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SVCB
IN TOUCH
Newsletter of the
SILICON VALLEY COUNCIL OF THE BLIND
A Chapter of the California Council of the Blind
June 2018
EDITOR: Susan Glass, editor@svcb.cc
COPY EDITOR: Beverly Clifford, copyeditor@svcb.cc
ADDRESS: P.O. Box 493, Mountain View, CA 94042
DEADLINE: for the July, 2018 issue: noon, June 22
VOLUNTEERS: Naomi Grubb, volunteers@svcb.cc
MEMBERSHIP: Mike Keithley, membership@svcb.cc
LEGISLATION: Mike Keithley, legislation@svcb.cc
PHONE: 888-652-5333
EMAIL: svcb@onebox.com
URL: http://svcb.cc
Legislative Hotlines, current issues for blind persons:
CALIFORNIA CONNECTION: 800-221-6359, after 5 PM and weekends
WASHINGTON CONNECTION: 800-424-8666, 3-9 PM and weekends
DISCLAIMER: This publication contains announcements from the Silicon Valley
Council of the Blind and is also a forum for opinions relating to blindness
issues. Signed articles reflect the views, and research, of their authors.
STATUS: SVCB is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization under the
California Council of the Blind.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS: Contact Mike Keithley, database@svcb.cc.
MEETING LOCATION: SVCB's monthly meetings are held in the community room of
the Monte Vista Terrace Apts. at 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View. Meetings
run 9:30 AM to 1 PM the third Saturday of the month and are open to all.
Monte Vista Terrace is one block from the intersection of Grant Road and El
Camino Real and is accessible by bus #22.
In THIS Issue
* President's Message
* Membership Corner
* Fundraising Report
* California Parks Project Update
* Snack Shack
* Tidbits
* Event Calendar
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
by Susan Glass
If you missed Judy Wilkinson's presentation at our May membership meeting,
I hope that you'll listen to the recording. Her dedication to CCB and her
grasp of the issues that we face is stellar. She was informative, warm, and
engaging. As she enumerated CCB's accomplishments and challenges, I felt
proud that SVCB is part of the CCB family. I also realized that we have
opportunities to do much, much more for CCB. Several of our chapter members
have excellent legislative knowledge (Alice, Mike, Rob, and Roger to name a
few), and it's a pleasure to follow their lead when they alert us to issues
that need our attention. This year alone, they've educated us about AB1865,
Ab3200, SB1396, and AB3223. Need some hints as to what each bill is about?
Think protecting guide dogs against attacks, helping SSI and SSDI
recipients, helping our community stay abreast of the best in technology,
and safeguarding braille literacy and library services. We needn't feel intimidated
if we can't find time to address all of these issues. We can pick our
favorite issue, learn who our local legislators are, visit them in their
home offices, phone them, or write to them about the issue or piece of
legislation that's most on our minds. If more of us in our chapter want to
learn how to do this, we can dedicate one of our monthly programs to the
process. Please let me or anyone else on the Board know if you'd be
interested in such a program.
It goes without saying that SVCB and CCB aren't just about legislation.
Think of our core values: equal access to all that life offers, such as
education, affordable housing, employment, recreation, transportation,
technology, health care, the ballot box, worship, friendship, it's an
endless list. Every one of us, just by living our lives, conveys something
to the world about what it means to be blind.
Writing this article makes me realize how little I know about the community
services and activities in which we are all engaged. We've shared our hobby
interests, but I don't know if we've ever talked about the other
communities in which we're active. Might this be a future program topic?
During her May conversation with us, Judy said that CCB is organizing a
series of regional chapter meetings, the purpose of which is to help us
stay connected throughout the state, thereby furthering our common
interests and goals. The proposed date for the Bay Area regional meeting is
Saturday, September 29. The chapters involved would be Contra Costa, San
Francisco, Bay View, Silicon Valley, and I know I'm forgetting at least one
if not two others. The suggested meeting place is the San Francisco
LightHouse, but details are still being worked out. Obviously, it won't be
possible for every person in every chapter to attend, but it would be nice
if SVCB had a good showing. We'll discuss this at future meetings, but I
wanted to plant the idea in our minds now.
MEMBERSHIP CORNER
by Mike Keithley
Not much to report this month. I hear that Alice Turner is recovering nicely,
and the day will soon come when she can't say "broken Alice."
CCB president Judy Wilkinson was our program speaker in May, and she was
well received. You can hear her presentation at http://svcb.cc/psaudio/18/ps0518.mp3.
Get ready for the picnic! It's on Saturday, August 18 at Hellyer Community
Park in San Jose, and our picnic site is called Yerba Buena. Registration
is $20 for SVCB/CCB members, and $25 for guest. The address of the park
is 985 Hellyer Ave. It is accessible by VTA
Access and bus lines, and Access will not be required to pay for parking.
We will be inviting people from the San Francisco chapter to join us.
The chapter is providing hamburgers, hot dogs, and vegie burgers. Register
at the June meeting by talking to Victor Clifford, and be sure to tell him
what food you want. We will be including info in the upcoming June Phone
Tree for people to contact if you want to bring beverages, appetizers, or
desserts.
Let's wish happy June birthdays to Ken Carey, Elmer Chapson, Victor
Clifford, Allen Jones, Alice Turner, and Art Takahara. We'll do that with a
song at our June meeting: come join us!
FUND-RAISING REPORT
by Michelle McGrew
Thanks to all who got tickets for our raffle featuring donated items at our
May meeting! Prizes included two purses, a conch shell, a six-foot audio
extension cable, a Potato Express Microwave Cooker, a cloth grocery bag,
and a microwave popcorn popper. Our winners were Mike Keithley, Kannie
Loomis, Susan Glass, Roger Petersen, and Judy Wilkinson. Thanks to all who
donated prizes and to those who purchased tickets. We raised $88!
Join us at our June meeting for another auction! Items up for bid include a
Prodigy Voice Blood Glucose Monitoring System (with case and instructions),
a basket crocheted by me, a rolling suitcase, and two duffel bags.
Our May Cookies of the Month fund-raiser benefiting our tech grant featured
Cappuccino Royale Cookies, baked by Lorraine Brown. (The recipe for these
cookies was featured in the "Snack Shack" column of our July,
2016 newsletter.) As of this writing, we sold 54 bags of Lorraine's cookies
(36 at our meeting and 18 at the Blind Center), plus we sold the remaining
22 bags of cookies baked by Bev from last month at the Blind Center. Thanks
to all of our supporters! So far, altogether, we raised $76! And we expect
to sell the remaining 9 bags of Lorraine's cookies by the end of May.
For June, Suzanne Smith will be baking lemon cookies. Each bag of cookies
will sell for $1. If you would like to volunteer to bake cookies this year
for this fund-raiser, please call 888-652-5333 (leave a message to be
forwarded to me, or look me up on our Membership List to call me directly),
or send email to fundraising@svcb.cc.
Our chocolate supply is in transition. I expect that by the end of May or
the beginning of June, we will be sold out of Meltaways. We will restock
our candy bars and Meltaways in the Fall once the weather begins to cool
down. In the meantime, choose one of our other snacks for $1 each! You may
purchase bags of Welch's Fruit Snacks (2.25-oz bags of chewy fruit-flavored
candies), Kirkland Nut Bars (contains a sprinkle of salt and a little
chocolate), or as part of our Summertime Snack Sale, nut mix with
cranberries or with chocolate. To place an order for nut bars, Welch’s
Fruit Snacks, or either nut mix, please contact me as listed above.
Hope to see you at the June meeting.
CALIFORNIA PARKS PROJECT UPDATE
by Susan Glass
In the Winter 2018 issue of the BC, Jamie Gibson-Barrows published an
article about visiting Yosemite National Park along with several other
members of the Fresno and Yosemite Gateway chapters of CCB. What made their
visit unique was the park's audio-described UniD brochure and accompanying
ranger-led tour. Jamie and her companions were some of the first to enjoy
an opportunity that will soon be available to all blind and visually
impaired Californians in any of the state's national parks. Four entities,
(The University of Hawaii, The American Council of the Blind, Google, and
the California Parks Service), are collaborating on this accessibility
effort. The project got started when Dr. Brett Oppegaard, Thomas Conway,
and Megan Conway (all from the University of Hawaii Manoa College of Social
Sciences) obtained a grant from Google for the purpose of creating
audio-described versions of park brochures for all national parks. The
audio versions would be available as MP3 downloads, and also as UniD apps
to be used on an iPhone. In cooperation with ACB and CCB, blind and
visually impaired Californians are testing the UniD app in California's
national parks. The Fresno and Yosemite Gateway chapters were the first CCB
groups to test the app in November of 2017. Then on Friday, April 27, 2018,
the Silicon Valley and San Francisco chapters had the opportunity to try
the app at Muir Woods National Monument. Here is the second installment of
our California parks experience.
Before proceeding further, I'd like to thank my colleague Noel Runyan for
his excellent notes and collaboration on this article.
Nine members of the Silicon Valley chapter and seven members of the San
Francisco chapter participated in the Muir Woods outing. We met at the Manzanita
parking lot at the intersection of Highways 1 and 101, where we were
greeted by Richard De La O, Accessibility Program Manager at the Golden
Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA); Thomas Conway, University of Hawaii
Center on Disability Studies; and Michael Faw, Accessibility and Exhibits
Specialist at the GGNRA. We loaded and tested two apps on our phones: the
UniD app for the Muir Woods Park brochure, and the National Parks Service
(NPS) Golden Gate app for descriptions of sites within Muir Woods Park
itself. The NPS app utilizes Bluetooth signals to trigger points of
interest descriptions as you walk through the park. Currently, wayside
description triggering works only for Apple phones, and not yet for
Android. It was necessary to load our apps in advance because there is no
cell phone access within the park.
With phones now ready, we boarded a shuttle for the ten minute drive into
the park, where we were greeted by Todd, an enthusiastic ranger who clearly
loved his work and the opportunity to introduce visually impaired visitors
to the wonders of the park.
Todd, Richard, Michael, and Tom each shepherded a small group of us on a
park walkabout. The formerly-paved walking paths are being replaced with
wooden sidewalks that float above the ground to protect the delicate roots
of the redwood trees. Near the park entrance is an incredible topographical
map of Muir Woods, with every trail, lookout point, stream, and road
labeled in braille, and assigned its own texture. Frank Welte and other
employees of the San Francisco LightHouse were consultants for developing
this map, and it was fascinating to hear him describe how the map was first
made in clay, and how leather, beads, and other objects were used to create
the various textures for what ultimately became a metal structure. We
walked around and around it, exploring every looping, switchback-laden
path. The park is huge, and the map conveys its size and its meandering
spread.
The weather that day was cool with partial sunlight, skittering clouds, and
a companionable stream, reminding us that it seldom gets very warm in this
redwood rain forest. One personal highlight was an SVCB chapter member
giving a big hug to a San Francisco friend as they stood together inside
the burnt-out trunk of a redwood tree. Another highlight was exploring a
braille-labeled redwood tree ring that dated the tree's beginnings back to
before the common era (BCE). Our walk was a collage experience as we moved
between real time connections with each other and nature, and the rich
information provided by our phone apps. NPS wayside and site descriptions
of artwork on plaques was wonderful, with color and motion of plants and
animals included.
After lunch, we met for an hour with park staff to provide feedback on
usability of both apps. Our feedback was collected in written surveys, and
will help fine-tune the apps.
Generally, we would advise folks to take time to listen to the Muir Woods
wayside descriptions before visiting the park. They would also find the
UniD app an interesting and accessible way to find out about all the
California parks.
In closing, we express our appreciation to Michael Faw, Richard De La O,
Thomas Conway, and Todd, as well as to sighted volunteers and family
members who accompanied us. We also thank Dan Spoone, first Vice President
of ACB, and Jo Lynn Bailey-Page, ACB Grants Manager, who work tirelessly
behind the scenes to support and promote the parks project. ACB provided
each chapter with $250 to offset costs of the Muir Woods excursion. So
onward to our next park.
Snack Shack
Spring Fruit Cobbler
Submitted by Suzanne Smith
Filling:
6 cups peaches, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Pinch of salt
Topping:
1-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
6 tablespoons transfat-free margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cut fruit into bite-sized pieces. Lightly grease a baking dish. Mix the
filling gently, and distribute evenly in the baking dish.
In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients for the topping. In a separate
bowl, mix the egg, buttermilk, margarine, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients,
and stir. Spoon topping over filling, leaving spaces for the juices to
bubble up.
Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until lightly browned, checking at 30 minutes so
as not to overbake. Makes 8 servings.
TIDBITS
compiled by Mike Keithley
Learning Ally Scholarships
Each year Learning Ally members who are completing undergraduate or
graduate degrees and who are blind or visually impaired are eligible to
apply for our Mary P. Oenslager Scholastic Achievement Award (SAA)
scholarship program in recognition of academic achievement, outstanding
leadership, and service to others.
Scholarships range from $2,000 to $6,000, and are awarded to the top six
students who are chosen by a national selection committee, based on the
student's academic achievements, educational achievement, outstanding
leadership, and service to others.
We are accepting applications now through June 30th. Winners will be
notified of awards in early 2019.
Apply today at www.learningally.org/NAA.
EVENT CALENDAR: June through July, 2018
compiled by Mike Keithley
Notes
Tabard Theatre shows: To order tickets, call the Tabard box office at
408-679-2330 and speak to Marilyn Watts, or visit tabardtheatre.org.
SVCB members and Blind Center clients should use Discount Code BC27 when
ordering. Performances take place at The Tabard THEATRE, 29 North San Pedro Street, San Jose.
Shows described by AudioVision: For all San Francisco productions (Golden
Gate and Orpheum theatres), tickets are generally on sale four weeks before
the production opens. To charge tickets and reserve receivers, call
888-746-1799 (SHN Theaters), or fax your order to 415-581-2121 and ask for
AudioVision tickets. If you have any questions, please email didisalvo@msn.com.
The monthly "Let's Talk Low Vision" conferences from CCLVI can be
accessed as podcasts at www.airsla.org/cclvidd.asp.
Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors: Departs every Sunday at noon from
Pier 40 in San Francisco. Call 415-281-0212 for information and
reservations, or visit www.baads.org.
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP): BORP believes that
everyone should have access to the unique challenges that outdoor
recreation provides, and makes every effort to accommodate each person's
needs, including providing transportation and volunteer support. For event
listings, call Lori Gray at 510-843-4398, or visit www.borp.org.
Calendar
June: Vision Research Month.
June 5, 5:30 to 7 PM: Breast Cancer Support Group. Call-in: 605-715-4920;
ID: 2776167. For questions, call Lori Scharff at 516-887-1336, or lorischarff@gmail.com.
June 7, 7 to 9 PM: SVCB Board meeting. If you're not on the Board but wish
to attend this meeting, please contact President Susan Glass.
June 7-24: Tabard Theatre, LOVE LETTERS, see notes.
June 16, 9:30 AM to 1 PM: Monthly SVCB meeting. Finalize picnic plans.
Remind members to acquire prizes.
June 16, 2 PM: AudioVision, THE HUMANS, Orpheum Theatre, San Francisco, see
notes.
June 19, 5:30 to 7 PM: Let's Talk Low Vision, Clinical Trials and Low
Vision, 712-432-3447 with ID 145330.
June 22, noon: July newsletter deadline.
June 24, 1:30 to 3 PM: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert, Shoup Park, 400 University Avenue, Los Altos.
June 27: Helen Keller Day.
June 29 and 30 at 8 PM, and Jul 1 at 2 PM: TheatreWorks, FINKS, described
by the Visual Voice, MVCPA.
June 29 to Jul 6: ACB Conference and Convention, Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market Street, Saint Louis, Missouri,
60123;. Reservations: 314-231-1234.
Jul 12, 7 to 9 PM: SVCB Board meeting.
Jul 14, 2 PM: THE SCHOOL OF ROCK, Orpheum Theatre, described by
AudioVision, see notes.
Jul 21, 9:30 AM to 1 PM: Monthly meeting. Begin plans for White Cane Safety
Day and Employment of People with Disabilities Awareness Month, appoint
Holiday Party Committee chair.
Jul 27, noon: August newsletter deadline.
Jul 29, 1:30 to 3 PM: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert.
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