[nfbmi-talk] Fw: and they think they've got issues?

[David Robinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: joe harcz Comcast 
To: David Robinson NFB MI 
Cc: terry Eagle ; Mark Eagle 
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2015 5:06 AM
Subject: and they think they've got issues?


http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/02/04/blind-entrepreneurs-say-phoenix-hampering-program-help-disabled/22889073/

Republic)

Story Highlights
State law gives blind vendors priority to operate vending machines, snack bars and cafeterias in government buildings
Phoenix has sought to hire a vending machine operator that will pay the city money
Blind businessman says city is prioritizing revenue over the well-being of residents with a disability

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Adam Bevell was 14 years old when a doctor told him he eventually would go blind. By his late 20s, his vision had declined so rapidly that he used a white
cane to walk and saw little more than a haze of blinking lights.

Bevell, now 39, said he felt forced to leave his career as a elementary-school teacher, and his wife took on two jobs to support the family. The father
of four wrestled with feelings of depression and uselessness.

He's found a new livelihood and renewed sense of self worth, however. Three years ago, Bevell enrolled in a state program that gives blind entrepreneurs
a chance to run their own businesses by managing vending machines and cafeterias in government buildings.

But a dispute between Phoenix and a group of blind vending-machine operators and a state agency that advocates for them is hampering Bevell and a handful
of other blind entrepreneurs as they try to grow their businesses.

RELATED: Blind Mesa guitarist plays onstage with U2

"(Phoenix is) absolutely limiting our ability to expand," he said. "It would seem to me like they're putting revenue over a person. They don't really want
to recognize the law."

Bevell is referring to an Arizona law at the center of the conflict between Phoenix and blind advocates and entrepreneurs. Known as the mini-Randolph-Sheppard
Act, the law gives blind vendors priority to operate vending machines, snack bars and cafeterias on state, county and city government property.

The law is the state's version of the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, which Congress adopted in 1936 to create jobs for the blind and unemployed during the
Great Depression.

Phoenix has attempted to find a company to operate vending machines throughout the city that will pay it a portion of the money made selling snacks and
drinks on city property, public records show.

Blind businessman Adam Bevell, pulls snacks from a
Blind businessman Adam Bevell, pulls snacks from a shelf in his truck while stocking vending machines. Bevell's brother-in-law helps drive him to their
vending machines to stock them. (Photo: Pat Shannahan/ The Republic)

State law prohibits the city from collecting money from blind vendors. There are currently three blind vendors who operate machines in Phoenix buildings,
but many of the city's machines are operated by other companies.

City officials are negotiating with the state Department of Economic Security, which oversees the vending program for blind operators.

"There is an ongoing dialogue between the city and DES," Phoenix spokeswoman Tammy Vo wrote in an e-mail. "It is city practice not to speak publicly about
ongoing contractual discussions until an agreement is finalized."

Negotiations between Phoenix and the state have dragged on for months, and some advocates fear the city's list of contract demands is intended to discourage
blind entrepreneurs. State officials say there are many blind people who need the business opportunities.

Lengthy dispute

The issue became strained last spring after Phoenix sought bids from companies to operate roughly 250 vending machines citywide. Bids were to be evaluated
based on how much revenue each company could generate for the city, among other criteria.

Bevell and other blind entrepreneurs said it appeared Phoenix was trying to skirt state law in order to make a buck. DES said the city's move violated the
law because the agency had asked to evaluate potential vending-machine sites for blind operators and the city did not give the state the opportunity to
do that.

City officials said they had no record of the state ever formally requesting to survey existing vending locations that blind operators could take over.

But Phoenix eventually pulled the request for bids after receiving no qualifying submissions.

Now, DES and Phoenix are locked in tense negotiations over a potential agreement for blind vendors to operate the machines. State officials have said the
city's proposal includes a litany of requirements that aren't feasible, would hamper the success of blind entrepreneurs or aren't allowed under state law.

"They're stalling and trying to figure out a way around the program, in my opinion," said Scott Weber, chairman of a committee of blind vending-machine
operators. "The city of Phoenix, I think, is chasing every bit of revenue at this point."

Blind businessman Adam Bevell, left and his brother-in-law
Blind businessman Adam Bevell, left and his brother-in-law Chris Wennerholm stock a vending machine they own inside the Arizona Capitol Center in Phoenix.
P (Photo: Pat Shannahan/ The Republic)

Phoenix has yet to respond to the state's full list of concerns. However, Vo said city attorneys continue to meet with the state and could soon reach an
agreement.

"Phoenix is currently collaborating with (the state) to create the first-ever, comprehensive agreement between the two entities that will address existing
operators and hundreds of new, (blind)-operated vending machine locations," she said. "This important work takes time and must be done right."

Blind business owners run two city cafeterias and manage vending machines in several city buildings. Vo said blind operators have run some vending machines
in city buildings since at least 1975.

But there's a history of strained relations between Phoenix and some blind advocates over the vending issue. In recent years, the state and Phoenix have
sparred over vending machines at city-transit facilities — a dispute the state lost — and the state has expressed its discomfort over the presence of a
Starbucks coffee shop in the lobby of City Hall.

Jason Sauer, who manages the state program, said Phoenix has been evasive and uncooperative. He said the city's requirements, including a provision that
vendors buy some items from a city-approved supplier, are so complex that they could make the deal look unattractive to entrepreneurs.

Sauer said Arizona's Business Enterprise Program, which trains and support blind entrepreneurs, doesn't have enough vending machines for its operators.
Unemployment among visually disabled people is more than 62 percent, according to the National Federation of the Blind.

"There aren't many other opportunities," Sauer said of jobs for the blind. "We need to grow."

More than a job

On a typical day, Bevell and his brother-in-law, who drives Bevell and helps stock machines, make numerous stops at state, county and city buildings throughout
downtown and central Phoenix.

He rifles through boxes of candy bars and potato chip bags, feeling the texture of each snack and matching it with the correct row in the vending machine.
Some blind operators primarily work behind the scenes and hire employees to do the restocking, but he likes to have a hand in every part of the business.

That spirit was there 25 years ago, when a doctor diagnosed Bevell with retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic degenerative eye disease. His mother wept as the
doctor said he would be blind by the time he graduated from high school, but the teenager refused to believe it.

"I remember saying, 'Mom, I'm going to be OK. I'm a strong person,' " Bevell said. "Ever since, I've tried to be the strong one. It has not been easy, I'll
tell you that."

As his vision gradually disappeared, Bevell was forced to make a series of emotionally wrenching adjustments.

At age 21, he stopped driving after a glare of sunlight almost caused him to hit a young girl. At 28, he begrudgingly picked up a walking cane because he
kept bumping into strangers, including Charles Barkley.

Then, the toughest adjustment came about five years ago, when Bevell realized he couldn't see any glimpse of his children's faces, now ages 8 to 14.

Since Bevell didn't fully lose his vision until he was an adult, it was harder for him to adjust to life and find a career without his sight. He said the
school district he had worked for wasn't eager to accommodate him, and he felt he didn't have the skills to continue teaching.

"The independence gets taken from you and you don't feel like you contribute," Bevell said. "That's not how I wanted to live my life."

But he discovered the training program, and a stronger feeling of self-worth.

Bevell's vending route currently includes one Phoenix building, but his business could grow dramatically if the city and the state reach an agreement. A
handful of other operators could also pick up city machines and grow their routes.

"This program has given me the ability to be able to feel like I'm contributing not only to society, but to my family," he said. "I hope Phoenix comes around
and is willing to work with us."