Losing Sight: Arizona Business Enterprise Program
Arizona Capitol Times › August 08, 2008
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Summary
Shortly before noon, diners line up at the Capitol Cafe. On busy days, the line spills out into the hallway of the Executive Tower basement. The daily special is written in grease pencil on a small portable sign.
On this day, it's roast turkey for $4.59.See the full content of this document
Extract
Losing Sight: Arizona Business Enterprise Program
One of the cashiers is Mike Feeney, wearing wraparound sunglasses. He runs the business.
He's also legally blind. And that's no coincidence. Feeney operates the Capitol Cafe under a federal law known as the Randolph- Sheppard Act. In Arizona, this is administered through the Arizona Business Enterprise Program, part of the Department of Economic Security.As Feeney rings up the customers, he's pleasant. He's efficient.But, under the surface, not all is well with AzBEP. Among its 30 or so blind operators, some complain DES runs the program with a heavy hand. Others say agency red tape makes it difficult for them to make simple repairs or replace worn-out equipment. And, they say, DES has dragged its feet in opening up new ...See the full content of this document
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