August 6, 2008
Massachusetts allows out-of-state gay couples to marry
BOSTON—Massachusetts began allowing any gay couple to get married there July 31 as Gov. Deval Patrick signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that had blocked most out-of-state same-sex couples from tying the knot. The old law barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their union would not... Full Story
Nation Report
Murder, hate crime charges filed in transgender’s death
GREELEY, Colo.—Prosecutors in Greeley are treating the beating death of a transgender woman as a hate crime. The Weld County district attorney’s office filed criminal charges against 31-year-old Allen Ray Andrade July 31, including first-degree murder and committing a bias-motivated crime, which is also a felony... Full Story
Federal judge tells school to allow GLBT group
MIAMI—A school district in rural Florida must allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to meet on campus and must provide for the well-being of gay and straight students, a federal judge ruled July 29, capping a nearly two-year legal battle over First Amendment rights. Students do not... Full Story
LDS Church postpones meeting with Mormon GLBTs
SALT LAKE CITY—An August meeting between a gay Mormon support group and a social service agency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been indefinitely delayed. In a letter sent July 23, Fred C. Riley, the outgoing director of LDS Family Services, said the matter would... Full Story
Anti-gay Oklahoma official loses reelection bid
OKLAHOMA CITY—After being denounced for mailing out a crude campaign comic book and trounced in his Republican primary, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brent Rinehart now can move on to his next battle—in district court... Full Story
Indiana State Police fires officers accused in beating
INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana State Police fired two officers July 31 after investigating an incident in which they allegedly beat a man at a gay bar in Indianapolis. The officers, Marcus Baxter and Curtis Swanson, were first-year officers... Full Story
Hormone shows limited promise as AIDS treatment
CHICAGO—A hormone better known for illicit use among athletes can help treat troublesome complications from the AIDS virus, but with potentially risky side effects, a small study found. Low-dose injections of human growth hormone, HGH, reduced fat deposits around internal abdominal organs by about 10 percent... Full Story
Lohan fires back at police chief’s ‘she’s gay’ remark
LOS ANGELES—Lindsay Lohan said Aug. 1 that police have no business getting involved in her personal life, a day after the police chief explained that the paparazzi were no longer an issue, in part, he said, because the 22-year-old actress had evidently “gone gay... Full Story
Editorial
A study released July 31 by UCLA’s Williams Institute leaves no doubt: Far from harming the institution of marriage, gays and lesbians are giving it renewed respect and value in our society. In the 11 states that provide legal recognition for gay and lesbian couples—be that marriage, civil... Full Story
On July 17 the Census Bureau confirmed that it will exclude same-sex couples married in Massachusetts and California from its tabulation and will reclassify these lawful marriages as unmarried. According to the agency’s director Steven H. Murdock, the bureau is governed by the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)... Full Story
Opinion
This weekend, August 9 and 10, is Chicago’s annual Northalsted Market Days. Halsted between Belmont and Addison is closed to traffic, and people wander up and down the street unhindered while more than 200 vendors are crowded into both sides of the street to purvey their wares... Full Story
This is the second year in a row I’m not going to the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.
And oh, my heart is breaking. For seven years, summer was defined for me by Michigan. It was the place where I could finally relax, shaking off the stresses and healing the bruises of the year... Full Story
Freetime
They were clever enough to invent gunpowder, ice cream, printing, banknotes, the bristle toothbrush, the kite, the hand-held crossbow, porcelain, toilet paper, the rudder, the umbrella and the wheelbarrow, so I’m inclined to believe the Chinese when they say inanimate objects have souls and personalities. So I send all my love and... Full Story
ARIES: MARCH 21-APRIL 20: Now that you know it’s safe to trust what’s in your heart, your heart is overflowing. It looks like someone else feels the same way. Count your blessings. For now you can rest easy knowing that life doesn’t get any better than this. More
DVDiva Tony N’ Tina and Titties
“Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding” (Emerging)—Bringing the interactive, semi-improvised stage show “Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding” to the big screen might sound like a questionable concept. But to writer/director Roger Paradiso’s credit, it works... Full Story
1975: Famed British theologian Norman Pittenger, from King’s College, Cambridge, is the guest speaker at the first annual Integrity convention in Chicago. Pittenger’s sermon at the Wellington Avenue Church... Full Story
CFP reviews 'A Night at the Adonis' & '2 Too Many Boys'. Full Story
News
Think people here in the U.S. got stirred up a few years ago when scholars started suggesting that Abraham Lincoln might have been gay? Well, that’s nothing compared to the row caused last week by British gay activist Peter Tatchell when he declared, “William of Orange had male lovers... Full Story
Alvarez addresses lawyers at Sidetrack
Lawyers from more than two-dozen Illinois law firms gathered at Sidetrack July 31 to support the work of several area gay organizations. The “Lawyers for Diversity” reception’s keynote speaker was Anita Alvarez, the Democratic candidate for Cook County state’s attorney in the November election, who discussed at... Full Story
Truman College last week announced a new course focused on an interdisciplinary interpretation of historic and contemporary creative works primarily by multi-cultural GLBT authors and artists of the Americas. The course also discusses GLBT culture from the perspective of Queer Theory... Full Story
CDC releases revised HIV numbers at AIDS conference
Figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aug. 1 indicated that the HIV infection rate in the United States is some 40 percent higher annually than previously reported. CDC reported roughly 56,000 new infections for 2006. Previously, HIV incidence in recent years was thought to be... Full Story
Couples make politics part of California weddings
LOS ANGELES—When Pamela Brown got married, the two bride figurines atop her wedding cake celebrated her newfound right in California to marry another woman. But one of the figurines had a tiny sign over its head with something more to say: “Vote No on 8... Full Story
Lambeth Conference ends with debate still raging on gay clergy
NEW YORK—Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, struggling to hold together the troubled world Anglican family, urged church leaders gathered in England Aug. 3 not to consecrate another gay bishop, saying the fellowship would be in “grave peril” without a moratorium... Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
Special effect: Marilyn Monroe in art
She was born Norma Jeane Mortenson Baker in 1926. Her father’s identity was unknown. Her mother was committed to a mental institution. Much of her childhood was spent in orphanages and a series of foster homes. She was “discovered” by photographer David Conover, who found her working in a wartime... Full Story
NEW YORK—So how is Whoopi Goldberg spending her six-week summer vacation from “The View”? Growling her way through the Electric Light Orchestra’s “Evil Woman” eight times a week in the Broadway musical “Xanadu.” The performer stepped into the production July 29, replacing Jackie Hoffman as a malicious Grecian muse in the... Full Story
Liberation and rainbows: An interview with out singer/songwriter Ferras
In 2005, the first year the legendary music festival Lollapalooza was held in Chicago, Tegan and Sara were on the roster. But in the years that followed the LGBT presence diminished in the festival’s line-up. This year, however, in addition to Bloc Party, Grizzly Bear and Office, Ferras is... Full Story
Bolder and “Boulder”: An interview with Ferron
It’s difficult to underestimate the significance of “Boulder” (Short Story), the latest album by out women’s music legend Ferron. “Boulder,” produced by Bitch, consists of nearly a dozen Ferron tunes spanning her lengthy and influential recording career, all of which are re-imagined with a brilliant... Full Story
Thurs., Aug. 7: Melissa Etheridge brings her anthemic power, compassion and generosity of spirit in the form of The Revival Tour tonight and tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St. Call (312) 902-1500... More
Lollapa-whoozy: three days of heat and hot music
The 2008 edition of Lollapalooza, which took place in Grant Park the first three days of August, is just a memory now. But what memories it created for those in attendance. Aug. 1 highlights included the “Welsh melodrama” of Duffy on the Playstation 3 stage. Duffy, who got an obvious kick... Full Story
Lots of folks think that being a restaurant reviewer is all about eating at fancy places all the time. While that is a great perk, sometimes my favorite places are little neighborhood spots. Urban Café, recently opened in the northeast corner of Lake View is just such a spot... Full Story
“Touch of Evil,” directed by and starring Orson Welles, with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Marlene Dietrich, screens at 8:30 p.m. Aug. 6 at Block Cinema in the Pick-Laudati Auditorium at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Drive, on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Call (847) 491-4000... Full Story
East Rogers Park: An affordable neighborhood by the lake
Before the recent housing downturn, East Rogers Park was in the process of a transformation. Once known as a renter’s neighborhood, the sound of construction began to permeate the neighborhood on a daily basis, as former courtyard rental buildings were converted into condominiums that would appeal to... Full Story
Theater
Redtwist Theatre’s gender-blind production of David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Glengarry Glen Ross” perhaps succeeds beyond even their initial intentions. By casting women in roles created for men, they provide the theatrical twist that their slogan promises and recognize their... Full Story
There are few things scarier than the complete conviction some actors bring to their characters, the kind of intensity that can lead to a psychiatric commitment. The script disappears and what was dialogue on a page becomes a series of controlled explosions. These folks in front of you, it... Full Story
The good news: The Bohemian Theatre Ensemble delivers another fine production with “The Merchant of Venice.” The not-so-good news: Well, it’s “The Merchant of Venice,” surely one of Shakespeare’s most problematic plays... Full Story
