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Avaleht / Albumid / Seattle, July 2004 31
ADAPT (1556)
[Headline] Wheelchair users to protest [Subheading] Hundreds expected on the streets as governors gather for Seattle meeting BY ANGELA GALLOWAY P-1 reporter Odds are on the hundreds of people in wheelchairs causing the most disruption this weekend. Most of the nation's governors, along with more than 1,000 state officials and lobbyists, will gather in Seattle for the annual summer meeting of the National Governors' Association, which runs tomorrow through Monday at the Westin Hotel downtown. And police are preparing for several protest groups to greet the officials, particularly a national disability rights activist group called ADAPT. ADAPT - here to call for increased access to home-based, rather than institutional, care for the disabled - expects about 600 protesters, most in wheelchairs. In the past, the group's protesters have sometimes used tactics such as blocking streets and disrupting public events to gain attention. While hoping to avoid mass arrests, ADAPT is prepared for that possibility, said Bob Kafka, a national organizer with the organization. Members sometimes say they'd "rather be in jail than in a nursing home," said Kafka, of Austin, Texas. "In jail, at least you know when you're go-ing to get out." At the NGA meeting, governors will develop policy positions for their 2005 congressional agenda. They also will hear from invited speakers on a range of issues, from economic development to the environment, said Christine LaPaille, spokes-woman for the NGA. This year's meeting is focused on ad-dressing the aging population, as the nation prepares for a projected 77 million baby boomers to retire this decade, LaPaille said. Keynote speakers include Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Leon Panetta, for-mer White House chief of staff, who are scheduled to speak Monday. The NGA was formed in 190 as a bi-partisan lobbying and research organization. This year, the governors plan to approve policy papers on Medicaid reform and changes to federal telecommunications laws, as well as a policy supporting ability of citizens in states such as Washington to deduct local sales-tax levies SEE PROTEST, B5