Implant contest winner from Washington

image from Ideas4Ears contest video

An 8-year-old Washington state girl won the grand prize in an international contest sponsored by her cochlear implant maker, Med-El. Kenzi Cayton and her mom made a short video with her mom which was chosen from the 171 ideas submitted by more than 2000 children in nearly 30 countries,  Her idea for the  Ideas4Ears competition is to create an app that allows people to change the "skins" on their implants by clicking a button. Watch her video submission here. Read the press release about the contest here.

One year ago today: The First US Signing Starbucks

Starbucks opened its first "Signing Store" in the U.S. one year ago today (Oct 23, 2018). It's in Washington D.C. less than a mile from Gallaudet University. Everyone working there is fluent in ASL and wears aprons that display the fingerspelling of "Starbucks." Here's a video report from Radio.com.

Man tried to sexually assault a deaf woman

Police in Forestville, Maryland are looking for the man accused of attempting to sexually assault a woman who had asked for directions earlier this month. The police have released a sketch of the man and a map of where the incident happened, which you can see at WTOP's news site here.

Seattle bar owner upset over new captioning law

image from Google Maps

The owner of the Marco Polo Bar and Grill in Seattle says that while he'll turn on the captioning on the TVs in the bar if someone asks, he doesn't like the city council requiring him to do so. Matt Miera told KIRO radio, that "the closed captioning ordinance, like so many of the city’s recent regulations, is just 'another way to reach into my pocket and take more money.'" The ordinance takes effect later this year and will fine businesses that fail to turn on captioning for everything TV they have on display. Miera asks, “Is the city of Seattle going to require us to have a translator there, to do sign language for the music that’s playing over the jukebox?” Read the full story here.

Closed captioning Becomes Seattle City Law

Closed captioning will be the law in Seattle for TVs in bars, restaurants and other places starting tomorrow (May 1). The City Council voted unanimously for the new city ordinance earlier this month and the mayor signed it into law last week. Councilmember Lisa Herbold sponsored the law and says in a press release:

It’s important to shift the onus from having to request closed captions as a public accommodation to instead create the expectation that folks have it in advance. I especially want to thank Seattle Commission for People with DisAbilities for bringing this issue to my attention, and for making this a top priority in their workplan to support development of this ordinance.

While the law goes into effect on May 1, enforcement won't begin until November. The city will send an advisory letter to businesses not in compliance. After that, businesses face a possible $125 fine, rising to $300 if violations continue. Read the full story from the Seattle Times here.

Seattle may Require Captions at Bars and Restaurants

Seattle is considering a city law that would "require closed captioning to be activated on all TVs in public spaces." KUOW-TV reports that the "proposed legislation would require closed captioning be turned on during business hours in a range of settings where TVs are present, including places like waiting rooms, restaurants and bars." Read the full story here.

Deaf baristas: Starbucks discriminated against us

Two deaf baristas are suing Starbucks, claiming discrimination. They say the manager at the store in Seattle where they worked put them in positions for long hours that were especially difficult for deaf workers and that they were excluded from conversations with other employees, among other things. KIRO-TV has a video report below. There is a captioned video here.

Getting Police up to speed with Terp App

Bellingham’s Hearing, Speech and Deaf Center in Washington State is working with the local police department to get officers access to live interpreters for the deaf. KIRO-TV has a video report.

Teen's encounter with deaf-blind man on flight goes viral

A teenager used tactile signing to help a fellow passenger during their delayed flight. Photos and a Facebook post by another passenger made the encounter go viral. Seattle's King5 has a video report but it does not have captioning. You can read part of the story here.

College graduates its first deaf commercial truck driver

A Washington State Community College has graduated its first deaf commercial truck driver. Justin Brooks "became the first deaf student to graduate from Spokane Community College’s commercial driving program, and he departed on Friday to Kansas City, Missouri, where he has secured a job with a major trucking company," The Spokesman-Review reports. One of the driver instructors is quoted as saying Brooks "was a great student. He already had a great understanding of how the tractor and trailer worked in conjunction with one another, and what to look for. It made my life easy as an instructor.” Read the full story here.

The Cheesecake Factory Settles Lawsuit

The Cheesecake Factory will pay Oleg Ivanov back pay and damages, after the restaurant chain refused to provide him with a sign language interpreter and other accommodations. Ivanov is deaf and worked at the Cheese Factory in downtown Seattle. The EEOC issued a statement, which said in part:

image via WikiMedia Commons Anthony92931

We are pleased that The Cheesecake Factory has agreed to work with the EEOC to help dismantle barriers that individuals with disabilities face in the workplace. The changes will help future deaf applicants and employees at The Cheesecake Factory.

You can see the news release here.

Arson at Resource Center for the Deaf

"A local resource center for the deaf has been targeted, damaged, and defaced for the fourth time this year," reports KATU-TV. Read the full story here.

Deaf Seattle worker Sues Cheesecake Factory

image by NightScream

The Cheesecake Factory is facing a federal lawsuit that claims the restaurant chain didn't provide an interpreter for a dishwasher in Seattle during disciplinary meetings. Oleg Ivanov was shown training videos without captioning and was later fired for missing a shift. Read more about the EEOC suit here.

Seattle Film Fest

The 2016 Seattle Deaf Film Festival gets underway this Thursday. For more information click here.

Scam hits Seattle nonprofit for the deaf

The Seattle Hearing, Speech, and Deafness Center (HSDC) were cheated out of nearly $10,000. Executive director Lindsay Klarman told KING5-TV, "I was in shock, and my stomach just dropped."

Deaf actors to perform at White House

The entire cast of Spring Awakening will perform at the White House this coming Wednesday (Nov. 18). It's part of the 25th year anniversary celebration of ADA. You can even see it live-streamed on Whitehouse.gov here. The Broadway show uses ASL and combines deaf and hearing actors in the presentation.

FCC roundtable event on captioning tomorrow

The FCC is holding a meeting to discuss closed captioning of public access and governmental programming tomorrow (November 10) at the FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC. Topics include "the benefits of captioning such programming, the relevant captioning obligations of programmers and stations, and effective and efficient captioning solutions." The event is free but if you can't attend live captioned video will be available at www.fcc.gov/live. Read the complete announcement here.

FCC plans roundtable event on captioning

The FCC is holding a meeting to discuss closed captioning of public access and governmental programming November 10 at the FCC Headquarters in Washington, DC. Topics include "the benefits of captioning such programming, the relevant captioning obligations of programmers and stations, and effective and efficient captioning solutions." The event is free but if you can't attend live captioned video will be available at www.fcc.gov/live. Read the complete announcement here.

A Deaf Mississippian Cheers For the Seahawks

Image of Derrick Coleman from Seahawks.com

One Mississippian will be cheering for the Seahawks during the Super Bowl--she's deaf just like the team's fullback, Derrick Coleman. Callie Daniels writes, "It’s a relief for me to see someone else who gets it and also shares with the public all the struggles we, the deaf or hard of hearing, have faced. No matter where we grew up or what we did with our lives, we all had the quiet stress of frantically lip-reading a person who mumbles, the cold dread of our batteries dying in middle of an important conversation and the learned endurance of listening to someone who talks to us as if we were all in a Special Education class. I snickered when Coleman said he turns off his hearing aids whenever he encountered a rude person." Read the full story of why Callie calls Coleman her hero here.

New Law Would Create Tax-free Savings Accounts

Congress is considering a bill that would give Americans living with disabilities tax-free savings accounts for long-term expenses. The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act is sponsored by Republican Ander Crenshaw of Florida who is Chairman of the House Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. In the video below, Rep. Crenshaw speaks to his colleagues on the floor of the House about ABLE.