UNITED STATES
Microsoft says it has struck the biggest
corporate solar deal in US history. The tech
giant announced March 21 that it is buying
315 megawatts (drawn from 750,000 solar
panels) from two massive new solar projects in
Virginia. Microsoft currently powers 50 percent
of its global data centers with renewables.
With the new deal, it is aiming for 60 percent.
GEEKWIREPUERTO RICO
A historic initiative is seeking to improve
animal welfare in the Caribbean nation.
The Humane Society of the United States
announced March 28 that, over an 18-month
period, it would work with Puerto Rican
partners, including the government, to
spay 20,000 cats and dogs in underserved
communities to reduce the number of strays
on the island.
THE HUMANE SOCIETYPOINTS OF PROGRESS
AP/FILEDisabilities less of
a jobs barrier
People with disabilities in the
workplace quadrupled in 2016
For years, Donald Minor says, he blamed
a disability – a lack of muscle control in his
arms and legs – for his unemployment. Five
years ago, he almost didn’t go to an interview
for a job with duties that included lifting boxes.
But he went, and landed his first internship.
From there he found a job in customer service
with Rails to Trails Conservancy
in Washington, D.C., where he’s
been for 2-1/2 years.
“Employers need to give
people with disabilities an op-
portunity,” says Mr. Minor. “And
people with disabilities need to
put themselves out there, learn,
and grow.”
People with disabilities are entering the
workforce in unprecedented numbers. Accord-
ing to data from the Institute on Disability at
the University of New Hampshire and Respect-
Ability, a nonprofit that advances opportunities
for people with disabilities, 343,483 disabled
people joined the workforce in 2016, four times
as many as the previous year.
“It is fantastic to see the fourfold improve-
ment in one year,” says Jennifer Mizrahi, pres-
ident of RespectAbility. Changes in legislation,
leadership, and media “are starting to have a
positive impact.”
That jump suggests a shift in the way the
United States thinks about people with disabil-
ities, the largest minority group in the coun-
try. One in 5 Americans, or 56 million people,
is classified as disabled, according to the US
Census Bureau. “At the macro level, we are
absolutely seeing a shift in societal attitudes
towards people with disabilities,” says Philip
Kahn-Pauli, director of policy and practices at
RespectAbility.
Experts attribute the dramatic rise in em-
ployment of this group to a host of factors: a
recovering economy and tight labor market,
government incentives and regulations around
CHANGES IN
LEGISLATION,
LEADERSHIP
SPURRED RISE
OF JOBS FOR
DISABLED
PEOPLE.V SEE PAGE 16