DEAF WORKERS OF ORANGE COUNTY PROJECT -- DEAF WORKERS WEEKLY BULLETIN -- July 25, 1998 Greetings, This week was another week of many developments. First, my meeting with Mark Apodaca was very productive and set the groundwork for future opportunities to meet with him. I had to warn my readers of Senator Thurmond's plans to weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act. Then came the STAR reports showing Deaf schools in California Deaf scoring the lowest this year apart from being the high scorers last year. This week I started working on several fundraising activities for the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center and during this week of 'cold calling' all local TDD numbers I was able to get a few people interested in my project and some people were very concerned about my project's impact on GLAD. Lenny, one of GLAD's founders, whom I called on Thursday evening expressed grave concerns about my own "zeal" and "ideals". Lenny would rather see major changes within GLAD organization than see other Deaf centers popping up in it's 'territory'. I made it clear to him that for the past 5 years there has been too little a support for the Deaf community in Orange County and the need for a reliable Deaf advocacy system is real and the main reason behind the new Deaf centers popping up within GLAD's 'territory'. We already gave GLAD a chance to prove themselves with those kinds of people running it. Whining about GLAD doesn't deliver any messages to them at all, however, starting new Deaf centers in their 'territory' really sends them a strong message and are more realistic than major changes within the Greater Los Angeles Council on Deafness, Inc. organization. Next week I have a breakfast meeting with the newly elected Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona who knows how to sign. I look forward to working with him to create better relations between Orange County Sheriff's patrolmen and the people with hearing disabilities. I have a discussion agenda and would also appreciate any input on what I should cover in this meet with Sheriff-elect Carona. Richard Roehm ---- SURVEY FINDS NO JOB GAINS FOR DISABLED Less than one third of adults with disabilities are employed, a figure that has not improved over the past decade, according to a survey released today by the National Organization on Disability. The survey, conducted by Louis Harris & Associates, found that 29 percent of disabled persons are employed full or part time, compared with 79 percent of nondisabled Americans aged 18 through 64. In 1986, 33 percent of the disabled population was employed. The survey also found that disabled Americans are less likely to socialize with friends, go to restaurants and attend movies than those without disabilities. "In general, people with disabilities are not participating as fully in American life as we should be," said Alan A. Reich, president of the National Organization on Disability. "There's a long way to go." At the same time, the survey found that persons with disabilities feel that society is making progress in improving access to public facilities and transportation, quality of life and public attitudes toward disabled Americans. The report comes eight years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the workplace, housing, retail stores and other places that serve the public. The survey found that just over half of disabled adults had heard of the landmark civil rights legislation, an increase since 1994, when just 40 percent knew of the law. About one third felt the law had improved their lives, while nearly 60 percent said it had made no difference. The survey of 1,000 adults followed up on two others conducted by Harris for the National Organization on Disability, in 1994 and 1986. Reich said it was not clear why the proportion of disabled Americans who are employed had declined. The survey found that 72 percent of the unemployed said they would prefer to be working, but that 44 percent said they were completely unable to work because of their disabilities. The low employment rate contributes to a high incidence of poverty. Thirty-four percent of adults with disabilities live in a household with an annual income of less than $15,000, compared with 13 percent of nondisabled adults. 07/23/98 -- Copyright (C) 1998 The Washington Post [Article 317893, 38 lines] By Barbara Vobejda ---- NAD AND KALEIDOSCOPE PRODUCE PSA SERIES SILVER SPRING, MD -- In an effort to boost media awareness of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and to recruit new members, the NAD has collaborated with KALEIDSCOPE Television to produce six national public service announcements (PSA) for dissemination to the public. Five of the public service announcements have a synonymous theme entitled "NAD NEWS UPDATE" which cover several aspects of the NAD including its mission, programs, policy development, youth development, and interpreter certifications. They feature Benjamin J. Soukup, Mark D. Apodaca, Nancy J. Bloch, and Nancy B. Rarus as on-camera talent. The sixth PSA was designed generically and focuses on membership recruitment. Nancy J. Bloch, NAD executive director, and David H. Pierce, vice president of programming and operations for KALEIDOSCOPE, both co-wrote the PSAs while Pierce served as the producer/director. "Over the years, the NAD has safeguarded the rights of the nation's 28 million people who are deaf and hard of hearing and has had a steady membership to support its mission. With the release of these PSAs, the NAD has entered a new arena using the media to get its message out to larger numbers of people to increase its membership base and strengthen its advocacy efforts," said Bloch. The NAD NEWS UPDATE PSAs are sixty seconds each in length while the generic PSA is thirty seconds in length. American Sign Language (ASL), captions, and voice-overs are utilized for maximized accessibility. All the PSAs are now airing nationally on KALEIDOSCOPE. The National Association of the Deaf is the nation's largest organization safeguarding the accessibility and civil rights of 28 million deaf and hard of hearing Americans in education, employment, health care and telecommunications. The NAD focuses on grassroots advocacy and empowerment, captioned media, deafness-related information and publications, legal assistance, policy development and research, public awareness, and youth leadership development. KALEIDOSCOPE is a 24-hour national channel that is 100% captioned for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Along with programming in sign language, the network airs health, wellness, and ability programming for those who are deaf, hard of hearing, people with disabilities, as well as those with major health concerns. KALEIDOSCOPE is currently seen in 15 million households nationwide. To receive a broadcast quality copy of the PSA series for airing on your local television station, contact Anita B. Farb at the NAD at 301-5987-1789 TTY or 301-587-1788 Voice. More information on the NAD can found on the World Wide Web at http://www.nad.org. National Association of the Deaf 814 Thayer Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910-4500 301-587-1788 Voice, 301-587-1789 TTY, 301-587-1791 FAX, www.nad.org ---- D E A F Selected To Present At CDC National Conference St. Paul, Minnesota, -- D E A F has been selected to present a concurrent session entitled "Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth HIV/STD Risk Behaviors? at the National Leadership Conference to Strengthen HIV/AIDS Education and Coordinated School Health Programs which is being held in Atlanta, Georgia, August 9-14, 1998. This conference is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). One of the main objectives of the Conference is to enable the nation's leaders to meet and explore collaborative efforts to assure the health and educational success of all young people, including postsecondary students, with special emphasis on youth in high risk situations. Program participants can gain technical assistance and training about the skills that health, education, social service, and other professionals need in order to help young people outside of school avoid HIV infection and other serious health problems. "We are thrilled to have this opportunity to present at a national CDC and DASH sponsored conference," says Nancy Emery, D E A F's HIV/AIDS + STD Prevention Education Program Manager. "It is critical for education professionals to understand the significant HIV/STD infection risk for Deaf and Hard of Hearing youth. Deaf and Hard of Hearing people represent an undocumented cultural minority in terms of HIV/STD infection." D E A F will present the topic "Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth HIV/STD Risk Behaviors," which will focus on the importance of using graphics and other culturally and linguistically appropriate materials. Today D E A F serves a broad constituency, including people who are born Deaf, those deafened later in life, Hard of Hearing people, and a variety of professionals and lay persons interested in improving the quality of life for all members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. D E A F is committed to empowering Deaf and Hard of Hearing people by increasing access to information. D E A F provides direct services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities including: adult education, tutoring, Deaf community networking, HIV/AIDS Prevention Education, deaf recreation, and information/referral. For more information about D E A F's Deaf community HIV/AIDS + STD Prevention Education Program, contact Nancy Emery at 651.297.6707 TTY/Voice, by fax at 651.297.6766 or via e-mail at deafhiv@deafinc.org ---- CALIFORNIA BALLOT PROPOSITIONS RELEASED The ballot propositions were just released. There is one more proposition in the making. PROPOSITION 1 Property Taxes: Contaminated Property. Legislative Constitutional Amendment (ACA 22 of 1998) Sponsor: Assembly Member Curt Pringle Amends article XIII A of the Constitution, added by Proposition 13, to allow repair or replacement of environmentally-contaminated property or structures without increasing the tax valuation of original or replacement property. Fiscal Impact: Property tax revenue losses probably less that $1 million annually in the near term to schools, counties, cities and special districts. School revenue losses (about half of total) would be made up by the state. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENT: Assembly Member Curt Pringle phone: (916) 445-8377 email: curt.pringle@asm.ca.gov OPPONENT: None identified as of 7/23/98 --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 2 Transportation: Funding. Legislative Constitutional Amendment (ACA 30 of 1998) Sponsor: Assembly Member Kevin Murray Authorizes conditional loans of transportation revenues to the General Fund and local entities. Designates local transportation funds as trust funds and requires a transportation purpose for their use. Fiscal Impact: Not likely to have any fiscal impact on state and local governments. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENT: Assembly Member Kevin Murray phone: (916) 445-8800 email: kevin.murray@assembly.ca.gov OPPONENT: None identified as of 7/23/98 --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 3 Partisan Presidential Primary Elections Legislative Initiative Amendment (SB 1505 of 1998) Sponsors: Senators John Lewis, John Burton & Ross Johnson Changes existing open primary law to require closed, partisan primary for purposes of selecting delegates to national political party presidential nominating conventions. Limits voting for such delegates to voters registered by political party. Provides partisan ballots to be voted only by members of the particular party. Fiscal Impact: Minor costs to state and county governments statewide. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENT: Senator John Lewis phone: (916) 445-4264 email: senator.lewis@sen.ca.gov OPPONENT: None identified as of 7/23/98 --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 4 Trapping Practices. Bans Use of Specified Traps and Animal Poisons. Initiative Statute. Proponents: Alan Hugh Berger and A. Aaron Medlock Prohibits trapping fur-bearing or nongame mammals with specified traps. Prohibits commerce in fur of animals so trapped. Generally prohibits steel-jawed leghold traps on mammals. Prohibits use of specified poisons on animals. Fiscal Impact: Unknown state and local costs of several hundred thousand to in the range of a couple of million dollars annually, depending on workload and effectiveness of alternative trapping methods. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: Protect Pets and Wildlife/Yes on 4 email: propaw@ix.netcom.com phone: (310) 441-4499 web: http://www.volunteerinfo.org/propaw OPPONENTS: Californians for People, Pets and Wildlife phone: (916) 444-8080 web: http://www.calvoterguide.com/no4 (not yet in operation as of 7/24/98) --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 5 Tribal-State Gaming Compacts. Tribal Casinos. Initiative Statute Proponent: Frank Lawrence Specifies terms and conditions of mandatory compact between state and Indian tribes for gambling on tribal land. Allows slot machines and banked card games at tribal casinos. Fiscal Impact: Uncertain impact on state and local revenues, depending on the growth in gambling on Indian lands in California. Effect could range from little impact to significant annual revenue increases. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: Californians for Indian Self-Reliance phone: (800) 258-7471 web: http://www.cisr.org OPPONENTS: Coalition Against Unregulated Gaming phone: (800) 866-6433 web: http://www.bad4cal.org --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 6 Criminal Law. Prohibition on Slaughter of Horses and Sale of Horsemeat for Human Consumption. Initiative Statute Proponents: Sherry DeBoer and Cathleen Doyle Makes possession, transfer, or receipt of horses for slaughter for human consumption a felony. Makes sale of horsemeat for human consumption a misdemeanor. Fiscal Impact: Probably minor, if any, law enforcement and incarceration costs. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: Save the Horses phone: (415) 273-6070 web: http://www.savethehorses.com OPPONENTS: Just Say Neigh! c/o Ted Brown, Libertarian Party phone: (626) 578-8454 email: tedbrown@earthlink.net web: http://www.home.earthlink.net/tebrown --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 7 Air Quality Improvement. Tax Credits. Initiative Statute Proponent: Gerald Meral Authorizes $218 million in state tax credits annually, until January 2011, to encourage air-emissions reductions through the acquisition, conversion, and retrofitting of vehicles and equipment. Fiscal Impact: Annual state revenue loss averaging tens of millions to over a hundred million dollars, to beyond 2010. Annually, through 2010-11: state cost of about $4.7 million; additional local revenues, potentially in the millions of dollars. Potential unknown long-term savings. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: Steve Jacoby, Planning and Conservation League phone: (916) 444-8726, ext. 6 email: sjacoby@pcl.org web: http://www.pcl.org OPPONENTS: Lenny Goldberg, Taxpayers Against Corporate Welfare phone: (916) 446-4300 email: lga@mother.com web: http://www.noon7.org (not yet in operation as of 7/24/98) --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 8 Public Schools. Permanent Class Size Reduction. Parent-Teacher Council. Teacher Credentialing. Pupil Suspension for Drug Possession. Initiative Statute Proponents: Pete Wilson, Marian Bergeson and Yvonne Larsen Permanent class size reduction funding for districts establishing parent-teacher governing councils. Requires teacher credentialing/testing; teacher evaluations; pupil suspension for drug possession. Fiscal Impact: Creates up to $60 million in new state programs, offset in part by existing funds and fees. Costs to local school districts potentially in the high tens of millions of dollars annually. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: no information available as of 7/24/98 OPPONENTS: Parents, Teachers, Cops and Taxpayers Against Prop. 8 phone: (650) 340-0470 or (310) 996-2671 web: http://www.noprop8.org (under construction as of 7/24/98) --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 9 Electric Utilities. Assessments. Bonds. Initiative Statute. Proponents: Nettie Hoge, Elizabeth Gunther and Harvey Rosenfield. Prohibits assessment of taxes, bonds, surcharges to pay costs of nuclear power plants. Limits recovery by electric companies for costs of non-nuclear power plants. Prohibits issuance of rate reduction bonds. Fiscal Impact: State government net revenue reductions potentially in the high tens of millions of dollars annually through 2001-02. Local government net revenue reductions potentially in the tens of millions of dollars annually through 2001-02. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: Californians against Utility Taxes (CUT) phone: (310) 392-0522 web: http://www.nonukebailout.org OPPONENTS: No on 9 Committee phone: (916) 341-1025 web: http://www.NOonProp9.org (under construction as of 7/24/98) --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSITION 10 State and County Early Childhood Development Programs. Additional Tobacco Surtax. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute Proponent: Rob Reiner Creates state and county commissions to establish early childhood development and smoking prevention programs. Imposes additional taxes on cigarettes and tobacco products. Fiscal Impact: New revenues and expenditures of $400 million in 1998-99 and $750 million annually. Reduced revenues for Proposition 99 programs of $18 million in 1998-99 and $7 million annually. Other minor revenue increases and potential unknown savings. For More Information, Contact: PROPONENTS: California Children and Families Initiative phone: (800) 847-4743 email: children98@aol.com web: http://www.children98.org OPPONENTS: Committee Against Unfair Taxes phone: (916) 446-6667 web: http://www.defeatprop10.com (not yet in operation as of 7/24/98) ---- Current job list on the Jobs for Deaf page. Carson City, Nevada (2-23-98) Framingham, Massachusetts (3-2-98) Nationwide USA (3-22-98) Santa Fe, New Mexico (4-9-98) ============================================================== 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 =============================================================== Circulation Information Direct Email subscribers : 40 Indirect Email Subscribers : 39 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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