skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House is 'close' on Japan, India tariff agreements but expect them to be light on specifics; Families in limbo following federal energy assistance program cuts- we have reports from NH and MD; NV adopted CA's 'clean car' standard, rule now under GOP examination.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Educators worry about President Trump's education plan, as federal judges block several of his executive orders. Battles over voting rules are moving in numerous courts. And FSU students protest a state bill lowering the age to buy a gun.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

ADA Website Gets Makeover to Become More Accessible

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 21, 2023   

A revamped website for the Americans with Disabilities Act has launched to make the site more accessible.

The Justice Department has updated ADA.gov to provide more straightforward information on the rights of people with disabilities. It is also more accessible for people with low vision who use screen readers to navigate the internet.

Heidi von Ravensberg, coordinator of special projects for the University of Oregon's Center on Human Development, has low vision, and said the use of heading tags helps the site, noting a website without proper heading tags is like an elevator without buttons that stops on every floor.

"If you're only going to the second or third floor, that may not be terribly inconvenient," von Ravensberg noted. "But if you have to go to the 23rd floor, the 57th floor, the 83rd floor, you can see how you'd probably want to give up before dealing with that."

Von Ravensberg said the website used to be heavy on legal language, which included citations which are hard for someone with a screen reader to look through. The website includes guidance on a range of topics, from service animals to polling places.

Katie Warden, director of the Northwest ADA Center, said many people do not know their rights, and added having a website use clear-cut language will help it reach a greater number of people.

"Using shorter sentences, not using technical, legal terms, and then including lots of examples," Warden outlined. "That's a way to make things accessible for people who might have intellectual or developmental disabilities or other kinds of cognitive impairments."

Von Ravensberg emphasized the update is exciting.

"ADA.gov has done a really good job of being an example to other businesses, local and state governments on what they can do to make their websites more accessible, using that plain language and also using those heading tags," von Ravensberg remarked.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $3.1 billion for "underserved farmers" and land access, according to the USDA. (Pixabay)

Environment

play sound

Frozen federal grants have thrown a South Florida farm training program into chaos, leaving a nonprofit scrambling to salvage it after sudden funding …


Environment

play sound

North Dakota lawmakers have opted to side with farm chemical manufacturers facing legal challenges about the safety of their products. The state has …

play sound

It has been a busy week for supporters of higher education in Illinois, with two separate protests at Northern Illinois University and Northeastern …


Social Issues

play sound

More than 60 Pennsylvania counties do not have enough public defenders for their caseloads, forcing some, including in Erie County, to each handle …

Originally operated by Entergy, Palisades was acquired by Holtec International in June 2022.
(JHVEPhoto/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The owner of Michigan's Palisades Nuclear Plant is getting another $47 million to restart the facility. It is the third installment of a $1.5 …

Environment

play sound

Next week, Congress is expected to vote on whether to roll back states' authority to set their own clean car and truck standards. Research shows …

Health and Wellness

play sound

The Alaska branch of the American Heart Association is helping save lives by teaching the use of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021