Baring their souls
Family Portrait: Bia Vieira PAGE 21
Gays and God in the Gayborhood
PAGE 23
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Feb. 3-9, 2012
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Vol. 36 No. 5
Scouts to judge: Deal is dead By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Legal papers filed in federal court last week signaled the resumption of litigation in the matter of a local Boy Scouts council headquartered on public property without paying any rent. The papers, filed by attorneys for the BSA Cradle of Liberty Council, state that a tentative agreement to sell the property to the Scouts for $500,000 has fallen through, due to lack of support in City Council. “On Jan. 19, 2012, the parties recognized that because City Council was unwilling to approve the settlement agreement to which the City Solicitor and Mayor Michael Nutter had already approved, this case was unlikely to settle,” the filing states. The BSA council, headquartered at 231251 N. 22nd St., refuses to accept participants who are gay, atheist or agnostic. In 2008, the city tried to evict the council, but the dispute landed in federal court — where it’s been mired for almost four years. If the Scouts purchase the parcel, they would be on private property and would be able to set their own membership standards without violating local antibias laws. But the proposed sale sparked an outcry among LGBTs and their allies, despite a pledge from the Scouts to stop seeking about $960,000 in legal fees from the city. Critics said the deal would have paved the way for other discriminators to lease or purchase city property at a reduced rate. In June 2010, a federal jury ruled that city officials violated the Cradle’s constitutional rights by allegedly asking it to repudiate the national BSA’s antigay policy in order to avoid eviction.
The following month, attorneys for the city asked U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter to set aside the jury verdict or, alternatively, to grant a new trial. The city’s motion has been pending for about 19 months, as both sides pursued an out-of-court settlement. Last month, the ACLU of Greater Philadelphia and Lambda Legal sent letters to city officials advocating a sale of the property through competitive bidding, as a way of ending the Scouts’ subsidy. Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for Nutter, had no comment on the letters, nor
on any other aspect of the dispute. “This matter is in litigation, and I am unable to comment,” he said. Mel Heifetz, a local businessman, has offered to purchase the property for up to $2 million and donate it to a nonprofit group that doesn’t discriminate. William H. Ewing, Heifetz’s attorney, expressed guarded optimism because City Solicitor Shelley R. Smith didn’t immediately reject Heifetz’s latest offer, sent Jan. 17. If Heifetz can purchase the property for $1 million, he’ll assume PAGE 2
Former Philly Archbishop dies By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
BEATING THE WINTER BLUES: About 250 supporters of LGBT grantmaking agency Sapphire Fund turned out for the agency’s first annual Sapphire Ball Jan. 27 at the Franklin Institute. The event was the cornerstone of Sapphire Weekend, a series of fundraising events that replaced the former Blue Ball Weekend. The revamped ball featured a live band, dancing, food and drinks. Fundraising totals were not yet available. Photo: Scott A. Drake
New fair-housing rule to be implemented By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has taken one of the final steps in adopting new regulations to alleviate discrimination against LGBTs in housing and lending. HUD added the new rule to the Federal Register this week and it will be finalized within one month. U.S. Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
MIXING IT UP: Keisha Slaughter (left) and J. Mason took the stage Jan. 27 at Tritone for MixTape, a quarterly fundraiser for a local transgender person’s gender-reassignment surgery, which this month raised about $300 for Sam Richman. While fundraising was on the slower side for this event, organizer Joe Ippolito noted that “moral support is just as important to folks struggling with this issue,” adding that there was plenty of support at the party. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Assistant Secretary John Trasviña will be in Philadelphia Feb. 3 to meet with community leaders for an LGBT Housing Roundtable at the William Way LGBT Community Center. They will discuss the new rule and other aspects of fair housing for the LGBT community. The regulations were first announced in January 2011 and were subject to a publiccomment period. “The purpose of this was to ensure that our core programs are open to all eligible
individuals,” Trasviña said on Monday. “And as a housing agency, it’s important not only that our own programs don’t involve discrimination, but that our policies and programs can serve as a model for equal housing opportunities.” Among the stipulations in the rule is a “general-access provision” that mandates HUD-assisted or -insured programs are available to applicants or owners regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or PAGE 2
The sexual-abuse case against several former Archdiocesan priests saw a big development this week as one of the prosecution’s key witnesses died. Former Archbishop of Philadelphia Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died in his sleep Tuesday night. The 88year-old served as archbishop from 1988-2003 and reportedly suffered from cancer and dementia. His tenure was tarnished by a number of priest sex-abuse BEVILACQUA scandals, including ADDRESSES last year’s sweeping THE SEX-ABUSE grand-jury investi- SCANDAL IN 2002. gation suggesting AP File Photo: PAGE 8
Brad C. Bower