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.
MEETING LOCATION: SVCB's monthly meetings are held in the dining room of the Monte Vista Terrace Apts. at 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View. Meetings run 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 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.
Note: Local contact information is removed except when requested to remain. For local contact info, access www.svcb.cc.
Note: Local contact information is removed except when requested to remain. For local contact info, access http://www.svcb.cc.
Hello all!
Before I talk about the July meeting, let me remind you that our picnic is just three weeks away: Saturday, August 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale. You and your friends are invited! Although SVCB will be providing meat, you are encouraged to bring your potluck dishes to share. Register your food offerings with Beverly Clifford by calling her at 408-223-6444. If you are not bringing food, bring a five dollar donation to help cover expenses, and call Bev to let her know you plan to come.We have door prizes, too, and your contribution makes them rich! Tickets will be at the picnic and are one dollar each or six for five dollars. Call Naomi Grubb at 408-281-3631 to contribute something you don't need but just know someone will find useful. Be sure to check out the picnic article in the July newsletter and the Event Calendar in this issue.
I was vacationing on Orcas Island, Washington during the July meeting. It was cool up there and rather rainy; but the second reunion of Star's family was lots of fun with barbecues, games and talk, talk, talk!
But I hear the meeting was quite interesting. I want to thank John Glass for presiding in my absence and Debee Armstrong Norling for working the sound system.
Our speaker was Tiffany Medina, who participated in a triathlon last month as a blind person. Soon you will be able to hear her presentation on our site. In the business meeting, the proposed constitutional amendment reviewed in the July newsletter was referred back to committee for further work.
Let's all get together at the picnic, and I'll meet you there!
Return to "In This Issue"As you may have heard, the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has been proposing devastating changes to some of our bus routes in the name of efficiency and improving service on the more popular lines. Many people, including SVCB members attended the public meetings and indicated their displeasure with these changes and VTA has now come out with a proposal which appears to be somewhat less devastating. We still want to look at this new proposal and represent the needs of our community, not only those who use the bus, but also those whose paratransit eligibility may be impacted by the changes. ADA requires only that paratransit service be provided within three quarters of a mile of the nearest fixed route line (bus or light rail).
There will be two more public meetings, August 7 at 3:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. at the new Martin Luther King Public Library in San Jose. We realize that this is very short notice, but it is not the only way you can make your opinion known. The really important deadline is the scheduled meeting of the VTA Board of Directors on August 30 at which decisions will actually be finalized.
If you need to find out what is proposed for your particular route or you want to know how to comment, please get in touch with one of us who has the full document, such as Roger Petersen, Dawn Wilcox or Mike Keithley.
Return to "In This Issue"Happy August birthdays to Beverly Clifford, Fahimeh Eghtessadi, Claudia Gulasch, Barbara Rhodes, and Charlie Stein!
Return to "In This Issue"I expect to order our supply of 2008 large print/braille calendars by mid-August. We currently plan to order 65, but if I know in advance that we have sufficient interest, I could order more. So, if you already know that you would like to reserve several calendars, I would appreciate it if you could let me know by the time of our picnic. You can reach me at 650-964-7973 or at michelle@svcb.cc.
After some delays due to computer problems, our cookbook committee is hard at work once again preparing our long-awaited cookbook featuring potluck dishes enjoyed by our members at our picnics and holiday parties. If you have contributed recipes to the cookbook, expect to hear from someone on the cookbook committee in the near future if you haven't already. The committee has been conducting interviews to find out interesting stories about our recipes to include in the cookbook. We hope to send the cookbook to the printer's soon!
Remember to save your recyclable aluminum cans and plastic water bottles. Donna Sanchez (408-377-8311) is collecting plastic water bottles, and Charlie Stein (650-494-3258) is collecting aluminum cans. You may bring these items to an upcoming meeting (remember, this month is the picnic), or call the appropriate contact to make other arrangements. Donna and Charlie redeem the bottles and cans for funds which are then used to support SVCB activities.
And finally, remember that you may still purchase the talking thermometer key chains ($10 each) and the white cane safety awareness T-shirts ($15 for those we have in stock or $17 for those we must order). To place an order or to request info, please contact me at 650-964-7973 or at michelle@svcb.cc. We have received some requests for T-shirts that we do not have in stock, so if you are interested, please do let me know. Once we have enough requests, I can send in another order.
See you at the picnic!
Return to "In This Issue"If, like me, you are frustrated that cell phones seem to be designed with more and more features and less accessibility, then I hope you will read on and take action. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has tried to be an effective information source as well as an advocate on cell phone accessibility and we believe the time is right for action onthis issue.
Section 255 of the Communications Act requires telecommunications service providers and manufacturers to ensure their products and services are accessible to people with disabilities, if readily achievable. AFB, through our technology Web magazine AccessWorld, has published extensively on cell phone accessibility, especially on specific phones and features. Generally, there are very few phones with meaningful access features. Cingular, now AT&T stands out for providing phones with screen reading software that provides access to all phone features. AT&T just announced a new agreement to add additional phones with screen reader and magnification.
Why aren't more companies bringing accessible cell phones to market? Two reasons: First, unfortunately, relatively few people with vision loss have actually filed complaints on cell phone accessibility. This leads the industry to believe that we are happy with the minimal access now available. Second, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) handles Section 255 complaints, and it has not been very responsive when complaints have been filed.
What can we do? First, be very clear when you communicate with your cell phone service provider that you expect an accessible phone. This means a phone that provides features like comprehensive audio output of information on the screen, displays that can be adjusted to make them more readable with limited vision and keys and controls that are identifiable by touch. While we're at it, we should make clear once and for all that while using voice commands may be desired by some people, industry should stop assuming that blind people need to use voice input to control our phones. And, we should be clear in asking for manuals and phone bills in accessible formats (with descriptions of images and graphics).
At this past ACB convention, AFB announced "255action." Among other things, we've established an email address that consumers can use to tell us about their cell phone access concerns. It is 255action@afb.net. We are also putting additional material about cell phones and accessibility on our Web site www.afb.org, including an explanation of how to use the FCC's complaint form. Over the past several months we have spoken with many consumers with vision loss and we have worked with approximately 20 consumers who have provided us with detailed accessibility problems that are being shaped into complaints to be filed with the FCC. I expect that we will file these complaints in the next few weeks. When they are filed, we will publicize the effort to ensure that the companies and the FCC take them seriously. And, now would be a great time for you to file complaints on cell phone accessibility too. In addition, on July 17, AFB sent a letter to the leading cell phone carriers and manufacturers indicating that consumers are frustrated with the lack of accessibility and asking for specific info on what these companies are doing about accessibility. The service providers we contacted were: AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, US Cellular, Alltel; and the manufacturers were: Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics, Sanyo, Pantech and HTC Global Services. I sent a fairly specific attachment with the letter explaining accessibility expectations for individuals with vision loss. I asked for the companies to respond with info by August 31. We'll add any information we get to our Web site.
Finally, I have also blogged about these issues and would welcome your comments there: www.afb.org/blog. Paul W. Schroeder, Vice President, Programs and Policy; American Foundation for the Blind; 820 First Street, N.E., Suite 400; Washington, DC 20002; Phone: 202-408-8172; E-mail: pws@afb.net; Web: http://www.afb.org/gov.asp
Return to "In This Issue"The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired will be hosting several informational survey interviews on talking glucose meters and adaptive insulin syringe devices. These interview sessions will be conducted in conjunction with a doctoral student from UC Berkeley. The focus of the interviews is to collect data concerning talking glucose meters and adaptive insulin syringe devices. The interview will take between 60 and 90 minutes and there will be a $40 honorarium for those who participate. The participants must be diabetic and have used or currently use a talking glucose meter.
If you know of individuals who may qualify please contact Beth Berenson at The LightHouse. Phone: 888-400-8933 or via email at: bberenson@lighthouse-sf.org.
Thank you for your support in this important survey.
Return to "In This Issue"Santa Clara Bowling Group: Every Saturday at Moonlight Lanes in Santa Clara, info@visionbeyondsight.org.
Aug 3, 10 a.m-noon SAF lab tour; call 408-245-7330 for reservations.
Aug 8, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting; Meeting Place, 650-260-9029 ID 7822222.
Aug 18, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: SVCB picnic at Baylands park, Sunnyvale. Check July newsletter and PhoneTree updates.
Aug 24, noon: September In Touch newsletter deadline.
Aug 26, 1:30-3 p.m.: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert; 390 University Ave.; Los Altos.
Sep 5, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB Board meeting.
Sep 15, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB membership meeting; dining room, Monte Vista Terrace Apartments, 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View; Outreach reference: 650-940-9769. Lunch orders must be made by 9:45. 9:30: Coffee and conversation, 10: Program, 11: Business, 12: lunch. Program: check PhoneTree announcements. Business: Elect delegates for CCB Fall Convention, discuss resolutions for same, announce Nominating Committee, begin planning for Braille Literacy Month, and remind members to acquire door prizes for Holiday Party.
Sep 21: Send current number of members to CCB.
Sep 28, noon: October In Touch newsletter deadline.
Sep 30, 1:30-3 p.m.: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert.
October: Employment for People with Disabilities Month.
Oct 5, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour.
Oct 6, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCB meeting.
Oct 9: Insights art exhibit begins at San Francisco City Hall. Access www.lighthouse-sf.org.
Oct 10, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting.
Oct 15: White Cane Safety Day.
Oct 17-19 at 8 p.m.; 20, 2 p.m.; 21, 1 and 6:30 p.m.: AMTSJ presents Guys and Dolls with descriptions by AudioVision.
Oct 20, 9:30-1 p.m.: SVCB membership meeting; appoint Budget Committee.
Oct 25-28: CCB Fall 2007 Convention; LAX Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 9750 Airport Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045; Reservations: 310-645-4600.
Oct 29, noon: November In Touch newsletter deadline.
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