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Deaf Community News

If you would like to contribute an article of importance to the deaf community or interpreting, please click here to email the webmaster.  You must tell us the author's name and any other vital information, and the news must be current..

   

National Deaf Poker Tour Wraps Season at
Pokerpages.com - July 28, 2008
by PokerPages.com Friday, July 25th, marked the final day of the 2007-2008 National Deaf Poker Tour (NDPT) season. The Venetian in Las Vegas played host to ...
Venetian Hosts National Deaf Poker Tour PokerNews.com

Five deaf family members arrested
Edmonton Sun,  Canada - Jul 27, 2008
The family members were aged 13 to 62 and all were completely deaf. All were arrested and later released after discussions through an interpreter.

 

Deaf children find rewarding work at Six Flags
Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX - July 7, 2008
Morgan Campbell and Laura Lower, both 16 and of Arlington, are two of 11 deaf employees on staff. Five days a week, they don highlighter-yellow shirts and ...

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AG Bell, Tear Down This Wall; Let All Deaf Children Sign; The Deaf ...
PR Web (press release), WA - Jul 6, 2008
During the weekend of June 27-30, 2008, the Deaf Bilingual Coalition (DBC) held its first annual Education Conference. The general public is now invited to ...

 

Sorenson Communications Offers First-Ever, Live Video-Based ASL ...
Business Wire (press release), CA - July 7, 2008
The program will pair leading deaf ASL experts with Sorenson Communications ASL interpreters who aspire to improve their skills and increase their breadth ...

Deaf to get green light to drive
Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica - July 3, 2008
THE GOVERNMENT is taking steps to amend the law to allow deaf persons to obtain driver's licences. For years, the issue of whether the deaf should be ...

Deaf Catholics Taught About Benedict’s Encyclicals
Georgia Bulletin, Georgia - 2 hours ago
Father Jeremy St. Martin uses American Sign Language in the deaf track to communicate with his audience. (Photos by Michael Alexander) COLLEGE PARK—The ...
Opening Mass Stirs Faith In Jesus’ Healing Presence Georgia Bulletin

 

Ex-nursing home to become apartments for deaf adults
The Tennessean, TN - July 1, 2008
Preston ultimately awarded the property to Urban Housing Solutions, which proposed to convert it into a residential community for deaf adults and to provide

Deaf groups disagree on use of sign language
Chicago Tribune, United States - Jun 29, 2008
AP MILWAUKEE - A convention for a deaf-advocacy group elicited a protest from a rival group Sunday over disagreements about whether deaf children benefit ...

Deaf, Teen Intern Teaches Local Police New Communications Tools
FOXNews - Jun 22, 2008
This spring, as the Frederick Police Department's first deaf student intern, the 17-year-old has proven himself more than an eager learner.

 

For Deaf Rider, Frustration Mars Metro Experience
Washington Post, United States - Jun 21, 2008
By Robert Thomson A Gallaudet University student who is deaf wrote to describe the communications hurdles involved in riding the transit system.
Deaf Residents Are Hit By 8 Home Break-Ins
Washington Post, United States - May 30, 2008
By Allison Klein Deaf people have been victims in a rash of home break-ins near Gallaudet University in Northeast Washington, putting students on edge and

Deafs.com - the best deaf dating site!

 

Va. School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-disabled to close
Daily Press, VA - May 29, 2008
The special class the fourth-grader needed was at the Virginia School for the Deaf, Blind, and Multi-disabled in Hampton. After 99 years, the school will ...
Deaf Hero’ of baseball diamond gets loud cheer from Coolidge
Boston Herald, United States - May 28, 2008
A new film about his life is making its Boston debut as part of the Brookline theater’s Deaf and Hard of Hearing film series. “Dummy Hoy: A Deaf Hero” makes ...
Deaf couple wants deaf baby
World Magazine, NC - May 20, 2008
Here’sa twist on the controversy surrounding genetic testing of embryos: A deaf couple wants the right to use the screening process to choose a deaf baby.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing students build their skills
CBS 11, TX - Apr 28, 2008
Funk, who teaches deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Carver Early Education Center, works with students to build their language and communication skills ...
Deaf school student is indicted on rape charge
Baltimore Sun, United States - Apr 27, 2008
A student at the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick was indicted on rape charges after an incident reported to have taken place in a dorm basement ...
Group home for deaf to remain open
Winnipeg Free Press, Canada - March 28, 2008
Provincial child welfare authorities said today they've saved the province's only deaf group home for aboriginal kids. Kai Na Quiniget is home to five ...
Deaf Student Has Big Dreams About Football
WTOP, DC - March 28, 2008
Bonheyo, a junior at the Maryland School for the Deaf, has wanted to be a professional football player since he was a child. Born deaf into a deaf family, ...
Deaf man attacked pregnant woman over communication failure
Glasgow Daily Record, UK - 14 hours ago
A DEAF man kicked a pregnant woman in the stomach because she couldn't understand him, a court heard yesterday. John Shankley, 34, attacked mum-to-be ...
SD deaf school students accuse teen of sexual abuse
Daily Republic, SD - Mar 27, 2008
AP A judge in Sioux Falls heard arguments Monday but did not rule on a lawsuit by former South Dakota School for the Deaf students who accuse another ...
No to 'Deaf' Embryos
ABC News - Mar 17, 2008
By MALAIKA BOVA Tomato Lichy and his partner, Paula Garfield, are deaf and have a 3-year-old deaf daughter. Now they want to have another child using in ...
Milestone Anniversary Reunion Planned for NTID
RIT News, NY - March 17, 2008
More than 6000 deaf or hard-of-hearing students from across the country have graduated from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf since the college ...
Don't Need To Hear To Hoof It: Gallaudet's Dancers
Express from The Washington Post, DC - March 17, 2008
Even if they can't hear the lyrics, many deaf dancers can feel the bass if the volume is pumped up. That doesn't do much to help Nicole Lamont, 23, ...
"History Through Deaf Eyes" exhibit opens at museum
South Carolina Now, South Carolina - March 16, 2008
The "History Through Deaf Eyes" exhibit at the Horry County museum takes people through the history of the deaf community starting in the 1800's.
Scam artists use devices for deaf
Augusta Chronicle (subscription), GA - Mar 16, 2008
They will use any tool to defraud businesses, including telecommunications devices for the deaf. This particular scam has been popular since the Better ...
Diversity film features deaf kids
Bellingham Herald, WA - March 9, 2008
After helping kids understand their Lummi and Hispanic neighbors, local filmmakers Bea Moss and Sandra Matheson are now focusing on the deaf community with ...
Case delayed for deaf parents
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription), WI - March 1, 2008
By MARY ZAHN Testimony on whether two deaf parents were treated unfairly by the court system because sign-language interpreters were not present for some ...
Director of NC School for Deaf leaves
Charlotte Observer, NC - Feb 29, 2008
The director of the NC School for the Deaf abruptly stepped down Thursday afternoon amid controversy over a protest students had planned at the school ...
School for deaf looking for director News & Observer
NC School for the Deaf's Director Steps Down WBTV
Director Leaves NC School for Deaf WRAL.com

Lifelinks’ Video Relay Service!

Use Your Sorenson VP-100™, 200™ or D-Link to Call

Lifelinks is faster and better: Select the interpreter you like and call your friends or relatives in ANY COUNTRY.

Just click manual dial, click IP address, type in 69.18.207.166, click dial and VOILA!

 Lifelinks

 PC & MAC USERS: inquire about Lifelinks free web camera offer at

Lifelinks

Deaf Talkabout: How a 'tomato group' offered free expression
Belfast Telegraph, United Kingdom - Feb 29, 2008
By Bob McCullough About 25 years ago a small monthly meeting for deaf people called "The Tomatoes" was set up in Belfast. The moniker was suggested because ...
Workshop to promote deaf awareness at USU
USU The Utah Statesman (subscription), UT - Feb 29, 2008
The Deaf Education Student Association (DESA) is putting on their winter movie and workshops this weekend to promote deaf awareness and exposure to the deaf ...
Click this link to see the Pepsi Commercial from the Superbowl.  http://www.pepsi.com/bobshouse Photos from ASL Expo 2008 in San Diego, California.  Feb. 2008.
3 deaf students make RP education history
Manila Times, Philippines - Feb 25, 2008
By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter Three deaf out-of-school youth made history on Sunday when they took the Accreditation and Equivalency test given by the ...
Gang Members Face Trial For Stabbing Deaf Man
XETV FOX6 San Diego, CA - Feb. 19, 2008
Two 18-year-old reputed gang members accused of taking part in a fight that resulted in the stabbing of a deaf man in Carlsbad were ordered Tuesday to stand ...

Deafs.com - the best deaf dating site!

Deaf World Applauds as Actress Marlee Matlin Joins New Season of ...
ABC News - Feb. 19, 2008
The Gallaudet Dance Company American Sign Language as the foundation of teaching the deaf to dance. The deaf world is excited about rumors that actress ...
Deaf pitcher hopes arm will do his talking
National Post, Canada - Feb. 18, 2008
Ketchner, Seattle's 10th-round pick in the 2000 draft, was the USA Deaf Sports Federation male athlete of the year in 2003 when he went 14-7 with a 3.45 ...
Teen's threats prompt lockdown at school for deaf
San Diego Union Tribune, United States - Feb 14, 2008
RIVERSIDE – A juvenile whose alleged threats against a former girlfriend prompted a lockdown at a state-run school for the deaf in Riverside Thursday was
Deaf student shoves school staff, cops say
MetroWest Daily News, MA - Feb 14, 2008
By Norman Miller/Daily News staff A Framingham teen shoved a Learning Center for the Deaf staff member down a flight of stairs on Wednesday after he was
Living the dream: Prof to sign anthem for deaf
AZ Central.com, AZ - Jan. 29, 2008
For this year's Super Bowl, the NFL didn't look to a deaf celebrity to sign the national anthem alongside Glendale's own Jordin Sparks. ...
Gallaudet University Applauds Pepsi's Upcoming Super Bowl Ad PR Newswire (press release)
Seminarians who minister to the deaf face possible eviction
Catholic News Agency, CO - Jan. 20, 2008
Next Tuesday, Father Tom Coughlin and a group of seminarians who minister to the deaf will go up against the Castle Hills City Council in hopes to obtain a ...
Hands-On: Radio for the deaf
PC Magazine - Dec. 29, 2007
What sounds like an odd joke – radio for the deaf and hard of hearing – is close to reality thanks to a public-private consortium that will provide closed ...
Towson to team with NPR, Harris for radio for the deaf, blind Daily Record (subscription)
Listen Up: It's Radio for the Deaf PC Magazine
NPR, Harris Corporation and Towson University Launch Global Effort ... FOX News
Deaf pop princess
Sky News Australia, Australia - Dec. 29, 2007
Japanese pop princess Ayumi Hamasaki has confirmed that she has lost hearing in her left ear, but says the affliction will not stop her career, ...
Pop star goes deaf in one ear 7DAYS
SHOW GOES ON FOR 'DEAF' JAPANESE STAR AYU Contactmusic.com
Court orders judge to reconsider ruling on deaf truck drivers
San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - Dec 29, 2007
A federal appeals court ordered a San Francisco judge on Friday to reconsider his ruling requiring United Parcel Service to give its deaf employees a chance ...
Around the nation Houston Chronicle

Pepsi's "Bob's House"

County contracts with deaf services renewed
Sioux Falls Argus Leader, SD - Dec. 27, 2007
By Jonnie Taté Finn Minnehaha County leaders renewed agreements with Communication Services for the Deaf to provide services to county departments and
Schools’ deaf interpreter standards to change
Charleston Gazette, WV - Dec. 23, 2007
By Davin White A deaf student’s parents sometimes have a difficult time finding a high-quality interpreter in West Virginia. Officials from two state ...

Interpreters for the deaf give justice a voice
Colorado Springs Gazette, CO - Dec 13, 2007
In a recent homicide case, Cacciatore and two other interpreters helped a deaf juror not only to understand all the testimony in the multiweek trial, ...

Deaf star races to easy victory
The Age, Australia - Dec 13, 2007
She couldn't hear any of it, however, as Vernon is profoundly deaf. She smashed the world record for the deaf by two minutes but didn't get to appreciate ...
Young Deaf Actor overcomes Odds to Conquer the Stage
KTIV, IA - December 5, 2007.
A deaf New Jersey teenager will star in an award-winning play in Narberth, New Jersey. It follows weeks of long commutes and rehearsals where actors learned ...
   
 

Pepsi’s “Bob’s House”
Placing those Super Bowl commercials is costing companies looking to reach the game's massive TV audience a record amount of money.

This year's price tag for a 30-second spot that advertisers hope dazzle viewers is the most expensive ever.

A 30-second commercial is expected to cost $2.7 million, up from $2.6 million last year. By comparison, a 30-second commercial for the first Super Bowl in 1967 cost on $42,000.

Sometimes the Super Bowl and the ads are all about noise. But one humorous Pepsi ad will be silent.

The beverage maker has purchased two minutes of Super Bowl ad time this year but one spot promises to be slightly different from the others. Pepsi announced last week that its pre-game ad "Bob's House" will be a silent ad.
"If a television commercial airs on Super Bowl Sunday and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" asks a Pepsi press release. Judging by the amount of buzz this ad has generated already, the answer is yes.
The 60-second commercial was created by Pepsi employees who are deaf and features dialogue in American Sign Language with written subtitles. The spot is based on a popular joke in the deaf community that involves a quiet street and loud horn honking.
In addition to advertising soft-drinks and potato chips, Pepsi's hope is to use the Super Bowl as a platform to create awareness of issues concerning the American deaf community.
"By bringing the world an ad performed by deaf employees in ASL, we feel like we've already scored the upset on Super Bowl Sunday said Clay Broussard, a PepsiCo employee and project lead on Bob's House.."
If a television commercial airs on Super Bowl Sunday and no one hears it, does it make a sound? On Sunday, February 3, television viewers will be checking their volume controls when PepsiCo airs a 60-second commercial filmed in American Sign Language (ASL), with open-captioned text for the benefit of all viewers.


The spot was created by and features PepsiCo employees who are members of EnAble, an employee network whose mission is to promote a more inclusive environment for people with disabilities. Slated to air on the pre-game show on FOX, the commercial features Pepsi-Cola and Lay's Potato Chips, but its real mission is to bring awareness of the American deaf community to a wider audience. PepsiCo also will sponsor the closed captioning of FOX's entire Super Bowl broadcast.

"The outpouring of support for this ad, both internally and externally, has been overwhelming," said Clay Broussard, PepsiCo employee and project lead on Bob's House. "This is one way we can give back through what we call Performance with Purpose. It's part of a larger effort to make PepsiCo the defining corporation of the 21st century. By bringing the world an ad performed by deaf employees in ASL, we feel like we've already scored the upset on Super Bowl Sunday."

Broussard and a handful of PepsiCo employees, each with their own personal connection to the American deaf community, set off to create a commercial with a deaf focus and broad appeal. Despite having little or no experience in advertising, the group came up with the concept, wrote the script, and then acted it out, sharing a demo tape with their colleagues. The demo tape generated internal buzz and quickly gained support from PepsiCo senior management, which immediately saw the commercial's potential and decided it needed a big stage. Naturally, they chose the biggest stage possible - Super Bowl Sunday.

Broussard appears in the commercial along with PepsiCo colleagues Sheri Christianson, Darren Therriault and Brian Dowling. Titled "Bob's House," the theme is based on a popular joke in the deaf community. PepsiCo also consulted with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) to ensure the message was on target.

"The NAD applauds PepsiCo for its strong commitment to diversity and creation of this exciting ad in ASL with its employees. This ground-breaking ad will heighten cultural awareness by millions of viewers during Super Bowl Sunday," said Bobbie Beth Scoggins, president of the NAD.

The commercial opens with two friends (Therriault and Dowling) driving together in a car at night, on the way to their friend Bob's house to watch a football game. They are stopped on a suburban street where all the houses are dark, with no porch lights or inside lights on. The driver (Dowling) is not sure which house is their friend's. Communicating in ASL, the two friends blame each other for not knowing Bob's house number. Suddenly, the driver has an idea. He begins honking the horn repeatedly as he slowly drives down the block. Instantly, lights flash on in all of the houses except one - Bob's - the only house unaffected by the noise.

"Bob's House" was produced by Harvest and directed by the company's co- founder, award-winning director Baker Smith. It came to life thanks to the cooperation of BBDO-NY, which supported the idea and agreed to create the commercial for no profit, and OMD, which secured a valuable pre-game time slot and accepted no commission for its efforts.

http://www.pepsi.com/bobshouse
 

 
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