Wednesday, June 29, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

Santa Monica Pushes Through Taxi Measure Excluding Armenian Companies

by Asbarez Staff
November 16, 2010
in Community, Featured Story, News
9
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

BY SHOGHAK KAZANDJIAN

SANTA MONICA, Calif.,–Despite protests and overwhelming grassroots opposition, the Santa Monica City council on November 9 voted to rubber stamp a flawed and dubious recommendation that would effectively prohibit the city’s five local Armenian-owned taxi companies from operating within its bounds.

The decision, reached at the close of a nearly five-hour-long public hearing broadcast on Santa Monica Public Radio, came after dozens of taxi drivers rallied outside City Hall to demand a fair process. It will impact some 300 families, leaving scores of Armenian-American cab owners and operators unemployed.

The rally, organized by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) and the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region (ANCA-WR), sought to raise awareness of the issue and delay the vote until a more transparent study could be conducted of the franchise ordinance.

During the rally, taxi drivers and supporters held a picket line in protest of the process, crowding into the city hall chamber after an hour to participate in the public portion of the Council’s proceedings on the matter.

The City Council opened the session with a reading of a study conducted on the issue by a panel of staff representatives from various city departments. Following the staff recommendation, the Council opened the floor to public comments. More than 50 people spoke about the heated measure, signifying the high level of controversy surrounding the ordinance.

Speaking to the City Council, AYF Executive Director Serouj Aprahamian and ANCA-WR Board Member Nora Hovsepian underscored the community’s grave concern with the city’s exclusion of every Armenian-owned cab company.

“With one vote, the City Council of Santa Monica has knowingly kicked out all of its Armenian-owned and operated companies onto the street,” said Aprahamian, echoing the sentiment of dozens of Armenian cab drivers who pleaded with the City Council to reconsider their position.

“In these tough economic times, they unflinchingly moved forward with a decision that undercuts an entire community, without even bothering to question the flawed nature of what it is they were voting on,” Aprahamian said, adding that the AYF studied the city report and found major inconsistencies, concerns and considerably little local preference.

Arsen Hakinian, was among the many cab operators who spoke that night. He warned the Franchise ordinance would cause a “huge unemployment” crisis for the city’s taxi drivers, while bringing outside cabs into the city. Another opponent, representing the United Independent Taxi Company, described the franchise study as “not fair or representative of reality.”

“The city says it loves mom and pop stores but is moving to allow only 5 monster companies to operate,” said another concerned resident of the city.

For Vrej Alvandyan, the President of Beverly Hills Cab Co., the need to refranchise wasn’t the problem. Rather, he said, he couldn’t see the logic of the process. “We have had franchises here for decades,” he said. “The purpose of refranchising is to improve the quality of the fleet not destroy it.”

Despite the overwhelming opposition being communicated by a majority of the people speaking on the issue, the City Council moved forward with its vote without addressing the concerns raised.

The ordinance will take effect in January 2011 and will limit the number of cab companies allowed to operate in the city to only five, though thirteen submitted applications for a franchise. The companies granted rights are Bell Cab, Independent Taxi Owners Association, Metro Cab Company, Taxi! Taxi! and Yellow Cab franchises to operate within the city.

Thirteen different companies applied for the franchise rights. Of the five selected, three are not even local, while all five local Armenian-owned companies were denied franchises. The ruling is a cause for concern of discrimination among the now out-of-work cab drivers.

For the last several months, the City Council has been considering which taxicab companies will be allowed to operate within city limits. The issue had become a source of controversy and protest, especially among Armenian taxi companies who criticized the selection process as being discriminatory and unfair.

“It is unfortunate that the city council has decided to move forward with their decision, despite our concerns and support towards the taxi drivers fighting this ordinance,” said Aleena Sivazlian, one of the AYF members who organized the rally. “This issue will not be forgotten or left alone. We will continue to fight the ordinance with whatever means are available to us.”

Asbarez Staff

Asbarez Staff

Next Post

Sarkisian Threatens Final Blow Against Azerbaijan

Comments 9

  1. khachaturian seda says:
    12 years ago

    It is time that we Armenians file a discriminatory suit against ,in this case, city of Santa Monica. We need to be aggressive, demanding, and most of all have a very good specialized lawyer to win the case. I do not think Santa Monica city would get away if the discrimination was tended toward blacks or another minority. Let our voices be heard through law suits. Enough to play victims of bullies. We need to stand up for any violation of discrimination.

    Reply
  2. Tony says:
    12 years ago

    I agree with khachaturian seda. It’s time to point out that the City of Santa Monica is out to discriminate against Armenian Minority. In my view, I see that some of The City Council members are corrupt people. They only accept the companes that donate to their causes and interests. I call these kind of people intolerant and racists.
    I’m wondering, can they force through, a same kind of measure that discriminates against a Latino or Black Taxi companies operating within the City of Santa Monica? I guess, the answer for that is Nope; the City will have it from them. They’ll see at their door Reverend Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Hispanic Politicians, all angry.

    Reply
  3. Alex says:
    12 years ago

    I’m with you Seda jan! They are specifically targeting Armenian businesses, and they want to help only 3 companies! This is smells like oligopoly!!! I know for a fact that they are illegal!!

    Reply
  4. amb says:
    12 years ago

    Here here to Seda’s suggestion.
    Lets remember the quote: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”. We were ignored and tolerated and kind of patronized while we were a small minority with not much doing. Then they laughed at us when we got to be many, when our numbers went up “Look at those fat, chain smoking Armenians, etc…”, Now that we want economic and political power they are fighting us. We have to keep hitting back and we will be accepted finally and win.

    Reply
  5. Harout Sousani says:
    12 years ago

    It’s time to file a civil suit against the City of Santa Monica and the governor must also be addressed.

    Reply
  6. John K. says:
    12 years ago

    I don’t know about the rules on city contracts, but I do know that for Federal contracts it only cost you 44 cents stamp to file a protest. When you protest a Federal contract, everything will be put on hold until the protest is reviewed and the problem is resolved.

    Reply
  7. Norin Radd says:
    12 years ago

    Only a well drawn out and costly lawsuit against the city counsel members, the city, and all associated parties of this matter will get results. The picketing was a good gesture, but certainly not one that stirred the pot enough to reach a fair conclusion.
    This is clearly a discriminatory move and should be treated a such. Unfortunately, this great country has reached a point of deprivation in which only a hit to offending parties’ wallets gets fair results, any sort of moral obligation went out the window of US civil government and society in the 1970s. So if everything is going to be about money, then hitting them in their wallet is where our community should begin targeting all of their grievances with these types of discriminatory decisions.

    Reply
  8. John says:
    12 years ago

    My recommendation is to boycott shops that produce sales tax revenue for the city.

    Reply
  9. ArdeVast Atheian says:
    12 years ago

    I am aghast by the arrogance that the City of Santa Monica has displayed towards its Armenian work force. We will not forget this their slap in the face. We will protest and we will hit back until such time that they realize that they can’t get away with walking over us as they would never dream of walking over other minorities which they wouldn’t dare step over.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

ANCA Colorado-Sponsored Youth Complete New American Leaders Summit

4 hours ago
Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

Key U.S. House Appropriations Panel Proposes $60 Million for Armenia; Needs Assessment for Artsakh

8 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • asbarez.com
    • June 29, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to