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 LightHouse News: Monthly Edition
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LightHouse News Table of Contents:Sidebar Items:
-Adaptations New Year's Clearance Sale-Paid Traineeship at the LightHouse
-Swap Shop
Please let us know what you think! To submit
feedback about this newsletter, please send an email to publications@lighthouse-sf.org.
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1. Invitation to Participate:
Oral Argument in the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeal to Discuss Audio
Description in Movie Theaters
To members of the blind community in the Bay Area
interested in audio description in movie theaters:
On Wednesday, January 13th at 9:30 a.m. in San Francisco there
will be an oral argument in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal
in a
an important case regarding the rights of movie-goers with
visual and hearing impairments.
The appeal challenges a 2008 District Court decision out of Arizona
holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not require
theaters to install descriptive video equipment. The federal district
court in Arizona also ruled that captioning is not required for deaf or
hard of hearing movie patrons. Harkins Theaters is the movie chain
being sued for refusing to provide captioned and audio described films.
If you are interested in attending the hearing, please
contact Lisamaria Martinez, LightHouse Public Affairs
Coordinator, at lmartinez@lighthouse-sf.org, or visit http://lflegal.com/2009/12/harkins-amicus/ for more information.
The argument will be held in Courtroom 2 on the
3rd floor of the Federal Court building, at 95 Seventh Street (corner of 7th and Mission), San Francisco,
CA 94103
Time: 9:30 on Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Court Phone: (415) 355-8000
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2. Caltrans, Disabled Rights Advocates
Applaud Agreement
to Improve Access To Pedestrian Facilities For
the Disabled:
$1.1 billion Committed for Improvements to State Facilities
Sacramento -
Caltrans has reached an agreement on the settlement of a class action lawsuit
filed by Californians for Disability Rights (CDR) and California Council for
the Blind (CCB) to improve access to pedestrian facilities such as curbs and
sidewalks for persons with disabilities.
The proposed settlement agreement was submitted to the
federal court. The court must preliminarily approve the terms of the
agreement and then conduct a hearing before it is binding. There will be a
public notice period, and all interested parties and the U.S. Department of
Justice will be given an opportunity to review the settlement and provide input
to the court. Final court approval of the settlement is not expected before April
2010.
"This settlement is a win-win. It is a victory for all
Californians - taxpayers and the disability community who have a right to equal
access to all walkways," said Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger. "It would be inexcusable to continue to delay these
modifications. Instead of debating this through the legal process for the next
decade, costing millions of taxpayer dollars, we are taking action to get this
work completed."
The terms of the settlement include the following:
· Caltrans will
spend $1.1 billion for barrier removal work and other improvements on sidewalks
and other pedestrian facilities over a 30-year period.
· Caltrans will
ensure that all pedestrian and park and ride facilities under its jurisdiction,
which are newly constructed or altered after the date the settlement is
approved by the court, are fully compliant with federal and state access
requirements.
· Caltrans will
ensure that temporary routes, which are provided around and through
construction along pedestrian facilities under its jurisdiction, are accessible
to persons with disabilities when provided.
"Caltrans is committed to addressing the mobility needs
of all Californians and takes seriously its responsibilities under the Americans
with Disabilities Act," said Caltrans
Director Randy Iwasaki.
The action, filed under the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA),
alleged that Caltrans discriminated against persons with mobility and/or visual
disabilities by denying them full and equal access to sidewalks, crosswalks,
park and ride lots and other pedestrian facilities owned or maintained by
Caltrans. The lawsuits were filed in both federal and state court in 2006 and
2008.
To view a copy of the settlement agreement, click on the
following link:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/Documents/Master_Stipulation_and_Settlement_Agreement.pdf
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| 3. Friends of Charlie Fundraiser
On Saturday
February 27, 2010 at the Twin Peaks Tavern in San
Francisco, the LightHouse will host the
annual Friends of Charlie benefit for
Enchanted Hills Camp (EHC).
Friends of Charlie started in 2004,
when a few people raised money to send their friend Charlie Wilson, who was
losing his vision, to Enchanted Hills Camp for the first time. Of that first
camp session, Charlie said, "I told some people when I came back
that it was one of the best weeks I spent in my life and I will never forget
it."
As the seniors that make up Charlie's group of friends grew, so too did the support for this fun
and inspiring event. Over the last five years, Friends of Charlie has become
one of the premiere fundraisers for EHC, raising $9,000 last year!
Next
summer, EHC will be marking its 60th anniversary. We hope we can
count on you to send Charlie and his good friends to EHC in 2010 and help us
celebrate this important milestone in EHC's history.
Please consider supporting Friends of Charlie by
donating raffle or silent auction items, providing a donation in support of the event or joining us on the 27th.
For more information about Friends of Charlie, please contact Jennifer
Yeagley at the LightHouse at (415) 694-7333 or email jyeagley@lighthouse-sf.org.
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| 4. Mega Self Defense Program for the Visually Impaired at
the Lighthouse
A self defense curriculum specifically catered to the
requirements of the visually impaired has been developed by Stephen Nicholls
and Alan Gutsell. The Mega Self Defense Program ("Mega" means eye in Japanese)
is uniquely different from other self defense programs. Most programs follow a
general curriculum and slightly adapt it for a visually impaired class, but the
Mega Self Defense program was designed from the ground up to teach techniques and cover issues specific to a visually
impaired person. What do you do in a situation where you cannot make a quick
get away to safety? How do you defend and target your attacker if you cannot
see them? What are the laws and issues that protect you and allow you to defend
yourself? These are among some of the issues that a blind or visually impaired
person must deal with in a potentially dangerous situation.
Stephen and Alan have been working with the visually impaired community to develop the program over the past three years. The program
has become successful in England
and parts of Europe. Now the program is coming stateside
to California. The LightHouse will be hosting workshops using the Mega Self Defense curriculum
taught by instructors who have been personally certified by Stephen Nicholls.
To find out more about the Mega Self Defense Program, go to http://www.enablingsafety.co.uk/
To find out when the next Mega Self Defense workshop will be
held at the LightHouse, contact Philip by phone: (415) 694-7372 or by email: pkum@lighthouse-sf.org
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5. Invitation to Participate:
HumanWare demonstration at the LightHouse for BrailleNote Apex
Please
join Kevin Hughes and Damian Pickering from HumanWare at the LightHouse for a
hands-on introduction to the exciting new BrailleNote Apex. Learn all about the
thinnest, lightest notetaker available, and get answers to your questions about
any of the full range of HumanWare's innovative blindness products.
When:
Thursday, February 18, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Where: The LightHouse, 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco
Light refreshments will be provided
to those able to attend in person.
You may join us by phone by calling 1-877-228-2883,
Guest Listener Code: 6247
Please RSVP TO: 800-722-3393 EXT. 219, or
e-mail: damian.pickering@humanware.com
by Monday, February 16. We hope to see you there!
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6. Tech Tidbits
*Driftwood Audio Entertainment writes games for the blind. The first game to result from this is
Entombed, where players face obstacles as they try to extricate themselves from a deep and uncomfortable dungeon into which they have been thrown. The game
is in beta and is free. http://www.blind-games.com/
*An accessible YouTube page
has been created. The page works best with later versions of screen readers and features
keyboard shortcuts for playing and controlling videos, as well as increased control
over the screen display for low vision users. http://tube.majestyc.net/
*Google has an
accessibility page, which features tips for accessing the many programs and
services Google offers and recent blog posts about increased accessibility. http://www.google.com/accessibility
*Google is seeking
participants for a usability study to help them test the accessibility of their
products for people with impaired vision. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEFpUm5NQjA5QVdVcGJ0Y195b3h3bmc6MA
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7. More Audio-described Films on DVD and Blu-Ray
Universal Pictures Home
Entertainment has become the second studio to commit to releasing films on DVD and
Blu-Ray with the DVS track created for their release in theaters. Universal was
the first studio to allow their movies released in theaters to be closed caption and audio-described. Now the studio is taking
that commitment one step further. The first Universal DVD to include the DVS
track was released on October 13 (Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell). Disks are available wherever DVDs are sold or available
for rent, audio description is an option under special features on a disk's
menu. Here
is a full list of DVD and Blu-Ray titles to be released that are expected to
include the DVS track.
Available now!
Land of the Lost
(Universal)
The Taking of Pelham One,
Two, Three (Sony)
The Ugly Truth (Sony)
Bruno (Universal)
Funny People (Universal)
Julie and Julia (Sony)
Public Enemies
(Universal)
District 9 (Sony)
...and more to come!
For more information visit http://www.mopix.org.
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8. Insights Closes This Week
After more than three months, the 20th Insights exhibition at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall will be closing this Friday, January 15th. If you have not yet seen this 120-piece exhibition of works by 38 artists who are blind or visually impaired, there are just three days left!
Don't miss this year's inspiring audio tour, tactile section and stunning work recognized in the New York Times! We're grateful to everyone who helped make this show a success.
City Hall is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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9. Mark a Special Occasion by Donating to the LightHouse
Birthday? Anniversary? Special Occasion?
Donating to the LightHouse is the perfect gift!
Supporting the LightHouse is a heartfelt way
to honor those you care about. Just click on this link to get to our donate form. If you wish, we will send an acknowledgement to those you wish to honor,
or their families.
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Monthly Edition
January 2010
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The LightHouse relies on the support of donors to make a difference
in the lives of thousands of blind, deaf-blind and visually impaired
individuals each year. Please donate now.
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Adaptations
Clearance Sale!
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New Year's Clearance Sale!Save 50% on select discontinued items! Choose from a variety of sunglasses, watches and magnifiers, while supplies last. For more information contact lpeters@lighthouse-sf.org. |
Paid Traineeship at the LightHouse
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The
LightHouse is looking for candidates to fill traineeship positions for the
Spring 2010 semester. Our goal is to develop your professional skills and help
you learn new ones in an experience that will help you reach your employment
goals in the future.
A potential trainee must be blind/visually impaired, and must have an open case with the
California Department. We are looking for people who are self-motivated, hard-working, and
punctual. Positions to be filled may include Sales Associate, Receptionist and Business Development Associate. We hope to find the one that best fits you!
Please contact Philip
Kum at
the LightHouse by e-nail: pkum@lighthouse-sf.org
or by phone: (415) 694-7372. | |
