Posts filed under: public policy

Sept. 13, 2011
New York Daily News
New model NYC yellow cabs built for wheelchair users
Another new model of yellow cabs could hit city streets before the much ballyhooed "Taxi of the Future" arrives.
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), physical accessibility, physical disability, public policy, transportation

Sept. 13, 2011
The New York Times
In Deal, Hundreds of Mentally Ill People Will Leave Confinement of Nursing Home
Hundreds of mentally ill people who have been confined to nursing homes, sometimes in prisonlike conditions, would move to apartments or other housing within three years under a legal settlement with New York State.
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), healthcare, housing, Olmsted decision, psychiatric disability, public policy

Aug. 29, 2011
Public News Service
“Access Issues” at Some Hurricane Irene Evacuation Shelters
Emergency evacuation decisions are tougher for people with disabilities because they need to be sure they are fleeing to shelters that they can get in and out of and use. In the wake of Hurricane Irene, there are allegations today that the City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) fell short on promises that people being ordered out of "Zone A" would be evacuated to "accessible shelters."
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), disaster planning, public policy, public safety

Aug. 18, 2011
KLTV-TV (Tyler, Texas)
Barista with dwarfism settles lawsuit with Starbucks
Starbucks Coffee Company has agreed to pay $75,000 and provide other significant relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged Starbucks Coffee Company with unlawfully denying a reasonable accommodation to a barista with dwarfism at one of its El Paso stores and firing her because of her disability.
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), dwarfism, employment, public policy

Aug. 17, 2011
The New York Times
New York Moves to Crack Down on Abuse of Disabled
Moving to end the state’s lax oversight of the developmentally disabled, the Cuomo administration on Wednesday announced an agreement with the State Police to establish guidelines for reporting possible crimes against the disabled to law enforcement authorities.
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Filed Under: developmental disability, healthcare, housing, long-term care, public policy

July 28, 2011
Waterloo-Central Falls (Iowa) Courier
Disability advocate promotes public transit across the state
With a white cane in hand and a guitar slung over his shoulder, Frank Strong Jr. is touring Iowa in support of local bus service.
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), transportation, visually impaired

June 18, 2011
The New York Times
I Had Polio. I Also Have Sex.
I SPOKE at an AIDS conference not long ago, and after the talk, someone asked me how I had contracted H.I.V. “Well,” I replied, “sexually.” Staring at my crutches, which I have used since I got polio as a child, she exclaimed, “But how?”
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Filed Under: disability awareness, education, healthcare, public policy, sexuality

June 5, 2011
New York Post
Brooklyn amputee's sue spree against businesses that aren't handicapped accessible
Zoltan Hirsch, a double amputee in a wheelchair, says he's trying to make New York City more handicapped accessible one lawsuit at a time. But some wonder whether Hirsch -- who has filed 87 federal claims in the last year seeking damages and legal fees -- is crusader or con man.
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Filed Under: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), physical accessibility, public policy

June 5, 2011
The State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill.)
Proposal to allow fees at ISD, ISVI causing a stir
Legislation that could require parents of blind or deaf children to pay additional school fees is causing a stir amongst advocates for those with special needs.
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Filed Under: education, hearing impaired, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, K-12, public policy, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, visually impaired

June 5, 2011
The New York Times
A Disabled Boy’s Death, and a System in Disarray
Jonathan Carey did not die for lack of money. New York State and the federal government provided $1.4 million annually per person to care for Jonathan and the other residents of the Oswald D. Heck Developmental Center, a warren of low-rise concrete and brick buildings near Albany.
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Filed Under: developmental disability, healthcare, long-term care, public policy

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