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Sākums / Albūmi / Meklēšanas rezultāti 52
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- ADAPT (515)
Photo (by John Spink/Staff): Close up of a manual sports wheelchair's wheels. Person in chair is only partially shown holding the push rim. On the spoke guard of the back wheel are 4 bumper stickers that form a square around the hub: 2 read Proud and disAbled, one partially obscured sticker reads I (heart) Park Mill and the 4th one is unreadable. A second manual wheelchair is just visible behind the first one and the legs of someone standing behind that second chair. Caption: A disabled protester uses wheelchair stickers to make a point during Wednesday’s demonstration at the Greyhound bus station. 9/98 [Headline] Demonstrators Get Suspended Fines by Alma E. Hill, Staff Writer Twenty disabled protesters pleaded no contest Thursday in Atlanta Municipal Court to disorderly conduct charges growing out of a demonstration at the Greyhound bus station that blocked buses for almost five hours. Each of the protesters received a $75 fine that was suspended by Chief Judge Andrew Mickle in a plea bargain agreement. State criminal trespass charges filed against six other protesters were dismissed. A hearing on two aggravated assault charges against another demonstrator was rescheduled for early January, Judge Mickle said. The court session marked the end of three days of demonstrations by more than 100 ADAPT activists to protest the lack of wheelchair lifts on public buses and private intercity carriers. Although the group did not succeed in its initial demands to obtain an executive order from U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner requiring all new buses purchased with federal dollars to have lifts, ADAPT leaders were claiming a victory. The demonstrators obtained promises from transit and federal transportation officials to meet with them. Also, they are counting on federal transit officials to discourage transit operators from making hurried purchases of buses without lifts before federal law mandates the devices. - ADAPT (492)
Atlanta Journal Constitution, Thurs., September 28, 1989 [Headline] Demand by Disabled: 'We Will Ride' (This story is in two parts both of which are included here) Photo: African American police officer with hat perched on his head uses large bolt cutters to cut through a very heavy motorcycle chain that is locked to the neck of an ADAPT protester and the steering wheel of a bus. Behind him is the door of the bus and another officer stands below on the steps. In the foreground is part of a protest sign saying Greyhound. Photo by John Spink, Staff caption reads: Officer C.A. Wardlaw cites a chain holding protester Clayton Jones to a Greyhound bus steering wheel. [Headline] Protesters Arrested After Halting Greyhound Buses. By Pat Burson, Staff Writer More than two dozen disabled activists were arrested Wednesday after they halted bus service at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Atlanta for nearly five hours by blocking driveways with their wheelchairs and, in some cases, chaining themselves to the buses. The demonstrators, who were in town this week to protest the lack of accessible transportation, were driven to jail in a lift-equipped transit bus. Those arrested were charged with criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and failing to clear streets and sidewalks, said Atlanta police Maj. J.L. Mullins. They were released later on their own recognizance. More than 100 disabled protesters wearing headbands and carrying placards began encircling the bus terminal at 3:30 pm. with the majority lined up against the front of the building along International Boulevard. chanting, “We will ride" and “Access is our civil right." Others moved to the back of the terminal and blocked five buses by parking their wheelchairs in front and behind to prevent the drivers from leaving the station. During the protest, police also closed International Boulevard between Spring and Williams streets and rerouted rush-hour traffic. Greyhound officials declined to comment on the protest, which effectively closed the station until 8 p.m. One demonstrator, Clayton Jones, 41, of Houston, pulled himself into the driver‘s seat of an unoccupied bus and chained himself to the steering column. Earlier in the afternoon, he chained himself to the rear wheel of a bus. “I am trying to hold up Greyhound because they are holding up my life," said Mr. Jones, who lost the use of his legs in a 1985 accident. Mr. Jones said he has tried to ride Greyhound alone, but could not because of its “Helping Hands" policy, which requires a passenger in a wheelchair to be carried on and off the buses but allows a companion to travel with the disabled passenger free of charge. The policy also prohibits battery-powered wheelchairs inside the buses. “Is this a free America?" Lillibeth Navarro of Los Angeles shouted at police, draping a full-sized American flag around her body as other protesters were being loaded into the lift-equipped bus. “You are abetting Greyhound’s discriminatory policies!" The bus station was a new target for members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, or ADAPT, who spent Monday and Tuesday occupying the main floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building several blocks to the south. They protested outside the Atlanta Hilton Hotel on Courtland Street on Sunday, where the American Public Transit Association (APTA) is holding its annual convention. Atlanta was chosen as the target for the protests, even though MARTA only buys handicapped-accessible buses, because of the APTA convention here. The Denver-based ADAPT is demanding that all public buses purchased with federal dollars be made handicapped-accessible through installation of wheelchair lifts. The demonstrators targeted Greyhound, one of their major foes in the transportation industry because it does not have lift-equipped buses, will not transport people using electric-powered wheelchairs and requires disabled passengers to travel with their own attendants when they ride on its buses. Tom Street, regional general manager for the bus line, said only four buses carrying a total of 80 passengers left Atlanta during the protest. On a normal evening, 20 buses carrying up to 600 passengers would pass through the terminal. The protest came as a surprise to some who thought victories won by the protesters with federal officials Tuesday would have sent them packing. The protesters met with Steven A Diaz, chief counsel for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, who told them he would ask Transportation Department officials to meet with them to establish a process to identify public transit authorities that are deliberately speeding up purchase of new buses to circumvent a bill pending in Congress mandating that such buses have wheelchair lifts. Protesters swarmed on the first Greyhound bus that pulled up to the International Boulevard entrance about 4:30 p.m. Three people in wheelchairs and one man who is blind sat in front of the bus, arms linked, while several other protesters went to the side of the bus. One man maneuvered himself out of his wheelchair and onto the steps of the bus while bewildered passengers looked on. One angry passenger screamed obscenities at the protesters as she stepped over the man lying in the doorway. “I just got out of Hardwick prison camp," said the 32 year-old woman, referring to the Georgia Women's Correctional Institution. “We left Hardwick at 8:30 and changed buses three times before we got to Atlanta. I want to go home. “I haven't been home in eight months. I have people waiting at the bus station for me. I said this morning, ‘I‘m free at last,‘ and I come to Atlanta and see this!" Greyhound officials called in police while protest leaders talked by phone to representatives of the bus company at its Dallas headquarters. Most protesters allowed officers to maneuver their wheelchairs over to a lift-equipped bus the police called to the site for the arrests, while others chose to evade police. Staff writer Ben Smith III contributed to this article. Photo (by John Spink/Staff): A group of 4 helmeted police men and a supervisor surround and hold a young African American woman wearing an ADAPT headband. Behind them is the side of an Americruiser over the road coach (bus). In one corner a sign reading "Greyhound is a Dirty Dog" is taped to the bus. Caption: Atlanta police remove protester Anita Cameron of Colorado Springs from Greyhound terminal Wednesday. More than two dozen demonstrators were arrested. - ADAPT (542)
collection of articles from TN papers The Tennessean Wednesday, March 14, 1990 National news 104 handicapped protesters arrested WASHINGTON (AP) — Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol yesterday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. Police said 104 people were arrested. The Knoxville News-Sentinel Wednesday, March 14. 1990 75 arrested as disabled seek rights 2nd day of protests urges passage of bill By Associated Press WASHINGTON -— Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol on Tuesday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after deliberate acts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol's cavernous Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. Some 75 protesters were arrested, many of them in their wheelchairs. Removing them and loading them into vans took about two hours. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, police said. Both carry maximum sentences of six months in jail. In addition, those convicted could be fined $100 for unlawful entry and $500 for demonstrating in the Capitol. The arrests marked the second day of dramatic lobbying by people with disabilities, who are seeking passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Monday, some 60 people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the West steps of the Capitol. The bill would outlaw discrimination based on physical or mental disability in employment, access to buildings, use of the telephone system, use of public and private transportation and in other uses. It would require ramps or other means of access in all new buildings used by the general public, including private businesses and offices. The Senate passed the bill last year but the measure has bogged down in the House despite widespread predictions of ultimate approval. While the demonstration was in progress. the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill 40-3 at a meeting in another building. The measure still must go to two other committees before reaching the full House. Before the arrests, Foley assured demonstrators that he and other congressional leaders were pushing the bill. His words were met with skepticism. Nashville Banner, Wednesday March 14 1990 Scores of protesters arrested in push for disability rights Associated Press WASHINGTON — A House committee took this year‘s first significant action on a major civil rights bill for disabled Americans on the same day that scores of protesters demanding its immediate enactment were arrested and carted off in their wheelchairs. "It is a priority for passage in this session of the Congress." House Speaker Thomas S. Foley. D-Wash., told unpacified demonstrators Tuesday. The Energy and Commerce Committee, meantime, approved the Americans With Disabilities Act by a 40-3 vote after amending it to soften the impact on Amtrak and make other minor changes. Police arrested 104 people many of whom had chained their wheelchairs together, after deliberate acts of civil disobedience following a confrontation in the Capitol Rotunda with Foley and House Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. (Diane Coleman of Nashville, who uses a wheelchair because of a degenerative muscle condition, was one of four Tennesseans arrested. She said the demonstrators, whose chants including “Access is a civil right" could be heard throughout the Capitol, were charged with misdemeanors for demonstrating within a U.S. Capitol building and refusing to obey police orders to leave.) Foley tried to assure the demonstrators on Tuesday that the bill eventually will become law. "Will it be on the (House) floor in 24 hours? No " - ADAPT (543)
PHOTO by Tom Olin: Close up of Mike Auberger with mouth open chanting. Around his neck is a kryptonite lock locked to a second lock, which is locked to a revolving door. He wears and ADAPT bandanna around his head and long braids. Caption reads: ADAPT member Mike Auberger puts his neck on the line. DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCATES TURN UP THE HEAT IN CAPITOL In more ways than one, the heat was turned up in Washington, D.C. during the week of March 11 to March 17, 1990. Weather records were shattered as the mercury climbed to 89 degrees on Monday and remained hot all week; the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin bloomed three weeks early. There was another heat wave going on as people with disabilities from all over the country converged on the Capitol to push for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which passed the Senate last September and is now stalled in the House. On Monday, March l2, we gathered in front of the White House at noon. Over 1000 strong, most in wheelchairs but including people who are deaf and blind, we marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, the 17 blocks to the U.S. Capitol. We carried signs and chanted “ADA Now!" At the Capitol, Justin Dart, chairman of the President's Committee, said that partial equality is not equality: “We want an end to discrimination against the disabled, the nation's most impoverished, isolated and segregated minority." King Jordan, president of Gallaudet University, warned “If we don’t get what we want, we will be back to stay." Mike Auberger, from ADAPT, closed with a stirring speech. “We are Americans," he said, “and we want the same rights as everyone else." After the speeches, many abandoned their wheelchairs and climbed the 83 steps on the west front of the Capitol, as a symbolic gesture dramatizing the barriers that the disabled still face. On Tuesday, many assembled in the huge rotunda inside the U.S. Capitol and heard speeches by Speaker Thomas Foley, Congressman Robert Michel and Congressman Stenny Hoyer of Maryland, who is coordinating the House legislative effort on ADA. Hearing that no promises could be given as to the date of a House vote, many started chanting “ADA Now!" Many were arrested for illegal entry, carried in police vans to a police facility and then to court for paper work. Many did not get back to the hotel until midnight. It was a matter of individual conscience whether anyone was arrested; many chose not to, believing that the legislative process has been working well so far. On Wednesday. about 60 were arrested at the Rayburn Building in and near the office of Congressman Bud Shuster of Pennsylvania, who had supported some weakening amendments to ADA. On Thursday, a small group (their numbers reduced because so many were in court) assembled at housing and urban development and asked to see secretary Jack Kemp; he was out of town but Undersecretary Alfred Dellabovi came down. There was a productive talk concerning the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988. Some weakening amendments to the Housing Act, relating to access standards, had been proposed; the disability groups strongly opposed. On Friday, some members of ADAPT protested at the Greyhound terminal. Some of the strongest opposition to ADA has come from Greyhound and other private bus companies, who fear that the cost of wheelchair lifts will be excessive. But the disability groups claim as much a right to be on a bus as anyone else. After a glorious week, the participants began the long journey home by train, bus, airplane or dust-covered van. Though many other disability groups were involved, much credit goes to Wade Blank, Mike Auberger, Bob Kafka, and Mark Johnson, all of ADAPT. It‘s too early to tell whether our goals have been reached, but there was a feeling of solidarity. and of a successful crusade on behalf of equal rights for disabled people in employment, in transportation, in housing, in places of public accommodation, in every aspect of American life. That, indeed, is the purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act. —Richard B. Treanor At the bottom of the page is a Callahan cartoon: Three women in a row. First woman is in a wheelchair and below her it says "M.S." Second woman is standing with a walker and below her it says "M.D." Third woman is very overweight and below her it says "M&Ms". - ADAPT (544)
Photo by Tom Olin: A man (Dorian Smothers) in a motorized wheelchair sits with his hands in his lap, with a pensive look on his face as he looks down to his left. Two policemen hold onto his wheelchair and others stand behind them. Behind them several protesters stand between police cars. - ADAPT (532)
3/14/90 100 Disabled Arrested on Hill by Stephen Buckley, Washington Post Staff Writer About 100 persons with disabilities were arrested in the Capitol Rotunda yesterday during a demonstration calling for greater rights for the handicapped, U.S. Capitol Police said. Most of those arrested were members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a Denver-based organization that plans protests in Washington throughout the week to bring attention to the Americans with Disabilities Act. The measure was passed by the Senate last September and is being considered by the House. Yesterday's arrests occurred after about 150 members of ADAPT listened to House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.), House Minority Leader Robert H." Michel (R-Ill.) and Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) discuss the disabilities act. After the lawmakers spoke to them, the demonstrators began chanting. They were asked to leave the rotunda, but refused, said Greg Nevitt, a U.S. Capitol Police spokesman. Those who did not leave were arrested, he said. Hoyer is the chief sponsor of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which seeks to bar discrimination against those with disabilities in several areas: private sector employment, public accommodations, services provided by state and local governments, telecommunications and transportation. Nevitt said those arrested were charged with demonstrating in the Capitol rotunda and unlawful entry. They are slated to be arraigned in D.C. Superior Court tomorrow. - ADAPT (533)
The Washington Times Wednesday, March 14, 1990 Handicapped protesters arrested The Associated Press Demonstrators in wheelchairs were arrested in the U.S. Capitol yesterday after confronting House leaders with demands for quick passage of legislation guaranteeing them civil rights protections. A crowd of more than 100 disabled demonstrators threatened civil disobedience and interrupted House Speaker Thomas Foley and House Minority Leader Robert Michel as the congressional leaders tried to speak over the din in the cavernous Capitol Rotunda. After the congressmen left, about 70 disabled people assembled in the center of the Rotunda and began chanting in an attempt to provoke arrest. Capitol Police, standing nearby, encircled the protesters and began taking them into custody. Outside the Capitol, police began placing the protesters - most in Wheelchairs - into several government owned vans. The demonstrators were being charged with unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said Capitol Police Officer G.T. Nevitt. The first charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail and a $100 fine; the second, six months in jail and a $500 fine. “It is a priority for passage in this session of the Congress," Mr. Foley shouted over catcalls from the protesters. “l am absolutely satisfied it will reach the floor. we will have a conference with the Senate and it will become law." “Will it be on the floor in 24 hours? No," Mr Foley added in a statement greeted with a chorus of boos. “I am not going to set an artificial deadline that prevents the committees from sending a bill to the floor that they can defend," he said. It was the second day of lobbying by the disabled. On Monday, dozens of people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the steps of the Capitol to dramatize their demands. The focus of the protest was the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was passed by the Senate last year but has bogged down in the House, despite widespread predictions of its ultimate passage. The measure would outlaw discrimination based on physical or mental disability in employment, access to buildings, use of the telephone system, use of public and private transportation, and other situations. The Capitol has ramps for wheelchair access to two of its entrances and ramps and elevators inside to enable people confined to wheelchairs to get around. During the midday face-off in the Rotunda, Mr. Foley sought to assure the disabled that House leaders “want to see that this bill has the greatest possible support and will reach the president's desk in a way that he can sign it." Mr. Michel told the crowd he had broached the issue earlier yesterday in a meeting with President Bush at the White House. He acknowledged that the disabled community “is getting a little bit impatient because the wheels of Congress are not moving fast enough." Although the Bush administration and congressional leaders support the bill, some have begun questioning the administration's commitment in recent weeks. White House Press Secretary Marlin Fitzwater denied its support was slipping and said the administration was negotiating with key members of Congress. "We do support the legislation," Mr Fitzwater said. “We‘re very supportive of their rights and their cause." - ADAPT (534)
Philadelphia Inquirer Wednesday, March 14, 1990 Disabled protest in D.C. Associated Press WASHINGTON — Police yesterday arrested about 75 disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in a Capitol protest to demand quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after acts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley (D., Wash.) and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel (R., lll.). Removing the demonstrators, many of them in their wheelchairs, and loading them into vans took police about two hours. Before the arrests, Foley told the demonstrators that he and other congressional leaders were pushing the Americans with Disabilities Act. "lt is a priority for passage in this session of the Congress," he shouted over catcalls. "l am absolutely satisfied it will reach the floor, we will have a conference with the Senate and it will become law." “Will it be on the floor in 24 hours? No," Foley added, to a chorus of boos. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said police spokesman G.T. Nevitt. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. In addition, those convicted could be fined $100 for unlawful entry and $500 for demonstrating in the Capitol. The arrests marked the second day of dramatic lobbying by people with disabilities, who are seeking passage of the act. - ADAPT (577)
Rocky Mountain News 3/14/90 AROUND TOWN Disabled protesters held Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol yesterday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after deliberate acts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol’s cavernous Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. Some 104 protesters were arrested, many of them in their wheelchairs. - ADAPT (578)
3/14/90 Disabled demonstrators arrested at U.S. Capitol WASHINGTON (AP) — Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol on Tuesday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after deliberate arts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol's cavernous Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. Some 75 protesters were arrested, many of them in their wheelchairs. Removing the demonstrators and loading them into vans look police about two hours. Those who could walk were handcuffed, and some in wheelchairs were strapped into their seats by police. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said police spokesman GT Nevitt. Both carry maximum sentences of six months in jail. In addition, those convicted could be fined $100 for unlawful entry and $500 for demonstrating in the Capitol. The arrests marked the second day of dramatic lobbying by people with disabilities, who are seeking passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Monday, some 60 people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the West steps of the Capitol to underline their demands. PHOTO (The Associated Press): Three people in wheelchairs sit smiling at one another amid the crowd at the plaza at the bottom of the steps on the West front of the Capitol. Behind them the ADAPT flag flies, with it's wheelchair symbol made out of stars and the stripes like the American flag. Behind the flag is the dome of the Capitol against the sky. Caption: A group of handicapped people gather outside of the U.S. Capitol to draw support for a bill pending in the House that would extend civil rights to disabled persons. - ADAPT (579)
3/14/90 Wheelchair-Bound Protesters Arrested WASHINGTON (AP) -— Police arrested disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol on Tuesday in a protest demanding quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. The arrests came after deliberate acts of civil disobedience by the demonstrators and a confrontation in the Capitol’s cavernous Rotunda with House Speaker Thomas S. Foley and Minority Leader Robert H. Michel. Police said 104 people were arrested. Removing the demonstrators and loading them into vans took police about two hours. Those who could walk were handcuffed. and some in wheelchairs were strapped into their seats by police, many of whom wore surgical gloves. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol, said police spokesman G.T. Nevitt. Both carry maximum sentences of six months in jail. In addition, those convicted could be fined $100 for unlawful entry and $500 for demonstrating in the Capitol. The arrests marked the second day of dramatic lobbying by people with disabilities, who are seeking passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. On Monday, some 60 people crawled out of their wheelchairs and up the West steps of the Capitol to underline their demands. The Senate passed the bill last year but the measure has bogged down in the House despite widespread predictions of ultimate approval. While the demonstration was in progress, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the bill 40-3 at a meeting in another building. But the measure still must go to two other committees before reaching the full House. Demonstrators gathered in the center of the Rotunda and began to chant slogans, including some from the civil rights movement of the 1960s. They also chanted “ADA Now” and “Access Now," referring to their demand for access to transportation and other accommodations. “Access is a civil right," the last protester, who identified herself only as Gail Love, shouted as she was taken out. Police used large snipping tools to break chains that some of the demonstrators had used to bind their wheelchairs together. - ADAPT (569)
Disabled occupy House offices; 59 are arrested By Frank Wolfe and Sonsyrea Tate The Washington Times 3/15/90 About 300 disabled demonstrators from 40 states occupied two congressional offices and the House Judiciary Committee room in the Rayburn House Office Building for about five hours yesterday before Capitol Police began making arrests. The participants at times discarded wheelchairs and dropped to the floor in one representative's office as part of their demonstration for passage — without weakening amendments — of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Last night, 59 persons were arrested for unlawful entry when they refused to leave the building after the House ended its session about 8 p.m., Capitol Police said. The rest of the demonstrators left peacefully. Police, some wearing optional rubber gloves, carried the demonstrators out. The protest began about 3:15 p.m. when the activists, including 101 arrested Monday in the Capitol Rotunda, occupied the offices of Reps. Hamilton Fish Jr., New York Republican, and Bud Shuster, Pennsylvania Republican. Members of the group also occupied the meeting room of the Judiciary Committee, which is slated to consider the bill. It has passed the Energy and Commerce Committee by a 40-3 vote. But one of the amendments would make flexible the requirement that mass-transit authorities provide lift-equipped transportation for disabled people. Authorities could choose instead to provide “paratransit" services such as minivans. Protest leaders are concerned that such flexibility would lead to “segregated busing" in many states, said Mike Auberger, co-founder of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation and one of the protest organizers. Mr. Shuster was in a meeting of the House Select Committee on Intelligence yesterday afternoon and belatedly learned of the protest. Mr. Fish, ranking minority member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, offered his support for the bill with no weakening amendments and said he would use all measures available to him to defeat any such amendments, according to Ed Tessier, a quadriplegic who helped to organize the protest. Those assembled in Mr. Fish’s office then left. Later in the afternoon, demonstrators occupied Mr. Shuster‘s office, demanding to see the congressman and hoping to make it difficult for staff employees to leave. Mr. Shuster, a member of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, acknowledged the demonstrators’ grievances and said the proposed transportation budget is severely lacking in money allotted for mass transit. “My heart goes out to them," the congressman told The Washington Times in a telephone interview. “I'm in a unique position. My mother was a double amputee in a wheelchair. I have more intimate experiences with the plight and problems of the disabled than perhaps any other member of Congress." The bill is slated for two other House committees, the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation — committees the two congressmen sit on - before reaching the floor of the House. Mr. Shuster said that 100 percent federal mandate" wheelchairs would add 10 percent to the cost of buses and would provide “zero accessibility" for the thousands of disabled who need more comprehensive para-transit services, such as the minivan to transport them to bus stops. "This is a feel-good bill," he said. “There is no money accompanying the bill to pay for the costs it is proposing." He cited New York City, where he said there is, on average, one wheelchair rider per 19 buses, as an example of the need for a mix of lift—equipped buses and paratransit services. If there is a federal mandate on lift-equipped buses, he said, there would be a reduction in services for handicapped riders and for the general public. - ADAPT (576)
LOS ANGELES TIMES WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14, 1990 Washington, DC Officers Arrest 104 Disabled Protesters Police in Washington said they arrested 104 disabled demonstrators who chanted slogans and chained their wheelchairs together in the Capitol in a demand for quick passage of a bill guaranteeing their civil rights. Those who could walk were handcuffed, and some were strapped into their wheelchairs by police. Those arrested were charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful entry and demonstrating within the Capitol police said. - ADAPT (482)
Rocky Mountain News [ Headline] 30 disabled activists arrested Protest at Radisson aimed at transit group gathering By LEROY WILLIAMS JR. Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer Police yesterday arrested about 30 disabled activists who disrupted a national transportation conference at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Denver by blocking the hotel's front doors with wheelchairs. The midmorning protest by members of ADAPT, American Disabled tor Access to Public Transit, came on the opening day of a symposium sponsored by the U.S. Urban Mass Transportation Administration. Protesters chanted, sang and cheered as a half-dozen Denver police officers carried off the protesters, about 27 of them in wheelchairs, in specially equipped vans. The job was made more difficult for police by protesters who wheeled in front of the vans to block them. And officers used wire cutters to free three protesters who chained themselves to railings. Police Capt. Roger Kaspers said the arrested were cited for obstruction of access to a business and a public sidewalk. He said they were not jailed. ADAPT’s national strategy of blocking bus companies and public transit operations that lack equipment for the handicapped is not new. But members said it was the first time they had protested against UMTA. At issue is an appeal by the U.S. Department of Transportation, of which UMTA is a part, of a federal court ruling requiring all public transit agencies to equip their buses with wheelchair lifts. The order was theresult of a lawsuit brought by ADAPT. "We view that (appeal) as a hostile action" said ADAPT activist Maureen O'Rourke, who said the process would be delayed by four or five years. "We are tired of winning lawsuits and never getting them implemented." In an interview later yesterday, outgoing UMTA administrator Alfred A. DelliBovi defended the appeal, saying the agency prefers to leave transit agencies’ decisions on equipment for the handicapped to local agencies. DelliBovi lauded Denver's Regional Transportation‘ District, which has so far awarded $40 million in bus operations contracts, as a pace-setter in that area. He also said one of his last acts — or his successor's first -- will be to sign over about $65 million to help pay for construction of a busway along Interstate 25 north of Denver. DeliiBovi, who is soon to become undersecretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, repeated the theme of his keynote address and of the symposium: Dwindling federal resources means local transit agencies must figure out ways to save money by involving the private sector. The symposium ends today. - ADAPT (456)
PHOTO by Patrick Forden/Gazette Journal; The photo is looking up at Mike Auberger in a non-ADAPT T-shirt and jeans, with a short beard and mustache, hands on his hips. His chair is somewhat visible and his left leg elevated. He is sitting in the doorway of a fancy Casino with a Nugget Casino sign over the door. Caption reads: ORGANIZER: Mike Auberger of Denver says his cause is worth going to jail for. TITLE: Disabled group plans protest at transit meeting in Sparks By Susan Voyles/Gazette-Journal Up to 150 wheelchair-bound people are expected to protest outside John Ascuaga’s Nugget beginning Sunday, and Sparks police say they are ready. The protest is being staged by a national group called The American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, and its target is the western regional meeting of the American Public Transit Association. As many as 700 people representing public bus systems, including many that don’t have buses with lifts to handle wheelchairs, are expected to attend. In protests at 16 other cities in recent years, disabled protesters have held marches, crawled onto or chained themselves to buses, and barricaded hotels where the public transit association held its meetings. “We try to make their conventions as inaccessible to them as they have made transportation to disabled people ” said protest organizer Mike Auberger of Denver. “They can’t just come and have fun." Auberger, 34, said he met earlier this week with representatives of Sparks police, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and Nugget security. He was handed a 32-page list of possible violations, including felonious assault, that his group could be charged with. “From what I heard, the police department’s tactic is going to be to intimidate,” Auberger said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the police on Sunday in riot gear.” Auberger, who arrived in town Monday to prepare for the protests, said he expects about 150 handicapped people from around the country to show up. Auberger said he met with members of the Sparks and Reno police, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and court marshals Tuesday. “It’s definitely threatening but I think the people coming in here are well aware of what could happen to them,” Auberger said. Already Auberger has had a confrontation, albeit a friendly one, with Nugget security and Sparks police. Monday when Auberger was casing the outside of the Nugget, with video camera in hand, a security guard and a police officer approached him and knew him by name, he said. “It gave me a real feeling for how the police are going to respond and how the casino security will respond," Auberger said. “It was like the casino burped and the police said ‘Excuse me,’ and that’s not normal." Auberger said his group has yet to begin drawing up strategy on how it will carry out its demonstration. However, Auberger predicted his group won’t be happy with being confined to B Street. “(The location) is very visible to traffic on B Street but it won’t be visible to APTA members,” Auberger said. “The spot is perfect if your issue is with the public or if it's directed at the Nugget." Auberger said his group is not violent although it is confrontational. Zamboni showed the press a 10-minute video tape of an ADAPT demonstration held in San Francisco Sept. 28, 1987. The video tape showed demonstrators blocking a SAMTRANS bus and tying their wheelchairs to the vehicle's wheelspokes and sitting on the Powell Street cable-car tum-around. It also showed police handcuffing protestors to their wheelchairs and the protestors chanting "We want to ride,” and "We want access."