Accessibility in the News- February 2, 2024

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Jack McElaney

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Feb 1, 2024, 10:19:14 PMFeb 1
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Accessibility in the News- Knowledge is Power

Crafted while listening to: Africa - Angel City Chorale & Ave Maria- Kings Return & Oh Happy Day - The South African Youth Choir & Let the Sunshine, Aquarius - Hair

 

 

“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” ― Oprah Winfrey

 

 

National News (U.S.)

 

1.    NYC needs fully accessible schools. Families like mine depend on it – January 26, 2024 Source: Chalkbeat

 

Josh and I were excited, planning for a child. I was not a happy pregnant person, but at each appointment, I was assured that the baby was growing well. Each sonogram declared he was “perfect.” After an uneventful full-term birth, our son Abey was born 8 pounds, 8 ounces. Within four months we knew he had challenges. At a year old, Abey did not sit, eat, grab a toy, or look at my face. We had not planned for Abey’s disabilities, but in the months and years that followed, we became well-versed in therapies, doctor’s appointments, feeding tubes, seizure medications, and wheelchairs…

 

2.    Grief, disability and a musical for people who can’t go to a theater- January 27, 2024 Source: The Washington Post

 

It takes just listening to Suzanne Richard, Lisa Sniderman and Jessica Wallach speak for a few minutes to realize the project the women are working on is ambitious and unique. They describe it using phrases such as “disability justice,” “radical accessibility” and “a model for the metaverse.” But the project started in a simple and universal way: with grief. As Sniderman tells it, toward the beginning of the pandemic, it occurred to her that she had never grieved for how her disabilities changed her body and identity…

 

3.    NJ offers grants to improve accessibility for deaf, hearing impaired- January 27, 2024 Source: NorthJersey.com

 

New Jersey's Department of Human Services announced $600,000 in grants Thursday for counties that come up with new ways to be more accessible to New Jerseyans with hearing loss. This initiative, targeting the eight counties that did not receive funds in a previous round, aims to enhance public spaces with assistive hearing devices, captioning and American Sign Language interpreters, following 2022's allocation of $944,000 to 13 counties…

 

4.    UT Austin astronomers create device to make upcoming eclipse more accessible for blind community- January 29, 2024 Source: KVUE & UT News - The University of Texas at Austin

 

Astronomers at Harvard University have created a device that aims to making the upcoming total solar eclipse more accessible to the blind and low-vision community. Harvard astronomers first started The LightSound Project around six years ago, with the prototype developed for the 2017 solar eclipse. One device was sent to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and two devices in Kentucky, at Morehead State University and the Kentucky School for the Blind…

 

5.    Census Weighs Overhaul Of Disability Questions- January 29, 2024 Source: Disability Scoop

 

The U.S. Census Bureau says it received thousands of comments after proposing major changes to the way it counts the number of Americans with disabilities and is deciding whether to finalize the plan. The agency put forth a proposal in October to update its American Community Survey, which included substantial modifications to its disability questions. Under the plan, the series of six disability questions would be reordered, reworded and a new question would be added to ask about psychosocial and cognitive disability as well as problems with speech…

 

6.    Find solace in the outdoors: Ice fishing tournament for disabled veterans, others- January 30, 2024 Source: Detroit Free Press

 

Michigan Operation Freedom Outdoors, a nonprofit agency that helps disabled veterans and others with health challenges to find comfort in nature, is hosting the inaugural Michigan Iced Over ice fishing tournament in Gaylord on Saturday, Feb. 10. Any angler is invited, but unlike others, the tournament offers action-tracked wheelchairs to help individuals with accessibility accommodations cross the ice and participate in the sport. While it may be their first ice fishing tournament, it's far from the first time that the organization has changed the nature of outdoor recreation to make it possible for individuals in a wheelchair…

 

7.    Justice Department Secures Agreement with MedStar Health Inc. to Provide People with Disabilities Equal Access to Medical Care- January 30, 2024 Source: Department of Justice & The Washington Post

 

The Justice Department announced today that it filed a complaint and proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to resolve allegations that MedStar Health Inc., a leading health care provider in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons…

 

8.    Vella-Wilkinson Bill Would Require Accessible State Websites- January 31, 2024 Source: Warwick Post

 

Legislation proposed by Rep. Camille F.J. Vella-Wilkinson would require that state agencies provide accessible state websites for people with disabilities. The legislation (2024-H 7159) would require that all newly created websites for state boards, divisions, bureaus, commissions and agencies comply with the latest accessibility standards set by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium. Existing state sites would have until July 1, 2026, to come into compliance…

 

9.    More accessible homes and stronger community ties: The impact of visitability- January 31, 2024 Source: Input Fort Wayne

 

When you make plans to visit a friend, family member, or neighbor, what logistics do you consider? Perhaps you wonder how long it will take to get there. Maybe you consider your schedule and how much time you can spend there. But what if, before you visit, you had to consider if there are any steps to get to the front door? What if you had to wonder how wide the front door is or how wide the doorways are inside the house? What if you had to consider that your time visiting with friends, family, or neighbors might be limited because you can’t access a restroom in their home?...

 

10. 'People shouldn't be discriminated against': St. Pete woman fights for wheelchair-accessible bathrooms- January 30, 2024 Source: ABC Action News

 

One St. Petersburg woman is taking action and taking on local governments when it comes to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and now she's getting results. Ever since a motorcycle accident in 2002, Kim Rankine hasn't let her disability define her. "I was in a coma for over a month. I'm lucky to be alive," she said. "Since then, I've been in this wheelchair." And since then, she's lived a life without limitations. That was until she tried to use the bathroom at Bay Vista Park in St. Pete on one of her weekly walks with her husband…

 

11. Shoppers With Visual Disabilities Denied Equal Access to Walmart.com, Class Action Claims- January 31, 2024 Source: ClassAction.org

 

A proposed class action claims Walmart has violated federal law by failing to ensure that its website is fully and equally accessible to consumers who are blind or have vision-related disabilities. The 22-page lawsuit was filed by two Minnesota consumers who are legally blind and navigate the internet by relying on screen-reader technology, which reads the content of a webpage to users. The plaintiffs allege that Walmart.com, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), contains numerous “digital barriers” that block users of screen-reader software from fully accessing important website content that is readily available to sighted consumers…

 

12. Clovernook teams up with museums across the country to make art more accessible- February 1, 2024 Source: WVXU

 

Museums have been working since the 1970s to improve accessibility for visitors with disabilities. But in some cases, the producers who are contracted to create accessible materials may lack the expertise to design the optimal product, according to Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The center has been working with cultural institutions across the country to improve the museum-going experience for people with disabilities. In its Braille Printing House, individuals who are blind and visually impaired are involved in every step of the production process designing accessible braille and tactile graphics…

 

13. New bill would stop disability discrimination in self-driving cars – February 1, 2024 Source: AZCentral

 

A bill in Congress is aiming to ensure people with disabilities have access to autonomous vehicles. U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., and Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., introduced the Autonomous Vehicle Accessibility Act, which aims to make autonomous vehicles accessible for people with disabilities. The bill would bar states from requiring licenses for people using autonomous vehicles in a way that could discriminate against people with disabilities. This means that a person who has a disability would not be required to have a driver’s license to ride independently in a vehicle that is operating fully autonomously…

 

14. Casey, Moran Introduce Legislation to Remove Language Denigrating People with Disabilities from U.S. Code- February 1, 2024 Source: Senator Bob Casey

 

U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, joined Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) – his fellow co-chair of the Congressional Down Syndrome Task Force – to introduce legislation that would update U.S. code by eliminating the words “mentally retarded” and replacing it with language that better respects the dignity of individuals with disabilities. Companion legislation was introduced in the House last April by Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)…

 

 

Jack Fact — According to data from the National Institute on Deafness, only about 20% of all people with hearing concerns get help for their condition. In fact, it takes about seven years on average for individuals to pursue intervention once they start having hearing difficulty.

 

 

Hit The Road Jack — Tui releases accessibility guides to 200 hotels & 3 tips I found helpful when finding accessible hotel rooms & Accessible Fuengirola

 

 

International News

 

1.    Wheelchair users call for accessible beaches: 'Can you imagine the freedom?'- January 26, 2024 Source: RNZ News- Australia

 

The beach day is a Kiwi classic - but for people in wheelchairs, accessible beaches are few and far between. Wheelchair users and their families are calling on the government to invest in making public places, like beaches, accessible to everyone. Travelling anywhere in or out of Auckland requires weeks of preparation for Kimberly Graham, whose son Finlay, has cerebral palsy. On a hot day, she heads to Takapuna beach - one of the only beaches in Auckland they can access…

 

2.    A new map shows which Metrolinx stations are accessible. Advocates say they'd rather have accessible transit- January 27, 2024 Source: CBC- Canada

 

Metrolinx has introduced a map showing accessibility features at it stations to make it easier for people with disabilities to navigate transit across Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area — but some advocates say that does nothing to remove barriers. The digital map was created in partnership with AccessNow, an app that allows users to rate and share information about public places based on how accessible they are. Under the new partnership, Metrolinx is providing information about GO Transit and UP Express stations, like whether there are elevators, audio aids, or PRESTO machines with Braille, so that users can plan transit rides based on their needs…

 

3.    Ayodhya temple consecration: Missed opportunity to emphasise that accessibility matters- January 28, 2024 Source: The Indian Express- India

 

“Beyond temple construction, let’s pledge to build a capable, resolute, magnificent, and divine India,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the Ram temple consecration. However, what was missing in this historic speech was the concept of a “Sugamya” (accessible) Bharat. Ironically, the PM had launched the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan (Accessible India Campaign) in 2015, with deadlines that have now lapsed. Parliament had also passed disability legislation with a deadline of June 15, 2022, to make all places accessible to people with disabilities…

 

4.    Opening access to senior roles for people with a disability- January 29, 2024 Source: SBS News- Australia

 

Ross Chaplin works as an associate director at an independent tenant advisory company in central Sydney. He also lives with a disability. Chaplin is one of very few Australians with a disability who hold a senior role. While more than two million people in Australia of working age have a disability, only half are employed, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. "Very few" of those reach board level, enter politics or hold other senior roles according to Australian Disability Network CEO Corene Strauss…

 

5.    New rental property portal 'must include accessibility info' say campaigners- January 30, 2024 Source: LandlordZONE- UK

 

Disability rights groups have called on the government to include information about accessibility for disabled people on its new property portal due to go live next year. They want details about how many properties can be adapted with relative ease and at low cost, as well as information about available grants, and say landlords should complete a short questionnaire about accessibility when homes are registered through the portal – due to launch this year as part of the Renters Reform Bill…

 

6.    Severe accessibility shortcomings for PwDs detected at VVIP guest house- January 30, 2024 Source: Morung Express- India & Nagaland Page

 

An Accessibility Audit Inspection of the newly constructed and inaugurated VVIP Guest house at Chümoukedima was conducted on November 11, 2023 as mandated under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 and standards prescribed by the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universally Accessibility in India 2021. The inspection which was led by State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) Diethono Nakhro and accompanied by Aaron Patton, Commandant 1 NAP Bn from the Police Department and Engineers, Police Project detected severe accessibility shortcomings…

 

7.    Accessible by design: how CERN Science Gateway exhibitions are tailored to people with visual impairments- January 31, 2024 Source: CERN- Switzerland

 

Since opening in October, CERN Science Gateway has welcomed almost 100 000 visitors. Among these was a group of around 50 people from the Association pour le Bien des Aveugles et malvoyants (ABA), the reference association in Geneva for blind and visually impaired people, who toured the exhibitions on 28 November. ABA has worked with the CERN exhibitions team since 2019 and this was the chance for its members, including some visually impaired members, to see the fruit of this collaboration…

 

8.    Diverse Artists, Diverse Audiences- January 31, 2024 Source: ArtReview- UK

 

The social model of disability says that what disables people are the barriers in society, not their impairment or difference. In the arts, disability access is often dealt with in practical terms, box-ticking the list of basic needs that a public space should cover – ramps, disabled toilets, lifts, corridor widths, light levels and hanging heights – but the scope of accessibility extends beyond physical adjustments and delves into the nuanced realm of communication. Access is also the translation of sensory experiences from the visual art into language, audio or text and vice-versa…

 

9.    Department of Community Development partners with Aldar Properties to enhance accessibility to services and facilities on Yas Island- January 31, 2024 Source: Media Office-Abu Dhabi

 

The Department of Community Development (DCD) - Abu Dhabi, and Aldar Properties have signed an agreement to form the People of Determination and Elderly Inclusive City Project across areas in Abu Dhabi to enhance accessibility and inclusivity. Yas Island will be the first piloted area where planning will take place in 2024 and the implementation scheduled for 2025. The agreement was signed by Her Excellency Dr Layla Al Hayas, Executive Director of the Community Development Sector at the Department of Community Development and Faisal Falaknaz, Group Chief Financial and Sustainability officer at Aldar Properties…

 

10. Accessibility advocate calls on Winnipeg to prioritize sidewalk snow-clearing- January 31, 2024 Source: CBC- Canada

 

At least one Winnipegger is taking issue with a recent comment by a city councillor suggesting residents have been "spoiled" by sidewalk snow-clearing. On Tuesday, the city's standing committee on public works voted against recommending a motion put forward by Coun. Matt Allard that would have required clearing of sidewalks and active transportation pathways in the city at the same priority as roads. Some councillors on the committee voiced concerns about how the city would pay for that work. Coun. Janice Lukes, the committee's chair, said the bottom line is everything "comes with a price."…

 

11. Rider fed up with lack of improvement in Regina's accessible transit service- January 31, 2024 Source: CBC- Canada

 

Jamie McKenzie says the City of Regina needs to improve the transit services it offers to people with a disability or risk him filing a human rights complaint. McKenzie, who uses a wheelchair, said he has experienced repeated issues with the city's services. He is frustrated that city council has delayed a decision on creating a centralized dispatch, a policy he believes would improve accessible transit services in the city. "How would you like that, knowing that you might have to be stuck taking the city bus because you can't get a taxi and the sidewalks aren't clean," McKenzie said in a recent interview...

 

12. The Urdd commits to improve Eisteddfod accessibility and ensure a festival for all- February 1, 2024 Source: Nation Cymru- Wales

 

Urdd Gobaith Cymru has committed to ensuring that the National Urdd Eisteddfod will be a more accessible festival for competitors and visitors in future. As a result of a new partnership with Disability Arts Cymru and theatre company Taking Flight, the Urdd strives to improve the accessibility of its artistic events, including the Urdd Eisteddfod festival’s site, which attracts 76,000 competitors every year. To help put improvements in place, the Urdd is searching for young members to join its new Accessibility Forum, with support from the Arts Council of Wales…

 

13. Empowering inclusive journeys: TfL’s vision for assisted transport in London- February 1, 2024 Source: Intelligent Transport- UK

 

Transport for London (TfL) provides assisted transport services in London, in line with the Mayor’s Transport Strategy and TfL’s goals and objectives. We provide safe and reliable transport services for older and disabled Londoners. Essentially, the key component of our service is to provide an end-to-end customer user experience, which means that, when a new member joins our service or becomes eligible for the service, they get the support that they need to make their journeys. We provide transportation services from their doorstep to the locations that they would like to travel, enabling our customers to maintain their independence…

 

14. Government urged to use new ‘portal’ to ‘shift balance of power’ on accessible housing- February 1, 2024 Source: Disability News Service- UK

 

The government must ensure that accessibility information is included on a new online “portal” that will offer key facts about properties being rented privately by landlords, say two disabled people’s organisations. The government plans to set up the new privately rented property portal (PRPP) service through its renters (reform) bill, which has reached the report stage of its progress through the Commons. Under the plans, all landlords in England will have to register themselves and their properties on the portal but the government has yet to decide what information they will have to make publicly-available…

 

15. Disability activists call for accessibility strandards for Kiwi tourism attractions- February 2, 2024 Source: Newshub- Australia

 

Finlay Butcher is a 19-year-old Kiwi whose main excitement in life is exploring the sights that New Zealand has to offer with his family. But because Finlay lives with cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, he's often not able to join in on activities on family trips. He often has to be lifted by two people to do most tasks as accessibility standards are so low. Finlay's mum Kimberly Graham told AM as her son has gotten older, the things he can do have gotten "even more limited"…

 

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If you know of any others that would benefit from my newsletter please forward this email to them or have them subscribe at Accessibility in the News. If you have missed any of my Accessibility Statements or past issues of Accessibility in the News please see all of my archived issues since 2016.

 

Jack McElaney                                                                                                                                          

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