Legislative Hotlines, Current Issues for Blind Persons
CALIFORNIA CONNECTION:
800-221-6359, after 5 PM and weekends
WASHINGTON CONNECTION:
800-424-8666, 3-9 PM and weekends
DISCLAIMER: This publication contains announcements from the Silicon Valley Council of the Blind and is also a forum for opinions relating to blindness issues. Signed articles reflect the views, and research, of their authors.
STATUS: SVCB is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization under the California Council of the Blind.
Monthly in-person meetings are held at the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center (Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired San Jose). Meetings run from 9:30 AM to 1 PM, the third Saturday of the month and are open to all.
One of the many benefits of the Silicon Valley Council of the Blind's monthly newsletter, In Touch, is the chance to reflect on the past year, to marvel at how quickly time has passed, and to appreciate how full and meaningful the months have been.
In the October 2024 President's Message, I highlighted the importance of recognizing October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month, honoring individuals with both visible and invisible disabilities. That message feels even more relevant today.
As a community, our chapter continues to have thoughtful conversations about the career paths and volunteer contributions of our members. We've also had the privilege of hosting many diverse and inspiring speakers who have generously shared their passions, professional journeys, and the ways they've contributed to the broader community.
This month, I encourage each of you to celebrate your own journey, whether in education, employment, or volunteer service. For some of our members, that journey is still unfolding, while others are navigating retirement and painting a new picture for the years ahead.
On September 20, nearly 50 SVCB members, friends, families, and wonderful volunteers gathered for our annual picnic at Martial Cottle Park in San Jose. Led by David Hoffman, the Picnic Committee did an outstanding job organizing this special day.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who contributed. Oren and Sean, two new friends of SVCB, brought care and flavor to the grill. Committee members and volunteers Victor, Naomi and Steve, Carol and Joe, Lorraine, Penny, Claudia, Roger, Mark, and Sergio played essential roles in planning, shopping, setup, serving, and cleanup.
As my dear friend Susan Glass beautifully wrote in an email to the committee, "Our senses were treated to the aroma of food on the grill, the sound of lively conversations and laughter, the joyful wagging of guide dog tails, and so much more. It was truly a day to remember."
It's hard to believe, but we are already in the final quarter of 2025. Our Nominating Committee has been formed in preparation for upcoming Board elections, and before we know it, we'll be celebrating at our annual holiday party.
A heartfelt thank you to Vista Center San Jose for continuing to provide space for our monthly gatherings. Rob and I look forward to seeing all of you at the October chapter meeting and the Old-Time Radio show immediately following the meeting.
October birthdays: Diane Harms, John Kanze, Grace Mata, Gail Roe, Donna Sanchez, and Catherine Stewart.
Would the following members please report to the membership office as we are missing your birthdays: Penny and Claudia Volunteers, Irene Barker, Evelyn Comstock, Margaret Hardy, Art Takahara, Gilberto de la Cruz, and Vivian Younger.
Other famous people with birthdays in October: Walter Matthau, James Whitmore, Jimmy Carter, William Rehnquist, Tom Bosley, George Peppard, Julie Andrews, Randy Quaid, Mahatma Ghandi, Groucho Marx, Bud Abbot, Don McLean, Chubby Checker, Al Sharpton, Rutherford B. Hayes, Buster Keaton, Charlton Heston, Jackie Collins, Susan Sarandon, and Mario Lemieux-—anyone know who Mario is?
Quick picnic wrap-up: Just a quick and heart-felt note thanking everyone who was part of the team that put together our annual picnic, held on Saturday, September 20. It is an event that depends on many people, not the least of which are all the attendees coming together for a fun and noisy social event. I heard lots of laughing, sizzling burgers, and handlers trying to get their guides under control. No one left hungry, and we missed those not able to attend. Hope to see even more next year, where rumor has it, retired English professor Susan Glass will perform the first completely solo version of Shakespeare's Macbeth. She will also be in authentic costume.
Holiday party preview and 2026 dues reminder
Do not give up on 2025 yet. There remains so much to do. Meetings, quarterly reviews, Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hannukah shopping. Then there is our October meeting, immediately followed by the Old-Time Radio Show. That Turkey thing, and all of that eating. Oops, forgot Halloween. I think I gained five pounds writing that sentence. But I digress.
On Saturday, December 13, we will have our holiday party at Vista Center San José, 101 North Bascom Avenue, from 11 AM through 2:30 PM. We will be offering a simpler menu and a less expensive ticket price. We will have holiday entertainment, family-friendly beverages, snacks, pizza, salad, and dessert. We are estimating that the cost per member will be $15, and $20 for non-members. All these details are to be confirmed except the date which is set. Payment for the holiday party can be made at the same time as your membership dues or separately. See below for ways to make payments.
2026 membership dues are required to be paid by the end of this year. Annual dues for regular members are $20, and $10 for ACB lifetime members. If you joined the chapter this year, you are already paid up through 2026 and do not owe anything. If you are unsure whether you paid or how to pay, please call or email me, David Hoffman:
cell phone 408-316-4155,
or email me at
davidhoffman1965@gmail.com.
You can pay either me or Victor in person by cash or check. You can mail your check into the P.O. box listed at the top of this newsletter, and you can pay through PayPal at
SVCB@SVCB.CC.
Accessible Design Does Not Have to Be Complicated to Be Effective.
Sometimes I get sick and tired of hearing about accessibility, useability, accommodations, and equal access. When it comes to actual accessibility for over one billion disabled persons in this world, it can seem like historical fiction or pure fantasy. As one of my favorite fictional detectives says, "Everyone counts, or no one counts." I wish that were true. It is not.
I am not going to get into the practical or philosophical argument about what accessibility and usability are, when the world can be so unfair. What I will say in this little space is that, like so many things, we should think globally and act locally. I am talking about community change. It is difficult to "take on city hall," but is it so difficult to put yourself in a situation where you can put your particular superpower to use? Think about the first person who sued Apple for lack of access to the iPhone, or the person who thought of putting that little raised dot on the number 5 on a keypad. Even those impaired with sight can use a telephone or an ATM! How exciting. We should not have to rely on inventions that come up to help the able bodied, such as talking GPS systems to advance our cause.
This brings me to the main subject. Recently a creative, forward thinking, and generous young man approached our chapter. He is a high school student who came to us offering to present at one of our meetings about 3D printing. Not that this is a new tool designed to help design and manufacturing (I'm guessing here), but the main thing is that he was thinking about it as a way to benefit the visually impaired community. Regardless of how he came to this thought, it is a small but extremely important example of a young mind thinking about inclusive design. His name is Arjun Nelabhotla, and he recently attended our picnic, as well as making a 3D backgammon board for me. This is one board game that I have not found anywhere else, although it may exist. But he was willing to design and print this for me. Recently he even delivered it to my home, and I just love the board.
Arjun offered his time and materials to all of our members. As a senior in high school, I am sure he is busy charting out his future, yet he is still offering to help our members by producing items that could help them navigate activities of daily living, chores most people take for granted. Should someone have a special need for a spice rack or other household tool that is within his printing limits, he will help design it.
Here is a future leader in whatever field he decides to pursue. Arjun is the proud son of an entrepreneur and engineer. He is an excellent example of what can be done when you think globally and act locally. While he is not yet a developer at Apple, or an engineer at Google or Amazon, if you ask me, he is destined to use the tools we now take for granted, including AI, and will sketch out his own path. I think we will look back on this and say, "We knew Arjun when..."
Is it not refreshing to know that Arjun represents a generation or two, growing up with the tools to make a difference, before making a profit? SVCB thanks him, and while this article will not be widely shared, even if it inspires one person working for some business to speak up at an early design meeting and say, "Hey, how about this...?" It is, after all, far less costly to integrate accessibility and useability from the ground up than it is to face expensive redesign after legal action.
Thanks for reading.
Dave's Chuckles
Isn't it strange that of all the things that taste like chicken, eggs do not?
A man's wife walked into the living room and asked him: "Does this dress make me look fat?" The man put down his newspaper, looked her straight in the eye, and replied: "Does this shirt make me look like an idiot?"
And finally, scientific evidence says that consuming one pound of chocolate takes about 13 minutes off of your life. I did the complicated math. I found out that I died about 670 years ago.
In 1991, I joined the Silicon Valley Council of the Blind (SVCB). At that time, I learned that I also was a member of the California Council of the Blind (CCB), and the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and that the main objective of these organizations was consumer advocacy. Then I was more interested in the social and personal reasons for joining, as I was still in the process of accepting my progression to ultimate total blindness. I went to the meetings, to the CCB conventions twice a year, and to two ACB conventions (San Francisco and Las Vegas).
During meetings, we would be given suggestions to contact our lawmakers with letters or phone calls. The problem for me was that I had no idea who to contact, or even what I would say if I did call or write.
Let's jump to the present. Last spring, I was given the main switchboard number for Congress:
202-224-3121.
I called, and after giving my zip code, my call was routed to the office of my representative, Jimmy Panetta, where I was able to speak to an assistant. From her, I received information about contacting Congressman Panetta's office in San Jose. I did call, and am now receiving updates about his town hall meetings, etc.
A few months ago, I received emails from ACB with information about a new way to contact members of Congress. This new way was called Speak4. I have used this program four times and absolutely love it, as it enables me to easily contact my lawmakers. In writing this article, I have been in touch with Claire Stanley, an attorney with ACB. I needed exact instructions on how to tell you about what Speak4 is, and how you can use it to contact your members in Congress.
From Claire Stanley's update:
Speak4 is a platform that enables users to easily contact Congress about timely issues and pending legislation. When a person visits the Speak4 link, they will read about the issue. They then have the opportunity to enter in their contact information, which will in turn enable them to send a pre-written message to their Congress member on the issue or bill.
Before getting emails from Clair Stanley with the particulars of an upcoming action, one needs to do the following, in order to get on the ACB announce list:
Send a blank email to
announce+subscribe@acblists.org
After one receives an email from ACB or Clair Stanley with the Speak4 campaign link, press “Enter” on it. Then all one needs to do is Down Arrow to the area to fill in one's address and other contact info. It is then stored in the system. So, the second time and forward, it is all kept in the system.
One also has the ability to tailor the prewritten letter to share any personal experiences on the issue at hand. The last step is to press “Enter” on the Send Button.
In summary, according to the ACB website: "Speak4 is a digital advocacy platform that makes it simple for organizations to empower their supporters to speak up for the causes they believe in. We make advocacy easy, effective, and innovative, so you can focus on what matters most: making an impact."
On September 15, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) submitted its required semi-annual status report to the court. This requirement follows the 2008 court ruling that will require the BEP to make paper currency accessible for people who are blind. The report explains that the BEP is on track to produce $10 bills with the raised tactile feature in 2026. We are all excited and anxious to see this development in the next calendar year.
Claire Stanley, J.D.
Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs
American Council of the Blind
(202) 599-2041
-Announcement: October Author Series
Submitted by Deborah Armstrong
Greetings Deborah,
The Braille Institute Library is pleased to announce our fall programming: The October Author Series!
Just in time for the spooky season, six top-notch authors of horror, mysteries, thrillers, and the supernatural will join us for virtual readings and discussions of their work. Join us for tales of loss and longing, tragedy and triumph, thrills, chills, and kills. Explore the nature of monsters. Learn how horror fiction can prepare us to face stressful moments in life.
Signing up will provide access to all six online sessions of the series. Each event will be recorded and made available afterwards, so if you have to miss a session, don't panic! Each author's work is available in audiobook format for our library patrons.
Monday 13 October
10am PT: Hailey Piper: All the Hearts You Eat, DB125363.
Friday 17 October
10am PT: Sami Ellis, Dead Girls Walking, DB120302.
Monday 20 October
3pm PT: Rachel Howzell Hall, These Toxic Things, DB105221.
HYBRID: If you are in the area, join us in welcoming Rachel to our Los Angeles location!
Thursday 23 October
10am PT: Erika T. Wurth, The Haunting of Room 904, DB128047.
Monday 27 October
10am PT: Kelsea Yu, It's Only a Game, DB123701.
Friday 31 October (Halloween!),
10am PT: Ben Aaronovitch, Rivers of London (released as Midnight Riot in the US), DB074012.
Celebrate Veteran's White Cane Day - Safety, pride, cane by our side!
Hosted by Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Veteran Affairs Palo Alto, and Healthcare System Western Blind Rehabilitation Center
October 9th, 2025, 10:00-11:45am
Palo Alto City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA.
We warmly invite you to join us in celebrating National White Cane Day, a day that honors the White Cane as a powerful symbol of mobility, independence, and dignity for individuals with vision loss. This special event will bring together veterans, community members, and advocates to recognize the importance of accessibility and inclusion.
Join us for speeches and stories, and the walk to University Ave and back--for community members with White Canes and those walking in support.
Event Program
10:30am: Meet and Greet, Veterans and Community Attendees
11:00am: White Cane Day Awareness Walk
11:30am: Remarks
11:45am: Group Photo
We'd be delighted to have you join us in this meaningful celebration. Access:
On Thursday, Sept 11, VTA paratransit announced the availability of a new app to book, view, and cancel trips. It will also notify you when your ride will arrive.
If you are manually searching for the app, it is called VTAGOAccess, but there are many, many apps with very similar names. However, this is the only one created by VTA.
This app works just like the myaccess website, except it is much more accessible. Sighted people also find its screens easier to read on smaller devices. In my testing, it seems to be faster and a bit more reliable than checking rides on the website.
There is still no ability for clients to create or alter existing paratransit ride subscriptions. In our recent Committee for Transportation and Mobility Access, the announcement was greeted with a flurry of complaints. VTA is not sure when they will be able to resume subscriptions. However, existing subscriptions continue to work, so the only problem occurs if you wish to change or delete your subscription, or create a new one.
In other news, VTA no longer goes to Fremont BART, due to the bus 180 route being cancelled. This also means no more paratransit rides will be offered to Fremont BART. If paratransit riders are transferring to Alameda County's paratransit system, the new transfer point is at the Warm Springs BART station. The transfer point to ReadyWheels paratransit in San Mateo County has not changed; it is still at the Palo Alto V.A. hospital.
Though VTA has announced a pile of route changes in January, and some minor ones that will begin this October, they do not affect the service areas for paratransit. What they do affect, are the number of times per hour that a bus will arrive at particular stops. Most of these changes have taken buses that arrive every fifteen minutes and set them back to every twenty minutes. The VTA website has a complete list of these routes.
A few routes will also be cancelled in January, but they mostly affect particular commutes: for example, the express bus that delivered commuters from Caltrain to Lockheed Martin, has been discontinued due to low ridership.
In general, VTA is coping better with its eminent loss of federal funding than transit agencies in the other Bay Area counties. If you ride paratransit, you should not be affected at all; if you ride a bus, you might notice it will not come as often as it used to.
From Favorite All-Time Recipes: Cambell's Deliciously Easy Recipes
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds beef top round steak (about 1-1/2 inches thick)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
fluted mushrooms, celery leaves, and orange peel for garnish
Directions
Place steak on unheated rack of broiler pan. Position pan in oven so top of meat is 4 inches from heat. Broil for about 15 minutes for rare, or until desired doneness. Turn halfway through cooking.
Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat in hot butter or margarine, cook mushrooms and onions for 10 minutes, or until liquid evaporates and onion is browned. Stir in soup, water, and Worcestershire sauce. Heat through, stirring occasionally.
To serve, finely slice the meat diagonally across the grain. Spoon some sauce over the meat, and pass remaining sauce. Garnish with mushrooms, celery leaves, and orange peel if desired. Makes 6 main dish servings, and about 1-1/2 cups sauce.
-Pumpkin Cookies
From Pacific Grove Feast of Lanterns Cookbook
Ingredients
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups mashed pumpkin
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 to 1 bag butterscotch chips
Directions
Cream together margarine and sugar. Add egg, vanilla extract, and mashed pumpkin.
In a separate bowl, sift flour and salt. Then add baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir into pumpkin mixture. Fold in butterscotch chips.
Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.
Note: Butterscotch chips add sweetness, but may be left out if you would like a more bland cookie.
When prompted for a participant code, press the Pound key.
Note that the above Zoom call-in information is used for SVCB's virtual link to monthly in-person membership meetings.
2. Shows Described by AudioVision Bay Area
For all productions (Golden Gate, Orpheum Theatres, Broadway San Francisco, and Broadway San Jose), tickets are generally on sale four weeks before the production opens. To charge tickets and reserve receivers, call:
888-746-1799
(SHN Theaters), or fax your order to:
415-581-2121
and ask for AudioVision tickets. If you have any questions, please email:
didisalvo@msn.com
or visit:
www.theaudiovision.org.
3. TheatreWorks, with descriptions by Gravity Access Services.
Pre-register for tickets that include a free "show talk" 30 minutes before the show at the TheatreWorks box office at:
650-436-1960
or email:
boxoffice@theatreworks.org.
Shows are at the Lucie Stern Theatre or the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. A webpage with a listing of audio-described shows is at:
www.theatreworks.org/venues/accessibility.
4. San Francisco LightHouse
To hear weekly events at the San Francisco LightHouse, call:
415-694-7325.
5. Let's Talk Low Vision
The monthly "Let's Talk Low Vision" conferences are held on the third Tuesday of the month at 8:30 PM Eastern. Archives are at the Council of Citizens with Low Vision International (CCLVI) Official website at:
www.cclvi.info/archive-lets-talk-low-vision/.
Zoom information is distributed through the ACB Community Schedule email list, or by emailing:
cclviwebmaster@gmail.com.
6. Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors
Departs every Sunday at noon from Pier 40 in San Francisco. Call:
415-281-0212
for information and reservations, or visit:
www.baads.org.
7. Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP)
BORP believes that everyone should have access to the unique challenges that outdoor recreation provides, and makes every effort to accommodate each person's needs, including providing transportation and volunteer support. For event listings, call Lori Gray at:
510-843-4398
or visit:
www.borp.org.
-Calendar
October: Employment of People with Disabilities Awareness Month
October 8, 5:30 to 7 PM: Breast cancer support group meeting. For questions, call Lori Scharff at:
516-887-1336
or email:
lorischarff@gmail.com.
October 12, 1 PM: & JULIET, with descriptions by AudioVision Bay Area, Broadway San Jose, see notes.
October 15: White Cane Safety Day. See Tidbits.
October 18, 9:30 AM to 1 PM: SVCB Monthly membership meeting at Vista San Jose. Formally consider Constitution and Bylaws amendments. Appoint Holiday Party Committee chair.
October 18, 1:30 to 3 PM: Old-Time Radio show, Vista San Jose.
October 20, noon: November SVCB newsletter deadline. Distribute Constitution and Bylaws if necessary. Publish slate of 2026 SVCB nominees. Distribute fall membership list.
October 26, 1 PM: SOME LIKE IT HOT, with descriptions by AudioVision Bay Area, Broadway San Jose, see notes.
November
November 4, 5:30 to 7 PM: Breast cancer support group meeting.
November 6, 7:30 to 9 PM: SVCB board meeting. Interested SVCB members are invited.
November 15, 9:30 AM to 1 PM: 38th anniversary SVCB monthly membership meeting, Vista San Jose. Elect officers for 2026 administration. Announce Budget Committee.