Welcome to the California Connection for January 15.
Office Closure
Please note that the CCB office will be closed on Monday January 18 for the Martin Luther King holiday and on Tuesday January 19 for administrative purposes.
From The President
It is with deep sadness that I report the passing earlier this week of Phil Hatlin, one of the true pioneers in the field of education for students with visual impairments.
Beginning in the 1950s as a professor at San Francisco State University and in other capacities, Phil made a crucial difference in the education of literally thousands of students in California and throughout the nation, most of whom he never even met. In recent years, even though he suffered from poor health, Phil continued to contribute to the field of education of children who are blind or have low vision. He will be deeply missed by those who knew him.
Conference and Convention Preview: Hotel Reservation Information for the 2016 Annual California Council of the Blind Conference andConvention
Would you like to get a head start on attending the 2016 Annual Conference and Convention?
If your answer is yes, then you can begin by making your hotel reservations starting now.
Registration is now open for the 2016 Annual Conference and Convention of the California Council of the Blind (CCB)!!!
This year's theme is "Believe it and achieve it".
The conference and convention will take place Thursday April 7th - Sunday April 10th, 2016 at the Viejas Casino & Resort four-star hotel. The hotel address is: 5000 Willows Road, Alpine, CA 91901.
The Casino Resort offers the following:
- Luxury spa and high-end shopping at Viejas Outlets
- Casino expansion with 10,000 square feet, featuring Vegas-style gaming and over 2,000 slots
- Team-building and family friendly entertainment at Viejas Bowl, Fun Zone Arcade, and the Show Court with live multi-media performances
- Buffet with endless gourmet selections and unlimited beer, wine, and champagne
- Fine gourmet dining at The Grove Steakhouse, recipient of the AAA FourDiamond Award
- Diverse dining options, including Asian and Mexican cuisine, and all-American favorites
To make hotel reservations via phone, call: 800-938-2532, or via Internet reservation link: viejas.com/hotel.
When making your reservation by phone or online, provide the following reservation conference code:160413CALI.
Room rates are: Single: $99, Double: $99, Triple: $119, Quad: $139, Suites:$339.
The rates are all-inclusive of guest room tax.
The cut-off date for reserving a room in our block is March 16th, 2016, so don't delay, make your reservation today!!!
The Viejas Casino & Resort welcomes service animals and does not permit pets to be brought into their facilities.
Transportation between the hotel and San Diego International Airport, SanDiego downtown Amtrak Station as well as San Diego downtown Greyhound Depot information will be provided in a future announcement.
Please share this information with chapters and other interested parties. The CCB looks forward to welcoming you at the Viejas Casino & Resort!
Roommate Request
From Margie Donovan
Greetings, I am looking for a roommate for the upcoming CCB convention. I will be staying from the 7th to the 10th. I have a guide dog and nor problems rooming with another dog, but a nonsmoker please.
If you are interested please email me at Margie.donovan1@outlook.com
East L A Chapter Meeting
Our meeting of the East L A Chapter CCB that was scheduled to be held on the ninth of January has been rescheduled for the sixteenth of January due to inclement weather.
Our meeting will begin at 10:30 AM - 01:30 PM with lunch to be served from noon until 01:00 PM.
Please make note of the change in date and time.
If there are any questions, please contact President Erik Macias.
Come meet and greet our new board.
Our board looks forward to making new acquaintances and renewing friendships.
From the CCB Hearing and Vision Loss Committee
An Introduction to Hearing Loss:
Because of the interest of callers in various time zones, starting January 17, 2016, the interactive resource conference calls on hearing loss will be on the 3rd Sunday afternoons 2 Pacific-5 Eastern.
The topic for the January 17 meeting will be "When, How and Why to Self-disclose We Have a Hearing Loss." Join CCB's Hearing and Vision Impaired Committee as we explore this and more!
This is the third of a series of monthly open interactive resource conferences to help you deal with your hearing loss.
Date: Sunday, January 17; Time: 2 PM pacific; Phone: 800-662-6992; ID: 1184109.
We encourage you to sign up for our email list where we will be posting resources we have talked about and for you to share your resources with us.
Go to:
ccbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/hvi-l_ccbnet.org.
In addition, you can get links to previous audio recordings by emailing mlkeithley@comcast.net
State SSI Payments
As many of you know, CCB is involved with a coalition, CA4SSI, whose goal is to increase state payments to SSI recipients. As part of this effort, Justice in Aging is seeking individuals from the Bay Area who may wish to tell their stories in a video concerning the impact of the payment amounts currently provided, which fall well below the poverty level. Stories are especially important from those who have experienced homelessness.
If you feel that your story should be told, please email Mr. Kevin Prindiville at kprindiville@justiceinaging.org
Attention Current and Past Guide Dog Handlers
CCB is introducing legislation to enhance service animal protection laws against attacks on our dogs. The current law states if your dog is in discharge of its duties it is not covered under service animal protection laws. As an example if your dog is relieving and not in harness it is not covered. We need some information regarding attacks when your guides were in discharge of its duties.
If you have ever had such an experience, please email me at Margie.donovan1@outlook.com or call me at 916 293 9505.
Silicon Valley Chapter Announces Technology Grant
The Silicon Valley Council of the Blind will award a grant of up to $1000 to a blind or visually impaired person who can best demonstrate the need for adaptive technology that will improve his-her quality of life or advance his-her educational and/or employment opportunities.
The qualifications for the grant are as follows:
The individual
- Must be legally blind
- Must be a resident of one of the following counties: San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, or San Benito
- Must be sixteen years of age or older
- Is planning to use the technology for educational, vocational or quality of life purposes.
- Is seeking technology that the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation or other service/educational organizations will not fund or do not have available.
Download an application from the SVCB website
http://www.svcb.cc and complete and postmark it by Saturday January 30, 2016.
If you are selected as a finalist, you will be invited to meet with the committee for a personal or telephone interview.
The committee will choose the winner no later than Monday, February 29, 2016, and will notify the recipient shortly thereafter.
The grant will be awarded at SVCB's April 2016 general membership meeting, and the recipient will be invited to attend a special ceremony.
Seeking Roommate In The Sacramento Area
I am looking to find a roommate or a shared living situation in an apartment or house in the Sacramento area. I have a guide dog. A non-Smoking roommate is preferred.
Please contact me at 916-584-0978 any day of the week between 8 AM and 8 PM.
AC Transit Seeks Volunteers For Accessibility Advisory Committee
AC Transit is seeking volunteers to fill potential openings on its Accessibility Advisory Committee (AAC).
The AAC typically meets on the second Tuesday of the month.
Citizens appointed to serve on the committee shall serve a term of one year beginning March 1, 2016. In addition, qualified applications received during this recruitment will be used to fill any mid-term vacancies that occur during the year.
Qualified applicants must use AC Transit’s fixed-route service, be a senior or individual with a disability and/or represent such groups, and be willing to devote the necessary hours to attend meetings.
Along with identifying problems and offering probable solutions and ideas, prospective applicants should also have respect for others, be open to hearing divergent points of view, and commit up to six hours a month to committee-related work.
If interested, an application is available on the District’s website or by calling the District Secretary’s Office at 510-891-7209.
Completed applications can be faxed to 510-891-4705, emailed to districtsecretary@actransit.org or mailed to the attention of the District Secretary, 1600 Franklin Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
All applications must be returned by February 1, 2016.
Thank you for reading,
Have a nice day
