pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 18 May 4-10, 2018
Family Portrait: Peter Lee cooks up a party PAGE 23
Saying goodbye to part of our family PAGE 2
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Gender-fluid actor Maggie Johnson takes flight
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Local drag performer allegedly assaulted
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CEO who managed $13.5 billion in assets for Milton Hershey School resigns By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Aloe Vera, a local drag performer, sustained a broken jaw during an assault in South Philadelphia this week. Vera, whose legal name is Anthony Veltre, underwent reparative jaw surgery at Jefferson University Hospital on May 1. On April 30, police arrested Carmelo Villanueva, 34, and charged with aggravated assault and lesser offenses in connection with the assault. Villanueva was released from custody later that day after posting bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 15 in Room 503 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1315 Filbert St. According to a police narrative of the incident, officers responded to the 2000 block of Tasker Street around 10:30 p.m. April 29, where Vera said Villanueva punched her repeatedly in the face and threatened her with a knife. Ben Waxman, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, said Villanueva will be prosecuted to the f u l l e s t ex t e n t possible. “ O bv i o u s l y, this is a serious crime and we’re going to pursue justice in this case as aggressively as possible,” Waxman told PGN. A fundraiser f o r Ve r a w a s CARMELO VILLANUEVA scheduled for May 7 at ICandy Nightclub in Center City, where she has performed. A GoFundMe page also has been established to help raise funds for Vera, who’s expected to be out of work for a significant period of time. n
Philly Black Pride recap
SOCCER SOIRÉE: Members and friends of the Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club celebrated a hometown victory when the Philadelphia Union beat D.C. United 3-2 April 28. The Falcons held a watch party at the Ethical Society to raise money for the Aug. 4-12 Gay Games in Paris. Food, drink and auction items were also donated to offset costs. The organization is also holding free skills classes for any returning or new soccer players interested in friendly competition at home or this summer in France. Classes will be held 6:30-8:30 p.m. May 16 and 23 at Edgely Field in Fairmount Park. For more information, go to falcons-soccer.org. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Minority, LGBT media demand Inquirer sensitivity training By Kristen Demilio editor@epgn.com The city’s minority and multicultural publications, including PGN, united this week in calling for the Philadelphia Inquirer to have sensitivity training for their staff. The mobilization was prompted by anInquirer article that questioned a policy by the Sheriff’s Office to place ads in independent news outlets similar to the ones the Inquirer has been publishing. The article, titled “Sheriff sale ads: A bonanza for the politically connected in Philly” ran on April 27. It opened by stating Philadelphia Sheriff Jewell Williams, spends millions of dollars to place ads in “community and niche newspapers … without any legal obligation to do so.” A 1976 law requires that sheriff-sale ads be placed in a “paper of general circulation” as well as a legal publication.
The independent publishers’ group is calling out that law and characterized its use by the Inquirer for financial gain as exploitive. Other publications have had to fight for a piece of that pie, said PGN publisher Mark Segal in a rebuttal of the article. “The law guarantees dollars to flow to the Inquirer, which is designated as one of the ‘papers of general circulation,’ while community papers must prove their worth to participate in these kinds of advertising programs,” Segal wrote on behalf of the Philadelphia Multicultural Newspaper Association. Cathy Hicks, publisher of The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, said that placing sheriff-sale ads in local papers guarantees wider participation in the purchasing of property across the city. “The ads are placed in rotation among the community and ethnic papers, based PAGE 13 on the type of sale
Eric Henry, who served as CEO for the Hershey Trust Company for the past six years, has resigned to pursue “other professional opportunities.” Henry managed $13.5 billion in assets for the Milton Hershey School. A national search is underway for his replacement, according to an April 23 press release announcing Henry’s departure. Henry couldn’t be reached for comment. The Milton Hershey School, in Hershey, serves 2,000 underprivileged youths from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. Students live on campus in cottages with assigned house parents. Attendance at the school is free thanks to a trust established by the late chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine in 1909. Thirty-two new student homes are under construction and the student population is expected to increase to 2,300 students within the next four years, according to the school’s web page. Sources of financial support for the school include income from the Hershey Company and Hersheypark amusement center, along with a portfolio of investments and real-estate holdings. In 2016, Adam Dobson, a former Hershey student, filed suit against the school, claiming he suffered from depression that was exacerbated after a house parent allegedly pressured him into viewing a religious-themed anti-LGBT video. Dobson, who is gay, attended the school for several years prior to his expulsion in 2013. He’s requesting an unspecified amount in damages and remedial measures at the school. A jury trial in the Dobson case is scheduled for Jan. 7 at the Ronald Reagan Court House in Harrisburg, with U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner presiding. In an April 30 email, school spokesperson Lisa Scullin defended the school and its hiring practices. PAGE 14