Far From Being Obsolete, Braille Is Essential

by Tracy Conly    (Tracy Conly is a longtime friend from our days at the Ohio State School for the Blind, a great Braille reader and advocate for the blind. This is her reaction to our March 15 story “A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy.”)    “Braille changes lives. It gives thousands …

Nebraska Town Divided Over Immigration

by Didi Martinez, Julia Ainsley and  Laura Strickler, NBC News FREMONT, Neb. — Big-city mayors may be complaining about the economic impact of an influx of migrants, but the residents of a small city near Omaha can’t decide how they feel.    Fremont, Nebraska, population 27,000, has three massive meat-processing plants. As young locals leave in …

A New Tool In The Fight For Braille Literacy

by Kevin Burton    Last week we ran a story about subjects that are either gone from classrooms or close to it (“Subjects No Longer Taught (Much) In Schools,” March 6.)    That got me thinking about Braille.     While growing up at the Ohio State School for the Blind, I just assumed that all …

British Businesses Say No To The Blind

by Sophie Huskisson The Daily Mirror    Twenty percent of businesses say they would not be willing to adapt their workplaces to employ a blind or partially sighted person, research has found.    One in five companies said adjustments to make their firm more accessible would be too costly, with nearly half not knowing how …

Canada: So Close, So Livable, Why Not?

by Kevin Burton  Americans alarmed and disgusted by extreme left-wing and right-wing elements destroying their country bit by bit, can look north to a quite agreeable landing spot.       We posted part of a BBC story, stating that Mexico is the favorite location for expatriates (“Survey Names Mexico best Location For Expats,” Sept. 16).    …

British Fish And Chips Is Endangered, Why?

by Josh Lederman NBC News HASTINGS, England — Ever since she was old enough to walk, Terrilea Coglan was climbing aboard fishing boats that set sail each morning from the rocky beachfront of Hastings to harvest the key ingredient in Britain’s most iconic dish: fish and chips.    The day’s catch travels just a short …

Discrimination Common For The Disabled

by Julia Metraux Mother Jones    After becoming blind in his late 20s, designer and artist Marco Salsiccia had to learn to navigate the world through assistive technology—like a screen reader, software that speaks digital text and image descriptions aloud.    Leveraging that experience, Salsiccia began work as an accessibility specialist, eventually working part-time at a well-known …

Discrimination By The Slice At Papa John’s

by Kevin Burton    Papa John’s Pizza is being sued by the federal government for employment discrimination against a blind man, according to published accounts.    This story has been widely reported. Much of my information comes from a story by Michael E. Kanell in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.      Thought I would mention this …

Suit Alleges Discrimination By Blind Agency

by Kevin Burton    Some of the government and non-profit agencies which ostensibly serve the blind, really don’t.    If I said these agencies had “blind spots” that would be a clever play on words. But many of them are willfully blind, no blind spot about it.    What you often see is an agency …

Thursdays With Mom: Golden Memories

by Kevin Burton    I took custody of the gold yesterday.  Didn’t make me any richer, not in the monetary sense anyway.     The transaction took place at my mother’s apartment at an assisted living facility twelve miles north of where I live.  I go there to visit her just about every Thursday.  We are …