From the Los Angeles Times, AP/Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal from a California man who has sued repeatedly over alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court’s action lets stand a federal judge’s ruling that bars Jarek Molski from filing further lawsuits without special permission.

Molski (left), who is paralyzed and uses a wheelchair, has filed some 400 lawsuits against restaurants and small businesses for alleged ADA violations, often alleging that he was injured in the course of his visit.  Targeted business owners often settled out of court, earning Polski hundreds of thousands of dollars in less than two years.

A federal judge in Los Angeles branded Molski a “hit and run plaintiff,” describing his lawsuits as extortion. The opinion of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit said Molski’s lawsuits were “probably meritorious in part,” as many of the businesses were probably not in compliance with ADA requirements, but that there was ample evidence that Molski had “trumped up his claims of injury.”

The appeals court’s decision can be found here.

From USA Today:

Boss Hoss founder Monte Warne was inspired by a longtime friend who uses a wheelchair, Larry Curry (shown left), to design the Boss Hoss Advantage Trike, a high-power, wheelchair-accessible motorcycle.

Boss Hoss, a small motorcycle company based in Dyersburg [TN], is teaming with V8 Performance to offer an $8,000 conversion kit, which can turn a Boss Hoss Sierra Truck Trike into a hand-operable machine.

… The front of the trike resembles a traditional motorcycle cruiser, while the fiberglass-covered rear looks like that of a pickup. Ordinarily, the rear would be used as storage space, but on the Advantage Trike, it conceals a wheelchair lift built into the chassis.

Rad Hunsley, chief operating officer for Boss Hoss, says the trike allows people to “express their freedom” while “flying down the road.”

From the [Terre Haute, IN] Tribune-Star:

Voters with disabilities complain that they have been turned away from voting at satellite polling locations in Indiana because the law is unclear about assistance.

According to state law, voters with disabilities are eligible to vote at regular polling locations with assistance from a designated representative or two official judges at a precinct, but the law does not mention satellite voting. Consequently, satellite polling sites have interpreted the law differently, leaving voters frustrated and unable to vote as some polling places turn people away.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

Aaron Fotheringham, a 16-year-old from Northwest Las Vegas, has earned himself a place in the Guinness World Records as the first person to complete a back flip in a wheelchair.

Fotheringham, who has spina bifida, has been performing the trick since 2006, and made it official at Doc Romeo Park in Las Vegas before the Vegas AmJam skatepark competition. After setting the record, Aaron Fotheringham competed in the Vegas AmJam finals and took first in the BMX advanced division.

Accompanying video includes footage of Fotheringham’s successful completion of the back flip, as well as interviews with Fotheringham, his mother, Kaylene Fotheringham, and his girlfriend, Rochelle Smith, 14.

See Aaron’s ESPN interview here.

Earlier post here.

(Las Vegas Sun photo)

In the New York Times, an extended feature about injured Iraq veteran James Fair and Homes for Our Troops, a Massachusetts-based organization that has built him a house with high-tech accommodations for his disabilities. Fair is blind, has brain injuries, and has lost both arms below the elbows, the result of an explosion. An excerpt:

[The house] is a test case of the ways design can improve the lives of severely wounded veterans and their families, and of the limits of its power to turn around a situation like Mr. Fair’s.

… Paul Gemme, the projects manager who oversees the construction of most Homes for Our Troops houses, said the work is rewarding but also challenging, in part because the veterans he builds for are often frustrated, and have higher expectations for their new homes than a charity can meet.

“A lot of human emotions come into this,” he said. The veterans “are in a situation they never thought they would be in. We have had to employ a lot of Psych 101.”

Blind aide raises bar of expectations — The Hill (blindness)

Disabled parking placard use is on the rise — LA Daily News (law)

Report: Disabled voters face difficulty in RI — Boston Globe (voting)

Op-ed: Those with developmental disabilities need help now — Denver Post (law, politics, intellectual disabilities)

Film of Norfolk man’s life added to Library of Congress — The [Norfolk] Virginian-Pilot (Down syndrome)

Aging parents plan for future of children who still need help — Ottawa Citizen (caretakers)

Extreme Makeover: Emotional buildup – New York Times (disabilities, media, chronic illness, entertainment, television)

He’s immobile, but his story has the power to move — Today Show (muscular dystrophy, media, parents, personal stories)

Op-ed: New ADA rules overturn common sense — Miami Herald (ADA)

Disabled band scores film first — BBC News (entertainment)

Man accused of harassing autistic boy faces hate-crime charge — The Seattle Times (autism, hate crime)

Book review: ‘Deaf Sentence’ — New York Times (deafness)

Redskins ordered to provide hearing-impaired fans ‘aural content’ in stadium — ESPN (deaf/hard of hearing, law)

Redskins ordered to continue captions — Washington Post (deaf/hard of hearing, law)

From Fortune Small Business/CNN Money:

Dr. Glen House, who became quadriplegic at 20, teamed with biotech executive J.W. Roth to found Disaboom.com. The company is a fast-growing social network aimed at the 50 million Americans with disabilities and their caregivers. House’s goal: to help them “live forward with their conditions.”

The site offers advertisers an opportunity to reach a previously untapped market, including a reported 72,000 registered users. An excerpt:

… House demonstrates that disabilities are no obstacle in the brave new world of technology. If anything, the determination they engender provides a clear business advantage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the percentage of self-employed Americans with disabilities has grown from 12% to 15% since the dawn of the Web. For the rest of us, the figure has stayed static at 8%. Your next competitor may just zoom past you in a wheelchair.

Roth also launched companion sites Disaboomjobs.com, an employment site responding to the high unemployment of people with disabilities, and lovebyrd, a dating site for those with disabilities.

See earlier post here.

(David Yellen photo/Fortune Small Business/CNN.com)