One of South Florida’s most popular galas is leaving the ballroom and hitting the pool. Diversity Honors, presented by the Harvey Milk Foundation (HMF), honors women and men who exemplify the spirit and values inspired by martyred LGBT rights activist Harvey Milk.
The event, set for 7 p.m. April 1, is once again being held at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, but this year it will be held at their opulent pool. The seventh edition of the party will be under the stars with poolside dinner and an open bar.
HMF and Diversity Honors remain important advocates for equality. HMF’s Miriam Richter said, “Even though Harvey has been gone almost 50 years, there is still a long way to go to achieving equality and acceptance for all. The messages to the LGBTQ+ community and the world, that he so beautifully articulated, are still needed daily, and his exemplary embodiment of true authenticity is still a model for the world.”
The evening will be hosted by Jacey Birch of WPLG. Seven people and one organization will be recognized for their decades of service and dedication to South Florida’s LGBT community. The honorees include Commissioner Nicole M. Ramirez, Queen Mother of the International Court System, who has been a Latino/LGBTQ+ activist for over 50 years.
Carol Moran is receiving the Harvey Milk Medal. She was instrumental in launching the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida (now The Pride Center at Equality Park) capital campaign to find its first home and served as the campaign’s board president. As the current co-owner of Apt. 9F restaurant, she remains a visible force who advocates on the right side of history.
Damian McKinney is Stoli Group’s global CEO. Under his leadership, the spirits brand has flourished and is unwavering in its support of worldwide LGBT initiatives and innovative activations, and is getting the HMF Global Leadership Award.
Florida State Senator Shevrin “Shev” Jones, the only gay person in the body, will receive the Diversity Honors Award.
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” legend Latice Royale uses her platform to raise awareness, support equality, and advocate for social change. She is getting the Diversity Honors Award as well.
A pair of South Florida’s most influential
For
music legends will also get Diversity Honors Awards. Jacqueline Lorber, president and CEO of South Florida Symphony Orchestra, and Sebrina María Alfonso, founder and music director of South Florida Symphony Orchestra, are an award-winning entrepreneurial and creative LGBT duo who helm the region’s largest symphony, now celebrating its 25th anniversary.
Bears of South Florida is celebrating its 20th anniversary and will get the Diversity Honors Award. The organization hosts fun events for great causes, and has awarded more than $150,000 in grants.
March 23, 2023 • Volume 14 • Issue 12 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943
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Jeff Molina, a bantamweight and flyweight fighter for the UFC, came out as bisexual on Twitter after being outed with an alleged sex video.
“Not the way I wanted to do this but the chance to do it when I was ready was taken from me,” said Molina.
Molina highlighted the homophobic culture surrounding the MMA and that he’s attempted to suppress his attraction to men for most of his life.
Despite the horrid circumstances, Molina’s announcement was met with mostly praise and support from the MMA world.
“At the end of the day, I know my character, morals, and who I am as a person. As much as I’m getting hated/shitted on I’m getting an equal amount of support & it means a fuck ton,” said Molina in his announcement.
Wellesley College, the Massachusetts women’s school, faced a non-binding vote from students to allow transgender men and non-binary students to be allowed to attend. Despite this vote, the college plans to keep its policies the same.
“Although there is no plan to revisit our mission as a women’s college or our admissions policy, we will continue to engage all students in the important work of building an inclusive academic community where everyone feels they belong,” said Johnson.
Wellesley’s “gender policy” states that it “invites applications from all those who live as women and consistently identify as women,” including non-binary people, as well as trans women “who were assigned female at birth and who feel they belong in our community of women.” The college also states that it
supports students who transition after being admitted and that they may stay enrolled.
“Anecdotally, it is clear that trans students exist at Wellesley, but we aren’t given the numbers needed to prove that to the outside world,” said Wellesley News.
On Feb. 24, Zaya Wade received an official name change and legal recognition of her transition after she came out in 2020.
In an interview with InStyle, Wade credits step-mom Gabrielle Union for being an inspiration to fashion and talks about an influential time.
“When I was a kid, I used to take her heels and catwalk in them, which has clearly paid off, but I don’t do that anymore,” said Wade.
Wade appeared on her first-ever magazine cover with DAZED this month, where she opened up about having a “giant support system” in her family.
Wade feels most empowered "when my family surrounds me." She also feels the “strongest” when with her family.
Wade looks forward to being able to "grow together" with the entire LGBT community.
John Hayden
Fun and games and a lot of walking took place on Fort Lauderdale Beach on March 18. As the sun came up over the beach, hundreds gathered for the annual Florida AIDS Walk & Music Festival. Most teams wore matching shirts, while Team FlockFest wore bright red inflated balloons you could see from far away.
They raised over two million dollars, a total that is record-breaking and also exceeds the goal of $1.5M. AHF (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) produces the 5k and matches funds raised.
Dozens of organizations set up tents to promote their work, including Afro South Florida Pride. Board member Jay Muller said that events like this make contact with hardto-reach groups.
“There’s a gap in the community when it comes to LGBTQ in South Florida. Afro Prides sits pretty well to bring more awareness to the Black community because there’s stigma. This is an outlet for them to feel secure to come out and have support.”
Before the walk stepped off, there was a brief ceremony on stage hosted by Kitty Meow. Beneficiaries were brought up, and a ceremonial check for the larger-thanexpected amount of two million dollars was brought on stage. With that, the fired-up crowd got into position at the starting line.
As they started up the route, Cheer Fort Lauderdale threw each other in the air and raised the excitement level just as high.
“As charitable cheerleaders, spreading cheer and awareness across South Florida is the core value of why we volunteer at community events,” founder Aleksandr Dissan said. “Cheer & Dance Fort Lauderdale is passionate about supporting the LGBTQ+ community. We are honored to be part of Florida AIDS Walk and give our support to not only the walkers, but also to those living with HIV in Florida.”
After the walk, the legendary DJ Citizen kept the mood going until it was time for the headliner, Flo Rida, to take the stage. He’s played this gig before and was very excited to return. Once he got the microphone he wasn’t giving it up. His set went well past the expected time and the crowd was totally there for it.
“He is great in helping to spread awareness and create more impact around the epidemic,” AHF’s Imara Canady said. “He’s so exciting and a great performer.”
One beneficiary is the World AIDS Museum (WAM), and has teamed up with FlockFest. WAM Executive Director, Terry Dyer, said pairing up with other groups maximizes the impact.
“FlockFest is a huge community partner in our area. We thought it would be a wonderful idea to bring the balloons and all they do for a great partnership.”
Donations to various teams made by the end of the month will still be matched by AHF.
Negotiations went on quietly for months, and the implementation quietly began at the start of the year. But the big, public announcement didn’t happen until March 18 at the AIDS Walk & Music Festival. AHF (AIDS Healthcare Foundation) has made SunServe its newest affiliate.
“This makes it easier for our clients to go from medical health services to mental health services,” SunServe CEO Tony Lima said.
The hope is that by becoming a part of AHF, both entities will benefit from what the other brings to the table. SunServe provides dozens of services throughout Broward County, including trans, youth, and addiction treatment. But the main focus benefit for AHF will be access to SunServe’s mental health services and vast network of clinicians.
“We’re at the forefront of healthcare, but we also need those wrap-around services. That’s part of our affiliation program that we run throughout the country,” Russell Walker, Deputy Chief of AHF’s southern bureau, said.
Lima said they believe the affiliation will let SunServe expand their mental health services, first into Palm Beach and MiamiDade counties and eventually throughout the state and possibly beyond.
“We become the mental health arm of AHF’s Southern Bureau in Florida.”
SunServe clients will see some changes. After 17 years at its prominent spot on Wilton Drive, they will move into AHF’s facilities in downtown Fort Lauderdale. They are
renovating the third floor of the southwest building of the campus.
Once completed, they will provide nearly all services from that location, including Youth Services, which currently operate out of Sunshine Cathedral. (Their senior services will remain on the Sunshine campus.)
Lima hopes to keep a small intake center in downtown Wilton Manors.
By sharing space, the goal is for mental and physical health services to be just steps away from each other, rather than across town.
AHF and SunServe believe the central location, with its easy access to public transportation, will make it easier for clients to keep appointments and stay in treatment.
“The fact that we’re expanding here in South Florida, which is a hotspot for HIV and LGBTQ issues that are here in Florida, is a continuation not a change in mindset,” Walker said. “Youth services, HIV prevention and care, PrEP, and all those are things we bring to the table. But transgender and mental health services that SunServe has been so focused on will expand to us.”
SunServe isn’t AHF’s only affiliate in South Florida. Broward House joined as an affiliate more than a year ago. CEO Stacy Hyde says it’s improved their abilities to provide services.
“It’s bringing our teams together so there’s so much talent with AHF staff and Broward House staff.”
“Uniting our skill sets we’re able to serve clients in a more seamless way. We learn from each other. AHF is an expert at things. Broward House is an expert at things. Bringing that expertise together allows the client to have a better experience and get real help.”
It’s crunch time in Tallahassee, a period in the annual legislative session where bills move out of committee and to the floor with a vote, often followed by the governor’s signature. Once again, many of those bills focus on LGBT oppression. Couple that with administrative and a GOP controlled bureaucracy taking on LGBT supportive businesses, and it is truly troubling times.
While activists do what they can in Tallahassee, people are making their voices heard in South Florida. On March 26, people will “drag up the drive” for the March In Heels. Starting at 11 a.m. at the Pride Center, people will march up the drive and make stops along the way.
“This is a collaborative effort across Greater Fort Lauderdale. One of our goals is to make our voices heard in Tallahassee. That’s a long way away and [lawmakers] need to hear that they can’t take away our civil rights.” march coorganizer Bud Beehler said.
The one-mile march is dotted with stops along the way where people can register to vote, re-register for mail-in ballots (which must now be done every year due to Republican voter suppression efforts), and get updated on the latest news from the session.
One of those stops is LIT bar. Owner Charles Horton said it’s critical for local businesses to be visible in the fight for civil rights. “Both of my bars, LIT and LeBoy, feel that it’s very important to be active community sponsors.”
People are encouraged to wear heels and
to wear Pride colors. Each stop will be hosted by drag queens. This is a conscious choice and a political statement, as the DeSantis administration is targeting venues that host drag entertainment. Among their efforts are to deem all drag as “adult,” regardless of the content, and revoke liquor licenses of venues that don’t bow to their dictates.
“Drag is a part of our culture and community. We want to do our part in fighting to protect it,” Horton said.
A broad coalition has been invited to participate, including leaders and allies in the Black, latino, and other communities supportive of civil rights.
“Civil rights are civil rights. What’s happening in Tallahassee is fascism. They’re trying to tell us how to dress, how to think, how to behave. If they don’t like what you’re doing then they try to take away your rights to speak out.”
Another organizer is Wilton Manors city commissioner Chris Caputo. He said that local activism is critical.
“We’ve got to start the fight some place. We’ve got to get in front of it. We see how every time they have a little success, they go a little further. This is about who we are as a community and we must be heard as a community.”
The route runs from the Pride Center and goes up Dixie Hwy. to Five Points, then up Wilton Drive, followed by the official after party at Hunter’s Nightclub.
BY SHARING SPACE, THE GOAL IS FOR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH SERVICES TO BE JUST STEPS AWAY FROM EACH OTHER, RATHER THAN ACROSS TOWN.Photo via The March in Heels by FLAGUP event, Facebook.
Jason Parsley
Jason Parsley
Rosa Parks was Black. There is no dispute on that. But at least one publisher is afraid the Ron DeSantis administration may reject its materials; so they went to great lengths to avoid mentioning her race.
According to the New York Times, the publisher, Studies Weekly, focuses on science and social studies with short lessons in weekly pamphlets. Its social studies materials are used in Florida elementary schools.
The NYT compared several versions of the publisher’s lessons.
Here are the versions from their story:
In the current lesson on Rosa Parks, segregation is clearly explained: “The law said African Americans had to give up their seats on the bus if a white person wanted to sit down.”
But in the initial version created for the textbook review, race is mentioned indirectly.
“She was told to move to a different seat because of the color of her skin,” the lesson said.
It’s mandatory in Florida to teach Black history, but the legislature also passed a law last year called the Stop W.O.K.E. Act, which prohibits instruction that would compel students to feel responsibility, guilt or anguish for what other members of their race did in the past, a ban on critical race theory among other restrictions.
The two mandates appear to be at odds with each other.
The NYT wrote that the Florida Department of Education suggested that Studies Weekly had overreached.
Any publisher that “avoids the topic of race when teaching the Civil Rights movement, slavery, segregation, etc. would not be adhering to Florida law,” the department said in a statement.
But the publisher told the NYT it was trying to follow Florida’s standards, including the Stop W.O.K.E. Act.
“All publishers are expected to design a curriculum that aligns with” those requirements, John McCurdy, the company’s chief executive, said in an email to the NYT.
Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. That’s what’s up for grabs in the latest piece of legislation in Florida targeting education.
The measure would prevent state colleges and universities from spending any state or federal funds on programs or campus activities that advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, promote or espouse “political or social activism” or give preferential treatment to people based on factors such as race or sex.
Maxx Fenning, president of LGBTQadvocacy group PRISM and SFGN’s Person of the Year for 2022, criticized the bill.
“Whether you agree with these ideas or not, they are a component of understanding the wide array of views and opinions on issues that affect our daily lives,” Fenning told Orlando Weekly.
DeSantis doesn’t see it that way.
“These bills effectively eliminate DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] and other types of discriminatory programs and activities,” DeSantis said at a news conference. “But it also prohibits soliciting pledges of DEI or CRT [critical race theory] or any political viewpoint that’s a condition of hiring, promotion or admissions,”
According to Orlando Weekly, Florida’s 12 universities collectively reported spending more than $34.5 million on programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The schools also reported 279 paid positions tied to the
initiatives.
HB 999 has already passed the House. It still must pass in the Senate.
The American Historical Association slammed the bill, writing in a statement to CBS, “We express horror [not our usual 'concern'] at the assumptions that lie at the heart of this bill and its blatant and frontal attack on principles of academic freedom and shared governance central to higher education in the United States. This is not only about Florida. It is about the heart and soul of public higher education in the United States and about the role of history, historians, and historical thinking in the lives of the next generation of Americans.”
- Ron DeSantis“BUT IT ALSO PROHIBITS SOLICITING PLEDGES OF DEI OR CRT [CRITICAL RACE THEORY] OR ANY POLITICAL VIEWPOINT THAT’S A CONDITION OF HIRING, PROMOTION OR ADMISSIONS.”Gov. Rosa Parks photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Students looking to major in Gender Studies may have to avoid Florida if a new law passes, banning majors disfavored by the Republican controlled legislature.
HB 999 already passed the House.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education blasted the bill.
“Efforts to purge universities of gender studies because of the viewpoints they advance are reminiscent of attacks on academic freedom abroad,” wrote Adam Steinbaugh on the organization’s website.
The law, if passed, would also prohibit majors and minors relating to Critical Race Theory, and Intersectionality.
reads. “Students gain tools for analyzing the construction of gender, the relationship between gender and power, and the intersection of gender with sexuality, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, class, age and ability.”
The University of South Florida hosts a Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.
Some universities in the state have entire departments dedicated to women and/or gender studies like the Center for Women's and Gender Studies at Florida International University.
“Established in 1982, we promote scholarly inquiry related to women and gender,” the webpage promoting the center
“The mission [...] is feminist education, research, and practice. We promote social justice by engaging students in the discovery and production of knowledge that emerges from feminist perspectives on culture and society,” their webpage reads. “We teach students to use the analytic skills that emerge from engaging the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, ability, and nation in order to promote responsible citizenship in a diverse transnational environment.”
It’s unclear what would become of these departments if the legislation becomes law.
BECAUSE OF THE VIEWPOINTS THEY ADVANCE ARE REMINISCENT OF ATTACKS ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM ABROAD.
- Adam Steinbaugh
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LOCATIONS IN SOUTH FLORIDA
FORT LAUDERDALE
315 SE 14th St. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (754) 701-6920
PLANTATION
4101 NW 3rd Court, # 9 Plantation, Fl 33317 (754) 701-6911
LAKE WORTH
201 N Dixie Hwy. Lake Worth, FL 33460 (561) 867-9991
SOUTH BEACH
427 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 514-0813
MIAMI GARDENS
18360 NW 47th Ave. Miami, FL 33055 (786) 800-5631
OAKLAND PARK
1421 E. Oakland Park Blvd. #101 Oakland Park, FL 33334 (941) 366-0134
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared earlier this year “Florida is where woke goes to die.”
But so far federal courts don’t agree and have blocked parts of his signature “Stop WOKE” law.
Last week a federal appeals court rejected Florida’s request to enforce the controversial legislation, which means parts of the law will remain blocked while lawsuits make their way through the courts.
Tallahassee U.S. District Judge Mark Walker temporarily blocked some provisions in the law in November calling it “positively dystopian." The law would restrict discussions of race, gender and inequality in public colleges and universities.
The law is known as the so-called Individual Freedom Act, but more commonly known as the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act.
The DeSantis administration appealed the ruling and asked the court to lift the injunction. The motion was denied by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday.
“We reject this woke ideology. We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy. We will not allow reality, facts, and truth to become optional. We will never surrender to the woke mob,” DeSantis said earlier this year.
In August, the American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Defense Fund and a national law firm filed a lawsuit against the law on behalf of a group of students and educators.
“The court’s decision to leave in place the preliminary injunction is a recognition
of the serious injury posed to educators and students by the Stop W.O.K.E. Act,”
Leah Watson, an attorney with the ACLU, said in a press release. “All students and educators deserve to have a free and open exchange about issues related to race in our classrooms — not censored discussions that erases the history of discrimination and lived experiences of Black and Brown people, women and girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals.”
Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis' deputy press secretary, said in a statement he’s confident the court will uphold the law.
“The Court did not rule on the merits of our appeal,” he said. “The appeal is ongoing, and we remain confident that the law is constitutional.”
According to the LDF, “The law specifically targets and places vague restrictions on educators’ ability to teach and discuss concepts around the legacy of slavery in America, white privilege, and anti-racism.”
Additionally, the law imposes harsh penalties for educators who have been found to violate the law including termination or loss of state funding.
According to the LDF universities across Florida have canceled or scaled back diversity and inclusion training and have taken down statements denouncing racism.
“This creates a hostile climate that stigmatizes discussions about race on campuses and generates fear among plaintiffs and other Black educators and students who teach or take coursework that touch upon race and gender issues,” the LDF writes in a press release.
James Patterson pushed back on one school district in Florida who removed his young adult series from elementary school students.
“If you are going to ban this book, then no kids under 12 should go to any Marvel movies,” he told USA Today.
The best-selling author, and Florida resident, urged parents to contact Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“Honestly, who would want Maximum Ride banned from schools? On what possible grounds?” the author tweeted.
“What do the majority of parents in Martin County think of this arbitrary and borderline absurd decision?”
For Patterson, this is personal since he owns a house in Martin County and his niece’s children attend school in the district.
“So yes, that makes it a little personal,” he told USA Today. “One of the wonderful things about books is it allows us to find out about different ways of thinking, of living, different problems people have, different ways of finding joy. You can explain a world through a library and that’s a good thing. To cut that down is not useful.”
Maximum Ride is a series of young
adult science fantasy novels about winged human-avian hybrids. Patterson’s books have sold more than $425 million copies. Another author, Jodi Picoult, also pushed back against the Martin County school district, where some of her books were removed.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent deciding a certain book is not right for her child. There is a colossal problem with a parent deciding that, therefore, no child should be allowed to read that book,” she wrote in an OP-ED. “My books were removed because they were, according to the sole parent who made the challenge, ‘adult romance that should not be on school shelves.’ It is worth noting I do not write adult romance. The majority of the books that were targeted do not even have a kiss in them. What they do have, however, are issues like racism, abortion rights, gun control, gay rights, and other topics that encourage kids to think for themselves.”
Last year, DeSantis signed a law that requires school libraries in the state to seek community input on the materials made available to children, which has subsequently encouraged a new wave of books bans across the state.
After years of debate over development, city codes, consultant studies and more, Wilton Manors seems poised to see groundbreaking along 26th Street east of the railroad tracks. But the use and accessibility of the road is still being debated.
At the city commission meeting on Feb. 28, commissioners were updated on several projects that are either planned, underway, or completed. The only one that raised their eyebrows, and their ire, was how to proceed at 26th Street.
The plan has been debated and tweaked for months and calls for it to be a “Complete Street,” which is a set of standards for accessibility ranging from width of sidewalks, bike lanes, and more. The area set to be developed will bring about 300 new units plus street level shops to that plaza.
The problem: there’s no place to cross the street between 15th Ave. and Five Points.
A person from the engineering consulting firm and a Broward County engineer were on hand to explain the ins and outs of road improvements. The circular reasoning goes like this: to get a crosswalk, you need to do a study to see if there are enough pedestrians crossing there, but since there’s no crosswalk, the study will show it’s not needed.
Commissioner Chris Caputo, who jokingly admitted he jaywalks there, pointed out the most extreme solution. “Do we need to just go
and have a whole bunch of people run across the road back and forth and some of them get hit? This is absurd.”
Mayor Scott Newton says dangerous crossings are already an issue and it’s going to get worse.
“I see people walk across there all the time. If we get 300 units there a lot of people are gonna walk straight across. It’s dangerous. If a new project comes up there should be a traffic light there.”
Commissioner Paul Rolli pointed out that for planning purposes, the county looks at past use and doesn’t consider the future.
Vice Mayor Mike Bracchi got the engineers to admit very few of the suggestions made in public forums were considered or incorporated.
“I think we have to go back and take public input, hear what the residents want and what the residents don’t want.”
He also pointed out that if the city is going to get a crosswalk there, it’s now or never.
“Once we finish this project, Broward County is not going to look at it again for … years. If we don’t get it right now, that’s our future for the next 20 to 30 years on 26th Street.”
Also during the meeting, WMPD Chief Gary Blocker recognized the hard work and bravery of some officers. The Life-Saving Award was
given to Acting Sergeant Loughran, as well as Officers Cox, Leone, and Martinez.
On Jan. 14 at about 5:30 a.m., they were called to a possible rollover accident at 7th Ave and 20th St.
When they didn’t see the car, they searched nearby and found it in a nearby canal. On one of the coldest nights of the year, they went into action and freed the driver and got them
to aid at the seawall.
Officer Leone was also presented with Officer of the Year 2022.
Other honors presented were Officer of the 4th Quarter to Sylvie Fils. Civilian Employee of the 4th quarter went to Records Specialist Tishelle Todman, while Civilian Employee of the Year 2022 went to Code Supervisor Abel Alberro.
Almost three months after she narrowly lost a spot on the Oakland Park City Commission, Letitia Newbold was appointed to a vacant seat at the dais on March 1.
The four-member commission chose her from a pool of 13 candidates after a seat was vacated by former Commissioner Matthew Sparks in January.
“Even after my loss I continued to stay active, stay out in the community, and stay involved,” Newbold told the commission before she was selected.
A senior intellectual property patent paralegal, Newbold has lived in Oakland Park for 15 years. She said in her application that she would like to see further development in the Westside Corridor, promotion of economic empowerment through community programming, and business grant opportunities. She currently serves as the vice president of the Oakland Park Lakeside Neighborhood, a board member for Eternal Light Ministries, Inc. (where she also is a Sunday School teacher), and a member of the Oakland Park Kiwanis Club, American Legion Post 222 and the NAACP.
During the Nov. 8 general election, residents voted in Commissioners Tim Lonergan and Steve Arnst, both of whom have previously served on the commission, to fill two vacancies. Newbold came in third with only 38 votes behind Arnst. As the commission is at-large, the top votes grant a candidate a win.
Just two months later on Jan. 9, Sparks tendered his resignation due to moving out of state with his family, leaving the commission with an empty seat. His resignation went into effect on Jan. 18; candidates for a special election in March would have had to qualify by Jan. 23.
The commission voted to instead appoint a new member to the commission — Lonergan and Arnst dissented, believing the city charter called for a special election — to serve until March 2024. Thirteen residents applied and spoke before the commission
on Feb. 22 with one dropping out and recommending that Newbold be appointed. The commission then narrowed the field down to five candidates.
On March 1, the five had a final chance to speak before the commission and also fielded two questions from Lonergan — he asked each candidate if they believed there should have been a special election. They all said yes, with one calling Sparks’ resignation “selfish.”
Newbold was appointed to the commission and was sworn in during the March 15 meeting.
March 23, 2023 • Volume 10 • Issue 6 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943
Publisher/Editor • Jason Parsley jason.parsley@sfgn.com
Associate Publisher•Justin Wyse justin.wyse@sfgn.com
Assistant to the Editor • Kimberly Swan webmaster@sfgn.com
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Julie Palmer•Kyle Willis•Craig Tuggle artwork@sfgn.com
Oakland Park Editor • Christiana Lilly Wilton Manors Editor •John Hayden john.jmhcreative@gmail.com
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Sal Torre • James Oaksun • John McDonald
Staff Photographers J.R. Davis • Carina Mask • Steven Shires Sales & Marketing
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“Even after my loss I continued to stay active, stay out in the community, and stay involved.”
- Letitia Newbold
An unusual lineup will take the stage in an unusual spot this weekend in Wilton Manors.
The Women of Comedy Showcase is going down this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The all-female lineup will be led by host Natalie Tyler and feature some of the funniest comedians in South Florida.
The lineup was hand-picked by Tyler, who’s been performing in the area for nearly a decade, and says she knows the comedy community.
“I know who will bring the funny. We are one big comedy family and when I make the call to a fellow comedian, if they are available, they will come to do a set.”
The event will happen at the Hotspots! Happening Out Art Gallery with Dennis Dean, on Dixie Highway just south of Five Points.
“I expect the audience to get a chance to see some truly funny female comedians who will each deliver a different comedic genre,” Tyler said in an exclusive preview of the event. “To have an all-female lineup is something wonderful to see in celebration of Women’s Month. The beautiful thing about making
people laugh is the ability to turn what we see every day into something very funny that the audience can relate to.”
Holding the comedy night during Women’s History Month is a conscious choice. Tyler believes it’s a perfect opportunity to raise up funny female voices.
“A woman’s perspective is extremely important and funny because women truly rule the world. We just let the men think they do,” she joked.
Tickets are $5 and doors open at 7 p.m.
Circuit rolled out (literally) in Wilton Manors in October. The open-air vehicles that look like limo-sized versions of a golf cart carry passengers between any two points within the city limits.
After about five months of serving Wilton Manors, they are re-evaluating the needs of passengers. Effective immediately, Wednesday and Thursday service will run through 11 p.m. Previously, they stopped service at 9pm on those nights.
The new schedule:
Weds.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Sun.-Tues. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
The news was shared with SFGN by one of the drivers.
The service launched to great fanfare last autumn, after Wilton Manors city
commissioners agreed to a $250,000 subsidy. Company officials said they would track peak usage and demand, and adjust as needed.
“We’re always looking at that,” Circuit executive Karen Jurnigan said. “We have a robust data algorithm in our platform. We look at maps and ridership, we follow scheduled busy patterns, so hours get adjusted from time to time.”
Circuit is in Wilton Manors, Fort Lauderdale, and seven other South Florida cities. In Wilton Manors, the fare is $2 per passenger, and you must use the app to call a ride.
By John Hayden
Women make major contributions to Wilton Manors and South Florida’s LGBT community. Too often their work is in the background and goes unrecognized. Under the auspices of Women’s History Month, the city is shining a light on a few of the many amazing women who make life ‘just better’ in Wilton Manors.
During the city commission meeting on March 14, proclamations were presented to five women who make important contributions. Some are public figures; others work more in the background.
Legendary activist and performer Tiffany Arieagus was honored as a show business legend as a dancer and singer of jazz, disco, and blues as well as for her work with the transgender community since 1972. She is a case worker at SunServe, working to make sure no one is forgotten or left behind.
Kim Clarke-Campbell and Lisa Cassanelli, co-owners of Little Flower Montessori School, were recognized for their work as teachers for over 18 years.
Pamela Landi seems to be involved in
everything everywhere all at once. As Assistant City Manager, she’s been at the forefront of many projects through the years. From the city’s climate action plan to sea level issues to planning the city’s 75th anniversary celebration, Landi’s dedication knows no bounds. A compassionate and caring outlook on life sets Deacon Kelly Graham apart. Besides being an ordained clergy member of Holy Angels Catholic Community, she is CEO Care to Share, a nonprofit supplying medical devices to those in need. She also volunteers delivering food and visiting invalids.
Jason Parsley
Asexual health bill filed by a GOP lawmaker would bar girls from talking about their menstrual cycles in school before the 6th grade.
But as state Rep. Ashley Gantt (D) pointed out in a subcommittee hearing some girls get their periods as early as 4th grade.
“So if little girls experience their menstrual cycle in fifth grade or fourth grade, will that prohibit conversations from them since they are in the grade lower than sixth grade?”
Gantt asked according to the Washington Post Rep. Stan McClain responded, “It would.”
The bill passed, 13-5, along a party line vote in the committee.
Gnatt also asked whether teachers could face punishment if they discuss menstruation with younger students.
Later McClain said he’d be open to amendments and the bill’s intent was not to prevent discussions between girls and teachers about menstrual cycles.
“My concern is they won’t feel safe to have those conversations with these little girls,” she said, according to TIME.
“I thought it was pretty remarkable that the beginning of a little girl’s menstrual cycle was not contemplated as they drafted this bill,” Gantt told the Post.
Annie Filkowski, the policy and political director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, slammed the bill.
“This bill shines a bright light on Florida’s political leaders’ perpetual thirst for power and control,” Filkowski said in a statement.
According to the Post, girls start menstruating between the ages of 10 and 16. But studies from around the world showed a surge in early puberty for girls during the pandemic, with some girls getting their periods as young as 8.
According to the USA Today, medical providers recommend talking to children about puberty and changes in their bodies before they occur.
“Despite a year’s worth of gaslighting and assurances that the Don’t Say LGBTQ law was narrowly focused, DeSantis is again weaponizing a state agency to expand his right wing agenda of censorship, book banning, and the character assassination of Florida teachers,” said Brandon Wolf, press secretary for Equality Florida. “The Board of Education’s proposed rule would see more books with LGBTQ characters ripped from school shelves,
more discussion of diverse families muzzled, and educators at risk of losing their licenses for acknowledging the existence of LGBTQ people — at every grade level.”
According to the Associated Press the state Education Department has put forth a proposal that is scheduled for a vote next month before the state Board of Education. Both agencies are led by appointees of the governor.
“The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from grades 4 to 12, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take,” the AP writes.
There is already a bill making its way through the legislature that would expand the controversial Parental Rights in Education law, commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. That proposal would bar topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity through the eighth grade.
It’s unclear why the governor is moving forward on his own.
- Associated Press
Wolf continued: “Free states don’t ban books. Free states don’t censor history. Free states don’t copy/paste their political agendas from the likes of Vladimir Putin. This proposed rule is yet more government power being perverted to serve Ron DeSantis’ desperation to run for President.”
“THE RULE CHANGE WOULD BAN LESSONS ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY FROM GRADES 4 TO 12, UNLESS REQUIRED BY EXISTING STATE STANDARDS OR AS PART OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INSTRUCTION THAT STUDENTS CAN CHOOSE NOT TO TAKE.”
Charges have been dropped against a former D.C. police lieutenant accused of sex crimes involving a 16-year-old boy.
With the victim unwilling to proceed to the deposition phase of the trial, Florida prosecutors dropped their case against Brett Parson, a former supervisor in the D.C. police department’s LGBT liaison unit.
“Due to lack of victim cooperation, my conversations with the victim’s parents and the potential scheduling of a deposition of the victim, the State believed it was in the best interest of the victim to not require him to come in for deposition and subsequent trial testimony, to respect his wishes and announce a nollo prosequi in the case,” wrote Danielle Lennox and Neva RainfordSmith, Assistant State Attorneys for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.
In criminal law, “nollo prosequi” is Latin for not prosecuting.
Judge Tim Bailey declared the case over after a March 13 hearing, dismissing the
two counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor against Parson. The decision means Parson, 55, will not face prison time nor have to register as a sex offender.
Parson said he was led to believe the victim was 19 as they communicated and exchanged explicit photos on Growlr, a hook-up app for gay bears. The app does not verify the age of its users and Florida law prohibits claiming to be misled about a victim’s age as grounds for a legal defense.
The anti-DEI bill that recently passed the House and is making its way through the Florida senate has proponents of inclusion concerned about its impact on campus groups focused on diversity.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has made it a point to target public university’s Diversity, Inclusion and Equity programs so these bills would effectively eliminate those departments. Its impact on student groups is thus far unclear.
Members of the “Divine Nine” – a set of Black fraternities and sororities established over a hundred years ago – were especially concerned about how the bill would impact their groups.
Shevrin Jones, a Black gay state senator, raised his objections in an OP-ED to MSNBC.
“The governor has denied that such organizations would be affected. And while I am grateful that the Sen. Erin Grall [...] heard those students’ concerns and
removed language that could have inflicted great harm to these organizations, I still cannot in good conscience support this general effort to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. This illconceived bill threatens students and their on-campus organizations. And not just Greek organizations but groups such as Florida State’s Black Student Union, the University of South Florida’s Asian Students in America or Spectrum, an LGBTQ rights group at Florida A&M. Students trying to understand the world in which they exist and the inequities in our society would be penalized for doing what we should expect all students to do: analyze their communities and fight for progress. Higher education is supposed to be an experience through which students can explore new topics and be exposed to diversity of thought across various areas of study.”
Multisexual. Folx. Sexual Minority.
Those are just a few of the over 300 words that have been added to Dictionary.com in its latest update. Their full definitions can be found at the end of the story.
“The most recent additions to Dictionary. com come from just about everywhere, spanning the multiverse-like complexity of modern life: they are at once serious (self-coup, rage farming, trauma dumping), amusing (petfluencer), and everything in between (liminal space),” wrote Senior Editor, Nick Norlen, of Dictionary.com. “Our lexicographers observe it all, documenting language change wherever it’s happening and defining the terms that help us to understand our times.”
Below are a few of the words that may interest the LGBT community.
noun. An instance or practice of acknowledging and promoting the civil liberties of the LGBTQ+ community, but superficially, as a ploy to divert attention from allegiances and activities that are in fact hostile to such liberties.
Other unrelated senses of this term are used in breast cancer awareness and research.
noun. Slang. A marketing technique involving intentional homoeroticism or suggestions of LGBTQ+ themes intended to draw in an LGBTQ+ audience, without explicit inclusion of openly LGBTQ+ relationships, characters, or people.
noun. A member or members of the LGBTQ+ community, used especially in the context of discrimination against or advocacy for a minoritized sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
adjective. Noting or relating to a person whose sexual orientation is fluid or fluctuates over time.
The prefix abro- comes from the Greek habrós, meaning “graceful, delicate, pretty.”
MULTISEXUAL
adjective. Noting or relating to a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to people of more than one gender, used especially as an inclusive term to describe similar, related sexual orientations such as bisexual, pansexual, omnisexual, etc.
MIXED-GENDER
adjective. Of or relating to two or more people of different genders.
Example: This event invites mixed-gender teams of five people to compete in an escape room.
FOLX
noun. People; a variant spelling of “folks” (spelled with x not only as shorthand for the /ks/ sound, but also in parallel with other gender-inclusive spellings, like Latinx).
WOKE
adjective. Disparaging of or relating to a liberal progressive orthodoxy, especially promoting inclusive policies or ideologies that welcome or embrace ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities.
The addition of this disparaging sense of the term reflects a significant increase in its use in recent years, one that in many contexts has overtaken the positive sense.
noun. An act or instance of sending someone unsolicited, unwanted, sexually explicit images or video using digital platforms.
Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, of Nebraska, promised to make her colleagues’ job painful this year if they insisted on moving forward on an anti-trans bill that would outlaw genderaffirming therapies for those under the age of 19.
They insisted. And she followed through.
For three weeks Cavanaugh filibustered every single bill grinding the legislature to a halt. Each time a bill advanced out of committee she would introduce amendment after amendment while also spending as much time as allowed at the microphone to hold the bills hostage.
“I will burn the session to the ground over this bill,” Cavanaugh said at the time, according to the Associated Press.
Her goal worked.
- MachaelaBy the halfway point of the legislative session last Wednesday not a single bill passed with only a handful making it out of their respective committees.
Last week, Cavanaugh compromised on the impasseby asking for the anti-trans bill to be moved to the front of the queue.
Debate on the bill started Tuesday.
The deal may mean she has the votes to kill when a vote is taken. But if the bill advances she has promised to filibuster every bill for the remainder of the session she’s told several news outlets.
“It is extremely meaningful when an ally does more than pay lip service to allyship,” said executive director Abbi Swatsworth of OutNebraska. “She really is leading this charge.”
The Nebraska legislature is dominated by conservatives, but even so Democrats have enough seats they could block a bill they don’t like if they stick together.
“If this Legislature collectively decides that legislating hate against children is our priority, then I am going to make it painful, painful for everyone, because if you want to inflict pain upon our children, I am going to inflict pain upon this body,” Cavanaugh said previously. “I have nothing, nothing but time, and I am going to use all of it.”
Gender-affirming care for minors is supported by the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
“I WILL BURN THE SESSION TO THE GROUND OVER THIS BILL.”
Cavanaugh
Jason Parsley
SAM JOECKEL WAS PUT ON A LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM PALM BEACH ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY LAST MONTH AFTER HE WAS ACCUSED OF “INDOCTRINATING STUDENTS.”
His offense?
The syllabus included a unit on Racial Justice.
Now his contract has been terminated after teaching at the conservative Christian university for 21 years.
“Apparently, I was indoctrinating students, that’s what the dean of the school of liberal arts and sciences told me when I asked him to elaborate with what’s wrong with my racial justice unit,” Joeckel told WPBF.
The syllabus also included a unit on comedy and humor; and gothic and horror.
Joeckel told media outlets he’s taught the same unit on racial justice for 12 years
without any complaints. After one parent complained this year, he was put on a leave of absence while a final decision would be made. Last week his contract was officially terminated. He was never told any specifics of the complaint, only that he was accused of “indoctrinating” students.
PBAU is located in West Palm Beach and is a private university.
The relationship between former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis turned stormy this week with each of them trading insults and barbs.
“Ron DeSanctionious will probably find out False Accusations & Fake Stories sometime in the future as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man). I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump attached an unverified photo of what appears to be DeSantis partying with underage girls. In previous posts Trump accused DeSantis of “grooming” those girls.
But this is the first time he’s insinuated a man might be involved as well.
Over the weekend Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be indicted this week in New York City over the hush money payments in 2016 to Stormy Daniels, a porn star whom he allegedly had an affair with. Those payments sent his former lawyer Michael Cohen to prison.
Many Republicans quickly jumped to Trump’s defense attacking the prosecutor’s office, while DeSantis stayed silent.
On Monday DeSantis responded to the unfolding situation by attempting to play sides. He attacked the prosecution but also took a swipe at Trump.
“We are not involved in this, won’t be involved in this,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Panama City, Florida. “I have no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus.”
DeSantis never mentioned Trump by name.
“Look, I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair. I just can’t speak to that,” he said to a chorus of chuckles. “But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, you know, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda, and weaponizing the office.”
PALM BEACH PRIDE, PALM BEACH COUNTY’S ANNUAL PRIDE FESTIVAL HOSTED BY COMPASS COMMUNITY CENTER, WILL TAKE PLACE THIS WEEKEND, MARCH 25 AND 26, AT BRYANT PARK IN LAKE WORTH BEACH. IT PROMISES TO BRING EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INVOLVED AND CELEBRATE PRIDE.
Cassandra Cass, a trans actress and performer known for her roles in “Trantasia” (2006), “Wild Things” (2010), and “What’s the T?” (2012), reality shows centering on trans identities and various experiences, is the headliner for the event and Grand Marshal of the parade. Cass is a drag and lip-sync performer well known in the San Francisco area and brings with her electricity and energy to invigorate pride.
Besides the standard events at the pride celebration like vendors, drag performances, children activities, and HIV testing, compass boasts a new “Health Village” where healthcare and public health providers will
educate and provide services during the festival.
Compass is also taking a stand against the current attacks against trans youth, drag performances, and the LGBT community. All youth 18 and under will get free access to the festival to ensure they have access to family friendly drag and LGBT culture.
Palm Beach Pride Starts at 12 p.m. on March 25 and 26. The parade in downtown Lake Worth Beach is Sunday morning, gathering at 10:30 a.m. to start at 11 a.m.
“LOOK, I DON’T KNOW WHAT GOES INTO PAYING HUSH MONEY TO A PORN STAR TO SECURE SILENCE OVER SOME TYPE OF ALLEGED AFFAIR. I JUST CAN’T SPEAK TO THAT.”
- Gov. Ron DeSantisSam Joeckel. Photo via www.pba.edu. Cassandra Cass. Photo via compassglcc.com.
Don’t be like that lone Polar bear out on an ice floe, join with others for a party at sea. Two bear cruises are heading out from South Florida, giving you plenty of opportunities to find the bear, cub, or otter (or any other animal adopted by the gay community to describe itself) of your dreams.
BEARCRUISE’S 10TH ANNUAL PRETHANKSGIVING 7-NIGHT EASTERN CARIBBEAN
CRUISE will sail on Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, from Nov. 12-19, 2023, departing from Port Canaveral. Cabins with ocean views, views of Central Park, or the ship’s Boardwalk are still available, as are interior cabins. Balconies start at $1,111 double occupancy, and interiors are $999 double occupancy. Prices include taxes and port charges.
The itinerary includes Coco Cay, Bahamas, St. Thomas, and the gorgeous Virgin Islands – St. Thomas, USVI, and St. Maarten, as well as three days at sea to explore and enjoy the ship! The trip also features BearCruise parties, meet-ups, and group dining, an onboard host, BearCruise Cruise Director, and optional exclusive BearCruise shore excursions. The featured guest entertainer is Alison Arngrim, a.k.a. Nellie Oleson from TV’s “Little House on the Prairie” performing her comedy show, “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch” and judging a Nellie Oleson Look-Alike Contest. For more details, visit the website bearcruise.com, or call 513-541-2187.
VIRGIN HALLOWEEN CARIBBEAN GAY & BEARS CRUISE, Oct. 27-Nov 1, 2023, will find bears, gay guys, cubs, chubs, chasers, and their friends on the fabulous, groundbreaking, gay cruise ship, the Virgin Voyages adults-only, Scarlet Lady, for a Caribbean Halloween cruise! Departing from Miami for the snow-white shores of the Dominican Republic, by way of Bimini. Activities include meet-and-greet cocktail parties, Bear group activities, your Gay Group host Cap’n Dave, onboard credits (based on cabin type), free Wi-Fi, gratuities, basic beverages, group fitness classes, and pop-up events. Tickets start at $1,025 and include options for single travelers at reduced prices. For information email Happy@ HappyGayTravel.com.
Of course, if you are willing to trek farther for your bears, you can also find them sailing away in such far-flung ports as Greece and Iceland.
BEAR VOYAGES’ GREEK ISLAND CRUISE Aug. 27 through Sept. 3, with tickets starting at $1,440. It sets sail from Athens with stops in Santorini, Rhodes, Mykonos (overnight stay), and Bodrum, Turkey. The cruise will be on Virgin’s Resilient Lady, which features more than 20 specialty eateries (including Michelin-starred chefs Brad Farmerie and Sohui Kim), superyacht-inspired cabins with free Wi-Fi, a pool, three hot tubs (public, adults-only, and exclusive), spa, tattoo studio,
casino, arcade, game room, jogging track, and fitness center. Bear Voyages has arranged a lineup of guests including Ben Zook and Joe Dietl from “Where the Bears Are,” and Blake Evan Sherman from “Bear City” will entertain passengers with a night of music and comedy. For more information, contact Happy@ HappyGayTravel.com.
On BEARCRUISE’S 10-DAY ICELAND & NORWAY TO LONDON CRUISE, June 15-25, you’ll first enjoy a land adventure, with a scenic drive from Akureyri to Husavik, then go on a whale-watching tour. Then return to Reykjavik, Iceland, for a trip with stops in Ålesund, Olden, and Bergen, Norway, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Brussels, and Bruges in Belgium before reaching your destination port of Southampton and departing from London. Interior cabins start at $1,917, exterior cabins and suites range from $2,495 to $8,350 a person. For more information, go to bearcruise.com/icelandnorway-cruise
If you prefer to hunt on the land, check out some of these events. BEARS SITGES WEEK, Sept. 1-10 in Sitges, Spain. With more than 8,000 bears from all over the world attending, this is the largest bear event with the greatest international diversity. The incomparable setting, facing the sea, finds
the bears filling the beaches all day, while famous theme nights pack the Bear-Village. For more information, go to bearssitges. org BEAR WEEK IN PROVINCETOWN, July 8-15, is among the largest bear weeks in the United States, attracting LGBT+ travelers from all around the country as well as other world cities. Bring your dance party gear for the Bear Boat Sunset Cruise, socialize at all-day pool parties like Otter Pop, and carry on at the Boatslip Tea Dance. Other typical events over the week include Bears on Bikes, nature walks, and parties like the singlet tea dance. If you prefer to hunt in colder weather hold out for SPOOKY BEAR AND HIBEARNATION PROVINCETOWN. The bear event of the fall (Oct. 27-29,) is filled with costume parties and a haunted house. For this and other Bear events in Ptown, contact tourism@provincetown-ma.gov. If you want to stay close to home, don’t forget about BEARSURRECTION FORT LAUDERDALE, April 6-9. The official bear weekend of Fort Lauderdale features events running from Friday to Sunday, including themed parties such as “Fashion Bear” at the Hunters Nightclub and an amazing pool party at the Ed Lugo Resort and “Bunker” at the Eagle. For more information, go to bearsurrection. com
Rick Karlin is SFGN’s travel and food editor. Have a tavel tip to share? Email Rick at RickKarlinFL@gmail.com. The views Rick expresses are his own and do not represent the opinion of SFGN.
Alaska is joining in on the fight for parental rights – that is, the right of cisgender heterosexual parents who fear having an LGBT kid.
Alaska’s Senate Bill 96 would ban discussion of sexual identity in the classroom through fourth grade, as well as require parental permission and notification if their child wishes to use a new name or pronouns.
Governor Mike Dunleavy denies that the bill has any relation to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Act. “A Florida bill, a Florida approach for example may prohibit certain things from being taught in the classrooms regardless of what a parent wants. What we’re saying here is ... it’s a different approach,” Dunleavy said, according to Alaska News Source.
But Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act has looser restrictions than Alaska’s proposed bill. Now, Florida hopes to pass a bill that would expand the prohibition of discussions on sexual identity and forbid
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CONGREGATION ETZ CHAIM
2038 N. Dixie Hwy (Pride Center Building B), Wilton Manors 954-564-9232 - etzchaimflorida.org
congregationetzchaim1974@gmail.com
Friday Night Shabbat Service 8p.m.
HOLY ANGELS CATHOLIC COMMUNITY
SOUTHFLORIDAGAYNEWS.COM
1436 NE 26th St Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-633-2987 - HolyAngelsFL.net
Sunday Mass at 11AM
CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR, MCC Church of Our Savior, MCC 2011 S. Federal Hwy. Boynton Beach. churchofoursaviormcc.org | 561-733-4000
Sunday Service 10AM
SAINT MARK'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND SCHOOL
1750 East Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334
954-563-5155 | www.saintmarksftl.com
Worship Sundays @ 8am and 10:30am
ST. NICHOLAS
EPISCOPAL CHURCH
1111 E. Sample Road Pompano Beach, FL 33064
954-942-5887
schools from referring to a student by pronouns that don’t align with their assigned sex at birth.
Dunleavy’s denial that his bill would pave the way for more anti-LGBT legislation in Alaska doesn’t hold water.
According to news site Governing, Rep. Andrew Gray explained that the bill “hurts children, specifically gender non-conforming children like I once was.”
Imet David Leddick during the “gay nineties,” soon after he began his career as a writer. At the time, Leddick lived in a beautiful home on the Venetian Isles near Miami Beach, surrounded by some of the beautiful art objects that he collected. After years in the business and professional worlds, Leddick enjoyed a personal renaissance as an author and an actor. “I think you should change careers every 10 years,” he told me. “And I figure I am in my sixth career about now. My life has always been focused around my personal life more than anything else. I am very romantic and being gay I always like to be in love with somebody, somewhere.” Now 93 years young, Leddick lives in Southern Alabama, near a close relative.
Leddick’s artistic career began in the 1950s when he moved to New York and became a dancer at the Metropolitan Opera. He was part of the “Sex Squad,” a group of dancers who were built enough to wear the skimpy costumes in Aida. (Leddick wrote about the Sex Squad in a novel of the same name.) Leddick spent much of his professional life in advertising, as creative director of Revlon or as manager for the Robert Joffrey Ballet, before retiring to South Florida. But Leddick’s “retirement” was not a typical one: “I was not going to play golf, so what will I do? And I thought as you approach 70, no one can say you ruined your life, so you may do as you please. So, by chance I got into the nude photo thing because of my interest in photographer George Platt Lynes.” Leddick’s coffee table collection of Lynes photos was followed by other volumes: Naked Men (1997); The Male Nude (1998); and The Nude Male: 21st Century Visions (2008). At the same time, Leddick wrote a series of novels, starting with “My Worst Date” (1996) (about a gay teen on South Beach) and followed by “The Sex Squad” (1998), “The Handsomest Man in the World” (2004) and “The Millionaire of Love” (2005), among others.
While all this was going on, Leddick became a performer. As he recalled, “My trainer, David Sexton, was producing a Miami Gay Men’s Chorus show. And they needed an older performer. But when we went into rehearsal, I noticed my character didn’t have any numbers! I got to have a song! So, I got a finale song. And then he wrote a sequel to that show. I died in the first show, so I came back as an angel. It was a Christmas show called “It’s a Fabulous Life.” Leddick followed that with a series of one man shows where he told stories and sang songs accompanied by pianist Andrew Sargent. Leddick even did drag in some of his shows. Leddick also wrote and starred in a tribute to Quentin Crisp; and in musicals based on his non-fiction books “Escorts” and “How to be Gay in the 21st Century.”
“How to Be Gay in the 21st Century:” There’s nothing wrong with being gay but a lot of people do it wrong (2011) is David Leddick’s best and brightest book. Here he muses about the ups and downs of being gay, along with photos by photographer David Vance. “Being gay is just like being Swedish. It’s a little different, but in no important way,” he wrote. “My generation is primarily concerned about what other people thought of them whereas in this century people are much more concerned about being fulfilled. Whatever I want to do I do it. And I think that’s the big difference.” Though living away from the bright lights of South Florida, Leddick is still at work with his 41st book, “It’s Nifty in My Nineties” and a cabaret show called “Camp David.” “I’m storming forward towards 100,” he says. “I want to stand for the concept that the last 20 or 30 years of your life can be the most fun and interesting. What do you care what other people think of you?”
RuPaul, host of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” slammed what he called “stunt queen” politicians for banning drag shows across the country.
“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique, distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, healthcare, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school,” RuPaul said in a video on Instagram. “But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues. They
look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective. They think our love, light, laughter and our joy are signs of weakness. But they’re wrong because that is our strength. Drag queens are the Marines of the queer movement. Don’t get it twisted and don’t be distracted. Register to vote so we can get these stunt queens out of office and put some smart people with real solutions into government. And by the way, a social media post has never been as powerful as a registered vote.”
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