member of a political party or a political group to run for office, according to Alaska law. If a candidate is registered as affiliated with a political party or group, it does not imply the candidate is nominated by, endorsed by, approved by, or associated with that particular party or...
We erred in listing Maraley McMichael’s story about hiking Lazy Mountain as being on page 14 in the July issue. It appeared on page 16 and continued on page 18. It also misstated the credit for a photo of Al Clayton, Maraley McMichael’s father, with her daughter. It was taken by Maraley McMichael....
Editor's Note: National Centenarian's Day is Sept. 22. The day honors those who've celebrated 100 birthdays or more. We're publishing profiles of people who have hit this milestone. The Alaska Commission on Aging is working with the Governor's Office, Pioneer Homes and Long Term Care Ombudsman to celebrate Alaska's centenarians. After we published this story, Betty Calhoon died. We mourn her and send condolences to her family. Betty L. Calhoon says she was born on a lucky star. That's because...
August is National Make a Will Month, a reminder that one of the most meaningful gifts we can give our loved ones is not something wrapped in a box, but a plan. Many people put off creating a will because they believe they have plenty of time, don't have enough assets, or simply aren't sure where to begin. Yet having a will is about much more than deciding who receives your belongings: it is an act of care that can provide clarity, reduce stress, and ease difficult decisions for the people you...
Ground was broken in June on an Interior Alaska Veterans Cemetery in Salcha. It will become the first State of Alaska Veterans Cemetery and the northernmost veterans cemetery in the nation, providing a final resting place for thousands of Alaska veterans and their eligible family members, according to a news release from the Alaska Department of Military and Veteran Affairs. Currently, eligible veterans can be buried at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery on JBER in Anchorage or the Sitka...
The Alaska Native Policy Center, a part of First Alaskans Institute, has created an online, interactive statewide resource map that shows organizations and programs that support suicide prevention, wellness, and safety. The map includes five main layers: Alaska Native regional nonprofits Prevention and wellness programs and organizations Regional health organizations Community health organizations Safety resources The map was created because Alaska Native communities continue to face suicide rates more than triple the national average in the Un...
A lifelong friend, who is my age, retired last year. A sibling, four years older, retired two years ago. Another friend, who is self-employed, has set up a way to bring in income with her stock picks, which pay regular dividends. These examples have made me think about my own future. So much of our financial security is riding on our good judgment. No future without a present I knew when I decided to be a journalist, I was entering a field with notoriously low pay except for a few in the...
We profiled four adults who have become more creative in the latter part of their lives from April to July. We're concluding that coverage with suggestions about how to engage in artistic pursuits through learning. We are grateful to the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism for providing grant support for this project. You haven't touched your yarn stash in a year. Your guitar gathers dust in the corner. Your camera still has an SD card from 2020 in it. Maybe it's time to get out of your...
Dr. Joan Haig, Ph.D., a former board vice president for the Older Persons Action Group, died July 7, 2026. She was 79. Joan, a longtime professor of mathematics at the University of Alaska Anchorage, was deeply involved in her community, and her board service for OPAG, the nonprofit that publishes the Senior Voice, was just part of it. While she was on the board, she was the treasurer before becoming vice president. "When I think of Joan, I think the primary impression at work and with the...
The Anchorage Municipality put out audited financials in July. The Municipality’s bond rating reserve and emergency fund have been fully restored, replenishing savings that had been drained since 2018. Having an adequate “rainy day” fund stabilizes the Muni’s financial outlook and helps protect taxpayer dollars, according to a release put out by Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s office. Financial rating agencies expect the Municipality to maintain 10% of its annual “major fund” operating expenses in a reserve fund—about $52 million—with an...
Why loyalty point scams matter When’s the last time you checked your loyalty point accounts? If you can’t remember, you’re not alone. Airline miles, hotel points, and credit card rewards tend to sit quietly until you need them. Unfortunately, that lack of attention is exactly what scammers want. Loyalty points may not feel like real money, but scammers treat them like cash. Experts estimate that scammers steal more than $1 billion in rewards points each year, largely due to reduced security measures and lack of attention. How loyalty point scam...
The Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association celebrated not only the 120th Anniversary of Alaska's oldest lighthouse, but also the culmination of six years of hard volunteer and contract labor at a remote island work site when it reopened on June 1 in Southeast Alaska. Great grandchildren of the original Eldred Rock Lighthouse head keeper, Nils Adamson, received the chance of a lifetime; to stand where their ancestor served on the 120th Anniversary of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is...
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. If it is, fix it … carefully. That’s easier said than done when a contractor promises fast repairs at an unbeatable price. Here are seven warning signs that a contractor might leave you with partial, poor, or overpriced work. 1. The “storm chaser” A storm hits, and suddenly, help is knocking on your door — or what’s left of it. A contractor says they can fix the damage on the spot. It might look like a silver lining, but reputable contractors usually book jobs in advance. And if they want you to sign your insur...
Angela Łot'oydaatlno Gonzalez sits at her kitchen window, beading what will be a doll-sized salmon that will be the center of another "Fish Camp Barbie" display, one of several she has made in recent years. Barbie herself stands to Angela's left at a small table wearing a pink kuspuk (the Yup'ik spelling is qaspeq and in Athabascan, the word is bets'egh hoolaanee). She sports a crown beaded with "B." When the display is finished, this Barbie, chosen for her caramel skin tone, will be posed...
Marjorie Kortkamp has a flower clipped to her soft gray curls, but she confessed it hasn't been the easiest morning, "I had a seizure!" she said matter-of-factly. But as she settled into her room at the Anchorage Pioneer Home, Marge (as most people call her), relaxed into a spirited retelling of her long life, from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to the Last Frontier. Her eldest daughter, Diana, was there to help her with her morning routine and to fill in any gaps in the narrative. A late-in-life...
Donna Gail Shaw trots across the street to give treats to a neighbor's dog as she heads out for a hike. She calls out to another one "Neptune! Neptunee!" on the way back. In between, she checks on the 10 wildlife cameras she has installed in an area of Anchorage known as Far North Bicentennial Park. In actuality, the wildlife she encounters can be anywhere near or even in the housing development where she lives, which abuts Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson. It's something of a highway for urban...
