Welcome to the California connection for March 17.
CCB Office Hours
The CCB office will be closed on Tuesday march 21 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Conference Announcement
The Convention announcement is now online at:
http://www.ccbnet.org/con17_announce.htm
Important: Time is running out to get the $105 all inclusive room rate for the CCB convention. Our deadline is Wednesday March 22nd to either call the hotel or make your reservation online. You can call the Hilton Woodland Hills/Los Angeles Hotel at 866-288-3310 or visit the hotel website.
When calling, please mention the California Council of the Blind (CCB) SRP CODE: "CBL" in order to get the $105 all-inclusive room rate of guest room tax.
We also have several rooms available in our block starting on Wednesday April 5 so you can join us for the fund raiser at BJ's brew house that evening and then have a room to stay in.
You will thoroughly enjoy the 2017 CCB Conference and Convention speakers.
For those interested in advocacy, Anthony Stevens, ACB Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs, will present both at Friday evening's general session and at Friday morning's Committee on Access and Transportation and California Citizens with Low Vision joint program.
Our international luncheon and banquet speaker will be former CEO of the American Foundation of the Blind, Carl Augusto. As a real treat, Carl will be leading a sing-along after the banquet and for all you lovers of 60's and 70's music, you don't want to miss it.
Carl has asked whether anyone in the area would have a guitar that they can bring to convention in order that he can avoid the hassle of bringing his from the East Coast. If you can accommodate this request, please let the CCB office know at 800-221-6359. We appreciate your assistance in this matter.
For those considering coming to the convention on Wednesday, CCB will be holding a fundraiser at a nearby BJ's Restaurant and Brew house from 4 to 10 PM.
Please share this information with chapters, statewide affiliates, and other interested parties.
We look forward to seeing you and making the 2017 CCB Conference and Convention the best ever!
Convention Transportation Options
The following presents information on transportation options for the 2017 Conference and Convention.
The Burbank Bob Hope Airport is the nearest (18 miles) airfield to the Hilton Woodland Hills/Los Angeles Hotel, the site of the April 6th - 9th Convention.
There are several transportation service options for traveling between the airport and hotel, which are: Shuttle services, taxicabs, Uber, Lyft, and Access Services.
Shuttle service and taxi cabs are located on the pedestrian islands immediately in front of the Burbank Airport terminal, and operate to and from the Airport.
Shuttle service operators are:
- SuperShuttle (1-800-660-6042),
- Road Runner Shuttle and Limousine Service (1-800-247-7919),
- and Prime Time Shuttle (1-800-733-8267).
The current round-trip Supershuttle price is $52. For those flying into LAX, the current Supershuttle price is $64, although you can save $3 from both airports by making Supershuttle reservations online at supershuttle.com.
Taxicab operators are:
- Yellow Cab and Checker Cab (1-800-750-4400),
- United Taxi (1-800-892-8294),
- and City Cab (1-800-848-1000).
Those who are Uber or Lyft users will need to contact directly both companies to learn about scheduling and fares, but quotes we received from Burbank were Uber $23 and Lyft $25-31.
For those folks traveling to either Los Angeles or Burbank airports, Amtrak or Greyhound for the 2017 CCB Conference and Convention, the following information may be helpful if you are a current ADA qualified Para transit rider in your local area and wish to use Para transit while at the Woodland Hills Hilton Hotel.
The Para transit group in the Los Angeles Area is called Access Services.
You can call (1800) 827-0829 and press option 1, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
You will then let them know that you have Para transit in your local city, and that you are requesting visitor status. They will give you all of the information along with a fax number to have your local Para transit provider send your current eligibility status.
Make sure that you check a day or so later (business days only) at the same number in order to be certain that your information was received and put into the system.
You will then be given instructions on how to use the service as a visitor.
The current fares are $2.75 per trip up to 19.9 miles, and $3.50 per trip from 20 miles and beyond.
At LAX, there is a blue Access sign outside each terminal. At the Burbank Airport, you must go out by the Taxi Stand.
Candidate Statements For The 2017 Officer And Board Of Directors Election
The California Council of the Blind 2017 Board candidate statements are now on the CCB website.
http://www.ccbnet.org/candidates_2017.htm
Get to know who is running and what their future plans are for CCB!
If you require an alternate format of this candidate information, please contact the CCB Office at 800-221-6359 with your request.
Remember that there will be additional opportunities to learn about the candidates at the Candidates Forum during the first general session on Friday afternoon, April 7, at the 2017 Conference and Convention.
CCB Conference Call Recordings:
The conference call recording, Board meeting 3-9-17, created on 3/9/2017 has been made available for dial-in access.
To listen to this recording by telephone please dial 1-302-202-1115 and enter Recording ID: 56626839 when prompted for it.
The conference call recording, President call 2-28-17, created on 2/28/2017 has been made available for dial-in access.
To listen to this recording by telephone please dial 1-302-202-1115 and enter Recording ID: 91561521 when prompted for it.
Some recording features are available to you once you're listening.
1 will pause
2 will rewind 1 minute
3 will forward 1 minute
Amazon Smile
CCB is now on Amazon smile. Just follow the below link and sign in as you normally would and now when you shop CCB will get a portion of every dollar spent.
Please share this link widely.
https://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-1265032
From Bonnie Rennie
CCB, in partnership with Senior Center Without Walls, is presenting, "Using your Voice to Good Effect: Basics in Self Advocacy".
For three weeks, via free conference call,
Wednesdays, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
March 22nd, March 29th, and April 5.
Joining, and registering at Senior Center Without Walls is easy, call 877 779-7299.
If you or someone you know could benefit from self advocacy skills with family, caregivers, or community services, please help them sign up.
Chapter Fundraiser:
CAUSE and EFFECT: MAKE DINNER A SELFLESS ACT
The Solano County Council of the Blind is having a fundraiser at The Chipotle Mexican Grill on Tuesday, March 28th from 5pm to 9pm.
Located at 1620 E. Monte Vista Ave. Suite 101 in Vacaville.
Bring in a flyer, show it on your smart phone or just tell the cashier you're supporting the cause to make sure that 50% of the proceeds will be donated to the Solano County Council of the Blind. Flyers available throughout Solano County.
Please join us!
Student Education Access Grant
Applications are now available for THE 2017 STUDENT EDUCATION ACCESS GRANT, which is awarded annually to A legally blind student ages 8-18 who lives in the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, or Sonoma.
The San Francisco Chapter of CCB will give a grant in the form of technology products worth up to $2,500 to an applicant who meets the criteria listed above and can best demonstrate the need for accessible equipment to enhance their educational opportunities.
A Completed application and essay must be submitted to Charlie Dorris tyreedorris@comcast.net by March 31, 2017.
To request an application and instruction form or for further details contact:
Charlie Dorris: 415-775-0487 tyreedorris@comcast.net (or)
Linda Porelle: 415-586-2622, lmporelle@gmail.com
Electricity Cost Increases
Most Californians will soon see a change in the way they are billed for electricity. The center for accessible technology wants to hear from you about what this will mean.
Over the next few years, the major utilities in California, PG & E, SCE and SDG&E, will be switching most customers from the tiered structure to a "time of use" or TOU rate structure, where rates for electricity are higher during the time of day where there is the most demand on the electric grid (likely to be late afternoon and through the evening) and lower during other times of day.
Do you want to find out more about these changes? And what can you do?
The Center for Accessible Technology is conducting short (20 minute) telephone interviews about household electricity use. We can also provide information on how to "opt out" of the TOU change if you prefer.
By providing your story about your electricity usage and how any change in rate structure may affect your quality of life, you will help us submit important information to the California Public Utilities Commission, which is considering whether to exempt groups of customers from the change.
If you are interested in being interviewed, please email Kate Woodford at kwoodford@cforat.org, or call 510-841-3224 x 2017 to schedule a telephone interview. Evening and weekend interviews are available.
If you prefer to take an online survey, the link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RKHN793
Thank you for reading, Have a nice day
