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- ADAPT (553)
June 12, 1990 - Guardian. 5 Disabled 'ecstatic' as rights act clears House By DIANE COLEMAN The Americans with Disabilities Act, considered by many to be the most sweeping civil rights legislation since the 1964 Civil Rights Act, easily cleared the House of Representatives May 22. It is expected to reach the president‘s desk by July 4. The act prohibits discrimination based on disability in public accommodations, employment, transportation and telecommunications. It is intended to address "rampant, daily discrimination in every sphere of American life,“ Rep. Pat Schroeder, D-Colo., told her colleagues on the House floor. “Mentally retarded persons are kept out of restaurants. Persons with cerebral palsy are turned away from theaters. . . . Employers cite fears of hiring disabled persons because their customers will feel uncomfortable or even repulsed,” Schroeder added. Despite strong opposition from private business and transportation lobbies, chief among them the National Federation of Independent Businesses and Greyhound Lines, Inc. , the Americans With Disabilities Act achieved bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. The House vote was 403-29. Under pressure from the NFIB and the National Restaurant Association, the House version of the bill was amended at the last minute to allow employers to remove people with HIV infection from food handling positions. Sponsored by Rep. Jim Chapman, the amendment passed narrowly, although the Texas Democrat conceded there is no “evidence that‘AIDS can be transferred in the process of handling food.” Tom Sheridan of AIDS Action, representing 500 community-based service organizations, predicted that the Chapman amendment would go down to defeat in the House-Senate conference committee. “It’s a horrible amendment for all people with disabilities because . . . it begins to codify the fact that irrational fear is protected by the law,” he said. Nonetheless at press time Senate conferees had agreed to include the restrictions. “Cheers and tears” filled the House gallery at the moment of the ADA's long-awaited passage, according to Tennessee disabled activist Michael Gibson, “but we all know that the bill is only a first step. Several agencies will be writing key regulations which offer innumerable opportunities to weaken the effect of this legislation,” Gibson said. SOME DELAYS, FEW LOSSES While many activists feared the House would water down the Senate version of the bill, Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund said that the ADA “has not been weakened anywhere near the extent that much legislation is. " According to Golden, who has worked intensively for the bill's passage over the last two years, various timetables and phase-in provisions were adopted to avoid other forms of compromise. The ADA’s protections against employment discrimination, which parallel those applied to federally funded entities since 1973, do not go into effect for two years. Prohibitions against discrimination in public accommodations, such as theaters and restaurants, will require accessibility in facilities “construct[ed] . . . for first occupancy no later than 30 months after the date of enactment." Telephone companies will have three years to put in place a relay service for deaf people and others who depend on non-voice telecommunication. A requirement that all new public buses be lift-equipped will take effect in only 30 days. Many attribute this to seven years of non-violent civil disobedience by the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit. Greyhound, a private carrier, was given six years to begin replacing its retired buses with accessible ones. Activists also waged a last-minute battle over employment discrimination remedies. Recently proposed legislation would add damages to the relief available to discrimination victims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the face of this, Golden said. the Bush administration tried “to renege on its agreement for parallelism” between the ADA and the 1964 act. It backed an amendment that would have kept remedies for disability-based discrimination at current levels if and when discrimination remedies are increased for other minority groups and women. The amendment was narrowly defeated just prior to the final vote on the bill itself. Overall, Golden said. “We're ecstatic." The ADA “will hopefully begin to convey to the American public. left, center and right (because in some ways I don't think the consciousness of the left is any better), that disability is not a personal issue, that there’s a systematic oppression of people with disabilities. . . . Even Congress has faced the fact of the systematic discrimination. " PHOTO (by Tom Olin): A closer view of a mass of marchers coming around a huge tree on a broad sidewalk leading up to the Capitol. Stephanie Thomas, Frank Lozano, Jennifer Keelan and others lead the march which is 12 across in some places and scattered in others. The ADAPT flag (an American Flag with the stars arranged in the wheelchair symbol instead of in rows) flies over the crowd from a few rows back. Some people are in suits and ties, some in T-shirts. Some are in wheelchairs, some carry cameras; children to older folks are in the mix. Caption reads: Seven years of nonviolent civil disobedience by the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit has been credited for the requirement that all new buses be lift-equipped. Above, ADAPT march on U.S. Capitol. - ADAPT (575)
PHOTO (Tom Olin): A man (George Roberts) is seated at the bottom of the flight of stairs up to the Capitol building. His feet are cross and legs tense from CP. A couple of standing people are getting ready to assist him by lifting him up the steps, apparently one at a time; they each are holding one of his arms. Higher on the flight a woman and a child in light blue ADAPT shirts are heading up the steps. Still higher, a couple of men in suits are lifting a manual wheelchair (without a person in it) up the stairs. Still higher someone on a crutch is climbing the steps and someone else is crawling up by the railing in the middle of the stairs as a camera-man films. Still higher a few others are reaching the top of the flight of stairs. The white Capitol dome and building are set against the blue sky. - ADAPT (548)
Denver Post 7/27/90 Bush signs rights bill for disabled Anti-discrimination act called world's strongest by Denver Post Staff and Wire Reports With row upon row of disabled Americans cheering and sometimes weeping with happiness, President Bush yesterday signed landmark legislation banning discrimination against the disabled. The legislation, considered the world's strongest civil rights protection for the disabled, prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications. Bush backed it strongly and Congress approved it despite opposition from some business groups who argued it would be too costly and would produce an explosion of lawsuits. The president appealed to business, saying: “You have in your hands the key to the success of this act, for you can unlock a splendid resource of untapped human potential.” Some 2,000 disabled visitors and their families, some in wheelchairs, some deaf with interpreters, some blind with Seeing-Eye dogs, attended the ceremony in Washington to create what Bush called “this splendid scene of hope spread across the South Lawn of the White House." In Denver, disabled activists said the national law would give new momentum to local access and fairness programs that already are well ahead of most cities. “It’s unfortunate that it takes an act of Congress to give equal opportunity to all citizens, but now it’s there, and we can get some work done,” said Bill Farrell, chairman of the Denver Commission for People With Disabilities. Mayor Federico Pena said the city would speed up its program to add wheelchair ramps on street curbs and convene a conference next April to address the disability act's effects on Denver. The city also will consider waiving permit fees and other ways to help small businesses make renovations to accommodate the disabled. PHOTO (by Associated Press): Medium close up of President George H.W. Bush (41) is sitting outside at a table with three piles of paper in front of him. He is turned away from the camera and toward an older man dressed in black (Rev. Harold Wilke) to give him a pen with which Bush was signing the A.D.A. The Reverend, smiling, stands behind Bush and lifts his foot up to take the pen with his toes. Beside the two of them and at the end of the table another man in a suit (Evan Kemp) sits and smiles broadly as he watches the transaction. Caption reads: SIGNING: The Rev. Harold Wilke accepts a pen from President Bush at the signing of the disabilities act yesterday. Wilke has no arms and uses his feet for hands. Evan Kemp, left, ls chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission. - ADAPT (613)
El Paso Times Tuesday, Feb. 14, 1989 p.6A [Headline] Court: New buses must have Wheelchair lifts Associated Press PHILADELPHIA — A federal appeals court Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities across the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their" programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses," The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. The coalition contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation money to exclude the handicapped from “effective and meaningful" access. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. TEXT BOX INSERT: El Paso already buying buses with access El Paso already has a policy that requires wheelchair lifts on all buses, said Mark Dorfman, director of the city's Sun Metro bus service. The policy has been in effect since 1987, when voters approved a half-percent sales tax to finance the city's bus system. City officials promised voters that the additional money from the sales tax would allow all new buses to be equipped with wheelchair lifts, Dorfman said. “We’re getting ready to take bids for 84 new buses, and one of the specifications is that they have lifts,” he said. Dorfman said wheelchair lifts add an average of $15,000 to the cost of a bus. - ADAPT (612)
RMN [Rocky Mountain News] 2/14/89 [Headline] U.S. requires wheelchair lifts on transit authority buses PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court yesterday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities across the country to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit that led to the ruling called it the most important decision ever handed down for handicapped people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses.” The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities need to spend on making transportation accessible. A coalition of disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the handicapped from “effective and meaningful” access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of handicapped-accessible transportation: accessible buses, special vans for the handicapped, or a combination of the two. U.S. District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. He also overturned a regulation requiring authorities to spend no more than 3% of their average annual operating costs on transportation for the handicapped. Katz called the limit arbitrary and said it allowed transit agencies “to eviscerate the civil right” to transit service. Circuit Judge Carol Los Mansmann, in writing the 2-1 opinion, also cited Congress’ intent. “Congress wanted to provide the disabled with the capability to utilize mass transit to the ‘maximum extent feasible.’ The DOT has failed to show that requiring the future purchase of accessible buses oversteps this legislative intent.” In a dissenting opinion, Judge Morton I. Greenberg said the section requiring new buses to be accessible was not meant to apply to transit systems choosing a para-transit system. - ADAPT (611)
THE DENVER POST Saturday, September 9, 1989 [Headline] New disabled-rights bill will challenge society By Charles Green Knight-Ridder News Service WASHINGTON — When Congress banned discrimination against blacks 25 years ago, the premise of the legislation was straightforward: Blacks and other racial minorities were supposed to be treated like everyone else. Now, as Congress moves to prohibit bias against the physically and mentally disabled, it is finding that discrimination is not so easy to define. ls it discriminatory, for instance, for a department store to stock merchandise that is out of reach of a customer in a wheelchair? Is it discriminatory for an employer to reject blind job applicants who would need someone to occasionally read memos and papers to them? Is it discriminatory for a child-care center to refuse to hire someone infected with the AIDS virus? Those are some of the questions that government regulators and the courts are likely to be addressing once the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed the Senate Thursday night, becomes law. “In terms of its impact on American society, this is going to bring an equal if not greater change to society than the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” predicted the bill’s chief Senate sponsor, Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa. But reconciling the sweeping promises of the new legislation with the economic realities of modern American life won't be easy. “I’m not sure we're not going to be revisiting this legislation" after its effects are better known, predicted Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee. The legislation still must clear the House and be signed by President Bush, but few obstacles are expected. Bush has already endorsed the measure and House sponsors predict swift consideration, starting with hearings next week. The bill holds both enormous promise for the estimated 43 million disabled Americans and countless questions for the employers, business establishments and transit operators that would have to comply with it. The bill’s promise stems from its rationale: that disabled Americans can participate more fully in society if barriers to their participation are removed. “It will be the legal and philosophical foundation on which to build a truly equal opportunity society," said Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. “Equal opportunity for the disabled is wonderful. Nobody is going to argue with that, but the practical realities are that there will be large costs associated with that,” said Nancy Fulco, an attorney with the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. And, as Fulco noted, Congress wants businesses to pick up the costs. Thus far, it has included no financial assistance or tax breaks to help firms comply with the expense of complying with the disabilities bill. The bill requires employers to make workplace changes to accommodate disabled employees unless they would cause an “undue hardship." But the determination of “hardship” is left for regulators and the courts to decide. Likewise, businesses must be made accessible to disabled customers so long as the alterations are “readily achievable,” another standard that will be left for regulators and courts to determine. The changes won't be required at once. Many provisions will not take effect for two years after enactment. Even so, it could take years for businesses to sort out what’s required and for the disabled to begin feeling the impact of the law. “There's no doubt in my mind that the first time some businesses find out about this is when they‘re slapped with a lawsuit," said Fulco. "Small businesses will have to hire an attorney to tell them what they should be doing or not doing.“ - ADAPT (610)
Rocky Mountain News 9/8/89 [Headline] Senate OKs disabled-rights bill [Subheading] Access to jobs, transit, eateries guaranteed for AIDS victims, too WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate voted 76-8 last night to approve legislation to guarantee 43 million disabled Americans — including most AIDS victims —- rights to employment, transportation and the use of restaurants and other businesses. Lawmakers debated the bill with sign-language interpreters allowed on the Senate floor for the first time in the institution’s history to make the proceedings available to deaf audiences watching in the galleries and on television. Supporters likened the Americans With Disabilities Act to the Civil Rights Act 25 years ago that guaranteed blacks and other minorities their right to participate fully in American society. The act is “a 20th century Emancipation Proclamation for people with disabilities,” said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the bill's chief sponsor. Fifty-nine senators of both parties added their names to the legislation. An amendment made Congress subject to the law. “The Americans with Disabilities Act is a landmark statement of basic human rights that will make the promise of equal opportunity a reality. for 43 million Americans with disabilities,” said Harkin. Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., had challenged a definition of disabled that includes people with the AIDS virus, saying 85% are homosexuals or drug users. “This bill responds to those 15% who are not," said Harkin, who also quoted the health and human services Secretary, Dr. Louis Sullivan, as saying there is no medical reason for discrimination against AIDS sufferers. The legislation prohibits employment discrimination by businesses with 15 or more employees, although the limit would be 25 employees for the first two years. All privately owned stores, restaurants and other businesses would be prohibited from discrimination. All new buses would have to be made accessible. Area lawmakers voting against the measure were William Armstrong, R-Colo., Malcolm Wallop, R-Wyo., and Jake Garn, R-Utah. - ADAPT (609)
Austin American-Statesman ~ Tuesday, February 14, 1989 [Headline] Court mandates Wheelchair access on nation’s buses PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court Monday ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to require transit authorities nationwide to equip new buses with wheelchair lifts. Attorneys who brought the lawsuit called the ruling the most important decision ever handed down for disabled people needing public transportation. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with another allowing communities to offer only an alternative service, such as special vans, to the handicapped. The court said a rule requiring reservations 24 hours in advance for use of the alternative transportation hinders the spontaneous use of mass transit by the handicapped. As a result, the court ordered transit authorities to make “reasonable accommodations to their programs, i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses.” The court also upheld a controversial decision requiring the Transportation Department to eliminate a cap on the amount of money transit authorities must spend on making transportation accessible. In Austin, Anthony Kouneski, general manager of Capital Metro, said-Monday's decision “will not significantly affect our service.” Kouneski said more than 50 percent of Capital Metro's buses already are equipped with wheelchair lifts, and that 80 vehicles on order also will be equipped with lifts. He said Capital Metro also operates Special Transit Service vans for people whose disabilities prevent the use of conventional wheelchair lifts. A coalition of "disabled people and 12 organizations called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation filed the lawsuit last year. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the disabled from “effective and meaningful" access. The provision allows transit authorities to decide among three types of transportation: accessible buses, special vans for the handicapped, or a combination of the two. US District Judge Marvin Katz overturned the provision in cases where the transit authority buys any buses. He also overturned a regulation requiring authorities to spend no more than 3 percent of their average annual operating costs on transportation for the disabled. Katz called the limit arbitrary. Timothy Gold [sic, really Timothy Cook], who argued the case before the court, said the ruling was “a major, major victory for the handicapped community.” He said he hoped the ruling would not be appealed. - ADAPT (608)
The NATIONAL DISABILITY ACTION CENTER Timothy M. Cook, Director For Immediate Release Contact: Timothy M. Cook 202/467-5730 DISABILITY GROUPS DELIGHTED BY DOT RULING ON ACCESSIBLE BUSES United States Transportation Department Secretary Samuel Skinner, stating his strong "support of policies that would substantially improve access to mass transit services for handicapped persons," today proposed a new regulation "requiring all new buses to be accessible,“ and "requiring supplemental paratransit service . . comparable to the service for the general public for persons who could not use the fixed route transit service." The regulation was issued in response to a court suit brought by Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) and twelve other national disability organizations. Wade Blank, head of ADAPT, stated that he was "delighted that the Administration finally has followed through on its commitment to persons with disabilities." The regulation will require all buses that are newly purchased or remanufactured to include wheelchairs lifts in their design and manufacture. According to Timothy M. Cook, of the Washington—based National Disability Action Center, the attorney for the disability groups, "this new rule will immensely enhance the lives of persons with disabilities throughout the country. It will open education, employment, and social opportunities heretofore closed to individuals with disabilities simply because they have had no way to get there." -30- - ADAPT (607)
[Headline] Disabled score transit win [Subheading] Court: Buses must have wheelchair lifts BY The Associated Press The Standard Times 2-14-89 New Bedford, Mass PHILADELPHIA — A U.S. appeals court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses nationwide is the most important victory yet for disabled Americans seeking access to mass transit. plaintiffs’ lawyers say. In its 2-1 ruling Monday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also upheld a lower court order that the federal Department of Transportation eliminate a 3 percent cap on the amount of money transit authorities must spend to improve transportation for the disabled. “The impact of the majority’s decision will be very substantial throughout the country and will interfere with the local decision-making authority," Judge Morton I. Greenberg wrote in his dissent. “I feel the court is overreaching." The majority opinion by Judge Carol Lois Mansmann said a Transportation Department regulation requiring all new buses to accommodate wheelchairs conflicts with a regulation allowing communities to offer only an alternative service to the disabled. The court noted that a 24-hour reservation needed for the alternative service hinders spontaneous use of mass transit, and ordered transit authorities to make "reasonable accommodations to their programs. i.e. purchase wheelchair-accessible buses." The cost of improving transit services for the disabled would depend on each system, Timothy Cook, who represented the plaintiffs, has said. It costs $15,000 to equip a bus with a wheelchair lift and buses cost about $200,000, according to Joaquin Bowman. a spokesman for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Judge Greenberg said the section concerning wheelchair lifts for new buses was not meant to apply to transit systems choosing alternative transportation for the disabled. He also said the 3 percent cap imposed in 1986 by the Reagan administration was not arbitrary. A coalition called Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, which has chapters in 25 cities and whose members have been arrested at demonstrations around the country, filed the class-action lawsuit against the Transportation Department last year. Mr. Cook, who argued ADAPT’s case. called Monday's ruling "a major, major victory for the handicapped community. . . . We can't say enough positive things about it.” "We won on all points," added Stephen Gold. another ADAPT attorney. Mr. Cook. director of the Washington-based National Disability Action Center, said he hoped the ruling would not he appealed in light of President Bush's comments about wanting to bring the disabled into the mainstream. Transportation Department officials in Washington could not be reached for comment after office hours Monday. ADAPT contended that a provision of the federal regulations allowed authorities receiving federal transportation funds to exclude the disabled from “effective and meaningful" access. - ADAPT (606)
CAPE COD TIMES, FRIDAY, March 24, 1989 [Headline] Vigil planned to aid disabled By KAREN JEFFREY, STAFF WRITER Twenty-five members of the Cape Organization for the Rights of the Disabled are in Cambridge today as part of a nationwide effort to support a February court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses. More than 100 advocates for people with disabilities from across the state are scheduled to hold a vigil at noon in front oi the U.S. Department of Transportation office in Cambridge protesting the department's proposed appeal of a recent federal court ruling that requires wheelchair lifts on new public buses nationwide. The Cambridge vigil will coincide with similar events in other states. “This is about separate but equal facilities" said Mike Early, CORD president. "The 3rd District Court has ruled you can't have separate but equal facilities for people who are handicapped. And we don't want to see the Department oi Transportation try to appeal that decision." In addition to ruling that new buses for public transportation systems must include wheelchair lifts, the court also ordered the department to eliminate a 3 percent cap on the amount of money transit authorities must spend to improve transportation for the disabled. In its decision, the court noted that 24-hour reservation services required for alternative mass transportation for people with disabilities hinders spontaneous use of mass transit. The court ordered transit authorities to make what the court called "reasonable accommodations to their programs." - ADAPT (605)
Courier Journal, Louisville, KY PHOTO (staff photo by Paul Schumann): A dark paneled office with official looking pictures and places on the walls, is full of people in wheelchairs, and a couple of people standing at the back of the group. Those in wheelchairs (ranging from manual chairs to motorized ones appears to be listening. To the right of the picture a man in a white shirt and tie is standing with his arms crossed looking down at some of the people in wheelchairs. In the center of the front of the picture a man with a short pony tail (Arthur Campbell) talks to the man standing. To his left a woman in a chair (Ann ____) looks on. Caption reads: Assistant U. S. Attorney Terry Cushing talked to members of disability-rights groups yesterday as they held a sit-in in the lobby of the U. S. attorney’s office. [Headline] Advocates of disability rights hold sit-in in support of transit ruling By CLARENCE MATTHEWS Staff Writer About a dozen members of disability-rights groups held an impromptu sit-in in the lobby of U.S. Attorney Joe Whittle’s office in Louisville in support of a federal court ruling that public transit must be accessible to disabled passengers. The sit-in was orderly, and the group left about three hours after entering the office. A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 last month that lift-equipped buses are part of Congress‘ mandate to make public transportation more accessible to the disabled. The court also ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to rewrite regulations that let cities offer the disabled alternative services, such as van rides. It said the 24-hour reservations required for such services hinder use of mass transit. Representatives of local disability-rights groups began demonstrating at ll:30 a.m. outside the Federal Building at Sixth and Chestnut streets. They formed a noon-hour caravan of wheelchairs for the trip to the U.S. attorney's office on the 10th floor of the Bank of Louisville building at Fifth Street and Broadway. Demonstrators asked that the U.S. attorney call John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, to tell President Bush to instruct federal officials not to appeal the decision. When told Whittle was ill, the demonstrators asked to meet with an assistant. Arthur Campbell Jr., a spokesman for the group, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Cushing, “This ruling; gives us the freedom that the rest of society takes for granted." Cushing promised to pass their request on to Whittle. "Can’t you do that now?" a demonstrator asked. Cushing said he couldn't because someone was waiting in his office, but promised to do it later. “We’ll wait until Monday if necessary," another group member said. They left about three hours later, after Cashing called Whittle and several members of the group spoke to him. "He (Whittle) asked me to take some additional information from them about the case. and they left," Cushing said. The demonstration was part of a nationwide observance sponsored by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a plaintiff in the federal Court case, and other disability rights groups. - ADAPT (604)
Courier Journal, Louisville, KY PHOTO (staff photo by Paul Schumann): A dark paneled office with official looking pictures and places on the walls, is full of people in wheelchairs, and a couple of people standing at the back of the group. Those in wheelchairs (ranging from manual chairs to motorized ones) are facing in various directions but generally form a circle. Everyone appears to be listening. To the right of the picture a man in a white shirt and tie is standing with his arms crossed looking down at some of the people in wheelchairs. In the center of the front of the picture a man with a short pony tail (Arthur Campbell) talks to the man standing. To his left a woman in a chair (Ann ____) looks on. Caption reads: Assistant U. S. Attorney Terry Cushing talked to members of disability-rights groups yesterday as they held a sit-in in the lobby of the U. S. attorney’s office. [Headline] Advocates of disability rights hold sit-in in support of transit ruling By CLARENCE MATTHEWS Staff Writer About a dozen members of disability-rights groups held an impromptu sit-in in the lobby of U.S. Attorney Joe Whittle’s office in Louisville in support of a federal court ruling that public transit must be accessible to disabled passengers. The sit-in was orderly, and the group left about three hours after entering the office. A 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 last month that lift-equipped buses are part of Congress‘ mandate to make public transportation more accessible to the disabled. The court also ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to rewrite regulations that let cities offer the disabled alternative services, such as van rides. It said the 24-hour reservations required for such services hinder use of mass transit. Representatives of local disability-rights groups began demonstrating at ll:30 a.m. outside the Federal Building at Sixth and Chestnut streets. They formed a noon-hour caravan of wheelchairs for the trip to the U.S. attorney's office on the 10th floor of the Bank of Louisville building at Fifth Street and Broadway. Demonstrators asked that the U.S. attorney call John Sununu, the White House chief of staff, to tell President Bush to instruct federal officials not to appeal the decision. When told Whittle was ill, the demonstrators asked to meet with an assistant. Arthur Campbell Jr., a spokesman for the group, told Assistant U.S. Attorney Terry Cushing, “This ruling; gives us the freedom that the rest of society takes for granted." Cushing promised to pass their request on to Whittle. "Can’t you do that now?" a demonstrator asked. Cushing said he couldn't because someone was waiting in his office, but promised to do it later. “We’ll wait until Monday if necessary," another group member said. They left about three hours later, after Cashing called Whittle and several members of the group spoke to him. "He (Whittle) asked me to take some additional information from them about the case, and they left," Cushing said. The demonstration was part of a nationwide observance sponsored by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a plaintiff in the federal Court case, and other disability rights groups. - ADAPT (603)
Weekly Reader Edition 4 Volume 71, Issue 7, October 27, 1989 PHOTO (-(c) 1988. Paralyzed Veterans of America, by permission of Paraplegia News): A metrobus (city bus) is stopped at a bus stop. A man in a wheelchair is sitting on the lift that comes out from the front door of the bus. He's wearing a sports coat, tie and has a neat beard and laptray with something like a brief case or computer resting on the lap board on his chair. He is up at the level of the floor of the bus and he is talking with 2 women in business attire who are standing on the sidewalk at the bus stop. There is an tall, modern office building across the street behind the bus. Caption reads: Buses with special lifts help disabled people in wheelchairs travel around. [Headline] New Law for Americans with Disabilities Can a deaf person use a public telephone? Can a person in a wheelchair work on the top floor of a tall building? Can a mentally retarded person work and earn money? The answer to all of these questions is yes—if they receive special help. A new law in the U.S. may provide that special help for millions of disabled Americans. The law is called the Americans with Disabilities Act. The law says that Americans who are disabled have the same rights as Americans who aren't disabled. The law may help change and im- ... (Continued on page 2) INSERT: Vocabulary Box disabled—not able to do something right—something to which a person has a claim - ADAPT (602)
This story appears on 595, 590 and 602. The story is included in 595 in its entirety for ease of reading.