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Still working on a tax return? Need some help? AARP Tax-Aide program volunteers will be available “off-season” in Anchorage and Ketchikan. Anchorage AARP State Office, Frontier Bldg., 14th Floor, from noon to 3 p.m. on June 13, July 11, Aug. 7, Sept. 4 and Oct. 2. Appointments are encouraged for June and July; walk-in only for August, September and October. Call 907-538-4228 or email alaskataxaide@gmail.comalaskataxaide@gmail.com. Ketchikan Call for appointment, 907-821-8263. Be sure to bring your Social Security card, picture ID, W-2s and all...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The June meeting is June 12, hosted by Trinion Quality Care Services. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on...
“Age Smart – Let’s Talk”, the series of forums sponsored by AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center, returns July 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The July topic is, “Not Everything is as it Seems.” An increasing number of Americans are falling victim to more elaborate and sophisticated types of fraud and scams. These are inevitable by-products of our tech age, but are by no means limited to online hucksters. Moreover, scammers target people they believe are most vulner...
Dear Savvy Senior: I recently received a strange call from a Social Security employee. He told me my Social Security number had been suspended because it was involved in a crime, and that I needed to reactivate it and secure my bank funds by withdrawing them and putting them on gift cards. Is this a scam? - Worried Rita Dear Rita: Yes. It’s actually known as the “Social Security impostor scam” and it’s becoming a widespread problem in the U.S. The Federal Trade Commission has received more than 76,000 reports about this growing scam in the pas...
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 11 and 25), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 5 and 19), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 6, 13, 20 and 27), 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...
Update, May 3, 2019: Our print edition version of this story went to press as the legislature debated reversing the Senior Benefits cuts discussed in this story. After the paper was printed, the House and Senate both agreed to restore the funding, however the final budget has not been approved. When that happens, it will go to the governor for his approval. Stay tuned for updates. Senior Benefits payments to some Alaska seniors will be suspended in May and June, according to the Dept. of Health and Social Services, which oversees the program....
It was an extraordinary historical event in the history of Alaska. April 30, 1993, KUAC-TV in Fairbanks brought together five current and former Alaska governors to discuss Alaska’s future. Governors Keith Miller, Jay Hammond, Bill Sheffield, Steve Cowper and Walter Hickel were all sitting at the same table at the same time. In light of the contemporary interest in the question of personal income taxes in Alaska, let’s take a look at what our Alaska “founding fathers” had to say about it. But first, a brief historical review. In 1989 the Ala...
The old baseball star Satchel Paige is supposed to have said: Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don’t mind it does not matter. On Capitol Hill, old seems to be the new young. In the House of Representatives, the top three leaders are all seniors. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is 79 years old. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is 80, and Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., is also 80. While you can actually start serving in the House at age 25 and age 30 in the Senate, the 2018 elections brought in a much younger group of l...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The May meeting is May 8, hosted by the Anchorage Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc....
Dear Savvy Senior: What can you tell me about three-wheeled bicycles? I'm 65 years old and would like to start cycling again but I have some occasional balance problems and don't trust myself on a two-wheeler. What can you recommend? - Ready to Ride Dear Ready: Three-wheeled bikes – also known as adult trikes – are a great cycling option for older adults, especially those who have concerns with their balance or stamina. Here's what you should know, along with some tips to help you shop for one...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will hold its quarterly board meeting Thursday, May 30, 2019. The meeting will be held via videoconference and teleconference, available at sites listed below, or statewide via toll-free telephone. The meeting takes place 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call the Alaska Commission on Aging office at 465-3250. Videoconference sites Anchorage Senior and Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave., Room 323. 269-3666 Fairbanks Senior and Disabilities Services, 751 Old Richardson Highway, Suite 100A. 451-5045 Ju...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in May: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (May 14 and 28), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (May 1 and 15), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30), 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...
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending or listening in to the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues the series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on April 9, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The April topic is “Age Legally”. Aging legally implies there are ways to age illegally. That may be partially true if one is unprepared, in a legal sense, for the kinds of dos and don’ts of later life. These can include things like wills, powers of attorney, supported decision making agreements, advance directives, and others. Fortu...
On Feb. 25, many of Alaska’s seniors woke to a disturbing surprise. They found a letter announcing unprecedented Pioneer Homes rate increases due to the Governor’s budget proposal. I am writing as the Representative of House District 20 to oppose the rate increases for Alaska’s Pioneer Homes and oppose the invasive collection of Pioneer Home residents’ private financial information. As Alaska’s seniors, you already have paid your way. After a lifetime of service, taxes and helping build our state, asking for these rate increases in this mann...
I still get the feeling that most libraries I have visited the last twelve or fifteen years are, well, naked. OK, maybe that is not the best description, but at first glance they seem to be missing something very important. Where is the card catalog? It was the brain center of every library -- a dark wooden wall of dozens or hundreds of sturdy little drawers holding thousands of index cards with key information about the library’s holdings. For decades my fingers laboriously walked through those cards searching for that part of the world’s inf...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The April meeting is April 10, hosted by the Thomas Center. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on these...
Gov. Mike Dunleavy has introduced legislation to end the Senior Benefits program, the income-based program that provides monthly cash assistance to low-income Alaska seniors. Identical bills, House Bill 60 and companion Senate Bill 58, were introduced at the governor's request in February. If passed, the legislation would end the benefits program, effective June 30, 2019. The Senior Benefits program provides monthly payments to seniors age 65 and older at three different levels, depending on applicants' income level: $250 for the lowest-income...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continue the series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on March 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The March topic is “The Tech Age and Tech Agers.” Keeping up with new editions of iPhones, Google, Androids, and apps has many of us throwing up our hands in frustration. Even the terminology — tablets and pads, for instance — often requires us to consult new online dictionaries. But, amid frustration can also come opportunities w...
A major disaster declaration was issued Jan. 31 for the state of Alaska following the Nov. 30 earthquake. It makes federal funding available to eligible affected faith-based organizations, community, volunteer and private nonprofit organizations in three jurisdictions: the Municipality of Anchorage and the boroughs of Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula. FEMA Public Assistance The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides grants through its Public Assistance program. These grants are designed to help communities, government organizations a...
As tax deadlines get closer, Tax-Aide sites continue to provide assistance around Alaska. The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns and anyone can use the service regardless of age or income. Sites are staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified by Internal Revenue Service and AARP Foundation instructors to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, these taxpayers also avoid tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free....
Keep track of senior-related bills, budget decisions and other issues by attending or listening in to the Alaska Commission on Aging Legislative Teleconferences. Hosted by local agencies statewide, and available by toll-free call-in, the teleconferences provide a convenient forum for seniors and advocates across Alaska to share information about issues and specific bills of concern, including Medicaid, state budget and funding, senior assistance, retirement, Pioneer Homes and more. Teleconferences are scheduled 9:30 to 11 a.m. every other Thurs...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times in March: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (March 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (March 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (March 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 cal...
The 31st Alaska State Legislature gaveled in on Jan. 15 with many new faces and a host of old challenges. The Senate quickly elected Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anch.) as Senate President, with a 14-6 Republican majority caucus (one Democrat caucuses with the Republicans). On the House side, as of this writing, there is no chosen leadership. Despite having a Republican majority, the House does not follow party lines so clearly. There is a Speaker Pro Tem, Rep. Neal Foster (D-Nome) until the House is able to achieve either a 21-19 majority caucus, or...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues its series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on Feb. 12, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Senior Activity Center. The February topic is “How Does Intimacy Change with Age?” Intimacy isn’t something we talk much about, yet it is something that we need throughout our lives. This session will examine the ways the need and the capacity for intimacy changes as we age. Is it sex? Is it a very close friend or soul mate? Is it physical, emotional or...
