Newsletters

"Stop Senior Scams" - July 22 - 10:30 a.m. - via Zoom

07/06/2021

 

To read this message as it was originally mailed out, click here.

Hi Everyone, 

Hope you had a wonderful Fourth!

We're writing to let you know about our next online meeting, coming up on Thursday, July 22 at 10:30 a.m., via Zoom.   The topic will be "Stop Senior Scams."  Appropriately enough, the featured performers will be the Stop Senior Scams Acting Program of Los Angeles. 

You may remember the Stop Senior Scams troupe from when they performed for us in person at the library two years ago.  The troupe uses theater to dramatize senior scams and educate older adults about the dangers of fraud and how to prevent it.  The performers, aged 65 to 100 years old, use skits to demonstrate their experiences and teach how to identify and stop elder abuse and scams that target older adults. Over the past year, they have successfully adjusted their program format to fit the parameters of Zoom, with fewer live skits and increased time for questions and answers about current scams.

The program, lasting about an hour, will be led by educator Ann Stahl, retired senior investigator with the Federal Trade Commission's western regional office.  In her 44-year career with the FTC, Ms. Stahl worked on a wide variety of consumer protection cases, and coordinated consumer education and outreach for the regional office.  

This is a free event, but you must register in advance.   To register, please email us. Within 24 hours, you will receive an acknowledgment of your registration. The Zoom link will be sent to you at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the meeting.

We hope to see you on the 22nd!  

Palisades Alliance for Seniors Board

Esther Brudo

Therese Funk

Claude Goodrich

Iris Kaphan

Steve Lantz

Christine Odionu

Ron Segall

Karen Stigler

in Meeting Reports, Newsletters |

04/10/2021

"Understanding Social Security" - April 22 - 10:30 a.m. via Zoom

 

To read this message in its original emailed form, click here.

Our next online program will take place on Thursday, April 22 at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom, and we hope you'll join us.  The topic is "Understanding Social Security."

Our speaker will be Jacqueline Zaragoza, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration.  She will answer questions and provide an overview of social security,  including retirement, Medicare, disability and survivor's benefits.  Ms. Zaragoza has been with SSA for 34 years and has held every position in  a field office and as an administrator. Most recently she was in management, responsible for 22 field offices.  

This will be a free event, but you must register in advance. To register to attend, please email us. Within 24 hours, you will receive an acknowledgment of your registration.  The Zoom link will be sent to you at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the meeting.  

If this were an in-person meeting, print materials would be provided; instead, Ms. Zaragoza has provided the following links to e-format reference materials regarding the different SSA benefit programs.  

in COVID-19 Newsletters, Newsletters |

03/08/2021

"Safe Driving: DMV, COVID, and Seniors" - March 22 - 10:30 via Zoom

To read this message in its original emailed form, click here.

This has been such a scary and unsettling period for everyone.  Enforced solitude has been necessary to keep us safe from the virus, but isolated from family, from friends, from community.  But things are starting to change....By now you may be partially or even fully vaccinated.  What does that change? Who can you see safely?  The CDC has issued new guidelines for those who are fully vaccinated.  If you are still debating whether to take the vaccine, this CDC article might be useful: "Key Things to Know About COVID-19 Vaccines." 

Our next online program will take place on Monday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom, and we hope you'll join us.  The topic is "Safe Driving: DMV, COVID, and Seniors." Our speaker will be Tressa Thompson, Senior Driver Ombudsman at the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  This will be the fourth time that Ms. Thompson has spoken to Palisades Alliance.  Attendees always appreciate her informative presentations and willingness to engage.   

The DMV’s Senior Driver Ombudsman Program was established to help all drivers maintain their driving independence for as long as they can do so safely.  The program strives to address specific concerns of senior drivers, including education and training, and to assist as a liaison to ensure that senior drivers are treated fairly and consistently when faced with changes in physical, visual and/or mental abilities.  Ms. Thompson will also cover DMV policy changes under COVID.   

This is a free event, but you must register in advance. To register to attend, please email us. Within 24 hours, you will receive an acknowledgment of your registration.  The Zoom link will be sent to you at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the meeting.

We're now able to provide Closed Captioning on Zoom.  A simultaneous transcript will run in the chat box during the program. 

in COVID-19 Newsletters, Newsletters |

02/01/2021

"What Is This Thing Called Grief?" - February 18 - 10:30 a.m. - Zoom

 

To read this message, in its original emailed form, click here. 

Hi Everyone, 

A new year, a new administration, the rollout of a new vaccine.  So much is changing, and yet at times the change seems unbearably slow. 

Palisades Alliance is having another online meeting on Thursday, February 18 at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom, and we hope you'll join us.  The topic is "What Is This Thing Called Grief?" It's a program that we originally had scheduled for last summer, and we're happy to be finally able to offer it.   It's a free event, but you must register in advance.

Please scroll down to:

  • Get information on the 2/18 program
  • Review tips on using Zoom
  • Find links to websites offering vaccine info and appointment registration
  • Learn about other online free events you may enjoy

FEBRUARY 18 ZOOM MEETING — 10:30 a.m. 

The topic of our meeting on Thursday, February 18 will be "What Is This Thing Called Grief?" Our speaker will be Joanne Weingarten, Psy.D., Senior Clinical Coordinator of Adult Programs at OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center in West Los Angeles.    

Grief is the single most common experience, yet in our country and in our communities, it is often ignored and overlooked, for any number of reasons. OUR HOUSE provides essential grief support for a universal experience that deserves heightened understanding and acceptance.   

At this program, together we will ask the question "What is grief?"  We will spend time reviewing the Worden task model of the grieving process, and we will discuss natural responses to grief. 

As the Senior Clinical Coordinator for Adult Programs at OUR HOUSE, Joanne Weingarten works with grievers as well as those providing grief support services.  Joanne attended Phillip’s Graduate Institute where she received her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Diversity. She has more than 19 years of clinical experience – ten of those years in community mental health, and five serving as a supervisor.  
 
The meeting will start promptly at 10:30 a.m. and run approximately one hour.  Please note that the speaker has requested that all attending have their video cameras turned ON.   Seeing each other's faces enables eye contact and helps everyone to feel connected, especially participants who may feel vulnerable sharing sensitive material. 

This is a free event, but you must register in advance.  To register to attend, please email us. Within 24 hours, you will receive an acknowledgment of your registration.  The Zoom link will be sent to you at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the meeting.

ZOOM TIPS
 
Some Palisades seniors are already experienced using the Zoom platform.  Others may not yet be comfortable with it. 
Here are some resources that may be useful:

VACCINES

In recent weeks there has been a lot of anxiety and confusion around vaccination access. Because supplies are limited and cannot be predicted far in advance, the availability of vaccine appointments changes rapidly.  

The county and city websites offer information and registration, as do providers like UCLA, Providence-St. John's, and Kaiser Permanente. A website called VaccinateCA offers crowd-sourced updates on which entities are scheduling vaccine appointments.  

It is clear that the present imperative to register for the large city and county vaccine distribution sites is difficult for seniors who are not technology-conversant or don't have help from family members or neighbors.  Another challenge is arranging how to get to a vaccination site that may be miles away or not easily accessible by public transportation.  Eventually as supplies increase, access to the vaccine should be more readily accessible at pharmacies and supermarkets, but for the moment the situation is fraught and frustrating.

OTHER EVENTS
 
A cornucopia of upcoming free online events that may be of interest.  Some are hosted in other time zones; times provided here are PST.
  • TOMORROW - Tuesday, February 2 @ 7:00 p.m. - Resilient Palisades Zero-Emissions Garden Workshop to discuss alternatives to gas leaf blowers. More info here. 
  • Wednesday, February 10 @ 4:00 p.m. - Pell Center presentation:  "Inoculating the Vaccines: Rumors, Disinformation and the Truth."  Register here. 
  • Friday, February 12 @ 1:00 p.m. - JFCS Center for Children and Youth: "Staying Connected to Grandchildren While Physically Apart."  Register here. 
  • Sunday, February 21 @ 11:00 a.m. - Morristown Festival of Books author talk featuring David Michaelis, whose new E. Roosevelt biography Eleanor was published in October. Register here. 
  • Sunday, March 7 @ 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - 3rd Annual Westside Safety & Preparedness Fair sponsored by Westside Neighborhood Council.  Learn from local experts how to survive a natural disaster. Register here.

Please stay safe. We invite you to check our website for resources and ideas during this stay-at-home period.

And we hope to see you at the Zoom meeting on Thursday the 18th!

Palisades Alliance for Seniors Board
Esther Brudo
Therese Funk
Claude Goodrich
Iris Kaphan
Steve Lantz
Christine Odionu
Ron Segall
Karen Stigler

in COVID-19 Newsletters, Newsletters |

12/03/2020

December 10 - 10:30 a.m. on Zoom - "Staying Connected with the Los Angeles Public Library"

To read this message in its original emailed form, click here. 

Hi Everyone, 

Hope you and your loved ones are holding up okay as we lurch toward the end of this tumultuous year.

Palisades Alliance is having another online meeting, this time with a speaker.  It will take place one week from today, on Thursday morning, December 10, at 10:30 a.m. We hope you will join us!

Please scroll down to:

AnchorDECEMBER 10 ZOOM MEETING — 10:30 a.m. 

The topic of our December meeting will be "Staying Connected With the Los Angeles Public Library." Our speaker will be Annie Cipolla, Senior Manager of the L.A. Public Library's John C. Fremont Branch.  

Learn how you can stay connected to others with programs and services available through Los Angeles Public Library.  Learn about dozens of Zoom programs that you can attend to learn about a new subject, join a book club, learn a new language or exercise or be entertained. Learn how you can still place holds on books, audiobooks and movies or download electronic materials. Learn about the power and possibilities of your library card.

You may already be familiar with Annie Cipolla, as she was previously the Young Adult Librarian at our own Palisades branch. In 2017, she was awarded the prestigious I Love My Librarian Award given out annually by The New York Times, The Carnegie Mellon Foundation and the American Library Association. 

Annie is a powerhouse who has transformed the Fremont Branch into a community hub, sponsoring multiple workshops, reading groups, performances, talks, language lessons, and tutoring. When the pandemic began, she moved all that programming online. She'll teach us how to access it, and more.

The meeting will start promptly at 10:30 a.m., and run approximately one hour, including a 15-minute small-group discussion period following the lecture program. 

To register to attend, please email us. Within 24 hours, you will receive an acknowledgment of your registration.  The Zoom link will be sent to you at 9:00 a.m. the morning of the meeting and will be posted on our website at the same time.

We will open the Zoom meeting room a half hour early — at 10:00 a.m.   If you are not comfortable using Zoom, please arrive early to allow time to resolve any tech challenges that may arise. 
 
ZOOM TIPS
Some Palisades seniors are already experienced using the Zoom platform.  Others may not yet be comfortable with it. 
Here are some resources that may be useful:

AnchorONLINE HOLIDAY EVENTS

Here are three interesting upcoming online gatherings:  
  • Sunday, December 6 @ 1:00 pm PST - Handel's Messiah presented by the Duke University Chapel.  Free, but must register  in advance. 
  • Sunday, December 13 @ 3:00 pm —  Skirball Hanukkah celebration premiering on YouTube  RSVP recommended; RSVPs will be taken through Friday, December 11, 12:00 pm.  Click here for information and registration link.
  • Friday, December 18 @ 8:00 p.m. — "A Winter's Solstice" Santa Monica College Planetarium online program.  Invitation link will be posted on SMC Planetarium website the previous day. "We’ll discuss the history of various ancient observances of the Winter Solstice, and how they have evolved and melded with our later Judeo-Christian holidays....We’ll also have a look at a re-creation of a remarkable planetary conjunction in 2 BC—a leading candidate for a scientific explanation for the Star of Bethlehem."  

AnchorCHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS FOR HOLIDAY GIVING

Here are some worthy Los Angeles area nonprofits:

AnchorAND FINALLY...SOME PET STORIES

Our last newsletter included a call for readers' tales of pets that have been important to them.  We thank George and Shirley Coleman and Ron Segall for the following stories.''
George and Shirley Coleman and Ollie  


For years we owned Doberman Pinschers, but as senior citizens we realized it was time for a doggy downsize.

So 18 months ago we set out on our search, but at the first animal shelter they had only chihuahuas and pitbulls. Same thing at the second, and the third, the fourth and the fifth.

When presented with the same choices at the sixth, we were glumly headed out the door when we bumped into a rescuer coming in, arms full with two Bassett hounds and a little bundle of grey curly hair. We did an about-turn, and an hour later Ollie, the five-year-old grey terrier mix, was ours (in spite of being warned by a volunteer that adopting a dog right away was like getting married on the first date!)

The three of us are still happily married!
 
Ron Segall and Bella - El Medio Bluffs

Dog owners generally devote much energy toward training their pets.

My tiny Yorkie, Bella, devoted her energy into training me. She also trained her canine walking companions to bark at every mailman.

We lost Bella on St. Patrick’s Day, 2020, after 15 1/2 years of joy and beautiful memories.

 

Please stay safe. We invite you to check our website for resources and ideas during this stay-at-home period.

And we hope to see you at the Zoom meeting on Thursday!

Palisades Alliance for Seniors Board
Esther Brudo
Therese Funk
Claude Goodrich
Iris Kaphan
Steve Lantz
Christine Odionu
Ron Segall
Karen Stigler

in COVID-19 Newsletters, Newsletters |

Mailing Address

  • P.O. Box 1082, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272

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