Georgia Man In Wheelchair Incorrectly Told He's Too Fat To Ride The Bus

David Washington, 65, of McDonough, Georgia was informed by local transit authorities that he was too fat to ride the local bus.

Mr. Washington weighs 600 pounds and uses a wheelchair. Transportation officials were concerned that the security system in the buses couldn't handle someone of Mr. Washington's size, and informed him via letter that he would need to find alternate transportation.

Officals then re-inspected the buses and are now confident strap-security system can handle passengers up to 800 pounds.

"Think Tank" Slams Popular Voucher Program, Religious Schools

Policy Matters Ohio, a “think tank” based in Cleveland, has come out against the Ohio Autism Scholarship Program.

This while the Ohio Senate is scheduling hearings on Senate Bill 57, another attempt to expand the program to include the spectrum of children with disabilities, not just those with autism.

There are those who have more extensive experience than I with the Autism Scholarship Program, but I do know of two words to describe the general reaction of most parents with children enrolled in the program: wildly popular.

State Representative Jon Peterson, the godfather of the program, told to me in a meeting a few years ago that the initial research seeking feedback from parents enrolled in the program was nearly 100% positive. No other disability program anywhere that I’ve ever heard of can claim that.

Policy Matters Ohio appears to oppose parents being able to use vouchers in private schools based on one fundamental and overriding premise: they are private schools. And further, they specifically criticize Catholic schools for their inclusion of religious instruction in the curriculum.

The three main criticisms are that:

1. Schools exclude students based on religion
2. Schools exclude students based on severity of disability; and
3. Schools exclude students based on ability to pay the difference between the scholarship and the overall tuition costs.

I will leave the discussion of 2 and 3 for another day, but I flatly reject the first criticism as a means for discontinuing the program. The Executive Summary of the report explains “exclusion of students based on religion,” with the following sentence:

Many (schools) require religious instruction, discouraging enrollment of eligible children.

First of all, these schools require religious instruction of all students, not just those with disabilities. The report lists the mission statements of participating Catholic schools, including the Sisters of Notre Dame in Lyndhurst, which reads: (The school) is “committed to the education of children of any faith who experience special learning needs,” and helps students “grow in witnessing Gospel values.”

Overall, that doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me.

Religious instruction is a fact of attending Catholic schools. Many, many non-Catholic families who can afford it – including that of Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman – send their children to Catholic schools, knowing full well of the religious instruction requirements that accompany it. In fact, the religious instruction is often a strong selling point, even among non-Catholics.

There is no evidence – certainly none offered in the report – that any private school in Ohio has denied entrance to a child with a disability based on them being the “wrong” religion.

So PMO switches to the “separation of church and state” argument, and starts quoting Justices Breyer and Souter, which is a bit above my pay grade.

But the analysis I really want from a report titled “Analyzing Autism Vouchers in Ohio,” is not whether Whizzer White would have agreed with it, but whether or not it works, whether or not it helps, and whether or not participants are satisfied with it.

And what the research shows is: it does, it does, and they are.

The report itself lists nine criticisms of the program, and none of them have to do with the quality of services. The report does, however, tuck in the following statement:

Despite the above issues, parents interviewed for this study using the voucher tended to express more satisfaction with services than parents in district schools.

Parents choose to send their children to Catholic and Jewish Schools knowing the religious instruction requirements therein. If they don’t want the religious instruction, they don’t have to go to St. Michael or Mary Immaculate.

But to deny parents of modest means the right to send their child with autism to a school that actually welcomes their autistic child, based on a set of facts fully-known by the parents – that the child will receive religious instruction – seems paternalistic.

This program helps children with disabilities, and participants are happy with it. And those should always be the two most important criteria of any disability program.

Come Visit West Virginia's "New" Lunatic Asylum

In Weston, West Virginia, a town one hour south of Morgantown, there stands one of the world’s largest hand-cut stone structures. The Weston Hospital, a castle dating back to the 19^th century, is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

For most of her history the 307-acre complex was used as a mental health hospital, once housing more than 2,000 patients. It has been largely vacant since 1994.

The state put the grounds up for auction, and they were purchased by Joe Jordan of Morgantown for $1.5 million.

With prices ranging from $10 to $30, one can take a tour of the hospital, learning about issues ranging from the “evolution of mental health care, the Civil War, the Great Depression, even architecture.”

Disability advocates in West Virginia, however, take great umbrage with the operation at the Weston. Their unease takes many forms, starting with the “new” name of the hospital. For marketing purposes, the owners reverted the Weston Hospital back to one of its previous names: The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

That’s offensive enough. Now add in some of the planned activities for the next year:

• “Psycho Path” dirt bike races
• “Mud bog” races, where trucks see how far they can go in the mud before getting stuck.
• “Hospital of Horrors” Halloween Tours
• “Nightmare Before Christmas” tours before Christmas.

The reaction of disability advocates:

"It's like turning back the clock to a time we don't want to go back to," said Ann McDaniel, executive director of the Statewide Independent Living Council, one of several mental health advocacy groups to object. "I think they could still do what they want to do without being offensive."

Scott Miller, director of Mountain State Direct Action Center, said one former patient burst into tears after seeing the name on a sign.

"It's not just that I'm a liberal and I think it's not a good idea; it's seeing people physically hurt," he said. "That's about all I needed to know."

The Big House Ain't The Big House No More

The new disability mantra at the University of Michigan should be: We’re 32.9% compliant with the ADA!

Blue laughed, shrugged, giggled and guffawed when a penniless disability rights organization, the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, sued the university because the football stadium wasn’t compliant with the ADA.

Actually, to say it was non-compliant was a bit of an understatement. The Roman Coliseum is more disability-friendly than the coliseum in Ann Arbor.

Almost all of the walkways to the stadium were too steep for wheelchairs to climb, and too dangerous for wheelchairs to descend. The ones that were compliant didn’t take them to the disability seating areas, which were stuffed in each endzone, high enough where you could see the hole in the ozone. They didn’t have accessible bathrooms, and many people in wheelchairs were being physically carried down rows of seats to their season-ticket locale.

Michigan insisted - through construction sleight of hand and downright obfuscation - that the ADA didn’t apply to them. They claimed that the $280 million they were spending, including replacing the concrete in the bowl and adding luxury skyboxes, was just “maintenance” and not “renovation.”

The Office of Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Education vehemently disagreed, issuing a blistering indictment of Michigan and their complete unwillingness to comply with the law.

This settlement, of course, according to Michigan, is proof of their benevolence and commitment to accessibility for all, and in no way an admission that they were out of compliance.

The ADA requires there to be over 1,000 seats for people in wheelchairs in a stadium that size. Michigan has agreed to roughly 1/3 of that requirement. Many other schools (including Ohio State) have mammoth stadiums that are compliant with the ADA. Michigan should as well. I wish they hadn’t settled, but I’m sure resources were a factor in the decision. It is a victory nonetheless.

When I have gone to games in Ann Arbor, when the announcer gives the attendance figure, he always excited gushes that “the largest crowd in America watching college football today is right here at Michigan Stadium!”

Not any more. Adding disability seating will require the removal of some seats. That means that real “Big House” is now State College, Pennsylvania at Beaver Stadium, home of the Penn State Nittany Lions. That that stadium – unlike Michigan Stadium – is accessible for people with disabilities, showing Michigan that it you can do it the right way and still be #1.

America's First Blind Governor Sworn In To Office

Congratulations to David Paterson, the new Governor of the State of New York.

Reiser Accuses Wife of Embezzlement

Hans Reiser, the California software engineer on trial for the murder of his wife, accused her of embezzling from his company.

Reiser, who has been described as having Asperger’s Syndrome, is accused of killing Nina Reiser, his wife and the mother of his two children.

Reiser testified today that one of the last things he said to his wife was an accusation that she had been stealing money from his engineering company.

Reiser said that Nina, who he met in Russia while looking for a mail-order bride, kissed her children, walked out the door, and was never seen again. Her van was found days later, with rotting groceries, and no sign of Mrs. Reiser.

Ban on Smoking Chokes Funds For southwest Ohio ARC chapter

Smoking bans, when put to a public vote, pass. The majority of voters don’t smoke, and would prefer to be able to enjoy a night out without gasping for clean air or coming home smelling like a used ashtray.

People who support smoking bans, however, rarely stop to think of the effect it may have on local charitable organizations.

But for the ARC of Clermont and Brown Counties, the smoking ban has cut off a large source of funds, putting their services to people with disabilities in peril.

The ARC (which used to stand for Association of Retarded Citizens) is a local, grassroots organization that provides services to and advocates for people with developmental disabilities. There are dozens of chapters in Ohio, operating under the umbrella of the ARC of Ohio.

In Brown/Clermont, the ARC runs a Saturday night bingo game. Due to the recent smoking ban, the normal crowd has been reduced by two-thirds, from 150 down to 50. The ARC believes the first 50 stopped coming because of the ban; the second 50 stopped coming because the reduced crowd meant less money for door prizes and winning payouts.

"The smoking ban really did hurt us because most of the people are going to Kentucky or Indiana now to play bingo, or they'll go to Argosy (Casino) in Lawrenceburg," said Jessica Ruebel, executive director.

The local ARC is likely going to have to turn over operations to the ARC of Ohio. They are $85,000 in debt and the director, Jessica Ruebel, hasn’t been paid since August.

"We are fighting to stay alive," Ruebel said.

Client #9 May Lead To Historic First

The heated race for president took a back seat today to the revelations that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer may have to resign his office for being involved in a prostitution ring.

What good may come of such a failing? America appears to be on its way to having its first blind governor. David Paterson, the Lieutenant Governor of New York, will likely ascend to the position of Governor should Mr. Spitzer, as is widely expected, resign his office.

Blind since childhood, newspaper accounts are saying he will be the state's first legally bling chief executive, and the first governor with a disability since Franklin Delano Roosevelt - though FDR's was often hid from the public. Mr. Paterson is also African-American, making him, in his words, "a minority within a minority."

Reports say Mr. Paterson is able to recognize people "from a conversational distance" and often memorizes complete speeches.

At least something good may come out of a story that has precious little good in it.

"The Drinks Are On Me"

I’ve been playing golf on and off since I was in college. I’ve never had a hole-in-one in my entire life – not even at the Wendy’s Chili Open, where the holes are about 12 yards long.

On January 10^th, 2008, Leo Fiyalko hit a hole-in-one at the Cove Cay Country Club in Clearwater, Florida. He dunked a 5-iron from 110 yards out on the par-3 fifth hole.

Leo Fiyalko is 92 years old. And he’s blind.

Now I really must complain here. There is a certain amount of unfairness in play in this situation, and Mr. Fiyalko has completely ignored any semblance of a pecking order. The order, to wit, should be:

1. No one who is 92 should hit their FIRST hole-in-one before me/
2. No one who is blind should hit their FIRST hole-in-one before me.
3. No one who hits a 5-iron from 110 yards out should hit their first hole-in-one before me.

Other than that I’m happy for the old guy.

Jeff Healey: Rest In Peace

"Odd and Prickly" Reiser: Wife Not Capable Of Love

Hans Reiser testified in his own defense yesterday in the trial accusing him of the murder of his wife, Nina.

Testimony has been offered that Reiser, a successful computer engineer, has Asperger’s Syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum.

He was described as “odd and prickly,” by associates. He often speaks in a monotone voice, but in court he made attempts to modulate his voice and maintain eye contact with his attorney. He also often rambled on about inconsequential issues, such as the details of his Linux-based file search system. He often had to be brought back to the issue at hand by the attorneys.

Reiser said that the romance had gone out of the relationship that his wife, though craving love and attention, “was not capable of love.”

His testified that in September of 2006 he was having a discussion about custody of the kids with his wife when she abruptly ended the talk, walked out the door, and was never seen again.

Her van was found at a supermarket with spoiled groceries inside. No body has been found in the case. She is presumed dead, but the defense maintains she could still be alive.

He is expected to testify for a few days before cross examination.