Charlie Fredrickson
Photo Historian Charlie Fredrickson is a photo chronicler extraordinaire, active churchman and consistent supporter of the gay community in Palm Beach County. With tens of thousands of photographs going back to the early 80s, many of them online, Fredrickson’s opus is an invaluable resource for LGBT history in Palm Beach as well as counties further south. Fredrickson came to Palm Beach in 1981 and immediately engaged with the newly founded MCC church, having been involved with that organization both in Philadelphia and Tacoma, WA. “My pictures show a timeline of gay life and events in the county,” he said. “I’ve been taking photos for years and was actually able to find some pictures from the founding of the church. “I try to support all the gay groups in Palm Beach with my presence, my pictures and often, with donations,” he said. “I belong to Compass, the Pride Business Alliance, HRC {Palm Beach County Human Rights Council] and more.” Fredrickson recently became vice president of the Palm Beach County Prime Timers and he coordinates a monthly gay gathering at a variety of non-gay venues like the Chesterfield Hotel, the Colony and others. — Donald Cavanaugh
Out & Proud Judge
Steve Rothaus America’s LGBT Issues Reporter “It was a struggle from week to week to get people to go on the record,” recalled Steve Rothaus during the early days of reporting on the LGBT community in South Florida. Rothaus began writing his Gay South Florida Blog in 2006 and it is now the blog of authority for the Miami metropolitan area. He started with the Miami Herald in the mid 1980s and gradually worked his way up through the organization’s ranks. What began as a one day a week assignment to monitor the police radio in Miami Beach has blossomed into Rothaus’ full-time role as the LGBT issues reporter at the Herald. “I don’t know of any other mainstream newspapers with that as a full time beat,” Rothaus said. “I love what I’m doing. It’s giving voice to the public and learning along the way. It’s a great time to be covering the marriage story.” Marriage is on many minds these days with the recent court challenge to Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage — a story that earned Rothaus a front-page byline. He met his partner, Ric Katz, an influential political consultant, while working retail for the department store, Lord & Taylor. The couple of 29 years recently tied the knot in New York. — John McDonald
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OUT 50 // 2/26/14
Judge Lisa Porter has been a part of the Florida Justice System for over 20 years and was previously profiled by SFGN in 2012 for her marriage to her partner of 25 years, Patricia Windowmaker, deputy general counsel to Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. Starting her career as a felony prosecutor, Porter advanced rapidly through the ranks of the state’s prosecutorial hierarchy holding both local and statewide positions across Florida before being appointed to the 17th Judicial Circuit (Broward County) in 2008 by then Governor Charlie Crist. With boatloads of judicial achievements, it’s difficult to sum up Porter’s work in such a short space. However, there are certain standout aspects of her career, which are more than noteworthy: as a prosecutor she developed a specialty in environmental crimes like wetlands violations and commercial dumping. She successfully prosecuted the director of the City of Crystal River’s waste water plant in Citrus County for failing to report to state authorities that his facility couldn’t handle the influx of wastewater, resulting in its discharge to King’s Bay and contributing to harmful algal blooms endangering the bay’s dense population of manatee and other wildlife. The necessary new plant, not surprisingly, was quickly built after the director’s conviction. As a judge she’s made it a matter of priority to ensure the justice system operates with “surgical” efficiency. She actively manages hundreds of cases at any given time (741 at the time of interview) pushing prosecutors and defense attorneys to reach agreement when a case has an imminent outcome (like those with confessions or, conversely, a lack of evidence) and moving along cases with less clarity to trial for a jury to determine the outcome. Ensuring fairness for all parties involved is paramount to Porter and her approach to her work on the bench. — Mike Anguille
Lisa Porter