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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...
On Nov. 8, 2018, in more than 150 locations across the U.S. and the globe, thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and allies gathered as part of the intergenerational LGBT initiative SAGE Table. The event, which had a successful debut last year with the help of many high-profile stars, including Whoopi Goldberg, Zachary Quinto and Sarah Paulson, was created to address the prevailing challenge of loneliness for older LGBT people as they age. SAGE Table encourages...
Welcome to 2019! There are a number of changes in Medicare this year of which you will want to be aware. New Medicare cards The New Medicare card mail-out for Alaskans began April 1, 2018 and ended June 30. If you have not received your new card, please contact the Medicare Information Office (800-478-6065) or 1-800-Medicare, so that they can determine why your card has not arrived. It is possible an address update is needed. However, you do not need to panic, as the old card is still usable unt...
I used to have a fitness class instructor who liked to say about workouts, “Once you turn 40, it’s all rehab.” It brought chuckles, but it’s true that over the years we will inevitably subject our bodies to wear and tear. Various mishaps lead to injuries, some minor, some worse, some that will scar and haunt us forever. Our stories of how we’ve acquired these hurts may be humorous or downright horrific. I have my share of colorful tales – a spinal injury on the beach in Hawaii; a leg-crushing snowmachine wreck on the Yentna River. But I’m afr...
One man who arrived in Southeast Alaska's new gold-rush settlement of Harrisburg, later named Juneau, in 1880 created a sensation by claiming he had seen a city appear above a glacier. But people who knew him said, "He was the kind of person to gaze into a raincloud and see the sun." Richard "Dick" Willoughby landed in Harrisburg from Missouri shortly after Auk chief Kowee led Joe Juneau and Richard Harris to Silver Bow Basin, which started Alaska's first big gold rush. Many historians claim the...
The Christmas season may be over, but last December held special significance for Joan Dangerfield, who married comedian Rodney Dangerfield 25 years ago on Dec. 26. The pair had dated for 10 years following a chance meeting in 1983 when Rodney strolled passed Joan's Santa Monica flower shop. "Being a die-hard fan, I recognized Rodney immediately," Joan recalled from her West Hollywood home. "I was 16 when I first saw him on 'The Tonight Show' and suddenly there he was, 14 years later, walking...
As I write these words, it has been only a few days since the recent earthquake. By the time you read these words in the Senior Voice, though, it will probably be at least a month out, and most people will have forgotten about it. I don’t want to forget. Earthquake preparedness is a good thing. When something like this happens in a third world country, thousands of people can perish. We didn’t lose a soul. I’m convinced that part of that is the mercy of a loving God on our undeserving souls, but...
Have you wasted lots of time looking for stuff you know you have, but can’t find? Where is the manual for the washing machine? What the heck did I do with the business card from the guy I met on the plane? Where is that recording I made of the nephew’s graduation speech? How do I find those websites I saw about crafts? You get the idea. Truth be told, I still have lots of drawers and boxes with stuff in them, but a number of years ago I discovered the joys of what are commonly called “note-taking” applications for smartphones and tablets...
Q. When I open Safari on my iPhone, I am always forwarded to Apple’s website. Is there a way to choose a different home page? A. Apple removed the custom home page setting on iPhone for some mysterious reason, but there is a work-around. I set up my favorite sites as “apps” by adding their icons to the home screen. When you are on a Safari page you want to access again, with the bottom toolbar visible, tap the square with the arrow pointing upwards. A menu will slide up from the bottom of the screen. Swipe sideways on the row of grey icons...
Elders are among those most vulnerable to dehydration, and African American and Hispanic adults are more likely to become dehydrated than whites, researchers have found. In a patient-care advisory last February, staff at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., explained that dehydration occurs when the body loses more fluid than it takes in, causing a shortage of fluids needed for normal functions. While everyone is susceptible, dehydration is especially dangerous for older adults and young...
Winter dog walks-on the right day they can be enjoyable excursions with snow gently falling and a low winter sun in the sky, but on other days they can be downright treacherous with icy sidewalks and no light to help you see the ice before you feel your feet slip out from under you. Sometimes the safest decision is to ignore that pleading look in your dog's eyes and stay inside. But that doesn't mean your dog has to be bored and restless. There are ways to keep her entertained inside that are...
In October 1999 my husband Gary and I moved from Palmer to Slana, which was at that time one of the few places left on Alaska's road system still without commercial power. Residents ran their own generator, or did without electricity. This was not a completely new situation for us. Twenty-five years prior, while living on Chena Hot Springs Road out of Fairbanks, we learned it would take $10,000 to bring power to our property. After living there for a year and half, we moved to California. For...
Russians knew there were gold deposits in Alaska, as they had sent a mining engineer to search the land after the gold discovery in the late 1840s in California. The engineer found colors all around the mouth of the Kenai River, but his discoveries must not have meant much to his superiors, because they pulled him off gold duty in 1852 and told him to look for coal instead. And the Russians didn't broadcast the fact that they had found gold, either, because they feared a rush of gold-seeking...
Adorable Margaret O'Brien began her big-screen career at the age of three with a one-minute spot in 1941's "Babes on Broadway." Her career took off the following year as the star of MGM's "Journey for Margaret." Throughout the 1940s she continued to endear herself to millions seeking Hollywood diversions as World War II came and went. Ms. O'Brien, now 81, is back this holiday season starring in "This is Our Christmas," a sequel to the popular 2015 TV movie "Beverly Hills Christmas," and follows...
What’s not black and white, but green all over? Environmental, social, and governance investing, or ESG. ESG investors evaluate and invest based on corporate behavior as a predicator of future financial performance. After wading into ESG investing a couple of decades ago, I have found that “investing for good” has become a successful and rewarding strategy to prepare me for retirement. ESG investing, like any type of investing, is not black and white. All of us stress over saving and the safety of our savings. Wondering what our invested dolla...
I’m not much of an oenophile. Occasionally I might enjoy a nice glass of wine with certain foods, but I can’t tell the difference between a Merlot and a Bordeaux. But despite my lack of sophistication in matters of the grape, I think about decanting quite a bit. To a wine connoisseur, decanting means pouring wine from one container to another. It is done either to remove sediment from the wine, or to let the wine breathe before drinking. But to an estate planner, decanting means something ver...
