Call Center Closing

A relay center for the deaf in Holyoke, Massachusetts is closing. The state choose not to renew the contract of Communication Services for the Deaf. The Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based company owns nearly a dozen such centers around the country that lets people to communicate on the phone by typing text and having it read to another person. Another, unnamed company will take over in July. The move puts 62 people out of work.

Banking for Deaf

A bank in Austin is making video conferencing available, so deaf customers will have interpreters available to them. It’s only available at the downtown headquarters of Frost Bank in conjunction with San Antonio’s Deaf Link. The link is secure and encrypted. Senior vice president of consumer sales, Patti Bliss, is heading up the project. Her son is deaf.

"Hear the World"

Amy Winehouse Dionne Warwick, and Rod Stewart are among the celebrities that have signed up to promote education about hearing loss. They’ve all been photographed cupping their ear for the Hear the World campaign. It was launched by Phonak Hearing Systems.

Phone Plan for Deaf

AT&T plans to offer a new iPhone plan designed for the deaf and hard of hearing. The TAP (Text Accessibility Plan) will run $40 a month. It gets you unlimited data and visual voice mail along with unlimited text messaging. Voice calls will cost 40 cents a minute and a two-year contract is required. Customers who want the plan will have to fill out a forms that verify of a hearing impairment from a health care professional, a speech or language therapist or a nonprofit group working in the area of disabilities.

Winners of Academic Awards

The Indiana School for the Deaf took top honors at the 11th annual National Academic Bowl at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. The Maryland School for the Deaf came in second, followed by Edmonds-Woodway High School of Edmonds, Washington and White Station High School of Memphis, Tennessee. Allison Weiner of the Maryland School for the Deaf was given the award for Outstanding Player, while the Sportsmanship Team Award went to W.T.Woodson High School of Fairfax, Virginia.

Deaf Soldier Headed to Iraq

James Raymond has permanent hearing loss that he suffered during his time in Afghanistan. And now, the Army wants to send him to Iraq. Raymond was given an honorable discharge four years ago. Congressman Brian Higgins is asking the Defense Department to postpone Raymond's deployment so there can be a hearing on his ability to serve. He’s schedule to report to Fort Benning, Georgia next month.

Surcharge Lowered

Nebraska is lowering it's charge to telephone users for communications services for the deaf to only four cents - the lowest since 1991. The surcharge falls a penny starting in July. The relay service for the state can be reached by dialing a toll-free three-digit number (711).

School Board Resignations

The Rhode Island School for the Deaf is in tourmoil after three of the nine trustees recently resigned from the board of directors. The assistant director of administration and operations has also been fired. Board chairman Marc Gursky had a vote of confidence from the teachers’ union before he resigned. He offered no explanation as to why he choose to leave at this time. There is a division over teaching methods to be used with the more than 100 students.

A First for Nevada

Nevada is about to get its first campus dedicated to teaching students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. The Las Vegas Charter School of the Deaf has been six years in the making. It opens this fall with about 25 students. There are more than 400 students in the Clark County School District who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. They are mainstreamed with the help of interpreters and will slowly be moved into the new facility. It will focus on the bilingual-bicultural model, where teachers are ASL fluent but students learn to read and write in English. A search for teachers is underway who are fluent in English and sign language.

Captioning for Political Ads

A proposed Minnesota law would force candidates for state-level offices to include closed captioning on broadcast ads and Web sites promotions. The bill has already passed the state senate. But there are loopholes in the measure: Campaigns can opt out by submitting an explanation to state regulators explaining why they haven’t followed the news rules and they also can post transcripts for radio ads on their Web site. The law wouldn’t apply at all to campaigns that skip public financing.

Matlin Hangs Up Her Dancing Shoes

Marlee Matlin was voted off Dancing with the Stars tonight. She thanked the judges, her family and Henry Winkler for his support. She also thanked Fabian her partner "for giving me the most beautiful art of dance in my life." The deaf actress will appear on Jimmy Kimmel live later this evening.

A First for Japan

Japan’s first school dedicated to the use of sign language is now open in Tokyo and teaching about 40 students. It’s the effort of a nonprofit organization called Bilingual Bicultural Education Center for Deaf Children. Japanese sign language has long been unofficially used by deaf people in Japan to communicate because the focus has been oral education. Until last year, the education ministry had rejected requests to use of sign language and the BBEC had to ask for donations at fundraisers and over the Internet.

Billboard Controversy

Some people in the Deaf community say they are offended by a billboard in Nebraska. It’s a promotion for the Omaha Hearing School and reads:

The secret’s out... Deaf children can listen and talk.

The school offers oral and auditory education. Those who are committed to Deaf Culture and American Sign Language see it as a insult, pushing kids away from the Deaf community. The school considers it a positive message.

Matlin Gets Low Marks

Marlee Matlin had the lowest marks of any celebrity on tonight’s Dancing with the Stars. All three judges gave the deaf actress seven points. Even having a partner who is a World Mambo Champion didn’t help. Marlee looked stiff, barely moving her mid-section. Before dancing, she called her friend Henry Winkler who offered her a pre-show pep talk. Find out if she survives to dance again on tomorrow night’s show.

Sweet Nothing in My Ear

Actress Marlee Matlin stars in the new film Sweet Nothing in My Ear along with Jeff Daniels that airs tonight at 9pm on CBS. They play husband and wife who battle over whether to give their son a cochlear implant. The Hallmark Hall of Fame movie was adapted for the screen from a play by Stephen Sachs. Director Joseph Sargent has won four Emmys. For the role, Daniels had to study sign language and many deaf actors had parts in the cast.

Real Eby

A former Gallaudet University sports star is trying his hand at pro soccer. Matthew Eby (pronounced EE-bee) plays for the Real Maryland Monarchs as a reserve defender. The Monarchs are on the third rung of the professional ranks and Eby is believed to be the only professional deaf soccer player in the US. He’s been deaf since birth and grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Monarchs make their debut by hosting the Western Massachusetts Pioneers later today.

The Risks of Interpreting

Sign language interpreting is one of the jobs most likely to give you a problems with carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis. That’s according to a new study by the Rochester Institute of Technology. The research suggests interpreting causes more physical stress than jobs like assembly line work. The study goes even further, suggesting there’s a link between increased ergonomic risk and the mental and cognitive stress of the work. Details are in the journal Ergonomics and more studies are planned.

Matlin Stays on Show

Marlee Matlin survived tonight's competition on ABC's Dancing With The Stars. She was in the bottom three but Priscilla Presley didn't fair so well. The oldest competitor (at 62) was sent home. The second lowest vote-getter was was Chilean actor Cristian De La Fuente. Besides Matlin, other stars still in the hunt include pro football player Jason Taylor, Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi, R&B singer Mario, and actors Shannon Elizabeth, Cristian de la Fuente, and Marissa Jaret Winokur.

The Lyric

A new hearing aid called the Lyric by InSound Medical falls somewhere between a cochlear implant and a traditional hearing aid. Instead of implanting the device in the inner ear (like an implant), doctors place the Lyric deep inside the ear canal, about a sixth of an inch from the ear drum. The procedure does not require surgery or anesthesia. But it can be removed in just a few moments with the help of a small magnet. The Lyric can remain in the ear 24 hours a day and batteries can last as long as four months. The risk of infection is removed by placing a spongy material around it to allow moisture to escape. Users pay a yearly subscription fee of about $3000 for two devices (for each ear). About 15% of potential users will not be able to use them because of narrow ear canals. But for those who do, doctors say the result is more natural sound than traditional hearing aids because it does not need much amplification. About a dozen clinics are offering them in California, Florida and New Jersey are offering the Lyric now and by the end of the year 100 sites will do so. Johnson & Johnson is a major investor in the Newark, California company.

Extra Jail Time

Lanny Steptoe says his arrest on a charge of passing false checks cost him extra time in jail because Houston’s Harris County isn’t equipped properly for the deaf. He wasn’t able to call his family because the jail has old text phones that aren’t compatible with newer video phones. The Sherriff’s office says it’s looking into getting some new equipment.