[nfbmi-talk] {Spam?} our future in michigan?

[Terry D. Eagle]

Michigan shall never get it this right and legal for blind vendors, as
sighted persons continue to operate BEP locations in Michigan!

Unless, of course, you are Rob Essenberg or Roxanna Mann.

 

 

'Broom Guy' welcomed back to Indiana post offices 

Tim Evans, The Indianapolis Star INDIANAPOLIS 

'A blind     Indianapolis man known as "the Broom Guy," is allowed to return
to four neighborhood post offices under an agreement reached Friday,
according to the Indiana House speaker. Jim'Richter, 78, had been booted

in February from Indianapolis post office property where he sold brooms for
the past 60 years. The action prompted a storm of outrage after'The
Indianapolis

Star first published'article on the situation Sunday. Indiana House Speaker
Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis,'wrote a letter Monday to the Indianapolis
postmaster

asking that Richter be allowed to return to his longtime spots outside the
post offices. He said it was the third time since 2000 that he has
intervened

with postal officials who tried to shoo Richter from federal property. Gov.
Mike Pence and Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, also went to bat for Richter,

reaching out to state and federal post office officials. The promise to
allow Richter back on post office property followed "two long and very
productive

conference calls with USPS officials all the way from the local postmaster
all the way up to the vice president for the Great Lakes region," Bosma
said.

"The good news'is that every once in a while the little guy wins,"'Bosma
said. The controversy and publicity provided a mini business boom for
Richter,

who said sales this week have been double or triple their normal level. The
money he makes selling brooms helps supplement his Social Security income.

"Following a review of the unique facts, we are pleased to announce that the
local post office has decided to allow Mr. Richter to return to the Nora
branch

location," said'Mary K. Dando, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman.' This
action ensures the safety of both Mr. Richter and our customers. The
agreement

also allows Richter to sell his brooms outside the Castleton, Bacon and
Broad Ripple post offices, Dando confirmed. Richter said he was happy and
relieved

to have the matter resolved. The Indianapolis man learned to make brooms as
a student in the 1950s at the Indiana School for the Blind'and has sold his

wares outside post offices and on street corners. These days, he buys his
brooms from a nonprofit that serves the blind. "I'm glad it got settled in
such

a good way," Richter said. "My thanks go out to you and all of the people
that got behind me. It wouldn't have happened without them. Postal officials

never mentioned a reason for the action against Richter in February. But in
an email to an Indianapolis lawyer unhappy about Richter's treatment, a
local

postal official said customers had complained about Richter, including some
who said he had cursed at them. Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, left, and first
lady

Karen Pence meet with Jim Richter, dubbed the "Broom Guy," at one of the
spots where he sells his brooms in Indianapolis. (Photo: Kelly Wilkinson,
The

Indianapolis Star) Richter denied that claim. Bosma said he did not learn
why Richter was told to leave the Nora branch. The'postal employee also told

him he was no longer welcome on any local post office property. In other
instances when he had intervened, Bosma said, the effort to oust Richter
came

from "a newer local manager" who made a decision "without history or
complete information. Bosma also vouched for Richter's character. "I'm
confident that,

unlike the report, that Mr. Richter wasn't swearing at anyone," Bosma said.
"I've known him too long and had too many conversations with him to know
that's

not his MO. In his letter, Bosma noted that a federal law, the
Randolph-Sheppard Act, allows blind vendors access to sell their goods on
post office property.

Dando, the Postal Service spokeswoman, said last week the act focuses on
vending machines and did not cover Richter. "Whether technically he meets
the

requirements of the act, whether that's true or not, it is smart business
and positive for the community if he is allowed back on post office
property,"

Bosma said Friday. "He's a local treasure. In Arizona, a group of blind
entrepreneurs also won a long-running dispute with the city of Phoenix over
operating

snack machines in government buildings. Arizona's version of the
Randolph-Sheppard Act'requires blind people to get first dibs on
opportunities to operate

vending machines and cafeterias on state, county and city property but
Phoenix officials balked because they thought they could make more money by
opening

the bids more widely. Bosma also praised the postal officials for
reconsidering the February decision. "They've put plenty of attention to the
situation.

I think perhaps they were operating with some misinformation on Mr. Richter
and, hopefully, it will now all be resolved," Bosma'said. "I really
appreciate

their hard work trying to make this thing right. Bosma said a representative
from his staff will meet with the postmaster next week to finalize locations

for Richter to set up at the four post offices where he will once again be
allowed to sell his brooms. Contributing: Dustin Gardiner, The Arizona
Republic

. Follow Tim Evans on Twitter:' @starwatchtim