by Jean Peterson | Jun 21, 2018 | CREEC news
CREEC is excited to welcome our intern Sam Gerelman! Sam is a rising 3L at Stanford Law School. At SLS, she has been the Academic Chair for the school’s inaugural First-Generation Professionals group, Co-President of Law Students for Disability Rights, Outreach Vice President for Stanford If/When/How, a Board Member and Pro Bono Volunteer for the Social Security Disability Project, a Stanford First Generation Mentor, and a Public Interest Mentor and Fellow. She also participated in a policy lab related to Developmental Disabilities Waiver funding in California and was a full-time clinical student with the Youth and Education Law Project. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2016 and spent last summer at the Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice at Berkeley Law. In her free time, Sam loves to hike, do yoga, and hang out with her partner and...
by Jean Peterson | Jun 18, 2018 | CREEC news
CREEC is excited to welcome back our extern-turned-paralegal Marième Diop! Marième is a paralegal in our Colorado office. Marième graduated from Swarthmore College with a B.A in Psychology and Spanish. After externing at CREEC in January and February 2017, she decided to pursue a career in law. During her time at Swarthmore, she became interested in issues of racial justice and immigration, interning with the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia. She is thrilled to work at CREEC again not only because they have an excellent dog to person ratio in the office, but also because she is excited to work on issues she is passionate about. When not in the office, Marième can be found playing the ukulele, traveling, or hiking. We’re very excited to have her back in our...
by Amy F. Robertson | Jun 5, 2018 | Americans with Disabilities Act, Case news, Civil rights, CREEC in the news, CREEC news, Curb cuts, Disability rights, Discrimination
(June 5, 2018) The Portland Bureau of Transportation announced a major milestone in the City’s efforts to make Portland’s streets and sidewalks more accessible to people with mobility disabilities. Yesterday, United States District Court Judge Marco Hernandez issued a preliminary approval of the settlement in Hines, et al. v. City of Portland. The class action seeks to ensure that the City’s corners are ADA compliant. The City of Portland has over 38,000 corners. Approximately 11,000 corners do not have curb ramps. Many other corners have ramps that do not meet current ADA standards. Corners that do not have ADA compliant curb ramps represent a significant barrier to safe and convenient mobility for people with mobility disabilities. This landmark settlement will take a major step forward in correcting this situation. According to the settlement’s terms, the City of Portland has agreed to construct and/or upgrade 1500 curb ramps per year for the next twelve years for a total of 18,000 ramps. The City has also agreed to survey all ramps in the next two years and establish a Transition Plan to map out how the City will ensure accessibility. “We have nearly 40,000 corners in Portland,” said Transportation Commissioner Dan Saltzman. “Each corner is an opportunity. With the correct curb ramps, each of these corners represents a chance for our city to provide safe and accessible mobility to for all Portlanders regardless of whether they are living with a disability or not. That is why I am so supportive of this settlement. Thanks to this settlement, we will double the number of ADA compliant curb ramps we build each year...
