Accessibility statement

1. Commitment

Everyone should be able to read about this work, contact me, and use this website, including people who use screen readers, keyboards, switch devices, magnification, captions, or reduced motion. Accessibility is part of how the site is built, not an add-on, and no accessibility overlay or widget is used.

2. Standard

The engineering target is WCAG 2.2 level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium. Applicable accessibility duties depend on the service and jurisdiction. Meeting a WCAG target does not by itself establish every requirement of EN 301 549 or certify legal compliance.

Automated checks and the documented manual review support this target; they do not establish complete conformance on every assistive technology: if you find something, please tell me.

3. What the site does

• A “Skip to content” link is the first thing you reach with the keyboard.
• Pages use real headings, landmarks, lists, tables, and labels, so assistive technology can navigate them.
• Keyboard controls and visible focus outlines support navigation. Menus and privacy dialogs are tested for focus handling and closing with Escape.
• Text contrast targets at least 4.5:1, or 3:1 for large text. Automated checks cover the page templates and 320-pixel reflow; text enlargement and assistive-technology behavior also need continued manual review.
• Images that carry meaning have text alternatives. Decorative visuals, such as the animated bridges, hills, brain, monarch, and cat, are hidden from screen readers and described in text where they add meaning.
• Background videos are silent and decorative, start only when visible, and stop when you scroll away or press “Pause motion.” The cat animation plays once, then waits for you to replay it.
• Spanish and Nahuatl words are marked with their language so screen readers pronounce them correctly.
• The whole site reads without JavaScript.

4. How it was checked

• Automated testing with axe-core against the WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 A and AA rules on every page, including the open menu, the privacy dialog, the consent notice, phone layouts, and reduced motion.
• The release review includes keyboard-only use, focus handling, 320-pixel reflow and reduced motion. Continued manual review should include 200% text enlargement, increased text spacing, captions for new meaningful media and actual screen-reader output.
• Automated accessibility tests run with every change to the site.

5. Known limitations

• The scroll-driven scenes (the dawn time-lapse, the bridge, the brain, the monarch) are visual experiences. Their meaning is available as text captions, but the motion itself is not described frame by frame.
• Links to Instagram, LinkedIn, and other websites lead to services I do not control, and their accessibility may differ.
• Testing with every screen reader and browser combination is ongoing. If something does not work with your setup, I want to know.

6. Compatibility

The site is built with standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and is designed to work with current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop and mobile, and with the screen readers and magnifiers built into Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

7. Report a barrier

Email eastbaywebs@gmail.com with the page address and what happened. You may request an alternative format, such as plain text. Include only what is needed to explain the barrier; a diagnosis or medical record is not needed.

See also the Privacy Policy and the Terms & legal notices.