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Family Portrait: All abuzz about Sara Ann Kelly
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Philly’s hate-crimes bill goes to Nutter PAGE 5
Nov. 7-13, 2014
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PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 38 No. 45
Wolf wins historic election
Trial begins in 2013 Gayborhood attack By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com
SOUND OF VICTORY: Governor-elect Tom Wolf and former Gov. Ed Rendell delighted crowds at Tavern on Camac with a sing-along with pianist Ghosha Oct. 31 during a get-out-the-vote Gayborhood crawl. Wolf claimed a decisive victory over incumbent Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in Tuesday’s election. At last Friday’s event, Wolf and Rendell canvassed a number of LGBT spots, including Knock, UBar and Woody’s. Photo: Scott A. Drake
By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com For the first time since the two-term law was introduced more than 45 years ago, a Pennsylvania governor has failed to be elected to a second term. Republican Gov. Tom Corbett was ousted in Tuesday’s election, with a decisive win by Democratic challenger and now Gov.-elect Tom Wolf. Wolf captured about 55 percent of the vote, putting him approximately 332,000 votes ahead of Corbett. He captured about 88 percent of the vote in Philadelphia — which amounted to about 319,000 votes. The news was welcomed by LGBTs and allies, as Corbett has a poor LGBT record, while Wolf has pledged support on a wealth of LGBT issues. Liberty PA 2014 executive director Rick Naughton praised the LGBT support Wolf saw throughout his campaign. “It was a hard-fought election but I’m so very happy this morning,” Naughton said Wednesday. “This was a real community effort. The LGBT community and our friends and allies throughout the state rec-
ognized that, on a fundamental level, the governor, our state’s leader, should not just respect, but support, everyone in the commonwealth. This was an election about fairness, and Tom Wolf, from the very beginning of his campaign, said he would not just support and respect, but also fight, for LGBT Pennsylvanians. So it’s really exciting.” Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, which endorsed Wolf, said the governor-elect is not only right on the issues, but has a genuine commitment to LGBT equality. “We really think he’s going to not only be an equality supporter, but a champion for equality,” Martin said. “Not only is he supportive, he’s knowledgeable about the issues.” Wolf will be joined by Lt. Gov. Mike Stack, also a strong LGBT ally. However, there were a number of key losses on Tuesday, including the ousting of openly gay state Rep. Mike Fleck. Fleck, a Republican, lost the primary in his Central Pennsylvania district in the spring — his first election after coming out — but won enough PAGE 21
The trial for two men accused of beating up a gay man near Voyeur nightclub in the Gayborhood last year began on Wednesday. Miguel Maldonado and Matthew Morris are both charged with aggravated and simple assault, conspiracy and recklessly endangering another person for the incident that took place in the early morning hours of Nov. 10, 2013. The victim, Nick Forte, a former PGN employee, suffered broken eye sockets and cheekbones, a broken nose, other facial fractures and a broken rib after Maldonado, then a bouncer at Voyeur, allegedly struck him in the back of the head with a flashlight and Morris allegedly beat him while he was unconscious on the ground. Security footage that captured the event was played for the court this week. Forte was called to the stand to testify,
and identified the two defendants as the two people who appeared in the video. Forte also testified that he had no recollection of what happened that night between the time he arrived at ICandy nightclub earlier in the evening and when he became conscious again after the beating. He could not remember if he was intoxicated or not, or whether he had actually entered Voyeur. He stated he was not normally a heavy drinker, and that he could have entered Voyeur — he said it would have been the only reason he was still out after ICandy closed — but could not remember because of the loss of short-term memory from the injuries he sustained. The manager on duty at Voyeur that night also testified at the trial. She said that Forte did in fact enter Voyeur, was visibly intoxicated, acted belligerently and threatened club patrons. She said she witnessed Forte’s escort out of the club by bouncers, includPAGE 21 ing Maldonado. She also
L&I violations keep Gayborhood hotel and bar closed By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com After a fire last month at the Parker-Spruce Hotel, the building, which also houses Westbury bar, remains closed until a new sprinkler system is installed. Shortly after the Oct. 20 fire, the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections issued a cease operations/ stop-work order for the ParkerSpruce and Westbury. According to the order, the adjoining fire pump/sprinkler system for both businesses is inoperable. The corrective action needed to remove the stop-work order is listed as “repair sprinkler system and provide certifications for fire alarm and suppression systems,” according to the order. L&I did not give PAGE 21 PGN a time-
BAR BROTHERHOOD: Tavern on Camac hosted a special Quizzo event Monday to benefit the workers of Westbury, which has been shuttered since last month’s fire at the adjoining Parker-Spruce Hotel. More than 100 people turned out for the trivia game and admission fees, plus the donation of 10 percent of the bar tab by TOC owners Stephen Carlino and Dennis Fee, amounted to fundraising of about $3,200. The money will be split among about 15 non-salaried Westbury employees, who depend on wages and tips. TOC has offered to host Quizzo, which Westbury usually stages, every Monday starting Nov. 17 if the Westbury remains closed. Photo: Scott A. Drake