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Catholic Priest Busted Sexting An Underage Boy & Offering To Be His “Sugar Daddy” By Adam Bennett
Publisher/Executive Editor David Vandygriff Dvandygriff @cityxtramagazine.com
Gays With Kids By Gary Hurtubise
Editor In Chief Dr. Harvey Carr hcarr@cityxtramagazine.com
What You Need to Know About the New Coronavirus and HIV By David Malebranche L.A. Drag Fixture, Hey Qween Star Lady Red Couture Has Died By Michael Brayson
Director of Sales Adam Plante, Esq aplante@cityxtramagazine.com
Affordable Gay Vacation Towns
Creative Designer Debbie Johnson Djohnson @cityxtramagazine.com
By Andrew Williams
Jacksonville Voting Begins Monday; Everywhere In Florida By Aug. 8 By David Vandygriff New ‘eBussy’ Convertible Truck Unveiled To The World By David Vandygriff
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Catholic Priest Busted Sexting An Underage Boy & Offering To Be His “Sugar Daddy” By Adam Bennett
The FBI has arrested Catholic priest Francis Hughes yesterday for allegedly sexting an underage boy. “How would you like to be spoiled by your grandpa?” the 65-year-old pastor at the St. Pancras Roman Catholic Church in Queens, New York is accused of asking a 15-yearold boy in a text message. “The allegations against Francis Hughes are chilling and frightening to any parent,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement. According to court documents filed in federal court, the victim told investigators that he said he was 15-years-old when he met Hughes on Grindr in 2019, but that didn’t deter the priest. Hughes also admitted that he knew the victim was underage, according to the document. The two texted each other off Grindr, and the FBI recovered texts and nude pictures they sent each other from the victim’s phone. “And how’s school? You doing ok?” Hughes asked in a text message on February 16, 2020. They exchanged pictures of their genitalia and Hughes asked for more explicit pictures. He talked about masturbation 06 www.cityxtramagazine.com
with the teen and told him, “Its one of the great things about being a boy. You get to relieve your from his job. horniness whenever you want.” Hughes is facing one count of “How would you like to be receipt and distribution of child spoiled by your grandpa?” pornography and could get up Hughes asked. The two to 20 years in prison if found discussed Hughes sending guilty. Investigators are still money to the victim and the looking for other victims. pastor even asked how the “We expect adults, especially victim would hide it from his those in positions of trust like parents. Francis Hughes, to protect our “That makes me your sugar children, not victimize them,” daddy,” he asked. “And you’re said FBI Assistant Director the sugar baby, lol.” William Sweeney Jr. “Sadly, Hughes stopped responding to these allegations demonstrate there are still predators out the victim later that night and there who abuse this trust.” it’s not apparent from the text messages that they met up. Even as Catholic priests But when he was interviewed continue to be caught by the FBI, Hughes admitted to victimizing minors, the Church having sex with another minor still opposes LGBTQ at a high school in Queens, relationships and considers New York, and he said he has being gay or bisexual a attempted to meet other minors tendency towards sin. The for sex. Church’s current position is that gay Catholics should remain “He always used to be like a little over-friendly, and he used celibate, much like priests. to be a little touchy sometimes,” a former student of Hughes at a Catholic middle school told ABC 7. “That’s why I always thought there was something off about him.” The Diocese of Brooklyn said that Hughes has been removed
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Gay With Kids By Gary Hurtubise
Brian Rosenberg, of Boston, Massachusetts, is a father, husband, HIV-survivor, and co-founder of Gays With Kids, a “first-of-its-kind website that helps gay dads navigate fatherhood − from creating their families to raising them.” Brian was the middle child of a close-knit family from a suburb north of Boston. He remembers his childhood as an idyllic time, surrounded by extended family, good friends, and small-town camaraderie. His parents nurtured in him a sense of independence and a spirit for adventure; he attended overnight camps from an early age, spent the summer between high school and college with an exchange family in Japan, and spent part of his junior year experiencing a ‘Semester-at-Sea’ – in Brian’s own words: “an incredible 100-day experiential learning journey with more than a dozen visits to countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe.” Looking back on high school, Brian recognizes that feelings he had for a few of his guy friends were actually crushes. “I knew I was drawn to them in a way that was unusual, but I didn’t put much thought into 08 www.cityxtramagazine.com
why I wanted to be with them so much, and the relationships were never anything other than platonic.” It was in his freshman year at college, during a trip with his family to the Bahamas, that he realized what those feelings meant. “One night, a guy from Norway working at the embassy befriended my brother and me during a visit to a local club.” Brian shared his first kiss with the Norwegian, but quickly panicked, and retreated from the situation. “Throughout the years, I would occasionally try to locate him on social media but was never able to find him.” Last year, on a whim, Brian called the Norwegian Embassy, and as luck would have it, someone actually remembered him. Sadly, it turned out the young man had died from AIDS only two years after their Bahamas encounter. AIDS would take a significant role in Brian’s life, as he continued to explore his sexuality in secret for the next few years, engaging in risky behavior that led to him becoming HIV-positive in 1990. Even when he told his family of his HIV status, Brian still didn’t come out as gay. It was only around the time he met his future husband, Ferd, that Brian started coming out to friends and family.
Ferd van Gameren was born in the Netherlands, the second of five children. Ferd’s father worked in the military and, later, in human resources; his mother was an elementary school teacher. After college in Utrecht and Amsterdam, Ferd decided to travel across the Atlantic. “I was accepted to Boston University’s doctoral program in Classical Studies; I instantly fell in love with the United States.” Ferd’s coming out process was markedly different than Brian’s. “I came out when I was 22 or 23, but I had known that I was gay for a long time before that. Coming out wasn’t a big deal then, in Holland.” The story of the couple’s meeting is, as Ferd likes to say, the oldest story in the world: “boy meets boy at the gym.” The couple vividly recall the details of their first date, one Friday in June of 1993. “I invited him to my place for dinner,” Brian begins. “but I didn’t know how to cook, and Ferd rescued the meal after noticing I was about to mix raw hamburger meat with cooked pasta. That was the first and last time I ever cooked for him.” From almost the moment they got together, the two men were inseparable. “We got married on June 20, 2013, exactly twenty years after we started our relationship,” Brian retells. “We were living in Toronto at the time. It was a beautiful and emotional event for us, declaring our love for each other in front of kids, family, and friends.”
While the couple enjoyed spending time with their nieces and nephews, they did not consider fatherhood for themselves. Brian had his HIV status, and, “back in those days we didn’t think much of the future, as the assumption was that ours wouldn’t last long.” In their first year together, Ferd and Brian attended 20 of their friends’ funerals. “Then the AIDS cocktail arrived in 1996, and the worst of the crisis was ending. I remember the first time the weekly gay newspaper didn’t have an obituary; it had been at least 3 years.” Eight months after he started taking a triple-drug combination, Brian received amazing news: there was no longer any detectable trace of the virus in his blood. “I'm not sure why I survived when hundreds of thousands of others did not,” Brian admits, in his bio from his Gays With Kids website. Once Brian had more than a year’s worth of good health results under his belt, the couple started talking more seriously about fatherhood. Back then, of course, there was no Gays With Kids or an abundance of resources to learn about the various options available to gay men interested in parenthood. So Ferd took the lead researching and identifying organizations that could help them become dads. “We initially decided to build our family through adoption.” Brian says. “We were matched with a 4-month-old boy living
with his teenage birth mom and her 18year-old boyfriend, who wasn’t the boy’s dad.” The adoption fell through after the young mother left her boyfriend, taking her baby with her. After that experience, the couple figured adoption would not be their path to fatherhood. Instead, Ferd learned about a research lab in Cambridge, MA, that had tremendous success helping HIV-positive men become biological dads to HIV-negative children that also didn’t risk the health of the mothers. After putting all the pieces into play to become dads through surrogacy, the men received a call from their adoption agency: a three-day-old Black baby boy needed a loving family. “We proudly took Levi home from the hospital on the fifth day of his life, and his twin-sisters (by surrogacy) Sadie and Ella joined the family 17 months later!” Upon adopting Levi, Brian and Ferd scoured the internet, looking to connect with other gay dads, “so that we could learn from their experiences.” They were unsuccessful. Brian explains on his website: “we felt isolated because we had no community of gay dads to turn to and with whom we could identify.” Ferd adds, “we also felt alienated by all the mom-centric focus.”
Everywhere the couple turned, they encountered phrases like ‘mommy tested, mommy approved’ or ‘for moms by moms’. “Almost everything was written by moms, for moms,” Brian explains in a 2018interview with Tom Bourdon from the Hey Dads, Gay Dads video series. Determined to put an end to what they perceived as ‘Dadscrimination’, and worse, ‘Gay-Dadscrimination’, the couple created Gays With Kids, an online community that “aims to normalize the experience of gay parenting by sharing stories, news, advice, and in-depth reporting on topics of interest to gay dads, many of which are typically not covered in mainstream media.” Having initially set up the website, the men re-directed their energies to their three toddlers. Now that the kids are school-aged, Brian and Ferd are able to more-fully dedicate themselves to their online resource. www.cityxtramagazine.com 09
The couple further explain the inspiration for, and goals of Gays With Kids: “as dads, we share all the universal truths and challenges of parenting that are experienced by parents everywhere, regardless of gender or orientation. But, as gay dads, we face many other truths and challenges that are uniquely our own.” The challenges they refer to include such things as: coming out to kids, dealing with homophobic teachers, guiding daughters through puberty, and – not least of all – navigating the different paths gay men can follow to become dads. The couple describe Gays With Kids as a labor of love for both of them. Initially, they didn’t even think about generating revenue to help offset the costs
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of running it. “In 2018 we finally launched our first revenue stream: sponsored content.” Brian explains. “We’ve had terrific success, and revenue committed in 2019 has already surpassed what we took in all of last year.” Revenue hasn’t quite reached break-even, however, so Brian continues with his day-job, and Ferd has his hands full as the kids’ stay-at-home dad.
before they could talk, so this is all they’ve ever known. When other kids ask them about their family, they always respond so matter-of-factly that the reaction they receive from other kids is always just as nonchalant.” When asked about the future of Gays With Kids, Brian responds, “there’s a lot more we’d like to accomplish, such as more resources for gay As if creating a resource and dads with older kids, building community for gay dads wasn’t families in other countries, enough, the couple also more about foster parents, and provided their own children more ways to build a communiwith personalized resources. ty of gay dads -virtually and in “When the kids were all still the real world. There’s never a very young, Ferd wrote a ‘How shortage of ideas!” We Came to be a Family’ for For more information, visit Levi, and another book for the Brian and Ferd’s site at girls,” Brian explains. “We start- GaysWithKids.com. ed reading them these stories
What You Need to Know About the New Coronavirus and HIV By Dr. By David Malebranche, M.D., M.P.H.
HIV and Coronavirus Basics
The virus can also live for as many as three days on plastic and stainless steel, a COVID-19 is the name full day on cardboard, and four scientists have given for the hours on copper. If you are in illness people develop after an area where many people becoming infected with SARS- are touching several of the CoV-2, a new strain of surfaces (like a grocery store, coronavirus discovered in laundromat, or communal 2019. garbage room), keep virus prevention at the forefront: If There are many strains of you touch something and then coronavirus in the U.S.; they wipe your nose, your mouth, or are behind illnesses like the your eyes, you could get the common cold. COVID-19 is a coronavirus that way. little bit different: It's more severe and more contagious Can the New Coronavirus Be than the flu, from what we Spread Through Sex? understand so far. Research to date has found that the novel coronavirus that This 2019 version of causes COVID-19 can be shed coronavirus most likely through feces and semen. This originated from livestock has led some to wonder exposure. whether that might mean that HIV and Coronavirus the virus could be transmitted Transmission via anal sex, vaginal sex, or How Is the New Coronavirus other sex practices such as Spread? rimming and fisting. The new coronavirus is spread We can’t say for certain yet all through respiratory droplets. If of the ways in which this you’re within 6 feet of coronavirus is transmitted. We somebody who’s coughing, or do know that if the virus is shed if you’re sharing the same through fecal matter and indoor space with them for semen, there is the potential more than a few minutes, it can for it to be transmitted during be spread from some of the sex. But we can't quantify the aerosolized droplets that come risk at this point. Researchers out of their mouth. have yet to determine is whether the bits of virus found in feces or semen are actually 12 www.cityxtramagazine.com What Is the New Coronavirus?
infectious. So in the meantime, just be careful. If you’ve been in a situation with someone who has recently been traveling, or if they’re sick with COVID-19 and you’re worried, the best practice would be to avoid sex practices—whether that be toys, rimming, or anal/vaginal sex itself—until we know more information. Of course, if you’re close enough to a person to have sex with them, you’re also close enough to potentially be exposed to the coronavirus in all the ways we know are definitely a risk. So try to keep practicing social distancing recommendations when you’re around others: maintain 6 feet of space, don’t share the same indoor area for a long period of time, and wash your hands thoroughly and often. HIV and Coronavirus Prevention/Treatment How Can You Prevent Coronavirus Infection as a Person Living With HIV? In short: Wash your hands. Avoid travel and public gatherings.
Rest and avoid stress. Take your HIV meds. Don't obsess over face masks. If you’re looking for your best weapon against the virus, the first one is the tried-and-true method of washing hands. When washing your hands, use soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds—or, if soap isn't available, a hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol. Other strategies include avoiding crowds, public places, and nonessential travel.
That will help you avoid exposure not only to something like the new coronavirus, but to all other viruses—like the flu— and other kinds of parasites and fungal infections. If you are living with HIV and not currently on medication, now might be a good time to seek treatment. What about face masks? Unfortunately, we don’t really know if they prevent you from contracting the coronavirus. Especially those flimsy masks that they’re selling in various places on the internet or in pharmacies nowadays. But if someone is sick with a fever and coughing and short of breath, using a mask will help prevent them from passing it to someone else.
a combination of lopinavir and ritonavir. This combination was once helpful in fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, a virus similar to COVID -19. Recent study results have showed early promise for a COVID-19 treatment regimen that includes Kaletra alongside two other non-HIV drugs. However, Kaletra by itself doesn’t appear to be an effective COVID-19 therapy. Research is still ongoing. Other HIV drugs that have Also important: giving your been considered or explored body the rest it deserves. The for COVID-19 include: Prezista main thing is to keep your (darunavir), a commonly used immune system healthy. HIV medication; Truvada Getting enough sleep, resting, (tenofovir/FTC), which is used keeping stressful people and for both HIV treatment and situations out of your life, prevention (as PrEP), and getting your mental health Viracept (nelfinavir), an old HIV checked up on. Can HIV Meds Protect Me med that’s rarely used these Take your HIV medications and From COVID-19 or Make It days. But these ideas haven’t stay virally suppressed. The Less Severe? panned out, at least not yet. higher your T-cell count (a.k.a. To be honest, we really don’t So as of right now, no HIV med CD4 count) is, the more your know right now. that we know of is effective at HIV is suppressed, the stronger preventing or treating COVIDThe HIV drug that’s gotten the your immune system will be. most attention so far is Kaletra, 19, at least not by itself.
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L.A. Drag Fixture, Hey Qween Star Lady Red Couture Has Died By Michael Brayson
During July, Lady Red Couture, a staple of the Los Angeles drag community, died. Jonny McGovern, who co-hosted the long-running show Hey Qween alongside Lady Red Couture, announced the news on social media.
On Hey Qween, McGovern and Lady Red interviewed many RuPaul's Drag Race alum and other talented people. "Last week I filmed a new Hey "It doesn't feel real but the Qween interview and Lady Red beautiful light that was Lady was out sick so we talked to Red is gone," he wrote. "I love her as if she was there," you baby. I will miss you every actress Isis King wrote on day." Twitter. "She was going to film her parts later on, now she's A week prior McGovern had posted to social media that he gone." King went on to write that the icon would be "missed had rushed Lady Red to the by many." Others like Detox, hospital due to complications with cyclic vomiting syndrome, Shangela, Jackie Beat, and many more all a chronic condition that the performer suffered from. At the posted. time McGovern asked for Outside of Hey Qween, Lady donations to help Lady Red Red was a LA staple. She with her bills given that she worked at venues like was in the intensive care Hamburger Mary's and overnight. On Friday McGovern developed a reputation for reported that she had been on being the "largest live-singing a breathing tube and drag queen." She also helped unconscious for five days, but to produce drag shows. was stabilizing. McGovern has "My whole goal in drag is to said that "ALL the generous blend everything," she said in donations to her Venmo over her audition tape for Drag Race this week" will go towards season six. She had previously funeral costs. tried to get on the show in On social media, many in the season three. "To blend drag, drag and nightlife communities burlesque, and live singing. I as well as entertainment in have never seen a girl do that general have posted tributes. and I would love to be the first to do that."
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Lady Red was also known for her positivity, helping to mentor and mother many other performers. In one of Lady Red's last video messages on Instagram she spoke to the moment we are all currently in. "I am a Black, American trans woman who is making a difference in this world and all I'm asking is that you love me like I love you," she said. "I shouldn't be afraid to go to the store after a certain time because I'm black. I shouldn't be afraid and neither should you." "Let's lead in love but let's also be very honest."
terrific ski town in winter. Firstrate, gayfriendly lodgings that won't set you back a fortune include the famed Taos Inn near the
Victoria. It's also considered to be one of Canada's favorite vacation spots among lesbians, although plenty of gay men come to experience the island's tranquility and unassuming beauty. Throughout this Affordable Gay Vacation Towns wooded, hilly island of nearly By Andrew Williams 10,000 residents, you'll find Discover North America's most Plaza and the artists' studios, several fine affordable small cities and charming American Artists beaches, hiking and biking towns for gay travelers, Gallery House B&B. terrain, organic restaurants and including beach getaways, cafes, and many fishing and Eureka Springs, Arkansas small mountains, and other boating opportunities. The gayYou might be surprised to artsy, progressive vacation discover one of the Heartland's owned, reasonably priced Salt locales that won't break your Spring Island Inn is one of the favorite small-town gay budget. Some of these most inviting accommodations getaways in the heart of the communities (all under 150,000 Ozarks, closer to family-values- in the main community on the population) offer especially dominant Branson than to any island, Ganges Harbor. It has a good deals during the major cities with a sizable gay great restaurant and popular low-season, while others enjoy population and three LGBT bar on-site as well. Secluded a lower cost of travel than Diversity weekends each year. Suncrest Cottage is perfect for other, fancier resorts in the But this hilly, historic Arkansas romance seekers. same general region. These town that's also, oddly enough, Saugatuck and Douglas, spots have low-priced B&Bs, very popular with conservative Michigan - The diverting towns reasonably priced dining and Christians draws many gay of Saugatuck and Douglas shopping, and a good mix of visitors from Oklahoma City, comprise the most significant things to see and do. Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, gay resort destination in the Taos, New Mexico - Taos is and Dallas. It's also a town Midwest. A little more than two one of the most stunningly that's easy on the bank hours from Chicago and three situated small towns in North account, with a multitude of hours from Detroit, this America, set on a high-desert affordable B&Bs, casual laid-back resort area offers a mesa in the shadows of the barbecue and Mexican joints, bounty of urbane restaurants, 13,000-foot-high Sangre and inexpensive antique shops. handsome B&Bs, funky de Cristo mountains. A historic Even the grand 1905 Basin boutiques and antique shops, arts colony that retains its Park Hotel has rooms starting and more than 25 high-quality creative spirit today, this under $100. The popular, art galleries, as well as some of diminutive town of about 6,500 lesbian-owned Pond Mountain the most picturesque beach has long been favored by Lodge & Resort is one of the frontage on Lake Michigan. bohemians, free spirits, most tranquil, scenic The pace here is easy in these progressives, and gays and accommodations in town. scenic, all-American communilesbians. Funkier and with far Salt Spring Island, Canada - ties. Social butterflies should more affordable places to eat check into the area's premier Part of a small archipelago in and stay than Santa Fe, Taos gay hotel, the British Columbia's Strait of is a fantastic destination for Georgia, Salt Spring Island has nonetheless affordable Dunes hiking, biking, photography, Resort, which has on-site dinlong been a haven for artsy and white-water rafting during and outdoorsy sorts and a ing and gay nightlife. Also lovethe warmer months, and it's a ly are the gay-owned Pines popular weekend destination for residents of Vancouver and Motorlodge and its sister 16 www.cityxtramagazine.com
property the Saugatuck. These two mid-century modern motor courts have been restored and converted into hip yet easy-onthe-wallet overnight accommodations. Guerneville, California - The hub of the fabled Russian River region, a densely verdant, redwood-tree-shaded valley in western Sonoma County, unpretentious and quirky Guerneville lacks the high costs and occasional pretensions of nearby Wine Country towns, but it's still an excellent base for wine-touring. This small town 70 miles from San Francisco has several gay bars, a colorful main drag lined with both funky and stylish shops and galleries, and several GLBT resorts and inns. During the warmer months, this is a perfect base for hiking among the redwoods and canoeing on the river. Nestled amid those very redwoods, the Highlands Resort is a wonderful collection of pet-friendly cabins. The R3 Hotel (formerly the Triple R) is one of California's longest-running gay resorts. Both places are very affordable. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico - This historic treasure along colonial Mexico's fabled silver route, San Miguel de Allende has been a popular vacation spot and, increasingly, permanent home for American expats for years. Often compared with the U.S. city of Santa Fe because of the elegant Spanish Colonial architecture, trendy yet refined eateries and hotels, and first-
rate arts scene, San Miguel is a relatively good deal for visitors from the U.S. and Canada thanks to the favorable exchange rate. This gayfriendly, hilly town of cobblestone streets lies about 180 miles north of Mexico City. Recommended lodging options include Casa Crayola, a colorful collection of casitas near the must-see Fabrica La Aurora art-gallery center, and somewhat fancier Las Terrazas San Miguel. Ogunquit, Maine - Smaller, more low-key, and less expensive than Provincetown, the scenic oceanside village of Ogunquit, Maine is one of New England's leading gay resort communities. It's just 90 minutes from Boston and less than a half-hour from the gayfriendly Maine city of Portland. This dapper little village of about 1,200 is home to an acclaimed summer theater and first-rate art museum, abounds with gay-owned accommodations, festive lobster shacks, and tasteful shops and boutiques, and contains 3.5 miles of glorious, sandy beach.
Relatively affordable in summer, it's an absolute bargain during the fall and spring months. Try staying at the elegant 2 Village Square Inn or the inexpensive, well-located Ogunquit Beach Inn. Salida, Colorado - The laid-back Colorado Rockies mountain town of Salida is something of a sleeper on this list; it has no gay scene or GLBT-oriented accommodations to speak of. However, it's a beautifully situated community with a vibrant downtown abundant with art galleries and kayaking and skiing outfitters. (It's close to Monarch Mountain Ski Area and less than 100 miles from Breckenridge and Crested Butte.) And it's far less pricey and more relaxed than Colorado's more famous resort regions. Another gay-friendly small town that's similar in scope and vibe is Ouray, which is famous for its ice-climbing. In Salida, lodging options are cheap if fairly nondescript. Reliable bets include chains like the Super 8 Salida.
lodging options are cheap if fairly nondescript. Reliable bets include chains like the Super 8 Salida. Asheville, North Carolina This small, attractive mountain city within a few hours' drive of Atlanta is one of the South's most gay-welcoming communities. This temperate region known for its natural scenery has its share of ritzy places to stay and eat, but fear not: you'll find plenty of budget-friendly lodgings and cheap down-home restaurants, organic coffeehouses, arts and crafts galleries, inexpensive indie shops, and quirky gay bars. Asheville is renowned for
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its fine Arts and Crafts and Art Deco architecture. A great way to experience this is by staying in a vintage inn, such as Carolina B&B or the gay-owned North Lodge on Oakland, a stately 1904 stone house that offers plenty of perks (in-room DVD players, Wi -Fi, robes) at reasonable rates. New Hope, Pennsylvania, and Lambertville, New Jersey - Compared with other gaypopular vacation spots in the Northeast, sophisticated but laid-back New Hope and its appealing New Jersey neighbor Lambertville are less places to see and be seen and more restful, romantic, and
reasonably priced weekend hideouts for couples. Though this area of verdant Bucks County Pennsylvania has a lively gay nightclub and several trendy restaurants, life here floats along at an unhurried pace, and sticker shock is rare, especially given this quaint riverside hamlet's close proximity to New York City and Philadelphia. Stay at the attractive, well-priced Raven Inn if you're looking to party. It's home to a fab pool and gay bar and restaurant. A quieter, more romantic option is the gayowned Wishing Well Guesthouse.
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Jacksonville Voting Begins Monday; Everywhere In Florida By Aug. 8 By David Vandygriff
Two weeks before Florida’s Aug. 18 primary, voters can begin in-person voting in Jacksonville, Nassau County and several other counties across the state. By Saturday, early voting locations will be open in all 67 counties. “Early voting keeps increasing as far as folks using that venue,” Duval County Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan said earlier this year. “That’s wonderful for us because it takes a lot of stress off Election Day.”
surfaces, including voting booths. Voting booths will also be spaced for social distancing, and you will be reminded to social distance, too. Some voters didn’t wait. More than 3.8 million Florida voters had requested vote-by-mail ballots by Friday and nearly 1 million have already returned their ballots. Voting by mail is expected to set records this year as people try to take minimize trips and contact with others during the coronavirus pandemic.
Election Day, citizens must show a current and valid picture and signature identification. If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you will be required to show an additional form of identification that provides your signature.
Early Voting Dates And Locations Since you can not vote from home, you will have to go to Scroll down for a text listing of one of your local voting polls. all poll locations and links to The Duval Supervisor of your county’s supervisor of Elections said you will see The deadline to request a elections office for more some changes. ballot by mail is Aug. 8 and information. Prescreening on Election Day: they must be returned by 7 Duval County - Aug. 3-16 Workers will answer a series of p.m. on the day of the primary, All sites are open from 10 a.m. Aug. 18. questions to make sure they to 6 p.m. except for the are healthy and ready to work. Early Voting Supervisor of Elections main Face Shields, hand sanitizer Early voting uses the same office downtown, which is open and surface wipes: Workers voting equipment that is used 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday will be provided with these at the polls on Election Day through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 cleaning and personal and voters can cast a ballot at p.m. on Saturdays and protective materials. any location in their county. Sundays. Early voting ends the weekend Cleansing Instructions: Supervisor of Elections Main before the primary election. On Workers will be instructed to Office, 105 E. Monroe Street Election Day -- Aug. 18 -wash their hands often. voters can only cast a ballot at Argyle Branch Library, 7973 Extra workers will also be hired their assigned precincts. Old Middleburg Road South to sanitize and clean all contact Beaches Branch Library, In order to vote at the polls 600 3rd St., Neptune Beach during early voting or on 20 www.cityxtramagazine.com
Bradham-Brooks Branch Library, 1755 Edgewood Ave. West Gateway Town Center Community Center, 910 W. 44th Street Highlands Regional Library, 1826 Dunn Ave. Legends Community Center, 5130 Soutel Drive Mandarin Branch Library, 3330 Kori Road Murray Hill United Methodist Church, 4101 College St. Oceanway Community Center, 12215 Sago Ave. Pablo Creek Regional Library, 13295 Beach Blvd. Regency Square Branch Library, 9900 Regency Square Blvd. San Marco Branch Library, 1513 LaSalle Street South Mandarin Branch Library, 12125 San Jose Blvd. Southeast Regional Library, 10599 Deerwood Park Blvd. University Park Branch Library, 3435 University Blvd. North Webb Wesconnett Regional Library, 6887 103rd St. West Branch Library, 1425 Chaffee Road South Note: Vote-by-mail voters may drop off their completed ballots at a designated secure drop box at the Supervisor of Elections office or any early voting site listed above. These boxes are located inside the Supervisor of Elections office or the early voting room.
New ‘eBussy’ Convertible Truck Unveiled To The World By David Vandygriff
It’s 2020, and queer people should be employed in every workplace. Don’t take it from me, though—ask the marketing team behind the “eBussy.”
design or impressive specs: Gay Twitter™️ is having a field day with its ElectricBrands, a German tech name, which incorporates the word “bussy,” a filthy (if slightly company, has revealed a cringe-y) portmanteau of the prototype for the eBussy, its words “boy” and “pussy.” If a new electric vehicle that can take on 10 different body types, name like eBussy is anything to go by, no gays were consulted HypeBeast reports. in the marketing process. The eBussy is completely modular, meaning drivers can To ElectricBrands’ credit, the customize its shape, size, and name-check appears to be features at will. But the product unintentional. (We’re presuming the “bussy” in isn’t going viral for its “eBussy” is pronounced more innovative
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like “bus,” not “pussy.”) Itching to take an eBussy for a ride? Break out that piggy bank, girl. A new vehicle will set you back anywhere between $18,000–$33,000 USD. Good thing ElectricBrands has billed the modular monstrosity as “not a car, but more!” because we all know gays can’t drive. Honk honk, henny!
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“We’re Here” Queens and Creators on Their Herstoric Emmy Nomination By Brenda Davis
On Tuesday, July 28, the Television Academy announced the nominees for the 72nd annual Primetime Emmys. Every year, there are some shocking snubs but also some delightful surprise entries. One of those surprises came in the Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program category, where HBO’s new reality series We’re Here was nominated against RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked, Amy Schumer Learns to Cook, Netflix’s Cheer, and a Kevin Hart comedy special. In case you are unfamiliar, We’re Here follows the Halleloo Holy Trinity—Drag Race vets Bob the Drag Queen, Shangela, and Eureka O’Hara, duh—as they travel across America and drag up small-town USA along the way. Think of it as To Wong Foo… the TV series or Queer Eye with drag queens. “We were just so happy for everybody involved in the show that are being recognized,” Stephen Warren, executive 24 www.cityxtramagazine.com
producer and series co-creator, tells cityXtra over the phone after the nominations were announced. “And the stories that we’re telling and how important they are, especially now. And just to mean something. I mean, I know we’re so lucky to have this platform to elevate so many important stories, and it’s just beautiful.” Warren and We’re Here co-creator Johnnie Ingram had already been in touch with some of the drag daughters from the series, including breakout stars like Hunter from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico’s Lady Shug. “This nomination is very much for them too. It’s an experience,” says Ingram, adding that they would be hosting a virtual toast with the We’re Here queens and drag
daughters later that day to celebrate their nomination. “It’s just nice to have everyone together, even in little tiny squares. It just feels nice to be able to celebrate things in these challenging times,” Ingram adds. When it’s brought up that We’re Here and Untucked will be going up against each other in a battle of the queens, Ingram notes that they would not be here “without the Drag Race franchise. But at the same time, we just love that we’re able to exist together on this wonderful platform. Drag is important, it’s for everyone. It is as American as apple pie. And if people don’t see it yet, they will after watching our shows.”
Calling from her hometown of Paris, Texas, Shangela says she has been halleloosing it since the nomination was announced. It was amazing for two shows that highlight drag to be nominated for Emmys, she says: “My journey, going from throwing drinks on Untucked 10 years ago to now being nominated for promoting positivity in the queer world… it’s just really cool.”
“It means the hard work everyone put in is touching people’s hearts, it means the show is out there and loved,” she adds. “For me, it also means all the love and support my mom gave me is further validated since everything I do, I dedicate to her.”
Those stories mean the world to us, and to the show, and makes us so proud to be able to elevate these stories in such a way.”
The end product turned out beautiful and polished, but Shangela confesses that for filming, “a lot of the time, we Warren believes We’re Here’s were figuring it out. But we nomination proves that drag knew that we had something television shows don’t have to special and to see this work be be “just a spectacle that is recognized by the voters of the Shangela’s co-host, Bob the confined to a competitive Emmys, one of the most Drag Queen, says that the space. I think our show has prestigious awards in nomination is special because shown that drag is an television, if not the most. I was “it feels nice to be a host of a opportunity for people, whether like, ’Wow, that feels good.’ show that is being recognized they are gay, straight, And it’s a leap, personally.” by people whose opinions I whatever, to express As Shangela reflects on filming respect.” Like Shangela, Bob themselves. And I’m really the show’s first season, the was also on Untucked back in proud of that.” We’re Here creative team is the day and confesses that Ingram is just honored to be already busy working on being up against the Drag able to elevate Season 2, even during a global Race aftershow “feels a little stories of the LGBTQ and two- pandemic. surreal.” spirit communities: “A lot of “We’re in the middle of casting, Eureka agrees (“Can we both families are sitting and watch- and it’s going to be better than win?”) and says that the nod to ing the show and are underever,” Ingram assures fans. We’re Here “means standing each other for the first “It’s going to be phenomenal.” everything.” time, which is really important. Can we get a halleloo?
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John Lewis’s Motorcade Stops At Rainbow Crosswalks To Honor His Support For LGBTQ People By Elizabeth Harrison
The hearse carrying the late civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) stopped by Atlanta’s rainbow crosswalks in remembrance of his embrace of LGBTQ equality. The motorcade made its way from Dobbins Air Force Base in Atlanta to the Georgia State Capitol. The motorcade stopped at the rainbow crosswalks at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue to pay tribute. A crowd had gathered at that intersection to applaud and honor the stalwart – and early – supporter of LGBTQ rights. The motorcade approaches the crosswalk at around the 12minute mark in the video before. In 1996, over a decade before LGBTQ rights would get support from mainstream Democrats, Rep. Lewis gave an impassioned speech on the House floor opposing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which banned the federal government from recognizing marriage equality. “This is a mean bill,” he said. “It is cruel. This bill seeks to divide 26 www.cityxtramagazine.com
our nation, turn Americans against Americans, to seed fear, hatred, and intolerance.” The bill “denies gay men and women the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Marriage is a basic human right. You cannot tell people they cannot fall in love.”
organization, and was one of the key organizers of the 1963 March on Washington. He addressed the same crowd to which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. In 1965, he co-led 600 protestors during the Selma to Montgomery marches across In 2003, Lewis wrote an the Edmund Pettus Bridge in opinion piece for the Boston Alabama. The protestors faced Globe supporting LGBTQ rights, almost a decade before Alabama State Troopers on the other side of the bridge and the president would do the were tear-gassed and beaten same. in what would become known “This discrimination is wrong,” as “Bloody Sunday.” Lewis’s he wrote at the time. “We skull was fractured by police cannot keep turning our backs that day. on gay and lesbian Americans. I have fought too hard and too He was first elected to the U.S Congress in 1986 and he long against discrimination based on race and color not to served 17 terms. He passed stand up against discrimination away due to pancreatic cancer at age 80 on July 17, 2020. based on sexual orientation.” “I’ve heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.” In the 1960s, Lewis was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, a civil rights
Madonna Is A COVID Conspiracy Theorist Who Believes Trump’s Quack “Doctor” By David Vandygriff
Madonna has courted controversy for her entire career, but she may have finally taken it too far.
the truth. Especially the people in power who stand to make money from this long drawn out search for a vaccine Which has been proven and available for The singer posted a video to months. They would rather let Instagram that was shared by fear control them and let the Donald Trump on Twitter that featured a quack physician, Dr. rich get richer and the poor and sick get sicker.” Stella Immanuel, who claims hydroxychloroquine can cure “This woman is my hero … COVID and that infertility is Thank you Stella Immanuel.” caused by having sex with The video Madonna posted has demons in your sleep. already been banned on Madonna removed the post Twitter, Facebook, and after the service blocked the YouTube. Trump retweeted it video originally, saying the before it was removed from the content contained false platform. information, before the singer Immanuel says that masks are deleted it. not necessary in the video, but In the post, she claimed, “The that’s hardly her most unusual truth will set us all Free! But fake medical claim. She also some people don’t want to hear runs her own ministry and
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regularly intertwines the two professions to astounding results. Immanuel has previously said that cysts and gynecological issues are caused by “demon seed” and that demons steal men’s sperm to reproduce. She also believes the Illuminati has manufactured vaccines using alien DNA and that Magic 8Ball toys accurately foretell the future. Madonna has flirted with COVID quackery before, calling the virus “the great equalizer.” After testing positive, she was seen hosting gatherings at her home and wrote that she would take a drive to “breathe in the COVID-19 air.”