Leading the charge on stage in the 25th anniversary of “Les Misérables”
Family Portrait: Ricardo Bostic
Health and fitness going into 2013
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PAGES 20, 21
Dec. 28, 2012 - Jan. 3, 2013
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Vol. 36 No. 52
No progress in Top stories in 2012: A year of history-makers S. Philly murder By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com After six months, investigators still have no leads in the murder of a South Philadelphia gay man. Michael J. Fox, 30, was found in his apartment in the early-morning hours of June 22 in a pool of blood. Fox, who was pronounced dead at the scene, died of bluntforce trauma to the head, according to an autopsy. Fox’s apartment was at Eighth and Christian streets. He was last seen June 20. According to Philadelphia Police Detective Jim Burns, investigators have not made any arrests or identified a suspect or person of interest in the case. “Right now, we just have that the suspect was someone who [Fox] would have known and was in his apartment with him during the course of this. We don’t know who that person is at this point,” Burns said. “It appears that it was someone he was in the company of, and it just turned deadly.” He said detectives working the case have interviewed a number of people with whom Fox was affiliated. “We have talked to different people who we believe were in his company but nothing yielded any results,” he said. Franny Price, chair of the LGBT Police Liaison Committee, said community members should continue to follow up on MICHAEL J. the case. “I think if people were FOX asking about updates all the time, maybe there would be more progress,” she said. Price said the committee plans to bring up the case at the next meeting. “We never received an update on his case, but I guess because of the amount of crimes that have happened in our community, it has been overwhelming,” she said. Signs of struggle in the victim’s apartment were apparent, including a knocked-over television, blood on the wall and misarranged furniture. Fox was a former barback at Woody’s and was an artistic roller skater who aspired to be a hair stylist. ■
GROUNDBREAKING FOR THE LGBT SENIOR CENTER
By Angela Thomas and Jen Colletta angela@epgn.com jen@epgn.com This year marked a sea of highs and lows for the local and national LGBT communities. Locally, Philadelphia saw the fruition of the long-awaited LGBT senior-housing complex, was recognized nationally for its municipal LGBT policies and saw the victory of the first out candidate for the state legislature. However, the local community also grappled with the murder of one of its own, with funding struggles and legal squabbles. Nationally, this year marked a tidal wave of marriage-equality progress, including the president’s evolution on
the issue and several new states sanctioning same-sex marriage. But at the same time, the fight for equal rights and treatment has continued in the courtrooms and in the court of public opinion. While 2012 will soon be over, it will certainly be one for the LGBT history books. LOCAL Senior-housing facility moves forward Ground was finally broken this fall for the long-awaited LGBT senior-housing complex. The facility, slated to open in late 2013, was revealed as the John C. Anderson Apartments at the Nov. 9 groundbreaking ceremony. The project is spearheaded by the Dr. Magnus
Hirschfeld Fund. The complex, at 249-257 S. 13th St., will cost about $19 million. Backers secured $6 million in state funding through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and $2 million from the city’s Office of House and Community Development. On April 12, the final funding piece was put in place as the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency awarded low-incomehousing tax credits expected to generate about $11 million. Wells Fargo Bank subsequently purchased the credits. The complex will be six stories and include 56 one-bedroom units for those ages 62 and older. The groundbreaking was originally set for late October but was postponed because of Hurricane Sandy. Funding changes impact HIV/AIDS orgs A number of HIV/AIDS organizations scrambled to reassess their financial situations early this year. At the end of 2011, the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office announced the local recipients of the Centers for Disease Control’s High-Impact HIVPrevention Services awards. Among the casualties were ActionAIDS and The Colours
PA Republican signs on to UAFA By Angela Thomas angela@epgn.com A R e p u b l i c a n L e h i g h Va l l e y Congressman signed on last week to a bill that will help binational LGBT couples stay together. U.S. Congressman Charlie Dent (15th Dist.) is cosponsoring the Uniting American Families Act that seeks to equalize immigration laws for same-sex couples. The bill would allow an American citizen who marries a same-sex foreign national to sponsor him or her for permanent residency.
Dent joins just three Republicans who have cosponsored the bill, along with 140 Democrats. Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-New York) introduced the measure in April 2011 and it has been stalled in committee since. Dent is a moderate Republican and has voted for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and to extend the federal hate-crimes law to include members of the LGBT community. Dent has also voted for the Employment Nondiscrimination Act to PAGE 26
Organization, who were zerofunded, after having received $233,000 and $190,000, respectively, the previous year. Shortly after, the city announced that Colours would receive $135,000, funding that was put on hold in light of the sudden death of the agency’s director. ActionAIDS laid off three staffers to contend with the cut. The city received $577,000 less from CDC than in the previous year, as the agency restructured the program to focus on testing among the hardest-hit populations. In keeping with that format, the city allocated the funding to 22 agencies, compared with 15 in the previous cycle, lessening many organizations’ cut. Nutter joins marriage-equality coalition More than 100 mayors from across the nation came together this year to rally for marriage equality, including MAYOR P h i l a d e l p h i a ’ s NUTTER Mayor Michael Nutter. Nutter and about a dozen other mayPAGE 2
Other yearend moments Favorite photos
pages 8-9
Anniversaries
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Comings and goings
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In memoriam
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Staff resolutions
page 10