April 9, 2008
Nation Report
Funding scandal may damage Quinn’s campaign for mayor
NEW YORK—Christine Quinn was widely thought to have a shot at becoming New York’s first female and openly gay mayor. But that bid may be complicated by revelations that the New York City Council, under her leadership, allocated millions of dollars to fake organizations... Full Story
Ballot initiative would protect GLBT rights in Arizona
PHOENIX—A proposed ballot measure would expand Arizona’s law against discrimination in employment to cover sexual orientation as well as “gender identity” and “gender expression.” Arizona state Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and others supporting the initiative, filed April 4 with the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office... Full Story
Medical decision rights bill moves forward in Maryland
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Unmarried couples would get additional medical decision-making rights in Maryland under a bill headed to the governor. The House of Delegates has approved a bill to allow domestic partners, who could be gay or straight, to make medical or funeral decisions for each other if they meet certain criteria to show they are a committed couple... Full Story
Judge’s ruling called a win for anti-gay churches
FAIRFAX, Virginia—Eleven conservative church congregations seeking to break away from the Episcopal Church in a dispute over sexuality and other theological issues have won a preliminary victory in a closely watched lawsuit that could decide who controls church property... Full Story
Pelosi request gets Baldwin’s partner on plane
WASHINGTON—The Pentagon at first blocked the partner of lesbian Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) from traveling on a military plane with a congressional delegation on a trip to Europe but gave in after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intervened. The Pentagon said it was merely following House rules, which do not define domestic partners as spouses. Pelosi’s office... Full Story
Alabama court lets lesbian couple go to prom together
SCOTTSBORO, Ala.—Two female students at Alabama’s Scottsboro High School attended the prom together hours after a judge’s ruling defeated the school board’s efforts to block the gay teens. Jackson County Circuit Judge John Graham ruled April 5 that the board could not ban Chelsea Overstreet and Lauren Martin from the junior-senior prom at the town’s civic center that night... Full Story
Mormon officials agree to meeting with GLBT group
SALT LAKE CITY—After decades of silence, Mormon church officials have agreed to meet with a gay Mormon support group that has sought to forge understanding between the faith’s leaders and its gay members. In a letter received a couple weeks ago, leaders of... Full Story
Editorial
Speaking with the Philadelphia Gay News last week, Hillary Clinton said she would be “very strongly outspoken” as president against governments that don’t respect the rights of their GLBT citizens. That would mark a considerable advance over the current and past policies of the United States government and if she... Full Story
The Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI are not known to be champions for elementary human rights for GLBT people. To understand the faith of GLBT Catholics you must be willing to journey to the very root of our Catholic being. St. Paul... Full Story
Opinion
Transitioning into inclusion at Michigan
Seventeen years after Nancy Burkholder was ejected from the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival because she was outed as a transwoman, people on the Michigan Internet forums are still talking about transgender inclusion in the lesbian community... Full Story
Recently I attended the opening of an exhibition of paintings and photographs by 15 or so Chicago gay and lesbian artists at the gay community center. The theme—welcome after Chicago’s irritatingly long and difficult winter—was flowers: Tulips, roses, water lilies, etc... Full Story
Freetime
The downside of body piercing is that you may have problems getting through airport security, a fact recently discovered by 37-year old Mandi Hamlin, who set off alarms while attempting to board a flight in Lubbock, Texas. Although Hamlin has multiple piercings, it was her nipple rings that blipped on the... Full Story
SAGITTARIUS: All of a sudden who ever you were trying to shake off has distanced them selves. Now that they could care less you seem to care more. Questioning your choices, you’re wondering if you were hasty when you told them to get lost. More
Back in the day: Moments in Chicago's GLBT history
1991: Over 300 people demonstrate at the University of Chicago after an organization called “The Brotherhood of the Iron Fist” threatens three students. Tara Hardy, director of the Anti-Violence Project of Horizons Community Services, says, “In the atmosphere of intolerance that exists here at the... Full Story
“Blue Man Group: How to Be a Megastar Live” (Rhino/Blue Man Group)—Of all the various types of stage shows in existence, “Blue Man Group” is one that deserves to be experienced live. How else will you ever fulfill your longtime dream of being splattered in paint while wearing a rain poncho (first few rows only) or being swathed in and... Full Story
CFP reviews "Below the Belt" & "The Road to Redneck Hollow". Full Story
News
“Tonight Show” host Jay Leno got a little education in recent weeks after asking Ryan Phillippe to give him his “gayest look.” “Say that camera was your gay lover,” Leno said. “Can you give me your gayest look?” Phillippe, who once played a gay teen on the soap opera “One Life to Live,” squirmed... Full Story
Group discusses porn’s health impact
Members of the Chicago Black Gay Men’s Caucus met April 3 at the DuSable Museum of African-American History for their first quarterly 2008 meeting, focusing their discussion on the adult entertainment industry and its role in influencing the sexual health of gay African American men... Full Story
AIDS advocates rally in Springfield
More than 150 AIDS advocates gathered in the Illinois State Capitol rotunda April 2 to demand a $2-million budget appropriation to expand voluntary HIV testing services across Illinois, as well as advocate for bills to prevent drug overdose deaths and to grant health care coverage to poor Illinoisans ineligible for public assistance... Full Story
AIDS advocates say government rules should be better
Community HIV/AIDS advocates and Loyola Law School faculty spoke at the school April 1 about AIDS’ impact in urban America, specifically how it affects the economically disadvantaged. Ruqaiijah Yearby of Loyola Law School first discussed... Full Story
Students launch website supporting civil unions
Illinois students April 1 launched the website www.CivilUnionsIllinois.org, a grassroots effort of students who came together through social networking sites like facebook.com to support Illinois House Bill 1826, civil unions legislation introduced last year by Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago). DePaul University sophomore Chris Jessup, Lake Forest... Full Story
Judges hear Naperville T-shirt case
A three-judge panel in Chicago heard testimony April 4 in a Naperville high school student’s appeal to wear a T-shirt expressing opposition to homosexuality. Alexander Nuxoll, a Neuqua Valley High School sophomore, was banned from wearing a T-shirt reading “Be Happy, Not Gay” to school... Full Story
Man stabbed in domestic dispute
An argument between two men in Rogers Park March 31 left one man injured after allegedly being stabbed with a steak knife by the other. Rogers Park District police told the Chicago Sun-Times that the victim, in his late 30s, sustained non-life-threatening lacerations on the head and scalp after he was stabbed at about 11:45 p.m. at the 6800 block of North Ashland Avenue... Full Story
James Owen, a longtime bartender on Halsted Street and a fixture in Chicago’s gay leather community, died March 31 following a brief illness. He was 53. Owen tended bar at Little Jim’s on Halsted for 15 years before taking a leave of absence recently. Prior to working at Little Jim’s, he tended bar for years at the Manhandler Saloon in Lincoln Park... Full Story
Kansas librarian spans state for GLBT oral history project
LAWRENCE, Kan.—Tami Albin was always very careful. The 11-year-old didn’t go to the library with friends. She never wrote down the call numbers of the books she was looking up. She dodged well-meaning librarians whenever possible. She trolled the aisles, constantly in a state of childhood fear of anyone knowing she... Full Story
Singapore censors ban films on gay Muslims and sex
SINGAPORE—Singapore’s censors have banned documentaries about terrorism, gay Muslims and a sex fetish from being screened at a local film festival, a newspaper reported April 5. Two of the films—“Arabs and Terrorism” and “David the Tolhildan”—were blocked by the Singapore Board of Film Censors because of their “sympathetic portrayal of organizations deemed terrorist organizations by many countries,” The Straits Times newspaper reported... Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
Not so taxing: Homes for digital archives and other tax-time tools
“Did you copy that?” my partner asks, expecting the honest answer to be “no” and predetermined to disapprove of my poor record-keeping. But my honest answer is “yes,” because this season I’ve gotten around my distaste for stockpiling old papers by digitizing documents and storing them away in a lockbox the size of a deck of cards... Full Story
Like the grime-soaked love child of Dolly Parton’s stark Appalachian ballads and the harsh inner city croak of Tom Waits’ visions, Redmoon’s “Boneyard Prayer” captivates with a despairingly emotional, ultimately redemptive mood. Even when the simple plotline becomes... Full Story
What’s a farce in fast-forward is a tragedy in slow motion. Played out in real time, Elliot Spitzer’s hypocritical philandering is a political and domestic disaster: Speed it up and he’d look like a horny clown bent on self-destruction... Full Story
Expectations are tricky things. You wouldn’t wish to confine any talented artist to only one box. Still, it’s fair to say that you also wouldn’t go to a new Neil LaBute play expecting a feel-good experience. Sure enough, the playwright delivers yet another unhappy but well-told... Full Story
This is the show that Sidetrack could live and die for. Running only through Sunday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is a delightful gay musical that pays fulsome tribute to its homely hero, The Man in Chair... Full Story
Larry Tee, the godfather of electroclash, makes an appearance at the Debonair Social Club, 1575 N. Milwaukee. Call (773) 227-7990. More
After a brutal, ugly, frigid and all too long winter, Chicago is beginning to thaw. Hints of spring include the crocus pushing through the dirt and returning robins, their red breasts shining. Along with the thaw is a fresh crop of new music from Chicago bands... Full Story
So exciting: An interview with Bitch
Lesbian singer/songwriter Bitch is back. And this time she’s not alone. Backed by her band The Exciting Conclusion, she has released the new five-song EP “B+TEC” (Short Story Records) on her very own record label. She’s also not alone on the label, having just signed acclaimed lesbian and women’s music pioneer Ferron. We spoke about being a musician, a music mogul and her hopes... Full Story
Big Jones leads spring dining picks
Spring is a time of new beginnings: Flowers pushing through the earth, birds caring for their newly hatched chicks and, with swimsuit season approaching, that diet you vowed to start in January. It also seems to be a prime time for new restaurants to open and established places to offer specials... Full Story
Nissan Murano adds power and cuts price
Skipping the 2008 model year altogether, the Nissan Murano sport utility vehicle is out as an early 2009 model with noticeably more engine power, noteworthy ride and handling and a mildly restyled body. Best of all, the starting retail price is lower than what it was for the... Full Story
Dome builder touts safety in extreme weather
ITALY, Texas—We all know what happened. The black funnel dipped from a roiling sky and picked up that Kansas farmhouse. Dorothy might have avoided the fright of her life and subsequent trip to a faraway land, had she and Toto lived in an energy-efficient, disaster-resistant, steel-reinforced-concrete monolithic dome. Full Story
