inclusion

Each year, the US-based National Organization on Disability rates the most inclusive cities in the US, in a contest called Accessible America. We're not talking curb cuts and prime parking spaces here. From their website for the 2006 contest:

The winning cities or towns designated in the Accessible America 2006 competition will be places where citizens with disabilities have opportunities for full and equal participation in the life of their community, including access to education, jobs, voting, transportation, housing, religious worship, and a full range of social, recreational, cultural, and sports activities. Another area that NOD is giving special focus to is emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. The competition highlights community-wide progress and inspires replication of best practices programs and ideas.

The 2005 winners were (in order, first to fifth): Cambridge, MA, St. Paul, MN, West Hollywood, CA, Miami Beach, FL and Austin, TX. The cities are profiled in the new issue of New Mobility magazine.

Also in this month's New Mobility is my story on Brooke Ellison, who is running for State Senator in Suffolk County, New York, an eastern suburb of New York City. (The story's not online, although a snippet of it is here.)

I've written about Ellison before, a remarkable woman who I admire tremendously. Here's a little something about her; also her book and the TV movie about her life. Brooke would make an excellent State Senator, and perhaps one day a US Senator. She's smart, determined and tenacious, all to the nth degree, and has a generous, liberal worldview to match. I wish I could vote for her. I'll be watching the outcome with great interest.