Family Portrait: Rabbi Beth Kalisch on ally equality
Lance Bass to join this year’s Pink Pub Crawl
Divas doin’ it for themselves
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Gay officer alleges LGBT abuses in police force PAGE 7
Nov. 14-20, 2014
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 38 No. 46
Victims of antigay Halloween attack speak out By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com Philadelphia has been served yet another reminder that anti-LGBT hate crimes are far from being a thing of the past. Shortly after 1 a.m. Nov. 1, two women and one man were attacked in Northeast Philadelphia by a group that hurled antiLGBT epithets at them. Two people were arrested in the attack: 18-year-old Carlos Jimenez of the 6000 block of Shisler Street and a 16-yearold female whose identity police are not releasing because she is a minor. She will not be charged as an adult, said Public Affairs Officer Jillian Russell. Philadelphia’s new hate-crimes measure was signed into law Nov. 13 but a law must be in effect when an incident takes place in order for related charges to be brought; so, even if investigators deem this to be a hate crime, the suspects cannot be charged as such. Straight best friends Jessica Kelly, 28,
and Bonnie Moran, 31, were being escorted home from a Halloween party in Mayfair by their mutual friend, Michael Clinton. The two women were walking arm-in-arm on Shelmire Avenue, just off Frankford Avenue, when a female in a nearby group of teenagers said, “Ew, look at those ugly lesbians,” according to Moran. Clinton then said something along the lines of, “Hey, leave them alone. They aren’t gay.” The group, comprised of seven males and one female, continued to shout homophobic slurs before proceeding to attack Clinton. Moran said she dialed 911, told the dispatcher where they were and fled around the corner toward Clinton’s home, but came back for Clinton and saw how serious his injuries were. The women attempted to help Clinton back to his home but were “sandwiched,” Moran said, by the original group of attackers and a second group. PAGE 2 “Taunted, stalked,
Equality Forum off in 2015 in light of Reminder celebration By Ryan Kasley ryan@epgn.com It will be 50 years come this summer since the country’s first public demonstrations for LGBT rights took place here in Philadelphia, and locals are gearing up to mark the anniversary. The commemoration of the Annual Reminders will take place July 2-5 and include panels, LGBT history exhibits, parties, a festival and special events, with the 50th Anniversary Celebration taking place on a stage in front of Independence Hall on July 4, where the first pickets were held in 1965. Malcolm Lazin, executive director of organizing
parker-Spruce to be sold, remain closed indefinitely By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com The Parker-Spruce Hotel and adjacent Westbury Bar have been closed for several weeks following a fire last month, and now the property is set to be sold, prolonging the shuttering of both businesses indefinitely. Settlement is scheduled for Nov. 17 between building owner Spruce Hotel Corporation and prospective buyer The Wankawala Organization, a hospitality-management company based in Center City, which has been leasing the property for the past several years. Mihir Wankawala, the organization’s managing director, did not respond to
Philly gets top HRC score again By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER AT THE NOV. 7 EVENT ANNOUNCING THE ANNUAL REMINDER 50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION Photo: Scott A. Drake
partner Equality Forum, confirmed that the event will be held in lieu of his organization’s annual spring festival, which each year brought international
guests to discuss LGBTrights issues and concluded with the SundayOUT! at the Piazza. “They are close in time, PAGE 17 a n d
requests for comment as of presstime. The sale price was not available as of presstime, but the building was last assessed at a market value of approximately $3.5 million. Neil Carver is listed as the president and secretary of Spruce Hotel Corporation on state documents. The entire building has been closed since Oct. 20, when a small fire on the ninth floor of the hotel forced the evacuation of patrons and employees of Parker-Spruce and Westbury. The two share a sprinkler system, which L&I found needed to be repaired, along with other electrical issues, before both businesses could reopen. City Councilman Mark Squilla met with Wankawala and said PAGE 17
The Human Rights Campaign released its third-annual Municipal Equality Index this week, and Philadelphia again achieved the top score. Philadelphia was one of 38 cities that received a 100 in the report, which ranked 353 cities based on the LGBT-inclusiveness of their policies of programs, but one of just eight that got the top mark without bonus points factored in. Other cities that received a base score with full marks were Miami Beach, Fla.; Olympia and Seattle, Wash.; San Francisco and Long Beach, Calif.; Minneapolis, Minn.; and Boston. Bonus points were given for programs and policies that went beyond the baseline criteria, such as initiatives aimed at the elderly, youth and homeless. Philadelphia received
16 bonus points, equal to the score of San Francisco, and second only to Miami’s 18. Philadelphia missed bonus points for not “grossing up” city employees’ benefits and not “testing the limits of a restrictive state law.” Boston followed with 14 bonus points, Seattle with 13, Olympia and Long Beach with nine and Minneapolis with seven. The average nationwide score was 82. Pennsylvania had an average score of 79.6, based on Philadelphia and six other cities: Allentown (85), Erie (57), Harrisburg (70), New Hope (89), Pittsburgh (90) and University Park (66). This year’s report included 62 more cities than last year’s report, in which Philadelphia received a 100 and 13 bonus points, tying with Seattle. In the inaugural report, Philadelphia was the only city to receive a base score of 100 without bonus points. n