Latest News by Herb Weiss
Herb Weiss
Contributing Writer
About
Herb Weiss has enjoyed a distinguished 41 year career in journalism, earning a national reputation as an expert on aging, health care and medical issues. Over 780 articles that he has authored or coauthored have appeared in national, state and local publications. Governor Gina Raimondo appointed Him to the Rhode Island Advisory Commission on aging. Today, Herb’s weekly newspaper column appears in the Pawtucket Times and Woonsocket call, two North Rhode Island daily newspapers, and will now run in RINewsToday.com. Herb and his wife, Patty Zacks, reside in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
It’s now time to stamp out Antisemitism – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer The American Jewish Committee (AJC), one of the oldest nation’s Jewish advocacy groups fighting racism and antisemitism, calls on the Marriott Hotel company to apologize directly to Gil Ofarim, a popular German-Israeli singer who lives in Germany, for an anti-Semitic remark made by an employee. He was told by the check-in…
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Older adults still worried, coping with COVID-19 Delta, poll shows – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With the COVID-19 Delta variant numbers having surged across the nation, Joe (70) and Joyce (66), residing across the Rhode Island border in Seekonk, Massachusetts, continue to keep their distance from others, only seeing vaccinated friends and spending time with their daughter and her husband and grandchildren. During…
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Safeguarding ballot access for seniors – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The clock is ticking… It’s 399 days before the upcoming midterm elections. Following the Democrats winning the White House and taking control of both the House and Senate chambers, Republican-controlled state houses across the nation moved quickly to pass legislation on the voting process. The Republican lawmakers…
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Fixing rising pharmaceutical drug costs once and for all – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Fixing Rising Pharmaceutical Drug Costs Once and For All By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Just days ago, WBUR.org, Boston’s NPR News Station, featuring NPR News and Programs, aired a 45.37 minute program, “Steps to Fix America’s Broken Prescription Drug System,” clearly illustrating the need to fix America’s ailing prescription drug program. While Americans are…
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Nursing facilities gear up for October vaccination deadline – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Over a month ago, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to public health practitioners and clinicians about the urgent need to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage across the United States to prevent surges…
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“Gray voting block” watching Congress – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With recess ending, budget reconciliation begins in the House and Senate as lawmakers come back to Capitol Hill to begin crafting a budget. Last month a $ 3.5 trillion budget resolution bill was passed which gave instructions in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget resolution to allow up…
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A call to Congress to strengthen, expand Social Security & Medicare – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The 2021 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI)) and the Social Security Disability trust fund (SSDI), released last week, gives Congress this stark warning: the Social Security Trust fund is heading toward insolvency in 13 years while SSDI will…
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House passes Budget resolution – Seniors would benefit
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss During a late-night negotiating session held Monday, Aug. 23, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi mended fences and brought centralist Democrats, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), back to the fold. The next day, a united Democratic caucus adopted the Senate-passed $3.5 trillion budget resolution (S. Con. Res. 14) for fiscal year 2022, by a party…
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It’s time. Staff vaccinations required for nursing homes as 10 RI facilities see new COVID cases – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With the COVID-19 Delta variant spiking across the country especially among the unvaccinated, last Wednesday, President Joe Biden announced at an afternoon address at the White House that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will require nursing homes to require all workers to be fully…
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A Call for House Dems to Bring Back House Aging Committee – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Just days ago, Congressman David Cicilline, along with fellow lawmakers, Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Doris Matsui (D-CA), who serve as co-chairs of the House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, introduced H. Res. 583 to amend the rules of the House to establish a House Permanent Select Committee on…
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Update: Legislation submitted to reestablish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Cicilline, Schakowsky & Matsui Reintroduce Legislation to Reestablish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging U.S. Representatives David N. Cicilline (RI-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Doris Matsui (CA-06) reintroduced legislation to reestablish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging to examine the challenges and issues facing the growing aging population in America. This legislation has…
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AARP concerned for working caregivers. Advice from Dr. Michael Fine – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues After the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic initially shuttered the nation’s businesses over a year ago and with Delta variant cases now surging among the 50 percent of the population not fully vaccinated, AARP releases a 17-page report exploring the concerns of working caregivers about returning to pre-pandemic business…
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Your eyes, ears, and teeth are connected to your body – Medicare/Medicaid at 56 – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Over 56 years ago, Congress became actively involved in the health insurance business with President Lyndon Johnson signing the Social Security Amendments establishing Medicare and Medicaid. The bipartisan legislation creating a national health insurance program. It was introduced in March 1965, and was passed by large majorities…
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We can prevent “suicide by bridge” – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer Photo: top, Bryan Ganley As the General Assembly goes into recess until the fall, Rep. Joseph J. Solomon Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Warwick) sees H-5053, to require safety barriers or netting on the three bridges that connect Aquidneck and Conanicut Islands to the mainland of Rhode Island, as in hiatus. The bill…
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“There’s a New Sheriff in Town” at SSA – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
“There’s a New Sheriff in Town” at SSA By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Photo: Kilolo Kijakazi, Urban Institute President Joe Biden has asked two political holdovers from the President Trump’s administration, Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul and his deputy, David Black, who had previously served as the agency’s top lawyer, to resign. Saul…
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RI Law ensures teaching of Holocaust, Genocides in public schools – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer The Rhode Island Holocaust and Genocide Education Coalition (RIHGEC) has successfully pushed state lawmakers to pass legislation that formalizes a commission to implement a 2016 law to require public schools to teach students about genocide and the Holocaust. The 2016 law was introduced by Sen. Gayle L. Goldin (D-Dist. 3, Providence) and House Majority…
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AARP launches campaign to support Family Caregivers – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues AARP Launches New National Campaign Calling for More Support for Family Caregivers With caregiving costs skyrocketing, and with caregivers now estimated to be spending $7,242 annually out-of-pocket, AARP launches a national campaign to push for passage of the Credit for Caring Act. The Washington, DC-based aging advocacy…
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Tracking legislation of interest to seniors as RI General Assembly wraps up – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues In the waning days of the 2021 legislative session, RI House lawmakers approved a $13.1 billion state budget for the 2022 fiscal year (by a party-line vote of 64 Democrats to 10 Republicans) that boosts key supports for vulnerable Rhode Islanders — particularly affordable housing and social…
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The Slater Mill Field Trip: in the footsteps of Samuel Slater – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer In Pawtucket’s downtown, you will find historic Slater Mill, consisting of the Slater and Wilkinson Mill and the Sylvanus Brown House, sitting on five acres of land on both sides of the Blackstone River, a mill that celebrates America’s Industrial Revolution to generations of visiting students. Pawtucket resident Patricia S. Zacks…
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Seniors would benefit in President Biden’s $6 trillion budget
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer On May 28, with the release of a $6 trillion budget for fiscal year (FY) 2022, President Joe Biden outlined his values and vision as to how he proposes to revive the nation’s sputtering economic engine as it emerges from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 72-page budget…
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Using Savings from Drug Pricing Reform to Expand Medicare – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Ahead of President Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress on April 28 and as the Democratic administration considers policies to slash rising drug costs, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a 65-page report finding that the U.S. pays more than two to four…
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Rhode Island Senate must take a stand against hatred – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer “In recent days, we have seen that no community is immune. We must all stand together to silence these terrible and terrifying echoes of the worst chapters in world history, and pledge to give hate no safe harbor.” — Statement of President Joe Biden on the rise of antisemitic attacks,…
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One Year Later – Two Surveys Examine Impact of COVID-19 – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Over the year the raging pandemic has impacted on the physical and mental health of Americans. With daily COVID case counts now the lowest since last year and hospitals seeing less coronavirus hospitalizations, most states, including Rhode Island, are now opening up. According to the American Psychological Association’s…
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Voter reform must include accessibility for seniors and persons with disabilities – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues It’s over 540 days until the November 8, 2022 mid-term elections. The clock is ticking, say voter rights advocates, who are gearing up to push back at voting bills they see as restrictive being introduced at multiple state houses. As of March 24, 2021, GOP State legislators,…
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Congressman Cicilline poised for legacy as next fiery advocate on aging – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Picking Up the Mantle of Fiery Aging Advocate, Claude Pepper – Cicilline Moves to Re-Establish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Congressman David Cicilline is poised to offer a resolution to re-establish the House Permanent Select Committee on Aging, whose work came to an end in early January…
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Ron St. Pierre back on-air. “Ron & Jen’s Great Escape” positive podcast. – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Photo: Jen Brien & Ron St. Pierre By Herb Weiss, contributing writer One might say his career has come full circle from its early beginnings on a small radio station in Woonsocket, to programming and performing on air at popular Rhode Island radio stations, to serving as a sports anchor on television, as well. A…
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Time to resolve RI’s ongoing Nursing Home staffing crisis – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The latest release of AARP’s Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard shows that both cases and deaths in nursing homes declined in the four weeks ending March 21. Although these rates are improving, chronic staffing problems in nursing homes—revealed during the COVID-19 pandemic—continue. In Rhode Island, 30% of nursing homes reported a…
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Seniors with student loans: AARP’s new online tool to manage debt – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
AARP’s New Internet Tool Helps Seniors Manage Hefty Student Loan Debt By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging Over the years, AARP Public Policy Institute (PPI) has tracked the staggering amount of student loan debt that seniors are shouldering to help their children and grandchildren finance their higher education. Many people age 50 also take on…
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“Georgia on My Mind” – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues – opinion Protecting the Voting Rights of Older Adults Rewriting election rules has ramifications for voting accessibility of older adults. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Republicans now control 30 state houses with 18 being controlled by the Democrats, one legislature being nonpartisan. As the…
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Age Discrimination, Workplace Issues at House Hearing – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Just days ago, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) introduced, H.R. 2062, the bipartisan “Protection Older Workers Against Discrimination Act” (POWADA), a bill that would strengthen federal anti-discrimination protections for older workers. The legislation was…
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RI Senate Tackles High Cost of Prescription Drugs – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
by Herb Weiss, contributing writer Photo: Commonwealth Fund In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, as Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island General Assembly move to hammer out their Fiscal Year 2022 budget, Senate lawmakers push a package of eight legislative proposals to put the brakes on skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs. The Senate…
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Chronic Fraud Victimization an Escalating Problem – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Everyone has heard of the ago old proverb, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” After being tricked once, hopefully a person learns from one’s mistakes and avoids being tricked in the same way again. But for many victims of financial fraud,…
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Sen. Whitehouse Pushes to Protect Nursing Home Residents, Employees – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Whitehouse Pushes for COVID-19 Senate Proposal to Protect Residents, Employees By Herb Weiss As the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic approaches, U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) joins Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in introducing a legislative proposal to save lives of nursing home residents and employees…
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Dr. Teresa Chopoorian: McKnight’s Women of Distinction Award winner – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging After reviewing hundreds of submitted entries, an independent panel, composed of two dozen judges, selected 19 women, including Dr. Teresa J. Chopoorian, to be inducted into the McKnight’s Women of Distinction Hall of Honor as part of the program’s third annual class. Dr. Chopoorian serves as Vice President and Administrator of…
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AARP Tips on Shopping for a Financial Advisor – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues As a result of living in times of economic uncertainty resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic retirees are worried about how they can protect their hard-earned egg nest from the volatility of the stock market. It is even now more important to be working with a financial…
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Never forgetting will help us keep the promise of “never again.” – by Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Never forgetting will help us keep the promise of “never again.” By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues During a Pro-Trump rally, as thousands of rioters swarmed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, Robert Keith Packer, sporting an unkempt beard, came wearing a black hoodie sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz,” in white…
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Vaccine Decision – Getting to ‘YES’ – by Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Study Takes Look at Decision Making in Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging Last month, the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines came to Rhode Island. With limited stockpiles, debate in the state is heating up as to who gets priority in getting vaccinated. While many Rhode Islanders are waiting for…
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AARP: Vaccinate seniors now! Leaders respond. Add YOUR voice.
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The debate heats up as to how Rhode Island should distribute its limited stock of COVID-19 vaccine. Days ago, AARP Rhode Island urged state officials and lawmakers to put seniors on the top of the list to protect their lives. Older Rhode Islanders should be a priority…
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Ramping up COVID-19 Vaccine Plans
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging As state health officials say they are clamoring for more doses of COVID-19 vaccine, just days ago, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt there is no “reserve stockpile” of COVID-19 vaccine doses left to release to states, and all vaccine has now…
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COVID-19 and 2021: Looking into the Crystal Ball – by Herb Weiss
By RINewsToday |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases continue to surge across the nation. As of last Monday, nearly 18,986,236 Americans have contracted COVID-19 with over 331,930 dying, says the John Hopkins Coronavirus Research Center. Projection models say that deaths may spike to over 500,000 by March 2021. As 2021 approaches,…
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Older Voters Key to Georgia’s Senate Runoff Election – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
Photo: Atlanta Journal-Constitution By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues Both Democrats and Republicans know that the proverbial clock is ticking. It’s 15 days before the Georgia’s Senate runoff election scheduled for Jan. 15. At press time, 1,336,136 registered Georgia voters have gone to the polls, says the U.S. Election Project. The percent turnout of…
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Tackling surge of COVID-19 in Nursing Homes – Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer, aging issues Over the months, while public health officials watch the uptick in new COVID-19 cases, Congress releases two reports, one taking a snapshot of nursing home performance and resident deaths throughout the first eight months of the pandemic, and the other one sounding the alarm about the impact of COVID-19 on the…
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AARP Fights Consumer Fraud – by Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
AARP Continues its Fight Against Consumer Fraud By Herb Weiss Every year, fraudsters continue to operate government imposter scams falsely claim to be from federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, to get people to turn over money or personal information. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Americans continue to fall…
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COVID-19 Changes Way Americans Think About Retirement
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues The raging coronavirus pandemic is changing the fundamental way working adults think, plan and save for their retirement, underscoring the important role Social Security and Medicare play for retirees, according to the 2020 Wells Fargo Retirement study conducted by The Harris Poll in August. The annual research report examines the…
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The Impact of COVID-19’s Social Isolation on Seniors – by Herb Weiss
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging As COVID-19 cases continued to surge across the nation, AARP Foundation in collaboration with the United Health Foundation (UHF), released a report last month taking a look as to how the COVID-19 pandemic impacts seniors who find themselves socially isolated. According to the recently released report, “The Pandemic…
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AARP’s new COVID-19 Dashboard for national/local Nursing Home Data
By Herb Weiss |
AARP Gives a Dashboard Snapshot of COVID-19’s Impact on Nursing Homes By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging While public health experts are predicting a second spike of the COVID-19 virus, expecting it to hit the nation as early as – now – and reaching its peak in December, AARP releases its Nursing Home COVID-19…
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Social Security ‘21 COLA Increase Anemic
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging issues With the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) announcement of next year’s Social Security and Supplemental Security Income’s (SSI) meager cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), over 70 million beneficiaries will only see an increase of 1.3 percent in their monthly checks in 2021. Last year’s COLA increase was 2.8 percent, the…
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16 year olds and up: Be a Poll Worker – Shortages Threaten Elections
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer With spikes in COVID-19 cases occurring across the nation, causing concerns about the safety or health risk to workers staffing polling sites, AARP announces a new initiative to recruit persons of all ages for the upcoming presidential election to work the polling sites. AARP along with the Association of Young…
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Butterflies Bring Comfort in Time of Grieving
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging Susan feels “joy in her heart and complete happiness” whenever she sees a butterfly. A butterfly came into her life as she mourned her brother’s death in 1990. Before he died, she remembers her brother saying that he would come back as a butterfly. The 62-year-old Pawtucket resident…
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Senate Comm. on Aging: Impact of Isolation and Loneliness on Seniors During COVID-19
By Herb Weiss |
By Herb Weiss, contributing writer on aging As the COVID-19 crisis has shuttered businesses throughout the nation, state and federal health officials scramble to stop the spread of this deadly virus. As states begin to slowly open up their economies, a growing number of researchers are finding that mandated social distancing and isolation through self-quarantine may have…
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