Welcome to the CCB Happenings for October 6, 2023.

From the Convention Committee:

We invite CCB members to provide theme suggestions for our 2024 CCB virtual Conference and Convention. If your theme is selected, your idea will set the tone for our next convention and you will win a special prize to be announced. We also invite you to present your ideas for convention content at a roundtable discussion to be held on October 16 at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to submit theme suggestions, email:
Convention.ccb@gmail.com or call 714-921-0289 before November 1.

From the Publications Committee:

Everyone has a story to tell, an experience to share. What better place to do this than the Blind Californian! Its pages are eagerly awaiting your thoughts, your excitement, your annecdotes, your inspiration, your frustrations. Let's get to know each other through the BC. On Wednesday, October 18, at 7:30 PM, the Publications Committee invites you to talk about your stories and learn how we can help you put them on paper. Come join us! YOUR magazine welcomes and awaits you!

From Jeff Thom:

Legally blind individuals who have shopped at any The Container Store location in California since approximately 2011 have likely experienced a variety of inaccessible features, including flat-screen point-of-sale devices and tablets for Loyalty Program enrollment that have no VoiceOver features that blind shoppers can use. A case is pending against the Container Store in California based on its refusal to provide accessible services, and the lawyers pursuing that case would like to speak to any blind individuals who have shopped at that store and may have experienced these inaccessible devices. You may contact Jeff Thom either at jsthom@comcast.net or 916-995-3967 if you have shopped at any Container Store location in California at any time from 2011 through the present and are interested in participating in this case. He can provide you with contact information for the attorneys in the case.

From CCB Educator James Collins:

Power Saver Rewards is a free public program that gives you a credit on your energy bill when you reduce your energy use during a Flex Alert and help prevent a power outage. Flex Alerts generally occur during heatwaves when there’s a strain on the power grid as folks arrive home from school and work between 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. The best way to reduce energy use during a Flex Alert is to hold off on using major appliances, like the dishwasher, and turn your thermostat up to 78 degrees.
Get the whole family involved and remind everyone in your household to help keep energy use low during a Flex Alert. When you reduce energy use during a Flex Alert, you get a bill credit and help protect vulnerable community members from a power outage. Sign up today at PowerSaverRewards.org to start receiving credits.

MEDI-CAL STUDY

Culture IQ, a multi-cultural research company based in Los Angeles, are working in conjunction with California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to interview Californians with Medi-Cal to help improve the quality of information sent to the millions of people who receive Medi-Cal.
The interviews will be conducted via Zoom in October and will last about 90 minutes. You will receive $200 after participating. We need Medi-Cal recipients 65 or older, and disabled or visually impaired people of any age who receive Medi-Cal. Everything about this research study is strictly confidential, we will not share any information or responses with the Medi-Cal program, DHCS or CHCF. They also will not share any information with doctors or hospitals.
Contact Sandra Mendez at 818-666-7316 to see if you qualify

Thank you for reading.