PGN Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 2012

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The Quince-essential event of the season

Family Portrait: Henco Espag

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The real broads in drag to hit Broad Street

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Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 2012

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Vol. 36 No. 48

Person of interest in Cordova case By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

SEASON’S GREETINGS: Members of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus welcomed the start of the holiday season Nov. 28 with a performance during the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s holiday extravaganza. The event featured the lighting of trees throughout the Great Stair Hall as about 200 guests enjoyed hot cocoa and cookies and took in PGMC’s holiday carols. PGMC will unveil its full holiday repertoire at its annual holiday concert, Dec. 6-8 at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion. Photo: Scott A. Drake

Kenney spearheads sweeping ‘LGBT-reform’ bill By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com

Philadelphia City Councilman Jim Kenney this week introduced a measure that pledges widespread reform for the city’s LGBT residents. Among the provisions in the bill, introduced Thursday, is an “equality tax credit,” which would allow businesses who introduce domestic-partner benefits plans for samesex and unmarried heterosexual partners of

employees to deduct the cost of those benefits for tax purposes. Kenney legislative aide Chris Goy said the program, which would be the first of its kind in the country, would serve as an incentive for employers to equalize their benefits plans. “The idea here is to create something that no other city in America has tried,” Goy said. “We want to create an environment in which Philadelphia is the best place to look PAGE 17 for an LGBT-friendly

Out local judge makes history By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com A Philadelphia judge has made history as the first out lesbian Latina ever to be nominated to the federal bench. This week, President Obama nominated Judge Nitza Quiñones Alejandro to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. “Prior to the Obama administration, only

one openly gay individual had been confirmed to serve with lifetime tenure on our federal judiciary,” said the Human Rights Campaign in a statement, noting that Obama has since nominated eight out candidates for life-tenured federal-judiciary roles. The White House announced the decision Nov. 27. It is unclear if the Senate will have enough time in the winding-down session to confirm Quiñones, so the nomination may need to be made again PAGE 17

Police announced this week that they have identified a person of interest in the killing of local transwoman Kyra Cordova. Cordova was gunned down Sept. 3 in Frankford. Her body was found in the early hours of Labor Day in a wooded area off the 1100 block of Adams Avenue. She had been shot in the head. Newly appointed LGBT liaison Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel said this week that progress is being made. “They believe they have identified a person of interest but there is still a lot of investigating to do. But they have moved in a more positive direction,” he said. “There are no witnesses or video, but they have made significant movement toward someone they believe may have committed this crime.” The person’s identity or details about the motive were not being released at presstime. Surveillance video captured Cordova, 27, at a nearby Wawa shortly before the killing, purchasing two drinks and sandwiches. She was alone at the time.

Cordova’s mother, Dawn Maher, and her family met with Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey and other police officials last month about the case. Also in October, a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer was launched. Maher said she’s eager for the reward money to move the case forward. “I’m just hoping that’ll encourage people to do what’s right and tell what they know,” she said. “Hopefully it’ll help us catch the person.” Elicia Gonzales, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative, where Cordova used to work, said she and other members of the Justice for Kyra coalition recently laid a memorial at the area where Cordova’s body was found and distributed information in the neighborhood. “We went door to door and asked people around the neighborhood if they’d heard anything, and they seemed cooperative and eager to help,” she said. “Some were actually alarmed because they hadn’t heard about it but many others had. It seems like the police are reaching out to folks up there PAGE 6 who could have seen or

Philly rated top in nation for LGBT equality By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com IN THEIR MEMORY: William Way LGBT Community Center’s Nov. 20 Transgender Day of Remembrance event included Tammyrae Barr (from left), Miayanna Brooks, the Rev. Celestine Brooks, L’Oréal McCollum, Kyra Cordova’s aunt Rhonda Herold, Sadé Ali and Cordova’s mother, Dawn Maher. The vigil, which drew about 60 participants, paid tribute to Cordova, who was killed in September, and a number of other local and national transgender victims. Photo: Scott A. Drake

The Human Rights Campaign unveiled its first-ever scorecard of LGBT-conducive cities this week — and ranked Philadelphia among the top in the nation for its LGBTfriendly policies and practices. Of 137 cities evaluated for LGBT policies and practices in the Municipal Equality Index, Philadelphia was the only one to receive a baseline perfect score. The city achieved the maximum 100 points plus an additional nine bonus points out of a potential 20 PAGE 18


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