Sorted by date Results 501 - 525 of 887
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication Senior Voice in the 26th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. Senior Voice received three awards for feature stories: Long-time Senior Voice contributor Dianne Barske won a bronze award for her stories, ...
Are you feeling all smug and comfy about the level of your personal savings for retirement? OK, that was a rhetorical question. A report recently released by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) found that 75 percent of adult Americans are concerned about their ability to achieve a secure retirement. In addition, 86 percent believe that the nation faces a retirement crisis. “It’s no wonder Americans believe the nation faces a retirement crisis – the evidence is irrefutable that the hope of retirement is out of reach for millions...
If you thought the bitter partisan fight over the “repeal and replace” of President Obama’s health care law was ugly, ratchet up the intensity – the next fight over Trump’s budget, including sweeping changes to Medicare, is about to start, just as Congress faces a fiscal crisis. These Medicare changes would raise the eligibility age and convert the program to a voucher program affecting all 55.5 million seniors currently using the program and millions more about to become Medicare eligible. President Donald Trump wants Congress’s next move t...
I have treasured photos from prior generations and am guessing you may too. I will be sure my picture albums land in the hands of my children, but what happens to the photos I store online? Did you inherit stacks of record albums or maybe cassette tapes from a loved one? Today most Alaskans access their favorite music purchases through their modern and fancy-fangled devices such as smart phones, tablets and computers. How will they pass on these electronic “stacks” of tunes to their loved ones? What happens to your pictures, music and all the...
Hospice of Anchorage is in search of some dedicated volunteers. Most positions that we usually recruit for have been filled and we are very thankful for this wonderful community that we live in. Looking forward, we are creating a team of about five dedicated volunteers that are interested in fundraising and event planning. Current events that we would have volunteers work on would include; Heroes of Healthcare, Remembering the Light, and the Remembrance Tree. Heroes of Healthcare is our annual fundraiser/auction in April that requires phone...
Juneau seniors may pay less at the cash register as the Juneau Assembly seeks to expand the list of essential items included in the city’s senior citizen sales tax exemption. Assembly member and ordinance sponsor, Mary Becker, hopes that including necessities like toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue, personal items like shampoo, soap, and toothpaste and prepared food items to the list of essentials already exempt from the tax will increase essential services for seniors. “We decided we need to expand exempted items to make it more pal...
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will hold its quarterly meeting Sept. 14 in Juneau, and will be accessible via video and teleconference at sites listed below, or statewide via toll-free telephone. The meeting takes place 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and public comment is scheduled from 11 to 11:15 a.m. For more information, contact the host agency in your area (from the list below) or call the commission office in Juneau at 465-3250. Videoconference sites Anchorage Senior and Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave., Room 143. 269-3666 Fairbanks...
he Third Annual Disability and Aging Summit will be held in Anchorage at the Special Olympics Alaska headquarters, 3200 Mountain View Drive, Oct. 13 and 14. This year’s keynote speaker is Karrie A. Shogren, PhD, a professor at the University of Kansas and director of the Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Shogren will address self-determination, systems of support and supported decision-making. CEUs may be available at the conference for a fee. The event is presented by the Alaska Disability and Aging Coalition. For r...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Interagency Breakfast, sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, with breakfast provided. The September meeting is Sept. 13, hosted by Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center. Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older Persons Action Group, Inc. for more information on these events or to be added to our e-mail reminder list,...
With Better Business Bureau’s free annual event, the Secure Your ID shred day, coming up, it’s a good time to remind people about steps they can take to prevent identity theft. The first line of defense in protecting your identity is to shred all documents with personal information. That includes credit card, bank, utility and other statements, old IRS and tax information, medical statements and credit card offers. Many instances of identity theft still occur by physical methods – dumpster diving and stealing mail out of unsecured mailb...
Every day, 10,000 people turn 65 and the eldest baby boomers will begin to turn 80 in 2026, so the demand for long term care services is about to explode in the near future. Already 1.4 million seniors live in nursing home facilities in the U.S. But states are only making lukewarm progress helping millions of seniors on Medicaid avoid costly nursing home care by arranging home or community services for them instead, a new AARP report finds. Overall, AARP says states have made “incremental improvements” since its 2014 Scorecard, but calls the...
Members and guests of the Bartlett Political Forum, aka the Bartlett Club, in Anchorage were entertained by none other than Jon "Bowzer" Bauman during a presentation July 20. Yes, he is still around and continues to entertain. He parodied "Good Night Sweetheart," singing "Goodnight Trumpcare, well it's time to go," and played a piece by Schubert that he said his mother enjoyed hearing. Most in the audience remembered Bauman's popular Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer," a gangly, slender-armed...
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at University of Alaska Fairbanks (OLLI) is a program of UAF Summer Sessions and Lifelong Learning. OLLI provides learning opportunities for adults age 50 and older in the Fairbanks area. Led by its membership, OLLI offers stimulating courses, lectures and special interest groups. Members explore academic and general interest courses in an atmosphere that is intellectually stimulating, but without the stress of tests and grades. Members from all backgrounds are welcomed. They share the common bonds of intel...
Social Security is with you through life’s journey, securing today and tomorrow for millions of people. We know that reliability and dependability is an important part of your financial security. We use the same throughout the month eligibility rules for the first month’s Social Security check through the last month’s check, so it’s easy to know when checks are payable. If you meet all the requirements to receive benefits, Social Security pays your benefit after you have lived throughout the month. At 62, the first month many people are eli...
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. 8 and 22), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Aug. 2 and 16), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Aug. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31), 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...
Warning: This story may raise your blood pressure. For sure, it raises troubling questions about the U.S. government’s ability to manage a medical bureaucracy. Medicare, the government insurance program that provides health care to 55 million elderly and disabled Americans, continues to provide a steady income stream for criminals who are regularly finding innovative ways to steal a good sized chunk of the half-trillion dollars that are paid out annually by the program. This comes despite strong efforts by health investigators and Justice D...
If you haven’t seen the movie “The Intern,” starring Robert DeNiro and Anne Hathaway, you should. It’s funny, and it’s a perfect example of the difference in how generations work – the pitfalls and the saving graces. Retired, recently widowed, and bored, he applies for an internship which would generally be filled by a 20-something tech-savvy kid. He’s hired, and goes to work for a much younger boss, played by Hathaway, and that’s when two business worlds collide. You’ll enjoy the movie, but if you’re working for a much younger boss in rea...
One in nine Alaska women aged 60 and older experienced psychological or physical abuse in the past year, according to Dr. Andre Rosay, UAA Justice Center director. Results are based upon the Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS), an annual survey conducted from 2010 through 2015 by the Justice Center and funded by the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Dr. Rosay is the principal investigator for the survey. Dr. Rosay used data from both a state survey (AVS) and national survey (...
Editor’s note: This commentary was received on May 25, 2017. Sometimes legislation in Congress has unintended consequences. This is one of those times. The American Health Care Act (AHCA) that recently passed in the U.S. House, and awaits action in the Senate, would increase costs and risks for Alaskans including: seniors, children and adults with disabilities, people with pre-existing conditions, and those ages 50 to 64. The AHCA would ax federal funding for Medicaid which supports health programs for vulnerable Alaskans. Such a huge loss o...
After the National Family Caregiver Support Act was passed by U.S. Congress in 2000, the Senior and Caregiver Resource Center based in Juneau began offering caregiver-specific resources to elders and their families throughout Southeast Alaska. As per the Act, the center provides five different levels of service: 1) information, 2) assistance, 3) counseling, training and support groups, 4) respite care and 5) supplemental services, according to Marianne Mills, Southeast Senior Services (SESS)...
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 (July 11 and 25), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (July 5 and 19), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (July 6, 13, 20, 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 Juneau Soc...
You may think student loan debt is mostly for kids. But, think again. Kids are graduating from high school right about now, and looking toward college. And that might mean they’re looking to Grandma and Grandpa for help paying the bills, either with gifts of money, or as cosigners on student loans. But should you consider cosigning? A lot of parents and grandparents do cosign. Between 2005 and 2015, consumers age 60 and up became the fastest growing group of student loan borrowers. For some of those borrowers, they are still carrying debt f...
With the assistance of Debbie Rinckey and Kathy Day (two women well known in the public relations/advertising/print world around Anchorage), the Anchorage Senior Friendly Project (ASFP) is on its way to exploding by bringing businesses and seniors together. ASFP (as it is fondly known) was designed through the efforts of the Municipality of Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission and Older Persons Action Group. The mission statement of ASFP is “Businesses, Seniors, and Community – working together to build a Common Unity.” Ancho...
During the last Alaska Commission on Aging legislative teleconference of the legislative session on May 17, members of the Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA), helmed by ACoA Executive Director Denise Daniello, and ACoA health and social services planner Lesley Thompson, discussed updates on the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services operating budget for FY18. This is the budget component with the most influence over the state’s senior services and programs. The House and Senate have passed both their versions of the operating budget and...
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 (June 13 and 27), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 7 and 21), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29), 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...
