NEW WORLD - News Brief extra edition Vol 1 Dec - Jan 2010

New World - News Brief
                   Extra Edition Vol 1  December - January 2010

Breaking News!
Caltrans reaches settlement in CDR and CCB vs Caltrans Lawsuit!  Dec. 22, 2009
Landmark Class Action Settlement paves way for access for persons with mobility and visual impairments along the 2500 miles of sidewalk and state park and ride facilities built and maintained by CALTRANS. The lawsuits were filed by Disability Rights Advocates [DRA] for class representatives Californians for Disability Rights, Inc.[CDR], California Council of the Blind [CCB], and individuals Ben Rockwell and Dimitri Belser in 2006 and 2008. The Court will review the settlement and hold a hearing on January 26th 2010 to determine whether it will grant preliminary approval. The final approval hearing is scheduled for April 27th, 2010.
Terms of settlement: Caltrans has agreed to spend 1.1 billion dollars over the next 30 years to make existing sidewalks and park and ride facilities accessible.
When Caltrans resurfaces its roadways it will also install new curb ramps where they are lacking, and upgrade existing ramps that are non-compliant along the adjacent sidewalks.
Caltrans will ensure that all new construction and alterations undertaken comply with federal and state access requirements.
Caltrans will ensure that, when temporary pedestrian routes around and through construction sites affecting sidewalks and park and rides are provided, such routes are accessible to persons with mobility and/or visual impairments.
Caltrans has agreed that all CapM projects will be treated as triggering the obligation to install and/or upgrade adjacent curb ramps.
Caltrans will allocate twenty-five million dollars a year for five years for access; 35 million a year for the next ten years; forty million a year for the following ten years and forty-five million a year for the final five years of the funding and compliance monitoring agreement.
Caltrans will hire a mutually agreed upon compliance monitor for the first seven years of the agreement, class counsel will monitor the remainder of the thirty year agreement.
Prior to these lawsuits being filed, Caltrans routinely allocated one million dollars a year for access. After a Senate Rules Committee Hearing in 2008, where CDR, CCB, Disabled in State Service [DISS] and others objected to the appointment of Dale Bonner to head the agency responsible for Caltrans, the annual funding allocation was increased to ten million dollars a year under an admission that the previous funding was “inadequate.” Caltrans funds the work on its highways and pedestrian facilities out of a program fund called State Highway Operation Protection Plan [SHOPP]. This program has historically been underfunded with needs outpacing available funding; SHOPP has decreased funding from 2.6 billion dollars a year to 1.5 billion in the most recent funding year. The total needs tied to the SHOPP program continues to increase from an annual need of 3.9 billion to 6.3 billion a year.
Damages: The class representatives and class counsel all decided when entering this case to only address the barrier removal issues [injunctive relief] and leave damage claims to individual lawsuits. This settlement does not release any damage claims that any individual class member may wish to pursue.
Caltrans will make district and state ADA coordinators available, and provide an easy to access complaint format for class members to file and monitor complaints regarding access issues.
“Caltrans is committed to addressing the mobility needs of all Californians and takes seriously its responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act.” said Caltrans Director Randy Iwasaki.
Caltrans has placed a copy of the settlement agreement at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/Documents/Master_Stipulation_and_Settlement_Agreement.pdf

If you need further information you may contact:
Charles Wahnon, Manager Americans with Disabilities Act Program
916-324-1353 email: charles.wahnon@dot.ca.gov

Class Counsel: Disability Rights Advocates, Larry Paradis and Marylee Kimber
Contact 510-665-8644; AARP Foundation Litigation, contact Mark Beach 916-952-8569; and Jose Allen, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP, San Francisco, Ca.

“This landmark settlement recognizes the essential need to provide access for persons with disabilities,” said Laurence Paradis, Executive Director of Disability Rights Advocates and lead counsel for the Plaintiffs.

Jeff Thom, president of the California Council of the Blind stated “This settlement is a milestone for thousands of blind and low vision people as it will lead to changes that enable them to safely navigate Caltrans sidewalks.”

“Millions of people with disabilities across the state of California will benefit from this settlement” stated Laura Williams, president of Californians for Disability Rights, Inc., “it will also serve as a model for other public entities across the state and nation for providing safety and equal access.”
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CDR Needs Your Help!
This has been a difficult year for CDR - as we know it has been for so many of our members.  Member renewals are at an all time low - making it hard to pay our monthly bills and stay open for you, our members.
PLEASE!  Send in your member renewals today!  Donations gratefully accepted!
You can make on-line donations thru our FaceBook connection with NetWork for Good.  Find us with our email: CDR4info@aol.com  where we have a forty year anniversary campaign ongoing; asking for one dollar for each of CDR's years of advocacy.  Your donation in any amount you can give will help CDR through this hard year and lay the foundation for the next forty years.  Thank you for taking action - thank you for your consideration. 
MAIL TO:  CDR
                   909 12th Street  Suite 200
                   Sacramento, CA 95814
  Regular member dues $25.00 yearly on July 1st
  Student/lowincome $10.00 - Family $40.00

http://www.facebook.com/CAPH.CDR
http://www.disabilityrights-cdr.org/aboutcdr/about.html

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NOTE from your editor - We expect you have been missing the full issues of the New World.  Unfortunately the cost of $1000.00 per volume has made getting an issue out just impossible.  So the State Council voted to prepare and issue this small version so that we can stay in touch with our membership.  This issue was to be on Universal Design and CDR's legislation on Visitability -  but when word came in on the Clatrans settlement, that issue was held in favor of this breaking news.  Enjoy!

NOTE for Email recipients of this New World - News Brief - if you are getting this in email, or we have you listed in the MembersXchange list, you will not be getting a mailed copy of this issue.  All the mailed copies will have gone out by the third week of January.  The mailed version has been provided as a courtesy to members by your president and editor.  No CDR funds have been used to print, mail or send this issue.
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Help keep the doors open at CDR!  Renew or Donate TODAY!
2009 has been a difficult year for CDR and its members - but we need your support for CDR to continue for the next forty years of advocacy and representation of members and chapters statewide.

Student/low income  $10.00 a year - Regular membership $25.00 a year -  Family membership  [two] $40.00 a year plus $4.00 for each additional family member.   Annual dues become payable on July 1st of each year.  Donations to the CDR Foundation are tax deductible.
MAIL TO:  CDR  909 12th Street  Suite 200, Sacramento CA 95814
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LINKS:  http://cdr-foundation.blogspot.com/

               http://cdr-issad.blogspot.com/

               http://dis-obit.blogspot.com/        

               
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