local name global coverage
December 23, 2015 vol. 6 // issue 51
s o u t h
f l o r i d a
g a y
n e w s
SFGN Presents 2015 Achievements in excellence awards Mark Hunter
Anthony Timiraos
Julie Carson
pages 28-33
SOUTHFLORIDAGAYNEWS
SOFLAGAYNEWS
SFGN.COM
®
New Genvoya is now available
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GENC0002_SFlaGayNews_10x10.75_Sprd.indd 1-2
• 12.23.2015
Actual Size
One pill contains elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide (TAF). Ask your healthcare provider if GENVOYA is right for you. To learn more visit GENVOYA.com
Please see Brief Summary of Patient Information with important warnings on the following pages.
12/4/15 4:12 PM 12.23.2015 • 3
Brief Summary of Patient Information about GENVOYA GENVOYA (jen-VOY-uh) (elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) tablets Important: Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist about medicines that should not be taken with GENVOYA. There may be new information about GENVOYA. This information is only a summary and does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or treatment.
What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA? GENVOYA can cause serious side effects, including: • Build-up of lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis may happen in some people who take GENVOYA. Lactic acidosis is a serious medical emergency that can lead to death. Lactic acidosis can be hard to identify early, because the symptoms could seem like symptoms of other health problems. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms, which could be signs of lactic acidosis: • • • • • • •
feel very weak or tired have unusual (not normal) muscle pain have trouble breathing have stomach pain with nausea or vomiting feel cold, especially in your arms and legs feel dizzy or lightheaded have a fast or irregular heartbeat
• Severe liver problems. Severe liver problems may happen in people who take GENVOYA. In some cases, these liver problems can lead to death. Your liver may become large and you may develop fat in your liver. Call your healthcare provider right away if you get any of the following symptoms of liver problems: • your skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow (jaundice) • dark “tea-colored” urine • light-colored bowel movements (stools) • loss of appetite for several days or longer • nausea • stomach pain • You may be more likely to get lactic acidosis or severe liver problems if you are female, very overweight (obese), or have been taking GENVOYA for a long time. • Worsening of Hepatitis B infection. GENVOYA is not for use to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV). If you have HBV infection and take GENVOYA, your HBV may get worse (flareup) if you stop taking GENVOYA. A “flare-up” is when your HBV infection suddenly returns in a worse way than before. • Do not run out of GENVOYA. Refill your prescription or talk to your healthcare provider before your GENVOYA is all gone. • Do not stop taking GENVOYA without first talking to your healthcare provider. • If you stop taking GENVOYA, your healthcare provider will need to check your health often and do blood tests regularly for several months to check your HBV infection. Tell your healthcare provider about any new or unusual symptoms you may have after you stop taking GENVOYA.
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What is GENVOYA? GENVOYA is a prescription medicine that is used without other HIV-1 medicines to treat HIV-1 in people 12 years of age and older: • who have not received HIV-1 medicines in the past or • to replace their current HIV-1 medicines in people who have been on the same HIV-1 medicines for at least 6 months, have an amount of HIV-1 in their blood (“viral load”) that is less than 50 copies/mL, and have never failed past HIV-1 treatment HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. GENVOYA contains the prescription medicines elvitegravir (VITEKTA®), cobicistat (TYBOST®), emtricitabine (EMTRIVA®) and tenofovir alafenamide. It is not known if GENVOYA is safe and effective in children under 12 years of age. When used to treat HIV-1 infection, GENVOYA may: • Reduce the amount of HIV-1 in your blood. This is called “viral load”. • Increase the number of CD4+ (T) cells in your blood that help fight off other infections. Reducing the amount of HIV-1 and increasing the CD4+ (T) cells in your blood may help improve your immune system. This may reduce your risk of death or getting infections that can happen when your immune system is weak (opportunistic infections). GENVOYA does not cure HIV-1 infection or AIDS. You must stay on continuous HIV-1 therapy to control HIV-1 infection and decrease HIV-related illnesses. Avoid doing things that can spread HIV-1 infection to others: • Do not share or re-use needles or other injection equipment. • Do not share personal items that can have blood or body fluids on them, like toothbrushes and razor blades. • Do not have any kind of sex without protection. Always practice safer sex by using a latex or polyurethane condom to lower the chance of sexual contact with semen, vaginal secretions, or blood. Ask your healthcare provider if you have any questions about how to prevent passing HIV-1 to other people.
Who should not take GENVOYA? Do not take GENVOYA if you also take a medicine that contains: • alfuzosin hydrochloride (Uroxatral®) • carbamazepine (Carbatrol®, Epitol®, Equetro®, Tegretol®, Tegretol-XR®, Teril®) • cisapride (Propulsid®, Propulsid Quicksolv®) • ergot-containing medicines, including: dihydroergotamine mesylate (D.H.E. 45®, Migranal®), ergotamine tartrate (Cafergot®, Migergot®, Ergostat®, Medihaler Ergotamine®, Wigraine®, Wigrettes®), and methylergonovine maleate (Ergotrate®, Methergine®) • lovastatin (Advicor®, Altoprev®, Mevacor®) • midazolam, when taken by mouth • phenobarbital (Luminal®) • phenytoin (Dilantin®, Phenytek®) • pimozide (Orap®) • rifampin (Rifadin®, Rifamate®, Rifater®, Rimactane®) • sildenafil (Revatio®), when used for treating lung problems • simvastatin (Simcor®, Vytorin®, Zocor®) • triazolam (Halcion®) • the herb St. John’s wort or a product that contains St. John’s wort
What should I tell my healthcare provider before taking GENVOYA? Before taking GENVOYA, tell your healthcare provider if you: • have liver problems including hepatitis B infection • have kidney or bone problems • have any other medical conditions • are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if GENVOYA can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking GENVOYA. Pregnancy registry: there is a pregnancy registry for women who take HIV-1 medicines during pregnancy. The purpose of this registry is to collect information about the health of you and your baby. Talk with your healthcare provider about how you can take part in this registry. • are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed if you take GENVOYA. – You should not breastfeed if you have HIV-1 because of the risk of passing HIV-1 to your baby. – At least one of the medicines in GENVOYA can pass to your baby in your breast milk. It is not known if the other medicines in GENVOYA can pass into your breast milk. – Talk with your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Other medicines may affect how GENVOYA works. Some medicines may interact with GENVOYA. Keep a list of your medicines and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine. • You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of medicines that interact with GENVOYA. • Do not start a new medicine without telling your healthcare provider. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take GENVOYA with other medicines.
How should I take GENVOYA?
• Take GENVOYA exactly as your healthcare provider tells you to take it. GENVOYA is taken by itself (not with other HIV-1 medicines) to treat HIV-1 infection.
• GENVOYA is usually taken 1 time each day. • Take GENVOYA with food. • If you need to take a medicine for indigestion (antacid) that contains aluminum and • • • •
magnesium hydroxide or calcium carbonate during treatment with GENVOYA, take it at least 2 hours before or after you take GENVOYA. Do not change your dose or stop taking GENVOYA without first talking with your healthcare provider. Stay under a healthcare provider’s care when taking GENVOYA. Do not miss a dose of GENVOYA. If you take too much GENVOYA, call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away. When your GENVOYA supply starts to run low, get more from your healthcare provider or pharmacy. This is very important because the amount of virus in your blood may increase if the medicine is stopped for even a short time. The virus may develop resistance to GENVOYA and become harder to treat.
What are the possible side effects of GENVOYA? GENVOYA may cause serious side effects, including: • See “What is the most important information I should know about GENVOYA?” • Changes in body fat can happen in people who take HIV-1 medicine. These changes may include increased amount of fat in the upper back and neck (“buffalo hump”), breast, and around the middle of your body (trunk). Loss of fat from the legs, arms and face may also happen. The exact cause and long-term health effects of these conditions are not known. • Changes in your immune system (Immune Reconstitution Syndrome) can happen when you start taking HIV-1 medicines. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections that have been hidden in your body for a long time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you start having any new symptoms after starting your HIV-1 medicine. • New or worse kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys before you start and while you are taking GENVOYA. Your healthcare provider may tell you to stop taking GENVOYA if you develop new or worse kidney problems. • Bone problems can happen in some people who take GENVOYA. Bone problems may include bone pain, softening or thinning (which may lead to fractures). Your healthcare provider may need to do tests to check your bones. The most common side effect of GENVOYA is nausea. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. • These are not all the possible side effects of GENVOYA. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. • Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088. General information about the safe and effective use of GENVOYA. Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in a Patient Information leaflet. Do not use GENVOYA for a condition for which it was not prescribed. Do not give GENVOYA to other people, even if they have the same symptoms you have. It may harm them. This Brief Summary summarizes the most important information about GENVOYA. If you would like more information, talk with your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about GENVOYA that is written for health professionals. For more information, call 1-800-445-3235 or go to www.GENVOYA.com. Keep GENVOYA and all medicines out of reach of children. Issued: November 2015
EMTRIVA, GENVOYA, the GENVOYA Logo, GILEAD, the GILEAD Logo, GSI, TYBOST, and VITEKTA are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. All other marks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. © 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. GENC0002 11/15
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tHE opENINg lINE Photos: Facebook.
rESIdENt complaINS wIltoN maNorS dog park BEcomINg cruISINg grouNdS For SEX
comments from SFgN’s
online outlets
Compiled by John McDonald
aNdrEwS dINEr gEtS rEmodEl courtESY oF Food NEtwork robert katz – If the food is so bad why have they survived for almost 25 years with a constant wait to get in? The food is all home made and if you order a hamburger it is not frozen like that other diner by the tracks. You never know what you are going to get there. Different soups everyday that are all home made and priced right. The wait staff is always very friendly and some have been there for many years. I have eaten there for over 20 years and never once got sick or had a bad meal!
amanda austin –
John gianni caminiti – Colahatchee had always been a cruising spot but what does that have to do with the condition of the Dog Park?
christopher Hlat – How does he know that men are going there to have sex? Is he watching with binoculars?
Steve Johnson – and on the other hand, some folks DO go there because of the cruising.
Look for a gaggle of local drag queens in the episode!
carole marino – I will never step foot in there.
marco ruBIo ruNS campaIgN ad SaYINg pEoplE wItH tradItIoNal valuES arE BEINg BraNdEd 'BIgotS' & 'HatErS' gene mahoney –
Like Marco Rubio, I am first generation of an immigrant family. That's where the similarity ends. Mr. Rubio speaks of being "out of place in our country" because "people with traditional values" are "branded bigots and haters." Americans in general have a history of being bigots and haters. When my ancestors came to the U.S. in the early 1900s before returning to Ireland, the popular phrase of the time was, "Irish need not apply." If the phrase, "Cubans need not apply" were posted in a window of any company, how would Mr. Rubio reply? If the phrase were "No fags need apply," per Mr. Rubio's statement, that would be fine, If Mr. Rubio wants to talk about tradition and/or traditional values, perhaps he should learn the tradition of Christianity, something he professes, but apparently has forgotten.
Photo: CNN.
Stephen devine –
Don't worry Trump will get the nomination.
Stefan a Solis –
MEMBER
Sad Latin roots but even out of touch with that culture - I relocated to Mexico - LGBT rights are becoming the norm here including gay marriage - you see no protesters here when the supreme court in DF MX City approved same sex marriage - separation of church & state here since last revolution 1900 when the catholic church owned 60% of all the farm land in MX, all the rest owned by a few wealthy - says a lot for MX with all her problems including corruption & drug cartels to understand what control a religion can have over people. Churches here cannot own property except the church property - Rubio is a fool - no experience in government, saying anything for a block of crazy voters - he will find out that they are a minority in the USA. The GOP is dead, its followers lost in a past America that will never return. The rich ones at the top are rich because of all American gay & straight consuming products & services they control. Look at FOX, news right wing but the entertainment channel has programs like Glee, Family shows & more with gay characters proudly on air - Mmmm money talks & BS walks - 2 faced yes?
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DECEMBER 23, 2015 • VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 51 2520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305 PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943
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Cover: SFGN celebrates our local heroes. Submitted Photos.
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• 12.23.2015
And runner-up for
NLGJA Journalist of the Year
Associated Press
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& 3 FLORIDA PRESS CLUB Awards
MEMBER
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 © 2015 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.
news highlight
Boardwalk SHootEr StIll at largE
Staff Reports
Submitted Photo: Robert Ziesmer (right) and Eddie Neimann (left). he shooting that occurred in the Boardwalk parking lot last Saturday night did not leave the club’s owner surprised at had a duty to protect anyone who could have all. been in the line of fire.” “We always place the safety of our clients The Boardwalk was packed inside with and personnel first, and we are grateful for dozens of dancers and hundreds of customers the forceful police response. Based on the last Saturday night when the incident occurred information we provided, we are optimistic that in the back north parking lot, which is routinely the assailant will soon be captured,” said Victor patrolled by the club’s own security guard in a Zepka, the Boardwalk’s owner, who was in golf cart. However, the entire episode spanned Brazil vacationing last week when the incident less than 20 seconds. occurred. The club’s security video footage was Robert Lee Ziesmer, Jr., 29, a dancer, was recorded and turned over to the Fort Lauderdale accosted and shot in the side outside the club, Police Department, as possible evidence for a while attempting to retrieve a pack of cigarettes future prosecution. The segment clearly shows from inside his parked vehicle. the shooter discharging a weapon point blank at The shooter, who discharged multiple shots Ziesmer while he was running away. directed at Ziesmer, also took out one customer’s Had he not slipped, he well might have been front tire and another owner’s windshield. killed. But the assailant eventually caught up However, the culprit escaped on foot and was with him, and he was hit, albeit with non lifenot captured, despite a police response to the threatening injuries. Taken to a local hospital, shooting that involved 13 patrol units. he is presently recovering from surgery. A police spokesperson explained that based SFGN will update the story as facts become on the 911 call, the response was warranted, “We available. did not know the gravity of the situation. But we
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12.23.2015 •
7
News Briefs
Compiled by Jillian Melero
preliminary results: Slovenians reject Same-Sex marriage law (AP) Slovenians rejected same-sex marriage by a large margin in a referendum on Sunday, according to nearcomplete results, in a victory for the conservatives backed by the Catholic Church in the ex-communist EU nation. The results released by authorities show 63.5 percent voted against a bill that defines marriage as a union of two adults, while 36.5 percent were in favor. Slovenia's left-leaning Parliament introduced marriage equality in March, but opponents pushed through a popular vote on the issue. The "Children Are At Stake" group has collected 40,000 signatures to challenge the changes before any gay couples were able to marry. "This result presents a victory for our children," said Ales Primc, the group's leader. Ljudmila Novak, from New Slovenia, described the outcome as a "clear defeat" of the leftist government, which backed the changes. Supporters of same-sex marriage have called for Slovenia to join Western European nations that have allowed more gay rights. Conservatives and the right-
I
GLTA Honors Archbishop Desmond Tutu
(IGLTA) Archbishop Desmond Tutu will receive the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association’s prestigious Chair Award for 2016. The award recipient is selected by the head of the IGLTA board of directors and presented to an individual or business that has made the world a more welcoming place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender travelers. “As we’re holding our convention on the African continent for the first time, I cannot think of a better award recipient than Archbishop Desmond Tutu,” says IGLTA Board Chair Dan Melesurgo. “He has been a global inspiration since the demise of apartheid, using his high profile to campaign for the oppressed and defend human rights. He is a true leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia.”
Photo Credit: Libris Förlag.
Desmond Tutu.
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• 12.23.2015
wing opposition have campaigned on traditional family values, arguing that marriage equality paves the way for gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. Although Slovenia is considered to be among the most liberal of the ex-communist nations, gay rights remain a contentious topic in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation of 2 million. Voters in the former Yugoslav republic rejected granting more rights to gay couples in a referendum in 2012. Violeta Tomic, a lawmaker from the United Left party which initially put forward the bill, said referendum results presented a temporary setback only. "It's not over yet. Sooner or later the law will be accepted," she said. The Slovenia vote illustrates a cultural split within the European Union in which more established western members are rapidly granting new rights to gays, while eastern newcomers entrench conservative attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Tutu's rise to international prominence began when he became the first black person to be appointed the Anglican Dean of Johannesburg in 1975 and emerged as one of the most eloquent voices of the South African anti-apartheid movement. In 1984, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Although he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1996, he remains a moral compass for the continent, speaking out against the anti-gay policies of other African countries. Tutu has been widely quoted as saying, "I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this.” The 2016 IGLTA Chair Award will be presented as part of the opening keynote session (14 April) of IGLTA’s 33nd Annual Global Convention at the Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town in cooperation with the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation. For more information, visit iglta.org/ convention.
J
udge Orders New Jersey 'Gay Conversion' Nonprofit to Close
(AP) A New Jersey nonprofit found to have violated consumer fraud laws for offering therapy it said would turn gays to heterosexuals must shut down, a judge ordered Friday. The granting of a permanent injunction against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing, known as JONAH, was an outgrowth of a lawsuit filed against the group in 2012 by several men, and two of their mothers, claiming it engaged in fraud and made claims it couldn't back up. In June, a Hudson County jury awarded the plaintiffs about $72,000 in damages. The ruling signed Friday by state Superior Court Judge Peter Bariso ordered Jersey City-based JONAH to cease all operations within 30 days and barred it from "engaging, whether directly or through referrals, in any therapy, counseling, treatment or activity that has the goal of changing, affecting or influencing
sexual orientation, 'same sex attraction' or 'gender wholeness.'" Bariso's order also awarded attorneys' fees and expenses to the plaintiffs' lawyers. David Dinielli, an attorney for the men, said the decision sends a message to providers of so-called gay conversion therapy that the practice is fraudulent. "The practice of conversion therapy, at base, constitutes fraud," he said. "It is premised on the lie that homosexuality is a disease or disorder. This case proved it to be a lie." An attorney who represented JONAH at the trial did not immediately return a message seeking comment. The group had claimed that it did not make guarantees to clients and that it should be allowed to offer help to people struggling with their sexual orientation.
IBan Totals $715K
daho's Legal Defense of Gay Marriage
(AP) Idaho's losing legal battle over defending the state's ban on same-sex marriage has cost taxpayers roughly $715,000. Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and other top elected officials unanimously approved paying $34,000 out of the state's Constitutional Defense Fund on Friday to cover the remaining attorney fees and court costs. The state has already paid $628,000 to attorneys representing the four lesbian couples who sued Idaho over the state's same-sex marriage ban, plus another $53,000 paid to a private law firm hired to represent Idaho in the case. Idaho lost the federal lawsuit and subsequent appeals. The Constitutional Defense Fund was created in 1995 to defend the state's legal rights against the federal government. Members include Otter, Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill.
News Briefs
T
ransgender Rights Group Sues State over Care Limitation
(AP) A Minnesota gay rights advocacy group and a transgender man are seeking to overturn the state's bar on public health programs covering gender reassignment procedures in a lawsuit filed Thursday, arguing that ban treats transgender men and women as inferior. OutFront Minnesota challenged the state's more than 10-year-old law on behalf of Evan Thomas, a 63-year-old who began identifying as a man in 2013 but was denied surgery to remove breasts earlier this year. Thomas is on Medical Assistance, one of the state's subsidized health care programs for low-income residents. He was granted a legal name and gender change in July. The organization argues the ban on public funds going toward gender reassignment surgeries and therapies unfairly singles out residents with gender dysphoria, a condition in which people feel the opposite of their biological sex. OutFront said it's unjust that a woman suffering a different condition would have a breast removal surgery or hysterectomy covered through the state, while a person born as a woman suffering gender dysphoria would be denied the same treatment. "When a law makes state financial assistance available for medically necessary surgery in some instances, but denies state assistance for that same or substantially equivalent surgery when the purpose is to treat gender dysphoria, such a law is perceived as a state-sanctioned badge of inferiority, and further fuels the stigma affecting the transgender community," the lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court said. The complaint sued Minnesota's new commissioner at the Department of Human Services, which oversees the state's public health care programs. The department said in a statement that it's reviewing the lawsuit.
Continued
'70s Trans Model Tracey 'Africa' Norman Shares Moving Story (EDGE) A popular model in the 1970s who was the face of Clairol's Born Beautiful hair color, had an exclusive contract with Avon, did photo shoots for Essence and was a model for Balenciaga's Paris showroom, told New York magazine this week she is transgender -- a secret not many knew about during her time working as a model. Tracey "Africa" Norman said she already faced discrimination as an African-American woman and knew if people were aware of her gender identity it would have ended her career or led to death. In the article, titled "The First Black Trans Model Was on a Clairol Box," Norman, now 63, said word eventually got out about her being a trans woman and her work-life suffered. "I was a model, so males and females were attracted to me, and when they find out that I'm not what they perceive me to be, it freaks them out," she told New York magazine. "That's what I've experienced in my life, what I was getting from straight women and straight men." Norman later competed in New York City's drag ball community and joined the House of Africa. In 2001, she was inducted into the ballroom hall of fame. "Orange is the New Black" star and trans activist Lavern Cox told the publication she discovered Norman's story about five years ago while reading a blog dedicated to the heroes of trans history. "I was just enthralled, first of all, that there was this black model in the '70s who got a hair contract, who had cosmetic deals," Cox said. "That's just a really big deal, for any black model, and then for her to be trans is beyond amazing." Norman said she's no longer fearful living as an out trans woman and wants to share her story with the world. "I was reminded that I made history and I deserve to have it printed," she told New York magazine. "And I'm still here."
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News Briefs
continued
Compiled by Jillian Melero
man Sentenced to 11 Years in Fla. prison for gay Hungarian Sex-Slave ring (EDGE) One of the accused ringleaders of a gay Hungarian sex-slave ring was sentenced to 11 years in a Florida prison Tuesday for human trafficking, the Miami Herald reports. Andras Janos Vass, 26, who hails from Hungary, was convicted of human trafficking and racketeering in April, and faced a maximum sentence of 155 years. He and two other men were accused of luring three Hungarian men, aged between 20 and 22, to work for their company, Never Sleep Inc. They promised the victims that they could make between $3,500 to $5,000 a month for legal escort work. The men lured from Hungary said they spent more than a year confined to bedrooms in New York and Miami and were constantly forced to have sex with customers. The two other men allegedly heading the sex ring Gabor Acs and Viktor Berki, are currently awaiting trial. Authorities said the ringleaders met the victims in Hungary via a website called GayRomeo.com. Another victim was
H
IV Diagnoses Are Down 20%, But Progress is Uneven
(EDGE) Annual HIV diagnoses in the United States fell by 19 percent from 2005 to 2014, driven by dramatic and continuing declines over the decade among several populations including heterosexuals, people who inject drugs, and African Americans -- with the steepest declines among black women. However, the same level of success was not seen among all gay and bisexual men. For gay and bisexual men, trends over the decade have varied by race and ethnicity. Among white gay and bisexual men, diagnoses dropped steadily, decreasing 18 percent. Diagnoses among Latino gay and bisexual men continued to rise and were up 24 percent. Diagnoses among black gay and bisexual men also increased (22 percent) between 2005 and 2014, but that increase has leveled off since 2010. A similar trend was seen among young black gay and bisexual men ages 13-24, who experienced a steep 87 percent
reportedly "living with gypsies" as a male prostitute when Acs met him through Facebook, the Miami Herald reports. When the victims were flown to NYC in 2012, Homeland Security Investigations agent Melissa Pavlikowski said they "believed they would only be in New York for a few months to make tens of thousands of dollars before returning to their homeland and their families." Vass' attorney Adam Goodman said his client was an active participant in the sex ring before he was victimized by the other two men, and forced to marry one of them. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Richard Hersch handed down a fairly light sentence against Vass, just over 140 months in state prison. "I know very well that I am culpable," Vass told the court, through an interpreter. "After I do my time, I would like to start a new clean life and I'm asking for God's help and I pray every day for forgiveness."
increase in diagnoses between 2005 and 2014. Between 2010 and 2014, however, the trend has leveled off (with a 2 percent decline). "Although we are encouraged by the recent slowing of the epidemic among black gay and bisexual men -- especially young men -- they continue to face a disproportionately high HIV burden and we must address it," said Jonathan Mermin, M.D., director of CDC's National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. "Much more must be done to reduce new infections and to reverse the increases among Latino men. There is hope that the National HIV/ AIDS Strategy and other efforts are beginning to pay off, but we can't rest until we see equal gains for all races and risk groups." The new national analyses examined trends in diagnoses over two time periods, 2005-2014 and 2010-2014, to provide both a decade-long perspective as well as a more recent view of trends. For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/nhpc.
Nfor Decriminalization of Sex Work
ational LGBTQ Task Force Calls
(TaskForce)The National LGBTQ Task Force is renewing its call to end the criminalization of sex work in the U.S. as it joins advocates across the country in taking part in actions in observance of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Today, to mark the day of action, the organization has published a Sex Worker Policy Recommendations guide for local and state advocates and lawmakers. “Transgender women of color face devastating amounts of violence, and the criminalization of sex work leaves them even more vulnerable. This year alone, at least 12 transgender women and gender non-conforming people who engaged in sex work were murdered in the U.S. -- together, these women comprised 29 percent of U.S. sex worker homicide victims.
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Andras Vass.
Photo: Miami-Dade Corrections.
We can and must do more to end this epidemic of violence. Today, as we join advocates calling for an end to violence against sex workers, we have published a guide that provides policy recommendations including the decriminalization of sex work,” said Victoria Rodriguez-Roldan, Trans/Gender Non-Conforming Justice Project Director at the National LGBTQ Task Force. Last year, the National LGBTQ Task Force launched #StopTransMurders, a public education campaign to raise the voices of transgender activists and allies working to end anti-transgender violence. Additionally, the organization has been working with the President’s Administration, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), to advance basic rights and protections for transgender people. Most recently, the National LGBTQ Task Force met with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to push for an accurate and timely reporting on hate crimes, and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to raise awareness of many issues affecting transgender people such as violence, employment, education, and discrimination.
News Briefs
J
udge Rules against Catholic School in Gay-Hiring Retraction
(AP) An all-girls Catholic prep school in Massachusetts violated state antidiscrimination law by rescinding a job offer to a man in a same-sex marriage, a judge ruled. Matthew Barrett was offered a job as Fontbonne Academy's food services director in 2013, but the offer was withdrawn days later after he listed his husband as his emergency contact. Barrett sued, alleging that the Milton school discriminated against him based on sexual orientation and gender. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins agreed, rejecting Fontbonne's claim that hiring Barrett would infringe on its constitutional rights because it views his marriage to a man as incompatible with its religious mission. The judge said Barrett's duties as a food services director did not include presenting the teachings of the Catholic Church. "As an educational institution, Fontbonne retains control over its mission and message. It is not forced to allow Barrett to dilute that
message, where he will not be a teacher, minister or spokesman for Fontbonne and has not engaged in public advocacy of samesex marriage," Wilkins wrote in a ruling issued Wednesday. The judge also found that a religious exemption to the state anti-discrimination law applies only if a religious organization limits admission to people of a certain religion. Fontbonne is open to students and employees of all faiths, with the exception of its administration and theology faculty. It was not immediately clear if Fontbonne plans to appeal the ruling. Fontbonne's attorney, John Bagley, did not immediately respond to a phone message and email seeking comment. A message was also left at the school. Barrett's attorney, Ben Klein of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, said the judge has found that Fontbonne is liable to pay damages to Barrett for lost wages and compensatory damages for discrimination. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
ambda Legal Suggests Improvements for New York Nondiscrimination Rule
Photo: Facebook.
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Continued
(Lambda) Lambda Legal submitted comments and suggested changes to New York State’s Division of Human Rights regarding a proposed gender identity nondiscrimination rule, under New York’s Human Rights Law. “The Division’s Proposed Rule explicitly barring discrimination on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, and gender dysphoria is a welcome and long-overdue step to combat the high rates of discrimination, harassment and stigma faced by transgender and gendernonconforming people in New York,” said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney. “However, the Proposed Rule can be further improved to clearly spell out that all transgender and gender-variant people in New York are protected from discrimination in all aspects of life.” The rule, announced by Governor Cuomo in October, is designed to clarify that New York State’s Human Rights Law’s prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination on the basis of gender
identity, gender expression, transgender status or sex stereotypes. In its comments, Lambda Legal: • advocated for a clearer and more inclusive definition of sex and gender identity in the language of the final rule; • recommended that the Division further clarify the definition of disability to ensure protection from discrimination on the basis of gender dysphoria, whether actual or perceived; • pressed the Division to make clear that access to single-sex facilities is to be determined on the basis of an individual’s gender identity; and • strongly urged the Division to reject any request for a religious exemption or limitation to be included in the final rule. “The adoption of any religious exemption or limitation would severely undermine the purpose and effectiveness of the Human Rights Law,” the comments said. 12.23.2015 •
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dEcEmBEr rEport From tHE SFaN Sean McShee
The South Florida AIDS Network (SFAN) functions as the networking/advisory body for the Ryan White Care (RWC), Part B grant in Broward County. Its monthly meetings are open to the public
T
Monday Celebrity Impersonator, Micael L. Walters as
Dame Edna Broadway Cabaret Show @8pm Jennifer McClain’s Cast Party @10:30pm
Tuesday
LeNora Jaye’s Groove Session @8pm
Wednesday
Tony & Gloria’s Jazzy Hour @6pm
Friday
Antonio Edwards Musical Journey @8pm
Saturday
Jennifer McClain @8pm
Sunday
Jennifer McClain’s Broadway Brunch Every 1st & 3rd Sunday 12-3pm Every 2nd & 4th Sunday TRANY PALACE @10:30pm hosted by Misty Eyez
2266 Wilton Drive | Wilton Manors, FL 33305 | 954.565.2526 12
• 12.23.2015
wo issues dominated this meeting: 1. RWC clients using AIDS specialty pharmacies. 2. A report from the Florida HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Planning Network (FCPN) Joshua Rodriguez (Florida Department of Health, FL-DOH) presented a letter that Broward AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) will be sending to its clients. Joey Wynn, SFAN chair, noted an implication in the letter. It implied that ADAP would not pay back clients for out-of-pocket expenses from AIDS Specialty Pharmacies. ADAP would only pay back outof-pocket expenses from CVS, the contracted Pharmacy Benefits Manager. According to Wynn, this contradicts assurances from state ADAP officials guaranteeing pharmacy choice. Rodriquez reported that Broward ADAP could not change the letter at this time, as the state ADAP had already approved it. Wynn promised to bring this issue before the Florida HIV AIDS Advocacy Network. Two factors are involved: 1. Pay back for co-pays and deductibles at AIDS Specialty Pharmacies. 2. Responsibility for notifying ADAP that clients have picked up their meds. CVS has automated this process. While not technically difficult, AIDS Specialty Pharmacies lack an automated method to do so. As AIDS Specialty Pharmacies cannot automatically notify ADAP, their clients have to notify Broward ADAP manually after they pick up their meds from an AIDS Specialty Pharmacy. This process limits client choice, increases client burden, and decreases overall efficiency. Kim Saiswick, Florida HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Planning Network (FCPN), reported on FCPN. It will write the Comprehensive HIV Plan for the state of Florida. In 2016, Florida must submit a comprehensive HIV prevention and treatment plan to the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). HRSA and CDC provide almost the entire HIV budget for Florida. This comprehensive plan will describe Florida’s strategies, processes, and objectives in controlling and treating HIV for the next four years. In addition to the state’s plan, areas with a heavy burden of HIV disease also have to submit their own comprehensive plans. These Eligible Metropolitan Areas (EMAs) can submit their plan jointly with the state or separately. Florida has six EMAs: Jacksonville; Tampa/Saint Petersburg; Orlando; Palm Beach; Broward and Miami-Dade. As of press time, Broward County has not yet decided whether to submit jointly or separately with the state. Saiswick also reported on presentations from that meeting. In one presentation, Scavnicky and Lieb described the results of a statewide Needs Assessment. Clients completed surveys that indicated whether they needed a given service, and if they were able to access it. More RWC clients were unable to access dental care than any other service. Out of 5,247 clients needing dental care, only 3,533 clients could access it. These figures refer to entire state of Florida. Services in Broward may show a different pattern. HIV service providers also completed a separate survey. This allows comparison between provider and client perceptions of need. Providers and clients diverged on treatment adherence. Providers rated adherence a greater problem than clients did. In three areas, providers and clients generally agreed that current services were unable to meet needs: Peer Mentoring, Substance Abuse Services, and Mental Health Services. SFAN re-elected all current offices: Joey Wynn, Chair; Rose Marie Williams, Vice-Chair; and Gary Hensley, Secretary. They will serve from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.
Next SFAN Meeting: Friday, January 8, 2016, at 10 a.m., at the Holy Cross Healthplex, 1000 NE 56th Street, Ft. Lauderdale. Newcomers are encouraged to attend.
WE FOCUS ON HIV TO HELP YOU FOCUS ON
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lgbtqia bites
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lesbian
lESBIaN parENtS SuE N. carolINa to updatE BIrtH cErtIFIcatES (AP) A same-sex couple is suing North Carolina to force officials to put both women's names on their children's birth certificates. Melissa and Meredith Weiss filed a federal lawsuit Thursday saying their constitutional rights are being violated. The lawsuit says Melissa Weiss gave birth to both children after they wed in Canada in 2003. They say North Carolina only put her name on the certificates and hasn't added Meredith Weiss. The lawsuit says same-sex spouses who had children after gay marriage became legal in North Carolina received twoparent certificates. The Weisses say they need accurate birth certificates for school, health care and financial reasons. Two state Department of Health and Human Services officials are named as defendants. The department issued a statement saying it hadn't reviewed the lawsuit and couldn't comment. Lambda Legal filed a federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina on behalf the Weisses, seeking birth certificates listing both mothers as parents of their two sons.
In May 2015, DHHS issued policies regarding birth certificates for children of married samesex couples saying that only children born after October 10, 2014 could receive new birth certificates listing both parents. Inexplicably, DHHS polices do not allow children who were born to married same-sex couples before October 10, 2014, to get new birth certificates naming both spouses as parents, effectively erasing one parent from the family in the eyes of the State and leaving these children more vulnerable, less protected and unfairly stigmatized. Read the filing. www.lambdalegal.org/ in-court/legal-docs/weiss_nc_20151217_ complaint
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Plans, elevations, specifications, features, colors, designs, dimensions and materials are all subject to availability, and to change or substitution at any time and without notice. SobelCo expressly reserves the right to make modification, revisions and changes as may be required for lot fit or by governmental bodies and law, or other reasons as set forth in the Purchase Agreement. Illustrations of elevations and plans are artist’s depictions only. Plans are only for illustrative and conceptional purposes, are not to scale, and may be the reverse (mirror image) of those shown. The drawings and floor plans in this brochure should not be relied upon, express or implied, for the final detail, feature or dimensions of any home. All measurements, including, but not limited to, room dimensions, balconies, porches and ceiling and wall heights are approximate and may vary from those shown as a result of, among other things, (i) the elevation and home-site selected, and/or (ii) construction materials, construction practices, field conditions and flooring thickness. Square footages are approximate and are measured from the outside of exterior walls. In production, plans and elevations may vary in precise details and dimensions, and may not actually be constructed as shown. The fixture shapes shown are graphical in nature and are not necessarily indicative of a particular style or model. In addition, some features shown in the model homes may not be included in the purchase price of the home as quoted. Please consult your sales representative and refer to the Purchase Agreement in order to determine which features, specifications and elevations are included in any home you may purchase. Stock photography includes stock images and is used to depict the spirit of lifestyle and not for specific references. Map is for illustration purposes, not to scale and for approximate location only. For exact locations consult a sales representative. CBC017578
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Compiled by Jillian Melero
gay / Bisexual
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Fda EaSES rEStrIctIoNS oN Blood doNatIoNS From gaY aNd BI mEN (AP) Federal health officials are lifting the nation's 32-year-old lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, but major restrictions will remain on who can donate. Medical groups and gay activists have long said the ban could no longer be justified, based on modern testing methods. The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that the change is "backed by sound science and continues to protect our blood supply." Officials are replacing the blanket ban with a policy barring donations from men who have had sex with another man in the previous year. While the policy has been criticized by activists, the FDA stance is in line that of other countries, including Australia and the U.K. The lifetime ban was put in place during the early AIDS crisis. The government affairs director of the Human Rights Coalition called the change a “step in the right direction,” Time magazine reports. “This new policy prevents men from donating life-saving blood based solely on their sexual orientation rather than actual risk
to the blood supply,” said David Stacy, HRC’s Government Affairs Director. “While it’s a step in the right direction toward an ideal policy that reflects the best scientific research, it still falls far short of a fully acceptable solution because it continues to stigmatize gay and bisexual men.” For more on this story, see page 18.
lgbtqia bites
continued
transgender
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rElIgIouS collEgES SEEk waIvErS oN traNSgENdEr StudENtS
Florida’s Oldest and Highest Rated Jeweler
controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention, according to public records obtained by both the Human Rights Campaign and the AP. The Department of Education has seen the surge in waiver applications because its Office for Civil Rights has "exceeded its legal authority" by taking the position since 2013 that the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination applies to transgender students, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Gregory Baylor said. "The schools have reasonably concluded that they are quite likely to become the next target of OCR if they follow their religious convictions on these matters," said Baylor, whose Christian legal advocacy group has advised some colleges on how to seek the exemptions. The tension mirrors disputes that have arisen over the refusal by Catholic hospitals and universities to offer contraception in their employee health plans and moves by local governments to stop contracting with religiously affiliated adoption agencies that refuse to place children in households headed by same-sex couples. Photo: Facebook.
(AP) Nearly three dozen religious colleges and universities in 20 U.S. states have received federal waivers allowing them not to accommodate transgender students in admissions, housing and other areas of campus life, according to a report by the nation's largest LGBT rights group and documents obtained by The Associated Press. The church-affiliated schools that in 2014 and 2015 obtained exemptions to a law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational settings collectively enroll more than 73,000 students, the Human Rights Campaign said in a report published Friday. "What we want students to know is schools are serious about this, that they have gone out of their way to make sure they have the legal ability to discriminate against LGBT students," said Sarah Warbelow, the campaign's legal director. Eighteen of the 34 universities and colleges that told the U.S. Department of Education that giving transgender students access to single-sex restrooms and facilities that correspond with their gender identity would be inconsistent with their religious tenets are
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2473 EAST SUNRISE BOULEVARD | FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33304 (across from the Galleria Mall)
12.23.2015 •
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news local
Photo: Steven Shires
Carlo Zepeda
El Salvador Immigrant Talks Homophobia in his Homeland at Stonewall Michael d’Oliveira
C
oming out to friends and family isn’t easy for many in the LGBT community. But, in places like El Salvador, it can be deadly. Carlo Zepeda, who immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador 32 years ago when he was 18, knows first-hand what it’s like to be gay in in his homeland. Thankfully, when Zepeda, 50, came out at age 28 in the United States, his family embraced and accepted him. But many others in the conservative and religiously conservative Central American country aren’t as lucky. “It’s a very macho male patriarchal society. The LGBT community there, they pay a price for living in a country that’s very homophobic and machismo.” Gays, lesbians and transgender individuals are targeted specifically by gangs and bystanders are either slow to help or don’t help at all. It’s a situation made all the more complicated by El Salvador’s 13-year civil war – 1979 to 1992. “Even though the peace accords were signed, society is still trying to rehabilitate,” Zepeda said. A 2010 study by USAID found that support for same sex marriage in El Salvador was 10 percent, the second lowest in Central and South America behind Guyana. Growing up, Zepeda said he never knew what the term “gay” meant. But he did know words like “maricon,” the Spanish word for “faggot,” and he knew it wasn’t a good word. After three suicide attempts and countless panic attacks, Zepeda’s psychologist recommended coming out. “For many years I lived with this secret I thought was going to destroy my life. In the Latin community, family means everything to us.” But all his worrying was for not. “My
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family was very welcoming and loving. I’m very grateful.” Others in his homeland weren’t so lucky. Zepeda spoke about some of those experiences last Thursday at the Stonewall Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive. They’re part of a doctoral thesis he’s authored. One he hopes to have published as a book in the future. Unlike the U.S. and much of Europe, which has a variety of social and government resources for members of the LGBT community to take advantage of, those who come out in El Salvador can’t rely on such support. “I like research groups that have been marginalized. The gay men that I spoke too told me that one of the reasons why there’s a great number of suicides among gay men is they feel trapped. They feel abandoned by their families. They’re afraid to come out of the closet. Most of the men were kicked out. They either ended up homeless or turned to drugs or they were taken in by friends,” said Zepeda. Faced with a hostile environment at home, “a lot of them decide to travel to the north and see if they can make a life for themselves in the United States.” Since he’s moved from El Salvador, he said the country has made some progress in accepting LGBT individuals. Government institutions are prohibited from discriminating against LGBT individuals. But, said Zepeda, no laws exist prohibiting private companies from doing the same. Gay rights groups are working to have the protections extended to the private sector.
Visit Stonewall-Museum.org/Gallery for more information.
12.23.2015 •
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Come and join us to celebrate the holy feast of Christmas.
All are welcomed. Christmas Eve Service with Holy Communion: 9.P.M.
Christmas Day Service: 11.A.M. Music by harp and flutist. Food will be distributed to the needy on Christmas Day
St. Ambrose Episcopal Church welcomes you. 2250 SW 31st Ave Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312
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• 12.23.2015
news national
Fda lIFtS lIFEtImE BaN oN gaY mEN doNatINg Blood CNN
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he Food and Drug Administration has lifted its lifetime ban on accepting blood donations from men who have had sex with men. "The FDA is changing its recommendation that men who have sex with men (MSM) be indefinitely deferred . . . to 12 months since the last sexual contact with another man," the administration announced Monday. This final guidance from the FDA is the culmination of several years of scientific research as well as consultation with external advisory committees and other government agencies. "We have taken great care to ensure this policy revision is backed by sound science and continues to protect our blood supply," FDA Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff, M.D. said. The lifetime ban of blood donations from gay and bisexual men was implemented by the FDA in 1983 at the start of the AIDS crisis, when little was known about the spread of the disease. "The United States government has to stop reacting to HIV like it is the early 1980s," said Kelsey Louie, CEO for Gay Men's Health Crisis said. GMHC is the nation's leading provider of HIV and AIDS care. "It is time for the FDA to implement a policy that is truly based on science, not blanket bans on certain groups of people," Louie said. In 2006, the AABB (formerly known as the American Association of Blood Banks), America's Blood Centers and the American Red Cross said in a joint statement that the lifetime MSM blood-ban was "medically and scientifically unwarranted" and urged the FDA to modify blood donation policies so they are "comparable with criteria for other groups at increased risk of sexual transmission of transfusion transmitted infections." The Human Rights Campaign called the change a "step in the right direction," but said the new policy, "still falls short of a fully acceptable solution because it continues to stigmatize gay and bisexual men." Dr. Peter Marks, deputy director of the FDA's
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said the yearlong celibacy requirement for MSM is supported by scientific evidence relevant to the U.S. population. "In reviewing our policies to help reduce the risk of HIV transmission through blood products, we rigorously examined several alternative options, including individual risk assessment," Marks said. In addition to changing the lifetime ban for homosexual and bisexual men donating blood, the FDA also made recommendations regarding "donor educational materials, donor history questionnaires and accompanying materials, as well as donor requalification and product management procedures," the release said. Part of the donor history questionnaire asks that transgender individuals self-identify and self-report for the purpose of blood donation. CNN's Ben Tinker contributed to this report.
MORE REACTIONS
“While it's nice to see advocates at the national level make some progress with the FDA, the ban on the donation of blood continues to promote homophobia,” said local AIDS Activist Michael Rajner. “The FDA has decided not to bring their policy in line with science and instead continues its longstanding discrimination against gay and bisexual men, people who inject drugs, and people who engage in sex work. The new policy further fuels negative LGBTQ stereotypes and stigma associated with HIV and AIDS as it stops short of fully lifting an antiquated and scientifically unsound ban established in the height of the epidemic—when not enough was known about the virus. The decision is not based on science, but on fear and ignorance. Modern science has developed tremendously in the last thirty years and important safeguards are now in place that accurately screen blood for HIV. We are disappointed and angry that millions of gay and bisexual men, including myself, are still denied the opportunity to donate blood to save another person’s life,” said Russell Roybal, National LGBTQ Task Force’s Deputy Executive Director.
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Wishing you Happy Hoildays & Healthy Smiles in 2016
Photo Submitted
Dr. David Fawcett
Book oFFErS guIdE to rEcovErY From mEtH uSE John McDonald
H
e looked the part of a friendly professor -- dressed in a snazzy sports coat with lavender necktie and a neatly trimmed gray beard. And yet, Dr. David Fawcett’s message was not exactly what one would consider pretty. Bottom line: There is a perfect storm forming among gay men and it starts with meth. A room full of people listened to Fawcett read from his new book, “Lust, Men, and Meth: A Gay Man’s Guide to Sex and Recovery” on Thursday, Dec. 17 at the Pride Center in Wilton Manors. A Fort Lauderdale based sex therapist and psychotherapist, Fawcett is a leading specialist in issues of addiction in gay men’s health and HIV/AIDS. His book comes at a time when health care professionals are seeing an alarming resurgence of methamphetamine use among gay men. “Dr. Fawcett is a treasure and a valuable resource for our community,” said Kristofer Fegenbush, Pride Center Chief Operations Officer, who introduced Fawcett to the audience. In the book, Fawcett examines the seductive appeal of methamphetamine among gay men, the drug’s impact on high-risk behaviors and sexual desires while also outlining a path to restoration of sex and intimacy. That restoration, Fawcett says, typically takes up to 18 months once a user has kicked the habit. “This is a must read book for someone who is looking to shake the grip of meth,” said Adam, who declined to give his last name, but said he was attending the book reading as a recovering meth and sex addict. “What he says is true. It takes a long time to get your sex drive back after meth. It’s a struggle.” The reason for such a long return to natural
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sexual experiences is the neurotoxicity of meth. The drug, Fawcett said, destroys dopamine receptors in the brain leaving it impaired for many months after the user quits. “To restore the brain’s wiring takes time,” Fawcett said. Meth, Fawcett says, affects the brain’s limbic system, an area that produces desires. Meth increases dopamine levels in the brain, four times more than that of cocaine, and can ultimately leave the user void of empathy. Fawcett read a passage from the book in which a young man experiences psychosis and paranoia during a meth binge and abruptly abandons his apartment, quits eating and moves into a gay bathhouse. This problem is happening all across America, Fawcett said, and is often associated with porn addiction, causing further sexual disorders. “Meth and porn go hand-in-hand,” Fawcett said. “What’s exciting today becomes boring tomorrow which leads people to get into darker more dangerous things.” Compounding matters is how insurance companies dismiss meth addiction and refuse to cover any costs for detox treatment. This situation, Fawcett said, has led to what many in health care circles have termed “Suicide Tuesdays” – where a meth binge ends in the most tragic way. Despite the horrors, there is hope and Fawcett goes to great lengths in the book to outline recovery steps. Taking a break from sex all together, avoiding alcohol and drugs, deleting sex apps and online profiles, changing phone numbers and emails and eliminating the hook-up mentality are necessary steps, Fawcett said. “Try dating and going out for coffee to get to know someone,” he said.
12.23.2015 •
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news national
It’s Not Too Late to be a Point Foundation Scholar Jillian Melero
T
he first deadline to apply for a 2016-2017 Point Foundation scholarship is coming up on Jan. 19. The Point Foundation Scholarship is one of the most substantial LGBTQ scholarships offered in the US, averaging $13,600 per scholar. It often helps cover the costs of tuition, books, room and board, transportation and other living expenses. Beyond the financial aid, Point also connects scholars with mentors, and provides scholars with leadership development training and community service training. The average total program expense including scholarships, mentoring and leadership training is $34,000 per scholar per year. Students must meet the following requirements for eligibility: • Enrolled or intending to enroll at an accredited college or university based in the US, including Hawaii and Alaska, in the fall of 2016. Students enrolled or intending to enroll in a college or university in a US territory are NOT eligible
• Enrolled full-time for the full academic year • Enrolled in a degree-granting undergraduate or graduate/ doctoral program • Community college students must be transferring to a four-year college or university. Students continuing their studies at community colleges, online programs, trade schools, as well as postdoctoral research students are NOT eligible • Must be at least a senior in high school • Must be “out” as a person who identifies as a member of the LGBTQ community Ideal candidates have demonstrated leadership skills and community involvement, have strong academic achievement, work for the betterment of the LGBT community, and have financial need.
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From a pool of 2000 starting applicants, Point helped sponsor 36 scholars for the 2015 school year, among them was Landon “L.J.” Woolston. L.J. spoke with SFGN earlier this year as part of our OUT50 of 2015. He is the Homeless Service Liaison at the Alliance for GLBTQ Youth in Miami-Dade, where he helps oversee the Project SAFE (Safe Accommodations for Everyone) program. Project Safe provides LGBTQ youth who are homeless or at risk of being homeless, with access to housing, referrals for medical care including HIV testing and substance abuse, assistance with transportation and emergency meal assistance. When SFGN caught up with L.J. he was finishing his degree in social work at FIU and also pursuing his art and activism through photography. “Trans youth are still so far behind their gay, lesbian, bisexual peers in being able to access supportive services and safe spaces. Many really don't have anyone they can turn to who sees and honors them for who they are. I imagine if I'd had someone supporting and affirming me when I was younger, my personal path around my gender identity may have been far less obstructed. It may not have taken me twenty-five years of my life to really figure out who I was ... or to be open to giving myself the space to be authentic,” L.J. told SFGN. If you think you or someone you know has what it takes to be one of the next Point Scholars, visit www.pointfoundation.org/ point-apply/apply-now/. Semifinalists will be notified by January 25, and should expect a telephone interview between March 14-20. Finalists will be notified by March 22 and should expect to save the date for an in person interview at Point’s Los Angeles office between April 28-30. All winning scholars will be notified by late May or early June.
12.23.2015 •
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CONVICTIONS
where voices get Heard
Norm Kent
SalutINg SuccESS IN 2015
norm.kent@sfgn.com
A
s the year comes to an end, it once again falls upon SFGN to single out and salute individuals within our community who, by their dedication and deeds, have gained stature and distinction. The LGBT community of South Florida is one of class and grace, a collage and collection of persons and professionals who have done so much for so many. It is never an easy task to single out and salute just a few. Even in the process of selecting every year our ‘OUT50,’ we must cull the list down to find a representative population. Now our duty is even greater. Now we must singularly choose an even limited number of persons whose achievements in excellence go beyond the mundane to the magical. Nationally, it was easy to select the Pope last year or Justice Anthony Kennedy this year. Their words resonated across a continent, asserting equality and justice for all. The local winners are always more difficult. Each day, so many of you give uncompromisingly of yourself to make a difference in our community. You run food banks, support charities, and lead choruses. You host softball tournaments, sponsor chambers of commerce, and serve on environmental and zoning boards. You show with your work everyday that the LGBT community is the heart and soul of our community.
We can’t say enough about you, but each week, with all of our 52 issues, we try to illuminate the work we do, the tasks we undertake, and the deeds we accomplish. We try to mirror the words of Abraham Lincoln, that it “is one thing to be proud of your community; another to have your community proud of you.” Julie Carson
The local winners are always more difficult.
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• 12.23.2015
Years ago, Julie Carson was teaching Hebrew. For the past eight years as a Wilton Manors city commissioner, she has been teaching us all a little bit about life. You don’t get rich being a city commissioner, but you do get to enrich the lives of the community around you. With a passion and purpose, Carson brings advocacy and authenticity to her tasks. As our story shows, this has been a challenging year personally, but as an athlete, Carson knows about perseverance and professionalism. She has stood her ground and there abided. She has risen above adversity and achieved a success you only can know by making a difference in the lives of others. Anthony Timiraos Anthony Timiraos is retiring from Our Fund this year, but there is not enough to say about
what he has done for our community. In just a few short years, he created a vehicle for centralizing LGBT donor giving. He brought the organization continuity and credibility. He brought together over twenty charitable groups to create a common theme. And those were just in his retirement years. Before that,
Editorial cartoon
he was the conscientious voice of a legal organization fighting for your human rights. Stature and substance have been his middle name, and to each endeavor he brought trust and confidence. Quietly, he developed an investment mechanism for LGBT professionals to feel confident about their legacy.
By andy marlette
Our Fund has hosted forums, generated revenues, and provided meeting places for communal functions, social gatherings, and disciplined giving. It’s given us a reason to be confident about our future, and put together a tax-exempt community foundation organized to improve the lives of LGBTQ people. It’s done so not with hubris, but with honor and humility. Our Fund has gained stature nationally, with an esteemed board of directors, its ‘IGive’ network, and its leadership forums. These tasks were no easy accomplishments in a community rightfully suspicious of miscreants and misdeeds. Timiraos brought success and grace to his work. We salute him this year for those achievements over the past few.
Similarly, in the Coachella Valley, so too has Hunter’s underwritten events for HIV and community groups. Tonight, Hunter’s is hosting a ‘Glad to Give’ Gala for the Food Pantry of Broward County, and the Poverello Food Bank. We salute Hunter not just for his decades of experience, but his boundless energy and enthusiasm. He has created a family that provides patrons with loyalty and employees with opportunity. It is not just about what you pocket today. It’s about how you pay forward tomorrow. Hunter’s has given back to all of us. Like so many other leaders in our community, who own bars and businesses, Hunter has made himself not just a living but taught us how to live.
Now our duty is even greater.
Mark Hunter
He may have sowed his oats in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, but Mark Hunter entered into the Wilton Manors club scene by taking over a club that had gone bust and turning it into a staple of South Florida’s LGBT life. Hunter did this while continuing to operate Hunter’s in Palm Springs, where he has been integrally involved with the LGBT community, awarded and recognized for his outreach and support of charitable causes. SFGN salutes him with our Achievements in Excellence Award for 2015, largely because of his bi-coastal philanthropic efforts. It is one thing to run one bar business, let alone two on opposite sides of the continent. It is quite another to run them by pouring not just drinks but your heart and soul into the effort. Hunter has not only supported the Pride Center at Equality Park with ‘Wicked Manors,’ but both Stonewall and Pride Fort Lauderdale.
Conclusion
Finally, as the Publisher of SFGN, let me again say that it is an honor to so serve in this role in our community. I recognize it comes with the responsibility to be conscientious, not careless; to be righteous, not reckless. These awards are a celebration of individual achievement, but while time and space dictate we limit them in number, no community is without many others who can be so recognized. To include some is not to exclude others. As I have written before and said often, the truth is as Aeschylus wrote many years ago, “If Athens shall appear great to you, consider that her glories were won by decent citizens simply doing their duty everyday.” We are blessed to live in a community where so many deserve the honors and accolades we give out singularly today. May you find the tenacity and temperament to be such a citizen tomorrow.
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op Ed of the week
Photo Credit: Vatican TV.
CONVICTIONS
SlovENIa gEtS a dIrtY cHrIStmaS card From popE FraNcIS Tony Adams
A
s a gay married ex-priest who spent four years in Rome and had sex in the Vatican, I can speak with some authority about the literally incredible Pope Francis who gave hope to gay Catholics while remaining steadfast in his refusal to share the love of Jesus Christ with those who remain excluded from his sacraments. Does Francis really think gay Catholics do not know the difference between being told we are loved and being loved? Is Francis unaware of the overwhelming number of gay priests who cower in closets because of the institutional homophobia he nurtures? Does he really not know that a good number of his 265 predecessors were sexually active gay men (including at least one recently beatified pope) all chosen by God to lead his church? How do you say, “Gimme a break” in Latin? Buried deep in the timeless ground of Catholicism are beautiful seeds of faith, hope
and love that await a pope who will make them spring to life with a good drenching of true compassion. I had hoped Francis would be that pope, but his refrain continues sadly and forcefully, rooted in some kind of fear that obliges him to be a custodian of the unhealthy traditions of recent centuries. I have grown tired of swearing to my gay friends that in his heart Francis believes in equality for gay Catholics, in the ordination to the priesthood of women and married folks, and in the grace of God that flows throughout the Catholic Church despite its ridiculous canon laws of exclusion that Jesus himself would surely scrap. I was wrong. Francis has fallen short of becoming the prophetic pope we need. He admirably foregoes some creature comforts, but he is not the good shepherd who will risk doctrinal discomfort to care for his lost sheep. He is a man of sweet words, grand gestures of
Francis has fallen short of becoming the prophetic pope we need.
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humility and the kind of intentions that pave those roads less traveled by greater men. Almost three years into his papacy, I have now stopped defending him. I fear he may have already selected his retirement date “in pectore,” leaving the field open to the horde of cardinals who distrust him and will unite themselves to make sure his successor will not be remotely like him. This means that gay Catholics are damned if he does retire and damned if he doesn’t. Francis has all but extinguished the bright beacon of the first months of his papacy, leaving gay Catholics adrift in perilous waters infested with sharkine cardinals and bishops. Recent news that Francis urged Catholics in Slovenia to “protect the family” which is code for “vote against marriage equality” hit me hard, arriving as it does like coal in the stockings of gay Catholics who might have been willing to extend him holiday wishes before receiving from him that kind of malevolent Christmas card. Pope Francis presides over yet another Nativity of his own design in which he invites gay Catholics to come to the manger, as long as we crouch just inside the drafty gate, straining to hear the distant angelic hosannas showered upon
the infant while not being offered any of the holiday cookies brought to the Holy Family by the Three Kings. Some party. Holiday despair is the most depressing kind there is. Doesn’t Francis know that the carols and candles that surround him also insulate him from our holiday pain? Doesn’t he know that gay Catholics, cut off from family and sacred traditions, manage to survive by creating our own families and our own sacraments? Doesn’t he see how we keep the Christ in Christmas by celebrating with and caring for each other in our own gorgeous ways that outshine the glitz of his decorations? If even one seat in one pew of any one of his churches anywhere in the world is empty on Christmas because a gay Catholic felt excluded by words coming from the Chair of Peter, Pope Francis has committed serious sin, and until he seeks and retrieves those lost sheep, his sin will grow deeper and stronger. But who am I to judge? Let us let the gay Slovenians who have little to rejoice about on Dec. 25 because of the meddling of this curiously cold-shouldering pope, judge the man who is supposed to be the vicar of Christ on Christmas.
Photo: Adam Rose, CNN.
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Reader responds to last week’s letter from editor “Trump is a Cancer on Our Democracy”
D
onald Trump is not the cancer on our country. Rather, he’s the ever colorful, shape-shifting melanoma mole on the backside of society that warns, “there’s worse inside.” The cancer, or more aptly, cancers, are eating away at society from the inside out. Trump, I fear, may be the canary in the mineshaft as he spouts what others only dare to think but who nevertheless keep Trump at the top of the pols heap. There’s the cancer of the imbalance of wealth that Trump represents even as all the candidates work to shrink the middle class further. Cancer lurks in the persistent racism that Trump demonstrates to the apparent glee of his followers. The on-going War on Women is yet another cancer Trump talks about and which his fellow Republicans encourage with state-by-state anti-abortion legislation, unequal pay and opportunity and continuing sexist violence. A similar malignancy continues to eat
away at LGBT civil equality such that we can marry but lose our jobs for that very reason. A brain cancer afflicts citizens who persist in willful ignorance about planetary destruction not to mention denial of evolution. The Chinese tried the immigrant wall business in the 3rd century BC. It didn’t work then, either. But what the heck, it sounds good. Based on what I’ve heard, all the Republicans running for the White House pretty much stand for these same “principles” but the rest are keeping their mouths shut until one of them gets elected. I find Cruz and Rubio much scarier than Trump. This is the problem with a democracy. The voters can elect war-mongering tyrants. Remember, Hitler was elected. In his own right, Trump is a funny man but the people who vote for him are the ones to fear. Especially since most of them carry guns.
The voters can elect warmongering tyrants.
– Donald Cavanaugh 12.23.2015 •
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feature achievement in excellence awards
Mark Hunter 28
• 12.23.2015
Photos: JR Davis
As we have done in years past, SFGN commemorates the year’s end with our annual local Achievement in Excellence Awards, celebrating individuals who have distinguished themselves by hard work and honest effort, lending credibility and commitment not only to their cause, but to our entire community. We congratulate them.
feature achievement in excellence awards
NIgHtcluB owNEr BuIldS commuNItY BEYoNd tHE daNcE Floor
John McDonald
It was a building hidden away in an industrial district that on weekend nights would attract thousands with its club scene, music, dancing and drag shows. The man behind the business was Mark Hunter, who has now re-created those days with what he calls a “boutique nightclub” in Hunters in Wilton Manors. But beyond the disco ball’s glow is a
"Mark sets the example of a local business owner giving back to the community. He has such good energy that you want to be around him. He’s a great positive guy."
philanthropic mission not many are aware of, although word is starting to get out. This year, Mark was honored as the grand marshal of Palm Springs, Calif. Gay Pride parade. “They put me in a 1969 Lincoln Continental Convertible,” Hunter said. “It was fabulous.” Much like Palm Springs, Mark has given back to the South Florida community, opening his nightclub to host fundraisers and special events for countless local organizations. And he has remodeled what was once a gloomy club called “Boom” into a destination nightclub with classy interiors, themed nights, friendly and hunky bartenders and knowledgeable music makers. For those efforts and much more, Mark Hunter is one receipt of this year’s annual Achievement in Excellence Award honorees. “It’s so deserving,” said Robert Boo, Chief Executive Officer of Pride Center at Equality Park and last year’s winner. “Mark sets the
example of a local business owner giving back to the community. He has such good energy that you want to be around him. He’s a great positive guy.” Teaming with the Pride Center, Hunters served as a presenting sponsor for the 2015 Wicked Manors, a Halloween themed street festival that drew an estimated 30,000 people to Wilton Drive. When asked why he volunteered for the cause, when other clubs on the drive went their own way, Mark, without hesitation says, “It is important to be part of a community and to give to your community.” “They get the big picture,” Boo said of the Hunters staff. It was Boo who first introduced Mark to his lover, Patrick Volkert. “I was the Yenta,” Boo said giggling. The two have been together almost 10 years now.
“Our first date was at the old Flowers Restaurant,” Hunter recalled. “Our second was at Casablanca on the beach,” Volkert responded with a twinkle in his eye. Volkert is a computer systems engineer originally from Miami. Hunter, an artist and ballroom dancing aficionado, says their different areas of expertise is a strength of the relationship. Volkert agrees, “Mark is a people person. He can talk to anybody like he’s their best friend and he’s sincere about it.” The couple had tried to launch their business venture in Fort Lauderdale inside the Searstown shopping plaza near Sunrise Blvd., but ran into a contract glitch with the landlord. Settling instead in Wilton Manors, in the heart of gay nightlife, turned out to be the right move. “It takes a village,” Hunter said. “There are no single stars on this team.”
Mark Hunter Patrick Volkert
Submitted Photo
T
hey gathered around a table in the upper corner of the nightclub, looking through old photographs and sharing stories of the good ol’ days. Former employees of Hunter’s Nightclub in Chicago reunited in Wilton Manors last weekend to remember an institution.
-Robert Boo 12.23.2015 •
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feature achievement in excellence awards
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feature achievement in excellence awards
aNtHoNY tImIraoS FINallY takES a BrEak J.W. Arnold
A
nthony Timiraos retired as President and CEO of Our Fund just a month ago, but his dedication and hard work will leave a lasting mark on the South Florida LGBT community for many years to come. When Timiraos and his partner moved to South Florida 12 years ago, he thought he had retired for good, but that wouldn’t last. He had a resume full of business accomplishments, working for a national accounting firm for 15 years and then as the CFO for another company. He even retired for a short time before starting his own successful business. Then came the move to Florida. But once again, “I got bored,” Timiraos admitted. So he took another job, this time as the CFO for the Community Foundation of Broward, the grant-making local agency that supports many of the non-profit organizations working across the county. While at the Community Foundation, Timiraos recognized a significant lack of funding for the many organizations that provide services to the large LGBT community, one quarter of one percent of grants from all charitable foundations. “If we don’t support our community, nobody is going to do it for us,” he realized. Five years ago, Timiraos joined together with
a group of friends — Chuck Loring, Coleman Prewitt, Dick Schwarz and Mark Ketcham — to establish Our Fund, a charitable foundation with the sole mission to serve the local LGBT community. It’s because of Timiraos’ outstanding leadership of Our Fund that SFGN chose him to be a recipient of this year’s Achievement in Excellence awards. Timiraos, 62, who had extensive experience serving on non-profit boards, including as the treasurer of Lambda Legal, was tapped to guide the foundation. Our Fund quickly grew, attracting both local and national support. More than $3 million in grants have been made and the fund currently holds more than $2 million in assets. A number of individuals and families have designated Our Fund as beneficiaries of their estates and pledges for future gifts continue, but Timiraos and his board are most proud of the impact Our Fund is already making in the community: “We’ve reached respectability and confidence from the community,” he said, “and have funded projects from Miami all the way up to Palm Beach.” Our Fund has placed special emphasis on the significant growth of LGBT seniors, leading to the Protect Our Elders initiative in partnership with SAGE, focusing on future health care needs. Our Fund is also collaborating with SunServe, The Pride Center and Compass in Palm Beach County, and launched new programs to support the increasing number of homeless LGBT youth.
"One of the ways to win full equality is through education. Both the gay community and the straight community. It’s not enough to win in the courts of law, we have to win in the courts of public opinion." - Anthony Timiraos
Despite the recent victory last summer for same-sex marriage, the fight for equality is not over and Our Fund can also continue to play a key role, said. “One of the ways to win full equality is through education,” explained Timiraos. “Both the gay community and the straight community. It’s not enough to win in the courts of law, we have to win in the courts of public opinion.” In retrospect, Timiraos said it wasn’t easy at first launching Our Fund.
“When you look at the last five years, I’m sure there was a lot of skepticism,” he said. “We have a great board who believed in the organization and really stood behind the process and the plan that I put in place. I’m grateful.” Our Fund is in good hands. David Jobin assumed leadership on Dec. 1 and Timiraos now plans to try retirement yet one more time. “I don’t know what I’m going to do, it’s only been 21 days. Maybe taking up yoga and Tai Chi,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe this time will be a full retirement.” 12.23.2015 •
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Photos: JR Davis
feature achievement in excellence awards
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feature achievement in excellence awards
JulIE carSoN BattlES advErSItY to makE a dIFFErENcE
John McDonald
F
or Julie Carson, 2015 has seen struggle and success. The Wilton Manors Commissioner, a longtime advocate for LGBT rights and causes, celebrated the Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision with pride, but unbeknownst to many of her constituents, was battling with deeper issues. “In 2015 my partner was diagnosed with cancer and we ended our 15-year relationship,” Carson said. “I lost a partner, a home and I had to regroup. It’s not a sad story, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.” Carson, Broward County’s first lesbian elected to public office, has held a seat on the Wilton Manors Commission since 2007. She says people often comment how readily accessible she is by telephone and email. “I’ve had people say they never knew they could call their commissioner,” Carson said. As one of SFGN’s recipients for the 2015 Achievement in Excellence Award, Carson’s story reveals the journey to authenticity many in the Deep South experience. Born in southeast Missouri, Carson spent her college years around Nashville, Tenn. where she developed her love of horses, triathlon and Tikkan Olam – a term in Judaism for repairing the world. “I spent a lot of time teaching Hebrew at
the synagogue,” she said of her formative years. “Acting through good will is something we are commanded to do. There is no choice and I continue to do that.” Faith aside, Carson admits to living a “fragmented life” in Tennessee and so, 16 years ago, she left after falling “madly in love” with another woman. The relationship led Carson to South Florida where she started working as a paralegal at a real estate law firm in North Miami Beach. “Living a fragmented life like I was doing in Tennessee is not really a healthy thing to do,” she admits. “Wilton Manors makes it a lot easier for people to live authentic lives. It’s a safe haven in many ways.” As Commissioner, Carson says she is proud of advocating for schools, animal rights and spearheading the city’s tax equitable domestic partnership policy. “Several years ago, Julie helped organize an important round table that helped advance pro-equality ordinances in Wilton Manors and other cities,” said her close friend and activist Michael Rajner. “Most recently when Broward County expanded its Domestic Partnership Act, she used herself as an example and shared publicly with the Broward County Board of County Commissioners on the important role the county’s Domestic Partnership Act has been during a family health crisis.” In her interview with SFGN, Carson shed some light on what is rarely discussed openly among public servants. “It is difficult to live a public life, but more so on the partner than the ones actually doing it,” she said.
“Julie is passionate about making a difference to improve the lives of others, She often takes the time to listen to a person's story.” - Michael Rajner
Michael rajner julie carson
In addition to her work in Wilton Manors, Carson has helped with other campaigns, working to elect Katie Edwards to the Florida House of Representatives and currently assisting Betsy Benson’s campaign for Broward County Circuit Judge. She has received numerous awards for her service, most recently recognized by the civil rights organization Equality Florida for her steadfast commitment to transgender issues.
“Julie is passionate about making a difference to improve the lives of others,” Rajner said. “She often takes the time to listen to a person's story. Recently a mother shared with Julie a sample of bureaucratic walls she encounters while advocating her child who is transgender. The next day, Julie spent time speaking with School Board Chair Osgood to identify those challenges, why it's important and possible solutions.” 12.23.2015 •
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lifestyle photos
HotSpots Holiday Celebration JR Davis Hotspots Media Group Annual Holiday Charity Event beneďŹ ting The Pride Center and Latinos Salud held at the W Hotel on December 10th. To see more photos, vist SFGN on Facebook!
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• 12.23.2015
12.23.2015 •
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lifestyle books
aNd wESt IS wESt by Ron Childress
Terri Schlichenmeyer
S
ix degrees of separation.
That, supposedly, is the difference between you and any given person on the planet. Your dentist, for example, knows somebody who knows someone who… and pretty soon, you’re linked to a famous scientist or Hollywood star. It’s a fun pastime, that Six Degrees thing, and surprisingly easy to do but in the new novel “And West is West” by Ron Childress, it could also be a deadly game. Living with Zoe wasn’t originally Ethan’s desire. She’d stayed at his Manhattan condo many times – they were a couple, after all - but he was still surprised when he heard himself ask her to move in, and equally surprised that she agreed. Yes, he loved her – which was something he only truly realized just before she left for a job in D.C. Heartbroken, Ethan turned to his other love: coding for United Imperial Bank. For him, it was the perfect job. UIB gave him an office and freedom to write algorithms to follow terrorists in order to follow the markets, creating serious money for Ethan and for his employers. That, plus Zoe, could’ve made him happy. Except Zoe was gone, then someone set Ethan up to fail at work and his job was gone, too. And just as he thought things were looking up, Zoe was dead and Ethan was left holding the secrets of her life that her parents couldn’t tell her. It always seemed as though Jessica Aldridge was running. She ran away from her mother’s alcoholism as a child. She ran away from family as a teen. She ran to the Air Force, where she became a highly-trained drone pilot but, since a remote
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• 12.23.2015
320 pages $26.95 / $36.95 Canada c.2015, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hil strike had gone horribly wrong and someone had to take the fall for it, she ran from that, too. But Jessica had just been following orders then. Her real mistake, she understood, was confiding her misgivings to the wrong person: her imprisoned father, whom she barely knew. She also understood that the government wasn’t going to take a breach of security lightly - and with the FBI on her tail, Jessica had to run again… I have to admit that I was no big fan of “And West is West” when I started it. Its first few pages were more techy than I expected, and I wasn’t in the mood for that. Whoo, was I glad I stayed. Once you get past the prologue, author Ron Childress takes readers in a whole different, unexpected direction with what seems like a profile of a psychologically flawed man. Ethan, in fact, is driven, indecisive, and so very imperfect – which makes him the perfect distraction from the page-ripping thriller that is Jessica. It seems unlikely, then, that the two are connected, but you’ll recall that six degrees stuff? Yep, and it doesn’t even take that many steps. This is one of those keeps-you-up-at-night, miss-your-subway-stop kinds of books that you’ll pass around to friends. It’s one to take to your book club. For sure, “And West is West” is a solid ten.
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lifestyle history
Photo Credit: Alan Light.
Liberace performing in 1983.
Happy Holidays!
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(1919-1987) Flamboyant performer Liberace was known best for his piano prowess, virtuoso performances, and extravagant wardrobe, homes, and cars. At the height of his fame, he was the highest-paid entertainer in the business, playing for celebrities and dignitaries and headlining a very successful Las Vegas show. Throughout his career there were rumors of his affairs with men, prompting Liberace to file numerous libel suits against publications in an effort to mask his sexuality. He died of AIDS-related pneumonia.
perry Ellis (1940-1986) best known for his casual American style of sportswear. His use of khakis, hand-knitted sweaters, and oversize jackets led The New York Times to proclaim that he “glorified the clean-cut, all-American look.” At the time, his cause of death was listed as viral encephalitis, but rumors of Ellis’s HIV-positive status made news after it came to light that his lover and business partner, Laughlin Barker, died of Kaposi’s sarcoma, an AIDS-related cancer. The Los Angeles Times ran a 1986 series on journalistic ethics and whether it was appropriate to include AIDS rumors in news stories, with Ellis serving as the focus. Halston (1932-1990) The fashion designer’s style was known for being minimalist, and the designer often used cashmere and Ultrasuede. His most famous clients were Jackie Onassis, Andy Warhol, and Liza Minnelli. He was also a figure of
'70s nightlife in New York and was a staple at the famed disco Studio 54. His long time love was rumored to be window dresser, Victor Hugo. He died of Kaposi’s sarcoma, an AIDS-related cancer.
pedro Zamora (1972-1994) Most famous for his appearance in the third season of MTV’s The Real World, Zamora was diagnosed with HIV at 17. He became the first out, HIV-positive man to appear on mainstream television, as the breakout star of The Real World's 1994. Zamora dated AIDS educator Sean Sasser while living in the Real World house, and the two exchanged vows in the first-ever televised same-sex commitment ceremony. Sadly, Zamora died hours after the groundbreaking finale aired. Pedro, a 2008 movie written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, dramatized Zamora's life. rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) This Soviet-born dancer was known to celebrate both classical ballet and modern dance in the same performance. He defected to France in 1961 and eventually met his longtime love, Danish dancer Erik Bruhn. The two stayed together until Bruhn’s death in 1986. According to The New York Times, The dancer learned that he had HIV in 1984, when he was still much in demand around the world and tried to keep it a secret. He was concerned that some countries, mainly the United States, might refuse him entry if he were known to be HIV positive.
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community palm beach
Photo: D Ramey Logan.
palm Beach county’s Year in review From LGBT-inclusive civil rights ordinances to public accommodations
PBCHRC
2
015 was a monumental year for Florida's LGBT community. Thanks to the efforts of the ACLU of Florida and a handful of lesbian and gay couples and their attorneys, marriage equality took effect statewide in January 2015. While PBCHRC's involvement in the statewide marriage equality movement was limited to persuading the West Palm Beach City Commission and the Palm Beach County Commission to sign on to the briefs supporting the ACLU's lawsuits, PBCHRC was making progress on other matters of importance to the LGBT community.
January 2015 The Port of Palm Beach unanimously voted to include an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination clause in their contract with Bahamas Paradise Cruiseline. Commissioner Peyton McArthur, a longtime PBCHRC supporter, pledged to have similar language included in all future contracts and agreements with the Port.
March 2015 The Boynton Beach City Commission enacted an LGBT-inclusive Civil Rights Ordinance. West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio placed a travel ban on city-funded trips to Indiana to protest that state's enactment of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Greenacres City Council unanimously voted to enact an LGBT-inclusive Civil Rights Ordinance.
July 2015 The Delray Beach City Commission unanimously voted to enact an LGBT-inclusive Civil Rights Ordinance.
February 2015 The Farmworker Coordinating Council of Palm Beach County updated its nondiscrimination policy to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. West Palm Beach Police Chief Bryan Kummerlen appointed Lieutenant Gregory Babcock to serve as the police department's liaison to the city's LGBT community. West Palm Beach City Commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution asking the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners to update the Palm Beach County Ordinance for Equal Opportunity to Housing and Places of Public Accommodation to provide for a more expansive definition of "public accommodation."
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October 2015
May 2015
The Wellington Village Council unanimously voted to enact an LGBT-inclusive Civil Rights Ordinance. The Town of Haverhill adopted an LGBTinclusive resolution supporting freedom from discrimination for all individuals. The West Palm Beach City Commission voted to vastly expand the definition of "public accommodations" in the West Palm Beach Equal Opportunity Ordinance.
Photo: Delray Beach.
September 2015
Photo: Facebook.
April 2015 The City of Riviera Beach amended its AntiDiscrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy to include both "sexual orientation" and "gender identity or expression."
Florida Atlantic University amended Regulation 5.010, Anti-discrimination and Anti-harassment, to include "gender identity and expression." The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to vastly expand the definition of "places of public accommodation" in the Palm Beach County Ordinance for Equal Opportunity to Housing and Places of Public Accommodation. The Town of Lake Clarke Shores unanimously adopted an LGBT-inclusive resolution supporting freedom from discrimination for all individuals.
Photo: Wellington Village.
November 2015 PBCHRC, in cooperation with the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association, convinced the School District of Palm Beach County to eliminate the phrase "personal life style (including sexual orientation)" and replace it with the phrases "gender identity and/or gender expression" and "sexual orientation" in the Discrimination and Harassment provision in the School District's collective bargaining agreement with the teachers' union.
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lifestyle cars d R I V E N
2015
n/Expedition
xpeditio 2015 Ford E
EL
Photos: Ford
Base Price: $45,040/$47,750 Power: 3.5-liter V-6 (365 hp, 420 lb-ft of torque) Transmission: 6-speed automatic Fuel Economy, city/hwy mpg (EPA est): 16/22 (2WD) 14/20 (4WD)
2015 Ford EXpEdItIoN Steve Siler
When Size Really Matters
Y
ou know who you are. The one who for Sunday Funday bar hopping, especially if you whom bigger is always better. You like it ordered the excellent, 700-watt Sony sound ruggedly handsome on the outside, soft system. This may or may not be a good thing: on the inside. You have a lot to if you’re a control freak like me shove in the back, and as big as who’s happy to not drink in order it is, you make room for it, too, to drive myself everywhere, it’s Up to eight whatever it takes. True versatility fine; but if you like to libate to is what it’s all about. Well, that excess, perhaps you can find a butts can fit and size. trusted friend who can also, um, inside the huge handle big things. Or just Uber it Obviously, I’m talking about full-size SUVs. (What were you the rest of us. interior, which likeEspecially thinking about?) And the latest with a full load, and, in many ways, greatest of you’ll appreciate what Ford has may make you them currently on the market is underhood by swapping a go-to guy for done the refreshed, reinvigorated 2015 out last year’s wheezy old V-8 Ford Expedition and its extrain favor of a turbocharged V-6. Sunday Funday long sibling, the Expedition EL. Not only does it get better fuel bar hopping. Styling is mildly updated front economy than the thirsty old and rear, though for the layman, V-8, but it far outmuscles it too, it is hardly recognizable as new. It also outpowers the standard Ditto the interior, where no V-8s in the Chevrolet Tahoe and one who’s been in the current model will get GMC Yukon, the Expedition’s prime competitors. disoriented in the new one. Two different top- And for those of you who have really big toys— dog trim levels take diametrically opposed routes ahem—the Expedition can now tow up to 9,200 to spoilstown: city-slicker Platinum and country- pounds. kitschy King Ranch (if you own even one pair of All told, the Expedition proves that big things cowboy boots, you know which one is for you. come in handsome packages. And big packages Up to eight butts can fit inside the huge sometimes come on handsome things. But that’s interior, which may make you a go-to guy for a whole different story.
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OR YOU COULD BUY:
GMC Yukon/Yukon XL Dodge Durango Chevrolet Tahoe/ Suburban
Renowned automotive journalist Steve Siler pioneered automotive writing for the GLBT community in 1998 and currently contributes auto news and reviews to Car and Driver Magazine, Yahoo Autos, The New York Daily News, Autoblog, Details, and many more. You can follow his adventures on Twitter/Instagram: @silerroad.
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Submitted Photo
lifestyle food
How to Set a Fabulous table Rick Karlin
W
hether you’re serving an eightcourse plated dinner or putting together a casual buffet, it’s the little things that make the difference between a gorgeous table that people will admire and a tacky spread that people will talk about behind your back. By following a few simple rules, you can easily put together a beautiful table. Of course, rules were made to be broken, so I’ve given you a few options for that, as well. No matter the size of your party, you needn’t spend a fortune to make your gathering a celebration. A beautiful table doesn’t require extravagant, expensive china. You can (and should) work with what you have, but there is one golden rule; to paraphrase Joan Crawford, “No paper plates. Ever!” The new plastic plates are almost indistinguishable from china and are reasonably priced. A packet of 50 only runs about $25, and if you want to be thrifty, they can be hand-washed and used a few times before they begin to show wear. The same can’t be said about the new plastic flatware that looks like silver. It’s fine for single use, but doesn’t hold up to reuse. If you want, you can even use these for an
elegant sit-down dinner. They make clean up quick and easy, everything goes in the trash. Another good option is to head to the thrift stores such as Povorello or Out of the Closet, which usually have sets of china that have been donated. Pick up a complete service for 12 for less than $50. If you don’t have room to store it, donate it back after the holiday. The tax deduction will almost pay for the purchase! Now that’s you’ve got the china, concentrate on your table setting. I’m a firm believer in setting up the table a few days ahead of time so you can plan your layout and décor. Go through your serving pieces and decide which you’ll use. Choose vases, bowls, platters and trays that look good together. I write the name of each dish I’m serving on a Post-It note and attach it to each serving piece. Then, whether you’re serving family style or a buffet, place all the serving pieces on the table and design your tablescape around the pieces on the table, making the food the focal point. Choose a color scheme: at Christmas red and green are to be expected, so are red and gold and gold and green. For Hanukah blue
A beautiful table doesn’t require extravagant, expensive china
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and white or blue and silver are traditional. Traditional is fine, but you can also shake things up. It’s Florida, go with tropical colors; pink, aqua, sea foam, even purple. Metallics give things a luxurious and festive vibe. Black and silver for Christmas? why not? Start with your tablecloth as a base,. Keep it neutral (white or black but never beige) or make it your central color, go with the traditional green/red combination. Avoid those expected holiday prints, not only are they usually very tacky looking, you can only use them once a year. Florals and abstracts are good choices, as is a tasteful plaid. The added bonus of a pattern, if there is a small stain, it’s less likely to be noticed. IF you do choose to go with a “holiday pattern” such as embroidered poinsettias, Christmas trees, even angels, do it with an ironic wink. Keep the look consistent; use the same plates, the same cutlery, and the same napkin rings at every setting for a carefully planned and elegant look. Or don’t; use a mixture of patterns, but make certain there is a connecting theme (color scheme is the easiest) so that it looks intentional, not sloppy. If you’re not certain you can pull off this look, don’t try it. Once you’ve decided on a color scheme, go though the supermarket and find items that work well. Don’t limit yourself to flowers, a tall vase filled with red and green apples is striking. I once filled a vase with cranberries
and a battery-operated string of submersible mini-lights then added two sprigs of pale green orchids. It was breathtaking. You can also use many shades of one color, say green, and pick a variety of produce; artichokes, grapes, pears etc., and place them in a shallow bowl. Don’t forget your backyard; gather a few branches, some giant leaves or flowers. Just make certain to hose the foliage off and let it dry. You don’t want any critters crawling from a plant onto your table. Candles on a table are like earrings with an evening gown, they add that bit of sparkle that takes something from fabulous to faaaabulous! It doesn’t have to be elaborate candelabra; tea lights scattered about, a cluster of pillars on a small mirror, or tapers running down the center of the table will all work. There are just two rules; use fresh candles, not the one you’ve gathered from around the house and light them before your guests are seated. If you’re worried about candle wax dripping on your table, place your candles in the freezer overnight. Voila, they become dripless candles. You can freeze them any time and store them for weeks and this little trick still works. Set your table long before you expect guests. That way you can relax and enjoy your company without having to worry about putting everything in place. It’s nice if the table looks stunning, but what you want your guests to remember most is the wonderful time they had.
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Holidays
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outeats Special Advertising Section
SFGN Staff
F
THE ALIBI
or more than a decade, the South Florida locals have been frequenting The Alibi in Wilton Manors. When the ownership changed a few months ago, the legendary restaurant got a few upgrades. If you’re visiting for the food, the ahi tuna nachos ($15) are always a great choice — crispy wontons topped with seaweed, sushi grade ahi tuna, scallions, wasabi sauce, sesame seeds and soy sauce. This is always a good idea, no matter what time of the day you drop by. But some new additions, like the Thai chicken skewers ($11), are worth a visit. The chicken is marinated in Thai spices then grilled and served with a Thai peanut sauce. The Crab Rangoon ($11) is also a great treat if you’re just in for a snack. All sauces, dressings, and soups are housemade daily. Want something to nosh on but don’t want a full appetizer? Alibi also offers a dining happy hour. From 3-7 p.m., Monday-Friday, you get your very own choices of tacos, hummus, or the crowd favorite, chicken wings (10 for $8). Don’t worry, the drink specials for the happy hour are still around and have even extended: Get 2-for-1 drinks on nearly everything on Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m., on Friday it’s 11 a.m.-3 a.m., and on Saturday, it’s 6 p.m.-3 a.m. This is one of the best and longest happy hours on the drive. The real deal is in the entrée options. You’d be hard-pressed to visit and not find something to answer your craving. There will always be the award-winning burgers, like the Alibi Champ ($14) and the Wilton Knockout ($14), but don’t
leave out the Mexican Burrito ($13) — refried beans, guacamole (both also made in-house), seasoned rice, beef, cilantro, cheese, and salsa, wrapped in a warm tortilla. Also try the pulled pork sandwich ($12) or the chicken gyro ($12). But don’t leave out the General Tso’s Chicken ($15) — battered and fried chicken tossed in a sweet and spicy General Tso’s sauce, served with rice and broccoli. You can eat around the world all in one night! If you can’t make it out during the week, come around on Saturday or Sunday for brunch. Classics like Eggs Benedict ($12) and Corned Beef & Hash ($13) are available, alongside challah French Toast ($8) and Chicken and Mushroom Crepes ($14). Look for Belgian waffles and various toppings soon, as the menu continues to be changed and updated to include the best ingredients and recipes. You might not be inclined to stay for dessert, but the dessert nachos ($6) may change your mind. Fried corn tortillas are topped with cinnamon and sugar-tossed apples, raspberry preserves, chocolate, caramel and whipped cream. You may not even see it on the menu yet, as it was only created in the last few weeks! The menu updates aren’t the only changes that have come to the restaurant. The Manchester Room has recently been re-finished, while the inside and outside bars have gotten some upgrades. The Alibi of Wilton Manors past may be all burgers and bars, but the Alibi of Wilton Manors present is serving up some of the best food on the drive with fresh ingredients, lots of daily specials, and upgraded menu additions. Even legends can get better with age.
If You Go 2266 Wilton Drive Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-565-252 ● AlibiWiltonManors.com 46
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F O R
T H E
SFGNITES
W E E K
O F
d e c e m b er
2 4
-
d e c e m b er
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2 0 1 5
W W W . S F G N . C O M
J.W. Arnold
jw@prdconline.com
THU
12/24
holiday Get on your knees and pray! Yes, it’s Christmas Eve and if there was one night to head to church, this is it. The Sunshine Cathedral, 1480 SW 9th Ave. in Fort Lauderdale, holds a traditional service of Lessons & Carols today at 4 p.m. followed by worship services at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Catch one of the early services and there’s still time to head down to Wilton Drive for a drink before you get your stocking stuffed tonight (by Santa)! For more information, go to SunshineCathedral.org.
FRI
12/25
film After the Christmas ham—or pork fried rice—head down to the local theater for the big Christmas releases. There’s plenty to choose from: “Snowden,” the biopic about the world’s most famous hacker; action thriller, “Point Break;” David O. Russell’s chick flick, “Joy,” with Jennifer Lawrence; and, of course, Eddie Redmayne’s latest star turn, this time as transgender artist Einar Wegener, “The Danish Girl.” (See our review in this week’s issue.) Check local listings for theaters and show times.
Australia’s best kept musical secret, The Ten Tenors, are making a tour stop on Monday at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale. Photo Credit: Submitted photo.
SAT
12/26 SUN
12/27 MON
12/28 TUE
12/29
nightlife
concert
concert
Theater
If you still have any energy after all those post-Christmas sales at the mall, then get your boogie on and dance the night away. It’s a holiday weekend, after all. The Manor Complex, 2345 Wilton Drive, hosts Grammy-nominated DJ Tony Moran tonight for “Kingdom.” There’s no cover before midnight and after, it’s $5 for members and $7 for non-members. Get yourself gussied up early and take advantage of $3 well drinks between 11 p.m. and midnight. More info at TheManorComplex.com.
The holidays bring out the child in each of us and so do Disney movies. Just in time for Christmas, the Arsht Center presents “Disney in Concert,” a concert experience featuring film clips and songs from the famous scores of “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Mary Poppins,” “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Frozen,” “Snow White,” “Cinderella” and more. Mousketeers of all ages will be singing “It’s a Small World” for days after this fun concert. Tickets start at $45 at ArshtCenter.org.
If you were wowed by the three tenors, just image what The Ten Tenors can do! This vocal wonder from Down Under is Australia’s premier classical-crossover group and they’re appearing tonight at the Parker Playhouse, 707 NE 8th St. in Fort Lauderdale, on their “Home for the Holidays” tour. With pitch-perfect unisons and incredible harmonies, The TEN Tenors seamlessly transition from classical arias to pop hits and rock anthems. Tickets start at $33.50 at ParkerPlayhouse.com.
The hills are alive with “The Sound of Music” at the Arsht Center in Miami, tonight through Sunday, Jan. 3. Broadway Across Miami brings the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic back to South Florida along with all your favorite songs, including “My Favorite Things,” “Do-ReMi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” and “Edelweiss.” Kerstin Anderson stars as the nun turned governess Maria in this touring production. Tickets start at $29 at ArshtCenter.org.
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National Arts Institute and Broward Center Present
DIVA DIARIES a sassy new musical with big hair
“Terrifically entertaining...”
January 6–31
– Chicago Tribune
Abdo New River Room
Diva Diaries tells the story of three dynamic drag queens on the verge of a nervous breakdown as they prepare for their final night on stage. Extremely funny, Diva Diaries has an energetic pop score and eye-popping production numbers. In the end, Diva Diaries is a musical celebration of friendship, family, and fabulous fun! Enjoy convenient and delicious dining in the Café at the Abdo New River Room starting 90 minutes prior to the performance and during intermission. A full bar is also available.
tickets at Browardcenter.org Ticketmaster | 954.462.0222 Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office Group Sales | 954.660.6307 Follow us:
Browardcenter
12.23.2015 •
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M A R K CO R TA L E & B R OWA R D C E N T E R P R E S E N T
BROADWAY CONCERT SERIES
a&e film
AUDRA MCDONALD Seth Rudetsky
with Special Guest
Will Swenson
Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne fully immerses himself into a transgender pioneer in “The Danish Girl,” opening in South Florida theaters Friday.
JANUARY 2 TICKETS at ParkerPlayhouse.com Ticketmaster | 954.462.0222 Group Sales | 954.660.6307 Follow us:
BrowardCenter
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Phone: 305-858-1515 coloncaremiami.com
Photo Credit: Amblin Entertainment.
Hosted by
'tHE daNISH gIrl' a tHougHt-provokINg look at traNSgENdEr pIoNEEr J.W. Arnold
J
ust a few minutes into “The Danish Girl,” after coaxing her husband, Einar (Eddie Redmayne), into donning stockings and heels to pose for a painting and then noticing his longing gaze at the female garments, Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) asks innocently, “Is there something you’d like to tell me? I’m your wife, I know everything.” Somehow, I don’t think she anticipated the experience would send the devoted couple on a path that would ultimately result into his transition to Lili Elbe. In fact, in Tom Hooper’s beautifully filmed account of the relationship, adapted from David Ebershoff’s fictionalized 2000 novel, it was Gerda who encouraged his early crossdressing, especially as her paintings of “Lili” began attracting attention among art dealers and collectors. Perhaps a more prophetic exchange occurs later, when Gerda and Lili attend a glitzy party attended by Copenhagen’s liberal art set. Lili: “Don’t leave me.” Gerda: “I would never.” And, she doesn’t, even as Einar struggles to identify the cause of his gender dysphoria, alternately visiting psychiatrists and acting out on his feelings, before finding a German doctor who is willing to attempt the unthinkable in 1926: gender reassignment surgery. Theirs is truly a unique relationship. I doubt Chris Jenner was nearly as understanding when Caitlyn came out, even though she must have been aware of her own husband’s crossdressing as tabloid stories continued to stir rumors. But, given Caitlyn’s public profile, comparisons
are almost unavoidable despite the advances society has made in 90 years. Both actors are surely favorites for Oscars in their categories, with Redmayne looking to repeat his 2015 win for “The Theory of Everything.” His emotional transition from Einar to Lili is so expertly portrayed that it’s almost impossible to dissect the actor from his character. While Redmayne can rely on wigs and exquisite costumes by Paco Delgado to assist in his illusion, Vikander can’t and doesn’t. One of the strongest moments in the film comes when she walks in on Lili during her first awkward kiss from a man, homosexual artist Henrik (Ben Whishaw). The pain is evident in her expression, but there are more shocks to come. The experience turns out to be seminal for Lili also, as she realizes she is not gay. It’s not clear how the transgender community will respond to the movie. Elbe was a pioneer and her diary, first published in 1933 as “Man Into Woman,” is an important chronicle of her journey. Hooper approaches the story with a superficial sensitivity, but it’s hard to believe Elbe was accepted as easily as portrayed in the movie, despite a token scene in which Lili is accosted by a couple of thugs in a park. We’re still talking the 1920s and sexual minorities were treated as deviants and criminals in every country. It’s reassuring to discover in “The Danish Girl” that Elbe finally found peace and would not be alone in her final moment of authenticity. If only every transgender person could be so fortunate.
“The Danish Girl” opens in South Florida theaters on Dec. 25. Check local listings for theaters and show times.
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Theater Christiana Lilly
Calendar@SFGN.com
top
picks
My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, I’m Home for the Holidays
Dec. 26, 27 and Jan. 2, 2016 at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs. Steve Solomon’s one-man comedy show shares the hilarity of the holidays. Tickets $49.29 to $54.59. Call 954-344-5990 or visit CoralSpringsCenterfortheArts.com.
The Sound of Music
Dec. 29 to Jan. 3, 2016 at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The classic musical of former nun Maria moving into the Von Trapp family home. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.
Matisyahu: Live at Stubb’s 10 Year Anniversary
Dec. 30 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. A celebration of Matisyahu’s first album. Tickets $25 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.
* Denotes New Listing
broward county * Romeo & Juliet
Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. at the Miramar Cultural Center, 2400 Civic Center Place in Miramar. William Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers, brought to the stage by Tchaikovsky, is performed by the State Ballet Theatre of Russia. Tickets $35 to $55. Call 954-602-4500 or visit MiramarCulturalCenter.org.
* Swan Lake
Dec. 27 at 3p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. The State Ballet of Russia performs one of the greatest ballets of all time. Tickets $31.50 to $61.50. Call 954462-0222 or visit ParkerPlayhouse.org.
* The Ten Tenors
Dec. 28 at 8 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. The talented 10 from Australia perform classical pieces, pop, and rock hits. Tickets $35.50 to $55.50. Call 954-462-0222 or visit ParkerPlayhouse.org.
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dEc. 23 to dEc. 29 palm beach county Broadway on Ice: A Special Holiday Celebration
Through Dec. 23 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Figure skaters perform to Christmas and musical favorites. Tickets $30 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.
* George Nutcracker
Balanchine’s
The
Dec. 27 to 29 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Miami City Ballet performs the Christmas classic of little Clara’s toys coming to life the night before Christmas. Tickets $25 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.
Christmas Past, Present, and Future for their shenanigans last Christmas. Tickets $58. Call 305-444-9293 or visit ActorsPlayhouse.org.
* Brad Ross Unbelievable
Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. Ross mixes comedy with magic in his unique act. Tickets $25.50 to $35.50. Call 305-4668002 or visit AventuraCenter.org.
* Matisyahu: Live at Stubbs 10Year Anniversary
Dec. 29 at 8 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Matisyahu celebrates the 10-year anniversary of his first album. Tickets $35 to $99. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.
PAMM 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.
* The Producers
Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Two down-and-out producers come up with a plan to create the worst musical ever to make bank. Tickets $35 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.
* New Years Eve: Those Were the Days
Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. Jimmy Mazz of the Las Vegas Legends and Barbara Van Eycken of the Patsy Cline Tribute come together to countdown to 2016. Tickets $40. Call 561-5866410 or visit LakeWorthPlayhouse.org.
* The Best of Forbidden Broadway
Dec. 31 to Jan. 2, 2016 at at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. For 30 years, Gerard Alessandrini has created parodies of Broadway’s greatest musicals. Tickets $39 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.
The History Boys
Through Jan. 3, 2016 at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach. Eight men’s lives are forever changed by their teacher. Tickets $64. Call 561-5144042 or visit PalmBeachDramaworks.org.
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! Call 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayArts. org.
Photo: Facebook Photo: Wikipeida
Datebook
miami-dade county The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge
Through Dec. 27 at the Balcony Theatre, 280 Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. A year after Scrooge has been transformed into a better person, he sues Marley and the Ghosts of
The Sound of Music Dec. 29 to Jan. 3, 2016 at the Adrienne Arsht Center
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Datebook
community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com
Top Picks Festivus
Dec. 23 all day at Concrete Beach Brewery, 325 NW 24th St. in Wynwood. The ‘90s favorite will be screened all day long and guests are encouraged to wear their ugly Christmas sweaters. Free. Call 305-7962727 or visit ConcreteBeachBrewery.com
Kwanzaa Celebration
Dec. 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Museum -- WIlton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Spoken word by Chunky, music by Kim J, laughs from Shana Manuel, and speaker Edward Miller to celebrate Kwanzaa. Free. Visit Facebook.com/ BlackGayPrideSouthFlorida.
First Night New Year’s Eve Celebration
Dec. 31 from 5 p.m. to midnight in downtown Delray Beach. An event for the whole family to countdown to 2016. Visit VisitDelrayBeach.org/FirstNight.
* Denotes New Listing
broward county LGBT Grandparents Group
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.
GayWrites Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Library, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Come join us and write your memoir, poem, blog, novel or short story. Free. Email garri1@earthlink.net
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.
Riesling, and much more. Must be 21 or older. Class $30. Call 954-284-0141 or visit BaCAPompano.org.
Movie Night
dEc. 23 to dEc. 29 palm beach county * Polka Demonstration and Dance
Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. at the Cornell Art Museum entrance, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Enjoy the Central European dance and and music. Free. Call 561-243-7922 or visit OldSchoolSquare.org
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.
Positive Connection
Rapid HIV Testing
Paint & Sip
HIV Long-Term Survivors Group
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First and Third Thursdays from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at SunServe South, 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. For people who have been diagnosed with HIV for five years or longer. Call 954-764-5150 or visit SunServe.org.
Mondays from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Purchase fresh food from local farmers, including fruits, vegetables, meats, prepared foods, as well as chefs, live music, and cooking demonstrations. Free. Visit ArshtCenter.org/ en/Visit/Dining.
Rainbow Circle
Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Miami Flipse Building #302, 5665 Ponce de Leon Drive in Coral Gables. An open discussion about coming out, relationships, peer pressure, bullying, depression and more. Free. Visit Pridelines.org.
Yoga
HIV Support Group
Mondays at 7 p.m. at Lambda North, 18 S. J St. in Lake Worth. A support and discussion group for LGBT recovering addicts. Visit LambdaNorth.net.
LGBT Quit Smoking Groups
First and Third Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and second and fourth Fridays from 7 to 9 p.m. at Bailey Contemporary Arts, 41 NE First St. in Pompano Beach. Grace Gdaniec leads classes aptly named Painting With Pinot, Sketching With Shiraz, Realism with
Arsht Center Farmers Market
Out of the Closet NA Group
First Sundays from 9 to 9:45 a.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 140 W Prospect Road in Oakland Park. Parents and their children can learn together about love, kindness, patience, and inner peace in the modern home. Cost $10 per family. Call 954-537-9191 or visit MeditationInFortLauderdale.org.
Multiple locations and dates. The LGBT community is more likely to smoke that their straight peers -- find constructive and supportive ways to kick the habit! Visit QuitSmokingWM.com to find a location and time that’s convenient for you.
Through Jan. 30, 2016 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Bayfront Park, 1075 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Fridays and Saturdays will be transformed into La Feria del Mercada de San Miguel, a traditional market in Spain, fit with food-related activities every time. Free. Visit BayfrontParkMiami.com.
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
Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Men who are HIV positive are invited to come together for support, education, and advocacy. Closed group. Call 561-324-1626 or visit CompassGLCC.com.
Dharma for Parents and Kids
Mercado De San Miguel
Tuesdays from 6 to 7:15 p.m. at Jose Marti Park, 362 SW Fourth Ave. in Miami. Yogis 18 and older of all levels are invited to a practice lead by a certified instructor. Bring your own yoga mat, water, and towel. Free. Call 305358-7550 or visit BayfrontParkMiami.com/ Yoga.html.
Voices of Pride
Last Tuesdays at 6 p.m. at the World AIDS Museum, 1201 NE 26th St. Suite 111 in Wilton Manors. Free movie nights once a month at the museum. Call 954-390-0550 or visit WorldAIDSMuseum.org.
Third Saturdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at SunServe South, 2312 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Meet other LGBT grandparents! Call 954-764-5150 or visit SunServe.org.
miami-dade county
Wednesdays at MCC of the Palm Beaches, 4857 Northlake Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. Find out your status in a safe and private way. Free. Email dropincenter@mccpalmbeach. org
Green Market
Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon at West Palm Beach Waterfront, 101 S. Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach. A relaxing morning of shopping through green vendors and live entertainment. Contact Katrina Resch 561822-1520 or KResch@wpb.org.
Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Beach AIDS Project, 1234 Washington Ave. Ste. 200 in Miami Beach. A support group for those who are HIV positive. Free. Call 305-5354733, ext. 301 or email support@sobeaids. org.
Book Study
Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist monk, Gen Kelsang Nurbu, will lead classes on learning the foundations of Buddhism. Call 786-529-7137.
Capoeira
Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Bayfront Park’s Tina Hills Pavilion, 1075 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Learn the Brazilian art of capoeira, a mix of dance and martial arts, with Mestre Ze Com Fome. Free. Call 305-989-6628 or visit mestrezeomfome. com.
Prayers For World Peace
Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon at the Drolma Kadampa Buddhist Center, 1273 Coral Way in Miami. Buddhist teacher, Todd Ellenberg will lead prayers and meditation. Cost $10. Call 786-529-7137.
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Business Directory chiropractic COAST CHIROPRACTIC INJURY & WELLNESS CENTER 2608 NE 16th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33334 954.463.3036 www.coast-chiropractic.com
dental
LANE & ERIKS DENTAL ASSOCIATES 1831 NE 45th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954.771.3331 Laneanderiksdental.com 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
health AMERICAN PAIN EXPERTS 6333 N. Federal Hwy, Ste. 250, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954-678-1074 Americanpainexperts.com SIMPLY MEN’S HEALTH 5405 Okeechobee Blvd #205, West Palm Beach, FL 561.459.5356 Simplymenshealth.com NATURA DERMATOLOGY 1120 Bayview Dr, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 754.333.4886 Coolsculptingnaturadermatology.com MARK ENGEBRETSON Palm Beach & Boca Raton 561.400.9297 heartofthemystery.com
legal LAW ROBIN 2550 N Federal Hwy #20, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.630.2707 Lawrobin.com
JIMENEZ LAW 100 SE 3rd Ave #1514, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33394 954.848.3111 Jimenezlawoffices.com
professional services
2505 N. Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-7621 Kalismcintee.com
health EMERALD ELITE 2301 Wilton Drive, Suite 3, Wilton Manors, FL 954.629.1377 Emeraldelitehomehealth.com
DR. TORY SULLIVAN 2500 N Federal Hwy #301, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954.533.1520 Torysullivanmd.com THE FLORIDA HOUSE EXPERIENCE 505 S Federal Hwy, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 800.778.6792 Fherehab.com
legal
SELZER & WEISS 1515 NE 25th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.4444 Selzerandweiss.com SHAWN NEWMAN 710 NE 26th St, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.563.9160 Shawnnewman.com LAW GC 707 NE 3rd Ave #300, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.573.1444 Lawgc.com
GREGORY KABEL 1 East Broward Blvd #700, Fort Lauderdale, 33301 954.761.7770 gwkesq@bellsouth.net
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restaurants
STORKS BAKERY 2505 NE 15th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.567.3220 Storksbakery.com THE FLORIDIAN RESTAURANT 1410 E Las Olas Blvd Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.463.4041
NAKED GRAPE 2163 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.563.5631 Nakedgrapewinebar.com BEEFCAKE’S 1721 N Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311 954.463.6969 Boardwalkbar.com
Have you made your wishes known? We’re here to help. 1-800-343-5400
www.levitt-weinstein.com
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J. MARK’S 1245 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (954) 390-0770 Jmarksrestaurant.com ERNIE'S B-B-Q 1843 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316 954-523-8636
BUY THIS SPACE FOR
retail
KALIS-MCINTEE FUNERAL & CREMATION CENTER
investments
restaurants
$250 A YEAR
BARTON & MILLER CLEANERS 2600 N. Dixie Hwy Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954-566-4314
AMERICAN TAX Publication & INSURANCE :Newspaper Ad Cont. Levitt Small Ad Gay WILTON MANORS DENTAL 2929 E Comm. Blvd, 8th Floor Penthouse D, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2517 NE 9th Ave, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.302.3228 954-564-4746 Americantaxandinsurance.com Wiltonmanorsdental.com ISLAND CITY DENTAL 1700 NE 26th Street, Ste. 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL 954-564-7121 Islandcitydental.com
To place an ad in the Business Directory, call our sales team at 954.530.4970
PEACE PIPE 4800 N Dixie Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 954.267.9005 Facebook.com/peacepipefl DAOUD’S 2473 E Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 954.928.2437 Daouds.com NATURAL SLEEP 3040 N 29th Ave, Hollywood, FL 33020 954.951.2678 Naturalsleepfd.com
POVERELLO THRIFT STORE 2056 N Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors, FL 33305 954.561.3663 Poverello.org MODERN HOME 2 GO 4000 N Federal Hwy, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 954.530.5650 Mh2go.com ESTATE AUCTION CO. 6 South Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33304 954-921-2828 Estateauctionco.com
MASTER HYPNOTHERAPIST AND LIFE COACH ADDICTIONS • SMOKING • WEIGHT LOSS • INSOMNIA • STRESS REDUCTION • ROAD RAGE • ANGER MANAGEMENT • PAST LIFE ANALYSIS • RELATIONSHIP COACHING Coach Bill For Life
WWW.COACHBILLFORLIFE.COM
954.641.8315
retail ESTATE AUCTION CO. 6 South Federal Hwy, Dania Beach, FL 33304 954-921-2828 Estateauctionco.com
realty
HENRI FRANK GROUP 401 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.604.9999 Henrifrank.com
travel / leisure
AQUAFEST CRUISES A Division of CruiseCenter © 800-592-9058 Aquafestcruises.com
theaters FT LAUDERDALE GAY MEN'S CHORUS PO Box 9772, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33310-9772 954-832-0060 www.theftlgmc.org ANDREWS LIVING ARTS STUDIO 23 NW 5th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.530.1879 Classcreations.com KRAVIS CENTER 701 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL (561) 832-7469 Kravis.org
Advertise here for
$550 a year
ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132 305.949.6722 Arshtcenter.org GAY MEN’S CHORUS OF SOUTH FLORIDA PO Box 39617, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33339 954-763-2266 Gaymenschorusofsouthflorida.org
veterinarian DR. PIERRE B. BLAND, DVM 3225 N. Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 954-673-8579 Doctorblandvet.com
SFGN.com
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SFGN Classified$ accounting - finance HEALTH & LIFE ADVISING INC - 14 years experience. Guaranteed issue 25K critical illness insurance rates at $36 and $50 including accidental injury coverage. Best rates for life guaranteed, from limited med to full medical underwriting. Term/ROP/ WHOLE/FINAL EXPENSE/ACA HEALTH PLANS WITH SUBSIDIES AVAILABLE. CALL 954-2000140, ask for Brian
attorney
electrician TOP DOG ELECTRIC-QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP AT A FAIR PRICE - Any and all types of electrical work performed by craftsmen who care about their work. 954-533-5005 guy@ topdogelectricfl.com www.TopDogElectricFL.com Lic# 97-CME-1724-X 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
entertainment/dj's
LIVE JAZZ FOR YOUR NEXT PARTY OR SPECIAL EVENT - Have your next special occassion be extra special with live jazz. Jazz vocalist with over 30 years experience performing in South Florida.No tapes or tracks.I work with South Florida's finest jazz musicians to make your special affair one to remember. Reasonable rates. Call Cindy at 954-298-8158 www.myspace.com/cindycurtisandcompany.
home health care
chiropractic
handyman 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
Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds
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WANTED: RN/DON FOR NEW HOME HEALTH AGENCY - Are you a Florida licensed RN with Home Health supervisory experience?Are you interested in serving the LGBT community in PBC? If so, call Craig at 954-681-2209
To place a Classified Ad, call Cindy Curtis at 954.530.4970 or email at cindy.curtis@sfgn.com
help wanted EARN $300+ PER DAY - Activists Needed To Collect signatures to get Medical Marijuana on ballot. Earn $300+ per day. 954-616-7736; 754204-0114 Make own hours. HELP WANTED! - New full service gym located on E. Sunrise Blvd., looking for part time front desk help (Tues & Wed 5am- 10am and 8am-2pm every other Sat &Sun) and fill in as needed. Contact Julian via email julian@stamina1640.com.
home & garden
POOL SERVICE Mention this ad and receive your first month
FREE! some restrictions apply
Serving Broward Since 1999
Call for a free estimate: 954-367-7007 Web: www.skimmerspools.com Email: skimmerspoolservice@gmail.com
landscaping / lawn LANDSCAPE SERVICES SERVING GAY SOUTH FLORIDA FOR OVER 25 YEARS Landscape design and install. Irrigation repair, lighting. Smaller jobs welcome. Call for a free and friendly estimate. We show up on time. (954)5156244. designbjm@aol.com
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.
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 INCREDIBLY AWESOME BODYWORK IN WPB - In-calls at a private studio 15 minutes west of PBIA. Intuitive, experienced licensed massage therapist offers affordable rates 7 days, early to late. ASK ABOUT WEEKLY SPECIALS! Calls only 561254-8065 for the very best massage experience you can get HANDS DOWN! #MA51008
Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds
954.530.4970 rentals
painting GREGG'S PAINTING - Interior/exterior,great rates, friendliness, reliability, neatness. No job too small. Call Gregg at 617-306-5694 or 954-8705972.
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.
pressure cleaning FAST RELIABLE DEPENDABLE SERVICE We show up on time. Walkways,Driveways or Pool areas.Refresh your property to look like new. Brad 954-515-6244 designbjm@aol.com
SFGN.com
pets/supplies
MIKE THE RENTAL GUY NE Lauderdale/Wilton Manors/Oakland/Victoria Park-1/1 from $950 2/1 from $1150. Credit & Income RequirementsPets okay with restriction. Call for Details Mike 561-703-5533
roommate GAY WHITE MALE TO SHARE 2 BR/2 BA GATED CONDO - Furnished room, WI-FI, W/D, TV in room, pool, must have steady income and own transportation, 1st-Last $650/month, utilities included, no pets no drugs. Call Zack at 954-4018431 or 954-765-3665
rentals MIKE THE RENTAL GUY NE Lauderdale/Wilton Manors/Oakland/Victoria Park-1/1 from $950 2/1 from $1150. Credit & Income RequirementsPets okay with restriction. Call for Details Mike 561-703-5533 2 BD/2 BA W/POOL-A beautiful 2BD/2BA with pool duplex surrounded by lush gardens and well maintained landscaping. Updated kitchen with granite counters, terrazzo floors, large closets, central AC, washer/dryer. Small pets allowed. Nonsmoking. Perfectly suited for a roommate.
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