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	<title>NorCal Disability</title>
	<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com</link>
	<description>Northern California Disability News</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 23 Dec 2008 08:30:28 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>2009 College Scholarships for Students with Parents with Disabilities Announcement</title>
		<description><![CDATA[All application materials must be completed and postmarked by Monday March 16th, 2009.
Through the Looking Glass and its National Center for Parents with Disabilities and their Families are pleased to announce new scholarships specifically for high school seniors and college students who have parents with disabilities.  These scholarships are part of the Through the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/2009-college-scholarships-for-students-with-parents-with-disabilities-announcement/</link>
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		<title>December 2008 State Council Legislative Update</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Sponsored by the wonderful and talented September Hargrove comes another update put out by the California SCDD with regard to how it will most specifically affect the council.  Be aware there are other cuts looming in the process that may not directly affect the council, rather other agencies.
State Council Legislative Update - 2008-12-19
Democratic Budget - [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/december-2008-state-council-legislative-update/</link>
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		<title>Happy Holidays with an Update</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We have recently obtained new hardware to upgrade our current site to make it much faster and allow us further capabilities that were never possible before.  We will be upgrading our hardware very soon (hopefully by the new year) in which case we will temporarily be down while we make the switch from our [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/happy-holidays-with-an-update/</link>
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		<title>People with Disabilities Suffer from Inadequate Funding</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A grassroots effort has started in Maryland after gathering in a basement of a local church to discuss the upcoming budget issues and the problems people with disabilities will soon face.  A few of the issues noted were the lack of COLA changes and local direct support workers&#8217; wages frozen at $9 per hour.
More than [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/people-with-disabilities-suffer-from-inadequate-funding/</link>
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		<title>DOJ Forces D.C. Shelters to Accommodate Disabled</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In a settlement on Friday, the Department of Justice is requiring District of Columbia to spend costs in an estimated $4 million to $5 million to provide adequate accommodations.  The District of Columbia did not contest the lawsuit rather settled on the above stipulations as well as requiring personnel training, developing policies to ensure [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/doj-forces-dc-shelters-to-accommodate-disabled/</link>
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		<title>Modernized Public Assistance Program - ACCESS Florida</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Florida has unveiled its new system to apply for food stamps, temporary family assistance and even Medicaid monitor Medicaid application statuses.  The system was implemented to decrease the high call volume of many agencies, as at least the Department of Children and Families reported one million more calls than October one year ago.
Read the whole [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/modernized-public-assistance-program-access-florida/</link>
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		<title>CDCAN Report #261-2008: Governor and Legislature Bickering Grows Heated As Deficit Soars Higher</title>
		<description><![CDATA[California Budget Crisis:

Assembly Budget Committee Members Appointed
Legislative Democratic Leaders Respond to Governor
Republican Leaders Lash Back At Governor

Bickering Between Governor and Legislature Grows Heated As Budget Deficit Swells to Nearly $15 Billion – Disability and Senior Advocates Fear More Proposals for Bigger and New Cuts in January As Fight To Stop Mid-Year Budget Cuts Continues In [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/cdcan-report-261-2008-governor-and-legislature-bickering-grows-heated-as-deficit-soars-higher/</link>
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		<title>CDCAN Fund Raiser - December 15, 2008</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Friends (okay, so I sound like a presidential candidate right there) –
I hope you can make this event for CDCAN on Monday, December 15th from 4 to 7 PM.  It is in Sacramento in a building right next to the train station.  The building is so much nicer than the way that sentence sounds.  [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/cdcan-fund-raiser-december-15-2008/</link>
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		<title>Peet and Offit Team Up to Dispel Vaccine Link to Autism</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In a recent heated debate between actresses Jenny McCarthy and Amanda Peet about children&#8217;s vaccinations linked to autism, Peet has decided to team up with Children&#8217;s Hospital of Philadelphia&#8217;s Paul Offit.  In an attempt to refute allegations that vaccinations and autism are linked, the two decided to use Peet&#8217;s star-power to diffuse the vaccination [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/peet-and-offit-team-up-to-dispel-vaccine-link-to-autism/</link>
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		<title>W3C Releases New WCAG 2.0 Guidelines</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After years of discussion, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has finalized and released the guidelines that will describe the best methods of content accessibility.  This is set to be the new standard for delivering content in an accessible manner to all people both with and without disabilities.  The W3C provided the the Web Content [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/w3c-releases-new-wcag-20-guidelines/</link>
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		<title>The Cove Opens in Paradise</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Cove is a treatment center for those on the autism spectrum.  Using technologies such as soft LCD lighting and bubble tubes, a soothing atmosphere is used to provide a stress free learning environment.  Organizers of The Cove hope its success will lead to other state of the art facilities around the country.
&#8220;I think this [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/the-cove-opens-in-paradise/</link>
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		<title>Filipino People with Disabilities Dance for Confidence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Armed with professional dancers as partners, 14 people with disabilities danced their tires off in a recent dance contest for a grand prize of about 5,000 pesos or $100 (US).  After a month of training with professionals, dancers were not necessarily based on &#8220;foot movement,&#8221; rather a whole slew of other criteria such as head [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/filipino-people-with-disabilities-dance-for-confidence/</link>
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		<title>NFB Settles Target Class Action Lawsuit</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last year the National Federation of the Blind sued Target in a class action lawsuit because of Target&#8217;s website inaccessibility.  A legal precedent was set in this case because the judge ruled that if an online retailer has a physical place of business, they must adhere to ADA regulations.  These partially include Section [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/nfb-settles-target-class-action-lawsuit/</link>
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		<title>Welfare Recipients in New York Filing Class Action Lawsuit Against State</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Recipients of welfare in the state of New York have filed a class action lawsuit against the state because of a constitutional provision that requires the state to provide adequate financial aid to its neediest residents.  The funding is meant for the basic necessities such as food, clothing and transportation.  The lawsuit also alleges that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/welfare-recipients-in-new-york-filing-class-action-lawsuit-against-state/</link>
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		<title>Loud Noises Deteriorating Hearing in Children</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In an article posted on the New York Times, those that use headphones or ear buds (inner-ear headphones) develop hearing loss by their mid-twenties.  Though the article cites that we live in a noisy world with power tools, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, movie theatres, etc. there are preventative measures that can be taken such [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/loud-noises-deteriorating-hearing-in-children/</link>
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		<title>Bush to Sign Rhode Island Medicaid Overhaul?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[While it&#8217;s not certain yet, the Bush administration could allow Rhode Island to try a pilot project that would allow more freedom with federal Medicaid monies.  The proposed project would give the state its Medicaid monies in a lump sum in exchange for less oversight; the federal government benefits by capping expenditures over the life [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/bush-to-sign-rhode-island-medicaid-overhaul/</link>
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		<title>California State Council Letters to Committees and Governor</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In an effort to persuade the Governor and legislators to limit the impact of budget cuts and revenue increases against people with disabilities.  As funding gets cut on all the essential services allowing people to live independently, potential elimination of cost of living increases with the addition of new tax increases, the budget cuts disproportionately [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/california-state-council-letters-to-committees-and-governor/</link>
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		<title>Allsup Offers Unique, Customizable Community for Individuals with Disabilities</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Allsup, one of the largest providers of Social Security consultation and health care services to people with disabilities, is now venturing into providing a comprehensive information base and community for people with disabilities.  The site is geared to offer information about disabilities, tracking services (Social Security, Medicare, etc) and acting as a community portal.
It will [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/allsup-offers-unique-customizable-community-for-individuals-with-disabilities/</link>
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		<title>AMAC and AAP Team Up to Release Accessible College Textbooks</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Alternative Media Access Center and American Association of Publishers have teamed up to release alternative formats of textbooks allowing those requiring such easier access.
The AccessText Network will be run by Christopher Lee, Ph.D., Department Head/Director of AMAC, and who was diagnosed with dyslexia in the second grade and received his textbooks on tape while [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/amac-and-aap-team-up-to-release-accessible-college-textbooks/</link>
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		<title>Opinion: Mary Jane Burke on California Schools</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An Era of Embarrassment to Our State
By
MARY JANE BURKE
Marin County Superintendent of Schools
If challenging times call for superior leadership, then the Governor and Legislature of our state have failed meet that standard. After passing a state budget in September that was 85 days late, officials admitted “The budget is bad, but it is the best [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.norcaldisability.com/2008/12/opinion-mary-jane-burke-on-california-schools/</link>
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