Blind Advocates Call For Sweeping New Laws

by Kevin Burton    This time of year I get multiple notifications of this group or that group observing White Cane Awareness Day.    I tend to gloss them over, but I shouldn’t.    The fact that I can is a testament to the dedication and determination to the many blind people (and our sighted …

Did You Know Churches Can Ignore The ADA?

by Kevin Burton    Can something be legal and also criminal?    A blind woman in Bryan, Texas was denied access to a church in June because of her guide dog. This was legal, due to an ADA exemption I had no idea existed.    But what would Jesus have done?    That’s not even …

New Statue For Wichita, Jail Time For Thief

by Kevin Burton    The man who stole a bronze statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson was sentenced on Friday to 15 years in prison for that and other crimes, as news came that a new statue will arrive in Wichita tomorrow.    Ricky Aldrete said a fentanyl addiction led to the crimes. Wichita police …

Blind Hong Kong Men Pulled Off Airplane

by Emily Hung South China Morning Post    Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways’ budget wing, HK Express, became embroiled in controversy after two visually impaired passengers said they were forced off a flight, triggering outrage from a campaign group for the blind.    But HK Express denied that the men had been forcibly removed and insisted …

Blinded Ukrainian Commander Helps Others

by ABC World News (LVIV, Ukraine) — Col. Oleh Avtomeenko was wounded while performing a combat mission in Donetsk region, in the first days of the Russian full-scale invasion in late Feb. 2022, and lost his eyesight.    And now, after 20 years in the Ukrainian Army, he has to say goodbye to it and …

Feds: Pepsi Discriminated Against The Blind

by Kevin Burton    If you’re looking for something to drink, or somewhere to work, choose Coke, not Pepsi.    According to multiple published reports, PepsiCo hired a blind man for a call center, then fired him rather than get him a screen reader – even after a state vocational rehabilitation counselor offered to buy …

Enid Voters Reject White Supremacist

by Brandy Zadrozny NBC News ENID, Okla. — Voters in Enid decided by a nearly 20-point margin Tuesday to remove a City Council member over his ties to white nationalist groups.     Judd Blevins lost his seat on Enid’s six-member City Council by 268 votes, according to unofficial results from the Oklahoma State Election Board. Nearly …

MLB To Replace Vandalized Robinson Statue

by Kevin Burton    From something heinous, comes something great in Wichita. And who knows how far it will go?    The Statue of Jackie Robinson which was stolen Jan. 25 from McAdams Park in Wichita was found broken beyond repair and burning in a trash can at nearby Garvey Park Tuesday.    But yesterday …

If Fired Illegally, Would You Want Job Back?

by Kevin Burton    UPS will pay $150,000 to settle yet another  employment discrimination case, according to published reports. But this story has a twist I haven’t seen before.    The man illegally fired in violation of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act by the Atlanta-based package delivery company will be, or maybe has been, …

Does ADA Cover A Worker’s Commute?

by Carol Warner Hrmorning.com    When do employers’ ADA obligations kick in? Do compliance requirements start as soon as employees get to work? Or do they begin during the commute — before workers even arrive at the job site?    A newly filed lawsuit puts the question to the test. According to the Equal Opportunity …