Watermark Issue 27.17: Still Marching by Watermark Publishing Group

Your LGBTQ Life.

Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020 Issue 27.17

Still Marching The Chicks chirp back with first album in 14 years

INSIDE: LGBTQ teachers share their fears about returning to the classroom D A Y T O N A B E A C H • O R L A N D O • T A M P A • S T . P E T E R S B U R G • clear w ater • S A R A S O T A

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As we are being forced to return by the governor and the

departments

commissioner of education … people will get sick. Then we are

7 // Bureau Chief’s / Editor’s Desk 8// Central Florida News 10// Tampa Bay News 12// State News 13// Nation & World News 17// COVID-19 Resources 19// Talking Points 30// Tampa Bay Out & About 31// Central Fl Out & About 32// Tampa Bay Marketplace 34// Central Fl Marketplace 38// Wedding Bells

page

only one student who gets COVID that is one student too many. – Seminole County high school teacher Bobby Agagnina

BACK TO

SCHOOL?!

On the cover

page

going to have to shut down all over again. For me, even if it is

page Back to School:

STILL MARCHING: The Chicks chirp back with their first album in 14 years.

cover photo by Jessie Sciacchitano (Jessica R&C). Courtesy Sony MUsic.

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WatermarkOnline.com

LGBTQ teachers share their fears about returning to Central Florida and Tampa Bay classrooms during COVID-19.

Watermark Issue 27.17 // Aug. 20 - Sept. 2, 2020

Zoom Kids

As You Are

Big Win

Parental Guidance

page Central Florida LGBTQ youth empowerment summit goes virtual.

page Come OUT St. Pete launches virtual drag contest.

page

Read It Online! In addition to a Web site with daily LGBTQ updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

Federal court rules for transgender Florida student.

Parent Tatiana Quiroga discusses the new school year.

august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

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Editor’s

Jeremy Williams Editor-in-chief

Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com

Desk

t has been about six weeks since my dad passed away. It’s a weird sentence to write and an even weirder feeling to have.

He passed away on July 7 at home with family around him. I wasn’t there because I was at home in Orlando, quarantined away and fighting COVID-19. I wasn’t able to go see him before he died and I didn’t go to his funeral. The last time I saw him was a few weeks prior when I went up to spend the weekend with my parents. He was weak but able to sit up at the table with us and talk and laugh. It was a good last visit. I’m not really sure what happens now. When something like this happened in the past, I would ask him. My dad was always a calming, centering force for me in a family filled with people who are very passionate and loud. I remember holidays with relatives around the table, dozens of conversations going at once, and my father just listening. He talked and conversed,

but he wasn’t in there trying to talk over anyone or cram a word in when he saw a break. When I was younger I just thought he wasn’t very social, but as I got older I realized he was taking everything in. All the stories and the issues and the problems the family was having, he took that all in. He was processing it, working it out in his head and figuring out a way that he could help. Whether it was loaning someone a few bucks, helping them find a job or even opening our home to a relative who needed a place to stay until they got on their feet; my father was there to help without complaint. He was that way with me and my siblings too. No matter how scared or panicked we were, he always knew the right thing to say or do to make it feel like everything was going to be ok.

The first time I ever had a panic attack, I was on my way to visit my parents. I had just found out that I was HIV-positive and, as I was coming into their small Georgia town, I started to have chest pains. My hands and feet were tingling and I felt lightheaded. I got to my parent’s house and burst through the door thinking I was having a heart attack. Mama saw that I was panicking and started to panic with me. She’s always been empathetic like that. She’s the one who will be there with a hug and won’t let you cry alone, but she matches your emotions so we both were in panic mode. Dad came over, hugged me and told me to lay down on the couch. He sat next to me, talked calmly and helped me through the attack. Learning to walk myself through a panic attack is one of countless lessons he taught me. My dad was a child of the 60’s and 70’s. He was as hippy as you could be. He grew his hair long and marched for civil rights, equality and against the war in Vietnam. He despised Richard Nixon and loved Alice Cooper. One of the last things he wanted to do before he passed away was to have someone push him in his wheelchair and march with Black Lives Matter protesters through the streets of his small Georgia town. I remember from a young age dad teaching us about the importance of family and friends; standing up for what’s right, even if what’s right goes against authority; and the best way to foster change in this country is knowing the facts and, most importantly, voting for those who know what they are talking about. He used to say that you can disagree with whoever and whatever you want to but if you don’t vote then you’re not allowed to complain. It’s a mantra I have adopted myself and, thanks to dad, led me to vote in every election since Gore v. Bush, midterms included. Before he

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Editor-in-Chief: Jeremy Williams • Ext. 106 Jeremy@WatermarkOnline.com Tampa Bay Bureau Chief: Ryan Williams-Jent • Ext. 302 Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com Art Director: Dylan Todd • Ext. 102 Dylan@WatermarkOnline.com

passed, dad saw that this country is on the edge of a precipice. He was no fan or supporter of Donald Trump. He wasn’t Hillary Clinton’s biggest fan either, we differed on that, but he recognized that she was far more qualified for the job and how dangerous Trump would be for the country and the world. So this November, when I go into that voting booth, I will be voting in honor of my dad. I’ll be voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris because I know that’s what my father would have done and I know that’s the right thing to do. As we ready ourselves to march to the polls, in this issue we chirp with a trio of rabble-rousers who also march for what’s right. The

[Dad] used to say that you can disagree with whoever and whatever you want to but if you don’t vote then you’re not allowed to complain.

Chicks have released their first album in 14 years and they talk music, politics and being good allies with writer Gregg Shapiro. We also check in with LGBTQ teachers in Central Florida and Tampa Bay about what fears and concerns they have about being force into face-to-face classes during the height of a pandemic. In other news, the Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit heads to Zoom this year, Come OUT St. Pete launches a virtual drag contest and courts rule for a Florida student in a major win for trans rights.

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august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

contributors Edward Segarra

currently attends the University of Central Florida as a journalism major. Page 8

Tatiana Quiroga

is the Director of Family Equity and Diversity for Family Equality. She is a proud mother, wife and LGBTQ advocate in Central Florida. Page 15

Gregg Shapiro

is a freelance journalist and entertainment reporter whose work appears frequently in Watermark. Page 27

Tiffany Razzano

is the founder and president of Wordier Than Thou, a literary arts nonprofit that creates fun, engaging events for writers and readers. Page 38 Sabrina Ambra, Nathan Bruemmer, Scottie Campbell, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Holly Kapherr Alejos, Jason Leclerc, Melody Maia Monet, Jerick Mediavilla, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz CONTENTS of WATERMARK are protected by federal copyright law and may not be reproduced in whole or part without the permission of the publisher. Unsolicited article submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Although WATERMARK is supported by many fine advertisers, we cannot accept responsibility for claims made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organization in articles, advertising, or listing in WATERMARK is not to be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such persons or members of such organizations. WATERMARK is published every second Thursday. Subscription rate is $55 (1st class) and $26 (standard mail). The official views of WATERMARK are expressed only in editorials. Opinions offered in signed columns, letters and articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the newspaper’s owner or management. We reserve the right to edit or reject any material submitted for publication. WATERMARK is not responsible for damages due to typographical errors, except for the cost of replacing ads created by WATERMARK that have such errors.

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tampa bay

bureau chief’s

Ryan Williams-Jent TB bureau chief Ryan@WatermarkOnline.com

Desk

’m not one to label the Bible as

fact, but I’m also not one to discount it entirely as a work of meritless fiction. I can appreciate its historical context and I’m always down for an interesting tale, tall or otherwise.

I learned at an early age that the Bible was full of them, even if our household’s copy was utilized for storing important documents moreso than for family debate or discussion. Securely pressed within its pages were birth certificates, funeral programs and everything in-between: a holy filing system. I knew any book entrusted with preserving such treasures had to be important, even if we weren’t particularly religious. I also knew that while no one discussed either at length, we were Baptist and Republican: two groups I understood to value Christianity’s commandments and commentary above all else. Despite the fact that neither affiliation had ever done a single

thing to make our lives better, guiding our principles in name more than substance, I thought I’d give them each a try. Thankfully I couldn’t vote for a few more elections, but I did start regularly attending church with some of my more religious friends to become a “practicing Christian” in high school. I dove wholeheartedly into a religious phase in my early teenage years, leaning into much of the Bible’s texts through weekly youth groups and church services. I studied its tales in the same way I would any piece of literature, by considering and challenging its themes through a modern lens. My religious era didn’t last long. It ended ahead of my junior year

when I came out, prompting my best Baptist buds to try praying my gay away. It didn’t work, given that being myself wasn’t a choice and being a practicing Christian was, and it helped me realize that I value evidence more than evangelism. Even so and as more of an agnostic today than anything else, I appreciate many of the Bible’s lessons. At their core, they reaffirmed my desire to be a decent human being; the hatred just wasn’t as catchy as the hymns. Having been forced into an awakening over my first ancestral affiliation, I had no choice but to question the second. What did being a Republican really mean? I found at least one example in my neighboring state’s U.S. representative. He rose to political prominence not far from my Ohio hometown on an anti-LGBTQ platform unlike any I’d ever seen, long before he would become Indiana’s governor or this country’s current vice president: Mike Pence. In his first and ultimately successful bid for Congress, “The Pence Agenda” outlined the former radio host’s “guide to renewing the America dream.” He asserted that a key facet of that was strengthening the “traditional two parent household,” the “nucleus of our civilization.” To that end, he wrote that Congress should oppose “any effort to put gay and lesbian relationships on an equal legal status with heterosexual marriage.” He also stressed that any “effort to recognize homosexuals as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities” must be strongly disavowed. It didn’t end there. Pence insisted the largest federal program focused on providing HIV care should only be reauthorized if assistance wasn’t given to

watermark staff Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

“organizations that celebrate and encourage the types of behaviors that facilitate the spreading of HIV.” He believed these funds should be redirected to institutions promoting conversion therapy, the dangerous and discredited practice which claims to alter a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. I strongly believe people can evolve on equality and that we should let them, but Pence never has. As a member of Congress, as Indiana’s governor and ultimately as the vice president, he’s worked to undermine LGBTQ civil rights at every opportunity. He’s often done so in the name of religion, echoing the Baptists I knew but not the Bible I read.

My religious era didn’t last long.

California Senator Kamala Harris hasn’t. Her historic Democratic nomination for vice president is one more reason to fight not just against the Trump/ Pence ticket during this year’s presidential election, but for a Biden/Harris administration. They represent perhaps the most pro-LGBTQ presidential bid in U.S. history, something we should remember as we march to the mailboxes or polls this November. Marching with your voice takes center stage in this issue, which welcomes country music legends The Chicks. The LGBTQ allies discuss their first album in 14 years, the current political environment and more. LGBTQ educators from throughout Tampa Bay and Central Florida also share what it’s like to return to the classroom during COVID-19. Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. Please stay safe, stay informed and enjoy this latest issue.

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1300 N. Semoran Blvd. Ste 250 Orlando, FL 32807 TEL: 407-481-2243

Tampa Bay Office 401 33rd Street N. St. Petersburg, FL 33713 TEL: 813-655-9890

august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

contributors Edward Segarra

currently attends the University of Central Florida as a journalism major. Page 8

Tatiana Quiroga

is the Director of Family Equity and Diversity for Family Equality. She is a proud mother, wife and LGBTQ advocate in Central Florida. Page 15

Gregg Shapiro

is a freelance journalist and entertainment reporter whose work appears frequently in Watermark. Page 27

Tiffany Razzano

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

Watermark Publishing Group Inc.

central florida news

Rainbow Run to go virtual Jeremy Williams

RLANDO | onePULSE Foundation announced Aug. 6 that this year’s CommUNITY Rainbow Run will now be completely virtual. The nonprofit organization states that the fourth annual 4.9K race, scheduled for Sept. 12, is going virtual-only “out of an abundance of caution, and keeping in mind the safety of our staff, volunteers and the public.” The in-person run, originally scheduled for June 6, was postponed until Sept. 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the 4.9K run going virtual, the 1K Old Town Kissimmee Kids Fun Run will also go virtual. Participants who registered for the 4.9K run, the Kids Run and the VIP Experience will automatically be registered in the virtual run. Registration, entry fees and donations already made on the Rainbow Run website are nonrefundable. onePULSE will post a pre-taped video of the 4.9K virtual race route on its Facebook page and YouTube channel before the start of the race on Sept. 12. The virtual race can be done at any location and at the runner’s own pace. Each Rainbow Run participant will have access to download their individual race bib and will receive a medal, T-shirt and backpack. Registration for the 4.9K virtual run, with an entry fee of $49, and Kids virtual fun run, with an entry fee of $5, are open until Sept. 1. All proceeds go to onePULSE Foundation.

For more information and to register, go to CommUNITYRainbowRun.com.

nonprofit formed to help struggling artists Jeremy Williams

RLANDO | Due to the continuing hardships COVID-19 has placed on Central Florida’s arts community, leaders in the local entertainment industry are creating a nonprofit to help offer relief. The Greater Performing Arts Relief, or GOPAR, aims to “help industry professionals navigate successfully through uncertain times with a variety of support and financial services.” “Our community needs to take steps to ensure we can keep talented artists who are in temporary distress in our area for the future enjoyment of all,” said Jim Helsinger, Artistic Director at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, in a press release. GOPAR is an extension of the Social Distance Showcase Series, launched by local theatre leaders Kenny Howard, Rich Charron and Michael Wanzie. GOPAR will officially launch Sept. 4 with a virtual fundraising event on GOPAR’s Facebook page.

For more information, go to Greater Orlando Performing Arts Relief’s Facebook page.

Kids Rock:

LGBTQ youth pose for a photo at the OYES event at Valencia College in 2019. Photo by

Jeremy Williams

Zoom Kids LGBTQ youth summit goes virtual Edward Segarra

RLANDO | The Orlando Youth Empowerment Summit (OYES) is going virtual this year with a series of online workshops intended to educate and empower the LGBTQ youth of Central Florida. The goal of the OYES is to provide LGBTQ youth, as well as their allies and community members, with “the resources and education to bring about understanding, acceptance and inclusion.” The annual event, which was originally launched in 2014, typically occurs in a face-to-face setting. However, this year, participants will be able to access the event via the video conference app Zoom. This year’s summit is being presented by the City of Orlando and the LGBTQ advocacy group Zebra Coalition, with additional sponsorships from organizations such as 26Health, Valencia College’s Peace and Justice Institute and Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan. Dee McClendon, a member of the OYES steering committee, was inspired to get involved with OYES 2020 after attending last year’s

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

summit and being introduced to the work of Zebra Coalition. “I fell in love with the supportive community and I wanted to become a part of it,” McClendon says. OYES 2020 will feature three youth workshops across the span of a three-month period. The workshops will cover prominent issues for LGBTQ youth living in Central Florida, such as mental health awareness, civic engagement and LGBTQ history. Each workshop will also have a corresponding workshop for parents of LGBTQ youth. The parent workshops are designed to provide parents with a forum to communicate their unique experiences and educate them on how to be effective allies to their LGBTQ children. “The goal for the parent track is to create a safe space for parents of LGBTQ+ [youth] to talk with each other about their personal experiences and for them to learn skills to better support their children,” Felipe Sousa Matos Rodriguez, who serves as the Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Senior Specialist for City of Orlando, says. McClendon says that the OYES steering committee is confident that the virtual setting of this year’s

summit won’t hinder its interactivity but will instead “heighten the effects of the event” by widening its outreach. “Being virtual makes the summit more accessible to more demographics that might not have been reached in prior years,” she says. McClendon also shared that the virtual nature of OYES 2020 has been an asset when it comes to securing entertainment for the event. “Due to OYES being online this year, we have been able to obtain not only local performers but also performers from all over the country,” she adds. Ultimately, with OYES 2020 McClendon wants to create an inclusive environment for LGBTQ youth to be fully recognized and hopes this inclusivity creates a strong feeling of camaraderie among the summit’s attendees. “I have made it my goal to assure that there is no group left behind,” McClendon says. “I hope that [they] leave … feeling closer to their community and closer to each other.” OYES 2020 will take place Aug. 29 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. with Back to School: Mental Health & Support, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. with Civic Engagement: Queer Political Power and Oct. 24 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. with Celebration of Resilience: LGBTQ History & Pride. To attend any of these workshops, fill out the conference registration form available on the OYES official website at ORLYES.org.

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tampa bay news

ALSO Youth variety show, auction to benefit LGBTQ programming Ryan Williams-Jent

ARASOTA | ALSO Youth will hold “Better Together” Sept. 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., a virtual variety show preceded by an auction benefiting the nonprofit’s LGBTQ programming. “The virtual variety show will feature performances by local theater, dance, circus arts and drag performers as well as cooking and cocktail demonstrations,” ALSO Youth shared Aug. 6. The online auction “featuring vacation stays, experiences and gift baskets” will begin Sept. 14 and end during the broadcast. “This is our first variety show and we have an amazing committee headed by Tony Boothby,” ALSO Youth Executive Director James Robinson says. “It is so important to hold this event as our two biggest fundraisers, a gala and a Thanksgiving 5K run, had to be cancelled this year due to the pandemic.” The virtual evening will be emceed by celebrated Tampa Bay entertainer Matthew McGee, who has a long history of performing throughout the area. “I have deep ties to Sarasota through my onstage work at Asolo Repertory Theatre and my guest appearances on Suncoast View,” McGee says. “I find their audiences to be very supportive and have had the unique opportunity to meet so many LGBTQ Sarasotans and straight allies,” he continues. “ALSO Youth is such an amazing organization and I am thrilled to be their Master of Ceremonies.” McGee will be joined by fellow fan favorite entertainers Joey Panek, Beneva Fruitville, representatives from the Sarasota Ballet, the Circus Arts Conservatory and more. Chef Christopher Covelli will also offer cooking demonstrations, with additional details to come. The auction will be securely hosted on the mobile-bidding platform One Cause. The fundraising site is committed to helping nonprofits connect with supporters and has raised $2 billion for causes since 2007. “The auction will begin two weeks before the event,” Robinson says. “People will be able to bid on items up to and throughout the virtual variety show and some special items will be highlighted during the show.” Auction items are still being accepted by the organization. Those interested in donating items can contact Robinson directly by calling 941-951-2576, 401-480-8028 or by emailing James@ALSOYouth.org. “We are looking forward to opening up the space in the near future though no definite date has been set,” Robinson says of ALSO Youth’s drop-in center. COVID-19 has prevented in-person meetings, leading the organization to offer weekly virtual meet-ups and support groups for LGBTQ youth. “This way they know they are not alone in this and will not isolate themselves,” he explains. “The virtual event will also help with the bills that don’t stop just because of a pandemic … This will be a lot of fun.”

ALSO Youth’s “Better Together!” will be held virtually Sept. 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. For additional information, visit ALSOYouth.org.

QUEEN V: Miss

COSP 2019 Victoria Michaels details the organization’s “Come Out As You Are” contest in front of Enigma Aug. 11. PHOTO

COURTESY TODD WILKINS AND MARK FREELS

As You Are Come OUT St. Pete launches inaugural and inclusive virtual drag contest Ryan Williams-Jent

T. PETERSBURG | Come OUT St. Pete (COSP) has announced its inaugural “Come Out As You Are” virtual drag contest is underway until Sept. 7, inclusively designed to find LGBTQ ambassadors ahead of its fourth annual celebration. COSP advocates for the LGBTQ community with events that celebrate “coming out of the closet and into the world.” That will culminate with its festival currently scheduled for Oct. 17. “Come OUT St. Pete invites you to participate in our ‘Come Out As You Are’ virtual drag contest,” organizers shared Aug. 11. “As part of our inclusivity outreach into the LGBTQ+ community, we are hosting a virtual contest that will blur all gender lines as we search for our 2020-21 Come OUT St. Pete ‘Come Out As You Are’ Royal Court.” The virtual pageant will feature four winners. Organizers are seeking contestants who perform as drag queens, drag kings and those who identify as either transgender or nonbinary. First place winners

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

will receive $250 cash, a headshot package and more. Video submissions were initially accepted for each category in three-day increments, but deadlines were expanded Aug. 16. An entry fee was also waived thanks to the support of a community sponsor. Entrants from each category and within a 50-mile radius of St. Petersburg are welcome to apply at no cost until Sept. 6. Contestants must submit a video featuring presentation and talent for consideration. The former should include a three-minute representation of a garment with one or more of the inclusivity Pride flag’s colors. The latter should feature a performance no longer than six minutes. Once entries are accepted, they will be available for the public to view on the organization’s website. Those judges include activists and entertainers Victoria Michaels, Jaeda Fuentes, Kori Stevens, Esme Rodriguez and Ripp Lee. They will determine the winners in each category and their reactions to entries will also be shared. “Our beloved Tampa Bay LGBTQ+ community will also have the

opportunity to choose our ‘Come OUT As You Are’ community choice winner, a Mr./Ms./Mx. Congeniality of sorts,” COSP adds. The inclusive court was first conceptualized by LGBTQ activist and St. Petersburg newcomer Loralei Matisse. She joined COSP’s board earlier this year as co-chair to help strengthen her new community however she could. Matisse says expanding COSP’s pageantry to be more inclusive was a natural fit for the nonprofit. “There is so much going on in the world, where we are learning how to have different conversations and how to include and embrace each other,” she explains. “We need to do that within our own community as well. “I talked to a number of different board members and we expanded to the royal court,” Matisse continues. “I think it’s a really beautiful thing because of the representation.” “We’re going to do our best right now within our first time doing this,” Matisse says. “We’re going to learn, we’re going to grow, we’re going to do some work,” she continues. “We might, hopefully, learn how to have better conversations, how to change our language and how to speak and respect one another all the time.” COSP’s virtual drag contest is underway until Sept. 6. A virtual crowning ceremony will be held Sept. 7 ahead of its festival currently scheduled for Oct. 17, which is subject to change in response to COVID-19. For more information or to enter, visit ComeOUTStPete.org/Contest.

august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

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state news

state Rep. barred from donating blood Ryan Williams-Jent

IAMI | Florida State Rep. Shevrin Jones was the target of homophobic campaign texts Aug. 9 after being turned away from donating plasma because of his sexuality. Jones recently recovered from COVID-19 and attempted to donate plasma to assist in recovery efforts Aug. 7. He subsequently shared that his sexuality prevented the donation. In a statement to the Miami Herald, OneBlood noted they must adhere to federal guidelines. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy barring men who have sex with men from donating blood was first enacted in the 1980s. It was amended in 2015 to allow donation from those who abstained from sex for one year and changed to three months in April in response to COVID-19. “Saving a life shouldn’t be prevented because of who you love,” Jones responded Aug. 8. “The FDA should look at this antiquated policy and do away with it.”

Court rules for trans student in major win Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, Courtesy the National LGBT Media Association

ALLAHASSEE, Fla. | A federal appeals court delivered a major victory in transgender rights Aug. 7 by ruling a Florida high school violated the law by refusing to allow transgender student Andrew Cody Adams to use the restroom consistent with his gender identity. In a 2-1 decision written by U.S. Circuit Judge Beverly Martin, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals relies heavily on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision which found anti-LGBTQ discrimination in employment is a form of unlawful sex discrimination. “Bostock confirmed that workplace discrimination against transgender people is contrary to law,” Martin wrote. “Neither should

this discrimination be tolerated in schools.” Adams, now 19 and a former student at Allen D. Nease High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida, said in a statement he’s “very happy to see justice prevail, after spending almost my entire high school career fighting for equal treatment.” “High school is hard enough without having your school separate you from your peers and mark you as inferior,” Adams said. “I hope this decision helps save other transgender students from having to go through that painful and humiliating experience.” Martin examined the school district’s policy with heightened scrutiny, or a greater assumption that it’s unconstitutional. “We see three constitutional infirmities with the School District’s bathroom policy. First, the policy is administered arbitrarily,” Martin writes. “The policy relies upon a student’s enrollment documents to determine sex assigned at birth.

This targets some transgender students for bathroom restrictions but not others. Second, the School Board’s privacy concerns about Mr. Adams’s use of the boys’ bathroom are merely ‘hypothesized,’ with no support in the factual record. Third, the School District’s bathroom policy subjects Mr. Adams to unfavorable treatment simply because he defies gender stereotypes as a transgender person.” Excluding Adams for the restroom of his choice, the panel concludes, violates the both Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in schools. Tara Borelli, counsel at the LGBTQ legal group Lambda Legal, which represents Adams, said in a statement the court “sent a clear message that schools must treat transgender students with the same dignity and respect as any other student.”

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nation+world news

Kansas poised to elect openly trans lawmaker Wire Report

ELLE PLAINE, Kan. | A retired music teacher would become the first openly transgender member of the deeply conservative Kansas Legislature if she’s elected from a Democratic-leaning district she’s expected to win. Stephanie Byers, of Wichita, would join the ranks of other transgender people who have served in legislatures in other states, including four who currently hold such office. Byers, who advanced to the general election after running

unopposed in the Aug.4 Democratic primary, “shattered a long-standing political barrier in Kansas,” said Annise Parker, president and chief executive officer of the advocacy group LGBTQ Victory Fund. Although Kansas is a heavily Republican state, the 57-year-old Byers noted that she’s is running for an open seat in a district that voted for President Barack Obama, Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. “As far as Kansas being ready to elect a transgender person, it is kind of about time,” Byers said.

She faces Republican Cyndi Howerton for the seat being vacated by state Rep. Jim Ward, a former Kansas House minority leader who is running for the state Senate. Byers, who retired last year after a 32-year career as a teacher, said her passion for education spurred her to run for the Legislature to protect school funding. The political novice also wants to expand Medicaid in Kansas after watching her oldest son and his family struggle to afford health insurance.

Michigan may get first openly gay congressman Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

former D.C. politico has crossed a major hurdle in his effort to become Michigan’s first openly gay member of Congress after clinching the Democratic nomination in the primary for the state’s 6th congressional district.

State Rep. Jon Hoadley (D-Kalamazoo), who served as president for the now closed National Stonewall Democrats, won the contested primary by claiming 53.3% of the vote in comparison to teacher Jen Richardson, who had 47.7%. The Associated Press declared Hoadley the winner the day after the primary Aug. 5. Hoadley will advance to the general election, where he’ll face Rep. Fred Upton, who has a reputation as a moderate in the solidly Republican district.

Amritha Venkataraman, Michigan state director for the Human Rights Campaign, commended Hoadley in a statement and said Upton “should be running scared.” “After decades of failed anti-equality leadership from Upton, Michigan’s 6th is ready for fresh, bold new leadership,” Venkataraman said. Recognizing the distinction Hoadley could have as Michigan’s first openly gay member of Congress, Venkataraman added the candidate would “give a voice to the over 300,000 LGBTQ people across the state of Michigan.”

Poland’s LGBTQ activists confront crackdown Kaela Roeder of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

he arrest of Margot Szutowicz, who identifies as nonbinary, Aug. 7 underscores the growing crackdown against LGBTQ activists in Poland. Szutowicz and nearly 50 others were arrested in Warsaw, the country’s capital, while protesting Szutowicz’s imminent arrest for allegedly causing damage to a truck promoting anti-LGBTQ messages and assaulting a pro-life demonstrator June 2. She was initially arrested on the charge July 14, but released

after 24 hours. Prosecutors appealed the case, triggering Szutowicz’s current detention. The advocate is being held for two months awaiting trial on charges that carry multi-year prison sentences. Szutowicz was also arrested Aug. 2 for draping a rainbow flag over a monument along with two others. Szutowicz attempted to plan her Aug. 7 arrest take place in a public place and in front of the media at the Warsaw offices of the Campaign Against Homophobia, a Polish LGBTQ advocacy group, where fellow protesters and supporters joined her. Szutowicz left the office to turn herself over to the police, but law enforcement told her she would not be arrested.

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Plainclothes officers waiting in an unmarked car later this night arrested Szutowicz while she was still among the crowd of 50 people. Protestors attempted to block the arrest, but they, along with bystanders, were arrested and taken into custody. Lawyers coordinated the release of protestors and bystanders Aug. 8 and 9 who were arrested alongside Szutowicz, but she remains in custody. Szutowicz is set to be detained in a male facility. She is currently being held in a single-person cell due to coronavirus restrictions. The unrest in Warsaw follows the reelection of President Andrzej Duda, who has been vocally anti-LGBTQ.

in other news Massachusetts mayor denies misconduct allegations The University of Massachusetts in Amherst is investigating adjunct lecturer and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse who was accused of sexual misconduct as he runs for Congress. Morse said in a statement Aug. 9 that he denies the allegations and will continue his congressional run. Student Democrats in Massachusetts accused him of having sexual contact with students and seeking them out on dating apps and social media. The 31-year-old Democrat is challenging U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, a fellow Democrat, for the state’s First Congressional District seat. The state’s primary election is Sept. 1.

Family of slain gay man sues Chicago bar The family of a man who was stabbed to death in February outside of a Chicago bar is suing the bar and the man charged in the killing, claiming the slain man was targeted because he was gay and is accusing the bar of not doing enough to protect him. Thomas Tansey is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Kenneth Paterimos. Witnesses told police that Tansey began arguing with Paterimos and that they had to be separated after coming to blows at Richard’s Bar, a dive bar in the River West neighborhood. Paterimos’ friends and family members contend that Tansey was making homophobic remarks while Tansey’s attorney argues that his client was defending himself.

Judge: Idaho anti-trans law violates order Idaho officials’ latest attempt to ban transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificates violates a court order issued two years ago, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale. Dale first ruled in 2018 that a law barring the birth certificate changes was unconstitutional, and she banned state officials from implementing it. Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers passed new legislation that did largely the same thing. That law was signed by Republican Gov. Brad Little and went into effect on July 1. Dale said the new procedure does the same thing as the old by effectively preventing trans people from changing the sex on their birth certificates.

Israel lawmakers move to ban conversion therapy The Israeli Knesset in late July approved a preliminary bill that would criminalize conversion therapy. The measure targets psychologists who administer conversion therapy and would suspend their licenses for at least five years. This move follows the U.N.’s formal call in July to ban the practice as outlined by Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ issues. Nitzan Horowitz, head of the left-wing Meretz party, introduced the bill and the Knesset approved it by a 42-36 vote margin.

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Tatiana Quiroga

Parental

Guidance It isn’t an easy choice for any parent

eing a parent is never

easy. Becoming an LGBTQ parent felt like it was nearly impossible. As Director of Family Equity and Diversity for Family Equality, the leading national nonprofit advocating for LGBTQ families, I feel confident in saying that a majority of LGBTQ families are created very intentionally.

Regardless if your LGBTQ family was created via adoption, ART, surrogacy, co-parenting or any other queer-focused way, without the privileges of an “oops,” LGBTQ family formation is a mixture of time, money, emotional investment and sacrifice. For many of us, it was a journey with countless chapters. For my wife and I, we are so grateful to have two happy and healthy kiddos. Despite the wild ride to create our family, we would have never anticipated parenting during a racial justice revolution and global pandemic. Like most people, my family and I are living our “new normal” of extra hand washing, mask-wearing, social distancing and quarantining. And, like most parents, our lives revolve around our children. Our household was rocked when the end of the school year was drastically impacted and suddenly shifted online, missing our opportunity to truly thank our favorite teachers with goodbye hugs and experience closure. We celebrated the completion of second grade with a teacher parade through our neighborhood full of decorated cars, honking horns and a lot of air hugs. To our dismay, we watched our summer plans of sweaty theme park visits, play dates with our favorite friends, exploratory museum trips and other adventures dissolve. Our summer camps were replaced with virtual spaces and activities. All the while, my wife and I had to learn how to navigate conversations about the harsh reality of safety in a COVD world with our 4 and 8-year-olds.

Adding to the complexity of our situation, one of my kiddos has special needs; a speech delay along with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Thus, even our therapeutic spaces have become virtual. Thankfully, my wife and I have always found LGBTQ-friendly and welcoming professionals and direct service providers to work with our son and our family. We are exceedingly grateful for this fact when these professionals entered “inside” the safety of our home. My son, excited with the newly discovered technology of video conferencing, gave thousands of virtual tours of our home — including his bedroom and ours. Most importantly, everyone met his beloved guinea pigs who all too often participated in the sessions. Our days turned into weeks and our weeks turned into months. My position with Family Equality has always been remote and my wife’s role with a local university, easily translated into remote work. We officially settled into our quarantining lifestyle. As time passed, my wife and I anxiously watched COVID numbers continuously rise. As longevity and gravity of our “new normal” began to truly set in, our summer conversations soon turned into questions about school starting in the fall. We chatted with other parents. We reached out to friends who are teachers. We joined Facebook groups. All in hopes for some answers. However, all we found were more questions. Ending the school year on an online platform was a tremendous challenge for my 8-year-old with an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan), who struggles with transitions, sudden changes to his routine, sensory overload, performance and social anxiety and limited attention span. Not to mention my wife and I found ourselves attempting to teach common core math, which alone is a test to our intelligence and patience.

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With our 4-year-old, we tried our best to continue his preschool curriculum but found ourselves laboring to juggle our work and his school. He was not happy. He missed his friends, his teachers and playing on the playground. We paled in comparison to his classmates.

apparent to us that the future of our children’s education is directly correlated to our family situation. Since we had the privilege of both working from home, we have the privilege of keeping our kiddos at home, which is what we’ve chosen to do. But this is a privilege and luxury many

in the intersectionality of several marginalized communities, this broke my heart. It is very clear how marginalized communities are impacted by COVID. I believe ALL parents should truly be given an option to choose what is the best for their children.

Overall, it was not pretty for anyone. With this experience, we anxiously awaited to see the plan for starting schools in the fall and finally, a few weeks ago, the state and our county released their back to school options. Our back to school conversations continued amongst ourselves and our village. It quickly became very

are not afforded. We had a choice. Countless other parents did not. To me, it felt like it directly tied into the already ongoing cultural conversation about race, socioeconomic status and overall accessibility to resources and assistance. As an immigrant, a queer person of color and an LGBTQ parent who lives

However the harsh reality this is not the case. So, as we all continue this uncharted journey that is 2020, I refuse to pass any judgment on any parent or caretaker doing their best for their family.

Since my wife and I had the privilege of both working from home, we have the privilege of keeping our kiddos at home, which is what we’ve chosen to do. But this is a privilege and luxury many are not afforded.

Tatiana Quiroga Director of Family Equity and Diversity for Family Equality. She is a proud mother, wife and LGBTQ advocate in Central Florida.

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august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

COVID-19 resources

Tampa Bay

Central Florida

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

One Tampa Fund OneTampa.org | 1-833-872-4636

Pinellas Cares Fund PCED.org/Cares

Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund OneOrlandoAlliance.org/COVID-19

Tampa has expanded its efforts to help small businesses with emergency grants focused on essentials in its third phase. Officials plan to spend an additional $1.2 million to help those which previously didn’t qualify for aid. Critically impacted businesses which had to close or have experienced a significant reduction in revenue due to COVID-19 will receive $2,000 checks.

Pinellas County is providing relief for individuals, families and businesses. Financial assistance for overdue rent, mortgage and utility bills up to $5,000 per household for those who lost their job or significant income is now available. Text COVIDCARES to 898211 or call 211 to begin the process. Applications will be processed weekdays from 7 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.

The Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund is meant to assist Orlando area LGBTQ+ community members who are most in need as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. For inquiries regarding this resource, please contact the fund’s Steering Committee at LGBTQReliefFund@gmail.com. You can also visit the website above to review the relief fund’s resource guide — available both in English and Spanish — for more information on navigating the crisis.

CSCF is providing virtual reemployment assistance for those who have lost their job due to COVID-19. CSCF can assist you in filling out the Department of Economic Opportunity application online. The CSCF has reopened with limited in-person appointments. For your safety, masks will be required for all in-person appointments and temperature checks

Bounce Back Orlando BounceBackOrlando.com 321-800-3946

United Way of Central Florida (UWCF) UWCF.org | 2-1-1

FOOD/HEALTH CARE/SERVICE RESOURCES 211 Tampa Bay Cares 211TampaBay.org | 727-210-4211

Feeding Tampa Bay FeedingTampaBay.org | 813-254-1190

Call 211 from any phone or text your zip code to 898211 for help with housing, food, child care, suicide prevention, health care, disaster planning and much more.

Offering mobile pantries, meals, a market, senior grocery resources, homebound help and more. Hours, sites and locations vary. Some locations are closing without advance notice to adhere to regulations, call for up to date information.

CAN Community Health CANCommunityHealth.org 941-366-0134 Use computers or mobile devices to access health care services remotely and manage health care needs. For detailed information about Telehealth and more, visit their website.

Metro Inclusive Health MetroTampaBay.org | 727-321-3854 Receive access to primary care, counseling, hormone replacement therapy and PrEP via Telehealth. To schedule an appointment, dial ext. 1575. For virtual programming, visit their website.

TESTING Sites AFC Urgent Care | AFCUrgentCare.com COVID-19 and antibody testing is available at locations throughout Tampa Bay. AFC Clearwater offers testing by appointment only 9 a.m.-7 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekends. No appointments needed for testing 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at AFC Pinellas Park, 7101 U.S. Hwy. 19 N. in Pinellas Park; AFC Seminole, 11241 Park Blvd. Ste. A in Seminole and AFC Tyrone/St. Petersburg, 2241 66th St. N. in St. Petersburg.

BayCare| BayCare.org/Coronavirus 1-800-BayCare BayCare’s drive-thru sites serve patients with a doctor’s referral or those who are symptomatic. Testing sites include Gulfview Square Mall at 9409 U.S. Hwy. 19 in Port Richey weekdays from 8-11 a.m. and Ruth Eckerd Hall at 1111 McMullen Booth Rd. in Clearwater Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7-10 a.m.

Community Health Centers CHCPinellas.org | 727-824-8181 Testing is available a walk-in or drive-up only. It is available 5-8 p.m. at the Pinellas Park Center at 7550 43rd St. N. in Pinellas Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Clearwater Center at 707 Druid Rd. E. in Clearwater Thursdays and the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Center at 1344 22nd St. S. in St. Petersburg on Wednesdays. Visit their website for potential changes.

Hillsborough County Government HillsboroughCounty.org |888-513-6321 Residents can schedule an appointment weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Appointments are required and testing hours vary. Testing sites include the Lee Davis Community Resource Center at 3402 N. 22nd St. in Tampa; the Plant City Community Resource Center at 307 N. Michigan Ave. in Plant City; Redeemer Lutheran Church at 701 Valley

Forge Blvd. in Sun City Center; the SouthShore Community Resource Center at 201 14th Ave. SE in Ruskin; Suncoast Community Health Center at 313 S. Lakewood Dr. in Brandon; the Wimauma Opportunity Center at 5128 Florida St. Rd. 674 in Wimauma and Tampa Family Health Centers, Inc. at 12085 W. Hillsborough Ave. Vehicles are not required for testing at any of these sites

Mahaffey Theater COVID19.PinellasCounty.org 866-779-6121 Drive-thru is available regardless of symptoms Tuesdays-Saturdays from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. at 400 1st St. S. in St. Petersburg. No appointment is required and no more than four people per vehicle. Check Twitter.com/HealthyPinellas for details.

Raymond James Stadium RaymondJamesStadium.com 888-513-6321 This site is operated by the State of Florida and is located at 4201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa. Appointments are required and testing is drive-up only. Residents can schedule an appointment online or by calling the number above from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekdays.

Sarasota County Government SCGov.net | 941-861-2883 Drive-thru testing is available at the University Town Center Mall at 299 University Town Center Dr. Testing is conducted daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or until capacity is reached. No appointment needed. State-run, walk-up testing is also available at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex at 1845 34th St. Call weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For additional details you can also text SRQCOVID19 to 888777.

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The Pride Chamber’s Bounce Back Orlando is a directory of LGBTQ small businesses in Orlando and the surrounding metro that are open. If you own a small business in the Greater Orlando Metro area you can register your business at the website

CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF) CareerSourceCentralFlorida.com/ Coronavirus-Support |800-757-4598

will be done.

The United Way of Central Florida (UWCF) is assisting those impacted by COVID-19 with food needs, paying bills and other essential services. Call 2-1-1 to speak to a UWCF representative who can help you if you are in need.

free of charge.

FOOD/HEALTH CARE/SERVICE RESOURCES Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida | FeedHopeNow.org Residents in need of food assistance can visit Second Harvest Food Bank’s online food locator to find a list of feeding partners near their residency. Visit the Second Harvest website to verify location and hours, and call ahead before heading to the location. SNAP assistance may also be available for you. Call 407-295-2777 Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. for more information.

Aspire Health Partners AspireHealthPartners.com 407-875-3700 ext. 2 Aspire Health Partners is offering a dedicated line to assist residents with mental health concerns related to COVID-19. Residents can call the helpline to be connected with a mental health professional by calling the number above.

Feed the Need Florida Facebook.com/FeedTheNeedFL

Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida | https://bit.il/hcclinic 352-509-9865

Feed the Need Florida, a Central Florida food-aid group led by the 4Roots nonprofit and sponsored by 4 Rivers, is providing free drive-thru meals for all local arts, entertainment and theme park workers every Friday in July from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at The Plaza Live, located at 425 N. Bumby Ave. In Orlando. For more information, visit FeedTheNeedFL.org or the group’s Facebook page listed above.

Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida is offering assistance with medical care document planning to qualified individuals. If you qualify for assistance, you will meet virtually with an attorney that will go over the best documents for you. Service examples include designating a healthcare surrogate, designating a pre-need guardian and creating a living will. Services are by appointment only and participants must complete an eligibility screening.

TESTING SITES Orange County Government OCFL.net/COVID19 City of Orlando Orlando.gov/COVID19Testing 407-246-3104 Orange County has a non-mobile testing site at the Orange County Convention Center daily, starting at 9 a.m. until the daily limit is reached with no appointment needed. Testing at this site is open to all Central Florida residents 18 or older. The City of Orlando has mobile drive-thru testing every Wednesday, rotating to a new location in the city on each operating day. Locations will be announced on a rolling basis. Appointments are required and can be book online or by phone. . City and county mobile testing sites are set up in several Walmart parking lots and are by appointment only. Schedule Online with Quest Diagnostics. These sites are open only to individuals with respiratory symptoms, preexisting

conditions, first responders, heath care workers. Locations are: -Walmart at 5991 Goldenrod Rd. Testing is Mon.-Sat. from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. -Walmart at 11250 E. Colonial Dr. Testing is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7-10 a.m. -Walmart at 8101 S. John Young Pkwy. Testing is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-10 a.m. Testing is available at the following health centers by appointment only: Community Health Centers located at 210 E. 7th St. in Apopka and 840 Mercy Dr. In Orlando. Call 407-905-8827 to make appointment at either location. UCF, in partnership with AventusBiolabs, has a non-mobile testing site by appointment only. For more information, visit AventusBiolabs.com. OneBlood is testing all blood donations for COVID-19 antibodies. The test is authorized by the FDA and an appointment is required. For more information, visit OneBlood.org/donate-now.

august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

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august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

talking points

There are an

The corporate world wasn’t ready for it. ‘The Matrix’ stuff was all about a desire for transformation but it was all coming from a closeted point of view … that’s where our head spaces were.

81,000

– Co-writer and director Lily Waschowski sharing with Netflix Film Aug. 4 that the “The Matrix” trilogy was a transgender allegory.

estimated

Marvel assembles first same-sex superhero wedding in historical first

arvel has announced its “Empyre: Avengers Aftermath” one-shot, the culmination of its current event series scheduled for release Sept. 9, will feature the company’s first same-sex wedding between two superheroes. Wiccan and Hulkling, first introduced in the GLAAD Award-winning “Young Avengers” comic, will wed 15 years after their first appearance as boyfriends in 2005. The two were created by openly LGBTQ writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung. “When I was first asked to design Wiccan and Hulkling for the ‘Young Avengers,’ I had no inkling of the longevity they would have, or even their impact on the hearts and minds of the readers,” Cheung shared. Heinberg thanked the creative teams involved with the upcoming issue for telling each character’s “story so gorgeously, on such an epic scale, and with so much heart … and for inviting me and Jim to the wedding!”

LGBTQ Dreamers in

the U.S.,

including about 39,000 who have participated in

DACA.

4% of first-time recipients live in

Florida. – The Williams Institute’s LGBT Dreamers and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Study, June 2020

‘The Fight’ doc tackles trans ban

n “The Fight,” directors Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman and Eli Despress detail the legal battles fought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The documentary zeroes in on four modern cases against the Trump administration: those pertaining to abortion, immigration, voting and LGBTQ rights. The film, “an inspiring, emotional insider look at how these important battles are fought and the legal gladiators on the front lines fighting them,” captures subjects in high-pressure political environments, including lawyers Josh Block and Chase Strangio. The two oppose the Trump administration’s ban on transgender soldiers serving in the military. The film was released July 31 and is now available to stream.

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Randy Rainbow to release memoir

mmy-nominated satirist and entertainer Randy Rainbow will release “Playing With Myself” in 2021, his first memoir. St. Martin’s Press announced the publication July 29, noting the comedian plans to “set the record straight” and let readers see the world through his pink-rimmed glasses. “There’s so much fake news out there about me – lies and propaganda!” Rainbow shared. He will take readers “through his life,” his publisher shared, “from his childhood as the over- imaginative, often misunderstood son of a Donald Trump clone and the only boy in second grade carrying a purse, to his first job on Broadway … at Hooters (don’t ask), to the creation of his trademark comedy style which skewers the politicos of the day.”

USPS highlights Bugs Bunny’s drag

he United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a set of stamps honoring Bugs Bunny’s 80th anniversary July 27, highlighting the “Looney Tunes” character’s iconic moments in and out of drag. The stamps are sold in sheets of 20 and feature 10 of his most popular disguises in artwork from Warner Bros. “Bugs is both timeless and timely, a quick-change artist who can get out of a jam, win any battle, through his wits and clever disguises,” USPS leadership shared in a virtual unveiling, available at WatermarkOnline.com. “He simply summons up whatever talent, costume or personality is needed to escape every perilous situation.” That includes the character’s turns as a mermaid with a 1940s up-do and the operatic diva Brunhilde in blonde braids. Visit USPS.com for yours.

august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

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august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

BACK TO

SCHOOL?! LGBTQ teachers share their fears about returning to the classroom during a pandemic

Jeremy Williams

ichard Corcoran, the Florida

Department of Education’s commissioner, issued an emergency order July 6 demanding all Florida public schools to be open for in-person learning by the end of August.

Corcoran’s emergency order echoed comments made by Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump, all of whom want schools opened in the fall regardless of the growing numbers of positive coronavirus cases and the growing safety concerns from teachers. The Florida Education Association (FEA), the state’s largest teachers union with

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more than 100,000 education workers represented, responded to Corcoran’s emergency order by filing a lawsuit July 20 against Corcoran, DeSantis, the Florida Board of Education, the Florida Department of Education and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “The state’s directive does not allow for adequate planning and does nothing to ensure that the necessary safety protocols

will be in place when schools open,” the FEA stated on its website. “Learning should continue through online instruction until it is safe to return to the classroom and elected officials must comply with appropriate public health official guidelines every step of the way.” Other lawsuits have been filed throughout the state by local unions and parents seeking to stop public schools from being forced to hold in-person classes. As of press time, schools are still being required to hold face-to-face classes by the end of August. With unions, teachers and parents awaiting rulings from the courts and with

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| uu | Back to School?! from pg.21

the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths continuing to climb in Florida, we checked in with a handful of LGBTQ teachers from six different counties to see how they are preparing to return to the classroom and how safe they really feel in doing so. In Sarasota, Booker High School history and psychology teacher Gail Foreman is not only safeguarding her classroom but her home as well. “We’re having an outside shower installed so that I don’t bring anything into the house from the school,” Foreman says. “I’m not so much concerned for myself but my wife didn’t sign up for me to bring home the coronavirus to her.” Foreman says while she rates her personal risk as rather low, she says her wife falls into a moderate risk category. “We’ve been together nearly 29 years,” she adds. “I’m not willing by any stretch of the imagination to put our home, our friends and our family in jeopardy because of my job.” In her classroom, Foreman says wearing masks at all times will not even be a question and each student’s temperature will be checked as they enter into her room. Foreman has also purchased sprays that she can use to disinfect her classroom before the students come in. “I will spray and then let the kids in,” she says. “There will be a hand sanitizing station in multiple spots in my room and the kids will be able to use hand sanitizers at their will.” As she protects her classroom, Foreman says that school administrators are doing everything they can to make the faculty and students as safe as possible. “Our administrator Rachel Shelley will make sure that her teachers stay safe,” Foreman says. Just as in her class, Foreman says masks will be mandatory school wide. Students and faculty will also be required to socially distance, pathways throughout the school will be restricted and additional lunch periods will be added to allow students to space out and be able to remove their masks while eating.

Manatee County: Ricardo Robinson-Shinall teaches dance and drama at Braden River High School. Photo Courtesy Ricardo Robinson-Shinall The school is also offering to install sneeze shields in the classroom if the teacher wants them. Foreman says she passed on the barriers because of her teaching style. “I elected to not have a sneeze shield put in my room because I’m a mobile teacher,” she says. “I don’t sit at my desk and I want to be engaged with my kids.” Sarasota County Public

classroom. If he and his staff are so confident that this is such a safe time for us to return to school then let them come with us, be in the room with us and stay in the room with us.” In neighboring Manatee County, Braden River High School fine arts department chair Ricardo Robinson-Shinall is also frustrated with state officials for forcing in-person

Seminole COunty: Bobby Agagnina teaches English at Lake Howell High

School and is the vice president of the teachers union. Photo Courtsy Bobby Agagnina

at Braden River for the last six years, says safeguarding his classroom leads to some interesting challenges since both of his subjects require a great deal of movement. “I’m creating a grid system so each student has a box that is six feet away from the next student. That way each kid has their own personal dance or acting space while they’re in the

I love teaching. I miss my students and I miss my art room. I miss my co-teachers but I just do not feel like it’s safe at all. — Osceola Middle School teacher Dwayne Shepard School teachers officially returned to the classroom Aug. 17 for pre-planning and students who are opting to return face-to-face are expected in class Aug. 31. Foreman, who has been teaching for 25 years and is on the executive board of her union, says the district is doing what they can but everyone’s hands are tied due to the state order. “Unfortunately Gov. DeSantis, or Gov. DeathSantis as I call him, he doesn’t see the big picture,” she says. “His happy little behind needs to be in a

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classes with coronavirus not under control in Florida. “A school is a Petri dish and as much as we would like to think that kids are going to be able to keep to themselves,” Robinson-Shinall says, “they’re constantly touching each other and are close to each other. If one person gets a cold those kids come into contact with sometimes 300 people a day, so imagine how quickly that spreads … I for one am always patient zero when cold and flu season happens.” Robinson-Shinall, who has taught drama and dance

studio,” he says. “A lot of what I’m going to be doing this year is so different. I’m not going to be doing as much physical activity because the students will have to wear masks 100% of the time. It is going to be more academic focused and they’re going to have projects at home to work on.” Robinson-Shinall will also have hand sanitizer stations and will be thoroughly wiping down all surfaces in his class. Manatee County schools are allowing students to choose whether they want full-time on campus learning,

completely online classes or a hybrid of the two. “My students opted for roughly 40% in class, 40% hybrid and 20% completely at home,” Robinson-Shinall says. “Because of that everything I teach this year is going to be recorded and put up online so that my students who are at home will still be a part of the lesson. Either they can be there live as I’m teaching it in the moment or they can go back later and watch it after it’s all done.” Manatee County students returned to classes Aug. 17. Teachers have been back since Aug. 3. Robinson-Shinall adds that “the mess of trying to keep kids socially distanced and reduce class sizes is causing many students to do without certain classes,” and the first place that always gets hit are the electives. “My principal said it best: ‘When restaurants opened up, they opened up with limited menus.’ That’s kind of what we’re doing at schools. It’s not going to be school as we have known it before and it’s sad,” he says. Dwayne Shepard understands Robinson-Shinall’s pain and frustration. Shepard has taught visual arts at Pinellas County’s Osceola Middle School in Seminole for 19 years. “To a lot of us teachers in Pinellas County it feels like nobody has a plan,” Shepard

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says. “They probably do have a plan but they aren’t communicating it to us and that’s creating a lot of anxiety. Many teachers do not want to go back or do not feel like it’s safe at all to go back considering how bad Florida’s numbers are.” Shepard says a survey conducted in Pinellas County found only 40% of parents are comfortable sending their kids to face-to-face classes. “I love teaching. I miss my students and I miss my art room,” he says. “I miss my co-teachers but I just do not feel like it’s safe at all. We’re going to have to teach the 40% of students that are there in the physical classroom and then we’re going to also have to teach the 60% online. It’s going to be a mess.” The Pinellas County School Board has stated that everyone in the county’s schools will be required to socially distance and wear face masks. Osceola Middle will also expand the number of lunch hours they have and will stagger classes as they are dismissed at the end of the day. Even with those safety measures in place, Shepard says a lot of the questions teachers have haven’t been answered, and with students currently scheduled to return back to classes Aug. 24, he says time is short to get those answers. “If I’ve touched a pencil and a student needs a pencil, can I loan them one I’ve already touched? I have a set of art supplies, but I use them for every class so can I use the same supplies for each class or does every marker, pencil and paint brush have to be sanitized in between?” he says. “I think there’s just going to be a huge amount of questions and problems when school does get started that a lot of people really haven’t thought about. These people making the rules have not been classroom teachers for a while.” In Seminole County, Lake Howell High School English teacher Bobby Agagnina has been working closely with his district on the policies needed to be in place for his county’s schools re-opening. Along with being an English teacher for 11 years, Agagnina is also the vice president of Seminole County’s teachers union.

Hillsborough County: Married couple Lora Jane Riedas and Valerie Chuchman are both science teachers at Riverview High School. Photo Courtesy Lora Jane Riedas and Valerie Chuchman “We are going to give it our best go. I think instructionally and educationally for the students, we are teachers and we are going to make it work. The kids will learn, but health and safety are the biggest concerns right now,” he says. “I do feel awful because our county leadership would not have been put in this situation if Tallahassee had not intervened.” According to Agagnina, one institution Seminole County’s superintendent is happy to have intervene is Florida’s Department of Health. “The superintendent is being guided by the health department and science,” Agagnina says. “If the health department says it is best practice then we adopt it.” Seminole County offered parents and students the option to do face-to-face

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classes, live online streaming classes or virtual work-at-your-own-pace classes. “They sent this out to the teachers to see which option worked best for them and teachers will also be given the option, but of course this will all be based on student need,” Agagnina says. “Most teachers who were considered high risk or had a family member who is at high risk, they were given priority for one of the remote jobs.” Just as with other school districts, Seminole County will be mandating masks and social distancing but even with safety measures in place, Agagnina thinks what should be happening is the state needs to put the brakes on re-opening Florida schools. “As we are being forced to return by the governor and

the commissioner of education, who are both clueless and reckless, we are going to rush back and people will get sick. Then we are going to have to shut down all over again,” he says. “For me, even if it is only one student who gets COVID that is one student too many.” Teachers in Hillsborough County have had a harder go at it as students are set to return Aug. 24. Married couple Lora Jane Riedas and Valerie Chuchman, both science teachers at Riverview High School, say the hardest part right now is they feel like they are in limbo. They say the county has yet to tell teachers if they will be teaching in-person or the virtual classes. “Hillsborough County did the letter of intent to parents and students asking are you doing e-learning or are you going

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to do in-person classes and then they asked the teachers the same thing. So right now it’s like Harry Potter’s sorting group — sorting out e-learning teachers with e-learning students and in-person teachers with in-person students — but nobody has been given a definite answer,” Chuchman says. Riedas and Chuchman say that as far as safe guarding the school and their classrooms, all they have been given so far is a 50-pack of disinfecting wipes and a face mask. While no detailed safety measures have been communicated, Chuchman says that teachers who wanted to purchase their own Plexiglas to protect their classrooms were told they couldn’t do so. “The school board said absolutely not, because if some teachers have that in their classroom then you have to buy it for every classroom. So they’re not even allowing us to do our own sort of protections,” she says. What they have told them is that department meetings and teacher gatherings will be limited. “They want less than 10 people in a room together for department meetings and things like that,” Chuchman says. “So as of right now it’s keep your mask on around people, stay socially distanced and here are your wipes.” While the school is limiting how many teachers can be gathered in a room, they are not limiting the amount of students who will be in class. “What we have been told is if/when we return for in-person instruction, we’re going to have our normal class sizes. Normally I have 24 to 28 students per class, so I usually have about 150 students per day,” Chuchman says. “I guess the idea is that you’re limiting interactions in the hallways but you cannot social distance in the class. If I set my chairs up in rows I’m going to have maybe a foot and a half in between each student to get 28 desks in my room. I don’t know what the point is.” Not having their schedules solidified is causing extra anxiety for the couple because Riedas is considered high risk due to a health issue and the school has yet to verify if she

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Sarasota County: Gail Foreman teaches multiple subjects at Booker High School.

Orange County: Kevin Hanna teaches the second grade at Citrus Elementary School.

Photo Courtesy Gail Foreman

Photo Courtesy Kevin Hanna

| uu | Back to School?! from pg.23

will be able to be a virtual teacher when classes start. “We have been told, because of our circumstances and health risks, that the two of us are most likely going to be e-learning and that gives us a great relief,” Riedas says, “but if we are not able to e-learn we are going to have to take leaves of absence because we just don’t feel that it would be safe.” “I mean in Hillsborough here we have a real debacle happening,” Chuchman says. “We know when we are starting, Aug. 24, but who is teaching what and how we are teaching, nobody knows that.” While high schools and middle schools are working to figure out how to open schools safely, elementary schools offer up a whole new set of challenges because of the students’ young ages. Kevin Hanna is a second grade teacher at Citrus Elementary School in Orange County. Much like other counties have done, Orange County provided parents and students the option to attend face-to-face classes, live

streaming classes or virtual learning classes. “I got lucky and I am only doing virtual,” Hanna says, “but I will still have to teach from the classroom. I am still coming into the school and the kids will all have to follow the regular schedule. It’s not a work-at-your-own pace where I’m posting things online. I’m going to be live on the screen

I have my mask, so that’s always ready to go as soon as I need it,” he says. School wide, Hanna says that administrators have made traffic in the hallways and stairways flow one way so there will be no crossing paths. The recess schedule will also be rotated so only one class is outside at a time. “They are trying to reduce

as much space as possible to spread the desks. They’re still not six feet apart though.” Hanna says that while the school is doing everything it can do to keep the kids safe, it is going to be a challenge to get elementary-aged kids to follow a set path in the hallways when they are used to going in whatever direction they wanted to.

Gov. DeSantis, or Gov. DeathSantis as I call him, he doesn’t see the big picture ... If he and his staff are so confident that this is such a safe time for us to return to school then let them come with us, be in the room with us and stay in the room with us. — Booker High School teacher Gail Foreman with the kids.” While Hanna will be teaching remotely, he still has prepared his classroom in the event he needs to have any of his kids come in or has any visitors throughout the day. “I have hand sanitizer that I’m putting right by the door and

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class sizes,” Hanna says. “So I know in second grade here, three teachers have blended classes — both face-to-face and virtual — so those teachers have eight to 12 in-person kids instead of the usual 18. They’ve also tried to take out extra furniture so that we have

“Like the stairwell that’s right next to my room is only going to be an upstairs well. So training myself not to go down those stairs is going to be hard,” he says. “If I had kids I imagine getting them to follow the one ways is going to be difficult, but that’s why it is

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going to be so important getting those routines in place so that it becomes second nature to do things in a safe way. I think that’s probably going to be one of the biggest challenges.” While Hanna says he is relatively young and healthy, he is still nervous about schools coming back into session. “There is a part of me that thinks that it won’t be safe for the whole year because the state is such a mess,” he says. “But I would be afraid to commit to that, especially as a second grade teacher. It is really important for relationship building and those interactions with the kids that you can’t really do virtually.” Regardless of the outcome of pending lawsuits and if or when all Florida schools will be up and running, Hanna says he will just keep going how he has been going. “I’ve been as cautious as I can be,” he says. “It’s been a boring life, but you know, I have to keep myself safe and try to keep myself healthy for my kids.”

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arts and Entertainment

Still marching The Chicks chirp back with first album in 14 years

Gregg Shapiro

ay back when, during the

early reign of then-President George W. Bush, country music trio The Chicks (FKA Dixie Chicks) did the unthinkable. Not only did they speak their minds about Bush’s job in The White House, they also expressed their displeasure that — like them — he was a Texan. “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence and we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas,” lead singer Natalie Maines said during a concert in London March 10, 2003.

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The reaction was swift and unnecessarily merciless. Airplay and record sales virtually came to a screeching halt. Not ones to sit idle, Maines, with band members and fellow Chicks Emily Robison and Martie Maguire, stood tall and came back with a vengeance with 2006’s “Taking the Long Way

Home.” The Chicks would go on to win two Grammy Awards for the album and three more for its lead single “Not Ready To Make Nice.” Those five Grammys were added to the eight they won for their previous three albums. Following that, the members of The Chicks worked on some side projects and have now, thankfully, reunited for the amazing new record “Gaslighter” (Columbia/ Sony Music). The album contains everything you love about The Chicks, including breathtaking vocal solos and harmonies. It also expands The Chicks’ style into modern pop territory, as well as features more musical political statements. Continued on pg. 29 | uu |

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Calm Down” or another song from the new album?

| uu | Still Marching

Maines: [Laughs] That would be great! I know there’s been a couple of drag revues called “Chicks With Dicks”... The Chicks: [all laugh] Maines: …in the past, but we never got to see one.

from pg.27

The Chicks were kind enough to answer a few questions about the new album, the current political climate in the U.S. and the relationship between country music and the LGBTQ community.

Texas, where you all have deep roots, has been hit particularly hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m sure you’re all as anxious for the 2020 presidential election as many of us are. What can we do in the meantime?

The Chicks’ previous album, “Taking The Long Way Home,” was released in 2006 and, in the interim, there was a 2013 solo album by Natalie and a couple of albums, in 2010 and 2013, by Emily and Natalie’s Court Yard Hounds. Why was now the right time for The Chicks to reunite and release a new album?

Robison: Get people to vote! Get as many people to vote as we can. Maines: Lobby your officials to get mail-in voting so that they can’t scare people away from the polls. I wouldn’t go vote in a pandemic. Luckily, in California we have mail-in voting and I have been doing that for several years. Even though I do mail-in voting, a lot of times I fill it out at home, but I still like to go to the polling place and put it in the box. I still get to feel a part of it all, but I don’t have to wait in a line [laughs]. I won’t be doing that this time. I’ll just be mailing it in.

Robison: I think the 2016 tour was really fun. It was a great reconnection with our fan base. At the same time, we were able to do the live album that Sony took as one of the last of our two albums for the label. So, the prospect of having one more studio album to do was a motivator, to be free agents. But we were also having a lot of fun. If we were going to tour again, we definitely wanted to have some new music for the next tour.

I’m grateful to have been able to participate in the unforgettable experience of the 2017 Women’s March in Key West. What would it mean to you if “March March,” a song inspired partly by your experience at the Women’s March, became an anthem for the movement?

Maines: That would be awesome! We’ve offered it up to anybody in the movement to use at will. We’ll see if anybody takes us up on it. But, yeah, I mean it would be a good one [laughs].

New Music: ”Gaslighter” is The Chicks first studio album since their multiple Grammy-winning “Taking the Long Way Home” was released in 2006. ”Gaslighter” cover (ABOVE) and gas mask photo courtesy Sony Music of it that way. We do pull not from one experience but from all of our experiences and from our songwriters’ experiences. So, I think those songs might have a common thread, but it’s probably 10 people’s experiences all together.

Incorporated into all of the seriousness on the album is a display of The Chicks’ sense of humor in the song “Texas Man.” Is it important to you allto include that kind of thing?

“Tights on My Boat,” as well as the title track and “Hope It’s Something Good” sound like 21st century updates to the classic country cheatin’ song.

The Chicks: [All laugh.]

How cathartic is it to create and perform these types of songs?

Maguire: [Laughs] Well, we don’t get to perform them yet, really. The tour was supposed to start June 6 and that’s not going to happen for a while. We have heard a lot of people calling it a great divorce album. I don’t think we think

Maines: Yeah. I feel like there’s humor in “Gaslighter.” There’s humor in “Sleep At Night.” There’s humor in “Tights On My Boat.” There’s humor in a lot of our songs. I think a lot of times humor can make a jagged pill easier to swallow, right [laughs]? We do like to stay light, even when it gets really heavy. Robison: I’m not sure if we’re conscious of it. I would say that certain days we’d go, “Let’s do

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something fun today or something a little bit less than what we’ve already been talking about.” That might be a conscious way we do it.

“Texas Man” is one of four songs on “Gaslighter” co-written by gay singer-songwriter Justin Tranter.

In recent years, a growing number of lgbtq female country and Americana artists, such as Brandy Clark, Jamie Wyatt, Brandi Carlile, H.C. McEntire and others have become more visible. What do you think about that?

Maguire: I think it’s the way the world hopefully is changing to more acceptance. Country has a reputation of being very exclusive and I can only think of two gay artists when we were kind of coming up in the ranks. That was Ty Herndon and Chely Wright. Hanging out with them, I definitely got the sense

that they always felt kind of on the outside. They were amazing artists and there was no reason why they shouldn’t be played just as much. So, we’re just hoping that the world is getting a clue. Everybody is equal. Maines: (When we first met them) weren’t they all still in the closet? They weren’t allowed to be out then. Robison: I think other people, other artists who knew them knew. Maines: I’m happy that they can come out now, in an industry where they had to be closeted just 10 years ago. That’s very cool.

“Julianna Calm Down” features lines about putting on your best shoes and showing off your best moves. what it would mean to The Chicks to have one of the queens on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” perform “Julianna

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in Fort Lauderdale, Dixie Highway runs through Broward County. Riviera Beach renamed a stretch of Old Dixie Highway as President Barack Obama Highway.

Following your band’s name change, and other examples, do you think the name Dixie is long for this earth?

Robison: I think it’s always going to be a place and a time, and people will know it in a historical sense. But I don’t know that we need to celebrate it. Maines: I do think that word will disappear. With products and businesses and, yes, even us. Yes, I think it will be part of the past.

since we all had to miss Pride this year, if The Chicks were invited to perform at a Pride festival, do you think that would ever happen?

Maguire: Sure! Maines: I went to my first Pride last year and it was so much fun! Robison: The flood gates are definitely open!

The Chicks latest album “Gaslighter” is available everywhere music is sold.

announcements

tampa bay out+about

CONGRATULATIONS St. Petersburg’s Old Key West Bar & Grill celebrated Haley Martz becoming an official owner Aug. 14. Chad Mize collaborated with The Straz Center on its first “Show Must Go On” T-shirt to raise funds.

POSTPONEMENTS/ CLOSURES Polk Pride and its official events, originally rescheduled for Sept. 26-Oct. 4, have been postponed until 2021. Read more at WatermarkOnline.com.

VIRTUAL EVENTS Come OUT St Pete’s “Come Out As You Are” Royal Court will be virtually revealed Sept. 7. Read more on p. 10 and see video at WatermarkOnline.com. ALSO Youth will host “Better Together” Sept. 26 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., emceed by Tampa Bay entertainer Matthew McGee to benefit its GBTQ programming. Read more on p. 10.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS MHK Director of Strategy and Pharmacy Jimmy Singkhapophet (Aug. 20); Clearwater bear Keith Schorr, Brandon restaurant exec. Rob Roberts (Aug. 21); HOT101.5 host and Watermark contributor Miguel Fuller, GayMovieDB founder Brandon Taylor (Aug. 22); Tampa Bay retailer Charles Germaine, The Hotchkiss Group’s Sonny Hotchkiss (Aug. 23); Writer and ally Karen Brown, Straz Center marketing manager Zachary Hines, founder of Tampa’s The Taylor Company Scott Taylor, Tampa Bay bartender Corey Peterson, Tampa Bay entertainer Kamden T. Rage, St. Petersburg actor/director Steven Flaa, Channel 125 owner Dick Woelfle (Aug. 24); Tampa Bay realtor Tom Malanowicz, Spring Hill psychologist David Chandler, St. Pete Twirling Project veteran Steven Caruso, Tampa softballer Andrew Cohen, Optician Sharon Greene (Aug. 25); Come OUT St. Pete’s Joshua Wallace, Buffy sidekick Del Fugler, Hillsborough County educator Laurie Walls (Aug. 26); former St. Pete Pride board member Carl Lovgren, Keller Williams’ Dallas Coffield (Aug. 27); Gypsy Productions’ Darryl Epperly, St. Pete songstress Lorna Bracewell, Clearwater bear Chris Miller, Tampa Verizon guy Jim Green, DoMA Home Furnishing’s Cody Williams, Tampa Bay entertainer Luke Miller, activist Aramis Baynard (Aug. 28); Seminole painting expert Karen Santos, Studio@620 founder and friend to the arts Bob Devin Jones, Oasis Sarasota’s owner Hunter Vance, PrimeTimers Sarasota’s Stephen Horowitz (Aug. 29); ); Tampa Bay stylist Tyler Cochran (Aug. 30); Sarasota ally Maggie Wood, Pockets of Sunlight’s Ricky Celaya-Renaud, St. Pete diva Ed Adams (Aug. 31); Sarasota drag queen Trixie Liemont, Tampa Bay stylist Nicholas Grawey, Habitat for Humanity handyman Rick Vail, Florida Studio Theatre marketing director Becca Jennings (Sept. 1); Lakeland bear Bob Lloyd (Sept. 2)

2 3

EARLY BIRDS: Tampa Pride’s Mark Bias (L) and Carrie West vote early in Hillsborough County Aug. 7. PHOTO COURTESY MARK BIAS

BREAKING GROUND: St. Pete City Council’s Darden Rice broke ground at Tropicana Field’s new Sun Runner bus stop Aug. 18. PHOTO COURTESY DARDEN RICE

RUNNING WITH RAYNER: Team Rayner including Michele Rayner (C) herself participate in Roll to the Polls in St. Pete Aug. 15. PHOTO COURTESY

MICHELE FOR FLORIDA

TIS THE SEASON: Joshua Beadle (L) delivers color Christmas trees Aug. 7 for Project Pride’s Xmas in July fundraiser to ALSO Youth’s James Robinson.

PHOTO COURTESY PROJECT PRIDE

PROUD PARTNERS: Compass’ Dylan Brooks (L) stops by Metro and CAN for a socially distant tour from Leigh Wilson-Arwood.

PHOTO COURTESY CAN COMMUNITY HEALTH

ST. PETE PROUD: Rep. Charlie Crist (R) visits the St. Pete Progressive Pride mural with artist Andrea Pawlisz (C) and LGBTQ Liaison Jim Nixon (L) Aug. 12. PHOTO COURTESY CHARLIE CRIST

FAMILY VOTERS: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (L) and son Seely Bevan rock the vote in Tampa Aug. 14. PHOTO COURTESY JANE CASTOR

NEW GIG: Chris Hannay settles into his new role bartending at the Alden Suites Cabana Bar Aug. 16.

PHOTO COURTESY CHRIS HANNAY

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announcements

central florida out+about

CONGRATULATIONS Parliament House celebrated 45 years as Orlando’s world-famous LGBTQ resort this month. Will’s Pub celebrates its 24th anniversary on Sept. 1. 26Health celebrates five years as a fully functional comprehensive health center this month. Lia Rew-Sanchez and Lisa Sanchez announced the birth of their first child, Aiden, on Aug. 13.

CONDOLENCES Ally and one half of the Theatre Downtown Frank Hilgenberg passed away Aug. 10. He will be missed.

POSTPONEMENTS/ CLOSURES 1

The 49th annual Fiesta in the Park at Lake Eola, scheduled for Nov. 7-8, has been cancelled for the fall. The spring festival is still scheduled for April 3-4, 2021.

REOPENINGS Ember’s Sunday Surrender, the biggest LGBTQ Sunday Funday party in downtown Orlando, relaunched Aug. 16 after shutting down in March. Companion parties Runway Sundays at Chillers and Situation Sundays at Latitudes will continue to remain closed until further notice.

VIRTUAL EVENTS 4

Heather Abood celebrates her half-birthday by singing her childhood favorites in a very special Bathtub Acoustic Session, streaming live on her Facebook Aug. 22.

LOCAL BIRTHDAYS

Sunday Safety: Barbara Poma (L) and Kate Maini follow safety procedures at the relaunch of Sunday Surrender at Ember Orlando Aug. 16. Photo courtesy Kate Maini

Congress Car: U.S. Rep. Darren Soto leads a caravan of cars “Ridin’ for Biden” in Poinciana Aug. 16. Photo courtesy rep. Darren Soto

Anniversary Adventure: State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (R) and Jerick Mediavilla celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary in North Carolina Aug. 14. Photo courtesy Jerick Mediavilla

Masked Entertainment: Milan D’Marco (L) and Darcel Stevens mask up as they get ready for a show at Parliament House Orlando Aug. 13. Photo

courtesy Darcel Stevens

Helping Hands: State Rep. Anna V. Eskamani shares a photo after dropping off an $8,000 check, raised from donations, to help pay rent for eight families and a veteran staying in extended-stay hotels during the pandemic.

Photo courtesy Anna V. Eskamani

Let’s Ride: Margo Dixon (L) and U.S. Rep. Val Demings prepare for the socially distanced Biden Caravan in Orange County Aug. 16.

Photo courtesy Margo Dixon

Essential Worker: ASL interpreter Jillian Kalish (L) signs for Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings during a COVID-19 press conference. Photo courtesy

Orange County Government

Orlando Immunology Center’s Sam Graper (Aug. 20); 26Health’s Debo Ofsowitz, school teacher and ally Tabatha Schmidt (Aug. 22); Orlando International Airport’s Pedro Aponte, Orlando graphic artist Marcus Vale (Aug. 23); Sunnyland Slammer Shana Moshen, Ally and activist Karen Brown (Aug. 24); Manager of Corporate Partnerships at Universal Brad Partridge (Aug. 25); Orlando’s Eddie Mora, Central Florida singer and actress Jill Wilson, Former Watermark film critic Stephen Miller (Aug. 26); Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse coordinator Benjamin Cox (Aug. 27); Orlando artist Keith Theriot (Aug. 28); Orlando Miller’s Ale House kitchen coach Nicole Phillips, IT guru Jeff Kern, Orlando artist and photographer Lee Vandergrift (Aug. 29); Human Rights Campaign’s Xavier Persad (Aug. 31); Central Floridabased national performer Philip Ancheta (Sept. 1); The Center board president Jeffrey Buak (Sept. 2).

Trivia Time: Doug Ba’aser as Taffy says it’s time for Taffy’s Tuesday Trivia, live on Facebook and in the Bear Den, at the Parliament House Aug. 11.

Photo courtesy Doug Ba’aser

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wedding bells

Deedee McLain and Cassie Kramer from Riverview, Florida

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eedee McLain knew that she and

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“When I first saw her, I knew that we would be friends. I just knew that she would be somebody important in my life,” McLain says. For the next two years, they continued studying together at the Mystikal Scents shop in Thonotosassa and bonded over their shared spirituality. They began meeting up outside their study group to continue their conversations. “We started doing stuff together, getting to know each other as friends,” Kramer says. As they grew closer and their friendship deepened, eventually this gave way to something more. “I realized I was attracted to her and wanted more,” McLain recalls. Kramer laughs, “I caught the feels, she caught the feels and we finally got together.” Their relationship was filled with fun, whimsy and adventure from the start. They shared their first kiss at The Castle in Ybor City. The first time they said “I love you” was in Cinderella’s Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

So, when they started talking about getting married, Kramer knew she wanted their engagement to be special. “I knew I wanted it to be like something out of a fairytale,” she says. One evening after work, she surprised McLain with dinner reservations in St. Petersburg. The couple lived in Tampa, so spending time on the other side of the bay was a special treat. Kramer is known for her spontaneity and sense of adventure. So, the impromptu visit to downtown St. Petersburg didn’t raise any questions with McLain. “She’s already adventurous, so her picking me up after work and saying we’re going somewhere was not a stretch of the imagination,” McLain says. Ahead of their St. Petersburg dinner date, Kramer booked a horse-drawn carriage without telling McLain. After dinner, when it passed by the restaurant, she pointed it out and suggested a carriage ride around downtown. “She had no idea I booked it ahead of time,” Kramer says. “I really

wanted to create this fairytale experience for her.” Throughout the evening, she carried a bag everywhere they went. When McLain questioned it, Kramer said she had an extra pair of shoes in there in case her work shoes caused foot pain while they walked around downtown. McLain didn’t question her and had no idea what was really inside: an engagement ring, a bottle of champagne and two glasses. Also in her bag was a stuffed bear from Build-a-Bear with an internal voice recording of Kramer popping the question. She took the bear out during their carriage ride. “I was trying to be as whimsical and magical as I could be,” she says. The sentiment was no surprise to McLain. After all, they had already started talking about getting married. But she wasn’t expecting such a magical proposal. Their engagement took place Feb. 23, 2018 and McLain immediately got to work planning their wedding, which was held nine months later on Nov. 11, 2018. It was just the right size wedding that she was able to handle the planning without hiring a professional. She was excited to oversee the wedding plans, she adds. “I’m a

Virgo and really like to plan and organize things.” Both had been married previously, so they saw their marriage as an opportunity to create the wedding of their dreams. “We had both been married before, so we came away learning what was really important in a wedding,” Kramer says. “We wanted this to be the wedding to end all weddings.” They knew they wanted an intimate wedding, and only invited 30 guests – their closest friends and family members. They also wanted to incorporate their love of nature and new age spirituality into the ceremony, so they held it at Tampa’s Eureka Springs Park, incorporating a handfasting ritual into their special day. “Those were the kinds of details that were important to us. We knew where we wanted to spend our money at to create the most magical, perfect experience,” Kramer says. Ultimately, it was a day they’ll both never forget. “It was amazing having everyone coming around us to support us and love us that day,” McLain recalls. Kramer adds, “It wasn’t just a Sunday in November. It was a day focused on our soul-level love and our deeper connection. —Tiffany Razzano

Do you have an interesting wedding or engagement story you’d like to share with Watermark readers? If so, email the details to Editor@WatermarkOnline.com for consideration as a future feature on this page.

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august 20 - Sep t emb er 2, 2020 // Issue 27.17 wat e r m a r konline .com

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

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