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Newsletter of the American Council of the Blind of
Maryland
2003 Edition
The President of ACB of Maryland is Al Pietrolungo:
4334 Slater Avenue, Baltimore MD 21236-2727.
Telephone 410 529-9475
Vice-president is Susan Boaz:
8715 1st Avenue, Apt. 1418C, Silver Spring MD 20910
301 589-0889;
The secretary is Patrick Sheehan
14311 Astrodome Drive, Silver Spring MD 20906
Phone, 301 598-2131;
The treasurer is Howard Beares
727 Joppa Farm Road, Joppa MD 20785
Phone 410 538-4147.
Table of Contents for this issue:
President's Report by Al Pietrolungo
Info from the National Office:
Report from the Southern Maryland Council of the Blind by Bob Kerr;
Some Good News on the Guide Dog Advocacy Effort;
Hope's Recipes and Tips by Hope Pietrolungo.
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President's Report by Al Pietrolungo
It seems like the first three months of the year are much busier than the
rest of the year. It was a busy time again this year with the midyear
meeting in Pittsburgh, the legislative seminar in Washington DC, the effort
to get members to renew their memberships and get that information to the
national office etc. Yet, April and May have been equally busy as we help
with assignments related to the national convention in Pittsburgh and get
things organized for our state convention in Cumberland for October 3-5.
Last year, during this same time, we were trying to get a bill passed in
Annapolis. We did not plan to introduce legislation in Annapolis this year,
because we predicted it would be a difficult task to convince the General
Assembly to pass legislation which would cost the State of Maryland any
money. However, we did make a trip to Annapolis to testify in favor of a
funding bill for the Maryland School for the Blind. Lou Tutt asked for that
assistance, and we believe our testimony helped in the effort to get part of
this legislation passed. Governor Ehrlich signed the legislation on May 22.
Under a 1921 law, MSB could only charge a school district $100 per semester
to educate a student. Now,MSB can charge the student's home school district
the average costthat school district spends on its other students. In
recent years, MSB has been forced to dip into its trust funds to meet budget
shortfalls. Hopefully, this additional revenue will allow the school to
maintain a quality program without using up funds which may be needed to
deal with some future situations. We are pleased that Lou Tutt called on us
to assist and that our assistance may have been helpful in getting the
legislation passed.
I could write for pages about the many pieces of legislation we discussed
and supported during our national effort in Washington. Such an effort would
tax my ability to organize all that information, and it might tax your
ability to listen for such a long time. So, we will deal with some of the
most important bills. The reauthorization of IDEA, the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, has some problems, as the version passed by the
Republican controlled House of Representatives weakens the law. However, by
the time you read this newsletter, either we will have corrected the problem
through the Senate passed version or we will have a bill passed which we do
not like. For those of you who do not have a chapter meeting to attend or
who skip chapter meetings, these are concerns we are talking about at these
meetings, so I urge you to come to as many meetings as possible and keep up
with the latest developments.
We have been talking about some other bad news at chapter meetings.
President Bush, and the Republican controlled US Senate, pushed through the
nomination of Mr. Sutton for a seat on the sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
We mounted the same vigorous campaign we did in 2001 when Democrats
controlled the Senate. Unfortunately, President Bush and the Republicans
ignored our concerns about Mr. Sutton and pushed his nomination through. In
my mind, President Bush has added salt to the wound by now nominating Bill
Pryor, the attorney general in Alabama who hired Jeffrey Sutton to be the
attorney who argued the Garrett case before the US Supreme Court. The
federal bench is being loaded with judges who are unlikely to interpret laws
in ways which will protect the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act etc. We must
remember these concerns when we vote in 2004.
Don't stop reading here. We have some more good news to report. In the
Summer of 2000, we had two chapters holding meetings within ACB of Maryland,
one in Baltimore and one in Silver Spring. Since then, we have been joined
by the Southern Maryland Council of the Blind, the Northwest Council of the
Blind and the Maryland Area Guide Dog Users. On May 3, a group of visually
impaired folks met in Bowie Maryland. That group decided to take several
steps. They selected a four member committee to draft a constitution, made
plans to have a second meeting of their group on June 21, and intend to
possibly approve this constitution and take steps to elect officers. If
these efforts are successful, we should have a new chapter in Bowie. This
means we should have six chapters participating in our organization when we
meet in Cumberland in October. I want to particularly thank Juanita
Hartsfield, and the members of the organizing committee, for agreeing to
serve on this committee in Bowie. We will offer them whatever support and
assistance we can.
We are currently pursuing four litigation efforts with the affiliate. Two
of these involve the Maryland Transit Administration both about improving
paratransit service and ADA compliance regarding stop announcements on the
fixed route buses. The work on these two cases is being led by the Central
Maryland Council of the Blind. I want to particularly thank the many members
who are taking the time to call the Maryland Disability Law Center with
numerous complaints about paratransit. It is this effort by you which has
given us the centralized documented evidence which convinced the Federal
Transit Administration to look over MTA's shoulder. If we keep documenting
these problems, we can continue to demonstrate there are system wide
problems. If we have that evidence in one location, maybe we can convince
the FTA or ultimately a federal judge to do something about these system wide
problems. If we stop compiling that evidence, our options are more limited.
I know it is frustrating, but keep up your hard work.
Five of our members, Vanessa Lowery, Hope Pietrolungo, Phil Guntner, Gary
Norman and I have joined former member, William Poole, in a law suit against
the Baltimore County and State Board of Elections regarding access to the
voting process. At the time of this writing, funds have not been
appropriated at the state level to implement the legislative progress we
have made to secure access to a secret and independently verifiable ballot.
We are helping Mr. Poole who initiated an effort which caught the attention
of a federal judge. We hope this action puts some pressure on the State of
Maryland to live up to its legal commitments to make the voting process
accessible to us at least by 2006. We would like this suit to have some
impact on the 2004 election. The next hurdle to jump is a preliminary
hearing scheduled for June 20 to hear arguments regarding a motion to
dismiss filed by the State of Maryland. The NFB of Maryland has joined our
litigation, and we look forward to an opportunity to work cooperatively with
that organization.
In the last report, we mentioned the administrative complaint filed against
the Maryland State Highway Administration over their turtle-like effort to
respond to requests for the installation of accessible pedestrian signals,
APSS. On April 23, I attended a meeting called by the Federal Highway
Administration to see if we could resolve our differences. In 50 words or
less, Maryland has installed five APSS on state roads in the past two years,
and they plan to install two more. Thirty other requests will be placed on a
waiting list until the feds tell them whether APSS are required. It goes
without saying that I found this unacceptable and asked the FWHA to find the
State of Maryland guilty of violating the program access requirements of the
ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. Just read a letter from the FWHA telling the
MD State Highway Administration to send them more information about what
they are doing to meet program access requirements. Let's see what happens!
We are getting ready to go to Pittsburgh in July for the national
convention. If you have not planned to join us, I urge you to reconsider
that decision. The convention will never be closer.
Plans for our state convention at the Holiday Inn in Cumberland, October 3
through 5, 2003, are coming together nicely. I want to thank Terry Pacheco
for taking over the leadership on this effort. She and I are counting on
many of you to help, and we will take some time to thank you at the
convention. However, I want to offer my special thanks to Brenda Mueller who
has made a major financial contribution which will make it possible for us
to run a bus up to Cumberland while keeping transportation fees at or near
the reasonable prices we charged last year. Full details about the
convention will be sent to you either via email or tape in early July. I can
tell you about some things now. We will be holding a Saturday evening
banquet this time, and this will leave us additional time during the day to
plan activities at the hotel. We cannot do the train ride this year, because
the ride would not end until 9:15, and we really need to focus our attention
Saturday evening on the auction. We will get you the information about the
convention shortly, so I hope you will come to Cumberland.
As I write this report, we are getting ready for a board meeting for May 31.
I will be talking with the board about our serious financial problems and
the steps we are taking to deal with those problems. Thanks to Ralph Sanders
and Howard Beares, we did obtain our 501C3 status from the Internal Revenue
Service and we are seeking approval from the State of Maryland to fund raise
in this state. That process may begin to produce some funds between now and
the end of the year. Frankly, we were counting on the life membership option
to generate some cash which would help us get through this cash flow
problem. The life membership effort has met with a luke warm response. So,
if you have been thinking about becoming a life member of the affiliate or
have questions about this new option, please call me. We need your help.
Although our state convention is an opportunity to come together and have
some fun, we have some important business to attend to as well. The election
of the officers who will lead the organization for two years is possibly the
most important decision you make. In my mind, chapter leaders play an
equally important role, but on October 5, we will be electing state
officers. I have asked Bob Kerr to serve as the chair of the nominating
committee, so any member interested in running for a state office should
contact Bob at 301 884-4078 or
rkerr@starpower.net Each chapter gets to add
one member to the nominating committee, so I am contacting chapters now to
add their member to this committee. Sometime before the end of June, I will
let Bob know if I intend to seek a third term as president.
For now, Hope and I are looking forward to spending a week with many of you
in Pittsburgh and to putting the final touches on our plans for Cumberland
in October. I hope to see many of you at chapter meetings this Summer. Until
then, take care.
Al Pietrolungo
Hot off the email!
This news just came over email. Remember we talked about the effort made by
ACB to strongly nudge Bank of America to install talking ATM machines at its
branches all across the country? I just obtained an updated list of the
installed talking ATMS at Bank of America machines in Maryland. I have not
taken the time to count them, but there must be more than 100 of them!! Has
anyone used one of these machines? If so, please give me a call. I have
distributed the list to chapter leaders, so check with your chapter to see
if one of these machines is near your home, work or favorite hang out.
Getting other banks to follow the lead of Bank of America seems like a good
advocacy project for chapters for those banks operating in your community.
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News From the National Office:
Several times a week, I receive significant messages from the national
office about important developments. I have selected two messages to include
in this newsletter to give you an idea of how much we get in return for the
$5 per year we send to the Washington office.
February 21, 2003
For further information, contact:
Charles Crawford, Executive Director
(202) 467-5081
ccrawford@acb.org
Scott Strauss
Spiegel & McDiarmid
(202) 879-4000
scott.strauss@spiegelmcd.com
AMERICAN COUNCIL OF THE BLIND SUPPORTS COMPLAINT FILING WITH
FCC
AGAINST AUDIOVOX COMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND VERIZON WIRELESS
Today, the American Council of the Blind (ACB), an
organization
representing tens of thousands of blind and visually impaired
people from across the United States, supports a blind citizen, Dr. Bonnie
O'Day, of Alexandria, Va., in filing a formal
complaint
with the Federal Communications Commission against Audiovox
Communications Corporation and Verizon Wireless, Inc., stating
that both have failed to make their wireless telephones and
services accessible to people who are blind and visually
impaired.
Dr. O'Day's filing is the first formal complaint to be
submitted
to the FCC to enforce the rights provided under Section 255 of
the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This provision requires that
telecommunications equipment and services be accessible to and
usable by people with disabilities, if readily achievable.
"My complaint started out as an informal complaint which I
filed
with the FCC in June of 2001," explains O'Day. "When I began
shopping for a cellular phone in December of 2000, I went from
store to store looking for a phone that would meet my needs. I
finally settled on the Audiovox CDM9000 as 'the best of the
worst.' But I found that many features of the phone were very
difficult to use because most of the information I needed even
for minimal access to the phone's features, such as caller ID and
one-touch dialing, was delivered via a visual display which is
totally inaccessible to me as a person who cannot read the
phone's screen."
O'Day explains that she contacted both Audiovox and Verizon
Wireless by letter, and that neither company could offer her
the
hope of any remedy for these difficulties. In fact, each
participated in a "blaming game," implying that what O'Day
requested couldn't be done. "And," O'Day says, "each one said,
even if it could be done, it was the responsibility of the
other
party."
O'Day contacted the American Council of the Blind, and ACB is
supporting her in pursuing a remedy for this situation on her
behalf as well as for the millions of blind and visually
impaired
people in the USA who contend with similar difficulties every
day.
According to Christopher Gray of San Francisco, president of
the
Council, "Both Audiovox and Verizon Wireless are clearly
violating Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act. The implementing
regulations for that legislation were released in February
1998.
The service providers and the product manufacturers have had
more
than five years now to take our needs into account and to
design
systems and products which we can use, and they're still
dragging
their feet, telling us things like, it's not possible to build
a
text-to-speech capability into their phones, or it's too
expensive, or it's just over the horizon."
Gray continues, "It is, in fact, quite possible to do all the
things Dr. O'Day is asking, and we expect the Federal
Communications Commission to move this complaint onto their
accelerated docket."
Charlie Crawford of Silver Spring, Md., Executive Director of
the
ACB, says, "It is ludicrous for Audiovox and Verizon Wireless
even to imply that it is not readily achievable for them to make their
menus accessible to us with voice output. We know that blind
people living in Japan are already enjoying a text-to-speech
capability on their cell phones. Verizon Wireless advertises
that
games and other programs can be downloaded onto the Audiovox
CDM9000, and similar features are being advertised by several
other wireless providers. The same technology used to download
games can be used to download text-to-speech software into a
cell
phone. Dr. O'Day's cell phone has 460 kilobytes of usable
space
where consumers can download games or ring tones. The software
required to run text to speech would use 250 kilobytes of
space.
That's equivalent to two games, or one-sixth of a floppy
disk!"
The complainant states that the defendants have failed to
identify barriers to accessibility and usability as part of their product
design and development processes. Defendants have failed and
refused to provide access to product and service information
and
related documentation in a way that equivalent information is
provided to sighted customers.
The complainant is asking Audiovox and Verizon Wireless to
make at least one accessible wireless telephone device in all price
categories available for consumer purchase by June 30, 2003.
"Voice output will allow blind and visually impaired consumers
to
access all the features on their phones that sighted people
take
for granted," explains O'Day, "including call forwarding and
conference call setup, caller ID data as calls are received,
verbal echo of all user input, distinct audio alerts at key
thresholds such as telephone power off, link quality change,
roaming status change, and key battery discharge thresholds."
Currently, blind customers are warned of a low battery just
prior
to the battery's expiration and the phone's shut off, whereas
sighted users are able to monitor the status of the battery
continually through the visual display screen.
"We are optimistic that the FCC will act on the complaint
expeditiously," says ACB President Gray, "and that the
complaint
filed today will mean that blind and visually impaired people
will soon be one step closer to full inclusion in one more activity
that the rest of society takes for granted."
The American Council of the Blind is a national organization
of
blind, visually impaired and sighted individuals whose purpose
is
to work toward independence, security, equality of
opportunity,
and improved quality of life for all blind and visually
impaired
people. ACB programs and services include a nationally
distributed monthly magazine, an Internet radio station, numerous
scholarship
awards, and active participation in the national legislative
and
advocacy scene. Founded in 1961, ACB works through more than
70
state and special-interest affiliates to advocate for the
needs of people who are blind and visually impaired at all stages of life.
Learn more about the Council and its advocacy efforts by
visiting
its web site at
http://www.acb.org, listening to ACB Radio at
http://www.acbradio.org, and calling its national office in
Washington, DC at the numbers listed above.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Charles Crawford, ACB
202.467.5081
Andrew J. Imparato, AAPD
202.457.0046
Tim Fuller, Gray Panthers
202.737.6637
SETTLEMENT REACHED WITH MEDICARE IN SUIT OVER LACK OF APPEALS
Washington, DC, May 27, 2003 - Today, the American Association of People
with Disabilities (AAPD), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and the
Gray Panthers along with individual Medicare beneficiaries reached a
settlement agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) allowing Medicare
beneficiaries renewed hope of access to the only effective treatment
available to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with occult
lesions. The disability and senior organizations filed suit in federal
court on August 6, 2002 seeking to challenge CMS' erroneous decision to deny
Medicare coverage for ocular photodynamic therapy (OPT) with verteporfin
(Visudyne) for the treatment of AMD with occult lesions as well as HHS'
failure to implement an appeals process for National Coverage Determinations
(NCDs) as required by Congress. The settlement agreement includes a public
review of Medicare's denial of coverage for this standard of care
treatment - a treatment that is already covered by Medicare for other forms
of AMD - by September 2003. The agreement also provides that the litigation
may be re-filed should HHS fail to implement a statutorily mandated appeals
process for all NCDs by October 31, 2003.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness for Americans over the age of 50 and
is estimated to affect over 10 million Americans of all ages. While
Medicare currently covers AMD with classic lesions, patients diagnosed with
AMD with occult lesions are left without treatment options. "Currently
thousands of Medicare beneficiaries are threatened with impending vision
loss due to their inability to afford treatment," said Charles Crawford,
Executive Director of the American Council of the Blind. "Medicare's
agreement to review its non-coverage decision on OPT with verteporfin
provides a ray of hope to these individuals and takes us one step closer to
ensuring an open and fair process for all Medicare coverage determinations."
Added Andrew J. Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association of
People with Disabilities, "[t]his settlement is important not just for the
individual named plaintiffs and others who need a procedure to treat
age-related macular degeneration with occult lesions. More broadly, the
settlement underscores the importance of CMS' having a fair and timely
process whereby Medicare beneficiaries are provided an opportunity to plead
their case when a CMS national coverage determination leaves them at risk of
injury, serious health problems, or death."
........................................
SMCB May 2003 Report:
This is the report of the Southern Maryland Council of the Blind as
submitted by Bob Kerr.
Since my last report, the SMCB has made progress on a number
of issues of importance to blind people in Southern Maryland.
At the prompting of SMCB the State Board of Elections has agreed to provide
the counties of Southern Maryland with accessible voting equipment.
According
to election officials, Calvert and St. Mary's Counties will receive
accessible voting equipment in time for the March primary, while Charles
County's equipment
will not be ready until next year's general election. Each of the counties
will share the cost of the accessible machines with the federal government,
which is making funds available through the Help America Vote Act. However,
those of us who lack transportation to the poles must continue to vote using
an absentee ballot process, which is less than user friendly. The SMCB will
continue to urge reform of the absentee ballot process to make it more
accessible.
In March, the long awaited Accessible Pedestrian Signal at the intersection
of Routes 5 and 245 in Leonardtown became operational. Together with other
disability advocates, the SMCB is now pressing the State Highway
Administration to repair the sidewalks adjacent to this intersection. As
this is the
first installation of an APS in Southern Maryland, it may take a while for
blind pedestrians to get used to the new technology, but they surely will.
As a consequence of our work to increase pedestrian accessibility in the
Leonardtown area, SMCB has been nominated to receive an award in recognition
of
its efforts. The award, which is given annually by the local Leonardtown
government, recognizes organizations and businesses, which have improved the
lives of Leonardtown residents with disabilities. In the next issue of this
newsletter I hope to be able to report that SMCB was the awards recipient.
......................................
In the Aftermath of the Dohman Case:
I think many of you know that I believe our handling of the Dohmen complaint
is a black eye for our organization. One can understand in some ways the
dilemma our national board faced when the Iowa Council of the United Blind
threatened to leave the organization if ACB signed on to the Department of
Justice complaint filed on behalf of Ms. Dohmen. In their minds, the board
came up with a solution which provided Ms. Dohmen with the support she
needed while avoiding a confrontation which may have caused our friends in
Iowa to leave the organization. However, many of us believe the ACB board
missed an opportunity to speak clearly about our concern that guide dog
users face discrimination, and ACB clearly does not tolerate such
discrimination.
In fairness to our national organization, I wanted you to see an example of
what ACB can and does accomplish on behalf of guide dog users when all the
various players on our team agree on what steps to take. Here is a message
from President, Chris Gray, which was distributed on a leadership list a few
weeks ago.
Hi Everybody:
I am extremely pleased to report that ACB has received a positive letter
regarding the guide dog situation for Georgia vendors. The text
follows.
Chris
April 15, 2003
Mr. Chris Gray
President
American Council of the Blind
1155 15th Street NW, Suite 1004
Washington, DC 20005
Dear Mr. Gray:
Thank you for providing Commissioner Michael Thurmond, Ms. Terri Rushing
and me with copies of your recent correspondence to Governor Sonny
Perdue. I appreciate having this opportunity to respond to your
concerns.
Clearly, the use of trained guide dogs is critical for a blind persons
who have chosen this method of assistance with mobility. Mr. Ralph
Main, training coordinator for our business Enterprise Program (BEP),
which is a program of Rehabilitation Services of the Georgia Department
of Labor, was misinformed on aspects of the current statute involving
guide dogs in proximity to food preparation and handing areas. Mr. Carl
McRae, BEP's executive director, immediately secured full training for
Mr. Main on current state and federal laws. We have talked with the two
vendors trainees and apologized to them. The situation has been
corrected, and we have restored a good working relationship so that
these individuals can continue in their training program.
Please accept my best wished for a full recovery from the injuries you
sustained in your recent accidental fall. I appreciate the work you do
for the disability community through the American Council, and if I can
help your further with this or any other concerns that you may have in
the future, I encourage you to contact me at 404/657-3004.
Sincerely,
Larry D. Beck
Assistant Commissioner
Rehabilitation Services
cc: Governor Sonny Perdue
Commissioner Michael Thurmond
Ms. Terri Rushing
Mr. Carl McRae
Mr. Ralph Main
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Hope's Recipes and Tips by Hope Pietrolungo
Hello everybody. I know some of you will be enjoying the ACB convention in
Pittsburgh. Here are a couple of recipes to try out this summer.
Simple Bean Soup
Since we've had such a cool, rainy spring, I thought I would add this
delicious bean soup recipe before it gets too warm.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, cut into ¼-inch dice
2 carrots cut into ¼-inch pieces
1 package Goya or other brand dried 15 or 16-bean soup mix, soaked according
to package directions
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme, or use a scant ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
2 14-ounce cans chicken broth
1 tablespoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley for garnish
Heat olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and
carrots and saute, stirring frequently. Cook about five minutes.Add the
beans, thyme, bay leaf, chicken stock and 1 cup water, let simmer until
beans are tender, about1-1/2-hours. Season with salt and pepper, garnish
with parsley.
Frozen Banana Salad
2 3-ounce packages cream cheese
½ tsp. Salt
½ cup mayonaise
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. Lemon juice
½ cup crushed pineapple
2 sliced bananas
½ cup walnuts
½ cup maraschino cherries
2 cups Cool Whip
Mix cream cheese, salt, mayonaise, sugar and lemon juice. Beat well. Add
pineapple, nuts,bananas and cherries. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour into an 8-inch
cake pan and freeze. When ready to serve, soften slightly. Slice and serve
on lettuce leaf.
Jean Anderson's Oven-Fried Chicken
12 tbsps. (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 3-1/2 pound (ten pieces) frying chicken or the equivalent of thighs,
breasts, legs or wings
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and garlic in a small
saucepan. Heat on medium-high heat until butter melts. Pour into a large
bowl and cool to room temperature.
Mix the freshly-made bread crumbs, cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into a
large bowl. Dip each chicken piece, one at a time, into the melted garlic
butter. Transfer to the bread crumbs and turn until coated on all sides.
Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer on a large baking pan. Drizzle any
remaining garlic butter over chicken. Bake until lightly browned and just
cooked through, about fifty to sixty minutes. Serves four to six.
NOTE: To make fresh bread crumbs, put six slices home-style bread, broken
into pieces, into a food processor or blender and whir until crumbly. This
will make about 2-1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs.
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