July 16, 2008
Outside conference, Robinson wins support
LONDON—The first openly gay U.S. Episcopal bishop was barred from a once-a-decade Anglican meeting so he wouldn’t become a focus of the global event. Now Anglicans on all sides of the issue agree that the strategy has backfired. New Hampshire... Full Story
Nation Report
Porn producer’s slaying case moves toward trial
WILKES-BARRE, Pa.—Prosecutors say two Virginia men accused of killing a porn producer in Pennsylvania made a number of incriminating admissions. Bryan Kocis was killed in January 2007 in his Dallas Township home. Two Virginia Beach, Virginia, men are charged in his death: 26-year-old Harlow Cuadra and 34-year-old Joseph Kerekes. Luzerne County (Pa.) prosecutors are seeking... Full Story
Court says marriage benefits aren’t retroactive
BOSTON—The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that marriage benefits for gay couples can’t be applied retroactively to the time before same-sex marriage was legalized in the state. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued the ruling as part of a malpractice case brought by Michelle Charron and Cynthia Kalish... Full Story
Lesbian couple sues Blue Cross for spousal benefits
BUFFALO, N.Y.—The New York Civil Liberties Union sued a western New York health insurer July 9 on behalf of a same-sex couple who were denied spousal health care benefits after marrying in Canada. The New York Supreme Court lawsuit accuses Blue Cross & Blue... Full Story
California county rebuffs anti-gay group
BAKERSFIELD, California—Kern County supervisors refused to ban gay marriage last week, rebutting a conservative group that sought to make it the first California county to reject the statewide policy. The Campaign for Children and Families hoped the passage... Full Story
Lesbian adoption case goes to Maine high court
PORTLAND, Maine—An adult adoption involving lesbian partners and a claim to a share of a family fortune built on IBM has been annulled, bouncing the case to Maine’s highest court. At issue is whether it was legal for a judge to allow Olive Watson to adopt Patricia Spado in 1991, where the longtime partners spent... Full Story
Priest who runs New York trans shelter attacked
NEW YORK—A priest who runs a shelter specializing in outreach to homeless transgender youths was beaten with construction equipment and paint cans by a group of teenagers in a possible hate crime, authorities said July 8. Two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old were awaiting arraignment... Full Story
Whitman-Walker clinic selling off its offices
WASHINGTON—The Washington region’s largest provider of HIV-AIDS services is selling its administrative offices. The Whitman-Walker Clinic has agreed to sell the property at 14th and S streets in northwest Washington to developer JBG for $8 million. Officials say the deal would allow the organization to eliminate debt and focus more resources... Full Story
Editorial
Talk about Orwellian—by the year 2010, assuming California continues to allow gays and lesbians to marry, it’s expected that tens of thousands of same-sex couples will have gotten hitched in the Golden State. They would join the thousands of gay and lesbian couples married in Massachusetts, not to mention those U.S. couples... Full Story
I am beyond amazed that WTTW and a small group of either self-serving or uninformed people assembled the show and book Out and Proud in Chicago, which purports to be an “overview of the gay community’s role in Chicago’s history... Full Story
Opinion
“Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I’ve long admired your work.” And I yours. Incidentally, to distinguish our voices for the reader, we’re putting your questions in quotation marks, but not my answers. OK? “Fine. Now why are we having this interview, exactly... Full Story
I was at a friend’s book party the other night when I met a beautiful, sparkly woman in the bathroom line. Carrie was funny, smart and flirtatious, and when she mentioned she was single, I winked. “What a coincidence!” I said. “I am, too!” And for a minute I was hopeful. Then she looked at me sideways... Full Story
Freetime
To say he was a polarizing figure would be an understatement. I think of him as a racist, homophobic, butt-ugly son-of-a-bitch, but I’ll never forget the happy times we spent together on our weekly trysts having weird sex in a Holiday Inn in Fayetteville... Full Story
GEMINI: MAY 21-JUNE 20: When things are going well the tendency to stop paying attention can easily screw them up. You need to be just as vigilant now as you were when this started. Keep an eye on your motives and be equally aware of the motives of others. More
“Hannah Takes The Stairs” (Weinstein Company Home Entertainment/IFC Films)—Chronically dissatisfied early 20-something Hannah (Greta Gerwig) admits to leaving destruction in her wake, and over the course of a nearly interminable 83 minutes, we get to watch her in action... Full Story
Back in the day: Moments in Chicago's GLBT History
1977: It’s the Gay-La Grand Opening of the New Flight, 420 N. Clark St. The bar actually opened the year before when Al Lee Evans was its contestant in the 1976 Mr. Windy City contest. Described in Gay Chicago as having “an attractive décor with a lounge featuring mechanical games... Full Story
CFP reviews 'Track Meet' & 'Code Violators'. Full Story
News
Well, well, well… Down in the great state of Alabama this past weekend the rumor mill was working around the clock amid speculation that Alabama Attorney General Troy King had been kicked out of his house after his wife caught him in bed with a male assistant... Full Story
Couple shares lifetime publishing in community
It may have been inevitable, even before her birth, that Barbara Grier would grow up to co-found the largest lesbian publishing house in the country, Naiad Press. “My mother read ‘The Well of Loneliness’ when she was carrying me,” Grier said... Full Story
Lesbian singer/songwriter Katie Reider died July 14 at the age of 30 after a two-year battle with a rare type of cancer.
In 2006, as her popularity was reaching a national audience through her music and guest roles on TV’s “Dawson Creek” and “Strong Medicine,” Reider became ill with what was diagnosed as a myofibroblastic... Full Story
Chicago Department of Public Health initiatives to fight syphilis among gay and bisexual men haven’t had much effect this decade in lowering the number of infections, according to a newly issued report by the CDPH this week. The report disclosed that... Full Story
The Chicago Force women’s professional football team defeated the Pittsburgh Passion July 12 in Chicago, capturing the Eastern Conference championship of the Independent Women’s Football League. The win propels the Force to the IWFL title game against the Western Conference champs, the Dallas Diamonds... Full Story
Anti-gay effort hits roadblock in Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK—For a group that successfully rallied Arkansas voters to outlaw same-sex marriage four years ago, a campaign to effectively ban gays and lesbians from serving as adoptive or foster parents seemed like a slam dunk. The Arkansas Family Council Action Committee set a goal of gathering 100,000 signatures... Full Story
WASHINGTON—So how old is John McCain? Six-packs, automatic transmissions and the American Express card were all introduced after he was born, not to mention computers, which McCain admits he doesn’t use. McCain himself jokes that he’s older than dirt. And while... Full Story
Gay activists urge boycott of two San Diego hotels
SAN DIEGO—Same-sex marriage advocates urged travelers July 10 to boycott two hotels owned by a San Diego County businessman who gave $125,000 to a group backing a California ballot initiative to ban gay marriage. Doug Manchester, who... Full Story
Dissidents silenced as Olympics draw close in China
BEIJING—Lu Jun, a campaigner for the rights of millions of Chinese with hepatitis B, seems an unlikely threat to the Beijing Olympics. But the popular website he runs was blocked in May. This month, police detained him for four hours when he returned to... Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
If you ask the average, well-informed person to name some women artists, he or she might be able to name Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe and Mexico’s Frida Kahlo. “50 Women Artists You Should Know” makes the bold claim that there are many more we should know about. The book performs a... Full Story
Tues., July 22: The wait is over as Coldplay and Santogold play the United Center, 1901 W. Madison, tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. Call (312) 455-4500. More
“Jersey Boys,” the Tony Award-winning musical that tells the story, in song, of the 1960s music phenomenon known as Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, continues to pack them in on Broadway. Multiple touring productions of “Jersey Boys,” including one... Full Story
“Indestructible” (ALS Film Fund)—Covering the first three years of his ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s Disease), actor turned filmmaker Ben Byer documents the debilitating effects of the disease, which attacks the brain, spinal cord and nervous system, and his quest... Full Story
Cottage industry... Outfitting the second home
Witness the flight of the gay snowbird. Yes, Gayby Boomers are approaching that special age—some have even arrived—when the dream of the second home becomes a reality. A loft in Uptown. A cottage on Siesta Key, Fla... Full Story
When the temperature is right, there is no place better than Chicago. So what if that happens only 14 days a year. Those 14 days are pure heaven, and there’s no better way to enjoy those days than sitting in a sidewalk café, on the beach or in a secluded garden enjoying some good food, good wine and the company of good friends... Full Story
Deconstruction yields treasures
CLEVELAND—When Brad Guy takes apart a house, he uses the “LOFO” method. That’s last on, first off. That way he can preserve the integrity of the light fixtures, the wood floors—anything of value that can be reused. It’s called deconstruction and... Full Story
Theater
More than any overachieving Energizer bunny, Shakespeare can take a licking and keep on ticking. The Bard is just too basic not to reward revision and even, as with this show, reform. Soaring with the same sassy-silly spirit of their earlier hit “The Bomb-itty of Errors,” this latest... Full Story
You’d think the words “by Noel Coward” would be reason enough to see a play. And typically, you’d be right: The British bon vivant-cum-playwright had such a way with words, it would be difficult for any halfway-decent company to... Full Story
When an artist dies far too young, leaving behind one single masterwork, there’s an extra dimension to the tragedy: Not only is a life lost, but so too is all the art that will never come to be. This leads to an irresistible desire by survivors to pore through the deceased’s earlier works... Full Story
