A Blind Governor Adjusts, and So Does Albany --At the end of each day they call in and record briefings, laying out what he needs to know about the following day. Click here for article.

BELLEVUE EYED AS LUXE HOTEL--Originally, officials considered turning the 1931 Italian Renaissance-style building on First Avenue between 29th and 30th streets into condos, but oddly, the layout of a mental institution is better suited to a hotel, Melissa Konur, vice president of the city's Economic Development Commission, told The Post. Click here for more.

New York History

David Paterson’s ascension moment to celebrate for me. Click here for article.

Paterson's Swearing-In marks Especially Proud Day For Black Leaders, New Yorkers. click here for more.Video

The New Governor Also Serves as an Inspiration for the Blind--Harold James, a 44-year-old bear of a man with a neatly trimmed beard, works at Lighthouse International, a nonprofit organization that helps people with vision problems. Click here for article.

Gov. David Paterson's rise inspires blind students --For his morning journal-writing assignment at Intermediate School 237 in Flushing, Queens, Eric Ballard selects a daily topic of his choosing. Click here for article.

Spitzer Is Linked to Prostitution Ring. Resigns?--Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet with a high-priced prostitute at a Washington hotel last month, according to a person briefed on the federal investigation. Click here for article

We Win! NY board chooses new voting machines for handicapped--The state Board of Elections on Thursday approved more accurate, modern voting machines accessible to the disabled that must be ready for the fall elections. Click here for article.

Spitzer's speech sparse on government reform The 70-minute address, delivered Wednesday to a joint meeting of the Senate and Assembly, was remarkable for the absence of discussion about government reform, the signature issue of Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign in 2006....They had clapped heartily for record school aid, less Medicaid spending and funds for stem-cell research. Click here for article.

NY Sets Voting-Machine Upgrade Schedule The New York Board of Elections on Friday gave a federal judge a timetable under which it plans to replace all of the state's lever-action voting machines by September 2009. Click here for article.

Judge warns New York to comply with voting law (HAVA) A federal judge is giving New York until Jan. 4 to develop a timeline for how it will comply with a federal election law to make voting more accurate and more accessible to the disabled. Click here for article.

Tentative pact halts ParaTransit strike A tentative agreement has been reached between striking van drivers and companies that provide public transportation for thousands of disabled New Yorkers, officials said yesterday. Click here for article.

Audit finds agency for disabled hired relatives in no-bid dealsState Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says his auditors found the Central New York Developmental Disabilities Services Office hired dozens of relatives of employees at a cost of $253,000 without seeking the lowest bid for the work. Click here for article.

Man's stolen wheelchair returned in Hagerstown Hagerstown Police say the wheelchair stolen from a man at a Wal-Mart store has been returned. Click here for article.

Woman in wheelchair injured by subway train.A woman was struck by a train and seriously injured after the back wheels of her electric wheelchair got stuck on the yellow studded area of a Penn Station subway platform, police said yesterday. Click here for article.

Critics slam plan for disabled voting equipment. ALBANY - State officials are considering an expensive stopgap to comply next year with a federal law mandating that all polling places have a voting machine equipped for the disabled, though county leaders and reformers have said the plan is unworkable and could further delay the modernization of voting systems. Click here for article.

NYS DISABLED ADVOCATES DEFEAT ELECTIONS BOARD ON HAVA MEASURE.

We Won!!! Click here for more.

NY TIMES: Holt's Election Reform Bill (HR 811) Going Back for a Re-Write. Click here for background

Frank Bowe, 60, Deaf Advocate for Disabled. Bowe was known in the disability rights community as "the father of section 504" of the 1973 act.Click here for article.

Frank Bowe, deaf NY professor who fought for disabled, dies at 60. Click here for article.

Bill to protect disabled now up to Spitzer. Michael and Lisa Carey are watching Albany these days as few do. They are waiting to see if the bill they pushed in memory of their autistic son, Jonathan, becomes law so that parents can better protect their disabled children. Click here for article.

Spitzer outlines vision of Medicaid ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot Spitzer pledged to cut Medicaid costs Friday, vowing in a major policy speech to be the defender of patients, not the powerful institutional interests that he blamed for persuading elected leaders to perpetuate a broken, unaffordable health care system. Click here for article.

Justices say home healthcare aides not entitled to minimum wage, overtime. Click here for more.

Disabled Child's Parents Defend Growth-Retarding TherapyClick here for article.

Ashley - the disability perspective The medical model tends to favour using surgery, drugs and other interventions to "normalise" a disabled person. Click here for article.

Parents Stop Disabled Child's Growth. Three months ago, the U.S. medical community learned of a treatment where a disabled girl's growth was intentionally stunted through surgery. Click here for article.

Eliot Spitzer sworn in as New York’s 54th Governor.
Click here for article.

Spitzer calls for renewing New York's glory days. Click here for article.

Attorney General Takes Office Under Spitzer's Long Shadow.
Click here for article.

Timothy's Law gives hope to mentally ill. After 10 days at an upstate hospital, Victoria Scott's youngest of four children suddenly found herself Thursday at the Rockland Children's Psychiatric Center in Orangeburg. Click here for article.

ILCHV Staff Check Out New Voting Machines

Machine's help the blind cast their votes Visually impaired voters go to polls for first time Click here for video and article.

Despite the glitches, election officials like voting machines. Click here for article.

Disabled voters in New York face substantial barriers to in-person voting Justice Department settlement mandates only one accessible machine per county Click here for more.

NYS HAVA: COURT DECESION A Blow to Voting Accessibility.

In the court case US DOJ vs. NYS BOE concerning HAVA implementation, the judge has ruled that the state may implement what has commonly been referred to as "Plan B." This means, among other things, that counties will generally only have centralized sites for accessible machines in 2006 and that it is up to each county to "assess if providing transportation to voters with disabilities to the 'accessible' voting site is necessary." As a result, many counties have chosen to provide some type of transportation on primary and election day 2006. Click here for more.

New York State DOHhas prevented thousands of disabled people from receiving equipment like walkers and wheelchairs, by delaying or denying their requests in violation of state and federal rules, according to an investigation by the State Assembly. Click here for more.

Conference on "Bioethics in a Divided Democracy" The protesters, around 30 or so, were from Not Dead Yet, a disability rights group that is against legalized euthanasia and other forms of "medical killing," as they call it. Click here for press release.

For more pictures and information. Click here.

NYS HAVA UPDATE.

Voting Machines Catering To Disabled New Yorkers To Be Rolled Out This Fall The new machines feature large print, touch screens, and even have an option of voting by breathing into a straw. Click here for article.

Printouts to verify e-voting this fall Hawai'i voters using electronic voting machines this year will be able to double-check their choices before they cast their ballots, a big change from the last election. Click here for article.

Disabled Wilton Woman Recognized.WILTON---Teena Willard of Wilton was honored with an "Achievers' Award" at the 26th Annual Disabilities Awareness Day Awards Ceremony this week in Albany. Click here for article.

State cuts newsletter for disabled.Workers on publication, families upset over decision to stop funding project they say helped build confidence, understanding . Click here for article.

ONLINE DISABILITY TALK SHOW HOSTED BY MOTHER FROM BUFFALO.Nic Carcieri, father of son Ben with autism, decided he wanted to do something to help promote awareness of autism. Nic has been a fan/collector of comic books for many years. He created a fabulous comic book called BOTS to help raise money for the Autism Society of America. Click here for more. Or for www.disabilitynewsradio.com ,click here for radioshow.

HAVA Implementation in Jeopardy NY Actions Threaten HAVA Nationwide. Click here for more.

State to buy devices to help disabled vote-ALBANY - State election officials, while still battling the federal government in court, are preparing to buy machinery that will allow people with disabilities to vote this fall, a Board of Elections spokesman said Friday. Click here for article.

Justice Department Sues New York State over Voting Rights Lawsuit Seeks to Vindicate Rights of Disabled Voters and Federal Election Reform Efforts. WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department announced today that it has filed suit against the State of New York alleging violations of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA).

Click here for more.

For More Click here

Policy Proposals for Improving SSDI, SSI and Medicaid Work Incentives Prepared By Jensen and Silverstein.

Allen Jensen and Robert "Bobby" Silverstein recently proposed policies for improving SSDI work incentives (e.g., addressing the cash cliff). Policies for updating and improving SSI and Medicaid work incentives are also proposed. Click here for more.

Right call Legislature preserves drug assistance program.In the switchover to the Medicare D prescription plan, it soon became evident to low-income seniors and the disabled who were getting both Medicaid and Medicare that the new coverage was problematic. Medicare did not cover as much as Medicaid did. Click here for article.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- State health officials are working to combat the costly problem of inappropriately placed nursing home residents _ a move that experts say could help New York save millions of dollars in Medicaid spending annually. Click here for article.

Albany County is-or was?-quietly trying to throw some of its disabled citizens into poverty. From the Metroland click here Or here .

People with Disabilities Earn a Seat at the Table.-On Thursday December 15, 2005 one day before a court mandated hearing before State Supreme Court Justice Thomas McNamara, the New York State Board of Elections formally appointed Dennis Boyd as the New York State Independent Living Council (NYSILC) representative to the new Citizen Election Modernization Advisory Committee. Click here for the release.

Disability Advocate Checks Up on NYC Transit-NEW YORK, NY, December 02, 2005 — In 1984, New York City Transit agreed to make its buses and subways more accessible for people with wheelchairs. Click here for article.

Money coming for voting machines State isn't sure what it will buy with $153.4 million from federal government. Click here for details.

Spitzer On Social Security Privatization

"You have an administration that failed to protect investors. Failed to protect them. And yet they are the administration that is saying take the safety net that we have and invest it in a system that was fundamentally broken before others stepped in to try to save it," Spitzer said. Click here for article.

State budget might be the latest one ever, experts say State's highest court says Legislature can't change policies included in governor's budget plan. Click here for article.

Medicaid Equipment Pleas Go Unanswered. Health Dept. Closes Manhattan Medicaid OfficeClick here for article.

New NCIL Director: On behalf of the Board of Directors and Staff of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) we are pleased to announce that John Lancaster has accepted the position of Executive Director of NCIL, headquartered in Washington, DC. Click here for more.

GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW CREATING GREATER OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW YORKERS WITH DISABILITIES TO LIVE IN THEIR COMMUNITIES. Click here for more.

VESID Investigated

Agency workers under scrutiny Albany -- Investigation of Education Department unit finds money may have been misspent .

A state agency that is supposed to train and help find jobs for disabled people has been plagued by missing computers and camcorders, backdated bills and phantom training sessions, the state Education Department revealed Tuesday. Click here for article.

New York tax burden highest in the country. Click here for article.

Two years ago, Gov. Pataki signed legislation that created the State Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council. Its mission was to ensure that people of all ages with disabilities "reside and function in the most integrated setting possible." The council was supposed to come up with a plan, which was supposed to be given to Pataki, the Assembly speaker and Senate leader by December 2003. It didn't happen. Click here for article.

Veto means welfare recipients seeking disability benefits must work

ALBANY, N.Y. Governor George Pataki has vetoed a bill allowing welfare recipients to be exempt from work requirements while they seek federal disability benefits. Click here for article.

U.S. sues N.Y. over disability voting. Click here for article.

Medicaid plan for disabled approved

Albany-- Program allows people to keep Medicaid coverage while working a full-time job . Click here for article.

Discrimination suit against Hoyts reinstated Guilderland-- Claim states theater chain's stadium seating is not equipped for wheelchairs . Click here for article.

Policy Paper on OLMSTEAD. Click here for Adobe pdf file.

Sign on to CTIONY Policy Paper. Click here to sign.

Disabilities Network of New York City (DNNYC). Keep up with the news in NYC. Click here.

Olmstead Rally Video.

The Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley subcontracts with Cornell University to be a hubsite to provide technical assistance on ADA and Accessible IT. For more information on this NIDRR funded project, click here: www.northeastada.org

DISABILITY NEWS ONLINE

cover story of latest Issue.
A Publication of ILCHV. Look for it at your ILC. Click here for new site.

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE DESSERT SPECTACULAR A SUCCESS!

2008 DISABILITY LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

A Brief Summary of the 8 (eight) Legislative Issues you need to know

Polio Survivors Support Group will meet monthly. The next meeting is Thursday, March 27, 2008 at 2:00 PM. So if you would like to meet, talk, or just know that we are here, please come to the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, Troy Atrium, 49 4th Street, Troy, NY 12180. Some transportation available - call 274-0701 Remember

SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS
INDEPENDENT AND REFERRAL SERVICES:

The list will be moved to our Directories Page
click here.

THE SEARCH FOR HOUSING MADE EASIER: CIDNY IMPROVES THE NEW YORK STATE HOUSING ACCESSABILITY REGISTRY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. Click here for more.

Need Help Finding Housing That Is Accessible, Affordable and In Your Area of New York State? (pdf file)

Most Integrated Setting Coordinating Council (MISCC)

Click here for more.

New Web Site for the

NEW YORK ASSOCIATION ON INDEPENDENT LIVING

Capital District Coalition for Accessible Transportation

Improving transportation for people with disabilities
in the Capital District

When:

Time: 6:30pm -8:00pm

Where: Albany Public Library (Main Branch)

161 Washington Ave. , Albany, NY;
1st Floor, Large meeting room

For more information, please call 273-1110

Click here for details.

TRANSPORTATION, ADVOCACY AND COALITION BUILDING IN THE CAPITAL DISTRICT. CLICK HERE

TOP NEWS STORIES OF THE DAY

DO YOU NEED A JOB?

CONTACT THE PERSONAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES (PAS) FOR AN APPOINTMENT, CALL AT 518-274-0701.

Click here for PAS Web Page