A banner time planned for New Hope Celebrates Pride
Pet column debuts
Family Portrait: Joe Dungee
PAGE 48-50
PAGE 47
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May 17-23, 2013
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Vol. 37 No. 20
Activists focus on second city facility occupied by Scouts Buoyed by the impending departure of a local Boy Scouts of America council from a city-owned facility, LGBT advocates are setting their sights on another city-owned facility occupied by Scouts. The “Scout House” is located at 726 E. Wigard St. in Fairmount Park, near Wissahickon Creek. Since 1987, BSA Troop 474 has been meeting in the facility and holding events on the surrounding parkland. But the property is owned by the city, and the troop pays a nominal rent of $1 a year. Greg Lattera, who was ousted from the Scouts 10 years ago after he came out, said it’s time for the city to evict the troop if it won’t sign a lease with LGBT-inclusive antibias provisions. “It’s time for the Nutter administration to bring the hammer down and evict Troop
474,” Lattera said. “The administration needs to take this next step to be consistent, especially if Philadelphia is to be considered an LGBT-friendly city.” Next month, the BSA Cradle of Liberty Council will vacate a city-owned facility near the Ben Franklin Parkway after a settlement in a five-year legal battle. The city will give Cradle $825,000 for improvements Cradle reportedly made to the structure over the years. Troop 474 has subletted Scout House to various subtenants since 1987. The subtenants have been private individuals and the nonprofit group Outward Bound, and they’ve paid as much as $9,600 annually in rent to the troop. After Troop 474 repaired the dilapidated three-story structure in 1987, rental payments from subtenants were to be used for its ongoing maintenance, according to city records. Palma Rasmussen, an outspoken critic of
Local groups plan marriage rallies
Center to host first national LGBT jazz festival By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com The William Way LGBT Community Center is ready to make history with the nation’s first LGBT-themed Jazz Festival. The center received a grant for $220,000 from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to host the three-day jazz festival in September 2014. The event is expected to draw 5,000 people. According to development director Michael Pomante, the grant will go towards such expenditures as payment for producers and entertainers as well as design, marketing and public relations. The center will partner with DL Media, a talent agency and festival-production company in Media, to stage the event. Pomante said plans for the event are already underway. “Right now, we are in PAGE 39
the Scouts’ exclusionary policies, said the city should get a strict accounting of the rental payments received by Troop 474 over the years. She also reiterated Lattera’s call for the troop’s eviction. “If the troop won’t sign a lease with standard antibias provisions, it needs to be evicted immediately,” Rasmussen said. “This is outrageous.” Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for the Nutter administration, had no comment on the advocates’ call for the troop’s eviction. McDonald also had no comment on the subleasing arrangement, nor on the troop’s lack of a master lease with the city. Rasmussen questioned the legality of the arrangement. She also suggested that the Nutter administration appears to be giving preferential treatment to the Scouts. “What do [administration officials] think they’re getting from PAGE 41
By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com
FABULOUSLY FAMOUZ: Cyannie Famouz took home the crown last weekend at the annual Miss Philly Pride pageant. The title comes with the opportunity to ride in the upcoming Pride parade and perform at the festival. Cyannie will also get the chance to participate in the LGBT drag group in next year’s Mummers Parade. Mimi Imfurst was the runner-up. Photo: Scott A. Drake
A group of local LGBT activists are ready to paint Harrisburg red for marriage equality. The Summit, comprised of LGBT leaders from the Philadelphia area, and Marriage Equality for Pennsylvania will join for a June 22 marriage-equally rally in the state’s capital. The groups recently planned the March 25 rally in front of the James A. Byrne United States District Court in advance of the U.S. Supreme Court hearings on the Defense of Marriage Act and California’s Proposition 8. Janice Rael, vice president of Delaware Valley Americans United for Separation of Church and State, founded The Summit PAGE 40 along with Philly Family
IN THEIR OWN WORDS: Philadelphia’s first poet laureate, Sonia Sanchez, was among the performers at the May 11 “AIDS Quilt Songbook” at the William Way LGBT Community Center. The “Songbook” has been redeveloped a number of times since its 1992 debut in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. The local performance included six world-premiere songs. The event drew 70 people and raised $1,200 for the center’s peercounseling program. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Endorsements
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City Controller Alan Butkovitz (#164) Superior Court Joseph Waters (#101) Court of Common Pleas Tamika Lane (#106) Daniel McCaffery (#109) Giovanni Campbell (#110) Dawn Tancredi (#113) Kenneth Powell (#114) Leon King (#118) Municipal Court Martin Coleman (#128) Henry Lewandowski (#129) Shoshana Bricklin (#130) Traffic Court Inja Coates (#147) Robert Tuerk (#156) Donna DeRose (#161)
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By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com