Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Police calls released in Charlotte Shooting

We now have the radio communications between the state trooper who shot a deaf man and his dispatch unit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The tapes indicate that Daniel Harris led officers on a 100 mph highway chase before it ended. WSOC-TV has video report (posted below) or you can read the story here.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Texas Deaf man looks to hold educational events with Police

John Sidener tells KWTX, "I've been here in Waco many years. The police are not being helpful, there's been no improvement in that..Usually what I do when I pull over I immediately reach up to my placard that says I'm deaf and those kind of things that I get my drivers license and everything ready I'm hoping that I will avoid being shot." Sidener wants to see relations between the Deaf community and Waco police improve. KWTX has a video report.

Police Interactions with the Deaf in NC

With the death of a deaf man after a traffic stop in North Carolina, WTVD-TV "reached out to the sheriff's offices of Cumberland, Durham, and Wake counties, as well as the police departments of the city of Durham, Fayetteville, and Raleigh to ask about their policies and practices when it comes to the deaf community." Read their responses here.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Head of Cali Deaf School out

Following protests by parents, teachers, and staff members the California School for the Deaf, Sean Virnig is no longer leading the school. He was its first deaf superintendent. Read more from the Mercury News here.

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Player ordered off court over Implant

A basketball referee at a Kentucky middle school told a player she would have to leave a game because of her cochlear implant. She stayed off the court until someone showed him the rule book. KFOR-TV has a video report.

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Friday, August 26, 2016

Driving while Deaf

Inside Edition gets some driving tips for deaf drivers in this video.

Video: Part of Chase that ended with Deaf Man's Death

New video shows part of chase before a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper shot and killed a deaf man last week. WSOC-TV has a report.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Talking to kids about sex in ASL

Talking about sex can be awkward, especially in sign language. NPR quotes the director of health and wellness programs at Gallaudet as saying:
The great thing about ASL though is, I can finger-spell herpes and then I can be more descriptive using my hands. So I can provide a visual access to what it looks like, to the symptoms that it might cause by using hands, which is a definite advantage for the deaf community over the hearing community.
Read more of the story here.

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Memorial Service for Daniel Harris

A memorial service was held for Daniel Harris last night. He was shot Thursday by a North Carolina state trooper. CBS News has a video report (no captions).

NTID wins college bowl-again

The winner of this year's Deaf College Bowl competition, for the third time in a row, is a team from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Student team member Eric Epstein says “The weekly practice throughout the year paid off big time. I am so proud of my teammates for their yearlong efforts in studying. I look forward to the next generation of Tigers who will undoubtedly defend the bowl.” Read more here.

Monday, August 22, 2016

Deaf man sues Louisiana, Jefferson Parish for discrimination

A Louisiana man is suing for not getting proper accommodations under ADA law while in police custody. The Times—Picayune has the story here.

Waiting for Answers in Charlotte Shooting

We're still waiting for North Carolina state troopers to explain why one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed deaf man last Thursday. An online crowdfunding campaign set up in his name here. WSOC-TV has a video report.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Controversy at State Deaf School reaching "boiling point"

Faculty and parents of students at the California School for the Deaf in Fremont want to see someone new at the helm when fall classes start on Monday. KGO-TV has a video report.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Questions Remain in NC police shooting

There are many unanswered questions as to why a deaf man was shot and killed Thursday in North Carolina by state troopers. About the only new information authorities have released is his name: Daniel Kevin Harris. The Associated Press sums up what information we have here.

Friday, August 19, 2016

Man fatally shot by state trooper

Here's another video report on the 29-year-old deaf man who was fatally shot by state troopers. This report is from WBTV.

| WBTV Charlotte

Troopers Kill Deaf man following Car Chase

North Carolina state troopers shot and killed a Charlotte man last night after he didn't stop when they tried to pull him over. WSOC-TV has a video report.

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Stand up not always accommodating

Tom Willard
(from a WROC report)
A comedian in Rochester, New York says one comedy club won't pay for him to have sign language interpreters, even though ADA law requires it. WROC-TV has a video report on Tom Willard here.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Deaf Actor to play Quasimodo

Deaf actor John McGinty is set to play Quasimodo in the Los Angeles premiere of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His singing voice will be performed by Dino Nicandros. The show will debut at the La Mirada Theatre For The Performing Arts on September 16 and run through October 9. Read more at PlayBill and buy tickets here.

Lawsuit: Hotel sued over Accomodations

A Southern California Travelodge is being sued by a New York woman who says she was not provided appropriate accomodations. Naomi Sheneman is deaf and says the hotel wanted to charge her for service dog before she was given a room and Sheneman's lawsuit says that's illegal. Her attorneys, Eisenberg & Baum of New York, released this statement:
It is disturbing in 2016 that people could actually be refused access to hotels on basis of their deafness. Our client has brought this lawsuit not only to redress the discrimination that already occurred, but to ensure that any other Deaf individuals that seek access to hotels with service animals will not be discriminated against. There is no excuse that Travelodge cannot be accessible to Deaf individuals with service animals. Their lack of awareness for the need to properly accommodate the Deaf community cannot continue.
Traveloge has not yet responded to the suit.

Lawsuit: Failure to accommodate deaf movie-goers

A Michigan man is suing a movie theater company for not providing captioning options for the deaf at the theater it owns that's closest to him despite numerous requests. Read the lawsuit here or watch a video report from WXMI-TV. No captions but you can read the story here.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Meet the Deaf Poets Society

The Deaf Poets Society is a new digital literary magazine based out of Maryland. Magazine founder Sarah Katz tells PBS, “There’s been a lot of controversy about how people with disabilities are represented in the literary community, and whether publishers are really giving a platform for disabled writers, and also the diversity of disability literature.” Read more from PBS here or check out the Deaf Poets Society page here.

Judge: Expect very significant prison sentences

Two sisters from the Herefordshire area of England were told by a judge to "expect very significant prison sentences" when they are sentenced next month. The two were convicted of sexually abusing a boy. The Sun has the story here.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Update on "Fired for Being Deaf?"

Here's a follow-up on the story "Fired for Being Deaf?" It's a complete turn-around in Dickson, Tennessee. As we reported yesterday, Kami Tucker and her sister were fired from an Auntie Anne's store as a new owner was taking over the franchise. When the corporate office found out what happened, it issued a statement saying it would take ownership of the store itself, starting this Friday. Read the Auntie Anne's statement here and more details at the Tennessean here.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Fired for being deaf?

A manager at the Auntie Anne's pretzel restaurant in Tennessee "says her sister was fired for being deaf and she was fired for sticking up for her," according to FOX17 Nashville. Kami Watkins Tucker posted her story on Facebook. Read more details here.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Couple Adopts from China

A New Jersey deaf couple has adopted a five-year-old boy from China. The Asbury Park Press has a video. There are no captions but you can read the story here.

Friday, August 5, 2016

A Tour Of The West Wing (In Sign Language)

The White House released this video of its first deaf receptionist giving a tour of the West Wing.

How to Read Lips

It is possible to listen with your eyes, reports the New York Times Magazine. In fact, the part of the brain that processes sound is active in lip readers. The news outlet offers lip reading tips from the chair of Britain’s Association of Teachers of Lipreading to Adults here.