Sorted by date Results 326 - 350 of 601
Q. My cable bill went up last month. I only watch a few shows regularly – can I ditch my cable box and watch shows online? A. I cut the cable years ago. My wife and I knew we were ready after noticing how often we watched Netflix. At the time, our monthly bill dropped from $90 to $8. Before making the switch, consider what you watch now and see if you can find it online. Local news is difficult to replace. The same goes for live events like sports and award shows. The easiest to find are TV shows and movies. In many cases, shows can be w...
Do not go back to what you loved in August, for you will see the near ending of the times you loved. August is the beginning of the end of the year, the times when the lush green leaves start turning to rust and yellow. But if you are a happy outdoorsman and can’t wait to see the first snowdrop, you will be coming into your own, waxing your skis, sharpening your skate blades. Taking your heavy wool sweaters out of mothballs and checking to see where you left your snow shovels. I am not one of t...
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 validat...
Dubbed The Arctic Venus by newspapers across the globe, Helmar Liederman turned many heads as she strutted her stuff in 1922 during the Inter-City Beauty Contest – forerunner of the Miss America Pageant. The 23-year-old beauty, who immigrated from Sweden in 1921, proved to be one of the most popular contestants of the 57 that entered the Atlantic City event. Only 10 girls had competed in the inaugural contest the previous year. "A real beauty from the north country, Miss Helmar Liederman of June...
One of the hottest actresses to emerge from the 1970s has been appearing around the country in recent years presenting her stage show, "More than a Bionic Woman: An Evening with Lindsay Wagner." In August, Lindsay will be in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. (See www.lindsaywagnerinternational.com for details.) "I'll be sharing anecdotes and stories from behind the scenes in my career, and showing clips and photos from my personal collection," said Wagner from her California home. "So it should be a...
You probably heard that changes in the law now affect the way you file for certain benefits. These changes place limits on when voluntary suspension and reinstatement can begin for you and your family members who might also be entitled to benefits on that record. This is not the demise of “file and suspend.” It’s still one of your best tools for boosting your Social Security benefit after you reach your full retirement age. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 made changes to the Social Security claims filed by married couples. The law affected an...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Aug. 9 and 23), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Aug. 3 and 17), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Aug. 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 call the Jun...
“And another thing,” says the client across from me, tapping his finger on the desk for emphasis, “I don’t want Junior to get anything. He’s an ingrate who broke his mama’s heart, and didn’t even call when I had my heart attack.” “No problem,” I reply, “we can leave him nothing.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard something like that. But that isn’t enough. “What’s more,” he continues, “I want one of those No Contest clauses I’ve heard about, so he can’t challenge the will.” “Alright, th...
Q. When callerID displays a strange number on my phone, I ignore it unless the number is local. Yet lately when I do answer, often local numbers turn out to be a big company with something to sell. Has someone opened a call center in my neighborhood? A. Possibly, but unlikely. “Robocall” apps can dial phones by the thousands and “spoof” callerID with friendly-looking local numbers. The practice is illegal, but enforcement is spotty. Fake callerID isn’t new, nor are robocalls, but the resulting number of problems continues to skyrocket...
Some veterans, as they age, find themselves to be in financial straits with little or no resources and in poor health. If this is your case, then I urge you to consider applying for a VA Pension and especially the Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits. Eligible wartime periods Under current law, VA recognizes the following wartime periods to determine eligibility for VA Pension benefits: Mexican Border Period (May 9, 1916 – April 5, 1917 for veterans who served in Mexico, on its borders, o...
Many have heard tales touting the shenanigans of conmen like Jefferson "Soapy" Smith and a man named Hendrickson, better known as the "Blue Parka Bandit." But neither of them caused the demise of an Alaska governor's political aspirations. That dubious honor falls upon H.D. "Harry" Reynolds, who singlehandedly brought down Gov. John Brady in 1906, according to a 1984 article written by Alaska historian Stephen Haycox for the Anchorage Daily Times. Brady came to Alaska in 1878 as a protégé of m...
What were the chances that a 6' 3" spaghetti-thin, 18-year-old blonde actor from Bennington, Vt., could break into Broadway on his first job interview in the 1940s? For Carleton Carpenter, after arriving in New York City in the winter of 1944, they were clearly quite good. "Within 24 hours I had my first Broadway role in a play called 'Bright Boy,'" said Carpenter, who turns 90 in July, from his home in Warwick, NY. "The character was written as a tall, lanky blonde who wanted to be an actor. Ta...
Your parents were there for you when you were born. They’ve been with you through the most important achievements of your life. Now it’s your turn to show them that they can count on you. As your parents get older, they may need help making decisions. When you volunteer to become a representative payee, you’re supporting your parents and their future. A representative payee is someone who receives Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments on behalf of a person not capable of managing the funds on his or her own. As a repre...
“Digital assets.” It’s the latest buzzword. It means the ownership interest you have in your online accounts. To a lawyer, it is a subset of “intellectual property”. But what does it mean in terms of estate planning? Financial writers and estate planners are posting articles all over the internet (and in print) about what happens to your digital assets when you’re gone. The problem is, most of them don’t have a lot to say about it. The articles tend to be short, vague, and not very helpful. Here...
Q. My bank regularly sends email messages encouraging me to download their app. How safe is banking on my phone? A. Banking on your mobile phone is no more vulnerable than any other sort of bank transaction, and in some ways it is more secure. However, there are a few important things to consider first. Make certain that the application is actually from your bank and not some third party. Never store your password on the phone itself, which could grant anyone else access to your bank account. If your bank supports it, and most do, use...
Older Persons Action Group and Senior Voice Alaska solemnly salute all who have fallen in battle in defense of this great nation. This Memorial Day, let us take a few minutes out of the day to thanks those who have fallen in service to our country. Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo, NY, was officially...
Cats and people have been companions for nearly12,000 years. And no wonder – cats not only enchant us with their beauty, they also entertain us with their playful antics and graceful movements and bring smiles to our faces when they sit in our laps, purring with contentment. Cats are often considered easier companions than dogs because they don't need daily exercise or regular potty breaks outside. However, they have a few basic needs that if met will make them much happier in your home. What c...
Theories about how and when Alaska became inhabited with people ebb and flow like the state's rivers. Archeologists pretty much agree that Alaska's mainland was physically and ecologically a part of Asia 10,000 years ago, and that the Bering Strait was a grassy land area that separated the Bering Sea to the south and the Chukchi Sea to the north. While the picture of who crossed the land bridge and when is still murky, the strongest hypothesis leans toward people crossing over from Asia in waves...
She put the "Tennille" in the popular 70s music duo of "The Captain and Tennille" and enjoyed two huge number one Billboard hits – "Love Will Keep Us Together" and "Do That to Me One More Time." But Toni Tennille also brushed shoulders with Hollywood's biggest stars. Born and raised in Montgomery, Ala., Toni recently left five decades of West Coast life behind her, as well as nearly 40 years of marriage to musical partner Daryl "The Captain" Dragon, and returned to the South. "I'm now living j...
One of the things that makes estate planning interesting in Alaska is the high percentage of Native Americans here, compared to other states. Natives come from a different background culturally, which can be a little bit challenging but is usually pretty easy to deal with. What is really interesting, though, is that there are certain types of assets many Natives own which require special treatment. The first are Native Corporation shares. Most older or middle-aged Alaska Natives have these...
Q. A manuscript I’ve been working on is gone. It simply disappeared from my computer. How can that happen? A. There are two kinds of people who experience data loss: those who have, and those who will. The risk of data loss is always present. There are countless ways to lose files from your computer or smartphone. It would take a book to catalog them all. A friend of mine recently crashed into this reality when he lost months of work. He thought he had done everything correctly. He backed up his data. He kept his computer up to date. He did n...
If you have just received your VA disability notice, you should take advantage of the VA’s disability insurance plan. Veterans who are granted a service-connected disability but are otherwise in good health may apply to VA for up to $10,000 life insurance coverage. The following is a summary of Service Disabled Veterans Insurance. Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance The Service-Disabled Veterans Insurance (S-DVI) program was established in 1951 to meet the insurance needs of certain veterans wit...
As the days get longer and winter begins to wane, it's safe to assume that the boys of summer are preparing for another awesome season of baseball – a mainstay in Alaska for generations. Before Anchorage had plotted out its main street on Fourth Avenue in 1915, baseball teams faced off near the mud flats to put bats to balls that Fourth of July. Following statehood in 1959, Alaska attracted a multitude of collegiate players who played for teams like the Anchorage Bucs, Alaska Glacier Pilots, Pen...
Recognized for hundreds of television roles dating back to the 1950s, Peter Mark Richman broke into film alongside Gary Cooper in the 1956 civil war western, "Friendly Persuasion." "But I'm not only an actor, I'm also a playwright," noted Richman, who turned 89 in April, from his home in Los Angeles. "'A Medal for Murray' just finished a two year run in Israel and it toured Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa." Richman was doing a scene from his play in Los Angeles several years ago with Sean Penn's...
“Avoid probate? I don’t have to worry about that; I have a will,” says the elder gent sitting across from me. “A will doesn’t avoid probate,” I tell him. A confused look comes over his face. “I still have to go through probate, even if I have a will?” “Yep,” I say. “In fact a will does absolutely nothing to avoid probate.” He ponders that a moment. “Then what, exactly, is the point of having a will? What does a will do?” There is a very common misconception that having a will is a way to g...
