Los Angeles Blade, Volume 07, Issue 03, January 20, 2023

(Photo courtesy of Sheila Kuehl)

Meet this year’s winners, including Local Hero Sheila Kuehl, pages 12-38

JANU A RY 20, 2023 • VO L UM E 07 • ISSUE 0 3 • AMERICA’ S LGBT Q NEW S SO U R C E • LO SAN G ELESB LAD E. C O M

LOCAL

Shyne, Erickson sworn in as WeHo mayor, mayor pro tempore

At the city of West Hollywood’s annual City Council Reorganization and Installation meeting on Jan. 9, the city swore in Sepi Shyne as Mayor and John M. Erickson as Mayor Pro Tempore.

Mayor Shyne’s Oath of Office was administered by Lindsey P. Horvath, 3rd District Supervisor for Los Angeles County and former City of West Hollywood Mayor and Councilmember. Mayor Pro Tempore Erickson’s Oath of Office was administered by Abbe Land, former City of West Hollywood Mayor and Councilmember.

Mayor Shyne was elected to the West Hollywood City Council on November 2022. She made history as the first Iranian American to serve on the Council, the first woman of color to serve, and the first out LGBTQ Iranian elected to public office in the world.

It was a packed house at the West Hollywood council chambers despite pouring rain and flash flood warnings throughout Los Angeles County. Richard Maggio, a West Hollywood resident who served as a rent WeHo stabilization commissioner for 33 years, was the emcee for the

JOHN M. ERICKSON and SEPI SHYNE (Photo by Paulo Murillo)

ceremony before the Reorganization and Installation meeting. The pre-ceremony invited several friends, supporters, community leader and members of her family to speak and give some words of encouragement to the new Mayor and

Mayor Pro Tem. The Mayor’s mother opened the ceremony with comments in her native Fārsī language. There were performances by the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles and singer, song writer Mikalah Gordon. And she received interfaith invocations by spiritual leaders and supporters, including her sister.

Mayor Meister called the Regular City meeting to order.

Following the City’s Land Acknowledgement, she introduced Tina Calderón, a Gabrieliño Tongva / Chumash Culture Bearer who helped draft the City’s Land Acknowledgement. She performed a song that her culture offers all of their women when they achieve something tremendous.

The song sent a message stating “We are women. We Are strong.”

Mayor Pro Tem Erickson thank everyone who showed up to the ceremony, despite the rain, calling the event “a moment in our city’s history with the first ever woman of color to be sworn in as mayor.”

PAULO MURILLO/WEHO TIMES

Assemblymember Ward introduces Transgender Youth Privacy Act

Assembly Bill 223, also known as the Transgender Youth Privacy Act, was introduced by Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) Tuesday and will require any petition for a change of gender or sex identifier filed by a minor to be sealed to protect their privacy.

“Being ‘outed’ is a traumatic event for anyone –– but especially traumatic for someone under the age of 18 years old,” said Ward. “The Transgender Youth Privacy Act gives transgender youth the confidence to navigate their gender identity without fear of retaliation from someone who discovers that information in the public record.”

Transgender youth are three times more likely to attempt suicide than their cisgender peers, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Transgender youth are also more likely to experience violence victimization, substance use and depression.

Transgender youth who feel supported report hav-

ing better physical health and mental health outcomes.

However, the act of “outing” or “misgendering” someone can have severe negative consequences for adolescents.

Allowing minors to decide when and how they wish to share their personal information with their peers is vital in protecting their mental health and overall well-being.

“This bill will secure the safety and privacy of so many California youth,” said Kathie Moehlig, executive director of TransFamily Support Services. “Transgender and nonbinary youth are navigating a world of hate daily. By sealing the name and gender marker change records, we are bringing the courts in line with the laws around schools not outing students. Often families were not even aware that these records are public until years after when a court order is discovered in a Google search of the youth’s name. Keeping these records public will put many students at high risk for bullying, hatred, and even violence. We applaud Assemblymember Ward for

02 • JANUARY 20, 2023 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

California Capitol building (Photo Credit: Office of the Governor)

bringing this forward and fighting for the right of trans and nonbinary youth across the state.”

FROM STAFF REPORTS

LOCAL

Field of candidates to replace Feinstein in U.S. Senate grows

A day after Orange County Congresswoman Katie Porter announced her bid to replace California’s octogenarian senior U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, sources close to California U. S. Representative Barbara Lee told Politico that Lee is likely to also mount a challenge for the seat.

On Wednesday Lee informed her colleagues in a closeddoor Congressional Black Caucus meeting that she intends to run to two sources familiar with the situation Politico reported Thursday.

Asked later Wednesday about her plans, Lee said in a brief interview with Nicholas Wu, Politico’s Congressional Reporter and Politics reporter, she’d officially announce “when it’s appropriate.”

“Right now, in respect to [Sen.] Dianne Feinstein and the floods and what I’m doing, I’m doing my work. And we’ll let them know when I intend to go to the next step. But now’s the time not to talk about that,” she said.

Porter’s announcement and Lee’s potential run comes

on the heels of Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank-Hollywood) who had appeared on Los Angeles Fox 11 and told The Issue Is host Elex Michaelson that should Feinstein retire in 2024 he will seriously consider replacing her in a campaign.

Politico also noted that while she lacks the fundraising might of Porter and Schiff, Lee is a revered figure in the Oakland-anchored district she has represented for decades. Her deep Bay Area roots could be an asset given that both Porter and Schiff represent southern California districts.

Feinstein, who was first elected to the Senate in 1992, is widely expected to retire instead of running for reelection in 2024. In recent years she has faced questions about her mental acuity an fitness for remaining in her Senate seat and over the past year has has stepped back from some official duties.

BRODY LEVESQUE

California U. S. Representative BARBARA LEE, (Upper Center) with House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY) (Upper Right) & other Democrats during balloting for selection of the Speaker of the House.

(Photo Credit: Rep. Barbara Lee, (D-CA)/Facebook)

LA County Sheriff’s deputy threatens to shoot unarmed rapper

“If you take off in this car, A New Year’s Eve incident I’m going to shoot you,” says involving South Los Angethe deputy in the video. “I’m les-based rapper Feezy LeBgoing to make it super easy ron and Los Angeles County on you. You put this car in Sheriff’s Department padrive, you’re getting one trol deputies recorded on right to the chest.” a deputy-worn body cam Lebron said he was using was released Friday by the his cell phone while in his LASD. car at a parking lot on the The video has since gone 14900 block of Crenshaw viral, sparking public outBoulevard when two passrage and concern. ing deputies approached In the footage two dephim, asking him to exit his uties are recorded aggresvehicle. sively confronting the rapScreenshot from body cam video of the Dec. 31, 2022, incident As the first deputy tries per and after he starts to released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. physically removing him ask questions about their from the driver’s seat, the reasoning for investigatsecond deputy says, “I’m just going to spray you. Get out ing him, the situation quickly escalates with one deputy or you’re getting sprayed,” while pointing a pepper spray threatening to shoot the unarmed LeBron while he was can at the rapper. sitting inside his car in Gardena, in a parking lot of a strip Eventually, it escalates as the deputy points a handgun shopping center.

04 • JANUARY 20, 2023 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

toward Lebron. As Lebron stays seated with both hands raised, he asks the deputy why he wanted to shoot him.

The rapper is told that if he doesn’t comply, he’ll be arrested and his car would be towed. He eventually steps out of the vehicle and is taken into custody.

“Unfortunately for you, you shouldn’t smoke so much weed in your car and then we wouldn’t have to search you,” the deputy says as Lebron is being handcuffed.

“I didn’t smoke no weed in my car, it’s not illegal,” Lebron replies.

“Do you have anger issues?” the deputy asks as the patrol car doors close on the rapper.

The L.A. Sheriff’s Department released a statement on the incident: “One deputy displayed pepper spray, then drew his firearm and used unprofessional language, which later resulted in a complaint filed by that community member.

The Sheriff’s Department has opened an investigation into the deputies’ actions and language.”

After the incident, Lebron was not arrested and was instead given a ticket for a missing license plate.

BRODY LEVESQUE

Leading the conversation. Shaping the media narrative. Changing the culture.

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NATIONAL

Speaker McCarthy stands by George Santos Asked whether he would urge GOP Rep. George Santos (N.Y.) to resign, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters the congressman is “part of the Republican conference,” having been duly elected to represent New York’s Third Congressional District.

At the same time, McCarthy said Santos has a “long way to go to earn trust” and acknowledged the specter of an investigation by the House Committee on Ethics pursuant to a complaint filed by Democratic New York Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman.

Reporting over the past several weeks has revealed the congressman lied about practically every element of his biography and identity, while multiple law enforcement agencies have initiated investigations into his and his campaign’s finances.

Last week, more than a dozen elected Republican officials from his district and surrounding areas demanded Santos’s immediate resignation.

GOP Rep. GEORGE SANTOS (Photo public domain)

Nevertheless, the freshman congressman has been defiant. During his first few days in office, Santos tried to dodge Capitol Hill reporters, but more recently he has vocally and publicly dismissed calls for him to step down.

McCarthy’s comments were echoed by other Republican House leaders, like Majority Leader Steve Scalise (La.), who said: “Obviously, you know, we’re finding out more, but we also recognize that he was elected by his constituents.”

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) said, “It will play itself out,” noting that, “There have been members of Congress on the Democrat side who have faced investigations before.”

Other Republican members of the House, however – New York Reps. Nick LaLota, Nick Langworthy, Brandon Williams, Anthony D’Esposito, Marc Molinaro, and Mike Lawler, as well as South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace and Ohio Rep. Max Miller – have demanded Santos’s resignation.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Texts corroborate sexual assault allegations against Schlapp Contemporaneous text messages shared with CNN appear to corroborate allegations of sexual assault against Republican activist Matt Schlapp, who chairs the organization that hosts the Conservative Political Action Conference.

In the messages, which were exchanged in October, a GOP strategist who was working for Herschel Walker’s senatorial campaign consulted a friend for guidance on how to proceed after he says he was groped by Schlapp in the car after an outing in a bar in Atlanta.

Schlapp addressed the allegations through an attorney who told CNN: “The attack is false and Mr. Schlapp denies any improper behavior.”

American Conservative Union Chairman MATT SCHLAPP (Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Republican staffer texted his friend that Schlapp was “pissed I didn’t follow him to his hotel room.”

“I’m so sorry man,” the friend responded. “What a fucking creep.”

“I just don’t know how to say it to my superiors thst heir [sic] surrogate fondled my junk without my consent,” the staffer wrote.

Schlapp has close ties to former President Donald Trump, in whose administration his wife served as communications director from 2017-2019 and whose false claims about the 2020 presidential election he has parroted.

The sexual assault allegations were first reported by the Daily Beast. The group that organizes CPAC, the American Conservative Union, did not immediately return a request for comment.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

Wisconsin Republicans block conversion therapy ban An effort to outlaw conversion therapy in Wisconsin was blocked for the second time on Thursday by a group of four Republican members of a state legislative committee.

In 2020, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers banned the dangerous and scientifically discredited practice via occupational licensing requirements for therapists, social workers, and counselors.

The Republican-controlled legislature responded by temporarily blocking the ban, doing so again on Thursday with all six GOP members voting against their Democratic colleagues.

Twenty states along with the District of Columbia have banned conversion therapy for minors, as it is inconsistent with clinical practice

PETER TATCHELL protests against the Church of England in 2016. He welcomed the denomination’s announcement that it supports a ban on so-called conversion therapy.

06 • JANUARY 20, 2023 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

(Photo courtesy of Peter Tatchell)

guidelines governing evidence-based care, ineffective at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and tends to cause long term psychological harm.

The practice is often considered fraudulent and has been described as torture.

“It’s disappointing that the very first move the GOP is going to make this legislative session is to green-light abusive practices against children,” State Sen. Kelda Roys said.

Republican Wisconsin legislators contend their objection is rooted in the fact that the examining board in the Department of Safety and Public Standards does not have the authority to enforce the conversion therapy ban.

CHRISTOPHER KANE

LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 13, 2023 • 07

INTERNATIONAL

Transgender journalist joins Ukrainian military ‘I want to serve this fight for freedom, this fight for liberty’

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com It was shortly before 1 p.m. on Dec. 9 when Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, a member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Noman Çelebicihan Battalion, arrived at Le Bon Café, a coffee shop on Second Street, S.E., near the U.S. Capitol. The Las Vegas native who was wearing her uniform sat down at an outdoor table and began to sip a coffee as she talked about the journey that brought her from the U.S. to the frontlines of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ashton-Cirillo in 2015 traveled to eastern Turkey to cover Syrian refugees who had fled their country’s civil war.

She said she was “supposed to have started the story in Syria, but I was too scared.” Ashton-Cirillo later wrote a book, “Along the Tracks of Tears,” but she told the Washington Blade that she “was terribly unhappy with” it.

“Some of it had to do with being trans,” she said. “I had been traveling with Muslims, with different groups, and they were accepting me, but I would always have in the back of my mind, would they have talked to me if they knew I was trans or a female.”

Ashton-Cirillo, who was born in northern Florida, was the director of communications for a California-based health care company before she launched Political.tips, a website that focused on politics in Nevada and across the country.

Ashton-Cirillo has also sought to expose extremist Republicans through her reporting.

Ashton-Cirillo noted she wrote her second book, “Fair Right Just,” while she was in the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.) Ashton-Cirillo told the Blade that she learned about what Russia had done to them through mid-winter visits to museums.

“That led me to hate Russia, because I’m reading about things that ended up being pertinent today: Filtration camps, the language issues, they were trying to erase culture, the genocide, the torture of political prisoners, everything that we’re living now, the folks in the Baltics lived 80 or 90 years ago, as do the Ukrainians, but I hadn’t been to Ukraine yet.”

Russia launched its war against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

“It always bothered me for 6 1/2 years,” said Ashton-Cirillo, referring to her book about Syrian refugees. “As I was watching this unfold, I said, oh, there’s a massive refugee situation.

Is it worth it for me to go over and try to maybe get new material and put out a book that would actually take the old material and the new material and put it together. I put it together, and so when the war actually broke out, I said, holy shit this is real and that’s why I wasn’t here (in Ukraine) on the first day. I was watching it.”

Ashton-Cirillo conceded she is “the first to say I was not expecting it to happen.”

“With the full-scale invasion happening on Feb. 24, even though Donbass had been under siege, and there had been a war going on for or years, I didn’t expect there to be an invasion, a land invasion of a full country, not just in this area that had been, you know, that the Russians had seized when basically the world was sleeping,” she said.

Ashton-Cirillo entered Ukraine on March 4, 2022, with the intention of covering refugees who had fled the country. She

said the press credentials the Ukrainian government reflected her gender identity and her legal name.

“My legal name, Sarah Ashton-Cirillo, was my legal name when I traveled. My gender was my legal gender when I traveled due to having changed it in Nevada,” said Ashton-Cirillo.

“My driver’s license was changed but my passport had not been changed … it was very complicated because it looked like a totally different person with totally different names, a totally different gender.”

Ashton-Cirillo noted Ukrainian officials put her legal name on the top of her press credentials and “formally known as my previous name” on the bottom of them.

“I was okay with it because I couldn’t believe they credentialed me anyway with the situation being the way it was,” she said.

Jessica Stern, the special U.S. envoy for the promotion of LGBTQ and intersex rights, less than a month after the war began told the Blade that many trans and gender non-conforming Ukrainians decided to remain in the country because they could not exempt themselves from military conscription. Stern during the March 18, 2022, interview cited the case of a trans man who tried to leave Ukraine and “in an effort to prove who he was, who he said he was, he was actually forced to remove his shirt and show his chest” at the border.

“Unfortunately, that’s not the only humiliating and potentially violent incident that I’m hearing,” she said.

One of the stories that Ashton-Cirillo wrote for LGBTQ Nation while in Ukraine highlighted problems that trans people had when they tried to leave the country because their ID documents did not match their gender identity.

Gender Stream, a Ukrainian advocacy group, helped more than 50 trans and nonbinary people obtain the necessary paperwork that allowed them to leave the country. Ashton-Cirillo acknowledged there was “gatekeeping, but people could get out.”

“Nobody knew what to do,” she said, referring to the treatment of trans and nonbinary Ukrainians who wanted to leave the country immediately after the war began. “Every male was mobilized. It was just something I don’t think was ever going to come up in the purview. The other thing not coming up in the purview was getting a trans journalist popping in with an ID that was totally different. I didn’t expect to get let in. I didn’t expect to get credentialed.”

Ashton-Cirillo told the Blade that she wanted to go to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and cover Russia’s efforts to seize it.

Ashton-Cirillo instead traveled to Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city that is less than 30 miles from the Russian border in eastern Ukraine.

Elvira Schemur, a volunteer for Kyiv Pride and Kharkiv Pride, was inside the regional administration building in Kharkiv on March 1, 2022, when a Russian missile struck it.

The 21-year-old law student was among those who were killed.

Ashton-Cirillo arrived in Kharkiv eight days after Scheumer’s death.

08 • JANUARY 20, 2023 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

SARAH ASHTON-CIRILLO in Ukraine (Photo courtesy of Ashton-Cirillo)

CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward was among the journalists who reported from Kharkiv during the first weeks of the war. Ashton-Cirillo recalled to the Blade a conversation that she had with her shortly after she arrived in the city.

“Clarissa says to me, via the Twitter Space, Sarah, I’ve been following your work in Kharkiv. It’s great,” recalled Ashton-Cirillo. “If you don’t leave you’re going to be traumatized for the rest of your life because this is the worst bombing … she knows it.”

“She’s an idol of mine,” she added. “She’s somebody that I look up to from a journalistic standpoint … I didn’t understand what that meant because I’m embedded with security services and not only am I trans, I’m living with security forces during the bombings as a trans woman and a journalist and I’m living with them. I was seeing things that no one else was seeing, but I was also living in a bubble and because of that I was living this life of war and I was living this life of terrorism and death every single day, but I didn’t realize it.”

Ashton-Cirillo said the only foreigner she saw from the time she arrived in Kharkiv until April 21 was an Al-Jazeera reporter who visited the same site that Russia had attacked.

“I was in a bubble and didn’t realize what I was going through was not normal,” she said. “It was not normal because journalists come in and out, they have each other to talk with. I was totally on my own.”

Ashton-Cirillo lived and worked with local security officials. She also helped them deliver weapons to checkpoints while she was not writing about the war.

The mayor of Zolochiv, a village in Kharkiv Oblast that is 10 miles from the Russian border, named Ashton-Cirillo his official representative in negotiations with foreign aid groups after he met her. She said there “was devastation” in the village when she first arrived.

“I’m on the Russian border and I’m being empowered as power of attorney for this town of Zolochiv. This was my focus in between my writing,” she said. “I would go up there and do my things, but I was not a combatant yet.”

Continues at losangelesblade.com

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BRANDIE BLAND

is a journalism student at the University of Maryland and a Blade Foundation fellow.

GOP doubles down on racism, homophobia with ‘Old Glory Only Act’ Pride, BLM flags should be allowed at U.S. embassies

“Old Glory Only Act,” one of the Republican majority’s first legislative priorities in the U.S. House of Representatives would prohibit flags other than the American flag from being flown over U.S. diplomatic and consular posts.

“Old Glory Only Act,” sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), is nothing but a tired reminder that the GOP has no real plan for improving American lives and instead is doubling down on exclusionary, racist, and homophobic rhetoric.

The GOP claims the Old Glory Only Act remedies (what they call) the politicization of U.S. embassies during the Biden administration, which has allowed Pride and Black Lives Matter flags to be flown from U.S. embassies.

“Our beautiful flag, Old Glory, should be the only flag flying and representing our country over our diplomatic and consular posts worldwide,” Duncan said in a press release.

“The American flag is a beacon of liberty, and no other flag or symbol better portrays our shared values than the Stars and Stripes.”

“It is important to ensure that Old Glory only is flown at American embassies to represent our ideals abroad,” Duncan said.

My question for Duncan and his colleagues that support this legislation is: Which ideals? Have we reached a level of openly embracing discrimination in the U.S. to the point that we are going to pretend that Americans, U.S. citizens and residents aren’t Black? Queer? SGL? At the heart of it, the bill seeks to permanently ground the Pride flag and Black Lives Matter flag for the very same reason that these two flags were first approved to be flown at U.S. embassies during the Obama administration — the U.S. flag is not automatically seen as inclusive of those communities. Old Glory’s “shared values” could represent all Americans at some point in the future, sure, but this is not the Old Glory we fly today. The flying of the Pride flag and Black Lives Matter flag sends a critical message when those

communities of people aren’t represented by the American flag and should be.

The GOP is intentionally hailing a flag whose 50 stars and 13 stripes represent states that are actively waging violent, exclusionary campaigns to strip non-white and LGBTQ residents of their rights and safety. In some states, the question of representation has become regressive to the point that state legislatures have passed dress codes so restrictive that some state representatives can easily be prevented from performing their duties to constituents because of the representative’s gender identity and attire.

And the argument that any flag other than the American flag is politicization of American embassies clearly missed the history lesson on the establishment of this country, whose beginnings are rooted in genocide, enslavement, theft, and lies.

The GOP was the first to dehumanize Black and LGBTQ people by attempting to politicize their right to exist. And the Old Glory Only Act joins the same dehumanizing discourse as Republicans’ unsubstantiated claims about bathrooms and drag queen story hours as the GOP continues to shove Christian nationalism down the throats of all who refuse to swallow their poison.

For politicians like Duncan, the only liberty in this country is for those whose complexion, gender identity, and sexual orientation passes the GOP’s litmus test of humanity.

How can LGBTQ people have the right to liberty in a country that threatens healthcare providers for providing trans affirming healthcare or the right for two same-gender people to marry?

How can Black people have the right to liberty in a country where white murderers go free for unjustly taking Black lives and 33 out of 50 states still allow for Black people to lose their livelihoods for their hair texture and styles?

Let’s be clear: There is nothing glorious about Old Glory or its representation of the failed experiment that is America.

10 • JANUARY 20, 2023 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM

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Best of LGBTQ LA 2023

Sixth annual special issue celebrates the community

FROM STAFF REPORTS Welcome to the sixth annual special issue of the Best of LGBTQ LA! The Los Angeles Blade is proud to celebrate the best of our community as this special recognition issue becomes a Los Angeles tradition.

The year for LGBTQ people and families has been uniquely challenging and the accomplishments made throughout this past year seem more relevant than ever. We got past some of the pandemic restrictions, but anti-LGBTQ forces got more aggressive and violent.

It was a year in which we relived the attempted insurrection from the year prior while learning details of all that happened behind the scenes, and who was responsible. It was also a year when LGBTQ families and our gender non-conforming population came under direct political and physical attacks.

In Los Angeles, we had a change of leadership after enduring our own local scandals tainted with racism and homophobia. Through it all, our community did not allow our fabulousness to dim. We are strong and know how to fight back. This could not be more evident as you enjoy these highlights of Los Angeles living that demonstrate the best of LA’s LGBTQ community.

Los Angeles Blade readers nominated finalists; the top five vote getters in each category were then added to the final ballot. Twenty thousand Blade readers then voted and the winners are presented here. The Blade staff congratulates each of this year’s winners and finalists.

Local Hero Presented by Ariadne Getty Foundation: Sheila Kuehl

“I haven’t been this happy since I was in my 20s,” says out former Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, who will celebrate her 82nd birthday on Feb. 9. “The freedom of deciding or not deciding every day what you want to do without any weight on you, without any expectations on you, without any demands on you, is enormously freeing and really, really pleasant.”

After almost three decades as an elected leader and actively fighting for progressive issues, Kuehl’s final day in office representing the Third District was Nov. 22, 2022 — a day filled with celebration and grateful tears shed by colleagues and friends.

Now she’ll have time to write. The working title for her planned autobiography is “My Life As I Remember It: Probably a Novel.”

Much of that life has been in service of advancing LGBTQ rights, for which Kuehl is being honored by the Los Angeles Blade and the Ari Getty Foundation on Jan. 18 at 10 DTLA during the Blade’s Best of LGBTQ LA Readers’ Choice Awards (Image courtesy of Sheila Kuehl) 2023.

In an odd flash of fickle fate, Kuehl culminated her long legislative career in much the way as she began it — protected by bodyguards from threatening bullies. In 1994, the bullies were knuckle-dragging followers of Far Right rhetorical bombastic bomb-thrower Newt Gingrich. Today, the bullies are followers of Gingrich’s heir, Donald Trump, some of whom the Department of Justice considers domestic terrorists.

In Kuehl’s case, her primary bully was LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who LA Magazine dubbed “the Donald Trump of L.A. Law Enforcement.” Last Sept. 14, after two years of fiercely fighting Villanueva over alleged LASD wrongdoing, a slew of Sheriff’s deputies pounded on Kuehl’s door at 7:00am, served her with a search warrant in a corruption investigation, and escorted her outside barefoot to a face a throng of reporters and TV news cameras.

The raid was big news but backfired on Villanueva, who subsequently lost his bid for re-election. The LA Times reported succinctly: “A Times review of the case found it is based

on the testimony of just one person, a former Metro employee named Jennifer Loew, who brought her bribery complaint to at least four law enforcement agencies, but found a receptive audience only at the Sheriff’s Department. The Times found no evidence to support Loew’s allegation.”

1994 was also a year of living dangerously. Gingrich was elevated to the traditionally respected position of Speaker of the US House of Representatives and pledged to implement his anti-gay, lie-based Contract with America, civility be damned. Meanwhile Kuehl and her best friend Torie Osborn were watching a new LGBTQ movement grow and get stronger as thousands of LGBTQ people, AIDS activists, Queer Nationals and allies took over the streets in 1991 after California GOP Gov. Pete Wilson vetoed AB 101, the gay rights bill he had promised to sign.

“Thousands and thousands of us were on the street, as opposed to just being in the closet and hiding in a lot of shame,” says Kuehl. “I had not really thought about running. I was engaged in more of the Women’s Movement, especially domestic violence issues, sexual assault issues, trying to get any law in California to deal with domestic violence, which it didn’t have at the time. We founded the California Women’s Law Center.

“There was a lot going on in the ’70s and ’80s and there was a lot to push back against,” Kuehl continues. “There’s a difference between working towards something when there’s nothing there and working to gain something back — like the loss of Roe v Wade (the federal law permitting abortion). Our expectations grew, but there was nothing in place to protect us. I actually had not thought about running. But I had been up and back to Sacramento many times testifying on new domestic violence bills that I helped to draft before I was elected and I understood from sitting for so many hours at committee hearings that there was no silver bullet genius talent in these members, that they were just like me — and in some cases, less capable because they hadn’t been to law school. They didn’t really understand the issues.”

Then, on Jan. 17, 1994, two earthquakes happened at once – the Northridge earthquake and Kuehl’s decision to enter politics.

“There was broken glass and fallen pictures and glasses and everything all over my house. I picked up the LA Times and it says, ‘Terry’s not running,’” she recalls, referring to Assemblymember Terry Friedman. “I think, ‘Okay, this is my chance if I’m going to be one of those people sitting in those chairs and try to make a difference.’ I started exploring running, and frankly, I didn’t think at that moment about how historic it would be. I didn’t think about being the first gay person if I got through whatever. I felt more like a feminist progressive that needed to be there to add that voice to the table.”

Kuehl quickly discovered that she was making history. But her victory as the first gay person elected to the California State Legislature was fraught with danger, with so many death threats, then-Assembly Speaker Willie Brown ordered a bodyguard for her protection. “I had to wear a bulletproof vest the whole first year that I was in the legislature,” Kuehl told Spectrum News1.

But braving those threats and doing the work, then and now, is not the only reason Sheila Kuehl is an LGBTQ hero. She recognizes her place in the largely invisible long span of LGBTQ history.

“Just as people have said they’re standing on my shoulders,” Kuehl says, “I stood on a lot of shoulders, too.”

CONTINUES ON PAGE 16

12 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

City Declares all are Welcome and Fabulous.

Follow @WeHoCity for alerts is The City of West Hollywood on news where policies unite thrilled to be recognized with this and trends take flight.

year’s Los Angeles Blade award for Most LGBTQ Friendly City!

City Declares all are Welcome and Fabulous.

Follow@WeHoCity @WeHoCityfor foralerts alerts Follow @WeHoCity for alerts Follow onnews newswhere wherepolicies policiesunite unite on news where policies unite on andtrends trendstake takeflight. flight. and trends take flight. and

@wehocity #SanctuaryCity

City of West Hollywood California 1984

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

West Hollywood’s Mayor Sepi Shyne honored with a Stop the Hate Initiative award

Mayor Sepi Shyne made history in November 2020 when she was elected becoming the first out LGBTQ Iranian elected anywhere globally and the first woman of color elected to West Hollywood’s City Council.

Actively progressive in her politics, Shyne is constantly seeking to improve the lives of her constituents, friends, family, and the greater community of the City affectionately referred to as WeHo. “West Hollywood is a vibrant tourist destination and one of the most walkable as well as LGBTQ+ safe cities in America. Our visitors and residents love to frequent our businesses, so helping to keep them in busi(Image courtesy Sepi Shyne) ness is a priority. One of my joys of living in West Hollywood is walking down the street to neighborhood restaurants or cafes and enjoying a meal or an oat milk latte,” Shyne told the Blade in an interview after her first anniversary of being sworn into office on December 7, 2021.

As a woman of color and as a minority as well, Shyne is keen to maintain awareness of the ongoing needs of the diverse communities that comprise her city. “Aside from COVID, the social justice movement impacted the City of West Hollywood by awakening our community to the truth that systemic racism, even in our progressive city, needs to be dismantled,” she noted.

After her sister was sworn into office as Mayor earlier this month at City Hall, in which the Mayor and her mother opened the ceremony with comments in their native Fārsī language, Soodi Eshraghi, made a few poignant remarks: “Good evening mayor, mayor pro-tem and council members, my name is Soodi Eshraghi, I am incoming mayor Shyne’s sister, representing the Baha’i Faith.

A little girl with big brown eyes frightened in a new country and not speaking the language. In her short years this little girl had experienced the trauma of war as well as the compulsory hijab which forced her to cut her hair short, choose a boy’s name to be able to play on the streets with her cousins. Yet, her resilience and tenacity allowed her to overcome challenges faced by many immigrants and build a life for herself and become a lawyer. Her choice of academia was a reflection of her passion for justice and equality. Her decision to run for office was for the same exact reason, and more. Her ultimate goal is to make a difference in the lives of those around her, bringing about opportunities conducive for betterment of life, especially her constituents.

Mayor Sepi Ghafouri Shyne, your family is extremely proud of you and we are always ready to support you every step of the way.

The prayer I’ll be reciting from the Baha’i writings is on the destiny of America with the hope that this nation can become promulgator of peace and the oneness of humanity.

O Thou kind Lord! This gathering is turning to Thee.

These hearts are radiant with Thy love.

These minds and spirits are exhilarated by the message of Thy glad-tidings.

O God! Let this American democracy become glorious in spiritual degrees even as it has aspired to material degrees, and render this just government victorious.

Confirm this revered nation to upraise the standard of the oneness of humanity, to promulgate the Most Great Peace, to become thereby most glorious and praiseworthy among all the nations of the world.

O God! This American nation is worthy of Thy favors and is deserving of Thy mercy.

Make it precious and near to Thee through Thy bounty and bestowal.”

Best Drag Performer: Lolita Colby

Lolita Colby is now a 10-year drag veteran, having launched her career in a Miami bar. She now creates legendary moments at Rocco’s in West Hollywood. “I don’t know if this is a cliché or not, but it takes a really strong man to put on a dress,” says this year’s Best Drag Performer winner. Given the current right-wing attack climate in the United States, that statement is truer than ever. “Many drag artists do not realize the importance we bring to the community. Drag artists break boundaries. We stand up against the norm. We do a lot of things that other people are afraid of.” Lolita’s 30,000 TikTok followers, 18,000 Instagram followers, and a host of LA Blade readers agree with her fan that called her “Absolutely Gorgeous.”

Runner Up: GottMik

(Image courtesy Facebook)

Best Drag Show:

Makeout Mondays at Rocco’s Last year’s Editor’s Choice is this year’s winner. The 5,000-squarefoot Rocco’s, located at 8900 Santa Monica Blvd., wowed boystown with the best drag on the LA scene.

Crowds flocked to the corner of Santa Monica and San Vicente in the heart of WeHo. “This is the funnest place EVER and their drag shows are so much fun! The food is great and the atmosphere is awesome!” wrote a happy visitor. A second chimed in, “They have some epic drag shows that are different and entertaining!” LA Blade readers obviously agreed.

Editor’s choice: Thirsty Thursdays at Beaches, West Hollywood CONTINUES ON PAGE 20

16 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

(Image courtesy Rocco’s WEHO/Facebook)

Equality California Congratulates the LA Blade on a successful 2022!

With over 900,000 members, Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization and California’s only LGBTQ+ civil rights organization working at the local, state and national levels.

We strive to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating, and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve.

We’re fighting for full LGBTQ+ equality and YOU can join us! Your membership allows us to: ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂

Pass pro-equality legislation in California and Washington, DC Elect pro-equality champions up and down the ballot Fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights and social justice in the courtroom Reduce disparities in LGBTQ+ health and well-being Develop a pipeline of LGBTQ+ leaders Increase civic participation and building political power within the LGBTQ+ community

Your support matters! Join us in advancing LGBTQ+ civil rights and social justice in California and across the country!

JOIN US TODAY! EQCA.ORG/JOIN

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS!

The California News Publishers Association

celebrates quality journalism in all its forms.

Our member newspapers submit their work to California Journalism Award panels to win recognition for the

journalism that informs our communities.

Entries for the 2022 Contest are now open.

Enter Today! https://cnpa.com/2022-cja-contest

SCAN ME!

CNPA CONGRATULATES THE LOS ANGELES BLADE AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2023 BEST OF LGBTQ LA AWARDS!

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 16

Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Best Influencer:

Best LGBTQ Bar:

Gigi Gorgeous

Heart

(Screenshot via Youtube) (Photo via Heart/WEHO/Facebook)

The LA Blade’s Best of 2020 winner, Gigi Gorgeous, again takes the top spot. Gigi is a YouTube star, transgender activist, author, television personality, actress, and model. With nearly 8 million followers across her social platforms, she has almost half a billion views on her popular YouTube channel. She is a self described “lover of beauty, fashion, and a good party.”

Runner Up: Ambers Closet

Best Queer Artist: Nats Getty

Check out Nats Getty’s “Undecided 10” signed art prints. Writer Karen Ocamb said of him, “Nats Getty was an artist long before he knew it. His soul was forged in the fight between the fire of freedom and the cold dictates of a society he tried mightily to understand and follow, only to fail and fall into rebellion, a fury of authenticity that still feeds his art and serves his NATS GETTY (right) independent, progressive, philan(Photo by Araya Doheny - Getty Images for The Art of Elysium) thropic spirit today.” Getty himself stated, “Philanthropy — and advocacy — is something that is very important to me. I made 600 masks that were donated to hospitals and nursing homes on the frontlines, and 400 masks for the Strike Oil website, where 100 percent of proceeds have gone to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank…Everything I create from a jacket to an art piece has a story and serves a purpose in my personal journey.” LA Blade readers cheered his generous spirit and named him this year’s best artist.

Runner up: Guadalupe Rosales

20 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

Heart WeHo threw what it called “the biggest most lavish NYE celebration in West Hollywood” with three DJs, two levels, and two packed rooms of dancing and featured DJ Liza Rodriguez from Brazil. The premier watch party for the premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” was a sold out “amazing night of love.” Patrons call Heart “the happening spot” and “super fun.” LA Blade readers voted in kind.

Editor’s choice: Bar 10

Best Brunch: The Abbey

Patrons cite a “fabulous outdoor terrace” and “fun ambiance” for making the “world famous” Abbey this year’s goto spot for brunch. The Abbey launched 31 years ago as a small coffee house by David Cooley as a safe space for the gay community. “Come as you are,” was its mantra. The stained glass window décor inspired the religious-themed name and atmosphere. LA Blade readers got religion this year and brunch toasted The Abbey as the best.

Editor’s choice: Stache West Hollywood

CONTINUES ON PAGE 24

(Los Angeles Blade file photo)

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Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Best Restaurant:

Best Cannabis Retailer/Lounge:

The Nice Guy

Green Qween

Business partners Andres Rigal and Taylor Bazley launched Green Qween as “a queer-driven cannabis dispensary in an industry where LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation have been lacking.” Donating a portion of proceeds to the DTLA Proud Community Center, Green Qween sees itself as an incubator for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC cannabis brands and growers. LA Blade readers just see them as the best.

Editor’s choice: The Artist Tree (Photo via Facebook)

Best LGBTQ-Owned Business: Cake and Art

(Photo via Facebook)

With a delicious menu that ranges from roasted veggies to exotic pizzas (lobster pizza with sunny vodka sauce anyone?), to incredible pasta, steak, and seafood, The Nice Guy has been named this year’s best. The aesthetic is described as “decadent Mafia” that brings a unique social experience encouraging conversation and camaraderie. As they say, thanks to the mafioso deliciousness and good vibes, if LA Blade readers tried to escape, The Nice Guy just keeps pulling them back in again.

Editor’s choice: Bottega Louie

Best Radio or TV Station: KTLA

This year KTLA aired the annual telethon in support of Project Angel Food’s vital work of feeding critically ill men, women, and children in Los Angeles County. Janene Drafs, vice president and general manager of KTLA 5, told the LA Blade, “This show gets better (Photo via Facebook) and better every year, and we are thrilled to extend our relationship with Project Angel Food. KTLA has a 75-year tradition of being there for LA, so providing this very special program to connect our community of viewers with Project Angel Food’s work serving the most vulnerable in our community at large is what being ‘L.A.’s Very Own’ is all about.” With more than 400 LGBTQ relevant stories on its website, KTLA has demonstrated that it has its finger on the pulse of LGBTQ interests. From tracking U.S. progress on LGBT rights to reporting that California reached the milestone of 10% of its legislature being LGBTQ, KTLA is there for the community. LA Blade readers show their gratitude by calling them the best.

Editor’s choice: 104.3 Pride

24 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

(Photo via Cake & Art website)

Cake and Art has proudly served the community since 1976. It is the renowned producer of custom cakes, cupcakes, and more. They brag, “For 46 years, Cake and Art has specialized in imaginative birthday cakes for Hollywood’s biggest entertainment industries and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen Degeneres, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Jimmy Kimmel, Bill Clinton, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and many more.” Cake and Art was founded by Glenn von Kickle when he was 45 years old. Glenn, who’s gay, started the shop where he could be himself, and in a community that would appreciate what he was doing.

Current owner Tom Rosa came on board as a business partner, and became the spirit that made sure von Kickle’s legacy endured. Cake and Art’s history arcs between being the place to get the cake no one else will think of, or attempt, to heroes of the anti-same sex wedding cake wars. When gay marriage started, they filled the gap for many consumers rejected by their usual bakeries. As for being “LGBTQ owned,” Tom has said “I’ve never been considered ‘the gay bakery’…I was sitting there thinking, what does that mean? What are the parameters of a gay bakery? Is it creative? Is it sensational? Is it fabulous? Do we all dress in rainbow?” Well Tom, whatever it means, it means that you have been voted the best of them.

Editor’s choice: Urban Pet CONTINUES ON PAGE 28

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Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Best LGBT Social Group: Impulse Group LA

Impulse is doing something right.

They have won this category for three years in a row. Impulse Group LA was founded in 2009 by Jose Ramos. It is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a stronger and healthier community for gay men.

Hosting more than 400 events annually in 25 cities, 12 countries across 5 continents across the globe, Impulse (Photo courtesy AHF) seeks to create a brave space to engage, support and connect our community. This year their outreach included HIV testing, a strong showing for World AIDS day, and embarking on a fight against Monkey Pox. Editor’s choice: Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles

Best House of Worship: Congregation Kol Ami

In 2019, 2021 and 2022, Congregation Kol Ami won the award for Best House of Worship. In 2020 it won Editor’s Choice, and now wins the award yet again for the Best House of Worship this year. Kol Ami is an important leader in the Jewish, LGBTQ, and West Hollywood communities since its founding in 1992. Rabbi Denise L. Egers, who plans to retire in 2024, broke barriers that resulted in more (Los Angeles Blade file photo) LGBTQ inclusion at synagogues worldwide. Kol Ami describes itself as “a progressive, Reform congregation rooted in a rich Jewish tradition, with commitment to social justice, diversity, and a world in which all individuals are honored and connected. Our congregation celebrates an LGBTQ+ core at the center of a profoundly diverse community.” (1200 N La Brea Ave, West Hollywood) Editor’s choice: InVision Church Los Angeles

Most Committed Activist:

Favorite Public Official: Karen Bass

On Nov. 17, Karen Bass spoke to Los Angeles for the first time as its first woman and second Black mayor. She addressed economic hardship and declared a state of emergency over the homeless crisis.

Vice President Kamala Harris has stated of Bass, “I saw how she would tirelessly fight for the people … the people of our state and the people of our nation. Karen Bass KAREN BASS (left) (Photo Credit Bass for Mayor Campaign) has a long history of always being on the side of people, fighting for the people.”

The people who read the Blade have embraced that reputation and declared her their favorite public official.

Runner-Up: Lindsey Horvath

Most LGBTQ-Friendly City: West Hollywood

There are some who will claim that the city of West Hollywood is perfect. In terms of being the most LGBTQ-Friendly City, they may be right. The city was born out of a determined campaign by LGBTQ activists, seniors, and renters on Nov. 29, 1984.

The city has a rich history and can be credited for launching iconic rock and punk (Photo Credit City of West Hollywood/Jon Viscott) musical acts. With approximately 39,000 residents, it has been called “Los Angeles’ hottest destination for the entertainment industry.” It boasts celebrity-owned bars and restaurants, unparalleled nightlife and shopping. It hosts world impacting events like the HBO Emmy Party, Sir Elton John’s Annual Oscar Party, WEST HOLLYWOOD PRIDE and the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval, the largest Halloween street party in the world. Many feel that West Hollywood sets a standard for super creative individuals representing the state-of-the-art on trends and new ideas.

As far as West Hollywood being “perfect”, the Human Rights Campaign has the receipts.

It scored West Hollywood as earning 100 out of 100 possible in terms of LGBTQ friendliness. LA Blade readers already knew that as they name West Hollywood the friendliest city for the fourth year in a row.

Editor’s choice: Beverly Hills

Best Local Pro Sports Team:

Gabby Leon and Terri Jay

Gabby Leon and Terri Jay jointly came to the realization that there was a need for an event to create visibility and celebration of the Two Spirit identities. The concept of a festival that celebrated and honored Native American LBGTQ roles and traditions was born. The idea blossomed into a (Photo via Indigenous Pride LA/Facebook) reality and Los Angeles now has the cultural Indigenous Pride LA, which “honors, and acknowledges all indigenous peoples’ plight, especially those who are Two Spirit and/or identified with the contemporary labels and terms of cisgender and transgender lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, asexual, and intersex.”

Editor’s choice: Princess Murray

LA Dodgers

Things have changed since 1970. That year, Dodgers player Glenn Burke was traded away when the owners found out he was gay. What a difference half a century makes. This year, the Dodgers kicked off Pride month in LA with their game against the New York Mets. Burke’s family threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch and 18,000 special Pride packages to the (Image courtesy of the LA Dodgers) game were sold. Fans showed up in droves wearing rainbow paraphernalia and Pride caps and jerseys were available for purchase. So, yes, things have changed and LA readers have declared the Dodgers the best local team for the third year in a row.

Editor’s choice: LA Sparks CONTINUES ON PAGE 30

28 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

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Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Best Realtor:

Best Car Dealership:

Josh Flagg

Honda of Hollywood

Josh Flagg, an original cast member on the show “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” on Bravo, represents more than a decade’s worth of high-end (Photo courtesy Josh Flagg) deals in the real estate industry. He has wowed the Los Angeles real estate market. Flagg, who’s gay, has sold well over $2 billion worth of property and is among the city’s top five real estate agents. He has represented many American billionaire families such as the Gettys and DeBartolos. Adam Levine, Shonda Rhimes and Steve Aoki are also clients.

Editor’s choice: Compass

Best LGBTQ Ally:

Gov. Gavin Newsom As Florida and Texas all but declared war on transgender kids and their families, one governor did more than shake his head in shock and disbelief. He did something about it. On Sept. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill, one of many LGBTQ affirming of the year, that aims to legally protect trans youth and their parents who need to flee conservative states due to personal persecution and the oppression of gender-affirming care availability. His statement read, “States across the country are passing laws to demonize the trans(Official White House photo by Adam Schultz) gender community especially transgender youth and their parents… the hate demonstrated by these laws is unfathomable and contributed to soaring suicide rates… This is unacceptable and we must fight for our youth and their parents.”

Editor’s choice: Dwayne Wade and Gabrielle Union

Honda of Hollywood is deservedly proud. “At Honda of Hollywood, we strive for excellence during every visit. Our team of experts is here to help you with all of your automotive needs...

Whether you’re from Hollywood, Los Angeles, or another city, get in touch with our team to experience superior customer service,” they state.

“Great staff, friendly service, feels like a small family-like environment” promises one customer.

“Amazing dealership. Recommend 100%,” states a second. LA Blade readers have test driven them into being the Best Car Dealership for the second year in a row.

Editor’s choice: BMW of Beverly Hills

Best Doctor/Medical Provider: AIDS Healthcare Foundation

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is the largest provider of HIV/AIDS healthcare in the world. It currently has 1,725,070 patients in care across 45 countries. As a global non-profit, it provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy. Their float in this year’s Rose Parade was “No Place Like Home.”

Their local fans, and LA Blade readers, agreed naming them the year’s best for the third year in a row.

Editor’s choice: Cedars-Sinai

LA Fitness, Hollywood

Spa Montage

(Photo via Facebook)

30 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

(AHF’s 2023 Rose Parade® Float/Facebook AHF)

Best Fitness:

Best Salon/Spa: Spa Montage’s clients are raving.

“The best spa in LA,” states one. “Very old school glam, full of antique style and old world charm,” declares another. Yet another goes right to the heart of a good spa: “The team here is just fantastic.” Goop also professes its love, “From prenatal massages to really good facials, the Montage is one of those luxe hotel spots that pulls no punches when it comes to pampering.” LA Blade readers agree.

Editor’s choice: Burke Williams

(Photo via Facebook)

(Photo via Facebook)

CONTINUES ON PAGE 34

LA Fitness can tell you why you should get fit with them. “LA Fitness offers many amenities at an outstanding value. Gym amenities may feature Functional Training, state-of-the-art equipment, basketball, group fitness classes, pool, saunas, personal training, and more!” Its clients call out its wide range of equipment, friendly staff, great classes and convenient parking. For the second year in a row, LA Blade readers have named LA Fitness the best.

Editor’s choice: Crunch, West Hollywood

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City of West Hollywood California 1984

Celebratin g

e Month! d i Pr

The Los Angeles Community College District Congratulates its Class of 2022 LGBTQIA+ Graduates And Welcomes Our Next Generation of Pride!

The Colleges of Los Angeles welcome everyone to our nine campuses with inclusive and safe learning environments to pursue your higher education goals and dreams!

Apply Today at

OurPromiseYourPath.com

CITY • EAST • HARBOR • MISSION • PIERCE • SOUTHWEST • TRADE-TECH • VALLEY • WEST

The Colleges of Los Angeles

L ACCD.EDU

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Workplace:

Best Theater:

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

Geffen Playhouse

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been an Editor’s Choice for most LGBTQ-Friendly workplace, and this year the LA Blade readers agree, voting it into the top spot. AHF represents the consistently excellent work of doctors, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, med techs, benefits counselors, and support staff at 14 AHF Healthcare Centers and satellite clinics throughout Southern California. A recent employee reports, “The people here are so welcoming and full of joy. Corporate also does a great job of making you feel included and often have outreach events.”

Editor’s choice: Getty Museum

Best Non-Profit: LA LGBT Center

Founded in 1969, The Los Angeles LGBT Center provides programs and services for LGBTQ people. The organization’s mission centers on four key areas: health, social services, housing, and leadership and advocacy.

This year, as a response to the 2021 Hate Crime (Los Angeles Blade file photo) Report from the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations, the Center made an even deeper commitment to the LGBTQ community to fight: “I have served our Los Angeles community for nearly 17 years, and it pains me to say that I have never been more concerned for our collective safety than I am right now,” said Terra Russell-Slavin, Chief Impact Officer at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. “Across the country, armed white supremacists are showing up en masse to intimidate drag performers. Hospitals and healthcare facilities that provide care to transgender patients are closing their doors to bomb threats. Our nightclubs and safe spaces are being threatened and attacked. And our trans community is being deliberately targeted by far-right groups and our lawmakers on a daily basis. It’s not surprising that we see the ripple effects of that violence here in Los Angeles. I hope our community knows that their Center will fight like hell for them, and will always be here as a place of refuge.” LA Blade readers seem to understand the importance and need for the LA LGBT Center in these growingly contentious times, naming them the Best Non-Profit of the year.

Editor’s choice: Project Angel Food (Photo via Facebook)

Best Museum/Art Gallery: The Getty

The Getty is a Los Angeles treasure. In its two locations, it represents more than 6,000 years of art. Besides a library collection of books, archives, and services, the museum holds more than 100,000 artwork images as well as special collections. The Getty Center, with its bird’s eye view of Los Angeles, is located in Brentwood and showcases European art amid modern architecture. Its second location is the Getty Villa Museum, which lies along the coast and displays ancient Greek and Roman art in a recreated Roman house. The Getty embarks on numerous philanthropic projects including several supporting the LGBTQ community. LA Blade readers have shown their appreciation for the second year in a row by naming the Getty as the Best Museum of the year.

Editor’s choice: LACMA 34 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

The Geffen Playhouse, located in Westwood, is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It has been a key hub for theater in Los Angeles since its opening and produces plays in two theaters in the Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. Pa(Photo via Facebook) trons compliment it on its breadth of productions, excellent staff, and comfortable seating. LGBTQ audiences have appreciated works like “The Inheritance,” which cited key LGBTQ history allusions. In support of the play’s theme and to give audiences a sense of context, The Geffen published a “dramaturgical deep dive” into LGBTQ history on its website.

The Geffen has made diversity a mission. Its commitment includes this statement: “In recognition of the essential examination of systemic racism and injustices, we at Geffen Playhouse commit to continued analysis and expansion of our own institutional practices in order to be part of the solution. Our vision for the Geffen is that people of all races, faiths, sexual orientations, abilities, genders and backgrounds find it an easily accessible and highly relevant source of art that reflects the dynamic human experience and galvanizes a more equitable and vibrant community.” For this, and great theater, LA Blade readers have deemed them the Best Theater in LA. Editor’s choice: Pantages/Broadway in Hollywood

Best Music Venue:

The Hollywood Bowl Two years ago, the Hollywood Bowl won for Best Virtual A&E Events. Last year it was named the Best A&E Venue. This year, it won again – for Best Music Venue. This can only (Photo courtesy county of Los Angeles) lead you to conclude that live or virtual, artistically or musically, in the eyes of LA Blade readers, it is perennially the best. Since its opening in 1922, the Hollywood Bowl has been the premier destination for live music, hosting everyone from Billie Holiday to The Beatles to Yo-Yo Ma under the iconic silhouette of its concentric-arched band shell. This past year saw such LGBTQ-friendly acts as Ricky Martin and Grace Jones. Can this year top that? Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Game of Thrones and Janet Jackson will surely try.

Editor’s choice: Disney Concert Hall

Most LGBTQ-Friendly Entertainment Company: Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery tells us that they are “the stuff that dreams are made of.” They are a relatively new combined company. The new company combined WarnerMedia’s premium entertainment, sports, and news assets with Discovery’s leading non-fiction and international entertainment and sports businesses. The (Photo via Warner Brothers Discovery/Website) combination is a premier global media and entertainment company that promises to offer us the “most differentiated and complete portfolio of content, brands and franchises across television, film, streaming and gaming.” Hyperbole aside, they brought us “White Lotus” and gay boys Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen to welcome in the new year. LA Blade readers were impressed.

Editor’s choice: Disney CONTINUES ON PAGE 36

FIRE ISLAND PINES RENTALS & SALES 2023 WEEKLY RENTALS, INCLUDING JULY 4TH AND THE PINES PARTY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34

Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued

Best Screenwriter:

Best LGBTQ Event:

Ryan Murphy

GLAAD Awards

It is no surprise that LA Blade readers called out Ryan Murphy as the best screenwriter of the year. The bigger question is — for which script? Murphy is prolific, having written literally hundreds of scripts in 2022.

He wrote scripts for his “American Horror Stories,” “Dahmer-Monster, the Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” “9-1-1,” “9-1-1 Lone Star,” “American Horror Story,” “The Watcher,” (Screenshot via YouTube/NBC Universal) and “Ratched” shows. The new year does not promise a slowdown. Upcoming, he scripts the mini-series “A Chorus Line,” the series “Consent,” and the TV movie “One Hit Wonders.”

Editor’s choice: Our Lady J

Best Actor:

Last year, the annual GLAAD awards was a star-studded ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills hosted by Bob the Drag Queen, Eureka O’Hara and DJ “Shangela” Pierce. The ceremony included appearances by Andrew Garfield, Troye Sivan, JoJo Siwa, Jasmin Savoy-Brown, Mira Sorvino, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and more. Anti-trans legislation and the “Don’t Say Gay” (Los Angeles Blade photo by Troy Masters) bills were addressed during the show. President and CEO Kate Ellis denounced the hateful political activities in her speech, “These bills are designed to erase us as a community, but GLAAD will not let that happen. We have never been more committed to our vision of a world where everyone can live the life that they love.” With that, LA Blade readers expressed their love for GLAAD. Editor’s choice: DragCon LA

Laverne Cox The iconic Laverne Cox impressed LA Blade readers this year. She, of course, is the American actress and highly visible LGBTQ advocate. She burst on the scene with her role as Sophia Burset on the Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black.” This gave her the notoriety of becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category. In 2015, (Image courtesy of Netflix) she was the first trans woman to win a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Special as executive producer for “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word.” In 2017, she became the first transgender person to play a transgender series regular on U.S. broadcast TV as Cameron Wirth on CBS’s “Doubt.” This year, LA Blade readers were impressed by her performance as Kacy Duke in the mini-series “Inventing Anna.”

Editor’s choice: Jennifer Coolidge

Favorite Musical Artist: Cardi B

This year, the famed Grammy-winning “WAP” rapper seemed to impress LA Blade readers as much with her pro-LGBTQ candor as she did with her talent. She ended the previous year as an officiant at a samesex wedding, “I’m going to get these two beautiful ladies married. It’s not only a special day for you guys, but it’s a special day (Screenshot via YouTube) for me, and I want to thank you for making me a part of your beautiful journey,” she said at the time. This year, she slapped down those who wanted to doubt or play down her bisexuality. “I ate bitches out before you was born …..Sorry I don’t have razr phone pics to prove it to you,” she snarked on Twitter. Just in case you are not yet clear on where she stands in regard to LGBTQ people, she made the point clear: “If you homophobic you just ugly.” Her favoritism by our readers appears to be well-earned.

Editor’s choice: Dolly Parton

36 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

Best Regional Pride: WeHo Pride

Last year, the City of West Hollywood presented its inaugural WeHo Pride in early June, kicking off celebrations across the nation during Pride Month.

WeHo Pride Weekend celebrations in and around (Photo via Facebook) West Hollywood Park included a free WeHo Pride Street Fair that represented a diverse array of LGBTQ community groups; a three-day ticketed OUTLOUD Raising Voices Music Festival, the Dyke March and Women’s Freedom Festival, and an inaugural WeHo Pride Parade. LA Blade readers named it the best around.

Editor’s choice: DTLA PROUD

Best Hotel:

Sunset Tower The New York Times called it “Hollywood’s Grand Dame Hotel.” LA Blade readers just called it the year’s best. With a dramatic setting on the Sunset Strip and elegant Art Deco styling, the Sunset Tower was designed in 1929 by architect Leland A. Bryant. It boasts former residents Howard Hughes, John Wayne, Billie Burke, Marilyn Monroe, Errol Flynn, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Paulette Goddard, Zasu Pitts, and even gangster Bugsy Siegel. Hotelier Jeff Klein purchased the building in 2004, enlisting designer Paul Fortune to revive the property’s classic art deco style and then in 2018, Klein put his personal touch on another refresh, restoring the Sunset Tower’s heart and soul while not (Photo via Facebook) compromising its character. The hotel’s rooms were elegantly refurbished and its famous Tower Bar was expanded to include a dark and sexy bar, reimagined restaurant, and updated pool area.

Further additions have included a bright and airy 7,000-square-foot gym in John Wayne’s former apartment, and the Joanna Vargas Spa one level above offering expert facials and massages.

Editor’s choice: San Vincente Bungalows CONTINUES ON PAGE 38

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

Best of LGBTQ LA 2023 continued Best Coverage of LGBTQ Issues by a Mainstream News Outlet: John Fenoglio of KTLA

LA Blade readers appreciate hearing the news from one of our own. Out reporter John Fenoglio appears to have our backs.

He is quoted as saying, “LGBT people are the targets of more hate crimes than any other minority. A San Pedro resident and veteran I met today knows firsthand what that feels like. Don’t hate... But do fight back and fight smart.”

Editor’s choice: Elzie Lee “LZ” Granderson of the LA Times (Photo via KTLA 5 Facebook)

Best LA Region Airport:

Hollywood/Burbank Airport

(Photo courtesy Marsha Molinari/Instagram)

Best Podcast:

Gigi Gorgeous and Mimi, Queerified (Photo via Hollywood-Burbank Airport Facebook)

Hollywood Burbank Airport is legally and formerly marketed as Bob Hope Airport after entertainer Bob Hope. It is a public airport three miles northwest of downtown Burbank.

LA Blade readers seem to agree with airport patrons who have declared “this place just treats you like family and customer service is simply awesome.”

Editor’s choice: LAX

38 • LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023

This year, in a special, fan-centered Queerified finale, Gigi and Mimi bid farewell to their listeners and reminisced on their Queerified journey. After 40 Queerified episodes with popular guests, LA Blade readers showed their appreciation.

Editor’s choice: Rob Watson, Rated LGBT Radio

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LOSANGELESBLADE.COM • JANUARY 20, 2023 • 39

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