Accessibility in the News — 9/8/2023.

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“An early morning walk is a blessing for a whole day.” ― Henry David Thoreau

A Proclamation on National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, 2023

Feature Stories

New Texas laws enhance accessibility, resources for voters

September 1, 2023 | Source: Community Impact

Texas lawmakers passed multiple bills aimed at removing barriers for voters during the 88th regular legislative session, which ended in May. Some of the changes stem from issues related to Senate Bill 1, an omnibus voting measure from a summer 2021 special legislative session that altered requirements to vote by mail. “In 2022, tens of thousands of mail-in ballots [were] rejected for no fault of the voter,” said Katya Ehresman, the voting rights program manager for Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization…

National News (U.S.)

NYS State Fair director addresses ADA accessibility concerns

September 1, 2023 | Source: CNY Central

On the busiest day at the NYS Fair so far this year – a viewer, wishing to stay anonymous, reached out to CNY Central to detail a miserable experience that began well before she even made it inside the gates. CNY Central took the concern to the fair director – who agreed that there is room for improvement. The viewer told CNY Central that she is reliant on a wheelchair and that her husband has cerebral palsy. She said that upon arrival, trying to access an ADA special ability parking lot, employees turned them away, sending them to the Willis Avenue lot…

Disability-rights activists protest Lyft practices at White Plains courthouse

September 1, 2023 | Source: Lohud

To chants of “We will ride! We will ride!” disability-rights activists, led by Westchester Disabled on the Move, were outside the U.S. District courthouse in White Plains on Aug. 31, rallying and protesting what they say are discriminatory practices by Lyft in refusing to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles to users of the ride-hailing service. The rally called to attention to a hearing inside the courthouse in a nationwide class action lawsuit filed against the company by the Westchester advocacy group…

New all-terrain wheelchair enhances accessibility at Radnor Lake State Park

September 3, 2023 | Source: WKRN

A $136,000 grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority is making state parks more accessible for those with mobility issues in Tennessee. On Tuesday, Tennessee State Parks unveiled the new wheelchair that aims to eliminate barriers that may limit access to some individuals. “We are thrilled to receive funding from TVA as we work to create the most accessible state park system in the nation,” said Tennessee State Parks Conservancy Executive Director Gina Hancock. “This grant allows us to provide Tennesseans who may not have been previously able to explore our parks the unique opportunity to do so.”…

Making Minneapolis more accessible: City hires community specialist for people with disabilities

September 4, 2023 | Source: KARE 11

The city of Minneapolis is investing in accessibility by hiring the first community specialist for people with disabilities. Guthrie Byard joined the staff after working in the disability justice field for the last fifteen years. The city hopes Byard will use his knowledge to make the community more accessible and inclusive. “This work is really both professional and personal for me,” Byard said. “I have a sister with a developmental disability, and growing up with her, I really realized that there needed to be a lot more advocacy with individuals with disabilities.”…

First wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon ride at Labor Day Lift Off ‘out of this world,’ passenger says

September 5, 2023 | Source: Gazette

Accessible sailing experience offered

September 5, 2023 | Source: SoMdNews

Colorado Springs resident Ginger Gustafson realized a dream she’s had ever since she can remember and got to cross something off her “bucket list” Monday, when her brother, Rick, surprised her with a hot air balloon ride at the 47th annual Labor Day Lift Off. She thought she was just going to join the crowd in watching 73 giant, colorful balloons float away at sunrise in Memorial Park. Instead, 61-year-old Gustafson found her wheelchair, a lifelong companion, being strapped into place inside the basket of the nation’s only wheelchair-accessible hot air balloon, for what she described afterward as the trip of her lifetime…

Estée Lauder applies AI, AR for cosmetics accessibility

September 5, 2023 | Source: CIO

How can we help visually impaired individuals use our products and feel more self-reliant and confident? That’s the question The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) set out to answer in 2022 with the help of AI and augmented reality (AR). The result is the Voice-enabled Makeup Assistant (VMA), now fully launched in the UK and US, and soon to debut worldwide. The project also earned ELC a 2023 CIO 100 Award in IT Excellence. “We set out to address a significant business problem in the beauty industry, and that’s the lack of accessible solutions,” says Michael Smith, ELC SVP and CIO…

“We’re Not Invisible”: Disabled SAG-AFTRA and WGA Members on Accessibility Challenges and Solutions at the Picket Lines

September 5, 2023 | Source: The Hollywood Reporter

On the New York picket lines, where WGA and SAG-AFTRA members have walked since May and July, respectively, actress, writer and director Anita Hollander is used to getting a specific look. The one-legged screen and stage actress is strong — thanks to a regular practice of Pilates — and in good physical health. But she’s also a grandmother dealing with additional stress to her hands as a result of the increased use of her crutches while on the line. “As I’m walking the line, I know what that face is: ‘Well, if you can do it, I shouldn’t be complaining,’” the SAG-AFTRA member tells The Hollywood Reporter…

Digital access for all is Ms. Wheelchair Maryland’s top priority

September 6, 2023 | Source: WBAL TV

Chandra Smith took home the title of Ms. Wheelchair America on Saturday. But nothing has changed, as Smith said she plans to use her platform to advocate for policies that will make the digital world more accessible for everyone. It’s not a pageant, it’s an advocacy competition, and Ms. Wheelchair Maryland is using her national platform to speak up for people like her. Chandra Smith, 36, had never heard of Ms. Wheelchair America. “My occupational therapist said, ‘This will be a great opportunity for you.’ I said, ‘I am not a pageant girl. Are we going to be in bathing suits in wheelchairs?'” Smith said…

How an elite music school is increasing access for students with disabilities

September 6, 2023 | Source: PBS

In a series of reports, Jeffrey Brown has looked at the intersection of arts and health. Recently, he traveled to Boston to see a program bringing music into the lives of people with disabilities. It’s for our arts and culture series, Canvas. Eleven-year-old Ashton Kiprotich on the cello and the ukulele. Ashton, I saw you play the ukulele and I saw you play the cello. Which is your favorite? Both of them. I would never say that I dislike them…

American Streets May Soon Get Their First Accessible Design Standards from the Feds

September 6, 2023 | Source: Streetsblog USA

More than 33 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, cities are finally about to get some clear guidance on how to implement the landmark law’s principles — and possibly, lose one of their best excuses for not making public space fully accessible to people with mobility challenges. In early August, officials at the U.S. Access Board quietly published the Public Right of Way Access Guidelines Final Rule to the federal register, taking a critical step towards solidifying the nation’s first-ever set of federal accessibility design guidelines that are specific to the transportation realm…

After his SUV and wheelchair were stolen, St. Paul man living with ALS gifted accessible minivan

September 6, 2023 | Source: CBS News

A St. Paul man battling ALS has received a stunning show of support since a thief took his SUV this summer. “There’s a really good community of people out there that are looking out for me,” said Kyle Schultz, who’s living with the incurable nervous system disease at the age of 26. Schultz’s vehicle was taken with thousands of dollars worth of stuff inside, including the power wheelchair he relies on to get around. The O’Neill Foundation of Hope in Bloomington gifted Schultz a new chair. Now, Schultz is getting an accessible minivan…

“Touch” New Opera Interprets Helen Keller in Accessible Production

September 6, 2023 | Source: Over the Mountain Journal

A new opera commissioned by Opera Birmingham about the life of Alabama native Helen Keller will make its world premiere in January at RMT Arts Campus. “Touch” will debut Jan. 19 and will be repeated Jan. 21. Music for the opera is by composer Carla Lucero and the libretto is by Lucero and Marianna Mott Newirth. A pre-show chat with Lucero and Newirth will be held an hour before each show and there will be a talk-back with the cast and creatives following each performance…

Walmart class action alleges website not equally accessible to blind, visually impaired consumers

September 7, 2023 | Source: Top Class Actions

Walmart has failed to design its website in a way that would make it fully accessible to and independently usable by individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Ali Abdulhadi claims Walmart’s website contains access barriers to screen-reading software used by individuals who are blind or visually impaired to browse internet websites. Abdulhadi, a legally blind man, argues Walmart is denying full and equal access of its website to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, in what he claims is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)…

How Houston’s Museums Can Make Art More Accessible

September 7, 2023 | Source: Houstonia Magazine

With a dynamic crop of cultural institutions dedicated to performing and visual arts, Houston has become known as the art mecca of Texas, and one of the most artistic cities in the nation. The possibilities for viewing art on any given day are endless, from a stroll through the Menil Collection to an evening at Houston Grand Opera. However, this abundance does not always equate to accessibility, as many Houstonians are often excluded from participating in our rich arts scene for a variety of reasons…

With uptick in number of Marion County students using wheelchairs, officials keep accessibility top of mind

September 7, 2023 | Source: Times West Virginian

This year, 17 students enrolled in Marion County Schools use wheelchairs, according to School Superintendent Donna Heston. That marks the biggest uptick that Gia Deasy — who retired from a 40-year special education career this June — has seen in her decades as a Marion County educator. Most school years, the number of students in the county using wheelchairs does not cross into the double digits, Deasy said. While administrators are unsure what caused the rise in students using wheelchairs, increased accessibility needs have required local educators and administrators to renew their commitment to promoting educational accessibility this year…

Jack Fact — Americans with mobility disabilities spend US $58.2 billion a year on travel. However, 96 per cent said they faced problems with accommodation, while 86 per cent experienced issues with flights, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people conducted by research firm MMGY Travel Intelligence.

Hit The Road Jack — Universal Parks Outsourcing Disability Access Service to 3rd Party; Documentation Now Required and Brussels tourism increases accessibility for people with reduced mobility and Hotel Intel: Therapy dolphins, total accessibility mark this resort duo in Curaçao

International News

As The Olympics Loom, Paris’s Transport Grid Worries Wheelchair Users

September 1, 2023 | Source: Global Banking and Finance Review- France and CNN (Video)

Dolveck promises key Paris 2024 stations will be “100 per cent accessible”

September 5, 2023 Source InsideTheGames

With just under a year to go before the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, campaigners are worried would-be spectators using wheelchairs could feel left out of the Games as only a small number of metro stations are accessible without using stairs. With Paris streets often clogged by traffic, travelling underground is often much quicker but only 9% of metro stations can be accessed without walking up and down steps. “Today, going around Paris in a wheelchair is difficult, bumpy and sometimes just impossible”, said Franck Maille, 52…

Accessibility top of mind for local communities

September 1, 2023 | Source: Columbia Valley Pioneer- Canada

The Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) is looking for volunteers to join the new East Kootenay Accessibility Advisory Committee. The regional government’s committee forms an umbrella that both the District of Invermere and the Village of Canal Flats will fall under. But they will all be following the footsteps of the Village of Radium Hot Springs, which already formed a similar committee earlier this summer, with the goal of drawing up an official accessibility plan for its community…

Kilambakkam bus terminus built as per barrier-free and inclusive design norms, says CMDA official

September 2, 2023 | Source: The Hindu- India

The newly-built Kilambakkam bus terminus has all the features making it barrier-free for persons with disabilities, said an official of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), which is executing the project. All the provisions had been made to ensure easy access and movement of persons with disabilities, the CMDA clarified. The Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers (Taratdac) and the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA) had flagged the issue of lack of amenities for persons with disabilities…

Forwards Festival trials headset to aid visually impaired

September 3, 2023 | Source: BBC News- UK

Forwards Festival in Bristol has trialled a headset which beams the footage from the cameras around the stage directly into the user’s vision. The headset stimulates the photoreceptor cells in people’s eyes to help them regain some vision. Harry Jones, accessibility manager at the festival, said: “We are opening up a whole new door for people.” Joanna Liddington at GiveVision, the company behind the headset, said: “Some people with severe sight loss might be able to make out blurs or a bit of colour, with the headset it makes all of this a lot clearer and crisper…

Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Week highlighting call for employers to improve accessibility

September 3, 2023 | Source: 7NEWS- Australia

Dane Cross was studying to be a physical education teacher when a freak accident changed his world forever. The then-21-year-old was playing touch football in his university competition when he dove to score a try and “ran into my defender’s legs”. Cross fractured his C5 vertebrae and was declared quadriplegic, marking the beginning of a lengthy rehabilitation journey. The Sunshine Coast resident says the 2001 accident was not the end of his world, and instead led him on a different path as he learned more about advocacy and accessibility for people with disability…

saib launches project to make banking more accessible for people with disabilities

September 3, 2023 | Source: Daily News- Egypt

saib Bank has launched a project to make banking products and services more accessible for people with disabilities, in line with the state’s directives and the Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) initiative to empower this segment of society. The project aims to enhance saib’s strategy for financial inclusion by improving its infrastructure, technology, human resources, and policies to serve customers with special needs and enable them to integrate into society…

Report calls for airlines to improve WCAG compliance and the digital user journey

September 4, 2023 | Source: AT Today- UK and THIIS Magazine

A new report has reviewed the websites of the 11 largest airlines operating in the UK, rating them in terms of their technical accessibility as well as the ease of use for making bookings. The ‘Airline Digital Accessibility’ report, commissioned by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) and undertaken by Hassell Inclusion, first gave websites a score for their compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1 AA), a technical set of recommendations designed to improve accessibility standards…

Lego releases braille bricks – here’s how five other brands could make their toys more accessible

September 4, 2023 | Source: The Conversation- UK

Lego has announced that its braille bricks – already popular among services and schools serving visually impaired children – are now available for public purchase. Improving accessibility in children’s toys and games is an urgent and multifaceted issue. The diverse play access needs of children relate to a wide range of physical and sensory impairments, emotional and learning needs and neurodiversity. Good toy and game design should avoid attempts to “correct” children’s play. It should focus instead on how toys and games can better meet the play interests – and access and representation needs – of a wide range of children…

Visually impaired demand e-voting in Switzerland

September 5, 2023 | Source: Swissinfo- Switzerland

The lack of digital accessibility excludes hundreds of thousands of handicapped people, the association said in Bern on Tuesday. Digitalisation has arrived in almost all areas of life and is developing rapidly, the SBV added at the media conference on Tuesday. Digital products and content must be just as accessible as physical ones. Due to the lack of accessibility, many products, websites, apps and everyday services such as the use of ticket machines cannot be used independently, or only with difficulty…

This Is the First Accessible Dive Center on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

September 5, 2023 | Source: Travel + Leisure- Australia

The feeling of weightlessness felt while scuba diving is one of the most freeing sensations in the world, but it hasn’t always been available to people with mobility challenges or special needs. In fact, it wasn’t until 2023 that the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), the world’s leading scuba diver training organization, launched its Adaptive Service Facilities designation, which recognizes dive centers that have adaptive provisions. One Australian dive center on the Great Barrier Reef was quick to jump on board…

Full digital accessibility may come down to one line of code | Editor and Publisher

September 6, 2023 | Source: Editor and Publisher- Canada

A line of code may be all that is needed to open the door for readers with disabilities to access digital journalism. Patrick Merlihan, who runs digital strategy for the Woolwich Observer in Elmira, Ontario, thought he was about to tackle a monumental task in a quest to make the website fully accessible for the 15,000-circulation newspaper in September 2021. “I thought I was going to have a lot of challenges to make our site accessible, and then it was, like, 10 minutes,” he said…

Bnei Brak opens new accessible synagogue for disabled worshipers

September 7, 2023 | Source: The Jerusalem Post- Israel

The Accessible Synagogue, a pioneering initiative by the Aleh organization, is now open in northern Bnei Brak, setting a benchmark for religious inclusivity in Israel. Tailored with innovative features such as entrance and exit ramps, accessible elevators, a lowered Ark of the Covenant, and wider aisles for easy wheelchair movement, this synagogue ensures that individuals with disabilities can fully immerse themselves in prayers and religious ceremonies…

Sunrise Medical on championing accessibility with Morph’s Epic Art Adventure Trail

September 7, 2023 | Source: THIIS Magazine- UK

“Morph’s Epic Art Adventure consists of 56 six-foot Morph sculptures placed next to some of London’s most iconic landmarks and is the first step-free art trail in the UK. The sculptures were covered with artwork, designed by a mix of well-known artists and exciting new talent. “Sunrise Medical has partnered with Whizz Kidz, the charity for young wheelchair users, for over 15 years and has collaboratively worked together on an array of exciting projects. When Wild in Art proposed plans for the UK’s first step-free art trail, it felt like a perfect opportunity to work towards our mission of improving the lives of disabled people…

How can HR and employers support vulnerable employees working exclusively from home?

September 7, 2023 | Source: People Management- UK

The post-pandemic influx in home and remote working has brought many benefits for employers and employees, while making inroads towards more accessible, inclusive and diverse workplaces. With this in mind, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has this week (5 September) announced the launch of a consultation on reforming the welfare system, “reflecting the rise of flexible and home working and better employer support” so disabled people and those with mental ill health can return to work…

Greater Anglia creates online virtual tours of all its trains to help people travel with confidence

September 7, 2023 | Source: Greater Anglia

Train operator, Greater Anglia, has launched online virtual tours for its entire new train fleet to help people travel with confidence. A first for the rail industry, the virtual train tours have been designed for all of Greater Anglia’s new train types to support journey planning, give customers a clearer picture of what they can expect on board and reduce anxiety about travelling. They are particularly aimed at helping disabled customers who are wanting to check how accessible their journey is…

We are Focused on Driving Digital Accessibility, Innovation – Alex Okosi, MD, Google

September 7, 2023 | Source: Brandcrunch- Africa

Google who will be responsible for driving Google’s vision of inclusive digital accessibility and innovation, said Alex Okosi, the new Managing Director, Africa, Google who revealed the tech giant determined efforts to improve access to technology on the continent. Google has announced the appointment of Nigerian media and tech business executive, Alex Okosi as the Managing Director, Africa, at the global tech giant, Google. The significant career move effectively marks the end of Okosi’s successful three-year stint at YouTube…

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