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.

Register by Feb. 3 for 2012 Braille Challenge

Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired will host the 2012 Northern California Braille Challenge in collaboration with LightHouse for the Blind, California School for the Blind and Society for the Blind.

Braille Challenge is an academic contest for school-age youth in grades 1 to 12 who read Braille. It serves to encourage blind children of all ages to fine-tune their braille skills, which are essential to their academic and employment success in the sighted world. This is the only national academic competition for blind students in the United States and is a program of the Braille Institute of America.

WHEN: Saturday, March 3, 2012, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Santa Clara Valley Blind Center, 101 North Bascom Ave., San Jose, CA 95128
EVENT CONTACT PERSON: Alice McGrath, amcgrath@vistacenter.org, 650-858-0202, ext. 130
HOW TO REGISTER: Download and complete the registration form and send to:

Vista Center
Attn: Alice McGrath
2470 El Camino Real, Ste. 107
Palo Alto CA  94306
Fax: 650-858-0214

Registration forms are due Feb. 3, 2012.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Teachers for the visually impaired, transcribers and braillists are needed to serve as proctors and scorers for this exciting event. Contact Alice McGrath to sign up.

For more information about the Braille Challenge, go to www.braillechallenge.org.

NFB Early Explorers Program

The National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute announces the NFB Early Explorers Program. This free program is designed to introduce young blind children (age birth to 7) and their families to the long white cane.

Through the program parents will receive the tools, support and confidence needed to become their child’s first cane travel teacher. Providing children with an early start to independent movement and travel ensures that children will be more confident and curious travelers throughout life.

Families participating in the program will receive a free child-sized white cane, “Travel Tales” (a quarterly e-newsletter), an informational DVD and more.

To learn about this program or to register, please visit www.nfb.org/earlyexplorers, email earlyexplorers@nfb.org or call 410-659-9314, ext. 2418.

STEP Workshop for Blind High School Students

Junior Blind of America’s Student Transition & Enrichment Program (STEP) will offer “Life After High School, Empowerment, Success and You!” for blind and low vision high school students, their teachers and parents. Space is limited.

Friday, February 3, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Orientation Center for the Blind (OCB)
400 Adams Street, Albany, CA 94706
(Lunch, refreshments and networking opportunities included)

Topics to be covered during this seminar include:
•        Junior Blind’s STEP Mobile Learning Program in Northern and Central California
•        Junior Blind’s recreational programs for youth
•        Services provided by the California Department of Rehabilitation
•        Independent living options available after high school
•        What it takes to be successful from the point of view of current college students
•        Mobile adaptive technology and trends

To RSVP or to be notified of upcoming STEP workshops, contact Richard Rueda, Junior Blind Director of Transition Services, at rrueda@juniorblind.org or 510-926-9837. Additional workshops may be offered in your region upon request. Visit their website for more information.

Free Six-Week Diabetes Management Workshop

“Healthier Living with Diabetes” is a workshop open to anyone with diabetes or pre-diabetes and the people who care for them.

Participants will learn appropriate exercises for strength, flexibility and endurance; healthy eating; relaxation and stress-reduction techniques; medication management; and about working more effectively with healthcare providers.

Participants will make weekly action plans, share experiences and
help each other solve problems they encounter

WHEN: Begins Wednesday, January 11 from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. and continues for the following five Wednesdays: Jan. 18 and 25, and Feb. 2, 9 and 16
WHERE: Community Room at Curry Senior Center, 315 Turk St., San Francisco
TO PRE-REGISTER (required) please call: Christian Intemann, 415-346-6380 ext. 111 or Jane Lev, 415-255-3614

Bill Barker’s Braille Radio Reading Room – January 2012

Bill Barker’s Braille Radio Reading Room – January 2012

Bill Barker's Braille Radio Reading Room - January 2012 [ 37:39 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (119)

LightHouse News – Winter 2012 – Jan-Mar 2012

LightHouse News – Winter 2012 – Jan-Mar 2012

LightHouse News - Winter 2012 - Jan-Mar 2012 [ 34:24 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (49)

LightHouse Closed for the Holidays

Please note: All offices of the LightHouse will be closed for the winter holidays from December 24, 2011, through January 1, 2012.