Darrell Hilliker

Phoenix Area Dial-A-Ride Fares Increase on July 1, 2009

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We have been asked by a Regional Public Transportation Authority (RPTA) official to post the following important announcement concerning fare increases for Dial-A-Ride customers in the greater Phoenix area.

ValleyMetro.org

  • 602.253.5000

  • TTY 602.261.8208

Due to tax revenue shortfalls and increased operating costs, fares will increase on July 1. The new fare structure is designed to maintain transit service at levels that Valley residents need, although service cuts may continue to occur with the ongoing decline in sales tax revenues. Sales taxes provide a majority of the funding for bus and light rail service.

New East Valley ADA Paratransit Fares

EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2009

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Why have fares increased?

Valley Metro’s funding is based primarily on sales tax revenue. Since people are not buying as much in this economy, sales tax revenues for transit have declined by millions of dollars. At the same time, the cost to provide transit service is continuously rising.

How does this affect Dial-a-Ride fares?

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Paratransit Dial-a-Ride fares must keep pace with the bus/light rail fares. In the East Valley, the ADA Dial-a-Ride fares are $2.50 beginning July 1, 2009 with an increase of $.50 each July 1 thereafter until the ADA fare reaches $3.50. Please note that non-ADA fares for East Valley Dial-a-Ride are not increasing. In Phoenix, ADA Paratransit Dial-a-Ride fares will be two times the local bus fare or $3.50. For seniors and persons with disabilities using non-ADA services, fares are changing as follows: $1.50 to $2.50 for same day/first zone fare and $.50 to $1.50 for same day/each additional zone. For other city Dial-a-Ride fares, please contact your local Dial-a-Ride provider for specific changes to their fares. For your local Dial-a-Ride provider, visit ValleyMetro.org or call 602.253.5000.

I Don’t Live in a "Dark World"

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A classmate in my journalism ethics and diversity course wrote this article about me. I said a lot of things in that interview, yet I feel the overall slant of this work portrays blindness in a negative way. Of course, maybe, it also had something to do with the fact I wasn’t having such a wonderful time. In any case, I clearly wasn’t on my game as a positive representative of the blind community on the day Theresa interviewed me for this feature story. I did like the quote from Lance Harrop at the end. As always, feel free to comment.

The Desert Cafe Goes Live Tonight

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Hello Everyone,
 
Visit us in the Cafe,
Great music we will play,
It’s the last Monday in March, its now Spring,
No worries, I will not sing
But you we will entertain,
Here there is no rain  or snow
It does not matter where you live on the world map,
Let’s bridge the gap
Work together hand in hand,
Across the  land
From sea to shining Sea
Here on  ACB
In the  cafe, we’ll have most beverages and good things to munch,
It does not matter if its your breakfast,dinner or lunch
Come join us,my  friend,
Stay the  2 hours,till the end.
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Tuesday, that’s Monday evening in the United States at 7:00 Pacific (and Arizona), 8:00 Mountain, 9:00 Central and 10:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tomorrow night,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive

The Desert Cafe Opens for Business Tomorrow with a Slightly Irish Theme

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Hello Everyone,
 
Top of the morning Lads & Lasses,
Stop by the  Desert Cafe after your classes,
When you awake or at the end of your day,
we will entertain, great music we  will play.,
Bring your dancing shoes and  good cheer,
We will have no  green beer,
May have Irish Soda Bread and hot Tea,
point your browser to ACB.
You can do an Irish Jig  and bring your Harp or Irish flute,
Here is the route,
Travel on the information Highway, Destination Interactive.acbradio.org,
we wil  not assimilate you like the Borg,
If you don’t wear Green, you we wont pinch, willnot do this,
our show, you  don’t want to  miss,
You will feel good, when  its time to go
so do listen to our show
We will play the 60’s through today,
please Stay
so,  spend time with Darrell and I,
on ACB R I
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Tuesday, that’s Monday evening in the United States at 7:00 Pacific (and Arizona), 8:00 Mountain, 9:00 Central and 10:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tomorrow night,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive

The Desert Cafe Opens in Eight Hours!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Take a gamble and join  us   in the Cafe,
As usual a variety of  music we will play,
We hope this blend will cleanse your heart and soul,
We’ll play songs about changing friendship from artists like Sarah McLachlan and Billy Joel.
From Asia to the Doobie Brothers,
and many others.
Mostly  70’s,80’s but also some Modern Stuff,
We will not play any Hilary Duff,
or Simply Red,
here in the U. S,  Remember, The Clocks for most are one hour ahead,
it will  still be at 2 to 4 UTC,
Fun it will be.
There will be  plenty of virtual Beverages and food to devour,
some healthy,tasty, some  sweet, or sour.
Darrell is the  Technical Master,
he will also tell you about the Mock Disaster,
the  Terrorist attack that will  occur Tomorrow morning at ASU,
if your   interested, listen, please  do!.
Be there,
or be square,
for now Take care.
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Tuesday, that’s Monday evening in the United States at 7:00 Pacific (and Arizona), 8:00 Mountain, 9:00 Central and 10:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tonight,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive

Walking with Mobile Geo 1.5 Part 1

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By popular demand, Karen and I are once again exploring the possibility of returning to podcasting. In this new episode, we take a short Saturday afternoon walk while I experiment with the new Mobile Geo 1.5 accessible GPS solution developed by Code Factory and Sendero Group. We hope you enjoy this sound seeing adventure. As always, your feedback and active participation is appreciated.

Correction: Though Mobile Geo relies on technology licensed from Sendero, the product is developed and sold by Code Factory. I make several references in the podcast to the need for Sendero to fix certain problems. That may or may not be entirely factual, depending on the technical nature of the issue. It is the case, however, that Code Factory is the first line of attack on any concerns having to do with the Mobile Geo product. I apologize for my unintentional misrepresentation of fact in this podcast episode.

Download and Listen

The Desert Cafe Opens in Just Over Four Hours!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Come join Darrell and me,
 at  2 to 4 UTC.
On ACB Radio,
Think you will enjoy the  show.
Back East, there is a  major storm,
but,in the Cafe, you  can stay warm.
we will have  cool tunes and hot  beverages   to make you  smile,
so, stay awhile.
Out here, we are baking  in the sun,
forget about the  heat! have fun.
It doesn’t matter where you are, What   Continent ,
 your time in the  cafe will  be well spent.
playing mostly songs from 85,
 and other decades, too, so do arrive.
 be here in three hours, do attend,
  hope to see you friend.
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Tuesday, that’s Monday evening in the United States at 6:00 Pacific, 7:00 Mountain (and Arizona), 8:00 Central and 9:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tonight,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive

Remote Access Features in Serotek’s Product Save the Day!

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It was a Thursday afternoon when I was sitting in the lounge in University Center wondering what to do. I was frantic. I had completed my journalism ethics assignment, copied it to my USB flash drive, then discovered I had left the device at home! I was at school and my completed assignment was at home. Turning it in late was simply not an option. I had an hour before the start of class, so running home on the light rail was an option just out of reach. So, did I give up and accept the inevitable? Heck no!!!

Fortunately, I happen to be a Serotek customer and loyal supporter of the company’s innovative products. I decided to avail myself of the remote access facilities of the System Access Mobile Network in order to gain access to my home desktop computer, locate my assignment and e-mail it to myself using SendSpace. I didn’t have my USB flash drive on hand, and I had no Serotek software installed on my netbook computer, yet I was able to get the job done using the satogo.com web based access solution. Major kudos and thanks go to Mike and the gang at Serotek for helping me save my academic life!

Catch a Special Cover Edition of the Desert Cafe in Two Hours!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Join us this evening for a special Friday night edition  of the Desert Cafe as we attempt to fill Jeff’s shoes while he slaves away at work. We’ll keep the tempo upbeat with a party atmosphere, so you all can bailar en la café!!!
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Saturday, that’s Friday evening in the United States at 6:00 Pacific, 7:00 Mountain (and Arizona), 8:00 Central and 9:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tonight,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive
Darrell Shandrow – Accessibility Evangelist
Information should be accessible to us without need of translation by another person.
Blind Access Journal blog and podcast: http://www.blindaccessjournal.com

Catch the Desert Cafe in Six Hours!

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Hello Everyone,
 
Join us  this evening in the  Desert Cafe as we celebrate Presidents’ Day, talk about  our Valentine’s Day weekend and see if we can keep everyone from tearing apart the cafe during the two hours it is open. A great mix of  music will entertain you and  help you get your  week off to a good start. There may even be some new music from a local independent musician, which you certainly won’t want to miss.
 
The show can be heard on ACB Radio Interactive at 02:00 Universal time on Tuesday, that’s Monday evening in the United States at 6:00 Pacific, 7:00 Mountain (and Arizona), 8:00 Central and 9:00 Eastern. Visit http://interactive.acbradio.org to listen.
 
See you tonight,
 
Karen and Darrell in the Desert Cafe on ACB Radio Interactive