Sorted by date Results 794 - 818 of 1132
I am going to begin this column with more than just a spoiler alert. If you have never read the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes, put down this paper immediately. Go buy it, or download it, or whatever, and read the story. You may then continue reading this column. If you fail to follow these instructions, I will have ruined for you one of the true masterpieces of literature. Flowers for Algernon is a story about a mentally handicapped man who is selected for an exp...
Q. Is Roku the easiest streaming device to use? I can’t seem to get a handle on it so I can watch Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. A. I love my Roku. My son gave me one a couple birthdays ago, and since then I’ve found many ways to enjoy it. Of course, he knows how much I enjoy tinkering with gadgets. Roku is loaded with features that make it a tinkerer’s dream, which makes it definitely not the easiest to use. None of the streaming devices are as easy to use as they should be, all of them are a challenge. For basic access to services like Netfl...
Editor’s note: This is an April 13 letter Gov. Walker addressed to Alaska Pioneer Homes Division Director Vickie Wilson; Pioneers’ Homes Advisory Board Co-Chairs Robert Silvertsen and Robert Hall, Sr.; Juneau Pioneer Home Administrator Gina Del Rosario; and Veterans and Pioneers Home Administrator Joshua Shaver. I want to take this opportunity for you to hear directly from me about my commitment to the Alaska Pioneer Homes. You know more than anyone that Alaska’s Pioneer Homes are extraordinary places. I have visited most of them and enjoy...
Sudden price spikes in older drugs are putting patients at risk of going without vital medicine. A new report by the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging uncovered an insidious business model that’s leading to monopoly pricing power and astronomical price increases. Berna Heyman, a retired librarian who has Wilson Disease testified how she was a victim of obscene price gouging. Her annual co-pay for the drug Syprine rose from $700 in 2013 to $10,000 in 2014, with her drug plan paying over $260,000. When she and her doctor applied for V...
The volume of veterans set to reach retirement age in the next decade will put tremendous pressure on the VA healthcare system. The Long-Term Supports and Services (LTSS) is one program the VA is attempting to rebalance and revamp in an attempt to avoid any impact on veterans. LTSS offers client-centered services in the least restrictive setting possible. For the majority of veterans, that place is their home. In the past, the VA’s focus has been on elder care institutions; i.e. long-term care f...
While the Southeast town of Sitka claims the first U.S. Post Office established in America's new possession of Alaska in 1867, Circle City – located on the banks of the Yukon River – holds the honor for the first post office in Alaska's Interior, according to "Directory of Alaska Post Offices and Postmasters." Circle City's first postmaster, famous outfitter Jack McQuesten, was appointed on March 19, 1896. Mail had been carried by private mail runners that traveled along a route from the new...
Known for his trademark salutation, "Hello Dere," his bug-eyed comic stare and wild Brillo-pad hair, veteran comedian Marty Allen is still making audiences laugh. "I get up in the morning and the only thing that doesn't hurt is my pajamas," joked Allen, who turned 95 in March, from his home in Las Vegas. A veteran of six decades in the entertainment industry, in 1957 the Pittsburgh-raised comedian teamed up with handsome lounge crooner Steve Rossi, who became his "straight man." The union produc...
You like potato, I like potahto You like tomato, I like tomahto Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto Let’s call the whole thing off! The point the Gershwin brothers were making, I take it, was that slight differences in semantics shouldn’t make any difference in reality. Okay, maybe it’s more complicated than that, but I didn’t write this column to talk about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Sometimes, slight wording differences matter tremendously. Take Medicare and Medicaid, for example. They so...
Q. A couple of times when I answered my phone the first voice I heard asked if I could hear them. It seemed harmless, but I wonder. Is it harmless? A. No, it is likely a scam. There is a similar technique that has been making the rounds recently. It involves a friendly voice apologizing for having problems with her headset, then attempting to engage in conversation. The effect is disarming, and it took a few seconds to realize that I was listening to a recording. As consumers become more savvy about ignoring unwanted solicitations, callers try...
We most often hear the phrase "Until Death Do Us Part" at weddings, when a couple commits to fidelity and love for one another until one of them dies. The traditional wedding vows say nothing about what accompanying someone to death involves. And most of us have no training in what the dying process involves and what is required to sit with a loved one as they are dying. My mom died in December at age 95. In reflecting on the end of her life, "until death do us part" is the phrase that keeps...
The discovery of rich gold deposits in the upper Yukon River in the late 1890s brought a massive rise in the number of ships plying Alaska waters. Especially in Lynn Canal, a part of the Inside Passage. It was a safer route for ships to travel than the open ocean route to the west through the eastern Gulf of Alaska. But once the ships passed British Columbia, they had few guides through the Inside Passage. Weather and terrain in Southeast Alaska made traveling perilous – fog, rain, strong t...
Don't expect Ed Asner's name to fade from casting lists anytime soon. With a variety of current and upcoming projects, 87-year-old Asner remains as busy and versatile as ever. It's a trend that follows a lifetime of dedication to his craft, playing bishops, doctors, judges, cops, cowboys, professors, villains and hundreds more film, television and stage characters and voice roles. "When I came out to Hollywood in 1961, I was determined not to be typecast," said Asner from his office in Los...
New research from the Employment Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) updates previous estimates of how much money Medicare beneficiaries are projected to need to cover health expenses in retirement, including premiums for Medicare Parts B and D, premiums for Medigap Plan F, and out-of-pocket spending for outpatient prescription drugs. The analysis shows that retiree health savings targets increased from 2014 to 2016, but that 2016 savings targets continue to be lower than they were in 2012 almost across the board. Specifically: • In 2016, a 65-ye...
Here’s another question I am asked regularly: how small does an estate have to be before it does not have to go through probate? Back when I was starting out, and in fact for quite a few years after that, the answer was easy. If it was less than $15,000 and there was no real estate, it did not have to go through probate. Anything above that, and it did. That was it, plain and simple. It was easy to figure out, although it was an awfully low amount, and that meant that a lot of cases had to go th...
Q. My daughter is upset with me because I get news from Facebook. I don’t understand why that is such a big problem. A. Social networks like Facebook and Pinterest get most of the information they present from users. Conventions vary, but generally sites only filter extreme material like pornography. There is nothing to remove inaccurate information. To make the matter worse, financial incentives exist to create and distribute false information. In the race for attention, quality is overwhelmed by spectacle. Rumors and facts become indistinguis...
Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of articles from the Diverse Elders Coalition, looking at different segments of the senior population. The importance of friends and family to our health is well understood by American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN). Though the specific traditions of tribes, pueblos, nations and bands can differ quite a bit between one another, we as AI/AN share our respect for, inclusion of, and focus on elders as a common link between our communities. In today’s culture, many elders are separated from their co...
As an older veteran, the last thing on your mind might be a home refinancing plan. You may have paid off your house and are basking in the lifelong dream of finally having no mortgage payment. Spending money on house payments are for the younger folks, right. Well, I want you to consider some salient points for pulling some cash out of the old homestead. First, interest rates are at an all-time low. With a little shopping, you should be able to find a VA lender offering rates on a 30-year fixed...
Sweaters, strollers, pet pouches - the accoutrements of the small dog may make us giggle but they serve a valuable purpose for the less-than-20 pound citizens of the canine world. Small dogs are popular companions for people living in smaller homes or apartments. It's important to select the right dog for you and know how to provide for their special needs. Depending on their breed (or predominant mix of breeds) the exercise requirements of small dogs can vary greatly. A 15-pound West Highland T...
"Russia has sold us a sucked orange," the New York World proclaimed after the U.S. government announced it was to purchase Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million in the spring of 1867. And most Americans agreed with this opinion 150 years ago this month. The historic decision was greeted with derision and a multitude of catcalls aimed at then Secretary of State William H. Seward. Terms bandied about for the tract of land that was one-fifth the size of the Continental United States included...
A couple of years ago, visitors to Carol Burnett's home might have observed the comedy legend glued to the TV set, binge-watching every episode of her old variety show. But it wasn't a case of extreme celebrity vanity sweeping through the Burnett household. "I'd been getting calls from writers wanting to interview me about the show," said Ms. Burnett from Los Angeles. "So I thought, maybe I should write a definitive history of the 11 years I worked on 'The Carol Burnett Show' because, after all,...
If you go to the movies very often, you might have heard of an actor named Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was quite a talented character actor, he even won an Oscar for portraying Truman Capote, and he was nominated for a number of other Oscars and Tonys as well. Don’t worry, I’m not about to turn this into a movie review column. My interest in the talented Mr. Hoffman is not that he was a good actor, but that he was a bad estate planner. When Philip Seymour Hoffman died in 2014, he left behind a s...
Q. Is it possible to talk with Siri on non-Apple devices? A. The short answer is no, Siri is a feature only available from Apple. For readers who may not be familiar with that name, Siri is the voice-controlled Intelligent Personal Assistant installed on Apple devices. Controlling devices with voice commands is hot right now, and Apple Siri has plenty of company. Microsoft has Cortana. Google has Google Voice. Samsung has Viv. Amazon has Alexa. There are many others. Each of them has a common set of abilities, along with capabilities unique to...
Naw Gay Lay is a 77-year-old Karen refugee from Myanmar (Burma). The Karen people are an ethnic and religious minority group that has been persecuted throughout much of Burma's history. As a young woman, Naw Gay Lay worked in a rice field and began raising her family in a rural village in central Burma. When she reached her mid-30s, the whole village had to flee from Burmese military insurgents. She lost her husband in this brutal civil conflict and was forced to live in the jungle with her six...
Since the Yukon gold rush days, a road from the lower 48 states (outside) to Alaska had been discussed but it took WWll to jump start the project. The Lend-Lease Act of 1941, which authorized the transfer of military equipment to our allies before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, necessitated the construction of a land link between airstrips in western Canada and Alaska. These airfields were for refueling and maintenance points for aircraft being ferried to Ladd Field (now Fort Wainwright)...
When Archbishop of Vancouver Island Charles John Seghers journeyed down the Yukon River in November 1886, he had no way of knowing he would never return to civilization. The Catholic priest, who originally came from Belgium, had spent many years doing missionary work in Canada and Alaska. Seghers first came to Alaska in 1873, as it was included in his diocese. He made five visits to the Great Land and set up a temporary headquarters in Nulato. In 1878, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of...
