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It appears the sky may soon be the limit on campaign donations in Alaska. In the case Thompson v. Hebdon, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently struck down three provisions of Alaska law. With the chief justice dissenting, the two-judge majority overturned the $500 per-year limit on the amount of money an Alaskan can contribute to an individual candidate; the $500 per-year limit on contributions to a particular political group; and the $3,000 per-year limit on the amount of money a candidate can accept from all out-of-state donors...
During 2020, while COVID-19 was raging across the nation, my tribe, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, N.C., took intense measures early on, shutting down the Qualla Boundary (our tribal lands), implementing mass testing, contract tracing and case isolation. Tribal leaders and elders feel a sense of urgency about preserving the culture and language, as was demonstrated during the worst of the pandemic when Native language speakers were prioritized to receive the vaccine by some...
As you may know, Original Medicare Part B covers 80 percent of the cost of most health care needs. But what about the remaining 20 percent, or even the other out-of-pocket costs like deductibles or copayments? This is where supplemental insurance plans, also known as Medigaps, help to bridge the difference in costs. For some who already have other health insurance, such as for some company retirees, you are already adequately covered. For others, Medigaps can really help. Understanding Medigaps...
Q: Today I read about a San Francisco couple who had $363,000 stolen from their bank accounts by their caregiver. How do I protect myself so this doesn’t happen to me? A: I read about that incident too, and can understand why you are concerned. On the Federal Bureau of Investigation website the agency reports that each year millions of elderly Americans fall victim to some type of financial fraud. With an older adult population growing proportionally larger compared to other generations, and l...
One November many years ago my son taught me something about how the streams of love and loss flow through our family. It was the day our dog died, an eight-and-a-half-year-old Springer spaniel named Bandit. Before school that morning, we discovered she had spent the night on the front porch, not moving to her doghouse to sleep as usual. Immediately I wondered what was wrong, and when I went to check, she didn't seem to be able to move by herself. I took her to the Wasilla Veterinary Clinic righ...
Anchorage's first mayor, elected on Nov. 29, 1920, bore the responsibility of governing a railroad town of 1,856 people after five years of Alaska Engineering Commission management ended. When Judge Leopold David became Anchorage's mayor, he helped the new city council develop ordinances to provide law and order. They included establishing a 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for youth under 16, setting a speed limit of eight miles per hour in town and outlawing spitting in public places. David, an...
Best known for her extensive television career that includes starring roles in shows such as "Falcon Crest," "Castle" and "Dharma and Greg," Susan Sullivan is always keen to offer advice to others and that includes sharing with seniors her family's experience with health issues. "Exercise!" she declared from her home in Los Angeles. "I'm 78, and about five years ago Connell (her longtime partner) was suffering from back issues and we began a program of high-intensity interval training. A lot of...
Lots of people get living trusts. For many folks, they’re a better way to avoid costs, disputes and delays when they shuffle off this mortal coil, as opposed to just having a will (or nothing at all) and going through probate. And most of these trusts are revocable. That means that if the person or couple who created the trust wants to change it later, or even cancel it completely, they can. That makes it a very flexible type of arrangement. Circumstances changed? Just change the trust. O...
Q. What is the latest information on the Windows 11 upgrade? A. Since I wrote about it last month, the picture is much clearer. Windows 11 will be available on October 5. Moreover, thanks to Microsoft’s refreshed PC Health Check app, you should be better equipped to determine if your PC supports the upgrade. Unlike the confusion surrounding the early version of the tool, the version pre-released a few weeks ago will report reliably if your PC can handle Windows 11. Best of all, if your PC cannot run Windows 11, it will provide guidance for e...
On Sept. 17, a group met outside the Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Anchorage with Senator Bill Wielechowski to protest a recent decision by the 9th District Federal Court that would strike down several provisions of Alaska's campaign finance law. The decision of the court strikes down three limits set by the law: a $500 per year, per person limit on contributions to a single candidate; a $500 per year per contribution to a political group; and a $3,000 per year limit on money donated...
Making omelets for a group of people is often a messy process, inevitably breaking a lot of eggshells. Ingredients can be changed hundreds of ways to experiment and adjust flavors. Ultimately, if it’s done well, the result is a delicious omelet concoction at the end of the kitchen adventure. Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill are attempting to make legislative omelets with numerous committees getting their hands in the mix – and lots of eggs are getting broken along the way as they work to pass the most ambitious domestic agenda in more tha...
Q: Why am I always the one everyone expects to take care of Uncle Joe? Just because I don’t have a family, it doesn’t mean there aren’t work or personal demands on my time. A: Demands of caregiving while working is a tough juggling act. Stress and resentment are common emotions while managing interruptions to your daily routine. Inequity in caregiving is experienced by relatives of older adults across gender, cultural expectations, socio-economic status, ethnic identity or employment statu...
It’s never too late to get active A study in more than 30,000 heart patients shows that becoming active later in life can be nearly as beneficial to survival as continued activity. “These encouraging findings highlight how patients with coronary heart disease may benefit by preserving or adopting a physically active lifestyle,” says study author Dr. Nathalia Gonzalez of the University of Bern, Switzerland. This study investigated activity levels over time and their relationship to the risk...
One of Anchorage's now-closed department stores can trace its roots to the Gold Rush days of the Klondike when a young Swede hunkered down with pick and ax and chipped out a small fortune. John W. Nordstrom arrived in New York City from his native Sweden in 1887. With $5 in his pocket, and not a lick of English on his tongue, the 16-year-old made his way to Michigan where he labored in an iron mine. He eventually migrated to the West Coast. While making $1.50 a day as a logger and sawmill hand...
If you were a child growing up during the 1960s and a fan of sci-fi television of the day, the nostalgic value of shows like "Lost in Space" can't be overstated. Cast members Bill Mumy and Angela Cartwright recognize the connection many seniors may have to the series and have updated and expanded their 2015 "Lost (and Found) in Space" book into a new volume, released September 14 (see www.NCPBooks.com ). "The new book is now 350 pages and contains over 900 photographs," said Bill Mumy, who...
I used to do a lot of litigation – trial lawyer work – and I still read the decisions the Alaska Supreme Court sends out each week. There was one this spring which had me shaking my head in amazement, and which sent me back down the memory trail, to a case I handled. The year was 2008. An Anchorage woman had choked on some food, suffered anoxia – a temporary loss of oxygen to the brain – and fell into a coma. A mere nine days later, the hospital decided that her chances of survival were nonexis...
Q. Is there a dictionary for Emoji? A. What a delightful question. There is not just a dictionary, but an entire encyclopedia! Point any web browser to emojipedia.org, your one-stop shop for all things emoji. While many people know about emoji, fewer people know that there is a constantly changing universe surrounding emojis. New emojis are added regularly, and illustrations for existing emoji characters change over time. For example, a recent change to the syringe character removed the red drops suggesting blood, expanding the usefulness of th...
Reversing Trump's limits on fines The Biden administration recently quietly reversed a controversial Trump administration policy that had limited the fines levied on facilities that endangered or injured residents at nursing homes. While the numbers of deaths have plummeted since the release of vaccines, inadequate staffing, protective equipment shortages and poor infection control remain significant concerns at most of the nation’s 14,000 skilled nursing facilities, advocates say. The Trump policy favoring lower penalties was adopted in 2...
Our state is facing budget challenges and will need to make important decisions about how we can best address these challenges to continue providing health and financial security as well as economic opportunities to Alaskans of all ages. For many years, Alaska used its oil revenues to balance the state budget and fund state services and programs. At the same time, the state used Permanent Fund earnings to issue dividend checks to all Alaska residents. As oil revenues declined, the state reduced spending on services and programs and used the...
Sept. 17, 2021 is Constitution Day, the 234th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution. The state of Alaska, and several of its local jurisdictions have called for a Constitutional Amendment to implement needed reforms. To understand the need for changes to our Constitution, we need to understand the Constitution we have. Our Constitution establishes the fundamental structures of our democracy and helps protect us against governmental abuses. The drafters also provided for changes (amendments) to the Constitution. Jefferson wrote that it ought to...
Equitable access to care, services and supports for older adults and their caregivers has always been one of the main pillars of The Diverse Elders Coalition, founded in 2010, which comprises six member organizations representing African American/Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian American, Hispanic/Latinx and LGBT+ communities. The coalition’s partnership with the American Society on Aging (ASA) reflects a shared commitment across the Coalition, the ASA membership and the broader A...
Q: How do I tell family and friends I’m struggling with depression? A: While depression is common amongst older adults, it is not a normal part of aging. Life transitions, isolation, death of a loved one, health issues or loss of life purpose are stressful situations, and can cause a person to experience depression. It’s good you have recognized the symptoms, and hopefully are receiving the help you need. For most people, they get better with treatment. Often older adults do not recognize the...
The garage sale signs were posted on each side of the driveway, so I knew we were expected and welcome, but I still had mixed feelings. An older gentleman in our community of Slana back in the summer of 2010, had sold his home and moved to Tok. His lifetime accumulation of personal belongings needed to be removed from the property. A Norwegian immigrant, he moved to Alaska in 1966, making his living as a commercial fisherman, a trapper, and a carpenter. He embraced the homesteader lifestyle....
Prospectors searching for gold in the Wrangell mountains during the early 1900s found a mountain of copper instead. That discovery brought the famous Guggenheim-Morgan Syndicate into the history of Alaska, along with chicanery of the highest order. The Syndicate, which owned the copper mines, needed a transportation system to haul its lucrative cargo. It planned a railroad line in the Copper River valley that ran 196 miles from Cordova to the site of what became the Kennecott Copper mines. The...
When the Los Angeles Hollywood Museum reopened in August, having closed its doors to the public during much of the pandemic, Claudia Wells was one of many guests invited to celebrate the event that included a "Back to the Future" exhibit (www.thehollywoodmuseum.com). Wells appeared in the original 1985 movie as Jennifer Parker, girlfriend to Marty McFly played by Michael J. Fox who starred in the beloved movie trilogy. Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 at age 29, Fox later established...
