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.
Note: Postal addresses and phone numbers are not included in the online version of this newsletter. For contact information, email membership@svcb.cc
Interesting things have been happening around SVCB. For starters, the effort to keep the Outreach services we were in danger of losing appears to have been successful. All were kept in the 2009-10 budget, but the cost of service beyond the 3/4 mile corridor has increased to $16 round trip. We could have lost this service completely, so it seems to me that this was an acceptable compromise. But the 2011-12 VTA budget is just around the corner, so we're probably not out of the woods as to maintaining Outreach services.
We hear that five kids who participated in the regional Braille Challenge in Palo Alto went on to the final competition in Los Angeles. SVCB contributed $500 to the local competition, and it's gratifying to me that we had a part in the affair. Alice McGrath, Outreach Coordinator for the Vista Center, is very appreciative of SVCB's help. You can download a podcast of the Braille Challenge award ceremony by going to www.airsla.org/broadcasts/BraillePrograms090624.mp3.
We also got a nice "thank you" from Donna Pomerantz for SVCB's $50 contribution toward the production of the "California Heroes" page, which will appear in the ACB convention program. Cathie Skivers, SVCB's honorary member, was spotlighted, and Dawn Wilcox read the page at our June meeting.
The fall CCB convention, from October 29 through November 1 in Fresno, is CCB's 75th Diamond Jubilee anniversary, and I just know you're going. The Radisson Hotel is now taking reservations, and it is recommended that you call them at 559-268-1000. Be sure to tell them that you are making reservations for the "California Council of the Blind convention in October 2009 at the Radisson Hotel Fresno." Room rates are $100 per night, single or double. The SVCB Board discussed whether a group excursion might be arranged, but it was decided that there wasn't much of a discount and the required number of people for a group was too high. Although a train trip is shorter, Greyhound is cheaper, and a shuttle to the hotel is available from the Greyhound station.
Walter Raineri was our guest speaker at the June membership meeting. He told us about his interesting adventures racing sail boats in the World Blind Sailing competition in New Zealand. Although I never got into racing, it reminded me of how the wind felt when I sailed with friends off Santa Cruz and in San Francisco Bay.
SVCB business cards are now available. A test run of 50 cards was produced, and you can get some by contacting Steve Nakagawa. In addition, the final version of the SVCB placemat was decided upon. Test versions are available, and you can contact LeeAnn Nakagawa for details.
And don't forget to make plans to attend our picnic in August. Check out the picnic article in this issue of the newsletter.
Return to the Table of ContentsI will soon be leaving for the ACB national convention in Orlando and have not arranged a speaker for our July 18 meeting. There are a number of things we can do by way of odds and ends and I propose to do that. I and others who attend the convention will have some things to say about our experience and there are some issues that we should talk about, including the annual vs. semiannual CCB conventions matter, which will be decided at our fall convention.
So come to the meeting and see what happens!
Return to the Table of ContentsHappy July birthdays to our members Jim Brown, Rose Deterding, Barbara Dickinson, Greg Fowler, Ana Guerrero, Kathryn Hoag, Susan Hyatt, and Carol Silveria!
Return to the Table of ContentsPlease come and join SVCB on August 15, 2009 ' 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ' for our summer picnic, to be held at the San Jose History Park, 1650 Senter Road, San Jose, CA 95112, 408-918-1040, www.historysanjose.org. Tables will be set up under large spreading oak trees to keep us cool! The cost will be $15.00 for any member of a chapter of the California Council of the Blind, $20.00 for non-members. You may sign up to attend and pay your cost at the next SVCB meeting on July 18, or you may send payment (payable to SVCB) to: Vic Clifford, 8499 Grenache Court, San Jose, CA 95135-1420. The cutoff to register and pay is August 10, 2009. Call Vic at 408-223-6444 if you have any questions.
The park is located on the #73 VTA bus line. Parking is available, and Outreach can drive directly to the picnic site via the service entrance if warranted.
Crunch Catering will be serving our BBQ at 12 noon and the menu is as follows: hamburger and hot dog bar (also garden veggie burgers if requested); diced onions, sweet relish and fresh produce; chili beans, cheese and assorted spreads; fresh cut seasonal fruit; potato salad with diced green onion; garden green salad with buttermilk ranch or raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Volunteers may sign up to bring an appetizer, dessert, drinks or supplies (hand sanitizer, straws, etc.) by calling Bev Clifford.
Docent tours of the historic buildings are being arranged in groups of 12'15 persons that will last about 60 minutes, and you are also free to roam the facilities on your own.
By popular demand we will again be conducting SVCB's infamous Raffle! Contact Naomi Grubb to donate items.
Return to the Table of ContentsWe ordered our first 50 shirts and expect to have them ready for distribution in early July. The shirts say, "reading is for everyone" in regular print, braille, and large print. It is written on the front cover of a closed book, and the book is wearing a pair of headphones to include the idea of audiobooks. They are white short-sleeve shirts with the artwork in black. Shirts are available in ladies' sizes small-2X without pockets and men's sizes small-3X with and without pockets. Shirts without pockets will have the artwork on the front. Shirts with pockets will have the pocket on the front left and the artwork on the back. Shirts without pockets cost $17 each for sizes small-XL and $20 each for sizes 2X-3X. Shirts with pockets cost $19 each for sizes small-XL and $22 each for sizes 2X-3X. We can offer a discount to organizations who wish to purchase shirts as a fund raiser. Shipping charges will apply if you are unable to pick up orders personally. I do have some shirts for sale that have not yet been reserved, so if you would like to place an order, contact send email to fund.raising@svcb.cc (I am accepting email again). We hope to place a second order later this summer, so any requests that cannot be filled now will be included in our second order.
We have five large print/ braille calendars for 2009 remaining! They feature artwork by blind and visually impaired people of all ages. Do you know of someone who could still use one? They cost $9 each.
We also have five white cane safety awareness T-shirts remaining. We have two small in black with white lettering and two small and one large in white with black lettering. They cost $15 each.
Purchase your See's candy bars while supplies last! We will not be restocking candy bars again until after the cooler weather returns. We currently have milk chocolate with almonds, milk chocolate with toffee, plain milk chocolate, and Walnut Squares. These cost $1.50 each. We also have a few of See's Sugar Free Dark Bars for $1.75 each. Contact me at fund.raising@svcb.cc to place your orders for candy, T-shirts, or calendars.
Remember to continue saving your recyclable aluminum cans and plastic water bottles. Donna Sanchez collects plastic water bottles, and Charlie Stein collects 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 July meeting!
Return to the Table of ContentsSpot Reading on the Go! July 14, 2009. Panel Presentations: 10 a.m. ' 12 p.m.; Vendor Exhibits: 12 ' 1 p.m.; LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco 94102
Need to read that cereal box or check the price on that power drill? What about your birthday card? The LightHouse Technology Seminar series continues with a teach-in on products including portable video magnifiers, pocket magnifiers, and a talking barcode scanner. These devices allow for print access anytime and anyplace! Seminar presenters will provide lots of hands-on demos for these tools.
You can participate through one of the following: Tune in via live audio stream on our website Dial in with our telephone conferencing service. Attend in person to get the most out of the hands-on presentations.
The LightHouse is wheelchair accessible. Accommodations are available upon request. RSVP at info@lighthouse-sf.org. Conference call and live stream instructions will be provided.
Return to the Table of ContentsI've sketched how to contact your city and town representatives and getting involved with local government. Now I'll talk about contacting representatives in our state legislature.
The legislature is composed of two houses: Assembly and Senate. Since there are 80 Assembly districts and 40 for the Senate, they do not cover the same geographic areas. All districts are redrawn every ten years, based on census data. Voters recently approved a plan for this redistricting to be done by a committee of non-legislators.
To determine which senate and assembly districts you live in, you can call the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office at 408-299-8302. You can also access www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html and enter your zip code. This page will then list the contact information, in tabular form, for both senators and assembly-members, with links to their home pages. You may be able to use forms on these pages to express your concerns.
For example, Mountain View is in senate district 13, and Senator Elaine K. Alquist is its senator. Senate district 13 encompasses San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Gilroy, so most of you live in this district. But Mountain View's assembly district is 22, represented by Assemblymember Paul Fong.
Tracking legislation: The site www.assembly.ca.gov provides information on bills in the assembly. In addition, the capitol Report on the CCB website (www.ccbnet.org) provides links to specific assembly bills CCB is concerned about. Likewise, www.sen.ca.gov is the comparable website for the senate side.
If you need more information, contact Frank Welte, CCB's Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, at 800-221-6359 (toll free), 650-576-4177 (cell) or by email at frank.welte@ccbnet.org. He'll be happy to help you.
Return to the Table of ContentsHere is a chance for one of our members, maybe more, to really step up to the plate and do something for the organization! Naomi Grubb has written to me that she wishes to retire from the job of obtaining door prizes and raffle prizes for the picnic and the holiday party. She will still do it for this year and is willing to train her successor. So why not volunteer now and get to learn under Naomi's capable mentoring?
If interested, get in touch with Naomi.
Return to the Table of ContentsAt press time, we have just learned of the death of Dr. Samuel Genensky. Sam was the father of the CCTV for use by low vision people and founder of the Center for the Partially Sighted in southern California. He also thought up and advocated for the circles and triangles on public restrooms in California.
I feel sure there will be a proper "In Memoriam" article in the next Blind Californian, but for now, Here is an email from Ken Metz, a CCB board member, which sums up Sam and his contributions.
He was an absolutely brilliant person. Sam knew that his vision would eventually become worse as his age went up. In spite of people trying to tell him that he wouldn't make it through college, Sam kept on course and eventually did become an engineer. He developed the first CCTV, and began the Center for the Partially Sighted (CPS) in the Los Angeles area.'
Sam later continued his work to help persons who were blind and visually impaired as a Board member at the Junior Blind of America. For years, he was involved as part of the JBA program committee and developed both by himself and with others, ideas that would help children and adults who were blind or visually impaired make something of their lives.'
Sam and I had many discussions over the past seven years, and he was even scheduled to be a banquet speaker at one of our CCB Los Angeles conventions when he became ill.'
During the summers, Sam would take a trip up to JBA's Camp Bloomfield and talk to the teens and young adults about what they could make of themselves in the future. Sam also participated in JBA's Student Transition Enrichment Program (STEP) over the past five or six years by speaking with the students (teens and young adults) regarding reaching for the stars, their goals.'
Sam will be sorely missed.'
Ken Metz'
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