[nfbmi-talk] FW: Blind entrepreneurs say Phoenix hampering program: waltz me around again Matilda

Terry D. Eagle terrydeagle at yahoo.com
Sun Mar 1 21:53:04 UTC 2015


Sounds real familiar to Michigan, except from BEP blind licensees operating
BEP locations, on the path to the private sector operating BEP locations,
midway in this switch, Michigan has all sighted, highly-paid  civil service
employees operating BEP locations, and the sighted are friends, family
members, lovers, and lovers' lovers of other civil servants operating the
BEP locations.  What happened to the priority to blind persons under the
law?  The law has yet to change with regard to the priority for blind
persons operating BEP locations. 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Jarvis" <carjar82 at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy at octothorp.org>
Subject: Blind entrepreneurs say Phoenix hampering program: waltz me around 


> Only the names have been changed, to protect the guilty.
> If the year were 1980, and the state were Washington, the story would
> be the same.  Even back when I took BEP training, in 1970, City,
> County State and Federal agencies did end runs around the
> Randolph-Shepherd Act.  Remember, government reflects society as a
> whole.  Capitalism was, and is, the name of the game.  Some of us
> mistakenly think government is in business to care for *All citizens.
> Error!  Government at any level is in place to protect the interests
> of the existing Ruling Class.  Since the bottom line in our nation is
> profit, why would we get all bent out of shape when our government
> agencies muscle us blind folk out of the way in order to set up a
> business that will return dollars to their coffers.
> Back in the 70's and 80's, we won some and lost some in our struggle
> to set up profitable vending facilities for enterprising blind people.
> As long as it had been a dry stand in an unused corner of the
> building, we were welcomed.  Even snack bars in public building
> lobbies were accepted.  But once we were into setting up cafeterias
> that attracted large volumes of patrons, building management began
> second thinking just who "deserved" the profits.
> In some ways, the blind vendors were their own worse enemies.  But
> that's another very long discussion.  Regardless, government agencies
> behaved just like their counterparts in the private sector.  In
> brief,, they got greedy.  And after all, those blind people would be
> taken care of by some blind pension or other.  I worked for several
> years attempting to build a Vendors Union that could lay plans for
> countering the government's seizure of the more profitable locations.
> But our blind small businessmen and women behaved like small business
> people everywhere.  They only saw as far as the end of their own nose,
> and the profit for that day.
>
> Carl Jarvis
>
>
>
> On 2/5/15, ted chittenden <tchittenden at cox.net> wrote:
>> Hi to all.
>>
>> Below is an article about the problems Arizona's vocational 
>> rehabilitation
>> and blind vendors are having when trying to negotiate a contract with the
>> city of Phoenix under Arizona's so-called mini Randolph-Shepherd Act. The
>> city of Phoenix has run into budget problems and is trying to skirt the
>> state law in order to fill up some of those budget holes.
>>
>> The site with the article includes continuous playing video news that 
>> begins
>> with an interview with one of the blind vendors involved. This site can 
>> be
>> somewhat difficult to navigate using screen reading software.
>> --
>> Ted Chittenden
>>
>> Every story has at least two sides if not more.
>> ----
>>
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/02/04/blind-entrepren
eurs-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."
>>
>>
>>
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>>
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