Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind the source for blindness news and information since 1907

By Valerie Hurst © KATU-TV, Portland, Oregon — At almost 200 miles long, the Hood to Coast race is a test of motivation and teamwork. But “the mother of all relays” also a rush for the senses: the taste of the cool mountain air, the feel of feet pounding the pavement and the sound of excited, adrenaline-pumped teams. This year, one team is competing the in the race without an important sense—their sight. Everyone on team Eye Rock is blind, but they plan to win this year’s race despite challenges facing them on the road ahead…. READ STORY

Newport, Rhode Island (August 26, 2009) – A stiff southwesterly breeze made for a challenging second day of racing at the C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta. Both the visually impaired sailors in Sail Newport’s fleet of J/22s and the sailors with disabilities in the SKUD-18 fleet completed four races, while the Sonar and 2.4 Metre sailors completed three. A drop race, now that each fleet has completed a seventh race, has factored into the scoring and has had the most impact in the J/22 fleet…. READ PRESS RELEASE

By Lori Wortylko © The Enquirer, Cincinnati — The Gallery, located on Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired’s campus, is proud to display tactile artwork created by local artists who are blind, visually impaired and sighted…. READ STORY

Newport, Rhode Island (August 25, 2009) — The first of three days of racing in the seventh annual C. Thomas Clagett Jr. Memorial Regatta, taking place out of Sail Newport, Rhode Island’s public sailing center, saw all four fleets of sailors with disabilities complete four races on Narragansett Bay. Race one was sailed in a dying northerly that faded out and switched direction, forcing several classes to abandon their second race and wait for the wind to settle. Although the southerly breeze managed to fill by 13:00, it never got above eight knots over the rest of the afternoon…. READ PRESS RELEASE

© The Associated Press, Salem, Oregon — The Oregon School for the Blind will close its doors in less than a week. The decision to shut the school means 28 students are trying to adjust to life elsewhere. Advocates for the students are worried the services they receive at other schools won’t compare to what School for the Blind offered…. READ STORY

By Elizabeth Benjamin © Daily News, New York, NY — Bronx Councilman Oliver Koppell is calling on Staten Island state Sen. Diane Savino to retract her recent comments saying that Gov. Paterson’s job performance is “hindered” by his blindness…. READ STORY

© KITV, Honolulu, Hawaii — A blind tourist seeking adventure at Sea Life Park said she instead found disappointment and a dashed dream…. READ STORY

Ssee below for link to job listing. You can apply on-line and the opening closes on August 31. This SSB vacancy is now posted both internally (for bidders) and on MMB website. Attached is link to the area to pull up the job posting on MMB. It is Job Posting 09DEED000183. https://statejobs.doer.state.mn.us/JobPosting

The National Federation of the Blind … and Margot Downey, a blind Social Security beneficiary from Buffalo, New York, filed an administrative complaint today with the Social Security Administration (SSA). The complaint asserts that the SSA’s Web site violates Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act because it is inaccessible to blind people who use text-to-speech screen access technology or Braille displays to access information on the Internet…. READ PRESS RELEASE

© Rolling Stone, New York, New York — He was a 14-year-old blind kid, angry and alone. Then he discovered that he possessed a strange and fearsome superpower — one that put him in the cross hairs of the FBI… READ STORY