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 Julie, database@svcb.cc
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.
At press time, we have just learned of the death on Friday, October 24, of our long-time member and past president, Barbara Rhodes. The material for this issue of In Touch had already been largely prepared, so we will leave the proper commemoration of Barbara's life to our November meeting and the next issue of In Touch.
There will be a memorial service on Wednesday, November 5 at 10:30 a.m. at South Hills Church, 6601 Camden Ave (cross street Almaden Expressway), San Jose, CA; Phone 408-268-1676. Donations in lieu of flowers should be made to the California Council of the Blind, according to Barbara's wishes.
Return to the Table of ContentsServing on this year's Nominating Committee with me were Dawn Wilcox and Victor Clifford and I thank them.
The 2009 slate of candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee for the election at the November
meeting:
President, Mike Keithley
Vice President, Susan Schulter
Corresponding Secretary, Naomi Grubb
Recording Secretary, Susan Hyatt
Treasurer, Judy Polatchek
Board seat, Victor Clifford
(This last is the seat now occupied by Deborah Norling Armstrong. Lorraine Brown and Steve Nakagawa were elected to two-year terms last year.)
Remember that the candidates listed here are only recommendations, and you will have an opportunity to put yours into consideration by nominating from the floor at the November meeting.
Return to the Table of ContentsDid I ever tell you how two of my ham friends fooled me and got a good laugh doing it?
We hung out on ten meters "chewing the rag" on AM, and one night they decided they wanted to meet me face-to-face. They lived in Hayward, and piled into their car and I kept in radio contact as they crossed the San Mateo bridge and into Burlingame, where I lived before I graduated from Overbrook. But as they traveled, their signal got weaker and weaker, which worried me since it should have been stronger. I explained this and they couldn't figure it out. And in the middle of the conversation, they came into the ham shack and said "hello"! They kept reducing the power so I wouldn't know how close they were. We all got a good laugh and took off for cheeseburgers.
So now I'm at the fall convention. Roger and Bernice are here, as well as Rob Turner; and it was fun meeting Jean Ackerman from SMCCB at the San Jose airport. We shared a flight down and compared notes as well as the adventure of getting a cab to the hotel--the shuttle never did show up. I wanted to find out what went on at those late-night Resolutions Committee meetings we've been hearing about. I didn't get to bed until 2:30 a.m. and found the talk over my head and hard to follow. But now I'm about to go to the banquet and eat prime rib and get those sweepstakes prizes! I didn't get any, but SVCB won the Membership Incentive Award for the chapter that had the highest increase in membership between conventions--from 70 to 81.
I belong to the Braille Revival League of California affiliate, and an important theme there was Louis Braille's 200th anniversary in 2009. We learned that National Braille Press (NBP) has developed novelties promoting braille such as notepads and pensþsomething we might look into.
This anniversary is a big deal, and I hope our chapter can celebrate it in style. Just imagine not being able to easily read or write independently! We owe Louis Braille much gratitude and support of the braille code he spent his lifetime developing.
SVCB has a Braille Literacy Committee, chaired by Michelle McGrew. If you want to promote the usage of braille, especially amongst school kids and teachers, contact Michelle.
At the October meeting, the membership voted to donate $500 to the Vista Center to help sponsor the Braille Challenge in 2009. This event will be at Stanford University next March, and is a local proving ground where grade and high school students who use braille can compete against one another. The winners of several categories will go to the final Braille Challenge event at the Braille Institute in June.
SVCB hopes to get publicity with mention in the Braille Challenge program and through an information table.
And speaking of braille, be sure to attend our November program, which Roger will tell us about.
Don't forget our Christmas Party! It will be at the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center on Saturday, December 20, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $15 for members, $20 for everyone else. You can make your reservations by contacting Lupe Medrano at 408-979-9590. You can bring your money to the November meeting or to the party. Want to contribute door prizes? Contact Naomi Grubb at 408-281-3631; and let her know that you are bringing gifts for the gift exchange.
It's also time to renew your membership to SVCB. Dues are $10. You can bring them to the November meeting or send them to P.O. Box 493, Mountain View, CA 94042-0493.
Return to the Table of ContentsThe speaker at our November 15 meeting is a woman I am looking forward to meeting, Nicole Torcolini. While in high school, she wrote a computer program to allow Nemeth Code braille mathematical notation to be translated into well-formed print. She also set up a website and a company to sell this program. Now she is a freshman at Stanford, so I managed to find her and tell her how much we want to meet her. She seemed reluctant, feeling that most people would not be interested in her program. But I explained to her that we also want to know about her as an innovator.
We will also spend some time remembering Barbara Rhodes and may talk about the California Council of the Blind convention, which just ended.
Return to the Table of ContentsHappy November birthday to our members Sandy Gouveia, Naomi Grubb, Tom Karnes, Maria Kim, Perla Kohs, Carol Ann Owens, Amy Shao, and Vivian Younger!
Return to the Table of ContentsYou may purchase entertainment coupon books from SVCB for $25 each (SVCB receives 20 percent of the cost for each book we sell). To purchase or help sell entertainment coupon books, please contact Mike Keithley at 650-386-6286 or mlkeithley@comcast.net.
SVCB has ordered 50 large print/braille calendars for the year 2009. The calendars feature artwork by blind and visually impaired people of all ages. They cost $9 each. To reserve your calendars, please contact me at 650-964-7973.
See's candy bars will again be available starting in November. Contact me at 650-964-7973 to place your orders.
I will also be taking orders for See's Christmas candy in November. Please stay tuned to the Phone Tree for details.
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 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.
See you at the meeting!
Return to the Table of ContentsSeasons Greetings from Bayview Chapter, CCB!
Bayview Chapter, CCB is holding its Christmas party on Saturday, December 13, 2008 at the Hayward Ranch located at 22877 Mission Boulevard in Hayward. Phone: 510-537-5522.
Attitude adjustment hour will begin at 4 p.m. followed by dinner and installation of chapter officers.
Festivities will be concluded by 8 p.m.
Dinner choices are prime rib with baked potato, salmon also with baked potato, and teriyaki chicken with rice. All dinners include salad and vegetable.
For more information and to make reservations contact Ida Johnson at 510-655-1982 or contact Catherine Skivers at 510-357-1986.
Return to the Table of ContentsCapitol Report for October 3, 2008, prepared by Dan Kysor, Director of CCB Governmental Affairs
1. SB 1174, Lowenthal, Quiet Vehicle Research: CCB was unsuccessful in getting the Governor to sign SB 1174, our quiet vehicle bill calling for research into sound emissions and other methods for ensuring pedestrian safety for blind and visually impaired people.
The Governor signed SB 441 by Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), which requires each blind vendor in the Business Enterprise Program who operates or maintains a vending machine on state property to satisfy the requirement that at least 35 percent of the food and at least one-third of the beverages offered in the vending machines meet accepted nutritional guidelines by January 1, 2011.
CCB was opposed to this legislation but the bill was greatly weakened and there is no enforcement requirement and they met many of the concerns of the CA Randolph Sheppard Vendors so we withdrew our opposition.
2. AB 1358, Leno, Safe and Complete Streets Act of 2008: This bill would ensure that the transportation plans of California communities meet the needs of all users of the roadway including pedestrians, bicyclists, users of public transit, motorists, children, the elderly and persons with disabilities by creating a community transportation plan inclusive of these groups. The bill was signed into law.
3. AB 2319, Horton would require that the DMV issue renewal notices for State ID cards. This was an important topic at our last convention. This bill was also signed into law.
4. Finally, SB 1608, Corbett, privatizes building inspections for accessibility and creates a commission on disability with no authority. CCB and most other consumer disability organizations are in opposition to this bill as it will further confuse disability access regulations.
Here is the final outcome for this year's budget:
1. "Optional Medi-Cal" benefits such as acupuncture, dental, audiology, optometry, chiropractor, podiatry, psychological, and speech therapy benefits were part of the budget cuts proposed in the May budget revise, but were dropped in the August budget compromise and thus, were not a part of the health and human services budget cuts. For now, these benefits will remain until the next budget battle.
2. Currently, a 10% cut to Medi-Cal providers has been reversed by a court stay but an across-the-board 10% cut to all state agencies is still in effect.
3. The Governor also dropped his plan to decrease SSP benefits by the Amount of the January federal SSI cost of living adjustment, so the Federal SSI increase will be passed along to all recipients. However, the SSP cost of living adjustment has been eliminated from the 2008-2009 budget.
4. The transportation budget had allocated $406 million during the August budget compromise and kept this $100 million increase in the final budget but the Governor used his line item veto of this $100 million, allocating it for school busses rather than for transit.
5. The Governor blue penciled (line item veto) the Renters Credit.
Return to the Table of Contentson Friday, December 12, 2008, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy refreshments! Purchase holiday gifts, including games and aids for people who are blind or visually impaired! Meet with reps from Sendero Group & Freedom Vision to learn about exciting low vision products! Meet Vista Center staff members! Drawings will be held for prizes!
For more info, please contact Alice McGrath at 650-858-0202 ext 130 or amcgrath@vistacenter.org, Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 2470 El Camino Real, Suite 107, Palo Alto 94306, www.vistacenter.org
Return to the Table of ContentsDear Customer,
We are the senior mechanical engineering design team at MIT working on designing and building a brand new Braille labeler. We need the help of people like you to design the best product possible for the blind and visually impaired. We would be so grateful if you could reply to this email with your own answers to the questions listed below at your earliest convenience. The results will be assessed anonymously; your confidentiality is certainly our priority.
Here are our survey questions:
1. How much vision do you have? When did you lose your vision?
2. What is your age? (teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, etc.)
3. Do you own a 3M label maker?
4. What have you used your 3M label maker to label?
5. Approximately how many letters can you type in 10 seconds on your 3M label maker?
6. If you label disposable items, such as canned foods, can you describe how you do it? Do you adhere the label to the can and dispose of it when you throw away the can? Or do you have a system for reusing your labels? Can you describe it? If you reuse your labels, is it to save money, to save the time of making a new label, or is there another reason?
7. When you use your 3M label maker, do you usually make multiple labels in one sitting, or do you use it each time you need just one label?
8. Do you ever have a need to make multiple lines of label? Is it challenging to make two labels and line one up below the next while placing them?
9. Is there any part of the labeling process for which you prefer or require help from a sighted friend? (Identifying items to be labeled, creating the labels, trimming the labels, peeling the labels, sticking the labels, etc.)
10. Do you carry your 3M label maker with you? To work? To the grocery store? If your 3M label maker were small and light enough, would you carry it with you to label things right away as you purchased them?
11. Would you purchase a label maker that required batteries to operate?
12. What other things do you have to do besides simply embossing the braille in order to prepare a label? (How often do you have to buy replacement tape? Do you have to trim the label? Peel the backing? Anything else?) Please elaborate on anything that is tricky or inconvenient, or that might sometimes cause a mistake so that you have to remake the label.
13. Do you own any technology for which you would say that the buttons are too small?
14. Do you own a brailler or an electronic Braille notetaker such as BrailleNote? Which do you have, and how long have you had one? Approximately how many letters per second can you type in 10 seconds on your brailler or BrailleNote?
15. How much would you be willing to spend for a label maker that used dymo tape, had a 6-button interface like a brailler or a BrailleNote, and was smaller than the 3M label maker?
Thank you so much for your time! Please forward this on to any friends who may be able to help, and have them reply to me, Karina Pikhart, at kpikhart@mit.edu. Any questions about the nature of our project or of this survey may also be addressed to me.
Thanks again!
Karina Pikhart
2.009 Blue Team
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP): Adventure fitness and recreation are touch phrases for BORP. BORP believes that everyone should have access to the unique challenges that outdoor recreation provides. BORP makes every effort to accommodate each person's needs, including providing transportation and volunteer support. Trips are planned with a wide spectrum of abilities in mind, including wheelchair users, slow walkers, and people with visual impairments.
For event listings call Lori Gray at 510-843-4398 or check out the BORP website at www.borp.org
Return to the Table of ContentsBlind Babies Foundation is Looking for You!
Blind Babies Foundation is celebrating its 60th Anniversary in 2009 with numerous events throughout the year. We very much want to include all of our alumni and alumni parents in these events. It just doesnþt seem right to celebrate and not include the reasons for our existenceþour families past and presentþin the festivities. Also, we are really curious as to what has happened to our þbabiesþ and their families during the past 60 years.
We need to hear from you if you were a BBF client, family, relative, or know where any of our graduates and their families are presently located. Please contact Michael McFarland at Blind Babies Foundation, 1814 Franklin Street, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 446-2229, mcfarlandmike@blindbabies.org
Return to the Table of ContentsBowling: every Saturday at Moonlight Lanes in Santa Clara. Contact Tom Keiser at 408-249-1721.
November to December 12: Insight art exhibits, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in SF City Hall, lower level. Contact Kim Shuck, Insights Coordinator at 415-694-7335 or kshuck@lighthouse-sf.org.
Nov 5, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting on the MeetingPlace; call-in 650-260-9029, ID: 7822222.
Nov 5 to 7 at 8 p.m., 8 at 2 p.m., 9 at 1 and 6:30 p.m.: AMTSJ presents FLOWER DRUM SONG with descriptions by AudioVision.
Nov 6 and 7: LightHouse Reno Gambling Trip. Depart Nov 6, 9 a.m.; return Nov 7, 5 p.m. Overnight at Sands Regency. Meal and slot credits included; $60 per person, double occupancy. For more information and to RSVP contact Molly Irish, 415-694-7320 or email mpearson@lighthouse-sf.org
Nov 7, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour. Call 408-245-7330 for reservations.
Nov 13, 1-3 p.m.: Diabetes Seminar Sponsored by Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, 101 North Bascom Ave, San Jose. Topics will include managing diabetes with vision impairment as well as the latest in adaptive equipment. For more information and to RSVP by November 5, call 408-295-4016 or email info@VisionBeyondSight.org
Nov 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: Nicole Torcolini, blind Stanford student and inventor. Elect officers for 2009, appoint Budget Committee, hear fall convention reports.
Nov 20, 1:30-3 p.m.: Audio Book Club meeting. Participants recommend their own books. Contact Frank Welte at fwelte@vistacenter.org or call the center at 650-858-0202.
Nov 21, noon: December newsletter deadline. Include fall convention reports.
Dec 5, 10 a.m.-noon: SAF lab tour.
Dec 7, 2-4 p.m.: Delta Gamma Christmas Party, Mountain View Community Center in Rengstorff Park, 201 S Rengstorff Ave.
Dec 10, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB board meeting.
Dec 13, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCCB holiday party; location: Peninsula Regent, 1 Baldwin Avenue, San Mateo in the Regent Clubhouse.
Dec 20, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.: SVCB holiday party at the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center in San Jose. Cost $15 members, $20 everyone else. Watch In Touch newsletter articles and phone tree messages.
Dec 22 (Monday), noon: January 2009 In Touch newsletter deadline.
Jan 3, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SMCCB meeting.
Jan 7, 7-9 p.m.: SVCB Board meeting.
Jan 17, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.: SVCB annual meeting. New administration takes office. Approve 2009 business calendar.
Jan 23, noon: February In Touch newsletter deadline.
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