In a life changing twist of fate, John and Sherry Turk each had a major accident in the same year and became disabled. Rather than letting their disabilities diminish their lives, they quit their jobs and in 1999 opened “Wheelchairs Unlimited” so that they could help others who also had mobility issues. Unfortunately, the Turks had to close their two-person business in 2008 when Sherry was having health concerns. However, in 2009 the husband and wife team re-opened it, changed its name to Turk Enterprises and changed its focus from durable medical equipment to recreational travel mobility. The store is now a retail shop where the Turks sell and service motorized scooters, travel chairs,

With her dark brown hair bobbing at her shoulders as she walked, 22-year-old Brittnay Willeford stepped up to the podium at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, pushed her heavy-rimmed glasses up a bit, and began to read to the council a letter her grandmother needed to help her write. Despite a reading level that barely tops fourth grade, Willeford came to City Council to talk about some of the things she enjoys most: bowling, skiing and racing down the zipline at Camp Grizzly Beach – activities she will miss out on if the city follows through with plans to cut funding to Access Leisure, a program offered through the Parks and Recreation department that provides sports, camping, social and fi

Q. As a landlord, I have a strict “no pets” policy. A prospective tenant says they have a certified service animal. All other qualifications being met, am I required to accommodate them? Thanks, Frank A. Most likely, yes. The Federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) requires property owners to make reasonable accommodations for a person with a disability, to enable them to enjoy the residence on an equal basis with tenants who are not disabled. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(3)(B). Regulations promulgated under the FHA state that “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford a h

Larry Ottoviani officially lost his job after seven years with the 7Up Bottling Company for doing the one thing that helped him counteract the anxiety in his personal life. That one thing was feeding hungry cats. “I love cats and don’t like to see them go hungry,” Ottoviania said. “When I’m feeding cats I can forget everything else for awhile.” Ottoviani had been warned several times by his supervisor not to feed the cats. The official termination notice dated Jan. 4, 2012, stated that Ottoviani violated his “last chance agreement not to feed the cats on company time and/or company property.” While Ottoviani does not deny feeding cats, he denied doing so during company time and on comp

Abuse of disabled parking placards is no small problem in Sacramento, where a special task force is charged with tracking down offenders. To help reduce the misuse of disabled placards, the Sacramento Task Force On Placard Abuse was formed in 1996. According to Linda Tucker, spokeswoman for the Department of Transportation, the task force consists of specially trained parking enforcement officers who investigate complaints on disabled placard abuse and issue misdemeanor citations when necessary. The city employs 50 parking enforcement officers, and two of those are full-time officers who go undercover to investigate the use of disabled parking placards in the city. Tucker said the task

When Brian Hillebert was 7 years old, he was hit by a car and left in a coma. His awakening was considered a miracle, but doctors said he would never walk again. Today, the 40-year-old not only walks, but is a lead actor for a local theater company. The Sacramento-based Short Center Repertory is a theater company working mostly with disabled actors, and Hillebert – whose mobility on his right side remains impaired – is one of the stars in “Extensions,” which runs through Jan. 30. “I originally wanted to be a professional wrestler, but that was too much,” Hillebert said. “I got started in stand-up comedy, but I got tired of the rotten tomatoes, so I started acting.” He attributes acting

The City Council accepted a one-year, $150,000 grant on Tuesday from The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs through a selection process done by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). The USOC selected Sacramento as one of five regions to receive the grant to promote sports and recreation for veterans with disabilities. The four other regions to receive the grant were Boston, Georgia, Texas and Chicago. A City Council report said that “it is likely that the USOC will select the City of Sacramento as the recipient of these funds annually for a total of four years.” In a Department of Veterans Affairs press release, Charlie Huebner, chief of Paralympics at the USOC, said, “Research shows that

About 20 protesters – many of whom were in wheelchairs – were arrested Wednesday afternoon after blocking L Street in front of the Capitol to protest cuts to in-home care services in the state budget. “Those services provide the means for people to live independently and stay out of nursing homes,” said Peni Hall, who came from Berkeley to participate in the protest but who left the street before officers started making arrests. About 40 police and CHP officers arrived at the protest, said Sgt. Norm Leong, spokesman for the Sacramento Police Department. “We were notified of an improvised protest in the middle of L Street,” Leong said, adding that he believed the group had a permit to pr

150 soldiers were introduced to sports designed specifically for individuals with disabilities, illnesses and injuries recently during a Thank You For Your Service event at the River Cats Independence Field. Brave soldiers who sustained disabilities while serving this nation and are now working to return to active duty or transition to civilian life will be introduced to sports and recreational opportunities specifically designed for individuals with disabilities.  It featured demonstrations and hands-on experience of U.S.Paralympics-sanctioned sports, including Basketball, Cycling, Swimming, Javelin, Shot-put, wheelchair softball, rock climbing and Discus. Mark Wellman of Truck

Disabled Veterans Win Battle in “Good Faith” Fight to Save Taxpayers Money Disabled veteran companies and taxpayers are both winners in recent changes promoted by California’s wounded warriors. The non-profit California Disabled Veterans Business Alliance has fought the Good Faith Effort (GFE) provision in State contracting as a useless diversion actually keeping business away from Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE). Now, the State has acted on the recommendations of the Alliance in coordination with DGS and other state agencies and has passed legislation to eliminate the GFE effective 28 July 2009. By promoting equality with the State of California’s Small Business preference

Loomis, CA- Early Sunday morning structure fire claims the life of an elderly disabled man. Wife and dog escape the blaze. The beautiful mansion type home in the 6900 Prarie Ct., Loomis, CA, caught fire early Sunday morning. Penryn Battalion Chief stated that the home was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived. He stated that the wife and dog escaped but her elderly disabled husband did not escape. The home was located deep in the hills of Loomis and difficult to access. Fire crews also had to shuttle water via "water tender" trucks to finally extinguish the fire. In some of the photos you will see some blue light showering in the upper right corner. The power was live during the en

 Wednesday, on the eve of Governor Schwarzenegger's annual state address, droves of people gathered at the State Capitol to protest the recent budget cuts. Various state, union and trade organization members, as well as local students and state workers, attended the rally entitled "State of the People." The recent cuts -- totaling $10 billion in 2008-09 -- have left many throwing blame at each other for the state's financial problems. In the meantime, many California families' financial problems multiply in the midst of our nation's economic crisis. This protest is held annually, with a similar larger one scheduled during the Governor's address. Though upwards of a thousand people showed