NEWLY REVISED “WINDMILLS” TRAINING: This internationally acclaimed disability awareness training program has been recently revised and will be taught on March 30 through April 1at the Universal Hilton Hotel, Los Angeles, California. This program is presented by Friends of Californians with Disabilities, Inc. For more information visit the website or contact Marc at (805) 604-9017 (Voice/Relay) or Damon Brooks Associates.

AIRLINE PASSENGER RIGHTS: A new consumer rights group called the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (AAPR) has been formed to educate policymakers on travel-related information important to airline passengers, improve accessibility for passengers with disabilities, and protect the consumer rights and responsibilities of airline passengers. Membership is $10 per year. For more information, go to

NCIL ANNOUNCES SELECTION OF NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: The National Council on Independent Living recently announced that Kelly Buckland has been appointed as NCIL’s New Executive Director. Mr. Buckland will replace NCIL’s current Executive Director, John Lancaster, who will retire on May 15, 2009.

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS: Life Without Limits (formerly the Big Sky Project) is a national effort to create a new vision of the future for people with disabilities and is being lead by UCP. The project is designed to raise public awareness about the serious challenges that remain for people with disabilities and develop strategies, initiatives, programs, and public policy to address them.

Projects and events include Ruby’s Bequest and an annual Gala. Ruby’s Bequest, in partnership with AARP, will utilize new media to engaging the general population in a discussion on the future of care giving. The 2009 Gala will be held on September 30, 2009.

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WASHINGTON — Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a major civil rights bill, expanding protections for people with disabilities and overturning several recent Supreme Court decisions.

The voice vote in the House, following Senate passage by unanimous consent last week, clears the bill for President Bush.

The White House said Mr. Bush would sign the bill, just as his father signed the original Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990.

The bill expands the definition of disability and makes it easier for workers to prove discrimination. It explicitly rejects the strict standards used by the Supreme Court to determine who is disabled.

The bill declares that the court went wrong by “eliminating protection for many individuals whom Congress intended to protect” under the 1990 law.

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