Accessibility in the News — 4/15/2022.

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Feature Stories

NY to Make Absentee Ballots More Accessible for Voters with Disabilities

April 12, 2022 | Source: City Limits

Accessibility ‘top of mind’ in planning for 2023 election

April 12, 2022 | Source: Cabin Radio

Accessibility options for older voters at the polls

April 13, 2022 | Source: WHNT

For Sharon McLennon-Wier, casting her vote in elections hasn’t always been easy. The executive director at the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY), McLennon-Wier is blind. Voting at a poll site in-person often proved “very challenging,” she says. There were crowds and lines to contend with, and despite the fact that every New York City polling station is required to have accessible voting equipment in the form of a Ballot Marking Device (BMD), sometimes the machine wouldn’t be plugged in yet, or it would be out of paper, or staff at the site wouldn’t really know how to use it…

National News (U.S.)

‘The Simpsons’ Makes History With First Deaf Voice Actor and Use of American Sign Language

April 7, 2022 | Source: Variety

When “The Simpsons” creative team decided to use American Sign Language in this Sunday’s episode, there was one hitch: The show’s animated characters have only four fingers. “That was a little tricky, especially because the one thing we’re translating is Shakespeare,” says writer Loni Steele Sosthand. “But I think we pulled it off.” Sosthand, who joined “The Simpsons” in 2020, is the writer behind the show’s April 10 installment, “The Sound of Bleeding Gums.”…

How The Grammys Got Accessibility Right, And What They Could Have Done Better – An Interview With Lachi

April 7, 2022 | Source: Forbes

Lachi, a blind award-winning vocalist, writer and community leader, has dedicated her platform, career and craft to amplifying disability culture, promoting inclusion, highlighting intersectionality and advocating for accessibility in the music industry. For the recent 64th Grammy Awards held in Las Vegas at The MGM Grand Garden Arena, Lachi and an organization she founded called RAMPD, were influential in ensuring that accessibility was not forgotten…

2 Indianapolis properties named in accessibility lawsuit

April 7, 2022 | Source: Indianapolis Recorder

A lawsuit filed by fair housing organizations in multiple states alleges dozens of properties that advertise for people 55 and older have violated federal accessibility requirements. Two of the complexes named in the lawsuit are in Indianapolis. The organizations, including the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana (FHCCI), allege Clover Group and its various entities are guilty of “widespread and flagrant violations” of the Fair Housing Administration’s rules related to accessibility…

Brunswick man may be forced to leave shared living setting because home is not accessible

April 7, 2022 | Source: Fox 23

Under federal law, people with disabilities can choose where they want to live. For those with mobility needs, the choice is usually a group home or living with a family. Josh Weidemann has cerebral palsy and lives in a shared living setting in Brunswick. He now has to move to a group home, which he does not want to do, because the home is not fully accessible to him. “We need wider hallways,” Weidemann said. The homeowners receive federal and state funds for providing a supportive home environment for Weidemann but no money to make it accessible for him…

Vella-Wilkinson Bill Would Improve State Website Accessibility

April 8, 2022 | Source: Warwick Post

State Representative/District 21 Camille Vella-Wilkinson (D-Dist.21, Warwick) has introduced legislation that would improve the website accessibility for state sites for those with disabilities. The bill (2022-H 8066) would require all newly established public access websites to be in compliance with requirements of the American with Disabilities Act. Existing state websites would be required to comply no later than July 1, 2027, and municipalities would be strongly encouraged to adopt consistent standards…

Why the pedestrian dignity movement should be your next accessibility cause

April 8, 2022 | Source: Mashable

There’s something deeply alienating about being the sole pedestrian on a busy street. The cars whiz by, fast-moving reminders that you are a tiny and breakable human. The sun beats down on the sidewalk, reflecting onto you like a spotlight for the AC-blasted people in their vehicles. You’re hopping over debris or into gutters to avoid puddles. And you’re thinking, “Ugh, why can’t I just drive there?” Those feelings of fear, annoyance, and even embarrassment while navigating city streets aren’t irrational or isolated…

Boot Barn Class Action Claims Website Not Equally Accessible For Blind, Visually Impaired Individuals

April 8, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions

How Do You Win a Web Accessibility Case?

April 12, 2022 | Source: Adam Bialek- Wilson Elser (PDF)

Boot Barn fails to make its website fully accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Christopher Loadholt claims Boot Barns violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by not making its website fully compatible with screen-reading software used by blind and visually impaired individuals. Loadholt, a blind man, says he was unable to make a purchase on Boot Barn’s website due to it not being compatible with his screen-reading software, NonVisual Desktop Access…

Yankee Candle Class Action Alleges Website Design Denies Equal Access To Blind, Visually Impaired

April 8, 2022 | Source: Top Class Actions

The Yankee Candle Company failed to design the Chesapeake Bay Candle section of its website in a way that would make it equally accessible to blind or visually impaired individuals, a new class action lawsuit alleges. Plaintiff Kevin Yan Luis claims Yankee Candle is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying blind and visually impaired individuals equal access to its goods and services. Yan Luis, who is legally blind, claims the Chesapeake Bay Candle section of Yankee Candle’s website contains thousands of access barriers…

Strickland Improves Accessibility for People with Disabilities In Tacoma

April 9, 2022 | Source: The Suburban Times

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) secured $3,000,000 in federal funding for the City of Tacoma’s pedestrian accessibility improvements for the federal Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2022. With this funding, the City of Tacoma will be able to construct 400 curb ramps that have been requested by people with disabilities and where there are identified barriers. “This vital funding will make much-needed improvements to Tacoma’s local infrastructure and make the city more accessible and equitable for those with disabilities,” said Congresswoman Strickland…

Most inclusive ‘show on earth,’ new circus is fun, accessible for all

April 9, 2022 | Source: Catholic Sentinel

Gina Latcheran and her son Eric always loved the beauty, comedy and drama of a circus. Even after seeing the show, they would buy a video of the performance so they could watch it over and over again at home. “We liked going to something that brought out the kid in both of us. We could act silly and put on our hats and our (clown) noses,” said Gina. But more than that, it was an equalizing experience. “Everyone around us, we were all the same. You didn’t see different colors of skin and different accents — everybody was laughing, smiling, cheering, and in awe…

The Outdoors Are For Everyone- How Accessible Trails Are Changing The Landscape Of Outdoor Recreation

April 9, 2022 | Source: The Northern Express

Northern Michigan is a golden goose of the great outdoors, with thousands of miles of trails that offer scenic views of lakes, rivers, and forests. As our region continues to attract more residents and tourists—and a large segment of our population ages—the need for accessible trails is predicted to grow. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that just over 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. has some kind of disability, amounting to 26 percent of our population or more than 61 million people…

6th grader petitions for sidewalk to accommodate people with disabilities

April 8, 2022 | Source: News 12 Connecticut

A Stamford sixth grader successfully petitioned city officials to create a sidewalk that could better accommodate people with disabilities. Riley Jones says he noticed something unusual at his bus stop — there was a circuit box sticking out over the walkway that prevented handicap accessibility. “Down there where the circuit box is, it didn’t let handicapped people pass by,” Jones says. Jones quickly took out his measuring tape and realized the sidewalk was not accessible for people with disabilities and not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act…

This New Yorker is using TikTok to document the best public bathrooms in the city

April 9, 2022 | Source: CNN

A cheeky New Yorker is going viral for the helpful information she shares on TikTok about public bathrooms in the city. Teddy Siegel, 22, started the “Got2GoNYC” account in 2021 after nearly peeing herself in Times Square.

“I was on the verge of peeing my pants, and I had been turned away from multiple locations that either said their bathroom was for employees only, or they didn’t have a bathroom,” the Long Island native and aspiring opera singer told CNN…

I’m Deaf And I Have ‘Perfect’ Speech. Here’s Why It’s Actually A Nightmare

April 9, 2022 | Source: HUFFPOST

In the Academy Award-winning movie “CODA,” the Deaf characters don’t use their voices to speak. Some hearing viewers will probably see this as a negative thing; they may imagine the silence, and wonder how it would feel to not speak, even as they see American Sign Language (ASL) used abundantly and well. However, I’m Deaf and have “perfect” speech (meaning I don’t “sound Deaf”). And I want to stop speaking. Everywhere I go, people compliment me and say they wouldn’t have known I was Deaf if I hadn’t told them…

Napa County wineries sued over website accessibility call for more clear compliance terms

April 10, 2022 | Source: Napa Valley Register & San Francisco Chronicle

Dozens of Napa County wineries have been sued for website accessibility non-compliance in the last year, causing frustration and confusion for the businesses hit with the lawsuits. Trade groups estimate that about four dozen local wineries have been sued, with an overwhelming majority of the lawsuits coming from a single plaintiff, Andres Gomez, who has filed hundreds of these lawsuits dating back to at least 2016. The firm representing Gomez in some of these cases, an offshoot of San Diego’s Potter Handy LLP called The Center for Disability Access, had not responded for comment by the time of publication…

Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, employing people with disabilities, opening in Asheville in May

April 10, 2022 | Source: WLOS

An ice cream store with a difference is set to open just before summer. Howdy Homemade Ice Cream, a franchise which employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is coming to Asheville in May. “We had known for years, given our youngest daughter has autism, we wanted to provide a fulfilling career for her. My daughter has some challenges with language skills, and we knew we needed a business that would have a production side to the business,” said Pete Brewer, who owns Asheville’s newest ice cream shop with his wife, Betsy…

DOJ Secures Agreement with CVS Pharmacy to Make Online COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Accessible for People with Disabilities

April 11, 2022 Sources: DOJ & Agreement & Fox5 & The Public’s Radio & UPI & US News & ABC & GoLocalProv & Reuters & Patch & Warwick Post & MyChesCo

The Justice Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island today announced a settlement agreement with CVS Pharmacy Inc., under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that will eliminate barriers preventing people with certain disabilities from getting information about COVID-19 vaccinations and booking vaccination appointments online. CVS is the country’s largest retail pharmacy. The resolution is the DOJ’s fifth agreement on the critical issue of COVID-19 vaccination website accessibility…

Orange County program makes softball accessible for athletes in wheelchairs

April 11, 2022 | Source: ABC7

Organizations supporting people with disabilities came together in Anaheim to play ball on a specially built turf field. The name of the game is to form the first wheelchair softball team in SoCal. “There’s about 26 teams around the country and we only have one in California so we’re really trying to get more excitement around it, to get more kids and adults playing wheelchair softball at a high level,” said Keith Wallace, commissioner of the National Wheelchair Softball Association…

In Ashburn, Volunteers Team Up To Build Accessible Housing For Seniors With Disabilities

April 12, 2022 | Source: Block Club Chicago

An accessible housing facility that caters to seniors with intellectual and developmental disabilities is coming to Ashburn. Envision Unlimited, a nonprofit organization that has served people with disabilities across the state for over 70 years, will build an ADA-compliant home that will serve six to eight senior residents. The home, 2651 W. 83rd Place, will look like any other house in the neighborhood, organizers said, with a backyard patio, raised garden beds and a front porch…

Website accessibility a must for dental practices

April 12, 2022 | Source: California Dental Association

All businesses that are open to the public, including dental practices, should ensure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Litigation based on violations of AwDA is increasing with plaintiffs especially targeting business websites that are not accessible to individuals with hearing, vision, dexterity or learning impairments. Recent settlements with larger companies over website accessibility have made the news…

Adapting national parks for wheelchair hiking

April 12, 2022 | Source: NOVA

In the parking lot of the Cub Lake trailhead on a sunny fall day in Rocky Mountain National Park, Quinn Brett maneuvers from her wheelchair onto her Bomber off-road handcycle. Using her upper body, she shifts into a kneeling position atop the tricycle’s frame, hunching forward between its two bicycle-size front tires and over its hand-powered crank to grip the handlebars and throttle. When she’s ready, Brett rolls down the trail, which snakes through a golden alpine meadow backed by snow-glazed peaks…

Accessibility and resilience: Rebuilding a society for all bodies and needs

April 13, 2022 | Source: Resilience

Resilience is the capacity of a system to bounce back to a previous state after a disturbance. A key concept present in many works focusing on it is the role diversity plays. A diverse system has inherent fail-safes, alternatives and redundancies which allow it to better tolerate disturbances and crisis situations. And to brave the challenges of the Anthropocene, we need to foster and protect diversity – not just in natural ecosystems but in our society as well…

Sensory overload? Not at this theme park. What Sesame Place San Diego aims to do differently

April 14, 2022 | Source: USA Today

On a sunny day in Chula Vista, California, visitors were swept away to the avenue of their childhood imaginations: Sesame Street. Sesame Place San Diego brings the familiar faces and spaces of the beloved TV series to life for kids of all ages, but the newly opened park was designed with specific guests in mind. Like the original Sesame Place near Philadelphia, the theme park is a Certified Autism Center, and autistic guests aren’t the only ones who benefit from its accessible accommodations…

Most older adults want to ‘age in place’ but many haven’t taken steps to help them do so

April 13, 2022 | Source: ScienceDaily

The vast majority of people over 50 say it’s important that they keep living in their current homes for as long as possible. But a new poll shows many of them haven’t planned or prepared for “aging in place,” and a sizable percentage might have a hard time paying for in-home help. The pandemic’s toll on older adults, especially those in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, has brought the issue of living independently at home into the national spotlight…

How EHR Surveys Could Boost Patient Experience for People with Disabilities

April 14, 2022 | Source: EHRIntelligence

EHR-based accessibility questionnaires could help improve the patient experience and advance health equity for people with disabilities, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Researchers created and implemented an EHR questionnaire at an academic eye clinic to document patient accessibility requests. Call center and front-desk staff assessed accessibility requests of patients making appointments over the phone or in-person and recorded patient responses in the EHR…

Disability Lawsuits: From on the Streets to Online

April 14, 2022 | Source: Legal Reader

Albert Dytch has filed over 180 ADA lawsuits in the state of California. Mr. Dytch is a man in his 70’s who has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair to get around. Unfortunately, many businesses throughout the country are not ADA compliant, making them inaccessible to wheelchair users. Mr. Dytch is on a mission to fix that. Disability discrimination is not new, but accommodations for disabilities are not increasing as much as we would hope…

CTA accessibility promises fall short for people with disabilities

April 14, 2022 | Source: Medill Reports Chicago

The CTA advertises that 100% of its vehicles are accessible — buses have lifts, and most rapid transit stations have elevators and other features that make traveling more convenient for people living with disabilities. In practice, however, this is not always the case. Many people in the city who are living with disabilities continue to face challenges when commuting on the CTA, according to Access Living, a Chicago advocacy group for people living with disabilities…

Jack Fact — In 2021, according to a new report from the Center for an Urban Future, nearly 17 percent of all working-age New Yorkers with a disability were unemployed—more than double the pre-pandemic level (7.4 percent).

Hit The Road Jack — Make informed decisions about safe, accessible experiences on the Trans Canada Trail & Accessible Fantasyland: Part 2

International News

A community and research approach to detecting and predicting seizures with the help of AI

April 7, 2022 | Source: Microsoft- Australia

Epilepsy is a chronic noncommunicable disease of the brain affecting 50 million people and making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally, according to WHO. With proper diagnoses and treatment, 70 percent of people living with epilepsy could live seizure free, making access to appropriate care and detection of upmost importance. Seizures can create challenges for the independence and day-to-day lives of people living with epilepsy…

‘Equality, accessibility and inclusivity’: CEO Trace Network Labs gives sneak peek into metaverse of avatars

April 8, 2022 | Source: The Indian Express- India

“Avatars are not just about the people, it is about self, identity, emotions, and relations, and exploration of every aspect in a safe setting.” Lokesh Rao, the co-founder and the CEO of Trace Network Labs is very clear about the new inhabitants of the Metaverse. For the unversed, metaverse is a shared virtual space that is hyper realistic, but also immersive and interactive, thanks to the augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies it will thrive on…

Kenyan artist is making art accessible to the visually impaired

April 8, 2022 | Source: Africanews

Kenyan artist Tina Benawra is creating art that is accessible for people with visual impairments. Benawra paints her art using tactile code.This art is not just about how it looks – how it feels is even more important. Tina Benawra hopes to raise funds for eye cataract surgeries for children aged between 2 to 12 years old through the sale of her art. Braille is a tactile system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired. She had to return to school to learn Braille so she could use the writing system in her paintings…

Mindset Matters: Contemplating the Future of Accessibility

April 8, 2022 | Source: The Bharat Express News- Israel

The writer Dan Senor in his book Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle wrote that “it is a story not just of talent but of tenacity, of insatiable questioning of authority, of defining informality, combined with a unique attitude towards failure, teamwork, mission, risk and interdisciplinary creativity”. Last week, I was fortunate enough to be part of a select group to participate in a five-day program known as the Global Accessibility and Inclusion Summit, or GAILS for short…

Yorkshire Shepherdess Amanda Owen helps launch Dales accessibility charity

April 9, 2022 | Source: Darlington & Stockton Times- England

A new charity has been launched which aims to improve accessibility in the Yorkshire Dales. Access the Dales was launched on Saturday, April 2 at the home of its patron, Amanda Owen, who is known to millions of TV viewers as the Yorkshire Shepherdess. The charity has also won the backing of H&H Insurance Brokers, which is covering the cost of insuring all-terrain vehicles which will enable people with mobility issues to enjoy the area. Friends, well-wishers and supporters gathered at Amanda’s farm at Ravenseat in Swaledale for the launch of the charity…

Is India Accessible For All And Ready To See The Powers Of People With Reduced Mobilities?

April 10, 2022 | Source: Republic World- India

Accessibility is an issue that never finds its place in discussions despite being rudimentary to a colossal population. For starters, it is a measure of the extent to which a product or service can be used by a person with a disability/reduced mobility as effectively as it can be used by an abled bodied person. According to the 2011 census, 2.1% of India’s population – around 2.68 Cr people have disabilities. It is indeed much higher in 2022. Unfortunately, owing to little access to education, among the 13.4 million who are in the employable age group of 15-59 years, 9.9 million are either non-workers or are limited to negligible work…

Hidden Barriers: Accessibility at Uni and across North Dunedin

April 10, 2022 | Source: Critic Te Arohi- New Zealand

Guy Fieri once said, “we’re riding the bus to Flavortown”. Except in this case, Flavortown is North Dunedin, and the bus we’re meant to be riding didn’t even show up. For many, barriers to accessibility make getting around Flav-, sorry, North Dunedin, more difficult than it needs to be. The structures of our lectures, our campus, and our city were all designed by different people, and those people paid varying degrees of attention to how their product would impact disabled students…

ECOWAS EOM tasks IEC to improve polling accessibility for PWDs

April 14, 2022 | Source: Gambia News- Africa

The Election Observer Mission (EOM) of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), sub-regional body, has tasked the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to improve the accessibility of polling stations for Persons With Disability (PWDs) in future elections. This recommendation was coined in the preliminary statement of the sub-regional body’s elections mission, which was headed by Mohamed Ibn Chambas, renowned Ghanaian diplomat and former President of the ECOWAS Commission…

Survey reveals concerns over disabled access in hospitality industry

April 14, 2022 | Source: The Caterer- UK

Nearly three in four guests (71%) believe more needs to be done to address a lack of accessibility for disabled people in the hospitality industry, a new study has revealed. The ‘Accessibility in Hospitality’ report surveyed 250 members of Hospitality Guest Experience Management (HGEM)’s database of non-disabled and disabled guests between the ages of 18 to 66+. Some 30% of respondents would leave a venue immediately if access for disabled people was inadequate, while another 53% said they would not return to a venue if access was difficult…

Via Dolorosa made entirely accessible in final stage of project

April 14, 2022 | Source: The Jerusalem Post- Israel

As Israel’s skies finally opened up to tourists six weeks ago for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the final touches were being completed on making the Old City accessible not only to wheelchairs and baby strollers but also to mini-ambulances and mini-garbage trucks, all to improve the quality of life for residents. After a decade of work and an investment of more than NIS 22 million, the accessibility of the sixth kilometer in the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem was completed just in time for the many visitors expected during the upcoming Easter, Ramadan and Passover holidays…

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