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"Honey, did you walk the cat?" What? Walk the cat? Yes, you heard that right. Cats have spent too much time lying around inside, bored and under-stimulated while dogs are treated to walks, play dates and time in the yard. But wait...is it safe to let your cat outside? And what about birds and other wildlife they may kill? There are many safe ways to get your cat outside while also keeping birds and wildlife safe from them (remember, cats are small but fierce predators). Let's start with catios....
Drug prices in the United States are too high – nearly everyone agrees. But political consensus stops at how to lower prices and fix the problem. If it were easy, a simple solution would be found. But paying for prescription drugs is a complicated web of prices, incentives, rebates and discounts among the drug companies, insurance companies and the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who are the middlemen who negotiate with the drug companies on behalf of insurance companies. Think of solving the drug prices mess like a complex jigsaw puzzle. J...
My husband, Gary, and I sat visiting with two couples after dinner one June evening several years ago. At the time, we were operating Nabesna House B & B out of our home in Slana. One gentleman asked, "Is there more road construction on Highway number 1?" He was greeted with a couple of blank looks and then we had to ask, "Which road is number 1?" This was our fifth summer to accommodate bed and breakfast guests and the questions were usually in regard to traveling north or south on the Tok...
Our household recently replaced a bathroom vanity cabinet, something long overdue. The process revealed something else long overdue – bottle after bottle of expired, unused, leftover prescription medications. They were in drawers, travel kits, on shelves. Inventorying them was like looking through years of health records, remembering this or that injury, infection, condition, you name it. Besides pills, there were prescription-strength inhalers, skin creams, syrups. Not something that should be lying around and yet there it all was, much m...
Among the memorials in the Anchorage Municipal Park Cemetery stands a small, pink marker adorned with a palette. It is the final resting place of Sydney Mortimer Laurence, one of Alaska's greatest artists, who died in 1940. Known for his dramatic landscape paintings, Laurence was one of the first professionally trained artists to live in Alaska. His works, which often featured Denali, hang in the Musee du Louvre in Paris, the National Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., and many other locations aro...
Fifty years ago, The Seekers were a pop music sensation. Featuring members Athol Guy, Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and lead vocalist Judith Durham, the Aussie group's pop-folk fusion proved popular in America and their hit, "Georgy Girl," was a nominee at the 1967 Oscar ceremony for 'Best Song' for the film of the same name, although it lost to "Born Free." The Seekers had burst onto the world music scene just two years earlier with their 1965 hit "I'll Never Find Another You," but Durham struggl...
One great result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is that most people see money in their paychecks, because less is being withheld. Our standard deductions have nearly doubled, and the tax rates have dipped. Those are good things. But the personal and dependent exemptions have been eliminated. For myself, I saw my paycheck jump $50 every two weeks. I get 26 paychecks a year, so that equates to an extra $1,300 without me lifting a finger. I love that, but because other changes in the new law will also have an effect, I wanted to make sure I was...
If you receive Social Security and/or Medicare, make sure you inform the Social Security Administration (SSA) when you move. That’s especially important now while the SSA is mailing out new Medicare cards. Even though the Internet is a virtual playground for scam artists, snail mail is still vulnerable to thieves. They’ve been known to file a change of address notice with the local U.S. Post Office, to snag your personal information, checks, and to keep you from finding out that they’ve opened accounts in your name. It’s not as easy as it used...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in June: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (June 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 7, 14, 21 and 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can call the...
You can bicker, bicker, bicker You can talk, you can talk You can talk all you wanna But it’s different than it was. I love a good musical, and one of my favorites is The Music Man. And the beginning always makes me think of estate planning. Bear with me. The first number in the show, which is actually named “Rock Island,” after a famous train line, features a bunch of traveling salesmen heading to their next destination. As the train itself beats out the time, they argue about the diffi...
Q. I just bought my first smartphone and I want to play some games. What advice can you share to help first-time phone gamers? A. Many phone and tablet games are labeled “Free” or “Free-to-Play.” “Free” is a loaded phrase in the gaming world. Although the initial purchase price is zero, so-called free games can become very expensive, likely more expensive than games sold for a fixed price. The definition of what makes a game free-to-play is flexible, but typically it means the game is free to download and play, but play is interrupted...
Easter was on April Fool's Day this year and Good Friday was chosen as a great time to feature the Annual Legislative Skits that began decades ago as a fundraiser for the Democratic Party. The show, which features staff making fun of their bosses, is now unaffiliated to any political organization but gives money to worthy causes in Juneau. Being a people watcher myself, familiar with this Juneau tradition, I went to observe what I knew would be The Beautiful People in all their glory. I don't...
Editor's note: This column is part of an ongoing series provided by the Diverse Elders Coalition, www.diverseelders.org. It's 1959 and I'm six years old. My family has gathered at my grandparents' house this Sunday to watch The Ed Sullivan Show. I'm sitting on the cold linoleum floor, watching, as this very tall, thin, very regal-looking woman walks onto the stage. Her gray hair is pulled back in a severely tight bun, and she's wearing a high-necked long-sleeved black dress. The music starts, an...
It was 45 years ago this month that I married Gary in the front yard of my home in Glennallen. As the wedding party stood and all the guests sat facing toward the grove of poplar trees, frogs croaked and ducks swam in the pond off to one side. In other years the trees were leafed out and the grass was green, but that year spring was slow. But, I didn't care. I wanted to get married in May and the 26th was the last Saturday of the month. At times during the preceding months, when preparing for a...
For years, I kept a blog with updates about my family. School events, vacations, celebrations were written up and posted to the blog, along with lots of photos. The blog was a more convenient way to share with family and friends in the Lower 48 than putting together letters home. And the service was free. Over time, I bonded with the blog; it became a family diary. I enjoyed browsing back through the entries, seeing pictures of children as they grew up, remembering funny adventures, seeing the home renovations and transformations. Then along...
One northern town became an integral part of Alaska's gold rush history after prospectors sifting through red rocks along a creek south of the Yukon River thought they had found rubies mixed with gold nuggets. They named the new prospect Ruby Creek, although the red rocks turned out to be garnets. The discovery of large quantities of gold in the creek in 1906 brought even more stampeders into Alaska's Interior. And when word leaked out in 1910 that more gold had been found on Long Creek, about...
From 1974 to 1984, TV audiences knew Marion Ross as the sitcom mom dispensing patience and wisdom during the 11-season run of the ABC hit series "Happy Days." But Marion's days were not entirely happy. In her March memoir, "My Days: Happy and Otherwise," her 'otherwise' reminiscences include a bad first marriage and the challenges confronting an actress and single working mother. Even her early years on "Happy Days" weren't always cheery thanks to TV hubby Tom Bosley. "Tom didn't particularly...
Adult guardianship cases are kind of a big deal. And sometimes, they’re difficult. On one side you have the Respondent. This is typically someone who has some kind of dementia, mental health issue, or medical issue which renders them unable to handle their own affairs. Oftentimes they are in danger of losing such essentials as housing, public benefits, or life savings, if someone doesn’t step in and help out. On the other side you have the Petitioner. This is typically a family member or fri...
Q. Is there a way for me to figure out what Facebook knows about me? A. Facebook knows more about you than you know about yourself. That might sound like a joke, but I am dead serious. Facebook not only knows everything you have ever told it, it also knows everything your “friends” have told it about you. And by “friends” I mean every connection between anyone you interact with, from actual friends to a random page you “liked” five years ago. Facebook never forgets. Facebook also likes to “share” your information. And by “share” I mean...
Approximately 1 in 10 Americans age 60 and older have experienced some form of elder abuse. Broadly defined, elder abuse is any form of mistreatment that results in harm or loss to an older person. More specifically, the World Health Organization defines elder abuse as “a single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person.” The legal definition of elder abuse varies from state-to-state. Elder abuse affects people fro...
In addition to federal VA benefits, veterans shouldn’t overlook the State of Alaska benefits. Following is a partial list of Alaska Veteran benefits. Veteran license plates The State of Alaska Legislature has designated several special license plates for veterans: recipients of the Purple Heart Medal, veterans who have been a Prisoner of War (POW), veterans who are survivors of Pearl Harbor, and Gold Star Families. Plates are issued free of charge after proof of service or family loss is v...
Since our move back to Palmer from Slana in 2011, I try to ride my bike around our subdivision on a daily basis unless the roads have ice and snow or if it's very windy. One day while riding in early spring of 2013, reflecting sunlight in one of my neighbor's back yard caught my eye. The next day, I slowed down to discover the source - a very large pane of glass leaning against a shed. My bike rides serve several purposes. They are great exercise and I thoroughly enjoy being outdoors while...
Imagine being deemed insane through a jury trial, and then sent to the Lower 48 for treatment in the dead of winter before planes and automobiles were available to transport you south. That's what happened to some Alaskans at the turn of the last century. The opening of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage in 1962 marked a dramatic change in the way Alaska handled those who suffered from mental illness. Construction of the facility meant Alaskans might find treatment for their mental...
As one of the best-known child actors from the 1960s, Hayley Mills starred in a half-dozen Disney films including box-office hits "Pollyanna" and "The Parent Trap." Now in her early 70's, Mills continues to perform with a preference for theater work. "In January, I opened at the New York City Center on Stage II in the lovely Irish play called 'Party Face' by Isobel Mahon," Mills explained recently while preparing for an evening performance. "It's a sweet, funny, touching play. I knew...
Over time, your valuables change, and so do your options to protect them. Here are a few choices, including safe deposit boxes and home safes, along with suggestions on how to assess each option for your specific needs. 1) Think about what should or should not be kept in a bank's safe deposit box. Good candidates for a safe deposit box include originals of key documents, such as birth certificates, property deeds, car titles and U.S. Savings Bonds that haven't been converted into electronic securities. Other possibilities for the box include...
