| Duffy Keeps Promise, Travels in Wheelchair
(Rochester, N.Y.) -- People often complain about having to walk through the snow but what if you can't walk? Wednesday, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy and his commissioner of environmental services maneuvered the tricky winter conditions from the perspective of people in wheelchairs. Duffy only made it about a block before he was tired and this was after thinking the sidewalks were reasonably clear. He admitted the snow, ice and bumps made navigation difficult, and said that with effort, the community could do a better job of clearing them.The mayor was fulfilling a campaign promise made to the Center for Disability Rights. They say people in wheelchairs are often stuck at home in winter weather. .
Visually handicapped association to raise funds through concert
SINGAPORE : The Singapore Association of The Visually Handicapped (SAVH) is holding a concert to raise funds. It hopes to get $120,000 in its first fundraising effort, since it got back its Institution of Public Character (IPC) status in October last year. The IPC status is needed to give the association the right to collect tax-exempt donations. Providing members with gainful employment requires training, and training is one area the association plans to spend its funds on. Other expenditures include staff payroll and providing facilities for the visually handicapped. Funding of some $1.5 million used to come from the National Council of Social Services but that ended in October 2005 when poor governance at the charity came to light. This came nine months after the association had its IPC status suspended.
The Future in a Tiny Sphere: A Conversation with Yoshinobu Tsujikawa
Japan leads the world in solar power technology. Japan not only produces half the total solar cells made in the world, it also exports 30% of these cells, with expected demand for 20% increases per year. The Japanese government pushes renewable energy policies that have resulted in the installation of more than 100,000 residential solar power systems by 2004, as well as a projection of 5 GW of solar generation capacity by 2010. Japan even plans to launch a solar satellite by 2040, which will deliver energy to the earth via low-intensity microwaves. The satellite will absorb the sun's energy 24 hours a day, unobstructed by clouds, and generate one million kilowatts per second – equal to the output of a nuclear power plant. Now a Kyoto-based company, Kyosemi, is redesigning the future of photovoltaics themselves.
Indiana parents can help children
A nationwide grant program being offered by UnitedHealthcares Children Foundation to assist with medical costs for children not fully covered with health insurance. Parent and caretakers will be eligible to apply for grants of up to $5,000 for health care services such as speech therapy, physical therapy and psychotherapy sessions, equipment such as wheelchairs, braces, hearing aids and eyeglasses, and orthodontia and dental treatments. To be eligible for grants, children must be 16 years old or younger, and their families must meet economic guidelines, along with being a U.S. citizen and being covered by a commercial health insurance plan. The UnitedHealthcare Childrens Foundation is a public charity that operates independently from UnitedHealthcare with its own board of directors.
People riding bus to avoid cold
IRONWOOD -- The frigid weather hasn't stopped Ironwood area residents from riding the little blue buses offered by the Gogebic County Transit service. School buses weren't rolling this morning, but the little blue bus drivers were out on their designated rounds. Although the thermometer plunged well below minus 20 on many parts of the Gogebic Range in the past 24 hours, people were still depending on the buses. "Some of the businesses were closed, but there were still people riding. It seems like the stormier the weather gets, the more they want to go somewhere," said Gogebic County Transit Director Jim Mildren. Many of those riders are senior citizens who have been accustomed to winter weather like the current cold snap. Seventy-two percent of the transit's riders are either senior citizens or handicapped people, Mildren points out.
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