Welcome to the ACB Maine Newsletter for August
2025.
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Please forward the newsletter to any interested people or relevant agencies.
Wow, what beautiful weather we’ve had, hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have several updates for you discussed in August‘s meeting including new developments about convention, open application for college scholarship and some exciting news about our website. Our convention will be held at Homeward Suites at 377 Western Ave. in Augusta Maine this year. We will choose a variety of foods from the Sam’s Italian catering menu.
This will most likely include fruit salad, finger sandwiches, lasagna, ravioli, breadsticks, salad, and desserts. Please stay tuned in regards to food options. I will be reaching out for headcounts for convention and food purposes at the convention soon, please, and look forward to hearing from you.
For some fantastic news, ACB Maine will be updating the website. The process will take about three weeks to a month. After the update is completed, we will organize the website for more user-friendly platform. After the website has been completely transferred to the North Star Works platform, we will then open the college scholarship application to award an individual or individuals who reside in the state of Maine and enrolled in a secondary college program with a scholarship. Notifications will be emailed out as soon as the application is ready. Nomination of officers will be overseen by Nichole again this year. Thank you, Nichole.
If anyone is interested in a position as a board member, please email Nichole.
The Bud Lewis community service award will be offered for the first time at convention 2025. Please review the requirements below and feel free to make a recommendation for this award.
Enjoy the rest of your summer.
We have a Facebook page! It's been functioning for quite some time. Feel free to read and share the many articles of interest. The page is located at either of these links.
https://www.facebook.com/acbofmaine
We currently have 15 followers. Feel free to join us there as we learn and grow.
The American Council of the Blind of Maine has established a distinguished service award in memory of Harold "Bud" J. Lewis for his exceptional commitment to improving the lives of people who are blind or have low vision.
For 22 years, Bud served as the Director of Maine's Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired. He firmly believed in the limitless potential of blind and low vision individuals. As a result of his dedicated leadership, countless lives were enriched over his many years of service.
ACB of Maine is proud to commemorate Bud's legacy with the Bud Lewis Community Service Award. The award recipient will receive a certificate of recognition and a $100 gift card presented at our annual fall convention.
For questions or more information, please contact President@ACBMaine.org.
This past quarter has been an exciting one for GoodMaps.
We introduced version 1.7 of our app, which includes our highly requested LookAround feature alongside a range of other improvements to enhance the user experience. We were also honored to gain recognition on the international stage and continued to welcome new partners and users from around the world.
To read the whole article go to Good Maps Update
We have received this announcement regarding what might be a book of interest to the low vision/blind community.
 | Lose your sight. Find your focus.
Refocus is not just a guide—it’s a lifeline. Co-authored by blind
entrepreneur Shawn Maloney and Paralympian Victoria Nolan, this essential
resource empowers individuals facing vision loss to live boldly,
independently, and joyfully. With practical advice, firsthand experiences,
and wisdom from people who’ve walked this path, Refocus provides the
tools ... www.amazon.com |
Justice Department Investigates FlixBus and GreyhoundThe Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it has launched an investigation into FlixBus and Greyhound bus lines to determine compliance with the ADA.
The Department opened this investigation after receiving complaints that FlixBus and Greyhound violated the ADA rights of people with disabilities. Complaints alleged that FlixBus and Greyhound failed to properly maintain lifts on buses, refused to assist passengers with disabilities with using lifts, refused to allow service animals to accompany passengers with disabilities or improperly asked for documentation, abandoned customers with disabilities between legs of their journey, and failed to allow and assist passengers with disabilities to leave and return to the bus at rest stops, among other allegations.
If you believe you have been a victim of disability discrimination by FlixBus or Greyhound, please file a complaint with the Civil Rights Division online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/ , or by calling the Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 (1-833-610-1264 (TTY)).
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and WASHINGTON, D.C. — August 6, 2025 — Be My Eyes, the world’s leading Customer Accessibility Management platform for people who are blind or have low vision, today announced a partnership with Amtrak to launch a pilot program that brings on-demand visual interpretation to blind and low vision passengers at key Amtrak stations.
The initiative will allow passengers to access live, real-time assistance from trained visual interpreters via the Be My Eyes mobile app, providing support with navigating station environments, finding gates, reading signs, and more—all through the user’s smartphone camera.
https://www.bemyeyes.com/business/news/be-my-eyes-and-amtrak-partnership/
Never forget to take your medications again! This new
ScripTalk Mobile iOS App feature lets you easily create and manage
reminders for each medication you have.
Download or Update the ScripTalk
Mobile App from the App Store. To
enable this new Reminders feature and to read about how to use it, go to
Help inside the ScripTalk Mobile App.
This is wicked cool.
Zucchini Relief
Salad
This is wicked easy.
After six years of futile attempts to grow yellow zucchini, I have finally had a good year. The gods have smiled and the gopher has stayed away.
Directions
Chop the zucchini into bite sized pieces. Chop up an onion.
Heat a fry pan with melted butter. Avoid overheating
Fry up the zucchini and the onion - but don't overcook it - just brown it nicely. Add the spices you like - salt, pepper, celery salt.
Spoon the hot zucchini onto a bed of iceberg lettuce.
Add sliced tomatoes, cucumbers.
Add Feta cheese crumbles
What could be easier?
