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Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in April: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (April 9 and 23), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (April 3 and 17), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (April 4, 11, 18 and 25), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can cal...
As adults we tend to think only kids need to know how to behave around dogs. But actually we all need to know how to be safe around dogs. Anchorage Animal Care and Control teaches kindergarten through sixth grade students how to behave around dogs to prevent dog bites. But adults often need the same lesson. April 7-13 is Dog Bite Prevention Week, so here are some tips and illustrations from our school presentation for everyone in the family: When a dog is happy and feels secure, their face...
“Gary,” I said to by husband, “I think a couple moved in while we were gone, and not only had babies, but invited the whole extended family.” It was early April many years ago and we had just returned to our home in Slana after an absence of a few months while being “snowbirds”. Other winters we had done the same and not had a problem, but this time was different. We found mouse sign everywhere -- in the cellar, the kitchen, the living room, bedroom and even upstairs. Since I was so glad to be back in my own home and since I planned to...
Klondike Mike Mahoney's return trip to Dawson in 1898 included a hike up the Chilkoot Trail with an unusual item strapped to his back: a piano. It all started when Mahoney hopped aboard the City of Seattle and found it stuffed to the bulwark with passengers, freight and a variety of animals, including more than 100 dogs headed to Skagway on consignment and horses crowed into stalls in the dining room. Mahoney shared his stateroom with a strange little man named Hal Henry, booking agent and manag...
It's not uncommon for actors to find a second career away from the camera after spending years in front of it. In Michael Dante's case, that new vocation has been writing, beginning with his 2014 award-winning autobiography, "From Hollywood to Michael Dante Way" (see www.michaeldanteway.com). "I received the Ella Dickey Literacy Award for it last April in Marshfield, Missouri, at their Cherry Blossom Festival," said Dante. "My second book, 'Winterhawk's Land,' is the sequel to the film I...
Psychology has found its way into finance, and it’s a good fit. Behavioral economists design systems that nudge people into making the right decisions. For instance, workers save significantly more when the default is paycheck deductions into their retirement account. This type of “opt-out” policy, versus an “opt-in” standard of having to choose to participate, has gained popularity with both employers and employees. Each of us approaches retirement in different circumstances. Some started retirement accounts with their first paycheck....
I recently read an interesting case; it happened in British Columbia, but it could just as easily have happened in any U.S. state. The father owned his home. He put his daughter on the title as half owner, with right of survivorship, so that she would inherit it on his death. Later, though, he got remarried, and he decided he wanted to change that to make his new wife the joint owner. There was one little problem. When you make someone a joint owner, you can’t change that unless the joint o...
Q. Is two-factor authentication worth the effort every time I log on to an account? A. I agree that two-factor authentication is more work, but that is its most valuable feature. The extra work keeps accounts more secure. Password theft is rampant. Data breaches have become so common and the number of victims involved so large it is easy to overlook as someone else’s problem. That is an understandable point of view, but it is a mistake. Security techniques that were state-of-the-art a few years ago are not enough any longer. We have to keep a...
If you’ve lived in Anchorage, you probably know the 4th Avenue Theatre. The facade, murals, and twinkling ceiling have entranced many locals since it was opened by Austin “Cap” Lathrop in 1947, an important figure in Anchorage history who also produced the major motion picture “Cheechako,” served as a city mayor, and more. The Theatre is a part of architectural history, as well as our local culture. It is a classic example of the unique style of American architecture called Streamline Moderne, from the American Art Deco style. It was designed...
There are exciting, innovative, interesting events happening in Anchorage this spring. Voting for Proposition No. 3, an Areawide Facilities Capital Improvement Project Bond is not one of them. This bond provides ordinary, but important safety fixes and major maintenance repairs to facilities that are significant to readers of the Senior Voice who live in Anchorage, Chugiak, Eagle River, Mountain View and Girdwood. Proposition 3 on this April’s vote by mail ballot includes repairs for the Anchorage and Chugiak Senior Centers, the Anchorage M...
House Democrats, Senate Republicans and the Trump administration agree on one thing – that drug prices must be lowered. Both parties are working through the ideas to reduce prescription drug costs, but the problem is finding common ground and achieving consensus. No compromise is there yet and it may not emerge as some lawmakers could choose to use the issue for political advantage instead of working out a solution now. But an arms race of sorts is building as Democratic presidential contenders try to make the most noise on the drug pricing i...
Fifty years ago this June, LGBT elder pioneers started the fight for LGBT equality at the Stonewall Inn in New York City. In the early hours of June 28, 1969, LGBT patrons at the Stonewall Inn took a stand against police harassment and violence, and a riot broke out. Police reinforcements arrived and beat the crowd away, but the next night, the crowd returned even larger than the night before. In the wake of the riots, discussions about civil rights were held among New York's LGBT communities...
While reading in my bedroom late in the afternoon of March 27, 1964, I suddenly felt the room swirl. I had enjoyed the day off from third-grade school work since it was Good Friday. Our family lived in company housing next to the Copper Valley Electric power plant in Glennallen. As the movement got stronger after a few seconds, I started to go look for my mother. By this time, the very loud firehouse-type bell alarm that signaled Dad when something was wrong at the power plant came to life,...
In July 1869, the steamer Active arrived in Sitka with former Secretary of State William H. Seward and his entourage on board. He had negotiated the purchase of Alaska from the Russians for a mere $7.2 million in March 1867 and now wanted to see the magnificent land for himself. U.S. Gen. Davis held events in his honor, and then Seward traveled to Lynn Canal where villagers at Klukwan gave him the honor of calling him "The Great Tyee" (chief). Seward was impressed with the ceremonial art he saw...
Turning 97 in March, Carl Reiner shows no sign of slowing down. "I wake up with ideas!" the veteran actor, writer, director and producer said from Los Angeles. One of those ideas was to colorize episodes of his crown television jewel, "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Two color episodes were produced in 2017 and last year Reiner selected a couple more favorites, with plots loosely based on his family's experience, which aired on CBS over the holiday season. "I've done a lot in my life but have to say th...
I’m not a big fan of the adult guardianship system. I realize it’s necessary; there are a lot of cases in which guardianship or conservatorship is absolutely needed and there isn’t a reasonable alternative. But there are things that bug me about the guardianship system, and one of them is that it sometimes results in someone who is minimally competent, having a lot of their rights taken away. The statutes say that if someone needs a guardian, the judge is supposed to leave the person with as mu...
Q. What is a simple way to get started with home automation? A. When it comes to home automation, simple is a relative term. Compared to a few years ago, setup is easier and prices are less expensive. But after installing a few devices in my house, “simple” is not the word I would use. “Easier” is about as good as it gets right now. I wanted to start slow. So I chose to control a few lamps in several different rooms with a 3-pack of WeMo Mini Smart Plugs. These devices plug into any standard outlet, just like old-fashioned timers, and the lam...
"Did all these cookbooks come from one collection?" I inquired of the lady behind the desk. Several rolling carts filled with books spilled out of the small room labeled "Friends of the Library Used Book Sale". I was visiting the community college library in Fort Collins, Colorado, where my daughter lives. "Yes," the clerk replied. She explained that a woman had died and her husband had donated her cookbook collection to the library...twenty-three boxes worth. I had already browsed enough to...
In elementary school, my day started with getting breakfast from the cafeteria window, where I got to choose a cereal box along with a small carton of milk from our cafeteria lady, Angie. She had short curly silver hair and always happily provided us our breakfast, along with a great smile. For lunch, I lined up with the rest of my classmates to get lunch from Angie, too. Each of us carried a small envelope with our names on it. I didn't realize, though, that my envelope was different from the...
Between 1912 and 1915, a number of single, unattached men mysteriously disappeared in Southeast Alaska. The few law enforcement officials in the territory were baffled, but a suspect finally emerged in the fall of 1915. A Petersburg man named Edward Krause, who'd run for the Territorial Legislature as a Socialist Party candidate in 1912, represented himself as a U.S. Marshall to officials at the Treadwell Mine in Douglas in mid-September. Krause told the bosses that he had a court summons for...
India Adams and Annette Warren have a lot in common. Both now in their nineties, their career paths merged in the 50s when the pair were hired by studios to dub the singing voices of actresses as so-called 'ghost singers.' Adams sang for Joan Crawford and Cyd Charisse in films such as "The Band Wagon," "Torch Song," and "Johnny Guitar," while it's Warren's voice heard for Ava Gardner in MGM's musical "Show Boat" as well as Lucille Ball in several movies. "I was appearing at a club and someone...
Very few people have to worry about estate taxes any more. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, only estates worth more than $11.4 million are subject to estate tax. However even fairly small estates can be subject to income tax. Most inherited assets do not count as income. If I inherit a house worth $400,000, I do not have $400,000 worth of income. I just get the house, tax-free. But if I inherit an IRA worth $400,000, I might very well have that much income. And that is because an IRA is...
Q. My incoming callerID information seems less accurate lately. It works fine for numbers I already recognize, but most everything else is inaccurate. A. As someone who still receives far too many unwanted telephone calls, I feel your pain. A popular new technique by scammers and robo-callers called “neighbor spoofing” could be to blame. When someone uses a neighbor spoof attack, they display a fictional number that indicates the call is from your area code and local exchange. The technique assumes the victim is more likely to answer a fam...
When the next Congress begins its work in January, lawmakers from both parties will try to work with the Trump administration to pass vital health care legislation. But getting a political advantage and maneuvering for the 2020 elections will help determine just how much cooperation can be found. Democrats and Republicans have significantly different political agendas they want to advance. The easiest issue on the health care agenda should be making sure people with pre-existing conditions do...
My daughter and I were visiting Dad and Mom in Homer one weekend in early January 20 years ago when I was startled awake by the phone. The clock showed it was almost midnight when I picked up the line. It was the Alaska State Troopers. "Is this the home of Al Clayton, and is he interested in a moose roadkill?" the voice on the other end asked. After Dad got on the phone, I listened to see how he would respond. With the accident site only a quarter-mile from his house, how could he say no. I was...
