Introduction
Welcome to Edition 12 of Gonz Blinko's Blind News Digest. This edition has 33 stories about blind people and blindness from all over the world. We're certain you will find articles that you think are interesting, informative and, in some cases, funny.
Editorial By Chris Hofstader
We get almost all of our articles from a couple of dozen GoogleAlerts that we've set up with search terms related to as many aspects of blindness as we can think of. Sometimes, I'll see an article on Twitter and include that in the digest as well but that happens far less often. This means that nearly all of our articles come from the mainstream media which I think is good as it gives we blind people a perspective on how others see us.
Some weeks, like in edition 11, we get a real lot of stories so had 55 last week. This week, we only got 39 stories. Interestingly, thugh, is that this edition has quite a diversity of subjects covered and has far fewer science and medicine articles than usual.
I hope you enjoy this edition and, please, if you're enjoying Gonz Blinko's Blind News Digest try to help us promote the project. You can tell your friends, send out a link on Twitter, subscribe to the blog or do anything else you think might help others hear about this news digest.
Braille
Visually impaired Kurdish woman teaches braille to students – in pictures
Khabor Muhammed Ali, 52, a blind Kurdish woman, teaches braille to visually impaired students in Duhok, in the Iraqi Kurdish region. This story comes to us from: The National.
Science and Medicine
Stem cell-derived retinal patch is shown to survive two years post-implantation
A retinal stem cell patch continues to make progress in its bid to secure approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The latest milestone? Results finding that after two years, not only can the implant survive, but also it does not elicit clinically detectable inflammation or signs of immune rejection, even without long-term immunosuppression. This story comes to us from: ScienceDaily.
Antabuse may help revive vision in people with progressive blinding disorders
Test of drug could prove role of hyperactive retinal cells in blindness, potentially leading to better therapies. This story came to us from: ScienceDaily.
If Retinopathy Is Not Treated Timely, It Can Gradually Lead To Reduced Vision And Even Worse, Blindness
Needless to say, diabetes is a long-term chronic disease with endless complications. Remember, poor management can lead to a higher risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, which occurs due to damage in the retina induced by high blood sugar levels. If retinopathy is not treated timely, it can gradually lead to reduced vision and even worse, blindness. This story came to us from: News18.
Uncontrolled Type 2 Diabetes Causes Cataracts, Blindness in Young Man
Man, 31, suddenly went blind. Undiagnosed and uncontrolled type 2 diabetes was to blame. This story came to us from: Today Show.
A modality independent proto-organization of human multisensory areas
The processing of multisensory information is based upon the capacity of brain regions, such as the superior temporal cortex, to combine information across modalities. However, it is still unclear whether the representation of coherent auditory and visual events does require any prior audiovisual experience. This story came to us from: Biorxiv.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the occipital cortex interferes with foot movements in blind individuals
Research in blind individuals has shown that after visual loss, the occipital cortex can be reorganized and repurposed for nonvisual perception and cognitive functions. However, no studies have directly examined the involvement of the visual cortex in motor function. This story comes to us from: biorxiv.org.
How to Stop People from Going Blind from Glaucoma Using Early Cataract Surgery/Refractive Lensectomy and Microinvasive Glaucoma Surgery
Glaucoma continues to be a leading cause of blindness worldwide for the same reasons as in the past several decades, including the lack of early detection, improper treatment, and non-adherence to therapy. This story came to us from: Dove Medical Press.
Eye glasses don't prevent, correct Glaucoma
She said glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the … encouraged to help make the country self-sufficient in eye medicines. This story came to us from: Modern Ghana.
Technology
Microsoft Edge Can Now Generate Image Descriptions for Screen Readers
Microsoft Edge is now capable of generating automatic images descriptions for users browsing the web with screen readers. This story came to us from: Thurrott.
These AI-Powered Smart Glasses are Changing the Lives of Blind People
Stuart Beveridge, a blind man from Fife, Scotland, who regularly uses the glasses, praised the assistive video call feature. This story came to us from: Intelligent Living.
Microsoft's PeopleLens project helps blind kids learn social cues in conversation
PeopleLens is a research project at Microsoft that helps the user stay aware of the locations and identities of the people around them. This story came to us from: TechCrunch.
Emerging sensor technology aids blind and visually impaired pedestrians
A new patented technology from Intelligent Material Solutions, Inc. is designed to help pedestrians who are blind and visually impaired navigate busy sidewalks and avoid sidewalk hazards. This story comes to us from: American City and County.
Ukraine War
Blind couple forced to wait days for rescue amid air battle over Kyiv
Denys and his partner Olga were working out how best to escape from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. But it wasn't just the fact that they have five-year-old daughter Inga, five cats and two dogs to look after, Denys is completely blind and Olga has 1% vision. This story came to us from: Sky News.
Blindness Organizations
Staff Of Blind School Held For Sexual Abuse
Kanjar police on Thursday arrested a staff of a blind school near Thodupuzha in Idukki on charges of sexually abusing a partially blind minor girl. This story came to us from: – Times of India.
Prevent Blindness honors Kurt Reiber, Freestore Foodbank with Southwest Ohio 2022 People of Vision Award
Since 1985, The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness (PBO) has recognized and awarded select organizations and their leaders for visionary leadership and community service. The People of Vision Award event has become one of Southwest Ohio's premier charitable events in support of PBO and its mission to prevent blindness. This story comes to us from: The Highland County Press.
Jurassic Park advisor Jack Horner holds event for children with visual impairments
A LITTLE girl from Basingstoke who has a vision impairment took part in an … palaeontologist organised by a charity which supports blind people. This story came to us from: Basingstoke Gazette.
Penrickton Center for Blind Children gets new handicap-accessible van
It was more than 20 years ago that Variety the Children's Charity used its resources to offer another nonprofit some help. This story comes to us from: FOX 2 Detroit.
New Indiana blind, deaf schools and archives sites announced
The Indiana School for the Deaf will move from its current Indianapolis location to the site of the state’s blind school as part of a planned $225 million upgrade. This story came to us from: Connecticut Post.
legally blind by the time he got to see doctor at Atlanta VA hospital
Dewey Kinsey’s past year battling with Atlanta Veterans Affairs is a story he felt he had to share to help other veterans. This story came to us from: WSB-TV.
Education
Disability Isn't Inability: Blind Man Doing Everything for Himself Gets PhD Scholarship in Canada
This Nigerian blind man has worked incredibly hard to get into a PhD program in Canada. This story came to us from: Tuko.
Assistant Director Edu Services for Blind & VI, Maine – Teaching Students with Visual Impairments
Eligible candidates must have a minimum of a Bachelors Degree with a specialty in Education of the Blind/Visually Impaired. This story came to us from: Teaching Students with Visual Impairments.
CoreCivic : Braille Program in Arizona Helps Vision-Impaired Schoolchildren
… Center in Eloy, Arizona, where participants are transcribing braille for schoolchildren who are impacted by blindness or visual impairment. This story came to us from: MarketScreener.
Employment
Blind man strives to earn a living
Blind Ronny Turu is a popular face in downtown Port Moresby where he sells face masks on the street. This story came to us from: Post Courier.
Business
Vision Impairment Market 2021 In Depth Analysis of Industry Share, Size, Growth Outlook up to 2028
Vision impairment market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2020 to 2027. This story came to us from: Digital Journal.
The IRS Is Finally Letting Taxpayers Do This, Effective Immediately
The IRS is now offering some of its notices in large print Spanish and Spanish Braille. This story came to us from: Best Life Online.
RestoringVision, others partner EKOEXCEL to distribute reading glasses
Demonstrating commitment to the eradication of vision impairment, one of the world’s most significant health problems, non-profit organisation, RestoringVision, telehealth technology company, Visibly, and New Globe in partnership with the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board’s (LASUBEB) EKOEXCEL, have concluded the distribution of free reading glasses to teachers and pupils in all the 20 Local Government Education Areas. This story came to us from: Businessday.ng.
Guide Dogs
Blind woman fears for guide dog's safety ahead of out of hours care
Tracey Culley-Brown is legally blind and would struggle to travel far at short notice. She has a pet Labrador called Stacy as well as guide dog Mo. This story came to us from: The Mail.
Lifestyle
'I'm blind but I'm scared people think I'm lying
35-year-old Kay Haines suffers from Stargardt disease, a rare genetic eye disease that causes progressive vision loss. This story came to us from: Wales Online.
Leeds woman launches desperate GoFundMe appeal after blind mum loses life-changing device
The device is adapted for the blind to read out everything on the screen, track Sandra's location and let her connect with people online again. This story came to us from: Yorkshire Evening Post.
Legal
House committee considers measure to expand voting accessibility for visually impaired
Mail-in voting was encouraged in the 2020 general election as COVID-19 was spreading, but the voting method isn’t accessible for everyone. This story came to us from: WGEM.
Justice is blind: Lawsuit to force Chicago to retrofit all stoplights with audible signals
Andy Slater, a legally blind 47-year-old media artist and singer for The Velcro Lewis Group psychedelic funk band, calls Chicago’s dearth of accessible pedestrian signals “a huge pain in the ass". This story came to us from: Streetsblog Chicago.
Class Certification Secured for Visually Impaired Chicagoans
Earlier this month, Proskauer – along with co-counsel Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), a nationwide nonprofit disability rights legal center – obtained class certification in an important litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, brought on behalf of pedestrians with visual disabilities. This story came to us from: JD Supra.
Family begs Gov. Ugwuanyi to rebuild demolished house of blind man
“We are so concerned about his fate… So we are appealing to the governor to give him somewhere to stay. This story came to us from: Peoples Gazette.
Crime
Cops thrash blind man for complaining about bootleggers
This is a truly horrible story about police brutality against a blind person. This story came to us from: Times of India.
Art and Artists
Blind artist creates colorful murals for Texrail stations, including one in Fort Worth
John Bramblitt and guide dog Eagle are interviewed in this story, and John explains his reasons for painting. This story comes to us from: WFAA.
DJ B Is Legally Blind, But She Sees Your Sexist Bullshit
Female DJs have to overcome many barriers in a male-dominated industry. Bridget Frank, who spins as DJ B, has an additional challenge: she is also blind. This story came to us from: Dallas Observer.
Sports
Boonton woman helps U.S. Women's team in Goalball championships
Lisa Czechowski of Boonton scored 18 goals for the United States women's team in the International Blind Sports Federation Goalball championships. This story came to us from: New Jersey Hills Media Group.
Blind sports writer Craig Lynch dies at 72
One day in 1982, Craig Lynch walked into the old Sun-Times building on Wabash Avenue and asked Taylor Bell for a job.
This story came to us from: Chicago Sun Times.
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