On Nov. 7, the city of Paramount unveiled its newest art piece “The Battlefield Cross and Solider,” designed by the National Sculptors Guild , installed at the Paramount Armed Forces Memorial. The life-sized kneeling soldier pays tribute at the foot of a fallen soldier’s cross.
A Soldier’s Cross is a powerful military symbol honoring fallen soldiers during wartime. Traditionally, it consists of a soldier’s rifle stuck into the ground, often with a helmet on top, signifying a soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice. The statue serves as a solemn reminder of the bravery displayed by those who protect and serve. Check it out at City Hall this month in Honor of Veterans everywhere.
Community has ‘ghoul’ time on Halloween
The community had a blast at its annual Halloween Festival on October 31 that featured a lively costume contest, candy booths, crafts, inflatable jumpers, and a spooky haunted house for those looking for a thrill.
Mayor’s first Storytime
Mayor Annette C. Delgadillo hosted her first Storytime with the Mayor program at the Paramount Library on Oct. 16 with the book “Caps for Sale.” Every third Wednesday of the month, the Mayor Delgadillo will host a Storytime and crafting hour at the Library for children and their families. The next one will be on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Follow the city on social media to stay up to date on what programs Paramount has coming this month.
Student Mayor 2024
At the October 22 City Council meeting, Noah Rodriguez, a fifth-grade student from Jefferson Elementary School, was recognized as the Student Mayor for the Day. This program is a new partnership between the City and Paramount Unified School District. Every month, different schools in Paramount will nominate deserving fourth- or fifth-graders to be recognized as the Student Mayor for the Day. Noah was selected by Jefferson Elementary for his leadership skills and impressive commitment to his school and community.
Paramount Safety Expo
Paramount community members enjoyed a fun-filled day at the city’s Public Safety Expo on October 12. Neighbors got to meet their local law enforcement officers who work hard to keep Paramount safe while exploring safety and crime prevention resources in the city. Families took advantage of interactive displays, photo opportunities, raffle prizes, a kid’s zone, and self-defense classes. The city’s Public Safety team, thanks everyone for joining in the festivities.
Skaters of the Week
National Coach Appreciation Week was Oct. 7 to Oct. 13.
Seen here are LA Kings Iceland Coaches Ben (top left), Coach YN, Coach Logan (top center), Coach Annika, Coach Deborah (top right), Coach Soyun (bottom left), Coach Jessie, Coach Amber, Coach Azeneth, and Coach Josie (bottom right).
Pitch-In Paramount 2024
Fifty-five community volunteers came together on Saturday, Sept. 21 for the city’s biannual Pitch-In Paramount event. Together, they removed three tons of unwanted items from the neighborhood and completed several improvement projects, including wall and fence painting, installing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and litter abatement around town.
Final 2024 Friday Night Paramount is Oct. 4
Final 2024 Friday Night Paramount is Oct. 4
Courtesy photo
The city of Paramount will host its final Friday Night Paramount of the year on Oct. 4, from 5 to 9 p.m., on Jackson Street, off Paramount Boulevard. Visitors will enjoy an unforgettable evening of delicious food, artisan booths, and live entertainment. Catch the live band performing from 6 to 9 p.m.
Paramount marks Hispanic Heritage Month
At the Sept. 10 meeting, the City Council recognized Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month. This is a time to recognize the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic Americans. In Paramount, Hispanic culture has shaped our vibrant community, making us who we are today. The Paramount Tepic Sister Cities Club accepted the proclamation. Throughout the month, the city will share facts honoring these traditions. Stay tuned by following us on social media, or visit www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov to learn more.
Paramount Chamber of Commerce small business owners learn about how to protect themselves from an abusive ADA website lawsuit
Courtesy of Paramount Chamber of Commerce
Tanner Gers, a CASp inspector for Americans with Disabilities Act website requirements, and founder and managing director of AccessAbility Officer, shared his personal journey of living in the sighted world to how he now lives as a blind man teaching business owners what they need to do to protect themselves from abusive ADA website lawsuits. Tanner has been blind since 2004 when he was involved in a terrible auto accident.
You can say he’s seen it all even unsighted.
Tanner shared his experience as a sighted man and blind man accessing websites, the issues he encounters daily, and how he works with businesses to make accessing their websites more accessible for everyone.
Fifteen local small business owners joined for a special lunch and learn program, The Offense & Defense of website accessibility, that focused on how to check and fix your website for Americans with Disabilities Act compliance violations. The event was sponsored by the Paramount Chamber of Commerce in coordination with California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, a grassroots movement pushing for legal reform.
Barbara Crowson, executive director of the Paramount Chamber of Commerce, with support from Southern California Gas Company, has made it her mission to provide as much information and training for her small business owners in Paramount and surrounding communities to protect themselves from abusive lawsuits stemming from Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuits, including both brick and mortar types of suits and those that involve websites. This event was timely due to a rising number of ADA lawsuits in Paramount since January.
Together, they were very pleased that Mr. Gers spent the good part of his afternoon sharing his wealth of knowledge and encouraging businesses to be pro-active when it comes to protecting themselves from abusive ADA website lawsuits. “Disability happens,” said Gers. “Our family members can become disabled and for people 51 years of age or older, there is a 40% chance you will be out with a disability for 6 months this year. “Nearly twenty percent of people in the United States identify as having a disability and it’s probably more than that because many do not want to identify as having a disability.”
In California, penalties for accessibility violations are much higher due to the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which provides for a fine of $4,000 per violation, a fine other states do not have, plus attorneys’ fees. Often these so-called “violations” are as minor as a mirror that is an inch too high, a sidewalk or parking lot that is angled one degree too much or a visual on a website without proper labeling. Tanner refers to this malicious legal activity as drive-by lawsuits.
“I am pleased so many business owners are here today to learn how to protect yourself from an abusive ADA website lawsuit,” said Maryann Marino, Regional Director, California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse. “The time spent today, along with the actions you implement from today’s session, are far better than having to pay out huge sums of money for an unwarranted suit. Money that would be better invested in growing your business and creating jobs.”
Like most lawsuits, it’s far too easy to sue a business for website violations. Attorneys can utilize automated technology to scan websites and if they come up with a certain number of arbitrary violations on a website, they find a plaintiff and sue. Easy as that.
But, with the help of Tanner Gers, business owners can also easily check for ADA website violations. To do this, he offered Paramount Chamber of Commerce members and Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse supporters’ free access to the “DIY Digital Accessibility Compliance Guide” compliance guide found on his website.
Gers strongly recommends business owners determine and share their accessibility statement and policy on their website. This should communicate the accessibility guidelines your business implemented, processes you’ve taken to improve accessibility, and provide a communication mechanism for the public to reach out and report issues.
He also suggests using free automated testing. Start with your home page, make sure all the violations you can control are addressed, so when “others” come and run tests, they will think that if the home page is in good shape, they will skip testing the rest of your site.
Of note, if there are only 10 issues that can be detected by an automated accessibility software, you are vulnerable to receiving a demand letter or lawsuit.
Through automated testing business owners can test their website for color contrast issues, unlabeled links and buttons or unlabeled forms that do not have a programmatic label. As business owners, we think everything “looks” good, so it must be. However, most ADA violations are programmatic issues that you cannot see. You must perform testing to find the violations. Go for the low hanging fruit and check that the programmatic labeling is correct. If the photo is showing the president of the Paramount Chamber, be sure the labeling says president of the Paramount Chamber. The visual label must match the programmatic label. The test will catch if there is an obvious problem and help clean that up.
Gers provided many other tips and spent time after the presentation meeting with business owners, one by one, to review their websites. Even if you missed the presentation, you can still get the DIY Digital Accessibility Compliance guide from the AccessAbility Officer website at: https://accessabilityofficer.com/paramount-chamber
If this topic interests you, the Paramount Chamber plans to host another ADA website lunch and learn event in six months.
For more information about California Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse, go to californiacala.org.
