SFGN 11/10/22 V13iss45

FORT LAUDERDALE CHOOSES THREE NEW COMMISSIONERS FROM CROWDED BALLOT

Fifteen people had their eyes set for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission, and after Tuesday’s vote, residents selected three to take a seat at the dais.

John Charles Herbst, Pam Beasley-Pittman and Dr. Warren Sturman are the city’s new commissioners, according to unofficial results posted by the Broward Supervisor of Elections.

For District 1, Herbst had an easy win, taking 39.66% of the vote — in second place was Ken Keechl with 22.59%, who served as Broward County’s first gay mayor. Herbst, a Marine veteran, has experience working with the city of Fort Lauderdale. He served as the city’s auditor for 16 years but was fired in February when he investigated the former police chief’s “secondary employment” as an NCAA coach when he was supposed to be on duty. According to Local 10, Mayor Dean Trantalis called it a “secret investigation.” Now, the two will be serving on the commission together.

Herbst replaces former Commissioner Heather Moraitis, who announced her early

resignation from her post come November; she didn’t get into specifics in her statement, but mentioned that she wanted to return her primary focus to education.

In District 3, voters selected BeasleyPittman as their choice for commission. During her Election Day party, the retired BSO extradition specialist told supporters that her goals were to better the relationship between police and the community, work on affordable housing, and address the fact that in 2025, Sunset Memorial Gardens will be at capacity. She’ll be taking the seat of former Commissioner Robert McKinzie, who won a spot on the Broward County Board of County Commissioners in August. He attended her watch party and announced that she is the first Black female commissioner for the city.

“This is brand new to me, but who I am, I

am a person who advocates for what is right and that is what you’ll get from me,” BeasleyPittman said. “This is not Team Pam; this is District 3. This is the city and we’re going to work together.”

Finally, the closest and also the most crowded race for Fort Lauderdale City Commission was in District 4, with seven candidates vying for the seat vacated by former Vice Mayor Ben Sorenson when he made an unsuccessful run for Florida Congress in August. Sturman squeaked by with 21.19% of the vote, beating second place contestant Kevin Cochrane by less than 100 votes. Sturman works at Broward General Medical Center and founded the Fort Lauderdale Community Emergency Response Team.

The incumbents on the dais are Trantalis and Commissioner Steve Glassman.

ART FRENZIE CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH GALA NOV. 12

Christiana Lilly

Associated Press

SFGN COVER: Designed by Kyle Willis Bottom image via Florida Grand Opera/Facebook.

From left: John Charles Herbst, Pam Beasley-Pittman and Dr. Warren Sturman. Photos via Facebook.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE G ... HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING IN THE LGBTQIA COMMUNITY

TRANSGENDER

FORMER ‘REAL HOUSEWIVES’ STAR INTRODUCES WORLD TO HER TRANS SON

Former “Real Housewives of Orange County” star Alexis Bellini took to Instagram to share the news about her transgender son.

Her son Miles has been transitioning over the past 16 months. She wrote, “I had stopped posting the past few months due to this transition in Miles’ life, but he’s now ready to ‘come out’ and to use this platform to stop any hate or questions. He’s tired of the misgendering and confusion people have, so we are setting the record straight.”

She explained that Miles first came out as transgender to her 16 months ago and initially wanted to hide it from everyone. However, now he is ready to come out.

“My son can live life now with his true self,” she said.

Bellini confirmed she would be deleting

T

BISEXUALB ‘HEARTSTOPPER’ STAR KIT CONNER COMES OUT AS BISEXUAL

The star of Netflix’s new series “Heartstopper,” Kit Conner, came out as bisexual. In a tweet, he said that he was forced to reveal his sexuality, “Back for a minute. I’m bi. Congrats for forcing an 18-year-old to out himself. I think some of you missed the point of the show. Bye,” Connor wrote.

This comes a few weeks after Connor was accused of queer baiting, meaning that he was benefiting from the LGBT community without saying he was a part of it.

and blocking any hate and asked for the support of fans during this time. “We are all human and we are ALL equal,” she said.

In “Heartstopper,” Connor plays Nick Nelson, a high school student who develops feelings for his gay classmate Charlie Spring. The show features Connor’s character coming out as bisexual to his mother.

Stonewall, a British LGBTQ+ rights group, responded to Connor’s tweet saying,

“Sending all our love and solidarity Kit. Nobody should ever be forced to come out before they are ready. This is your own journey and no one else’s!”

Kit Conner. Photo via Instagram.

Miles and Alexis Bellini . Photo via Instagram.

LESBIAN

BEAUTY QUEENS MISS ARGENTINA AND MISS PUERTO RICO GET MARRIED

Beauty queens Mariana Varela and Fabiola Valentín recently got married.

The 2020 winners of Miss Argentina and Miss Puerto Rico announced their news on Instagram.

“After deciding to keep our relationship private, we opened the doors to them on a special day. 28/10/22,” the couple wrote in Spanish.

Along with the caption, they posted a video of their relationship that featured images from their engagement, matching diamond rings, and other highlights with family and friends.

The couple reportedly met at the pageant in 2020, and remained friends afterward, according to HOLA! magazine.

Their announcement was met with support and congratulatory messages.

Notably, Abena Akuaba, who was Miss Grand USA 2020 and the first Black woman to win the Miss Grand International pageant, commented. “Omg

Mariana Varela and Fabiola Valentín.

Screenshot via Instagram.

congratulations MGI brought together a beautiful union.”

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THE COUNTRY

CHRISTIAN COLLEGE FACULTY JOBS SAFE AFTER CONTRADICTING VIEWS ON ‘SINS OF SEX’

Calvin University’s Board of Trustees has approved that a group of faculty members will not have to disclose their views on sex outside of a heterosexual marriage as “sinful.”

When hired, faculty members must sign an agreement that lists that he/ she/they uphold the same values as the private Michigan university.

“It seemed necessary to register my dissent so that I could have clarity in terms of whether it was a space where I could continue to work, or whether I no longer fit within the mission of the community,” said Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a professor of history at Calvin who was among the initial group of faculty

TRANSPHOBIC REMARKS SPARK LAWSUIT IN SCHOOL DISTRICT

Alliance Defending Freedom, an antiLGBT group, is supporting the lawsuit of a Vermont coach and his daughter suing the school district that suspended both because of their transphobic remarks.

Blake Allen, Coach Travis Allen’s daughter, was reportedly taunting the student by saying things like “literally is a dude” and “he doesn’t belong in the girls’ locker room” regarding the trans student using the girls’ locker room to change, according to The Washington Times.

The school gave Blake the option to “write a reflective essay and either serve a two-day suspension or participate in a ‘restorative circle.’”

“[T]he truth is your son watched my daughter and multiple other girls change in the locker room. While he got a free

VERMONT COLORADO

show, they got violated,” Travis wrote in a post on a local news station’s page.

“[Y]ou think this is fine and dandy, I wonder how you would feel if I watched you undress?” asked Coach Allen in an online exchange with the trans girl’s parent according to LGBTQ Nation

Coach Allen was suspended without pay due to this.

LOCAL CATHOLIC LEADERS TARGET TRANS STUDENTS,

The Denver Post obtained the 17page document titled “Guidance for Issues Concerning the Human Person and Sexual Identity,” which states that Catholic schools must not enroll or reenroll students who identify as trans or non-conforming gender.

With confirmation by the Denver Archdiocese, who advised these guidelines be enforced, the document continues “that gay parents should be treated differently than heterosexual ones,” reported The Denver Post.

Faculties were advised that students must be addressed as the “student’s biological sex” pronouns rather than their preferred.

GAY PARENTS

The document also states that all schools show compassion toward the LGBT students.

Photo via archden.org.

Photo via Unsplash.

according to The Washington Post

Photo via calvin.edu

THE AROUNDWORLD

EXPLORING LGBT NEWS EVENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE

EUROPE ASIA

KERRY PRIEST CLAIMS HE RECEIVED STANDING OVATION FOR ANTI-LGBT SERMON

The priest at the center of a weekend incident involving a contentious antiLGBT sermon has stood by his remarks, saying he earned a standing ovation at the end of the Mass.

Father Seán Sheehy informed the audience at St. Mary’s Church in Listowel that sin was “rampant” in Ireland, and that permitting two men or two women to have a sexual connection was evidence of this, as was a “lunatic approach to transgenderism.”

According to The Irish Mirror, his remarks infuriated the community, including a sizable percentage of the Mass attendance.

The daughter of Eamon “Bomber” O’Connor, for whom the Mass was being said, was among those who walked out.

Despite Bishop Ray Browne’s apology for

Father Sheehy’s statements, the Listowel priest has now escalated his conduct.

He added that after the service, those who remained in the church applauded him for his statements.

CARIBBEAN

Lisset Díaz and Liusba Grajales, standing erect and clad in long gala gowns despite the noon Cuban heat, calmly go up the 10 steps of the notary office, their fists clenched and quivering. Their two little girls are only a few steps ahead.

When they came out the doors over an hour later, the anxiety on their faces had been replaced by grins. They were spouses from that time on.

The island’s new Family Code, which allows for anything from equal marriage to surrogate moms, went into force.

The pair, who have been together for seven years, are among the first to decide to legally marry in Cuba in accordance with the law.

“It’s a big day,” said Grajales to CBS News “Love is love, just the way it is. Without

imposition, without prejudice … I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry. It’s a mix of so many strong emotions.”

LGBT MARCH TAKES PLACE IN SOUTH AFRICA DESPITE TERRORIST THREATS

TOKYO ISSUES SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIP CERTIFICATES

Tokyo has started to roll out a partnership certificate program for same-sex couples, allowing them to be considered as married couples for certain public services for the first time but falling short of marriage equality.

Some believe this is a step toward Japan as a whole accepting equality.

According to BBC News, it is now the only developed country in the G7 group that does not recognize same-sex unions.

The partnership certificates, which have already been established in eight other Japanese prefectures, would allow same-sex couples to be regarded the same as married couples in terms of housing, medication, and welfare. However, they will not assist with situations such as

adoption, inheritance, or spousal visas.

Photo via Adobe.

Screenshot via Shane McAuliffe/Twitter.

Photo via Adobe.

Photo by J.R. Davis

Newly elected Wilton Manors City Commissioner Don D’Arminio with husband Marc Martorana, board member of the Outshine Film Festival and chair of SunServe Shine Gala, at The National Task Force Miami Gala.

BEYOND ACCEPTANCE

TRANS COMMUNITY FIGHTS FOR

SunServe’s gala isn’t until March, but they’re already building hype and excitement.

The kickoff party for the Studio: SHINE Gala went down at The Venue on Oct. 26. SunServe’s Executive Director Tony Lima was brimming with excitement.

“What a fantastic way to kick off SunServe’s Shine Gala Season than with a party to celebrate our strongest donors and supporters. We’re so thankful to all of those angels out there that make our vital services for our community possible.”

One hundred and sixty people sipped cocktails and munched on appetizers while Velvet Lenore and Aaliyah Jae set the mood with show-stopping performances that accentuated the upcoming gala’s disco theme. Studio: SHINE will have a Studio 54 vibe.

The main event is set for March 24, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. to midnight at The Venue in

Wilton Manors. Tickets are $175 each and a table is $1750. David Jobin of Our Fund Foundation will be one of the honorees.

“I was absolutely honored to serve as one of the event co-chairs last year, and I am thrilled to have been asked back this year,” said Wilton Manors Commissioner Chris Caputo. “Last year, the SunServe SHINE gala was the event of the year, selling out weeks in advance. The gala was incredibly successful in raising both critically needed funds and community awareness for one of our most important LGBTQ non-profits in South Florida.”

Tickets for the Studio: SHINE Gala are on sale now at www.SunServe.org/gala.

Politicians have spent the last few years punching down and pummeling the trans community. Hateful legislation includes preventing trans youth from playing school sports and using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. November is Trans Awareness Month and Tatiana Williams, Transinclusive Group founder and executive director, said this is an opportunity to expose injustice and rally allies old and new to the cause.

She sat down with SFGN to talk about the state of the trans community.

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE (TDOR) IS NOV. 20. HOW WILL TRANSINCLUSIVE GROUP MARK THE DAY?

To honor Transgender Day of Remembrance this year, our community will be gathering in Justin Flippen Park across from Wilton Manors City Hall at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20 and walking along Wilton Drive to the mural honoring our murdered siblings painted on the wall of the Wilton Collective. From there we will walk to

NEWS LOCAL

INCLUSION

The Pride Center, arriving by 7 p.m. and joining together as we honor the trans lives lost in 2022 with spoken word, performance, and a community meal.

WHAT OTHER RESOURCES DO YOU PROVIDE FOR THE COMMUNITY?

As an advocacy-driven, trans-led organization, Transinclusive Group provides services, support, resources and linkage primarily to individuals of trans, nonbinary, and gender diverse experience, as well as gay, bisexual, and same-gender-loving men and other LGBTQ+ people, with a particular focus on Black and Brown transgender individuals.

You can learn more about their services at TransInclusiveGroup.org.

Read the full interview at sfgn.com/TatianaInterview.

GROUP HOSTS PANEL TO RAISE AWARENESS OF TRANS ISSUES

After decades of progress and working toward acceptance for the LGBT community, people are seeing rights regress. And no community is feeling the latest wave of hate more than the trans community. Battles won long ago are being refought with very different results. On Nov. 4, the community gathered at the ArtServe building in Fort Lauderdale to discuss victories, losses, and the many challenges that lie ahead.

Transinclusive Group hosted the night, and Nik Harris, Director of Strategic Outreach and Engagement at the Human Rights Campaign, led the panel discussion.

Joining her on the dais were Rajee Narinesingh, a trans activist, author, actress, reality TV personality and Outreach Advocate for TransSocial; Brayland Brown, MBA, CoDirector of The Smile Trust & Board President

of Transinclusive Group, and more.

The room was packed with community leaders. The goal is to gain understanding and perspective of trans issues.

“It’s one thing to show up to an event like this. There was a time when there were no panels for trans or GNC or non-binary,” Narinesingh said. “There was a time when we didn’t have a seat at the table. The progress is there, we can see it. But are you going to just show up? Or are you going to be a true advocate for us?”

Amelia Leon said an important part of bridging gaps and gaining understanding is addressing why cis-gendered people are often uncomfortable around trans people.

November is Trans Awareness Month, Transgender Awareness Week is November 13-19 leading up to Transgender Day of Rememberance on Nov. 20.

John Hayden

John Hayden

Tatiana Williams. Photo via www.transinclusivegroup.org.

John Hayden

Photo by Stephen Lang.

NEW MAKEUP OF WILTON MANORS CITY COMMISSION

SCOTT NEWTON RE-ELECTED AS MAYOR IN WILTON MANORS

Three candidates, two seats, one ugly race. The election for city commission got ugly in the last few weeks. Anonymous (and public) mudslinging was abundant. There was a shouting match during a city commission meeting. Campaign signs were under scrutiny. Don D’Arminio, David Walker, and incumbent Paul Rolli were in it to the bitter end. And in that very bitter end, voters sent the incumbent, Rolli, back to city hall for another four years. The nailbiter came down to who would win the open seat created by Commissioner Gary Resnick’s retirement.

Unofficial results show D’Arminio winning by fewer than 200 votes. He told SFGN that Walker called him around 9 p.m. to concede.

“I’m humbled by the support of our residents, and honored to be the next commissioner that they chose to lead our city.”

Rolli cruised to re-election, and shortly

after the polls closed he gave a very happy interview to SFGN, saying, “I think it’s great.

I wouldn’t have run if I didn’t want to win.”

SFGN reached out to Walker’s campaign but has not received a response.

“I look forward to working with our entire city commission to move our city forward on behalf of our residents to do what’s best for our city and our residents,” said D’Arminio. I congratulate Paul Rolli and Scott Newton on their re-elections.”

It wasn’t a late night for Wilton Manors’ Mayor Scott Newton. Minutes after polls closed in Broward County early results showed him with a 2,300-vote lead, or 78% of the 4,100 votes counted. In a city with a total population of around 13,000 victory seems inevitable.

“I want to say thanks to the voters for putting trust in me for another two years,” Newton said moments after the first totals were released.

Newton defeated Boyd Corbin, who ran a campaign filled with online accusations that were inflammatory and often unproven. Corbin’s main issue is Wilton Manors sewage and water problems. Flooding and sewage backups are often a problem at some of the city’s main streets, which Newton acknowledged during his post-election comments with SFGN, saying, “My opponent is a very good advocate for water.”

However, Newton said that’s as far as

Corbin’s expertise goes.

“[Outside of that] he doesn’t know what’s going on in Wilton Manors.”

With both of the city’s precincts reporting, unofficial results show Newton winning with about 76% of the vote.

SFGN reached out to Corbin but has not received a response.

John Hayden

Mayor Scott Newton. SFGN FIle photo.

John Hayden

Don D’Arminio (left) and Paul Rolli (right). SFGN file photos.

RED WAVE WIPES OUT FLORIDA’S LGBT CANDIDATES

It was a virtual wipe out for LGBT candidates at the state level in Florida’s midterm elections.

Representative Michele Rayner was the sole survivor, winning the race for House seat 62 to return for her second term in Tallahassee. In a district that spans Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, Rayner, a Democrat, received 32,866 votes to defeat Republican Jeremy Brown, who finished with 14,649 votes.

Others weren’t so fortunate. The shocker came in House District 37, where three-term Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith was ousted by Republican Susan Plasencia. In unofficial totals, Plasencia got 27,696 votes to Smith’s 25,617 in a district that covers parts of Seminole and Orange counties.

Lesbians Janelle Perez and Eunic Ortiz were defeated in their Senate campaigns. Alexis Maria Calatayud took the Miami-Dade District 38 seat, receiving 93,726 votes (54%) to Perez’s 78,595 votes (46%). In Pinellas County’s District 18, Republican Nick DiCeglie got 128,927 votes

NEWS NATIONAL

(57%) to 97,703 (43%) for Ortiz.

Elsewhere, gay candidates Adam Gentle and Gabriel Gonzalez could not duplicate their primary victories. Gentle fell to incumbent Representative Jim Mooney in House District 120 (61% to 39%), which covers the Florida Keys, while Gonzalez lost to Juan Carlos Porras (64% to 36%) in western Miami-Dade’s House District 119.

In August, Senator Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens) won re-election during a universal Democratic primary election in the newly drawn District 34. Jones, the state’s first gay Black Senator and Rayner, the first queer Black woman Representative, are now Florida’s only LGBT representatives out of 160 elected positions.

FOUNDATION FIGHTS SUPERBUG IN MEMORY OF GAY MAN’S MOTHER

In honor of his late mother, Christian John Lillis is raising awareness about a deadly germ.

“We lose 30,000 a year to C. diff and less than 40% of our population has even heard of it,” Lillis said. “We want people to know C. diff exists.”

C. diff — short for Clostridioides difficile — claimed the life of Lillis’ mother, Peggy, through a routine root canal procedure. She had been prescribed clindamycin, an antibiotic, for a suspected abscess and soon after, thinking she had caught a stomach virus, Peggy was rushed to the hospital. Diagnosed with sepsis, she died the next day at the age of 56.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Lillis, a gay Brooklynite. “If anything, it gets more acute. My mother would have been 69 this year.”

Through the Peggy Lillis Foundation, Lillis and his brother Liam strive to keep their

mother’s memory alive with education and advocacy. C. diff infects the large intestine causing hard-to-treat diarrhea and colitis, an inflammation of the colon.

Lillis wants to decrease the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in patients and farm animals, which erodes good bacteria. Another prevention tactic is to petition the CDC to make C. diff a nationally notifiable disease.

“That will give us a much clearer picture of the epidemiology — what is driving it and is dentistry driving this?” Lillis asked.

November is C. diff awareness month. A comprehensive list by state of providers, regulatory information, clinical trials and advocacy groups can be found at peggyfoundation.org.

John McDonald

Courtesy of Christian John Lillis.

John McDonald

Carlos Guillermo Smith. Photo via Facebook.

PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS

Addiction and Overdose

Anyone who takes prescription opioids can become addicted to them. In fact, as many as one in four patients receiving long-term opioid therapy in a primary care setting struggles with opioid addiction.4,5,6 Once addicted, it can be hard to stop. In 2016, more than 11.5 million Americans reported misusing prescription opioids in the past year.1

Taking too many prescription opioids can stop a person’s breathing—leading to death.

SIDE EFFECTS

In addition to the serious risks of addiction, abuse, and overdose, the use of prescription opioids can have a number of side effects, even when taken as directed:

Tolerance—meaning you might need to take more of the medication for the same pain relief

Physical dependence—meaning you have symptoms of withdrawal when the medication is stopped

Prescription opioid overdose deaths also often involve benzodiazepines. Benzodiazepines are central nervous system depressants used to sedate, induce sleep, prevent seizures, and relieve anxiety. Examples include alprazolam (Xanax®), diazepam (Valium®), and lorazepam (Ativan®). Avoid taking benzodiazepines while taking prescription opioids whenever possible.

Nausea, vomiting, and dry mouth

Sleepiness and dizziness

Confusion

Low levels of testosterone that can result in lower sex drive, energy, and strength

Increased sensitivity to pain

Constipation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2018 Annual Surveillance Report of Drug-Related Risks and Outcomes — United States Surveillance Special Report 2pdf icon. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Published August 31, 2018.

2 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vital Signs: Variation Among States in Prescribing of Opioid Pain Relievers and Benzodiazepines — United States, 2012. MMWR 2014; 63(26);563-568.

3 Ossiander EM. Using textual cause-of-death data to study drug poisoning deaths. Am J Epidemiol 2014 Apr 1;179(7):884-94.

Depression

Itching and sweating

4 Banta-Green CJ, Merrill JO, Doyle SR, Boudreau DM, Calsyn DA. Opioid use behaviors, mental health and pain—development of a typology of chronic pain patients. Drug Alcohol Depend 2009;104:34–42.

5 Boscarino JA, Rukstalis M, Hoffman SN, et al. Risk factors for drug dependence among out-patients on opioid therapy in a large US health-care system. Addiction 2010;105:1776–82.

6 Fleming MF, Balousek SL, Klessig CL, Mundt MP, Brown DD. Substance use disorders in a primary care sample receiving daily opioid therapy. J Pain 2007;8:573–82.

is ad is supported by a CDC nancial assistance award in Broward County, FL. Contents are those of the author and do not represent an endorsement.

Broward County

BYRON PERKINS BECOMES HAMPTON UNIVERSITY’S FIRST GAY ATHLETE

Everitt Rosen

AHampton University football player made history by being the first Historically Black College & University athlete to come out and identify as gay.

According to Cassius, Hampton University defensive back Byron Perkins declared his sexual orientation in an Instagram post.

“I’ve decided that I’m going to make a change, and stop running away from myself. I’m gay,” Perkins wrote. “Let it be known that this is not a ‘decision’ or a ‘choice.’ Yes, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m going to be.”

The junior from Chicago, is believed to be the first athlete at a HBCU to declare their sexual identity publicly.

Perkins took the choice because he felt he wasn’t being true to himself, and the strain was getting to him.

LIFESTYLE IN THE ARENA

POPPERS CAUSE PANIC AT PORTLAND CONCERT

Last month, rap superstar Lil Nas X told fans to stop using poppers at his shows. But the message wasn’t universally received. Sources tell In The Arena the use of powerful aromas led to medical attention during an Oct. 15 Panic! At The Disco concert in Portland, Oregon.

A concertgoer observed two men inhaling a chemical substance in a small glass bottle. One of the men dropped the bottle and it shattered on the concrete floor sending the powerful aroma into the next row where a young woman became dizzy, nauseated and threw up. The woman was treated on-site by emergency medical services but did not require hospitalization. The incident was reported to the facility’s guest experience department, a confidential source told In The Arena.

Poppers, or alkyl nitrites, have long been used by gay men seeking a muscle relaxer

during sex.

“I said stop doing poppers!” Lil Nas X tweeted. “Cuz ya assh*le don’t need to be open while I sing my depression album cuts.”

Jake Wesley Rogers was the opening act at Portland’s Moda Center during the night in question. Rogers, who is gay and gives off young Elton John vibes, has a song called Hindsight in the new movie “Bros.”

Hunter Houston

Broken poppers. Courtesy photo.

Byron Perkins. Photo via Instagram.

DON’T SAY WEIGH

LARGER ADULT WHITE-KNUCKLES LAP BARS DURING ORLANDO GAY DAYS, LEARNS LESSONS IN RESTRAINT

Publix foyer: their vintage Toledo floor scale reveals my latest OCD in bloom. The arrow-tipped arm usually sweeps the Toledo’s round face resting in the white space beyond 300, but before zero. Ballpark an extra 10 pounds. A week before my roommate and I alight to Orlando’s Gay Days, that red pointer twacks the zero-pound stopper.

This weight-mare trails us to our first Orlando Park: SeaWorld. Their latest attraction is a launched steel coaster — Ice Breaker — just opened after a COVID delay. The ride’s manufacturer — Premier — is American, usually a good omen for larger riders. Unfortunately, Premier lumps with Swiss Intamin and all Asian manufacturers as a fatty no-fly zone.

Ice Breaker is our “rope drop” so there’s no line as my roommate speedwalks the switchbacks, not realizing I’m waylaid in the “tester.” When he returns, I’ve successfully navigated the shoulder restraint/lap bar combo, but the console’s red light still shines demonically. We quickly switch places. The unlabeled lights flip green.

“I do not trust the accuracy of tester seats,” Mike Galvan, “Big Boy’s Guide to Roller Coasters” author, told The Los Angeles Times. He describes belts intentionally shorter than the actual ride’s designed to spare larger guests “the walk of shame” or getting booted during the coaster load. “I made the test seat,” he adds, forecasting my morning, “but was rejected from the actual ride.”

Ice Breaker loading: roommate forgets training — intricately blocked movement — I board first, then him. He pivots and leaps, throwing himself onto my lap bar like an Olympic Pommel Horse.

This spring, 340-pound teen Tyre Sampson plunged 400 feet from jerryrigged restraints to the bottom of ICON Park’s FreeFall drop tower. His death chilled Orlando ride operators, who used to push down on lap bars to “get that click.” Now they’re mostly hands-off. 325-pound YouTuber Adrian Vasquez rates parks’ “fat-friendliness” and highlights both the policy revision and helping-hand suggestion.

Park employees are as individual as ride restraints, which Galvan calls a lottery. “Belt lengths vary,” he said, “from ride to ride, row to row.” Later, we board another Swiss manufactured — Bollinger & Mabillard — coaster called Kraken. In a nod to American obesity stats — 14% at SeaWorld’s 1973 debut, skyrocketing to today’s one in three adults — Kraken’s conspicuous signage steers guests with “larger chest dimensions” toward “modified” rows 4 and 5.

The Kraken loading zone broadcasts a four-seat schematic over the eight-row train. Each block turns green when a rider “clicks in.” One rider, pendulous breasts squarely in “larger chest dimensions” territory, fumbles with her belt. Her box turns green.

Sincerely, Tony Phillips

Red Light Violation: Ice Breaker’s Test Car. Photo by Richard Resnik.

Readers who followed me over the years know that sometimes I’ve been critical of public television. I criticized its occasional commercialism and its lack of programs by or about LGBT people. Still, I am a longtime fan of public television. Unlike broadcast and most cable television, which seem to exist to sell advertising and appeal to the lowest common denominator, public TV serves the public with (mostly) quality programs that educate, entertain and elevate our minds and hearts. When cable stations emerged in the eighties many of us thought that they would make public TV obsolete; a notion that cable quickly dispelled as it descended into a trash heap of dumb reality shows. Where else on television — whether broadcast, cable or streaming — can one find, in the words of one of its most enthusiastic donors, opera and ballet, travel shows and cooking shows? Here you will find historic shows, patriotic shows, shows about Jews, shows about Blacks, shows about Latinx and, occasionally, shows about the LGBT community.

Dolores Sukhdeo, CEO of South Florida PBS stations WPBT and WXEL, put it well when she wrote that “we are a storyteller, a teacher, a theater, a library, and a traveling companion. We are the most trusted place for families with children, a thoughtful retreat for adults, a source of reliable, unbiased information, and a place where all of us can continue to

learn and grow.” Critics unfairly mock PBS for producing television for children under seven and seniors over seventy. As one who is fast approaching the second group, I find much to enjoy in public television. But there is much in PBS for everyone, not just for the very young or the very old. Often public TV falls short of its goals, as when it gives in to the whims of public or private pressure groups, or when it runs thinly disguised infomercials during its seemingly endless round of pledge periods. But all in all, in spite its faults, public TV comes through.

Only a small percentage of PBS funds comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a government agency that receives money from the government to fund public television. The rest comes from foundations, philanthropies, those notorious pledge periods, donations from wealthy widows like Darlene Marcos Shiley, and “contributions from viewers like you” and me. Mrs. Shiley gave $10 million from her inherited money to the Masterpiece Trust, which finances that popular series of British-made dramas and mysteries. Obviously my modest $55 annual membership donation is nowhere near the contributions made by Mrs. Shiley and other philanthropists. But I do my best.

If you agree that public television — and radio — are worth protecting and supporting, you might start by sending a donation to your local public TV station.

Jesse Monteagudo

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.

Photo via Adobe.

FGO OFFERS FRESH TAKE ON OLD CLASSIC

J.W. Arnold

Even though Domenico Cimarosa and Giovanni Bertati wrote their comic opera “El Matrimonio Secreto” (“The Secret Marriage”) more than 225 years ago, the production opening Florida Grand Opera’s (FGO) season this weekend will seem very familiar to Miami audiences.

Director Crystal Manich updated the setting to Miami Beach and the singers will perform in “South Floridian Spanish” in a new translation by Darwin Aquino and Benedetta Orsi.

Manich, an accomplished stage and film director based in Los Angeles, began work on the production, originally scheduled to debut in 2020 before the pandemic shuttered arts venues for nearly two years.

“FGO and [general manager] Susan Danis had this idea of changing an Italian opera into a Spanish-language comedy. They really wanted to get a new translation and set it in the 1980s in Miami,” recalled Manich via Zoom. “Obviously, the Cuban community is so huge in Miami and the idea of doing a show that they would recognize [with] the cultural references was intriguing. I interviewed people who lived in Miami in the 80s and got their take to put it on stage.”

The action takes place in the fictional South Beach Hotel Paraiso, where traditional dad Geronimo is trying to marry off his two modern daughters, not realizing one has already eloped — with an Anglo. Even before the FGO update, cultures clash in hilarious ways, not unlike popular television sitcoms.

In its day, “El Matrimonio Secreto” was a big hit, outselling contemporary operas by Mozart and eliciting the longest standing

ovation in history. But, for recent generations, the opera and its composer have maintained only a niche following.

Updating classic operas has become a common practice, resurrecting melodious scores and intriguing plots by changing the setting, as Manich has done.

“Comedy in opera is really adaptable to different time periods and approaches. Dramas are steeped in such a specific period in history, but comedies are abstract enough,” explained Manich. “I had a great design team and we had a ball coming up with ideas.”

Look for big hair, lots of pastels and palm trees, and even a swimming pool on stage, Manich promised. But musically, Cimarosa’s score remains untouched.

“The musical structure is the same and the instrumentation is the same — it was written in the same era as Mozart. The key is in the characterizations. With recitative, there is a lot of flexibility and the actor controls the pacing. That is a way to make it interesting in how the line is expressed, that will be key,” she said.

Even though the performers will be sipping cafecitos and Cuba libres, the music never seems divorced from the Latin archetypes Manich incorporates into the staging.

She summed up her objective: “My goal is for the audience to walk away feeling like they’ve seen themselves, especially if they’re a part of the Latino community in Miami. But if not, to have enjoyed themselves and have enjoyed seeing operatic comedy in a new way and recognize the universal themes that have inspired great art through the centuries.”

Florida Grand Opera presents “El Matrimonio Secreto,” Nov. 12–15 at the Arsht Center in Miami. Tickets start at $18 at FGO.org.

A classical Italian opera gets a 1980s Spanish language update in FGO’s opening production of the season.

Credit: Eric Joannes.

GAY ‘FAMILY KARMA’ STAR TALKS ABOUT NEW SEASON, WEDDING

J.W. Arnold

The third season of Bravo’s “Family Karma” debuted on Nov. 6 and a gay wedding is one of the main storylines in this reality series about a group of Indian-American friends living in Miami.

Last season, attorney Amrit Kapai proposed to his longtime partner Nicholas Kouchokos and finally the couple were married last April viewers will get a look at the preparations and weekend-long ceremony.

Kapai spoke with SFGN via Zoom about the event and what viewers can expect in subsequent episodes.

“It was stressful. Planning a wedding generally is very, very stressful. There is so much conflict between the two individuals getting married and then you add the layer of families involved. Ours is obviously not a traditional wedding … it’s two guys, it’s a biracial, interfaith gay wedding. Oftentimes it felt like the odds were stacked against us,” recalled Kapai.

He continued, “We knew how important it was to solidify out bonds with one another. Representation absolutely matters and gay marriage is still pretty recent. We’re not even 10 years out and sometimes I feel like we’re taking steps backward in terms of our progress. So, hopefully, viewers will love seeing the wedding. We should be able to turn on the TV and see straight and gay weddings. At the end of the day, everybody wants the same thing love.”

Kapai chuckled when asked if he became a “groomzilla” through the process. While viewers will be left to make their own judgements, he admitted he and Kouchokos “passed the baton to one another … I was probably the groomzilla 70 to 80% of the

time. I will take ownership of that. I’m very particular. If I hadn’t been a lawyer, I might have been an event planner and an Indian wedding is the ultimate event.”

Now a few months into their marriage, life hasn’t changed drastically. He appreciates the commitment and especially the opportunity to use the “H” word (husband), rather than boyfriend, partner or significant other.

“Husband is a term that has so much power to it universally and there’s no reason our community should not be able to use that term,” Kapai said.

As for the rest of the new season storylines involving his castmates, Kapai said it isn’t “rainbows and butterflies.” There are conflicts among the friends and also with their parents, who are first-generation immigrants and have been friends longer than their children.

“That’s inevitable with friendships. You have to remember the good times, the history. That’s what keeps these relationships from breaking forever,” he pointed out, noting that the cast see the final edited episodes at the same time as viewers.

Kapai is grateful to Bravo for the opportunity to portray his truth on the show.

“Bravo has allowed me to tell my story and to have that story resonate with viewers. Growing up, if I was able to turn on the television and watch somebody like me who was of Indian origin, who was an attorney, who was gay and was getting married, that would have given me the confidence to come out sooner in life … All of the other stuff is fun, being recognized, the fans, the opportunities … but the most important thing is to tell my story,” he said.

Season 3 of “Family Karma” is currently airing on Bravo on Sundays. Check local listings for channels and times.

“Love without judgement”

Church of Our Savior MCC

Gay Miami attorney Amrit Kapai plans his wedding on the latest season of “Family Karma,” currently airing on Bravo. Credit: Bravo.