En Blanco y Negro: Gay & Boricua debuts
Singer gives back to HIV/ AIDS group
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Local diver fundraising for Worlds in Russia PAGE 67
family Portrait: Jim O’Toole on judging Pride PAGE 69
Drescher and Newell set to wow crowds PAGES 59-61
June 12-18, 2015
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 39 No. 24
Two arrested in murder of gay man By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Two acquaintances of a gay Philadelphia man were arrested this week for his murder, which investigators are calling a drug-related robbery gone bad.
Philadelphia Police arrested Thomas Brennan, 25, on Monday in connection with the beating and stabbing death of Scott Bernheisel.
Crystal Leibhart, 27, was also arrested and charged with robbery and related offenses. Bernheisel’s body was found May 28 in a suitcase in Essington, near the Philadelphia International Airport. The Delaware County medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt-force trauma to the head; he had also been stabbed in the neck. Investigators say Brennan killed Bernheisel during a robbery May 22 in the 200 block of Wilder Street in Pennsport, where Bernheisel, 41, whose most recent address was in the 900 block of Carpenter Street, was temporarily living. B o t h PAGE 39
Pride expected to set records By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com Every summer, thousands of LGBTs and allies from across the region gather in Philadelphia for an unforgettable Pride weekend. Whether it’s your first time or your 10th, this year’s festivities promise to take the entertainment to the next level. The 27th Philly Pride Presents parade and festival will take place June 14. The parade will start at 11:30 a.m. at 13th and Locust streets and end at approximately 1 p.m. at Penn’s Landing. Admission to the festival is $15. “We’re excited; this is going to be the best year ever,” said Philly Pride Presents executive director Franny Price. “We already have 72 groups in the parade — the most ever. And there are going to be several more. We have also sold out all our vendor space.
We’re completely full.” Price said the event has been gaining in size each year. “Each year we grow. We are a victim of our own success. We have to work extra hard to provide reasons for 25,000 people to stay,” she joked. “People can be entertained or entertain themselves — it’s all there.” Before Sunday’s festivities, you can get the weekend started with the fourth-annual Kick-Off Block Party, 6-10 p.m. June 12 at 12th and Locust streets. Refreshments, food and entertainment will be provided. Discounted $10 festival tickets will also be available to purchase. Coincidentally, June 14 is also National Flag Day. In honor of the holiday, paratroopers will drop down onto Independence Mall at 11:30 a.m., so get to the Pride judges’ PAGE 39
Dr. Levine confirmed by Senate By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
THAT’S THE TICKET: Philadelphia Senior Center’s Monique French-Brown and Julie Nelson geared up for Black-Tie GayBINGO! June 7 at the Crystal Tea Room with volunteers Rob and Sean. The event, moved to June this year from its usual April date because of scheduling, raises money for the HIV/AIDS causes supported by AIDS Fund; fundraising tallies were not finalized as of presstime. AIDS Fund executive director Robb Reichard called the event a “hit,” noting the Bingo-Verifying Divas “outdid themselves with creative fun and a spectacular dance number. Awards were given to the Wistar Institute, Philadelphia Senior Center and Preston & Steve Show. Reichard said a highlight of the night was the six team members from Preston & Steve arriving in tuxes and dresses representing the colors of the rainbow, a heartening message from the “open-minded team that has been incredibly supportive of AIDS Walk Philly and all the AIDS Fund events for many years.” Photo: Scott A. Drake
The Pennsylvania Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed Dr. Rachel Levine’s nomination as the state’s physician general. Levine has been in the role in an acting capacity since Gov. Tom Wolf appointed her in the beginning of the year. She is the highest-ranking openly transgender public official in the state and the first trans person to hold a top government post in Pennsylvania. “It’s very gratifying,” she told PGN Wednesday. “I was absolutely thrilled. Gov. Wolf didn’t shy away from nominating me because I’m an openly PAGE 39
Rainbow crosswalks to be installed in late June By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com The long-awaited rainbow crosswalks coming to the Gayborhood will be installed the last week in June. Philly Pride Presents executive director Franny Price told PGN installation will begin at the end of the month and wrap up in time for an unveiling and press conference July 4. “We just confirmed the color choices and they are going to do a color test soon just to make sure,” Price said. “We’ve been told it will take a couple days to install, as it is difficult to remove the old
asphalt.” The crosswalks, eight in total, will be painted at the intersections of 12th and Locust and 13th and Locust streets. Price said the ceremony will likely take place at 11 a.m. and feature several honored guests, including rainbow-flag creator Gilber Baker and John James — a participant in the Annual Reminder Day protests, one of the nation’s earliest LGBT-rights demonstrations — who will be the first people to walk across the crosswalks. John Herzins, deputy commissioner of the Department of Public PAGE 38 Property, and
A WELCOME SIGHT: The transgender Pride flag flew over Philadelphia City Hall from June 4-8. The first-ever flag-raising drew more than 250 spectators, many of whom walked in unison from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where the first day of the Philadelphia TransHealth Conference was taking place. The initiative was organized by the city’s director of LGBT Affairs, Nellie Fitzpatrick, and is expected to become an annual effort. Photo: Scott A. Drake