The Hammer in Rochester

Here's a video report of Matt Hamill's appearance at NTID for the premiere of his film The Hammer. The WUHF-TV video has captioning.

Michigan Hospital Fined for ADA Violation

Kingswood Hospital in Ferndale, Michigan has settled a complaint that it violated ADA law by failing to provide a deaf patient with an interpreter in 2004. The Department of Justice reviewed the services of Henry Ford Health Systems, the hospital owner, and found its policies and procedures inadequate. As part of the settlement, the company has agreed to pay the patient who filed the complaint $70,000 as well as provide interpreters to other patients as needed, train hospital workers on ADA law, and develop procedures that will ensure ADA law is followed throughout its healthcare facilities.

Super Signing

Miss Deaf America Rachel Mazique will perform the National Anthem and America the Beautiful in ASL at Sunday's Super Bowl. The Chicago native and winner of the Miss Deaf Illinois Pageant is working on her doctorate at the University of Texas in deaf literature.

VRS Deadline

The FCC has announced the deadline for submitting comments related to its plan to overhaul the Video Relay Service. According to the Federal Register, comments are due by March 2. You may submit comments, which should be identified as relating to CG Docket Nos. 10–51 and 03–123 through email by accessing the Commission’s Electronic Comment Filing System. To go there, click here.

Getting to Know.. Mozzeria

Melody and Russell Stein opened Mozzeria in the Mission district of San Francisco at the end of 2011. The owners are deaf, as are many of the wait staff and cooks. The Neapolitan-style pizzas are cooked in a wood-burning oven. The name Mozzeria is a combination of mozzarella cheese and pizzeria.

On this Date... Murder at Gally

It was on this day in 2001 (Feb 1), Joseph Mesa, Jr. murdered Benjamin Varner in his Gallaudet dorm room. Mesa stabbed his classmate more than a dozen times. This wasn't Mesa's first fatal attack. A few months earlier, Mesa beat Eric Plunkett to death in his dorm room as well, leaving the school's campus shaken. Mesa turned himself into police 10 days after the Varner killing. In July of 2002, a DC judge gave Mesa six life terms without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors called him a serial killer in the making. The 22-year-old from Guam pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, telling jurors he saw hands wearing black gloves that told him in sign language to kill the 19 year olds who considered him their friend. Mesa's defense attorney suggested that the attack on Plunkett was prompted by rage over an unwanted homosexual advance. The jury convicted him on all 15 counts.

Sneak Peek of Switched

Here's a video preview of tonight's ABC Family show Switched at Birth.

The foremost women photographers in America

Two deaf sisters were the foremost women photographers in the country about 100 years ago. Frances and Mary Allen attracted international attention by capturing images of their simple, rural community in New England. Them became photographers when progressive deafness forced them to give up teaching. The Allen sisters gained formal recognition at the Washington Salon and Art Photographic Exhibition of 1896. The Smithsonian Institution purchased two of their photographs for its new division of photographic history because of the exhibit. The sisters became friends with fellow exhibitor Frances Benjamin Johnston. He was the White House photographer in the Cleveland and McKinley administrations and became a critical link in their career. The sister's work went on to be shown in these major exhibits:

1897 - Royal Photographic Society in London
1900 - Third International Congress of Photography in Paris
1900 - St. Petersburg and Moscow
1907 - Canadian Pictorialist Exhibition in Montreal
1908 - The Art Institute of Chicago

In 1901, they were called "The foremost women photographers in America." The sisters continued their photography through the early 1920s. Frances became blind the last decade of her life. She died of pneumonia on Valentine's Day 1941 at the age of 86. Just four days later, 82-year-old Mary died as well.

Captioning on Sky TV

New Zealand's main pay-television operator is launching a closed captioning feature on 13 of its channels starting Wednesday. Sky Television is adding the feature to its feed of: Animal Planet, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, TCM, TV1, TV2, TV3, Cartoon Network, Crime & Investigation, Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon, UKTV and National Geographic.

Soap Wants Deaf Teen

A longrunning British soap opera is looking for a deaf teen to play a character later this year on the show. The producers of Hollyoaks want a 16-year-old male who must "be fully or partially deaf, must be able to communicate in sign language, and must be either 16 or older and able to realistically play 16." The role of Mikey could turn into a regular character on the show.  Hollyoaks airs weeknights on Channel 4.

One this Day... 9 years ago

A deaf bank customer helped stop a bank robbery on this day (Jan 30) in 2003. A bank teller in Rochester, New York tipped off the man as he was going through the drive-through. The robber had entered a branch of HSBC yelled that he was robbing it, then jumped on a counter and pistol-whipped a teller. Another teller at the drive-up window just happened to be helping a deaf customer at that moment. She mouthed the words "we are being robbed." The lip-reading customer then drove to a nearby liquor store and called 911. Police nabbed the robbery suspect not far from the bank as he was trying to wash dye off his hands after a dye pack in the money bag had exploded. The injured teller suffered only minor injuries.

Barriers to Travel in NZ

Deaf New Zealanders often don't travel because of concerns that their hearing loss needs will not be met. Auckland University of Technology researchers were told by 90% of those who responded to their survey that the service provided by the country's tourism industry is weak and needs improvement. Two-out-of-three respondents also admitted they have trouble finding information about travel accessibility.

Hamill at NTID

Matt Hamill returns tonight to Rochester for a showing of the film based on his life. The film The Hammer will be shown at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf where he graduated and part of the film was shot. The wrestling champion and former Ultimate Fighter will answer questions from the audience afterward. The Hammer will be available on DVD for the first time today. Read a review of the film here.

Hiss United Methodist

An article about a deaf church in Baltimore here.

Imagine Cup Winners

A groups of students from Ecuador have won a Microsoft Imagine Cup Grant. They designed Skillbox, which helps deaf children by translating audio from a teacher in a classroom into sign language. A wireless headset captures the sound and sends it to a computer for translation. The team will get $75,000 to develop the technology using Microsoft products. The four winning teams were announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland where Bill Gates met with the team captains. The winners were chosen out of 50 applicants. A video introducing Skillbox is posted below on DeafNewsToday.com (no captioning).

Smartphone Holder

There's a new motion tracking dock that should make apps like FaceTime easier to use. Swivl works with iPhone or any smartphone that is less than 11 millimeters thick. The motorized camera stand follows a users movements, guided by an infrared marker on a wearable Bluetooth mic (which is included). It's a little pricey at $159. Here's a video showing how it works.

Swivl by Satarii from Satarii on Vimeo.

Fashion.. from a 9 year old deaf boy

Following a showcase of his collection, 9 year old Rafi earned a standing ovation during Jakarta Fashion Week in November when he stepped onto the catwalk. His full name is Rafi Abdurrahman Ridwan and he is Indonesia’s youngest Fashion Designer. Rafi lost his hearing at the age of three months and has suffered from respiratory tract infections since his birth. His parents, Shinta and Mohammad Ridwan, were warned by their doctor that Rafi would likely have birth defeats and health issues. He suggested they consider an abortion. But the couple continued with the pregnancy because of their religious beliefs. Rafi was born and he attended a school for the deaf in Santi Rama. On his own, he developed an obsession for drawing. Rafi attended a fashion show at the age of five, which convinced him that he wanted to become a designer. It was at another show he met Indonesian designer Barli Asmara, who saw potential in Rafi's detailed and colorful sketches. Asmara has mentored Rafi since that time, helping him to fulfill his dream of holding his own fashion show for his 9th birthday. Its success led to an invitation to take part in Jakarta Fashion Week. Just a few months before the event, he had cochlear implant surgery. The family has chosen not to use sign language. Instead, Rafi's mom taught him lip read. Below is a video of Rafi and his work.
 

Deaf Rockers Play Duluth

Beethoven’s Nightmare played a free concert last night in Duluth, Minnesota at the College of St. Scholastica. The three-man deaf rock band from San Francisco are accompanied by sign language interpreters. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a sample video of the group. You can see a video report from a local TV station KQDS here.
 

Getting to Know... Dummy Hoy

"Dummy" Hoy played in the major leagues for 7 seasons, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds. Hoy lost his hearing as a child due to meningitis. He graduated from the Ohio State School for the Deaf as class valedictorian. He signed his first professional contract in 1886 and made the Major Leagues in 1888 where he played until 1902, Only five feet four inches, Hoy had a small strike zone. The first deaf player in the majors, Hoy had a .287 career batting average and more than 2,000 hits. An excellent base stealer, he swiped 549 bases. A standout center fielder, Hoy set a record in 1889 by throwing out three runners at home plate in a single game.  He became a member of the Cincinnati Reds' Hall of Fame in 2003. Because he couldn't hear the umpire calling the balls and strikes, Hoy is often credited with creating the hand signals that umps still use. However, a deaf pitcher named Ed "Dummy" Dundon used hand signals as early as 1883-84 and later in a game that he umpired in 1886. Also, early accounts of baseball signs do not credit Hoy with originating their use. However, he probably played a role in spreading their use because of his long career as a standout player.  Hoy could read lips, but also used sign language, which he taught his teammates. He preferred the name Dummy and even corrected people who called him by his given name, William.  He throw out the first pitch at the 1961 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds and died a few months later at the age of 99. 

Silent Tweets

A app for deaf Australians works as a visual alert for emergency notices. Silent Tweets was created by Australian Communication Exchange and is free. It gives users warnings of regional emergencies, such as building evacuations or disaster announcements as well as updates on traffic and weather.

Flash Mob at Target

Students from the Iowa School for the Deaf created a flash mob at the Target store in Council Bluffs Wednesday morning. Watch the a conga line in the video below.

$2 Million Donation

We told you earlier today about a gift a deaf architect was planning to give to California State University at Fresno. We knew Robert Duncan Nicol's gift would be more than a million dollars, but it turned out the actual amount will be much more - $2 million. It's the most ever given to the health and human services college. Below on DeafNewsToday.com is a video

More Plaintiffs against Sheriff in Lawsuit

Another deaf man is joining a lawsuit against the sheriff of a Colorado county, accusing him of violating ADA law. Michaelee Owen and the Colorado Association of the Deaf are joining a suit filed in November by Timothy Siaki along with the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition. Siaki and Own claim Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr kept him behind bars for 25 days without providing a sign language interpreter or communication devices for the deaf. The Sheriff's office says an interpreter explained the charges against Siaki on his second day in jail, then he was able to communicate in written English and that was good enough.

The Silent Garden Program

An award-winning deaf architect is giving more than a million dollars to California State University in Fresno. It's the largest gift ever given to the school's College of Health and Human Services. The money will go toward the The Silent Garden program at the school, which is designed to help deaf children. The name of the program comes from a book written by a Fresno State professor. You can find more about the book here.