I don't know why the idea that a law suit might be mad was even mentioned. My response was that being rude wa a bad idea rude and loud. I guess loud by its self is ok though <grin>
On Dec 23, 2010, at 9:59 AM, ted chittenden wrote:
Hi listers:
I am forwarding the below messages, because they contain much information about resolutions to problems many blind people face when attempting to accessing websites, use ATMs, etc.
Also, in a previous response to an article about Darrell Shandrow on this list, I noted that sometimes filing a lawsuit is necessary, if only to get the offending company to either the negotiating table or to negotiate in good faith. For those who doubt the truth of this argument, please read the information about Jetblue Airlines contained in the below message.
Finally, happy holidays to all!
Ted Chittenden
Date: Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:37:20 -0500
To: "National Capital Area Chapter of the Maryland Council of the Blind":;,
"Maryland Area Guide Dog Users Leadership":;,
Maryland Leadership <[log in to unmask]>,
"Montgomery County Commission on People with Disabilities":;,
[log in to unmask]
From: Charles Crawford <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: A wonderful end of year mesage from a legal point of view.
> Hi NCAC members and friends,
There are lots of end of year reports and letters and such
that are interesting indeed, but here is one that stands out! Lainey
Feingold has been a powerful legal helper in our efforts to make the
world a better place for those of us who are blind and I sincerely
thank her and Linda for all their work on our behalf. I am sharing
this with you to both provide all of us with a bit of heartwarming
news and to demonstrate the power of staying the course. Thank you
Lainey Feingold and Linda Dardarian!
> Original message...
> Dear friends and colleagues in the blind community:
>
> Below is our 2010 end of the year Structured Negotiations (and other
> activities) message. 2010 marked the 15th year since we began
> working with the California Council of the Blind and members of the
> blind community. In 1995, when there were no Talking ATMs in the
> United States, we wrote to Bank of America, Citibank, and Wells
> Fargo about accessibility issues. Those letters lead to the first
> agreements in the country on Talking ATMs, accessible websites, and
> banking information in Braille, Large Print and audio formats.
>
> Since then, it has been our great honor and privilege to work with
> ACB, CCB, BSCB, affiliates in Florida, Iowa, Utah, North Carolina
> and elsewhere, AFB, the San Francisco LightHouse and countless blind
> individuals across the country. Below is information about what we
> worked on in 2010. We wish you and your families a joyous,
> peaceful, and accessible holiday season, and look forward to many
> more years of working together to make information and technology
> more accessible to people with visual impairments. Lainey and Linda
>
> 2010 Structured Negotiations (and other acvities) Update
>
> 1. Major League Baseball websites: On February 11, 2010, ACB, and
> the Bay State and California Councils of the Blind issued a joint
> press release with Major League Baseball announcing MLB's commitment
> to make its main website and the sites of all thirty major league
> teams accessible to persons with visual impairments. MLB worked
> with us throughout the 2010 season on its accessibility
> initiative. In 2010, the All Star ballot was accessible with an
> audio CAPTCHA, both MLB-tv and Game Day audio could be accessed on
> accessible players, and the MLB AtBat applications for the iPhone
> and iPad were made accessible. Congratulations to blind baseball
> fans around the country who contributed to this historic effort, and
> especially to the Red Sox fans in the Bay State Council of the Blind
> who began the initiative several years ago. You can read the posts
> about the MLB settlement, including the Boston Globe's coverage
> featuring Brian Charlson, at:
> <http://lflegal.com/category/major-league-baseball-mlbcom-accessibility/>http://lflegal.com/category/major-league-baseball-mlbcom-accessibility/.
>
> 2. Other web and alternative format accessibility efforts: AFB,
> ACB, and its state affiliates have continued in 2010 to take a
> leadership role in advancing website accessibility in the United
> States. In addition to the Major League Baseball effort, we were
> involved in the following web related activities in 2010:
>
> (1) we continue to monitor the agreement with the country's three
> major credit reporting agencies to provide credit reports in
> Braille, Large Print, Audio and on-line accessible formats. You can
> learn about how to obtain an accessible credit report at
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/11/credit-access/>http://lflegal.com/2010/11/credit-access/;
>
>
> (ii) we monitored web accessibility agreements with CVS, RadioShack,
> Staples, and Bank of America;
>
> (iii) We made good progress in our negotiations with the American
> Cancer Society on issues of web accessibility and alternative
> formats, and hope to have something to announce publicly in early 2011;
>
> (iv) A new Structured Negotiations was started with Charles Schwab
> about the accessibility of its website.
>
>
> (iv) we filed a lawsuit against JetBlue Airways - discussed below --
> on the issue of web accessibility.
>
> Apart from our Structured Negotiations efforts on web accessibility,
> we spent a significant amount of time this year preparing comments
> to the U.S. Department of Justice's ANPRM on web
> accessibility. After bringing together significant stake holders
> in the advocacy community, we drafted a complete set of comments to
> the 19 questions included in the DOJ ANPRM. Central to our comments
> is the fact that blind community advocacy has proven that large
> commercial entities are able to build and maintain accessible
> websites. You can read the post summarizing the web access results
> of Structured Negotiations at
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/09/doj-anprm-web/>http://lflegal.com/2010/09/doj-anprm-web/.
>
> We have made our web accessibility comments available to the
> advocacy community. If you would like a copy, please let us know.
>
> 3. Airline kiosks and websites: In August 2010, after JetBlue
> determined it did not want to participate in Structured
> Negotiations, we filed a lawsuit against JetBlue Airways on behalf
> of CCB and several blind individuals about the inaccessibility of
> the company's airline check-in kiosks and website . Since we filed
> the case, however, the company has expressed a sincere willingness
> to try to work out the issues without litigation. We had a very
> productive meeting in December, and hope to continue working with,
> instead of fighting with, JetBlue in the coming year.
>
> 4. Tactile Point of Sale Devices: In March, 2010, ACB, AFB and CCB
> joined Best Buy in issuing a press release announcing a nationwide
> initiative to install tactile keypads in all Best Buy stores across
> the country. You can read the Best Buy press release at
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/03/best-buy-press/>http://lflegal.com/2010/03/best-buy-press/.
> Best Buy was the 11th retail chain to sign a Structured Negotiations
> agreement on the issue of tactile keypads. While we always
> follow-up with any complaints about any agreement we have
> negotiated, in 2010 we were actively involved in monitoring tactile
> point of sale settlements with the following companies in addition
> to Best Buy: Staples, CVS, Target, and Rite Aid. We have also been
> in conversation with Raley's and Whole Foods in an effort to ensure
> effective tactile keypads in stores operated by those chains.
>
> 5. Talking ATMs: In March, 2010, Bank of America issued a press
> release announcing that all 18,000 ATMs owned by the Bank were
> Talking ATMs. Bank of America has been a willing partner in
> Structured Negotiations for many years, and this year's press
> release was one of several the bank has issued over the years with
> CCB and other blind advocacy organizations. You can read the B of A
> press release at:
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/03/bank-of-america-atms/>http://lflegal.com/2010/03/bank-of-america-atms/.
> In 2010 Talking ATM monitoring also continued with TCF Bank in the
> midwest, spearheaded by Amy Peterson of Equip for Equality in
> Chicago. In other Talking ATM news, this year the Department of
> Justice issued the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design which, for
> the first time, include detailed requirements for Talking ATMs. You
> can read the post about the new regulations, which includes links to
> Department of Justice materials, at
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/11/talking-atm-reg/>http://lflegal.com/2010/11/talking-atm-reg/.
>
>
> 6. Audio Description in Movie Theaters: In 2010 we had three
> major initiatives on the issue of audio description. First, In
> January, 2010, we attended the federal appeals court argument in an
> Arizona case involving audio description and captioning. On behalf
> of ACB, AFB and others, we had written an amicus (friend-of-the
> court) brief urging the court to rule that audio description is
> required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. After a lively
> hearing in a court room packed with people with disabilities, the
> court ruled as the disability community requested. You can read
> about the 9th Circuit opinion here:
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/05/harkins-opinion/>http://lflegal.com/2010/05/harkins-opinion/.
>
> Second, this year, working with the CCB and several blind
> movie-goers, we began Structured Negotiations with Cinemark on the
> issue of audio description in its Northern California theaters and
> elsewhere. The company is working with us in good faith and we hope
> to have something specific to report in the coming year.
>
> Finally, we drafted comments on the Department of Justice's Advanced
> Notice of Proposed Rulemaking about audio description in movie
> theaters. We have made those available to advocates wishing to file
> their own comments, so please contact us if you would like a copy.
>
> 7. Accessible prescription information: In 2010 we continued our
> negotiations with Wal-Mart, and began negotiations with CVS and
> Target on accessible prescription information. We have or are in
> the process of contacting other retailers as well, and invite
> feedback about experiences with the retailers listed here and other
> national chains.
>
> 8. Accessible Pedestrian Signals: In March, 2010, the City and
> County of San Francisco issued a press release announcing that it
> had received federal stimulus funds to expand its accessible
> pedestrian signal program. That program was the result of a
> Structured Negotiations with the San Francisco LightHouse for the
> Blind and Visually Impaired, the California Council of the Blind,
> and the San Francisco Independent Living Resource Center. As of the
> date the press release was issued, the City had installed over 1,000
> APS devices at 116 intersections across the city. You can read the
> March, 2010 APS press release at
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/03/sf-aps/>http://lflegal.com/2010/03/sf-aps/.
>
> 9. Electronic kiosks: We had two opportunities this year to help
> shape future regulations on the issue of electronic kiosks. In July
> of 2010 we prepared comments for the U.S. Access Board urging that
> agency to adopt stringent accessibility standards for a wide range
> of kiosks. During that process we learned, for example, that there
> are now machines, similar to ATMs, that dispense not cash, but
> prescription information. You can read our comments on this
> important issue at:
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/07/self-service/>http://lflegal.com/2010/07/self-service/.
>
>
> The Department of Justice has also asked about electronic kiosks in
> its July ANPRMs, and we have prepared comments for that process as
> well. Those comments, which must be filed by January 24, 2011, have
> been made available to advocates and organizations wishing to file
> comments. Please contact us if you would like a copy.
>
> 10. Accessible Health Care and Medical Equipment: In 2010 we
> continued monitoring the cross-disability settlements with UCSF
> Medical Center in San Francisco and Sutter Health in Northern
> California. Melissa Kasnitz of Disability Rights Advocates was
> co-counsel with Linda in the Sutter settlement. In other health
> care news, we continued our leadership role in the resource website
> of the Barrier Free Health Care Initiative
> (<http://thebarrierfreehealthcareinitiative.org>http://thebarrierfreehealthcareinitiative.org/)
> In July, Lainey testified at the Access Board's public hearing on
> accessible diagnostic medical equipment, urging the Board to include
> issues of importance to the blind community in this regulatory
> effort. You can read about the hearing
> at:
> <http://lflegal.com/2010/07/med-equip-meeting/>http://lflegal.com/2010/07/med-equip-meeting/
>
> 11. What's next: Everyone reading this message can help determine
> what our end of the year message will be in 2011. If you encounter
> significant accessibility barriers obtaining information on or off
> the web or using technology provided by commercial entities that
> have gone unresolved despite advocacy efforts, please contact
> us. Remember, everything on this year's list is a result of
> advocacy efforts begun by individuals and organizations in the blind
> community. And individual and organizational advocacy, both before
> and after agreements are signed, has always been fundamental to the
> success of the everything you've read in this message.
>
>
> Lainey Feingold
> Law Office of Lainey Feingold
> <http://LFLegal.com>http://LFLegal.com
> 510.548.5062
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]
> <http://twitter.com/LFLegal>http://twitter.com/LFLegal
>
> Linda Dardarian
> Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian
> www.gdblegal.com
> 510.763.9800
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]
>
>
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