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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..

   

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

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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 ...

National Deaf Academy Awarded Accreditation from Joint Commission
Press Release 365 (press release), FL - December 5, 2007
Mt. Dora, Florida 12/05/07 - By demonstrating compliance with the Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety, National Deaf ...

Deaf Man Tased in the Bathroom
ShortNews.com, Germany - Dec 4, 2007
Police responding to a false shooting call broke into a deaf mans apartment and shot him with a taser as the man was getting out of the bathtub.
2 deaf women die, 1 man hurt, in Moreno Valley mobile home fire
San Jose Mercury News,  USA - Dec 3, 2007
Fire officials say two deaf women died and a deaf man was injured in a blaze in a Moreno Valley mobile home. Riverside County Fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann ...
Deaf women die in mobile home fire Earthtimes

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

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Scammers pretending to be deaf target city
Wyoming Tribune, WY - November 30, 2007
... artists who use a TTY, or text telephone yoke, relay operator so the caller can pretend to be deaf or hearing impaired, thereby hiding his identity.
Deaf woman died of suffocation
TVNZ, New Zealand - November 30, 2007
They have formally identified the body as 20-year-old deaf woman Emma Agnew who went missing on November 15. Liam James Reid, 35, has been charged with her ...
Farewell for Emma on Monday Stuff.co.nz
competency review for deaf, mute james city county murder suspect ...
WTKR Your NewsChannel 3, VA - Nov 19, 2007
a competency review for a deaf and mute illegal immigrant charged with raping and killing a teenager is being continued. the review for oswaldo martinez,
gallaudet university taken off probation
The Associated Press - Nov 16, 2007
washington (ap) — gallaudet university, the nation's only liberal arts college for the deaf, has been taken off probation by its accrediting agency after a
Show reaches deaf and hearing alike
Twin Cities Planet, Minnesota - November 15, 2007
The performance - which was conceived, performed and produced by an entirely deaf cast and crew - has re-energized deaf performance by incorporating the use ...
Deaf-mute murder suspect close to competency
WAVY-TV, VA - November 15, 2007
Nathan Green, assistant Commonwealth Attorney says Martinez, who is deaf and mute, has made an effort toward learning American sign language and can now ...
Competency review for deaf, mute suspect continued Daily Press
Regional jail next stop for Oswaldo Martinez Virginia Gazette
Deaf man stole for boyfriend
Sunshine Coast Daily, Australia - Nov 12, 2007
An older man promised a 25-year-old deaf man a holiday, inclusion in his will and gifts in exchange for stealing drugs and money from a veterinary clinic.
Comedian signs about life between two worlds
Arizona Daily Wildcat, AZ - Nov. 13, 2007
A comedian used sign language to convey his experiences as a hearing person growing up with deaf parents Saturday night before a packed audience in the ...
Deaf student fights for help
San Gabriel Valley Tribune, CA - Nov 11, 2007
By Melissa Pamer, Staff Writer GLENDORA - After a yearlong legal battle, a deaf student at Glendora High School won the right to have an in-class, ...

Deafs.com - the best deaf dating site!

 

School for deaf 'a work in progress'
Houston Chronicle, United States - Nov 3, 2007
A year ago, protesters shut down the internationally known school for the deaf, throwing it into chaos, forcing out an incoming president and intensifying ...

Deaf couple fined in dispute
Visalia Times-Delta, CA - Nov 7, 2007
By Hillary S. Meeks A deaf couple must reimburse Tulare County for the $3885.90 the county paid to clear trash off the Earlimart residents’ three acres of ...
Supervisors cut couple's fine, they still can't pay Visalia Times-Delta

 

The Verzion Foundation Awards Grants to Massachusetts Nonprofits ...
TMCnet - November 1, 2007
Grant recipient, Deaf Community Enterprises of Quincy, has said the grant funds they receive will be used to "develop a comprehensive training program for ...
Silent No More: Deaf Survivors Reveal Their Stories
Jewish Exponent, PA - Nov. 1, 2007
But if it was difficult for the majority of people, how many more obstacles must there have been for the deaf? Deaf individuals in the camps had to ...

Interpreter Served as Lifeline to Deaf Community During Fires
KPBS, CA - Nov. 1, 2007
People who work with San Diego's deaf community say it’s an outgrowth of the Cedar Fire when San Diego's deaf and hearing impaired were left to fend for ...

 

Deaf patients get help with communicating
Beaver County Times, PA - November 1, 2007
The hospital in Brighton Township earlier this month installed Deaf Talk, a video conferencing system that allows two-way communications between a patient, ...
Commission for the Deaf Gets Three New Members
WIBW, KS - November 1, 2007
Governor Kathleen Sebelius has appointed three new members to the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to advocate on behalf of the deaf ...

Deafs.com - the best deaf dating site!

 

Deaf athlete believes 'anything is possible'
Joliet Herald News, IL - Oct. 28, 2007
Primous, 18, who has been partially deaf since was 5, started playing football when he was 7. Tyrone Primous watches his interpretor, Shelly Fox, ...
Sign Language in Demand
Voice of San Diego, CA - Oct. 25, 2007
It has been much harder, however, for us here at Deaf Community Services to get the same accommodation for information in sign language for persons who are ...
Indiana Deaf fights for recognition
Indianapolis Star, United States - Oct. 25, 2007
By Nat Newell Indiana Deaf has equaled its school record for football victories -- eight, set in 1944 -- but that hasn't been enough in the minds of coach ...
Holland to screen documentary about deaf Vietnamese dancers
Thanh Nien Daily, Vietnam - Oct 24, 2007
A documentary film called Noi Den (The Destination) about a hearing impaired Vietnamese dance troupe will be introduced at the 2007 “Deaf In The Pictures” ...
Train victim was deaf
Edmonton Sun,  Canada - Oct 23, 2007
By NICKI THOMAS, SUN MEDIA The elderly man killed by a train Saturday in Vegreville may not have heard the whistle warning him to get off the tracks.
   
 

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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