Accessibility in the News — 7/12/2024.

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Feature Stories

New Class Action Lawsuit against AccessiBe

July 10, 2024 | Source: Lainey Feingold- LF Legal & Lawsuit (PDF) & ClassAction.org

On June 24, 2024 Tribeca Skin Care, a small skin care dermatology practice in New York City, filed a class action lawsuit against overlay company AccessiBe. Relying on AccessiBe’s promises about accessibility and ADA compliance, Tribeca purchased a 1-year subscription to AccessiBe’s “AccessWidget” at an annual subscription fee of $490 in August 2022. The subscription was renewed in August 2023. In January 2024 Tribeca Skin Care was sued in a class action complaint alleging that its website (with the AccessiBe overlay installed) did not comply with ADA requirements…

National News (U.S.)

Blind artist who was told “you don’t look blind” has a mission to educate: “All disabilities are a spectrum”

July 2, 2024 | Source: CBS

Paul Castle, a blind author and illustrator, has come face to face with a number of misconceptions about blindness. “He blinks. He can’t be blind.” “His eyes aren’t white.” Some appear as comments on the social media pages he started with his husband, Matthew. But in a recent interaction at a Seattle restaurant, Castle and his guide dog, Mr. Maple, were denied entry because an employee didn’t believe Mr. Maple was a real service animal. The man was suspicious of Castle because it appeared he was making eye contact with him, Castle said…

FCC: T-Mobile US unit gave blind customer the runaround in massive tech support fail

July 5, 2024 | Source: The Register

In January 2021, Kenneth Geaniton, a blind consumer who subscribed to the Lifeline service provided by T-Mobile US offshoot Assurance Wireless, found he couldn’t access the service after his feature phone died. But according to an order handed down this week by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), that was just the beginning of a three-year journey that allegedly included months-long pauses in service provision, required Geaniton to make multiple calls to customer service to perform simple functions, and much back and forth with inappropriate devices being sent…

‘Huge Responsibility’: The youngest U.S. Paralympic Archer to compete in Paris is from the Austin area

July 7, 2024 | Source: KXAN

Jordan White, 15, from Cedar Park beat out the 2020 Paralympic archery gold medalist for a spot on the team. Jordan has only been competing in Paralympic archery for a little over a year. White has an intense level of focus when he practices on a family friend’s property in Williamson County. There’s a level of precision when he aims every shot at the target. “Archery is not a sport of finesse,” Jordan said. “It’s about repetition…It’s taken a lot of dedication.”…

I’m a doctor. Biden’s debate performance led me to a very different takeaway

July 7, 2024 | Source: MSNBC

Following President Joe Biden’s troubling performance at the presidential debate with Donald Trump, Democrats have been consumed by a frenzied dispute around which candidate should replace Biden on the November 2024 ballot. But I came away from the debate with a different takeaway: How does the United States treat its aging population? Despite advancements in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, ageism remains one of the last socially acceptable prejudices, not so subtly ingrained in our culture, media and institutions. Age is inescapable. It comes for all of us, if we’re lucky…

Double-A club’s innovative partnership a boon for low-vision community, and team

July 7, 2024 | Source: MLB- Red Sox

Randy and Sarah Bellavance love coming to Double-A games here at Hadlock Field. This year — the second year the diehard Portland Sea Dogs fans have had season tickets — their local ballpark feels more welcoming than ever. The Bellavances, a married couple who are both blind, typically take in the on-field sounds in front of their seats near first base while also chatting with the fans around them — lots of whom have become friends — while one of them listens to the Sea Dogs’ radio broadcast and relays key information to the other…

The Most And Least Accessible Cities In The U.S.

July 8, 2024 | Source: Forbes

If you’re part of the 12.1% of U.S. adults with a mobility disability, you know the importance of accessible design.[1] From smart home modifications to restaurant layouts to transportation options, some U.S. cities stand out when it comes to accessibility for all while others leave much to be desired. Whether you’re planning travel for fun or a cross-country move, feeling comfortable in the space you temporarily or permanently call home is vital to your overall well-being…

Sununu signs bill requiring accessible voting machines in every town

July 8, 2024 | Source: New Hampshire Bulletin & Democracy Docket

New Hampshire cities and towns will be required to provide accessible voting machines for all elections after January 2025, according to a bill signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu this month. House Bill 1264, signed by Sununu July 3, states that every municipality must “ensure that each polling place has at least one accessible voting system” during every election. And it creates a pilot program requiring the Secretary of State’s Office to share those machines with towns and cities in spring 2025…

Wheelchair accessibility lawsuit against Lyft begins in White Plains Federal Court

July 8, 2024 | Source: News12 & CBS

A landmark class-action lawsuit against ride-sharing company Lyft, alleging discrimination against wheelchair users, began Monday in White Plains Federal Court. The lawsuit, filed by a White Plains woman and the nonprofit group Westchester Disabled on the Move, seeks to force Lyft to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs) nationwide. The suit argues that Lyft’s current system, which only offers WAVs in select cities, including New York City, creates an unnecessary barrier for millions of wheelchair users across the country…

Synagogues are starting to remove stumbling blocks for people with disabilities

July 8, 2024 | Source: The Jewish Chronicle

The other day, the rabbinic couple at our shul generously invited me and others to Shabbat lunch. “We have a minhag (custom),” the rebbetzin announced at the table. “Everyone must share either a good news story or a complaint. Complaints are especially encouraged!” Not being one to gripe, initially I was nonplussed by the invitation to kvetch, but once my fellow guests had gamely chipped in on such familiar pain-points as the weather and communal bureaucracy, I found an apt topic for a sociable whinge, with a silver lining: accessibility…

Disneyland new limits on disability access has parkgoers upset, calling for change

July 8, 2024 | Source: Fox Business

It has been three months since Disney announced changes to disability access for guests at its theme parks, and now some disabled guests are demanding action. The changes went into effect May 20 at Walt Disney World in Florida and June 18 at California’s Disneyland. Disability Access Service (DAS) is a free service that allows those with disabilities to get a return time for attractions rather than wait in a standard line. It used to be much easier for guests to get DAS accommodation, but now, those who previously enjoyed the greater accessibility are being left out…

Why some disability advocates say the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act is disingenuous

July 8, 2024 | Source: KJZZ

Utah Senator Mike Lee is championing legislation he says will make the outdoors more equitable to everyone. It’s called the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act and it involves building more roads on public lands. The move comes after the Bureau of Land Management announced road closures near Moab last year, and off-roading enthusiasts sued. Now, the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act would make the BLM and the Forest Service update travel management plans — prioritizing accessibility…

Supreme Court Ruling May Upend Disability Rights Protections, Advocates Fear

July 8, 2024 | Source: Disability Scoop

Countless federal regulations ensuring the rights of people with disabilities to everything from health care to community living could face legal challenges after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a 40-year-old precedent. In a ruling issued late last month, the high court said that courts should no longer defer to the interpretation of federal agencies in situations where laws are ambiguous. The decision in the case Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo throws out the court’s 1984 ruling in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which has shaped how federal agencies have gone about their work for decades…

‘Wall Street Journal’ sued by star reporter for discrimination

July 9, 2024 | Source: NPR

A disability discrimination lawsuit filed Tuesday by a veteran reporter who left the Wall Street Journal in late spring accuses the paper of seeking to shed staffers who incur significant health care costs by invoking “trumped up performance issues.” The suit, from former Journal health care reporter Stephanie Armour, follows waves of layoffs directed by Editor in Chief Emma Tucker at a time when the corporate parent News Corp says the paper has enjoyed several years of record profits…

Employees With Autism Find New Ways to Navigate the Workplace

July 9, 2024 | Source: The New York Times

When Chelsia Potts took her 10-year-old daughter to a psychologist to be tested for autism spectrum disorder, she decided almost as an afterthought to be tested herself. The result came as a surprise. Like her daughter, Ms. Potts was diagnosed with autism. Ms. Potts, 35, thought she might have had anxiety or some other issue. A first-generation college student, she had earned a doctor of education degree and risen through academia to become a high-level administrator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio…

IRS Should Ensure Customer Service Enhancements Are Accessible for Taxpayers with Disabilities

July 9, 2024 | Source: Taxpayer Advocate Service

The IRS is in the midst of reinventing itself by offering taxpayers several new customer service options, including: Expanding document digitalization; Implementing chatbots to assist taxpayers; Adding more customer service representatives; Expanding the use of online taxpayer accounts; and Conducting a direct file pilot program. These enhancements will undoubtedly provide better customer service to taxpayers, but the IRS must design them so they will be accessible to all, including the 42 million Americans with a reported disability as of the 2021 census…

Generative AI can aid accessibility, but it’s not perfect, NASCIO paper warns

July 9, 2024 | Source: StateScoop

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers on Tuesday published a paper recommending that state government leaders take care when using generative artificial intelligence to aid people with disabilities. The association’s paper — How States Can Improve Generative AI’s Role in Disability Empowerment — notes that generative AI can be helpful to states in solving challenges of digital accessibility, particularly as they strive to meet an April mandate by the U.S. Department of Justice that all states meet new accessibility rules for their web and digital content…

Mai Thor works at the intersection of inclusivity and accessibility

July 10, 2024 | Source: MPR News

Mai Thor is a Hmong woman and refugee from Laos who contracted polio at a young age and dedicates much of her time to being a disability justice advocate. Thor became a Bush fellow in 2021 and studied ableism, disability culture, history and law. Thor’s work focuses on disability justice and its intersections with social justice and racial justice movements. Growing up as a disabled woman in an immigrant community, Thor explains the ways in which she has faced ableism and stigma…

Congestion pricing advocates say Gov. Hochul’s pause breaks MTA station accessibility promises

July 10, 2024 | Source: CBS

A rally was held in Brooklyn On Wednesday calling for Gov. Kathy Hochul to restart the congestion pricing program in order to fund vital MTA projects, like making subway stations more accessible. CBS New York spoke to people with disabilities struggling to get around at the Nostrand Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and in a span of just 10 minutes saw a woman with a cane trying to navigate the stairs, a mother lugging a stroller, a traveler with a suitcase, and met Ruth Peters, who spoke about her mobility issues…

66% of Audiences Are ‘Unsatisfied’ With Disability and Mental Health Representation in Entertainment, Survey Finds

July 10, 2024 | Source: Variety

Inevitable Foundation‘s latest survey has found that audiences have expressed “dissatisfaction” with disability representation in the entertainment industry. The “Audiences Are Waiting for Hollywood to Greenlight Disability” report, which surveyed over 1,000 people about the current state of disability and mental health representation on screen, found that 66% of audiences are “unsatisfied with current representations of disability and mental health in film and TV.”…

Boston is changing how it collects data on disability

July 11, 2024 | Source: GBH

The city of Boston is rolling out new guidelines for how it serves residents with disabilities. “This is a big change in our policy for the city,” said Disability Commissioner Kristen McCosh. The new guidelines suggest that city departments ask about accommodation needs rather than a person’s disability. “Previously, we [the city] would ask about what type of disability somebody had. It could be blind, deaf, someone with mobility impairment or cognitive disability,” McCosh said…

Jack Fact — The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 22.5% of people with a disability were employed in 2023, the highest recorded number of employed persons with disabilities since researchers began data collection in 2008. The findings also note a 1.2% increase in disability employment since 2022.

Hit The Road Jack — Accessibility – SF Bay Area Water Trail & The Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts: Accessibility Features & North Dakota Prioritizes Accessibility in Statewide Tourism Attractions & NY DEC announces new wheelchair-accessible sites

International News

How the War in Gaza Makes Life Nearly Impossible for Disabled People

July 2, 2024 | Source: Mother Jones- Gaza

Last December, UNICEF reported that two and a half months into Israel’s offensive in Gaza, at least a thousand children lost one or both of their legs. As more Palestinians become disabled, their risks expand. A United Nations committee warned in May of “the disproportionate impacts on people with disabilities due to the destruction of hospitals, the cut-off of essential services, restrictions, [and] non-existing access to humanitarian assistance” amid the war waged in response to Hamas’s attack on October 7th…

Hyderabad Government Dental College Faces Accessibility Issues Amid Leadership Controversy

July 4, 2024 | Source: Telangana Navanirmana Sena- India

The Government Dental College in Hyderabad, the only state-run dental institution in Telangana, has faced significant challenges due to non-functional lifts, affecting both patients and students. This lack of accessibility has been a persistent issue for over six months, forcing patients, including those with disabilities, to struggle up the stairs to receive medical care. For the past six months, the lifts at the Government Dental College in Afzalgunj have been out of service, causing immense difficulties for patients, particularly those who are disabled or elderly…

Sliding Doors Moments That Led Riders To Paralympic Selection

July 4, 2024 | Source: Paralympics Australia

Australia’s Para-equestrian team for Paris 2024 features riders in four of the five Paralympic classifications, but they face a mighty challenge to return Australia to the medal dais. Australia hasn’t won a Paralympic medal in equestrian since 2012 and, though the setting will be spectacular for the Paris event, the competition will be fierce. “Para-equestrian, after a brief appearance in 1984, came back into the Paralympic Games in 1996 and with each cycle the standard has improved each time,” said Nick Hunter, Equestrian Australia’s High Performance Para-Equestrian Lead…

Canadian accessible reading resources evolving despite braille book famine

July 4, 2024 | Source: St. Albert Gazette- Canada

It’s called the great book famine. Many visually impaired people do not have the same access to newly released books according to the Association of Research Libraries, and only seven per cent of books are published with accessibility options. But despite the data, according to The Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA), reading resources for visually impaired and disabled Canadians are growing by the day…

Disability advocates to rally for boosted federal benefit

July 4, 2024 | Source: CBC- Canada

Disability advocates are set to gather in downtown Toronto Thursday morning to not only mark the historic win of the Canada Disability Benefit, but to gather support in improving it for people with disabilities. Brad Evoy, one of the organizers behind the rally, says they’ll kickstart the morning by making posters and listening to advocate speeches before rallying in front of federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office…

How brands can make accessibility a bigger part of their customer strategy

July 5, 2024 | Source: Mumbrella- Australia

Approximately 4.4 million people in Australia, or one in six, identify as having a disability. Adding to this, a sizeable portion of the population, which includes seniors and individuals with low literacy levels, qualifies as vulnerable customers. Whether they are impacted by financial hardship, poor health, or a recent negative life event, these groups – made up of all kinds of ages and backgrounds – are regularly disadvantaged when trying to access everyday services…

Disabled research panel on accessible transport grows to over 1,000 members

July 5, 2024 | Source: THIIS- UK

The research panel created by the NCAT (National Centre for Accessible Transport) has grown to well over 1,000 members. The panel, named the Community for Accessible Transport (CAT), now totals 1,160 members – of whom, over a thousand are disabled people themselves or the family member/carer of a disabled person. The rest includes non-disabled professionals who work in the transport and/or disability sectors. The aim of the panel is to consult with disabled people on their experience of accessing transport in the UK, so NCAT can record a full picture of how disabled people use (or don’t use) transport and why…

Diaper change: Japan’s aging society is transforming the baby care business

July 5, 2024 | Source: CNN- Japan

The world’s population is getting older in what the United Nations calls an “irreversible global trend,” driven by longer lives and smaller families. The number of people aged 65 and older is expected to more than double to 1.6 billion globally by 2050, according to a UN report published last year. In Japan, this change is threatening one of the world’s largest economies as the percentage of older people grows and fewer couples have children…

Disability Festival in city for the first time

July 5, 2024 | Source: BBC- UK

A festival celebrating people with disabilities is taking place for the first time in Birmingham. Disability Festival, hosted by Birmingham City University (BCU), will feature dance performances from wheelchair-based groups and interactive games for people of all abilities. Visitors can also take part in sports such as boccia, curling, blind football, volleyball, wheelchair basketball and enjoy a tour for blind or visually impaired runners…

Ottawa man using walker says apartment not accessible, with no answer in sight

July 6, 2024 | Source: CTV News- Canada

An Ottawa man living in the city’s south-end says he’s struggling to get his walker through the front door of his apartment and wants the building’s owner to install an automatic door button. For the past four years, David Humphries has been living in an apartment building owned by Minto. He has limited mobility and started using a walker a little more than a year ago. “The doors of the building are really heavy and it’s really hard because I have to use my knee to push the walker out and it’s just very difficult,” said Humphries…

Language Matters: a symposium on accessible and inclusive communication in art spaces at Stroom, The Hague

July 7, 2024 | Source: Metropolis M- Netherlands

A full day of workshops, panels, and art performances celebrated the first culmination of Islands of Kinship’s project ‘Language Matters’. The organisation brings together six art institutions in Europe (situated in Prague, Bratislava, Helsinki, Riga, Bitola/Skopje, and Cologne) with the aim of introducing notions and practices of ‘inclusion, kinship, togetherness, and the ethics, emotions, and processes for a sustainable and fair institutional operation.’…

National Commission On Disability Encourages Investment In Accessible Telecommunication

July 7, 2024 | Source: AIT- Nigeria

The National Commission For Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD) is pleased to announce a successful meeting held at MTN Group Limited headquarters in Lagos, aimed at improving access to telecommunication facilities for persons with disabilities in Nigeria. The meeting brought together key stakeholders including the MTN Technical team, representatives from Senirex LLC based in the United States, and the Executive Secretary of the NCPWD, Dr. James David Lalu, PhD, npom…

The benefits of accommodating neurodiverse performers

July 8, 2024 | Source: ArtsHub- Australia

If all things are on a spectrum and we dissolve the division between the extremes of diva antics and legitimate self-advocacy, the performing arts sector often sets a very low bar for standards of accessibility for neurodiverse artists outside the realm of the elite. For an industry that is magnetic to people with unique perspectives and self-expression, it is often very hostile to the sensitivities that artists can have, which, especially for neurodiverse people, are a matter of urgency, not preference…

No music, dimmed lights help shoppers during sensory-friendly hours at retailers

July 8, 2024 | Source: CTV News- Canada

It’s a Tuesday morning at a Walmart just north of Toronto and there’s a sense of calm hanging over the store. No music is blaring, announcements can’t be heard, and in the sprawling entertainment section the TVs are displaying a static blue screen instead of their usual flashy programming. The subdued atmosphere is all part of a sensory-friendly experience Walmart Canada recently launched every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at its 403 stores in a bid to make shopping trips easier for people who have disabilities, who are sensitive to busied environments, or who are just looking for a quieter retail experience…

More Accessible Tourism For Top End Parks

July 8, 2024 | Source: Mirage News- Australia

The Lawler Labor Government is making tourism more accessible in our Territory parks. A tender has been released to improve disability access for the lower plunge pool at Edith Falls, to supply and install a hoist to provide visitors in wheelchairs safe access into the plunge pool. The hoist will be designed to fit in with the natural landscape and will be fitted with a mechanism so the person in the wheelchair can operate it in a safe manner…

Partially sighted football supporter tells clubs ‘there’s still a lot of work to be done’ on accessibility

July 8, 2024 | Source: RNIB- UK

Adam Woodmason, a follower of Ipswich Town, despite positive, accessible experiences at Portman Road, urges other clubs in the UK to make their stadiums more accessible. Adam is registered as severely sight impaired and contacted Ipswich Town Football Club’s Disability Manager, Lee Smith, to ensure his match day experience was as accessible as possible. Adam remembers: “He said that I was welcome to sit wherever I liked in the grounds and that they would provide me with a companion ticket, alongside a commentary, so that I didn’t have to bring a pocket radio with me.”…

I Worked Quite Well With My Disability. That Never Stopped Customers From Saying Wild Things To Me

July 9, 2024 | Source: HuffPost- UK

It took me over 20 years to get used to people staring at me. I was born without a left hand — my arm stops just below my elbow — which means I face lingering eyes and probing questions most places I go. No matter how much I try to cover up my arm, I know that the intrusive discerning public will still be there waiting for me when I choose to show myself again, so I decided a long time ago that I wasn’t going to live my life hiding away out of fear of some gawking eyes…

City mulls cost of changing accessibility icon

July 10, 2024 | Source: CTV News- Canada

The City of Winnipeg’s public service is putting a price tag on changing the accessibility icon to a more “forward-leaning” icon on city properties and communication. The Accessible Icon Project symbol was introduced in 2010 to replace the 1960s wheelchair accessibility icon. The newer symbol shows more action and autonomy compared to its predecessor. The city currently uses both icons, but the public service has been looking into phasing out the old “upright” icon…

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