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.
Free after-school program
The Mariposa Kids Club is kicking off the fall season session with tons of fun for kids ages 5 through 12. Families can participate in this new, free after-school program at the Mariposa Learning Center. From Sept. 9 through Dec. 20, kids can drop in for homework help, fun games, creative crafts, and exciting excursions. No pre-registration needed—just come by Monday to Friday, 2:30 to 6 p.m. at the Mariposa Center, 8550 Jefferson St. For more details, call the Community Services Office at (562) 220-2121.
City honors Bertha Jimenez
At the Aug. 13 City Council Meeting, Bertha Jimenez, proud Paramount resident for more than 20 years, received the Mayor’s Gold Key Award for the month of August. Bertha is a licensed esthetician and owns the Arte Jimenez Studio in Paramount. Many residents recognize Bertha as the face paint artist at city events. Last spring she turned City Councilmembers into cute bunny rabbits for the Dia de Los Ninos celebration. Along with working closely with the Paramount Community Services Department, Jimenez serves as a member of several Paramount groups including the Paramount-Tepic Sister Cities Committee, the Paramount Historical Society, and she is an Ambassador for the Paramount Chamber of Commerce.
Paramount goes back to school
With summer vacation ending, August is Back to School Month in Paramount. In celebration, the city hosted their fourth annual Back to School event on Saturday, Aug. 10. Families in need were presented with backpacks, school supplies, clothing, and haircuts, all for free. Thanks to the support of 11 generous donors, the program served over 500 TK through 8th grade students get prepare for the new school year.
‘Safe Walking’ class
In preparation for the new school year, the city’s Public Safety personnel and Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies hosted their annual “Safe-Walking Class” for students on Aug. 7. Deputies and staff reviewed practical safety tips with the students, such as the importance of being aware of your surroundings, looking left and right before entering an intersection, not being distracted by cell phones or headphones, and utilizing the services of crossing guards when available. A group consisting of 24 students and their parents followed deputies from the Paramount Sheriff’s Station to Lincoln Elementary School.
Paramount celebrates its heritage
On Aug. 3, the city celebrated its 7th annual Heritage Festival with the community. Guests enjoyed the return of Petunia’s Barnyard featuring adorable animals, cow milking demonstrations, and milk samples. Live entertainment was provided by the Latina’s Art Foundation and the Ovation Latin Band. The top students from Paramount High School, Odyssey STEM Academy, and Buena Vista High School were also recognized for their accomplishments in the 2023-24 school year.
Paramount observes National Night Out
The City of Paramount in partnership with the LA County Sheriff’s Department celebrated National Night Out on July 26 during the summer concert series at Progress Park. The event was well-attended, with guests enjoying food trucks, raffle prizes, a kid zone, and a safety vehicle display. The City would like to thank everyone who enjoyed the evening getting to know Paramount’s Public Safety personnel.
