Accessibility in the News — 9/20/2024.

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Feature Stories

A Business Case For Talking About Invisible Barriers 2024 Voters Face

September 13, 2024 | Source: Forbes

Spark the Spectrum empowers Arizona voters with disabilities after court ruling expands accessibility

September 18, 2024 | Source: Cronkite News – Arizona PBS

No, talking about election deadlines and voter registration at work won’t hurt your career or make your colleagues feel cringey. In fact, it’s good business to remind people of when and where to vote, provide links to government offices and disseminate information that can help disabled and neurodivergent colleagues and caregivers. This is not taboo-and it’s not charity. It’s civic engagement. This past week was Disability Voting Rights Week, which may not have hit your radar..

How to make voting more accessible for people with disabilities

September 13, 2024 | Source: WXXI

For Disability Voting Rights Week: The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) found that one in seven voters with disabilities reported difficulties voting in the 2022 midterm elections, and the likelihood of encountering difficulties voting was 14 percent higher as a disabled voter than for a nondisabled voter. What are some of the challenges facing New York voters and what is Monroe County doing to ensure greater accessibility at the polls?…

National News (U.S.)

Justice Department Secures Agreement with Johns Hopkins Health System to Provide People with Disabilities Equal Access to Medical Care

September 13, 2024 | Source: DOJ

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 resolving allegations that the Johns Hopkins Health System Corporation (Johns Hopkins) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons. “Patients with disabilities may need the assistance of a support person, like a family member or aide, to have equal access to health care, especially during emergencies,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke…

Everyone can bird: Introductory outings highlight accessibility

September 13, 2024 | Source: Duluth News Tribune

At Woodstock Bay on Aug. 14, everything was provided. Anyone who showed up could borrow a pair of binoculars and choose a guide to follow. Mobility aids and American sign language interpretation were available, and the city even pitched in with a selection of snacks. No one, however, managed to make prior arrangements with the birds. “They’re kind of skulky today,” said Margie Menzies, peering out over the water. “This is the time of day when the raptors get out and start looking for breakfast and lunch, so it pays to be skulky and difficult to see.”…

Accessible Aroostook: The Impact

September 13, 2024 | Source: WAGM

Accessibility is a challenge in Aroostook County, both in terms of physical access and acceptance in the community. “Until you live this life, until you are in a wheelchair pretty much 24/7, you do not realize there’s no accessibility,” says Lisa Betancourth. Betancourth is a Fort Fairfield resident who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in 2020. Since becoming wheelchair bound in 2021 she has faced challenges in various sectors of her life, including getting basic needs like groceries, healthcare, or accessible housing…

Sen. Peter Welch visits the 1st adaptive mountain bike trail network in Vermont

September 13, 2024 | Source: VTDigger and Vermont Business Magazine

Mountain biking in Vermont should be more accessible to riders this fall, thanks to the first fully adaptive mountain bike trail network at the Richmond Mountain Trails in Bolton. U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., met with local tourism and outdoor recreation leaders at the trail, called The Driving Range, on Friday morning to highlight and discuss their efforts to bolster the state’s outdoor and recreation economy. “This is so astonishing to just be out to see this trail,” Welch told the group during a roundtable discussion at the top of one of the new paths…

Opinion: The MTA is committed to accessibility

September 14, 2024 | Source: City and State New York

Transit accessibility is not an abstract concept for me. As a wheelchair user, I brush up against the limitations of the subway system every day. I’m on the MTA website and app daily to check on elevator availability and changes in service that might cause trains to bypass accessible stations – and I use that lived experience to inform my work as MTA’s first-ever chief accessibility officer. From my vantage point, the agency has never been more committed to accessibility than it is now…

Walmart rolling out new inclusive, accessible carts at all Missouri locations

September 14, 2024 | Source: FOX 2 and News Nation

New carts have been rolled out at Walmart locations across Missouri, Arkansas and other states with a focus on accessibility and inclusivity. “Caroline’s Carts” are shopping carts specially designed with a large seat on the back to help caregivers of adults and children who have disabilities, limited mobility or injuries more easily make their way through the store. “Helping our customers save money and live better is more than our mission – it’s our driving force,” Cedric Clark, executive vice president of store operations at Walmart, said in a news release…

FDA approves some Apple AirPods to be used as hearing aids

September 14, 2024 | Source: NPR and Mashable

Two years after federal health officials approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, some Apple AirPods owners may soon be able to access the medical device in the comfort of their home with the click of a software update. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Apple’s new “Hearing Aid Feature” which will amplify sounds for people with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment. The Apple feature, coming this fall via a free software update, will only work with AirPods Pro 2 ear buds and iOS 18-compatible iPhones or iPads. It is intended for adults 18 or older…

How Maine is making it easier for voters with disabilities to participate in elections

September 15, 2024 | Source: Maine Morning Star

There can be many barriers to voting for people with disabilities, from transportation to filling out a paper ballot, but the Maine Department of the Secretary of State wants to ensure that all eligible voters can participate in elections. “Our elections are best when everyone has a chance to make their voice heard at the ballot box,” Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said in a news release. Following the 2023 election, Disability Rights Maine visited 160 polling places across all 16 counties and found that 79 — just about half — of them weren’t in compliance with accessibility laws…

Morgan’s Wonderland celebrates 15 years of inclusion and accessibility success

September 15, 2024 | Source: San Antonio Express-News

The number “15” is taking on great significance for Morgan’s, our nonprofit umbrella organization dedicated to promoting inclusion and accessibility, especially for children and adults with special needs. Morgan’s has grown to include Morgan’s Wonderland theme park, Morgan’s Inspiration Island splash park, Morgan’s Sports complex, the year-round Morgan’s Camp and Morgan’s Multi-Assistance Center, known as MAC. On April 10, Morgan’s Wonderland will mark its 15th anniversary as the world’s first ultra-accessible, fully inclusive theme park designed for those with special needs and built for everyone’s enjoyment…

MPS student without wheelchair accessible bus for two weeks despite assurances from district

September 16, 2024 | Source: TMJ4

It was another morning of waiting for MPS parent Deshaunte Smith and his son. After two weeks of not having a wheelchair-accessible bus, the district said Friday would be the day Smith’s son would be picked up. That was after Mariam Mackar started asking questions. Then, on Friday morning, after 20 minutes of waiting, no bus came—so again, Smith had to drive his son to school without his motorized wheelchair. “How did it feel to be standing there, again, with your son and not have a bus come?” Mackar asked…

How AI and other technologies are making the world more accessible to the blind

September 16, 2024 | Source: Delaware Public Media

Andrew Leland’s book, “The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight,” made it on many 2023 year-end best literary lists, including The New Yorker’s. Leland documents how his diminishing vision changes his relationship with technology, making it both more challenging to access and increasingly important to his independence. Innovations like AI-powered apps that allow people to learn what’s photographed through their cameras’ lenses are helping the blind…

Disability Rights Are Voting Rights

September 16, 2024 | Source: Ford Foundation

When Detroit Disability Power volunteers audited the city’s polling places for accessibility compliance in 2022, they found something troubling. They looked at four categories of accessibility required by law—accessible parking, accessible entrances, wheelchair-height voting booths, and accessible voting machines—and found that only 12% of the city’s polling places offered all four. But that percentage doesn’t tell the whole story: Even when polling places had wheelchair-height voting booths, they often weren’t private…

American breaking point: 41% say they’re at ‘peak stress’ right now

September 17, 2024 | Source: Study Finds

In a year marked by financial worries and political tension, a new survey has uncovered the staggering impact of stress on everyday Americans. The average person feels their head “spinning” from stress a whopping 156 times per year, translating to about three times a week. This alarming statistic is just one of many eye-opening findings from a recent study conducted by Talker Research for Traditional Medicinals. The survey, which polled 2,000 adults, also found that 41% of respondents are currently experiencing their peak stress levels for the year…

How Companies Can Use AI to Better Serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing Customers

September 17, 2024 | Source: Harvard Business Review

For more than three decades, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has served a critical role in advancing accessible and equitable communications for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The ADA has expanded the required use of sign language interpreters, mandated closed captioning on television, and has compelled access to telecommunications systems. While the ADA was passed long before today’s advanced technologies, its prescient call 34 years ago for equitable communications remains as relevant a guiding force as ever, a beacon illuminating a path toward accessibility in our AI-driven world…

Paratransit makes transportation accessible for public

September 17, 2024 | Source: The Times Leader

When Melissa Ryan developed late-life epilepsy, transportation became an unexpected issue. Based on her condition, Ryan cannot drive within six months of her last seizure. Even if she goes just shy of that threshold without an incident, one seizure will start the clock over again. A licensed massage therapist and owner of Quality Health Massotherapy in Steubenville, Ryan lives in Mingo Junction, meaning she has to commute. However, she said, the bus stop nearest to her home is nearly a quarter of a mile away and on the side of McLister Avenue, where she has the risk of having a seizure and falling into the roadway…

Mystery of America’s ‘Parkinson’s Belt’ where chemicals ‘are fueling frightening spike in brain-wasting disease’

September 17, 2024 | Source: Daily Mail

In multiple pockets across the country, scientists are watching a disturbing trend emerge – Parkinson’s rates are soaring. Experts suspect exposure to farming chemicals and factory fumes are to blame for the U-shaped portion of the US where rates of the debilitating disease are nearly 50 percent higher than national averages. Southern California, the sunbelt and rustbelt states make up the region which experts are calling America’s ‘Parkinson’s Belt’…

Together we can end the digital divide that disenfranchises 2.6 billion people

September 17, 2024 | Source: Reuters

There’s a gold rush today in the digital world, with estimates that the global digital economy could reach $20 trillion, opens new tab next year, fueled by advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, 5G and other technological innovations. Yet, in this rush for online prosperity, far too many lack the necessary tools to participate. A third of the global population, 2.6 billion people, remain digitally unconnected, cut off from the internet and its related, essential services. This glaring problem exacerbates inequality and prolongs poverty in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities…

The GOP’s Obamacare Agenda Just Reemerged From Hiding

September 18, 2024 | Source: HuffPost

Health care has been invisible for most of the presidential campaign. That changed at last week’s presidential debate, when Donald Trump answered a question about his intentions on the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). First Trump claimed to have “saved” the 2010 health care law despite having spent the first year of his presidency trying to repeal it. Then he promised that he had “concepts of a plan” for replacing it. Trump didn’t specify what these concepts were, which was nothing new…

Princeton launches digital access guides for more than 200 buildings, advancing physical accessibility on campus

September 18, 2024 | Source: Princeton University

To help ensure people with all abilities can thrive on campus, Princeton has launched an innovative digital guide that provides physical accessibility information for over 200 University buildings. The Princeton Accessibility Guides feature nearly every building on campus, including academic and administrative buildings, residential colleges, and parking and athletic facilities. Each building has a dedicated page, which also links to guides for lecture halls and other spaces inside the building. Measurements and photographs depicting key elements of the spaces include details on accessible entrances, elevators, restrooms and more…

Boston Center for Independent Living marks 50 years of helping disabled people live on their own

September 18, 2024 | Source: GBH

Historic Numbers of Americans Live by Themselves as They Age

September 17, 2024 | Source: KFF Health News

Meeting the Needs of America’s Older Adults: Could State-Level Plans Better Inform Planning at the Federal Level?

September 18, 2024 | Source: Joint Center for Housing Studies – Harvard University

Join or Die spotlights six community groups working to revitalize American civic life

When Peter Cronis was 8 years old, he was sent to live in a state institution. Cronis has arthrogryposis — which limits his body movements — and a severe form of scoliosis. He uses a wheelchair to get around. Growing up in the Boston area in the 1950s, there were few options for people with disabilities to live at home. He was far from his family and isolated. “I hated it,” he told GBH News recently. “I wanted to go home with my brothers … it was more fun at home with them than being cared for by nurses and strangers.”…

Jack Fact — According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 8 million people with blindness or low vision in the U.S. More than 4.23 million of them are working age, but only about half of that working-age population are employed.

Hit The Road Jack — New inclusionary experiences make Florida State Parks accessible to all and Best accessible gardens in the UK and 7 accessible fall foliage trails

International News

Saskatchewan advisory committee aims to improve accessibility in the province

September 14, 2024 | Source: Global News- Canada

The government of Saskatchewan has formed an accessibility advisory committee to help assess and improve accessibility in the province. Accessibility is challenging, as each disability can require different accommodations. “I am seeing strides in Saskatchewan,” said Bobbi Janzen, accessibility advisory committee member. The committee is made up of a range of people from Saskatchewan who have a range of disabilities so that all aspects of accessibility are assessed, as what is accessible for people with one disability might not be for others…

Critical to the disability justice movement, the Sugamya Bharat App usage decline raises concerns

September 14, 2024 | Source: Hindustan Times- India

This app is part of the Accessible India Campaign (AIC), launched by the social justice ministry’s empowerment of persons with disabilities department in 2015. Recent data on the Sugamya Bharat App indicates a concerning decline in the volume of complaints received and its resolution rate. Although the app initially demonstrated potential in addressing accessibility issues, recent trends pose critical questions for stakeholders, including the department of empowerment of persons with disabilities and the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities, as they consider revamping the app and related services…

Ballot process ‘discriminatory’ say Oasis fans seeking accessible tickets

September 15, 2024 | Source: The Standard- UK

Oasis fans needing accessible tickets to the band’s additional London shows have claimed the ballot process was “pure and utter discrimination”. The Britpop band, which reformed with brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher last month, created an invite-only ballot for their extra 2025 shows on September 27 and 28 at Wembley Stadium, with tickets going on sale on Saturday. Fans who were sent a ballot code were able to access the sale, with the Manchester band previously saying that people “signed in to (their) Ticketmaster UK account” during the original sale on August 31, but did not get a ticket, “may be eligible to take part”…

Construction already underway is exempt from new B.C. residential accessibility requirements

September 15, 2024 | Source: Vancouver Sun- Canada

Residential projects currently underway will be exempt from new provincial building rules that require all units to be adaptable to meet the needs of people with disabilities, said the housing ministry. Starting next March, all large new condominium and apartment buildings in B.C. have to be built to better accommodate someone with a disability. After pushback from the industry, which cited potential construction delays and additional costs to projects already in the pipeline, the provincial government said projects in midstream will be exempt from the new provisions…

UN criticizes Netherlands about disability accessibility

September 15, 2024 | Source: NL Times- Netherlands

The Netherlands is doing too little for people with disabilities in various areas, according to a UN committee that has assessed the situation in the country. In a critical evaluation, the committee shows concern about the accessibility of education, public transport, and the labor market. The members are also critical of compulsory treatment in mental health care, for example: the Netherlands should put an end to this, the members believe. Research and data have given the committee the impression that people with disabilities, and in particular intellectual disabilities, “still face stigmatization and discrimination.”…

Do you see blue or green? This viral test plays with color perception

September 16, 2024 | Source: The Guardian- UK

It started with an argument over a blanket. “I’m a visual neuroscientist, and my wife, Dr Marissé Masis-Solano, is an ophthalmologist,” says Dr Patrick Mineault, designer of the viral web app ismy.blue. “We have this argument about a blanket in our house. I think it’s unambiguously green and she thinks it’s unambiguously blue.” Mineault, also a programmer, was fiddling with new AI-assisted coding tools, so he designed a simple color discrimination test…

NZTA Commitment To Accessibility Questioned Following Block Of E-scooter Remote Piloting

September 16, 2024 | Source: Scoop- New Zealand

A decision from Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) to block e-scooter remote piloting function is being questioned by disability advocacy groups who support the technology as a solution to ease accessibility issues. New Zealand’s first e-scooter provider with remote reparking technology, Ario, has been instructed by NZTA to deactivate its re-parking technology or not use it. In an open letter, disability advocacy groups including CCS Disability Action, Disability Leadership Canterbury, and Access for All Otago, called on the Minister of Transport to “consider the immediate and potential impact of withdrawing this function from the people of New Zealand.”…

New Te Tai Tokerau Regional Accessibility Strategy

September 16, 2024 | Source: Scoop – New Zealand

A new strategy developed by Northland’s four local authorities looks to improve accessibility across the region, which has the country’s second highest rate of disabilities and impairments (29 percent). The Te Tai Tokerau Regional Accessibility Strategy was developed by the Whangarei, Far North and Kaipara District Councils along with the Northland Regional Council and comes after only 17% of participants in a 2020 survey thought their district was accessible…

Tourists with disabilities in Northern Ireland are being failed says campaigner Shelley Cowan

September 16, 2024 | Source: News Letter- Ireland

A Northern Ireland disability rights campaigner has launched a new initiative that will allow wheelchair users to enjoy ‘all inclusive’ accessibility at local hospitality venues and hotels. Shelley Cowan, from Enniskillen, was confined to bed, tube fed and unable to use her limbs for 12 years as a result of severe ME and spent a further decade as a wheelchair user. She is now using her lived experience and research findings into the ‘purple pound’, the spending power of disabled people and their families, to help make all venues accessible with her campaign #accommodationforall…

CBFC announces implementation of ‘Accessibility Standards’ in cinema theatres

September 16, 2024 | Source: The New Indian Express- India and PIB and The Mooknayak and Hindu

‘Accessibility Standards’ aimed at making cinema ‘inclusive and promote accessibility’ for persons with disabilities in public places like theatres, has come into effect. The guidelines were notified by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MI&B) in March. As per the guidelines, a producer will mandatorily develop a separate copy of the feature films with audio description, open or closed captioning and Indian Sign Language Interpretation for their understanding…

Landlord renews call for accessibility standard to be adopted for all new homes in England

September 16, 2024 | Source: Inside Housing- UK

Habinteg, an association that specialises in accessible and adaptable homes, said adaptations such as lifts, grab rails and wetrooms can leave individuals, families and councils footing bills of up to £27,000. The figure is based on the most challenging scenarios in homes that meet the current M4(1) ‘visitable’ accessibility baseline. But in homes built to meet the more demanding M4(2) accessible and adaptable standard, fitting the same set of adaptations can cost well below £10,000, according to the 3,300-home landlord…

Rail replacement coaches exempt from accessibility regulation

September 16, 2024 | Source: Bus and Coach Buyer- UK

DfT has announced exemptions to the Accessible Information Regulations (AIR) for coaches when used on rail replacement services, the CPT has revealed to B&CB. AIR is set to be implemented on 1 October 2024. The DfT’s exemptions are for coaches with more than 16 passenger seats used on rail replacement (local) services. A local service is one where separate fares are paid, either directly or indirectly for the right to be carried on a service, and where a passenger is able to alight within 15 miles of where they boarded…

Nestlé moves to assist consumers with sight loss in forging accessible QR codes

September 17, 2024 | Source: Confectionery Production- UK

A notable move to assist consumers with sight loss has been made by Nestlé Confectionery, which is trialling Accessible QR codes for its flagship KitKat and Quality Street, which will enable greater ease of access for customers, writes Neill Barston. The two core brands have remained firm favourites with shoppers among all age groups, with the business recently reporting strong sales across its chocolate portfolio, that has also focused increasingly on sustainable sourcing and recyclable packaging measures…

SCPD directs accessibility improvements for sports facilities in Nagaland

September 17, 2024 | Source: The Morung Express- India and Nagaland Tribune

The State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (SCPD) has directed the Department of Youth Resources and Sports to enhance accessibility in all sports facilities across Nagaland. This order follows a Suo Motu inquiry served to the department on February 29, 2024, regarding the implementation of accessibility provisions under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act. Joint inspections of the Directorate of Youth Resources and Sports building and the Multidisciplinary Sports Stadium in Chümoukedima were conducted on July 5 and July 17, 2024. The inspections revealed accessibility gaps in both facilities…

$956-million downtown Toronto courthouse plagued by accessibility issues, provincial report finds

September 17, 2024 | Source: Toronto Star- Canada

Provincial report finds accessibility issues at new Toronto courthouse September 17, 2024 | Source: Toronto Star- Canada

A report commissioned by the Ministry of the Attorney General has found numerous accessibility issues at the $956-million provincial courthouse in downtown Toronto. The problems, detailed in a 76-page report obtained by the Star, echo those described by disability rights activist David Lepofsky, in a YouTube video uploaded in August. They’re the latest in a string of problems to plague the controversial facility — meant to consolidate provincial court services — since it opened in March 2023, to criticism that it is too small, poses safety concerns, and resulted in a staffing crisis by forcing more people to commute longer distances…

Accessibility and inclusion to be highlighted in Chesterfield

September 17, 2024 | Source: Destination Chesterfield- UK

Local organisations are shining a light on accessibility and inclusion in Chesterfield, showcasing the support available for people with disabilities. Local disability support and community groups, supported by the Chesterfield Equality and Diversity Forum, are to hold a free event during National Inclusion Week and Chesterfield residents are invited to come along. Hosted alongside various disability organisations, the aim of the day is to spread awareness and show support around accessibility and inclusion in the Chesterfield area…

Enforce law on building accessibility for PWDs – J A Kufuor

September 18, 2024 | Source: Ghanaian Times- Ghana

Former President, John Agyekum Kufuor, has joined calls for the speedy enforcement of the law on building accessibility by Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) 18 years after its passage. According to him, it was high time that the government gave impetus to the law “to make it work” in order to ensure that PWDs had equal opportunities to living a life of dignity. “As a nation, we must be dynamic and rise to the occasion to make sure the law works because we cannot leave any segment of the society behind,” he stressed at the maiden “Disability Conversation”, organised by the John A. Kufuor (JAK) Foundation…

Why Accessible Space Travel Matters for Life on Earth

September 19, 2024 | Source: Condé Nast Traveler- UK

As someone who has lived and breathed the experience of navigating a world not always designed for me, the thought of space travel has always felt like a dream—a place where wheelchairs and paralysis would feel obsolete. But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to experience it firsthand. Just recently, as part of a documentary I co-produced with Reese Witherspoon’s company, Hello Sunshine, I took part in a zero-gravity flight. The experience was nothing short of life-changing…

Macao’s shoddy accessibility projects for the visually impaired have come under fire

September 20, 2024 | Source: Macao News- Macao

Significant shortcomings in the planning and execution of barrier-free pedestrian facilities for visually impaired people in Macao have been revealed by a new report from the Commission of Audit. The report, which was cited by the Macau Daily Times, focused on 34 medium and short-term accessibility projects proposed by a working group established back in 2013, and held a steering group responsible for planning rehabilitation services from 2016 to 2025 accountable for the projects’ deficiencies…

Can China Promote More Accessible Public Spaces?

September 19, 2024 | Source: Sixth Tone- China

It was a sweltering August evening, but business was brisk at HandyCup, a pub located on Shanghai’s historic Xinhua Road. As customers trickled in, some ordered craft beers and looked for a seat, while others simply rolled their wheelchairs up to the bar. HandyCup is Shanghai’s first “accessible pub.” Although China passed new accessibility regulations for public facilities last September, accessible “third spaces” — places outside the home or workplace — remain few in number…

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