Man pleads guilty for Gallaudet Univ. burglary

"A former employee of Gallaudet University’s food service department pleaded guilty Monday to holding deaf workers at gunpoint during a burglary" at the school, according to the Washington Post. Just days after he had been fired, Donald Williams wore a mask and used a gun to force his way into the kitchen. Read the full story here.

Court hears appeal of deaf patients

Two deaf people were in federal court today because a hospital refused to give them in-person interpreters. Baptist Hospital provided VRI but Cheylla Silva and John Paul Jebian are challenging that technology as inadequate to meet ADA requirements. A lower court judge dismissed the case but they are appealing and hoping the federal appeals court overturns the lower court ruling. Read the full story from the Miami Herald here.

Gally Hoops

Gallaudet University's basketball team is 14-3 overall and 6-0 in the North Eastern Athletic Conference. The Austin American-Statesman has a look at several players on the roster here.

City to pay for no Terp

A city in Rhode Island will pay $25,000 in damages and legal fees to a deaf man for failing to provide him with an interpreter during his arrest and night in jail. David Alves was arrested when police mistook a sign language gesture for an obscene gesture. Read the full story from Associated Press here.

Yachtsman of the Year

A deaf man has been named Britain's yachtsman of the year. Gavin Reid beat out others with Olympic medals and titles, because of his part in a "dramatic ocean rescue." As CNN reports, "Reid swam to a stranded vessel before climbing its mast and untangling a distressed crew member. All while negotiating rough seas." Read the full CNN story here. NBC has an interview with Reid below, but there are no captions. You can read that story here.

Gally: One Year with a Female President

image from Gallaudet.edu

Read the story here. "In its 152-year history, Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. never had a deaf female president — until a year ago. Roberta Cordano is the first deaf woman to lead the school," reports NPR. The news outlet recently spoke with Gally President Cordano about the how the school provides a place of support and community for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Read the story here.

Charges Dropped against deaf Oklahoma man

A 67-year-old Oklahoma man was seriously injured in Oklahoma City when he was stopped by police. Prosecutors charged Pearl Pearson with resisting arrest.. even though he could not hear the officer's commands and warnings because he is deaf. KFOR-TV reports charges he resisted arrest have been dropped.

Deaf Driver runs over Body in Road

A search is underway for a driver in the Jacksonville, Florida area who hit someone walking down a road and then drove off. A deaf man later ran over the body but stopped to help. Since David Bicknell couldn't call the police himself, he drove to "a gas station where he wrote a note asking a clerk to call the police," according to WFOX-TV.

Deaf Boy to be allowed to Stay in UK

We told you recently about a "six-year-old deaf boy who fled Iraq with his family after ISIS threatened to kill disabled children." His parents were told he would have to leave the UK. Here's an update: Lawand Hamadamin "has been given a last minute reprieve to stay in Britain," according to The Telegraph. His brother and parents had settled into Derby where he learned British Sing Language at the Royal School for the Deaf. Read more from The Telegraph here.

Deaf Couple Rescued from Snowstorm

A deaf California couple is safe after being rescued from a snowstorm after three days. KNBC-TV has a video report. No captions but you can read the story here.

Why your next Uber driver might be deaf

A new story from Quartz explains how some deaf drivers have found work with Uber. Susan Johnston Taylor says, "NAD is currently working with Uber to make its app more user-friendly for hard-of-hearing drivers (or partners, as Uber prefers to call them). These initiatives include a flashing light to notify a driver of a ride request (in addition to the existing audio notification), turning off the option to call a deaf driver, and a prompt to make sure passengers enter their destinations." Read the full story here.

Gally's in the middle a tech revolution

Now that the FCC has voted to "phase out TTY teletypewriter systems and transition to RTT on smartphones," Gallaudet becomes an important player in the new technology. Gallaudet’s senior research engineer Norman Williams now holds the patent for RTT. WJLA-TV has a video report (no captions) and a text report here.

Gally's NFL prospect

image from Gallaudet.edu

Carneilus Smith didn't learn sign language until he got to Gallaudet University. He tells NFL Draft Diamonds, "I had deaf roommates and teammates that I had to learn sign language to communicate with them and as well as play on the field with them to lead. Now I’m fluent in ASL in just 4 years." Read the full interview with the football standout here.
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