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We read a piece in Market Watch recently about the state of retirees today and the problems they won’t tell us about. If Market Watch is correct, and we have no reason to doubt it, then we would like to share some of our solutions to these listed difficulties. (Read the Market Watch article at http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-retirees-wont-tell-you-2014-09-19) ‘Retirees are broke.’ According to the Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, the article notes, roughly 15 percent of people over age 65 live in poverty. Also, nearly...
"Where are you from?" "How long have you lived here?" Anchorage is known for its diversity, as a melting pot for people from all over the world, so these questions frequently pop up when introductions are being made. Three women of varying cultural backgrounds decided to submit a proposal to the Anchorage Centennial Committee, focusing on where some of this community's people came from and why they have stayed. Vivian Melde is Filipino and African American. "There is even some Chinese thrown in...
Alaskan economics are connected to Petroleum prices. The price of petroleum is down and the state budget is under attack. The legislature and Gov. Bill Walker estimate the yearly budget deficit is between 3.2 to 3.4 billion dollars. There are only two ways to balance the budget; one is to reduce state spending and the other is to raise revenues. In an effort to reduce state spending the Governor has recommended cutting senior benefits by 25 percent. Senior benefits only go to those seniors whose incomes are between 75 and 175 percent of the fed...
Twice a year, Better Business Bureaus across the country sponsor free, local shredding events called “Secure Your ID Day,” in order to bring public awareness of the risks of identity theft. One of the events will be held in Anchorage on April 18 at The Mall at Sears, 600 E. Northern Lights Blvd., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Shred Alaska will have shred trucks in the parking lot by Carr’s and will provide free shredding of up to 3 boxes. There will also be recycling for old cell phones. The Financial Fitness Fair will take place inside the Mall with...
A currently airing commercial proclaims that if you have Medicare Part A & B, you are eligible for Vision, Dental, and Prescription Drug plans because of Medicare Healthcare Reform. This commercial gives a 1-800-number that when called tries to sell you a Life Alert type monitoring system or they may be collecting information to sell to Medicare Supplement Brokers or Medicare Advantage Plan Brokers. Be on the lookout and share this information with your friends, neighbors, and relatives. The more people who are warned, the better the chances...
Dear Editor, Thank you so much for the “Jesse Lee Home” article (January 2015 edition). For many years I have wondered what became of the Jesse Lee Home. I was thrilled when my childhood friend, Linda Nystrom, of Anchorage (now Linda Hamilton, in Chugiak) sent me the article. Jesse Lee was my home in the late 40s. Precious memories! I was Alice J. James. Do you know of any meeting group I could contact? If so, anyone with information about the home and its former residents can contact me at my mailing address. Thank you, Senior Voice, for wha...
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. on April 9, 16 and 23. To participate, visit a host site, which offers a reasonably quiet location with a speaker or teleconference phone system, is ADA compliant and able...
The White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA), a special event held once a decade that began in 1961, is designed to generate ideas and discussion regarding policy development for senior programs and elder care to improve the quality of life for older people in the upcoming decade. The 2015 WHCoA is planned for July in Washington DC and will build on the work from a series of five regional forums, including one planned for Seattle on Thursday, April 2. The first regional forum was held in Florida on February 19 and can be viewed at this link http...
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 April meeting is April 8 and will be hosted by Mabel T. Caverly Senior Services at a site to be determined. Begins at 8 a.m. Call Older Persons Action Group to RSVP and get the...
We’ve talked before about how our bodies process medications, alcohol and other substances differently as we age. So … what do we need to do with this information? Here are a few strategies to manage this change: Conduct a review Once a year, ask your provider to review your medicines and ask if she or he recommends any changes. The review should: • cover whether you’d benefit from a change in dosage for drugs you’ve been taking for a while, and • include a check to see if any medications...
While researchers continue to make progress in understanding the disease process of rosacea, lack of public awareness of the disorder remains a stumbling block to its control. The National Rosacea Society (NRS) has designated April as Rosacea Awareness Month to educate the public on the warning signs of this chronic and widespread facial condition, now estimated to affect more than 16 million Americans. In a recent NRS survey of 1,459 rosacea patients, 45 percent said they had never hear of rosacea prior to their diagnosis, and 95 percent said...
What retirement ‘security’? The United States ranked 19th in a recent international assessment of retirement security worldwide. This places the U.S. just behind France and just ahead of Slovenia in the rankings, while Switzerland, Norway and Australia took the top three positions. Nations were ranked in four categories: finances in retirement, health, quality of life and well-being. The United States’ comparatively low level of retirement benefits, in addition to a lack of workplace retir...
Just in time for spring celebration menus, it looks like many of us can drop the worry about eating a few eggs – yolks and all. Although the new dietary guidelines won’t be published until much later in the year, the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Committee suggests that the advice for heart healthy diets may shift from decreasing dietary cholesterol to decreasing saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates. This isn’t really very new thinking – it is the painful, slow process of discovering that accepted scienti...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues 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. Unless another phone number is listed, for more information on the events below, call (907) 278-0234...
Former Phoenix VA Healthcare Director Sharon Helman, who was earlier ousted by the administration after the public outcry over the deaths of veterans on a waiting list, has had her $57,000 bonus upheld. An administrative judge ruled Helman’s dismissal was due to taking trips and gifts and not the result of her stellar work at the Phoenix VA. The judge ruled therefore she was entitled to her well earned $57,000 bonus in addition to her $170,000 (never in question) base salary. Factor in her f...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in April. This month’s theme is senior drivers and distracted driving. April 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point S...
News worth toasting Drinking red wine may help lower your risk for dementia, according to researchers at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. However, they warn that moderation is the key. The researchers just published a study that showed a compound found in common foods such as red grapes and peanuts may help prevent age-related decline in memory. Resveratrol is an antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes, as well as in red wine, peanuts and some berries. It has...
The Fairbanks-North Star Borough Parks & Recreation Senior Recognition Day is being held at the Carlson Center on May 7. Call 459-1136 to RSVP. Nomination forms are still being accepted for Outstanding Senior Volunteer and Lifetime Fitness candidates. If you know a senior that has volunteered unselfishly for the good of the community or a senior that exemplifies healthy living and is leading a life of physical fitness, please fill out and submit a complete nomination form to honor this individual. Forms can be found at the Parks & Recreation...
Each May, the Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission celebrates Older Americans Month, recognizing older Americans and their contributions to the nation. This year, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Older Americans Act (OAA), we are focusing on how older adults are taking charge of their health, getting engaged in their communities, and making a positive impact in the lives of others. The theme for Older Americans Month 2015 is “Get into the Act.” When Older Americans Month was established in 1963, there were only 17 million Ame...
Called the Spanish flu, only because the Spanish press wrote about it, a virus took more than 500,000 American lives between 1918-1919 (estimates worldwide range from 20 to 100 million). And it came north, even though Territorial Gov. Thomas Riggs did everything in his power to keep it away from Alaska's shores. When 75 citizens of Seattle died from the flu during the week of October 12, Riggs asked steamship companies to examine all passengers heading north on the final ships of the season and...
Produced from 1990-1995, the British sitcom "Keeping Up Appearances" quickly crossed the Atlantic, bringing smiles to viewers of American Public Television where the show was widely broadcast. The success of the series, still seen on limited PBS stations today, was mainly due to the formidable acting skills of Patricia Routledge, who created the ludicrously snobbish and comical character Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced 'bouquet,' of course). "The basic premise of Hyacinth is pretension and that's...
Dear Jonathan: I just completed the probate of my late brother’s will. I was the executor he appointed to act on behalf of the estate. This was not a pleasant experience and in fact was quite the opposite and made me realize that I don’t want to put my family through anything like this at my death. My wife and I don’t have a large estate, but we are comfortable and I want to make sure that everything I own goes to my wife first and then to my kids upon her death without having to go through probate first. What do you recommend we do to avoid pr...
Q. I know you’re probably sick of hearing from us XP user/whiners, but it is such a good operating system, I just don’t want to move to something else. I have heard that Microsoft was losing money on XP, but why can’t they just charge XP users and continue supporting it? A. Microsoft was not losing money on XP. In fact, it was one of their most successful products ever. But as an operating system, it simply ran its course and it was time for the company to move on – exactly as it had announced years in advance. The same will hold true for Win...
In winter, although I hanker for Hawaii and know it's the cure for cabin fever, I usually obsess with a location farther north and farther away. This winter it's Mont Saint-Michel on the Normandy Coast of France. I kind of feel like Richard Dreyfuss in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." In my quiet moment, I want to build a gingerbread house of that magnificent monastery on an island. Trip of fools I have been there twice, once with a boyfriend, who, by the time we got to Athens, I wanted to...
