WASHINGTON – Disabled people who need to use public trains or buses are not being well served despite billions of dollars spent to improve transportation for the handicapped, government advisers report.
Buses leave disabled commuters waiting at stops or may be ill-equipped to handle wheelchairs, the National Council on Disability said in a report being released today. Wheelchairs can get stuck in the wide spaces between platforms and trains, the council said. A bus driver may forget to announce stops, withholding vital information from a blind passenger.
Major gaps exist for those who live in rural areas or rely on paratransit – a supplemental system of transporting people from their home to work, appointments or transit centers, said the council, a federal agency that advises the president and Congress
California: No injuries from quake
A moderate earthquake shook most of Southern California early Sunday, rattling nerves along with homes and businesses. There were no immediate reports of any injuries or damage, authorities said. The magnitude-5.6 quake struck about 8:40 a.m. and was centered 20 miles south of Palm Springs, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Dozens of smaller temblors were registered within minutes of the quake, authorities said. The quake was felt as far west as Los Angeles and as far south as San Diego.
N.C.: Surgical tools in hydraulic fluid
About 3,800 patients at two North Carolina hospitals run by Duke University Health System were operated on last year with instruments that were washed in hydraulic fluid instead of detergent, hospital regulators said. Duke Health Raleigh and Durham Regional hospitals put patients in “immediate jeopardy” in November and December by not detecting the problem, despite complaints from medical staff about slick tools, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare &Medicaid Services. The mix-up apparently occurred when an elevator company drained hydraulic fluid into empty detergent barrels last summer. The detergent supplier later picked up the barrels and mistakenly redistributed them as washing fluid.
Pennsylvania: Fire kills 5 children
Five young children were killed in a fast-moving fire that swept through a Philadelphia rowhouse on Sunday morning, and fire officials said security bars in some of the home’s windows slowed the attempted rescue. Two adults, believed to be parents of some of the children, escaped by jumping from a second-floor window, but were seriously injured in the blaze. Officials would not release the names or ages of the victims, but neighbors said the boy and four girls ranged in age from 6 months to 6 years old.
Alabama: Arlene fizzles out on land
Tropical Storm Arlene, which last week threatened to strengthen to a hurricane, weakened to a tropical depression and was moving north across Alabama on Sunday with top sustained winds of 25 mph. A flood watch was in effect for parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana, but all hurricane and tropical storm warnings were lifted.
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