Washington Blade, Volume 53, Issue 50, December 16, 2022

‘A big step toward equality’

Biden signs Respect for Marriage Act in historic ceremony, page 14

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By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

Community and the Capital Pride

annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced on Wednesday that they have signed a joint lease to move their operations into a renovated organizations said the lease ising is located steps away from the Howard Theatre and a little The new space is more than double the 2,400-square-foot of a new development project that will require all its tenants, The sprawling building, which takes up about half of the the home of the Holzbeierlein Bakery, according to the online two years ago with an extension and now includes commernine luxury residential condominium units on the fourth and

Comings & Goings

By PETER ROSENSTEIN

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at: comingsandgoings@washblade.com.

The Comings & Goings column also invites LGBTQ+ college students to share their successes with us. If you have been elected to a student government position, gotten an exciting internship, or are graduating and beginning your career with a great job, let us know so we can share your success.

Congratulations to Brad Luna and Kristofer Eisenla on -

tegic communications and media counsel on several historic advancements in both the public and private sectors, in-of world-renowned doctors and researchers, including a -

space in the building that the two groups leased currently is un-renovated warehouse space. The statement says the space is being designed for a build out renova-

and multiple workstations, the statement says.

the renovation is being funded in part by a $1 million grant ap-

to more fully expand our support offerings and provide vital in the statement.

enhanced experience for increasing their health, wellness, and personal security,” Bush said. -

ly and collaboratively, we will better serve the LGBTQ+ community and combine resources to provide a much-needed safe space to gather,” Bos said in the statement.

renovation work was scheduled to be completed by mid-

Center and Capital Pride would be able to move into the new space in June or early July.

The statement says the new, larger space will enable the -

apy rooms, a larger food pantry for the community food distribution program, and dedicated wellness spaces for meditation, yoga, and counseling.”

It says there will also be an expanded state-of-the-art cyber lounge, a larger Community Closet program, which provides free apparel, and that will incorporate a designated dressing area, and individual lockers providing temporary storage for

The statement by the two groups says the new largerspace in the new building, the statement says. -

stronger and our residents have more and better opportunities to reach their full potential and live happy, healthy lives,” the mayor said.

With the rebranding they have added three individuals to -

content will work on strategic content development across platforms to better engage targeted audiences, research, and analytics to inform audience targeting strategies, digifor greater impact and real-time feedback reports on media be responsible for creative visual content solutions including branding, digital marketing, print design and audio/ video production. Riah Gonzales King as director of digital strategies will provide services designed to harness the power of technology to develop digital advertising, e-com-

creation.

in policy, communications, and public relations. They both have extensive experience providing communications and media relations counsel to a wide range of government, worked on presidential and senatorial campaigns, and for

president at Widmeyer Communications and before that

in politics and economics, and has advanced degrees from

Luna was director of Communications for the Human Rights Campaign. Before that he was press secretary to Rep. Bradmunications, message development and public policy at

The Adora is located at 1827 Wiltberger St., N.W. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)

KRISTOFER EISENLA BRAD LUNA

When it comes to serving the LGBT2Q+ community, TD Bank is much more than a fair-weather friend. We’re not just Pride Month sponsors. Our commitment lasts 365 days a year. And it shows throughout the depth and steadfastness of our dedication to the community.

Relationships with the National LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and beyond

We have been strong corporate members with the National LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and its affiliates throughout our footprint. There are TD Bank team members like Steven Garibell, who has been a member of the Chamber’s certification committee for six years helping to certify LGBTBE’s, chairing the Mentorship Committee for the TGX Task force, and serving as the Chair of the Advisory Board for the New Jersey Pride Chamber.

Our commitment is demonstrated through our help forming the Upstate LGBT Chamber in SC, as well as a host of team members who are making a difference throughout our footprint - serving on the board of IBA in Philadelphia, an ambassador for the NGLCCny and a board member for the NJ Pride Chamber.

We also have employees everywhere we do business to help certify businesses. As part of that process, employees make personal site visits to assist certification.

Co-creators of Own It!, now in its second cohort

Own It! is an entrepreneurial intensive specifically designed to provide

education, resources, and space to the transgender and gender expansive (TGX) communities. Own It! is co-created and maintained by TD Bank, Destination Tomorrow, and the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC). Each cohort completes three courses of small business education (research and resources, business plan writing, and maintaining profitability), and is also paired with a mentor TGX business owner, a business advisor from the Small Business Development Centers of America, and receives a membership to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce to pursue professional networking and LGBTBE certification for diverse supplier opportunities.

“The TGNC/NB community has suffered for far too long with limited resources and opportunities,” says Sean Coleman, Executive Director, Destination Tomorrow. “This has resulted in a lack of TGNC/NB owned businesses.  Programs like Own It! provide the knowledge, resources, and tools for these businesses to be competitive.”

“This is one example of how TD Bank works toward and invests in our values — empowering our team at the highest level of our bank to make a real impact among businesses we serve,” says Steven Garibell, Vice President of Business Development LGBTQ2+. “Our customers can count on us to be there day-after-day, week-after-week, long after the parades are over and the flags are taken down. Pride, for us, is just doing what it takes for the people we serve.”

We’re here to listen and to help. Contact a Community Business Development Officer today at: [CommunityBusinessDevelopment@ TDBank.com]”

Probation for man who threatened D.C. hotel workers with gun Tennessee suspect

used

anti-gay slur during altercation

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

A 21-year-old Tennessee man arrested by D.C. police on Aug. 24 outside the Lyle Hotel near Dupont Circle for threatening two hotel workers with a handgun while saying his gun “is only for faggots” was sentenced on Oct. 26 to three years of supervised probation.

The sentencing by D.C. Superior Court Judge Michael O’Keefe took place after Dylan Nation, a resident of Ooltewah, Tenn., pleaded guilty on Aug. 30 to Attempted Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Carrying a Pistol Without A License Outside a Home or Business as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors.

of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. agreed to drop the more serious Weapon and Possession of a Firearm During A Crime of Vio-

says he retrieved a handgun from his car parked in the hotel’s parking lot and threatened two hotel security workers after one of the workers attempted to deescalate a heated verbal altercation Nation was having with his girlfriend just outside the hotel’s front entrance.

rity workers and told the worker “he will blow his skull off.” Minutes later, when both security workers attempted to persuade Nation to put the gun back in his car, he told them he didn’t feel safe around them and they are not tough because they are “from the faggot part of D.C. and that his gun is only for faggots

It says one of the two security workers then reached for the gun and took it out of Nation’s hand without incident after oth-ing police sirens but was apprehended by one of the security workers and held until police arrived and placed him under arrest.

Court records show that Nation’s attorney argued that Nation voluntarily surrendered his gun to the security worker and later took full responsibility for his actions and apologized. He later said he was intoxicated from alcohol he consumed while in the hotel restaurant with his girlfriend shortly before the altercation began and had no recollection at all of what happened.

The court records show Judge O’Keefe sentenced Nation to 18 months of incarceration for the attempted assault with a dangerous weapon charge and suspended all 18 months and sentenced him to three years of supervised probation.

-

For the second charge of carrying a pistol without a license, O’Keefe sentenced Nation to six months incarceration and suspended all but the short time Nation had already spent in jail after his arrest. O’Keefe then handed down another sentence of three years of supervised probation for that charge but said the two three-year terms of probation were to run concurrently.

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Thomas W. “Tom” Hardy, a professor of art history who also taught English and the humanities at the Annandale Campus of Northern Virginia Community College for 40 years and whose colleagues and many students considered his art history courses as “legendary,” died Oct. 30 at the age of 81.

Friends and family members said the cause of death was complications associated with sepsis.

In addition to teaching art history, English, and humanities for students at Northern Virginia Community College, whichation courses for community members through the college’s Lifetime Learning Institution, according to a statement released by the college.

The statement says Hardy also conducted numerous trips for students and NOVA colleagues to the art capitals of Europe and taught an undergraduate seminar on European Baroque Art at D.C.’s George Washington University.

“Professor Hardy’s colleagues remember him as a witty and erudite gentleman,” J.K. Daniels, dean of Languages, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Annandale Campus, said in the statement. “His former dean noted that ‘Professor Hardy was a devoted teacher whose students praised him for the passion he exhibited for his subjects,’” Daniels said.

ages from his own photography collection and others,” said Daniels.

“A gifted professor, his lectures for courses in English, art history and humanities drew upon a rich background in literature, music, philosophy, and religions,” according to two other colleagues at NOVA, Duncan Tebow, former Dean and Art Profes-

“His scholarly interests and publications ranged from Con-tion,” the two said. “He also supported college art programs, organizing student art shows, and arranging lectures by visiting scholars. Tom was always a warm, witty, bright presence on campus, generous with his time and talents,” they said.

Hardy was born and raised in Washington, D.C., where he lived nearly all his life, friends and family members said. His cousin, Greg DeLuca, said Hardy and his domestic partner of 50 years, Carl Spier, lived for more than 20 years in a townhouse in the Capitol Hill East neighborhood on the same street where Hardy lived as a child with his parents while growing up.

Coming from a Catholic family, he graduated from D.C.’s Catholic Gonzaga High School. DeLuca and Spier believe Hardy received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill before receiving his master’s degree in English at UNC Chapel Hill. He earned a master’s in art history degree from George Washington University, DeLuca said.

DeLuca said Hardy worked for a short time at the Library of Congress before embarking on his teaching career at NOVA. The NOVA statement provided to the Washington Blade says Hardy’s tenure as a professor there began in 1970 and continued through 2009 at the time of his retirement.

Friends said Hardy and partner Spier regularly attended the Sunday Catholic Mass offered by D.C.’s LGBTQ Catholic organization Dignity Washington.

One longtime friend, David Lambdin, said he and others enjoyed going with Hardy to D.C. art museums, including the National Gallery of Art, where Hardy provided insight and “opened my eyes to what I was seeing.”

DeLuca said that in retirement Hardy did a lot of traveling with Spier throughout Europe as well as Egypt. Friends said Hardy also continued organizing art history trips to Italy and other European nations, for friends and family members.

DeLuca describes Hardy as a “great” uncle who was “generous, happy, sarcastic, witty, and smart” and who would brighten a room.

“I had many talks with him in his last few months while bedridden,” DeLuca said. “He wasn’t bitter. He told me he had a very good life with no real regrets.”

Spier stated in a Facebook posting that Hardy passed away at the Ashby Ponds assisted living and retirement facility in

Ashburn, Va., where he and Spier had been living for the past few years while Hardy was under treatment for sepsis.

“My friend and companion for over 50 years, I loved him and will miss him forever,” Spier wrote.

Hardy’s ashes were interred at a graveside ceremony at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hillcrest Heights, Md., on Dec. 3. Dignity Washington held a memorial Mass in Hardy’s honor the following day on Dec. 4, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church. Father Alexei Michelanko presided over the Mass, which was followed by a celebration of life gathering at the church’s fellowship hall.

“In his 81 years, Tom lived a full life and touched many people,” Michelanko said. “He spent those years not simply concerned with himself but being of service to others primarily as that of art historian. And in the process, he was beautifying his own life, with passion, pleasure, and joy.”

Hardy is survived by his partner of 50 years Carl Spier; his

including Greg DeLuca, Christine DeLuca, Karen Devore, Joe Breighner, and Emily Kowalski; and many friends, including David Lambdin of Arlington, Va. and Larry Smelser of Balti-

Elizabeth DeLuca.

Art history professor, longtime D.C. resident Tom Hardy dies at 81 Colleagues say his courses were ‘legendary’

A man was arrested after a confrontation at the Lyle Hotel in Dupont Circle. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

TOM HARDY at right and his partner of 50 years CARL SPIER

indicted over sexual assault case Controversy continues over false reports that

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Monday alleges that former Loudoun County public schools superintendent Scott Ziegler “unlawfully” made a false statement during a June 2021 school board meeting by saying he was unaware that a sexual assault had taken place in the girl’s bathroom at one of the county’s high schools.

The Washington Post reports that although the indictment does not say so directly, it appears to be referring to a case in which a 15-year-old boy was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the girl’s bathroom at while he was wearing a skirt.

criticism after news surfaced that the same boy was charged with sexually assaulting another girl in a vacant classroom in October of 2021 at Broad Run High School, charged with the earlier sexual assault.

The indictment was unsealed one week after the the same grand jury issued an earlier 91-page report dled the investigation into the two sexual assault cases.

The grand jury report, according to the Post, labels a liar in connection with their handling of the two sexual assault cases.

Ziegler has said that he misunderstood a question a school board member asked him, incorrectly thinking he in school bathrooms. He responded with a “no” answer, which the grand jury indictment says was a lie.

But Ziegler has said it was only later that he realized that the school board member asked him if any type of sexual assault had occurred in a school bathroom. Like

LGBTQ activists, Ziegler has said he did not consider the boy who committed the sexual assaults to be transgender.

boy allegedly committed one of the two assaults in the girl’s bathroom while wearing women’s clothes, the revelation triggered a furious backlash against a transgender supportive schools policy adopted by the Loudoun County school system.

The policy, which called for allowing transgender and

school facilities that match their gender identity, was based on a similar statewide policy put in place during the administration of former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.

The current Republican governor, Glenn Younkin, has attempted to reverse that policy and put in place a new, highly controversial transgender schools policy that, among other things, would require students to use the bathrooms in accordance with their gender assigned at birth.

The Youngkin policy also would require written paren-

their birth names and wear clothes in accordance with their gender identity.

trans supportive policy adopted under the Northam ad-

gender identity and that Youngkin has no legal authority to reverse that policy.

supportive school policies was fueled by what they said has been unsubstantiated claims that the 15-year-old boy the DailyMail.com that her son occasionally wore a skirt, but he wore jeans and male clothes most of the time and

The mother also pointed to law enforcement records

charged with assaulting had consensual sex in the bathroom twice before the alleged assault.

two sexual assault cases.

Wayde Byard, with felony perjury. But the Post says the charge against Byard and other charges in the indictment against Ziegler appear to be unrelated to the two sexual assault cases.

him of using his position to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against an employee and “ ployee,” the Post report says.

In a statement released to the Post, Ziegler criticized the grand jury’s actions, saying it appeared politically

“

trolled, secret and one-sided process – which never once sought my testimony – has made such false and irresponsible accusations,” the Post quotes Ziegler as saying. “I will vigorously defend myself. I look forward to a time when the truth becomes public.”

Ziegler added in his statement that neither of the two assaults committed by the 15-year-old student “had anything to do with schools providing basic accommodations for transgender students.”

Blade accepting applications for new fellowship on LGBTQ youth

The Blade Foundation announced it has opened the application process for a new winter fellowship.

The application is open for an aspiring D.C.-based college-age journalist interested in covering LGBTQ+ youth. The fellowship runs for 12 weeks starting January 2023 with a $2,500 stipend. Fellows will be paired with a Blade editor for mentoring and reporting assignments.

This fellowship is focused on issues impacting queer youth in D.C. Coverage areas will include housing, com-

ing out, education, and more. The fellowship is fund-

College students may apply by emailing a letter of interest, resume, and links to three writing samples to:

washblade.com. No phone calls. Deadline to apply is Dec. 23.

FROM STAFF REPORTS

CHRISTOPHER KANE

CHRISTOPHER KANE

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

SAM BRINTON (Photo courtesy of Brinton)

BRITTNEY GRINER before she left Moscow on Dec. 8. (Screen capture via Russian State Media)

‘Today’s a good day’: Biden signs Respect for Marriage Act

Historic moment triggered by fears of Supreme Court attack on Obergefell

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law in a White House ceremony attended by hundreds of LGBTQ advocates from around the country.

“Today’s a good day,” said Biden during a signing ceremony that took place on the White House’s South Lawn. “Today America takes a big step toward equality.”

Harris said the Dobbs decision is a reminder that “fundamental rights are interconnected, including the right to marry who you love, the right to access contraception, and the right to make decisions about your own body.” Biden noted Congress passed the Respect for Marriage Act “because of an extreme Supreme Court has stripped away the right important to millions of Americans that existed for half a century.”

House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Gina and Heidi Nortonsmith, one of the plaintiff couples in the lawsuit to same-sex couples in 2004, also spoke at the ceremony. Cyndi Lauper, Sam Smith and members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington performed.

Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg; National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson; Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund Executive Director Andy Marra; David Mixner; Robyn Ochs; Alabama state Rep. Neil Rafferty; Pennsylvania state Sen. Malcolm Kenyatta; Arizona state Rep. Daniel Hernández; former New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson; Maryland state Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City); GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis; Garden State Equality (N.J.) Executive Director Christian Fuscarino; Equality Florida Communications Director Brandon Wolf; Wanda Alston Center Executive Director June Crenshaw and Japer Bowles, director of D.C. the ceremony.

Sinema, Baldwin, Collins, U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D.N.Y), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and David Cicilline (D-R.I.) were also in attendance.

“Today is a historic day and a much-needed victory for our community,” said Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a press release. “It should be lost on no one that this bill signing comes less than a month after a deadly attack on our community in Colorado Springs, and at a time when the community continues to face ongoinging this bill, President Biden has shown that LGBTQ+ peoples’ lives and love are valid and supported.”

U.S. House of Representatives with 39 Republicans voting in favor.

The bill passed in the U.S. Senate on Nov. 29 by a 61-39 vote margin. The Respect for

(D-Wis.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and other lawmakers who helped secure the bill’s passage. Biden also reiterated calls for Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law, and for an end to anti-LGBTQ violence in the wake of last month’s massacre at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo., and the proliferation of anti-trans bills across the country.

“When a person can be married in the morning and thrown out of a restaurant in the afternoon, this is still wrong,” said Biden. “We must stop the hate and violence.”

Vice President Kamala Harris was San Francisco’s district attorney in 2004 when she Harris was California’s attorney general when she successfully challenged the state’s Proposition 8 before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on June 26, 2013, struck down Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. The Supreme Court on June 25, 2015, issued its landmark Obergefell decision that extended marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country.

Harris noted Tuesday is “nally protect marriage rights in federal law.” Dozens of same-sex couples who sued for marriage rights across the country and their families stood on the steps leading to the Truman Balcony as she and Biden spoke.

“For millions of LGBTQI+ Americans and interracial couples, this is a victory and part

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in a concurring opinion he wrote in the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade suggested the Supreme Court should also reconsider Obergefell and two other decisions that guaranteed the right to private, consensual sex and the ability of married couples to purchase and use contraception.

preme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson. California Congressman Mark Takano, who is openly gay, earlier this month told the Washington Blade that Congress was “reeling” from the ruling and Thomas’ opinion and lawmakers said “we need to protect what we can.”

GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders Janson Wu said “millions of couples and their children across the country now have the assurance that their families will continue to be respected by our state and federal governments because President Biden has signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law.” Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang echoed these sentiments.

-

“This is an historic milestone for our movement and an important victory for hundreds of thousands of loving couples and their children across the nation,” said Hoang in a statement. “All Americans deserve the freedom to marry the person they love, and

equality is settled.”

President JOE BIDEN (center) signs the Respect for Marriage Act on Tuesday. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

The White House is lit in rainbow colors following the signing ceremony on Tuesday. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Quaaroporte Trofeo

Barbados’ colonial-era sodomy law struck down

The Barbados High Court on Monday struck down a colonial-era law that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.years in prison.

The London-based Human Rights Trust in a press release noted Equals, an LGBTQ and intersex rights group““ resonates with me, I already know there is more work to

is “ “

the knowledge that Barbados has taken a step to underJudges earlier this year struck down colonial-era sodits statute that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.

year in a landmark decision said Jamaica must repeal its sodomy law. Then-British Prime Minister Theresa May in “ -

LGBTQ and intersexness’ Caribbean Campaign lead.

Piggott in a statement said the Barbados ruling is “a long time coming, journey has been ar-

“We “ towards inclusion and we hope it signals to other Carib-ment has not said whether it will appeal the ruling.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

same-sex couples to marry.erlands issued the ruling in two marriage equality cases -

“The court has come to the conclusion that excludingHuman Rights Caribbean case.

equality bill.

Mansur and Melissa Gumbs, an openly lesbian mem-

“Essentially the right to same-sex marriage has beenMansur noted the ruling does not address adop-

Curaçao is one of the constituent countries in the Caribbean that are part of the Netherlands.

(Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Tuesday told the Washington Blade during a telephone

her party plans to introduce a marriage equality bill in Parliament.

Barthélemy are the other jurisdictions in the Caribbean in which same-sex couples can legally marry.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

The Jakarta Post, an English newspaper in the country’s Criminal Code that would, among other things, also make it illegal to insult the president. The Jakarta Post said any-

The new Criminal Code — which LGBTQ and intersex ac-

take place in three years. Consensual same-sex sexual relations are decriminalizedrights record. -

nesian Ulema Council, the country’s most prominent Islamic group, criticized it.

MICHAEL K. LAVERS

-

(Bigstock photo)

MICHAEL WEINSTEIN

is president of Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization.

Back

The world has completed a ten-year experiment with HIV prevention and the results are clear. PrEP and HIV treatment to prevent transmission have been found wanting. 1.5 million people globally became infected with HIV last year [1]. STIs are at an alltime high, a tragic turn from where we were just twenty years ago when syphilis was close to being eradicated. The US alone had 2.5 million combined cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis in 2021 [2]. Not to mention millions of teen pregnancies and unwanted babies.

For anyone looking at our circumstance objectively, it is clear that the pure biomediHIV, STIs, and unplanned pregnancy. Yet condom promotion is virtually non-existent, and the condom culture is destroyed.

A combination of pharma greed, government squeamishness, and the libertine position of many advocates has left us unprotected against the tidal wave of STIs that is sweeping the world. It is easy enough to understand why condoms are not popular. Many people feel they’re uncomfortable, interrupt spontaneity, aren’t there when you need them, and on and on.

Governments don’t want to promote condoms because it would force them to talk about the “icky” subject of sex. Religious groups oppose them because they promote sexual pleasure over reproduction. Libertarians see them as a restriction on their freedom.

Beyond the health implications, it is time to look at condoms as an alternative to abortion. With the right to choose having been trashed by the Supreme Court, alternatives to medical abortions are getting a second look. The public health system in the US must choose an avenue to focus on where primary prevention will take place.

Plan B medication interrupts conception within 72 hours of a sexual encounter. Plan C can end a pregnancy.

Why not have a Plan A—Condoms. Hershel Walker, who recently lost his race for the Senate in Georgia, repeatedly asked a woman to have an abortion. Did he consider a condom? Arnold Schwarzenegger had an affair with the housekeeper that busted up his marriage. Did he consider a condom?

STIs. Antibiotics do the job (for now), clearing up infections quickly so the next infection can take its place. Is using a condom such a high price to pay for preventing multiple infections? People who test positive for STIs are more likely to get HIV in the future [3].

If we continue down this route, we know where it goes. Rampant increases in STIs are costly, can result in infertility, cause still births due to syphilis (congenital syphilis rates and incite relationship break-ups [2]. Despite these serious outcomes, we see STIs as a temporary inconvenience and do not take them seriously.

There has never been any question that biomedical interventions can help an individual and should be freely available without any stigma. However, ten years in there still isn’t any proof that biomedical interventions alone will reduce HIV, but we know they will stoke STIs. Nevertheless, we are heavily exporting this failed experiment to the

Government policy must adjust to the realities of primary prevention. We need to go back to basics and promote condoms as the primary means to prevent HIV/STIs if we are to have any chance of bringing rates down. Focusing in on condoms gives the power of prevention and control back to the individual, it won’t get tied up in medical

Some want us to double down and give preventative antibiotics to stave STIs. This may lead to increases in unprotected sex and inevitably to antibiotic resistance, which is a growing existential public health threat [4].

Prevention is a tough road to hoe. You will never be completely successful in promoting healthier behavior. But, having bent the stick so dangerously in one direction it is time to bend it back.

Condoms are Plan A:

to the future of condoms Pharma greed, gov’t squeamishness left us unprotected from tidal wave of STIs

is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly for the Blade.

Marsha Blackburn

Republicans

We are now in the world of the ridiculous and scary, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) thinking she knows more than world-renowned health experts and our country’s military leaders. She won her battle to ensure the military cannot mandate its members be vaccinated against COVID. The amendment accomplishing that was added to the $858 billionNational Defense Authorization Act by the Senate and passed by the House to sent to the president to sign. In a way he is hostage to what else we need in the bill so he will not veto it. There is too much at stake.

Intelligent people, Blackburn and her Republican colleagues who supported this not among them, understand COVID is still dangerous and easy to spread. An outbreak among the unvaccinated military can impact their readiness. Mandating vaccines for those in the military is not new. It has been in effect since the Revolutionary War. According to Newsweek there are currently many vaccines the military mandates for its members. Now, due to politics, and Republican stupidity, they are being told by Congress they cannot mandate a COVID vaccination, which calls into question what they will go after next, just as the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade called into question what the court will do next. Will they go after marriage equality or interracial marriage? Congress has passed the Marriage Protection Act, but that doesn’t stop the court from acting. It simply says in states where they are legal, other states and the federal government must recognize them.

This effort by Republicans to override military and health experts is just one of the dumb things we can anticipate Republicans doing in the next couple of years. We can just be thankful voters continued to support having a Democratic Senate. Newsweek reported “The DoD already administers 17 different vaccines to service members — outlined in the “Joint Regulation on Immunization and Chemoprophylaxis for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases.” These are the mandatory vaccinations that all service members are required to receive before rubella, Meningococcal, Poliovirus, Tetanus-Diphtheria, and Varicella. Other vaccines adminnese encephalitis, Pneumococcal, Rabies, Smallpox, Typhoid fever, and Yellow Fever. Service members can request to opt out of a mandatory vaccination on health, administrative, or religious grounds. These exemptions can be temporary or permanent.

sary to protect the force and defend the American people.” Others have pointed out that the troops in the Continental Army from smallpox.”

These kinds of actions by Republicans in Congress will become more prevalent as we move toward the 2024 elections and will be undertaken not because they make sense, but rather in the hope it will spur voters in 2024 to elect a Republican president and Republican Congress.

One person who just added to the possibility of Republicans taking the Senate in 2024 is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, now an independent, having announced she has left the Democratic Party. While she says she will not caucus with Republicans, if she runs as an independent and there is a Democratic candidate, it gives Republicans their chance to take the seat. In 2024 there will be 33 Senate seats up for election. Democrats will be defending 23 of them, and a number of those are in red states, including Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Over the next six months President Biden will decide if he intends to run again. Many think he should retire. When history is written Biden will have one of the best records of any president with his string of congressional successes and his ability to stave off losing many House seats and not losing one incumbent Senate seat for his party in the mid-term election. It is a record he and the Democratic Party should be proud of. If he decides to run again, he will have the support of people like me and so many others. But should he decide to leave the

Either way Democrats can win.

like

must be stopped Military no longer mandating COVID vaccines due to GOP stupidity

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Queer creator blends Shakespeare with iconic music of Pat Benatar Could

For millions of GenX-ers, the music of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo – Benatar’s longtime lead guitarist, collaborator, and producing partner, and her husband since 1982 – has been an iconic generational touchstone for more than four decades. This might be especially true for queer GenXers, who

spirit that resonated through many of the duo’s songs.

One of those queer GenXers was Bradley Bredeweg, the out co-creator of another queer touchstone, televi-

opted children. Now, Bredeweg – a self-described “theater kid” – is helping to bring Benatar and Giraldo’s music to a new generation of rebellious youth with “Invincible,” a new musical that intricately weaves the couple’s legendary catalogue with inspired new songs to re-imagine Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” for the 21st century.

“When I got into writing for television, I realized that I missed the equal exchange that happens between the people on the stage and the audience,” explains Bredeweg, who spoke with the Blade ahead of his show’s Nov. 22 opening at Beverly Hills’ Wallis Center for the Performing

it, but after a couple of years of doing it, I was like, ‘I miss that inner theater child, so I’m gonna moonlight.’”

By JOHN PAUL KING

Much later, in 2015, he walked into a Los Feliz bar called the Rockwell (“It was this really cool kind of spot that we don’t have a lot of in LA, because we’re not a theatrical town”), where cabaret performances were sometimes mounted by visiting Broadway talent and Jeff Goldblum would do a gig every Wednesday night. Inspired by the vibe, he suddenly remembered, “this thing I had come up with all those years ago” and impulsively pitched the idea of putting it on to the bar’s manager. I said, ‘I’ve got this crazy idea where I want to combine Shakespeare with Pat Benatar,’ and she said, ‘That’s insane, but I’m a huge fan of your show and I love it, so let’s do it.’”

was an unprecedented hit, enjoying a six-month run to sold out houses – that is, until Benatar and Giraldo’s manager attended a performance and recorded a video of the whole thing on his iPhone. He showed it to Benatar and Giraldo, and they were intrigued; but at the time, unbeknownst to Bredeweg, they were working on developing their own life story as a musical using their songs, so they sent a “cease and desist” letter to the Rockwell and the show was forced to shut down.

“It was heartbreaking, for all of us,” says Bredeweg, “because we knew we had something with real potential.”

Then, a year later, he got a call from a producer who told him Benatar and Giraldo wanted him to come to New York and discuss his musical.

“Of course, I said yes and got myself there immediately. We took a meeting on their tour bus, and we started talking about the musical they were developing, and suddenly we all started to move in the direction of doing ‘Love is a Bathad started out with a ‘cease and desist’ order and here we were talking about coming together to do a show.”

In part, says Bredeweg, the couple was convinced to change course by their discussion of the proliferation of socalled “jukebox musicals” that have increasingly populated Broadway in recent years.

everything was from the point of view of a white cisgender person – and I always had these dreams, if I ever had any say, that I would love to tackle these classics in a different way and reposition them for a more diverse audience.”

In keeping with this mission, “Invincible” doesn’t just make Verona into a more modern city, but a more diverse one as well. The Capulet and Montague houses are run by the women, whose husbands are both dead; Romeo’s chum Benvolio is nonbinary, and falls in love with Juliet’s nurse; Juliet’s cousin Tybalt is secretly in love with her would-be husband, Paris; Paris himself is the city’s new chancellor, seeking the marriage as a means to control the vast Capulet fortune and deploy it to shore up his political power. In Bredeweg’s updated take on the tale, it’s a story about powagainst the traditional patriarchy and a younger generation trying to take control of its own destiny – and to ensure that it includes the freedom to love who they want.

“That’s obviously something the queer community can really understand,” says Bredweg. “We’ve been there and It’s very much at the center of the show, and it was a big reason why I wanted to tackle the story, why I’ve rewritten so we thought we knew and giving them a more modern point of view.”

“Our culture is shifting in such huge ways,” he continues. self in these old tales. We are looking at our past, and pieces of art or the written world, or things in our politics, and we’re trying to reinvent these pinnacle moments in a way to make sure that history doesn’t always repeat, to move forward in different directions that are better for all of us. Especially the younger generations – they’ve stepped into this world where they’ve had no say in how chaotic things feel, and they are trying to take control of their identities and their path forward. That’s really what’s at the heart of our show.”

The result of his “moonlighting” turns Shakespeare’s classic Verona setting into a modern, war-torn metropolis, and places his timeless tale of star-crossed lovers in a time of great transformation. Love and equality are forced to battle for survival as a newly elected chancellor works to return the city to its traditional roots and destroy a progressive resistance that is trying to imagine peace in a divided world – and if you think that sounds familiar, it’s by design. Its current run at the Wallis is its world premiere, but if things go as

According to Bredeweg, however, it’s far from the beginning of his show’s journey.

“About 12 years ago, I realized I hadn’t read ‘Romeo and Juliet’ since high school and decided to read it again,” he tells us. “The next day I had to take a road trip – this was back in the era when I still had a CD book in my car – and I came across the “Best of” album of Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, so I popped it in and started driving. And because the story was obviously fresh in my head, I was listening to all these songs and realizing that if you line them up a certain way

draft a couple of weeks later and then I just put it away and forgot about it.”

“We talked about how they have a shelf life, especially if ence, but beyond that, how can they stand the test of time? The real test of a timeless musical is if, in 40 years, every high school is doing it. I think that’s why we went back to using their iconic music to reinvent this epic, timeless tale.”

Another part of the appeal was how aptly the couple’s haps, but one that might be better described as synchronicity.

“When Pat and Neil met back in the late ‘70s it was supposed to just be a working relationship, but they fell head over heels in love with each other,” Bredeweg says. “When I got close to them, they told me they had been called the ‘Romeo and Juliet of the music world’ because the labels and managers and PR people were trying to break them up. They wanted Pat to stand on their own and Neil to just be her producing partner, and so much of what the two of them were creating at that time was about that struggle,

music works inside of this story.”

For Bredeweg, the chance to realize his vision struck an intensely personal chord, too.

“I was always obsessed with the classics, but as a gay kid growing up in the ‘80s, I knew I felt different from everyone else, and as much as I loved them, I couldn’t really ‘attach’ to any character inside them. Nothing felt familiar to me,

liet” has been deconstructed and rebuilt as a musical; apart from the obvious example of “West Side Story,” the recent London import “& Juliet,” now a hot ticket on Broadway, presents an alternative version of the story in which the title character doesn’t kill herself, set to the music of pop songwriter Max Martin – responsible for hits from Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, and Céline Dion, among others.

Bredeweg isn’t worried about the competition.

“I never think about that kind of thing,” he tells us. “There’s always room for interpretation with classics of this stature. There’s space for both.”

His production, of course, has the added advantage of showcasing the music of two deeply beloved icons whose recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has catapulted their names back into the public arena in a big way – not that they were ever very far out of it.

For Bredeweg, though, the Benatar/Giraldo connection has always been much more than just a way to make his show marketable. It’s the whole reason “Invincible” even exists.

“Pat captured my heart as a young gay kid for obvious reasons. There was something about her music, and her energy and messaging.

“It made me feel that if someone as powerful as her could exist, then I could, too.”

“Invincible” continues its run at the Wallis until Dec. 18. For tickets and more details, visit their website.

KAY SIBAL and KHAMARY ROSE star in ‘Invincible.’

LA’s production of ‘Invincible’ make it to Broadway?

Photo

Shop local this holiday season

FROM STAFF REPORTS

If you procrastinated your shopping and Amazon can’t deliver until February, your local D.C.-area retailers are here to save the holiday. Be sure to shop local this season. Below are a few of our favorite local gift ideas.

SPRING IN DC TEA TOWEL

20”x28” in 100% cotton. Comes with a hanging hook.

HOUSE OF KITTY CATS ON CAPITOL HILL TOTE BAG

15 1/2” x 16,” 100% cotton with pocket inside.

MARIE ANTOINETTE KITTY & FRENCHIE TEA TOWEL/OVEN MITT

ton. Hanging hook. $14.00 each. Oven Mitt- 12”. Cotton com

BORN TO BE QUEEN POTHOLDER & OVEN MITT

PACERS APPAREL COLLECTION

SIX-PACK OF WINE

MAKE IT A SUITE NEW YEAR

Capital One Arena’s private suites offer diverse business development opportunities and make a memorable Year.

Explore suite opportunities at capitalonearenasuites. com.

FRESHFARM DUPONT CIRCLE

Sunday Market has a wide array of locally grown produce and locally produced products for everyone. It is farm.org/markets/dupont-circle for more information.

For the runners and athletes on your list, D.C.’s Pacers offers a new 202 line called “Athlete Sizing.” Athlete Sizing ranges from 1-8 and was built to adapt to more body types than a traditional linear size chart. Shop your favorite 2:02 pieces and refer to the size chart on the product page to visit runpacers.com/collections/202-collection.

Cost is $125 for a six-pack of three reds and three whites.

THEATER LOVERS

D.C.’s theater scene has rebounded from the pandemic and boasts so many options. The Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, and others offer subwebsites for options.

BUILD A BOX

Choose from a selection of local gift ideas and build your own personalized D.C. gift box, from tote bags to

CALENDAR |

Friday, December 16

Center Aging Friday Tea Time will be at 2 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, contact adamheller@thedccenter.org.

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Social” at 7 p.m. at Puro Gusto. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. Admission to the event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Saturday, December 17

Virtual Yoga Class with Jesse Z. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center’s website, providing their name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions they may have. The link to the class will be sent out at 6:00p.m. the day before the event.

LGBTQ People of Color Support Group will be at 1 p.m. on Zoom and in-person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. This peer support group is an outlet for LGBTQ people of color to come together and talk about anything affecting them in a space that strives to be safe and judgment-free. For more information and events for LGBTQ People of Color, visit thedccenter.org/ poc or facebook.com/centerpoc.

Sunday, December 18

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Coffee + Conversation” at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for those looking to make more friends in the LGBTQ+ community and trying to meet some new faces after two years of the pandemic. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

AfroCode DC will be at 3 p.m. at Decades DC. This event is an experience of non-stop music, dancing, and good vibes, and a crossover of genres and a fusion of cultures. Tickets cost $40 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Monday, December 19

Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10:00a.m. on Zoom. LGBT Older Adults — and friends — are invited to enjoy friendly conversations and to discuss any issues you might be dealing with. For more information, visit the Center Aging’s Facebook or Twitter.

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of theid, not 100% cis. For more information, visit www.genderqueerdc.org or Genderqueer’s Facebook page!

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Tuesday, December 20

BiRoundtable Discussion

DC Center for the LGBT Community. This monthly roundtable is an opportunity for people to gather to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as bi individuals in a private setting. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org.

GoGay DC

Good Cause” at 6 p.m. at Chadwicks. This event is a chance to mingle, socialize and share community spirit in a splendid setting. Admission is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, December 21

Job Club

a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term un-

resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email centercareers@thedccenter.org or visit thedccenter.org/ careers.

BookMen DC

This is an informal group of men who are inter-

details, visit BookMen’s website.

The DC Center’s Food Pantry Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email supportdesk@thedccenter.org or call 202-682-2245.

Thursday, December 22

“Wasted & Gay Thursdays” will be at 9 p.m. at Wasted Lounge. The event will be hosted by Nelly Nellz and there will be music by DJ Ro. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

“Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Extravaganza” will be at 10 p.m. at Abigail. Guests are encouraged to come out and party with the Iconic International House of Balenciaga as they celebrate another holiday season and enjoy community. There will be an ugly sweater contest with a cash prize and sounds by DJs Dave Thomm and Obie. Tickets cost $20 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Yappy Hour will be on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 12 p.m. at Winterfest.

OUT & ABOUT

Winterfest remains in full force

Events for Wunder Garten’s 6th Annual Winterfest are still underway at one of D.C.’s most enthralling beer gardens at 1101 First St., N.E.

A Night of 1,000 Santas will be on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. Guests are encouraged to come dressed as Santa, Mrs. Claus, an elf, a reindeer, anything or anyone, to dance the night away and celebrate the holidays. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Yappy Hour will be on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 12 p.m. This is a special day for the pups and their “hoomans” and perfect opportunity for the pups to get some treats and make new friends. Select beers cost $6 and there will be free pupucinnos with a purchase. This event is free and more details are on Eventbrite.

Trivia Mondays will be on Monday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. This event will be hosted by Mark Lloyd. Guests are encouraged to bring friends and test their knowledge to win prizes and glory. There will also be boozy cocktails, seasonal beers and themed decor. Tickets are free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

By PATRICK FOLLIARD

Stephen Sondheim’s darkly delightful “Into the Woods” puts a stimulating twist on what it means to live “happily ever after,” musically employing that old maxim to be careful what you wish for. Currently audiences can join on of the legendary composer’s more frequently produced musicals.

Superbly staged by director/choreographer Matthew Gardiner, Signature’s instantly engaging production opens with the Narrator (Christopher Bloch), looking like a country walker, as he happens upon the long-abanby discarded toys, wrecked walls, overgrown vines, and a fallen tree that’s crashed into the place.

utters “once upon a time” before a dozen or so recognizable fairytale characters crowd Lee Savage’s set singing a wonderfully lively and 15-minute-long title song prologue promising nearly three hours of adventure and unexpected introspection.

At the center of the action are the Baker (Jake Loewenthal) and his wife, a childless couple who’ve been cursed by a vengeful Witch (sung stunningly by Nova Y. Payton.) To undue the wicked spell, the couple must embark on a sort of high stakes scavenger hunt that takes them deep into the forest in search of a red cape, a strand of golden hair, a golden shoe, and a white cow.

Interweaving classic fairytales with an original story, librettist James Lapine conjures up two acts of charming farce followed by tragedy spurred by a pissed off Giant (angrily voiced by Phylicia Rashad of “Cosby Show” fame) who smashes onto the scene, thoughtlessly bulldozing everything in her path.

Drawn mostly from the Brothers Grimm, “Into the children’s bedtime stories get a little grisly — the stepsisters who hack off pieces of their feet attempting vainly to birds who peck out eyes on command – but here it’s all great fun.

Then, of course, there’s Sondheim’s music, a delectably accessible yet masterful score featuring classic tunes like “Last Midnight,” “No One is Alone,” and “Children Will Listucked away on an upper tier.

As the Baker, golden-throated Loewenthal skillfully plays straight man to a crew of amusing villagers portrayed by a squad of comedic actors including Alex De Bard as greedy Little Red Riding Hood, adorably dim Jack of beanstalk fame played by out actor David Merino, Sheri L. Edelen as Jack’s overbearing but caring mother, Vincent Kempski’s playboy Prince, and Maria Rizzo’s

eye-catching turn as a blinged-out broad of an evil Stepmother.

Other cast members include Simone Brown as Rapun-

than you’d imagine, and Kate Mariko Murray whose faithfully sympathetic Cinderella helps in anchoring the show.

For the performance I attended, the Baker’s Wife was played by Adelina Mitchell (covering for Erin Weaver). Mitchell, who ordinarily plays one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, did a marvelous job as one half of the fractious couple, unpredictably swinging from crabby to devilmay-care. A random sylvan meeting with Cinderella’s Prince quickly turns into a good time that doesn’t go unpunished.

Signature’s production boasts its own brand of fairytale

costume designer David I Reynoso’s beautifully made period togs including sumptuous Edwardian inspired

cheerfulness.

When the show premiered on Broadway in 1987, New York audiences interpreted the Giant as the specter of the AIDS epidemic, a theory with which Sondheim, who was gay and not unacquainted with psychoanalysis, emphatically disagreed. Despite the composer’s denial, the towering menace understandably might serve as a stand in for anything that ails society – just take your pick.

But don’t despair, the situation isn’t hopeless. If fate and some acquired wisdom cooperate, “happily ever after” can be what you make it.

Theatre. (Photo by Daniel Rader)

Awards season is in full swing

By JOHN PAUL KING

Ready or not, Hollywood’s annual awards season has arrived.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association – better known as the institution behind the annual Golden Globe Awards and undoubtedly eager to kick off their comeback after scandal, censure, and boycott sidelined them from the limelight last year – started the week with a pre-dawn Monday announcement the nominees for the 80th

For those who weren’t paying attention or simply don’t recall, the HFPA fell into a lack of diversity within its voting body and strongly suggesting numerous improwood heavy-hitters opted to boycott the Golden Globes – three-time winner Tom Cruise, for instance, returned his trophies in protest – and NBC, the network that hadtive non-ceremony on Twitter.

ity that makes that conclusion feel much less cut and dried.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Tár,” “The Whale,” “Babylon,” and “The Inspecinclude queer inclusive shows like “Ozark,” “Hacks,” “Euphoria,” “Better Call Saul,”

Ryan Murphy limited series that is arguably the most overtly queer title in the crop. -

-

Now, however, after implementing a self-imposed list of guidelines (including restructuring its voting body with a 50% increase in membership and a deliberate focus on diversity and BIPOC inclusion, along with reforms to limit and restrict giftsen Globes have been restored to favor, and are slated to return to NBC for the live

Whether or not the organization’s reforms will result in any meaningful change remains to be seen. Either way, the Globes — long seen as a precursor to the Oscars — are back in the awards game; and as always, the Blade is here to offer a queer perdisappointing; yet while it’s true that there are few openly queer people or directly

which the two are in a lesbian relationship.

As a relevant side note, Fraser has already vowed to boycott the ceremony, citing their work, as well.

While it’s true that straight performers are still earning accolades for “playing gay” evolving ideology around queer representation, the fact that they are sharing the spotlight with authentic queer nominees represents an unmistakable step forward.

On top of those points, it should not go unnoticed that queer comedian Jerrod Carmichael has been tapped to host the Golden Globes when they air in January.

content as to be ubiquitous. It will always matter for openly queer actors to be acknowledged for their work, it will always be important for some percentage of movies and shows to put queer stories front and center, and it will likely always be nec -

by the HFPA’s picks continues to hold, it might also be a little less necessary to keep such a tightly watched score card when it comes to being included.

Of course, it’s worth noting that the brilliant but hopelessly straight Martin Mc -

and any number of other strong, positive queer-centric titles. So perhaps, after all, it’s a little early to ease our pressure on the entertainment establishment; it might be doing better, but it still has a long way to go. Until it gets there, we’ll keep looking at awards season as a barometer for Hollywood’s evolution into a queer-friendlier place.

In that way, it seems the Golden Globes are still relevant, after all.

EVAN PETERS in ‘Monster — the Jeffrey Dahmer story.’ hoto o rtesy of et i

Lightning strikes twice with all-electric Ford

F-150 pickup

This dazzling eco-ride will take your breath away

By JOE PHILLIPS

Years ago as I was walking to work, a driver wielded his ginormous Ford F-150 pickup truck into a parking space barely big enough for a Mazda Miata. He then strode into

etiquette, let alone climate change.

A short time later, this urban cowboy was introduced as our new supervisor. My internal eye-rolling kicked in after learning he had three toddlers. I mean, how practical is a monster hauler—with its sky-high ground clearance and limited interior cargo room— when ferrying around a trio of rugrats?

But my haughty ’tude soon started to wane after learning he also had a minivan. This dude just couldn’t quit his F-150 because it was tough and “free spirited.” While I appreutilitarian and, well, no big whoop.

That is, until last week when I tested the all-new, all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning. This dazzling eco-ride took my breath away, blasting off from a standstill to 60 mph in four

Call it a jolt (or lightning bolt) to the senses, but now it’s my turn to be the total yahoo when it comes to a pickup.

FORD F-150 LIGHTNING

$52,000-$97,000

MPGe: 76 city/61 highway Range: up to 320 miles on a full charge 0 to 60 mph: as quick as 4.0 seconds

modish lunar rover.

During the past year, various all-electric pickups have gone from concept to reality. There’s the cartoonish-looking Rivian, with a smiley front end that looks like something out of a “Cars” movie, and the GMC Hummer EV, which could easily be mistaken for a

LIGHTNING

Enter the Ford F-150 Lightning, with its sprinkles of futuristic styling cues, including distinctive light bars atop both the grille and tailgate. While the overall design may not be as outre as a Rivian or Hummer, the Lightning still turns plenty of heads.

Most notable, the Lightning is very practical. A Rivian, for example, is 14.6 inches shorter so has less passenger and cargo room. A Hummer is seven inches wider, making it harder to navigate city streets. And both the Rivian and Hummer are taller than a Lightning, which—yikes!—can barely scooch under the clearance bar in a parking garage itself.

allowing you to conveniently stow gobs of gear underneath. There also are a few dividers to help keep cargo organized and prevent items from jostling around.

But perhaps the coolest feature is the “frunk,” or front trunk. This storage space—where the engine used to be—is an impressive 14.1 cubic feet. That’s enough room for two golf bags or three medium-sized suitcases. The funky frunk is also water-resistant, drainable, lockable and has four 120-volt outlets and two USB chargers. There’s even an emergency release latch, just like in a standard trunk. Best of all, the lid opens and closes electronically, with just two taps to the keyfob.ting ready to eat someone.

serve as a backup generator for up to three days.

The real excitement, though, is behind the wheel. Power comes from two electric mo-tery for more horsepower and torque, and this pickup handles just like a sports car. The instant acceleration—especially when stomping on the gas, er, throttle pedal—must be what it’s like when a spaceship rockets off the launch pad. Except in the Lightning, there’s no back-and-forth shuddering, and no noise. Everything’s perfectly, eerily quiet in the well-insulated cabin.

Many interior features in the Lightning are also in the snazzy Ford Mustang Mach-e crossover, including the optional 15-inch infotainment screen that looks and behaves like an iPad. Other pleasing add-ons include max-recline seats, hands-free driving system, Bang & Olufsen premium stereo and twin-panel moonroof.

For more than 40 years, the traditional gas-engine F-150 has reigned as the best-selling vehicle in America, so the Lightning is a big risk for Ford. Yet with stellar performance and boffo functionality, it’s hard to see this electrifying pickup losing the crown.

FORD F-150

Drag4Me Launch Party

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Photo of Amelia Workman and Michael Urie in the 2022 New York production of Jane Anger by Valerie Terranova.

Curb appeal is important in attracting buyers in this newly competitive market.

is founding CEO of Hammerberg & Associates, Inc. Reach him at 303-378-5526 or jeffhammerberg@gmail.com.

A look ahead at 2023 housing market

By JEFF HAMMERBERG

Without question, the housing market during the latter half of the pandemic was red hot. A combination of extremely low mortgage rates and limited inventory meant that homes were often sold as soon as they were listed. Bidding wars were common. It was not at all unheard of for multiple offers to come in well over asking price. In short, it was a home seller’s dream.

Now, as we head into 2023, the real estate forecast is rates mean that the market is slower. Understandably, this has left some sellers feeling worried – but there is still reason for optimism and plenty of steps that smart sellers can take to increase their chances of receiving great offers.

A FEW TIPS FOR SELLERS

If you’re thinking of selling your home in 2023, it’s understandable that you may be concerned that you’ve “missed the magic” of 2022, but these tips can help:

FIND A PROACTIVE REALTOR:

As with most situations in which you’re seeking to sell, marketing is important. Finding a Realtor who will be active and involved in promoting the sale of your home and communicating frequently will be essential. You may even want to consider getting in touch with a Realtor a few months before selling, in order to plan ahead for how best to promote your home and reach the most potential buyers. A proactive Realtor will know the market in your what you can do to make your home truly stand out in your area.

SET THE STAGE:

Staging is always important, but in a slower market, this is particularly true. To increase the chances of getting an optimal offer, show your home in optimal condition. Often, sellers worry that staging means spending too much extra money, but this isn’t necessarily true. In fact, more

might otherwise have received, absent the staging. Staging doesn’t have to be complicated, either – well-placed furniture, tasteful decor, and clean, well-lit rooms – these are small things that can go a long way toward increasing your chances of a good offer.

CONSIDER YOUR CURB APPEAL:

Considering curb appeal goes hand-in-hand with staging. It’s important to showcase your home’s interior – but

means that you want to ensure that your home is presentable and appealing from the exterior as well. Again, this doesn’t mean spending an excessive amount of money – it simply means taking care to ensure that your lawn is well-kept, that your trees and shrubs are trimmed, and that the exterior of your home is well-cared for.

BE WILLING TO NEGOTIATE:

The simple truth of the matter is that we are no longer in a market where sellers could list their home and sell it in a day without having to do much if any, negotiation on price or other conditions. In the 2023 market, it will be important to show a willing and open attitude to consider

able sales timelines, and to negotiate (within reason) on the sales price. Again this is where the true value of an experienced Realtor/negotiator comes in. Those sellers greatly increase their chances of a faster sale.

These are only a few tips of many. As a seller, you know your home best. Highlight its best attributes. Consider your community, and what potential buyers might be can work with you to help you reach your goals. At www. GayRealEstate.com, we’re here to help.

AT WWW.GAYREALESTATE.COM

WE ’ RE HERE FOR YOU

Regardless of whether you’re buying or selling a home in 2023, one thing is true – to achieve your real estate goals, you’ll need the assistance of an experienced real estate agent who can guide you through the process with the expert assistance you need. This can make all the difference between a smooth real estate experience and a stressful one, and at www.GayRealEstate.com, we believe you deserve only the best. That’s why we’re passionate about our mission of connecting LGBTQ home buyers and sellers across the country with talented, full-time professional LGBTQ+ friendly agents who know, stand behind, fully support and love their

reaching your real estate goals, there’s no day like today to get started. Get in touch with us soon and let us know how we can help.

JEFF HAMMERBERG

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