4/15/15 V6i15

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April 15, 2015 // vol. 6 // issue 15

Miss Vicky's Plight

Page 14

Kathy GrifямБn's Return

Page 47

AHF's Controversy

Our Fund's Grants

Page 24 Page 49

DIVERSITY COMES TO BAT MLB PITCHES FOR INCLUSION An SFGN Special Report by Norm Kent Pages 30 - 33

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See what news is breaking across the internet Compiled by John McDonald

Log Cabin Republicans Slam Clinton In a press release coming on the heels of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she will campaign for the U.S. Presidency in 2016, the gay political organization, Log Cabin Republicans immediately questioned Clinton’s credentials. “The gay left may be willing to make assumptions about Mrs. Clinton’s support for the LGBT

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HUNGARY FACES A HISTORIC STRUGGLE

SEX POSITIVE CULTURE CHALLENGES ETHICS

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Winter 2015

Iowa Man Arrested For Sending Threatening Letter To Gay Bar An Iowa man was arrested last week after admitting to sending a threatening letter to a Des Moines gay bar which included a substance he claimed to be anthrax. The Des Moines Register reports police took Eric Reece Wiethorn, 49, into custody for sending a hate filled letter to the Blazing Saddle Bar. The

WINTER 2015 • Vol. 3 Issue

white powdery substance that Wiethorn claimed was anthrax was actually Gold Bond, police told the newspaper.

The Blazing Saddle Bar is one of the oldest gay bars in Iowa, owner Robert Eikleberry stated, and “the biggest target in town.”

Obama Calls For End To Youth Conversion Therapy Programs MEMBER

U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for an end to psychiatric therapy treatments aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT youth. The decision comes in response to an online petition posted on the White House website following the tragic suicide of transgender teenager Leelah Alcorn. In

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community, but Log Cabin Republicans will not,” said Gregory T. Angelo, LCR Executive Director. Among questions LCR wants answered deal with Clinton’s positions on the repeal of the Death Tax, engagement with foreign nations hostile to the gay community, and her attitude towards “states rights” in regard to same-sex marriage.

a statement, White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett said, “The overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates that conversion therapy, especially when it is practiced on youngMpeople, is neither EMBER medically or ethically appropriate and can cause substantial harm.”

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Winter Arts Guide Edition GUIdE bEGINS ON PAGE 21

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‘FIRST COMES LOVE’ PHOTO FEATURE SEX POSITIVE CULTURE CHALLENGES ETHICS HUNGARY FACES A HISTORIC STRUGGLE themirrormag.com

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Cover: Baseball and LGBT join courses in history.

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News Briefs

Alan Turing

British Code Breaker Alan Turing's Notebook at Auction (AP) A handwritten notebook by British World War II codebreaking genius Alan Turing is expected to bring at least $1 million at auction in New York.

The 56-page manuscript was written at the time the mathematician and computer science pioneer was working to break the seemingly unbreakable Enigma codes used by the Germans throughout the war. It contains Turing's complex mathematical and computer science notations, and is believed to be the only extensive Turing manuscript known to exist, according to Bonhams, which is offering the manuscript for sale on Monday.

The story of how Turing and a team of cryptanalysts broke the code was portrayed in the 2014 movie, "The Imitation Game," starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Turing.

Turing was prosecuted for being gay at a time when it was illegal in Britain. He was convicted of indecency in 1952 and agreed to undergo hormone treatment as an alternative to imprisonment to "cure" his homosexuality.

He died in 1954 of cyanide poisoning. It was ruled a suicide although his family and friends believed it might have been accidental. The notebook was among the papers he left in his will to friend and fellow mathematician Robin Gandy.

Gandy gave the papers to The Archive Centre at King's College in Cambridge in 1977. But he kept the notebook, using its blank pages for writing down his dreams at the request of his psychiatrist. Bonham describes Gandy's entries as highly personal; the notebook remained in his possession until he died in 1995.

members to profess certain beliefs or adhere to a faith-based code of conduct.

"The campus administration would have a very clear rule," said Kim Colby, director of the Center for Law and Religious Freedom for the Christian Legal Society, which has chapters at law schools across the nation, including Washburn University in Topeka. "It's just a much better protection."

The Senate approved the bill last month, and it has cleared a House committee. The full House could debate the measure after lawmakers end their annual spring break April 29.

Ponders New Protections for Campus Religious Groups Kansas

(AP) Kansas legislators could enact new legal protections for faith-based groups on state college campuses, even though the state already has a religious objections law.

Religious groups seeking to protect student chapters' ability to limit membership argue that the bill they're pursuing this year sets a clearer legal standard and prevents lawsuits. Critics contend schools wouldn't be allowed to withhold taxpayer-financed support even if groups discriminate based on race or national origin.

The Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature is considering the measure despite the backlash against recent religious objections measures approved by lawmakers in Indiana and Arkansas amid protests that they'd allow discrimination against gays and lesbians. While those controversies hang over the Kansas debate, advocates on both sides said the measure dealing with campus groups deals with broader issues.

And Kansas already has a "religious freedom" law, enacted in 2013, saying that state or local government agencies can't substantially limit someone's exercise of religion without a compelling reason. It allows lawsuits to challenge government actions.

But this year's proposal would specifically prohibit state universities, community colleges and technical colleges from refusing to recognize or provide funds, space or other resources to religious groups for requiring leaders or

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legislation last week.

But expo organizers say planning was in the works long before the law became a national gay-rights issue.

Indy Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Chairman Don Burrus said a wave of same-sex couples began planning big ceremonies in Indiana when gay marriage was legalized last year by federal courts.

The wedding industry has started to notice as well, and more than 30 businesses, including caterers, photographers and hair stylists, will be at Sunday's expo.

"The community wants to work with people who are welcoming and accepting," Burrus said. "It's a very special time when you are planning a wedding. No one wants to be told by a vendor that they won't serve you."

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Expos Will Be Indiana's Wedding 1st for Same-Sex Couples

(AP) Two wedding expos set for the Indianapolis area will give same-sex couples the ability to choose businesses that support their right to marry.

The Indianapolis Star reports Indiana's first same-sex wedding expo will be held Sunday at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville. The second will be held next month in downtown Indianapolis.

The expos come on the heels of a recent fight over Indiana's religious objections law that critics feared could be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians. The law sparked boycotts of the state and nationwide criticism.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence quickly asked lawmakers to draft changes to the law and clarify that it could not be used as a license for discrimination. He signed a revised version of the

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hallenge to Gay Conversion Therapy Ban Dismissed by Appeals Court

(AP) A federal appeals court has upheld a judge's decision to dismiss a lawsuit challenging New Jersey's ban on gay conversion therapy.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled Monday that U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson was right to reject the claims of a New Jersey couple who said their constitutional rights were being violated because the law prevents them from seeking treatment for their teenage son.

Gov. Chris Christie signed a law in 2013 banning the therapy in New Jersey, saying at the time that the potential health risks trumped concerns over the government setting limits on parental choice.

An attorney representing the couple didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.

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News Briefs Continued

Hillary Clinton

Report: Hillary Clinton to Hire Gay Campaign Manager

(Edge) According to an April 9 report by Mother Jones, Hillary Clinton will pick openly gay Democratic strategist Robby Mook as her campaign manager for her 2016 presidential bid.

Clinton's official announcement is expected to come later Monday.

Mook, 35, oversaw Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign and Terry McAuliffe's successful 2013 campaign for Virginia governor.

If chosen, Mook will be the first openly gay person to be a campaign manger for a major presidential campaign. Mother Jones writes of Mook that he is "still boyish-handsome and clean-shaven with closecropped brown hair. His usual uniform consists of chinos and bland dress shirts rolled up to the elbows.

He couldn't be more different from, say, James Carville, the loudmouth Ragin' Cajun who advised Bill Clinton's first presidential bid and now makes a living as a consultant and TV commentator."

T

ax Day Extra Difficult For Many Same-Sex Married Couples

A necessary burden for most Americans, Tax Day is an accounting nightmare for thousands of gay and lesbian couples as they wrestle with the uneven legal status of same-sex marriage in the United States.

The number of states that recognize same-sex marriages has grown to 37, plus the District of Columbia, since the Supreme Court struck down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.

The vast majority of married couples in the U.S. file joint federal tax returns in which they combine their incomes, exemptions, deductions and credits to calculate their tax liability. But same-sex couples are not allowed to file joint tax returns in most states that don't recognize their marriages.

Instead, they have to unravel their finances and file separate state returns.

With the tax filing deadline approaching on Wednesday, states that don't recognize same-sex marriages are dealing with these issues in different ways. Five states require same-sex couples to fill out multiple federal tax returns, sometimes called dummy returns, so they can come up with the appropriate numbers for their state returns. This is how it works in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan and Nebraska.

Kansas, North Dakota and Ohio take a different approach.

These states provide worksheets that same-sex couples must complete to separate their finances. In Ohio, the form has 31 lines, though most couples don't need to fill out every line.

The issue is moot in South Dakota because there is no state income tax. It's less of an issue in Arkansas and Mississippi because these states don't use information from federal returns on their state income tax forms.

Alabama has same-sex married couples divide the income and taxes they report on their federal returns, based on each spouses' share of their combined income.

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The report also points out Mook is inactive on social media, with no Facebook page and that he apparently forgot the password to his Twitter account.

"Mook's friends and colleagues struggle to identify any particular policy issue that drives him. Mark Penn-style theories about key demographic groups (remember Soccer Moms?) don't inspire him either," Mother Jones writes. "He's a political nerd who lives and dies by data and nuts-and-bolts organizing."

President Barack Obama's adviser David Plouffe told Bloomberg News in 2013 that Mook, who graduated from Columbia University, "understands modern campaigns, the value of data and technology. He beat us three times; his footprint was on our back. He did the best job of anyone over there."

Ending years of speculation, Clinton announced Sunday that she will be running for president for a second time, and will most likely be the 2016 Democratic nominee.

Missouri doesn't recognize same-sex marriages, but Gov. Jay Nixon issued an executive order requiring gay and lesbian couples to file joint state tax returns if they file a joint federal return.

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hop: Ban of Those Who Nixed Gay Rights Bill Served Purpose

(AP) A worker-owner of a Fargo coffee shop who instituted a tongue-in-cheek ban on North Dakota lawmakers for opposing an anti-discrimination bill says the response has been "99.9 percent positive" and that he made his point, even if a few people didn't like it.

Joe Curry, one of the worker-owners of the Red Raven Espresso Parlor, posted a newspaper page in the shop earlier this month that showed the 55 Republican state House members who rejected a bill that would have prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, government, public services and the workplace. It was accompanied by a sign saying the legislators were banned, "Unless accompanied by a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual, queer, intersex or asexual person."

"The ban was, I thought, very tongue in cheek, requiring them to be escorted by someone from the LBGT community," Curry said Wednesday. "I hope that they thought about it, at least, and I hope some of them giggled. But in the end, they are all welcome here."

The ban got attention on cable news shows. MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry described it as her "favorite thing that happened this week" and wondered aloud if Fargo was a "center of LGBT rights."

Curry said the coffee shop received an outpouring of love on social media. One of his customers baked him a cake and another made him a patch with the message, "Solidarity forever." The three Democratic state lawmakers who represent the Red Raven's district sent him a gift basket.

Curry took down the sign and photos a few days ago, but he hasn't ruled out posting them again. He believes the display served its purpose.

"I think the statement was made and I think it a chord with a lot of people," Curry said. "I think it encapsulated a lot of the

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Red Raven Facebook.

anger and disgust with all the people who shared it. It did its job.

It opened the doors to a lot of discussion and I think a lot of that discussion, at least what I was hearing, was positive."

Protections for LGBT Labor Workers in Place

(Staff ) In its first expansion of legal protections for workers since 1974, the U.S. federal government can no longer discriminate against employees or contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

These new protections, announced Wednesday by Secretary of Labor Secretary Tom Perez, include people who are LGBT. “This is a civil rights victory consistent with our founding principles,” Perez said. “It will mean a more dynamic and inclusive workforce that captures the talents of more of our people. It advances the principle that we should be leaving no one of the sidelines, that America is strongest when it fields a full team.”

The protections are the result of President Barack Obama’s executive order prohibiting federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating against workers based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Obama issued the order July 21, 2014.

news briefs

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Continued

S

utchinson: No Urgent Need for AntiDiscrimination Order

pringďŹ eld Gay Rights Supporters Hopeful After Ordinance Repealed, Consider Next Steps

Devon Sayers/CNN

(AP) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday he doesn't see an urgent need to expand workplace anti-discrimination protections for gay and lesbian state employees after lawmakers reworked a religious objections measure to address concerns it was discriminatory.

The Republican governor told reporters he floated the idea of such an order as an alternative in case lawmakers didn't agree to his request to revise a bill prohibiting state and local government from infringing on someone's religious beliefs without a compelling reason. Hutchinson signed a compromise version of the bill after it was changed to more closely mirror a 1993 federal law.

"I don't see any urgent need for it now," Hutchinson said. "Again, I got my request, so we'll see what the future develops but I considered the issue resolved when they gave me my first request of a new bill."

Hutchinson had called for changes to the bill after facing widespread backlash

from some of the state's largest employers, including retail giant Wal-Mart. He signed the compromise measure into law the same day Indiana's governor approved an amendment to that state's religious objections law in the face of similar protests.

Unlike Indiana, Arkansas' compromise measure doesn't include specific language barring the law from being used to discriminate based on sexual orientation. The Arkansas measure addresses actions only by government, not businesses or individuals.

Supporters said that would prevent businesses from using it to deny services to individuals.

Opponents have said the measure could still allow for discrimination, particularly because Arkansas doesn't include sexual orientation or gender identity in its anti-discrimination law.

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights group, has said it'll spend the coming months urging Hutchinson to sign an order giving anti-discrimination protections to LGBT state workers.

(AP) Gay rights advocates in Springfield are considering their next steps after the repeal of an anti-discrimination ordinance that provided protection in jobs, housing and public accommodations.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that will continue working to pass statewide nondiscrimination protections. Unofficial returns from Tuesday's election show the ordinance was repealed by a 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent margin.

"We have seen powerful growth in Springfield through this campaign, and we are so proud of this community, regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's vote," said Stephanie Perkins, deputy director of PROMO, a statewide gay rights advocacy group.

The Springfield City Council last October added LGBT residents to the city's antidiscrimination ordinance. Opponents collected signatures resulting in the ordinance going to a public vote.

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The statewide Missouri Nondiscrimination Act will be heard by the House Criminal Proceedings Committee next week.

"Just as we saw in Springfield, there is support from both Democrats and Republics from many areas and backgrounds," Perkins said.

An event called #AllSpringfieldians: LGBT Support Demonstration organized through Facebook has been scheduled for Friday. More than 1,000 people have indicated on Facebook that they will attend the demonstration.

An online fundraising project, organized by Megan Needham, is also being held to collect $170 to buy 250 "window clings" that say "This Business Is Inclusive." As of Tuesday night, about $715 had been raised.

Needham plans to donate the additional funds to GLO center, which is a local nonprofit that provides resources to the LGBT community in southwest Missouri.

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news briefs

Continued

'Conscience Protection' Passes Adoption Florida House

(SFGN Staff ) Weeks after the Florida House passed a bill promoting adoption, the chamber Thursday approved a controversial measure that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples.

The move Thursday came after a conservative backlash about part of the first bill (HB 7013), which primarily involves providing cash incentives to state workers who adopt children in foster care. The backlash focused on a provision that would repeal a decades-old law that banned gay adoption in Florida.

The ban essentially ended in 2010, when an appeals court ruled against it, but it remained in law.

Under fire for the first bill, House Republicans proposed a second measure (HB 7111) offering "conscience protection" to private adoption agencies whose "written religious or moral convictions" prevent them from placing children with same-sex couples.

On Thursday, the "conscience protection" bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, passed 75-38, mostly along party lines. It would protect private adoption agencies from losing their licenses or state funding if they refuse to facilitate adoptions on religious or moral grounds.

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Supporters of Brodeur's bill said it's needed for adoption agencies with religious affiliations.

But critics contended that Brodeur's bill would allow discrimination not only against gays but against single, divorced, Jewish and multi-race parents. Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said he wasn't sure "that there aren't the remnants of homophobia" in Brodeur's measure.

However, Brodeur's bill won praise from some faith-based groups. "Today's passage of HB 7111 gives encouragement that the longstanding good work by people of faith to unite children with families through adoption and foster care will continue," Michael Sheedy, executive director of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement.

But while the "conscience protection" bill easily passed the House, Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat who is gay, predicted it would fail in the Senate.

"I firmly believe that it's (dead on arrival) there," Richardson, who led opposition to the bill, said after the House adjourned.

The House passed the "conscience protection" bill the day after a similar highly charged debate in the Senate.

From our media partner News Service of Florida.

lorida Insurance Companies Revise HIV/ AIDS Drug Formularies

(John McDonald) Reduced costs for HIV medications are on the way.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty announced that effective June 1, 2015, health insurance companies Aetna, Inc. and Coventry Health Care of Florida, Inc. are revising their HIV/AIDS drug formularies for individual health plan members. This change is expected to significantly lower the cost of HIV drugs, said Michael Kahane, spokesman for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Southern Bureau.

“It is great to see that the positive results of months of dialogue and advocacy among key stakeholders throughout the U.S. have yielded such positive results with an impact that could ultimately be far more significant if adopted

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throughout the industry,” Kahane said in a statement released by AHF. Under the new formularies, members of the two health care companies will be able to purchase oral HIV medications as generic or non-preferred brands. A majority of HIV drugs currently labeled as “specialty” are expected to drop into this lower cost tier, Florida insurance officials said.

Additionally, starting in June, Aetna is expected to expand access to HIV medications nationwide, sources at the company said.

“Aetna and Coventry’s actions represent a high level of commitment and responsiveness to the needs of its members,” stated McCarty.

news highlight

Miami Community Coming Together For AIDS Walk John McDonald

A community committed to a cause — this is perhaps the best way to summarize the upcoming 27th Annual AIDS Walk Miami.

Organizations, groups, teams and individuals from every corner of Miami are coming together on April 27 at the Miami Beach Convention Center for the 2015 event.

“We will walk again this year, in honor and memory of those we knew, loved, and lost to HIV. With the progress that continues to be made, we are hopeful that sometime in our life time, God willing, there will be a cure,” said Rick Siclari, Chief Executive Officer at Care Resource, presenting sponsor of AIDS Walk Miami.

Actor, artist and designer David Bromstad is this year’s grand marshal with Emmy Award winning television personality Robbin Simmons serving as master of ceremonies. Simmons, a longtime South Florida news reporter, has covered several big stories ranging from the Elian Gonzalez saga to the Gianni Versace murder to U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Vatican City. Bromstad, a gay man, is known for his

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“This disease is not a ‘gay’ disease, it's not a ‘straight’ disease, it's a disease that has made an impact on millions of people all over the world; men, women and children alike. We walk together in unity,” Bromstad said.

In a February 2014 surveillance report released by the Florida Department of Health, an estimated 27,035 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Miami-Dade County.

The walk of 3.1 miles begins promptly at 9 a.m. at 1901 Convention Center Drive in Miami Beach. To register, visit www.

AIDSwalkmiami.org . Single registration is $25. Organizers are hoping to raise $250,000 at this year’s walk.

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“HIV, you won't stand between me and a long, healthy life.”

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news bites

by John McDonald

lesbian

L

esbian Defends Donation to Anti-Gay Pizzeria

Courtney Hoffman, a lesbian business owner, defended her donation to an Indiana pizzeria, which made international headlines for shutting down in order to not serve gay people. “As a member of the gay community, I would like to apologize for the mean-spirited attacks on you and your business,” Hoffman tells the Associated Press she wrote in a note accompanying a $20 donation to Memories Pizza. The pizzeria came under fire from LGBT activists for ceasing operations due to their religious beliefs. The scandal was part of an uproar over Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Since shutting down, the pizza joint has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars online.

Courtney Hoffman, Facebook.

gay ice’ Documents The Fears That Gays Face In Iran

‘V

In Iran, gay men are considering sexual reassignment surgery in order to save their lives, according to a report by the Vice news organization. “Gay Iranians now face the agonizing choice of fleeing their communities or permanently changing who they are,” said Thomas Morton, Vice correspondent who traveled to the Islamic Republic of Iran to document struggles of homosexuals and transgender people. Formerly known as Persia, Iran began to crack down on gay life in 1979 when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power. Homosexuality in Iran is a crime and punishable by death. To view clips of the documentary, visit www.vice.com.

bisexual

Actor Andy Mientus To ‘Flash’ Marry Boyfriend

Actor Andy Mientus is preparing to wed fiancé Michael Arden in Los Angeles, the Huffington Post reports. Mientus, 28, is openly bisexual whose acting credits include the NBC Broadway dramedy, “Smash” and CW Superheroes show, “The Flash.” In “The Flash,” Mientus plays the gay villain, Pied Piper. “He’s incredibly complex and fascinating,” Mientus told the Post. “He goes back and forth between his good and bad sides so you never really know what team he’s playing for.” A talented singer, Mientus recently joined the cast of “Les Miserables” for a “Beyond the Barricades” performance at New York’s 54 benefitting Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS.

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Andy Mientus, Twitter.

transgender

EOC Charges Ala. Research Lab With Sex Discrimination

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity and Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with enforcing federal workplace anti-discrimination laws, found a Huntsville, Alabama army center violated the U.S. government’s anti-discrimination laws under Title VII. The EEOC ruled Tamara Lusardi was discriminated against at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), where she works as a transgender woman. During Lusardi’s transition, the AMRDEC prohibited access to the women’s restroom and one of her former supervisors repeatedly and intentionally harassed her by using her former name and male pronouns, said the Lesbian Center for Lesbian Rights, in a statement applauding the EEOC’s ruling.

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Tamara Lusardi, Transgender Law Center

community announcement

Miami Log Cabin GOP Fun Raiser Mimi Martinez-Planas

Pulsating music, diva dancing, plus bar, food and titillating fun, with Gay conservative libertarians and their many allies, will animate the night in Miami on April 18th, the Anniversary Night of Paul Revere's Midnight Ride.

After an incredibly successful 2014 media campaign — with over 50 published campaign stories and editorial endorsements— the Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) of Miami are hosting their 3rd annual fun-raiser with GOP Congressman Carlos Curbelo. Mr. Curbelo supports marriage Equality.

The Hispanic flavored event will feature a Reagan GOP Silent Auction that includes rare photos of President Reagan — the first President to have a gay man and his partner stay overnight in the White House Guest Room — as well as Margaret Thatcher memorabilia. Opening bids will be $40 in honor of the 40th President.

Cigars at the Ren, Jazz Cigar Lounge at 10855 SW 72nd St, will be the lively venue for this growing fusion event of gay and straight conservatives.

Amazingly, representatives from over a dozen conservative groups will be in

Credit: LCR Facebook.

attendance to celebrate the most media prolific LCR Chapter in the U.S. Among the many conservative organizations who will celebrate with the LCR Media Machine: Broward Young Republicans Latin American Republican Club Young Americans for Liberty Generation Opportunity Republican Women's Club, Federated Miami Young Republicans Broward GOP Executive Committee Miami Dade GOP Executive Committee Orlando GOP Executive Committee Americans for Prosperity Bloomberg News Show, Miami After Dark Rand Paul Florida

Suggested donations at the door will be $50. The fun starts at 8 p.m.

"There is not one Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) chartered Club who can remotely compete with Miami LCR's media output," says a spokesperson for the LCRFlorida. "That is what compels so many of our inclusive allies to enthusiastically join us.”

Councilwoman Mimi Martinez-Planas is the second-term President of Miami LCR. In 2014. Ms. Planas was selected by the Miami GOP for the "2014 Most Active GOP Club Award" in a special ceremony.

She is married to Isis Martinez and writes a monthly column for the LGBT Orlando Watermark.

To join and donate go to LCRMiami.org. soflagaynews //

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news local GoFund Campaign Set Up For Longtime Pride Committee Member John McDonald Vivien “Vicky” Keller, a longtime South Florida social activist, has fallen on hard financial times and needs help. Keller, who championed many causes ranging from AIDS services, lesbian choruses, domestic partnerships and housing for gay teens rejected by their parents, is now 89 and simply cannot live on her total monthly resources, said her lawyer, Jodi A. Fischer.

“She survives on meager means,” Fischer told SFGN. “The sad fact is she has barely enough to stay alive and healthy."

Friends of Keller have set up a GoFundMe. com page in hopes of helping her financial situation. Keller lives in a modest trailer in Oakland Park. Her lot rent was recently raised by $225 and the price hike has left Fischer searching for answers.

“What do I do with her?,” Fischer asked. “I do not have an extra bedroom in my house or else I would move her in with me.”

Because of her age, Keller has circulation problems and walks with a cane. Keller,

Fischer said, has named no one as her healthcare surrogate, a disturbing trend in the elderly South Florida community.

“She is not alone,” Fischer said.

Keller served on the Pride Committee for 38 years as a vocal straight ally. Among her progressive credentials, include music director for Church of Our Savior MCC in Boca Raton, founder of AIDS Center One (19861989), Member of Sage since 1993 and as a notary of the public, notarized the first gay domestic partnership in Broward County in 1999.

To make a donation to the Miss Vicky Eviction Fund, visit gofundme.com/HelpMissVicky

Gay Porn ‘Star’ Extorts Palm Beach Tycoon Jose Lambiet GossipExtra.com Palm Beach society maven Don Burns has been identified as the target of a gay porn star and alleged extortionist Teofil Brank.

Burns, who made $250 million in the sale of a telecommunication company in the 1990s, allegedly paid Brank $500,000 and gave him his favorite sports car in exchange for his silence on their sex-for-money relationship, and Burns’ relationship with other young stallions.

The 25-year-old Brank, who’s known as Jarec Wentworth in the biz, is in a Los Angeles jail.

He’s being held on no bail on felony extortion charges.

Burns is known locally as a philanthropist who often attends society functions. He lives in a $15 million mansion on North County Road.

Burns contacted authorities in March when Brank allegedly told Burns he was about to publish compromising photos of him on Twitter.

Burns has already paid Brank $500,000 and gave the actor his $180,000-Audi R8. But now, Brank started asking about an apartment.

In time, Brank was arrested during a meeting

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SouthFloridaGayNews

Palm Beach tycoon Don Burns with an undercover FBI agent posing as a friend of Burns.

The agent turned over the title to the Audi, and claimed there was also $1 million in the trunk.

At a hearing last week, prosecutors said Brank met Burns in 2013, when Burns was considering investments in gay porn.

The case is bound to be embarrassing for Burns, who’s known to sit at the head tables of many charities during the Palm Beach season.

Burns founded the Donald A. Burns Foundation, which donates millions to West Palm Beach area non-profits.

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news local DNC Chair Outlines 2016 Strategy Wasserman Schultz to group at Pride Center: “bigots always find a way of creeping back”

John McDonald

Photo: Debbie Wasserman Schultz Facebook Page

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz speaking to Dolphin Democrats at the Pride Center.

U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston) addressed a large crowd gathered inside the Pride Center in Wilton Manors Wednesday night, stressing the importance of vigilance. Wasserman Schultz, who represents House District 23 in Congress, said the LGBT community has made remarkable progress in a short period of time, but warned of the dangers of complacency.

“I want to issue a note of caution because I’m actually a little bit scared,” Wasserman Schultz told the audience. “Sometimes when a movement makes that much progress so quickly, there are those who could think the fight is over. It is not over.” She added, “Bigots always find a way of creeping back.”

Wasserman Schultz reminded those in attendance that although great strides have been made in terms of marriage equality, hate crimes legislation and lifting the ban on gay and lesbian military service, the LGBT community is still recognized as a minority community.

“When you are a member of a minority group, and the LGBT community, like the Jewish community and like the African American community, will always be a minority group, constant vigilance is essential,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Wasserman Schultz spoke for roughly 40 minutes, taking questions from the audience and addressing several topics, including her role as the chair of Democratic National Committee. She said her focus is managing the candidate process for Democrats and disclosed her past ties as Florida co-chair for Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign, saying the former Secretary of State is the most qualified candidate in the history of the U.S. Presidency.

Democrats, Wasserman Schultz said, need

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to step up their ground game if they are to reverse the course of the 2014 midterms, which saw big losses in Florida.

“We have to make sure we do not just shrug our shoulders and say ‘too bad so sad’ like my 11-year-old daughter says,” Wasserman Schultz said.

If Democrats are to be successful again at the ballot box, Wasserman Schultz said, a revamped messaging project is required to educate voters as to exactly what the party stands for. This narrative initiative will prevent confusion and people “falling asleep” before they understand what Democrats are fighting for, Wasserman Schultz said.

In order to build a national organized effort to elect Democrats to office, Wasserman Schultz said state parties can no longer be allowed to operate like an “elementary school student government club.” She said the DNC is reviewing its agreements with state parties and will no longer tolerate wasted resources.

“That’s just not going to cut it,” Wasserman Schultz said, referring to inept past operations by state Democratic parties. “Because the other side is playing for keeps.”

Making sure voters, not legislators, decide redistricting (mapping) and recruiting new leaders to run for office are also essential and important for a Democratic revival in Florida and nationwide, Wasserman Schultz said.

Wasserman Schultz’s speech was hosted by the Dolphin Democrats, Florida’s oldest LGBT political organization. Broward County Democrats, Wasserman Schultz said, are the engine that will drive a victory campaign in 2016.

“Our next President,” Wasserman Schultz said. “Whoever he or she may be will be carried to the White House on the shoulders of Broward Democrats.”

WE FOCUS ON HIV TO HELP YOU FOCUS ON

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onepillchoices.com Š 2015 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC1849 03/15

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SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 3/25/15//3:5717 PM

news local

Notes From 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.

Ron Henderson was originally to present on minority health initiatives, but was unable to do so. Tammi Haught, SeroProject Criminalization Conference Coordinator, presented on the Florida HIV Criminalization Task Force HIV Criminalization refers to laws that conflate the failure to disclose a known positive HIV status with the intent to infect someone with HIV. While using a condom should result in reasonable doubt about intent to infect, using a condom does not matter under these laws. Tammi Haught reported that between January 1, 1998 and June 15, 2012, Florida has filed 250 HIV criminalization charges, and convicted 154 individuals. In Florida, people can be sentenced to as much as thirty years in prison under these laws.

Things could change in Florida soon. The HIV criminalization statutes in Florida refer to “sex” which Florida law defines as penis-invagina. The Florida Supreme Court recently heard an appeal in a case involving failure to disclose HIV status. The defense appealed the conviction on the grounds that “sex” under Florida law excludes male-male sex. The court could throw the case out and ask the legislature to clarify the definition of “sex” or the court could reinterpret the meaning of “sex” in contemporary terms. In either case, a window for policy change could be opening in Florida.

The SeroProject has begun to create an HIV Criminalization Task Force in Florida to work on changing these laws.

For more information, please visit the SeroProject www.seroproject.com. If you are interested in finding out more or joining the Florida HIV Criminalization Task Force email tami.haught@seroproject.com Janet Vargas, Ryan White Part A, reported

that 231 Ryan White Part A clients have been enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans.

Joey Wynn, Chair of SFAN, reported that for the first time in years, an HIV positive baby had been born in Broward County. A full report will occur at the May SFAN meeting.

Arianna Lint, Director of Transgender Services at SunServe, reported that she gave a “Transgender 101” training to the deputies at the Broward County Jail and that the Jail has a transgender unit. SunServe regularly provides services inside the jail to transgender inmates.

Announcements The Florida HIV/AIDS Patient Care (PCPG) and Prevention (PPG) Planning Group Meetings will be held May 12-15 in Tampa. For more information, please visit http://conta. cc/1DqDwwI The HIV Planning Council Membership Committee will hold a Cinco de Mayo “Welcome Lunch” to introduce prospective members and other members of the community to the HIV Planning Process at 11:30 a.m. on May 15 at Hispanic Unity, 5811 Johnson St., Hollywood.

To RSVP or for more info email HIVPC@brhpc. org.

The annual Transgender Medical symposium will occur May 14-15 at the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale and is free.

CMEs and CEUs provided. To register, please visit www.t-houseonline.com.

The American Academy of HIV Medicine will hold a policy-training event “HIV Care Under the Affordable Care Act” on May 7, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. This free event, designed for health professionals, will occur in Fort Lauderdale. To register please visit www.aahivm.org/Events/ exec/events.

Next SFAN Meeting: Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m., at the Holy Cross Healthplex, 1000 NE 56th Street, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334. Newcomers are encouraged to attend.

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SouthFloridaGayNews

news election 2016

ON STANDS NOW!

White House Watch:

Rick Perry

John McDonald

The eyes of Texas, and the nation, are upon Rick Perry as SFGN profiles his potential candidacy in our weekly White House Watch.

James Richard “Rick” Perry, 65, served as Governor of Texas for fifteen years (20002015) and is mentioned as a possible candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for U.S. President. Perry campaigned for the party nod in 2012, but stumbled in the debate process and eventually dropped out of the race.

Perry angered the LGBT community during his 2012 campaign when he released a video stating, “there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military, but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” As Texas Governor, Perry supported the state’s same-sex anti-law sodomy law, which was eventually struck down in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and he has defended the state’s current ban on same-sex marriage.

In his first book, “On My Honor,” published in 2008, Perry compared homosexuality to alcoholism.

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If he launches another bid for the Oval Office, Perry will likely put forth a narrative centered on security and controlling the Texas-Mexico border. In a January speech at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, in which he was heckled from the audience, Perry spoke of the need to combat Mexican drug cartels.

A fifth generation Texan, Perry was the first in his family to go college and earn a degree.

He served in the U.S. Air Force, flying c-130 tactical airlifts and began his political career as a Democrat. Governor Perry is married to his childhood sweetheart, Anita Thigpen, and the couple have two children.

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inter Arts Gui soflagaynews //

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news local

Needle Exchange Program Still Up in Air Patrick Martin

Needles are necessary to save lives, but they’re also silently destroying them in Florida by transmitting HIV and other diseases.

And that’s why Damien Salvaggio, a master’s student at Florida Atlantic University, has been lobbying the state for a new syringe exchange program — along with a coalition of healthcare providers and lawmakers who plan to combat the epidemic of HIV and intravenous diseases.

For the gay community it’s a growing concern with crystal meth use on the rise.

“People are less scared of needles,” said Salvaggio, when asked why meth use is so high in the gay community. “They’re starting online with social apps like Grindr.”

Throughout the nation there are needle exchange programs in major metropolitan areas but South Florida is not on that list.

These programs are used to stop infection that involves intravenous drugs through the sharing of dirty needles.

The University of Miami and private donors will fund this pilot needle exchange program for five years. It will include mobile exchange sites and fixed location sites. Medical students will man each site and there will be a one-for-one exchange per needle. At the end of the five years, the results will be tallied and used for determining if the state of Florida will adopt the program.

The proposal for the Senate Bill (SB 1040) is sponsored by Sen. Oscar Branyan, Miami Gardens-D, and will most likely pass. However, the bill in the house (HB 475) is receiving some opposition.

The name of the program is being called IDEA or Infectious Disease Elimination Act. One issue that Salvaggio is having to deal with is the perception that programs like this promote drug use. However the programs do the exact opposite because each needle exchange site will offer

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Local gay poz man lobbies for passage

wraparound services designed to help drug users with their addiction and get their lives back in order. Services include housing, addiction counseling and HIV testing.

Drug addicts and users may not use the services at first, but after more visits some start to get comfortable and agree to treatment.

“I mean you are being blasted with signs saying ‘get tested’ and eventually heavy users start to bite,” Salvaggio said.

According to the 2012 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention HIV Surveillance Report, Miami Dade County has the highest rate of new HIV infections in the country.

Salvaggio said one of the main reasons needle use is so high is because of the explosion of meth use in the gay community. There is also a very high usage of steroids among transgender men and women and some of them are using dirty needles to receive hormone treatments.

Salvaggio is very passionate about this program because he has seen needle exchanges work. He too is a longtime survivor, testing positive for HIV when he was just 19-years-old.

When he is not lobbying for IDEA, he spends his time volunteering at an HIV testing center where he recently had to tell someone they were positive.

“You cannot believe how hard it is to tell them you’re HIV positive…it’s amazingly difficult,” Salvaggio said. “It does make you very aware of how serious the work is that you do… it changes a kid’s life in a minute.”

Salvaggio first learned of how important the program was from reading a paper comparing the amount of needles on the streets of Miami to how many there were in San Francisco, written by Dr. Hansel Tookes, a resident doctor at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

During the study Tookes noticed that in soflagaynews //

the streets of Miami there were eight times the number of needles as compared to San Francisco.

“Every time we went out, we found syringes and in the most shocking places. We found needles everywhere, on playgrounds, in parks, next to luxury high rises, no place was immune,” Tookes said.

He also said taxpayers are the ones paying right now for people contracting HIV and other diseases. It costs about $360,000 a year to treat someone for HIV and $80,000 a year to treat someone with Hepatitis C. Tookes also pointed out that intravenous diseases are affecting more than just the gay community. He has seen 45-yearold women with blonde hair come in for treatment because they used an infected needle.

While the bill has strong backing there are still those that remain steadfastly opposed to needle exchanges.

Rep. Michael Bileca, Miami-R, is one of those is concerned about the bill.

Bileca was not available for interview, but Salvaggio said his legislative assistant told

SouthFloridaGayNews

him that Bileca doesn’t think the streets are safe and he doesn’t know what will happen to the syringes once they’ve been distributed.

Tookes and Salvaggio completely disagree.

“First of all if I handed you a syringe right now would you inject drugs?” Tookes said trying to convey his disdain for the thought process behind that argument.

The program has hit a roadblock with Bileca not wanting to hear the bill and has currently been in the legislative process for three years. The senate bill is almost ready to be heard on the senate floor.

Last year the program almost passed but Dr. Andrew Armstrong, State Surgeon General, didn’t want the program to be federally funded. The year before it was rejected as well, but this year could be different with how far both bills have gone.

There is a potential for a new committee to be formed in the house with Bileca not on it. If that happens the bill has a higher potential of making it to the house floor.

“Right now we’re just completely ignoring the program,” Tookes said.

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse.

You can quit.

Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW.

#CDCTips

HIV alone didn’t cause the clogged artery in my neck.

Smoking with HIV did.

Brian, age 45, California

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news local

Pride Fort Lauderdale Continues Rebranding Efforts This year’s October festival aims to make meaningful impact

Michael d’Oliveira Photo: J.R. Davis.

If Pride does decide to go for that record, it will have to beat the United Nations AIDS program and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health.

Those two organizations hold the record for most HIV/AIDS tests [3,383 people in eight hours]. A feat that was accomplished on World AIDS Day, Nov. 30, 2014, in Gambella Stadium, Gambella, Ethiopia.

The focus of Pride on testing comes as South Florida faces a significant rise in the number of news HIV cases in South Florida.

According to the Florida Department of Health, in Broward, the increase is 16 percent from 244 this time last year to C 282. In Miami-Dade, there’s a 20 percent increase from 339 last year to 407. In Palm M Beach, there’s a 53 percent increase from 86 last year to 132.

Y Although testing is the meaningful focus behind the event, Pride’s official theme is CM “We’re Coming Out,” which coincides with National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11 and MY the Fort Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Film Festival that weekend.

CY Along with testing, planned events also include nighttime movies in the park, a CMY parade along Fort Lauderdale beach and vendor booths. The Miss Pride contest Kwill also be brought back and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, honoring those who have succumbed to the disease, will be on display.

After years of attending all of those other weddings...

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Photo: JAG Studios www.jagstudios.net

As Pride Fort Lauderdale slowly makes progress in jettisoning the last vestiges of its former name – selling its remaining “Pride South Florida” t-shirts and changing its name in its bylaws and on its website – progress is also being made in its upcoming Pride festival.

This year’s Pride, rescheduled to October 10 and 11 to avoid a conflict of interest with Wilton Manors’ Stonewall festival in June, will be held at the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale’s Holiday Park.

“We want to make it meaningful,” said Pride Fort Lauderdale Chair Norm Kent.

To that end, Kent said the focus will be on encouraging HIV/AIDS testing by festival goers.

“We want people to come into the festival with testing vans lined-up,” said Kent, who envisions a clock counting down the number of tests given. “1,000 tests or bust,” said Kent, who compared the possible presentation of the testing vans to movies where bikini-clad women wave starting flags amidst rows of classic cars lined-up and ready to race.

And just like speed records set in those movies, Kent talked of possibly going for a Guinness World Record for the number of HIV/AIDS tests administered at a single venue. Helping to provide the tests as this year’s presenting sponsor is AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

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For more information, visit www.PrideFortLauderdale.org. soflagaynews //

www.IDOcustomevents.com (954) 626-0131 SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

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feature special report

AHF’s Weinstein on Florida Lawsuit ‘We Did Nothing Wrong’ Michael Weinstein’s critics are calling the Florida lawsuit a scandal. But is it?

Karen OCamb Frontiers Media

Three former AIDS Healthcare Foundation mangers filed a civil lawsuit last Friday, April 3, alleging that the billion-dollar HIV/AIDS agency defrauded federal healthcare programs of at least $20 million each year since 2010. Critics of AHF President Michael Weinstein are rubbing their hands in excited anticipation as if this might be the final straw that brings Weinstein down—while others are questioning the motives and cultural competence of the whistleblowers.

“For those of us who have been fighting Michael Weinstein from day one,” longtime AIDS activist Peter Staley told Mark S. King for King’s “My Fabulous Disease” blog on Thursday, “when he started ignoring the great legacy of science-driven AIDS treatment activism, this lawsuit couldn’t have come soon enough. And yes,” he adds, “it feels like payback.”

Staley is no doubt talking about the uproar over Weinstein’s critique of PrEP and Truvada for HIV prevention, which the CDC and many AIDS activists think will help prevent more HIV infections and hasten the end of the ongoing AIDS epidemic. However, a recent survey by the American Academy of HIV Medicine indicates some providers have been reluctant to prescribe PrEP for some of the same reasons Weinstein has raised.

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AidsHealth.org

But this controversy is not about AHF’s position on PrEP. Rather, the lawsuit alleges that AHF criminally defrauded the healthcare programs of both the federal government and the state of Florida by paying incentives to employees, which the former managers contend amounts to “kick-backs.” The biggest hitch to the allegations is that both the federal and state governments looked at the lawsuit when it was originally filed under seal last June 4 and on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10 flied “Notice to Decline Intervention,” rejecting participation. Hence this is a civil–not criminal–lawsuit brought on behalf of both governments by the three ex-employees.

Jack Carrel, Mauricio Ferrer and Shawn Loftis filed their complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida under the Federal False Claims Act and the Florida False Claims Act, which affords them whistleblower status, according to an April 7 press release issued by their attorneys. The lawsuit alleges that “AHF conducted an organization-wide criminal effort across at least 12 states, including Florida, that boosted funding from federal healthcare programs by generating HIV/AIDS referrals to the company’s various service centers. AHF did this by unlawfully paying referral incentives to employees and patients in violation of the anti-kickback statute,” the press release states. soflagaynews //

In a hard-hitting piece for his blog “My Fabulous Disease,” Mark S. King writes: “This case is about AHF gaming the system,” [lead counsel Theodore] Leopold said. He explained that kickbacks “can lead to an over-utilization of services, corrupt the process, and exploit the population most in need of services.” The suit claims that although AHF was formed as a notfor-profit agency, it “exhibited a for-profit corporate mindset and a voracious appetite for any and all revenues associated with HIV patient referrals.

“We are seeking monetary recovery on behalf of the government for funds,” Leopold said, which the suit contends were billed through improper means….

The mere fact the government has not, as of yet, chosen to intervene “is no reflection on the validity of the case,” contends Leopold, citing that this is not uncommon when there is already outside counsel involved. In other words, the government may be more than happy to allow this lawsuit to do the legwork for them and then use it to build a case for later criminal charges.”

SouthFloridaGayNews

The three men allege that since 2010 these incentives and “illegal patient” self-referrals were designed to “generate consumer demand” for AHF programs and reward employees while defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and Health and Human Services HIV/AIDS grant programs. They also allege that AHF’s linkage-to-care program “was AHF’s ‘holy grail’ and the key to its business model,” which Weinstein apparently jacked up in 2013. “He specifically directed staff to raise the patient financial incentive to $50 immediately and to implement the incentive program nationally throughout the AHF organization.”

The three former AHF managers also allege that they were unlawfully terminated and subjected to “malicious retaliation” after they reported the improprieties. The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to file actions “on behalf of the government,” and receive a portion of any recovered damages, according to the attorneys’ press release. In fact, if they win their case, the whistleblowers are entitled to received up to one-third of any money the government might collect. “We plan to hold AHF accountable for all these violations,” said James P. Gitkin of Salpeter Gitkin, LLP, one of a spate of lawyers pursuing the suit.

King, an exclusive interview with Carrel, writes: As Director of Public Health for AHF’s Southern Bureau, Carrel questioned the financial incentive policy that directed people who tested positive into AHF clinics, but was “assured it was perfectly fine,” Carrel said. “And then when we had meetings with funders, other (AHF staffers) in the meeting would tell funders that we would invite clients to use any other clinic they wanted, and I knew that wasn’t true.” Carrel was fired after objecting to the “linkage to care” policy.

“I tried to do something about it and I wasn’t able to,” Carrel said.

“I’m HIV positive and I work in this field. I want people to be in care and to achieve viral suppression. But this system didn’t give clients the choice for getting services where they wanted.”

People who have just received HIV positive test results are often in shock, emotionally vulnerable, and susceptible to nearly any suggestion. AHF staffers were financially rewarded for influencing their clients’ healthcare decision-making, according to the lawsuit. They allegedly plied clients with money, free fast-food lunches, and rides directly to AHF clinics.

That’s the former manager’s side of the story.

But Weinstein pushed back in an extensive interview, which turns the tables on the complaint’s concept of “linkage to care.” The men who filed the complaint apparently see the effort as a criminal means to boost AHF’s bottom line. AHF sees linkage to care as part of their mission to better treat people who are HIV positive. AHF’s practice is backed up and practiced by Jeffrey King, Executive Director of In The Meantime Men, one of the many smaller, grassroots minority HIV health and wellness organizations that AHF has helped support.

“To start with, this [lawsuit] was rejected by both the federal government and the state government,” says Weinstein. “Now these three former employees are pursuing it privately.”

Weinstein would not venture a motive for the men’s actions, since both governments presumably had the same evidence as those filing the lawsuit. “Obviously, the federal government has a budget stake in pursuing these types of claims,” Weinstein says.

“They’ve successfully pursued these types of claims against entities large and small.

The first we knew anything about this was when we read it in the press so we were not contacted by any investigators in the federal government.”

Weinstein noted that the former managers said “that giving incentives up to the level of $50 per patient in order to make sure that they come in for their first two appointments—including help with transportation and that sort of thing—was somehow an improper thing.”

Not only is linking HIV positive people to care not improper, Weinstein says, it’s part of AHF’s mission:

The three ex-managers allege they were fired in retaliation for bringing up the impropriety of the incentive system.

Weinstein would not say why they were fired because that is not public information. “But I can say it was related to their performance.

I’m not going down the road of them

being disgruntled employees. People can draw their own conclusions about that,” Weinstein says, adding that “almost all of these cases settle. And obviously AHF is a big target. The biggest.”

Here’s what he means by that:

“I mean 40% of people with HIV in the United States are in routine care. The reality is that’s our job, as we see it. Our mission, as we see it, is to find the people who are positive, test the people who are positive and when we find out that they are positive…the reality is that a lot of people who test positive are not linked to care. A very high percentage of them never get linked to regular care.

More than 40% of all people living with HIV are not getting regular care, are not seeing a doctor or medical provider.”

Linkage to care includes giving incentives, says Weinstein: We employee linkage coordinators to ensure that people get into care. That’s their job. Do we pay incentives to employees whose job it is to get people into care when they successfully link? Yes. Do we pay commissions to testers based on doing more tests that what the quota is? Yes. And do we give small incentives to make sure patients come in? Yes….

We [also] have a research project for people who have multiple STDs to tay STD-negative.

But there is a long tradition under the CDC and other programs paying incentives. In The Meantime, for example, when they do their outreach, they give incentives. So there is nothing new or unusual about this.

Do we pay small incentives?

Yes. Do we pay commissions?

Yes. We’ve never done anything to conceal that. We don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.

We certainly don’t think it’s cause for a lawsuit or sanctions. And apparently, neither does the federal or state government.

Tamara Dmitrieva working with positive patients at Linda Clinic, Estonia.

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AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Facebook.

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AHF Nepal, Facebook.

But Weinstein will not settle to make the case go away.

“We have no intention of settling,” he says. “In the case of LA County, which said we improperly billed them $5.3 million— their claim was dismissed by the court.

Now they’re trying to get it re-instated but it’s been dismissed. So millions of dollars in legal fees spent by the County later—[but] there was no there there.”

Weinstein is emphatic about this civil lawsuit.

“We neither broke or abused any law. And in fact, from our vantage point, we’re doing exactly what we’re supposed to be doing….

We have been clean as a whistle for 28 years. Whenever people have tried to impugn our integrity, they’ve failed. You don’t have to like us or agree with us but our integrity is unquestionable.”

In their press release pushing back against the lawsuit, AHF noted that more than 60% of the 1.2 million people living with HIV/ AIDS in the US currently do not receive regular medical care and treatment. It is AHF’s core mission to proactively try and reduce that number by “finding and linking HIV-positive individuals to lifesaving care and treatment” to try to stop HIV. “Small incentives for linking and retaining people in care are mainstays of public health interventions—including by many CDC projects. We look forward to the opportunity to rebut these baseless charges in court.”

Weinstein also notes that the country has been in a stalemate over HIV but Florida—unrelated to the lawsuit—is now the epicenter of the HIV epidemic with HIV cases in South Florida skyrocketing.

There’s a 16% increase year over year in Broward County; 20% up in Miami Dade; and 53% in Palm Beach County in 2015.

“We’re identifying hundreds of new cases there,” Weinstein says.

Jeffrey King, Executive Director of In The Meantime Men, does not pull any punches in his reaction to the lawsuit, saying the whole whistleblower law needs to be revisited and revamped.

King says he’s been on the receiving end of a whistleblower complaint filed

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anonymously by “disgruntled employees who were striking back at In The Meantime because there was jealously among coworkers.”

Operations at In The Meantime, a small HIV health and wellness organization serving black gay and bisexual men, were disrupted as soon as the complaint was filed.

“You immediately become guilty,” he says in a phone interview. “Because of the federal government procedures, there was an investigation launched and we had to shut down the program.”

But the complaint was based on lies, King says. “They broke the law. They lied and they got a federally funded project put on hold based on a lie. They did not win but they did do damage. The Whistleblower Program needs to be looked into and modified.”

King says almost all other agencies have experienced something similar—allegations by disgruntled employees. And, after the investigation reveals they have lied, “nothing happens to them! We need to look at the whole process.”

King also says he gives incentives to employees and people who come to get tested. The basic data from his programs show that the majority of ITMTM’s clients who enroll are unemployed, have felonies and therefore find it difficult to find a job, have been homeless in the last three to six months, are couch-surfing or “living with some guy they don’t like just to have a place to stay. A large percentage are struggling with that.”

Getting people into care, he says, it critical but can be expensive for low-income people or people in minority communities who might not live near a center that provides testing, treatment and care. Transportation, or instance, “is really expensive. A day pass on a bus costs at least $10 every day.”

That’s a lot for people living on public assistance who might not come in without help. And for those who come in for food, “that might be their only real meal of the day.

And if they come for the food, they stay for the entire session.”

King says LA County—which initially gave out $10 Target gift cards—has finally figured out that giving out cash incentives between $70-$90 can be “effective.” He also notes the importance of social networking.

“If I get tested, and I get an incentive to bring in three friends—”that’s three more people soflagaynews //

who fit the profile who I might have never reached,” King says.

“We’re dealing with a vulnerable population that is struggling with issues they are trying to address like poverty, stigma, homophobia, unemployment,” says King.

“These are all factors and with a small cash incentive, we hope to be able to reach some of them. We’re trying to help them save their own lives—but perhaps they don’t know that yet.”

King says a lot of people who do HIV work don’t realize that not everyone thinks the same way they do and may judge the person.

“Our goal,” King says, “is to reach you where you are. This is cultural competence—to know the population you’re working with and use whatever intervention works for them. Otherwise, why do it? And those incentives help in just making it through the day for some people. Incentives are effective and usually end in a positive outcome. How is that a bad thing?”

King, who founded and has run In The Meantime Men for 17 years, goes one step further. “If it were not for people like Michael Weinstein and AHF, a lot of minority-based CBOs (community-based organizations) wouldn’t exist. We can’t afford capacity building—but AHF is doing that. This is a racist system populated by bigots who do HIV work but are not so concerned about black people. But look at AHF’s record.

They’ve far exceeded anything any one else has done for minorities. There are agencies grabbing black gay dollars—but they’re not doing anything for us.”

King does praise Mario Perez, current director of the LA County Office of AIDS Programs and Policy and his predecessor Chuck Henry with also providing capacity funding. But grants from AHF “allow us to do the grassroots work the County and the federal government won’t fund.”

On Monday, Weinstein (pictured here with Dr. Michael Gottlieb at Dr. Charles Farthing‘s memorial) sent out a letter to “Partners and Friends,” in which he says there is “NO merit” to any of the claims. He says, in part:

SouthFloridaGayNews

FACTS about the Issue: The provision of small incentives to patients in order to help link them to care is appropriate, legal and necessary keep them in care and healthy.

Such incentives are an extremely common mainstay of government-funded programs across the country and the world.

Performance-based commissions paid to employees are legal and proper.

AHF uses all funds derived from patients who use our programs to increase our services.

Many partner agencies rely on AHF linkage services to ensure that patients receive immediate access to medical services, usually within 72 hours of diagnosis.

There is consensus in the public health community that targeting testing to find the most positives is desirable.

60% of Americans living with HIV are not in routine care and according to the CDC they are responsible for 91% of new infections in this country.

Weinstein says that as a “veteran of twenty-eight years of the war against AIDS,” he’s weathered “many unfair attacks over this time.” But it’s “extremely unfair” to AHF’s 3,000 hard working employees “to place the burden of these unfounded charges on their shoulders” as they work to fulfill AHF’s mission. Additionally, Weinstein writes, “it is tragic to plant doubt in the minds of 415,000 patients that AHF does not have their best interests at heart as many of them struggle with poverty, stigma and a wide variety of health challenges.”

As of now, there is no court date scheduled to hear the complaint.

South Florida Gay News is able to share this article courtesy of a content sharing agreement with Frontiers Media in Los Angeles, California.

A Gala Dinner.

A Night to Remember.

In the ballroom of The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

Rated #1 on Trip Advisor out of 548 Hotels in Fort Lauderdale

Come by for a tour and see why!

Honoring Judy Shepard

President, the Matthew Shepard Foundation

Benefitting The Pride Center at Equality Park The Harvey Milk Foundation

ilable a v A es s s a P y a D

Featuring Stuart Milk

(954) 527-0094 315 N.E. 16th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale FL 33301 www.PineapplePoint.com info@PineapplePoint.com soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

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CIA Battles Misconceptions To Keep Nation Safe Part 2 of 4 part series on CIA

John McDonald It was a recruitment fair at Georgetown University when Charles first considered working for the Central Intelligence Agency. The National Clandestine Service gave its presentation, Charles recalled, and it just didn’t seem like the life for him. The seed, nevertheless, was planted.

“Jumping out of helicopters and ripping out walls did not appeal to me,” said Charles, 36, a gay man who works as a senior analyst in the Directorate of Intelligence.

Charles eventually warmed to the idea of working in America’s intelligence community, finding his place in the Directorate of Intelligence where his daily task is determining if he has a story that reaches Presidential threshold.

“And if you do, you will be writing a PDB that day,” he explains.

A PDB is a President’s Daily Brief, typically a one or two page document that is run up the chain of command to the very top.

“That’s a big deal,” Charles said during a recent interview with SFGN in Miami Beach, disclosing he had written a PBD before. “That’s something that gets written up and coordinated across the entire intelligence community.”

Of the 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, the CIA,

Charles says is leading the way in terms of accepting LGBT people. However, the agency does deal with misconceptions.

Dan, 28, is on the front lines of the CIA’s battle against misconceptions. A new transfer from the Department of Defense, Dan is aware of public perception regarding some of the CIA’s foreign missions. He said because the agency works with top-secret information, public awareness of CIA’s “good work” is not always published.

“We see a lot of things that are not accurate,” Dan said. “The agency can make an easy target for inaccurate information and painting misconceptions. When everything you do is classified, it’s kind of hard to share those good stories or those wins, even if one of those good stories counters some misinformation that is out there.”

When pressed on this issue, Dan, a cybersecurity officer in the Directorate of Science and Technology, said, “we can’t declassify something just because it will make us look good in the face of some misinformation.”

Recently, the CIA came under heavy scrutiny for its former detention and interrogation program.

In a report released in December of 2014, CIA Director John O. Brennan acknowledged “that the detention and interrogation program had shortcomings and that the Agency made mistakes.”

Brennan, a 25-year veteran of the CIA, further stated “the most serious problems occurred early on and stemmed from the fact that the Agency was unprepared and lacked the core competencies required to carry out an unprecedented, worldwide program of detaining and interrogating suspected al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists.”

Such admissions of wrongdoing created a firestorm in the media and fed into the narrative of the CIA’s shadowy work. Keeping the nation safe and secure will always be the CIA’s number one mission, Dan said, but how the nation discovers this is the tricky part.

“It’s a shame that some of the wins can’t be discussed more openly because it would paint a much different picture.”

Established in 1947, the CIA came into being through the National Security Act, signed by President Harry Truman. This act charged the CIA with coordinating the nation’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence affecting national security.

For the gay officers interviewed by SFGN, being able to express their true authentic selves at work goes to the core of the agency’s standards.

“Your integrity is everything you do,” Dan said. “Through actions and not just words. It’s a great environment. I was almost a little bit floored when I walked in the door.”

In reaching out to SFGN for this series, CIA officers want the public to know that LGBT people can feel comfortable and are welcome at the agency. Being a part of ANGLE, an employee resource group for the LGBT community, helps officers interact with friendly and likeminded colleagues.

“Through ANGLE, I got more and more comfortable about myself,” said Charles, who began his CIA career as a closeted gay man.

Both Charles and Dan said they are currently single men who have recently separated from their partners. SFGN asked if it were possible to have a serious relationship and even marriage at the agency.

“Dating scene is different,” Dan said. “I don’t want to go around and announce I work for the agency even though I’m an overt employee, but it’s doable.”

Next week, in part three of our four part series on LGBT life at the CIA, we chat with women and their role at ANGLE.

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Photo by Flickr user slgckgc

Major League Baseball Makes A Pitch for Diversity From Glenn Burke to Billy Bean to Dave Pallone the MLB is evolving — slowly

Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

On July 17, 2013, Major League Baseball held its 84th annual All Star Game at Citi Field in Queens, New York, the home park of the New York Mets. It was a day that would become special for the LGBT community. continued on next page.

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SouthFloridaGayNews

On that afternoon, Bud Selig, then commissioner of MLB, challenged once and for all homophobia in the clubhouse.

The commissioner held a press conference announcing that from that date forward it would be the policy of every major league club “to welcome all individuals regardless of sexual orientation into our ballparks.”

“Both on the field and away from it Major League Baseball has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation,” Selig said.

It was nearly two years ago, and Selig declared that a workplace code of conduct “would be created and given to every player from the minor leagues on up. Training sessions and a centralized complaint system will also be instituted.”

The commissioner kept his word.

A year later, Selig would appoint a retired gay baseball player, Billy Bean, as a spokesperson for inclusion. Baseball’s non-discrimination policies are now posted in every locker room in all their leagues. The Park Avenue home of major league baseball has a fully staffed ‘Office for Diversity.’

John Rocker We have come a long way from the afternoon in July of 1999 when John Rocker, the Atlanta Braves reliever, remarked to Sports Illustrated that he hated playing in New York at a Mets game.

“Imagine having to take the train to the ballpark, looking like you’re riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair next to some queer with AIDS right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time right next to some 20 year old mom with four kids,” he said.

He was excoriated for it even then. The remarks exemplified the homophobia that permeated the game.

John Rocker and Glenn Burke.

Fifteen years later, John Rocker was a surprising representative for a new dawn. Last year, signing autographs in Cooperstown, New York, during Hall of Fame week, Rocker was a different person. He had just finished participating as a contestant in the popular TV show, Survivor.

“My ally and closest friend was a gay man and his partner,” he told SFGN. Asked how he would feel today about gay athletes coming out in the clubhouse, Rocker remarked.

“If a guy can hit my fastball, he should have a right to play.

No one has a right to discriminate.”

Still, a lot of old timers have not jumped on the diversity bandwagon. When Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, 79 years old, and baseball’s first black manager, was questioned about Commissioner Selig’s initiative, he refused to comment on it.

In Cooperstown for the Hall of Fame ceremonies, he brusquely stated, “I am here just to sign autographs,” and ended the interview.

not have any reach out programs in that era,” Collins recalled.

In fact, at the time, the Dodgers, the very same team that had broken the color barrier in baseball 30 years earlier, were so homophobic they offered Glenn Burke $75,000 to get married to a woman to cover up his homosexuality.

He declined.

Billy Bean This year, Terry Collins’ Mets were amongst a host of major and minor league teams that held clubhouse and locker room presentations highlighting diversity and LGBT inclusion in the sport. They were moderated by Billy Bean, a one time Los Angeles Dodger himself.

“I have to look forward to a new generation of athletes who are much more receptive to inclusion than we experienced years ago,” said Bean, who came out in 1999 after he retired. “I can’t focus on past mistakes. I have to create new opportunities for today’s players, create a new vision we can aspire to.”

“Both on the field and away from it Major League Baseball has a zero-tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

— Bud Selig Glenn Burke Glenn Burke played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A's in the late 70s and early 80s and was openly gay to his teammates, coaches and team owners. It did not go well with his old school manager, Tommy Lasorda. The tension became worse when Burke befriended Lasorda’s own gay son, who lived in West Hollywood. Sadly, both would eventually die of complications from AIDS. Even today, Lasorda cannot talk easily about Tommy, Jr. But it did not stop him from setting up a memorial cancer foundation in his lad’s name.

He has evolved, too.

Lasorda, a fierce competitor and Hall of Famer, told SFGN, “I would start anyone in my lineup who could take two, single to right field and help me win a game.” In fact, retired umpire Bruce Froemming once joked Lasorda “would throw at his own mother if it helped his team win the game.”

Many other retired players echo that thought. Tommy Davis, who in the 1960’s played on over ten teams in his career all over the country said, “First of all, you play to win.

You form a brotherhood based on the talents teammates bring to the field, not to the bedroom.”

But sexuality was not an open issue, ‘back in the day.’

Terry Collins today is the manager of the New York Mets.

He is a personal friend who coached me when I played for 20 years as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers senior baseball fantasy camps in Vero Beach, Florida.

Collins was also Glenn Burke’s roommate in 1976 and 1977 when they both played for the Dodgers.

“Glenn was troubled even then, but the organization did soflagaynews //

Billy Bean. Facebook. continued on page 32.

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continued from page 31.

Story on Page 12

Venetian Isles: Old World Charm, New World Amenities

Who Wants to Marry a Gay Millionaire?

“My goal is to create a conversation that is inclusive and accepting, and focus on that. Hate is not a virtue.”

Tight End Apologizes for ‘Homo’ Remark Comment about Cowboys’ Coach Just ‘Fun and Games’

— Billy Bean Bean used to live in South Beach and play softball in local gay leagues. He relocated to Southern California to continue his real estate career, after a short run with a Miami Beach restaurant. Today, though, Bean is busier touring minor and major league clubhouses and administrative offices, championing the former commissioner’s vision of inclusion.

Bean has been given a new life and new career, one not measured by balls and strikes, but by spirit and energy. He has brought that passion across the country, from the Rookie Career Development Program to diversity symposiums nationally.

“My goal is to create a conversation that is inclusive and accepting, and focus on that,” he recently told SFGN. He added, “Hate is not a virtue.”

It isn’t easy.

Bean’s appearance at the Mets spring training facility in Port St. Lucie still raised eyebrows.

“It’s not a lifestyle I agree with,” said Mets second baseman, Daniel Murphy, who identified himself as a devout Christian.

Nevertheless, Murphy added it was nice to meet with Billy Bean. “You get to meet the man, not the stereotype.”

It was exactly what the general manager of the New York Mets wanted to hear. Sandy Alderson had been the general manager of the Oakland Athletics when Glenn Burke was an excommunicated “outcast,” living homeless on the streets of San Francisco.

“It’s something that was wrong then, and never should have happened,” Alderson told the Wall Street Journal in March. “And it can’t ever happen again.”

Billy Bean added, “I know I won’t get everyone to be on the same page. Many of the older coaches come from a different generation set in their ways. And I know my work is not going to be a walk in the park, but it’s my responsibility to rise to the challenge and make it better for the next generation of major leaguers.”

Bean’s own personal journey was made into a video last month, and released on the baseball channel.

“I was humbled,” he said. “It brought back tough moments and rough reminders of the way things once were for me. But this new task gives me a chance to promote self-acceptance and change things. My heart and soul are in it.”

MLB Office of Diversity In the meantime, Wendy Lewis, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of Diversity and Strategic Alliances, has her work cut out for her as well.

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Story on Page 4

Volume 4, Number 33

August 18, 2003

See Story on Back Page

Marlins Hit Home Run for HIV Outreach Gay Chorus Sings Anthem at AIDS Awareness Night Game

By Michael James Health Editor

Thousands of fans turned out to watch history being made on Tuesday, Aug. 12, when the Florida Marlins baseball team played host for AIDS Awareness Night at Pro Player Stadium in South Florida. It was also the first time that the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus was invited to sing the national anthem prior to the game.

Just past 7 p.m., the chorus sang a stylized version of the anthem, and the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Thabong, a 7-year-old boy living with HIV. Accompanying him to the field was AIDS Project Florida (APFL) Executive Director Norm Kent.

The event was put together through a partnership with the Marlins and APFL. Seeing the need to unite the community against the virus, they invited Care Resource, an AIDS service organization in Miami-

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, the Ft. Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus sang the national anthem prior to the Florida Marlins game at Pro Player Stadium.

Photo by Steven Shires

See Marlins on page 4

Express Gay News teamed with the Marlins in 2003.

‘Ex Gay’ Michael Johnston

Local Groups Support Gay School Facility Seen as an ‘Indictment’ of Public Education’s Failure

“We know we are only taking By thePhil beginning LaPadulasteps. This is Managing Editor not an office that is going to come and go, but one that will When New York City school officials grow and grow,” she told SFGN last summer. announced plans to expand a program for and lesbian students into a 170-student Lewis was right on target. She isgaydeveloping methodologies high school, many members of the GLBT to enhance diversity efforts, prudently pointing out the community regarded it as just another good day in aoutreach gay-friendly will summer.

At a news potential rewarding economic impact engage. conference on July 28, New York’s “We know there are players Republican who aremayor, gay. Of course we Michael Bloomberg, applaudedsaid. the idea, stating, of the do. Everybody is everywhere,” Lewis “You are“Some fooling kids who are gay and lesbians have been yourself if you don’t think so. Our obligation to the fans is to harassed and beaten in other The ‘Ex-Gay’ constantly schools.”are He noted that the schoolbeing “sort of create an environment where people comfortable solves that problem. It gets them an whoCoverup they are. It’s our legacy to Commissioner Selig.

That was education without having to worry.” his Besen goal. He did not create this offi ce in response to a crisis, But in the past couple of weeks, the Says Right-Wing school has become in controversy. butGroups he did Concealed it from the spirit of embracing a embroiled community we Some editorial writers—including some knew neededofsupport.” friends of the gay community as well as antiDownfall ‘Poster Boy’

By Phil LaPadula

gay conservatives—have challenged the concept of a gay school. Some have

‘Out’ Executives suggested that segregating gay students may Wayne Besen, author of a soon to be

Managing Editor

released book that discredits the so-called

give public school officials an excuse not to

work harder toward creating safer and more There good isreason “ex-gay”was movement, accusingfor the Selig to act. In September of tolerant environments for all students.

Coral Ridge Ministries and other groups On Aug. 14,of a New state senator 2012, Kevin McClatchy, the owner and CEO theYork Pittsburgh of concealing the downfall of an HIVand a conservative religious group filed a Pirates from 1996poster to 2007, postive “ex-gay boy,” came who out of the closet to The New lawsuit charging that the school for gay, allegedly engaged in unsafe sex with a homophobic slurs he heard York Times, saying frequent bisexual and transgender students violates group of Virginia men. laws against segregation. state Sen. in baseball circlesupon hadD. convinced him to keep Bronx his sexual Besen called James Ruben Diaz and the Liberty Counsel filed Kennedy andahis ministry to apologize orientation secret. the lawsuit Aug. 13 in state Supreme Court for the cover-up of Michael Johnston, in New York City. They are arguing the McClatchy, an heir to a newspaper chain, followed inthat the See Ex-Gay on page 6 school violates a state law barring steps of Ric Welts, the presidentdiscrimination and chiefbased executive officer on sexual orientation. of the Phoenix Suns, who came out to the media in 2011.

Neither story is isolated.

Veteran Major League Baseball umpire Dale Scott revealed in an interview last December that he is gay and married to

soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews

group that launched an e-mail and phone campaign against the Dignity for All Students Act in Florida. That bill sought to protect all students in the state’s public schools from harassment, bullying and violence based on their real or perceived sexual orientation. The bill died in the last session of the state legislature when Republican Sen. Anna Cowan introduced a series of amendments referring to “bestiality” and “necrophilia” as a strategy to block the measure from coming up for a debate.

Equality Florida, a statewide gay rights group that has fought for two years to pass the Dignity for All Students Act, supports the Harvey Milk School. Brian Winfield, communications director for Equality Florida, said he views the school as “a last resort” for gay and lesbian students who are abused in the public schools.

“I think that there are some situations where a student has been harassed, beaten up or marginalized to the point where this is the only answer,” Winfield said. “I would hope that just because a separate school exists for GLBT student that existing school systems would not take that as a message that they don’t need to be concerned about diversity issues within their own schools. But any school that would take that position probably wouldn’t be sensitive to GLBT students anyway.”

Winfield noted that those who are

Kevin McClatchy, former CEO of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

New York’s Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg, applauded the idea, stating, “Some of the kids who are gay and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten.”

Harvey Milk School officials insist that the program is open to all students, regardless of sexual orientation. In fact, nongay students have been enrolled in the school, including a girl whose mother was a lesbian, according to an article by Andy Humm in the Gotham Gazette. The girl had been the victim of harassment in her previous school.

One of the parties involved in the lawsuit, the Liberty Counsel, is the same

See Gay School on page 14

www.ExpressGayNews.com • August 18, 2003 1

Wendy Lewis, Senior VP for Diversity and Strategic Alliances

sports has not only begun, it is here to stay.

Whatever may have been in the past, major league baseball is finally at bat and in the game, from sending representatives to the LGBT Sports Coalition last year in Portland, Oregon, to Brian Cashman, the General Manager of the New York Yankees, reaching out this past summer to LGBT at-risk youth in a New York City social services agency.

LGBT Nites at MLB Stadiums

Sean Flynn, Senior VP of Marketing for the Miami Marlins. his partner of 28 years.

"I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else," Scott told Outsports.com, "And that's the way it should be."

Dave Pallone, a former major league umpire in the National League from 1979 to 1988, was not so lucky. Now a diversity trainer and motivational speaker, Pallone spelled out his secret double life in his autobiographical book, ‘Behind the Mask.’ His tenure ended in disgrace. Major league baseball paid him off to leave the sport, after he was falsely accused of being involved in a prostitution ring with younger men.

Openly gay NBA star John Amaechi said once that ‘homophobia in sport is death by 1,000 cuts.’ From Glenn Burke to Billy Bean to Dave Pallone, major league baseball has had its own share of victims.

Outreach Outside of Baseball Today, major league baseball is not the first sport to become inclusive and reach out to the LGBT community.

The National Hockey League and its players’ association have initiated the ‘You Can Play’ Project, to promote LGBT outreach and bring an end to bullying.

Its founder, Philadelphia Flyers scout, Patrick Burke, claims the NHL has set the standard for professional sports.

His own son, a young gay college student, was killed in an automobile accident in 2010.

NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, wholeheartedly supported Burke’s initiative.

“Hockey is for everyone,” he said. “The official policy of the NHL is one of inclusion on the ice, in our locker room and in the stands.”

Representatives of all the major league sports were present in Palm Beach Gardens last October for the PGA’s third annual ‘Sports Diversity and Inclusion Symposium.’

The PGA of America is the host of a group whose partners include the U.S Olympic Committee, NBA, NFL, NCAA, NASCAR and MLB. The event was designed to recognize, celebrate and encourage diversification in the world of sport.

Cyd Zeigler, the founder and operator of OutSports.com, was one of the presenters. ‘LGBT organizational policies and practices’ was one of the panel discussions. As baseball’s Lewis has stated, the era of inclusiveness in professional

Baseball may have been late to the game, but more than a dozen teams also now have LGBT nights, none more popular than in Wrigley Field where a lesbian, Donna Ricketts, is one of the owners. Even before her family bought the Cubs team, Ricketts was a fund raising executive who led a Super PAC that has a mission to end discrimination against LGBT people.

In conjunction with SFGN’s predecessor, the Express Gay News, the Miami Marlins held an ‘out’ night at the ballpark over ten years ago. The Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida sung the national anthem.

As publisher, I was invited to throw out the first ball. I wish I had one on opening night at Marlins Park last Monday. I would have thrown it at the head of the Atlanta fan sitting next to me.

It was the sixth inning and the Marlins loaded the bases with none out. Mike Morse, who helped the Giants win a world series last year, came to the plate.

A loud and plastered Braves fan stood up and yelled, “This isn’t San Francisco; you fag. We got babes here on South Beach.”

If he only knew.

The Miami Marlins Sean Flynn, the Senior Vice President for Marketing for the Miami Marlins is the individual who as far back as a decade ago promoted media partnerships with the Express Gay News.

In the inaugural issue of SFGN in 2010, the Marlins also took out the entire back page.

“We have always recognized that South Florida is a diverse and accepting community, and we have tried to reach out to everyone. It’s the way it should be.”

“We know there are players who are gay…You are fooling yourself if you don’t think so. Our obligation to the fans is to create an environment where people are comfortable being who they are.”

— Wendy Lewis

Flynn had an inclusive marketing plan, but he was not helped when the Marlins brought Ozzie Guillen in as their field manager. He immediately created a stir for saying to the South Florida Cuban community which is the Marlins fan base that Fidel Castro was a nice guy he admired, and would not mind having a beer with.

Known for his off the charts comments previously, Guillen, while the White Sox manager, had once told the Chicago press “you can’t make homophobic slurs and do gay bashing in the mass media….you have to leave it in-house.”

Guillen epitomized the homophobia permeating baseball’s soul. He reasoned that if you leave it in the locker room, “no one will say anything about it publicly because then everyone will know they’re a fag.”

Now retired, it is unlikely that the immediate past commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig would agree. In fact, remarks as ignorant as Guillen’s may have inspired Selig’s vision for a newer tomorrow.

“Baseball is a social institution with an important social responsibility to be open minded,” he said. “It has to be part of our DNA. We have to be on the right side of history.”

When that day comes, retired gay major leaguers can pridefully showcase their game worn jerseys in local gay bars. One, in fact, has been silently hanging in the Alibi in Wilton Manors for years.

In their New York offices, baseball is doing its part.

When a baseball player finally comes out of the closet while still in uniform, the sport will have a chance to test out how their game plan is working. In the meantime, major league baseball is making a pitch to allow that athlete to step up to the plate without fear of retribution.

Like Tommy Lasorda said, if he can take two inside and then line a base hit to right field, that will be all that matters.

In August of 2014, the Chicago White Sox announced an LGBT friendly night, leading to outrage as well as support from fans.

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lifestyle finance

Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt Ric Reily

A credit card is a powerful tool and when deftly wielded can be very useful. Used without knowledge or understanding it can be financially deadly. My husband and I use a rewards card. We have several cards on the same account and the majority of our expenses including insurance, phones, travel, groceries, fuel, tolls, entertainment, shopping, dry cleaning, subscriptions and home maintenance are charged to that account. The rewards pile up. The bill is paid on the due date without interest.

There is only one rule about credit card interest; don’t incur it. That’s it, don’t.

There is nothing to gain from paying credit card interest. You might just as well flush your money down the toilet.

With a home mortgage at least you get a place to live, bring the boys and perhaps appreciation on your investment. Even with a car you buy the ability to get out to the clubs and most importantly to get to work.

Credit card interest gets you nothing. You bought stuff you didn’t need without planning how you would pay for it. Now you have credit card debt and interest that never seems to get lower no matter how hard you try. That’s their plan; card issuers want to keep the cash flowing from your pocket to theirs. Remember the one rule here; don’t.

Oh, you already have credit card debt? I

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Pay off that card every month

recommend paying it off. That’s right, pay it off. Actually it’s easier done than said, but since you probably won’t believe that statement I’ll go ahead and say it, it’s easier done than said; a bit like opening the conversation with a cute stranger.

Credit card debt reduction begins with the first step of spending reduction. If you are unwilling to implement spending reduction stop reading this, save yourself the time. The mall is more enchanting and those shoes are still on sale.

It is virtually impossible to reduce debt concurrently with creating it. Resources that you have available for debt reduction are going to come from your spending reductions.

First thing to do when working on credit card debt reduction is to understand what resources you have available for the task. Each dollar you spend, no matter what for, is one less dollar available for your debt reduction.

Define what you have available each month for credit card payments. Make a list of all the amounts you owe, the company you owe and the rates of interest you are paying on each. If you are lucky enough to have the option of transferring balances to lower rate accounts, this is a good place to start. Anything you can do to reduce the carrying cost of your credit card debt frees up resources to help achieve debt reduction faster.

soflagaynews //

When your transfers are made and list complete put the list in the order of the most expensive interest first. Define the minimum payments required for each account. Deduct this amount from the total available for your debt reduction. The remaining available is paid on the most expensive card until that balance is zero.

When you pay off the most expensive card first, rather than paying the same amount to each card, you cut the amount of time necessary to pay off your total credit card balance and save interest payments in the process. If you simply continue to pay minimum balances and do not charge any additional amounts to your credit cards, you will pay for many, many years and pay four or five times the total in interest.

After the first account is paid off apply the amount you have been paying to that account to the second most expensive account in addition to the minimum payment you had been making to the second most expensive account. After the second most expensive account is paid off, apply the amount you had been paying to the account, including the amount you paid to the first now paid off account to the next most expensive account including the minimum amount you had been paying to the account, and so on until all your credit card account balances are zero.

As you pay off each card, destroy the card and notify the issuer that you want the account closed. When I attempted to close my accounts I encounterd heavy resistance from the credit card issuers who wanted me to keep the accounts open ‘at least for emergency.’ Don’t fall for it, they know the statistics. Statistically you will run your debt back up even after you pay it off.

SouthFloridaGayNews

Close the accounts and don’t become a statistic. Some people will argue that you should not close the unused credit card accounts because it hurts your credit score. Maybe closing unused credit card accounts does hurt your credit score, though I do know that the closed credit card account will no longer be available for future debt. Don’t tempt yourself.

When you are done with your debt reduction, you should keep one credit card for true emergencies, travel and regular purchases with a commitment that you will charge nothing that you could not pay for in cash at the moment of purchase. In addition, the commitment must include paying the balance in full at the end of each billing cycle, no matter what. Remember rule number one.

Since you are now going to be a reputable credit card user, you can take advantage of a good credit card, one that gives you something back, commonly known as a rewards card. There are all sorts and you can choose which is best for your needs; get something for your business, you have earned it.

Soon enough the credit card debt will be gone. Hurray! Now get to work on the cars and the house. Use the same habits you formed paying off the credit cards. When you focus your resources on debt reduction, it is difficult to fall back into old spending habits.

There is no such thing as good debt. Unless you are using debt to build assets such as buying a house, you are needlessly handing out your hard earned money. You are too smart for that; your money looks better in your pocket.

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lifestyle books 'A

List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me'

By Jason Schmidt

Terri Schlichenmeyer

$18.99 / $21.99 Canada 432 pages c.2015, Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Your people understand you.

That’s because you speak the same language, dance to the same music, and wear the same uniform. You might not be related by blood or ceremony, but you belong to them and they to you. You’re family but, as you’ll see in the new book “A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me” by Jason Schmidt, they won’t always catch you when you fall.

Killing his father would have been simple.

Jason Schmidt knew he could smother his dad or overdose him and nobody would ever suspect. His father had been sick awhile anyhow and if he died, nobody would look twice, although Schmidt sensed he’d regret it.

He didn’t need any more regrets in his life…

Born in the early ‘70s, Schmidt remembers being a self-sufficient child: his earliest memory was leaving his mother’s house (at age three) to ride a mile on his tricycle to his father’s place.

That was just before his parents battled, his mother left for good, his father “got busted,” and Schmidt was sent to Southern California to temporarily live with his grandparents, who shipped him to Oregon when his father got out of jail. There, Schmidt and his dad lived in a series of “leftover” houses with a variety of “flower children, baby boomers” and hippies who taught Schmidt about sex, drugs, and avoiding outsiders.

When he was seven, he and his father relocated to Seattle, where they moved in with his dad’s boyfriend – thus, Schmidt learned that his father was gay. Three years later, another boyfriend got sick with a “weird fever” and then Schmidt’s father

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SouthFloridaGayNews

“came down with the same bug.” Schmidt pretended to cry when the diagnosis of AIDS was confirmed.

By the beginning of his senior year, Schmidt – whose school attendance was spotty, at best – had nonetheless caught up with his peers. He had a girlfriend, an understanding of welfare fraud, a high IQ, anger issues, and a dying father - but no stability, money, or plan for the future.

He was sixteen, just barely holding things together, and he couldn’t even think of what would happen when he graduated.

And then a “nice old man,” an angel with cleaning supplies, stepped into his life…

The best way I can describe “A List of Things That Didn’t Kill Me” is to say that it’s a large book.

I’m not just talking page count: beginning with his earliest memory and moving forward to young adulthood, author Jason Schmidt shares a powerful, emotional coming-of-age tale of an unstable childhood, of the beginning of AIDS, and of people purposely living on the edge of society with little-to-nothing, all told in a voice dripping with sarcasm, irony, and anger.

That voice. That’s what hooked me. I laughed. I got teary. I loved it.

Though this book is meant for teens, I think it’s better-suited for readers ages 16-and-up, due to adult language and themes. If you can handle that, then “A List of Things that Didn’t Kill Me” is one you’ll be glad you didn’t miss.

paid advertisement

Poverello Celebrates National Volunteer Week

The week of April 12th - 18th, 2015 is National Volunteer Week. This is a time dedicated to inspiring, recognizing and encouraging people to seek out ways to volunteer in their communities. This week also provides non-profit organizations with an opportunity to celebrate their volunteers.

National Volunteer Week is a special time for the Poverello Center because volunteers play a critical role in the success of the organization. We want to take this opportunity to publicly thank everyone who has volunteered in the past as well as celebrate those who currently volunteer their time at Poverello!

Poverello is extremely fortunate; many of our volunteers have remained with us for numerous years. Currently, there are over 150 active volunteers that donate their time and skills to Poverello. These individuals enable Poverello to keep its operating costs low thereby enabling us to direct financial and in-kind contributions to nutritional programs and services for people living with HIV/AIDS. These volunteers make an enormous contribution both to Poverello and to our community!

Poverello founder, Father Bill, recently addressed the importance of volunteerism and helping the less fortunate in the Poverello quarterly newsletter. In the newsletter he wrote: “I believe we all have the power to help the less fortunate. It is this belief that Poverello was founded on. Poverello wouldn’t be in existence if it weren’t for our dedicated champions; our volunteers. All that is great about our organization is largely due to our volunteers.”

“I believe we can all do something to help make another person’s life just a little bit better. Many of us have been blessed with financial advantages. Therefore, I believe it is our duty to help those who cannot help themselves.”

“You don’t have to be rich to help others.

You may always contribute by giving of your time. Poverello is always looking for goodhearted people to volunteer. We have many opportunities to help whether it is in the food pantry, the thrift store or helping with fundraising events.”

In this edition of SFGN, Poverello would like to recognize two exceptional volunteers in particular. They are John and Barbara Stahura. This year, at the annual Heart of the Community Volunteer Awards Dinner, Hands on Broward honored exceptional individuals who contribute their time, talents and energy to non-profit organizations in Broward County. At this ceremony, John & Barbara Stahura were recognized for their outstanding volunteer service to the Poverello Center.

All volunteers play a critical role in the success of Poverello and we applaud them. This year however, John & Barbara were recognized for the following reasons.

They have been with Poverello for more than nine years. Together they give approximately 1,500 hours of service per year to the organization and often work seven days per week. Poverello is thrilled that John and Barbara were recognized

by Hands on Broward and we are happy to publically recognize them here, during National Volunteer Week, along with all our volunteers, for everything they do.

Poverello is away seeking new individuals to join our family of volunteers. For more information on various volunteer opportunities at Poverello, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Robert Schelhammer at (954) 561-3663 ext. 112 or rschelhammer@poverello. org with any questions. You may also visit us on the web and learn more about what we do at www.poverello.org.

This content was paid for by Poverello.

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lifestyle photos

miami beach J.R. Davis

pride Above / Bel ow: Safe Sc hools lead th e march.

2015

Shanaya

Bright.

Equality Florida.

ws crew. h the Channel 7 Ne Craig Stevens wit

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SouthFloridaGayNews

Save Dade m arches in th e parade.

lifestyle photos

palm beach

pridefest

2015

SFGN Staff

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lifestyle food

Top 5 – Vive le France Le Patio

Rick Karlin

1

While the cuisine of other countries and cultures has gained in prominence, French food and cooking techniques are still at the top of the food chain, so to speak. While many think of haute cuisine when it comes to French food, it actually runs the gamut from homey comfort food to fine dining. The Fort Lauderdale area is lucky enough to have excellent restaurants that fill the spectrum from haute cuisine to bistro fare to home cooking, all with a French accent.

Cafe De Paris 715 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale 954-467-2900 CafeDeParisLasOlas.com

Since 1962, this Las Olas restaurant has been one of the most popular French restaurants in South Florida. Three indoor dining areas, as well as an outdoor patio, are decorated so that you are, indeed, in a restaurant in France (except that the service is friendlier). The best bets for appetizer options are the pâté, escargots, mussels and the classic onion soup gratin. Entrée salad options, priced from $20-$25, include; a grilled shrimp stuffed avocado with creamy mustard dressing, lobster salad served in the shell on a bed of baby greens or the classic Niҫoise with fresh seared tuna, green beans,

3

potatoes, olives, tomatoes and hard boiled eggs. Entrées run $25-$40 and include French classics such as; sea bass Veronique, filet of sole in a variety of preparations, frog legs Meuniere, bouillabaisse, duck a l’orange, veal Française and of course, steak frittes. Dinner specials include an early dinner (served 5-6 p.m.) which includes a limited choice of appetizers, entrees and dessert, priced from $21-$28 or a “gourmet menu” which includes an expanded choice of appetizers and entrees, vegetable of the day, Lyonnaise potatoes or angel hair pasta and a choice from the dessert cart, priced from $24-$30.

French takes on an international flair at this relaxed bistro with a main dining room, bar dining and a small outdoor patio (which, unfortunately, overlooks a parking lot).

Appetizers, priced from $7-$12 include a terrific grilled artichoke with sweet peppers, escargots in garlic butter, an excellent chicken liver pate and, of course, traditional onion soup gratinee. Salads, large enough for an entrée or to be split by two, range in price from $10-$14. Entrées, priced from $15-$30 include such classics as; chicken paillard, cassoulet L'armagnac, roasted crispy duck, mussels

prepared a choice of three ways (in white wine, creamy garlic sauce or with tomatoes and garlic), bouillabaisse, coquilles St. Jacques and steak au poivre. Brunch and weekday lunch run $8-$15. Brunch features four variations on eggs Benedict; classic, smoked salmon, and crab cake as well as the more exotic Sardou (poached eggs on artichoke bottoms with mussels and a béarnaise sauce). The lunch menu showcases a variety of crepes as well as sandwiches. Dining specials include; two for one meals (with the purchase of a beverage) on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Le Patio 2401 NE 11th Ave. Wilton Manors 954-530-4641 LePatioWiltonManors.com

Dinner at the tiny Le Patio is like visiting your eccentric lesbian French aunt’s house. With just a few indoor seats, the majority of the dining space is on the patio, making dining dependent on the weather. The onion soup is authentic, and delicious, but on more than one visit seemed a bit on the sour side. But that is about the only complaint you’ll find when it comes to food. There is always a daily soup that is vegetarian and organic. The escargot offers a large serving, swimming in homemade garlic butter so good you’ll want to bathe in it. The same butter is equally delicious on baby clams. Tomatoes a la Provenҫal is an excellent rendition of the regional classic.

Entrée salads, priced $14, include a classic Greek, bacon and blue cheese, chicken and avocado or roasted goat cheese.

Entrées average $15-$20 and will provide enough for lunch the next day for all but those with the heartiest appetites. While there are plenty of classic French dishes, there is also a distinct Mediterranean influence, evidenced in lasagna, manicotti a la Provenҫe and lobster ravioli and Dungeness crab cioppino.

Desserts, $8 each, are limited in selection (poached pears with roasted almonds, peach crumble and crème bruleé), but not flavor.

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2

Sage French Cafe and Wine Bar 2378 N Federal Hwy Fort Lauderdale 954-565-2299 SageCafe.net

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4

Le Petit Cafe 3308 Griffin Rd Fort Lauderdale 954-967-9912

This Dania Beach location has been turning out consistent country French fare for a dozen years. The lunch menu features salad combinations with a choice of quiche, seafood coquille, onion soup or an omelet. Snails with garlic butter, homemade pâté, Niҫoise salad, and crepes, augmented by daily specials round out the menu. A “Sunset Dinner” special, served from 4:30 to 6:30, includes a choice of appetizer (soup of the day, vichyssoise, house salad or fresh fruit), entrée (brook trout, filet of sole, chicken, veal, beef bourguignon, crepe or calves liver) served with vegetable and potato and dessert (crème caramel, chocolate mousse or pastry du jour) and coffee or tea.

A la carté dinners are quintessentially French; veal Française and Cordon Bleu, tournedos au poivre and roast duckling a l’orange. All are served with a vegetable and Lyonnaise potatoes. There is an extensive dessert and wine menu.

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SouthFloridaGayNews

5

Rendez-Vous Bakery 1576 E Oakland Park Blvd, Oakland Park 954-563-2228 RendezVousBakery.com

Unlike the other restaurants included here, it also serves breakfast. From a light, typically French breakfast of toast or pastry and coffee to heartier fare such as the “Trio Benedict” (three poached eggs, one each on spinach, smoked salmon and Canadian bacon) or quiche. Lunch includes a variety of salads, sandwiches and French favorites such as; croque monsieur, friand (puff pastry filled with chicken, mushrooms and béchamel) and, of course, onion soup. Dinner entrées are a mixture of classic French cuisine; beef bourguignon, steak frites, blanquette de veau, duck a l'orange, cote de boeuf, trout almondine and steamed mussels along with a few international favorites (chicken curry and chicken Marsala). Since RendezVous is also a bakery, there is an extensive dessert menu.

lifestyle history

HOMO HISTORY 101 Pier Angelo

Roy Cohn (1927 – 1986) was an American attorney who became famous during Senator Joseph McCarthy’s investigations into Communist activity in the U.S. during the Second Red Scare. He was also a member of the U.S. Department of Justice's prosecution team at the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Cohn would play a major role in assisting Senator McCarthy's crusade against Communism.

During the Lavender Scare, Cohn and McCarthy attempted to enhance anti-Communist fervor in the country by claiming that Communists overseas had convinced several closeted homosexuals employed by the U.S. federal government to pass on important government secrets in exchange for keeping the identity of their sexuality a secret. Convinced that the employment of homosexuals was now a threat to national security, U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower signed an executive order on April 29, 1953, that banned homosexuals from obtaining jobs in the federal government.

Cohn and McCarthy targeted many government officials and cultural figures not only for suspected Communist sympathies, but also for alleged homosexuality. McCarthy and Cohn were responsible for the firing of scores of gay men from government employment, and strong-armed many opponents into silence using rumors of their homosexuality. Former U.S. Senator Alan K. Simpson has written: “The so-called 'Red Scare’ has been the main focus of most historians of that period of time. A lesserknown element ... and one that harmed far more people was the witch-hunt McCarthy and others conducted against homosexuals.”

In 1984, Cohn was diagnosed with AIDS and attempted to keep his condition secret while receiving experimental drug treatment. He participated in clinical trials of AZT; a drug initially synthesized to treat cancer, but later developed as the first anti-HIV agent for AIDS patients. He insisted until the end that his disease was liver cancer. He died on August 2, 1986, in Bethesda, Maryland, of complications from AIDS at the age of 59.

David Geffen (born February

21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer, film studio executive, and philanthropist. Geffen founded Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990. He was one of the three founders of DreamWorks SKG in 1994. His donations to the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and

D

avid Geffen, who is openly gay, was one of three founders of Dream Workds SKG in 1994. He has an estimated net worth of $6 billion, making him one of the richest in the entertainment industry.

other educational and research donations have widened his fame beyond the entertainment industry. Geffen has an estimated net worth of $6 billion, making him one of the richest people in the entertainment industry. He is openly gay.

In May 2007, Out magazine ranked Geffen first in its list of the fifty "Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America.” Along with other celebrities including Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt, Geffen donated money trying to prevent Proposition 8 from becoming law in California.

1860: Horatio Alger, the author of numerous popular books for boys, is accused by the Unitarian Church of Brewster, Mass, of “practicing” on boys.

1886: A news’ story in Montreal’s La Presse features the earliest available documentation of gay nightlife in the city. It describes the activity in a nocturnal cruising spot, the Champs-Mars, and the arrest of a gay man by police entrapment.

1892: In Tennessee, Alice Mitchell is tried for murder of her lover, Freda Ward, and judged insane. The two girls were ‘engaged’ and planned to marry, with Alice intending to pass as a man. When the affair was discovered and broken up by Freda’s older sister, Alice could not bear the thought of losing her and slit Freda’s throat in a mad fit of passion and rage.

2015: The UK Government wrote to the authorities of more than 70 countries and foreign jurisdictions in an attempt to clarify the rights of gay people working or travelling abroad.

The equality minister, Jo Swinson, asked national and regional governments including Australia, Chile, Israel, South Africa and all 50 US states to confirm whether they recognize British civil partnerships and marriages between same-sex couples, and what rights gay people can expect when they travel.

If you want to learn more about your gay heritage and those who paved the way, through activism, sacrifice, courage and civil disobedience to give us a better and freer life you can visit The Stonewall Museum & Archives in Wilton Manors. We should all know who our gay heroes are and be thankful for what they did on our behalf. soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

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SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

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F O R

SFGNITES

T H E

J.W. Arnold

jw@prdconline.com

THU

THEATER

W E E K

4/16

O F

A P R I L

1 6

-

A P R I L

2 1 ,

2 0 1 4

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

The outrageous dragapella quartet, The Kinsey Sicks return to South Florida for a performance on Saturday at the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center in Cutler Bay.

Island City Stage, the region’s LGBTQcentric theater company, concludes its 2015 season with Douglas Carter Beane’s comedy, “The Little Dog Laughed,” at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive in Fort Lauderdale. It’s a farce about a Hollywood star who gets pushed back into the closet by his agent after falling for a cute young rent boy with a girlfriend. You can imagine where it goes from there. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $30 at IslandCityStage.org.

FRI

THEATER

4/17

Jonathan Larson’s 1994 award-winning musical, “Rent,” changed the way Broadway—and America—talked about life with HIV/AIDS. The edgy rock musical was a perfect fit for Slow Burn Theatre, which is offering a powerful production featuring a talented young cast and amazing set at West Boca High School, 10600 W. Glades Road in Boca Raton through April 26. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $40 at SlowBurnTheatre.org.

SAT

COMEDY

4/18 SUN

Everybody’s favorite “dragapella” quartet, The Kinsey Sicks, are back in South Florida, performing tonight at 8 p.m. at the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 S. 211 St. in Cutler Bay. Their new show, “America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild,” is guaranteed to have audiences screaming. And this stuff isn’t appropriate for children or innocent old grannies, either.

Get a musical taste of reality starting at $35 at SMDCAC.org.

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Submitted photo.

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FUNDRAISER

4/19 MON

THEATER

Let’s face it—we all love to go shopping.

Well, here’s an opportunity to get some great deals and make a difference in our community. On Saturday, April 18 and today from 12 noon to 6 p.m., there will be a huge antique auction and sale to benefit the Poverello Center, which provides food and services to neighbors living with HIV/ AIDS. The sale will take place 2449 NE 13th Ave. in Wilton Manors, next to Eucalyptus Gardens and behind Old Florida Seafood House. For info, go to Poverello.org. soflagaynews //

4/20 TUE

he Jan McArt New Play Reading Series at Lynn University’s Wold Performing Arts Center in Boca Raton offers audiences the rare opportunity to experience a work in progress with staged readings of plays by local writers. The season concludes with “Mira,” by Tony Award-nominated director Michael Leeds and features a star-studded cast of Carbonell Award-winning actors including Clay Cartland, Elizabeth Dimon and Ann Marie Olson. One night only at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at Events.Lynn.edu.

SouthFloridaGayNews

FILM

4/21

Staying in tonight? Then check out LGBT festival hit, “First Period,” coming to video on demand and DVD today. A drag comedy with the mind of John Hughes and the heart of John Waters, “First Period” is the story of a group of teen girls who just want to be popular and has been acclaimed by critics and audiences since its premiere on the festival circuit. The movie stars Michael Turchin (“Lance Loves Michael”) and Judy Tenuta. Available on Ti unes, Amazon Prime and local cable providers.

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Port charges, taxes and fees: f Port charges, taxes tax and fees: are $279.80 per person additional based on double occupancy and $469.80 for single occupancy and subject to change without noti notice. All Fees, taxes, and any surcharges imposed by the cruise line are subject to change without notice. Charges vary ffor singl single, e, triples, and quad quads. Ask for details. ** Rates not held in allotment and pricing subject to change. Complete

CALL TODAY: (800) 592-9058 www.AquafestCruises.com soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

45

a&e theater

Miss Conception: Female Delusionist Comes to Wilton Manors J.W. Arnold

Submitted photo.

Miss Conception brings her Disney themed show to Village Pub this weekend.

Miss Conception hasn’t received a cease and desist letter yet.

The self proclaimed female “delusionist” is bringing her unique Disney themed show to Village Pub on Sunday, April 19 and it’s safe to say Walt Disney never could have imagined his iconic characters portrayed quite the way she does.

In the course of an hour performance, Miss Conception, the alter ego of Canadian Kevin Levesque, transforms herself into Maleficent, Snow White, Cruella DeVille, Mary Poppins and more, thanks to elaborately layered costumes. And she sings all those memorable Disney songs, with a few new lyrics added, of course.

“My friend who works at Disney approved (the show),” he said from Toronto with a slight chuckle, but doubted the media giant would bother with his naughty parodies.

On Tuesday, April 21, she will perform her “Broadway Baby” show, this time performing vignettes from “Annie,” “The Sound of Music,” “Chicago,” “A Chorus Line” and “The Lion King,” again incorporating her split second, onstage costume transformations.

The shows at Village Pub mark Miss Conception’s first appearances in South Florida. For the past four years, the performer has been traveling across Canada, the United States and Mexico. While Florida’s tropical climes are always an attraction to Canadians, she was most recently performing for three months in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Levesque has several indirect ties to the region, though. He was particularly close with Scott Weston, who performed as the drag magician Cashetta and passed away unexpectedly in Mexico a month ago.

Levesque planned Weston’s memorial service there. He has also performed with popular

singer Amy Armstrong and her pianist Freddy Allen.

Like many drag performers, Levesque got an early start.

“I was dancing around the house and singing to girl songs,” he recalled.

After studying musical theater and dance at Cawthra Park High School for the Performing Arts outside Toronto, he made the decision at the age of 19 to pursue a professional career and for the last four years has made drag his full time job.

“It’s tough enough to come out as gay, but to come of the closet as someone who performs dressed as a woman is harder,” he said.

Unlike many, Levesque had the full support of his family. His parents even travel to Mexico to see his shows.

“Oh, they’re big fans,” he said of his mother, father and two sisters.

He is also quick to point out that there is nothing to be embarrassed about being a female impersonator.

“What’s the difference between a gay man who dresses like a woman and sings and some straight actor who plays the mother in ‘Hairspray’?” Levesque asked.

“My show is really cabaret anyway,” he pointed out, noting the differences with performing in a large, noisy nightclub. “People are paying to see my show.”

Miss Conception has performed with Leslie Jordan (“Will & Grace”) and opened for Lorna Luft, daughter of Judy Garland. She has headlined her own show at Second City in Toronto and appeared on “Queer as Folk,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation” and even competed on an episode of “Wipeout Canada.”

Her mantra is to “take the world by storm or take their heels,” and that storm is headed to South Florida.

Miss Conception presents “The Wonderful World of Miss Conception” on Sunday, April 19 at 9:30 p.m. and “Broadway Baby” on Tuesday, April 21 at 10 p.m. at Village Pub, 2283 Wilton Dr. in Wilton Manors. Both performances are free. For more information, go to VillagePubWM.com.

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soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews

Kathy Griffin Returns to South Florida and She’s Not Holding Back J.W. Arnold

Comedian Kathy Griffin.

Submitted photo.

Comedian Kathy Griffin is returning to South Florida and plans to tell the whole story about her recent, highly publicized exit from E! Entertainment’s hit series, “Fashion Police.”

Two months ago, Griffin suddenly announced her departure from the show after filming just seven episodes.

At the time, she released the following statement: “Listen, I’m no saint – I’m a feminist AND a Gurrrrl who loves an offensive joke or a welltimed barb and you will find plenty in my repertoire. But I do not want to use my comedy to contribute to a culture of unattainable perfectionism and intolerance toward difference.

I want to help women, gay kids, people of color and anyone who feels underrepresented to have a voice and a LAUGH. That has been my platform for decades and my body of style does not fit with the creative direction of the show & now it’s time to move on.”

In a recent phone interview, Griffin, who has made her career lampooning Hollywood celebrities, bristled at the notion she might be going soft.

“God knows, I’m too smart and I’m better than that,” she said. “Going out and calling somebody fat or ugly—that’s just low hanging fruit— looking at photos and trying to find a physical flaw with somebody who is physically perfect and

has a team of stylists. I have a shelf of awards that show what I do is different than that.”

And when she returns to Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Griffin promises the kind of edgy comedy that earned her Emmy and Grammy awards, legions of devoted fans and, yes, even lifted her off the D-list.

“I’m not holding back. You know me,” Griffin explained. “I’m going to be bringing the heat.”

After the recent premiere of “Going Clear,” the HBO expose of Scientology, she pointed out she went after the religion “before it was cool.” Griffin even speculated that John Travolta, Kirstie Alley or Tom Cruise would “take me off the stage at the Broward (Center) and throw me in the hole. They call me a suppressive person.”

She also plans to dish on her favorite noncelebrity family, the Kardashians.

Griffin said, “They really need to go away. In fact, Rob’s already gone missing,” calling it a start.

“The real comedy in Kim Kardashian is that her husband (Kanye West) dresses her like a doll.

They don’t think I’m going soft.”

Although the family’s patriarch, Bruce Jenner, who is reportedly undergoing sex reassignment, is off the table.

“Whatever Bruce wants, he should get,” she said, even if her 95-year-old “beloved and alcoholic” mother can’t understand why the former Olympian would want to become a “lady man.”

She’ll also be calling out politicians. Griffin is an enthusiastic supporter of presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“It’s about time there’s a female president. As a female standup comic and being in a field that is dominated by males, I’ve had it. Women need to stand up and say it,” Griffin explained.

Her political dream team? Clinton and Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, but President Suze Orman would also suit her—a female, a lesbian and a financial wizard, all wrapped up into one.

While she isn’t expecting many Jeb Bush supporters at her performances, they are welcome.

Griffin is definitely looking forward to her return to the sunshine state. She noted she does more performances in Florida and New Jersey than any other states. Florida, in particular, has so many different markets and there is a world of difference from Miami to Jacksonville, which she described as “almost Georgia.”

Most importantly, she’s looking forward to seeing her LGBT fans. While on the trip, Griffin is also planning to officiate a same sex wedding in Key West.

“I’ll always love my gays,” she concluded.

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IF YOU GO: Comedian Kathy Griffin appears live at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach at 8 p.m. on Friday, April 24 and at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. For tickets, go to Kravis.org and BrowardCenter.org.

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a&e theatre

New Documentary, ‘An Honest Liar,’ Exposes Psychic Con Artists Local residents are subjects of film

Gary M. Kramer

“The Amazing Randi” and his partner, Jose Alvarez are subjects of a new documentary, “An Honest Liar.”

Jose, as the film shows, you worked with Randi by pretending to be a channeler named Carlos. What can you say about your experiences with his “hoax”?

Jose: It was done with the purpose to empower or inform people. I was not prepared to the [degree] of how big it got. It took on a life of it’s own. For me that was what was so revealing—the power of the medium.

These people never heard of [Carlos] outside of TV. It was a hyper-reality. Seeing their faces and they were not questioning they were enthralled in their own narratives of wanting to believe whoever is on stage. It was shocking.

thing and not the other? The psychics don’t say, “I’m going to fool you.” They say, “I’m in touch with Jesus, the spirits, and can see the future and the past.” They take money under false pretenses, and cripple people by causing them mental anguish and deceiving them without care if they harm them.

Wikipedia

Randi: The reaction in Australia was excellent. We said we’d reveal it when the time came.

Have you worked with Randi on other deceptions, or was that not possible after Carlos?

South Florida residents James “The Amazing” Randi and his partner, Jose Alvarez (one of his names) are the subjects of the fantastic documentary, “An Honest Liar,” which opened March 20 in Miami. Directors Tyler Measom and Justin Weinstein show how Randi relentlessly challenged the fake psychic and paranormal claims of folks including mentalist Uri Geller and faith healer Peter Popoff, who use trickery to con people.

“An Honest Liar” smartly chronicles Randi’s career and his life with Alvarez, along with the various deceptions they exposed and perpetrated such as a hoax they performed in Australia in which Alvarez posed as a channeler named “Carlos.”

The couple spoke via Skype about their life, work, and “An Honest Liar.”

How did you decide you were going to learn to become an expert escape artist, and get out of a straight-jacket while hanging upside down?

“The Amazing” Randi: I was a child prodigy and I had a lot of time to myself. I decided

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I wanted to be a chemist or archaeologist.

Along the way I went to the Casino Theatre [in Toronto, where Randi grew up]. They had vaudeville there, and I saw Harry Blackstone do the levitation trick. I was in the balcony and I decided to find him after the show.

We became friends. We used to get tickets from him when he was in town. I was bitten by the conjuring bug and I got to know local magicians How do you recognize—what’s that technical term you used in the film— bullshit?

Randi: I’m a professional magician, and have been for all of my life. I know how things are done. The signs are right there.

I’ve never had a problem solving how folks do their psychic trick. I spot them right away.

[Psychic] Sylvia Browne’s methods were so transparent. She was a reader who could diagnose illness—an illegal action. She was just so wrong so many times she did a lot of damage to families. It was obvious to me, but not the average observer.

soflagaynews //

Jose: This was the only event that we worked on together. I’ve seen documents of Randi’s investigation, but this was the only one involved personally.

Why did you get involved with “An Honest Liar,” and how did you come to trust the filmmakers?

Randi: I saw [Measom’s film] Sons of Perdition. That did it for me.

Jose: We felt they treated their subject with respect and care in telling their story.

What can you say about being a “skeptical magician”?

Randi: Magicians are honest folks: they deceive you the same way an actor fools you. I am an actor as a magician. I play the part of a magician. If you see “Hamlet” and at the end of the play the actor said, “I really am a Prince of Denmark,” you would be insulted. But there are folks who say they can look at the stars and tell you the name of your firstborn. Why do people believe one

SouthFloridaGayNews

“The Amazing Randi” world-famous magician, illusionist, and psychic de-bunker

One of the film’s themes is to question authority. How did you come to question authority, Jose?

Jose: I developed that after meeting Randi.

I came from a mystical background. Early in my life I followed a guru. When he started challenging my assumptions, I questioned my own proclivities to believe. How are they damaging me or keeping me from moving forward? I used some of the guru techniques as Carlos, when people faithfully followed me for no reason at all…. I’m not as hardcore as Randi is but we traverse the same cultural milieus. I don’t see myself like that. We built a life together being so different.

Randi’s compassion—people see him as this cantankerous guy, or a strident voice, but they don’t know how compassionate he is.

That’s a big part of my attraction to him. He has an immense understanding for human frailty, not the people who prey on them, but the victims.

Our Fund Awards $85,000 In Challenge Grants SFGN Staff

Our Fund, together with Aqua Foundation and the GLBT Community Projects Fund at the Miami Foundation, conducted an electronic, non-scientific, community assessment study with the purpose of obtaining feedback and data that identified issues that should be addressed within the LGBTQ community in South Florida including discrimination and quality of life issues. The results of the study is currently available at www.our-fund.org/survey2014 and was shared with local non-profit organizations and others so that everyone can benefit from the data collected and perhaps work on the critical issues that were addressed in the study.

Non-profit organizations in the tricounty region were recently asked to submit proposals to Our Fund for projects that address at least one critical issue noted in the assessment study. After a careful evaluation of all the proposals submitted, the Program and Grants Committee at Our Fund allocated $85,000 to 11 specific projects that dealt with LGBTQ Seniors, LGBTQ Youth, Civil Rights and HIV/AIDS. Each agency selected is required to raise an equal amount from new donors or increased gifts from existing donors between now and June 30, 2015 raising the total funding to $170,000.

“Our Growing Gray Pride project will improve the lives of LGBTQ Seniors,“ explained Robert Boo, CEO of The Pride Center. “The iGIVE Society Challenge Grant will help expand services provided by our Senior Services Coordinator and provide

Anthony Timiraos. Facebook.

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community announcement

individualized non-clinical care-linkage services on-site and in the community for seniors in need of culturally-competent providers. It will also provide the funding to host workshops support groups and seminars.”

Rachel Sottile Logvin, MS, Executive Director of YES Institute noted, “…lack of public education is the primary reason youth face rejection and harassment on the basis of gender and orientation”. Funding from iGIVE Society Challenge Grant will facilitate a public education and outreach initiative and YES Family Meetings, which provide immediate intensive communication, support and referral services that fit unique cultural, socio-economic and health needs in the tri-county region”.

“We encourage our LGBTQ community to review all the selected projects and help us support any one or all,” commented Anthony Timiraos, CEO/President at Our Fund. “ We will match donor’s gift up to the amount of the grant awarded to each organization – a great investment for the future of our community.”

A summary of all projects selected by the Program and Grants Committee is currently available at our-fund.org/igivechallenge.

Our Fund’s mission is to promote a culture of philanthropy by uniting donors with organizations supporting the LGBTQ community. Focused on expanding philanthropy in Florida and working to develop stronger non-profit organizations, Florida’s only LGBTQ community foundation has been established to help build endowments that support donor’s charitable interests including organizations providing services throughout the LGBTQ community. soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 4 .15.2015 //

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Datebook

Theater Christiana Lilly

Calendar@SFGN.com

broward county The Little Dog Laughed

April 16 to May 16 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Road in Fort Lauderdale. Mitchell Green is a movie star with a crush on a cute boy (who has a girlfriend) but his agent, Diane, keeps sending him back into the closet. Tickets $30.

Call 954-519-2533 or visit IslandCityStage.org.

* Points of Departure

April 17 to 19 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The Miami City Ballet takes a different direction with new, joyous pieces.

Tickets $20 to $175. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

* The Shirelles Starring Beverly Lee

April 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs. The original “Dream Girls,” including founding member, Lee. Call 954-344-5990 or visit CoralSpringsCenterfortheArts.com.

* Melodia

Chris Botti

April 16 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The trumpet player has performed alongside a litany of artists of many genres, including Yo-Yo Ma, Frank Sinatra, Andrea Bocelli, and Barbra Streisand. Tickets $25 to $105. Call 561-8327469 or visit Kravis.org.

* Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

April 17 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Inspired by the music of the Hawaiian islands, the orchestra performs hits with some ukulele flavor. Tickets $15 to $95. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* Short Cuts 5

April 17 to 26 at the Showtime Performing Arts Theatre, 503 SE Mizner Blvd. in Boca Raton. Short plays by local writers.

Tickets $25. Call 954-592-0226 or visit ThePlaygroupLLC.com

* Celtic Woman

April 18 at 3 and 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Celebrating 10 years, the troupe of female Irish singers meld old Celtic traditions with new age sounds.

Tickets $25 to $115. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* The Idan Raichel Project

April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A moving performance by Brazilian Voices. Tickets $30 and $35. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Raichel produces a unique sound inspired by the music of Hebrew, Arabic, and Ethiopian cultures. Tickets $20 to $100. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* Tribute to Pete and Toshi Seeger

The Last Night of Ballyhoo

April 19 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Lauderdale, 3970 NW 21st Ave. in Oakland Park. An afternoon of music shedding light on the causes that were important to the couple. Tickets $20 benefiting a number of nonprofits, including Dream Defenders, Fort Lauderdale Food Not Bombs, Jewish Voice for Peace, and more. Contact Susan Moss at ozwoman321@aol.com or 954-478-8637.

* Australian Chamber Orchestra

April 22 at 8 p.m. at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The orchestra performs music from Prokofiev, Mozart and Johnny Greenwood.

Tickets $35 to $115. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

palm beach county Boz Scaggs

April 15 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The singer is inspired by American roots music and toured throughout Europe in his early career. Tickets $25 to $100. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

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Through April 19 at FAU’s Studio One Theatre, 777 Glades Road in Boca Raton. Set in December 1939, Atlanta residents and the Jewish Freitag family celebrate the opening of “God With the Wind” while Hitler has just invaded Poland. The Freitags and other Jews in the community are not so concerned, but instead, are excited for the upcoming Ballyhoo social event. Tickets $20. Call 1-800-564-9539 or visit FAUevents.com.

Menopause the Musical

Through April 19 at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Four menopausal ladies meet at a lingerie sale and bond over hot flashes, night sweats, and sex. Tickets $43.

Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* Elisabeth von Trapp

April 20 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Eleanor R. Baldwin House, 555 NW 20th St. in Boca Raton campus. The granddaughter of Maria and Baron von Trapp, she celebrates the 50th anniversary of “Sound of Music” with a musical performance. Tickets $100. Call 561297-2337 or email gvorsas@fau.edu. soflagaynews //

* Shen Yun

* The Idan Raichel Project

Cabaret

* The Harvey Nevins Orchestra in Concert

April 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Ancient Chinese, music, dance, and acrobatics are celebrated in this whirlwind show. Tickets $54 to $204.

Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

Through April 26 at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. At a Berlin nightclub in the 1930s, an American writer finds a bond with an English performer. Tickets $29 to $70. Call 561-5866410 or visit LakeWorthPlayhouse.org.

Buried Child

Through April 26 at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach. A dramedy by Sam Shepard about a young man who returns to what he remembers as his idyllic Midwestern hometown, but instead he’s met by dysfunctional family.

Tickets $62. Call 561-514-4042 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.

miami-dade county BBC Concert Orchestra

April 15 at 8 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The orchestra is led by conductor Keith Lockhart and joined by special guest pianist, Charlie Albright.

Tickets $50 to $130. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

* The Who

April 17 at 8 p.m. at the AmericanAirlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. A member of the British Invasion, the rock band cranks out hit after hit on the stage.

Tickets $36.50 to $136.50. Call 786-777-1000 or visit AAArena.com.

* The Kinsey Sicks

April 18 at 8 p.m. at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211st St. in Cutler Bay. A hilarious “dragapella beauty shop quartet” to compete to be America’s Next Top Bachelor Housewife. Tickets $35 to $40. Call 786-573-5300 or visit SMDAC.org.

* Carolyn Dorfman Dance

April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. A dance company of just 10, the performance covers everything from Mozart to hip hop pieces. Tickets $25 to $75. Call 800-745-3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org.

SouthFloridaGayNews

April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Raichel produces a unique sound inspired by the music of Hebrew, Arabic, and Ethiopian cultures.

Tickets $35 to $145. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

April 19 at 2 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. The Kings of Swing are prepared to give the audience a night of Big Band music.

Tickets $25 and $35. Call 800-745-3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org.

* Seraphic Fire

April 19 at 4 p.m. at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 SW 211st St. in Cutler Bay. The band performs Bach and Mahler. Tickets $20 to $55. Call 786-5735300 or visit SMDAC.org.

Sister Act

Through April 19 at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Deloris Van Cartier’s life is turned upside when she witnesses a crime and police tell her to hide -- in a convent! Tickets $26 to $96. Call 305949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

* Celtic Woman

April 22 at 7 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Celebrating 10 years, the troupe of female Irish singers meld old Celtic traditions with new age sounds.

Tickets $48 to $108. Call 305-949-6722 or visit ArshtCenter.org.

Women Playing Hamlet

Through April 26 at New Theatre, 8567 Coral Way #355 in Miami. To be, or not to be? A cast of female actresses tackle the age old question. Tickets $26. Call 305-443-5905 or visit New-Theatre.org.

New Jerusalem

Through April 26 at GableStage at the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave. in Coral Gables. It’s Amsterdam in 1656, and when a young philosopher is accused of atheism, he is shuttled into a synagogue amongst elders to defend himself. Call 305-445-1119 or visit GableStage.org.

The Magnificents

Through May 3 at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. A family of magicians’ fame starts to wane down, but the star of the show takes a young boy under his wing to carry on the tradition. Tickets $45. Call 305-949-6722 or ArshtCenter.org

PAMM Outdoor Music Series

Third Thursdays at the Perez Art Museum Miami, 101 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Live music from DJs and musicians by the bay.

Free with museum admission. Call 305-3753000 or visit PAMM.org. * Denotes New Listing

soflagaynews //

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Datebook

Community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com

broward county Change the Channel: Television and the Emergence of LGBTQ Media

April 15 at 7 p.m. at the Stonewall Museum – Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. A Lavender Salon coinciding with the exhibit, “As Seen on TV.” Panelists include Matt Kane of GLAAD, UM Professor Wanhsiu SUnny Tsai, exhibit curator Charles L. Ross, and moderator FAU Professor Fred Fejes. Call 954-763-8565 or visit StonewallMuseum.org.

Art of Wine & Food Series: Spain

April 16 at 6 p.m. at the NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, One E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale, Jose Luis Muguiro of Marques de Riscal will lead a Spanish wine tasting with light appetizers that pair well. Tickets $40 general, $25 for patron level members and above. RSVP to 954-262-0224 or moareservations@moafl.org.

* Yelp’s Beach Party

April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. at Great Lawn, 3501 E. Atlantic Blvd. in Pompano Beach. Join the beach party with dozens of samples from area restaurants. Free. RSVP to bit.ly/YSB15.

* Earth Day Waterway Cleanup

April 18 from 9 a.m. to noon at Deerfield Island Park, 1720 Deerfield Island Park in Deerfield Beach. In honor of Earth Day, volunteer to go through the park’s waterways via kayak or paddleboard to collect trash.

Free. Register through Quiet Waters Park at 954-357-5100.

* Healing Through Art: The Playful Spirit at Work

April 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the AutoNation Academy of Art + Design, Four E. Las Olas Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Therapist Kim Wallant and expressive arts facilitator Elise Crohn will lead students through how art can be a healing activity. Tickets $20 members, $25 nonmembers. RSVP to 954262-0237 or lark.keeler@moafl.org.

* BACA’s Earth Day Birthday Bash

April 18 from 1 to 6 p.m. at Bailey Contemporary Arts, 41 NE First St. in Pompano Beach. Celebrate the first birthday of BACA with a family friendly street festival, including live music by the Spam Allstars.

Free. Visit BACAPompano.org.

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* Sex and the Black Man

April 21 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors.

A community discussion surrounding safer sex practices and intimacy among black men. Free. Call 954-463-9011, ext. 305 or 306 or email lrobertson@pridecenterflorida.org.

* What Now?: Protecting Your Assets After Marriage Equality

April 22 at 6 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors.

A continuing discussion of navigating marriage equality, with experts discussing estate, financial, and gift planning. Wine and light snacks to follow. Free. RSVP to rsvp@ pridecenterflorida.org.

* Financial Empowerment for Women - Taking Control of Your Financial Future

April 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Hollywood Women’s Club, 501 N. 14th Ave. in Hollywood. David Treece of Treece Financial Group will lead a seminar to teach women about health care, Social Security planning, spousal protection, estate planning, and other financial topics. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served after. Free. RSVP to 305-751-8855.

* “Victim”

April 23 at 7 p.m. at the Stonewall National Library and ArtServe Auditorium, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. The first film in English to use the word “homosexual,” the closeted Melville Farr risks everything to battle with a blackmail ring that is threatening to expose gay men.

Free. Call 954-763-8565 or visit StonewallMuseum.org.

* Art Walk on Wilton Drive

Third Saturdays on Wilton Drive. A monthly art festival along the drive. Free. Visit ArtWalkOnWiltonDrive.com.

“As Seen on TV: An Exploration of LGBT Characters: 1954-1979”

Through April 26 at Stonewall Museum – Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. The exhibit explores gay characters in American network drama and comedy programs. Free. Call 954-763-8565 or visit Stonewall-Museum.org.

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.

palm beach county Afterlife: Tombs and Treasures of Ancient Egypt

Through April 18, South Florida Science Museum, 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach. Explore the world of the afterlife with a screening of “The Mummy,” a mummy wrapping contest, and more. Tickets $20.

Call 561-832-1988 or SFScienceCenter.org.

* School of Creative Arts Open House

April 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Meet instructors and learn about the different arts programs available for students of all levels. Free. Call 561-2437922, or visit DelrayArts.org.

* Car Tunes Classic Car Show

April 18 from 1 to 5 p.m. at Sunset Cove Amphitheater in Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park, 20405 Amphitheater Circle in Boca Raton. Enjoy the vast array of classic cars as well as music from rock blues band., Big Vince and the Phat Cats. Free. Visit Facebook.com/SunsetCoveAmphitheater

* Hatsume Fair

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. SunServeYouth.com

April 18-19 at the Morikami Museum and Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road Delray Beach. Celebrate arrival of spring with taiko drumming, martial arts demos, food vendors, children’s activities, and the annual costume and fashion show contest.

Tickets $15 adults. Call 561-495-0233 or visit Morikami.org.

PFLAG

Zumba Fitness

Gender Bender Youth Group

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.

soflagaynews //

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.

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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.

miami-dade county Log Cabin Republicans Miami Fundraiser

April 18 at 8 p.m. at the Ren Cigar Lounge, 10855 SW 72nd St. in Miami. A celebration of Cuban nostalgia, with speakers Rep. Carlos Curbelo, State Sen. Anitere Flores, and State Committeewoman Liliana Ros. Music by Music Matterz, dancing, cigars, Republican memorabilia auction, and clothing sale.

Suggested donation $50. Visit Facebook. com/groups/logcabinmiami.

* AIDS Walk Miami

April 26, 8 a.m., Miami Beach Convention Center, 1901 Convention Center Drive. Grand Marshal David Bromstad leads the 5K walk, culminating with a post-walk celebration at Miami Beach Botanical Gardens. Proceeds benefit Care Resource and the Food for Life Network food bank. Registration $25. Call 305-751-9255, email info@aidswalkmiami. org, or visit AIDSWalkMiami.org.

Xu Bing: Writing Between Heaven and Earth

Through May 24 at the Frost Art Museum, 10975 SW 17th St. in Miami. The Chinese artist took four years to create a 5,000 square foot exhibit of writing and text, showcasing communication through the ages -- the piece is so large it can only be exhibited in select museums. Free. Visit TheFrost.FIU.edu.

Arsht Center Farmers Market

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 demos. 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.

HIV Support Group

Wednesdays from 7 to 9 p.m. at South Beach AIDS Project, 1234 Washington Ave. Ste. 200 in Miami Beach. Free. Call 305-535-4733, ext.

301 or email support@sobeaids.org.

* Denotes New Listing

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SFGN Classified$ attorneys

electrician

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

food

To place a Classified Ad, call Cindy Curtis at 954.530.4970 or email at cindy.curtis@sfgn.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

employment - part time WEEKEND LINE COOK - Weekend line cook/ kitchen prep help needed at all-male resort.

May grow into full time position. Must have transportation. Food Handlers license great but not required. Call 954-701-2641 and leave a detailed message

health & body - yoga

PRIVATE YOGA SESSIONS - Vinyasa "flowing" yoga. All levels welcome. No experience necessary.

Personal instruction to your level, including any physical limitations. $70 your space. $100@studio.

Contact Drew @954-817-3021. www.drewmiller. biz - fb Drew Miller

licensed massage

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 561-2548065 for the very best massage experience you can get HANDS DOWN! #MA51008

cleaning services CLEAN IT RIGHT! The best cleaning for your buck. 1BD $60, 2BD $70, 3BD $80 and up. Excellent rates & references. 10 years in business. Serving Broward, North Miami-Dade & S. Palm Beach.

Call Manny 954-560-4443 EMERALD IRISH CLEANING - Established for 30 years. 3 hours of cleaning for $60.00. Use time as you wish. English speaking *handscrub floors* Cleaning supplies included. Service guaranteed 954-524-3161 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

health & body

home & garden

health & body

POOL SERVICE

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

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

home care SOUTH FLORIDA’S GO TO HOME CARE

PARIS AUTO REPAIR Honest, Genuine Auto Maintenance and Repair

LICENSED AND INSURED

GRATITUDE Place an ad in SFGN’s Classifieds

954.530.4970 54

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HOME CARE

Contact us for your free in-home evaluation today Phone: 561-685-5254 Email: gratitudehomecare@gmail.com http://gratitudehomecare.yolasite.com

Complete in-house service Foreign & domestic including classic cars Same location since 1985 ONLY 4 BLOCKS from FAU main campus PARIS AUTO REPAIR

NOW HIRING soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews

1801 NW 1st Ct Boca Raton, FL 33432

561-395-7765 Ask for John (“Curly”)

licensed massage MASSAGE BY DENNIS $50/90 MIN (DELRAY BEACH) I give a fantastic Swedish massage for $50/90 min, out calls higher. 20 years experience, all clients are welcome including seniors, as human beings we all need to be touched in a therapeutic, loving, and nurturing way. I do body work without the attitude. Please call me at 561-502-2628.

lockout services

plumber AAA BLOUNT PLUMBING Kitchen & Bathroom remodeling, sewers, plugged drains, new construction and underground leaks.

Over 30 years of experience. 24 HR Service. Call Dan 954-980-7499 Lic# CFCO22525

piano lessons 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.

pets/supplies

moving LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE - Icon Moving, your local licensed and insured moving company! Here to help with your moving needs,www.iconmoving.com for a free estimate! Can also do overseas 561-3383157 $50 off when you mention ad!

painting

GREGG'S PAINTING - Interior/exterior,great rates, friendliness, reliability, neatness. No job too small. Call Gregg at 617-306-5694 or 954-870-5972

self-help

rentals

MIKE THE RENTAL GUY NE Lauderdale/Wilton Manors/Oakland/Victoria Park-1/1 from $885 2/1 from $1090. Credit & Income Requirements-Pets okay with restrictions. Call for Details Mike 561703-5533

rentals furnished housing

*PERFECT LOCATION RENTALS* 4 WEEK + SPECIAL FROM $395/WEEK - Intimate 7 unit Liberty Garden Suites offering all the comforts of home. Beautifully Furnished & Full Equipped Studio & One BR Apts. with Full Kitchens, in lush tropical resort setting. 5 Min south of Airport in Dania Beach. Central to Haulover Nude Beach & Wilton Manors. Incl. WI-Fi, laundry,private parking, utilities, cable, tel. Gay Owned & Operated. Longer term Monthly rates available for 3 months + Stays.

Pets Always Welcome. Celebrating Our 18th Year.

Call Joe or Jack at 954-927-0090 or visit www.

LibertySuites.com

spirituality

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55

DISTINCTIVE HOMES

Visit us online at

JOE-JIM.COM

Presented by Joe Ando and Jim Cunningham

Wilton Manors

Wilton Manors

2825 NE 6th Avenue, $869,000 4 bedrooms

3.5 bathrooms

2825NE6Ave.com 133 NE 21st Court, $559,000 3,181 sf

10,520 sf lot

Built in 2011

Entertainer’s Dream ~ Newer Construction ~ Well Appointed Pool Home

2 bathrooms

2725NE21Ave.com 1741 NE 4th Avenue, #F5, $324,000

2,064 sf

8,400 sf lot

3 bedrooms

Resort Like Pool Home ~ Professional Quality in Home Movie Theatre ~ 1 Car Garage

Wilton Manors

Sold

2.5 bathrooms

1,947 sf

Remodeled in 2008

11,871 sf lot

Impact windows

1,786 sf

Pet friendly

Wilton Manors

Sold

2 bathrooms

Coral Gardens Pool Home

1,862 sf

Abundant Living & Entertaining Space ~ Nicely Renovated ~ Gorgeous Pool

Joe Ando & Jim Cunningham Realtor Associates | 954.839.8800 jando@onesothebysrealty.com jcunningham@onesothebysrealty.com soflagaynews //

RiverLandings1741.com

End Unit Town Home ~ Gated Pool Community ~ 1 Car Garage

3 bedrooms

Beautiful Renovation ~ Large Open Floor Plan ~ Corner Lot

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2.5 bathrooms

532NE28St.com 1724 NE 28th Drive, Sold for $425,000

532 NE 28th Street, Sold for $520,000

56

1,880 sf

Fort Lauderdale

2725 NE 21 Avenue, $579,000

3 bedrooms

2 bathrooms

Spacious Renovated Home ~ Over-sized Park Like Grounds ~ 2 Car Garage

Fort Lauderdale

3 bedrooms

3 bedrooms

133NE21Ct.com

401 E Las Olas Boulevard, Suite 100 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 ©MMXIV ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, licensed real estate broker. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. The information contained herein is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. Prices subject to change without notice.

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