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In the nation’s capital, where politicians are always wearing partisan political jerseys, the nomination of Alex Azar to be the new Health and Human Services Secretary may offer the hope of a fresh start on health care issues. President Trump’s recent nominee to run HHS, the largest agency in the federal government, has steadfastly opposed President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Azar often describes as “circling the drain.” So the 50-year-old Indiana native is not likely to get many Democrats on his side when the Senate votes on...
By all accounts, Bharti Parikh, 66, has led an exciting life: from a childhood in the tiny village of Patton in Gujarat, India, to a law degree and fulfilling years in America that included working for the City of New York, being invited to be an artist at President Clinton's inauguration, and being a singing star on TV. However, there's also another sadder, more stressful side to her story, one that is unfortunately shared by so many older adults in America. Bharti Parikh is a caregiver, and ha...
My Anchorage neighborhood had been chattering about packages disappearing from doorsteps. Security camera footage was posted to Facebook of people stealing boxes. So I was not stunned when one of ours went missing late November. The delivery service tracking information showed it being left by our front door, but it vanished. "We call them porch pirates, stealing packages from front porches," says Michelle Tabler, Better Business Bureau Alaska Regional Manager. "We've heard reports that these thieves actually follow the UPS and FedEx trucks...
The holiday season is a joyous and festive time of the year for most folks. But some in our community don’t feel celebratory due to depression. Be it because of long term illness, the loss of a spouse or, worst, a child, the loneliness of deep winter could be the tipping point for someone considering ending their life. September was National Suicide Prevention month, but the holiday season and its aftermath are a particularly vulnerable time for our relatives and neighbors who are going t...
Dear Savvy Senior: As a divorced woman, am I entitled to my ex-husband’s Social Security benefits? I was married for 14 years and would like to know how this works. - Happily Divorced Dear Divorced: Yes, you may very well be eligible for divorced spouses Social Security benefits if you meet certain criteria. Here’s how it works. A divorced spouse can collect a Social Security retirement benefit on the earnings record of their ex-husband (or ex-wife) if you are at least age 62, were married for at least 10 years, are unmarried, and are not eli...
In late November I sat with my son and his friend enjoying the ambience of the historic Paramount Theater in downtown Denver. We waited with quiet anticipation along with the rest of the sold out crowd. After a while the house lights went down and a spotlight followed three men as they walked across the stage. First Nikos Kilcher sang a beautiful song he had written for his wife, then brother Atz Lee sang his song titled "Rain" while playing his double bass. Father Atz Kilcher followed up by...
Juneau became the capital of the 49th state on Jan. 3, 1959, after U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the statehood act into law. It became the only state capital not accessible by road. But Juneau was not the capital of the Last Frontier when Alaska became part of the United States in 1867. Sitka was the center of government for Russia-America. So why did the Americans choose to move government offices to Juneau? The discovery of gold deposits in the area that became Juneau-Douglas in...
Starting out as an assistant director on "I Love Lucy" in the late 50s probably wasn't a bad introduction to Jay Sandrich's television career behind the camera. "I wrote a letter to Lucy's company (Desilu) and was invited for an interview," recalled Sandrich from Los Angeles. He was immediately offered the job despite possessing only a film degree from UCLA and a couple of years' experience working on army documentaries. "It was my first real job in the business," he said. "The only reason I...
I was hoping this month's column would be about the changes to the tax code and how that effects estate planning. No such luck -- the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is still pending in Congress, subject to last-minute negotiations, and my deadline is nonetheless upon me (the Senior Voice editors are brutal taskmasters. The last time I was late with my column, I woke up to find a severed horse's head in my bed). So, let's have a little fun instead. Let's look at somebody who did it his way – and did it r...
Q. How can I use my phone to take a family photo and include everyone in the picture? A. Smartphone cameras have gotten so good that there has never been a better time to put one on a tripod. Phone cameras perform magic to keep images sharp in all sorts of conditions, but you can still make images with a tripod that would be impossible otherwise. Gathering the whole family together in one frame is the perfect place to begin. Attaching a smartphone to a tripod requires a special bracket. Before you grab the first bargain bracket you come...
Form Christmas letters. Whether they arrive by snail mail or email, people seem to either love or hate these annual family newsletters. Let me just state up front that I am a fan. Because my mother embraced this particular tradition, her children and grandchildren now have a wonderful treasure of family history. Dad arrived in Anchorage in January 1940 from Montana and Mom came to Seward in 1951 from New York. They married in 1954. As far as we know, Mom wrote her first Christmas letter while...
By JACQUELINE GARCIA Diverse Elders Coalition Every morning, Eduardo arrives at a day laborer center in Los Angeles to pick up his crew for the day. Depending on the working schedule, the 52-year-old man takes between two and four men to work in different projects, mainly in construction. "Sometimes other [day labor workers] laugh at me because I often take the older men," said Eduardo. "But I take them because they have less opportunity to be hired," he said. For many years Eduardo also worked...
The holiday season is upon us and that means people are searching for the perfect gift for friends and family. From socks to wine and pajamas to animals, people will receive both wanted and unwanted gifts. What about you? Have you heard murmurs from the kids that you could use a cat to keep you company? Are you thinking your grandchildren really need a dog in their lives? Let's look at the good and bad of giving and receiving pets as gifts. Research from the ASPCA (American Society for the...
Even as people attempt to sing it, few know the words of the world’s best-known and most-sung song (outside of “Happy Birthday”). Or much else about the mystery song. Dick Clark, long the host of the new year’s eve TV broadcast from Times Square in New York, didn’t know. “All I remember is ‘drink a cup of kindness,’ and ‘old acquaintances,’” he said. The song is sung by average people all over the world, in English and at least 40 other languages, from Times Square to Tokyo, at funerals, graduations, farewells, Boy Scout jamborees and other f...
More than four decades ago Congress enacted the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act, which conveyed about 40 million acres to Alaska Native-owned corporations and settled aboriginal land claims. President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law in December 1971. Why was the Native land claims such a big issue after statehood? The Alaska Statehood Act said the new state could choose more than 103 million acres of its land – an amount larger in total area than California – to build its eco...
The tragedies that befell singer Connie Francis throughout her life would challenge the most resilient of souls. Nevertheless, she navigated each dark, engulfing personal tunnel with unwavering tenacity, always eventually emerging aided by her sense of humor. "It never failed me and kept me going," she said from her home in Parkland, Florida. "From the age of 10, I worked on TV with many comedians like Don Rickles and developed a sense of humor." While her professional breakthrough came in the...
Forms can be helpful. And dangerous. Back in the days when I did a lot of trial work, I encouraged the court system to develop forms that people could use for simple matters. I saw a lot of folks who needed some form of relief, but couldn’t afford thousands of dollars to retain an attorney. Forms for simple things like filing a motion in a family law or probate case made a lot of sense. And I still believe in that. However, there is a downside to the use of forms. If you try to use a legal f...
Q. What is the best way to clean the screen on a smartphone or tablet? A. My favorite method is a microfiber towel sold under the trademark Dash Gear (www.cleantools.net/products/dash-gear). I discovered these in a local auto parts store a few years ago. I wipe yesterday’s fingerprints off my iPad and phone each morning. (Dirt on screens is much easier to see in daylight.) If it takes more than a few seconds, I drop the towel into the laundry. Once cleaned, the towel works as good as new. Beware of the term “microfiber.” I have encou...
To author Studs Terkel, World War II was The Good War. And to Tom Brokaw, those who lived through it were The Greatest Generation. Sacrifice was the order of the day. And, as Betty Curtis and Carmen Suter can tell you, everyone made sacrifices every day. "I wouldn't go through it again for anything, but it created an interesting generation of people," said Curtis, who was 13 and living in Delphos, Kansas, about 60 miles north of Salina, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. On t...
In 1935 the National Association of Manufacturers testified before Congress that Social Security would represent “ultimate socialist control of life and industry.” Other opponents argued that the initial Social Security registration process was like social engineering used in Nazi Germany. These critics predicted that American workers would be forced to wear metal Social Security tags on chains around their necks. Earlier in the decade industrial production had fallen 46 percent, foreign trade had plummeted by 70 percent, and unemployment had...
This is an article in an ongoing series by the Diverse Elders Coalition, focusing on different ethnic and demographic senior groups. Last month, I was in New York City to celebrate reaching another decade with four of my friends. Three of these friends I have known since high school, and we were roommates at one time or another in college. My son, Aiden, calls them his "aunties," because they have loved him through his transition and love him the same today. We decided on New York, because it...
Homer residents turned to Betty Crocker when they needed a firetruck in the late 1960s after learning about a promotion offered by General Mills. The nationally known company offered a program where people could turn in their coupons for large househlold items. An $800 piano could be purchased with 160,000 coupons redeemed at one-half penny each, according to a Homer Tribune article, titled "Bringing home 'Betty," by Naomi Klouda. How many coupons did it take to get a fire truck? Five million,...
Off-screen, Valerie Harper has been an inspiration to many following her optimistic defiance to a well-publicized life-threatening medical diagnosis in 2013. The star of the hit 70s TV series "Rhoda" now brings her indomitable spirit to the big screen to hearten families dealing with Alzheimer's. Harper, Liz Torres, and Harmony Santana star in Susie Singer Carter's short film, "My Mom and the Girl." Based on Singer Carter's own mother's battle with Alzheimer's, the writer, director and...
I really wish they hadn’t called it an IRA. Back in 1997, a senator named William Roth pushed through a law which allowed for a different type of retirement account. Up until then, if you wanted to save for retirement in a way that was tax-advantaged, your only option was a traditional IRA, or one of its close cousins like a 401(k) or SEP. There were minor differences, but these IRA-type accounts pretty much worked the same. There was a tax deduction when you put the money in, but you had to p...
Q. What do you think of using a service like Airbnb or HomeAway instead of a hotel? A. My family has used various websites to find daily rental lodging for over 10 years. When everything goes according to plan, they are fantastic. But a bad experience can ruin your vacation. We have experienced both kinds, on multiple occasions. There is a huge inventory of rooms, apartments and houses available for rent online. They are offered by different types of businesses – everything from individuals with a spare room to property management companies t...
