April 25, 2025

From the Editor

It doesn’t feel much like spring after having a snowstorm mid-April, right? Well, believe it or not it’s here, and our Spring Conference is also right around the corner! We at the communications committee hope you all had a lovely Easter and Passover, and that the slow crawl into spring soon picks up with much more consistent, warmer weather. My Easter was lovely, except my aunt and uncle (who were hosting 25 people, including us) discovered their oven had stopped working that morning. But they were miraculously able to get a new one without delaying the festivities. However, my flight to my connection on my way to Boston on Good Friday was one of the most turbulent I’d ever been on. I don’t get airsick, but I definitely felt it this time, as is the curse with being on a puddle jumper. One notable difference in this month’s newsletter is our lack of a member article. If you’d like to submit something for the future that we may showcase here and on our blog, you can find out how just below this editorial.

Don’t forget about our blog! You can read member spotlight articles and all past member-submitted articles to BayLines Express by going to https://acbofma.org/blog. Blog posts are ordered newest to oldest, and there are several of them per page. Each individual post’s title is a link that will take you to the full body of text.

If you would like to contribute information or comment on ways to improve BayLines Express, please contact Dianna Leonard at newsletter@acbofma.org. And if you have an idea for a monthly article and would like to contribute your writing, please contact Myra Ross at newsletter@acbofma.org. The newsletter mailbox is shared between Myra and Dianna.

News from the Board

The Board last met on April 14.

Preparation for the May 17 Spring Convention is well underway. The second organizing committee meeting was held on April 6. If you have not yet done so, be sure to register soon.

Member certification has been completed. The final count is 197. Thanks to all those who worked hard on getting all our data together, including Treasurer Nick Corbett, co-Treasurer Aaron Spelker, Membership Committee chair Pam Loch, and committee member Mary Haroyan.

Carl Richardson is chairing the nominations committee for the director positions. One of the four incumbents, Ken Chernak, has decided not to seek a new term, so there will be at least one open position. The Board wishes to thank Ken for his service on the Board and hopes he continues to be active through committee work.

Social Committee chair ElizabethAnn Johnson reported that the committee is considering organizing a cruise to Bermuda next year. A Norwegian Cruise Line ship leaves from South Boston for a one-week tour on Fridays. Additional events being considered include bowling, peach picking, and apple picking. Stay on the lookout for more details.

Transportation Committee chair David Kingsbury reported that Massachusetts Association of Regional Transit authorities (MARTA) adopted use of the accessible PDF for applying for and renewing ADA eligibility at their last monthly meeting. It will be posted on each RTA website by the end of June, in time for the start of the next fiscal year on July 1. Designing an expedited procedure for ADA renewal for riders with permanent disabilities will be The next action we pursue with MARTA.

use of the accessible PDF for applying for and renewing ADA eligibility was adopted at their last monthly meeting. It will be posted on each RTA website by the end of June, in time for the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.

Designing an expedited procedure for ADA renewal for riders with permanent disabilities will be The next action we pursue with MARTA.

The Board discussed the value of having an ACB Board liaison. Past experience has not been very fruitful. The consensus was that having a liaison with specific expertise to assist with organizational needs was potentially useful and the area of fundraising was deemed the highest priority, Given our lack of fundraising expertise and absence of effective strategies. It was suggested we reestablish a fundraising committee, giving it the modest initial goal of identifying one activity. Activities discussed included identification of corporate sponsors for the Fall Conference and making organization of the annual auction the responsibility of this committee.

Events Calendar

The 2025 BSCB Spring Conference will be held on Saturday, May 17, in a hybrid format, in-person at the Perkins Grousbeck Center in Watertown and virtually via Zoom. You can learn more and register on our website.

The next meeting of Blind and Visually Impaired User Group (VIBUG) will take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 1:00pm. Further information and how to join is listed at https://vibug.org/.

The next Perkins Library Without Walls will meet on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. To RSVP or listen to the upcoming LWW schedule, call the voice mailbox system at (617) 972-7852.

There will be no Third Thursday with the BSCB in May. Please be sure to subscribe to our Announce List at bscb-announce+subscribe@acblists.org to stay up to date.

Below are landing page links for the MCB Rehabilitation Council (RC), and the MCB Statutory Advisory Board (SAB). You may want to bookmark them and check them often for time-sensitive entries. They contain details of upcoming events and meetings, recordings of recent meetings, and other relevant information.

RC landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-rehabilitation-council

SAB landing page: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/mcb-statutory-advisory-board

News from the Web

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio is offering more inclusive tours! You can learn more in the article below.

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force offers sign language tours, installs Braille signage to increase accessibility options

You’ve probably heard of blind hockey, but here’s a teacher in Pennsylvania who’s making it accessible to students.

Teacher making hockey more accessible for visually impaired

We all know (and have varying feelings about) IKEA. Their products can be difficult to put together as they come in a ton of pieces with sometimes complicated instructions, but they did just launch a new line of accessible home products! Let’s take a look.

IKEA Just Released an Accessible Home Line That’s Both Useful and Beautiful

‘Out of My Mind’, a Disney+ movie based on a book of the same name, had an accessible set that was brought to light by Phoebe-Rae Taylor, the film’s teen star who has cerebral palsy.

‘Out of My Mind’ Star Phoebe-Rae Taylor on DMing Co-Star Jennifer Aniston and How the Film’s Accessible Set Was a ‘Breath of Fresh Air’

Harvard students recently got a feel for braille at a Braille Matters class! You can learn more in the article below.

New experiences at their fingertips: Course on tactile reading shows students ‘Why Braille Matters’