GBO NEWS: Deadline Extended — Journalists in Aging Fellowship Applications, Aug. 23; AZ Republic’s Elder-Killing Heat Story; Why’s Workplace Ageism OK?; COVID Coping in Many Cultures; MacArthur Genius Anne Basting; Senior Singles; LTC Infrastructure; Aging While Black; & MORE
GENERATIONS BEAT ONLINE NEWS
E-News of the Journalists Network on Generations – Our 28th Year.
Aug. 9, 2021 — Volume 28, Number 8
EDITOR’S NOTE: GBONews, e-news of the Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), publishes alerts for journalists, producers and authors covering generational issues. If you have difficulty getting to the full issue of GBONews with the links provided below, simply go to www.gbonews.org to read the latest or past editions. Send your news of important stories or books (by you and others), fellowships, awards or pertinent kvetches to GBO News Editor Paul Kleyman. [pfkleyman@gmail.com]. To subscribe to GBONews.org at no charge, simply sending a request to Paul with your name, address, phone number and editorial affiliation or note that you freelance. For each issue, you’ll receive the table of contents in an e-mail, so just click through to the full issue at www.gbonews.org. GBONews does not provide its list to other entities.
In This Issue: Infrastructure? Every Hammer Bipartisan, Every Nail a Republican — Except in West Virginia and Nevada. (Any Nonpartisans in the People’s House?)
1. EYES ON THE PRIZE: *** Deadline Extended–Journalists in Aging Fellowship Applications, Aug. 23; *** Debra Krol Awarded for AZ Republic “Heat-Killing” Story.
2. THE STORYBOARD: *** “Why Ageism in the Workplace Still Seems to Be Okay,” by Rich Eisenberg, PBS Next Avenue;
*** “Your Messaging to Older Audiences Is Outdated,” by Hal Hershfield and Laura Carstensen, Harvard Business Review;
*** “Imagining a Better Way to Grow Old in America,” by Bryce Covert, The Nation;
*** “Retirement security ‘is shakier than ever’ and ‘Americans are not saving enough’ for old age,” by Alessandra Malito, MarketWatch
*** “Older Singles Have Found a New Way to Partner Up: Living Apart,” by Francine Russo, New York Times;
*** “Why Don’t We Pay Family Caregivers What They’re Owed?” by Monica Potts, New Republic.
3. THE STORYBOARD, TOO: Aging in many US cultures from the 2020-21 Journalists in Aging Fellows Program:
*** “How One Bangladeshi Family’s Lifeline of Support Was Disrupted by the Pandemic” (Part 1) and “Tag-Team Approach to Healthcare Teaches Older Adults in Bangladeshi Community During COVID-19 Pandemic” (Part 2), by Nargis Hakim Rahman, Tostada Magazine (English and Bangla translation);
*** “Protecting Elders in a Pandemic World” by Jatika H. Patterson, Atlanta Voice
*** “Farmworkers Work Hard: How Do They Age?” by Eduardo Stanley, Fresno Community Alliance (in English and Spanish);
*** “Aging While Black: The Crisis Among Black Americans as They Grow Old,” by Rodney A. Brooks, NAACP’s The Crisis Magazine;
*** “Mental Health of Asian Elderly in the Pandemic” — 4-Part Series by Melody Cao, SinoVision (segments from May 24 to June 29, 2021, in Chinese-language video with English subtitles, plus attached articles in both Chinese and English).
4. GEN BEATLES NEWS:*** Farewell to Beloved Freelancer Judi Kanne, RN; *** McArthur Genius & Author Anne Basting to Direct U of Wisc. 21st Century Studies Center; *** Author Stuart Greenbaum’s “Humble Sky” Elder Fiction; *** “Writing Data-Driven Stories Narratively” Course This Fall by SF Examiner Columnist Jaya Padmanabhan.
5. GOOD SOURCES: *** “High Retirement Anxiety For Millennials and Generation X,” by Dan Doonan, ED, National Institute on Retirement Security, Forbes; *** “Theater Beyond Age Limits,” by Max Taponga, Oregon ArtsWatch profile of ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center’s Bonnie Vorenberg; *** “Why Long-Term Care Needs Infrastructure Financing,” by Elder Justice Coalition advocate Bob Blancato, Next Avenue.
1. EYES ON THE PRIZE
*** Deadline Extended — Journalists in Aging Fellowship Applications, Now Due by Aug. 23: We’ve extended the opportunity to apply for our reporting fellowships on generational issues to Monday, Aug. 23. A collaboration between GBONews’ parent, the Journalists Network on Generations and The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the fellowship for both mainstream and ethnic/community media reporters, comes with a $1,500 stipend plus all expenses paid for travel to GSA’s Annual Scientific Meeting this November, pending COVID-safe options.
The 2021-22 Class will bring the total number of Fellows to about 200 reporters in all media formats. Fellows have, to date, generated nearly 720 stories across the spectrum of topics on aging, in English with many translated from their original Spanish, Chinese and others, most recently, Bangladeshi. (See “The Storyboard, Too” below.)
A full list of past fellowship stories with links is posted online. The roughly 150 media organizations that have participated in the program have ranged from such mainstream outlets as Politico, Slate, Washington Post and many national or regional NPR stations, as well as such ethnic/community news entities as The Root, Univision, Sing Tao Daily and La Opinión.
Although GSA plans to reconvene the conference in-person, in Phoenix, Ariz., Nov. 10-13, the association says it is “closely monitoring pandemic-related developments via the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and the City of Phoenix.” GSA has informed all participants that it “will ensure that appropriate measures are implemented based on the guidance of health and government authorities.” Our Journalists in Aging Fellows Program is preparing for multiple contingencies for the safety of all attendees, if necessary, should the Delta variant or related factor disrupt the in-person meeting.
As in previous years, fellows will be chosen both from general-audience media and ethnic or other minority media outlets, such as LGBTQ, disability or senior press that serve communities within the U.S. Staff and freelance reporters and who are interested in issues in aging are eligible. The fellowship program aims to support applicants’ proposed in-depth stories or series on any angle about aging in America from health care to the arts.
GSA’s conference, the largest academic conclave in aging, will attract 4,000 experts in aging from dozens of countries to attend hundreds of research-based sessions offering stories and sources on a wide spectrum of subject areas. The conference theme will be “Disruption to Transformation: Aging in the ‘New Normal.’”
The Fellowship application website includes complete information. Prospective applicants can also request further details about how to submit an application from Program Co-Director and GSA Director of Communications Todd Kluss at tkluss@geron.org or (202) 587-2839. For further details about fellowship requirements and potential stories, contact Program Co-Director and Journalists Network on Generations Program Coordinator Liz Seegert at liz@lizseegert.com or (718) 229-5730; or Senior Advisor Paul Kleyman, pfkleyman@gmail.com, (415) 821-2801.
*** Debra Krol Awarded for AZ Republic “Heat-Killing” Story: The Arizona Press Club honored Arizona RepublicIndigenous Affairs reporter, Debra Krol, with a 2020 Nina Mason Pulliam Environmental Prize for her exhaustive report headlined, “In Phoenix, Rising Temperatures Day and Night Kill More People Each Year,” published Aug. 26, 2020.
Krol, a past Journalists in Aging Fellow, begins the piece, “Jack Esry died alone in his home on July 25, 2019. As temperatures soared close to 110 degrees, Esry’s son Bill, who lived out of state, had worried that his aging father, who had already been injured in a serious fall, would be affected by the extreme heat. His dad’s air conditioning unit had failed and Jack had delayed getting it fixed. . . . Esry, 80, was one of a record 197 people in Maricopa County who died from heat-related causes in 2019.”
The article continues, “Over the past 30 years, heat has accounted for more fatalities on average than any other weather-related disaster in the U.S., according to the National Weather Service. And while heat deaths may be more acute in the desert city of Phoenix, the warming climate that helps drive them is not likely to leave any major American city unscathed. . . . And summers won’t grow more temperate any time soon. Climate change has increased the average temperature in Phoenix by 4.35 degrees since 1970, according to a 2019 report by Climate Central”. . . . Even Minneapolis, known as the coldest large city in the U.S., has seen a 3.72 degree temperature rise.”
Krol, also the Society of Professional Journalists Region 11 Coordinator, adds, “A report by the Union of Concerned Scientists said if warming proceeds without any action to reduce heat-trapping emissions, one-third of the nation’s 481 urban areas with populations of more than 50,000 people, including Phoenix, will experience an average of 30 or more days per year with a heat index registering more than 105 degrees.”
2. THE STORYBOARD
*** “Why Ageism in the Workplace Still Seems to Be Okay,” by Rich Eisenberg, PBS Next Avenue (July 23, 2021): Tag: “A chat with a researcher who found the younger people are, the more likely they hold ageist views of workers.” The website’s managing editor, Eisenberg followed up on a headline in Stanford University Business School’s Insights site, “Workplace Equality for All! (Unless They’re Old).” Social psychologists Michael North (NYU) and Stanford’s Ashley Martin “found that workers who openly oppose racism and sexism were still prejudiced against older workers.”
They based their study, published by the American Psychological Association, on interviews with 348 people. They learned, reported Eisenberg, “The younger people were, the more likely they were to hold ageist views on older workers. Little surprise that an AARP survey said 78% of older workers saw or experienced age discrimination in the workplace in 2020; in 2018, 61% did.”
Eisenberg asked North why he thinks ageism persists and is even be more pronounced among younger people who adamantly oppose racism and sexism. North, in his 30s, said, “The most direct way I can say it is ageism is socially condoned to a point where it’s not uncommon for folks to overlook it as a prejudice. I think people see a certain ‘truth’ to ageism that ‘making me feel young is normal.’ If you go to any local pharmacy, it’s quite socially condoned to see birthday cards that say, ‘Ha ha, you’re old now.’ I’m often taken aback how stand-up comedians and late-night talk show hosts make jokes about older people. And there’s really been no real backlash toward making those kinds of jokes. There hasn’t really been a huge, organized civil rights movement to combat this.”
North conceded, “There’s this sort of subtle tension where older adults are expected to step aside and get out of the way and stop creating this perceived logjam in the distribution of resources or jobs or positions of influence, so the younger generation can get their turn.” Yet, he said, “As the economy does well, younger and older workers all do well. As the economy does poorly, they all do poorly. Generations are not in direct competition with one another, even though it might seem that way.”
Addressing the “misguided” argument that older workers don’t perform as well as younger ones, noting that exceptions aside, “statistically, job performance does not decline with age.” North cited a Harvard Business Reviewpiece he co-authored with UCLA’s Hal Hershfield, titled, ‘Four Ways to Adapt to an Aging Workforce.’ He said, “They include things like offering flexible work arrangements and making certain ergonomic changes. It’s saying: We recognize that there is value in older workers.”
*** “Your Messaging to Older Audiences Is Outdated,” by Hal Hershfield and Laura Carstensen, Harvard Business Review, July 2, 2021: “Given a rapidly aging population, effective messaging to older people holds national importance for public health as well as marketing of goods and services. Older people make up an incredibly diverse demographic that varies in terms of physical and cognitive ability, economic power, and social connection, and market segmentation based on age is becoming futile.
“These messengers should instead focus on appealing to varying time horizons based on subjective age and perceived time left in life. To better reach older populations, the authors recommend three strategies: 1) Focus on emotionally meaningful material, 2) Prioritize the positive, and 3) Identify with the elderly — and ditch the stereotypes.” Hershfieldis UCLA’s Anderson Board of Advisors Endowed Term Chair in Management, and Carstensen, PhD, is the founder and director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.
*** “Imagining a Better Way to Grow Old in America,” by Bryce Covert, The Nation (July 26-Aug. 2, 2021): Tag: “If Americans approached aging and disability not as an individual crisis but as a collective responsibility, what kind of safety net could we build?” Although this is a fine article, GBONews’ editor would we’d love to see a subsequent piece that recognizes that the “collective responsibility” Covert hopes for also includes acknowledgement of the contributions by older Americans. That includes addressing the needs of seniors experiencing decline and their families, while also enabling older adults capacity to bring their knowledge, experience and productivity into the workplace and community settings — rather than shunting them aside en mass through discriminatory practices and ageist attitudes.
Oh, and don’t forget the joys that may come with later life. Yeah, the aches, pains and unnerving unexpected are all there, but so are the moments that make longevity so much worth celebrating widely – for the first time in human history.
“*** “Retirement security ‘is shakier than ever’ and ‘Americans are not saving enough’ for old age,” by Alessandra Malito, MarketWatch (Aug. 3, 2021): “Americans’ retirement security is unstable, and legislation focused on pensions, Social Security and other savings or healthcare concerns must be a priority for government officials, a group of 31 organizations wrote in a recent public letter to President Biden.
She goes on, “Companies, economic think tanks and other organizations signed a letter urging the president to create an inter-agency task force from some of the top government departments, including the Department of Labor, Department of Treasury, Securities and Exchange Commission and White House Gender Policy Council. The letter was signed by ADP, Edelman Financial Engines, Employee Benefit Research Institute and Prudential, to name a few.”
The story continues, “’The proverbial three-legged retirement stool is shakier than ever. Social Security and Medicare face financing shortfalls, while pension plans have largely disappeared for younger workers,’ the letter, published on the Bipartisan Policy Center’s website, stated. ‘At the same time, rising life expectancies, soaring health care and long-term care costs, and rock-bottom interest rates have created new risks to retirement security.’”
Malito quotes Jason Fichtner, VP and chief economist at the Bipartisan Policy Center, “We need to think more holistically, not just about retirement.” He pointed to crippling student debt, money management, familial and household responsibilities, use of credit, emergency savings when the unexpected occurs and everything else leading up to retirement.
On Social Security, William Arnone, CEO of the nonpartisan National Academy of Social Insurance, told Malito, “When you look at this objectively, the rational conclusion is that the Social Security program must do more to take the place of the missing pension.”
GBONews Memory Note: Oh, yes, government coordination on the needs of rapidly aging America. That was the point of the “Blueprint” developed by Fernando Torres-Gil, now of UCLA, when he was President Clinton’s first Assistant Secretary for Aging from 1993-97. Every federal agency was to have a plan to address the nation’s entirely predictable aging. Good idea! What ever happened to, you know, Benjamin Franklin’s “a stitch in time saves 9 trillion.”
*** “Older Singles Have Found a New Way to Partner Up: Living Apart,” by Francine Russo, New York Times (July 15, 2021): As we noted in the June GBONews.org, Russo is the author of Love After 50: How to Find It, Enjoy It and Keep It just released by Simon & Schuster. The NYT piece, as the story tag says, examines concerns that “a romantic attachment in later life will lead to full-time caregiving,” adding, “many couples are choosing commitment without sharing a home.”
*** “Why Don’t We Pay Family Caregivers What They’re Owed?” by Monica Potts, New Republic (June 17, 2021): Top line: Millions of people in the United States provide essential care for children, aging parents, or loved ones with disabilities. It shouldn’t be this hard to make it work. The lead; “Crystal Jackson and her husband live with their three-year-old son in rural Arkansas. Crystal’s husband, Keith, who is 39, was born with cerebral palsy and has had a growing number of health problems in recent years that threaten his independence. . . . His care needs continue to grow. ‘It’s a nonstop thing,’ Crystal said. ‘Literally. It is a nonstop thing.’”
Potts, an Arkansas-based freelancer, emphasizes, “Advocates are pushing more states to pay and support family caregivers, both to address the workforce shortage and to honor the work that family caregivers provide. Because the federal government is allowing the temporary funding to be used to pay family caregivers, and because the workforce effects of the pandemic linger, advocates argue this is a unique, urgent moment to act.”
The story notes, “In a 2020 AARP report, only 41 percent of caregivers reported their health as good or very good, a decline from 48 percent five years before, and nearly a quarter said their own health had declined or that they found it difficult to maintain their own health. Programs meant to support family caregivers, like counseling, training, and respite care, also face funding shortages and have waiting lists in many states.”
3. THE STORYBOARD, TOO
Following are pandemic and other tales of aging in many US cultures from the 2020-21 Journalists in Aging Fellows Program:
*** “How One Bangladeshi Family’s Lifeline of Support Was Disrupted by the Pandemic,” Part 1, by Nargis Hakim Rahman, Tostada Magazine (July 2021): Read Bangla Translation: Rahman follows a family caregiver who spent years caring for her children and mother, 85, in Greater Detroit’s Hamtramck community. She wrote, “In Bangladeshi culture, a typical household is made up of several generations under one roof, creating a crucial and sustained lifeline of support. . . . When the pandemic hit, that network of support was turned on its head when social distancing and stay-home orders made caring for loved ones in-person became an untenable task.”
* “Tag-Team Approach to Healthcare Teaches Older Adults in Bangladeshi Community During COVID-19 Pandemic,” Part 2, by Nargis Hakim Rahman, Tostada Magazine (July 2021 — Read Bangla Translation: “Typically, Farzana Noor, a nurse practitioner at the Children’s Clinic of Michigan in Hamtramck is accustomed to bandaging up cuts and scrapes, treating colds, and soothing fussing children getting their first shots. That all changed last year when the pandemic raged through the Bangladeshi community in Hamtramck.”
The story adds, “Noor, who is Bangladeshi American, found herself in familiar territory as many of the older patients were accompanied by their children to help translate care plans from English to Sylheti. . . . Language is a longstanding obstacle in diaspora communities, making everything from understanding utility bills to letters from teachers to public assistance correspondence difficult to navigate.”
*** “Protecting Elders in a Pandemic World” by Jatika H. Patterson, Atlanta Voice (July 2, 2021): “At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, two of the first regulations from the World Health Organization (WHO) were self-quarantining and social distancing. As many of us did our best to stay six-feet away from each other in grocery stores, jobs, walking the streets, that new regulation affected our abilities to care and watch over our aging population. . . . Karyne Jones, President and CEO of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aging expressed the importance of being able to lay eyes on loved ones living in nursing homes to ensure their safety and wellbeing.’”
*** “Farmworkers Work Hard: How Do They Age?” by Eduardo Stanley, Community Alliance, July 1, 2021: Stanley, editor of the Fresno-based Community Alliance newspaper in California’s Central San Joaquin Valley, wrote that older undocumented farmworkers “can’t cash in on Social Security even though they paid into it.” And, “Because jobs in the fields are classified as ‘unskilled work,’ farmworker income is low,” prohibiting most from saving for retirement.
Furthermore, “’Many farmworkers return to their hometowns as elders. Some own a property, and in some communities they are allowed to use the common land (or community land),’ says Gaspar Rivera, PhD, director of the Labor Center at UCLA.”
The story continues, “Since the 1980s, the face of immigrants has changed. The new wave of farmworkers don’t speak Spanish but rather any of the indigenous languages of southern Mexico. They come mainly from the state of Oaxaca, where 16 indigenous languages are recognized. The most spoken are Mixteco, Zapoteco and Triqui, languages you can hear on the streets of California cities such as Madera, Arvin and Greenfield.”
Many age prematurely from years of dangerous work from injuries and pesticide exposure done in extreme heat. Also, “This work produces ‘invisible’ long-term injuries, such as arthritis and chronic back pain. And exhaustion.”
*** “Aging While Black: The Crisis Among Black Americans as They Grow Old,” by Rodney A. Brooks, NAACP’s The Crisis Magazine (June 7, 2021): Tag: “After a lifetime of racial and health inequities, Black seniors are at risk of spending their last years with declining health, little income and virtually no savings.”
*** “Mental Health of Asian Elderly in the Pandemic” — 4-Part Series published
By Melody Cao, SinoVision (news segments run from May 24 to June 29, 2021): The stories are in Chinese-language video with English subtitles, plus attached articles in both Chinese and English: Part 1 — “Facing the Mental Health Crisis,” Part 2 – “Making Connection to the World” ; Part 3 – “Adding Safety Nets”; Part 4 – “Fighting Against Anti-Asian Bias”.
The 2020-21 Journalists in Aging Fellows Program was made possible by the following foundations: The Silver Century Foundation, The RRF Foundation; The Commonwealth Fund, The John A. Hartford Foundation, and the Gannett Foundation.
4. GEN BEATLES NEWS
*** Farewell to Judi Kanne: We were so sorry to receive an email about beloved freelance health care journalist and nurse from her husband, Barry Kanne, on July 28: “It is with deep sadness, that I must inform you that our wife, mother, aunt, friend, Judi Kanne passed away in her sleep early this morning at home, in hospice care.” He added, “While there were many factors contributing to her passing, among those was a recent diagnosis of Lewy Body Dementia.” She’d asked that memorial contributions in her name go to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.
A heartfelt obituary of Kanne is posted on the website of the Association of Health Care Journalists. AHCJ Board Member Jeanne Erdmann, head of its Freelance Committee, said of Kanne, who worked on the committee, “Her gentle demeanor and her enthusiasm kept many of our projects moving forward.’’ This editor got to know when she served as a 2019 Journalists in Aging Fellow.
Andy Miller, her editor at Georgia Health News, wrote in the AHCJ tribute that Kanne, who was 78, “dug into subjects with the knowledge of a nurse and the passion of a journalist. Combining both careers, her articles covered a fascinating range of topics: health literacy, essential oils, hospital laundry, paramedics and eating disorders. Some of her stories covered surprising medical breakthroughs, while others revealed the human side of healing.” She also wrote for Atlanta Senior Life and others.
*** McArthur Genius Anne Basting, creator of the TimeSlips programs on creative aging and dementia, takes over this fall as the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee’s director of the Center for 21st Century Studies. Basting’s most recent book is Creative Care: A Revolutionary Approach to Dementia and Elder Care, HarperOne, 2020. (See our review.) She said in an email, “It’s a tremendous opportunity to continue their groundbreaking work as a place that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, arts, and sciences.”
*** “A Wonderful ‘Humble’ Universe for Trying Days” is a rave review of the 72-page “polished novella,” titled Humble Sky [Ages of the Uninhibited Mind]. It’s the first fiction work by Sacramento-based author and media professional on aging, Stuart Greenbaum. In the review, Jim Berklan, executive editor of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, writes, “The sometimes sobering dialogue between Henry, the aging genius, and his caregiver Hanna reveals a sparkling relationship that all professionals should aspire to.” He goes on, “The dialogue between young and old, caregiver and patient, those rooted in reality and those trying to conquer their own new worlds, will all be oh-so-familiar to caregivers. Yet this story of struggle and enlightenment is anything but common.”
*** “Writing Data-Driven Stories: Using And-But-Then Narratively” is a Zoom reporting workshop by San Francisco Examiner columnist Jaya Padmanabhan, will run on Monday’s from Sept. 13 to Oct. 4, 5:30-6:30 Pacific Time. Padmanabhan, who’s also written for Forbes, Next Avenue, India Currents among others (and is a past Journalists in Aging Fellow), is offering the workshop through the well-regarded, San Francisco Writers Grotto. “Data sounds dull,” she says of the workshop, “but when used in an argument, an opinion, an analysis, a criticism, or as part of guerrilla journalism it becomes the engine that propels the story.” The course is designed for beginning to mid-level journalists, she says: “We will discuss where to find data to support stories, how to analyze and interrogate the data we find. Most specifically we will discuss how to convert hard facts, data, and research into a powerful human story. Students will leave with one data story of up to 1,000 words.” The tab $120. Contact: jaya.padmanabhan@gmail.com.
* Note to GBONews Hounds: Got a workshop going, a new book, new article published/broadcast/e-cast of interest to generations-beat scribes – drop an email to this editor: pfkleyman@gmail.com. Include essential information and a link. There’s no charge for “Gen Beatles News” we can use.
5. GOOD SOURCES
*** “High Retirement Anxiety For Millennials and Generation X,” by Dan Doonan, Forbes (July 30, 2021): Doonan, executive director, National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS),, writes, “Every two years, the National Institute on Retirement Security surveys Americans to measure their sentiment about retirement. The most recent polling again found that most Americans remain worried about retirement. More than two-thirds of Americans (67 percent) say the nation faces a retirement crisis. And, more than half (56 percent) are concerned that they won’t be able to achieve a financially secure retirement.”
Doonan cites findings by the Boston College Center for Retirement Research (CRR) that “half of U.S. households will not have enough income to maintain their standard of living in retirement even if they work to age 65.” Furthermore, his institute “asked Americans about the economic fallout from the pandemic on their financial future, and 51 percent said they are more worried about retirement. Among Americans who have changed or considered changing when they will retire, 67 percent say that because of COVID-19, they plan to retire later than originally planned.”
What’s more, he says, “The research also revealed that Americans are united across party lines about their retirement worries, despite the deep political divides that seem to engulf so many policy issues in the U.S. A wide swath of Democrats (70 percent), Independents (70 percent) and Republicans (62 percent) agree that the nation faces a retirement crisis.”
*** “Theater Beyond Age Limits,” by Max Taponga, Oregon ArtsWatch (June 9, 2021): Nice to see this local profile of senior-theater guru, Bonnie Vorenberg, founding director of the Portland-based ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center, the only US publishing company of plays and materials dedicated solely to older actors.
This editor has known Vorenberg for three decades and can attest to her diligent promotion of – and service to – the development of senior theater in every corner of the country, and beyond, according to the article — from Taiwan, Australia and – back in the USA, in Minneapolis. She told Taponga, “We have several shows in Spanish and French, but mainly English.”
Vorenberg, who has written on senior theater for media from the Wall Street Journal to the Los Angeles Times, is as good a resource as a reporter might find about the state of senior theater plays around the US and Canada, and where writer’s may find companies in their area. She also wrote the first directory of senior theater in North America, plus a handbook for developing senior companies.
Taponga wrote, “One beneficiary of Vorenberg’s work in senior theater is Arthur Keyser, 92, the author of many plays in ArtAge’s catalogue. A former Philadelphia attorney who retired to Sarasota, Florida, Keyser began writing plays at age 80. Today his plays have been performed all over the country and in the United Kingdom. “I am certain that my career as a playwright would never have happened if I had not met Bonnie Vorenberg,” says Keyser.
Those doing stories on elders in the arts may well look over her site and park her contact information in your contacts list: Bonnie L. Vorenberg, ArtAge Senior Theatre Resource Center phone: 503-246-3000; email: bonniev@seniortheatre.com; www.seniortheatre.com
*** “Why Long-Term Care Needs Infrastructure Financing,” by Bob Blancato, Next Avenue (July 13, 2021): Veteran Washington advocate for elders, Bob Blancato, says in this commentary that when it comes to aging Americans, what constitutes “infrastructure” is not a mere argument over semantics, but, as proved by the pandemic disaster in nursing homes, semantics, constitutes an “urgent and great” need. Blancato, nationalcoordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, and winner of the American Society on Aging’s 2020 Hall of Fame Award, wrote, “We are once again at a crossroads in the long and sometimes tortuous history of addressing the issue of long-term care and long-term services and supports in America. The need is as great as it ever has been, perhaps greater, and we now have some excellent proposals and related legislation offering solutions.”
He explains that President Joe Biden’s earlier $400 billion proposal for long-term care home and community-based services under Medicaid “was scuttled when a bipartisan group of Senators came to an infrastructure legislative compromise focusing on traditional infrastructure (money for things like highways and bridges) and not human infrastructure like long-term care.” That is, the hammer-and-nails bill likely being passed this week.
Meanwhile, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act to strengthen senior access to costly home health care workers. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), of the House Ways and Means Committee, produced what Blancato calls “one of the most transformative long-term care bills in years. It’s aptly called the WISH Act (Well Being Insurance for Seniors to Be Home Act) and would create a federal public-private partnership to provide long-term care insurance until they qualify for the Medicaid poverty program.
Blancato adds, “Perhaps things are changing. LeadingAge, a group of nonprofit providers of aging services, just released a poll which found that 85% of Americans agree that now is the right time to think about building a better aging services system. And 86% say the government must make a bigger investment in services and care for older Americans. Despite the broad-based support for building a better aging services system, the sad reality is that this is not a new issue.”
The Journalists Network on Generations (JNG), founded in 1993, publishes Generations Beat Online News (GBONews.org). JNG provides information and networking opportunities for journalists covering generational issues, but not those representing services, products or lobbying agendas. Copyright 2021 JNG. For more information contact GBO Editor Paul Kleyman.
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