Washington Blade, Volume 54, Issue 15, April 14, 2023

First they came for the abortion pill. Is PrEP next? PAGE 12

Thank you to our sponsors and partners of the Washington Blade.

ADDRESS PO Box 53352

Washington DC 20009

PHONE

202-747-2077

E-MAIL news@washblade.com

INTERNET washingtonblade.com

PUBLISHED BY Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc.

PUBLISHER

LYNNE J. BROWN lbrown@washblade.com ext. 8075

EDITORIAL

EDITOR

KEVIN NAFF knaff@washblade.com ext. 8088 SR. NEWS REPORTER LOU CHIBBARO JR. lchibbaro@washblade.com ext. 8079

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT

CHRIS KANE ckane@washblade.com extg 8083

INTERNATIONAL NEWS EDITOR

MICHAEL K. LAVERS mlavers@washblade.com ext. 8093

POP CULTURE REPORTER

JOHN PAUL KING

PHOTO EDITOR

MICHAEL KEY mkey@washblade.com ext 8084

WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING

DANIEL ITAI, EDICIÓN CIENTONCE, QUORUM, WDG, STEPHANIE MONDRAGÓN, ISAAC AMEND , TINASHE CHINGARANDE, DUNIA ORELLANA, REPORTAR SIN MIEDO, PARKER PURIFOY, PETER ROSENSTEIN, MARK LEE, LATEEFAH WILLIAMS, KATE CLINTON, KATHI WOLFE, ERNESTO VALLE, YARIEL VALDÉS GONZÁLEZ, LYNARE ROBBINS, PHILIP VAN SLOOTEN, KATLEGO K. KOLANYANE-KESUPILE, KAELA ROEDER, TREMENDA NOTA, ALBERTO J. VALENTÍN, MAYKEL GONZÁLEZ VIVERO, ORGULLO LGBT. CO, ESTEBAN GUZMAN, ANDRÉS I. JOVÉ RODRÍGUEZ, WINTER HAWK CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION AZERCREATIVE.COM

SALES & ADMINISTRATION

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING

STEPHEN RUTGERS srutgers@washblade.com ext. 8077

SR. ACCT. EXECUTIVE BRIAN PITTS

bpitts@washblade.com ext. 8089

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATION

PHILLIP G. ROCKSTROH prockstroh@washblade.com ext. 8092

NATIONAL ADVERTISING

RIVENDELL MEDIA

212-242-6863; sales@rivendellmedia.com

Community Partners

For distribution, contact Lynne Brown at 202-747-2077, ext. 8075. Distributed by Southwest Distribution Inc.

All material in the Washington Blade is protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the Washington Blade. The sexual orientation of advertisers, photographers, writers and cartoonists published herein is neither inferred nor implied. The appearance of names or pictorial representation does not necessarily indicate the sexual orientation of that person or persons. Although the Washington Blade is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Unsolicited editorial material is accepted by the Washington Blade, but the paper cannot take responsibility for its return. The editors reserve the right to accept, reject or edit any submission. A single copy of the Washington Blade is available from authorized distribution points, to any individual within a 50-mile radius of Washington, D.C. Multiple copies are available from the Washington Blade office only. Call for rates. If you are unable to get to a convenient free distribution point, you may receive a 52-week mailed subscription for $195 per year or $5.00 per single issue. Checks or credit card orders can be sent to Phil Rockstroh at prockstroh@ washblade.com. Postmaster: Send address changes to the Washington Blade, PO BOX 53352 Washington, DC 20009. The Washington Blade is published weekly, on Friday, by Brown Naff Pitts Omnimedia, Inc. Rates for businesses/institutions are $450 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and additional mailing offices. Editorial positions of the Washington Blade are expressed in editorials and in editors’ notes as determined by the paper’s editors. Other opinions are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Washington Blade or its staff. To submit a letter or commentary: Letters should be fewer than 400 words; commentaries should be fewer than 750 words. Submissions may be edited for content and length, and must include a name, address and phone number for verification. Send submissions by e-mail to knaff@ washblade.com.

Team DC announces 2023 student-athlete scholarship recipients

Affirming honorees as courageous and proud LGBTQ youth

By WINTER HAWK

The Association of LGBTQ sports clubs in Greater Washington, known as Team DC, announced last month that seven students will receive the 2023 Team DC College Scholarship. These awards go to openly LGBTQ student-athletes graduating high school with plans to play a collegiate sport.

The program will also award Tia (TC) Clemmons the 2023 Clark Ray Horizon Award to recognize school staff who support LGBTQ student-athletes.

The nonprofit’s annual college scholarships award $2,000 to each recipient. Since 2008, Team DC has awarded 97 scholarships totaling $142,000.

“Not only does this provide critical financial support, but it affirms them as courageous and proud LGBTQ athletes,” Team DC’s website states.

Team DC works to make sports a more inclusive and safe environment for LGBTQ participants through college scholarships and programs that educate community members about the importance of athletic participation in promoting strong mental and physical health.

The scholarship also fosters discussions with coaches, educators, and school administrators about the challenges facing LGBTQ athletes. Recipients will be honored

Comings & Goings

Rev.

during the Night of Champions Awards Dinner on April 15.

“This year’s seven recipients are truly outstanding and demonstrate a combination of strong performance in the classroom and on the athletic field,” Rene Tiongquico, co-chair of the Team DC College Scholarship Committee,

said in Team DC’s press release. “This is also the most diverse group of students in memory and represent a cross section of sports throughout the DMV.”

The 2023 student recipients come from four high schools in D.C., two in Virginia, and one in Maryland. Clemmons, the staff recipient, is a track coach with D.C. public schools and currently works at Jackson-Reed High School in Northwest Washington.

“Clemmons has been a strong leader and role model for her students over many years,” said scholarship co-chair Charles Roth in the press release. “Coach TC understands the important role that sports plays in the development of young people to build confidence and self-worth. We are proud to support educators like her.”

The Clark Ray Horizon Award is named after the former executive director of the DC State Athletic Association who worked tirelessly in making sports a safe and welcoming place for LGBTQ competitors.

Donors or community members who want to attend the Night of Champions event to honor local LGBTQ sports leaders and scholarship recipients can purchase tickets on the organization’s website. Applications for the 2023 Scholarship Program will open on Sept. 15, 2023.

Gray named director of the Transgender History Initiative

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.

Congratulations to Christopher Wolf, elected board chair of the D.C. History Center. Upon his election Wolf said, “One thing that impresses me about the D.C. History Center is that it focuses on the history of all the people, including the LGBTQ+ community. As recently last weekend at the D.C. History Conference, the programming included stories of our LGBTQ+ history.”

Wolf is a fourth-generation Washingtonian who is enormously proud of his city. He is a retired law partner at Hogan Lovells US LLP and had a nearly four-decade career specializing in litigation, internet and privacy law. MSNBC called him “a pioneer in internet law.” He is the founder and board chair of the Future of Privacy Forum.

His extensive service on boards includes Food & Friends, National Symphony Orchestra, Capital Jewish Museum, Young Concert Artists, WETA Radio and Television, and the Washington Chorus. From 1989 to present, Wolf has been actively involved in the Anti-Defamation League, including as D.C. regional board chair and now

as a member of the National Board.

Wolf earned his bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College, and his JD from the W&L University, School of Law.

Congratulations also to Rev. Diedre D. Gray on her selection by the Rainbow History Project as director of the Transgender History Initiative (THI). This position is funded through a grant from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs specifically to document the history of trans people in the DMV.

Gray said, “I am honored to be a part of this historic moment to celebrate and document the important and historic contributions and experiences of her trans, non-binary and gender diverse family. I believe the project will help bring to light the amazing people from this community that otherwise may only exist at kitchen table talk and memorial services.” Gray is a Digital Crisis Supervisor for The Trevor Project as well as serving as the 11 a.m. Music Worship Director at Metropolitan Community Church, D.C. Gray formed a non-profit ‘Auntie’s Home’ in PG County in 2022. Its mission is to provide stable housing for transgender, gender diverse, and non-binary people experiencing homelessness, while connecting them to life-stabilizing opportunities.

Gray spent 10 years as a music educator in PG County Public Schools. She also served as Public Health Adviser and DMV Transgender Health Coordinator for the D.C. Health Department.

Team DC Scholarship Committee Co-Chair CHARLES ROTH speaks at last year’s Night Of Champions awards ceremony. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

CHRISTOPHER WOLF

REV. DIEDRE D. GRAY

Silver Spring man charged with assault of male victims he met on dating app

Police seek public’s help in locating additional victims

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

Police in Montgomery County, Md., announced on April 6 that they have arrested a 27-year-old Silver Spring man on assault and robbery charges after they identified him as the suspect who targeted two men he met on a dating app last October in separate incidents.

Police identified the suspect as Brandon Darryl Kane, who has been charged with two counts of robbery and one count of first-degree assault for allegedly targeting the two men he met on a dating app for armed robbery.

A statement released by Montgomery County police says the first of the two incidents occurred on Oct. 10, 2022, and the second incident occurred on Oct. 22, 2022.

“Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police – Third District Investigative Section – believe that there may be more victims and are asking for them to come forward,” the statement says.

The announcement by Montgomery County police of Kane’s arrest came one day before police in Takoma Park, Md., announced yet another similar incident took place on April 7. According to Takoma Park police, an unidentified male suspect who the victim met on social media “lured the victim to an isolated location where additional suspects were waiting to commit the robbery.”

One of the suspects was “armed with what appeared to be a white rifle with a scope and another suspect armed with a baseball bat,” the statement says. “The suspects demanded property from the victim to which he complied,” it says. “The suspects put the victim on the ground, tied his hands and told him to remain there until they were

gone,” the statement continues. “The suspects fled on foot in an unknown direction.”

It says the victim, who freed himself and called police, was not physically injured during the armed robbery incident.

“The suspects are described as Hispanic males, one approximately 5’9, thin, curly hair, clean shaven and last seen wearing a black sweater and black pants,” the Takoma Park police statement says, adding, “nothing further on the other two suspects.”

It calls on anyone with information about the incident or who may know the identity of one or more of the three suspects to call Takoma Park police at 301-270-1100.

The statement released by Montgomery County police says the first of the two victims in that jurisdiction reported meeting a man known to him as “Tommy” on a dating app. It says the two men spoke by phone and the victim paid for an Uber to pick up Kane and bring him to the victim’s residence.

“Following a disagreement, Kane physically assaulted and stole money from the victim,” the statement says.

It says the second male victim, who also met the man later identified as Kane on a dating app, told police he agreed to meet the man at an address given to him by that person.

“Shortly after arriving at the address given to him, the victim was physically assaulted by Kane, who then stole the victim’s wallet and forced the victim out of the apartment,” the police statement says.

Orange County, Va., board revokes funding for arts center over drag design class Equality Virginia calls action shameful retaliation

By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | lchibbaro@washblade.com

The Orange County, Va., Board of Supervisors last week released its proposed fiscal year 2024 budget that removes $9,000 in funding it approved last year for the nonprofit Arts Center In Orange in response to plans by the center to host a design class taught by a local drag performer.

According to Equality Virginia, the statewide LGBTQ rights organization, members of the Board of Supervisors “have specifically tied the revocation of funding to this planned event,” an action that Equality Virginia calls “harmful and insidious” and that follows attacks on drag shows and drag performers surfacing in many other states.

“Earlier this year, the same Board also voted to revoke a $4,500 matching grant from the Arts Center, which was allocated and approved in the prior year’s budget,” Equality Virginia says in an April 5 statement. “Both of these actions happened after the Arts Center planned an event with a local drag performer who was scheduled to teach a class on makeup, costuming and hairstyling,” the statement says.

News media outlets in the Orange County area have reported that the Arts Center in Orange “indefinitely” postponed the class by the drag performer after opposition by county board members and others first surfaced in January. Nick Morrow, a spokesperson for Equality Virginia, said the Board of Supervisors continued efforts to defund the Arts Center even though the “drag” class has never taken place.

In an April 4 story, the Orange County Review reports that

it obtained an email dated Jan. 18 in which Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Johnson expressed agreement with a constituent who requested that the county revoke its funding of the Arts Center because the planned class was to be taught by the drag performer.

The newspaper quoted the individual who wrote to Johnson asking that the funds be revoked as telling Johnson the revocation was needed to “protect children from adults who prey on them with sexually explicit agendas.” The newspaper reported, “Johnson said that he agreed with the individual’s comments and outlined the board’s plans to defund the center through the county’s budget process.”

The Orange County Review also reports that the Orange County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget at its April 18 meeting and a vote on the proposed budget was scheduled to take place one week later on April 25.

“As politicians across the country attack drag performers and drag shows, purposely spreading disinformation about what drag actually is, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is hopping on the political bandwagon,” said Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman in the group’s statement.

“It’s disappointing and sad,” Rahaman said. “Drag is not inherently harmful. Drag is not inherently insidious. But yanking funding and suppressing programming because

The police statement does not disclose how police identified the attacker in both cases in Montgomery County as Kane to enable them to arrest Kane about six months after the two incidents occurred. The statement also does not disclose the name of the dating app that Kane used to target his two victims.

Online Maryland court records show that Montgomery County police arrested Kane on or around Dec. 28, 2022, in what appears to be two unrelated incidents that occurred on Oct. 9, 2022, and Oct. 22, 2022. He was charged with robbery and first-degree assault in each of the two incidents.

Montgomery County police are urging anyone else who may have been a victim of Brandon Darryl Kane or who knows something about his attempts to target male victims through a dating app to call police at 240-7736870.

Sean Hickman, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C., said the department’s Special Liaison Branch, which includes the police LGBT Liaison Unit, is not aware of any similar incidents occurring in D.C. recently.

it doesn’t align with their narrow worldview is both harmful and insidious,” she said. “The Board should be ashamed of itself.”

When asked about the board’s decision to revoke funding for the Arts Center in Orange, Board of Supervisors Chair Johnson told the Orange County Review that the board has never attempted to tell any of the groups it funds how they should spend the funds they receive from the county.

But Johnson added, “as with any discretionary spending, the Board can choose to increase, decrease, or eliminate funding to any specific entity.”

The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine whether an official with Equality Virginia or representatives of other LGBTQ organizations or activists planned to speak at the April 18 public hearing before the Orange County Board of Supervisors in support of reinstating funding for the Arts Center.

Orange County is located about 30 miles west of Fredericksburg, Va. and about 15 miles south of Culpeper.

BRANDON DARRYL KANE

(Photo courtesy Montgomery County police)

Orange County Board of Supervisors (Photo public domain)

Maryland lawmakers finally pass sodomy law repeal Gov. Moore expected to sign measure in coming weeks

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

A bill that will repeal Maryland’s Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practices Act is among the measures that state lawmakers passed during this year’s legislative session that ended on Monday.

State Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Baltimore and Howard Counties)’s Senate Bill 54 passed in the Maryland Senate on Feb. 21 by a 34-11 vote margin. State Del. Anne Kaiser (D-Montgomery County)’s House Bill 209 passed in the Maryland House of Delegates on April 4 by a 115-13 vote margin.

Lam’s bill received final approval on April 5.

The General Assembly in 2020 repealed the law’s “sodomy” provision. A text of SB 54 notes its purpose is to repeal “the crime of unnatural or perverted sexual practice; and generally relating to sexual crimes.”

FreeState Justice Policy Coordinator Jamie Grace Alexander during a previous interview with the Washington Blade expressed optimism that lawmakers would repeal the statute this year.

“We are feeling hopeful that this is the year we can change that outdated and discriminatory law,” said Alexander. “We’ll be supporting Senator Lam’s office as he continues his advocacy on this issue.”

Lawmakers last month approved a bill — the Trans Health Equity Act — that would require Maryland’s Medicaid program to cover gender-affirming treatment for transgender people.

State Del. Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) introduced the bill in the state Senate.

Kaiser sponsored it in the state House of Delegates. State Dels. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County), Gabriel Acevero (D-Montgomery County), Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), Kris Fair (D-Frederick County), Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) and Ashanti Martínez (D-Prince George’s County) were among those who co-sponsored the bill.

“Requiring, beginning on Jan. 1, 2023, the Maryland Medical Assistance Program to provide gender-affirming treatment in a nondiscriminatory manner; requiring that the gender-affirming treatment be assessed according to

nondiscriminatory criteria that are consistent with current clinical standards; prohibiting the issuance of an adverse benefit determination related to gender-affirming treatment unless a certain experienced health care provider has reviewed and confirmed the appropriateness of the determination; etc.,” reads a summary of the bill.

FreeState Justice Philip Westry in a message to supporters described the measure’s passage as “a big deal.”

“As states across the country move in the wrong direction, Maryland is getting it right,” wrote Westry.

Wes Moore signed into law on Tuesday.

The governor has said he supports the Trans Health Equity Act and plans to sign it into law.

“It has taken years of advocacy and championship to get here, and I am so excited that SB 460-Trans Health Equity Act is headed to (Gov. Wes Moore),” tweeted Washington on March 30. “I am deeply grateful to all who have stood with me, and thank you colleagues, for passing SB 460.”

Moore spokesperson Brittany Marshall on Wednesday told the Blade in an emailed statement the Trans Health Equity Act “is one of those bills that will fundamentally alter the trajectory of the state and change lives.”

“It’s the product of years of advocacy, partnership and community – and Gov. Moore looks forward to signing the bill into law,” said Marshall.

Moore’s office has not announced when the governor will sign the Trans Health Equity Act and bill to repeal the Unnatural or Perverted Sexual Practices Act.

In the coming days, the governor will conduct a thorough and deliberate review of all the bills passed through the general assembly and will act with Marylanders best interests at the top of mind,” said Marshall.

Anti-trans athletes bill dies in committee

State Del. Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) in January introduced House Bill 359, or the Save Women’s Sports Act, that would have required “certain interscholastic and intramural junior varsity and varsity athletic teams or sports sponsored by certain schools to be expressly designated based on biological sex.”

A measure that renames Maryland’s Commission on LGBTQ Affairs to the Commission on LGBTQIA+ Affairs and increases the number of commissioners from 15 to 21 is among the more than 100 bills that Democratic Gov.

Sentencing postponed in D.C. gay murder case

The sentencing in D.C. Superior Court for a man who pleaded guilty on Feb. 3 to the Jan. 6, 2019, murder of gay corporate manager Vongell Lugo has been postponed from April 14 to Aug. 4 at the request of the attorney representing defendant Collin J. Potter.

Potter, who was 26 at the time of the murder, allegedly stabbed Lugo at least 45 times in the head, neck, and torso with a kitchen knife at Lugo’s apartment in Northwest D.C., according to police charging documents. The alleged stabbing took place shortly after Lugo invited Potter home after the two met at the Black Whiskey bar at 1410 14th St., N.W. on the night of the murder, the charging documents say.

Court documents show that Potter pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors in which a first-degree murder charge and multiple other charges were dropped. The plea deal also includes a commitment by prosecutors

with the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia to ask the judge to hand down a sentence of between 14 and 16 years of incarceration.

Under D.C. law, second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The plea deal offered by prosecutors, however, makes it clear that it will be up to Superior Court Judge Marisa Demeo, who’s presiding over the case, to decide what the sentence should be.

“Around 4:20 a.m. the defendant pulled Mr. Lugo’s naked body out into the hallway, where Mr. Lugo’s body was found and the defendant was discovered by Metropolitan Police Department officers, standing naked, uninjured, and covered in Mr. Lugo’s blood,” a document prepared by prosecutors and which Potter signed as part of the plea deal states.

Court records show police arrested Potter at the scene on Jan. 6, 2019, and he has been held in jail without bond since that time. The U.S. Attorney’s office has declined to

The measure, among other things, states “there are two biological sexes, female and male, and that a person’s sex is objectively determined by genetics and anatomy existing at the time of birth” and the “benefits that natural testosterone provides to male athletes are not diminished through the use of puberty blockers and cross–sex hormones.” HB 359, which also says that “having separate sex-specific teams furthers efforts to promote sex equality,” died in the House Ways and Means Committee.

say why prosecutors chose to offer the plea deal rather than take the case to trial on the first-degree murder charge.

Court observers have said prosecutors sometimes offer plea deals like this one when they are uncertain whether they can obtain a first-degree murder conviction from a jury in a trial. LOU

VONGELL LUGO was stabbed to death on Jan. 6, 2019. (Photo courtesy of GoFundMe)

Gov. WES MOORE is expected to sign the sodomy repeal bill soon. (Image via Twitter)

Judge’s nationwide abortion pill ban ‘could open the floodgates’ Medicines for gay, bi, and trans Americans could be next

By CHRISTOPHER KANE | ckane@washblade.com

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Monday that last week’s decision by a Texas court to ban the nationwide sale and distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone “could open the floodgates for other medications to be targeted and denied to people who need them.”

Following that ruling by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, American Medical Association President Jack Resneck raised similar concerns in a statement warning that “upending longstanding drug regulatory decisions by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)” would position “other drugs at risk of being subject to similar efforts.”

“You’re not talking about just mifepristone,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. “You’re talking about every kind of drug. You’re talking about our vaccines. You’re talking about insulin. You’re talking about the new Alzheimer’s drugs that may come on.”

Likewise, in an interview on Pod Save America that aired Tuesday, law professor Leah Litman agreed drugs like HIV medications, along with vaccines like those targeting HPV and COVID, or birth control pills, could be next.

Medicines for trans youth and adults, in some cases, have been targeted with legislation passed by conservative states to restrict access to guideline directed medically necessary interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

And last year, another Texas court ruled that employers can deny health coverage for PrEP, a medication used to prevent the transmission of HIV.

Ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, Kacsmaryk had issued a stay on the Food and Drug Administration’s conclusion that mifepristone is safe and effective, a finding the agency reached in 2000 that has since been buttressed by more than two decades of clinical evidence.

It was roundly denounced as unscientific, the product

of the judge’s longstanding and well documented ideological opposition to abortion.

The Biden administration was prepared for Kacsmaryk’s decision, Jean-Pierre said: Attorney General Merrick Garland immediately pledged the Justice Department to appeal and seek a stay (of Kacsmaryk’s ruling) pending the outcome of additional litigation. And then on Monday the Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to halt implementation of the ruling.

Other powerful legal actors had also been on notice. On Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of state attorneys general in challenging Kacsmaryk’s ruling with an amici brief filed to the 5th Circuit.

Casting additional uncertainty into the mix was a separate ruling, just hours after Kacsmaryk’s, by Judge Thomas Rice of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, who ordered the FDA to make no changes to the availability of mifepristone.

The case in Washington was brought by attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia in anticipation of Kacsmaryk’s ruling, and the split decision means the matter is likely to be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Some legal observers have speculated that the Biden administration may be pushing for this outcome, hedging that even with its 6-3 conservative supermajority the justices are likely to reject Kacsmaryk’s analysis of the relevant facts on substantive or procedural grounds.

Still, and notwithstanding the fate of other medications or vaccines in the hands of Kacsmaryk or his ideological allies on the federal bench, the Texas court’s ruling raises other major questions.

For example, can a federal judge circumvent the congressionally ordained power of America’s federal administrative agencies? If so, under which circumstances? How about the practice of forum shopping, by which litigants deliberately move to have their cases adjudicated by judges they expect will be most sympathetic? And what will all of this uncertainty mean for the global biopharmaceutical industry and the future of drug discovery

in America?

One solution that was proposed by at least two Democratic members of Congress, Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.): the Biden administration should simply ignore Kacsmaryk’s ruling.

“I believe the Food and Drug Administration has the authority to ignore this ruling, which is why I’m again calling on President Biden and the FDA to do just that,” Wyden said in a statement Friday.

“If they don’t,” warned the senator, “the consequences of banning the most common method of abortion in every single state will be devastating.”

“The courts rely on the legitimacy of their rulings, and what they are currently doing is engaging in an unprecedented erosion of their legitimacy,” Ocasio-Cortez told Anderson Cooper during an interview on CNN Friday.

On Monday, the White House circulated an open industry letter signed by more than 200 pharmaceutical industry executives, which echoed criticisms of Kacsmaryk’s ruling that noted his lack of formal education or training in science or medicine.

The executives’ letter also argued the decision presents systemic risks to the drug discovery pipeline.

“As an industry we count on the FDA’s autonomy and authority to bring new medicines to patients under a reliable regulatory process for drug evaluation and approval,” the group wrote.

“Adding regulatory uncertainty to the already inherently risky work of discovering and developing new medicines will likely have the effect of reducing incentives for investment, endangering the innovation that characterizes our industry.”

Judge MATTHEW KACSMARYKO’s ruling would ban the nationwide sale and distribution of the abortion pill mifepristone. (Screen capture via YouTube)

TURN-KEY & FURNISHED 3 BR/3.5BA TOWNHOME IN REHOBOTH BEACH!

Eastof Coastal Hwywithdirectcommunityaccessto Breakwater Junction Bike Trail! Only a shortbikerideto Rehoboth Beach, the Boardwalk, and Downtown! Featuresinclude 9’ ceilings, granitecounters, stainlesssteelappliances, and a onegarage! Soldfurnishedand availablefor Summer!

COASTAL STYLE PERFECTION!

Looknofurther, you’vefoundyourhomebythesea! Fullyupgradedwithevery box checked, this 4+ bedroomhomedeliversonstyle & amenities. Tastefularchitecturalenhancements includecofferedceilings, 10’ footceilings & artfulwalls. Only minutestothebeach!

ESCAPE TO THE CAPE!!

Thisbeautifullyupdated 4-bedroom, 3 fullbathand 2 halfbath Cape Shoreshomewelcomes you justbeforethestartofthesummerseason. Perfecttouseas a primaryhome, secondaryhome, orrentalproperty - thishomehasbeenestimatedtogrossover $100k inrentalincome annually, ifexposedtothesummerweeklyrentalmarket.

TOTALLY LEWES!

Walkorbiketo Lewes’ vibrantdowntownshops/diningandthebeachfromthischarming historic 3 BR homewith a separatestudio/guestsuitewithhalfbath, outdoorshower, andheating/AC. Thebackyardoasisfeaturesmaturelandscaping, largedeck, stonepatio/driveway, dippingpoolwithwaterfallandoff-streetparking! A mustsee!

113 W 4th St., Lewes, DE | MLS: DESU2039142 | $1,325,000

107 W Cape Shores Drive, Lewes, DE | MLS: DESU2039266 | $1,750,000

40 athletes urge Congress to drop proposed trans sports ban

A group of 40 prominent athletes including soccer player Megan Rapinoe and boxer Patricio Manuel signed a letter Monday urging lawmakers to drop a proposal introduced by House Republicans to ban transgender and intersex women and girls from playing on school sports teams.

The letter was issued by Athlete Ally, a nonprofit group that works towards creating more LGBTQ-inclusive athletic environments, just as momentum seems to be building for a federal proposal modeled after statewide bans that exclude trans and intersex women and girls from competing.

“Right now, transgender and intersex human rights are under attack,” the letter states, “with politicians in Washington, D.C., pushing forward H.R. 734, the so-called ‘Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act,’ which would stipulate that Title IX compliance requires banning trans-

gender and intersex girls and women from participating in sports.”

“If this bill passes, transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities,” the letter continues. “Furthermore, the policing of who can and cannot play school sports will very likely lead to the policing of the bodies of all girls, including cisgender girls.”

The legislation was intro-

Florida lawmaker calls trans people

During testimony Monday in front of the Florida House Commerce Committee, state Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-Deltona) unleashed a transphobic rant at transgender Floridians who traveled from across the state to testify in a committee hearing on the trans bathroom ban bill (House Bill 1521), and other members of the audience in the hearing room.

Barnaby addressed those present in the hearing room stating that trans people as “mutants, demons and imps.”

“I’m looking at society today and it’s like I’m watching an X-Men movie with people that when you watch the X-Men movies or Marvel Comics — it’s like we mutants living among us on planet Earth. And, you know, some people don’t like that, but that’s a fact. We have people

that live among us today on planet Earth that are happy to display themselves as if they were mutants from another planet.

“This is the planet Earth, where God created men male and women female. I’m a proud Christian, conservative, Republican. I’m not on the fence. There is so much darkness in our world today, so much evil in our world today, and so many people who are free to address the evil, the dysphoria, the dysfunction. I’m not afraid to address the dysphoria or the dysfunction.

“The Lord rebuke you Satan, and all of your demons and all of your imps who come and parade before us. That’s right, I called you demons and imps who come and parade before us and pretend that you are part of this world. So I’m saying my righteous indignation is stirred. I’m sick and tired of this.

“I’m not going to put up with this. You can test me and try and take me on, but I promise you I’ll win every time. Let’s all vote up on this bill, thank you.”

Texting with the Washington Blade Monday evening, Brandon Wolf, the press secretary for Equality Florida, said: “We have people placing calls to his office demand-

‘mutants’

duced in February by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.). A markup session was held in March, and on April 6, the House Rules Committee announced it may meet during the week of April 17 to provide for floor consideration of the proposal. According to the Movement Advancement Project, 20 U.S. states now have laws barring trans students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

ing he resign, but let’s face it: He’s just saying the quiet part out loud. This transphobic vitriol is what’s at the core of all these policies. And the DeSantis agenda is designed to empower and embolden the bigotry.”

In a statement issued earlier, Equality Florida pointed out the Republican Committee Chair Bob Rommel allowed the tirade to continue without challenge, sitting silently as Barnaby unleashed his abuse on those in the hearing room.

“Today, parents and children, many of whom traveled hours to share their stories, had to listen to GOP state Rep. Barnaby slander the transgender community from the dais. And Republican leadership in the room refused to put a stop to it. This hideous bigotry has always been at the root of the wave of anti-LGBTQ hysteria sweeping our state. The agenda of DeSantis and his legislative cronies has always been aimed at empowering this brand of bigotry and dehumanizing the LGBTQ community. Shame on Rep. Barnaby for spewing his transphobic vitriol. And shame on Chair Rommel for sitting idly by and allowing it to happen.”

BRODY LEVESQUE

Kansas Republicans override guv’s veto of anti-trans bill

The Republican majority Kansas Legislature was able to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill banning transgender girls and women from girls and women’s sports at public schools and colleges.

The state Senate with a 28-12 vote on April 5 passed through Senate Bill 160 known as the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. The House of Representatives had previously voted 84-40. Both reached the two-thirds majority needed for an override. Last year an effort to ban trans athletes from women’s sports failed after the House fell short on an attempt to override Kelly’s veto.

“The Fairness in Women’s Sports act protects the rights of female athletes in the state by requiring that female student athletic teams only include members who are biologically female,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins said in a statement after overriding the veto. “House Republicans are united in our commitment to defending the intention of Title IX.”

In an interview with KCUR, the governor said, “It breaks

my heart. I’m sorry that they distracted themselves with this really awful bill.”

The override by Republicans caps a 3-year battle to try to enact the ban.

Kelly has vetoed similar legislation in the last two years. Kansas News Service reporters Dylan Lysen, Blaise Mesa, Samantha Horton reported that the newly enacted law will not lead to a widespread change in Kansas.

Jeremy Holaday, a spokesperson for the Kansas State High School Activities Association, said of the 106,000 students participating in the organization’s sports and activities, only three are trans girls.

Two of those trans girls are set to graduate this spring. That means only one of the students currently participating in Kansas high school activities will be impacted when the law goes into effect in July.

KSHSAA uses a policy that allows schools to consider each case of trans youth participating in gender-specific activities on an individual basis. The student’s school ul-

timately makes the decision.

“We believe it has worked for our member schools,” Holaday said. “If the state legislature gives us new direction, then we will adjust accordingly.”

Democratic state Rep. Jerry Stogsdill of Wichita warned the bill may lead to businesses and sporting events — like the NCAA’s national tournaments — shunning the state.

“We have put targets on the backs of some of our most vulnerable citizens,” Stogsdill said. “As a proud Kansan, I’m ashamed.”

The bill is one of several measures the Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature is pursuing that limits trans rights.

Lawmakers also approved a bill known as the Women’s Bill of Rights that bars trans women from bathrooms, shelters and other spaces designated for women. Kelly is expected to veto that bill too.

BRODY LEVESQUE

U.S. Rep. MARK POCAN (D-Wis.) speaks at the U.S. Capitol for a March 8 rally opposing a federal sports ban. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

Florida state Rep. WEBSTER BARNABY (R-Deltona) (YouTube screenshot)

&DR.KELLANE.BAKER(WHITMAN-WALKER)

RANDY MARKS

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Capitol Hill:

Faith in inclusion

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (stmarks.net) is the Episcopal Church closest to the United States Capitol building. In the last decade, it is perhaps best known for hosting the annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence, the most recent of which President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke on Dec. 7.

The church is less well known as a “straight” faith community that has provided a home for LGBTQ people since the late 1980s, when “faith community” often meant “homophobia.” LGBTQ people have always been a minority of members, but have never felt like a minority because being queer is just like being a lawyer: an interesting fact that does not define us. Perhaps the definin characteristic of St. Mark’s is that we live our faith by telling and listening to our stories. Here following are several that illustrate that point.

For example, Keith Krueger started coming to St. Mark’s in the mid-1980s and found a welcomin mostl strai ht communit . urin the start of the cri sis, St. Mark’s immediately stepped up to support the Episcopal Caring Response to AIDS (ECRA), and the community particularl supported m late partner in me durin difficult times . stay because it is a community that values questioning and living together as we journey through life. The best part of St. Mark’s are its members who strive to create a tolerant and open world,” Krueger said.

John Lineberger, a long-standing member who recently died, too adult confirmation in where ever one was invited to be “authentic,” and share their story. He asked the clergy how welcome gays were at the church and told they had held every office of authorit but a issues were not tal ed about. o he asked if that meant “you have a place here, but don’t make trouble.”

That question sparked a loud, overheard discussion between the Rector and Associate Rector, and he was then told, “You are absolutely invited to be honest about your life here with us without exception. There is no disconnect between being a member of St. Mark’s and being gay.” John was relieved, and felt like he had been overhearing his parents having an argument. “I liked the people of St. Marks and didn’t want to have to go back to church shopping. I had found home. Maybe it was messy, but it was home,” Lineberger wrote.

ob all s first unda was in on the th anniversar of the church on the invitation of a straight work friend. He was closeted then because he came from a southern tradition and was involved in Democratic politics. He found that “St. Mark’s was the perfect place for me to find m path as a pro ressive hristian and to help guide me spiritually as I came out while serving on the Vestry (the Church’s governing board) “with the help of great friends, compassionate clergy, and a good therapist.”

One of the clearest signs of queer acceptance came in 1997. Jim Adams had retired and we were in the search/discernment period for our next rector. Interestingly, our Priest-in-Charge during the search was Jim Steen, an openly gay man. The race

for Senior Warden (lay leader of the Vestry and Parish) was probably the most consequential election in parish history. One candidate was a pillar of the community and former senior warden who advocated for continuity, including possibly installing as Rector the most recent Associate Rector Susan Gresinger (who had recently departed so she could be considered). Rob was the other and told the community that he favored an open process and wanted to see the work of the search committee. The questions parishioners asked him showed that they realized he represented change. Rob remembers that, “My sexuality was brought up in every single conversation. . . . I would be St. Mark’s first a senior warden servin with a a interim priest. ould the community think we were becoming a gay church ould ta e the parish in another direc tion before a new rector could be installed t was I too young to take the helm of the parish?”

Rob won and led us through a period of change, including calling an African-American rector, Paul Abernathy, who would serve for the next 17 years (and sometimes included in his sermons that his a brother had died of . n the parish after a series of meetings, also decided to embrace same-sex unions. t the final meetin about of us were rouped in ta bles who talked and then reported to the rest of meeting. What was amazing was that virtually every comment was positive. One parishioner quipped during one of those meetings that “ We alread decided this issue when we elected ob.

Lesbian Belle Elizabeth McCain (https://alesbianbelletells. com/) came to St. Mark’s in 1989. She came at Rob Hall’s invitation and thou h she identified as strai ht she was naturall welcomed by the gay men in the choir. “We were preparing to go on a tour in England and I came out at the choir retreat. Actually, somebody sort of outed me by saying ‘We hear there is a lesbian soprano.’” She says she has always felt accepted as a lesbian at St. Mark’s. “Jim Adams defended me to my homophobic and fundamentalist brother” telling my brother that “I was a respected member of the church and that I was accepted as a lesbian.”

Years ago, she recalls, LGBTQ members formed the Lavender Lions (now the Lambda Lions). The group continues to meet on a sporadic basis. The parish now has several gay couples who are parenting children, at least two couples engaged and planning weddings.

As for me, I came — and came out —- much later. I was a married “straight” man when my then-wife and I came to St. Mark’s. fter a horrible divorce finall fi ured out am a in 2 . don’t really think about being gay at St. Mark’s because there are so many of us in so many roles, including our Rector, Michele Morgan, a married lesbian, and our Seminarian, Joel Martinez, a married gay man. I’m now the church’s treasurer, continuing the tradition of LGBTQ people in church leadership roles.

For more information about St. Marks, visit stmarks.net; a timeline regarding its LGBTQ+ inclusion is at https://www.stmarks. net/lgbtq-and-st-marks-history/.

(Image via St. Mark’s Episcopal ChurchCapitol Hill Facebook)

‘Members strive to create a tolerant and open world’

CHRISTINE ROLAND GARNER

(703) 587-4855

For additional photos & information: www.ChristineGarner.com

A timeless home filled with modern conveniences, coupled with the charm of yesteryear, Hunter Mews is one of Old Town Alexandria’s few single-family homes nestled on one of its oldest streets. A true rarity that is seen through two conventional lenses—the classic look and feel of Old Town from the exterior, yet young and new throughout the interior—this home awaits you as you pass through its gates. This gracious home built on land originally owned by John Hunter, one of Alexandria’s first Trustees, is an excellent example of recent architecture accurately blending with its historic neighbors. The site was first used by John Hunter and Thomas Fleming as a ship building yard from 1763 through the 1780’s and later for a carriage house. The site had no dwellings until 1889, when the land records note there were two dwellings. By 1987 only a small portion of one of these homes remained when construction on the present structure began. The present owners have renovated it with painstaking attention to detail.

Upon entering the home you will be welcomed by the entry foyer, which shows a custom leaded glass detailed front door, marble floor, English wool custom carpeting and dentil molding. You will immediately notice the open concept and meticulous attention to detail with the use of color and texture throughout. The main living room radiates from the natural light that shines through a full bank of windows across the room. A custom marble mantle sits at its center, across from a built-in wet bar. The gourmet kitchen has been renovated with brand-new appliances to include a Sub-Zero refrigerator/freezer, wine cooler, oversized deep sink, smart double oven, ice machine, under cabinet lighting, quartz countertops and center island. The light-filled breakfast/family room has a 20ft wall of floor to ceiling windows which look out to meticulous gardens with plush plantings. Additional features of the main level include a butler’s pantry adjacent to the kitchen with ample cabinets for storage and counter space, powder room, formal dining room with built in window seat, a study/home office as well as a library with floor to ceiling book cases and a hand painted 1800’s map of the world on the ceiling.

Whether it’s walking up the custom wainscot staircase or, taking the three-floor elevator with a working antique British phone, the second floor exudes both personality and elegance. The primary bedroom offers the perfect space to unwind, as it has a gas fireplace with black and gold select marble surround & custom cabinetry and wood, floor to ceiling wall of windows, vaulted ceilings with built-in speakers and cove lighting. Add extra privacy with remote-controlled Hunter Douglas Silhouettes. The primary bathroom has marble and solid brass fixtures, complete with a jacuzzi tub and spa shower. The upper level also includes four additional bedrooms that have been extensively renovated, each a warm study in color and

textures, two full baths, a laundry chute that connects to the laundry room on the lower level. A well appointed roof deck is accessible from 2 rooms and overlooks the private gardens.

A second beautifully crafted staircase takes you to the lower level that is an entertainer’s dream. A custom mahogany wet bar with wine rack storage for over 400 bottles is the centerpiece of the room, along with a gas fireplace with double arched brick hearth, and welled windows for natural light. Tucked around the corner, as you walk through a welled entrance and onto hickory wood flooring, sits an exquisite office with a full wall of custom-made cabinetry and double closets. This multi-purpose room is perfectly designed for a workout/craft room. The lower level also features a large bedroom suite with an abundance of closet space, a built-in day bed, and a full bathroom, an area that could serve as an additional guest bedroom or an au-pair suite. Dedicated laundry room with high efficiency appliances, deep cast iron sink, cabinetry for storage, laundry chute and folding area.

Step outside and you are transported into your very own sanctuary, giving you the luxury of entertaining and privacy. The backyard has a built-in gas grill with electronic ignition, a pond with interior light, three filters and a recirculating pump. Enjoy outdoor entertaining and al fresco dining! A nine-zone irrigation system—including the deck—landscape lighting and eight exterior lanterns placed throughout. Custom Adams caseworks surrounds the entire exterior, along with aluminum gutters, and a solid steel roof that has been factory finished and equipped with snow guards. The home also comes with state-of-the-art security features and an attached garage with additional storage and custom floor finish.

So come in, stay awhile, and fall in love as this gracious piece of charm, elegance and history welcomes you home.

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

I listened to some of Donald Trump’s speech from Mar-a-Lago after he returned from being arrested in New York. It only confirmed my belief that he is a very sick man. If Ronald Reagan hadn’t caused the closure of all the mental health facilities across the nation, Trump would be in one.

He appears to believe all the BS he spouts. It was hard to keep up with all the lies. I only watch cable entertainment when they cover a live event. In this case it was Trump’s speech on CNN. I kept thinking, why don’t they cut away and fact check his rantings? They finally did, but only mentioned a few of the lies, letting him get away with so many others. One of the things I noticed, and sure it gave his lawyers massive heartburn, was he admitted he took the top-secret documents to Mar-aLago intentionally. It is my understanding, one of the things Jack Smith, the Special Counsel, is trying to prove about this case is intent. He now has Trump on tape admitting it. Totally bizarre.

He mentioned people in the audience to hear him and it was a list of crazies, including his two older sons; Keri Lake, the fruitcake who lost the governor’s race in Arizona; and the psycho, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Then there was also pillow guy, Mike Lindell, a total nutcase. One face missing was Ivanka. These days she continues to try to separate herself from his craziness, but it’s too late for redemption.

As a member of the LGBTQ community I have a particular antipathy for Trump. While he rarely mentions the LGBTQ community in his rantings, his reelection would be a clear threat to the community. It is his party, the Party of Trump, once the Republican Party, that is introducing hundreds of offensive bills in state legislatures across the nation. Already in 2023 hundreds of bills attacking the transgender community, drag queens, the rights of teachers to teach about the community, or even mention the word gay. Schools are banning books about LGBTQ families. All this happening because of the culture wars Trump supports and encourages. As I have written, the LGBTQ community must unite with women, African Americans, and other minorities, all being attacked, if we are to defeat Trumpers, the Republican Party, across the nation. If we don’t, we will be amazed at how quickly we lose all the hard fought gains we have made.

There are those like disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and his brother Chris, who are now attacking Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for bringing the case in New York. Among their claims is the case is not important enough. After all, what’s the big deal, paying off a couple of women, and a doorman and falsifying tax records. That view is offensive in so many ways.

They should file every charge you can think of against the sick SOB, calling him out on every crime he has ever committed, and there are too many to count. Some are comparing this to the John Edwards case. Pamala Brown on CNN even interviewed the foreman of the Edwards’ jury. There are so many differences in the cases, including the Edwards case was federal and the Trump case is a state case. Then she neglected to put his views into context, not asking his political persuasion and allowed him to talk about one possible witness, Michael Cohen, without mentioning another possible major witness, David Pecker, who has never been convicted of anything. Finally, she glossed over the fact the Edwards case ended in a mistrial. That likely won’t happen with Trump in New York if the case does go to trial.

Even respected Washington Post columnist, Ruth Marcus, is writing columns leaving out important information. She claims to know it’s a weak case, and left out the name of the first and last witness the grand jury heard, Pecker. Recognized Trump expert, New York Times columnist Maggie Haberman, admitted she learned something new about Pecker that may influence the case, when she found he was invited to the Oval Office by Trump to thank him for his help in the issues Trump is being charged with.

Any case that can bring down Trump, whether it is this one, the E. Jean Carroll rape trial, or future indictments, will benefit every person in the country, including those Trumpers who don’t understand that yet.

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago speech confirms he is a very sick man Prosecutors must pursue every case they can against this criminal

Seven layers of décor hin furniture paint oorin fabrics and more

By VALERIE M. BLAKE

Before there were Chip and Joanna Gaines and the Property Brothers, the name Christopher Lowell was synonymous with interior design and home décor. I fell in love with him in 2 and his first boo even a ers of esi n became m decoratin bible

Lowell’s seven layers, in his preferred order, include paint and architecture oorin up holstered furniture accent fabrics non uphol stered furniture, accessories, and plants and lighting.

n a world of s uare bo condos and tract subdivisions addin architecture to a home s interior lets your personality and creativity shine through. Crown molding is a popular addition hair rail moldin wor s in a dinin room he s inn clamshell baseboards of the s be to be e chan ed for taller more substantial ones

Perhaps you want an arched doorway or an inset noo to showcase artwor ou can chan e a fireplace mantel open a itchen pass-through, or even install an in-wall electric fireplace that creates ambiance without the chimney or wood.

hin about removin a curtain wall to open the space and let in natural light or buildin in a boo case or wine or coffee bar Be sure to install any electrical wiring that will be needed down the road for recessed li ht

ing, wall sconces, ceiling fans, and televisions. Once your architectural changes are made and our walls ceilin s and trim have been sanded and primed, create your paint palette. rea out our inner arhol with bold colors use a monochromatic, neutral palette with an accent shade on one wall, or go traditional with white ceilings, doors, and casing to highlight walls painted in a hue you love. i bo stores now offer lar e samples of paint colors that ou can stic to the walls to et a better idea of how a color will loo in your home as the light changes from day to evening. Today’s wallpaper also affords an opportunit to e periment with an accent wall. Once you have your palette, paint ceilin s first then walls then trim to avoid drips on oors and furnishin s

he ne t sta e in our d cor is determin ing whether you’re replacing your current oorin f so ou can choose a replacement from many options, including hardwood, enineered wood laminate lu ur vin l tile and carpet f our oor needs refreshin but ou can’t replace it all, then consider layering area rugs to hide worn spots, scratches, or stains from our last fabulous part electin upholstered furniture can be daunting. The standard, must-have living room piece is still a three seat sofa but it

doesn t have to be ome of us live in small spaces and can achieve a better use of space with two loveseats or even four easy chairs facing each other to promote conversation.

There is an endless supply of upholstery to choose from, including velvet or chenille (soft to the touch microfiber easier to clean and leather which ets better with a e onsider ids and pets when choosin a fabric and a color his will be our anchor piece and can be accented with different fabrics as our mood or the seasons chan e on t be afraid to mi patterns but adhere to a three color plan a base color an accent fabric and a pop of a third color or pattern.

Unless you have an art deco room reminiscent of the 1920s, heavy draperies with valances ma not be our first choice for how to use our accent fabrics but ou can use them on curtains & Roman shades, on side chairs and dining chairs, and on pillows, poufs and throws.

on upholstered furniture can be made of wood metal manmade substances such as the melamine prevalent at ea and more hese are our tables dressers buffets bed frames boo cases and stora e pieces on t be afraid to mi metals or to use different wood stains together. Matchy-matchy is out. hen it comes to choosin accessories

o wild elect from paintin s candles vas es and bowls stac s of boo s our rand mother’s Hummel collection, or anything else that hangs on a wall or sits on a surface. Accessories may come from high-end retail stores, anti ue marts ea mar ets or an where our e e spies somethin ou li e ust don t over load your room or you may end up on the ne t episode of oarders

ou ll need tas accent and ambient li ht in so table and oor lamps overhead li hts and chandeliers must be on our list as well r usin a strip of li hts under itchen cabinets or a spotli ht to emphasi e a favor ite treasure. Finally, round out your décor with fresh owers and real plants e authentic plastic ones just won’t do.

VALERIE M. BLAKE is a licensed Associate Broker in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia with RLAH Real Estate / @properties. Call or text her at 202-246-8602, email her via www.DCHomeQuest.com, or follow her on Facebook at TheRealst8ofAffairs.

Today’s wallpaper affords an opportunity to experiment with an accent wall.

Now is the time to prep lawn, garden for warm weather

Raking leaves, pulling weeds will beautify your home all season long

By STATEPOINT

(StatePoint) — Warm weather has arrived so you should already be getting your lawn and garden spring-ready, according to experts.

“One thing I don’t think people realize is that to get your grass, shrubs and other plants looking good …all that preparation starts right now,” says Major League Fishing bass pro, Brian Latimer, or “Blat” as he is known by fans.

To help homeowners prep for spring, Latimer has partnered with lawn care equipment manufacturer, Exmark, to offer his four, go-to tips:

1. Pull Those Weeds.

According to Latimer, the most important step in prepping your lawn and garden for spring is weeding. “I have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to weeds,” he says. “Watch those sneaky weeds growing in your shrubs and ground covers, because those are going to be the first ones that show their heads in the spring.”

While weeding isn’t the most fun you can have in your yard, it’s worth the effort. Latimer also recommends putting a pre-emergent out while cool-season weeds germinate. This is especially important if you have warm-season grass. While you can use pre-emergent on your planting beds as well, he recommends hand-pulling them if you can.

2. Tidy up with Selective Pruning.

Pruning will make your shrubs look nice and tidy, however Latimer recommends being careful in your efforts, avoiding plants that are budding. Pruning buds will keep your

flowers from being as prolific in the springtime. You can check for buds by combing your hands through the foliage.

3. Get Rid of Pests.

Certain spring pests should be treated for in the colder months. Latimer is especially wary of fire ants, as they’re one of the most active lawn pests in spring. Treating them early will minimize their activity and mitigate potential problems they cause when the weather warms up. “I can promise you they are going to be everywhere in warm weather, so treat them now,” he says.

4. Get Those Leaves up.

Latimer knows that leaf blowing or raking is time consuming, but he says that getting fallen leaves off the ground is essential. Not only are leaves on your lawn an eyesore, but they can also keep a lot of excess moisture from winter rain, snow and ice stuck in your soil. This creates the potential for root rot, active pests and germinating weeds.

Latimer offers more insights in “4 Tips to Prep Your Backyard for Spring,” a recent video from Exmark. To watch the video, visit Backyard Life, which is part of a unique multimedia destination with a focus on helping homeowners make the most of outdoor spaces. There you can also download additional tips and view other Exmark videos. There’s no time like the present to plan for the future. With these great tips in mind, it’s time to brave the brisk weather and get your lawn and garden prepped for spring.

Now is the time to prep your yard for the coming summer.

Renowned historian Martin Duberman reflects on a full life in ‘Reaching Ninety’ New memoir looks back at Stonewall, efforts to ‘cure’ homosexuality

By KATHI WOLFE

Renowned queer historian, playwright, author and LGBTQ activist Martin Duberman, 93, began writing stories when he was four. “They still exist,” Duberman, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at City University of New York (CUNY), told the Blade in a telephone interview. “They’re with my papers at the New York Public Library.”

Duberman doesn’t understand what drove him to create. “I’d write these moralistic tales,” he said, “hand-sewn inside covers. About how Alice learned to do what her mother told her to do.”

Duberman who has written some two dozen books as well as plays, hasn’t stopped writing.

Name most anything or anyone and he’s written about it: from the Stonewall Uprising to actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson. His memoir “Cures” recounts how mental health professionals tried to “cure” him of his “homosexuality.”

When he was 70, he wrote “Haymarket,” a novel set in 1886 in Chicago during protests by labor activists.

His newest book “Reaching Ninety,” is a memoir. In it, Duberman recalls the people, events and work of his life – from coming out to his student years – to his relationships to his beloved puppy Emma (named after iconic feminist and anarchist icon Emma Goldman) to aging.

In “Reaching Ninety,” Duberman quotes the dictum “aging is not for sissies.”

But, “The trouble is that I am one,” he adds, “It’s part of my cultural heritage.”

There’s a thread running through his work, Duberman, who founded CLAGS: CUNY’s Center for LGBTQ Studies, the first university-based LGBTQ research center in the United States, said. “I’ve been trying to reinvent historical writing.”

It’s essential if you’re an historian and you’re presenting an account of past events, to remain true to the known evidence, Duberman said. “But you have to be clear,” he added, “the evidence that has come down to us is partial and skewed.”

At the beginning of his career as an historian, Duberman wrote with a more traditional view of history: that history could be known and chronicled objectively. As if the historian’s background had no impact on how they wrote history.

Duberman’s early work was well-received. His 1961 biography “Charles Francis Adams, 1807-1886” won the prestigious Bancroft Prize.

But, as he matured personally and professionally, Duberman began to question the pretense of objectivity. He came to see that subjectivity is an essential part of writing history.

“The historian – with their own background – in their own time – is always present in the history they write,” said Duberman, who earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1957.

Historians must adhere to the evidence, Duberman emphasized. “But, they need to decide to come clean about who they are even, in part, to write in the first person. To explain their reaction to evidence.”

Historians’ reactions to the evidence they uncover about the past could impact how they write history, he noted.

Historians don’t always know the full extent of how their backgrounds contribute to their interpretations of history. But they should take it for granted that at least some of their eras and views are present, Duberman said.

“To me, the choice comes down to how explicit I should be,” he said, “and how am I going to make it known.”

This was a new way of thinking and writing about history. Take Duberman’s 1972 book “Black Mountain: an Exploration in Community.”

In the 20th century, Black Mountain College was a community for artists. But it was, as per the times, homophobic. A faculty member of Black Mountain was arrested for having sex in a car with a minor, Duberman writes in “Reaching Ninety.” He was let off with a suspended sentence. He became an “instant pariah,” resigned immediately and no one from the community at the college offered any help, Duberman writes.

When writing his Black Mountain book, Duberman felt compelled to come out as gay. To be, as an historian, transparent about how his biography impacted his view of history.

“It’s hard to think well of a place that could cooperate as fully as Black Mountain did in an individual’s self-destruction,” Duberman wrote in his Black Mountain book about how the college treated the gay teacher, “indeed to have assumed it as foreclosed.”

“But perhaps I exaggerate, a function of my own indignation as a homosexual, a potential victim,” he added.

In 1972, when the book was published, Duberman’s coming out in his reaction to an incident in the history of Black Mountain College received mixed reviews.

He was denounced in historical journals. “The New York Times reviewer dismissed my coming out as a vaguely unclean bit of business,” Duberman writes in “Reaching Ninety.”

“Other people were well-disposed toward the book,” Duberman said, “they were academics, not historians.”

Historians are a conservative group of people, Duberman said. “They devote their lives to preserving — underline it — the past,” he said, “They’re not likely to be interested in any combined format that merges the past with the present.”

Duberman doesn’t have a clue as to what got him hooked on history. “It was inescapably an unconscious decision,” he said. “I was torn between literature and wanting to be a writer. To find out more about the past and how come we’re at the point of time that we are.”

When Duberman was a freshman at Yale University, the man who taught his history class was only five years older than he. “At his very first class we took to each other,” Duberman said, “and became friendly. He became a role model for me.”

“He just died at 99,” Duberman added, “we never talked openly about homosexuality. But I got the strong impression that he, too, was gay.”

Duberman, who was born in New York, wasn’t out in college or graduate school. Though, he checked out the two gay bars in Boston when he was at Harvard.

Coming out wasn’t an option for people in Duberman’s generation who came of age in the 1940s and 1950s. You could be arrested, expelled from school, kicked out of your apartment or fired from your job if you were open about who you were. People warned him “against coming out to any degree,” Duberman said.

Duberman and his older sister were raised in a secular Jewish household. His father, as a young man, escaped from working in a beet plantation in Russia to Germany and then to New York. His mother went to high school at night while working as a secretary.

From childhood on, Duberman was bitten by a love of

theater. He went to theater camp and performed in high school plays.

As a student at the (then) boys prep school Horace Mann, he played female as well as male roles. One night, his friend Bob’s girlfriend noticed that Duberman was the “actress” who portrayed a “stewardess” in a play that evening, Duberman recalls in “Reaching Ninety.” “‘But you can’t be,’ she gasped, ‘you have such beautiful legs!’” Duberman remembers her telling him.

Duberman, a polymath, would grow up to become a privileged insider while remaining an observant, critical outsider.

His many honors include: the Vernon Rice/Drama Desk Award, three Lambda Literary Awards, a special award from the National Academy of Arts and Letters for his contributions to literature and the 2007 lifetime achievement award from the American Historical Association. He’s been a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist.

He and his life-partner, Eli, a psychoanalyst, have just celebrated their 35th anniversary. He’s revered for his pioneering work in queer history.

Yet, even though he’s white, cisgender, and privileged, Duberman hasn’t ever been complacent or content. He still remembers how horrified he was back in the 1960s when he taught at Princeton. “I taught about slavery,” Duberman said, “I was thunderstruck! The white, privileged undergrads were on the verge of defending slavery.”

“It shocked me,” he said, “I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was.”

The more he taught, the more discontented Duberman got with, what he saw, as the authoritarian system of education at universities. “I didn’t see the teacher as an authority figure,” he said, “but as a fellow learner.”

Though he had tenure, Duberman resigned from Princeton because of this. Also, he dared to move from Princeton to New York. “Then, people at Princeton thought: How could you leave the loveliest town in the world,” Duberman said.

Duberman deplores Trump and anti-queer right-wingers. But he also has been a long-term critic of the LGBTQ rights movement. Queers should be less concerned about marriage equality and more concerned about issues of race, class, and economic justice, he believes.

“There’s resistance to Trump’s lies,” Duberman said, “and it’s appearing in the mainstream – in The New Yorker – even The New York Times.”

The electorate is the greatest roadblock to social change, Duberman said. “The LGBTQ community, like a lot of the country, is conservative,” he added.

Duberman isn’t feeling terribly optimistic at this moment. But, “I keep hoping that one of the upcoming generations will turn out to be different,” he said.

‘Reaching Ninety’ is a memoir in which MARTIN DUBERMAN quotes the dictum, ‘aging is not for sissies.’

OUT & ABOUT CALENDAR

By TINASHE CHINGARANDE

Friday, April 14

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

Women in Their Twenties and Thirties will be at 8 p.m. on Zoom. This event is a social discussion group for queer women in the Washington, D.C. area and a great way to make new friends and meet other queer women in a fun and friendly setting. For more details, join WiTT’s closed Facebook group.

Saturday, April 15

Virtual Yoga Class with Charles M. will be at 12 p.m. online. This is a weekly class focusing on yoga, breath work, and meditation. Guests are encouraged to RSVP on the DC Center’s website, providing your name, email address, and zip code, along with any questions you may have. A link to the event will be sent at 6 pm the day before.

South Asian LGBTQ Support Group will be at 1:30 p.m. on Zoom. This peer support group is an outlet for South Asian-identified LGBTQ individuals to come and talk about anything affecting them. It’s a secure, judgment-free environment to discuss relationships, sexuality, health, well-being, identity, culture, religion, or anything topic of interest. For more details, email supportdesk@ thedccenter.org.

Sunday, April 16

GoGay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Coffee & Conversation” at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for those looking to meet new faces in the LGBTQ community. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

“Drag Show for Charity” will be at 8 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. Tips to the drag performers this evening will benefit worthy charities that have been vetted by the Imperial Court of Washington, D.C. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Monday, April 17

Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation will be at 10 a.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 support group is for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether bigender, agender, genderfluid, or 100% cis. For more details, www.genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.

Tuesday, April 18

BiRoundtable Discussion will be at 7 p.m. This event is an opportunity for people to gather to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as bi individuals in a private setting. For more details, visit Facebook or Meetup.

Melanin in the City, LLC will host “Speed Dating in the City” at 6 p.m. at Gazuza Lounge. This event is open to the public for the opportunity to find love or a new friend in the city. All guests MUST register to be able to participate in speed dating. Registration includes zodiac compatibility/ dating questionnaire, complimentary drink, raffle submission for planned date night. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Wednesday, April 19

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, 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 www.thedccenter.org/ careers.

Thursday, April 20

Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff will discuss his new book, “How We Won the War for LGBTQ Equality — And How Our Enemies Could Take It All Away,” at 6 p.m. at The Pines in Rehoboth Beach. The free event will be moderated by author Fay Jacobs. Register at The Pines website, thepinesrb.com/shows.

Poly Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is designed to be a forum for people at all different stages to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. For more details, visit Twitter.

Non-binary, award-winning poet to release new book

Award-winning poet Alexandria-Bernard Thomas will host a book signing for their new collection of poems, “Reclamation,” on Saturday, April 21 at 6 p.m. at The Athenaeum in Old Town Alexandria, Va.

“Reclamation” is a poetry exposé into the inner workings of “doing the work.” This book causes the reader to pause and look at the messy thing that is existing and see the divine; not only in themselves, but in all the people and things around them.

TO RSVP, email cthomas@iamcthomas.net.

National Philharmonic to perform classical, contemporary works

The National Philharmonic will host “Beethoven’s 7th” on Saturday, April 15 at 8 p.m. at Strathmore.

Past and present will collide in this performance of contemporary works and classical masterpieces. Maestro Piotr Gajewski will direct Valerie Coleman’s “Umoja, Anthem for Unity for Orchestra” Violinist Melissa White will also return to the Philharmonic to perform Florence Price’s sweeping, melodic “Violin Concerto No. 2.”

Tickets start at $19 and can be purchased on the Philharmonic’s website.

‘Drag Show for Charity’ will be Sunday at 8 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

‘Sylvia’ summons queer horror comedy at its comedic best Something refreshing while we wait for summer movie season to arrive

By JOHN PAUL KING

There was a time when the words “straight-to-video” carried an unspoken implication of mediocrity, at best – but that was before a massive shift in the film industry, accelerated but perhaps not solely driven by the pandemic and the need it created for “watch at home” options – changed the game when it comes to judging a movie by its viewing format.

Consider “Summoning Sylvia,” a campy horror comedy that made its VOD premiere on April 7, in which all but one of the characters (two if you count dead people) are queer. It’s safe to say that it’s definitely a “niche” film, and despite being granted a brief-and-perfunctory theatrical run – presumably, like most non-mainstream movies of similar ilk, for the purposes of awards consideration – it’s not the kind of thing that might have gotten a wide big screen release at any point in the history of the American film industry. At first assessment, it might seem like a rollicking, raunchy and VERY gay piece of fluff; it’s all those things, but it has a lot more imagination and ambition behind it than meets the eye from scrolling past the trailer on social media.

Written and directed by Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse, it’s an absurdly farcical yet genuinely hair-raising adventure in which Larry (Travis Coles), on the eve of being “gay-married,” is kidnapped by his groomsmen (Frankie Grande, Troy Iwata, and Noah J. Ricketts) for a bachelor party weekend at a country house in upstate New York, reputedly haunted by the ghost of a woman (the titular Sylvia, played by Veanne Cox) who murdered her own son (Camden Garcia) before being killed herself by an angry mob 100 years ago. Naturally, the queer quartet tries to unravel this century-old mystery by holding a séance, but the unforeseen addition to the mix of future brother-in-law Harrison (Nicholas Logan) – an ex-soldier with clearly antisocial and possibly homophobic personality issues – turns their tongue-in-cheek party game into a terrifying-yet-hilarious battle with the dark forces that seemingly rule over their fashionably rustic Airbnb.

It’s all very silly, of course, and anyone hoping for hardcore horror featuring malevolent ghosts and demonic possession are likely to be sorely disappointed; what’s surprising is how often it manages to supersede its silliness to deliver more than just the occasional cheap jump scare, and how well it frames its madcap scenario through a perspective that, incredibly, makes everything feel a lot weightier – or at least, more meaningful – than its campy comedic tone invites us to expect.

Some background on the film’s creators quickly offers a possible explanation for why that might be so. Taylor and Wyse, Broadway stalwarts both onstage and off, come at their material from a theatrical tradition that includes such absurdist queer playwrights as Joe Orton, Christopher Durang, Paul Rudnick, and others whose work use pointedly nonsensical contrivances to poke fun at socially relevant themes that might otherwise not be so amusing. Their film is rife with that same surrealist spirit, while still evoking the old-fashioned pleasures of such humorously macabre classics as “Blithe Spirit” or “Arsenic and Old Lace” – a good-natured blending of styles that goes a long way toward opening audiences up to its familiar premise. To put it more simply, if a bit poetically, there is an unmistakable method to the madness.

If references to 20th-century absurdist theater don’t ring a bell for you, it might be more appropriate to draw parallels from a cinematic angle; it’s impossible not to notice how strongly “Summoning Sylvia” evokes the non-stop, throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks comedic milieu of filmmakers like Mel Brooks, whose anything-for-

a-laugh style never got in the way of a respectful and proficient cinematic style nor precluded the possibility for scathingly candid cultural commentary, or even the self-aware “meta” sensibilities of someone like Guillermo Del Toro, whose understanding of horror is deeply intertwined with an recognition of the genre’s potential for underscoring fear with a humanistic streak that makes it a vehicle for transcendence as well as for terror.

Still, such comparisons don’t quite capture the exact nature of this unabashedly nonsensical movie’s charms – it’s neither as anarchic as a Mel Brooks film nor as melancholy as a Del Toro – but they approximate the space in which it stakes its claim; it should be obvious to any seasoned film buff that “Summoning Sylvia” carefully aligns its supposedly otherworldly sense of menace with an all-too-realistic fear of violent homophobia, and that its insinuation of an apparently angry straight man with seemingly toxic views about sexuality and gender as a potential existential threat to its queer band of determined-but-daffy protagonists has a lot more significance than a mere plot device. To put it simply, it’s a movie that never tries too hard to drive home its allegorical story arc, which it highlights as much by sending up as by serious contemplation, but it also never tries to pretend that it doesn’t have one, and in serving both ends at once it succeeds in proving that a film can be purely entertaining and still have the kind of substance that keeps it from being simply a guilty pleasure.

It should go without saying that much of its success comes from the ability of its cast to walk the thin line required of them by the material. Though the film’s most recognizable star is arguably out Tony-winning actor Michael Urie, who delivers little more than a cameo performance – albeit a solid and likable one – as Larry’s husband-to-be, it’s up to the rest of the cast to do the heavy lifting; they’re more than capable, with Coles standing out as a strong lead in a diverse ensemble of players, and Grande surpassing expectation with a show-stealing turn as the fiercely femme and unapologetically over-the-top Nico, whose self-proclaimed witchiness and unrestrained libido play a big part in making Larry’s bachelor party a weekend to be remembered, for better or for worse. Even Sean Grandillo, whose short appearance as an unexpected interloper into the weekend’s events adds a memorable dash of winking, trope-twisting humor to the program, makes an impression on the strength of his sheer, joyful goofiness alone.

All of this is not to say that “Summoning Sylvia” is the kind of cinematic masterpiece that makes a whole industry stand up and take notice; while its unpretentiousness allows us to absorb its higher points without heavy-handed obviousness, its messaging is hardly anything new. Even so, any movie that addresses the specter of homophobia – especially in an age when even the comparatively innocent phenomenon of drag, given suitably elevated status by Taylor and Wyse in a highly entertaining climactic sequence, is under attack from bigots desperate to turn the tide of growing queer acceptance – is a welcome addition to our must-see list, and this one manages to do so without sacrificing its sense of humor or its commitment to entertaining us.

It may not change your life, but it’s sure to provide a fun 75 minutes’ worth of viewing pleasure – and that’s more than enough to earn our recommendation for any queer movie fan looking for something new and refreshing while we wait for the summer movie season to arrive.

TRAVIS COLES, FRANKIE GRANDE, NOAH J. RICKETTS, and TROY IWATA

(Image courtesy of Diamond Dog Entertainment)

New book traces an icon’s journey into

‘Pat in the City’ tells story of SATC costumer Patricia Field

By TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

The shirt’s just a little too big.

But that’s no problem; you’d rather your shirts be looser anyhow. Pants, they’re another matter; they need to be snug all over. You have your own sense of style, and you wear it fabulously. In the new book “Pat in the City” by Patricia Field, read about an icon’s journey into clothes, clubs, and couture.

Almost from the time she was born, little Patricia Haig (later, Field) knew that clothing made a statement. She knew it while wearing her cowgirl outfi t to play, when she clothes-shopped with her aunts, and when recalling her father, who was “handsome, sweet, and mild” and who died when she was small. Adoption later changed her surname, but not her love of clothing.

By Patricia Field

c.2023, Dey Street Books | $35 | 272 pages

ventive, trendy, “nouveau glamour” outfi ts to clubbers who made Studio 54 the “high-octane” place it was then. Field dressed a lot of celebrity clubbers, too, which led her to the ballroom scene, where she became a House “Father” and a part of vogueing history. And then someone suggested to someone else that Field would make a great costumer for an upcoming movie.

If you could somehow take two books by a good author and smash them together to make one, that’s what you’d have with “Pat in the City.” This book is divided almost clean in two, and almost with separate reader-audiences.

Working in her mother’s dry-cleaning “shop” as a kid, Field learned all about fabrics; her aunts’ forays into fashion taught her even more. She “always had beautiful clothes,” although a pair of men’s-style pants discovered in a small boutique in the mid-1950s was life-changing.

Field entered college and landed dual degrees in philosophy and political science, though she says “style came easy to me.” By then, she’d turned away from ‘50s femininity, preferring an androgynous look. She also learned that she preferred women as partners.

One of them was a partner in Field’s fi rst business, a small shop near NYU in Manhattan that opened in 1966. In 1971, they opened a larger store, calling it “Patricia Field.” Partly due to her contacts with designers, Field sold in-

In the fi rst part, author Patricia Field shares her biography, her childhood, her formative years, and the awakening of her personal sense of style. Fashionistas won’t be able to put those pages aside, nor will anyone who attended any New York City club with any regularity back in the day. This half of Field’s book drips with disco lights and ballroom “reads.”

Celebrities stretch into the second half, as Field writes about being the costumer for “Sex And the City,” the friendships she struck up with its cast, and how the iconic opening scene came to be. This part of the book – likewise glittering with big names and big productions – is for younger readers and Hollywood watchers.

Reading this book is like time-travel to the ‘70s, and a backstage peek at your favorite show. If you love clothes and people who love fashion, then get “Pat in the City.” It fi ts.

LA LOCA Bunker holds

new monthly Latinx night on Thursday

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Bunker held a new monthly Latinx night “La Loca” on Thursday. Jayzeer Shantey hosted a drag show with performers Christine Guerrero and Alondra Sanchez before a dance party. Music was provided by DJ Milko.

Black Friday Monthly drag show held at As You Are

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

The monthly Black Friday drag show was held at As You Are on April 7 at As You Are. Performers included Tiffany D. Carter, Druex Sidora, Angelle Zhané, Sapphire Blue and Deedee Amor Dior. DJ MIM provided the music.

Benefits for going electric at home Tax credits available for homeowners who upgrade panels, more

By JOSEPH HUDSON

Recently the IRS and the Department of Energy have started to reward homeowners as well as some renters for electrifying their homes. Through a series of rebates and tax credits, consumers will experience savings when making qualifying electrification purchases. For example, air source heat pumps for space heating/cooling and heat pump water heaters (HPWH) will be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,000 per year, and electrical panel upgrades installed in conjunction with a heat pump or heat pump water heater (HPWH) will be eligible for a tax credit of up to $600.

Major U.S. companies including Airbnb, Redfin, Lyft, Propel and others have joined the non-profit Rewiring America in a new consumer outreach and education campaign to connect American households with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) rebates and tax incentives to go electric.

From the Rewiring America website – “There are 121 million households in the U.S. and the average American household will receive $10,600 in IRA (Inflation Reduction Act) benefits to fully electrify and save on average $1,800 each year going forward on energy costs by phasing out fossil fuels. Even renters can get in on the action with electric vehicles, and appliances and tools that can be transported to their next home, like countertop induction cooktops, portable mini split heat pumps, heat pump dryers and battery-powered yard equipment.”

The rebates are reserved for low and moderate income households. The tax credits apply to anyone with adequate tax liability. For more information, see the Inflation Reduction Act Savings Calculator on the Rewiring America website: https://www.rewiringamerica.org/app/ira-calculator

So, is it time to upgrade your windows? Need a new air conditioner, electrical panel, stove or considering getting an electric vehicle? Find out more about how you can go electric and if there are possible savings and credits when you do that. More information is also located at https:// www.irs.gov/inflation-reduction-act-of-2022.

There are tax incentives to upgrade your electrical panel, air conditioner and more.

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK!

In Belle Haven this is the longtime home of Jacqueline Kennedy and JFK’s personal private secretary, Mrs. Mary Barelli Gallagher (who passed away in 2022). Mrs. Kennedy and her children Caroline and John John spent endless hours here- quite often on Wednesdays to enjoy normalcy away from the White House. The children learned to ride their bikes here and came to visit Caroline’s famous cat Tom Kitten (which is resting in the back yard.) The house is loaded with love and is a tribute to a gracious lifestyle. The mechanics of the house and roof are in good shape; we believe the structure to be sound. Updating this historical gem could be a labor of love. Enjoy the photos which show the Kennedy children, Jackie Kennedy, secret service, Tom Kitten and the Gallaghers spending playful time together at the house. Mary Gallagher’s brief story of her time with the Kennedy family can be found in the documents section of this listing. She recorded her time with the Kennedys in her best selling book My Life with Jacqueline Kennedy in which she chronicles the happy times with the Kennedy family and that fateful day in November, 1963. This house has been in the family for 69 years, purchased in 1954 for $21,000. It is surprisingly large with a 1970 addition; and features four bedrooms on upper level and large living spaces on the main level. The wood floors have been covered for years and were just recently restored. Here is a once in a lifetime opportunity to personalize this historic gem. This stellar location is 1 mile to Old Town Alexandria, close to 495, the Metro and 12 min to Ft Belvoir’s back gate!

LEGAL NOTICE

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION 2023 FEP 000026

Date of Death 10/22/2020

Name of Decedent: Michael Leroy Williams Sr. NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Katharyn A Phelps whose address is 103 Graiden Street, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 20774 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Michael Leroy Williams Sr, deceased, by the Orphan’s Court for Prince George’s County, State of Maryland, on December 30, 2020.

Service of process may be made upon David Roberts 1717 N Street NW, Ste 1 Washington, DC 20036 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, DC.

The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 1900 2nd Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills for the District of Columbia, Building A, 515 5th Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.

Date of first publication: March, 31, 2023

Katharyn A. Phelps, Personal Representative, 240-839-0035

A True Test Copy Nicole Stevens, Register of Wills

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY

MASSAGE

REFRESH YOURSELF

Massage for active adults. Private studio near Rosslyn. Fri-Mon, 12-8. text 301-704-1158 or visit http://www.mymassagebygary.com

BUY / SELL

Get this new book, DON’T SEND YOURSELF TO HELL by Betty Wooley. It explains there are two places to spend your eternity & how to get to each place either heaven or hell. It’s available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & EBay.

CLEANING

FERNANDO’S CLEANING

Residential & Commercial Cleaning, Reasonable Rates, Free Estimates, Routine, 1-Time, Move-In/Move-Out

202-234-7050 / 202-486-6183

COUNSELING

COUNSELING FOR LGBTQ

People Individual/couple counseling with a volunteer peer counselor. GMCC, serving our community since 1973.

202-580-8661

gaymenscounseling.org  No fees, donation requested.

HANDYMAN

BRITISH REMODELING

Local licensed company with over 25 years of experience. Specializing in bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/exterior repairs. Drywall, paint, electrical & wallpaper. Trevor 703-303-8699

EMPLOYMENT

HOME ASSISTANT

Dupont: downsizing, cleaning, handy work, errands, driving… 5 to 15 hours a week to start. For more information & interview, call

202-491-6399

LEGAL SERVICES

ADOPTION, DONOR, SURROGACY

legal services. Jennifer represents LGBTQ clients in DC, MD & VA interested in adoption or ART matters.

240-863- 2441  JFairfax@Jenniferfairfax.com

LIMOUSINES

KASPER’S LIVERY SERVICE

Since 1987. Gay & Veteran Owner/Operator. Lincoln Continental Sedan! Proper DC License & Livery Insured. www.KasperLivery.com. 202-554-2471

MOVERS

PROFESSIONAL MOVING & STORAGE

Let Our Movers Do The Heavy Lifting. Mention the Blade for 5% OFF of our regular rates. Call today 202.734.3080

www.aroundtownmovers.com

BODYWORK

THE MAGIC TOUCH

Swedish, Massage or Deep Tissue. Appts. Low Rates, 24/7, In-Calls. 202-486-6183

• Generator & solar

• Full ADA Compliant

• Seller will pay up to 4.5% of purchase price towards purchaser’s closing costs

$1,250,000

• Large lot in a tranquil location on the famous beach resort island

• Close to the beach, fishing, crabbing, dining, shopping, NASA Wallops, entertainment + more

• First floor is 2BR / 1BA, living, kitchen

• Second floor features a separate entrance, 1BR / 1BA, large living room, bonus room, kitchen

• Perfect year-round residence, vacation home or investment property

$499,000