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Naslovnica / Skupine / Tag protest 84
- ADAPT (498)
The Atlanta Constitution For 121 Years the South's Standard Newspaper TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1989 SPORTS FINAL Photo: A tall man holding a toddler in one arm stepping over and between two motorized wheelchairs blocking the passage. One woman [Christine Coughlin] in a red jacket and headband faces the camera, while the other wheelchair user, in a blue jacket and hood, faces away. Photo by DIANNE LAAKSO/Staff Caption: A man steps over protesters in wheelchairs blocking the doors of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building on Monday. Bush Order Lets Disabled Resume Courthouse Sit-In Protesters Demanding Access To U.S.-Funded Transit Systems By Pat Burson and Alma E. Hill, Staff Writers After occupying the plaza floor of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for eight hours Monday, more than 100 disabled activists were evicted at the close of the business day. only to be allowed back inside alter President Bush personally intervened. Boxed quote on the side: "The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest" -- Gary Cason, GSA Main story: The protesters, who formed a human blockade near the main entrances to the 26-story tower about 10 a.m. Monday, vowed to remain until federal regulators require wheelchair lifts on all buses purchased with federal dollars. “We're here until the order gets signed," said Michael W Auberger of Denver, one of the co-founders and organizers for American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT). Mr. Auberger and other demonstrators from throughout the country lined their wheelchairs two and three deep near the doorways to the federal building, located at the corner of Spring Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, trying to stop anyone from leaving or entering. Mr. Auberger, who has been disabled since he suffered a spinal cord injury 17 years ago, and others blocked revolving doors by attaching chains and iron bicycle locks around their necks and locking them to door handles. a tactic used to prevent security from simply lilting protesters out of their wheelchairs to clear the doorways. At one point Monday afternoon, Mr. Auberger, 35. said, “They‘ll have to carry everybody out or arrest them." At 6 p.m., Atlanta police and officers from the General Services Administration, who provide security for the building, ordered the protesters to leave and began carrying them outside. The guards used large bolt cutters to sever the chains holding some demonstrators to the doors. At about 8 p.m., as guards were removing the last of the demonstrators, Gary C. Cason, regional administrator of the General Services Administration, told police and maintenance workers to allow the protesters back into the building. “The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest," Mr. Cason said. Mr. Cason said Mr. Bush also said he was concerned about the protesters sitting outside in the chilly overnight temperatures and rainy mist. Maintenance crews appeared a half-hour later with blankets. and cots were promised. Mr. Cason said the protesters would be restricted to the lobby floor and would have access to the restrooms. Protest organizers credit White House counsel C. Boyden Gray for Mr. Bush's action. Mr. Auberger said they contacted Mr. Gray, who took their case to Mr. Bush. The president then called the head of the GSA, Richard G. Austin, in Washington, telling him to allow the demonstrators back inside. Mr. Auberger said the group planned to stay in the building overnight and would block the entrances again at noon if the Transportation Department does not order changes in transit-access rules. “At noon the administration has to decide whether or not they are going to arrest us, or we're closing the building do\vn again," he said shortly before 11 p.m., as the protesters ate Chinese food they had ordered and made themselves comfortable in the hallway on the Spring Street side of the building. The protest forced most visitors to the building Monday to use a basement entrance adjacent to an underground parking lot. The demonstration was the second in as many days held by ADAPT, a nationwide organization. The event was held in Atlanta to coincide with the annual conference of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), meeting this week in Atlanta, and to attract the attention of U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner, who spoke to APTA Monday morning. APTA opposes legislation pending in Congress — that ADAPT supports — called the Americans With Disabilities Act. The proposal would remove barriers in public transportation by requiring public transit authorities to have wheelchair lifts on any new buses purchased 30 days after the measure was enacted. APTA officials say they oppose that portion of the measure because it would cut into limited federal funds. While Mr. Skinner has said he supports the bill, ADAPT wants him to issue an executive order so the stipulation can take effect immediately prior to congressional action. Protesters demanded to talk with Mr. Skinner while he was in Atlanta, but Mr. Skinner departed for St. Croix without meeting with them. Robert Marx. a spokesman for Mr. Skinner, said the secretary does not have the authority to issue such an order, only the president. [This is a combination the story on ADAPT 498 and 497] - ADAPT (497)
This is a continuation of the story on ADAPT 498. The full text appears on 498. - ADAPT (496)
Tues., September 26, 1989 [Headline] Disabled Try to Block Access To Elevators [Subheading] Protesters Continue Russell Building Sit-In By Alma E. Hill and Pat Burson, Staff Writers [This is the full text of the story that appears on ADAPT 496, 509 and 488.] Protesters in wheelchairs moved to block elevators in the Richard B. Russell Federal Building today in their second straight day inside the building, as federal officials increased security. Ed Driver, chief of law enforcement for the General Services Administration, said six security guards were brought in “so that we can maintain access to and from the building." “We're not going to do anything, we just want to be able to maintain an element of safety in the building," Mr. Driver said. At 11:50 a.m., leaders of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT) gave the signal and protesters began to chant and roll their wheelchairs in front of the doors on the plaza level of the federal building to restrict access to and from the building, as they had done Monday. Moments later, in an apparent shift in tactics, the group moved toward elevators to cut off access to upper floors in the high-rise. Protesters said they will continue to demonstrate until President George Bush or Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner complies with their demands to issue a federal mandate requiring new buses purchased with federal dollars to be equipped with wheelchair lifts. Judges who work in the federal building avoided problems getting out of the building by leaving before the noon takeover. And the doors to the Peachtree Federal Employees Credit Union, located in the southwest corner of the building, closed as soon as protesters began to shout. Visitors are being directed out of the basement and second floor exits. The Rev. Wade Blank, of Denver, said officials from the Urban Mass Transit Administration came over to the building to meet with pro- Disabled Group Stages Protest For Wheelchair Lifts on Buses from page A1 [starts on 496, continues here 509, ends on 488. Overlap with 509 and 488] ...test organizers. However, the meeting never took place. “They got on the elevator and didn't tell us what floor they were going to. so we said, ‘The hell with it."' the Rev. Blank said. The protesters began their demonstration Monday to coincide with an appearance by Mr. Skinner at the American Public Transit Association (APTA) convention at a downtown hotel. After occupying the plaza floor of the federal building for eight hours Monday, more than 100 disabled activists were evicted at the close of the business day, only to be allowed back inside after President Bush personally intervened. “We're here until the order gets signed." Michael W. Auberger, of Denver, one of the co-founders and organizers of ADAPT, said Monday. Mr. Auberger and other demonstrators from throughout the country lined their wheelchairs two and three deep near the doorways to the federal building. located at the corner of Spring Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, trying to stop anyone from leaving or entering. Mr. Auberger, who has been disabled since he suffered a spinal cord injury 17 years ago, and others blocked revolving doors by attaching chains and iron bicycle locks around their necks and locking them to door handles, a tactic used to prevent security from simply lifting protesters out of their wheelchairs to clear the doorways. At one point Monday afternoon Mr. Auberger, 35, said, “They'll have to carry everybody out or arrest them." At 6 p.m. Atlanta police and officers from the General Services Administration, who provide security for the building, ordered the protesters to leave and began carrying them outside. The guards used large bolt cutters to sever the chains holding some demonstrators to the doors. At about 8 p.m., as guards were removing the last of the demonstrators, Gary C. Cason, regional administrator of the General Services Administration, told police and maintenance workers to allow the protesters back into the building. “The decision is to let them stay in the building because of the president's deep commitment to the handicapped and their right to protest." Mr. Cason said. Mr. Cason said Mr. Bush also said he was concerned about the protesters sitting outside in the chilly overnight temperatures and rainy mist. Maintenance crews appeared a half-hour later with blankets. Mr. Cason said the protesters would be restricted to the lobby floor and would have access to the restrooms. Protest organizers credit White House counsel C. Boyden Gray for Mr. Bush's action. Mr. Auberger said they contacted Mr. Gray, who took their case to Mr. Bush. The president then called the head of the GSA, Richard G. Austin in Washington, telling him to allow the demonstrators back inside. The protest forced most visitors to the building Monday to use a basement entrance adjacent to an underground parking lot. Mr. Auberger said the group planned to stay in the building overnight and would block the entrances again at noon if the Transportation Department does not order changes in transit-access rules. “At noon the administration has to decide whether or not they are going to arrest us, or we’re closing the building down again,” he said shortly before 11 p.m., as the protesters ate Chinese food they had ordered and made themselves comfortable in the hallway on the Spring Street side of the building. The demonstration was the second in as many days held by ADAPT, a nationwide organization. The event was held in Atlanta to coincide with the annual conference of the American Public Transit Association (APTA), meeting this week in Atlanta, and to attract the attention of U.S. Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner, who spoke to APTA Monday morning. APTA opposes legislation pending in Congress — that ADAPT supports — called the Americans With Disabilities Act. The proposal would remove barriers in public transportation by requiring public transit authorities to have wheelchair lifts on any new buses purchased 30 days after the measure was enacted. APTA officials say they oppose that portion of the measure because it would cut into limited federal funds. While Mr. Skinner has said he supports the bill, ADAPT wants him to issue an executive order so the stipulation can take effect immediately — prior to congressional action. Protesters demanded to talk with Mr. Skinner while he was in Atlanta, but Mr. Skinner departed for St. Croix without meeting with them. Robert Marx, a spokesman for Mr. Skinner, said the secretary does not have the authority to issue such an order, only the president. Spokesmen for ADAPT believe Mr. Skinner is not championing their cause because of a lawsuit the group won against the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) two years ago, when Mr. Skinner was chairman of the city's Regional Transportation Authority. The court ruling required the CTA to purchase wheelchair lifts when ordering new buses. Photo: Looking down the long narrow glass walled lobby. In the foreground a man is lying bundled in a blanket on the floor. Beside him his motorized wheelchair sits empty. A little further back in the lobby several people sit in their wheelchairs and scooters by a cardboard box and some bags and papers. photo by ANDY SHARP caption: Woody Osburn of Tulsa, sleeping, and others, seen early today in the Russell Building. - ADAPT (494)
PHOTO only by Tom Olin Paulette Patterson in a manual wheelchair, Anita Cameron and another woman protester sit on the floor mouths open, all chanting in unison. Anita and the other woman wear ADAPT headbands and have their fists raised in the power sign. Behind them George Roberts and Claude Holcomb are in their wheelchairs up against a a glass door that reads "DO NOT ENTER (with and ADAPT sticker over the center)" and "OUT." George is also chanting, Claude looks off to the side. - ADAPT (493)
PHOTO only Photo by Tom Olin Four police officers lift Mike Auberger, a quadriplegic, from the baggage compartment of an over-the-road-coach. One officer bends over Mike, the officers's walkie-talkie, handcuffs, and gun on his belt. Another wears a motorcycle helmet. Mike's long braids hang down and his arms, bent over at the elbows, extend out to the sides. - ADAPT (491)
Photo only. Photo by Tom Olin Picture of the lobby of the Russell federal building filled with ADAPT protesters in wheelchairs and standing. Two sides of the room are floor to ceiling glass windows and doors. People are scattered about in small groups. Outside it is daytime, inside the lights are on. - ADAPT (490)
Wyoming State Tribune Cheyenne—September 26, 1989 Photo: A group of ADAPT protesters in the lobby of the Richard B. Russell federal building. In the foreground two wheelchair users sit with a visually impaired ADAPT member (Frank Lozano) whose dog guide is by his side. Behind them someone is lying back in their wheelchair, chilling. More protesters in wheelchairs and a couple of people standing form another informal group a little further back in the lobby. The floor is a glossy marble and walls have tile murals. PROTESTERS OF the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, mostly in wheelchairs, settle down for the night in the lobby of the Richard B. Russell federal building in Atlanta, Tuesday. After the group was forced out of the building earlier, President Bush ordered they be allowed to return. (AP) - ADAPT (49)
Rocky Mountain News Wednesday morning April 6, 1977 [Headline] Jeffco health chief says new tests show higher peril from Flats plant 4 PHOTOS FOR THE NEWS BY TIM SPANGLER: First photo (top left) is of a man in a dark jacket (James Chidlaw) standing and tipping over another man (Dennis Wilcox) in wheelchair; his right front and back wheels are off the ground and the standing man is holding the back of his chair. They are in a parking lot with a large white building behind them. In the background other people are standing or walking in the distance. A woman standing near them watching has her hands up. The man in the wheelchair (Wilcox) has a big beard, glasses and a hat with a brim. He is wearing a striped shirt, and the woman in front of him has bell bottoms on. His chair appears to be a motorized wheelchair. Second photo (top right), a man (Chidlaw?) in a dark shirt or jacket is on the ground and two other men are reaching downward in his direction, possibly pushing or holding him down. One of them appears to be wearing a work uniform while the other has on a hat with a feather, a turtleneck and bell bottoms. In the background other people seem to be approaching. Third photo (bottom left) shows the man with the feather in his hat and another person starting to lift the man (Wilcox) in the striped shirt up from the ground. His wheelchair is not visible. Another man (Wade Blank) appears to be talking to the man in the dark jacket (Chidlaw) who is now standing. Meanwhile the man in the work uniform has one hand on the jacketed man's back. The fourth photo (lower right) shows a small crowd of people. A man in a dark shirt (Chidlaw?) has his hand up one finger pointing while Wade and the man in the work uniform watch. Something is happening in front of them but it is hard to tell exactly what. Wilcox's arm in the striped shirt is visible from behind someone else, somewhere between ground and wheelchair heights. [Subheading] Demonstrator encounters rough going Parking lot manager James Chidlaw, upper left, pushes handicapped protestor Dennis Wilcox off his lot during demonstration at Denver's federal office complex Tuesday. Wilcox felt to street and fellow demonstrators...(not legible)...law to ground. At bottom, Wilcox is helped up while other protestors angrily....Chidlaw, who later was cited for assault. Incident preceded an all-night sit-in at the federal office building. Story another photo on page 6. - ADAPT (489)
Daily News, Wednesday, September 27, 1989 Handicapped protesters gain support Photo: A man kneels in the middle of a group of three people in wheelchairs, as they talk. Behind him another man stands looking down. One of the three people in wheelchairs, Mike Auberger, with his braids, is seen from the side; another facing the camera has on a hat covering is eyes; and the third has his or her head down reading a paper in their lap. photo by: JOHN BAZEMORE /Daily News Caption: Steven Diaz, chief counsel for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, meets Tuesday in Atlanta with protesters to discuss their concerns. The Associated Press ATLANTA — Handicapped protesters who occupied a federal building for two days won a pledge of support from the Bush administration Tuesday, but failed to get their main demand — a federal order requiring wheelchair lifts on all new public buses bought with federal funds. The Department of Transportation “cannot issue a summary order commanding immediate access including wheelchair access for all transit,” said Steven Diaz, chief counsel for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, who met with the protest leaders. “We would if we could." But Diaz said DOT officials and the protesters had agreed on three points: * Transportation Secretary Samuel Skinner will be urged to meet promptly with disabled activists to ensure a “principle of accessibility” until Congress passes the Americans with Disabilities Act. * The protesters will be allowed to continue a “symbolic presence" at the Richard B. Russell building in downtown Atlanta. * Officials will relay to Skinner the protesters’ concern that new rules for handicapped accessibility to air travel are not being drafted quickly enough. "This agreement by no means resolves the problem of access; it just brings us a step closer," said Mark Johnson, 38, of Alpharetta, one of the protest leaders who met with Diaz and other DOT officials. He said he didn't know whether the protesters would leave the building, where they blocked elevators and entrance doors earlier Tuesday. “We may stay here through Thursday, or we may just leave a sticker on the wall. There could be a constant vigil at the building, or we could all leave," he said. The protest by members of ADAPT, or American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, began Monday when Skinner was in Atlanta to address the convention of the American Public Transportation Association. At least two dozen protesters chained themselves to doors or blocked exits with their wheelchairs Monday. Authorities attempted to eject several protesters from the building Monday evening, but President Bush intervened and let them spend the night inside rather than send them out into the rain. - ADAPT (488)
This and ADAPT 509 are continuations of the story on ADAPT 496. The full text of the whole story is on ADAPT 496. - ADAPT (486)
PHOTO Tom Olin?: Two police officers, one in plain clothes and one in uniform stand talking but looking in opposite directions. The plain clothes man has on a tie and jacket. He has his arms crossed across his chest, as does the other officer. Behind them are visible, parts of the fronts of two large buses sitting side by side. Between the cops and the buses is partially visible the line of people in wheelchairs who are blocking the buses. Diane Coleman is partially visible, with an "Access Not Excuses" poster in front of her legs, and another man's head is visible with his access poster -- around the shoulder of one of the officers. - 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 (481)
14—Rocky Mountain News., April 25, 1989, Denver, Colo PHOTO by KEN PAPALEO/Rocky Mountain Naws A group of ADAPT people in wheelchairs and sitting on the ground form a blockade in front of a major entryway to the Radisson Hotel. The hotel doormat is visible in front of the group. Behind them a single cop, with his arms folded across his chest, stands to one side of the door. From left to right the group includes: a woman in a manual chair, Bob Kafka sitting on the ground, Barb Guthrie facing out and behind her someone in a wheelchair facing in, next to that person is a person on the ground and in front of that person is Anita Cameron in a cap and holding her white cane, in front of her is an empty wheelchair facing the group. Next to Anita is Stephanie Thomas on the ground with her chair facing her, and behind her is Bernard Baker. Next to Bernard is Mike McTimmus and beside him is Joe Carle in his manual chair. In front of Joe, George Florum sits sidways and looks out at the camera with a pissed off expression intensified by his dark sun glasses. Behind and to the side of him is Chris Hronis in a power chair, and someone stands behind him. Caption reads: Members of ADAPT protest at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Denver. They were there yesterday as the Urban Mass Transportation Administration held its fifth annual Symposium on Public Transit and the Private Sector. - ADAPT (480)
Rocky Mountain News 4-15-89 PHOTO by KEN PAPALEO Rocky Mountain News Frank McColm, a rail thin grey haired man in khakis, loafers, a red sports-fan jacket and baseball cap, kneels on the sidewalk in front of his E&J manual wheelchair with an American flag on the armrest and a barely visible poster taped to its back. He has his fist raised to chin level as if shaking it at the two uniformed police officers he is looking at with his intense gaze. The officers are standing behind the wheelchair each holding a push handle in one hand. Both are looking down at Frank with a wait-to-see-what-now expression. Caption reads: Disabled protest at transportation meeting Frank McColm gets out of hls wheelchair durlng a protest of a national transportation conference at the Radisson Hotel in downtown Denver. About 30 activists for the disabled were arrested yesterday after the hotel's front doors were blocked by wheelchairs. Police said they were not jailed. STORY/14 - ADAPT (479)
Two articles included here: Denver Post April 26, 1989 [Headline] Disabled protesters physically removed from the Federal Building By Peter G. Chronis Denver Post Staff writer More than 40 disabled demonstrators in wheelchairs jammed the lobby of U.S. Attorney Mike Norton's Denver office Tuesday to protest U.S. Justice Department action in a transit-access lawsuit. About 30 members of Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation and a few non-disabled protesters stayed from noon to 5:30 p.m., when officers of the Federal Protective Service began removing them from the 12th floor of the Federal Building at 19th and Stout streets. All the demonstrators were physically led from the building, but no one was arrested. Protesters from Texas, Georgia, California, Massachusetts, Illinois, New York and elsewhere have converged on Denver to demonstrate this week during a federal Urban Mass Transit Administration meeting. They blocked lobbies and doorways of the Radisson Hotel on Sunday night and on Monday; on Tuesday, they targeted Norton’s lobby. The group's grievance is rooted in a Philadelphia lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation in which a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals mandated that all new public transit buses be equipped with hydraulic lifts for the handicapped. ADAPT member Diane Coleman, a Los Angeles lawyer, said the Justice Department has asked the appeals court to vacate the decision and rehear the suit before the entire 12-member court. The full court agreed to do that, and it has has set oral arguments for May 15. Demonstrators demanded that Norton set up a conference telephone call with U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, but Norton told the group that Thornburgh was traveling and could not be reached. Norton, shouted down several times as he spoke, promised to write a letter to Thornburgh expressing the protesters‘ concerns. He also gave the demonstrators Thornburgh’s Washington telephone number. About 4 p.m., after calling Washington, Norton also told the group that the administration appealed the court decision because it felt a policy calling for $270 million a year in additional spending should be made either by the administration or by Congress — not by a federal district court. Coleman said federal regulations allow decisions on disabled transportation to be made locally. “As a practical matter, that meant no transportation," she said. “We want a nationwide policy — we don't want to fight city by city." Bob Kafka, an ADAPT member from Austin, Texas, added, "Disabled kids in school today are being sold a bill of goods that they‘re going to be integrated into society." Transportation is the key to integrating the disabled, he said. Ironically, he also said that Denver's public transportation facilities for the handicapped offer relatively good access to the disabled. The end of first article; second article below: Rocky Mountain News LOCAL BRIEFS Rocky Mountain News Staff April 26, 1989 [Headline] Wheelchair-lift issue in court’s lap, lawyer says U.S. Attorney Michael Norton yesterday told a group of disabled activists that the federal government's appeal of a court ruling on bus wheelchair lifts was out of his hands. Norton appeared before 40 wheelchair-bound members of ADAPT, American Disabled for Access to Public Transit, who had camped several hours outside his 12th floor offices in Denver's federal building. ADAPT members are angry about an appeal by the U.S. Justice Department on behalf of the Department of Transportation. The appeal seeks to overturn a federal court ruling requiring all local transit buses to be equipped with wheelchair lifts. Thirty protesters were arrested Monday for blocking the doors of the Radisson Hotel, where their target, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, was holding a conference.