


                         THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN



                      Quarterly Magazine of the 

                    CALIFORNIA COUNCIL OF THE BLIND



Winter, 2002, Volume 46, No. 1



      Published in Braille, Cassette, Diskette, and Large Print 




                     Catherine Skivers, President 
                          836 Resota Street 
                           Hayward, CA 94545
                           510-357-1986 Res.


                           Executive Office:
                             578 B Street
                           Hayward, CA 94541
                             800-221-6359
                             510-537-7877
                            e-mail ccotb@earthlink.net
                           Fax: 510-537-7830
                           www.ccbnet.org



                 Los Angeles Area Office, John Lopez 
             3925 East 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90023 
                             323-780-3500


                   Sacramento Area Office, Dan Kysor
                       225 15th St. 
                         West Sacramento, CA 95691
                             
                            916-371-1514
	Fax 916-371-7630
                       E-mail dan@ccbnet.org 


Please send all address changes to the Executive Office in Hayward. 




                       Editor: Winifred Downing
                           1587 38th Avenue
                        San Francisco, CA 94122
                             415-564-5798
                     E-mail wmdowning@mindspring.com




Call the CALIFORNIA CONNECTION at 800-221-6359 for an update on
legislation and CCB events Monday through Friday after 4 p.m. and all
day on weekends.  At these times it is available also in Spanish.



Nonmembers are requested and members are invited to pay a yearly
subscription fee of $10 toward the printing of THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN. 





If you or a friend would like to remember the California Council of the
Blind in your will, you can do so by employing the following language: 

"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the California Council of the Blind,
a nonprofit charitable organization in California, the sum of $---- (or
n----n) to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons."

If your wishes are more complex, you may have your attorney 
communicate with the Hayward office for other suggested forms. Thank
you.



                           TABLE OF CONTENTS

FROM THE EDITOR, by Winifred Downing 	1

PRESIDENT'S REPORT AND CONVENTION 
	ROUNDUP, by Catherine  Skivers 	3

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION'S DIRECTIVES ON 
	AIR TRAVEL 	9

SENIORS IN ACTION: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE
	ON THE SENIOR BLIND, bY bONNIE rENNY 	10

THE POPSICKLE TEST AND WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS 
	THE ROAD, Part 2, by Dan Kysor 	11

ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER TUTORIALS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS,
	by Carla Hayes 	16

AWARDS NOMINATIONS SOLICITED, by Roger Petersen 	17

RESCUING A BABY GOOSE, by Evelyn Drury 	18

MAKING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S INFORMATION 
	TECHNOLOGIES ACCESSIBLE, by Taymour Ravandi 	20

ALAPAY CELLARS 	24

BULLETIN BOARD, compiled by Keith Black 	26

SUMMARY OF CCB RESOLUTIONS, FALL, 2001,
	by Kenneth Frasse 	28

ESCAPE FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENER, submitted by 
	Sue Ammeter 	30

LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP, 2001, by Dan Kysor 	34

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT, by Rhonda King 	35

RFB&D VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION, by Brian Hall 	37

FEDERAL LEGISLATION, by Ahmad rahman 	39

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ACCESS AND 
	TRANSPORTATION, by Gene Lozano 	40

TELECOMMUNICATIONS: WHAT YOU SHOULD BE GETTING,
	submitted by Roger Petersen 	41

CCB OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS 	43

CCB PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE 	45    



In accepting material for THE BLIND CALIFORNIAN, priority will be given to articles concerning the activities and  policies of the California Council of the Blind and to the experiences and concerns of blind persons.  Recommended length is under 3 pages; if space constraints make it necessary to divide an article, every effort will be made to discuss the matter with the author before publication. 





	FROM THE EDITOR

	by Winifred Downing

	I've had several interesting experiences away from home since preparing the last issue of the BC.  I attended the September board meeting of the American Council of the Blind in Albuquerque as an ex officio member from the ACB Board of Publications, the convention of the California Council of the Blind in Los Angeles, and the Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference in Philadelphia.  You will read an account  of the CCB convention in this issue of the BC, and the November BRAILLE FORUM contains a report on the ACB Board meeting; but I want to tell you a little about the Getting in Touch with Literacy Conference, the previous session of which you may remember was held in San Francisco two years ago.  Though recognizing that taped and scanned material convey much information, the conference focuses only on ways in which blind and visually impaired persons, especially students, read for themselves.  
	It occurred in Philadelphia from November 7-11 at the Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel, beginning with a pre-conference gathering of 51 persons to study the proposed Unified English Braille Code.  Discussion of Sampler 1, the one most concerned with literary braille, proceeded without much reaction; but Sampler 2,  consisting of an extensive print document with simulated braille and a 2-volume braille book, was composed entirely of technical examples and provoked considerable comment.  On the plus side, both samplers are beautifully planned and produced, each example being preceded by a careful listing of the new symbols and practices involved and, in the case of the technical material, with an expression of the same symbols in the Nemeth Code.  Both the literary and technical braille samplers are available free of charge from the National Braille Press, 888-965-8965.  
	Eileen Curran, who directed the explanation of the material, was, as always, patient and respectful of all who asked questions or offered comments.  A number of those present pointed out what they considered to be complicated and lengthy UEBC ways of rendering technical material which could be done more efficiently in the Nemeth Code. 
	Actual registration for the conference was held on Thursday evening with a formal introduction and a keynote address on what is involved for children to learn to read and why some have difficulty acquiring that skill.  
	Over the three days, four types of activities were held: the Showcase consisting of subjects of general interest to the entire gathering; workshops, of which there were more than 40; exhibits where vendors showed their products; and Poster Sessions which offered a unique opportunity to allow an individual to show something he or she felt would be of concern to some persons attending the conference.  For three hours on Friday afternoon, poster presenters had tables at which they explained their presentations, answered questions, handed out materials, and behaved pretty much like the product exhibitors who rented space in the same room for the several days of the conference.  
	Kathy Krause, a long-time braille teacher and skilled transcriber of several braille codes, and I attended the conference mainly because we wanted to make sure that those who learned about the UEBC also understood the problems it presents.  Our poster was the only fully accessible one at the conference, for all the material was in both large print and braille.  It contained a negative statement about the UEBC and then 13 comments on the problems which would be caused if it is adopted.  We distributed the statements also in print and braille to anyone who wanted them.  I was surprised that, after 11 years of talk on the matter, a number (probably 10) people asked what the UEBC was and had never heard of it before.  What does that say about the exposure the professional journals have given to this extremely important consideration!  
	Two of the Showcase sessions I found particularly interesting dealt with well-known professionals and present students who began their education using large print.  Many of us who have used braille all our lives think of the large print user as someone who "passes"--who can in many ways enter the world of the sighted in a manner impossible for braille users; but we learned of the frustrations such students know, their sensitivity about the glasses and magnifiers they must use, their effort to run up after class to see the blackboard and copy what they had missed during class, the weariness of toting those huge print books, and, in many instances, their increased necessity for braille.  They now employ each medium for specific purposes, often isolating things like reading the amounts on bills for print use but having to know exactly what line or colored box to look for.  While they have the advantage of two media they can use, they rarely experience the ease with braille that is known to students who learn it early and employ it extensively.  
	The workshops covered a wide variety of subjects: teaching the deaf-blind, literacy for students with autism, strategies for using video magnifiers, criteria for competence in braille literacy, surveys on producing material in specialized media and training braille transcribers, historical trends in grade 1 and grade 2 braille, and so on.  A workshop on preparing the student for his/her first job dealt with many items I'd never thought about like the fact that many blind persons have not seen a check, don't know what a bank statement looks like, have no familiarity with job benefits or what they should cover, have an inadequate appreciation of the importance of appearance and social demeanor, and lack a realistic understanding of how much help they can expect from the people with whom they will work.  
	Another workshop concerned the preparation of braille teachers and of transcribers.  Of the teachers present, only one has as many as four students, and most have two with many working with only one. The vast majority of children with severe vision problems also have other physical, mental, or emotional disabilities which seriously limit their educational possibilities.  Teachers who do not have a braille student for a year or two find review  essential; and it is for them that increased use of the braille competency test developed by the National Library Service and the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired may be of particular importance.  Many states, including California, do not require that teachers pass the test.  Surveys were done on teacher preparation in 1989 by Stuart Wittenstein and last year by  Sheila Amato, and it is encouraging to note the increased emphasis on learning the Nemeth Code and the use of the slate and stylus.  
	Thank you to the  California Council of the Blind for giving me the opportunity to learn of educational developments in the blindness field and to inform others about the UEBC.  
	The next deadlline for articles for this magazine is March 1, 2002.


	PRESIDENT'S REPORT AND CONVENTION ROUNDUP

	by Catherine Skivers

	Many members and friends have written to us saying that they thought our fall convention, held in Los Angeles, was the best one we have had.  I was pleased to know that others felt the same way I did.  In an attempt to save space in the "Blind Californian," I am combining my report and that of the convention.  If you or your chapter are interested in receiving tapes of the convention, they are available.  Regrettably, the banquet tape did not turn out well nor the one for the Presidents' Dinner.  The tapes of my report and all our speakers and other events, however, are very good.
	Our conventions have turned into 4-day affairs instead of the customary 3 1/2.  On Thursday the Rehabilitation Services and Technology committees joined forces to present speakers who talked about technology as it relates to accessibility and employment.  
	Most of those who were at the convention on Thursday attended the open meeting of the Board of Directors that evening.  Our members enjoy the opportunity to see their board in action, hear what the members are doing and have the chance to speak in public comment at the close of the meeting.  After reviewing the minutes, we heard from Treasurer Peter Pardini, who gave a detailed report that won approval from all present because of the sound financial position in which CCB finds itself.  Treasurers' reports are available to members upon request to our office in Hayward.  Daniel Klein, CCB's broker with Paine Webber, reviewed our account and talked to us about today's market and the CCB's positive financial condition.  
	Eugene Lozano described a national conference led by America Walks in Oakland in August.  The seven CCB members who attended made a positive impact on the people with whom they met.  CCB has applied for membership in this congress.  Part 2 of Dan Kysor's article with details on the meeting appears in this issue of the BC.  
	We were pleased to have with us Chris Gray, President of the American Council of the Blind; Ardis Bazyn, ACB Treasurer; and Mitch Pomerantz, a member of the ACB Board of Directors.  Also, Winifred Downing is on the national Board of Publications and does the same fine job for ACB in that capacity as she does with the BC.  
	This year the ACB Scholarship Committee is again striving to increase funds by selling $100 tickets with a maximum of 300 available.  the first prize is $10,000 with three other cash prizes.  The CCB Board of Directors voted to purchase five tickets.  ACB hopes that many individuals and chapters will purchase tickets to realize the $30,000 necessary to make this venture monetarily successful.  
	Problems in the delivery of the "Blind Californian" were brought before the Board.  We seem to have difficulty in getting the various formats out in a timely fashion.  The president and office staff will work in an attempt to improve the situation.  We will be contacting the various vendors that supply us with the magazine to see if we can make arrangements for faster service.  
	The Board voted to send 6 people to Washington, DC to attend the ACB Legislative seminar the first week in March.  
	Various ideas were advanced for the  spring convention.  Barbara Rhodes suggested that we have a blood mobile and a speaker at the spring convention so that we can make blood donations; a motion was passed to consider this blood drive.  If you plan to attend the spring convention and if you are willing to participate by giving blood or would be interested in hearing from a speaker on this subject, please contact the office immediately.  
	Dr.  Martin Jones and the students are planning to have a bike-a-thon from San Francisco to San Jose.  Please let the office know if you want to ride.  The Board indicated interest in this venture if at least four riders wish to participate. 
	The hospitality room, with Kevin Berkery as bartender, was, as always, a popular gathering place.  
	On Friday, there were individual committee meetings and combined sessions.  One of the most interesting of these programs was presented by the Committee on Access and Transportation and the California Council of Citizens with Low Vision.  Among the topics discussed were voting machines which were demonstrated and which were also available for examination throughout the convention in the exhibit hall, ably managed by  Obbie Schoeman.  CCB has been participating for some time with various local and state agencies to achieve accessible voting for blind and visually impaired Californians.  
	At a luncheon held by the Association for Multi-Cultural Concerns, the Tony Toscanelli Award was presented to Maria Lopez for all the fine work she has done throughout the years for CCB and to assist the blind in other countries.  Maria was very gracious in accepting this well deserved tribute.  Commendation and thanks are due also to John Lopez, who played beautiful piano music prior to all the general convention sessions.  We are fortunate to have someone of John's talent willing to share his gift with us.  
	The Friday afternoon session began a little differently from our usual procedure, for we had invited a chorus, known as Kaleidoscope,  from the Braille Institute of America to sing for us.  They have that name because their group is made up of young and older people and people of all nationalities and of many colors.  Their extremely capable director and fine accompanist is David Simpson.  The chorus presents an annual Johnny Mercer festival and sang some of his songs during the 30-minute concert.  They exhibited originality and talent in a varied selection of songs in several languages and ended by singing Handel's Halleluiah chorus, gospel style.  They were enthusiastically received by our audience with a standing ovation and set the tone for the whole convention.  	
	Tom Lee, Chief of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired of the Social Services Department, holds the position formerly held for many years by Perry Sundquist and more recently by Lynda Bardis.  Lee talked about the current services being provided by his agency, which include the program for the guide dog food allowance, SSI, and so forth.  He believes his agency could, and should, do more for the blind and visually impaired of California, and he hopes to use the experience he has gained through working as a bureaucrat for 25 years to find money to improve employment opportunities.  He plans to meet with CCB representatives and other organizations in December to begin making plans for how to improve services for the unemployed and particularly "one stop" centers.  Currently these programs, which are supposed to be available for everyone, are not designed well to include blind and visually impaired persons.  
	Jim Abrams, vice president of the Hotel and Motel Association, described the education that is being done with the hotel and motel industry.  Employees are being taught how to cooperate with people who have service dogs.  They are also working in conjunction with police departments and others.  He showed two films which demonstrated the progress being made and urged CCB to continue discussions with him.  I have routinely urged committees, chapters and affiliates to recommend speakers, and we thank Melita Waters,  President of Guide Dogs of California, for arranging for us to meet with Mr.  Abrams.   
	A  legislative report was given to the Board of Directors on Thursday evening and again to the general session by Dan Kysor as the last speaker of that session.  The report can be found elsewhere in this issue, but I know we are all very proud of the fine job Dan is doing as our Director of Governmental Affairs.  
	There are always committee meetings after the final general session of the day.  Rhonda King, Chair of the Membership Committee, joined me in meeting with the first-timers at the convention.  They all sounded as though they liked what they were experiencing, and we hope they will come back again.  
	The Presidents' Dinner was chaired by Pat LaFrance-Wolf, President of the San Gabriel Valley Chapter.  People talked about what was going on in their chapters and affiliates and urged attendance at the various activities that were available.  Friday evening the second general session began with the report by the Credentials committee well handled by Frank Welte followed by my presentation.  I talked about the things in which CCB is involved, beginning by expressing my thanks to my staff, without whom I could not keep the heavy schedule I have, and we could not do all that must be accomplished in our office.  It was pleasant to publicly greet a visitor, a former CCB Treasurer, Chuck Smalley.  Not only does he send us contributions during the year, but he came all the way from Wisconsin to be with us.  We really appreciated his being present.  While I am pleased with CCB's current financial status, we are trying to get another fundraiser.  Our good fortune has come from some substantial bequests, some good fundraisers, and support from our chapters and affiliates, and individual members.  We work closely with the Blind Alliance for Rehabilitation Change, with Sensory Access Foundation, the Earle Baum Center of the Blind and the Lions Blind Center in Oakland.  CCB is also on the Blind Advisory Committee of the Department of Rehabilitation and the Blindness Advisory Task Force of the California Department of Education.  We can send a tape of my report to any chapter that wants it.  
	As the next convention offering, Jeff Thom led a panel with Ann Kysor and Kevin Collin on crime victims and law enforcement.  Jeff had gone to San Diego to help peace officers find ways to work with disabled persons who have been assaulted or victimized in some way.  The panel pointed out that crimes against disabled persons are approximately 10 times greater than for those who do not have a disabilities.  Kevin Collin described experiences he had in trying to talk to a police officer when he had experienced two near accidents.  Although the subject was quite serious, Kevin presented it so humorously that we will probably remember it for a long time.  Ann Kysor is working on a statewide crime prevention committee.  
	Elections were held and the following people were chosen: Second Vice President, Ken Metz; Secretary, Ardis Bazyn; Directors, Dr. Martin Jones, Jane Kardas, Al Biegler, Eugene Lozano, Jr.  and Richard Rueda.  Richard is a newcomer, having been extremely helpful with our student  organization and a member of the Blind Advisory Committee of the Department of Rehabilitation.  Recently he became a rehabilitation counselor.  He will be a real asset to CCB.  
	The Saturday afternoon program began with Dr. Dennis Kelleher, Special Education Consultant for the State Department of Education, explaining his duties with visually and orthopedicly impaired students and the deaf-blind.  He has an extensive background in education and is the liaison between the Department of Education and the Blind Advisory Task Force  recently appointed by Delaine Eastin.  He provides information on assistive technology and technical assistance and referral to teachers, parents, administrators and interested and members of the community.  Dennis joined the Education Committee during its meeting on Saturday morning.  Dr. Joy Efron, Principal of the Frances Blend School in Los Angeles, and Jane Vogel, chair of the Joint Action Committee,  had also attended that meeting.  Dr. Efron told us the sad news that a federal judge has ruled that all special schools in the Los Angeles district must be integrated.  This poses a real threat to the Frances Blend School, and CCB will have to watch carefully.  It was interesting to learn that the school for the deaf is not required to be integrated.    
	Dr. Catherine Campisi, Director of the Department of Rehabilitation, was unable to be with us because her mother had suffered a serious stroke a few days earlier.  We are pleased to be able to tell you that her mother is at home and much improved.  In Dr. Campisi's absence, Lynda Bardis, Deputy Director Specialized Services for the Blind, and Melinda Wilson, Chief Deputy Director, came to us.  They talked about the many initiatives that are being undertaken to streamline the work of 
the counselors, which in turn will improve services to their clients.  We were especially grateful to Lynda, who came in spite of a broken leg she had sustained in an accident which occurred just a few weeks before.  Both presenters urged CCB to work closely with the Department in an effort to improve their programs.  
	Mr.  Lou Dedir, Voting Systems Analyst from the office of the California Secretary of State, told us about the many different kinds of voting machines being produced by numerous vendors.  He pointed out that, because the vendors are trying to make improved products in California, changes occur almost daily in the various types of voting equipment.  The state will not accept any final product that does not meet the needs and approval of the disabled people who are to use them.   
	The president of the Whittier Chapter and executive director of Inter-Community Blind Centers in Whittier, Gerry Konsler, was our final speaker of the third general session.  Although Gerry has been a member for a long time, we had no idea he was such an accomplished speaker.  While giving us some great information about experiencing stress and handling it, he posed trivia questions and gave out prizes as he went along.  He talked about seniors and how we view life as we get older, and how people are differently affected by their experiences.  Some people fear death, though it is a natural part of the process of life.  His speech is one members may also want to order on tape; for I realized in listening to it again in preparing this report, there just is no way anyone could do his presentation justice in a few words of summary.  I just wish all of you could hear it.  
	The banquet had Ken Metz as master of ceremonies.  Among those present were Mr. and Mrs.  John Catalano.  John is the nephew of Tony Mannino, and is one of the Trustees of our Mannino Scholarship Fund.  He got a chance to meet the this year's recipient of this scholarship, Rhonda King.  Al Biegler introduced several of our scholarship winners.  They spoke of the subjects they were taking and thanked CCB. 
	Chris Gray, ACB President, was our banquet speaker.  He discussed the necessity of fundraising in ACB, the legislation in which the organization is involved, and his future plans as president.  We are proud and pleased to have Chris as ACB's new President and to see California once again so well represented as officers and on the ACB Board of Directors.   
	Winners of the CCB fundraiser were announced.  We did very well in spite of the fact that we began late this year.  We will try it again next year and begin much earlier.
	Jeff Thom and Penny Frazier received 25 year pins and were commended for the work they have done for CCB.  I thank the chapters and affiliates for the contributions they made to the scholarship and general funds.  They also did a great job in providing door prizes given throughout the convention.  
	The evening's festivities also featured great guitar music by Brad Bogarty, president of the High Desert Chapter.  To the delight of all present, Brad also played in the hospitality room following the banquet.  
	Dr. Martin Jones and Gussie Morgan led the Sunday morning devotional service.  We have some terrific singers in our organization, and being together for prayers and hymns was a great way to start the day.  At this service we remember those who are ill or who have passed away between conventions.  
	One of the topics that came up for discussion at the Sunday morning session was the dues increase in ACB from $3 to $5.  Ardis Bazyn, chair of the Constitution and ByLaws Committee for CCB and also treasurer of ACB, will join us in a discussion of the dues changes at our spring convention.  
	Kenneth Frasse, Resolutions Committee chair, and Jeff Thom presented nine resolutions passed at the convention.  They are summarized later in this issue.  Ahmad Rahman gave a fine report on federal legislation and will follow through as a representative of CCB.  
	No convention report can bring to you the energy and friendship experienced by those who attend.  Because of our current positive financial position, the Board has managed to  make arrangements so that members will have the same $70 rate for single and double rooms at the next three conventions as we had for this one.  I urge you all to join us in the spring.  Our focus will be on increasing membership.  A prize is being given to the chapter or affiliate with the greatest percentage of increase in its membership.  The first award was won by the Greater Bakersfield Chapter, which increased membership by 73%.  If each of us brings in just one member, we can easily double the membership of CCB. 
	The spring convention will be held May 2-5, 2002, at the Marriott Hotel in Burlingame, the airport Marriott.  The San Mateo Chapter will be the host chapter.  Frank Welte is president there, and I am looking forward to working with him and his  chapter members.  Be sure to get your suggestions for program items in as soon as possible.  I hope to see many of you at that time.  I am asking that my fine committee chairpersons will tell you something about their excellent programs in this and subsequent issues of the Blind Californian.  


	DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DIRECTIVES ON AIR TRAVEL

	The Department of Transportation issued directives on non-discrimination on the basis of disability in light of the heightened security measures in airports and on planes in the aftermath of the terrorists attacks.  These directives include the following provisions:
	"Air carriers must provide Meet and Assist services at drop-off points.
	Individuals assisting passengers with disabilities are allowed beyond the screener checkpoints.  These individuals may be required to present themselves at airline's check-in desk and receive a 'pass' allowing them to go through the screener checkpoint without a ticket.
	The limit of one carry-on bag and one personal bag (e.g. purse or briefcase) for each traveler does not apply to medical supplies and/or assistive devices.  Passengers with disabilities generally may carry medical equiptment, medications, and assistive devices on board the aircraft.
	All persons allowed beyond the screener checkpoints may be searched.
	Service animals, once inspected to ensure prohibited items are not concealed, are permitted on board an aircraft.  Any backpack or sidepack that is carried on the animal will be manually inspected or put through the X-ray machines.  The service animal's halter may also be removed for inspection.
	Assistive devices, such as walking canes, once inspected to ensure prohibited items are not concealed, are permitted on board an aircraft.  Assistive devices such as augmentative communication devices and Braille 'N Speaks will go through the same sort of security screening process as used for personal computers.
	Air carriers must ensure that qualified individuals with a disability, including those with vision or hearing impairments, have timely access to information, such as new security measures, the carriers provide to other passengers.  For example, on flights to Reagan Washington National Airport, persons are verbally warned to use the restrooms more than a half hour before arrival since after that point in time passengers are required to remain in their seats.  Alternative formats are necessary to ensure that all passengers, especially deaf persons, understand new security measures such as the one at Reagan Washington National."


	SENIORS IN ACTION: REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
	THE SENIOR BLIND

	by Bonnie Renny, Committee Chair

	Visually impaired seniors are a valued human resource, whose numbers and visibility in society are increasing.  Their needs and capabilities deserve a public platform of attention.  The contributions they can make and their impact on the larger society are important to everyone, regardless of age or visual status.  
	In recognition of this truth , our committee strives to do what it can to address some of the needs and promote the welfare of seniors experiencing vision loss.  We are currently a small but motivated group, interested in reaching out not only to fellow CCB members and those who attend our programs at conventions but to the larger visually impaired population.  We only wish we had as many resources to work with as we have ideas.  We are starting small but are progressing toward an exciting future. 
	These are some of our activities for this past year.  Some of us have committed to collecting and updating information on local resources useful to blind and visually impaired seniors.  This will allow us to point people in the right direction whenever we come in contact with those looking for assistance.  	In addition to purposefully gathering such information, we continue to work at facilitating communication and camaraderie among ourselves.  We can thus gain from the experience of each other and cultivate a network of encouragement and support to include others.  The Senior Legal Hotline in Sacramento serves people in the northern half of California.  We learned from their presentation.  Perhaps their awareness of disability issues was heightened by their contact with us. 
	We have provided spring and fall convention programs on useful topics.   Our recent convention program was a panel of committee members leading a discussion of what to do for "help isn't helpful."  This included tips on how to get the best of readers or housekeeping help, whether paid or volunteer, and dealt with the emotional fallout from having a bad experience.  In a general session, we heard from Gerry Konsler, one of our committee members and past Chair of Senior Blind.  Both inspirational and humorous, he gave an excellent presentation on coping, aging, and stress.  Be sure to inquire about the tape at the CCB office. 
	We are looking forward to next year and many interesting opportunities.  We may do a spring convention program related to family issues.  It is certainly known that coping with vision loss can turn into a family affair and that it can be in our interest as seniors to address the concerns of our families regarding our vision loss. Stay tuned for more on that.  We also want to network more with some of the other CCB committees and special interest affiliates, where our mutual goals intersect.
	Two of us are pursuing a project to produce and distribute our own Senior Blinds greeting cards, with positive messages and accompanying pictures on them.  When shared in the community with targeted populations, they could be used for public education and encouragement.  We hope there will be more to report on that next year.
	Finally, we have just identified a concrete advocacy effort, one in which you may want to participate.  Many seniors do belong or would like to belong to the American Association of Retired Persons and would read its magazine, Modern Maturity, if it were in an accessible format.  The committee is writing a letter to AARP, asking it to produce Modern Maturity on cassette tape.  If you would be interested in receiving this magazine on tape, we urge you to also write your individual letter to AARP and say so.  We also ask you to contact your NLS service provider soon and ask that the magazine be added to the list of available publications.  As we know, the more such requests that these entities receive, the more likely they are to respond affirmatively.  Having increased interface with the AARP community could in turn have other public awareness benefits for us.  
	Thanks to our committee members for their hard work, caring, and many innovative ideas.  You need not be a committee member to furnish us with your good ideas at any time.  And remember, everyone will eventually be a senior, so it's in your self interest to care about the senior visually impaired. 
	I can be contacted at 714-870-9135, or on the Web at: eal727200@aol.com. 


	THE POPSICKLE TEST AND WHERE THE RUBBER 
	MEETS THE ROAD, Part 2

	by Dan Kysor

	(This is the second part of Dan Kysor's summary of the principles adopted by the National Congress of Pedestrian Safety Advocates which met in Oakland, California, August 16-18, 2001.  Seven representatives of the California Council of the  Blind attended this important meeting.)
	Principle 5. Sidewalks Must Be Comfortable.  Most towns permit sidewalks to be built in pieces.  A house or store is built, and a portion of sidewalk is laid.  By contrast, roads and utilities are constructed in advance of an entire commercial center or neighborhood.  Only well designed and complete sidewalk systems will work.  They must be wide enough to allow two people to walk side by side--a minimum width of 5 feet.  When next to curb lines, the minimum width must be 6 feet; in commercial and school districts, 8 1/2 feet; and in large, downtown areas 20 to 30 feet.  
	Sidewalks require buffers and edges. In suburban areas planter strips of 4-6 feet, with landscaping and trees create ideal street buffers.  Fencing, shrubs, and other features facing private property form edges to parking lots, open lots or other areas that must be traversed.  With roadways carrying traffic of higher speed and volume, sidewalk comfort is achieved with bike lanes, on-street parking, or some other physical buffer.  
	Sidewalks require maintainence.  While streets are routinely swept, patched, reconditioned and serviced, sidewalks are usually ignored.  Though they may not need repair in a given area for as long as 50 or 60 years, they will eventually need attention.  Healthy neighborhoods have adequate measures to identify and correct maintenance problems.    
	Principle 6.  Streets Must Be Crossed with Ease.  To cross streets, pedestrians want to go no more than 150 feet out of their way.  Well designed  towns plan convenient crossing points each 300 feet.  When fewer organized crossing points are established, sporadic or spontaneous street crossings by frustrated pedestrians create unsafe, unpredictable movement.  At
non-signalized intersections guidance is weak, and at mid-block
crossing points, it is almost nonexistent.  Recent Federal
Highway Administration research and applications point to
creative and helpful ways to assist pedestrians in crossings.
Dispersal and testing of these principles, however, is still limited.  Several large cities are building and testing highly successful mid-block crossing points.  Some roadways are purposely narrowed to two-lanes with medians.  Multiple-lane roads need advanced stop bars, signing, enhanced crosswalk markings, improved lighting, and some call for mechanized systems.
		Principle 7.  Keep Urban Traffic Dispersed and Low Speed.  Although speed should be factored with the functional and regional traffic movement needs, there is rarely justification for traffic to move faster than 30 mph in most areas and 20 mph in some.  Towns taking aggressive action to curtail speeding,
especially many European communities, are achieving injury
reductions from 30-70 percent and greatly enhancing walking, transit, bicycling and other modes of travel.  Some large cities are keeping traffic moving while reducing the number of travel lanes.  The most common lane reduction is removing two lanes on a multi-lane highway, replacing the two travel lanes with turn lanes or medians with turning pockets, bike lanes and edge treatments.  Prudent drivers set the speed. The road looks narrower, and most drivers accommodate the changed conditions.  These changes can occur with rebuilt roadways and sometimes merely by using paint.  Volumes of 16-20,000 vehicles per day are common, while some communities are pushing upper limits with roads of 24-30,000 vehicles per day.  In many cases, crashes are reduced 30-70 percent.
	Many towns are finding that narrower travel lanes in urban areas can also reduce speeds.  Although there is no change in speed when lanes are reduced from 12 feet to 11 feet, a further reduction to 10 feet, and even 9 feet, is showing speed reductions and measurable improvements in safety and fewer personal injuries.  
	To reduce the cost of long-term maintainance and increase the speed of traffic, some towns paved over older brick or paver-stone streets.  Orlando, Florida, for example, brought back 3.1 miles of brick streets (out of 351 miles available) and is improving the value of homes in the central urban area.  Residents are agreeing to pay 75 percent of the road reconditioning costs.  Brick streets generally reduce speeds to 20 mph, enhancing safety and promoting livability.
	Principle 8.  Keep Traffic Moving.  Motorists are less bothered by the speed at which they travel than by the number of times they must stop and wait.  A proliferation of stop signs, traffic signals and other delays, because of lack of access management and other reasons, have led to high levels of motorist frustration.  
Today, towns are taking stronger measures to retool areas that have unwarranted stop signs and signals.  
	One of the most powerful tools for keeping traffic in motion is the roundabout.  I'll take a moment to assure you that Burden knows that, to many blind and visually impaired pedestrians, the term "roundabout" denotes inaccessibility.  With the roundabout, the pedestrian must catch the eye of the driver to achieve a safe crossing.  We were able to convince Burden that a thorough study in this area is essential. Debbie Grubb with be arranging such a study soon with leaders of the orientation and mobility community, the blind and visually impaired pedestrian community, and Mr. Burden.  Note: The California Department of Transportation, known as Caltrans, does not support the use of roundabouts. 
	States like Florida and Colorado have as many as 100 roundabouts in design or on the ground, while dozens of other states, like California, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Maryland and Missouri have built and are testing new designs. Florida's newest and largest roundabout located in Clearwater Beach, moves 60,000 vehicles and 8,000 pedestrians on peak days.
	Principle 9. Build Green Streets. For far too many years American cities have allowed existing urban street trees to deteriorate and die or failed to plant them on new streets.  Pedestrians have great need for the shade and ambiance that green affords, and motorists, too, are affected by the presence or absence of street trees.  In general, motorists use urban trees to assess and gauge their driving speed.  Measures in places like Birmingham, Michigan, have reduced speeds by 10-15 mph when street trees are present.  Landscaping is now considered a primary component of traffic calming.  Although expensive to maintain, street trees are a major factor in converting and reducing impacts of harmful auto emissions.  They tend to cool street temperatures by 4-7 degrees and help lengthen the life of asphalt where full canopies are allowed to develop.  
	Principle 9. Build Bike Lanes.  Pedestrians and bicyclists consider many of the suburban streets built in the past fifty years overly wide.  Beginning in 1991 officials of the Florida Department of Transportation has committed to converting  most of urban and rural highways of the state to new designs with shoulders and bike lanes.  The Oregon Department of Transportation has evidence of the benefits from shoulders and bike lanes, only two of which are for bicyclists.  They allow space for temporary storage of vehicles while fire and other emergency vehicles pass.
	Principle 10. Build Compact Intersections.  It is not always possible or desirable to keep traffic in motion with roundabouts.  More and more intersections are being designed to remain compact and efficient to maximize pedestrian crossings.  Washington D.C.'s Pennsylvania Avenue, and K Streets are national showcases for highly efficient designs accommodating a rich mix of tens of thousands of cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, and pedestrians daily.  Pennsylvania Avenue offers 8 lanes of travel during peak hours, while K Street moves 6 lanes.  Both offer good signals, markings, crosswalks, lighting, turning radii, and other accommodations worthy of world study.
	Principle 11.  Provide ADA Access.  A simple street crossing should help people navigate to a crossing point, make easy entry and detect the exit.  Simple in concept, the many elements of streets make this goal hard to achieve.  When sidewalks are placed connected to streets without the aid of buffers, each driveway becomes an extreme challenge.  Although the simple answer is to build planter strips, some locations make this impractical.  Solutions like ramping at each driveway and splitting the elevations must be tested, and others must be generated.
	Principle 12.  Build Public Space.  Human beings crave places near their work and living quarters that offer pleasant settings for interaction--storehouses of events and memories.  These places can be well-designed corners or intersections or elaborate, centrally located parks.  It is in public spaces that we celebrate being alive: share anniversaries and birthdays, assemble for neighborhood or town festivals, take part in political rallies.  They provide pleasant days for children,  friends and strangers to gather and opportunities to learn  tolerance and acceptance by mingling with people different from ourselves.  Indeed, it is highly unlikely that a strong society or civilization could maintain itself if it were not for public spaces.  Transportation officials must be attuned to the operation of public spaces, and most urban public streets should
be built and maintained with these spaces in mind.  The city rated as most livable on earth is Melbourne, Australia, which requires all homes to be within 1/8th mile of a public park.
	Principle 13. Build with Proper Size and Scale.   Suburban and urban areas are challenged to build and maintain small realms.  It is always easier to provide one or a few 15-30 acre parks than 30 to 60 half-acre or 1-acre parks.
	Today, churches, many businesses and even schools are
designed to serve a whole region.  Big box retail shops of 40,000 to 120,000 square feet are more profitable than small-scale operations.  Postal services have been stripped from downtown settings to make way for greater postal efficiency or added parking.  Unfortunately, these trends shatter the ability of most people to walk, bicycle or otherwise conveniently reach these services.  Where it was once possible for a family to make as few as 2-4 trips in a car daily, the number has climbed to 10-12.  Road systems cannot handle this demand, and the living style compromises the concept of neighborhoods, village style living, and sustainable communities.  
	Towns and regions are beginning to adopt codes, zoning regulations, and policies to maintain proper size and scale of buildings and services.  Palo Alto, California, for example,
does not allow any grocery store to be more than 30,000 square
feet.  New, mixed-use neighborhoods are designed to cancel many daily trips, using the concept of the corner store, the friendly barber and the small, well-managed hardware store.  Of greatest importance is sensitive placement and sizing of schools and community centers. 
	Principle 14. Provide Mixed Uses and Mixed Incomes.   The greatest impact on traffic is the zoned separation of activities.  Many people can no longer live, play, work and shop at walkable distances from their homes whereas new neighborhood designs mix shopping, residential, play and work centers.  People of various income levels live in homes of different sizes through careful site planning.  The added diversity and ability of people to live in cosmopolitan neighborhoods, where everyone has access and the ability to go places and do things, is vital to a walkable setting and healthy
community. 
	Following the explanation of these principles, Debbie Grubb observed that,  "If these pedestrian advocates truly get what they hope to realize, towns and cities all over this country and Canada will be heaven for us."
	She gave a virtual walk showing the audience every kind of
street crossing and signal configuration and discussing the frustrations of sidewalk barriers and street crossings for blind and visually impaired pedestrians, thus making the Congress aware  of our issues.  
	Gene Lozano furthered this effort by conducting a workshop in the streets of oakland from the perspective of the blind and visually impaired.  Contrasting colors for crosswalks, audible pedestrian signals and street and sidewalk barriers were just a few of the topics he covered. 
	We left the congress with the feeling that all of us have the same thing in common, traffic, roadways and sidewalks which need to be much friendlier.  We furthered the awareness of the needs of the blind and visually impaired and have begun to build alliances with these advocates.  The ACB Pedestrian Safety Handbook was left with virtually every member of the national congress.  
	For further information on America Walks contact the Web Site at www.americawalks.org.
For further information on the American Council of the Blind's
Pedestrian Safety Handbook, go to www.acb.org or telephone 202-467-5081.  For information on CCB pedestrian safety legislation, contact the CCB Governmental Affairs office at 916-648-3936 or e-mail dan@kysor.net 


	ACCESSIBLE COMPUTER TUTORIALS AND 
	REFERENCE MATERIALS

	by Carla Hayes

(This article appeared in the  September, 2001 issue of THE BLIND TEACHER, the newsletter of the National Association of Blind Teachers, an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind.  Anyone interested in knowing more about the NabT should write to its president, Granger Ricks, 1699 Oxford Drive, Morrow, GA 3025\60gricks@mail..clayton.edu)
	In light of the computer tutorial workshop that NABT presented at the ACB convention in Des Moines last summer, here is a list of some sources of accessible computer tutorials and reference materials. 
	American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, KY 40206-0085; Phone: 800-223-1839
	Braille, Inc., 110 Commerce Drive, Suite 210, Fayetteville, GA 30214; Phone: 770-716-9222 or Toll Free, 877 993-4994 
	Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, 1421 P Street NW,
Washington, DC 20005;
Phone: 202-462-2900
	Crisscross Technologies, 110-64 Queens Boulevard, No. 406, Forest Hills, NY 11375; Phone: 718-268-6988
	Easy Talk, 4128 Kreisch Way, Tallahassee, FL 32310; Phone: 850-942-9821
	Ferguson Enterprises, 104 Anderson Avenue, Manchester, SD 57353-5702; Phone: 605-546-2366
Freedom Scientific Blind/Low Vision Group, 11800 31st Court North, St. Petersburg, FL 33716; Phone: 727-803-8000, or Toll Free, 1800-444-4443 
	The Iowa Department for the Blind, Through its Project Assist Program, offers screen reader specific tutorials for a number of popular applications.  For more information, call: 515-281-1357.
	National Braille Press, 88 St. Stephen Street, Boston, MA 02115-4302; Phone: 800-548-7323
In addition to computer instructional materials, NBP sells braille reference cards for several popular programs and applications.
	Top Dot Enterprises, 8930 11th Place S.E., Everett, WA 98205; Phone: 425-335-4894
In addition to computer tutorials, Top Dot Enterprises produces "Sound Computing," a magazine which contains useful computer-related resources.
	Cathy Anne Mertha of Access Technology Institute offers on-line computer classes, independent studies, and CD ROM textbooks on a number of topics.  Her Web site is www.audioclassrooms.com
E-mail: cathy@cathyanne.com
Phone: 916-922-3794


	AWARDS NOMINATIONS SOlICITed

	by Roger Petersen, CCB Awards Committee Chair

	It's that time again!  And here I am to ask you to think about the CCB awards program.  Please examine the list of awards which follows and submit any nominations that you feel appropriate.  Award recipients will receive their awards at the Banquet of the Spring, 2002 Convention.
	Candidates for the CCB Hall of Fame, the Community Service Award, the CCB Distinguished Service Award, Legislator of the Year, Humanitarian Award and Merit Award may be nominated by any member, chapter or affiliate.  Nominations must be sent in letter form to the CCB office to the attention of the Awards Committee by February 1, 2000.   The recipients of Publications Awards are selected by the Publications Committee.
	CCB Hall of Fame: Up to five inductees per year who have made significant contributions and sustained effort to the goals of CCB.
	CCB Community Service Award: To be presented annually to a blind or visually impaired person who, through his/her association and activities, has demonstrated his/her integration into, and interaction with, the life of the community.
	CCB Distinguished Service Award: To be presented periodically to an outstanding blind or visually impaired person who has contributed significantly to the betterment of blind people in general.  The recipient of this award need not be a member of CCB.
	CCB Publications awards: To be given to the person who has prepared the best article of the year appearing in the "Blind Californian" or IN newspapers or periodicals in each of two categories; issue-oriented and lifestyle.  These awards will be based on determinations made by the Publications Committee.
	CCB Legislator of the Year Award: To be given periodically to a California State or Federal legislator who has introduced and successfully brought about enactment of legislation in behalf of persons who are blind or visually impaired.
	Humanitarian Award: To be presented to an individual or organization that has assisted blind people in general or CCB and its affiliates in particular to an extraordinary degree.
	CCB Merit Award, formerly the Certificate of Merit: To be given to any individual who provides outstanding volunteer service to CCB, its chapters or affiliates.
	For your information, current members of the CCB hall of Fame are: Dr. Newel L. Perry, Dr. Jacobus tenBroek, Robert Campbell, Perry Sundquist, Ernest Crowley, Anthony Mannino, George Fogarty, Dorothy Glass, Juliet Esterly, Dr. Isabel L. D. Grant, Allen Jenkins, Ysidro Urena, Ferne Fitzpatrick, Raymond Henderson, Irene McConnell, Henry Bindt, John Hebner, Harriet Fielding, Judge Donald Wilkinson, Norma Schecter, Ione Miller ,Byrdyna Goodart, Leslie Schlingheide and Mack Riley.  
	Humanitarian Awards have been presented to: Robin Burris; East Los Angeles Lions Club; City of Compton, California, Department of Parks and Recreation; Dollar-Hide Community Center; the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 2070 of Monrovia, California; Ellannie Wong; John Learned; and Peter Palmer.
	CCB Merit Awards have been awarded to: Harry Parker, Darryl Skivers, Robert B. Carter, Vickie Solis, Virginia and Phillip Garcia, Larry Seiber, Dorothy Vallerga, Larry DiPeppe, Joan Sikkens, Connie Schoeman, 
	Community Service Awards have been presented to: Eleanor Lun, Betsy Rowell, Ahmad Rahman, 
	Distinguished Service Awards have been presented to: Joyce Streff, Dr. Martin Jones, Holly Johnson, Eugene Lozano Jr., Donald Queen, Al Gil, 
	A Legislator of the Year Award has been presented to Senator John Burton.
	CCB Awards Committee: Roger Petersen, Chair, Mountain View; Bernice Kandarian, Mountain View; John Lopez, Los Angeles; Gussie Morgan, Compton; Joe Smith, Sacramento.


	RESCUING A BABY GOOSE

	by Evellyn Drury

	Well, this past Monday afternoon is a time I will not soon forget.  Shortly after coming back from work, I went out to the back patio to look for a garden hose.  While I was there, I heard the unmistakable sound of a baby goose out in the back pond.  Heck, I didn't think we had any more babies, and it was obvious this little thing was stuck.  
	Not knowing what else to do, I went out to try to help him/her, and it soon became painfully apparent that this job was going to require some crawling about on the ground.  Since I was still wearing my work clothes, I ran back indoors and changed into sweat pants, a sweat shirt and boots.  
	Back out to the pond I went.  Though I was determined to give it my very best effort, I was fearful that I would be unable to rescue this little creature.  I was concerned that he would actively try to avoid me; and, not being able to see him, I dreaded the possibility of failing.  I got down on my stomach and crawled right up to the edge of the pond so that I was leaning out over the water.  With one hand braced on the rocks, I would reach out with my other hand trying to touch him.  I can do a respectable imitation of a little bird so he and I got into a bit of a conversation (Don't ask me what we were talking about.) I had a feeling that he responded favorably to the sounds I made.  Perhaps they were similar enough to his own that he was willing to trust a little.  Anyway, here I am, a grown woman crawling about on my belly making little bird sounds!  I'm sure I would have made an amusing sight to behold.  
	While crawling about over the rocks and weeds, the thought of some potential threats did come to mind, but I knew that if I was going to get this job done, I simply could not allow myself to dwell on dangers.  At one point, however,  as I reached out over the water, I happened to brush something soft and still on the ledge.  This made my stomach do a couple of flip-flops because God only knew what it was.  Being blessed (or cursed) with a fairly active imagination, my mind was flashing on all sorts of possibilities.  Again, in order to get the job done, I knew I had better force myself simply to concentrate on the baby goose who was in need of help.  
	I moved slightly away from that spot, but unfortunately the baby was moving about in the pond so that I had to do the same by wriggling along the bank.  At one point, I made a quick move to where I thought the baby was located and missed, but as I pulled my hand back whatever it was on the ledge softly tapped me.  
	Ok, that did it!  I went back into the house to find some
leather gloves.  I really did not believe this thing, whatever it was, was trying to attack me, but I wanted to protect myself as much as possible.  When I came back out with the gloves, I felt a bit more secure.  I kept moving about on my belly imitating the little bird and reaching out with one hand any time I thought I knew when the little fellow was.  I knew that if I was unable to save him, I would be crushed.  A little bit of honesty is in order here so I have to say that as much as I was determined to do whatever I possibly could to rescue this little baby, I also knew that I wasn't getting down in the pond.  It is located in an open field and the thought of taking a dip with God only knows what was enough to strike fear into me.  Snakes, dead rodents, and the like don't make good swimming buds.
	Anyway, after a while, I felt almost certain that I was going to have success on the next attempt because the goose was coming very close to me.  I held onto a rock with a gloved hand while reaching in with my other hand.  Thank God!  This time I succeeded!  I was holding the baby in my hand.  I brought him up to hold him against my chest.  You can imagine how delighted and relieved I felt!  He was tiny--only about three days old.  For those of you who have never held a baby goose at this age, it is not much more than a ball of fluff with long legs, the cutest little webbed feet, a thin neck and a little head with a long bill.  He was so-o-o cute!
	Still holding him, I got up and went straight into the barn.  I had intended to put him in there and find something shallow to hold some water for him.  Well, when I came back out, he had already gone from the barn for I had left the door cracked a little.  Fortunately, he was peeping away so catching him was easy.  As I scooped him off the ground, I was suddenly taken with a lapse of sanity.  Little baby and I marched into the house, and strait to the hall bathroom where he took up temporary residence in the bath tub.  Pages from a braille magazine made a perfect liner for the bottom of the tub, and a couple of shallow pans provided
dishes for food and water.  The bathroom was a warm and safe place for him.  
	It was already a quarter to six;  our rescue had taken nearly an hour and a half.  I called an animal supply store here in town that sells baby birds and their food.  I explained the situation and asked for suggestions on what I might have on hand to feed him.  We agreed that I should try uncooked oatmeal or other cereal and crumbled toast.  The woman with whom I spoke was very sympathetic.  She also said that if we didn't want to keep the  baby goose, we could bring him in to be cared for until a home could be found for him
	Yesterday, therefore, Jim left for work a little early and dropped the little one off at the feed store.  We had talked about the possibility of keeping him, but I decided against it.  Oh, don't get me wrong here!  I really wanted to keep him.  I suppose that, since I had put so much
of myself in to rescuing him, I had become really attached to him.  Reality can't be ignored, however; and the reason I wanted to save this little guy was so he would have a chance at life.  Unfortunately, out here there would be many very real threats to his survival, and it was obvious that the adult geese were not going to watch out for him.  We have big birds that would love to swoop down and snatch him up, coyotes, cats, (our own included) and probably other critters, too.  In spite of the fact, therefore, that I'd love to have kept him; I decided against it.  Although I had to fight back the tears when I said goodbye, I knew I had made the right decision.  
	My involvement in this story came to a happy end when Jim told me about his arrival at the feed store.  A shipment  of baby geese that were all about his size had just come in, and Jim put him in the enclosure and showed him the water.  He just blended in with the others.  He's off to his new home, wherever that might be.  


	MAKING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES ACCESSIBLE

	by Taymour Ravandi, Staff Attorney
	Protection and Advocacy 

	Under Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act, federal agencies must ensure that electronic information and technology products are accessible to people with disabilities.  This generally includes Web sites, computers, computer software and information kiosks.  Section 508 covers products that are purchased in the marketplace and products that are developed in response to a government solicitation. Commercially available products must comply with as many access standards, provided under Section 508, as possible.  Section 508 is intended to benefit the employees of federal agencies and those who use their services.
	Federal agencies must comply with Section 508, regardless of whether they have employees with disabilities.  By requiring these agencies to purchase accessible products at the outset, this law aims to eliminate the need for expensive retrofitting of an existing product when requested as a reasonable accommodation at a later time.
	In addition, the agency may have separate obligations for the provision of certain information and data to make reasonable accommodations for the needs of an employee with a disability under Section 501 and to provide overall program accessibility under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
	Requirements of Section 508: Essentially, Section 508 requires access to products that provide information and data.  Specifically, it requires that when federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they shall ensure that this technology allows federal employees with disabilities to have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to that of Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.  
	Section 508 also requires that all individuals with disabilities, including non-federal employees, seeking information or services from a Federal agency have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.  To implement Section 508, the Access Board (the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) has issued regulations that set out technical criteria specific to various types of technologies as well as performance-based requirements, which focus on the functional capabilities of covered technologies.  Specific criteria covered software applications and operating systems; Web-based intranet and internet information and applications; telecommunications products; video and multimedia products; self contained, closed products and desktop and portable computers.
	Products That Are Covered by Section 508: Section 508 covers electronic and information technology products, which include any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that are used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information.  The term electronic and information technology includes, but is not limited to telecommunications products (such as telephones); information kiosks and transaction machines; World Wide Web sites; multimedia and office equipment, such as copiers and fax machines. 
	The term does not include any equipment that contains embedded information technology that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the processing of data or information. For example, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment such as thermostats or temperature control devices, and medical equipment where information technology is integral to its operation, are not information technology.  Section 508 Does Not Require that All Covered Products be Equipped with Adaptive Devices and Software.  The purpose of Section 508 is to build as much accessibility as is reasonably possible into general products developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies. So, for instance, it does not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device at a workstation of a Federal employee who is not an individual with a disability.  Such assistive technology may, however, be required as part of a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability or to provide program accessibility under other laws.  To the extent that assistive technology is necessary, products covered by Section 508 must not interfere with their operation.
	Section 508 Does Not Require Federal Agencies to Provide Access to Its Information and Data at an Alternative Location for Members of the General Public When federal agencies provide access to information or data to the public through electronic and information technology, they are not required to make their equipment available, or to purchase equipment for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public.  For example, if an agency provides an information kiosk in a Post Office, a means to access the kiosk information for a person with a disability need not be provided in any location other than at the kiosk itself. The accessibility of the location itself would be addressed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or other Federal laws. 
	Undue Burden Limitations on Section 508: Federal agencies are excused from complying with Section 508 when it would result in undue burden.  Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense.  Before an agency can claim undue burden, it must consider all its resources available to the program or component for which the product is being developed, procured, maintained, or used.  Because available financial resources vary greatly from one agency to another, what constitutes an undue burden for a smaller agency may not be an undue burden for another, larger agency having more resources to commit to a particular purchase or project.  Each should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.  Agencies must document any claim of undue burden explaining which provision imposes such a burden and its extent in each case.  Thedocumentation should discuss each of the factors considered.  The
requirement to document an undue burden applies only to purchases of new electronic equipment. 
	Additional Duties Applicable: When a Federal Agency Claims Undue Burden When complying with the standards would result in an undue burden, the agency must make information and data available by an alternative means.  For example, a federal agency wishes to purchase a computer program that generates maps denoting regional demographics.  If the agency determines that it would constitute an undue burden to purchase an accessible version of such a program, the agency would be required to make the information provided by the program available in an alternative means to users with disabilities.  Although information provided by an alternative means should be provided at generally the same time as the information is made available to others, agencies have the flexibility to make case-by-case decisions.  Fundamental Alteration Limitation on Section 508: Federal agencies are not required to comply with Section 508 in cases where compliance would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or service or its components.  Fundamental alteration means a change in the fundamental characteristic or purpose of the product or service, not merely a cosmetic or aesthetic change.  For example, an agency intends to procure pocket-sized pagers for field agents for a law enforcement agency.  Adding a large display to a small pager may fundamentally alter the device by significantly changing its size to such an extent that it no longer meets the purpose for which it was intended--that is, to provide a communication device which fits in a shirt or jacket pocket.  For some of these agents, portability of electronic equipment is a paramount concern.
	Federal Agencies Covered by Section 508: With some limited exceptions, Section 508 covers all federal departments and agencies, including the United States Postal Service.  Examples of  federal agencies you may have some experience with are: the Office of Special Education, which is part of U.S. Department of Education; the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA), which, as part of Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), administers the Medicaid and Medicare programs; and the Social Security Administration (SSA), which administers programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI).
	Applicability of Section 508 to Federal Contractors: A contractor must comply with Section 508 only for products it develops, procures, maintains, or uses which are specified as part of a contract with a federal agency.  For example, a consulting firm that enters into a contract with a federal agency to produce a report is not required to procure accessible computers and word processing software to produce the report.  This is true even if computers were purchased and used exclusively for the government contract.  If a firm is contracted to develop a Web site for a federal agency, the Web site created must be fully compliant with this part, but the firm's own Web site would not be covered. 
	Section 508 Exemptions: Section 508 exempts telecommunications or information systems operated by agencies under some specific circumstances relating to national security.  These are intelligence activities;
cryptologic activities related to national security; command and control of military forces; equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions.  
	This exception does not apply to a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications).  For example, software used for payroll, word processing software used for production of routine documents, ordinary telephones, copiers, fax machines, and Web applications must still comply with the standards.
	Procedures Regarding a Violation of Section 508: Any individual with a disability may take either or both of the following actions if an electronic and information product obtained by the federal government after June 21, 2001, fails to comply with Section 508: File an administrative complaint; file a law suit. If you decide to file an administrative complaint, you must file it with the federal agency that you believe has failed to comply with Section 508.  The federal agency must receive your complaint no later than 180 days from the date of the alleged violation.  The agency will investigate and decide on your complaints based on procedures it has established for complaints filed under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  
	To file a complaint, send a letter to the agency that includes: your full name, address and telephone number; a description of the violation; the date that you discovered the violation; and any other information that you believe necessary to support your complaint.  From the date you find a violation of Section 508, you have one year to file a law suit in court. You must file your action in federal court. It is a good idea to have an attorney represent you in court, although you always have the right to represent yourself. You do not have to file an administrative complaint before filing a  civil action. If you file an administrative complaint first and the agency finds no violation, you can then go to court as well.  
	Applicability of Section 508 to States: The application of Section 508 to states depends on whether they receive funds under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998.  If they do, they are required to issue a certification of compliance with Section 508.  California is a recipient of funds under the ATA and has issued such a certification. 


	ALAPAY CELLARS

For Immediate Release  
	Alapay Cellars, Braille Wine Labels: Braille inscriptions for the visually impaired are increasingly common on public signage such as for ATM machines and restrooms, but a California winery is carrying the service to a new level with braille type on many of its wine labels.
     Alapay Cellars of Avila Beach, situated in the middle of the California Central Coast wine-producing region, has announced it is adding braille inscriptions to all its '99 Paso Robles Zinfandel and '00 Santa Barbara County Syrah bottlings and, by request, on other wines as well.
     "The braille wine descriptions will appear as raised dots on the bottom half of the front labels", said proprietor/winemaker Scott Remmenga, "and will include the winery name, varietal, vintage year, appellation, and the color of the wine."
     Alapay Cellars is perhaps the first American winery to make braille inscriptions a standard offering.  To date, the other known extensions of this service to the visually impaired were by M. Chapoutier in the Rhone River Valley of France and by the Wine Society of Australia.
     "The need for braille inscriptions, said Remmenga, "is emphasized by the fact that there are 192,000 blind and visually impaired persons in Southern California alone, as well as by the fact that Research to Prevent Blindness states there are 15 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States."
     Moreover, the Santa Barbara Braille Institute reports it receives more than 30,000 inquiries per year; and among the major publications presently transcribed into braille are "Cooking Light," "Harpers Magazine," "Ladies Home Journal," and "Martha Stewart."
     "This innovative step by Alapay Cellars is an example of our commitment to introduce our wines to as many people as possible," said Remmenga, "as well as to help educate the public on the special needs and challenges of the visually impaired."
     Alapay Cellars takes its name from the vocabulary of the original Native American inhabitants of Central California's Avila Valley, the Chumash Indians.  For them, the peaceful serenity of the area;, the abundance of food, fresh water; a moderate climate; and the natural contours of the land and ocean bay, made the Avila area a very desirable place to live, much as it is today.  The word Alapay translates to mean "heavenly" or "world above", and that also is the goal that winemaker Remmenga has set for his wines.
     Using traditional winemaking techniques, Alapay Cellars specializes in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Zinfandel, and Syrah--all originating from small select lots of grapes acquired from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County vineyards, and all barrel aged in French oak.
     More information about its wines or its braille-inscription program can be obtained by calling Alapay Cellars at 805-595-2632. or by visiting the winery website at www.alapaycellars.com.
     

	BULLETIN BOARD

	by Keith Black 

	Vision World Wide Introduces New Electronic Publication To Help People with Vision Loss: A new edition of the award-winning publication, "Vision Enhancement," is now available via e-mail.  "Vision Enhancement" is a publication of Vision World Wide, Inc., a not-for-profit organization disseminating information, encouragement and support to individuals experiencing vision loss, their family members, and caregivers.  In addition to "Vision Enhancement," the organization provides a Referral Helpline (1-800-431-1739), Website (http://www.visionww.org), Vision Webletter and Vision Tek-Talk Internet mailings. 
	The new electronic format contains all the text of the 68-to 78-page print edition but with the added convenience of using current technology to search, cut, paste, and print specific articles of special interest to the reader.  Each issue contains highly relevant information on a variety of topics; a resource directory with complete contact information; bold, honest discussions of emotional and physical issues; current medical research, latest technological assistive devices; tips on handling vision loss; new books, videos, magazines, noteworthy events, and consumer-protection.  The new edition will be available in Adobe Acrobat PDF or ASCII format with special file for braille output, and sent as an attachment to an e-mail message.  The annual subscription rate is $25 (US$) for USA, Canada and all other countries.
	Contact Patricia L. Price, Managing Editor, Tel: 317-254-1332; Fax: 317-251-6588; E-Mail: info@visionww.org

*****          *****          *****          *****
	Easy to Read Documents is a transcribing service for scanning print documents and producing them in braille or large print or on cassette.  Menus, greeting cards, and business cards can be prepared, and the organization sells a number of cookbooks and a book on folk remedies.  Recently added to the items for sale is a very complete calendar with, after each page of the dates for the month are pages for every day which can be brailled in a braille writer or by slate and stylus.  There is ample room for reminder notes for each day.  The Easy to Read catalog giving details on all publications is available from Melita Waters, 220 Capri, Santa Ana, CA 92703; 714-836-4993; 
melitawaters@easytoreaddocuments.com
www.easytoreaddocuments..com
	From "the Matilda Ziegler Magazine," October, 2001: Catalogs on tape:  Home Readers makes shopping easier by making the following companies' mail-order catalogs available free of charge on four-track cassette:  Collector Choice Music; Radio Spirits; Audio Editions Books on Cassette; Blair Men's and Women's; Chadwick's of Boston; Land's End; L. L. Bean; Vermont Country Store; Doctors Foster and Smith Pet Products; Puritans Pride Health Products; Walter Drake; San Francisco Music Box; Miles Kimball; Spice Etc.; Sugar Free Market Place; Figi's Holiday Foods; Hal River Indian Grove Foods; and Schwan's Foods.  For any of these catalogs or for a complete list of catalogs, cookbooks and magazines, call 877-814-7323 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CST Monday through Friday, or write to Home Readers, 604 W. Hulett, Edgerton, KS 66021, in print, braille, or tape.  
	From "Matilda Ziegler Magazine," November 2001: Voice Organizer:  Parrot S.A. manufactures the Voice Mate, a voice-activated and operated organizer that employs voice-recognition technology.  Features include 40 minutes of recording capacity, non-volatile flash memory, PC link, alarm clock, calculator, appointment book, reminder, phone book, and earphone.  The Voice Mate is available in ten languages.  It is about the size of a TV remote control and runs on four AAA batteries, which will last for at least two months.  The price is $259.  Send e-mail to Arlette Kotchounian at arlette.kotchounian@parrot.fr, or visit www.voice-assistant.com.  
	List For Students:  A new blind students list emphasizes assistive technology but also includes academic concerns of blind students, professors and counselors.  Individuals are welcome to subscribe to the list or refer other students and groups who might benefit from it.  To subscribe send a blank message to blindstudentslist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.  
	From "Dialogue Magazine," Fall 2001: Low-vision readers who find the regular type size of "Reader's Digest" difficult to see will be pleased to know that this popular magazine is available in large print.  It measures 8 inches by 10-1/2 inches, yet it's easy to hold and will stack neatly on a bookcase.  Each issue is illustrated in bold type and in color.  Non-glare paper helps to ensure maximum eye comfort.  Annual subscription cost: $19.95.  To subscribe, contact Reader's Digest Large Edition, P.O. Box 3013, Harlan, IA 51593-2104; 800-807-2780.  
	TOUCH THE UNIVERSE:  A NASA Braille Book of Astronomy is a new book that will put the wonders of the universe in the hands of middle or high school students who are blind or visually impaired.  The book, designed by the NASA Space Science Center for Education and outreach with the assistance of a grant from the Space Telescope Science Institute, uses clear tactile overlays to illustrate distant galaxies, stars, nebulae, and other astronomical marvels.  Plans are currently underway to find ways to mass-produce the book, which is expected to become available in September for approximately $40.  In the meantime, photos of the book and of students from the Colorado School for the Blind enjoying its illustrations are available on their Web site, http://analyzer.Depaul.edu/ttu.  For additional information about the book, its cost and ordering directions, contact Dr. Bernard Beck-Winchatz, Depaul University, Department of Physics, 990 W. Fullerton Ave., Suite 4400, Chicago, IL 60614-2458; -mail: beck@condor.depaul.edu.  
	If you enjoy the challenge of good crossword puzzles but not the difficulty of trying to see and work with them, you will be interested to know that Woodsquare Publishing Company has a possible solution.  Members of its Crossword Club pay just $59.95 per year.  Each month subscribers receive a set of six large print crosswords.  Each is self-contained as a three-page fold-out with one page for ACROSS clues, one page for the puzzle, and one page for DOWN clues.  On the reverse is the answer to the previous puzzle as well as tidbits about particularly challenging clues in the previous puzzle.  Each page is 8-1/4 by 11 inches and clearly printed in large black print on bright white paper.  To subscribe, send payment and mailing address to Woodsquare Publishing Company, Inc., 2227 Lakeside Drive, P.O. Box 740, Deerfield, IL 60015.  
	Atlas of Eastern Europe is a one-volume set of tactile maps covering 19 countries, including Western Russia up to the Ural Mountains.  Overall maps, as well as maps of each individual country, are included.  The maps have considerable detail, and some experience with tactile maps is recommended.  Countries included are Poland, Czeck Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Western Russia.  
	Each country has an introductory page, followed by a full page map of that country, showing physical features, cities, and towns of both political and historic importance.  A few maps have fold-out sections.  To maximize the amount of information on the map, key letters have been used for labeling cities and special features.  The key letters are identified on key pages that precede each map.  	Atlas of Eastern Europe is bound with cardboard covers and a multi-ring binder.  Cost:  $16.  Shipping is free mail unless other arrangements are made.  Please send check or purchase order to the following address:  The Princeton Braillists, 24-B Portsmouth Street, Whiting NJ 08759.  Credit card and fax service are not available.  Please allow four to six weeks for delivery.  For further information, please call 713-350 3708 or 609-924-5207.  
	The Mississippi State University Rehabilitation and Research and Training Center received funding for an academic certificate program to provide specialized training in vision disabilities for people employed in rehabilitation agencies serving people who are blind and/or people who are in graduate training programs leading to a Master's degree in rehabilitation counseling.  The stipend-supported 2002 summer program provides four graduate courses for 12 semester credit hours.  For more information, contact Stacy Butler at 662-325-2001.  
 

	SUMMARY OF CCB RESOLUTIONS, FALL 2001

	by Kenneth Frasse, Chair, Resolutions Committee 

	I first wish to express my appreciation for all of the coordination and work of my committee members, who worked late into the evenings to ensure that the resolutions would be presented properly and clearly on the convention floor.  Those individuals were Jeff Thom, Winifred Downing, and Abby Vincent.
	Nine resolutions were presented, and all were passed by the convention.  A content summary follows; members may obtain copies of the full text from the office.  
	Resolution 2001B-1:  acknowledges the discrepancy between the intent of management at the Department of Rehabilitation and district implementation.  It urges DOR to expeditiously enforce those decisions made between management and staff regarding increased quality of services to clients and training for counselors by generating confirmatory memoranda to the district offices.
	Resolution 2001B-2:  acknowledges that the Department of Rehabilitation has proposed to divert federal Title VIIC monies to counselor/teacher services.  It urges DOR to continue using all funds procured pursuant to Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 for the provision of grants to private nonprofit organizations to provide services to seniors who are blind or visually impaired.
	Resolution 2001B-3:  acknowledges that the Department of Rehabilitation is out of compliance with technical access requirements and its own directives with respect to blind and visually-impaired employees and urges DOR to immediately remedy these access issues for its blind and visually-impaired employees, and to develop a "best practices" manual as a guideline for future access issues.
	Resolution 2001B-4: acknowledges that DOR has expressed a desire to eliminate the social benefit needs criterion for counselor/teacher services and urges DOR to retain the social benefit criteria for Counselor/Teacher services.
	Resolution 2001B-5:  acknowledges that the guidelines in the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices 2000 millennium edition, as well as accessible pedestrian signals recommendations January 10, 2001 by the Public Rights-of-Way Access Advisory Committee (PROWAAC) are insufficient.  It urges the California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC) to adopt a series of more stringent guidelines, including the consultation of a certified O&M instructor for the placement of audible signal devices.
	Resolution 2001B-6 & 2001B-7:  acknowledges the CCB's appreciation of the work and dedication of convention volunteers and hotel staff respectively.
	Resolution 2001B-8:  Acknowledges the minimal coverage of blindness information in the United States Census "long-form", and no coverage in its "short-form".  It urges the United States Bureau of Census to revise its census-gathering methodologies such that information in all surveys covers individuals with disabilities, including those who are blind or visually impaired.
	Resolution 2001B-9:  acknowledges that sidewalk pedestrian ways do not have a priority during development/construction of vehicular ways and recommends that the Federal Access Board, the United States Department of Transportation, the United States Department of Justice, the California Department of Transportation, and the Division of the State Architect require that, whenever a road or bridge is constructed or reconstructed in a public right-of-way in an urbanized area, sidewalks shall, unless technically infeasible, be included, with these sidewalks to be physically separated from bicycle lanes and roadways.


	ESCAPE FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER

	submitted by Sue Ammeter
		
	Sue wrote: This  is a transcript of an interview which Larry King did on the Friday following September 11.  I took it from the Internet.) 	
	Now joining us.  Incredible story.  Michael Hingson has been blind since birth.  Michael was on the 78th floor of the World Trade Center, the One building, the North tower.  He was guided out by his guide dog Roselle and another colleague.
	Michael, first, what -- do you have a job in that building?
	Michael Hingson, Eyewitness: Yes, I work for a company, Quantum ATL.  We manufacture enterprise scale libraries, tape libraries that back up data for disaster recovery situations such as this.
	King: Really? That's what you manufacture? 
	Hingson: The company manufactures that out in California.  And my job is to manage the channel sales in New York and New Jersey.
	King: Is it a job that can be easily handled though blind?
	Hingson: Oh, yes.  Obviously I use some different tools.  I use a dog to get around and sometimes I will use a cane.  I use a computer that talks, a calculator that talks.  I will write some material in braille.  It certainly is a job that I can do.  Where you might drive a car to go to a place, I use a car service or rely on buses and trains.
	King: How long you work there?
	Hingson: I worked at the World Trade Center for about a year and a half.
	King: What happened?  What do you remember happened?  	Hingson: There was an incredible bang.  Sort of a dull thud, but certainly very tremendous.  Then the building shook very violently.  I remember going, "God, don't let that building tip over."  I had a lot of faith.
	King: What did you think it was?  
	Hingson: I thought it was some sort of an explosion at first.  My colleague David Frank looked out the window as soon as the building stopped shaking and said "there's fire above us."  I could hear debris falling.  And he said, "There's just debris falling everywhere."
	
	King: So your first thought now is to get out.  You're also blind.  So you're working on senses as well?
	Hingson: Absolutely.  But I knew where the stair wells were.  David could see.  He and I were the last out of the office.  There were guests in the office as well.  They went out first.  We got them out.  And then we went out. 
	King: And down 78 floors?
	Hingson: Down 78 floors.
	King: What role did the dog play?
	Hingson: She guided.  She did a tremendous job.  She is from Guide Dogs for the Blind, which is one of the larger schools in the country that train these dogs.  They do an incredible job of selecting the animals, doing the best that they can to acclimatize them to adverse conditions.  This clearly can't be one of them.  But she knows how to cope with noises; she knows how to cope with a lot of different stressful things.  She played guide down the stairs.
	King: That's the school in Rochester, Minnesota, right?
	Hingson: No, this is in San Rafael, California.
	King: I remember Guide Dogs for the Blind in Minnesota is the main base.  The dog is with you, we understand, Michael?
	Hingson: Roselle, sit.  I don't know whether you can see her.
	King: We see her.  Beautiful dog.
	Hingson: She is a good girl.
	King: And a brave dog.
	Hingson: She is.
	King: You are walking down 78 floors.  You have a friend with you and you've got your dog.  Are you scared?
	Hingson: No question.  I was very concerned.  I didn't hear the second plane hit, but we knew that at that time something had happened.  We figured that a plane had hit the building because I could smell -- we all could smell jet fuel fumes.  So we knew there was something going on.
	King: How about other people on the stairway?
	Hingson: Yes, and I'm referring to them as well.  There were a lot of people going down the stairs, especially when we got down into the levels around floor 40 and so on.
	King: When you're blind, do you fear they will push right by you?  Knock you over?
	Hingson: No, I wasn't so concerned about that.  I stayed on the right-hand side.  There was plenty of room for people to pass if they wanted to do that.  And some did.
	King: Was it true some people were cheering you?
	Hingson: There were people that were doing that.  I was cheering other people.  We all cheered the firemen and the police and those who went upstairs.  We were very concerned for them.  We slapped them on the back, they were being very supportive.  "Do you need help?  Are you OK?"  they would ask us.  And we asked them, "Are you all OK?  Go get them, do everything you can.  Our faith is in you."
	King: Did the firemen talk to you?
	Hingson: Yes.
	King: Saying?
	Hingson: Are you OK?  Is somebody with you?  Don't worry.  You'll be out OK.  Just don't be scared.  Just keep going, you'regoing to do fine."
	King: Did you smell any jet fuel?
	Hingson: Lots, yes.  There were fumes all the way down.
	King: Then when you get to the lobby, what happens?
	Hingson: Well, we had to go through a lot of water.  The sprinklers were running.  There was a lot of debris on the floor.  We got out of the lobby to the main World Trade Center Shopping Mall, which is also inside.  From there we were escorted out of the building and then we moved away.
	King: And did you learn of the second tower being hit?
	Hingson: I didn't know the second tower had been hit.  I knew there was fire on both towers.  We got about two blocks away, and then building two started to collapse.  So we all -- there were a number of us, -- we ran for cover.  We ran into a subway station.  But by that time we were already covered with soot.  We had to go through a lot of falling glass and a lot of other kinds of debris.  Then we got out of the subway and a couple blocks further, One collapsed.
	King: You've been in earthquakes, too, Michael?
	Hingson: Yes, I used to live in California.
	King: This much worse?
	Hingson: Much worse.  It's not fun being at the epicenter.
	King: No.  By the way, how long did it take to get down? 	Hingson: I would say altogether from starting in the stairs to getting outside the building, for me, probably about 50 minutes or so.  I was out about 20 minutes before Two collapsed.
	King: How is life for you now with no place to work?
	Hingson: Well, I'm doing fine.  I've got a computer at home that talks.  I can work at home.  Even coming in this evening on the cell phone I was speaking with one of our customers, Nam, who is talking about buying one of our libraries.  I can conduct business on the phone.  We go forward, from that standpoint.  At the same time, I'm really ticked at the people that did this.  They took our lives.
	King: Michael, we salute you and we salute Roselle.
	Hingson: Thank you very much.  She is a good dog.
	King: God bless.
	Hingson: God bless you.


	LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP, 2001,  FROM SACRAMENTO        

	by Dan Kysor, Director, CCB Governmental Affairs

	Greetings from Sacramento!  It's been a pretty busy and exciting year for legislation relating to the blind and visually impaired.  CCB is building partnerships on several fronts ranging from pedestrian safety advocates to California government task force involvement in special education, hate crimes and domestic violence, and voting accessibility.
	With all this and the 25 bills my office is tracking, I have still found time to serve on committees relating to Web accessibility and am in the middle of moving our Capitol office.  You will find that our Sacramento area office  has changed addresses, phone numbers and e-mail so please note 
the new information in the front part of the BC.  
	I thank all of you who have advocated individually and for your chapters in supporting our legislative agenda by making contacts with your legislators in advancing our causes.  Without you, we have no success!  remember, keep informed via the CCB "California Connection" 
(800-221-6359) or on the Internet via CCB-l and our Web site www.ccbnet.org.
	2001 Legislative Session: CCB sponsored bills Sb87 by Nell Soto, Blind Vendor Revolving Loan Account, Chapter 327. 
It re-establishes this account and utilizes a $100,000 appropriation from the "Rehabilitation-Huelsman Trust Special Deposit Fund to the Department for deposit in the Blind Vendor Revolving Loan Fund.  This is a continuous appropriation.  We had asked for $300,000; but, because of the economic situation and budget short falls, we lowered the appropriation to save the bill.  We should go back at a later date and up this appropriation.
	SB1190 by the Committee on Health & Human Services by Deborah Ortiz, Assistive Dog SSDI Equity Benefit Adjustment" Chapter 452,  Increases the SSDI "Assistive Dog Benefit to equal that of the SSI benefit from $35 per month to $50. 
	CCB co-sponsored the following bills: AB1723 by Rod Wright State Library 800 Telephonic Reading System, Chapter 654.  This bill authorizes the state librarian to provide toll-free telephone access to telephonic reading systems for individuals with print disabilities who are registered patrons of the federally designated regional libraries for the blind and physically handicapped.  The bill authorizes the state librarian to operate a telephonic reading system, as defined, or fund the operation of telephonic reading systems offered by qualifying entities, as defined.  The bill appropriates $830,000 from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund to the California State Library to fund the 7 existing telephonic reading centers in specified cities until July 1, 2002.  It requires that any funds appropriated to the California State Library under the bill which are not encumbered on or before July 1, 2002, revert to the fund.
	AB855 by John Dutra, Special Schools Teacher Compensation Equity, vetoed.  This bill would have increased the compensation for special school teachers for the school for the blind and schools for the deaf to the same salaries received by teachers of surrounding school districts.  From Governor Gray Davis came the following explanation: 
To Members of the California State Assembly: I am returning Assembly Bill 855 without my signature.  This bill would require that state teacher salaries be established based upon local school district teacher salaries.  By mandating that state salaries be based upon salaries established by local school districts, the fiscal controls currently exercised by the legislature and the governor would be removed.  I have instructed the Department of Education (DPA) to make an offer to increase the salaries of teachers at the schools for the deaf and blind and to any other entities the DPA may deem appropriate.  Thus, this legislation is not necessary.  Moreover, the matter of determining state teacher pay is best handled through the normal collective bargaining process.
	AB306 by Dario Frommer, The NFBC Braille Bill, Chapter 736. Existing law requires braille instruction to be provided by a teacher credentialed to teach pupils who are functionally blind.  This bill allows a school district, Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA) or county office of education to  reinforce braille instruction using a braille instructional aide who meets certain criteria and is under the supervision of a teacher who holds an appropriate credential, as determined by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, to teach pupils who are functionally blind or visually impaired. The bill also deletes the provision that requires a publisher or manufacturer to provide computer diskette versions of print material if made available to any other state and, instead, mandates computer files or electronic versions of each state-adopted literary title to be provided within 30 days of request by the state, and computer files or other electronic versions of nonliterary titles, including science and math, to be provided when technology is available to convert those materials.  This bill appropriates $100,000 for allocation to at least 15 community college districts throughout the state to enable each district to offer at least one additional course to train individuals in braille instruction.  The funds appropriated by this bill are applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
    Assembly Joint Resolution, by Sally Havice, Chapter 82.  This measure would (1) memorialize the President and the Congress to stand firm in their resolve to uphold the current provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); (2) thwart any attempts to weaken the act by establishing new legislation that nullifies the effect of any court decision that weakens the ADA; (3) take appropriate measures to encourage both public and private entities to implement the provisions of the ADA; and (4) determine whether the ADA has been applied in the manner in which it was intended and whether any unintended consequences have resulted.
	Other Legislation of Interest to CCB: AB677 Darrell Steinberg, Chapter 708, Persons with Disabilities.
This bill would provide that any civil action for equitable relief shall be independent of any other rights and remedies.  It also provides that the disabled parking placard shall be in the shape determined by the DMV, and requires that a portion of the placard be printed in a contrasting color that will be changed every 2 years.  It repeals the fees, except for a temporary placard for a person who is temporarily disabled.
	AB804 by the Assembly Education Committee Special Education bill.  It contains virtually the same publisher textbook access language that AB306 contains.  
	Several bills died in their respective committees including AB18 by Jerome Horton.  It would have increased state supplemental program benefits for disabled seniors in long-term care facilities.
	SB145 by Murray, Hate Crimes and Racial Profiling.  The measure would have set up an 800 hotline for victim reporting.
	AB1040 by John Dutra, ADA Claim Filing Freeze, would have forced disabled people to wait 90 days before filing ADA complaints, suits against ADA violators.
	Two Year Bills: AB841 by Sally Havice.  This CCB bill creates a pedestrian safety commission to coordinate access, point out dangerous pedestrian areas and identify funding sources for county and local governments to ensure safe pedestrian access.  As of this writing, the bill's fate is unclear because of recent budget constraints. 
	SB105 by John Burton, California Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, establishes a separate agency specifically for the rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired housing all blind services currently under by the Department of Rehabilitation.  The bill is expected to be heard in both the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and the Senate Government Organizations Committee. 
	AB925 by Dion Aroner would expand Medi-cal benefits to include disabled working individuals and require that one-stop centers be accessible and that workforce investment boards have disabled individuals as members. 
	AB89 by Patricia Bates, IHSS Worker Mandatory Background and Finger Printing, Public Safety Committee.
	SB622 by Deborah Ortiz, Expansion of Denti-Cal Benefits including medically necessary dentures and medically necessary orthodontic services.
	AB55 by Kevin Shelley creates a voting commission to look at modernizing California's voting system.  Voting access for the
blind and visually impaired are part of this legislation.  


	MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT

	by Rhonda King 

     At the CCB Fall Convention in Los Angeles, the meeting of the Membership Committee occurred on Saturday, November 3rd, from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  We talked about completed assignments and other projects that we will continue working on.        
	The Guidelines for the organization book that the committee revised in May is now available to all chapter presidents.  Copies were distributed to various chapter representatives who were present at the convention, and chapters which do not yet have the book should contact the CCB office to acquire their copies.  They are available in Braille and large print.  I am proud of those who contributed to this project and sure that it will be a valuable tool for existing chapters and special interest affiliates and for groups hoping to form new chapters.
     We also discussed the Membership Handbook which will be given to all new members.  It will contain the CCB mission statement, what it means to be a member of CCB, and what the member and this organization can offer each other.  It will also contain a list of all chapters, CCB committees and special interest groups.  Information, such as Web sites and listservs, will also be included.  For quicker completion of this project, various members have been given responsibility for specific sections.  They will draft an outline which can be perfected in the following months.  
     A new idea is an introductory card.  It will be about the size of a postcard and will have the CCB logo on the front and, on the reverse side, the contact information for the office to get additional information about the organization and become a member.  This can be a great way to introduce others to CCB and to assist in increasing membership.  
     Another item on the agenda that day was the key chains that will be used as an introductory and/or thank you gift to those who become members or renew current membership.  A few samples were available at the meeting.  Because the one selected has raised symbols, requiring for construction the allocation of funds, the choice must be approved by the CCB Board of Directors.  We will let you know the outcome in the near future.  
     Plans for a chapter directory are being considered.  I will  be contacting chapter presidents to learn where and when chapter meetings are held so that a list will be available in the office to all members.  We have also implemented the idea of chapter liaisons who will serve two or more chapters.  If a chapter is experiencing difficulty with membership or has membership questions, the president can contact the liaison for possible solutions.  Chapter liaisons or other committee members may also be asked to attend chapter meetings when necessary.  
	The final topic of business was the chapter awards.  This would be the first time that the $50 would be awarded to 
the chapter with the greatest percentage of increase in membership since the preceding convention.  This announcement was made at the banquet on Saturday night as the "President's Convention Roundup" explains earlier in this issue.  Next Spring, the chapter receiving the award will be measured in membership over the previous entire year.  
	The Chapter of the Year award will be presented to the chapter whose group effort over the previous year significantly changed the life of an individual or a local community.  The committee is working on the wording for the plaque for the state office and the certificate that will be awarded.  Letters from chapters wishing  to apply for this award must be received no
later than March 1st of 2002.  
     

	RFB&D VOLUNTEER RECOTNITION

	by Brian Hall

	Since elementary school, recorded books have been an integral part of my life and education.  The taped novels have energized my imagination, and the textbooks have increased my knowledge, putting me on an equal footing with sighted students and in later years with professional colleagues.  In other words, the books, especially those produced by Recording for the Blind (now called Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic), have provided endless information and entertainment.  
	I'd always wanted the chance to thank the readers, but letters of appreciation never seemed enough.  That's why it was such a privilege to speak on a borrowers panel at this year's Los Angeles Unit RFB&D Volunteer recognition event, the most elaborate ceremony of its kind to date.  It was the first catered affair, having been in the past a potluck; and typically, only a couple of borrowers speak rather than an entire panel, according to the organization's staff.  It was fascinating to hear the viewpoints and learning styles of users who were not able to read print.  
	The September 30 party for the 600 Los Angeles readers and other volunteers took place, appropriately enough, at the L.A. Public Library.  It was a first-in-a-lifetime opportunity to express face-to-face, and to a roomful of readers, my deep appreciation for their hard and usually thankless  work.   
It provided an occasion, too, for the volunteers to get feedback from a group assembled from a cross-section of their usually silent audience, which numbers 100,000 nationwide--8,300 statewide and 2,100 in the L.A. territory.  This time the readers listened, and the listeners spoke.  The location and timing of the event lent poignancy to the afternoon.  The section of the library where we met had been reopened and essentially rebuilt after being burned in a structure fire, rising like a phoenix from the ashes; and the reader recognition ceremony came only 19 days after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.  We had a moment of silence for victims lost in the September 11 tragedies and for the heroes who helped out in the subsequent weeks.
	"I think that what we have observed in New York City and in Washington D.C. has returned a spirit of volunteerism to this land that you in the audience today who have volunteered for RFB&D for years have well understood and exemplified," said Mitch Pomerantz, vice chair of the Board of Directors for the L.A. Unit.
	The borrowers' panel included one other blind person, Keith Christian, a teacher of the visually impaired at Nobel Middle School in Northridge.  The other three panelists have learning disabilities.  Dalia Mikhaiel is a junior majoring in psychology at Cal State Northridge.  Chris Miron graduated last year from USC's finance department and, according to RFB&D Spokeswoman Stacey Eubank, now works as a financial analyst for Morgan Stanley.  Patricia Gilson has degrees in philosophy and comparative literature, and she is  doing graduate work in anthropology and classics at USC.  Questions for the panel were conscientious.  The audience asked if readers speak too fast.  Would we E-mail them or let them know in some way when we come across a mispronunciation?  Are descriptions of pictures important, and how is the quality of those descriptions? Panelist Mikhaiel said she sometimes speeds up or fast forwards the tape during audio descriptions of the pictures accompanying the text.  	She and other learning disabled students often read a printed copy of a book while listening to the recorded version.  The auditory and visual input assists them in absorbing the material.  Mikhaiel said, though, that she found the section headings and captions adjacent to pictures and other non-textual information to be helpful.  
	Christian and I had to stick up for the blind and visually impaired community on this point.  We indicated that the charts, pictures, diagrams and other graphics are crucial to blind RFB&D subscribers.  We also told the volunteers that, yes, their services are still much needed.  Learning disabled panelist Miron agreed with the blind segment of the panel that it is preferable to obtain recorded books from sources such as RFB&D rather than depending on hired or volunteer readers found privately through newspaper ads or through the school.  
	 Volunteers asked if the panelists listen to indexes and other sections that aren't very exciting to read.  Christian explained that his school has been selected as one of 40 campuses across the United States to test pilot the Victor and PlexTalk, which are machines for digitally playing back RFB&D texts.  With this new technology, sections that may seem the most boring to read, such as the index, are becoming more significant.  With the digital format, for instance, the user can simply type in the desired page number and go straight to it.  And the panel assured the volunteer RFB&d readers that, no, they will never be replaced by technology.
	RFB&D Scholarships: RFB&D's annual 2002 Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Awards for college seniors who are legally blind gives out nine awards.  Three Winners will receive $6,000 each; three Special Honors winners will receive $3,000 each; and three Honors will receive $1,000 each.  Applicants must meet all five of the following eligibility criteria: 
	1) be legally blind;  2) be registered individually, or through a school, with Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic for at least one year prior to February 21, 2002; 3) have received, or will receive, a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States or its territories between July 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, (applicants need not plan to continue their education further); 4) have an overall academic average for their undergraduate years of 3.0 or more on a 4.0 scale (or the equivalent, if an alternative grading system is used); 5)  provide evidence of leadership, enterprise and service to other Qualified applicants for the SAA who provide proof of plans for post-graduate studies at accredited four-year U.S. colleges or universities will be considered for an additional award from the Freedom Scientific Technology Scholarship Award program.
	Applications for the 2002 awards available by mail upon request.  Deadline to submit applications is February 21, 2002.  For more information and an application, call 1-800-221-4792. The L.A. Unit of RFB&D's Learning Through Listening Awards presents six awards to print-disabled students in Southern California zip codes 90000 through 93599: Two students will receive $2,000 each and four students will receive $500 each.  Applicants must meet these criteria: 1) be a student at least 16 years of age; 2) not have yet completed undergraduate studies.  Applications will be mailed upon request beginning Jan. 2.  The deadline for applying is April 2.  For information, call 800-RFB-TEXT or 800-732-8398.	


	
	FEDERAL LEGISLATION UPDATE 

	by Ahmad Rahman

	Older Blind Funding: On October 11,  the House of Representatives passed the Labor, HHS, Education  and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, HR3061, by a vote of 373 to 43.  This bill funds the Chapter 11 Independent Living Services Program for Older Blind Individuals for $25 million for the fiscal year 2002.  This is $5 million over the current 2001 funding level!  The $25 million funding level is also a part of the Bush administration proposed budget.  Thanks to all ACB members who took this issue to Capitol Hill during our 2001 legislative seminar.
	However, we have not won the battle yet.  We still need immediate action in the Senate in order to get this appropriation passed into law.  The older blind funding appropriation in the Senate, as reported out of committee on October 11, does not include the additional $5 million in funding over the current level of $20 million.  The Senate bill number is S1536.  Please contact Chairperson, Tom Harkin, Senate Appropriations subcommittee, at 202-224-3121.  Stress the importance of this program and let our voices be heard insisting that the funding level for the older blind program should be on a par with the $25 million that is in the House bill and in the President's proposed budget.  
	IDEA Update: The Elementary and Secondary Education Cct (ESEA) has passed both the House and the senate.  The legislative conference committee is still meeting to decide the fate of the harmful discipline amendments.  These amendments, if enacted into law, would severely undermine the due process procedure that is currently in place within the context of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan).
	Enactment of the amendments could result also in cessation of special education services for children who are suspended or expelled because of discipline issues.
	Action needed:  contact ESEA conferees and demand that they postpone consideration of any amendments involving special education until IDEA is reauthorized next year.  Contact congressmen Buck Mckeon and George Miller, California conferees, at 202-225-3121.


	REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON ACCESS AND TRANSPORTATION

	by Gene Lozano, Chair  

	The committee's activities over the last year have included 	1. Attendance at the California Traffic Control Devices Committee's meetings in San Diego and Sacramento to provide input in the adoption of new audible pedestrian signal guidelines for the next edition of the California Department of Transportation's Traffic Manual.
	2. Working with pedestrian advocacy groups in developing language for Assembly Bill 841 that, if adopted, will establish a California Pedestrian Access and Safety Commission. 
	3. Attendance at the America Walks first National Congress of Pedestrian Advocates in Oakland, California, August 16-18, 2001.  The CCB was well represented by seven of its members, which included Gene Lozano, Chair and Barbara Rhodes, committee Vice-Chair. Dan Kysor in his detailed report treats of the impact CCB members had on that gathering.   
	4. Successfully worked with Dan Kysor, Director of Governmental Affairs, in getting AB685 signed by the Governor.  This measure requires the establishment of the detectable warning and directional surfaces product certification process in the California.  
	CAT worked closely with the Division of the State Architect (DSA) to develop proposed regulatory language to implement this product certification process.  These proposed regulations went before the California Building Standards Commission on November 28, 2001, and were adopted by the commission and will be incorporated into the California Code of Regulations, Title 24, early next year. The CAT will now work closely with the DSA to ensure that an independent evaluation group is chosen to implement the detectable warning and directional surfaces product certification process. 
	 5. Some members of the CAT were given the opportunity on November 2, 2001 to go to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (LAMTA) rail corporation yard to evaluate a prototype device that is to alert the totally blind passengers that there is space between rail cars.  The device consists of two polyurethane paddles that are attached to each end of the rail vehicle just beneath the lower end of the operator's window.  When two rail vehicles are coupled together, the paddles from each car make close contact, giving the effect of a fence-like barrier that bridges the gap between two cars. This barrier is elevated slightly above the height of a raised LAMTA transit-boarding platform to be accessible to the foot, long cane, and/or dog guide when a totally blind person is approaching the area between the rail vehicles and needs to be alerted of the pending danger.  The committee members were impressed with the device and made some suggestions about how it could be made more usable for persons with low vision. 
	Lastly, the CAT presented a Joint program session with the California Council of Citizens With Low Vision at the Fall 2001 Convention.  Representatives of the LAMTA spoke about their "Metro Rail Wayfinding Kit."  Also, a presentation was given by election officials from Riverside and Los Angeles Counties as well as a demonstration of the accessible voting machine technology each county has or will be using in general elections. 

	TELECOMMUNICATIONS: WHAT YOU SHOULD BE GETTING

	submitted by Roger Petersen

	(Taken from the newsletter of the Silicone Valley Chapter as printed in a brochure produced by the American Foundation for the Blind) 
	Do you receive your phone bills in a format you can read?  Can you tell whether your cell phone is on or off?  Do you have documents and manuals in a format you can read?  Do you think those fancy new phones aren't for you?  Are you tired of paying for telecommunications products and services that you can't really use?
	Telecommunication products and services must be accessible.  It's the law.  Read on to learn more!
	What You Should Be Getting:  Before you go to the mall to buy that new telephone, or before you sign up for that great-sounding new phone service plan, here are some things to keep in mind.
	In 1996, U.S. Telecommunications Law was amended to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities.  This provision is popularly known as Section 255.  Not every product must be accessible, but some models of every product line must have:
	Controls you can identify by touch, large print and screens with high contrast characters, and audio cues that clearly identify the status of basic features.
	Manuals and other documentation available in accessible alternate formats, such as braille, large print, cassette, or electronic file, upon request.
	Remember, the law is about basic telephone products and services, but this means more today than it once did.  You should be able to make and receive calls, forward calls, and identify who is calling, and you should not need assistance to do so.  The Internet and electronic mail are not currently covered under the law.
	Step 1: Stop!  Before You Shop Do Some Research.  The salespeople at the phone store aren't expected to know about accessibility, but manufacturers and service providers are.  Call the manufacturer's and service provider's Customer Service Department and ask specific questions.  Please note that it's usually a good idea to talk both to manufacturers and to your service provider.  When you call, be prepared to take detailed notes about whom you talk with, when you call, and what the person tells you.  Ask questions like: What products does the company have that meet its Section 255 obligations?  Get the exact model numbers and the names of local stores that carry them. Is there a nib (or dot) on the "5" key to orient your fingers to the keypad?  How easy is it to identify the button that gives you a dial tone on a cordless phone?  How about the button for changing to a better channel?
	How can you tell whether mute, or your phone's ringer, is on or off?
	How can you tell which phone line is ringing or which line is on hold?
	Is there an audible indication of low battery?  A full charge?  50% charge?
	How will you know whether you're getting a good or mediocre connection to your cellular service provider?  Or no connection at all?
	What options do you have for getting verbalized caller identification?  What about hearing phone numbers for the last several people who called you?
	What accessible versions of the product manuals are available to you today?
	How can you access your account information and pay your bill?
	Of course, not all of these features will be available in products today.  But, they certainly could be.  So, ask for the features that can help you manage telephone calls just as sighted users can.  Then use the law to complain when you can't find what you need.  If you don't ask and complain, manufacturers, service providers, and the FCC might just assume that there is no problem with telecommunication products and services for people who are blind or visually impaired.

	Not sure who to call? The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Consumer Information Bureau, should be able to provide you with contact information for most manufacturers and service providers.  Call them at 888-225-5322 or e-mail them at access@fcc.gov, or use the Web at www.fcc.gov/cib/dro/section255.html.
	Important!  If you can't find an accessible product or service, go directly to Step 4 "COMPLAIN."
	Step 2: Try Before You Buy.  Now that you know the exact model numbers of products that are supposed to be accessible, go to a store and try them for yourself.  Try using them before you actually spend money.  When you decide on a product, have the service technician turn on all of the accessibility features for you.  Hopefully, you'll become a satisfied customer.
	If Things Do Not Work Out
	 Step 3: Call the Company Again.  If you have purchased a product or service that is not working as you believe it should, call the company to discuss what is not working for you.  Again, call both the manufacturer and the service provider, and take detailed notes of the responses you receive.
	Step 4: Complain.  If you are not satisfied, consider filing a complaint promptly with the FCC.  When you speak up, you improve access for everyone.  Uncle Sam and other disabled consumers are counting on you!
	Be aware that there may be legitimate, legally acceptable reasons why a company is unable to meet your access needs.  A company may tell you, for example, that the kind of access you are asking for is not "readily  achievable."  If they tell you what you want can't be done, have them explain why and take detailed notes.  It is the FCC's responsibility to determine whether a company's reasons are valid.
	When filing a complaint, it is important that you be as specific as you can.  Be ready to provide information such as: your name and address; what your disability is; the name and address of the manufacturer or service provider; specific details about the equipment or service; date you purchased, or attempted to purchase, the equipment or service; an explanation of why your disability makes the product or service inaccessible to you; a description of what you want the company to do for you; the method the company should use to contact you.
	The FCC is trying hard to make the complaint process easy for consumers.  You may file a complaint with them in writing, call them at 888-225-5322, or e-mail them at access@fcc.gov.
	Want to know more? The World Wide Web has lots of information about Section 255.  Many manufacturers and telephone service providers have Web pages describing what they are doing to comply with Section 255.  Here are some online resources to get you started: FCC Disabilities Rights Office, 
www.fcc.gov/cib/dro/ .
	For more information please contact the American Foundation for the Blind, via e-mail: afbinfo@afb.net or American Foundation for the Blind, 11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300, New York, NY, 10001.
	Published: June 2001.  This brochure is (C) Copyright 2001 by American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), Governmental Relations Group, Washington, DC.  This brochure may be freely distributed in any format, but only in its entirety.


	CCB OFFICERS, Jan. 1, 2002

	(Editor's note: We are indebted to Bernice Kandarian who updated and corrected the list of CCB officers and board members,  cluding the number of the term each is presently serving and the years covered by that term.  We shall publish the list this way at least in issues just preceding and following elections and routinely if members wish.  The presence of an asterisk means that the individual served a partial term before the first full term.)  

President, Catherine Skivers (00-02, 3rd term)
	836 Resota Street
 	Hayward, CA 94545
	510-357-1986 H
	<ccotb@earthlink.net>
1st Vice President, Jeff Thom (00-02, 1st term)
	7414 Mooncrest Way
	Sacramento, CA 95831
	916-429-8201 H
	916-341-8320 W
	<jeff.thom@lc.ca.gov>
2nd Vice President, Ken Metz (01-03, 1st term)
	2024-B Andreo Avenue
	Torrance, CA 90501
	310-787-0021 H
	kmetz@socal.rr.com
Secretary, Ardis Bazyn (01-03 1st term)
	500 South 3rd Street, #H
	Burbank, CA 91502
	818-238-9321
	<abazyn@earthlink.net>
Treasurer, Peter Pardini (01-03 1st term)
	267 Cardinal Road
	Mill Valley, CA 94941-3618
	415-381-9211 H
	<peterpar@pacbell.net>
Immediate Past President, Mitch Pomerantz
	1344 North Martel Avenue
	Los Angeles, CA 90046
	323-851-5148 H
	213-847-9124 W
	<MPomerantz@mailbox.lacity.org>

	BOARD OF DIRECTORS, jAN. 1, 2002

aL bIEGLER (01-03, 2ND TERM) 
	819 Colusa Street
	Chico, CA 95928-4116
	530-893-8840 H
	<albiegler1@juno.com>
Martin Jones (01-03, 4th term)
	730 Victoria
	San Francisco, CA 94127
	415-469-8048 H
	415-266-3940 W
Jane Kardas (*01-03, 2nd term)
	810 Maple Avenue
	Ukiah, CA 95482
	707-468-5510 H
Rhonda Marshall King (00-02, 2nd term)
	6426 Greenback Lane
	Citrus Heights, CA 95621
	916-722-7337 H
	<jodeanking@earthlink.net>
Barbara Kron (00-02 1st term) 
	May-Nov. 8304 Blue Spruce Way
	Windsor, CA 95492
	707-838-9207 h/fax
      Nov.-Apr. Box 13010, #323
	Yuma, AZ 85366
	520-539-1323 h/fax
	badkron@aol.com
          
Eugene Lozano, Jr. (01-03, 3rd term)
	4537 Sycamore Avenue
	Sacramento, CA 95841
	916-485-8307 H
	916-278-6988 W
	<lozanoe@csus.edu>
Ahmad Rahman (00-02, 2nd term)
	19616 Leapwood Avenue
	Carson, CA 90746
	310-327-0463 H
Barbara Rhodes (00-02 1st term)
	6396 Tamalpais Avenue
	San Jose, CA 95120
	408-268-2110 H
	<brhodes@pacbell.net>
Richard Rueda (01-03 1st term)
	1501 Decoto Road, # 169
	Union City, CA 94587
	510-324-0418 H
	<richr@surfside.net>

                  CCB PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

Joan Black, Chair: 4925 Coke Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712; 
	562-630-2304
Keith Black, 4925 Coke Ave., Lakewood, CA 90712; 
	562-630-2304
Bernice Kandarian, Vice Chair:  2211 Latham St. #120, Mountain   
    View, CA 94040; 650-969-1688
Winifred Downing: 1587 38th Ave., San Francisco, CA 94122; 
	415-564-5798
Brian Hall: 5722 Abraham Ave., Westminster, CA 92683; 
	714-894-3497 
Patty Nash, 901 Central Ave. Apt. C, Alameda, CA 94501; 
	510-521-2042
Charles Nabarrete, 239 N. Walnut Dr., West Covina, CA 91790; 
	562-338-8106
Teddie-Joy Remhild: 1100 W. Olive, #220, Burbank, CA; 
	818-848-2475
Catherine Schmitt: 1356 B South, Diamond Bar Boulevard, Diamond
	Bar, CA 91765 909-861-2931
??



 

 




