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January 18, 2017 vol. 8 // issue 3

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#GOLDENGATE The Urination of Trump:

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RAINBOW 5K IS READY TO HIT THE DRIVE PAGE 24

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SouthFloridaGayNews.com

January 18, 2017 • Volume 8 • Issue 3

2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

Publisher • Norm Kent Norm.Kent@sfgn.com

caiTLin Jenner inviTed To Trump’s inauGuraTion

Chief Executive Officer • Pier Angelo Guidugli

Associate Publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com

Editorial

rj petrucci – Evil stupid woman.

wiLTon manors mayor QuesTions wHeTHer weLLness cenTer BeLonGs on THe drive eric diaferio –

Joe steineck – Maybe Trump will grab her by the pussy!

...any business in WM offering sobriety of any kind

is counterproductive to the city business mission...of “Booze and Boyz.” The drive is nothing but common watering holes and “here today gone tomorrow” restaurants’...

Tom carlin – The LBGT Media needs to stop giving this attention whore coverage. Let her go about her pathetic ways WITHOUT your constant reporting on it. She does not matter, and we do not care.

matthew samp –

Oh, I love our mayor, but seeing empty storefronts is horrible.

I’m not sure we’re all on the same page with this whole “arts & entertainment district”...

miami LoG caBin repuBLicans BLasT oBama’s cuBa poLicy

Senior Features Correspondents Jesse Monteagudo • Tony Adams

Correspondents

Dori Zinn • Andrea Richard • Donald Cavanaugh • Christiana Lilly • Denise Royal • Sean McShee • Alex Adams • Gary Kramer • David-Elijah Nahmod

Contributing Columnists

Brian McNaught • Dana Rudolph • Wayne Besen Ric Reily • Steve Siler • Bil Browning Tucker Berardi • Terri Schlichenmeyer

Associate Photographers Pompano Bill • Steven Shires

Larry kraft –

LCR ... Shameful bunch. We now have diplomatic relations with Cuba and an embassy there.

People can now apply for residency at the U.S. embassy. They can be sponsored by family here... just like every other immigrant. The Cuban immigrants will be treated like any other immigrants with possible special treatment, based on political situations. It will be safer and more controlled. Most of the people who have come from Cuba are very good people, but some criminals managed to come in too. Background checks at the embassy will be a good thing.

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ron demkowski –

What’s “repulsive” is Repugs wanting to build a wall on our borders with Mexico.

Hypocrites!

Joan overcash –

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Considering the fear of immigrants their president elect has pumped into the hearts of Republicans, it would seem to be a good policy for them to change the Cuban situation to match that of other countries - especially since we have normalized relations with Cuba.

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Cover: Recent allegations against Trump involving wildly inappropriate acts in Russia are leading many to criticise the President Elect’s character even as he prepares for his vow on Inauguration Day. Illustration: Brendon Lies.

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South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

Copyright © 2017 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

NEWS highlight

ForT LauderdaLe waiTs For TaLLaHassee To pass THe JoinT John McDonald

C

ount Fort Lauderdale among a growing list of Florida cities taking a wait and see approach on medical marijuana.

Fort Lauderdale Vice Mayor Dean Trantalis said the city has imposed a 180-day moratorium on the cultivation, processing, dispensing and sale of the drug within city limits. The moratorium, Trantalis said, is intended to give city planners time to draft zoning regulations.

“The city staff will look at such issues as where dispensaries should be allowed to operate, whether there should be a limit on how many can exist and whether there should be restrictions on how close they can be to each other,” Trantalis writes in his January newsletter. “The city will also undertake an analysis to determine the potential impact on crime, city services, the value of surrounding property, traffic congestion and other aspects of health, safety and welfare.”

In last November’s general election, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the state constitution allowing for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The amendment was approved by 76 percent of registered voters in Broward County.

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Doctors will now be permitted to prescribe marijuana to patients suffering from debilitating conditions. In his newsletter, Trantalis lists conditions such as HIV, cancer, ALS and posttraumatic stress disorder as qualifying ailments for a marijuana prescription.

Florida’s Office of Compassionate Use has until Oct. 3 to implement the amendment.

Christian Bax, Office of Compassionate Use Director, told the Associated Press patients must have an established 90-day relationship with their doctor before a marijuana prescription is written.

“We hope to have our rules in place before any requirements are imposed by the Legislature or state health department,” Trantalis writes.

“Many of us remember too well how the state limited local government’s ability to deal with the massive expansion of short-term vacation rentals and the massive problems with noise, parking and trash faced by neighboring residents.”

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1.18.2017 •

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NEWS state

women marcH THrouGHouT FLorida

Jillian Melero

I

n a show of solidarity with the Women’s March on Washington, several other women’s marches will be held throughout the U.S. on Saturday Jan. 21, 2017 – the day after president-elect Trump is set to take office.

The events, being organized largely on Facebook, have received more than 100,000 replies from people willing to participate.

Thousands of women are expected at the Washington March following the inauguration.

Equality Florida describes the March as: A non-partisan call to action, through unity in diversity, on behalf of all women.

Supporters and defenders of all ages, races, genders, orientations, socio-economic groups, and religious beliefs are invited to join. In the spirit of democracy, and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, this is a chance for us all to have a voice in our individual and collective futures.

Planned Parenthood and Progress Florida Education Institute are leading efforts for the Tallahassee Women’s March. To receive updated information about the Tallahassee Women’s March text the keyword TALLYMARCH to 864237.

Women’s Marches throughout Florida are listed below, Event pages for each march are available on Facebook, all events are planned for Saturday Jan. 21.

NAPLES WOMEN’S MARCH IN SOLIDARITY

location: Cambier Park located at 755 8th Ave. S, Naples, FL 34102 Time: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

SARASOTA WOMEN’S MARCH IN SOLIDARITY

location: Bayfront Park located on Island Park Drive near the corner of US 41 and Gulfstream in Sarasota, FL 34236 Time: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG WOMEN’S SOLIDARITY MARCH

location: Demens Landing located at 2nd Ave. SE, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 Time: 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

TALLAHASSEE WOMEN’S MARCH

location: Railroad Square located at 623 McDonnell Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32310 Time: 12:30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

CENTRAL FLORIDA WOMEN’S RALLY

location: Walt Disney Amphitheater located at Lake Eola Park: 195 N Rosalind Ave., Orlando, FL 32801 Time: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

SOUTH FLORIDA WOMEN’S RALLY

location: Bayfront Park Amphitheater located at 301 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33132 Time: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

CELEBRATING 21 YEARS! MON-SAT SUNDAY

10:00AM - 9:00PM 11:00AM - 7:00PM

PRIDEFACTORY.COM

& MORE!

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A complete list of planned “Sister Marches” throughout the country and other resources are available at www.WomensMarch.com/Sisters. You can also follow @WomensMarch on Twitter.

NEWS national

women Have many moTivaTions For dc inauGuraTion proTesT

Nancy Benac

The Inside Out Project is one of many groups helping to organize action in support of the Women’s March on Washington, D.C. Photo: Facebook.

Associated Press

C

all them rebels with a cause. Or two.

Or three. Or 10.

When throngs of women from around the nation converge on Washington for a march on the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, they will arrive driven by a multitude of motivations.

Gay rights, gun control, immigrant rights, equal pay, reproductive freedom, racial justice, worker rights, climate change, support for vaccinations: They all make the list of progressive causes that are attracting people to the Women’s March on Washington and its sister marches across the country and the world this coming Saturday.

“We are not going to give the next president that much focus,” says Linda Sarsour, a national march organizer and executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. “What we want from him is to see us in focus.”

“i hope it is unifying. i hope it flies in the face of trump’s platform of hate and diVisiVeness.”

- Leslie Rutkowski

But while Trump’s name may not literally appear in the march’s “mission and vision” statement, the common denominator uniting the marchers appears to be a loathing for the president-elect and dismay that so much of the country voted for him.

“This march feels like a chance to be part of something that isn’t pity, isn’t powerlessness,” says Leslie Rutkowski, an American living in Norway who plans to fly back for the march. “I hope it is unifying. I hope it flies in the face of Trump’s platform of hate and divisiveness.”

Adds Kelsey Wadman, a new mom in California who’s helping to organize a parallel march in San Diego: “It’s not just about Donald Trump the person. It’s about what he evoked out of the country.”

The march in Washington is set to start with a program near the Capitol and then move toward the White House. It probably will be the largest of a number of inauguration-related protests.

Christopher Geldart, the District of Columbia’s homeland security director, said he expected the march to draw more than the 200,000 people organizers are planning for, based on bus registrations and train bookings.

The focus of the march has been a work in progress since the idea of a Washington mobilization first bubbled up from a number of women’s social media posts in the hours after Trump’s election.

The group’s November application for a march permit summed up its purpose as to “come together in solidarity to express to the new administration & Congress that women’s rights are human rights and our

power cannot be ignored.”

That phrasing rankled some who thought it was tied too closely to Hillary Clinton, the defeated Democratic nominee, whose famous Beijing speech as first lady declared that “women’s rights are human rights.”

The fact that the initial march organizers were mostly white women also generated grumbling, this time from minorities.

Gradually, the march’s leadership and its mission statements have become more allinclusive.

Recent releases from march organizers state the event “intends to send a bold message to the incoming presidential administration on their first day in office, to leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and to the world, that we stand together in solidarity and expect elected leaders to act to protect the rights of women, their families and their communities.”

America Ferrera, leading the celebrity contingent for the march, rolled out a long list of concerns in a statement announcing her role.

“Immigrant rights, worker rights, reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, racial justice and environmental rights are not special interests, they affect us all and should be every American’s concerns,” she wrote.

Other prominent names involved with the march have put a spotlight on one concern or another.

Actress Scarlett Johansson, who plans to participate, put her focus on the incoming administration’s intentions of “reducing the availability of women’s health care and attacking her reproductive rights.” Actress

Debra Messing, listed as a supporter of the march, wrote of the need to protect Planned Parenthood.

Expect thousands of the marchers to turn up wearing hand-knitted pink “pussyhats” sending a message of female empowerment and pushing back against Trump’s demeaning comments about women.

Scan #WhyIMarch posts on social media, and you’ll find a wide-ranging list of reasons.

A sampling: equal pay for women veterans, fighting chauvinism, empowering daughters, renouncing racism, higher pay for women who are college presidents.

Wadman, the California mom, tweeted a #WhyIMarch photo with her 4-month-old son and this note: “Because when my son asks me about this era of American history I don’t want to tell him that I did nothing.”

Rutkowski, the American living in Norway, emailed that she’s “not completely satisfied” with the mixed messages attached to the march.

“I also don’t like- from what I’ve seen in the news and on Facebook - the proclivity for infighting,” she wrote. “But I believe that a quarter of a million female bodies - hopefully more, hopefully men, as well - will make the incoming administration and new Congress aware that we are watching, we are listening and we will resist.”

Carmen Perez, one of the march’s national organizers, sees beauty in the many messages attached to the march: “Women don’t live single-issue lives and we are thrilled to be joined by women who understand and reflect the intersecting issues for which we stand.”

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Compiled by Jillian Melero

Training aims to Help police Better serve LGBT community (AP) Providence police are introducing additional training to help officers interact with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Mayor Jorge Elorza and Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements say they’re dedicated to creating LGBT-inclusive policies for members of the department as well as specific training curriculum for the next police academy.

Clements says the goal is to help officers become more aware of issues facing the LGBT community in Providence.

Elorza, a Democrat, says the training is a way to let the Providence community know the city supports it and is ready to respond to their needs.

“Now, more than ever, it is important that every member of our community feels safe and protected,” Elorza said in a statement.

Jodi Glass is coordinator of the Rhode Island Commission on

Prejudice and Bias. Glass says LGBT individuals are at greater risk of experiencing victimization and that data suggest hate crimes have risen since the November election.

Glass said she helped bring together police and LGBT advocacy groups to talk about what steps could be taken to improve communication following the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people and wounded dozens last June.

The entire department is set to be trained within the next year.

Sojourner House, a local domestic violence and sexual assault services provider, has experience helping train law enforcement and social service providers to better understand the needs of the LGBT community during the past few years.

The group’s Executive Director Vanessa Volz said the group is looking forward to working with police in Providence.

POLITICS

POLITICS

(EDGE) He may have stacked his cabinet with anti-gay figures, but tech giant Peter Thiel is confident that Presidentelect Donald Trump will be very good on gay rights.

In an interview with New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, openly gay PayPal billionaire Thiel, who spoke in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention last summer, showed little worry that the advancements in LGBT rights made under the Obama administration would get rolled back under Trump.

“I think Trump is very good on gay rights,” Thiel told The New York Times. “I don’t think he will reverse anything. I would obviously be concerned if I thought otherwise.”

Similarly, Thiel showed little concern about Trump’s tapping of notoriously anti-gay Governor Mike Pence as his Vice President.

“You know, maybe I should be worried but I’m not that worried about it,” he replies.

Gay white billionaire “I don’t know. People know Peter Thiel. Credit: CNN. too many gay people. There are just all these ways I think stuff has just shifted.”

Thiel also echoed statements long made by gay conservatives who feel victimized by a community that traditionally leans to progressive politics.

“For speaking at the Republican convention,” Thiel said. “I got attacked way more by liberal gay people than by conservative Christian people.”

(AP) Backlash over Texas’ efforts to adopt anti-LGBT bathroom laws has begun, with a best-selling author snubbing lawmakers and Dallas civic leaders warning major sporting events could go elsewhere.

Republican legislator Rep. Matt Schaefer fired back Wednesday with a proposal to restrict lawmakers and others in the Texas capitol to using public bathrooms according to their “biological sex.”

Texas is among several states where GOP leaders want people to be required to use restrooms that correspond with the gender on their birth certificates. Such a measure in North Carolina caused outrage in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and inspired corporate and NCAA boycotts.

Rick Riordan, author of the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series, said in a tweet that he declined an honor from the Texas Legislature over “this nonsense.”

Thiel not worried Trump admin may in Texas over anti-LGBT Bill peter roll Back equal rights Backlash Begins with author

NATIONAL #GoldenshowersGate inspires TrumpThemed Gay erotic Fiction

(EDGE) An erotic 4,300-word tale of “sizzling human on gay Russian dinosaur prostitute action, including anal, blowjobs, cream pies, rough sex, facials, watersports and corrupt political figure love.” That’s just part of the description of a Donald Trump-inspired gay erotic fan ficiton e-book that launched for Amazon Kindle on Wednesday following Tuesday’s #GoldenShowersGate allegations about the President-elect.

“Domald Tromp Pounded In The Butt By The Handsome Russian T-Rex Who Also Peed On His Butt And Then Blackmailed Him With The Videos Of His Butt Getting Peed On,” a 35-page e-tome, features the exploits of millionaire real

Providence Police.

Photo: Facebook.

estate tycoon Domald Tromp, who was born into wealth.

According to the description on Amazon, Tromp has grown thirsty for something more from life; something a little darker, a little weirder, a little more taboo. To satiate these cravings of the forbidden, Domald has embarked on one of his usual trips to Russia. Little does he know that this particular vacation will change his life forever.

Not so loosely satirizing the now infamous dossier published

by Buzzfeed this week that alleged Trump paying for water sports by Russian hookers at the Moscow Ritz Carlton, the fan fiction has protagonist Domald Tromp followed around by a camera crew from the Buttz Carlton Hotel as he turns Moscow upside down; sampling some illegal unicorn horn cuisine and hiring a handsome gay T-Rex prostitute.

The plot takes an odd turn “when Domald suggests the handsome dinosaur pee on his butt, a political scandal begins to unfold unlike anything in the history of hardcore anal pounding!”

The e-novella is the work of author Chuck Tingle, whose other work includes “Space Raptor Butt Redemption,” “Fake News, Real Boners,” “Slammed In The Butt By Domald Tromp’s Attempt To Avoid Accusations Of Plagiarism By Removing All Facts Or Concrete Plans From His Republican National Convention Speech” and numerous other titles.

The cover of the erotic fiction.

Credit: Amazon.

1.18.2017 •

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LGBTQIA bites

L

Lesbian

same-seX coupLe Hired To Lead HisToric dc BapTisT conGreGaTion (EDGE) The Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. announced Monday that they hired a same-sex couple to serve as copastors for their historic church. This marks the first time the progressive church has had openly LGBT leadership for its congregation.

Sally Sarratt and Maria Swearingen were presented as Calvary Baptist’s senior ministers Sunday, January 8 during morning worship, and were enthusiastically approved to be the church’s new leadership team.

Sarratt has been serving as associate chaplain for behavioral health in the Greenville Health System and Swearingen as associate chaplain at Furman University.

Sarratt has also been filling the role of part-time associate minister at Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Both Sarratt and Swearingen were ordained at their home church, First Baptist Church of Greenville, after it adopted and implemented a non-discrimination policy in 2015.

Sarratt and Swearingen accepted Calvary’s

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call to serve as co-pastors, telling church members: “We have found it so easy to fall in love with Calvary and its longstanding commitment to be a voice of justice and compassion for those who perpetually find the wholeness of their humanity disregarded and maligned.”

Sarratt and Swearingen are scheduled to begin their service at Calvary Baptist Church February 26.

B

Compiled by Jillian Melero Bisexual

dauGHTer oF cHrisTian radio HosT comes ouT wiTH messaGe oF Love (SFGN) Brandi Burgess, daughter of conservative Christian radio host Rick Burgess, cohost of Birmingham’s “Rick and Bubba Show” wrote a guest column for The Birmingham News on Friday, on what it was like to come out as bisexual to her father: For the past three years, my father and I have been debating God’s stance on homosexuality. It started with my Instagram post at a Pride parade. A picture of a mother holding a sign saying “I love my gay son”. I got a text demanding its removal: “How dare you compromise my platform!?”, “Remember who you represent.”, “Are you a gay?”

I have been praying, researching, and meditating on the many emails, sermons, verses my dad has sent me. I always come back to the same conclusion. Love is love. I shared this with him. “I love you. I’m sorry. I still love God.” I promised to be discreet.

Burgess describes her father’s reaction to her coming out as “a constant barrage of shame,” which caused her to withdraw from her family. They finally separated when

Alexander Gustavo.

Burgess was forced to choose between her partner or her family’s values. But she hopes to share a positive message with those in similar struggles.

So now, I am writing to the young women who feel like they don’t belong in their bodies, to the boys who want to kiss boys, and those on the spectrum between: I love you. Your worth is untouchable. Find a good friend. Invest in therapy. Dance in the middle of the night and hold yourself accountable to the life you’ve always wanted. At the root of all this hate speech is fear. This is not your fear to carry.

Release it.

LGBTQIA bites

T

continued Transgender

sd poLice: HaTe crime unLikeLy in deaTH oF TransGender woman

(AP) Police say it doesn’t appear the apparent homicide of a transgender woman in Sioux Falls was a hate crime.

At a briefing Monday, Sioux Falls Police Capt. Blaine Larsen said police don’t have any information leading them to believe the death of 28-year-old Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow was related to her gender identity.

KELO-TV says investigators are searching

through texts and social media to determine the relationship between Wounded Arrow and the 25-year-old man in custody. Police describe them as acquaintances.

Larsen says security video shows the man entering the victim’s apartment. He says a weapon was recovered. The victim’s body was found in her Sioux Falls apartment Friday after police were called for a welfare check.

1.18.2017 •

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NEWS national

NEWS local

oBama commuTes manninG’s senTence John McDonald

C

helsea Manning will soon be free.

Manning, 29, the army intelligence officer responsible for leaking classified information, received a commuted sentence from U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday.

She was in the seventh year of a 35-year sentence. Obama’s decision means Manning gets out of prison on May 17, 2017 instead of 2045.

While imprisoned in Fort Levenworth, Kansas, Manning transition from Bradley Manning, a male, to Chelsea Manning, a female.

She attempted suicide twice and tried a hunger strike.

The American Civil Liberties Union had advocated for Manning’s sentence to be commuted.

“The information she disclosed served a clear public interest, helping raise awareness regarding the impact of war on innocent civilians,” wrote Chase Strangio, ACLU staff attorney for LGBT and HIV projects.

Deployed to Iraq in 2009, Manning was assigned to assess insurgency activity. She had access to incident logs from American embassies and war maneuvers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2010, Manning revealed global diplomatic cables, turning many of the classified documents

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over to the WikiLeaks organization. Some of the damaging information included abuses of prisoners, civilian deaths and an American helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed two journalists.

Once imprisoned, Manning soon became the face of whistleblowers worldwide.

Manning is one of 273 individuals to receive a commuted sentence by Obama on Tuesday.

While many in LGBT communiy celebrated the Log Cabin Republicans released a statment blasting the president’s actions.

“Chelsea Manning is no hero, and the commutation of her sentence is appalling,” Log Cabin Republicans President Gregory T. Angelo stated. “Manning was not imprisoned for being transgender — in fact, the government agreed to accommodate and facilitate her transition during her well-deserved sentence; she was imprisoned for traitorous clandestine activity that put military lives at risk. Her actions — and President Obama’s clemency — are nothing to celebrate.”

ForT LauderdaLe LauncHes Transand Queer- Focused ads Brittany Ferrendi

F

ort Lauderdale is making strides for the LGBT community through its newest tourism marketing campaign.

The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau (GFLCVB) launched mainstream media ads Monday depicting queer and trans models. The ads will appear in the New York Times’ T Magazine, Chicago Tribune’s Trib Magazine, USA Today Travel Magazine and more.

“Using Trans models in our mainstream campaign says who we are as a destination; cosmopolitan, edgy, diverse, inclusive, authentic and accepting,” said GFLCVB’s Richard Gray in a press release. “We are the only destination in the world that is using Trans people in mainstream marketing initiatives. That is a huge statement in itself highlighting this destination’s commitment to diversity, inclusion and equality.”

The campaign also includes videos on twin billboards in New York’s Times Square. On Dec. 31, the videos depicted two men, two women — one transgender — celebrating New Year’s Eve. The trans model, Isabella Santiago, won Miss World Transgender in 2014.

On Jan. 2, the ads changed to show the models on a boat drinking champagne on the Atlantic Ocean.

Gray’s purpose is simple: To show people that Fort Lauderdale is a safe place no matter your sexuality or gender identity.

“We want all travelers that visit our destination to be free to be themselves, to be free to be accepted, and most of all to be safe and respected.”

Gray won GayCities Innovator Award for a campaign directed at transgender tourists in 2016 for creating the first trans-focused destination marketing program.

NEWS local

Left to right: Bryan Wilson, David Jobin, and Robert Boo. Facebook.

Local LGBT Activists Hope to “Hold The Line” As Trump Inauguration Draws Near Trans rights and progress most at stake

Michael d’Oliveira

S

ome local LGBT activists are looking back on 2016 with a sense of accomplishment. But there’s a different feeling looking ahead to 2017 with the incoming Trump Administration and Republican-controlled Congress: a mixture of nervousness and confidence.

Bryan Wilson, director of community relations for SunServe, said positive treatment of LGBT youth has become the standard practice in Broward. “For every youth services, that LGBTQ competency and proficiency was all but required. That was just a huge win.

Now, it’s not even a question of whether you can treat gay kids well. It’s now just status quo.

That has just become common language for Broward County.”

Robert Boo, CEO of The Pride Center, saw progress on a very large and very local scale.

“The LGBT community gained more recognition and visibility within the country. From a [Pride] Center standpoint, I think that we’ll continue to make strides and commitments towards helping LGBT seniors.” On seniors, Boo specifically cited the affordable housing project his organization is moving forward with.

David Jobin, president of Our Fund, said he didn’t see a lot of progress made in 2016 but said the bloodiest anti-LGBT event in decades, the mass shooting in Orlando, and its aftermath, reminded him of the size of support for the LGBT community and the work that still needs to be done.

“In the wake of wins… it was a reminder there’s still a large swath of the population who means us harm. At the same time, the outpouring of support was incredible,” Jobin said. “We’ve been successful in achieving progress on getting more people on our side, but there’s still a segment of the population that does not believe in equality.”

Although Jobin, Boo, and Wilson brought up different examples of progress, all three view gay marriage as most likely safe.

“I don’t think marriage equality is going to be reversed, at least I hope not. I think it’s hard to take away a civil right once it’s been given.

I really don’t think Trump wants to do that,” Boo said. “I think it’s no more under threat than Roe v. Wade has been under threat,” Wilson said.

But all three do worry about transgender rights and say that’s where the LGBT community will have to fight the hardest to “hold the line,” as Jobin put it.

Boo said “these stupid bathroom bills” and other conservative bills based on “gender identity” need to be stopped.

“I don’t see any progress being made on transgender issues. That’s really where we’re going to have to play defense. [The transgender community is] not as widely accepted because they’re not as widely understood. We have to be better advocates,” Jobin said.

“I believe that our advocacy work is going to have to be stronger than ever so we don’t lose any of the gains that we have achieved over the last several years . . . with the help of President Obama,” said Boo. “Communities are going to have to come together, unite and fight like hell so we don’t lose anything that we’ve gained. I don’t think marriage equality will roll back but I just don’t want things to stay stagnant and not go any further.”

No matter what the challenges, Wilson said the election was a wake-up call to his generation.

“We can’t just ride the coattails [of the previous generations]. We have to affect our own change… awaken the younger electorate.

Time for us to put down our iPhones… or let’s figure out a way to use those tools to help [move our agenda forward].”

1.18.2017 •

13

NEWS miami-dade

NEWS national

Photo Credit: Facebook.

Judge Orders Seattle Man To Work With AIDS Patients John McDonald

Photo: Jim McDermott.

A

federal judge ordered a Seattle man to work with AIDS patients and the poor for his role in threatening a former congressman.

Jasper Kilmer Hillman Bell, 28, of Seattle, was arrested on April 22, 2016, for making multiple harassing phone calls to the office of U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott. In one of the phone calls, investigators testified, Bell threatened to cut out the congressman’s tongue.

According to court documents, Bell was outraged over the congressman’s status as a ‘Super Delegate’ in the Democratic Party’s presidential primary nominating process. On the day of his arrest, Bell called McDermott’s Seattle office 17 times and his Washington, D.C. office six times in a span of 50 minutes.

Investigators said Bell told staffers he would find McDermott’s address and “track him down and cut his (expletive) tongue out.”

“Just so wrong on so many levels…This was somebody who knew better. The reaction (of

law enforcement) was proportionate to the threat,” said U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik.

Lasnik sentenced Bell to two months in prison and three years of supervised release, including six months of home confinement.

Lasnik ordered Bell to do 240 hours of community service working with AIDS patients and the poor — segments of society McDermott often worked to assist during his career.

In his first term in the House, McDermott sponsored the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act which later became HOPWA, a federal program to meet housing needs of persons and families suffering from AIDS.

Soiree by the Sea

Miami Beach Gay Pride’s annual fundraiser returns Ryan Yousefi

T

he Miami Beach Gay Pride group kicks off their Miami Beach Gay Pride 2017 campaign January, 20 from 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. with their fourth annual VIP “Soirée

By The Sea,” cocktail reception being held to raise funds that will help produce the upcoming 2017 Pride parade and festival.

The VIP event will take place at the Marriott Biscayne Bay, and will also include a birthday celebration for “Soirée By The Sea,” emcee, NBC6’s Roxanne Vargas.

Tickets to “Soirée By The Sea,” will include; complimentary Stoli and Herradura cocktails, an exclusive raffle, Barefoot wines, food, performances by Miss Miami Beach Gay Pride Kalah Mendoza, entertainment, and much, much more. During the “Soirée By The Sea,” cocktail reception a giant check will be presented to The Point Foundation, a charity that helps LGBTQ college students in MiamiDade pay tuition and other high learning expenses that assure they have the academic and leadership support that will help ready them for the real world. Every penny that is raised during the cocktail event will go directly toward this year’s Miami-Dade Gay Pride parade.

There will be no lack of celebrity star power at the event, as Soirée by the Sea has lined up a slew of celebrity speakers, some of which include; Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco, Roxanne Vargas, Edison

Farrow, Craig Stevens, Michael Gongora, Christine Klingspor, Cindy Brown, Billy Kemp, Luis Morera, Liebe and Seth Gadinsky, Scott Hauser, Tony Ferro, Jim Tyrrell and Roger Thomson.

The Miami Beach Gay Pride is a group organized to support and celebrate members of the LGBT community, and their supporters.

The LGBT community, with the help of Miami Beach Gay Pride, holds an annual parade and festival to celebrate the LGBT community yearly where attendees can visit support booths, expo areas, enjoy entertainment, sample food from many different vendors, and enjoy a day of family fun.

Since the inaugural Miami Beach Gay Pride in 2009, the celebration has grown from a small local event, to a mega-party that in the past has featured cameos and appearances from A-list celebrities such as Adam Lambert’s performance at the parade in 2013, Gloria Estefan who was Grand Marshal in 2014, and Mario Lopez who was parade Grand Marshal in 2015. Attendance at the parade has bloomed from 15,000 in 2009 to a reported 130,000 in 2015.

The “Soirée By The Sea,” ensures that this amazing LGBTQ celebration continues to take place on an annual basis, and doubles as a tremendous way to connect with supporters of the LGBTQ community at a night full of fun and entertainment.

Looking to get in on the fun and support a great cause? Tickets are still available to “Soirée By The Sea.” Tickets are $50 per person and can be purchased at www.

BrownPaperTickets.com One-hundred percent of the proceeds will go toward benefiting the Miami Beach Gay Pride. To help sponsor the event or the Miami Beach Gay Pride parade, visit MiamiBeachGayPride.com, email info@MiamiBeachGayPride.com, or call 305-496-7635.

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1 .18.2017

NEWS local

Photo Credit: John McDonald.

a wider BridGe aLLows LGBT Jews To keep FaiTH John McDonald

W

hen Daniel Jonas was 15 and struggling with his sexuality he turned to God. “Being gay made me more connected to God,” said Jonas. “When I was down, I found myself praying for hours. I knew God wouldn’t react.”

Now 35, Jonas now longer lives a closeted life but rather is part of a growing movement of believers who are open about their faith and lifestyle. On Wednesday evening, Jonas was a featured speaker at A Wider Bridge’s “Refusing to Choose: Israeli, LGBTQ and Orthodox” program.

“The fact is people remain Jewish and gay,” Jonas told a group of about 50 people gathered upstairs in the Pride Center’s building A. A Wider Bridge is a pro-Israel organization that seeks to build bridges between Israelis and LGBT North Americans and allies. The organization recently returned from Israel and at Wednesday evening’s program a video was unveiled from the mission trip.

“It was the most wonderful, fulfilling experience of my life,” said Robert Boo, Chief Executive Officer of Pride Center at Equality Park. “Here I am this dumb boy from the Midwest who grew up Methodist, what did I know about Israel?”

Boo’s group left for Israel a day after the U.S. Presidential election in November. In his meetings with Israelis, Boo said there was a consistent expression offered.

“To a T, everyone greeted us and said ‘I’m so sorry,’” Boo said. “As a group we had to lick our wounds from afar, watch on social media and process what was happening.”

While the American election did not go the way many LGBT people wanted, Boo said it is important to have an open dialogue – now more than ever.

“No matter how far away your beliefs and differences are you have to talk,” Boo said. “You have to share. You have to listen to them so you can find some common ground and build upon that common ground and take it from there.”

Joining Boo and Jonas as speakers Wednesday evening were Zehorit Sorek, an Israeli lesbian, Arthur Slepian, A Wider Bridge Founder and Tyler Gregory, an American Jew and A Wider Bridge Director of Development. Congregation Etz Chaim, a South Florida LGBT inclusive synagogue, cohosted the program which included a kosher sushi meal and liquid refreshments.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t quite sure how it could be,” said Sorek, a 41-year-old mother of two from Tel Aviv. “I’m religious and I’m attracted to women and I have all these questions about it. In the orthodox world when you have a question you go to a Rabbi, but I didn’t think that was a good idea so I went to another Rabbi – I went to Google.”

Sorek googled “Lesbian and Religious” and she found Bat Kol.

“I was very happy,” she said. “On this website I found I was not alone. There is a lot of women like me. It is a great feeling.”

Sorek said after attending a Bat Kol meeting she became an activist for Jewish lesbians and recently ran for public office in Tel Aviv.

Although A Wider Bridge has been in existence for seven years, the organization gained international attention when it was the target of protests by pro-Palestinians at last year’s National LGBTQ Task Force Creating Change Conference in Chicago.

MORE INFO: AWiderBridge.org EtzChaimFlorida.org www.PrideCenterFlorida.org

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15

NEWS state

Gun saFeTy BiLLs inTroduced in FLorida House and senaTe Florida group helps lawmakers create gun control measures

Dori Zinn

L

ast Summer — eight days after the Pulse nightclub announced a background check proposal. Patti Brigham, shooting — the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun the 1st vice president and the gun safety chair of The Violence asked state politicians to hold a special League of Women Voters of Florida, said these bills were session to ban assault weapons and increase background always part of the plan. checks. Nothing happened.

“When we announced our goals, it was At the time, 80 local, state and always two proposals: an assault weapons nationwide organizations signed on ban and a background check proposal,” with organizers, The League of Women Brigham said. “Legislators that have Voters of Florida, to increase gun control stepped up to sponsor are serious about in the state. While Governor Rick Scott this.” and other state representatives paid no All three legislators have had shootings attention to the letters and requests, the in their respective areas, Orlando and Fort group kept growing, both in numbers Lauderdale, in the last seven months: the and in strength. Today, more than 100 June 12 Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting organizations from across the state and where 49 people died and 53 others were country are looking for increased gun wounded and the Jan. 6 Fort Lauderdale measures in Florida. Now, politicians are International Airport shooting. joining the cause.

Even with another major shooting in the Earlier this month, following another state, Brigham said the group is optimistic shooting in Florida where five people but realistic. were shot dead at Fort Lauderdale “We had every intention to make [the International Airport, two bills were group] big, we’re absolutely delighted at - Mark Ketcham introduced by House and Senate how much it’s grown in a short amount EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF SUNSERVE members. of time,” she said. “It’s confirming what On Jan. 6, openly gay State Rep. we knew, which was a growing number of Carlos Guillermo Smith and Sen. Floridians and a grassroots movement that Linda Stewart, both from Orlando, announced an assault wants responsible gun legislation.” weapons ban, making it a third-degree felony to have Fort Lauderdale-based SunServe signed on as a partner possession of one. A few days later, Senator Gary Farmer organization with the movement last summer, and

“at sunserVe, we’re a social serVice agency, we help people. assault weapons don’t help people!”

Executive Director Mark Ketcham said it’s simply because of the similar missions both groups have.

“At SunServe, we’re a social service agency, we help people. Assault weapons don’t help people! They hurt them!” Ketcham said. “We should be doing everything to get them off the street.”

A ban isn’t just good for the LGBT community, Ketcham said it’ll be helpful to everyone.

“I’ve yet to be convinced that they have any place in our society,” he said. “Citizens should not have assault weapons.”

SunServe isn’t the only LGBT-specific organization that has signed onto the Florida Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence. Others include: CenterLink; Equality Florida; Gay Key West / Key West Business Guild; The Pride Center; and Pridelines, Miami.

Brigham said it’s been a two-way street as groups signed on in support — some reached out to them, sometimes they reached out to others.

“We had a lot of outreach going on in a condensed period of time, then some people heard about it and reached out to us,” she said. “We have very strong partners that are reflective of the diversity of coalition. You start talking about it then people hear about it.”

The swell of support is heartening, she said, and shows Brigham that the work the group is doing needs to continue.

“Just like when we said we were forming the coalition, we know it’s a tough fight in Florida,” she said. “We don’t plan on going away. It’s not a 5K it’s a marathon.”

To see the full list of organizations or to add your organization to the list, go to PreventGunViolenceFlorida.org.

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1 .18.2017

NEWS state

Miami Log Cabin Republicans Rip Obama’s Cuban Policy John McDonald

P

resident Obama’s decision to end the “wet foot, dry foot” policy is not sitting well in Republican circles.

In a news release, Vincent Foster, President of the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami, blasted the outgoing President’s decision to repeal “wet foot, dry foot.”

“Obama is more concerned about his legacy and ‘normalizing’ relations with an oppressive dictatorship than he is with protecting the lives of innocent people fleeing persecution and seeking basic human rights,” said Vincent Foster, LCR Miami President. “I find it repulsive that the outgoing President unilaterally made such a detrimental policy change just a week before he leaves office. While the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ was far from perfect, completely repealing the law is a slap in the face to every hardworking Cuban-American, many of whom still have family in Cuba trying to join them here.”

The policy began in 1995 and allowed for Cubans fleeing the island to stay in the United States once they had touched American soil.

If captured at sea, the migrants would be returned to Cuba.

“I guess he’s (Obama) trying to be more equitable to the other Caribbean countries,” said Andy Eddy, a member of the Broward Log Cabin Republicans.

Eddy was less hostile to the policy change than Foster, who cast doubt on the sincerity of the new leader in Havana.

“Fidel might be dead, but the oppressive Castro Regime lives on,” Foster said. “We can trust the Cuban government just as much as we can trust the Iranian government.

Dictators are not rational actors. They’re sociopaths.”

During Obama’s tenure, the U.S. and Cuba resumed diplomatic relations, ending an embargo that had been in place since 1961. The death of dictator Fidel Castro in November of last year prompted celebrations throughout Miami and gave exiles hope for reforms on the communist island.

“LCR Miami is hopeful that Presidentelect Donald J. Trump will overturn Obama’s executive order and make logical change to the ‘wet foot, dry foot’ policy that provides an opportunity to Cubans seeking freedom from persecution and benefits American foreign policy interests,” Foster said.

Log Cabin Republicans is the nation’s largest Republican organization dedicated to representing LGBT conservatives and allies.

The organization has chapters in Broward, Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando.

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1.18.2017 •

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NEWS national Ben Carson. Photo: Gage Skidmore.

Black LGBT Group Opposes Carson Nomination John McDonald

A

Brokered by

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1 .18.2017

s Dr. Ben Carson arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday for his confirmation hearing, the nation’s leading black LGBT organization issued a rebuke of his nomination to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“Dr. Ben Carson’s record does not reflect the credentials to lead this agency,” said Isaiah Wilson, spokesman for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a press release.

Carson, 65, is a retired neurosurgeon who campaigned for the Republican Presidential nomination. On Thursday, he answered questions from Senators as to how he would lead an agency with a 47-billion-dollar budget tasked to assist low-income renters and distressed homeowners.

“Safety net programs are important,” Carson said. “I would never advocate abolishing them without having an alternative plan for people to follow.”

Wilson acknowledged Carson’s background to be an inspiring tale, but insisted he is the wrong person for the job.

“His personal story of triumph and perseverance over major odds serves as a beautiful example of hope for all Americans.

However, his background, growing up to be one of the most prolific physicians in the medical field or failed GOP presidential candidacy in 2016, does not give him the experience or skillset to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development,” Wilson said.

During his bid for the GOP nomination, Carson caused quite a stir with his views on LGBT people. At Thursday’s hearing, Carson was asked if he would extend protections for LGBT people in housing, to which he replied

he would “enforce all the laws of the land” but remained personally opposed to “extra rights” for certain groups.

“Dr. Carson has zero experience working in government or dealing with housing policy in any regard. In addition, HUD has the responsibility of protecting all Americans from housing discrimination, which is problematic for Dr. Carson as he has been on record describing transgender people as ‘abnormal’ and promoting the idea that states should pass ‘right-to-discriminate legislation’ that would allow businesses to refuse services to LGBTQ people, which would have devastating impacts on housing opportunities if this type of attitude is placed into policy at HUD,” Wilson said.

Additionally, the NBJC objected to Carson being the lone black nominee to lead a cabinet level position.

“On another note, I find it truly sad that out of all the successful and qualified African Americans that could serve in his administration, Dr. Carson is the only Black nominee who Donald Trump has selected to lead a cabinet-level position in the next government of our nation. Visibility matters and the fact that this incoming administration is one of the least diverse, on top of being one of the most controversial, in our nation’s history is beyond troubling.

As Americans, we have a duty to speak truth to power in order to ensure that this country continues to progress to be a ‘more perfect union.’ The nomination of Dr. Ben Carson does not ensure this progression, and NBJC will oppose his nomination to lead HUD and urge the Senate to deny his confirmation.,” Wilson said.

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1.18.2017 •

19

NEWS national

wHaT’s aHead in conGress Sean McShee

“D

on’t expatriate,” David Poole said, when asked about GOP control of the White House, Congress, and, the Supreme Court. Poole serves as the Director of Legislative Affairs for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF). He deals with Florida’s Legislature, bureaucracy, and Congressional Delegation. Somehow, he remains optimistic.

While Trump’s tweets and appointments do concern Poole, he feels “the future under President-Elect Trump is a big unknown.”

Two areas worry him: Medicaid, and the impact of the promised repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Ryan White Care (RWC). Repeal would strongly affect the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), which pays for HIV medications.

ACA According to the National Association of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), 11.8 percent of all US ADAP clients rely on the ACA to pay for their care. Among Florida ADAP clients, 7.9 percent do.

Poole thinks it unlikely that Congress could fully repeal and replace the ACA in 2017. While Congress could change parts, it is just too complex and too linked with other programs. A smooth transition from the ACA to some replacement will take time. Even after Congress acts, the federal bureaucracy would have to implement it. The glacial pace of bureaucratic change might be beneficial, if Congress enacts a bad replacement, a rough transition, or no replacement.

According to Poole, the health care industry has yet to reach a consensus on what to do.

This lack of consensus worries him. “If you can’t build that consensus, then you end up

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1 .18.2017

with people coming to the conclusion, that it’s best just to throw out as much of it as you can, and start to rebuild.” Poole continued, “I’m not convinced that that can be done without severe consequences.”

RWC/ADAP Insurance costs less than direct purchase of HIV medications. Consequently, RWC officials have urged RWC clients to enroll in the ACA to cut costs. This cost transfer has allowed ADAP to serve more clients.

Poole said that if Congress “makes abrupt changes to the ACA without any kind of contingency plans, then you would end up dumping a great deal of people into our RWC safety net.” In that case Poole continued, “We will go back once again to advocating substantial increases in appropriations to RWC.” If that fails then RWC may have to reduce “services to core clinic and medical services and some priority support services”.

ADAP wait lists might even return.

Three other factors could add to Poole’s fears about RWC’s ability to re-absorb former ACA clients. First, the newly HIV-diagnosed will still enter RWC. Second, RWC has to reengage those RWC clients who have dropped out of RWC. Third, the ACA also allowed states to expand Medicaid. If Congress repeals the ACA abruptly, these clients could be expelled from Medicaid. RWC will then have to reabsorb those clients. As Florida refused to expand Medicaid, the third point will not affect Florida, but it will affect national RWC. The authorization for RWC ran out in September 2013. Since then Congress has funded RWC at the same levels through Continuing Resolutions. Any funding increase

to RWC would require re-authorization.

Instability in health care could increase the risk of people dropping out of treatment. “If enough change occurs over a short period of time,” said Poole, “the fear is that you will lose [clients] altogether.” HIV treatment dropouts will end up in the Emergency Room. They also become more capable of infecting others. “We have excellent data in research to show that treatment is prevention,” Poole said, but that could be lost with an abrupt repeal of the ACA. Medicaid Before ACA/Medicaid expansion, Medicaid paid for medical care for people under 65 with very low incomes. According to NASTAD, Medicaid pays for the care of 6.6 percent of U.S. ADAP clients. It pays for about 0.1 percent of Florida ADAP clients. This drastic difference results from Florida’s strict, if not stingy, Medicaid eligibility rules.

Poole reported that Medicaid is facing serious danger. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, wants to change Medicaid from an “entitlement” program to block grants to the states. The House has passed bills in 2013, 2014, and 2015 to do just that.

Poole felt that Medicaid block grants have become more likely with GOP control of

Congress and the White House.

According to a Congressional Research Service Report, block grants differ from categorical grants in less federal control. This allows states to differ in the services they provide. While categorical “entitlement” grants grow with economic and demographic changes, block grants have set funding amounts. Several studies have found that block grants fail to adjust for inflation.

David Poole remains optimistic despite his concerns. “Many people are fearing many things, but, until those things present themselves, I think we need to remain optimistic. If some of those horrible things occur,” Poole continued, “We have to fight the good fight. We got to rally. We can’t sit back and be apathetic. I think that’s what makes America great.” The word “again” was conspicuously absent.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, Poole’s responses in this interview reflect his personal views and not necessarily those of AHF. To read the Congressional Research Service report, please visit, http://bit.ly/2jvBTul To read the NASTAD 2016 ADAP report, please visit, http://bit.ly/1VjN82V

NEWS palm beach

pBcHrc’s winTer FeTe: a smasHinG success SFGN Staff

T

he Palm Beach County Human Rights Council’s annual Winter Fete, held last weekend in Wellington, was a smashing success raising about $35,000 in profit.

“PBCHRC’s 2017 Winter Fête was the most successful fundraiser we’ve had in our 28-year history. We had more than forty underwriters,” said Rand Hoch, President of PBCHRC. This was the most fun event we’ve had as well.

Everyone was mingling, dancing and having an amazing time.”

The event was held at the home of Mason Phelps and Ron Neal with almost two hundred people attending.

“Mason and Ron really know how to throw a party,” Hoch said. “I loved it when people would come up and tell me, ‘I just met the

Photo: Facebook.

Mayor’ and I would have to ask, ‘Which one?’

West Palm Beach Jeri Muoio was there, along with Palm Beach Shores Mayor Myra Koutzen, J.P. Sasser, the former Mayor of Pahokee, and former Wellington Mayor Bob Margolis.”

Visit PBCHRC.org for more information about the organization.

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1.18.2017 •

21

NEWS national Photo Credit: WalterPRO, Flickr.

widow oF orLando sHooTer due in courT aFTer arresT Jason Hanna, Pamela Brown and Evan Perez CNN

T

he widow of the man who killed 49 people at an Orlando gay nightclub last year is expected to appear in federal court Tuesday, a day after her arrest in California on suspicion of aiding her husband ahead of the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Noor Salman, widow of Pulse nightclub shooter, was arrested Monday at her parents’ home in the San Francisco suburb of Rodeo, more than seven months and 2,400 miles removed from the June 12 killings in Florida.

She is due to appear in court Tuesday morning in Oakland, charged by a grand jury with obstruction of justice and aiding and abetting her husband’s material support to ISIS, the Islamist terror group to which her husband pledged allegiance in phone calls with 911 and the media before dying in a shootout with police.

Authorities interviewed Salman after the shooting, but she remained free until Monday. An official told CNN on condition of anonymity that evidence will show she was complicit and had to know her husband was going to do something bad.

Salman, who married in 2011 and lived with him and their young son in Fort Pierce, Florida, came under scrutiny as authorities investigated the gunman, who killed 49 people and injured more than 50

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others when he opened fire at Pulse.

Her attorney said Salman had no prior knowledge that her husband would kill anyone at Pulse.

“Noor Salman had no foreknowledge nor could she predict what (the shooter) intended to do that tragic night,” said family attorney Linda Moreno of Tampa, Florida.

“Noor has told her story of abuse at his hands. We believe it is misguided and wrong to prosecute her and that it dishonors the memories of the victims to punish an innocent person.”

Investigators believe Salman acted of her own free will and knowingly took steps to obstruct the probe into the massacre, according to a law enforcement official.

The official said Salman’s assertions she was coerced through her husband’s abusive behavior did not stand up.

seven-month gap between massacre, arrest The complexities of gathering evidence to allege that someone helped the shooter may help explain the seven-month gap between the shooting and arrest, CNN terrorist analyst Phil Mudd said.

“Building a case that says not only was she aware that he bought a weapon and that he

traveled to Pulse, but that she was somehow cognizant that he was going to commit an act of violence, that’s pretty tough when you have only two people participating and one is dead,” Mudd said.

CNN’s Dan Simon visited her family’s California home for reaction Monday and was told “no comment.”

what she said, according to investigators Salman grew up in Rodeo after her parents had emigrated from the West Bank in 1985, according to The New York Times. She told the Times that she met her husband on a dating site in 2011 and the couple married later that year.

They settled in Fort Pierce, about a twohour drive from Orlando. They have a son, who was 3 at the time of the Pulse shooting.

Salman gave conflicting accounts about what she knew of the shooter’s intentions in the hours before the attack, authorities said. Salman told the FBI her husband said he wanted to carry out a jihadist attack. But she denied knowledge of his plans, a law enforcement official told CNN last year.

Court documents detailing the indictment allege, without elaborating, that Noor aided and abetted her husband from at least April onward.

“building a case that says not only was she aware that he bought a weapon and that he traVeled to pulse, but that she was somehow cognizant that he was going to commit an act of Violence, that’s pretty tough when you haVe only two people participating and one is dead.”

- Phil Mudd

CNN TERRORIST ANALYSIS

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South Florida Gay News

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1.18.2017 •

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NEWS national

pride cenTer Gears up For rainBow 5k

Ryan Yousefi

Annual event brings together activism and exercise

Some of the runners in the Rainbow 5k in 2016. Photo Credit: Facebook.

A

re you fighting to find the motivation that will allow through the heart of the City of Wilton Manors, along you to stick to your New Year’s resolution of working Wilton Drive to Andrews Avenue, zig-zagging through the out more? Do you support the LGBT community? If city’s beautiful neighborhoods, then back up to Wilton you answered ‘Yes’ to both of those questions, there is an Drive. The events kick off at 6 a.m. with race registration and event this weekend right in your own backyard that will on-site packet pickup, and conclude with a free post-race provide you a classic two-birds-one-stone event expo and entertainment celebration win-win scenario. that will include an award ceremony, local This Sunday, Jan. 22, The Pride Center’s businesses, and vendors showcasing their second-annual Rainbow 5K Run/Walk will products, refreshments, and lots of fun take place to raise funds to help support the for the entire family. Runners and their vital services and programs that the Pride supporters are encouraged to wear their Center at Equality Park has been providing brightest gear for the race. for the last 23 years. In that time the Pride The Rainbow 5K race will be Center has provided an all-inclusive place professionally timed by Split Second that not only welcomes but celebrates all Timing, with overall male and female members of the LGBT community, as well winners, as well as age-based category as their family and friends. winners, receiving post-race honors.

“We wanted to run in the cooler season Even those who are less motivated and get a start on the 2017 5K season. by competition, and more-so by the We also wanted to appeal to the ‘New cause and exercise will receive a medal Year’s Resolution’ crowd,” said Roger Roa, commemorating their participation in the Director of Development at The Pride second annual Rainbow 5K. - Roger Roa Center. “This year we partnered with Fort Among the many services the Pride DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Lauderdale Front Runners in their “Couch Center provides to the LGBT community to 5K” initiative. That program was very are HIV tests, disease prevention, successful in the participation of new runners.” education, and post-results counseling. Last year alone, The 3.1 miles Rainbow race route will take runners 35,000 people visited the Pride Center, many of which

"eXercise has become an important part of our liVes and we wanted to bring attention to health and fitness."

participated in one of the 65 regularly meeting groups the center holds each month.

According to Roa, the Pride Center decision to stage a race came about organically, as many of the staff members themselves are active in such events.

“The Pride Center wanted to add to its health and wellness programming.” Roa told SFGN. “There are several of us who have been competing in cycling, running and triathlons over the past several years.

Exercise has become an important part of our lives and we wanted to bring attention to health and fitness.”

The Pride Center hopes to raise funds through events such as the Rainbow 5K that will keep the center on the frontlines in regards to helping fight the spread of HIV in the LGBT community, as well as providing support to those in the community that are struggling and in need of guidance, for a variety of reasons.

If relaxing under a tent and supporting the runners sounds like more of your thing, The Pride Center is still accepting new sponsors and volunteers. According to Roa, there are a variety of ways to get involved, even at the last second.

Visit TheRainbow5k.com to sponsor or participate.

You may also contact Roger Roa, Director of Development, at RRoa@PrideCenterFlorida.org or call 954-463-9005.

Registration and admission for the Rainbow 5K/3.1-mile race is $30 for adults who sign-up online prior to the day of the race. The first 400 participants to register for the race will receive a Pride Center Rainbow 5K Run t-shirt and a medal. Parking for the Rainbow 5K will be available on the day of the event at both Hagen Park and at the Shoppes of Wilton Manors. To participate as a volunteer with The Pride Center at the Rainbow 5K, or any other event or service, visit PrideCenterFlorida.org.

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1 .18.2017

NEWS state

Florida Democrats Choose Bittel John McDonald

F

lorida Democrats picked a new leader last weekend in Orlando.

Stephen Bittel, 60, a Miami real estate developer, was elected as the new chairman of the Florida Democratic Party.

“He will do an excellent job,” said Deidre Newton, state committeewoman for the Palm Beach Democratic Party. “He is a very smart man. I hope everyone can come together and support our new chair.”

Bittel replaces Allison Tant as chair and assumes the herculean task of making Florida Democrats competitive again.

Democrats have not occupied the Governor’s mansion since 1999, hold no cabinet level positions and are in the minority in both legislative chambers.

Bittel knocked off outgoing vice chairman Alan Clendenin and former state senator Dwight Bullard to win the position.

“This is a healing period,” Newton said.

“There are bruised feelings out there, but I

hope everyone can put this process behind us so we can start electing Democrats to office again.”

NEXT ISSUE

COMING SOON ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

VISIT SFGN.COM TO SEE WHERE TO FIND YOUR COPY

1.18.2017 •

25

Publisher's Editorial

Convictions

The Pee-otus Affair

The internet gives Trump and ‘Watergate’ a whole new meaning Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

N

ixon had his Watergate, but it was not until his second term. It appears the Trumpie Pie is going to have a Watersportsgate, even before he is sworn in on January 20.

I mean we all knew the president elect could get pussy whenever he wanted. Who ever expected he would get so pissy though?

One reporter tweeted directly to the Donald after the soggy scandal broke: “Are there going to be golden showers at urineauguration?”

Don’t worry if you have to work and might miss the Trumpmeister’s speech. It is going to be live streamed on the net. And now we know why they give his plane a water salute after winning the election last November.

By the way, the weather for inaugural day calls for bright and sunny skies with the possibility of mid-day showers. Some say they might even be golden. We can only say for sure America is safe; that there will be a peeceful transfer of power. And maybe we better understand what he meant when he said he wanted to ‘drain the swamp.’

Oh, the sweet irony of it all. As SFGN goes to press, Penthouse Magazine has doubled down on its $1 million offer to anyone who could provide real tapes of Presidentelect Donald Trump’s alleged and unproven sexual escapades at the Ritz-Carlton in Moscow.

This episode gives a whole new meaning to ‘Wikileaks.’

Chief Orange Hair is in a shampoo tizzy, calling the entire thing a lie, fake news, and yet another attempt by the media to sabotage him. But actually Donnie Pee Pee should be lamenting the fact that Penthouse is just too cheap for his pleasure.

I mean, five years ago, when Birther Don was questioning the legitimacy of Obama’s citizenship he offered $5 million to the Commander in Chief to produce papers showing his birth certificate. Well, it now appears like Hillary’s emails are not the only thing leaked to the press these past few months.

Anyway, the entire golden shower affair has now hit the press big-ly. It’s Yuge. The Internet

is just, why, dripping with jokes about the Commander in Chief’s partying in Russia. But one writer has made the presidential position very clear: “This administration is going to pee in foreign hotel rooms and Moscow is going to pay for it.”

Another Internet writer laments the entire story, complaining that “what if is not true, and we are all defiling the good name of a pussy grabbing Putin puppet?’ Nothing like coming to the commander’s defense. I heard R. Kelley may even perform at the ceremonies.

Trumpie says the release of these documents is scandalous, and asks ‘are we living in Nazi Germany?’ The Internet has responded in force, saying, “No, not yet.” But we are demanding proof of hooker-free peeing in the Hilton. After all, we don’t want to be guilty of ‘yellow journalism.’

And Alec Baldwin on Saturday Night Live stayed on point, recognizing the incredible job creating possibilities the billionaire Donald Trump could deliver to the American public. He said Trump will bring back a thick stream of jobs to this country; the biggest, strongest, steadiest stream ever; that the country will be showered with jobs, cause Trump is a major whiz at it. “It will be a golden opportunity for the president to make a splash.”

Stephen Colbert was not exactly generous either, noting that the Donald Trump ‘was making a huge splash flooding Twitter, but that it was just an unfortunate leak just trickling down but he was finished making jokes about it…after all, it was just a wee little leak…”

James Corden of CBS later followed the same theme, noting that news cycles were ‘saturated’ with the story. It, was he noted, with a pun, ‘the number one story’ on the net: “Not Number 2,” he said, “no, number 1.”

Jimmy Kimmel joined in the fun as well, using a skit with a Russian official telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer the reports are false, that

the country will be showered with jobs, because trump is a major whiz at making a splash and creating a stream 0f golden opportunities for all.

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1 .18.2017

Pisser-In-Chief ‘No there was no peeing involved. I saw the tape myself. It was just your typical totally normal heterosexual hooker sex party…that never happened.’

George Takei, the gay hero from the original Star Trek, who has become one of Trump’s harshest critics, went on Twitter and posted “Twinkle, Twinkle, little czar. Putin put you where you are.”

Not to be outdone, another critic played on the words of Obama’s candidacy with a new twist. Instead of a silhouette of Obama with the words, “Yes We Can”, below his face, a new image of Trump appeared, with the words “Yes Pee Can” under his. Me? I am just wondering what kind of water was in that bucket last year when Donald took the ALS Bucket Challenge.

Another writer wrote that Trump is bringing a new dimension to Reagan’s ‘trickle down economics.’ Heck, this explains why he talked about the gold toilets at Mar-O-Lago in Palm Beach. He really does have gold in his bathroom and gold drapes in the bedroom. Now we know why. The stains won’t show.

One writer from Massachusetts wanted to send Trump a note wishing him the best, though: “Urine for a great four years,” he tweeted. Well, it’s a golden opportunity for Trump to give a great speech tomorrow. I understand that in lieu of a speech though, he may just have Elton John

sing ‘Yellow Brick Road.’

Payback is a bitch, Donald. You wanted the world to listen to your every word. And now you are a victim of the Chinese curse, ‘Be careful what you wish for. You may get it.’

As if we had not heard enough, the bathroom jokes about Trump’s golden showers just keep on, uh, how shall I say this discreetly- flowing, non-stop. One of my favorites was The Daily Show’s take on ‘Goldfinger,’ titled ‘Goldshower:’ Here is the link to it: https://www.queerty.com/ daily-shows-goldshower-trump-themed-007film-youve-waiting-20170113 There is just a flood of salacious material pouring out everyday, each one giving comics a golden opportunity to piss, I am mean, pass on the master of mendaciousness, Donald Trump.

Heck, with these revelations I may have to alter my tweets and start calling him Chief Yellow Flow instead of Chief Orange Hair. You let me know.

As a general rule, I don’t laugh at bathroom jokes. They seem juvenile, puerile, childish.

But I am pissing in my pants about this story, and my people tell me the whole thing could be true. I mean, who knows? Would you put this past Donald Trump? He has brought presidential politics to the toilet bowl. He earned this crown and he can stew about it whilesitting on his golden throne.

ConviCtions

editorial cartoon

By andy marlette

1.18.2017 •

27

Jesse’s Journal

ConviCtions

Fake!

Jesse Monteagudo

D

THe TaBLoid presidenT

uring the recent unpleasantness that was the 2016 presidential election much was made of the fact that the vast majority of newspapers endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton against the winning Republican, Donald Trump. A major exception, one that was ignored by the media, probably did more for Trump than all the New York Times or Washington Posts did for Clinton. Though it would be too much to claim that the National Enquirer carried the election for Trump, it certainly did much to express Middle America’s feelings for the Republican candidate.

The special relationship between the National Enquirer and Donald Trump - Hillary goes back years. David Pecker, chief executive officer and chairman of American Media Inc., publisher of the Enquirer, is a good friend of the president-elect.

“I have known Donald Trump for 25 years and I am proud to call him a friend,” Pecker said. “I support his candidacy for President and greatly admire what he has achieved in a relatively short period of time as a nonpolitician.” Trump himself (or his ghost

writer) wrote an article for the August 12, 2015 issue, which detailed his presidential platform: “I am the only one who can make America great again. We are in serious trouble - economically and from a security perspective - and we need leaders who are intelligent, truthful and tough in order to negotiate deals with countries like Mexico and many others.

America is being laughed at by the rest of the world - and things must change before it’s too late.”

“Our readers have a great affection and fondness for Donald Trump,” Enquirer editorin-chief Dylan Howard said. “It’s a readership that is disenfranchised. They do not like the political Clinton establishment. They see Donald Trump as someone who will champion their cause, just like the National Enquirer has championed their cause for many decades.” Howard, Pecker and their tabloid did much to help Trump’s campaign. In March of last year the Enquirer endorsed Trump, the first time the tabloid endorsed a candidate in its 90-year history. It has since published sleazy stories about Trump’s opponents: According to

"this is what happens when you treat the national enQuirer like gospel."

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1 .18.2017

the Enquirer, Ben Carson was a “bungling surgeon,” Jeb Bush had “sleazy cheating scandals” and, most notoriously, Ted Cruz’s father was linked to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Once Trump and Clinton became their respective parties’ candidates, the paper ran a series of cover stories attacking “crooked Hillary” - some written by professional Clinton hater Dick Morris - while extolling Trump and his campaign to “make America great again.” In this Howard insisted that the Enquirer only heeded public opinion. “My duty is to my readers.”

Trump’s affair with the tabloids was noticed

by Clinton, who accused her opponent of spreading “dark conspiracy theories” taken from the pages of “supermarket tabloids.”

“This is what happens when you treat the National Enquirer like gospel,” she said. Most of the time, Democrats ignored the Enquirer, to their candidate’s detriment. At the same time that Clinton fans crowed about her endorsements millions of Middle Americans,

who would never read the editorial page of the New York Times, glanced with approval at the Enquirer covers on their way through their supermarkets’ check-out lines. How much did the Enquirer affect their vote?

Or did the Enquirer’s anti-Clinton and proTrump articles just confirm their alreadyheld beliefs? We shall never know.

Since the election, the National Enquirer continued its pro-Trump covers, though it has gradually returned to celebrity gossip as the basis of its existence. But there is no question that favorable stories about Trump and his family will continue to grace the tabloid’s pages. Future issues will no doubt feature stories about Trump’s White House, wife Melania’s fashion and housekeeping, Donald Jr. and Eric’s political aspirations - Trump will be the first president since the elder George Bush to have sons - and the political marriage of daughter Ivanka and businessman Jared Kushner. In this the Enquirer is right. For better or worse, the Trump presidency will be worth covering.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and journalist. He has been an active member of South Florida's LGBT community for more than four decades and has served in various community organizations.

WMG

Wilton Manors Gazette

Volume 4 • Issue 2 January 18, 2017

Community

Arts and Entertainment Expo Returns Event will have shortened schedule, new owners

By Michael d’Oliveira When the Wilton Manors Arts & Entertainment Expo returns this Saturday, Jan. 21 from 6 to 9 p.m., it will be under new owners and a shortened season.

The Wilton Manors Entertainment Group, which has also partnered with the city to run Stonewall, purchased the Expo, originally known as the Island City Art Walk, in October from previous owner Thomas Alford. The city’s Community Affairs Advisory Board helped sponsor the event with a $1,000 donation.

The Wilton Manors Entertainment Group is now the fourth owners of the event. It’s an evening where Wilton Drive business owners host artists and their work inside the owner’s storefront. In addition to Wilton Drive, the north portion of Dixie highway, from Five Points south to Northeast 24 Street, is also included.

“There have been numerous changeovers.

We’re hoping over the next two years to give it a little more stability. We want to try and fix it the same way we did with Stonewall,” said Jeff Sterling, CEO of Wilton Manors Entertainment Group. “We took it over as project with the city.”

The event usually starts in November but Sterling said it was delayed to January because “We got it so late in the game we didn’t want to screw it up [by rushing it].” This year, it will be held every third Saturday of the month from January to March.

So far, 33 business owners and artists have signed-up, including the Stonewall National Museum & Archives, Tropics, Novel Tea, Infinity Lounge, The Zig Zag Building,

The Vape Shop, Bubbles and Pearls, Pink Submarine, Bona Pizza, Retro Video, Sterling Tax & Accounting and Buddha Happy.

Business owners can host an artist for free but artists who want to participate must supply a $50 refundable deposit. Sterling said the fee is only a way to encourage artists who sign-up to show up for the event. The money is refunded after the artist attends. Musical entertainment will be provided at the Zig Zag Building.

Sterling said the goal is to get the business owners to treat the Expo like an open house and an opportunity to attract more people into their business. The founder and original owner, Mary Ellen Charapko, started the event as a way to make Wilton Manors more of a destination for art.

“It’s a great thing. It brings people in from outside of Wilton Manors,” said Karl Lentzer, president of the Wilton Manors Business Association. Lentzer also likes the Expo because it’s something that isn’t bar-related.

“It’s kind of like that [Wilton Manors’ Holiday Craft Festival held in December] that brought in people. Anything different, that doesn’t revolve around bars, is a great asset to all the businesses.”

Tony LoGrande also brought up the craft festival to city commissioners at their last meeting. He praised the event, held at Richardson Park, because it brought in lots of visitors who then frequented many of the businesses on Wilton Drive. WMG Artists or business owners interested in the Expo can call 754-200-2979 or email vpo@wmeg.org

Art by Guillermo Mazzotti, one of the artists who has participated in what is now the Wilton Manors Arts & Entertainment Expo. Facebook.com/ Gmazzottiart

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January 18, 2017

1.18.2017 •

29

Opinion

The Circus Leaves Town WMG

By Sal Torre

JANUARY 18, 2017 • VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 2 2520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305

Photo: Amy and Rob, Wikipedia.

PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943

PUBLISHER • NORM KENT NORM.KENT@SFGN.COM CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER • PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / EXECUTIVE EDITOR • JASON PARSLEY JASON.PARSLEY@SFGN.COM ASSOCIATE EDITOR • JILLIAN MELERO JILLIANMELERO@GMAIL.COM

Editorial

ART DIRECTOR • BRENDON LIES ARTWORK@SFGN.COM DESIGNER • CHARLES PRATT WEB MASTER • BRITTANY FERRENDI WEBMASTER@SFGN.COM NEWS EDITOR • MICHAEL D’OLIVEIRA

Sad news this morning as I look at the newspaper headlines.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will be ending their 146-year run in May 2017. American families, especially those with young wide-eyed children, will be losing a part of their childhood.

My brothers and I always got excited when the circus was coming to town. It meant an exciting day out in Manhattan to see the exotic animals paraded through the Queens Midtown Tunnel onto the streets of Manhattan leading to Madison Square Garden.

The circus train set up camp on the other end of the tunnel at the Sunnyside train yards in Queens. Then a few days later mom would have tickets for us all to see the show. Plenty of excitement for young boys and girls.

Looking back now, perhaps this Greatest Show on Earth had a bit more going on than just good ole family entertainment. Perhaps it played on young boys and girls budding fantasies and awakening sexual interests.

I am sure some parents were also thinking along those lines. Conceivably that was part of the fun, the excitement, the lure. While my brothers were looking up at the stretched-out legs of the barely clothed young female trapeze performers, I was busy checking out the tiger tamer with his big muscles and tight-fitting body suit bulging in all the right places.

My mother must have had her favorites also, since she was equally excited each year with news announcing the arrival of the big top. In the days before the internet, who knows how many secret fantasies were played out during those performances. Seeing who my brother eventually married, he might have been dreaming about Bertha the Bearded Lady instead of one of the Letka Sisters from the traveling trapeze group.

Goodbye Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Thanks for the memories and the fantasies of a young boy.

Breaking away from those arousing childhood memories, my attention is brought back to more current times. This past week the word “affordable” seems to be everywhere. On the national scene, the future of the Affordable Care Act is on everyone’s mind.

Here on a local level, the topic this past week at City Commission was Affordable Housing and the use of the funds collected from fees on developers over the past ten years or more.

Our new Republican leadership is sprinting full speed out

the legislature’s starting gate. Their first attempt was to gut the Congressional Ethics Office, now it is on to the Affordable Care Act. All reports have them ready to gut this legislation in the coming weeks, leaving millions of people totally confused and unsure about the future. When asked about the specifics, the new establishment’s battle cry is simply, “Repeal, Repeal, Repeal,” and then we will replace it with something better. What are Americans supposed to do in the meantime? This is like closing down I-95 and dismantling the entire roadway before building a better roadway to replace it. Oh well, guess we will just have to wait and see. Hopefully the Republicans have a surprise up their sleeve.

Now on to affordable housing here in Wilton Manors. Two main camps seem to be circling their wagons. Commissioner Carson leads the way for rental subsidies, while Commissioner Green leads the way for home ownership assistance.

Although rental assistance for needy seniors and vets seem like a great idea, it does nothing to solve the problem. It actually creates a new problem-additional city staff to monitor a never-ending program. Unfortunately, the fees flowing into the Affordable Housing Fund are not limitless; and for a small built-out city such as ours, is actually a dwindling stream. Home Ownership Assistance is possibly the better choice and can transform the lives of those who receive it. A hard-working mother trying to get by and provide for her children will see her life drastically change with the ability to own her own home, build equity, and secure a piece of the American Dream. Given a small rental subsidy each month, that same family would be stuck, just getting by month after month. While many surrounding cities offer Home Buyers Assistance programs, very few offer any Rental Assistance Programs, and those that do usually offer assistance on a temporary, emergency basis. The city might do better to use the funds to offer an incentive for a developer to come in and build affordable green housing units in our city.

Hopefully city management will offer some bold new ideas for our Commissioners to review and vote on in the near future.

This past Monday we celebrated the life of a great man, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some only see his work for civil rights, but he was a union organizer, a preacher, an anti-Vietnam War activist, and an advocate for non-violent change.

Achieving a better understanding of this great American hero and his legacy will only make life just better here… WMG

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES AND THE FANTASIES OF A YOUNG BOY.

Correspondents

NATALYA JONES • JOHN MCDONALD • JAMES OAKSUN

Staff Photographers

J.R. DAVIS • POMPANO BILL • STEVEN SHIRES

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DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING • MIKE TROTTIER MIKE.TROTTIER@SFGN.COM SALES MANAGER • JUSTIN WYSE JUSTIN.WYSE@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • EDWIN NEIMANN EDWIN.NEIMANN@SFGN.COM SALES ASSISTANT • TIM HIGGINS TIM.HIGGINS@SFGN.COM ACCOUNTING SERVICES BY CG BOOKKEEPING NATIONAL ADVERTISING RIVENDELL MEDIA 212-242-6863 SALES@RIVENDELLMEDIA.COM South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

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January 18, 2017

Real Estate Geek

What is a Community?

By James Oaksun We need to take a short detour to define our terms. If I am going to spend an entire year talking about community, just what does that mean?

For example, I could talk about • the LGBT community globally, • the LGBT community in America or in a specific nation, • the LGBT community in Florida, • the residents of East Wilton Manors, or • the residents of a particular gated community or condo association, and they could all be considered communities at some level.

So basically, a community is either a diverse group living in a common area, or a group with common interests living over a scattered area. Or maybe a close knit group living in a common area.

For our purposes this year, I think the best definition will be a diverse group living in a relatively common area – like a neighborhood association, for example. A more-detailed case with better statistics could be a census tract (as defined by the Federal government). Even more discrete would possibly be a high-rise building or three. I have an idea I am playing with concerning that.

Now we can move toward the Geekery(SM) and the statistics,

and back to where I left off last time.

The notion of community, I think, implies a degree of stability and not transience. Five-star hotels, and streets full of AirBnBs, commodious as they may be, are not communities. To create a community takes time, patience, and investment of of financial and human resources. It is more than a maximization of a rate of return.

The initial position, which the National Association of Realtors still holds, is that of home as investment. There are benefits of building community – yes financial benefits, but also benefits that go beyond the net present value of the transaction for all the parties (including, of course, the Realtors).

And for a very long time this was abundantly clear. As the largest trade association in the country, the Realtors had (and have) influence on public policy at the Federal and state level.

Ownership of real estate is encouraged through tax deductions, credits, advertisements, and other societal inducements as being a component of the American Dream.

But various mini housing busts over the years, and then the major crash of 2006-2011, threw all these calculations into abeyance, and brought people like the aforementioned Grant Cardone to stardom. No, Cardone said, real estate in which you live is no investment at all. Rather, it is closer to an expense than an investment!

And he had a point.

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January 18, 2017

I have a neighbor who we can call Charlie. He bought his very nice, large one-bedroom new construction condo, in late 2005, for $300,000 cash. Even today he would be lucky to sell it for $200,000.

So if the thesis was owning a home is always good, and the antithesis is the Cardone position of always bad, then my argument is that the truth is therefore the synthesis. The right kind of ownership, in the right place, over the proper time frame, is not only a great investment, but is absolutely essential and more needed than ever.

Furthermore, a small handful real estate leaders have the information today to guide the market and lead the development of community, better than any other professionals. The vast majority, however, do not presently possess this capability. WMG James Oaksun, Broward's Real Estate Geek(SM), is BrokerOwner of New Realty Concepts in Oakland Park. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).

1.18.2017 •

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City

Community

Say Goodbye to Nighttime Train Horns FEC quiet zone to be implemented this year

By Michael d’Oliveira

By Michael d’Oliveira Wilton Manors Commissioner Tom Green recently moved to a residence close to the FEC railroad track, and he’s glad the Quiet Zone will be implemented this year. “It certainly will be something I look forward to,” said Green, who also serves as an alternate board member of the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization [MPO].

The Quiet Zone, which runs the entire length of Broward County, including Wilton Manors, is intended to keep train operators from having to blow their horns at railroad crossings. With the addition of safety measures, designed to make it harder for vehicles to cross the tracks when a train approaches or is passing by, horns will no longer be necessary. Crossings along the railroad tracks, including Northeast 26 Street, will

Commission Debates Direction of Affordable Housing Program

be altered with the additional safety measures.

In a letter to municipalities impacted by the Quiet Zone, Gregory Stuart, executive director of the MPO, said the safety measures exceed the standards required.

The cost, $4.2 million, is funded by the MPO with the help of All Aboard Florida, the passenger rail service which will run from Miami to Orlando and include stops in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. WMG

Should the city provide first-time home buyer assistance? Rental assistance?

Both? That’s the question commissioners will have to answer if they want to utilize $280,000 to assist low-income residents who live in the city.

Commissioner Julie Carson suggested rental assistance. “Part of our goal is to reach the greatest number of residents with the resources we have. This will really serve so many people in our community.” Later, Carson said she was open to both. “I would hate to exclude one or the other.”

Commissioner Tom Green said he preferred helping people purchase a home. “You help and that part is over.”

He said rental assistance is more longterm and he doesn’t want to get the city involved in that kind of program and provide “eternal help.” As for people wanting to live in Wilton Manors, Green

said they can live close to the city and still visit and enjoy what it has to offer. “You can live one mile away. There’s nothing wrong with living in Fort Lauderdale.”

Commissioner Scott Newton said he would like to see seniors “who have been here 40 years already” get the assistance.

City staff researched available affordable housing in the city and only one property came up, an apartment complex at 2417 Powerline Road, that is managed by South Florida Community Land Trust. That organization builds and renovates single and multi-family residences to provide affordable housing.

The issue will be discussed again at a later commission meeting. WMG

Business

Business Round Table Focuses on Business Improvements

Nite Life Law

By Michael d’Oliveira

If you drink, don’t drive. If you drive, don’t drink. If you do both, call us.

In a climate where many businesses, especially bars and restaurants on Wilton Drive, have trouble staying in business, Tony LoGrande wants to provide business owners with some tips to help improve sales.

On Thursday, Jan. 19 at 8 a.m., LoGrande will host “How small investments in your business can translate to big improvements.”

The business roundtable, held inside the Hagen Park Community Center, is free and open to the public.

LoGrande, who owns and recently renovated the Zig Zag Building, located next to the city’s fire station on Wilton Drive, will talk about customer relations, service, social media and marketing, merchandising, signage, lighting and more.

LoGrande suggests business owners keep at least some lights on at night to help illuminate the street and make it safer for pedestrians.

Kent & Cormican Criminal Defense Law Center

954.763.1900

Norman Elliott Kent & Russell Cormican 12 S.E. 7th Street, Suite 709 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 www.NormKent.com

Tony LoGrande

He said it also helps with the bottom line by giving customers a way to see the inside of the store and the products sold.

“Keep the store lit at night so people can walk by and window shop. They’ll know to come back,” LoGrande said. WMG

For more information or to RSVP, email plandi@wiltonmanors.com.

Attendees are asked to RSVP but it’s not required.

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Police

Community

Check out what’s happening

Around Town

By Michael d’Oliveira

Parking Study To Be Released Soon A new Wilton Drive parking analysis undertaken by Lanier, the firm hired by the city to oversee parking along Wilton Drive, will soon be ready to present to the city commission. A preliminary study has been done but city staff members said Lanier needed to be make some changes before it would be ready for public viewing. For over a decade, parking problems along Wilton Drive have been a concern for elected officials, city staff, residents and business owners. The city has taken steps to provide more parking, including the construction of multiple new lots, but the demand for more persists. “I’m tired of talking about it,” said Commissioner Scott Newton.

Hazardous Waste Pick-up May be Expanded to Multi-Family

A component of the city’s new contract with Waste Management will allow residents in single-family homes to have hazardous materials picked up directly from their homes. As a result, the city will no longer contract with the county for hazardous waste disposal events. In additional to single-family homes, city staff are negotiating with Waste Management to try and get multi-family units to receive the hazardous waste removal service. For more information on how to arrange a hazardous waste pick-up, visit wmatyourdoor.com.

FEMA Request to be Increased

Hurricane Matthew never hit Wilton Manors but preparation for the possibility of the storm caused some damage to city coffers. Due to 150.25 overtime hours accrued by city staff in preparation for the storm, $11,700 was spent by the city. City staff had planned to ask commissioners to make a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] for reimbursement but said they would possibly ask for more after meeting with a FEMA representative. “We may be eligible for more,” said City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson. When a new figure is determined, city staff will bring the issue back to commissioners for approval.

Broward County Waterway Cleanup returns

On March 4, Broward County’s biggest and longest-running environmental event will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Volunteers are needed that day to help remove tires, trash, metal and other debris from local waterways. Cleanup activities in Wilton Manors will take place at Colohatchee Park. Help is also needed to distribute posters at restaurants, businesses and other locations. In 2016, over 1,500 volunteers of all ages worked at more than 30 locations across the county to remove 22 tons of trash and debris from waterways, rivers and canals. For more information, visit waterwaycleanup.org.

Volunteer Environmental Group Introduced

The members of the city’s new Environmental & Sustainability Volunteer Group were introduced at the commission meeting on Jan. 10.

The group will focus on ways to protect the environment and make the city more sustainable. The group will also provide information on programs and events in the city, including the free tree giveaway at Mickel Park on Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. To get updates, visit the group’s Facebook page - Environmental & Sustainability Volunteer Group of Wilton Manors.

Island City University

Residents who would like learn more about how city government and the police department work can join Island City University. During this six-week course, students will learn about the various departments that help run the city. Participants will also have the chance to take field trips and interact with the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department and Waste Management. The nightly sessions will begin on Wednesday, March 22 and will run through Wednesday, May 3 with graduation scheduled for Tuesday, May 9. The deadline to apply is Jan. 31. For more information, email islandcityuniversity@wiltonmanors.com, call 954-390-2123 or visit wiltonmanors.com/401/island-city-university.

Tennis Tournament

The Island City Open Tennis Tournament will be held Feb. 4 and 5 at the Hagen Park Tennis Center. The cost to enter is $25 for singles and $40 for doubles. Entry fee includes shirt, awards and Sunday barbecue.

Sponsorships are available. For more information, call Donna Kocyba at 954-390-2132 or email donnatennis1@aol.com.

Classical Concert at Hagen

A free classical concert will be held on Monday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Hagen Park Community Center. Jack Sanders, a highly praised and experienced solo guitarist who has performed and been recognized internationally for his talents, will be the performer. He has performed with numerous orchestras and symphonies throughout his career and plays music of all periods and varieties.

Fundraiser for Poverello

A fundraiser for the Poverello Thrift Store will be held on Friday, Feb. 3 from 2 to 9 p.m. at Rubio’s, 1535 N. Federal Highway, in Fort Lauderdale.

Patrons who attend will have 20 percent of their check donated to Poverello’s Florida AIDS Walk team when they mention “Poverello” at the register. DJ Tony Duncan will be spinning from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. WMG

CAAB Waffles on Police Survey

By Michael d’Oliveira A move to create a survey to gauge public opinion about the Wilton Manors Police Department could get approved or rejected at the next Community Affairs Advisory Board [CAAB] meeting.

In previous meetings, which occur once a month, CAAB members have decided to delay a vote until the next meeting when all members were present. They’ve also voted not to go forward with the survey. But now, CAAB will hold another vote during its Wednesday, Feb. 1 meeting – 7 p.m. in the City Hall Commission Chambers.

The meeting is open to the public.

But Michael Goodman, CAAB chair, disagrees that CAAB is struggling with a decision.

“It’s gone back and forth. There are two different mindsets. We just have to find the right mindset. It’s not this huge debate. It’s just something we’re exploring [to find] the best way to proceed. Asked how he feels about the survey, Goodman said that he wants to make sure CAAB isn’t duplicating efforts or the city doesn’t spend too much money on sending out the survey.

“It might be better through other sources and we have to determine that.”

Resident Boyd Corbin, who has been a consistent critic of the police department, said the survey should go forward. “It needs to be distributed.”

CAAB member Skip Stadnik said he thinks the survey is unnecessary.

“I personally am not for that. For one or two possible bad policemen, you’ve got 10 or 15 that are not. I just can’t see the point of wasting the tax payer time and money and our time and money [on a survey]. The police have been doing a good job.” WMG

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SPORTS soccer

SPORTS volleyball

ouT voLLeyBaLL pLayer denied proLeaGue conTracT For BeinG Gay Brittany Ferrendi

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Photo: Instagram.

C

hris Voth plays for the other team, and claims it has cost him a professional contract.

The 26-year-old volleyball player told a Finnish publication that he “lost a dream contract abroad” because of his homosexuality.

“We almost had a contract and were negotiating details, housing and small things,” he told the newspaper, which was translated for Outsports. “All of a sudden they announced they weren’t interested any more after all. It was because I’m gay.”

They gave Voth several reasons for denying him the contract — all of which point to his sexuality.

“They said [to my agent] they didn’t want to take that risk — they didn’t want to have a player in their team who breaks boundaries.

They claimed they were worried that the opponents’ fans would endanger my safety, but some things made me suspect it was an excuse.”

Voth refused to name the country that rejected him, but claimed it generally accepts

homosexuality through policies and culture.

“I don’t want to name the country, because it is not the only country where these things happen. It wouldn’t be fair. This is about the sports culture globally, not just about one country or team.”

Voth currently plays in the Finnish Volleyball Champions League for Team Lakkapaa. He came out as gay in 2014 while in the Canadian volleyball team.

Voth was the first national athlete from Canada to come out as openly gay, according to Winnipeg Free Press. Outsports also claims he is also the first openly gay athlete in a professional Finnish team.

Former proFessionaL soccer pLayer comes ouT Brittany Ferrendi

H

e may not have come out during his to the experiences they discussed, or time in the professional realm, but describe my feelings for females because now he wants to tell the world.

I simply did not have them. During Adam McCabe, ex-professional soccer these discussions I would remain silent, player, has revealed he is gay in a story dreading the moment a teammate would shared with Meanwhiler. His goal was call on me for my opinion or experience.” to help out people who are looking for McCabe claimed he had to try to fit in by advice, experience and making up stories and adapt guidance. to be like his teammates.

“Keeping my sexual “when i finally He was careful not to let his orientation a secret was accepted that i sexuality come to light. always on my mind, and I “During my time abroad, was different even was constantly on my game though I had accepted seXually than that I was gay, I was still to not let any sort of secret or slip up occur,” he stated. my teammates, very ashamed, nervous, and In his early years, McCabe to be this way and it became hard scared had not thought much about play a team sport.” for me to his sexuality.

He was never told “I lived, breathed, ate and by anyone to hide his connect on a slept soccer,” he said. “And I homosexuality, but he kept certain leVel was not going to let anything, it secret on his own as a like a relationship or my “natural instinct” because of with them.” sexuality, get in the way of the “homophobic language” - Adam McCabe my goals and dreams.” his teammates would use.

At both semi-professional “I was afraid to share my and professional levels, McCabe has sexuality based off of what I had heard played in England, Thailand and Slovakia. my teammates say,” he said, “Whether In his younger years, he played in home joking or not, these words are cemented state Georgia, as well as Florida, where he in your brain and they shape the way you grew up. act towards and around your teammates.”

“When I finally accepted that I was The ex-professional soccer player different sexually than my teammates, currently plays out of the NPSL League it became hard for me to connect on for the Georgia Revolution back in the a certain level with them. Especially United States. Last season he was named in the locker room, I could not relate as Defensive Player of the Year.

FEATURE pets

Your New Family member is waiting!

Beautiful Maddie is a 3 year young American Staffordshire terrier mix who has had a rough couple of months.

She came to the Humane Society with a broken leg and was extremely underweight when she arrived. A special vet came in to do surgery on her leg and she has made a fabulous recovery. Maddie will do best in a home where she is the only pet, that way she can have all your attention.

The shelter trainers say she is very sweet, is housetrained and will be good for any family who can give her the extra TLC she needs. Can Maddie make memories with you? Maddie is a Dolly’s Dream Dog so her adoption fee is sponsored and she gets to go home with the supplies she will need in her new home. Please stop by to meet her.

STAY SAFE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.

M addie

When you adopt from the Humane Society of Broward County all pets are spayed or neutered before going home.

In addition they receive preliminary vaccinations, heart worm test for dogs over seven months, feline leukemia test for cats, a limited 10 day health care plan courtesy of VCA Animal Hospital, a bag of Purina ONE food and more. The adoption fee for dogs over six months is $100 and felines over six months are $30. For more information call the shelter today at 954-989-3977 ext 6. The Humane Society of Broward County is located at 2070 Griffin Road, just a block west of I-95 and opens daily at 10:30 a.m. To see who else needs a home visit www.humanebroward.com

(954) 777-7777

DOWNLOAD RIDE YELLOW AND WE WILL GET YOU HOME SAFELY. EVERY TIME.

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ConviCtions

mombian

oBama’s LeGacy For LGBTQ FamiLies Dana Rudolph

A

s President Barack Obama ends eight years in office, let’s reflect on what he and his administration have done to advance understanding of and equality for LGBTQ parents and our children.

In 2008, the year of Obama’s first presidential campaign, supporters of California’s Proposition 8, which would ban marriage equality, were vocal in trying to scare people with visions of “homosexuality” being taught to children in schools. Indeed, this had been an anti-LGBTQ tactic for years. The Obama campaign didn’t hesitate, however, to place people with experience specific to children and schools among the leaders of Obama Pride, his LGBTQ outreach group.

One of its five national co-chairs was Marsha Botzer, who (in addition to other roles) was board co-chair of the Safe Schools Coalition, a Washington state organization that supports LGBTQ youth. And one of the two heads of the group’s Finance Committee was Kevin Jennings, founder and nowformer executive director of GLSEN, which champions LGBTQ issues in K-12 education.

Jennings was also cofounder of the very first gay-straight alliance and later became assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools in the U.S. Department of Education.

Although it took Obama longer than many would have liked to “evolve” on marriage equality, once he did, he said same-sex parents and our children were a key reason for his position. In a 2012 email to supporters, he explained, “What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens. Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them

that their friends’ parents should be treated differently. So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.”

And when 10-year-old Sophia Bailey Klugh wrote to the President in 2012, asking: “If you were me and had two dads that loved each other, and kids at school teased you about it, what would you do?” Obama responded in part (per her dad Jonathan Bailey’s Facebook post of the letter), “In America, no two families look the same. We celebrate this diversity. And we recognize that whether you have two dads or one mom what matters above all is the love we show one another.”

When Obama signed the repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy in 2010 and it went into effect in 2011, life got better for military LGBTQ parents and their children. They no longer had to hide their family ties and forego much of the support and resources offered to military families—especially critical when a parent was deployed. Since last year, transgender people, too, can serve as who they really are—a relief for military trans parents and their families as well.

The Obama administration also helped address bullying, including anti-LGBTQ bullying.

Such bullying can harm LGBTQ youth, those perceived to be, and those of all identities with LGBTQ parents. In 2011, Obama convened the first White House Conference on Bullying Prevention, lending presidential visibility to efforts begun by several federal departments in the preceding years. Now there have been five such summits, including an LGBT Youth Summit and a meeting with transgender students, among others.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare, prohibits insurance companies from denying coverage because of sexual orientation or gender identity, or because of preexisting conditions, including pregnancy, fertility issues, and HIV status. It also

obama in 2010 also became the first president to mention families with two moms and two dads in his mother’s and father’s day proclamations.

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states that being transgender is no longer considered a pre-existing condition. When Obamacare passed in 2010, five years before federal marriage equality, Family Equality Council noted that fewer families with LGBTQ parents have health insurance than those in the general population “because many employers do not offer coverage for same-sex partners or their children….

Thanks to the ACA, many more children with parents who are LGBT will be able to access the coverage that they need.”

Obama in 2010 also became the first president to mention families with two moms and two dads in his Mother’s and Father’s Day proclamations. (He included them, too, in his earlier proclamation for the lesser-known observance of September, 28, 2009, as Family Day.) Parents of all sexual orientations and gender identities were also explicitly mentioned in several of his National Foster Care Month and National Adoption Month proclamations— reminding people of our existence and

importance in providing loving homes for children.

This is not an exhaustive list of all President Obama has done to improve the lives of LGBTQ parents and our children. Many of his administration’s actions helped LGBTQ people broadly speaking, among them those with kids. In addition to those mentioned already, they include the expansion of benefits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees; prohibiting federal contractors from employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; support of global LGBTQ human rights; and clarifying that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination, also bans discrimination based on gender identity.

One might have expected that Obama, who was raised by his mother and maternal grandparents, had a natural sympathy for non-traditional families. His legacy proves that right. Whether it lasts is now up to us.

Dana Rudolph is the founder and publisher of Mombian (mombian.com), a GLAAD Media Award-winning blog and resource directory for LGBTQ parents.

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FEATURE reproductive rights

FLorida one oF many BaTTLeGrounds For reproducTive riGHTs

Jillian Melero

O

n Tuesday, Florida state Rep. Joe Gruters, a former co-chair for Trump’s Florida campaign, filed a proposal that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks, Mother Jones reports. Florida law currently bans abortions from being performed after 24-weeks’ conception.

The bill is titled the “Florida Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act,” arguing that it is a necessary protection because at 20 weeks’ fetuses can feel pain. The report is quick notes that such claims have been widely refuted by scientific research, citing a 2010 UK Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) study The 20-week abortion ban has passed in Ohio and Kentucky and is being proposed in Florida and Virginia.

If passed, the law would make performing an abortion after 20 weeks a third-degree felony, unless a “serious health risk” otherwise endangers the mother. Doctors would also be required to report all abortions to the state health department. And mothers and father of the unborn would be allowed to sue abortion providers for legal or punitive damages.

The proposal also establishes a legal defense fund, to be financed with taxpayer money and private donations to cover the costs for defending against any challenges to the bill.

The text of the bill is available at https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/ Bill/2017/0203

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M

eanwhile, an abortion law approved last year they may not be qualified to provide, it clearly intends by governor Rick Scott, is being challenged by to bully and intimidate women’s trusted advisors with a the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, vague and complicated bureaucratic process, under the the Naples Herald reports. threat of criminal charges.”

Jan. 27, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle will hear These groups and individuals would then be a request from the ACLU for an injunction required to register with the Florida Agency against the law which requires anyone for Healthcare Administration (ACHA) who counsels women on abortion as an “abortion referral or counseling to explain the procedure, and agency” with all the obligations, THE 20-WEEK offer alternatives before making restrictions, and penalties that referrals or offering assistance in such a designation entails.

ABORTION BAN obtaining an abortion.

“This law is classic viewpoint HAS PASSED IN OHIO discrimination: it restricts The ACLU of Florida cites that the law does not make only when they assist AND KENTUCKY AND speakers distinctions among the types of a woman seeking abortion care; counsel women might pursue it imposes no restrictions when IS BEING PROPOSED when considering an abortion speakers, including the plaintiffs IN FLORIDA AND or abortion alternatives. These in this case, assist a woman in types of counsel include legal carrying to term,” said Talcott VIRGINIA. services, religious services, advocacy Camp, deputy director of the ACLU organizations, domestic violence shelters, Reproductive Freedom Project. centers for survivors of sexual assault, and “By targeting people and organizations community organizers, among others. that provide compassionate counseling, advice “A woman considering an abortion may consult and referrals, this law can only serve to isolate a woman with any number of people in making her decision,” said seeking help. This isolation is particularly threatening for Nancy Abudu, ACLU Florida’s legal director, in a statement. minors, who, under this law, cannot seek advice or help from “This ill-conceived law criminalizes the intimate their pastors or from service organization without triggering conversations a woman has with her support network. a parental notification requirement with no exceptions, even The law not only forces people to provide information for minors who are victims of abuse.”

A copy of the complaint is available at http://bit.ly/2jtNV7w.

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LIFESTYLE food Eat

Shrimp at Eat

Submitted photos.

Rubio’s

Rick Karlin

soFT openinGs

U

sually one doesn’t want to see the words soft and opening together (there’s a pill for that), but in the restaurant biz, that means opening the door without much fanfare in the way of press or promotions. A “soft opening” is meant to give the staff time to establish a routine, find out what works and what doesn’t and to tweak the menu and schedules as needed.

Two restaurants in the area recently had soft openings, one was eagerly anticipated by the Wilton Manors crowd and the other was a quiet surprise. I managed to stumble upon one on its first day, the other after it had been open a week. As neither restaurant has had time to shake out the kinks, these are not reviews, but rather introductions to two new dining options in the area.

EAT 2150 Wilton Dr. Wilton Manors 954-626-0722 Eat has taken over the space formerly occupied by Scarfone’s, but unlike that restaurant seems on the right trajectory for success. First off, Eat offers up fare that you won’t find elsewhere on the Drive. Eat serves up Italian deli food with a fresh spin.

Since Scarfone’s left behind a pizza oven, Eat serves up pies, whole or by the slice (a nice addition to the area since Humpy’s closed), but there’s also a wide array of sandwiches including classics such as eggplant parm and meatballs. There’s even a section of the menu devoted to Jewish deli favorites such as corned beef and pastrami.

There will also be a classic Chicago style

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hot dog (I’ll be the judge of that). Additional entrée options include Italian-American favorites; lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs.

To round out the offerings, there are entrée salads, steaks and chops.

We stopped by and took advantage of the happy hour special; half-off house wines and signature cocktails. The house pinot grigio was quite good and featured a generous pour, making it a bargain at the $7 regular price and a steal at 50 percent off.

We started with the “shrimp boat” appetizer; nine large shrimp sautéed in garlic butter, resting on a bed of crispy fried eggplant.

Everything was cooked to perfection and the $10.95 price, though high for an app, was quite reasonable given the quantity and quality of the shrimp. An eggplant parm and Italian cold cut sandwich were both perfectly prepared. Burgers and sandwiches

run between $10 and $15, burgers include fries while other sandwiches do not – which is quite puzzling. The desserts, most of which are made in-house are delish.

Eat’s secret weapon though, is Jamie, the delightful server we were lucky enough to get. She knew the menu backward and forward, gave us some great recommendations and treated us like royalty. This woman knows how to take care of her boys and I predict that she will be a community favorite. Presently Eat is only serving dinner from 4 to 10 p.m., but soon plans to expand with lunch service.

RUBIO’S 1535 N. Federal Fort Lauderdale 954-200-6490 Rubios.com We stumbled onto Rubio’s soft opening and got a wonderful surprise; everything was free on the first day at the new location.

The small chain first opened in San Diego in 1983 and has been credited for starting the fish taco craze in America. Cited by The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times as the country’s top fish taco expert, in fact Rubio’s has sold more than 200 million fish

tacos. But, it’s not just the quantity that’s impressive; it is the quality of the fish and freshness of the ingredients.

There’s a real commitment to the environment. Seafood is responsibly sourced, beef and chicken are raised without antibiotics or hormones and everything, from the utensils (real, reusable plates and flatware for dining in) to packaging for take-out is environmentally conscious. The Federal Highway location is one of many locations slated to open throughout Florida this year and I predict success.

We ordered the trio of seafood tacos; the original beer-battered fish taco is made with wild Alaska Pollock, and presents a good-sized filet on a fresh tortilla shell.

We also tried the grilled mahi version and sautéed shrimp. Each was perfectly prepared and featured generous portions of seafood and fresh veggies. There’s a salsa bar so that you can choose your own toppings. Tacos are available individually or as a two or three taco plate, which comes with a choice of two sides, chips, “no-fried” pinto bean, black beans or rice. Prices are just under $10 for most plates, less than $4 for individual tacos. Beer, wine and “lowalcohol” Margaritas are available.

That’s your sneak peek at two new places. I’ll give them a few weeks to get their feet wet, so to speak, before doing a full-fledged review.

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F O R

T H E

SFGNITES

W E E K

O F

J.W. Arnold

jw@prdconline.com

THU

1/19

THEATER

J A N U A R Y

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W W W . S F G N . C O M

Isn’t She Precious?

Stephen Sondheim’s poignant musical, “Sunday in the Park,” opens tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Arsht Center in Miami and runs through Feb. 12. Stuart Meltzer directs the Zoetic Stage production of the modern musical inspired by Georges Seurat’s landmark painting, “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” and featuring the breakout song, “Putting it Together.” Tickets are $50 at ArshtCenter.org.

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1/20

THEATER Slow Burn Theatre Co. takes on the epic Tony Award-winning musical, “Titanic,” through Feb. 5 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale.

While the ocean liner, the so-called “ship of dreams,” proved to be sinkable, the spirits of the passengers and crew live on in this tuneful show, receiving its regional premiere.

Carbonell winner Patrick Fitzwater directs the production. Tickets start at $47 at BrowardCenter.org.

Friday

1/20

FILM

The World AIDS Museum, 1201 NE 26th St. #111 in Wilton Manors, presents a special screening of the critically acclaimed movie, “Precious,” tonight at 7 p.m. The 2009 drama from Lee Daniels tells the story of “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), an illiterate, HIV-positive teenager who becomes pregnant with her father’s child—for the second time. $5 donation requested. More info at WorldAIDSMuseum.org.

Photo Credit: Harpo Productions.

SAT

1/21 SUN

1/22 MON

1/23 TUE

1/24

COMEDY

MUSIC

THEATER

TELEVISION

Emmy-winning actor and comedian Leslie Jordan brings his new act, “Straight Outta Chattanooga” to the Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, tonight at 8 p.m. to kick off the Outlandish comedy series. If you loved him on “Will & Grace” and “Sordid Lives,” then you’ll enjoy this funny look back at his early years in Tennessee and the decision that sent him to Hollywood. Tickets at OutlandishFL.com.

The South Florida Symphony, under the baton of Maestra Sebrina Maria Alfonso, presents “Übermensch” (“Superman”), a program of works

by Strauss, Korngold and local composer Tom Hormel. Hear the program today at 5 p.m. at FAU’s Kaye Auditorium in Boca Raton and also on Jan. 24 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale and Jan. 25 at the Arsht Center in Miami.

Tickets at SouthFloridaSymphony.org.

The Jan McArt New Play Reading Series presents “The Long Reunion”

by Jack Gilhooley tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Wold Performing Arts Center at Lynn University in Boca Raton. In Gilhooley’s new seriocomedy, Daisy, Billy and Jimmy have attended their high school reunions for 65 years, sharing magic moments, laughter, grievances and more than a little animosity. Tickets $10 at Events.Lynn.edu.

New episodes of your favorite television series continue to air after the seemingly endless holiday reruns. Tonight, “The Flash” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow” are up on The CW, along with the latest season of SyFy’s make-up competition, “Face Off.” If superheroes don’t turn you on, WGN America brings back “Outsiders,” a modern hillbilly tale set in coal country. Check local listings for channels and show times.

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WINTER CLASSES BEGIN JANUARY 21

SING! DANCE! ACT! LEARN! Enroll today for ADULT CLASSES in ACTING, SINGING, DANCE & IMPROV BrowardCenter.org/Classes 954.414.6904

A&E theater The cast of “The First Step” performs a rap using chat room screen names. Photo Credit: George Wentzler.

‘THe FirsT sTep’ oFFers raw Look aT seX addicTion J.W. Arnold

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es, it is possible to be addicted to sex.

And, in many cases, this disease can be just as personally and professionally destructive as alcohol, drugs or even food.

One young man’s struggle is the subject of Michael Leeds’ play, “The First Step – Diary of a Sex Addict,” which opened last weekend at Island City Stage.

Sex has arguably always played an outsized role in gay life. Before Grindr and Scruff, gay men sought contact in cruisy parks and public bathrooms, sex clubs and bathhouses, AOL and internet chat rooms.

Joe (Mike Westrich) is a sex addict. He has slept with more men than he can count, seeking encounters with virtually any stranger on the street. He masturbates at work and gets lost for days at a time in sex clubs and seedy video stores. He is HIV positive, but that doesn’t matter. Sadly, he is seemingly incapable of a healthy, emotional relationship, as he has completely divorced “love” from “sex.”

Finally, after being arrested for lewd conduct in a public restroom, he finally hits rock bottom and realizes he needs help if he is to salvage his life. That pivotal event leads him to a Sexual Compulsives Anonymous meeting where he proclaims, “I’m not sure I belong here.” Yes, you do.

Joe’s misadventures had to have struck a nerve with more than a few of the gay men in the audience who have at one time or another found themselves cruising a bar, surfing the chat rooms or worse.

Despite the serious subject matter, “The First Step” is a very funny comedy. Some of the best moments come in a parody of “The Dating Game” that illustrates the various sexual proclivities of straight and gay men and straight and gay sex addicts. Later, Leeds uses a fast-paced, clever rap song to demonstrate how gay men construct screen names.

Ultimately, the success of “The First Step” lands on the shoulders of Westrich, who is onstage for the duration of the play. His performance is sincere, at times searing. He is likeable and, most importantly, relatable— especially as he breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience.

Westrich is backed up by Noah Levine, Stephan Pineda, Michael Friedman and Gretchen Porro, who portray a wide variety of characters from friends and family members to sexual conquests and fellow sex addicts. Under Leeds’ expert direction, they quickly morph from scene to scene and situation to situation.

Michael McClain’s spare, industrial set is suggestive of a dark sex club and six black boxes are effectively configured to become chairs, beds, tables, desks and more.

“The First Step” may make some audiences uncomfortable. It’s explicit and raw—but never gratuitous or cheap—offering an honest look at the devastation addiction can cause. Look for this excellent production to grab multiple Carbonell nods for the company, Leeds and Westrich.

“The First Step – Diary of a Sex Addict” by Michael Leeds will be performed through Feb. 12 at Island City Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Tickets are $35 at IslandCityStage.org.

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Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida, Inc. Third Annual Gala Brunch

Building Bridges Sunday, February 5th, 2017 | 11AM Hyatt Regency Pier 66 2301 SE 17th Street Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 www.gmcsf.org | 954.763.2266 1.18.2017 •

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A&E photos

GAY8 FESTIVAL IN MIAMI The second annual Gay8 festival, celebrating Latino LGBT art, music and food in Little Havana, Miami, filled the streets on Jan. 15. The event was sponsored by AHF. Carina Mask

To see many more photos, visit SFGN.com on Facebook.

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Presents

Book by Douglas Carter Beane Music and Lyrics by Jeff Lynne Music and Lyrics by John Farrar Directed by Patrick Fitzwater

It’s hilarity on wheels for adults, children and anyone who has ever wanted to feel inspired! This adventurous roller skating musical, based on the cult classic movie of the same title which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, is about following your dreams despite the limitations others set for you.

FEBRUARY 2–5

Visit

aventuracenter.org or call 877.311.7469 #AventuraCenter

FEBRUARY 23–MARCH 5 TICKETS at BrowardCenter.org Ticketmaster | 954.462.0222

Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office Group Sales | 954.660.6307 Follow us:

BrowardCenter

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. Funding for this project is provided in part by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council.

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A&E comics

Love is Love

Presents

New comic book honors victims and survivors of pulse massacre

David-Elijah Nahmod

T

JANUARY 19–FEBRUARY 5 Amaturo Theater

JANUARY 26–29 Abdo New River Room

TICKETS at BrowardCenter.org Ticketmaster | 954.462.0222

Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office Group Sales | 954.660.6307 The Broward Center 2016-2017 season is presented by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation with generous support from the Salah Foundation.

Follow us:

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BrowardCenter

his past week saw the publication of an eagerly awaited one shot comic book which honors the lives that were lost or forever impacted by the June 12, 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando.

Forty-nine people, most LGBT identified and many Latino, died in what is currently the worst mass shooting in U.S. History.

More than 300 writers and illustrators contributed to “Love is Love,” the 144 page book which seeks to make sense of the tragedy and offer healing to the survivors, including to the families of those who were killed. All proceeds from the sales of “Love is Love” will go directly to Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBT advocacy group. Equality Florida has set up a fund to benefit the families of the victims.

“Love is Love” is a collaboration between independent comic book publisher IDW and DC Comics, owners of the Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman franchises. Mark Andreyko, a writer for DC Comics, came up with the book’s concept.

Contributors to “Love is Love” include Dan Parent, who created Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character to be introduced into the Archie Comics universe.

“I was devastated,” Parent told SFGN, speaking from his home in Pennsylvania as he recalled the moment he first heard about the shooting. “Such an act of savage violence is hard to understand--all those people are someone’s brother, sister, child. It’s heartbreaking.”

Parent addressed why he wanted to contribute to “Love is Love.” “As a person who has always stood up for equality for all, these issues hit home,” he said. “I believe fiercely that we should appreciate our differences and foster them. We were starting to live in an age where people could be who they were--I hate to see all the progress made go away.”

Parent said he doesn’t think things will go back to where they were decades ago, when people were forced to live in the closet, but adds that we’re in for a tough fight against the incoming Trump administration.

“It’s very disappointing that we have rewarded a bully and a tyrant with the highest

office in the land,” he said. “I think he will crash and burn at some point, as most narcissistic bullies do. All we can do is learn from this and form a clear progressive alternative to struggling Americans. It’s safe to say that this new administration isn’t LGBT friendly.”

Parent also addressed the importance of projects like “Love Is Love.” “It’s important to promote a positive message, but to also do something that directly helps victims financially,” he said.

Parent’s contribution to “Love is Love” is a one-page illustration of Kevin Keller dancing in a club. “He says that you can’t give in to terror,” Parent explains. “You can’t live in fear. I tried to use a more upbeat approach.”

Comic books, Parent feels, can have a powerful impact upon culture. “Comics can definitely change hearts and minds,” he said.

“It’s a medium we all know from a young age, so it can be an effective tool in its familiarity.

Buy the book and spread the word! The more we sell, the more good can be done!”

“Love is Love” is currently available in comic book shops and at Amazon for $9.99: Amazon.com/Love-Various/dp/1631409395

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Datebook

Theater Christiana Lilly

Calendar@SFGN.com

top

picks

Tree of Our Lives

Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. The Empty Closet Women’s Theater hosts a night for the public to participate in sharing their voice about the current political climate.

Tickets $10 to $30 donation benefitting Compass’ women’s programs. Visit PayPal.me/EmptyClosetTheater.

Between Riverside and Crazy

Jan. 21 to Feb. 19 at GableStage, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. When a retired police officer is being threatened with eviction, he ponders life and death.

Tickets $60. Call 305-445-1119 or visit GableStage.org.

LAST CHANCE: Mel Schwartz Sleeps With Mae West

Through Jan. 22 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. A man discovers that his mistress used to be a man, and that she’s the long-long child of his best friend in this topsy turvy comedy.

Tickets $30, save $10 with code “Save.”

Visit MelSleepsWithMaeWest.com.

* Denotes New Listing

broward county * Titanic the Musical

Jan. 19 to Feb. 5 at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The stories of the many people aboard the doomed ship are told through music. Tickets $47 to $60. Call 954-4620222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

* Nonpoint

Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. With nine albums under their belt, fans of the California rock band are looking forward to “The Poison Red” this summer. Tickets $30 in advance, $35 the day of.

Call 954-449-1025 or visit JoinTheRevolution. net.

* Music at Mickel Concert Series

Jan. 20 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Mickel Park Concert Pavilion, 2675 NW Seventh Ave. in Wilton Manors. The series returns with artists and bands performing different genres of music.

Free. Call 954-390-2130 or visit WiltonManors. com

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Cabaret

Jan. 18 - Jan. 25

Through Jan. 22 at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The Kit Kat Klub provides a nightly escape from the world in preWWII Berlin, but as the war comes creeping closer, can it still mask the dangers that lay ahead? Tickets $35 and up. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

* Kenny Rogers’ Final World Tour

Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Broward Center, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. After six decades of entertaining the world with his music, “The Gambler” is giving his last show.

Tickets $45 to $127.50. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

The First Step - Diary of a Sex Addict

Through Feb. 11 at Island City Stage, 2034 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. A dramedy following the journey of Joe, a gay sex addict, as he works through recovery. Play contains nudity and graphic sexual situations. Tickets $35. Call 954-519-2533 or visit IslandCityStage.org.

Friday Night Sound Waves Music Series

Fridays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Hub, Las Olas Boulevard and A1A in Fort Lauderdale. Enjoy live, outdoor music spanning genres and tributes every Friday evening through November. Free.

Visit FridayNightSoundWaves.com

palm beach county

Friday Night Sound Waves Music Series.

Photo: Facebook.

Free Friday Concerts

Fridays at 7:30 p.m. at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach.

Enjoy live music from the comfort of your picnic blanket or lawn chair every week, for free!

Returns in October. Call 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayArts.org.

miami-dade county Sunday in the Park with George

Jan. 19 to Feb. 12 at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Inspired by the painting, a struggle ensues between an artist and his muse in this musical by Stephen Sondheim

and James Lapine. Tickets $50. Call 305-9496722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

Outdoor Music Series

Third Thursdays at the Perez Art Museum Miami, 101 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Come out for live music from DJs and musicians by the bay. Drink specials available. Free with museum admission. Call 305-375-3000 or visit PAMM. org.

The Big Show

Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. at Just the Funny Theater, 3119 Coral Way in Miami. A collection of comedy mixing the likes of improvisation and sketches. Tickets $12. Call 305-693-8669 or visit JustTheFunny.com.

* Evita

Jan. 19 to Feb. 5 at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. The story of Eva Peron, from her humble beginnings in rural Argentina to being the wife of Gen. Juan Peron, the country’s president. Tickets $29 to $70. Call or visit LakeWorthPlayhouse.org.

* Program Two

Jan. 20 to 22 13 to 15 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. In its second performance of the season, the Miami City Ballet performs “Serenade,” “Carousel Pas de Deux,” “Calcium Night Lights,” and “Glass Pieces.” Tickets $20 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* The Fabulous Fleetwoods

Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. at Canyon Amphitheater in Canyon District Park, 8802 Boynton Beach Blvd. in Boynton Beach. Having opened for Heart, Eddie Money, 3 Dog Night, and Sister Hazel, the band performs classic rock, blues, and original material. Free. Visit Facebook.com/ CanyonAmphitheater.

Domestic Animals

Through Jan. 22 at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach.

Lori’s brother dodges the draft during the Vietnam, but her husband lists to join the fight. Tickets $25. Call 561-514-4042 or visit PalmBeachDramaworks.org.

#OrlandoUnited: Every week, SFGN will pay tribute to one member of our community who was lost in Orlando.

A&E dance

MIAMI CITY BALLET DAZZLES AT ARSHT

Miami City Ballet opens Program II with George Balanchine’s signature, “Serenade.” Photo Credit: Miami City Ballet.

J.W. Arnold

I

n her curtain speech on opening night at the Arsht Center, Miami City Ballet artistic director Lourdes Lopez characterized classical ballet as “tutus, tiaras and fairy tales.” She then promised the audience none of those things in the program they would see tonight and she was right.

Instead, the audience was treated to a captivating and diverse evening of dance—from classical to contemporary—that explored the complexities of human interaction and relationships.

The program began with George Balanchine’s “Serenade,” set to Tchaikovsky’s “Serenade in C Major for String Orchestra.” Created in 1934, Balanchine’s first American ballet is classical in the strictest sense, but offers a compelling contemporary sensibility.

Framed within Balanchine’s signature kaleidoscopic formations, soloists and small ensembles of dancers enter and exit, disrupting the harmony of the forms created by the women of the corps du ballet. Karinska’s spare blue leotards and long tulle dresses accentuated the elongated lines of the individual dancers and the larger constructions they exhibit on the stage.

Two contrasting pas de deux were performed in the second act, diametrically opposite attempts by two dancers to connect: Passion and athleticism fueled Kenneth MacMillan’s

theatrical scene from “Carousel,” danced flawlessly

by Jennifer Lauren and Renan Cerdeiro. Cerdeiro’s dazzling leaps and turns, in particular, were effortless.

Their relationship is steamy, performed to the timeless love songs of Richard Rodgers, and with an unexpected ending.

In contrast, “Calcium Light Night” by Peter Martins is cold and cerebral, set to atonal and polyrhythmic music by Charles Ives. Nathalia Arja and Kleber Rebello each danced angular expositions under an empty square light hanging above before finally sharing the stage. Theirs was a story of attraction and collision.

The entire company was featured for Jerome Robbins’ “Glass Pieces,” performed to the repetitive minimalist music of Philip Glass. Scores of dancers passed each other like strangers on a busy city sidewalk, only to spontaneously escape the cacophany and break into synchronized movement.

The second movement, “Facades,” featured Simone Messmer and Rainer Kremstetter, but the real fascination is found upstage, where a mesmerizing procession of shadowed women parade across the stage like automatons.

The Opus One Orchestra, under the baton of Gary Sheldon, particularly shined in this act as winds, brass and strings, alike, mastered the difficult arpeggiations

and minuscule rhythmic variations that characterize the musical selections from “Rubric,” “Facades” and the opera “Akhnaten.”

Throughout the program—and regardless of style—the dancers of Miami City Ballet offered technically precise performances, danced with exuberance and enthusiasm. What was Lopez saying about tutus, tiaras and fairy tales, again?

Miami City Ballet repeats Program II at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Jan. 20 – Feb. 22, and at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, Feb. 4 – 5. Tickets and more information at MiamiCityBallet.org.

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Datebook

community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com

top picks E•merging: Revealing Our Rainbow

Jan. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. An exhibition of youth artists showcasing handmade books that reveal their inner thoughts and dreams. Free. Call 561-5339699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

Soiree by the Sea

Jan. 20 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Marriott Biscayne Bay, 1633 N. Bayshore Drive in Miami. Enjoy a night of cocktails music, raffles, passed bites, and more to help raise money for Miami Beach Gay Pride. Tickets $50 donation. Visit BrownPaperTickets.com/event/2595424.

Rainbow 5K

Jan. 22 at 7:30 a.m. on Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Dress in your favorite color of the rainbow for a race (or walk!) through Wilton Manors benefitting the Pride Center. One-site registration begins at 6 a.m. Visit TheRainbox5K or Active.com.

* Denotes New Listing

broward support serVices

GENDER BENDER YOUTH GROUP

Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe Campus, 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A group for LGBT youth 13 to 21 to discuss gender, gender expression, binary systems, friendship, family and whatever else comes up! Free. Visit SunServeYouth. com

PFLAG

Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Southwest Ranches. A support group for parents of LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free.

Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and locations.

SUNSERVE YOUTH GROUP

Tuesdays and Thursdays in Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches, Coral Springs and Hollywood. A support group and night of fun for LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and times.

SURVIVOR SUPPORT

First and third Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital cafeteria, 6401 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Find support from counselors and peers who have lost loved ones to suicide. Call the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention at 954-384-0344 or visit FISPOnline.org.

broward county * GLLN Happy Hour

Jan. 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Matty’s 2100 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Network with the Gay & Lesbian Lawyers Network over two-for-one drinks and free appetizers. Free. Visit GLLN. org.

* Taste the Rainbow: Eating and Exercising for the New Year

Jan. 21 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Pride Center 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors.

Get healthy eating and exercise tips and meet other motivated people. Free. Call 954-4639005, ext. 113 or email maturingtogether@ pridecenterflorida.org.

* American Goodwill Tour

Through Jan. 22 at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs.

Eight Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Gomang Monastery will create sand mandalas, lead traditional Tibetan culinary classes, art workshops, and more. Entry $6. Call 954-340-5000 or visit CoralSpringsMuseum. org.

Belief + Doubt

Through Jan. 22 at the NSU Art Museum, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.

Contemporary art from more than 60 artists

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in the collection of Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz. Closed Mondays. Call 954-5255500 or visit NSUArtMuseum.org.

* Tips for Better Running Clinic

Jan. 25 at 6:45 p.m. at Holiday Park, in Fort Lauderdale. The Front Runners & Walkers Fort Lauderdale & Running Wild discuss good running habits before their weekly run/walk. Free. Call 954-247-8642 or visit FrontRunnersFortLauderdale.org.

The Lure of Provincetown

Through Feb. 11 at the Stonewall National Museum - Wilton Manors, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. A popular vacation spot for the LGBT community, including “Dyke Drag Brunch,” the exhibit showcases photographs

by Midge Battelle and Al Kaplan and paintings

by Len Paoletti. Free. Call 954-763-8565 or visit Stonewall-Museum.org.

What’s Going On: Marvin Gaye’s America

Through Feb. 27 at the Miramar Cultural Center Arts Park, 2400 Civic Center Place in Miramar.

An exploration of how the Motown pioneer influenced music and and society. Guests are invited to bring a photo of themselves

Jan. 18 - Jan. 25 from the ‘70s and a reflection of how life has changed since then for the “My 70s” portion of the exhibit. Call 954-602-4500 or visit MiramarCulturalCenter.org.

Come On, Get Happy!

Third Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe, 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. A discussion group designed around the mindbody connection and emotional balance. Free.

Call Katy Yankie at 954-764-5150 ext. 105 or visit sunserve.org.

Food Truck Invasion

Tuesdays from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Plantation Heritage Park, 1100 S. Fig Tree Lane in Plantation. The whole family is invited to the park for dinner with the food trucks and live music. Visit FoodTruckInvasion.com

palm beach county * E•merging: Revealing Our Rainbow

Jan. 18 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. An exhibition of youth artists showcasing handmade books that reveal their inner thoughts and dreams. Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

* Community Justice: The Black Panther Party and Other Civil Rights Movements

Jan. 20 to March 4 at the FAU Ritter Art Gallery, 777 Glades Road in Boca Raton. An exhibition of photography, film, and prints of various social justice movements over time and their impact on society. Free. Call 561-297-2661 or visit FAU.edu/galleries.

Transcendence

Meets at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. A closed transgender youth support group for teens ages 12 to 19. For more information, email youth@compassglcc.com.

Zumba Fitness

Mondays at 6 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Get moving with a certificated Zumba instructor for an infusion of exercise and dance moves.

Donation of $5 or more. Call 561-324-1626 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

Sober Sisters

Mondays at 6:15 p.m. at Lambda North, 18 S. J St. in Lake Worth. A support and discussion group for female recovering alcoholics. Visit LambdaNorth.net.

Out of the Closet, Into the Light

Mondays from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at MCC of

the Palm Beaches, 4857 Northlake Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. AA for the LGBT community. Free. Call 561-775-5900 or visit MCCPalmBeach.org.

Voices of Pride

Mondays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Join the Gay Men’s Chorus as they practice every week.

Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC. com

miami-dade county * Meet Wayne Pacelle

Jan. 12 at 8 p.m. at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Ave. in Coral Gables. The CEO of The Humane Society talks about his book “The Humane Economy,” which explores how business can transform animal welfare. Free. Call 305-4424408 or visit BooksAndBooks.com.

* MLK Day of Service

Jan. 14 from 9 a.m. to Noon at Amelia Earhart Park, 401 E. 65th St. in Hialeah. Volunteer your time with painting, lake clean up, planting, litter cleanup, mulching, and other beautification projects. Volunteers will receive a light breakfast and lunch snack. Free. Visit MiamiDade.gov/parks/volunteer.asp.

* Soiree by the Sea

Jan. 20 from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Marriott Biscayne Bay, 1633 N. Bayshore Drive in Miami.

Enjoy a night of cocktails music, raffles, passed bites, and more to help raise money for Miami Beach Gay Pride. Tickets $50 donation.

Visit BrownPaperTickets.com/event/2595424.

The Other Dimension

Through Jan. 22 at Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, 770 NE 125th St. in North Miami. Antuan Rodriguez’s exhibit is separated into seven rooms exploring five narratives of philosophical, scientific, and cultural themes. Tickets $5. Call 305-893-6211 or visit mocanomi.org.

key west Gay Key West Trolley Tours

Saturdays at 4 p.m. meeting at 628 Duval St. See the gay side of Key West on this trolley tour. Tickets $25. Call 800-535-7797 or visit GayKeyWestFL.com.

Tea Dance: A Key West Tradition

Sundays at 4 p.m. at La Te Da Hotel, 1125 Duval St. An early evening dance in the Key West tradition. Call 305-296-6706 or visit LaTeDa. com.

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Business Directory a&e FT LAUDERDALE GAY MEN'S CHORUS PO Box 9772, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33310-9772 954-832-0060 www.theftlgmc.org GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF SOUTH FLORIDA PO Box 39617, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339 954-763-2266 Gaymenschorusofsouthflorida.org

chiropractic COAST CHIROPRACTIC INJURY & WELLNESS CENTER 2608 NE 16th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33334 954.463.3036 www.coast-chiropractic.com

final arrangements

Have you made your wishes known?

We’re here to help.

1-800-343-5400

www.levitt-weinstein.com

Pre-Arrangement Discounts For All Our LGBT Friends design How’s that business logo look?

Get it redone in high resolution for only $50!*

Excellence in aesthetics

cleaning BARTON & MILLER CLEANERS 2600 N. Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-4314

For any visual task that needs a sly eye, Visit DogFoxDesign.com

*Price for high res flattened image. Vector and original files require an additional fee.

florist

dental

OAKLAND PARK DENTAL 3047 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33306 954.566.9812 Oaklandparkdental.com ANDREWS DENTAL CARE 2654 N Andrews Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33311 954.567.3311 Andrewsdentalcare.com ISLAND CITY DENTAL 1700 NE 26th Street, Ste. 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954-564-7121 Islandcitydental.com

final arrangements KALIS-MCINTEE FUNERAL & CREMATION CENTER

2505 N. Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-7621 Kalismcintee.com

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handyman MIAMI/BROWARD/PALM BEACH Paint/Caulk/Remove Grout/Yard Work Fix Drips & Switches/Debris removal Assembles Furniture & Appliances Repair or Fix Call "Avrom" Keith 786-227-9981

handyman

To place an ad in the Business Directory, call our sales team at 954.530.4970 framing

health DR. TORY SULLIVAN 2500 N Federal Hwy #301, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.533.1520 Torysullivanmd.com AMERICAN PAIN EXPERTS 6333 N. Federal Hwy, Ste. 250, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954-678-1074 Americanpainexperts.com NATURA DERMATOLOGY 1120 Bayview Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 754.333.4886 naturadermatology.com

MASTER HYPNOTHERAPIST AND LIFE COACH

professional services

Income Tax Preparation •Individual •Small Business •Free Consultation Doug Turner, Enrolled Agent Best Books & Taxes, LLC 2201 Wilton Drive, Suite 4 bestbooksandtaxes.com

954-565-1041

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professional services

pets

AMERICAN TAX & INSURANCE 2929 E Comm. Blvd, 8th Floor Penthouse D, Fort Lauderdale, FL

954.302.3228 Americantaxandinsurance.com

LAW OFFICE OF GEORGE CASTRATARO 707 NE 3rd Ave #300, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.573.1444 Lawgc.com LAW OFFICE OF ROBIN BODIFORD 2550 N Federal Hwy #20, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.630.2707 Lawrobin.com

Coach Bill For Life

WWW.COACHBILLFORLIFE.COM

954.641.8315

LAW OFFICE OF GREGORY KABEL 1 East Broward Blvd #700, Fort Lauderdale, 33301 954.761.7770 gwkesq@bellsouth.net

real estate

LAW OFFICE OF SELZER & WEISS 1515 NE 25th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.4444 Selzerandweiss.com

TREAT HIM TO AFFORDABLE LUXURY!

LAW OFFICE OF SHAWN NEWMAN 710 NE 26th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.563.9160 Shawnnewman.com

sfgn.com Valentine’s Retreat

$260

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call us to reserve space!

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Business Directory To place an ad in the Business Directory, call our sales team at 954.530.4970 restaurants STORKS BAKERY 2505 NE 15th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.3220 Storksbakery.com BEEFCAKES 1721 N Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 954.463.6969 boardwalkbar.com J. MARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (954) 390-0770 Jmarksrestaurant.com

ERNIE'S B-B-Q 1843 S Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 954-523-8636

The Best Cellar

Boutique Wine Shop & Wine Bar The Ultimate Wine Tasting Experience Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., at 8:00 p.m.

spirituality DR. PIERRE B. BLAND, DVM 1332 E. Commercial Blvd., Oakland Park, FL 33334 954-673-8579 Doctorblandvet.com

The Parish of Sts. Francis and Clare Where we welcome and appreciate diversity.

101 NE 3rd St Fort Lauderdale FL 33301 Mass Times: Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 10:30 AM Ecumenical Catholic 954.731.8173

www.stsfrancisandclare.org Baptisms • Weddings • Memorial Services

services

technology

ONLY $15 PER PERSON! 954-630-8020 1408 N.E. 26th St. Wilton Manors, FL 33334

retail PEACE PIPE 4800 N Dixie Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 954.267.9005 Facebook.com/peacepipefl

Licensed & Insured

954-725-3633

custom alarm contractors, Inc.

Est. 1989 “Experience Matters” Service after the sale! ▶ residential security ▶ commercial security ▶ closed circuit tV

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SFGN Classified$ To place a Classified Ad, call Tim Higgins at 954.530.4970 or email at Tim.Higgins@sfgn.com

cleaning services EMERALD IRISH CLEANING - Established for 30 years. 3 hours of cleaning for $60.00. Use time as you wish. English speaking *hand scrub floors* Cleaning supplies included. Service guaranteed 954-524-3161

electrician

HARRY’S ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL - Additions, renovations, service upgrades, breaker panels,FPL undergrounds, code violations, A/C wiring, ceiling fans, recessed, security & landscaping, lighting, pools, pumps, Jacuzzis, water heaters, FREE PHONE ESTIMATES 954-522-3357 Lic & Ins. www. harryelectrician.com

help wanted

HUSBAND FOR RENT - Is he procrastinating home repairs? He says he will do it tomorrow??

After the football game?? We fit right in - in the house or the yard, small or big jobs: tile, dry wall, paint, plumbing, roof leaks, broken furniture, irrigation, fences, and more! It doesn't cost to hassle us to see the work - so why wait? Neat, clean work for a reasonable price. Call Haim at 954-398-3676, sidnalll@yahoo.com HELP WANTED BONA ITALIAN RESTAURANT - Looking for Wait Staff, greeter/phone orders, dishwasher help, pizza chef, bussers. Day and evening shifts in an established Italian Restaurant.

Grow with us. Stop by to fill out an application M-F 11am-2pm, 3pm-5pm. Weekends after 4:30PM.

health

MANSCAPING SERVICES WE OFFER - Treat yourself to a Full Body Hair Removal, Shaving, Trimming, and Waxing. European Facial, Oxy Hydro Treatment. No Chemicals used.Looking Good & Feeling Good Call Ebi at 561-502-3217 or www.euromanscaping.com

home health care

NEED AN EXPERIENCE CAREGIVER-PRIVATE DUTY - CARING MATURE RELIABLE CERT. CAREGIVER 25 YEARS EXP WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR SICK/ELDERLY LOVE ONE. ALL GENDERS WELCOME EQUAL LOVE & CARE FOR ALL REFS UPON REQUEST CALL 754-207-9822

painting

GREGG'S PAINTING - I paint both interior and exterior. Great rates, free estimates. I am detailedoriented, friendly, reliable, punctual, and neat. No job too small. Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

Call Gregg at 617-306-5694 or 954-870-5972 Email: gmanbenn44@gmail.com

piano WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO? Learn from an experienced teacher. All levels and ages welcome. Learn to play classical, popular, jazz, or show tunes. Visit www.edwinchad. com or call 954-826-9555 for more information.

licensed massage

AFFORDABLE AWESOME MASSAGE BY JIM Offering Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports and LomiLomi Massage for Men; in a very comfortable, relaxed and Private Massage Studio, NOW conveniently located in Wilton Manors on NE 26th Street, with plenty of free parking. Same Day appointments are welcome; please call Jim, 954-600-5843 email: info@ massagebyjim.com or visit my website for testimonials, rates and more. GREAT OPENING SPECIAL NOW AVAILABLE! www.massagebyjim.com Licensed and Certified MM22293

music lessons

VOICE LESSONS & MUSIC THEATRE COACHING - Over 30 years experience. Students have performed on (and off) Broadway, in National & International tours, recorded solo albums & placed in prestigious competitions. www.kreutzmusic.com 617-967-0575

pool service

COOL POOLS- RELIABLE POOL SERVICE Professional pool service.Covering Wilton Manors, Lighthouse Point, and eastside of Pompano Beach.

15 years experience. Licensed and insured.Free estimates. Call 954-235-0775.

rentals wilton manors

LARGE 2 BED & 2 BATH - Located 1 Block from Wilton Drive on NE 16th Street. New Kitchen, Tile Floors, Central A/C, Laundry, Private Backyard $1450 month, First & Security to move in. Avail.

Feb 1 954-815-2550 MIKE THE RENTAL GUY - NE Lauderdale/Wilton Manors/Oakland Park-1/1 from $990, 2/1 from $1140. Victoria Park-1/1=$1090.00 cable included.

Credit & Income Requirements-Pets okay with restrictions Call for Details Mike 561-703-5533 or miketherentalguy@aol.com VERY NICE COTTAGE FOR RENT - Separate cottage for rent for $800.00 has full kitchen and showered bath. Includes washer/Dryer and water tenant pays elec. Has a private entrance and private parking. Requires F/L/S to move in. Call Michael at 954-615-7103

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