Gov. Paterson, New York's first legally blind governor, admitted Wednesday he didn't become fully comfortable with his disability until the last few years. In his first expansive comments on his visual impairment since becoming governor on March 17, Paterson detailed the ways he sought to hide his blindness over the years. While growing up...

It is a phone number that just a handful of the governor’s senior aides know. At the end of each day they call in and record briefings, laying out what he needs to know about the following day. They recite his schedule, read talking points and explain the intricacies of issues likely to come up. They read memos from staff members and...

Fitz Octave can't see well enough to drive a car, but he can see to it that yours runs like it just came off the assembly line. The auto mechanic turned entrepreneur is legally blind. Last May, he opened a shop of his own, FGO Motor Services, in the Park Stratton section of the Bronx. He's been fixing cars since he did after-school...

Technology and training have improved to the point that blind people can adeptly perform a dazzling array of jobs - including the governorship of New York. The biggest obstacle still in their way, advocates say, is the negative attitude of many employers. "Most people don't know a blind person, so they assume that blind people are not capable...