Deaf Camp Vandalized

image from Aspen Camp of the Deaf
and Hard of Hearing Facebook page

Someone has vandalized the Aspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Colorado. The camp rented out its cabins to Airbnb guests this past weekend while Aspen hosted the X-Games, according to KUSA-TV. But one of the groups caused about $4,000 of damages to the camp's common area. Read more at KUSA here. You'll find the camp's Facebook page here with more information and an ASL video.
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Dad Sues School Systems over Treatment of Deaf Son

Jeff Beck is suing Sumner County Schools in Tennessee over the education of his deaf son. WTOL-TV has a video report. No captions but you can read the story here.

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Proposed Florida Terp Law

image from myfloridahouse.gov

The Florida House unanimously approved a bill today that would require the state officials to hire a qualified sign language interpreter at televised hurricane briefings. The bill was motivated by having a man incompetantly attempt to interpret evacuation orders just before Hurricane Irma. The bill is sponsored by Richard Stark and you can read the text of the bill here.

What you need to know about emergency cellphone alerts

Following a false alarm in Hawaii that a ballistic missile was on its way, state and federal officials are reconsidering how emergency cellphone alerts are set up. CNET has gathered some of the basic information about the system here.

City Council says "no" to paying for Interpreter

Cleveland's City Council is refusing to pay for sign-language interpreters at its meetings. Rico Dancy asked for an interpreter back in October, according to Cleveland.com. The City Council provided interpreters for three meetings but now has told him he isn't deaf enough to justify an interprter. Read the full story here.

Arrest in Hit-and-Run Death of Deaf Man

Prosecutors are identifying the man who led Jersey City police on a chase in a stolen SUV on Tuesday. They say Oriental Hamlet of Jersey City is facing charges of aggravated manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident. Hamlet hit and killed Umar King who worked for FedEx worker and was a comedian on the side. Two other suspects feld on foot. Below is video with survellence footage of the SUV when Hamlet crashed. No captions but you can read the story at the Daily Mail here.

Deaf space professionals inspire Deaf Students

Deaf professionals from the space industry visited students at Austin's Texas School for the Deaf this week. KHOU-TV has a video reporter.

Researchers: Kids with Implants Learn Words Faster

German researchers claim children with cochlear implants learn words faster than those with normal hearing. Niki Vavatzanidis tells News Medical that children typically need about 14 months to spot mislabeled objects, but children with an implant were able to do so after only 12 months. Another researcher said, "Children with cochlear implants could help us understand the general processes of language acquisition and determine which single steps are age-dependent." Read the full story here.

Deaf Man Killed by Stolen SUV

The driver of a stolen SUV hit and killed a deaf man in Jersey city, New Jersey Tuesday. A friend of the victim told WABC-TV, "He was a gentle person. He would give his jacket off his back. Support you in anything. Kind-hearted person, loving person." There's more on the story in this video or read details here.

5 years ago today: Gally Prof dies in fire

Image from Gallaudet University

It was on this day (Jan. 23) in 2013 that Gallaudet lost one of its professors. Laura Snyder-Gardner and her teenage daughter, Marry Ann, died in a fire in the northern Virginia town of Falls Church. They had moved from Florida to the DC suburb just a couple of years before. Neighbors say the neighborhood was rocked by a loud noise before the fire broke out. Gardner was 48 years old and had worked at Gallaudet since 2009. She served as an assistant coach of the girls' soccer team at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf last year.

Airline changes it Service Animal Policy

Delta Airlines plans to impose tighter restrictions on animals brought on board its airplanes. Many people have started bringing their pets with them when the travel, pretending they are service animals to take advantage of ADA law. Starting in March 1, Delta will require advance documentation before boarding animals to certify the owner’s need and the animal’s training. The annoucement also says:

Delta has seen an 84 percent increase in reported animal incidents since 2016, including urination/defecation, biting and even a widely reported attack by a 70-pound dog. In 2017, Delta employees reported increased acts of aggression (barking, growling, lunging and biting) from service and support animals, behavior not typically seen in these animals when properly trained and working.

Read the full details of the change from Delta here.

The deaf six-year-old hoping for an Oscar

Profoundly deaf six year old Maisie Sly is the star of The Silent Child, a short film which could be vying for an Oscar. Find out more about it in this BBC video.

Lawsuit Claims School Failed to Accommodate Deaf Students

image from dcc.edu

Two deaf students are have filed a lawsuit against a Louisiana community college for not providing them with interpreters. Lee Em Bruce and Ronneka Smith says they tried to work with officials on campus but were not accomodated, so they've filed a suit against the Delgado Community College. Read the full story here.

Deaf School Leaders Want to Drop ASL Requirement for Superintendent

A deaf school wants to change a rule requiring it's leader to know sign language and have experience working with deaf children. The South Dakota Board of Regents is asking the state legisalture to make the change over the objections of parents and educators so that it will be easier to combine the leadership of the state deaf school and the state blind school. Read the full story in the Argus Leader here.

Deaf University Student hit by Truck

A deaf student at National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester was hit by a truck last night. WHAM-TV says the student had "serious injuries" and offers this video report.

Spotting Implant Users Who are Falling Behind

Some deaf children with cochlear implants still lag behind their hearing peers in educational development. Researchers are now using brain MRIs to "construct a machine-learning algorithm to predict language development," reports WTTW-TV. They hope the results will make it easier to spot the children with implants who are falling behind. Read the full story here.

Changing Netflix Captions on Your iPhone

image from Netflix video

You can customize the font, size, color, and the background pretty easily on most devices. But on an iPhone, the process is different. The same is true for an iPad and Apple TV. You can read a step-by-step guide as to how to do it
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IRS Warns of Video Relay Scam Targeting Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Every day scammers come up with new ways to steal taxpayers’ identities and personal information. Some scammers pretend to be from the IRS with one goal in mind: to steal money. Be aware that con artists will use video relay services (VRS) to try to scam deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Don’t become a victim. Deaf and hard of hearing taxpayers should avoid giving out personal and financial information to anyone they do not know. Always confirm that the person requesting personal information is who they say they are.

The tour's first deaf golfer is not giving up on his chase

Kevin Hall has spent 14 years on the PGA Tour. At one time, he won the Big Ten Championship while golfing for Ohio State. Now he toils in the sport's minors. He tells Yahoo Sports, "Golf is what I do, but in the grand scheme of things, God is using me to serve as an inspiration to others." Read the full story here.

Deaf Studies Archive receives grant to digitize rare videos

More that 60 video tapes decumenting the ASL poetry and literature movement in Rochester will be lost unless they are digitized—and now the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester has the funds to transfer the video. "The digitized videos will be one of the largest collections of online publicly accessible rare ASL literature in the country," according to the NTID. Read more about the project here.

How Biotech is Trying to fix Hearing Loss

"At least half a dozen biotechs are working on potential breakthroughs in the way hearing loss is treated. But it’s unclear if the drugs they’re developing will be ready in time to help hearing-impaired boomers, some of whom are in their 70s," the Boston Glove Reports. David Lucchino, chief executive of Frequency, told the paper:

“There’s a fundamental transformation happening in hearing regeneration. We’re figuring out how to hot-wire the hair cells in the inner ear that die off during a lifetime of being exposed to noise.”

Read the full article here.

Gally wins Helmet Bowl

Gallaudet University in Washington, DC has won Helmet Tracker's Helmet Bowl competition. The company searches for new uses of technology to help equipment managers do their jobs more effectively. Read more about how Gallaudet won here. Below is a video report from Fox5dc recorded before the final results were announced.

Civil War pivotal in deaf history

"The (American) Civil War dramatically changed the course of deaf people’s lives. In many ways, the national crisis empowered many to believe in their own abilities," writes Harry G. Lang, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Lang explains out it brought "the nation's deaf population out of society's shadows. Read about it in Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle.

Denver woman’s lawsuit Leads to Captioning at Pepsi Center

The owner of Denver’s Pepsi Center has made an agreement to settle a lawsuit over captioning. If a judge approves, the Kroenke Arena Company would be required to provide captioning on the video boards inside the arena for nearly all the sporting events. Kirstin Kurlander, who is deaf, filed the original suit and is quoted as saying, “I am happy that Kroenke and the Pepsi Center have agreed to provide captioning at the Pepsi Center so deaf and hard of hearing patrons will finally have equal access to the games at that arena.” Read more from the Denver Post here.

Deaf Girl to Sign the National Anthem Before the College Championship Game

12-year-old Carly Ortega will sign the national anthem at the college football championship game Monday night. The Zac Brown Band play the Star-Spangled Banner before the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama's Crimson Tide face off. Carly told WSB-TV that she is doing it in honor of her mother who recently died of cancer but admits, "I’m going to be nervous and pretty scared."

This Deaf School "needs an overhaul"

image from lalsd.org

The Louisiana School for the Deaf needs an overhaul, says a member of the state's top school board. The Associated Press quotes, Kathy Edmonston, a member of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, as saying, "A couple of issues brought up by the folks that I have been working with from the deaf community feel like the kids are not getting a quality education at the school." Read the full story here.