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Age does not directly affect your credit score. At least not the way late or missed payments or overuse affect your score. But there is a definite connection. Assuming you’ve handled your finances well, age can be a positive factor in determining your credit score. There’s a saying in the financial world – “the best credit is old credit.” So let’s say you are 70 years old. You may have had charge accounts of one kind or another for 45 years or so. That’s a long time to prove yourself creditworthy. It’s also long enough that, even if you had...
It's the 56th year for the Cordova Iceworm Festival, and for more than half of those years, Barbara Beedle chaired the festivities. Current chair of the annual event, Darrel Olsen, calls her "The Mother of the Iceworm Festival." "It's definitely an 'only in Cordova' event," he comments, laughing, "and Barbara long spurred on all that made it one of the most unique, successful festivals in Alaska." Planned for February 2-8 this year, where else could you find locals gathered with visitors from...
The Tax-Aide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns for most low and middle income taxpayers, with an emphasis on senior citizens and disabled taxpayers. 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 reading for the dates and hours for the sites throughout...
President Obama in December of 2014 took the first step in removing the last vestige of the cold war by restoring relations with Cuba. The United States for over 53 years maintained sanctions against Cuba because it was a communist country depriving its citizens of democratic freedoms, freedoms which were already eliminated by Fulgenco Batista when he abrogated the Cuban constitution in 1958. By the late 1950s, the Cuban people's negative feelings against Batista's repressive policies and govern...
There are more than 88,000 family caregivers in Alaska at any given time, and more than 128,000 over the course of a year, according to a 2014 report on Long Term Services and Supports done by AARP’s Public Policy Institute (http://www.longtermscorecard.org). This number is growing along with Alaska’s rapidly increasing number of older people living in our state. These Alaskan caregivers (who might be a spouse, sibling, adult child or grandchild, or even a friend or neighbor) are not paid, but if they were, their worth would top a billion dol...
The AARP Juneau Community Council attended the Jan. 15, “Annual Elders and Caregivers Workshop,” hosted by the Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska. The focus was “Medicaid Opportunities in Alaska, Juneau Senior Housing and Services Demand Study, and Advanced Planning for Long Term Care: A Checklist for Elders and their Caregivers.” There were several community organizations, all sharing and networking. The lively conversation around the AARP table was often about living independently: “My family tries to take care of me; th...
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, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other Thursday and weekly during the last month of session. The remaining 2015 meeting dates are February 12 and 26; March 12 and 26; April 9, 16 and 23. To...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc. and the Social Security Administration are teaming up to present an educational forum, “Social Security: Everything You Always Wanted to Ask,” on March 10, from 6 to 7 p.m. The event will take place in Anchorage and be teleconferenced statewide. Robin Schmidt, Social Security Public Affairs Specialist for the State of Alaska (and frequent Senior Voice contributor) will address what Social Security can mean to you and your family’s financial future. She will discuss the basics of Social Security retirement benef...
Alaska’s population ages 65 and older increased by 3,388 between July 2013 and July 2014 and reached 71,080 people, according to estimates released by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Since 2010, the proportion of the state’s population ages 65 and older increased from 8 percent to 10 percent. Among the state’s six economic regions, Gulf Coast had the highest share of seniors at 13 percent, followed by Southeast at 12 percent. Northern Region had the smallest share at 6 percent, followed by Southwest at 7 perce...
Airbags, now found in virtually every vehicle, have saved countless lives and substantially reduced the severity of injuries in crashes. Similar technology could greatly reduce broken hips resulting from a fall, something most seniors fear. In view of a rapidly growing senior population, other techniques could also greatly reduce the number of these life-changing injuries. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every year one out of every three adults 65 and older...
As a Valentines’ Day present to yourself, you might ask your doctor if any of your prescriptions are coming available as generics. 2015 is slated to be a big year for popular name-brand drugs to come off patent. Some of the big names on the list are Abilify, Nexium, Epipen, Namenda, Zyvox and Emend. Here’s a list of anticipated generic medications: www.corporatepharmacy.com/page/upcoming_generic_drugs. Release dates may be delayed if manufacturers get into legal squabbles with each other. Man...
Happy Shortest Month of the Newest Year! To those of you who bought the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug plan, I am sorry to tell you that there was incorrect information about pharmacies who participated in Aetna’s 2015 Part D website during the open enrollment period. Community pharmacists and beneficiary advocates say that the situation is problematic but the National Community Pharmacists Association called the situation a “bait and switch” on beneficiaries. Centers for Medicare and Medic...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. begins its spring series of health fairs this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only $45 and panels 27 different...
The Alaskan-Canadian Highway, known now as the Alcan, was one of the highest priority projects in the Second World War after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. The strategic value of a highway from the contiguous 48 states to Alaska had been debated for years. The "save the money crowd" said the cost to build the land link was too high for a territory with 75,000 natives and pioneers living in log cabins who hunted, mined, trapped and fished for a living. A coastal route had...
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 February meeting is Feb. 11, hosted by NeighborWorks. 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...
Yoga may help boost brain function in older adults A simple yoga program may be good for the brain in unexpected ways. University of Illinois researchers are now reporting that practicing hatha yoga three times a week for eight weeks may help improve sedentary older adults’ performance on cognitive tasks that are relevant to everyday life. The findings involved 108 adults between the ages of 55 and 79 years of age. Among the 108 adults, 61 attended hatha yoga classes. The others met for the s...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in February. This month’s theme is National Heart Month. Feb. 3, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 10, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 12, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. Feb. 17, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Feb. 24, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Please j...
The 7th Annual We Are All Elders In Training Summit will be held March 3 and 4 in Fairbanks at the Raven Landing Community Center, 1222 Cowles Street. This year's theme is "Inspired Aging; Limitless Opportunities." The event features presentations by elders sharing their life experiences and strategies for aging and well-being. Each sharing will be followed by group discussions targeting issues around aging and mental health. The public is encouraged to join for group discussions and closing...
Tod Sebens helped unlock computer mysteries for Haines seniors during January. Following one senior's interest in adding to her skills, he volunteered to teach free sessions at Haines Senior Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 3 p.m. After a general introduction of the material, he answered individual questions from the class, which was composed of beginners to more advanced users. Site Manager Cindy Jackson said she was delighted with the enthusiastic reception of the course, the latest...
Members of the Alaska Commission on Aging will gather in Juneau, Feb. 9-12, for the quarterly commission meeting and to pay visits to legislators in the state Capitol. 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. 9 from 3 to 5 p.m.; Feb. 10 from 8:20 to 1 p.m., with a lunch break at noon (lunching at the Juneau Senior Center is encouraged). There will be a public comment period from 11:30 a.m...
One of Anchorage's most respected doctors made a mercy run to Iditarod four years before Nome's celebrated diphtheria serum run of 1925. Early on the morning of Jan. 24, 1921, Dr. John B. Beeson hopped on a train leaving Anchorage and headed toward Iditarod after getting word through the U.S. Army Signal Corps that Claude Baker was near death. Baker, a well-known Iditarod banker, was suffering from an old injury he'd received while serving as a guard on the gold trail outside the famous mining...
At 76, veteran comedian and impressionist Rich Little is still zigzagging the country doing one-man shows. Impressions have been Little's stock and trade since his school days in Ottawa, Canada. "I would answer teachers' questions in their own voices," said Little, from his home in Las Vegas. "Pretty soon, they stopped asking me questions!" That was over 60 years ago. Today, crowds still flock to see the man who claims a repertoire of over 200 voices. Unlike ordinary comedians, Little says...
Dear Jonathan: Several years ago my wife and I completed our estate planning. At that time our estate was worth around $2 million and the exemption from federal estate taxes was only $1 million. Consequently, our attorney recommended that we prepare separate trusts which would allow each of us to take advantage of the exemption amount so there would be no federal estate taxes due at the death of the second one of us to die. I don’t really remember or necessarily understand the strategy other than the fact that we had to create two separate t...
Q. Is there is any way to print the contents of a folder so I can obtain a list of the filenames, sizes and dates modified? A. Yes, you can print a list of the files and subfolders contained in any Windows folder, and while this can be accomplished within Windows itself, using a third‑party program makes the task a lot easier. One such program is PrintFolder at http://no‑nonsense‑software.com/freeware. PrintFolder can print files, subfolders or both, and it includes several other customizable options. If you’re a purist and prefer to print y...
Alaskans will find the terrain of New Orleans definitely alien - flat with no mountains, with a whiff of sulfur in the muggy air off the Bayou. But in February, it's worth a visit when temperatures are lower than summertime and the city offers up its annual Dionysian fest, Mardi Gras. Unlike Alaska, you can consume liquor publicly in New Orleans, and during festivals or during Saints football games, you can pull off into a parking lot and have a tailgate party. But you might want to defer your...
