Stories from May, 2026
Stories from May, 2026
A Granny Basketball League exhibition game was played at the Anthony Community Center in Visalia on April 10, on the last day of the Visalia Games. The game, which featured members of two league teams, the California Poppies and the Oakdale Broncos, was arranged by Barb Trammell, founder of the 800-player league with teams representing 57 cities in 11 states and one Canadian province, and Holly Ellis, Visalia recreation supervisor. Several Tulare County residents who were...
Attendance was higher for the 2026 Visalia Games than it was last year at the Visalia Senior Games, but according to the numbers, that was mainly the result of more seniors competing this year than last. Track and field events had about 70 competitors, all but two were over 50 years old. This was a total increase over last year, according to City of Visalia Parks and Recreation staff, who noted that 20 athletes over 50 signed up to compete on the day of the games. Track and...
Kaweah Health's newest outpatient clinic opened April 23 at the Tulare/Akers Professional Building on the corner of Akers Street and Tulare Avenue. Known as the Kaweah Health Medical Clinic Akers, the new clinic offers primary care and other services. The clinic will serve patients in the area while also helping recruit new physicians. Kaweah Health CEO Marc Mertz explained that one challenge with recruiting more physicians to the area is the lack of contemporary clinic...
As part of ongoing efforts to protect patients and safeguard public health programs, approximately 80 surveyors and investigators from CDPH, DHCS, CDTFA, and partner agencies conducted compliance reviews at a Van Nuys location subject to "viral" videos regarding hospice care. Assemblywoman Alexandra M. Macedo (R-Tulare), spearheaded the discovery of the rampant fraud at this "ground zero" of hospice care fraud. While online claims pointed to numerous hospices tied to...
On Monday, April 20, six residents of Quail Park on Cypress in Visalia experienced the "flight of a lifetime" as they soared above the city in a fully restored Boeing Stearman biplane. This special event was hosted by Dream Flights, a non-profit organization dedicated to honoring military veterans and seniors with 15-minute flights in the same aircraft used to train U.S. Navy and Army pilots during World War II. This year's participants included a distinguished group of...
Receiving a high-dose flu vaccine is associated with a significantly lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease than a standard-dose vaccine in adults aged 65 and older, according to a large observational study published in Neurology. The findings add to a growing body of evidence linking vaccination, and possibly immune system activity, to reduced dementia risk. In the retrospective cohort study, researchers led by a team at the McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston analyzed health data from roughly 165,000 older adults...
In a recent study, researchers found that exercise and aggressive cardiovascular risk reduction successfully improved heart health, but these efforts did not produce measurable cognitive benefits over two years in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease. In "Effects of Exercise and Intensive Vascular Risk Reduction on Cognitive Function in Older Adults - A Randomized Clinical Trial," published in JAMA Neurology, researchers, including Dr. Jeffrey Keller of Pennington...
John Galvin knows he needs a colonoscopy. But he's waiting to schedule the procedure until December, when he turns 65 and qualifies for Medicare. He was already thinking about delaying it - then his monthly Obamacare insurance premium payment tripled this year to $2,460, about a third of his income, he said. And with a $2,700 deductible, he'd be on the hook for most of the diagnostic exam, a financial hit he said he couldn't stomach. "It was going to cost close to $3,000,"...
A National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study that followed adults age 65 and older over 20 years has linked a specific cognitive training regimen to reduced diagnoses of Alzheimer disease and related dementias. While the authors assessed three different kinds of training, only one, which challenged participants with rapid object detection tasks, was associated with a 25% lower rate of dementia diagnosis, as indicated by Medicare claims data. "This study shows that...
Worse financial well-being in midlife and older age - and declines of the same over time - are associated with lower memory scores and faster cognitive decline, reports a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. The population experiencing significant financial deterioration showed memory decline equivalent to roughly five additional months of aging per year. The study is among the first to examine the cognitive consequences of poor...
Family caregivers now provide more than $1 trillion worth of labor each year in the United States, according to a new AARP report. Most of this work is unpaid, yet it forms the backbone of the nation’s long-term care system that is essential to helping millions of older adults live independently at home. At $1.01 trillion annually, family caregivers represent a major economic force, yet this care often comes at significant cost to caregivers’ health, financial security, and well-being. “Family caregivers are holding...
We all know, in the abstract, that life is unpredictable. But most of us still put off the uncomfortable conversations and decisions that come with that reality. The truth is getting your financial and legal affairs in order isn’t just for the elderly or seriously ill — it’s something every adult should handle long before it feels urgent. Because when the unexpected happens, the difference between having a plan and not having one can mean everything for the people you...
There is nothing new about having fun. People have been doing it for hundreds, if not thousands of years. I doubt that the desire for it will ever disappear. Let's hope it doesn't. Life would be terrible without it! Fun, of course, comes in all sorts of shapes and forms and is enjoyed by all age groups. Today toddlers enjoy peek-a-boo, youngsters love to ride tricycles and bicycles, young adults look forward to hanging out at Starbucks, and older adults enjoying sipping wine...
Older Americans are planning for a big year of travel in 2026 despite persistent cost concerns, according to new AARP research. The latest Travel Trends report shows travelers age 50 and older are not only planning nearly four trips, but also embracing new tools, including AI, to stretch their travel dollars further than ever. The latest findings show that nearly two-thirds (64%) of adults age 50-plus expect to travel in 2026, continuing the strong demand seen in recent...
The story of this spring is definitely the brilliance and abundance of flowers in our gardens and in our wild lands. But have you noticed the foliage also seems especially vigorous and healthy? Along with my plants, native and exotic, birds, reptiles, amphibians and insects in my garden all seem to make the most out of this perfect beautiful spring weather. Planting Try to finish planting in the ornamental garden before summer weather arrives. You can plant water-loving...
The California Department of Aging wrote the guidelines below for those who write or plan to write for the department. Despite the fact that probably very few of you have plans to write for the CDA, you can probably benefit from considering some of the common mistakes that people make when talking to or about older adults – even those of you who are older adults. One of the responsibilities we have in communicating with our audiences is to avoid using terminology and...
You've probably heard about the amazing things artificial intelligence (AI) can do, from quickly creating written content and images to making videos that appear real, even when they're fake. Unfortunately, this easily accessible technology is also used by fraudsters to fool people into sharing personal information, investing in fake schemes, or giving scammers their money. When AI technology is so good at faking - and personalizing - scams, what can consumers do to protect...
The residents of Quail Park Shannon Ranch celebrated an upgrade to their community's outdoor life with the official ribbon-cutting of their newly renovated dog park on March 25. Recognizing that pets are often the heart of the home for seniors, the community enhanced the park, located on the west side of the senior living community, to provide a more accessible, safe and engaging environment for residents and their companions. The celebration brought together residents,...
Adventist Health Hospice invites community members to a Memorial Butterfly Release and Service of Remembrance at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 16, at the Evan’s Riverside Home, 31411 Road 180, Visalia. This free event offers families and friends an opportunity to honor and remember loved ones who have passed. The ceremony will include a collective butterfly release, which symbolizes hope, transformation and the enduring presence of those held dear. Attendees will also experience a thoughtful service of remembrance designed to...
Question: I am going to be 75 this year and I would like to know if there is anything I can do to keep myself from getting forgetful. Are you finding yourself going to the refrigerator, opening it and staring blankly into it because you forgot what you were looking for? That is very normal, just go back to where you were before you went to the refrigerator and it will trigger the memory of what you went there for in the first place. That is normal brain aging. It is normal to get forgetful as we age, but there are things...
Sallie Smith in "Sallie's Ashes" doesn't know how to retire. "When I see something that's a problem, it tends to call my name... and once it's done that, I need to see it through," the 80-year-old from Alabama admits." The problem now is threatening her beloved Mobile Bay. Alabama Power's "Plant Barry" – Southern Alabama's largest coal-fired power plant – has been depositing its waste ash into an unlined pit next to the plant for decades. It's a ticking time bomb; if the...
For those who prefer a stranger and more surreal movie, "The Old Man and the Parrot" may be for you. In the film, Praxi breaks into the home of spiritual guru Radel with a taxidermy parrot and a pistol. His threat? "Get my lover's soul out of this stupid bird's body now!" Unfortunately, Radel is recovering from a stroke that has affected his ability to speak and it's up to his estranged and reluctant daughter, Ana, to deal with Praxi's absurd demand. The movie travel through...
Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said, “I’ll be back.” This was quipped as the futuristic artificial-intelligence cyborg, the T-800, from the 1984 movie "The Terminator." Arnold indeed stayed true to his word. Artificial Intelligence, or AI, as it has become, is definitely now here. While we have yet to see the T-800, AI is making its presence felt. AI tools, ChatBots, Chat GPT, Gemini and many others have become more intertwined in our day-to-day lives. And the VA is no...
