Archive for September, 2011

Store Closed for Inventory

Please note: Adaptations, the LightHouse Store will be closed for inventory on Thursday, September 29 and Friday, September 30.

State Rehabilitation Council Recruitment

The California State Rehabilitation Council (SRC), whose members represent the voice of consumers and other stakeholders in California’s rehabilitation system, is currently seeking to fill vacancies in the following categories:

• One representative of disability advocacy groups representing individuals with physical, cognitive, sensory and mental disabilities and representatives of individuals who have difficulty representing themselves due to their disabilities;
• One current or former vocational rehabilitation services applicant or recipient;
• One representative of the California Department of Education.

The SRC works in partnership with the California Department of Rehabilitation to review, evaluate and advise the department regarding its specific and overall performance and effectiveness.

If you know anyone who may be interested, including yourself, please send the name(s) and contact information to the SRC Executive Officer, Melyssa Adams, at madams@dor.cagov. You can also reach Melyssa at 916-558-5868.

Submit Comments on Proposed Air Travel Regulations

Cornell University’s e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are working together to make it easier for the public to comment on proposed new federal regulations requiring air travel websites and airport check-in kiosks to be fully accessible to travelers with disabilities.

Travelers with disabilities, web designers, usability experts and others with an interest in this proposal can use CeRI’s online participation site, Regulation Room, to get easy-to-read explanations of the proposal, look at the cost and benefit estimates, and discuss how the proposal could be improved. CeRI will summarize the discussion on Regulation Room and submit it as a public comment that DOT will consider in finalizing the accessibility regulations.

This is the fourth rulemaking in which DOT and CeRI are using Regulation Room to make it easier for people to participate effectively in important government policy decisions.

The Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative (CeRI) is a multidisciplinary research collaboration bringing together Cornell University faculty and students from computing and information science, law and the Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution.

Working with legal informatics professionals at the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School, CeRI researchers consult with government agencies on, and engage in theoretical and applied research about, the technology and practice of e-rulemaking and related areas of e-government.

Regulation Room is a CeRI pilot project that provides an online environment for people and groups to learn about, discuss and react to selected rules proposed by federal agencies. Contributions become part of a formal public comment prepared by CeRI researchers and submitted to the federal agency for use in preparation of a final ruling.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are more than 15 million adults in the United States with vision, auditory or mobility disabilities. About 30 percent of adults with disabilities travel by air, and the DOT expects this number to rise if it were easier to buy tickets and other services online, and to check in using kiosks. Airlines and online travel agencies have argued, however, that the costs of achieving full accessibility are too great.

Give APH Your Input on Product Needs

In 2001, the American Printing House for the Blind hosted a multiple disabilities focus group and conducted its first online survey to identify product needs for individuals who have visual and multiple impairments. The results of that survey guided APH over the last 10 years in the development of products for the visually impaired and multiply disabled population.

This year APH hosted two multiple disabilities focus groups: birth to grade 12 in March and adults in June. Each group helped create a product needs survey.

APH invites you to take the survey that addresses the specific population with whom you work or parent, or the group of which you are a member. The survey links will be available until October 1, 2011.

Children Birth to Grade 12 Product Needs Survey

Adult Product Needs Survey

LightHouse Staffer in Story on Commuting Amid Protests

In light of recent Monday rush-hour protests at BART stations in downtown San Francisco, CBS 5 (KPIX-TV) spoke with LightHouse Donor Relations Coordinator Lisamaria Martinez and got her perspective on how such activities affect commuting.

Watch the segment here.

RSVP by Monday, Sept. 19 for Next Jobsite Visits

Each week the LightHouse is coordinating a group of individuals to meet with their employed counterparts working for the Bay Area’s leading businesses and institutions.

Our next two visits take place on Wednesday, September 21, when we visit Karen Rose and Wednesday, September 28, when we visit Tim Godecker.

Karen is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) in the state of California, and provides counseling and psychotherapy services to adults in the San Francisco Bay Area via offices located in both San Francisco and Berkeley.

Tim is an Applications Manager for Information & Technology Services at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. He has been with the bank for 14 years, manages a group of 15 IT professionals and is responsible for multiple application development projects, performing high level planning, monitoring and reporting.

To help with our planning process, please RSVP for either event by Monday, September 19.

Tim has made some very generous accommodations in order for our group to visit the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, so early confirmations are absolutely necessary.

To register for the Jobsite Conversation Series, or to find out more about it, please contact:

Rich Russo
Community Services Program Assistant
(415) 694-7352
rrusso@lighthouse-sf.org

LightHouse Staff Featured on Roster of Speakers

LightHouse staff members will speak at the inaugural Blind Babies Foundation alumni event on September 24 at California School for the Blind in Fremont. Blind Babies Foundation provides early intervention and education services to infants and preschoolers who are blind or visually impaired.

The upcoming alumni event offers a mix of discussion groups and activities. In a presentation called “If Not College, Then What?” Richard Rueda, LightHouse Director of Community Services, will talk about available transition services for post-high school blind and low vision students. Donor Relations Coordinator Lisamaria Martinez will present on “Feeling Confident in the Sighted World – Social Skills for Adults.”

For more information about the event or the alumni association, contact April Souza at april@blindbabies.org or 510-446-2229.

Civic Center BART Station Elevator Repair

The street-level elevator at the Civic Center BART station will be out of service for repair from Monday, September 26 to Monday, October 3. Passengers who rely on this elevator should plan to use a different station during that time. To check the operational status of elevators at nearby stations, please call 510-834-LIFT or 888-2-ELEVAT.

ILRCSF Assistive Technology Lending Library

The Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco (ILRCSF) is happy to announce the launch of its new Device Lending Library

With support from the Department of Rehabilitation, and as part of the Assistive Technology Network, ILRCSF’s Device Lending Library offers people with disabilities the chance to come in, try out the latest technology, and even bring it home for an extended test run.

ILRCSF has a wide variety of devices available to borrow, including:

Portable ramps, handheld GPS systems, laptops and iPads with a variety of accessibility-related software, and more.

These items can:

• Make home, work and school more accessible;
• Assist in orientation and decision making;
• Serve as loaners during device repair or while waiting for funding.

Contact Derek or Amber to learn more about the program.

Main office line: 415-543-6222

Email:
Derek Zarda: derek@ilrcsf.org
Amber DiPietra: amber@ilrcsf.org

Register Today for Sept. 14 Jobsite Visit

Each week the LightHouse is coordinating a group of individuals to meet with their employed counterparts working for the Bay Area’s leading businesses and institutions.

Our next jobsite excursion will take place on Wednesday, September 14. We will be visiting Scott Blanks, who works at the Lions Center for the Blind as their Director of Assistive Technology and Computer Services.

Scott became active in the blind and visually impaired community at an early age through his local Braille Institute in Southern California. Eager to explore Northern California, Scott relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the Hatlen Center for the Blind (formerly the Living Skills Center). At Hatlen, Scott spent many evenings assisting fellow students in navigating their computers. These joyous moments led Scott to discover his calling: instructing others and imparting knowledge in the field of assistive technology.

This passion spurred Scott to work as an Assistive Technology Specialist with Adaptive Technology Services for more than eight years. In 2010, Scott came to the Lions Center for the Blind to serve as Director of Assistive Technology and Computer Services.

When he’s not glued to a computer, Scott enjoys music, reading and movies of the horror genre. As a former Paralympic athlete, Scott went to the Sydney games in 2000 with the U.S. men’s goalball team. He holds a degree in radio broadcasting and has been certified to provide instruction in assistive technology by Access Technology Institute.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, September 13th, as space is limited.

To register for the Jobsite Conversation Series, or to find out more about it, please contact:

Rich Russo
Community Services Program Assistant
(415) 694-7352
rrusso@lighthouse-sf.org