DeafDigest Mid-Week edition, June 15, 2011
-- Deaf owner of a tavern bans town mayor
Andy Hill, who is deaf and relies on lipreading
to communicate, owns a pub in Barnard Castle,
a small town in England. One of the former patrons
was Tony Cooke, the town mayor. Both Andy and
Tony got into a bad argument, and the mayor was
accused of being rude to the pub staff. As a result,
the mayor is no longer allowed to drink at the
deaf-owned pub!
-- Alexander Graham Bell really did not invent the telephone?
Did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? Yes, he won the
patent for it but it may not mean he was the inventor. There is
a Bell Museum in Nova Scotia, Canada. Much more space in that
museum is devoted to hydrofoil watercraft than the telephone!
A Canadian publication said that no one invented the telephone,
just that several inventors worked on the telephonic concept
at the same time, and Bell was the first one to hand in the
patent. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Grey
-- Wells Fargo settlement; you may be eligible to get money
If you tried to reach Wells Fargo via relay for any reason
(mortgage, credit cards, banking) and was hung up, you may
be eligible to get money. For more information, click on:
Do hurry up because deadline to file claims is January 31, 2012,
just seven months away.
-- 250 deaf organizations lost their tax-exempt status
We have many deaf clubs, deaf organizations and deaf
associations that are non-profit. All non-profit groups
MUST file paperwork on taxes and other forms every year.
This is a strict IRS rule. Many, many hearing non-profit
groups have lost their non-profit status - and sad, to say,
nearly 250 deaf groups have lost their non-profit status,
too. It is very important for officers of deaf groups
to fully understand this important IRS rule.
-- "Switched at Birth" TV premiere broke an important record
When "Switched at Birth" debutted last week, the producers were
concerned about one thing. They were not concerned if the program
met with the approval of the critics. They were concerned with
TV ratings. If it is low, the program could be cancelled after
a few showings. If it is high, the program could enjoy a long
TV life. Well, this show broke all ratings records, and if
high ratings continue, then we may be enjoying this program
for a long time!
