Gay night at the Phillies is coming
Family Portrait: Jo-Ann McIntyre is making space for sisters
PAGE 31
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Frank Chester files 88-page brief to void 1988 conviction for murder of Anthony Milano PAGE 5
Art show brings us out of oblivion PAGE 23
July 25-31, 2014
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Vol. 38 No. 30
Groundbreaking local study points to HIV cure By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com
PROGRESS FOR THE WORKPLACE: Surrounded by LGBT advocates, President Obama signed a historic executive order July 21. The measure extends the current nondiscrimination measure for federal employment to include gender identity. It also bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by federal contractors. The first portion took effect immediately, while the contractor provision will become active next year. The executive order does not include a religious exemption, a move widely applauded by LGBT organizations and advocates, many of whom recently dropped their support for the long-stalled Employment Nondiscrimination Act because of its religious exemption. Photo: Patsy Lynch
Temple University School of Medicine this week released a groundbreaking HIV/ AIDS study that researchers say could bring the world one step closer to a cure. For the first time ever, researchers were able to completely eliminate latent HIV-1 virus from human cells in a laboratory setting. The study, led by Dr. Kamel Khalili, professor and chair of Temple’s Department of Neuroscience, and associate professor of neuroscience Dr. Wenhui Hu, was published July 21 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research team created molecular tools to erase the HIV-1 pro-viral DNA. The process includes nuclease, a DNA-snipping enzyme, and gRNA, a targeted strand of RNA, which find the viral genome and remove the HIV-1 DNA. The gene’s repair machinery then fuse together the loose ends of the genome, ultimately leading to virus-
free cells. Khalili said that, while the treatments for HIV/AIDS have evolved vastly over the past few decades, it is integral that attention is focused on finding a cure. “People were dying in the earlier months and years of HIV/AIDS and then people started expanding their lives living with HIV and people became comfortable with that idea,” he said. “However, HIV can be a ticking time bomb if you don’t take the drugs daily. And, on top of that, there is the mentality; people start questioning whether they took their pills today or what will happen to them if they didn’t. We want an AIDS-free zone and we are advocating for that.” Khalili, who has been working in the HIV/AIDS research field for more than 25 years, said the study started about four years ago. The National Institutes for Health has awarded the project a $1.16-million grant for the next three years. Khalili said his team hopes to eliminate every single copy of PAGE 9
Marriage bens. elusive for SEPTA union workers
Hearing set for Sargent By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
A judge this week granted a delay in the preliminary hearing for a man accused of brutally murdering a local transgender woman. At a hearing Wednesday, Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni granted a continuance for Charles Sargent. Sargent’s preliminary hearing will be held 9 a.m. Sept. 9 in Room 306 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. Sargent, 44, is charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime and abuse of a corpse in connection to last year’s stabbing and dismemberment of Diamond Williams. Sargent’s lawyer, J. Michael Farrell, had requested a psych exam several months ago, but last week Judge Marsha Neifield found Sargent to be competent enough to proceed to a preliminary hearing. Farrell and Sargent were not present at this week’s hearing. ■
Two months after samesex marriage became legal in Pennsylvania, SEPTA’s unionized workers still cannot access workplace benefits for their same-sex spouses. SEPTA is the region’s publictransit system, with about 9,300 workers. The agency doesn’t offer domestic-partnership benefits. But now that Pennsylvania sanctioned marriage equality, some of SEPTA’s workers want their same-sex marriages recognized for the purpose of workplace benefits. SEPTA’s workplace benefits include health-care coverage, pension and death benefits and
BATTLING BACK FOR THE WIN: Members of Stogie Joe’s posed with their trophy after winning the 2014 City of Brotherly Love Softball League co-ed recreational division championship July 20 at Dairy Fields. Stogie Joe’s was seeded five out of 11 teams in the playoffs and went on to beat the first-, third- and fourth-seeded teams to claim the top spot. Playoffs and championship games for each of the divisions were held Sunday at the fields, and many of the teams congregated for a closing barbeque and to watch the championship match-ups. For more CBLSL championship coverage, see Get Out and Play on page 31. Photo: Mike Lowe
family-leave privileges. Jerri Williams, a SEPTA spokesperson, said the transit authority will recognize the same-sex marriages among its 2,000 nonunion employees. But she said an agreement must be formalized with SEPTA’s largest union, Transport Workers Union Local 234, before SEPTA can begin recognizing same-sex marriages of unionized workers. She said SEPTA has 17 labor unions, and TWU Local 234 typically sets the pattern for other labor contracts. TWU Local 234’s labor contract expired in March. Its 5,000 members are working under the old contract as talks continue. To expedite recognition of same-sex PAGE 12