DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- NOVEMBER 6, 1999 Greetings, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! This very statement is true to everyone. The more educated you are the more power you have to take control of your destiny. Good command of the English language is also power. Knowledge of English also brings you the power of communication, employment, and self sufficiency to your own hands that are used for ASL communication. Deafnation is an excellent reader friendly newspaper for people with hearing disabilities and they bring knowledge to the readers. You are free try Deafnation out for 6 month at no cost to you! Why don't you sign up for the free 6 month subscription to Deafnation newspaper. Signing up is also easy! Just point your browser to Http://www.deafnation.com/fundraiser/FR003.html for your complimentary 6 month trial subscription. With their vivid colors, the paper itself will accent your coffee table nicely and let your guests know you have one of the best newspapers available for people with hearing disabilities! Why dont you sign up for your free subscription today! Richard Roehm ---- JUDGE RULES MACY'S STORES DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE DISABLED Macy's flagship store in San Francisco's Union Square is violating federal and state laws that require easy access for disabled shoppers, a federal judge ruled last week. The 29-page ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel orders Macy's to reconfigure its landmark store's entrances, dressing rooms and other areas. Disabled-rights lawyers hailed the ruling, saying the decision could affect many other retailers. ``It's the first case in the nation to decide what obligations retailers have in providing access to the disabled,'' said Larry Paradis, executive director of Disability Rights Advocates, an Oakland legal rights group that filed the suit against Macy's. ``Because it's Macy's, it's going to send a real wake-up call to the whole industry.'' Besides this suit, Patel is handling a second disability case that could extend the ruling to all Macy's stores in California. Macy's operates 30 stores in Northern California and 40 in Southern California, making it one of the state's largest retail outfits. The Union Square store is Macy's biggest in California. Macy's can appeal yesterday's ruling to a higher court, but that decision must await a review by the retail giant's lawyers. Rina Neiman, a spokeswoman for Macy's West, said the company's lawyers had not reviewed Patel's decision, ``and we're not going to have a comment until they've looked at it.'' Patel's decision requires Macy's to work with Disabled Rights Advocates on carrying out the reconfiguration of Macy's Union Square store, which includes its Men's Store across Stockton Street. Under the directive, Macy's must reconfigure the store's fitting rooms, entrances, counters, bridal registries and other areas so that they are in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and state codes. For example, store aisles have to be 36 inches wide. ``It's an important decision,'' said Glen Vinton, a 69-year-old quadriplegic from Berkeley who was one of the plaintiffs in the suit. Vinton, a retired Chevron programmer, said he has tried shopping at Macy's Union Square store on many occasions, only to find ``my route (in the store) blocked frequently.'' With the ruling, he said, ``We'll be able to go one more place without embarrassing ourselves. If we go shopping, we won't have to ask a friend to do things for us. Every bit of independence is important.'' On behalf of Vinton and several other people with disabilities, Disability Rights Advocates filed suit against Macy's on Aug. 16, 1996. Paradis also filed the separate suit Patel is considering against all of Macy's California stores. Linda Kilb, an attorney with the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley which was not involved in the suit, said Patel's ruling will have an effect far beyond retail clothing outlets. ``The impact of the ruling,'' Kilb said, ``is going to be broader than just retail stores . . . We're very pleased.'' Paradis said Macy's ``deliberately ignored`` the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the company ``deliberately and systematically decided to overcrowd its stores'' with merchandise, making it hard for disabled shoppers to get around. ``Macy's,'' ruled Patel, ``provided no evidence at trial that it would lose sales if it increased its current merchandise practices to provide 36 inches between its merchandise display units. In fact, the evidence indicates that Macy's may already be past the point of diminishing returns, such that widening pathways might encourage shoppers who would otherwise be deterred from shopping at Macy's Union Square as much as they would if the store environment were less crowded.'' Patel ruled that fitting rooms designated as accessible at Macy's do not have the required lowered benches and clothing hooks, that floors with changing elevations impede accessibility, that many public telephones are too high and that a company goal of providing 24- to 30-inch pathways violates federal law. Patel ordered Macy's to designate an employee to review display layouts to ``ensure that access is maximized,'' to make at least one fitting room in each sales area accessible and to bring all rest rooms in renovated areas into compliance with federal law. At least one main entrance in each renovated area must be made accessible, and signs must be posted to direct shoppers to features that improve maneuverability. The judge also ordered Macy's and the plaintiffs to come up with a plan within 60 days for implementing her orders. Chronicle Wire Services contributed to this report. ©1999 San Francisco Chronicle ---- FIRST PERMANENT PUBLIC ASL/BRAILLE SCULPTURE IN MINNESOTE Michael J. Rosen In 1994, Helene E.R. Oppenheimer created her first American Sign Language sculpture, dedicated to her adopted African-American Deaf brother, Harold ÒChinaÓ Foster. ÒI sculpted Inspiration because I feel inspired when I sculpt with clayÓ, Helene shares. Almost 6 years later, she has created over 40 ASL sculptures celebrating Deaf women of color. But that was not enough of a contribution to celebrating the power and versatility of American Sign Language. For the past 4 years Helene has lobbied for a public ASL/Braille sculpture. This fall, Helene was commissioned by the city of St. Paul (capital of Minnesota) to create the first permanent and public ASL/Braille sculpture in Minnesota. Helene worked with the Deaf and Blind communities to create ASL and Braille clay tiles which would become bracelet charms to be mounted around the 10 trees in the St. Paul Western Sculpture Park near the Capital building. ÒPart of my job was educating the hearing community about Deaf culture and etiquette because the hearing and sighted community was also involved with creating tiles. It was an opportunity for us all to publicly celebrate the Deaf and Blind cultures as well as to learn about Braille and ASL.Ó On September 4, 1999 more than 100 Deaf, Deaf/Blind and hearing people of all ages came together at the St. Paul Western Sculpture Park to produce clay tiles depicting signs for a number of different words including inspiration, journey, beauty, belong, and strength. Plaster molds of manual alphabet letters were also made using the hands of the participants. The job of casting the clay tiles and fingerspelling letters into iron to form the bracelet charms was undertaken by iron sculptors Coral Lambert, Jim Brenner and Theresa Smith. Coral, from England, has numerous Blind relatives. First plaster molds were created from these clay tiles. Hot wax was then poured into the tile molds and the manual alphabet handshape molds, creating wax duplicates of the clay tiles and manual alphabet hands. The wax duplicates were then used to create molds made out of sand. The sculptors put together the manual alphabet hands, the signs, Braille letters, and English letters to form the oval shape of each bracelet charm in the sand molds, one sand mold for each letter of each word. On October 2, 1999, a furnace was set up in the Western Sculpture park. A large number of the September 4th participants came to watch as metal scraps from bicycles and radiators were broken up and heated to 2200 degrees in the furnace. The iron from the furnace was poured into a hole at the top of each sand mold. After cooling, they were broken open with a mallet. What appeared were silver colored ovals, like charms for a giant braceletÑeach charm with a manual alphabet handshape, the Braille and English letter matching the manual alphabet handshape, and an ASL sketch of the word the bracelet is representing. The charms were then cleaned and coated to protect them from rust. Then they were ready to be hung on the trees. ÒIt was cool to watch the process from inception to reality and see the bracelets come to life from humble clay beginnings to objects of beauty,Ó offers Marcia Passi, local Deaf teacher of the Deaf. ÒIt was a wonderful experience for me and several of my students who participated. I just enjoyed being there,Ó responds Karen Jerzak, Deaf ASL instructor. On October 14, 1999, the first charm, (coincidentally?!) "Inspiration" was displayed at the St. Paul Armory for the MayorÕs Design Forum where citizens, architects and the mayor converged to discuss the beautification of St. Paul. ÒMy hope is that this sculpture inspires others to want public ASL art. This is the first ASL/Braille sculptureÑnot the last!Ó Helene emphasizes. ÒMany cities have a Public Art DepartmentÑjust call the mayorÕs office!Ó --------------- To learn more about HeleneÕs work and the Sculpture Park log on to: http://home.earthlink.net/~aslclay HeleneÕs story has just been published in Deaf Espirit: http://members.aol.com/ago97/catalog.htm#books Michael J. Rosen, free-lance writer and frequent contributor, is a former American Sign Language interpreter, presently employed as a Speech and Language therapist in the Saint Paul Public Schools. ---- JACKSON MEMORIAL HOSPITAL SUED FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ADA Miami, Florida October, 1999 -- The Association for Disabled Americans and several individuals, sued Jackson Memorial Hospital in U.S. District Court, alleging the hospital fails to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorney William Charouhis filed the suit on behalf of the Association for Disabled Americans and the individuals. Among the allegations are inadequate numbers of disabled parking, the majority of restrooms with inaccessibility (such as missing grab bars), most of the elevators without auditory indicators for individuals with visual impairments, no permanently installed telecommunication devices for the Deaf (TDD), doors with excessive resistance and inadequate closing delay for elderly and individuals with mobility impairments and ramps with slopes so steep an individual who uses a wheelchair could tip over backwards. Daniel Ruiz, one of the Association's board members, asserts " hospitals should have accessibility as a priority since they usually provide services to the Disabled. They've had years to comply." Last month the Association followed suit against Miami-Dade County. Ruiz expresses disappointment for the lack of coverage from the media. "Maybe this will get everyone's attention. We plan to continue suing until discriminatory practices become a thing of the past." Mr. William Charouhis, Esq. 305.372.1212 wnc@accesspro.net Mr. Daniel Ruiz 305.387.3168 aruiz4u2nv@aol.com Association for Disabled Americans ada2000@poboxes.com Www.ada2000.org ---- AIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER FIRED Students could not understand her, Mountain Lakes principal says By Joseph McLaughlin Daily Record MOUNTAIN LAKES — The board of education voted 10-0 to fire embattled sign language interpreter Janice Nierstedt last night, at a meeting that drew 120 people to the high school auditorium. The firing was effective immediately. The 31-year-old had interpreted class lectures and athletic instructions at Mountain Lakes High School for two years. She had been suspended since Oct. 19, when school officials accused her of purposely making it difficult for students to understand teachers’ instructions and criticized her professional behavior. Fractures that formed in the district after Nierstedt received her suspension separated last night’s crowd into two camps. About 85 parents and faculty members from the Lake Drive School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children donned blue ribbons and clustered on the right side of the auditorium to signify their support for the administration. On the opposite side, Nierstedt sat silently with family members and a handful of friends, students, and sign language professionals. School officials reiterated the charges against the interpreter before taking the vote. "On a couple of occasions, interpretation was provided to students in a manner that they could not comprehend," said Lake Drive Principal Laura McKirdy. "The students were able to understand everybody else except the interpreter in question." But Nierstedt said she is being blamed for an ineffective district policy that forces interpreters to use a bastardized form of sign language that some students find difficult to understand. "I was never notified of any personnel issues — that’s not why I’m being terminated," Nierstedt said after the vote. According to the interpreter, a majority of the high school’s 45 deaf students communicate through American Sign Language — a completely visual language that has its own grammar and syntax. In an attempt to help deaf and hard of hearing students learn to read and write English, interpreters at the high school are instructed to use the signs of American Sign Language, but with the grammar and syntax of English. "The (students) didn’t understand the Signed English (school administrators) were asking me to use," Nierstedt said. "There were no kids who couldn’t understand ASL." School officials say the Signed English, or "simultaneous communication" approach, is effective and used frequently in deaf education. "The kids are always hearing voice at the same time as they’re getting a visual representation of the language," McKirdy said. "We know our system works based on our test results." The principal said simultaneous communication has been used for more than 20 years in the Lake Drive School, which attracts deaf and hard of hearing students from all over the state, a claim Nierstedt also disputes. "There was a policy change — we were informed on the first day of school (this year)," Nierstedt said. During the meeting’s public comment portion, members of the blue ribbon contingent praised Mountain Lakes’ program for deaf and hard of hearing students and supported its English-based approach. "My daughter is going to be a student in a hearing world. Her skills are excellent," said Maria Romano, whose daughter, Karen, is hearing-impaired. "With the letters from some of her friends (who use only ASL) it’s so hard to follow a thought or a thought pattern." Some faculty members criticized the interpreter’s professionalism, citing examples when she would not speak to them or told them to address her in writing only. "I’ve said all along that everyone here needs to behave in an absolutely professional manner," McKirdy said, "and she did not do so consistently." The deaf-school principal cites last month’s board meeting as an example, contending that Nierstedt rallied about 20 deaf and hard of hearing students to speak on her behalf because she told them misinformation. As for her future, Nierstedt said she would continue to work in the deaf community. JOSEPH McLAUGHLIN can be reached at (973) 428-6627. ©1999 Gannett Satellite Information Network Inc. ---- NEW HOUSING PLANNED FOR DEAF SENIORS First in Bay Area: The Fremont complex will offer independent living in 50 specially designed apartments. BY LISA FERNANDEZ Mercury News Staff Writer Fremont will soon host the first housing in Northern California built exclusively for deaf seniors, a 50-unit apartment complex specially designed with eye-catching flashes on phone lines, doorbells and fire alarms. In two years, low-income elderly residents who are deaf or hard of hearing should be moving into the complex on Driscoll Road, which was approved last week by the Fremont City Council. The rooms will be designed by a deaf architect, Mark Quin(acu)oes of Los Angeles, who will create wide open spaces for easy communication for those who can't hear shouts between rooms. The apartment building in Fremont -- a haven for the deaf for nearly 20 years -- will finally be built after an eight-year search for an affordable site. It joins a similar complex in Los Angeles, and two smaller programs in Arcadia and Anaheim. Nationwide, there are only two other full-fledged apartment complexes for independent-living deaf seniors, in Ohio and Massachusetts. Two more deaf senior apartments are being built in Maryland and Texas. Living together in one place is important to the deaf, because communication is so difficult unless friends and neighbors know how to conduct conversations in sign language. The idea of such a complex even attracted a Florida family to fly to Fremont to see if they could get a deaf relative on the waiting list. "We're so excited," Bernadette Attletweed said through a sign language interpreter. The 71-year-old deaf Fremont resident lives on her own but is champing at the bit to move into the new building. "When deaf people are put into mainstream (nursing or retirement) homes, they become isolated and their health deteriorates. This way, we'll be able to live longer." Barbara Schwerdt, administrator for the Los Angeles senior deaf center, said communication is key to a person's quality of life. She always reminds people at deaf culture presentations that Helen Keller frequently said her blindness separated her from things, but her deafness separated her from people. The city of Fremont may kick in about $3 million in exchange for local deaf seniors getting top priority for housing at the complex. The federal Housing and Urban Development program is giving another $5 million and builder Satellite Senior Homes of Berkeley will raise the remaining money from private sources. The project is expected to cost $10 million. After at least eight years of searching for an affordable site, the senior deaf community -- headed by Julian "Buddy" Singleton, 66, of Fremont -- cleared its last major hurdle with council approval Tuesday, to great smiles, excited signing and slaps on the back from about 50 seniors. Fremont has long been a hub for the hearing impaired -- it is home to one of two state schools for the deaf. The school, which moved to Fremont from Berkeley in 1980, educates about 500 students from preschool age to 12th grade. The other state school for the deaf is in Riverside. "As a city, Fremont has really welcomed the deaf," said Anne Blair, whose non-profit in Berkeley is managing and helping to build the apartment complex. "Fremont is a mecca for the deaf . . . So many families move there because their kids are going to school there. Or the teachers retire there." About 50,000 deaf and hard of hearing people live in the Bay Area, according to the latest statistics from the California Department of Social Services in 1989. And the number surely has grown since then, Singleton said. However, Singleton and others said the apartment complex still will not house all the deaf seniors wanting to get in. A survey taken in 1997 shows between 150 and 250 deaf seniors wanted to live in the 50-unit complex. Only a few small plans need to be approved for the complete passage of the apartment project, such as getting noise and sewage permits. Singleton, a retired teacher and president of the Deaf Senior Retirement Corporation that will own the apartment, said he expects to break ground in the fall 2000 and finish construction a year later. ©1999 Mercury Center ---- GOVERNOR DAVIS APPROVES LEGISLATION ALLOWING DISABLED TO RETURN TO WORK AB 155 Allows Workers to Maintain the Health Coverage That Made Their Recovery Possible SACRAMENTO – Governor Gray Davis has signed legislation, AB 155 by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco), encouraging California’s disabled population to work with the assurance of adequate health care by providing a mechanism to allow these workers to buy into the Medicaid program. "My goal as governor is to enable as many people with disabilities to return to work and become fully engaged and productive citizens without the fear of losing the very health insurance that facilitated their recovery," said Governor Davis. AB 155 requires the Department of Health Services (DHS) to implement, by April 1, 2000, a federal option to expand Medi-Cal by increasing the net income eligibility threshold to 250 percent of the federal poverty level for working disabled persons who meet the federal definition of disability and are otherwise Medi-Cal eligible. This program is subject to the availability of federal financial participation and sunsets on April 1, 2005. ---- OCDAC WEBSTORE SUPPORTS THE DEAF COMMUNITY OCDAC WebStore is packed with items for use by people with hearing disabilities and a few extras. OCDAC WebStore can be found at: Http://www.deafadvocacy.com/product.htm ---- USOC EMPLOYEE FILES DISCRIMINATION SUIT COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The director of the disabled sports service for the USOC is suing his employer, alleging discrimination against himself and other disabled athletes. Mark Shepherd, a gold medalist in wheelchair basketball in the 1996 Olympics, filed his lawsuit Oct. 22 in U.S. District Court. In his 23-count lawsuit, Shepherd claims he was discriminated against in his employment with the USOC and that programs for disabled athletes receive unequal funding. One of the allegations is that disabled athletes who win gold medals in the Olympics get a stipend that is less than able-bodied athletes. The USOC supports approximately 20,000 elite disabled athletes. A USOC spokesman said the organization has addressed many of the concerns in the lawsuit and have made it a top priority. The USOC plans to hold a news conference Thursday to address the suit. Among the allegations are that the USOC is failing to provide reasonable accommodations, tuition assistance for disabled athletes, as well as equal funding for disabled athletes who are preparing for the Olympics. The lawsuit claims the USOC violated the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitations Act of 1973 and other civil rights violations. ---- ACLU AND DISABILITY RIGHTS GROUPS URGE CONGRESS TO REJECT ATTEMPT TO GUT LAW THAT ENSURES ACESSIBLE HOUSING FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 28, 1999 Contact: DC Media Relations Office media@dcaclu.org WASHINGTON--Housing developers requested today that Congress pass a bill that would lift accessibility requirements for recently constructed housing. The move was harshly criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Paralyzed Veterans of America and disability rights activists. "Companies who broke the law by refusing to build accessible housing do not deserve a 'get out of jail free' card," said Christopher T. Anders, a Legislative Counsel for the ACLU. "People who ignored the law by refusing to ensure that their new buildings were accessible should be hanging their heads in shame, not asking Congress to pass a bill that forgives them for denying housing to people with disabilities." The bill, H.R. 2437, was introduced by Representative Walter Jones (R-NC), and is being considered by the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution. The bill would amend the federal Fair Housing Act to exempt all housing constructed between 1991 and 1999 from requirements that new housing be accessible to people with disabilities. Although the disability rights provisions of the Fair Housing Act were passed into law in 1988, implementation was delayed for two and a half years to ensure that builders had adequate time to learn how to comply with the requirements, Anders said. "Passing this bill would be equivalent to telling companies that they don't have to bother with civil rights laws like the Americans With Disabilities Act because Congress will eventually just let them off the hook anyway," Anders said. ---- BLIND BROTHERS CHARGED WITH CYBER CRIME Updated 7:44 AM ET November 3, 1999 JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Three blind Arab brothers tapped into Israeli army telephone lines and enabled Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to call overseas at the military's expense, an Israeli prosecutor said on Tuesday. Using Braille keyboards, Munther Badir, 22, Muzhir Badir, 23, and their younger brother, a minor who cannot be identified, committed 42 counts of computer fraud, prosecutor Doron Porat told Reuters. "This is the first crime of this sort to be brought to trial in Israel," Porat said of the brothers, who have been blind since birth and deny any wrongdoing. Besides cracking the codes of a military switchboard and charging Palestinians a fee for the calls abroad, the brothers jammed the telephone lines of a brothel -- apparently as a favor to a competing establishment across the street, prosecutors said. Porat said the brothers were making more than $10,000 a day at the peak of their alleged exploits. The trio also hacked into the computer of Israel's cable shopping channel and had a 25-inch television sent to their home for free, according to the charge sheet. Muzhir Badir said in a telephone interview from his home, where he is under house arrest, that he and his brothers had only wanted to demonstrate that the blind were as talented as people with sight. "In the Arab community, blind people are considered the last people who could contribute to society," Muzhir said. "We wanted to prove from the very beginning that we were special." ---------------------- Democrats with Disabilities Members At our annual meeting last Saturday in Oakland (October 16) these Members names were placed in nomination for the Executive Committee Seats for the coming year. You still have time to place yours or any othe club members name in nomination. THAT MEANS NOMINATIONS ARE STILL OPEN. Co-Chairs: Francie Moeller and Larry Buchalter Secretary: Patty Sheehan Treasurer: Alyson Abramovitz One of our Members, Warren Cushman has proposed the club develop a Legislative Committee . If the members like the idea , we can incorporate the Committee in our By-Laws. I would like to ask Maggie Dee to serve also on the Leg. Committee. Please E-Mail or MAIL by letter your votes to: Larry Buchalter 2309 Blake Street 111 Berkeley California 94704-2854 or email (to any one of these email adresses OR MULTIPLE ADDRESSES) within 30 DAYS OF 10/22/99. LARRY BUCHALTER : lawrenc6@ix.netcom.com FRANCIE MOELLER: adacompliance@wclnx.com MAGGIE DEE: magdisbl@ccnet.com DELIA TODD: captod@earthlink.net I want the process to be fair. Our Next CDWD meeting is scheduled for FEBRUARY 2000 at The California Democratic Party Convention in San JOSE. 2000 Dues are DUE. $5, DIS N/W, $10 DIS/W, $25 GEN , $35 FAMILY , $100 /LIFE HARDSHIP-FREE Larry Buchalter Berkeley California lawrenc6@ix.netcom.com ============================================================== DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY Orange County, California Richard Roehm President Internet : Deaf@activist.com Deaf_Workers_OC@usa.net Website Nesmuth@worldnet.att.net Http://www.i-sphere.com/eyedeaf/dwoc.htm =============================================================== Feel free to redistribute this newsletter in it's entirety and if you are planning to add a mailing list as a subscriber then let me know for my records. 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