Archive for January, 2012

Attention Campers! Camp Registration Opens Tomorrow, February 1

Registration for 2012 Enchanted Hills Camp Sessions opens on February 1st, when the application will be available for download on our website at http://lighthouse-sf.org/programs/enchanted-hills/.

Instructions and payment information will be available on the application. Our camping sessions are extremely popular and fill up fast, so don’t delay. Applications will be accepted on a first come first served basis. For more information please contact Rich Russo at rrusso@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7352.

2012 Camping Session Dates

• Family Camp I: June 21 through June 24
• Adult Session: June 30 through July 5
• Adults with Special Needs: July 7 through July 11
• Family Camp II: July 12 through July 15
• Youth Session I (3rd through 8th Grade): July 16 through July 22
• Youth Session II (9th through 12th Grade): July 26 through
  August 4
• Blind Babies Camp: August 12 through August 14

Blind Users Wanted for Chrome Usability Study

Google is currently scheduling people who are blind for a usability study to take place on Thursday, January 26, 2012, at the Assistive Technology Teaching and Learning Center in Berkeley. The goal of this study is to learn more about the usability of ChromeOS.

The criteria for the study is as follows:

- be over 18
- be completely blind and use some form of assistive technology.
- have used ChromeOS

If you are interested in participating, please complete the short survey below. They will then schedule appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. If you have difficulty accessing the link below this paragraph, please contact Philip Strain at pstrain@google.com.

Link to survey:
http://goo.gl/MbZvR

NFB, AFB Accepting Applications for 2012 Scholarships

2012 NFB Scholarship Program for Blind College-Bound Students
Are you legally blind and will you be a full-time college student attending the fall 2012 semester in the United States or Puerto Rico?

The National Federation of the Blind Scholarship Program application form is online at www.nfb.org/scholarships, along with all rules for eligibility, the list of requirements for a completed packet, and additional information. (A print application form is available upon request.)

Scholarships Include:
• 1 for $12,000
• 1 for $10,000
• 2 for $7,000 each
• 4 for $5,000 each
• 22 for $3,000 each
• Plus additional gifts for each winner

The deadline to submit the application form and all required supporting documents is March 31, 2012.

American Foundation for the Blind Scholarships
The American Foundation for the Blind, AFB, is offering 11 scholarships totaling $19,000 in 2012. Scholarships are in these amounts:

• 1 award for $500 – restricted to student in full-time graduate study, any field.
• 5 awards for $1,000 each – 4 different restrictions (graduate or undergraduate in rehabilitation field/teacher of the blind or visually impaired; graduate or undergraduate female in study of classical or religious music; graduate or undergraduate in study of engineering or computer, physical or life sciences; 2 awards restricted to undergraduate females in a four-year degree program for literature or music).
• 4 awards for $2,500 each – graduate or undergraduate in rehabilitation or education of the blind or visually impaired.
• 1 award for $3,500 – graduate or undergraduate, but preference given to new immigrants to the U.S. residing in the New York City metropolitan area.

Information and application forms are available at www.afb.org/scholarships.asp. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2012.

Video Description for the 21st Century Classroom

Join the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute for a free, forward-looking webinar on the changing world of educational video description on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

This exciting and interactive presentation is perfect for teachers, administrators and parents who want to know all about the latest developments in video description technology and how it can help blind and visually impaired students in every educational setting.

Topics include: 1) A teachers’ guide to using video description; 2) A comprehensive overview of resources for obtaining described materials; and 3) A sneak peak at the description technologies of the future being developed at the Video Description Research and Development Center, VDRDC.

This innovative webinar is presented by the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), in collaboration with the Video Description Research and Development Center (VDRDC) and the Description Leadership Network (DLN). Register now at http://webinars.dcmp.org/ to reserve your seat at the table.

Have you Had Problems Using Clipper Cards?

Disability Rights Advocates is investigating complaints regarding barriers that blind or visually impaired persons have experienced attempting to tag on or tag off at Caltrain stations using Clipper Cards.

If you have been unable to successfully tag on or tag off using a Clipper Card at a Caltrain station, have been unable to locate Clipper Card tagging machines due to the absence of tactile directional floor tiles, or have had to seek the assistance of a sighted person due to the inaccessibility of Clipper Card tagging machines, Disability Rights Advocates would like to talk to you. To share your stories, please contact Scott Murray by phone at 510-665-8644 or by e-mail at smurray@dralegal.org.

Turndown Attendant – Starwood Hotel S.F. – St Regis

Job Description

We are seeking a professional with an exceptional service attitude for the position of Turndown Attendant. They will be responsible to reset guest rooms and bathroom areas in a thoughtful manner in accordance with the St. Regis brand standards. They will organize linen closets on floors assigned and complete assignments accurately, and in a timely manner.

To Apply:

Click Link http://www.starwoodhotels.com/corporate/careers/index.html

Click Find a Job section

Search for location, San Francisco

Company Description

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 1000 properties in over 100 countries, is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W, Le Meriden, Aloft and ElementSM. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
EEO/AA/M/F/D/V Drug Free Workplace

Employment Opportunity: Social Worker – City and County of San Francisco

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office seeks a social worker passionate about providing services for probationers and parolees who are returning to the community.  Candidates must be highly motivated and show a commitment to working with individuals involved in the criminal justice system.  The social worker will be responsible for conducting custodial interviews and needs assessments of the adult parolees or probationers in order to improve legal outcomes and to develop a reentry service plan to assist in their release back to the community.  The social worker will also assess and evaluate the needs of individuals incarcerated in San Francisco County Jails for referral to substance abuse and mental health programs, vocational training programs, education, housing and employment opportunities, governmental assistance opportunities and other appropriate services.  The social worker will work collaboratively with attorneys in the office and other agencies to ensure that better legal outcomes are achieved and services are provided to the parolee or probationer.  This will involve contact with multi-systems such as the courts, probation, health services, education, employment, reentry and mental health agencies.  The social worker is expected to develop strong collaboratives with community-based agencies that provide services for the parolees and probationers in our community.  The social worker will also prepare and present reports to the courts, conduct outreach and training and monitor the progress of their clients.

You must create a profile on the Job Aps

http://jobaps.com/sf/sup/BulPreview.asp?R1=PEX&R2=2910&R3=058535

Workshop: ‘There are No IEPs in College’

Paul Grossman, Chief Regional Civil Rights Attorney for the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (San Francisco) and Disability Law Professor at UC Hastings College of the Law will address the accommodations and services available in higher education.

When: Tuesday, January 24, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Where: Ed Roberts Campus (Osher Room), 3075 Adeline St., Berkeley 94703

Sponsored by the Workers’ Rights Disability Law Clinic, a project of the Legal Aid Society-Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC) and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF).

For more information, please call 415-864-8848 or email WRDLC@las-elc.org.

Listen in by conference call at 800-450-7156, passcode 5009434.

This Saturday – Yoga Workshop

Connect to your power in 2012 and move with new energy!

This afternoon class is designed to encourage you to playfully stretch, breathe, laugh, open and move into the rhythm of your power…

Nancy Yates, Yoga Instructor
Refreshments (chai and strawberries) served

When: Saturday, January 21, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: LightHouse San Francisco Headquarters
RSVP encouraged, contact:  Brandon Young at byoung@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7372

LightHouse and Blind Individuals File Class Action Lawsuit against Redbox for Failing to Provide Accessible Self-Service Kiosks

Recent technological advances are sweeping the nation, changing the way people buy products and services. Self-service kiosks with automated, touch-screen interfaces now allow people to bank, shop and conduct a wide range of transactions independently, without the assistance of a clerk. This technology is fast becoming an integral part of our everyday lives.

Although these technologies can make our lives easier, Redbox, a video rental giant, has chosen to use self-service kiosks with touch-screen controls that exclude the blind from using its services. Blind Californians cannot use touch-screen kiosks that offer only visually based controls.

A class action lawsuit filed today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California challenges Redbox’s inaccessible kiosks. The lawsuit is the first of its kind in the country. The suit is brought by the LightHouse, as well as five blind individuals, on behalf of blind and visually impaired people throughout California.

Plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a non-profit disability rights legal center headquartered in Berkeley, California, that specializes in high-impact cases on behalf of people with disabilities. Plaintiffs are also represented by the Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky; Mr. Koslofsky is an experienced civil rights attorney.

Redbox has a major share of the video rental market. Redbox DVD rentals account for approximately 34% of the DVD rental market nationwide. According to Redbox, almost 60 million videos are rented from its kiosks nationally each month. Redbox kiosks can be found at thousands of businesses throughout California including Save Mart, which is a business that is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

For generations, blind and visually impaired people have watched and enjoyed movies as an ordinary part of daily life. Blind people with some remaining vision may watch films on their own or with sighted friends and family who can describe the details and actions of a film. In addition, many blind people enjoy watching dialogue-driven films.

Plaintiff Lisamaria Martinez is a legally blind resident of Union City, California. ”I love watching movies with my husband and son and would like to independently rent movies for my family at Redboxes,” Martinez said.

Plaintiff Joshua Saunders is a legally blind resident of El Cerrito, California, who enjoys watching movies with friends and family. “I’m not asking for the world here but simply for the ability to rent DVDs from Redboxes just like everyone else can,” Saunders said.

Redbox’s inaccessible touch-screen kiosks shut out a large and growing community of blind Californians. It is estimated that 100,000 Californians are legally blind and as the population continues to age, the number of adults with vision loss will increase.

The technology exists to make self-service kiosks accessible to the blind. Accessible ATMs and iPhones make use of tactile controls and/or screen reading software that enables blind people to use these devices.

“A lack of accessibility in newly emerging forms of commerce is a symptom of the overall growing technological divide that blind people experience when companies fail to build in accessible features at the onset,” said Bryan Bashin, LightHouse Executive Director/CEO.

“Technology is a double-edged sword. It has the power to enable millions, but it can disable many Americans far more than it enables them if accessibility is not built into technology at the beginning,” said Jay Koslofsky, plaintiffs’ attorney of the Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky.

“Redbox is shutting out thousands of Californians from its services because it refuses to make its technology accessible to blind consumers,” said Michael Nunez, plaintiffs’ attorney of Disability Rights Advocates.

About Disability Rights Advocates (DRA)
Disability Rights Advocates is a non-profit legal center which, for nearly twenty years, has specialized in high-impact class action litigation on behalf of people with all types of disabilities. DRA litigates nationally and has offices in New York City and Berkeley, California.

About Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky
Jay Koslofsky is an attorney in private practice with more than 30 years of experience. He specializes in civil rights cases and class action litigation.