Access World Talking ATM Article

Posted on Updated on February 11, 2021
This article Lainey wrote about Talking ATMs was published in January, 2003 in AccessWorld(R), a publication of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Part 2 of this Article, titled “You Can Bank on It, Part 2: Advocacy, Outreach, and Legal Authority for Talking ATMs,” can be found in the March, 2003 issue of Access World. Read more… Access World Talking ATM Article

The First U.S. Web Accessibility Agreement was Signed Twenty Years Ago this Week

Posted on Updated on February 3, 2021
Twenty years ago this week (on March 14, 2000) Bank of America became the first company in the United States to sign an agreement to make its website accessible to people with disabilities. The agreement referenced the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 1.0 at a time when the standard was less than one year old.… Read more… The First U.S. Web Accessibility Agreement was Signed Twenty Years Ago this Week

West Valley College improves technology for students in Structured Negotiation

Posted on Updated on January 18, 2021
On August 26, 2020, the TRE Legal Practice announced a settlement with West Valley College that ensures blind students have access to critical educational technology, including immersive virtual language tools. Reached in Structured Negotiation without a lawsuit, among other things the agreement mandates that future procurement contracts must include provisions requiring technology vendors to deliver… Read more… West Valley College improves technology for students in Structured Negotiation

Boston Globe Story about Brian Charlson and MLB.com Access Improvements

Posted on Updated on October 27, 2020
Blind Sox Fan Gets MLB to Even Game Like any true Red Sox fan, Brian Charlson attends as many games as possible and listens to the rest, play by play, on the radio. But when it came to reading stats, his blindness sometimes got in the way. Not any longer. At the urging of Charlson and fellow advocates, Major League Baseball rolled out a series of accessibility features this week on all league and team websites aimed at making statistics, ticketing, and other information fully accessible to the visually impaired. “It’s exciting that MLB has joined with us in this effort, hearing what the blindness community needs to take full advantage of this wonderful thing that is baseball. They are setting the stage for other sports to do likewise. Next season I’ll be asking the NFL, and I’ll say, ‘See what MLB can do? You don’t want to be outshined by the MLB.’” Read more… Boston Globe Story about Brian Charlson and MLB.com Access Improvements

Houston Transit Agency Announces Digital Access Initiative

Posted on Updated on October 25, 2020
METROPOLITAN TRANSIT AUTHORITY OF HARRIS COUNTY ANNOUNCES DIGITAL ACCESSIBILITY INITIATIVE: HOUSTON (March 17, 2016) — Consistent with its commitment to all of its riders, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (“METRO”) today announced an initiative to make its affiliated websites, mobile applications, and print formation more accessible and inclusive. METRO is taking the lead in the public transportation field regarding online accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. The organization adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA as its accessibility standard and is making enhancements to work toward meeting this standard. Read more… Houston Transit Agency Announces Digital Access Initiative

Catherine Skivers: Organizer, Activist, Friend, Blind Community Leader

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
[Update: Catherine Skivers died on December 12, 2019, a week after this post was written.] Catherine Skivers came to California in 1949 at the age of 23 with the man she had married at 16. Within a year, her husband had left her, offering her a one-way bus ticket back to her family in Missouri.… Read more… Catherine Skivers: Organizer, Activist, Friend, Blind Community Leader

Bank of America Honored for Accessibility Work; Structured Negotiation Gets Shout Out

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
On October 21, 2019 friends and supporters of Disability Rights Advocates, a national nonprofit disability rights legal center, gathered in New York to celebrate the organization and honor this year’s Eagle Award recipients. One of the honorees was Bank of America, a long-time digital accessibility and disability inclusion leader and Structured Negotiation champion. The picture… Read more… Bank of America Honored for Accessibility Work; Structured Negotiation Gets Shout Out

2019 CSUNATC Digital Accessibility Legal Update

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
On March 13, 2019, I presented the 2019 Digital Accessibility Legal Update to a packed house at the annual CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. With so much content, and no recordings, I try to follow up the powerpoint with a post like this one — summarizing this year’s updates with links to more information for those who are curious. And since it took me a month to get this out, there are even two new items in this post that were not part of the update. Read more… 2019 CSUNATC Digital Accessibility Legal Update

Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
At the 2018 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference last month I had the wonderful opportunity to present with Microsoft lawyer Sue Boyd. Our session was titled Beyond Compliance: Staying Out in Front of Digital Accessibility Legal Trends. Our talk focused on the ingredients needed to bake accessibility into an organization. The audience even got homemade chocolate chip cookies to drive home the theme. Check out this post for the full recipe! Read more… Recipe for Staying Ahead of the Legal Curve: Bake Accessibility into Your Organization