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January 7, 2015 // vol. 6 // issue 1

‘We Do’

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See what news is breaking across the internet Compiled by John McDonald

Suicide Prompts Call for ‘Leelah’s Law’

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In the wake of a transgender teen’s tragic suicide, activists are calling for a ban on trans conversion therapy. Leelah Alcorn, 17, committed suicide in her home state of Ohio after failing to receive support from her family regarding her wishes to live life as a female. Her death made national headlines and led to a petition

on change.org to ban trans conversion therapy. The petition currently has more than 250,000 signatures. In her suicide note on the blogging site Tumblr, Leelah said she was taking her own life because she could not live up to her parents’ expectations of a “perfect straight little Christian boy.”

Same-Sex Marriage Begins in Luxembourg Same-sex marriage became legal in the tiny European country of Luxembourg last week. Jean Paul Olinger and Henri Lorenzo Huber, both men in their 60s, became Luxembourg’s first same-sex married couple, according to several European news agencies. Luxembourg

is a member of the European Union and NATO and is known for its high income citizens (GDP per capita ranked sixth globally in 2013). Neighboring countries France and Belgium have already instituted same-sex marriage.

Page Swears at Queen Actress Ellen Page tweeted her disgust at Queen Elizabeth II after Her Majesty awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) to a homophobic politician from Northern Ireland. Page, a Canadian, best known for her role in the 2007 film “Juno,” was outraged by the Queen’s decision to honor Councillor Maurice Mills, who blamed the spread

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of AIDS in Africa on gay people engaging in the “filthy practice of sodomy.” Mills also stated Hurricane Katrina’s wrath on New Orleans was the result of gay pride.

Page, 27, came out last year as a lesbian.

She greeted Mills’ award with two words: “fuck that.” It should be noted the Queen MEMBER honored four LGBT rights campaigners in her annual New Year’s list.

Photo: Courtney Csztova

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JANUARY 7, 2015 • VOLUME 6 • ISSUE 1

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South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community.

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news highlight

Politicians react to Freedom to Marry

John McDonald

Politicians and public figures reacted to the news of marriage equality coming to Florida this week.

Oakland Park Vice Mayor Tim Lonergan observed the early morning ceremonies in Broward County, offering relief the long and arduous legal battle was over.

“Finally it’s happening,” said Lonergan.

“This is all about the future, companionship and equal rights.”

Across the Sunshine State, gay and lesbian couples celebrated their new right to marry, six years after a constitutional ban on such relationships went into effect.

U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston) congratulated Florida’s newlyweds, noting the state had turned a page on discrimination.

“These Floridians are our neighbors, our friends, our brothers and sisters, and it is incredibly moving to see them commit to one another in marriage,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who mounted a vigorous defense of the state’s same-sex marriage ban, extended an olive

branch late Monday night.

“We wish these couples the best,” Bondi said through a spokesman.

When asked to weigh in the historic proceedings, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is considering a run for the U.S. Presidency, told the New York Times, “We live in a democracy, and regardless of our disagreements, we have to respect the rule of law.”

In a statement, Bush called for respect for both sides of this contentious issue, including committed gay couples and “those of us who believe marriage is a sacrament and want to safeguard religious liberty.”

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News Briefs Compiled by John McDonald

Jock Charged With Stalking Media Mogul A former North Dakota college football player who was kicked off his team after kissing an older man is facing a charge of stalking billionaire David Geffen.

Jamie Ralph Kuntz, 21, was ordered, last week, to return to Los Angeles Superior Court on charges that he repeatedly violated an order to stay away from the entertainment mogul.

Kuntz pleaded not guilty earlier this month and is being held on $150,000 bail.

Kuntz was kicked off the North Dakota State College of Sciences football team two years ago after kissing a 65-yearold boyfriend in the press box.

Kuntz says he lost his place as linebacker because he was gay, though the coach says he was removed for lying about the kiss.

Photo:Facebook

Defense lawyer David Wohl said his client had a shortterm physical relationship with Geffen that became a case of unrequited love. He disputed that Kuntz threatened Geffen or put him in fear for his safety, which is required to support a felony stalking charge.

The charges were filed after Kuntz pleaded guilty this fall to misdemeanor trespassing on Geffen’s property and was sentenced to four months in jail and three years of probation.

“He was on the wrong side of celebrity justice,” Wohl said.

“That’s 120 more days than your average person gets for trespass. Consider who the alleged victim is.”

Geffen is one of the most powerful and wealthy men in Hollywood. He made his fortune as a record producer and co-founded DreamWorks Pictures with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

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Photo:Facebook

restler Angered By Film’s Gay Innuendos

Offering Same-Sex Spousal Benefits Publix

More gay and lesbian married couples living in conservative Southern states can get health benefits -- so long as they work for Publix.

The grocery chain is one of the largest in the south, with stores in three states that ban same-sex marriage: Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Starting in January, even employees in those states can enroll their spouses in the company’s health and dental plans -- as long as they were married in a different state.

It’s good business for us to offer benefits to all employees, not just those in the states that recognize it,” said Maria Brouse, director of media relations at Publix.

Same-sex marriage is currently legal in 36 states and the District of Columbia. North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida where Publix has stores, changed its laws this past fall, which pushed the company to revamp its policy.

Publix is not the first company to change course and start offering health benefits to same-sex couples. About 64% of Fortune 500 companies have already done so, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

At Publix, a special enrollment period will allow already married couples to enroll for benefits during the month of January. The store offers health benefits to both full-time and part-time employees, as long as they work at least 1,500 hours a year. It currently has about 180,000 workers.

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“Foxcatcher” depicts the relationship between Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz and millionaire John du Pont, played in director Bernard Miller’s acclaimed film by Channing Tatum and Steve Carell, effectively cast against type as a creepy wrestling aficionado.

Set in the 1980s, it portrays Schultz as a needy boy/man who falls under the thrall of Du Pont when he’s recruited by the older man to take part in his Pennsylvania wrestling camp, called Foxcatcher.

Du Pont made headlines when he murdered Schultz’s older brother Dave Schultz, also an Olympic wrestling winner and Foxcatcher recruit, played by Mark Ruffalo in the film. These events are depicted in the film’s final third; up to that point it raises but never fully answers just what was the nature of DuPont’s relationship with Mark. Was it sexual as the film implies?

That some reviewers have picked up on that meme has upset Mark to the point where he Facebook-ranted about the film and director Miller earlier this week. “Pretty lousy what the director did to my character huh?” he asked on Tuesday. Schultz was reacting to how critics have written that the film implies a gay relationship between the men, which Schultz emphatically denies in a longer post written a few hours later.

A few hours later he elaborated with a longer post that listed the inaccuracies he found in the film: “...du Pont was a repulsive sickening freak. I could barely stand looking at him. I never touched him except for a photo at the hall of fame and when I threw him in a headlock for a documentary. I never showed him any moves or taught him anything about wrestling.

I never coached him in a wrestling match. I never read any speech he gave me. I never dyed my hair. Dave was my older brother, not a father-figure.”

Up to this point, his relationship with Miller, who also directed two other true-life dramas “Capote” and “Moneyball,” has been cordial. He promoted the film with Miller at the Cannes Film Festival last May (where Miller won the Best Director award for the film). He is also listed as an associate producer on the film.

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efense: Faulty Investigation at Egyptian Bathhouse

Defense lawyers for 26 men arrested in a televised raid by police looking for gays at an Egyptian bathhouse criticized the prosecution’s case Sunday, saying it is based on a faulty investigation and only one police officer’s testimony.

The raid was part of an ongoing crackdown on gays in Egypt, described by activists as the worst in more than a decade. While consensual gay and lesbian relationships are not specifically outlawed in Egypt, there is a societal taboo against same-sex couples.

A private TV station’s crew filmed the men’s arrest, saying it tipped off police to a bathhouse “hosting men sex orgies.” The televised raid outraged activists.

One lawyer representing 14 of the men, Islam Khalifa, told the court Sunday that the defendants suffered “psychological duress” from the publicized arrests, which defamed and endangered both them and their families in conservative Egypt. He said having the television crew there violated the men’s right to privacy and Egypt’s constitution.

Of the 26 men, 21 have undergone medical examinations to see if they had had anal sex. Three of the men had trauma that required further examination, defense lawyer Tarek al-Awadi said.

The men face charges including debauchery and performing indecent public acts. Such vague terms can apply to prostitution or even public display of affection.

Their trial began Dec. 21. On Sunday, the men stood in a small cage in the court, some with hoodies covering their face. Two wept in front of journalists, who were not allowed to approach them.

news bites

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by John McDonald

international

aper: Wilde’s Wife Had MS

Gary Irish writer Oscar Wilde is in the news again some 115 years after his death. The Lancet, a leading medical journal, published a paper from what is believed to be Wilde’s grandson, which claims his grandmother died of undiagnosed multiple sclerosis. Wilde, author of classic literature such as “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” was married to Constance Lloyd, a woman who died of an unknown illness in Paris in 1898. The couple’s grandson, who goes by the name Merlin Holland, claims evidence to suggest Mrs. Lloyd’s cause of death was due to multiple sclerosis. Through years many theories of her demise have been offered, one of which being she died of syphilis caught from her husband.

national

Continues Fight Against Idaho Same-Sex Marriage

Idaho, led by Governor Butch Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to re-ban same-same marriage in the Gem State. The two public figures, both Republicans, filed separate petitions Friday asking for a review of Idaho’s marriage equality. Otter is arguing opposite-sex couples make better parents. Marriage equality has been in effect since last October in Idaho when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld another ruling that lifted the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. Idaho has already spent $400,000 in taxpayer money to fight marriage equality.

state

Marijuana is Now Still Medical Months Away

Those expecting to use marijuana under Florida’s guidelines for medicinal purposes will have to wait for the state to get its act together. Officials with the Department of Health’s newly created Office of Compassionate Use met last week in Orlando to discuss rewriting regulations for cannabis. Office director Patricia Nelson told the Sun-Sentinel she expects new rules by March. The law, known as “Charlotte’s Web,” originally allowed for the use of cannabis oil to treat children suffering from brain disorders and intractable seizures. The Florida legislature approved the law during the 2014 session and it was signed

by Gov. Rick Scott.

local

Center hosts ‘Seniors Pride into the Wild’ photo exhibit

The Pride Center in Wilton Manors is hosting a playful photography exhibit by Japanese photojournalist Kaz Takahashi. Titled “Seniors into the Wild,” Takahashi’s exhibit combines his love for nature with mature people, but mature does not necessarily mean prudish. “I don’t think seniors are old,” Takahashi says. “Seniors are young, charming and have a lot of humor. I take pictures of seniors to make people happy.” Takahashi, 66, has visited every National Park, Monument and Wildlife Sanctuary in the U.S. and Canada. The opening reception for his “Seniors into the Wild” exhibit is Jan. 9 from 5-7 p.m. at the Pride Center.

kaz-photography.com

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Wedding Bells Ring In South Florida Earth remains on its axis

John McDonald

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ust after midnight at the South County Courthouse in Delray Beach, Palm Beach County Clerk Sharon Bock married more than five dozen couples in a group ceremony that took place in front of the “Freedom Shrine.”

The jubilant crowd went wild when Clerk Bock said the words, “by the power invested in me by the Great State of Florida, I now pronounce you married.”

Cameron Keating Event Design decorated the room for the occasion while openly gay Lake Worth City Commissioner Andy Amoroso provided wedding cakes.

Local LGBT rights activist Debbie Frazier and her fiancée Diedre Newton, provided other refreshments and helped Bock plan logistics for the night’s events. Sarah Helen Land sang “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway musical

“Wicked,” followed by a duet with Jeremiah Cummings of the award winning song, “The Prayer.”

Financial guru Suze Orman attended the festivities with her wife, Kathy Travis,. “We’re here to support our friends,” Orman said. “They’ve been married 25 years.”

Orman and Travis were married in South Africa in 2010 but like so many others who were married elsewhere, Florida refused to recognize their marriage.

“But that ends, tonight,” Orman said. “Isn’t it wonderful?

This has to be one of the best days in Florida’s history.”

In order to avoid controversy Clerk Bock made sure the event did not cost taxpayers any money.

Employees of the clerk’s office instead volunteered for the midnight ceremonies.

“We didn’t want the tax payers to foot the bill for this program,” Bock said. “As you’ll see, we have a lot of dedicated people who were willing to give of their own time to support this important issue.”

Other counties in Florida, at least 14 so far, have decided to stop performing marriage ceremonies, including straight marriages, with some clerks noting their employees would be “uncomfortable” performing a same-sex marriage.

That wasn’t the case in Palm Beach, Broward or Monroe County where offices opened up at midnight to celebrate the occasion. A judge in Miami-Dade ruled Monday they county could begin issuing marriage licenses immediately and did so starting at 2 p.m.

Broward County Clerk of the Courts Howard C. Forman said the words thousands of Floridian same-sex couples had been waiting a lifetime to hear.

“With this ring and in love and truth, I marry you,” Forman said during a group wedding ceremony in the early hours of Tuesday’s first day of same-sex marriage in Florida. Couples joyfully recited Forman’s words to each other at the

Broward County Courthouse where same-sex marriage in the State of Florida began, officially, at the stroke of midnight.

“We’re seeing the fruition of all of our hard work,” said Robin L. Bodiford, a longtime gay rights attorney and activist from Fort Lauderdale. As she celebrated the occasion with her new wife, Sandra Picardi, Bodiford reflected on the fight for marriage equality.

“It seems like a no-brainer now that we have equal rights, but it was a long and hard fight,” Bodiford said.

“We had to educate the judges and provide examples of discrimination during a time when there was no Internet.”

Friends and family members joined the newlyweds on the third floor of the courthouse in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Elected officials and judges made appearances as well, including Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who congratulated the couples on their pursuit of happiness.

“It feels great. We are now no longer second rate citizens,” said Oren Hertz, a university professor who married his partner of seven years, Jordan Deguise, a realtor.

The dawn of same-sex marriage in Fort Lauderdale drew many different types of loving couples — old and young, black, white, yellow and brown, men and women. The room, one onlooker commented, resembled the rainbow flag that is associated with the LGBT rights movement.

“This is a monumental event in history,” Beverly Linn said. “I was at Woodstock and this ranks the same. This is something you can always look back on and say, ‘I was there.’”

Linn married Barbara Kelly, a retired nurse who she just recently met. Kelly is legally blind, a fact that made their new romance even better.

“She fell in love with me for who I am and not what I look like,” Linn said.

Broward County’s first married couple was Melissa Keller and Joanne Stiger, posing here proudly after their union.

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Ashley Folds and Carol Graham, ticket number A30, wait with their daughter in anticipation. Folds and Graham have been together for nine years and have three children.

Photo: Charles Pratt

Many couples waited patiently for their turn to receive a marriage license and take part in a wedding ceremony. The fee for a marriage license is $93.50 with that price being reduced to $61 after completion of a pre-marital course. The fee for a wedding ceremony is $30.

“We have a lot to handle at once, but we’re getting through it,” said Forman, who added his office was doing an accurate and thorough job of processing the license applications.

“We’ve waited a long time for this to come to Florida,” said Brian McCabe, a construction projects manager, originally from New Jersey, who married his partner Robert Chaw of 15 years.

As the music from the 1970s hit song “Love Train” played in the background, Chaw offered a tongue and cheek comment to the arrival of marriage equality.

“Now we get to be miserable just like every other married person.”

Meanwhile Miami-Dade became the first county in Florida to issue same-sex marriage licenses when Miami-Dade Circuit Judge, Sarah Zabel, lifted her stay Monday morning clearing the way for same-marriages to take place in the afternoon.

Cathy Pareto and Karla Arguello became one of the first two couples to receive their licenses in Florida.

“When the judge vacated her stay, the court room went insane,” Pareto said. “We were moved to tears. I couldn’t stop crying for awhile.”

After getting their licenses from the clerk’s office they walked back across the street where judge Zabel married them.

“It was quite emotional,” she said.

Pareto and Arguello were two of the plaintiff’s in a Miami-Dade same-sex marriage lawsuit.

In Monroe County, home of gay-centric Key West, William Lee Jones and Aaron Huntsman, became the first couple married in that county on the steps of the courthouse in a midnight ceremony officiated by Rev. Steve Torrence.

Jones and Huntsman were two of the plaintiff’s in a Monroe County same-sex marriage lawsuit.

Judges in both the Miami-Dade and Monroe lawsuits previously ruled the ban on gay marriage to be unconstitutional.

Additional reporting from Jason Parsley, and Donald Cavanaugh.

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Miami-Dade Photos by Silvia Ross

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Cathy Pareto (right) and Karla Arguello (left) became one of the first two same-sex couples to receive their marriage licenses in Florida.

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Key West Photos by Shannon Farris

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In Monroe County William Lee Jones (right) and Aaron Huntsman (left), became the first couple married in the county after a midnight ceremony on the steps of the courthouse officiated by Rev. Steve Torrence.

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Palm Beach

att Photo: Charles Pr

Above : Patrick Ke nnedy and Jason share their first ki Whann ss as one of the first same sex couples legally w ed in the state of Florida.

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Palm Beach

Megan Marin

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ivities attended the festTravis. ) ht ig (r an rm O ze hy Financial guru Su with her wife, Kat 20

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Sheldon and John Goldstein exchange rings.

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column publisher’s editorial

Panhandle Panics As Gays Marry Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

I have never seen so many people this happy in a jury room, but that is where close to 100 same-sex couples and 300 people gathered at midnight on Tuesday morning in the Broward County Courthouse. We were not alone. Across the state, at varying hours of the day, clerks were issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

You can’t appreciate where you are in life without remembering where you have been.

Florida is the state that gave birth to Anita Bryant in 1978. Florida is the state that voted to ban same sex marriage less than ten years ago.

Florida is a state where both the Governor and its Attorney General still oppose us, and went to court to stop us less than ten days ago. This time, equality and justice were on our side.

There are groups still opposing us, with names like the Florida Family Council.

Watching their spokespersons make their case on TV, you almost have to scoff. They have become so historically irrelevant they are laughable. Even Jeb Bush, as he prepares for a presidential run, is changing his tune. He is smart enough to know his past opposition to same sex couples is a shackle to his future goals.

However, Florida still has a ways to go, doesn’t it? Clerks in Duval, Clay, Baker and other counties have stopped performing courthouse weddings, all citing conservative values and opposition to gay marriage as part of the reason why. The only way clerks could avoid officiating gay marriage ceremonies is if they stop performing courthouse weddings all together.

While those clerks may seem far away even right here in Fort Lauderdale, our own Mayor Jack Seiler opposed the city’s resolution supporting marriage equality just a few months ago. We must be ever vigilant.

It’s so sad. It is 2015. They are living in a Sadie Hawkins world still celebrating Anita Bryant Day. That is too bad for them, but worse for their kids. Someday they will get over it. Someday we shall overcome. But that means we still have work to do.

To those that are late in joining us in our battle for equality, we should simply say ‘welcome to the party. Nice to have you here.’

We can be proud this day has come, prouder still that so many have journeyed so far to see it through. Out from the shadows, the love that once dared not speak its name now has a state license and social acceptance. If only we had a

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governor getting inaugurated today who could tell his clerks to obey the law instead of avoid it.

If only we had an attorney general that sued for us instead of against us.

Nevertheless, we owe thanks and gratitude to those who put themselves in the front lines, went to court, and challenged the status quo.

In the beginning days of the battle for marriage equality, even a host of LGBT leaders were timid, warning foolishly that we were ‘moving too fast.’ No, today’s message is a reminder that it is never too soon to fight for your rights. In fact, the best way to protect your rights is to use them.

In Broward, as gay couples married in a jury room we all normally want to escape from, Sheriff Scott Israel took the stage. The chief law enforcement official in the county, he congratulated not only all the couples joining in matrimony, but a host of his own gay deputies tying the knot themselves. He hugged them, smiled with them, and congratulated them.

“The police in our agency are your partners,” he said. He gets it. There is a new world out there.

Hopefully, we will never forget what the old one was like.

One of the women marrying her partner in Broward County yesterday was a local attorney, Robin L. Bodiford. A native Floridian and 1988 graduate of the University of Southern California Law School, she was the co-author of the Broward County Domestic Partnership ordinance, a lesbian civil rights pioneer for this community. Still practicing law in greater Fort Lauderdale, her achievements in excellence over a lifetime make her a person to applaud and celebrate today.

Every community has had its share of heroes.

In Dade County, there was a woman named Ruth Shack who pushed equal rights for gays and lesbians in the 1970’s. In Palm Beach, there have attorneys like Rand Hoch fighting for decades. In Broward, Jamie Bloodworth, who passed away ten years ago this month, would be smiling with her partner Beverly Cothern today.

In each community, we have had men and women leading and attempting to make a difference in all our lives. Yesterday, as clerks from Key West to Kissimmee issued same sex marriage licenses, we all had a reason to celebrate and appreciate what those who came before us have done.

column letter from the editor

Publix Offers Smoke and Mirror Policy Jason Parsley

Photo:Facebook

Photo:Facebook

Media outlets are reporting that Publix,

a large Southern grocery store chain, has decided to offer health benefits to married same-sex couples. Sounds exciting, but don’t believe the hype. This apparent change in policy is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

First any married couple will have the right to health benefits — straight or gay.

The only real change that Publix is offering is that in non-marriage equality states like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee, samesex couples will now have the opportunity to travel to another state where it is legal just so they can get health benefits in their home state.

That’s absurd. This is not something we should be celebrating.

This change obviously comes now because same-sex marriage is becoming legal from coast to coast and Publix was going to have to update their policies anyway. Florida, where Publix is headquartered, is also the latest state to get marriage equality.

“It’s good business for us to offer benefits to all employees, not just those in the states that recognize it,” Maria Brouse, director of media relations at Publix, told CNN. But many companies have offered domestic partner health benefits for years to their employees. According to the Human Rights Campaign 62 percent of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner health insurance benefits.

Just take a look at this leaked memo from Walmart in 2013 on why they started offering domestic partner benefits: “It’s a business decision, not a moral or political decision. We operate in 50 states, hundreds of municipalities and Puerto Rico, and as clarified under the Supreme

Photo:Facebook

Court’s decision to strike down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), each of these states are developing different definitions of marriage, domestic partner, civil union, etc. By developing a single definition for all Walmart associates in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, we are able to ensure consistency for associates across our markets.

Given the diverse world we live in today, a comprehensive benefit package that includes domestic partner benefits appeals to the contemporary workforce.

Many companies, including most of our competitors, already offer spouse/partner benefits to their employees. Of 30 retail competitors, all but two (Publix and Stop and Shop union plan) provide either same- or opposite-sex domestic partner coverage.”

Notice that Publix is one of Walmart’s only competitors to not offer those benefits until now — kind of. Again, employees in a state where marriage equality is not legal will still have to travel out of state just so they can get those same benefits afforded to straight couples.

They’re not giving us anything.

Let’s look at the reality here: this year the Human Rights Campaign rated them a zero (out of 100) on its 2015 Corporate Equality Index. Other large grocery store chains, such as Target (100), Walmart (90), Whole Foods Market (75), and Winn-Dixie (45), did much better. Publix was also rated zero on HRC’s 2014 and 2013 reports.

They should be ashamed and embarrassed — not boasting.

So let’s call this what it is really is — a way to simplify Publix’s internal policies.

Nothing more. soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 1.7.2015 //

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SouthFloridaGayNews

SEND RESUME TO GRATITUDEHOMECARE@GMAIL.COM

Gazette Wilton Manors

Volume 2 • Issue 1 January 7, 2015

Twice-Monthly Neighborhood Outlook

Page 3 Real Estate Geek

Page 5 Criminal Candidate Update

Page 5 CDBG Funds for City

Page 6 Pros and Cons of Parking Company

Page 7 Arbor Pet Hospital to Expand

Cleaning Up Wilton Drive

New collaborative effort by the city is in progress.

Page 2

Plans for City’s Oldest Building Page 4

Photo: Susan McClellan

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Business

New Effort to Clean Wilton Drive Underway

By Denise Royal

Gazette Wilton Manors

JANUARY 7, 2015 • VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 1 2520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305 PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943

PUBLISHER • NORM KENT NORM.KENT@SFGN.COM

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER • PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / EXECUTIVE EDITOR • JASON PARSLEY JASON.PARSLEY@SFGN.COM

Editorial

ART DIRECTOR • BRENDON LIES ARTWORK@SFGN.COM ONLINE PRODUCER • DENNIS JOZEFOWICZ DENNIS.JOZEFOWICZ@SFGN.COM EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • JILLIAN MELERO JILLIANMELERO@GMAIL.COM

Correspondents

MICHAEL D’OLIVEIRA • CHRISTIANA LILLY • DENISE ROYAL • NATALYA JONES • JOHN MCDONALD • JAMES OAKSUN • DAVID REPLOGLE

Staff Photographers

J.R. DAVIS • POMPANO BILL • STEVEN SHIRES

Sales & Marketing

Thomas Alford wants to clean up Wilton Drive. Literally. His mission started when he was walking his dog one night.

“Being a photographer, I’m constantly looking at my surroundings. And I looked around and saw trash everywhere. The sidewalks were filthy,” he said.

Alford, through his company Manic Art Designs, got busy getting the community involved and registering with Broward County’s Adopt-A-Street program. Wilton Drive is one of six streets registered.

Businesses on Wilton Drive were quick to sign up and help. Hunter’s Nightclub, 13 Even, Out of the Closet are among those helping this cause.

Alford’s background in photography can also be attributed to the movement’s slogan.

“Clean the Drive Wilton Manors – Keeping the Drive Picture Perfect.”

The first Clean the Drive effort to remove trash from Wilton Manors took place in October. More than 30 volunteers helped to remove over 200 pounds of trash. “We

worked hard and had a blast!” said Alford.

The Next Clean the Drive will be Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. Prior to the clean up effort volunteers will meet at Hunters Nightclub to have a safety meeting and pass out supplies and T Shirts. There will be 2 water stations along the route and food after the event.

Community involvement is key to this project. Alford also holds monthly ‘meet and greet’ meetings to get input from others, sign up volunteers and discuss the plans for future endeavors. The next meeting is set for Jan. 31 at 3 p.m. at Hunter’s Nightclub.

These days, you can still see some trash on Wilton Drive, but Alford hopes to make that a thing of the past. “I have not really seen a change as of yet, the more we do it I think people will start to take notice,” he tells SFGN. WMG

DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING • MIKE TROTTIER MIKE.TROTTIER@SFGN.COM SALES MANAGER • JUSTIN WYSE JUSTIN.WYSE@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • EDWIN NEIMANN EDWIN.NEIMANN@SFGN.COM ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • CINDY CURTIS CINDY.CURTIS@SFGN.COM SALES ASSISTANT • JASON GONZALES JASON.GONZALES@SFGN.COM DISTRIBUTION SERVICES • BRIAN SWINFORD ACCOUNTING SERVICES BY CG BOOKKEEPING South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

Associated Press

Copyright © 2014 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

For more information, go to https://www. facebook.com/cleanthedrivewiltonmanors or www.manicartdesigns.com.

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SouthFloridaGayNews

Three Real Estate “Re-Solutions” for 2015

Real Estate Geek

By James Oaksun As another year draws to a close, many of us are making our “New Year’s Resolutions.” (Best to stay away from the gym until around the fifth of the month if you can! It may be, um, busier than usual.)

I’ve got my 2015 business plan finished, and know it’ll be a great year.

But when it comes to real estate, is there really anything new under the sun? Or is any resolution you could make just a restatement of a “solution” that worked well five, 10, even 20 years earlier, and will work any year?

I think the answer is a resounding “yes.”

So, as you make your real estate plans for next year, here are my three favorite “solutions” to consider.

1. Think long term Consider today’s chart (or if you prefer and are from the Northeast, “chaaaht”).

Most people know we saw 10 years of extreme price volatility in local real estate values. But what’s the story if we look back a longer ways? Fortunately our skilled friends at the Federal Housing Finance Administration have an index of values for roughly 300 metro areas including Fort Lauderdale. Ours goes all the way back to 1975, undoubtedly before many reading this were even alive.

What has happened since 2000 has been rather unusual. When you take a longer view, however, something interesting emerges. Going back to 1975, real estate values here have increased by 4.4 percent per year, compounded. That works out to roughly 0.6 points above the annual rate of consumer price inflation in that period.

Patient people realize the underlying truth: real estate can be a good long-term investment in certain circumstances. They are long term buyers who largely stood aside during the bubble, and are now back in the market with realistic expectations.

And just like other investments, you can earn excess returns in special situations, requiring research, patience and good advisors.

2. So, who’s advising You? Consider the very low hurdle that one must clear before they may call themselves a “Licensed Real Estate Salesperson” in Florida. You need to take a 63-hour course (eight full time days), pass an exam, then take another 45-hour course within 18 months, and pass another exam. (Someone who’s brand new hasn’t even had to pass that second course just yet!)

Maybe you are reading this while getting a pedicure at one of our fine local spas and salons. Did you know the person working on your toenails had to have 1,200 hours of direct classroom instruction and practical experience (and pass an exam too) before the state would license them to use that emery board on a paying customer?

There are many real estate licensees out there. No, Mary, we are not all the same.

Know with whom you are doing business, and why.

3. Now, decide to decide.

Your journey of a thousand miles in South Florida real estate begins with the first step. “Decision” is a curious word. If you look up its root, you find it is from the Latin “de caesa” – to cut from.

If you want to move in a new direction, you need to cut yourself off from the old way. That can be difficult, even at times emotional, sad. But moving to a new level requires it. You cannot change what has happened, but you can certainly influence what happens from this moment forward.

So decide to decide. Think about the place real estate has in your life, commit yourself to care and patience in evaluating it, and find good quality people to help you with the process.

And have a Happy 2015! WMG

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Community

Historical Society Raises Money to Restore City’s Oldest Building

By Michael d’Oliveira Snack Bar at the Richardson Golf Course, c. 1950’s (WMHS)

The Willingham Carriage House has been part of a nursery, a farm and a golf course – all the same property that is now known as Richardson Historic Park and Nature Preserve.

Now, the Wilton Manors Historical Society [WMHS] is raising money to return the building to how it looked when it was used as a snack bar for the golf course.

The building, when restored, will be used as a catering prep area for individuals and organizations that rent Richardson for events and functions.

“We want it to be revenue-generating for the city,” said Adrienne Foland, WMHS vice president.

To restore the building, a total cost of $165,000, the WMHS has embarked upon a fundraising effort. The city has budgeted $42,500. The WMHS has contributed $47,000 and raised about $25,000. The rest will have to come from private donations or grant money.

The money raised will be used to install an air conditioning system, add an outside bar, a paved courtyard, caterer-friendly food prep area as well as repair and refurbish the main doors. The WMHS also hopes to build a covered area on the backside of the building.

“Over the years, we’ve been making little improvements.

We could rebuild this for less than we’re going to raise.

But then you don’t have a building from 1925,” Foland said. Two of the improvements are a new cement floor

Floor Plan for the Re-Purposing (WMHS)

and the restoration of two “white way” lampposts from the 1920s that were used as support beams for the second floor.

Built in 1925, the Carriage House is believed to be the city’s oldest structure.

Originally part of E.J. Willingham’s nursery, the property was sold to George Richardson, Sr., who bought the 40-acre site in 1938 and turned it into a nine-hole golf course.

“Our history of the golf course is kind of fuzzy,” said Ben Little, WMHS secretary. What is known is that the Carriage House is the only one of four golf course buildings to survive and that it was used as a snack bar until the course closed in 1958. After that, Richardson sold most of the site to the developers of Manor Grove Condominiums. The city acquired what was left, 5.4 acres, in 2002 and turned it into what is now Richardson, one of the city’s most popular parks. WMG

Planned Improvements to the South Side of the Building (Susan McClellan)

The Wilton Manors Historical Society is dedicated to preserving Wilton Manors’ past and documenting history for the future. For more, or to become a member or to make a donation to the Carriage House Restoration and Re-Purposing Project, please visit us at www.WiltonManorsHistoricalSociety.org.

Photos property of the Wilton Manors Historical Society - permission required for reuse

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Community

Business

City Settles on CDBG Funds

Mayoral Candidate Corbin Cleared of All Charges

By Michael d’Oliveira

Months after city officials asked for ideas on how to spend $67,000 in Community Development Block Grant [CDBG] funds, commissioners voted on Dec. 9 to spend the funding on six fitness stations at Island City Park Preserve.

The city has hired Regal Contractors to build a concrete pad with six fitness stations for about $63,000. The remainder will be spent on the expansion of the rear deck at Island City Park Preserve, construction of minor sidewalk connections and four solar light pole fixtures.

The park is located in the Highlands, a dense group of single-family homes,

By SFGN Staff

Boyd Corbin

apartment buildings, duplexes and condos, the only neighborhood in the city to qualify for CDBG funds.

The Highlands has received CDBG monies before – for park fencing, sidewalks, a drainage system, solar lighting, landscaping and street resurfacing.

Recently, CDBG funding was used to buy a small piece of property near the Island City Park Preserve. Located between two residential buildings, the parcel has 14 parking spaces and is used for overflow parking at the park as well as additional parking for city-wide events such as Stonewall. WMG

Boyd Corbin was released from any pending criminal charges for an alleged aggravated battery against a female impersonator, the entertainer Dame Edna, for a 2013 incident in the

Manchester Room of the Alibi Bar. A video surfaced on YouTube, which exonerated Corbin of the accusation, and prosecutors dropped all charges against him. WMG

Photos: Facebook

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Business

Commission to Review Cost of Parking Company Lanier “bordering on aggression” says Green

By Michael d’Oliveira

ADVERTISE IN THE

GAZETTE

City commissioners want to see the costs of parking enforcement decrease, and they’re tasking the city’s parking company, Lanier, to do it.

“Parking enforcement is too good, too efficient, bordering on aggression,” said Commissioner Tom Green, who said he has received complaints from residents and visitors that Lanier is too strict on how it enforces expired meters. “The reason is money,” he said.

Lanier representative Kevin Brady responded, “Once in a while, we give people a break.”

According to Bob Mays, finance

AS LITTLE AS $75

EACH ISSUE!

department director, the city’s yearly revenue from parking is about $620,000. Of that amount, $307,000 is given to Lanier.

Vice Mayor Scott Newton told Brady to look into bringing costs down without hurting service. Brady responded, “We do everything we can to keep costs from rising.”

Lanier is expected to give a report to commissioners at their Jan. 13 meeting.

“I do want to look at the cost. We pay 100 percent of your costs. Everything you make is pure profit,” Mayor Gary Resnick said. WMG

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SouthFloridaGayNews

Community

Arbor Pet Hospital to Expand

By Michael d’Oliveira

ADVERTISE IN THE

GAZETTE AS LITTLE AS $75

Commissioners have unanimously approved a request by the owner of Arbor Pet Hospital to expand his practice into the adjacent parcel, formerly the Shepherds Way thrift shop.

When completed, the existing pet hospital, 3,934 square feet, located at

EACH ISSUE!

1220 NE 26 St., will be expanded by 5,619 square feet. The building that formerly housed Shepherds Way, now located in Fort Lauderdale, will be torn down.

“We expect we will be adding staff, expanding hours,” said Dr. Louis Mogyoros, Arbor’s owner.

The project was praised by commissioners and residents.

“It’s a tremendous improvement,” said John Fiore, former mayor and current president of the East Neighborhood Association. “It’s a beautiful project,” said Nick Berry, president of the Planning and Zoning Board.

Mayor Gary Resnick said he was “glad you’re expanding in Wilton Manors as opposed to somewhere else.” WMG

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Calendar of Events Compiled from the Wilton Manors website

Photo: Facebook

Jan. 10, 11, 17, 18, and 24

Jan. 10

Wilton Manors Green Market

Jan. 7, 14, 21, and 28 Brains and Balance Past 60 Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28 from 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. at Hagen Park

Brains and Balance Past 60 is designed for the unique needs of active older adults who know the importance of staying mentally sharp and physically stable.

Researchers no longer believe that falling or losing your mental capacity are inevitable parts of the aging process and this fascinating class series operates based on the premise that specific exercises will decrease the risk of falling while increasing mental acuity.

Community Yard Sale

Jan. 10, 11; 17, 18; 24, 25 & 31, Feb. 1 from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Wilton Manors City Hall / Hagen Park

Jan. 10, All Day at Hagen Park

Wilton Manors Green Market every Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.– 2 p.m. in the Wilton Manors City Hall / Hagen Park parking lot. The Market features Organic Produce, Regular Produce, International Baked Goods, specialty items, spices & herbs, soups, cheeses, coffees & tea, bagels, Nuts & dried fruits, baked goods, and various other international and local vendors.

The Market gives residents and visitors to Wilton Manors an exciting shopping alternative and a chance to view, sample and purchase products. For more information on The Market or to become a vendor, visit GreenWilton. com or contact Frank and Ron at 954-531-5363.

Jan. 10 Friends of the Library Book Sale Jan. 10, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hagen Park

The Friends of the Library will erect their Book Tent at the City Yard Sale. You will find used books, CDs, audio books, DVDs, and videos in exchange for a small donation. Top sellers range from books on tape to children’s DVDs, from cookbooks to gardening manuals. All donations benefit the Library. The Friends will also take your donations of books and audio and video materials at the Book Tent, or you may drop them off at the Library, at 500 NE 26th Street.

Jan. 5, 12, 19, and 26 Chair Yoga

Jan. 15

Jan. 5, 12, 19, 26 from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. at Hagen Park

Historical Society Annual Meeting

Photo: J.R. Davis

Come enjoy the benefits of Chair Yoga.

Experience relaxation, improve your flexibility, reduce or even eliminate insomnia, arthritis and constipation.

Jan. 15, 7 p.m. at City Hall Commission Chambers

Jan. 13 City Commission Meeting Jan. 13 at 7 p.m. at City Hall Chambers (Jan. 23 meeting cancelled) 2020 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

Jan. 20 Classical Concert Jan. 20, 7 p.m. at Hagen Park

A Classical Concert with Violinist Linda Rosenthal and Accompanist Richard Dowling.

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column transforming gender

Crying For Leelah Rebecca Juro

rjuroshow@gmail.com

On New Year’s Day, I did something on my radio show that I’d never done on the air in more than a decade’s worth of radio hosting: I cried.

I cried for someone I didn’t know but who I felt I’d failed nonetheless.

I poured it into my microphone because I knew I wasn’t crying alone.

I cried for Leelah.

For her loss, certainly.

For the pain and isolation she endured during her much-too-short life, absolutely.

It’s about more than just those things, though, as important as they are. I cried because I know, as we all should, that Leelah Alcorn should have had a better chance to live.

It’s easy to blame the parents, and they’re certainly not without moral and perhaps even legal responsibility here. It’s arguable that completely cutting your child off from the outside world for five months is nothing short of child abuse.

But if we are to dole out blame here, then we need to step up and accept our own share as well. Leelah didn’t see any options for herself. She believed she had nowhere to go, and no one to talk to who truly understood what she was going through.

Two months before she took her own life, Leelah posted in the asktransgender group on Reddit, all but begging for help. There were no shortage of supportive responses to her plea, but none that offered her what she really needed. As we are wont to do in the trans community, everyone was quick to offer Leelah verbal morale support, but no one said the words Leelah most needed to hear, the words which might have saved her life: “Let me help.”

Still, we mustn’t forget that it was Leelah herself who stepped in front of that truck.

Her parents and life situation surely had an impact, but Leelah Alcorn willfully and intentionally ended her own life. No one and no thing is ultimately responsible for Leelah Alcorn’s suicide other than Leelah herself.

Photo: Tumblr

As adult trans people and allies, we have a responsibility here, a responsibility we’ve been shirking. When a trans kid (or trans adult, for that matter) who’s struggling needs an understanding ear, we need to be there for them. When one of our own needs to escape a bad situation, we need to be there. When a trans person feels their only options are an unbearably painful status quo or suicide, we need to be there.

If there’s any pattern I’ve detected in the attempted and actualized trans suicides I know of, it’s that they usually happen when someone feels they’re out of options, that there’s no path to happiness for them and there never will be. That’s how it was for me when I tried to end my own life and that’s how it was for Leelah when she stepped in front of that truck.

Options. That’s what trans people in crisis need and that’s what we as a community have failed to provide, until now. There’s a new organization called Trans Lifeline, a hotline for trans people in crisis. It’s staffed by trained trans-identified operators who can be that option, to provide a friendly and understanding ear, to connect trans people in need of help with those who can provide it.

This is exactly the kind of thing we need, but it’s just the beginning. It has to be. We have a responsibility as LGB and especially trans adults to reach out and do what we can to make sure that the next Leelah Alcorn knows we’re here and we’re ready to help.

We can’t afford to lose even one more trans kid who could have been saved.

Not. One. More.

Rebecca Juro is a nationally-published freelance journalist and radio talk show host who is the Media Correspondent for The Advocate website. Her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, the Washington Blade, Gay City News, the Albany Times Union, and The Advocate magazine, among others.

Rebecca lives in central New Jersey and shares her life with a somewhat antisocial cat. Email: rjuroshow@gmail.com Twitter: @beckyjuro

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column chamber chat

State of Our Community Jorge Richa Marketing & Programming Director; Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (MDGLCC)

Photo: Facebook

On behalf of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce we would like to wish our members and the community at large a prosperous New Year ahead. May 2015 be a year of personal and professional growth where businesses continue to thrive in order to contribute to our economy and the progress of our city. $8 billion – That is the estimated LGBT purchasing power in Miami-Dade County.

We encourage the LGBT community to support those businesses that invest in our community needs. It is from this support

that we thrive and have a voice in the policies that shape our nation, our state, and our local communities.

As an organization that has been the voice of the LGBT businesses and its allies in south Florida for more than a decade now, we begin our networking programming this year with the “4th Annual State of Our Community” Networking Luncheon & EXPO. This much anticipated event is sponsored this year by Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial Wealth Management and will count with the participation of:

State Representative David Richardson Mayor Carlos Gimenez (Miami-Dade County) Mayor Tomas Regalado (City of Miami) Mayor Philip Levine (City of Miami Beach) Mayor Jim Cason (City of Coral Gables) Nadine Smith (Equality Florida) Tony Lima (SAVE) Don’t miss the opportunity to network with fellow attendees and listen to our speakers talk about their 2015 plans & its impact to the LGBT community.

The event will be taking place at Jungle Island (111 Parrot Jungle

Areas of representation: • Bankruptcy • Business/Commercial Law • Civil Litigation • Estate Planning • LGBT Family Law

Trail, Miami) on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

(Lunch program is from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.) Cost of admission for MDGLCC members is $50 and for non-members is $65.

To RSVP for the “4th Annual State of our Community” Networking Luncheon & EXPO or interest in joining the MDGLCC, please visit www.gaybizmiami.com or reach us at info@gaybizmiami.com / 305-673-4440. soflagaynews //

100 SE 3rd Ave. Suite 1514 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33394 (954) 848-3111 JimenezLawOffices.com

Information contained in this advertisement is not intended to be legal advice. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience.

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 1.7.2015 //

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column

This week’s question: Name one important LGBT story from 2014 that you’d like to highlight?

SFGN Staff

SFGN’s “Speak OUT” is a weekly feature giving a regular voice to South Florida LGBT leaders.

Below are some of their answers:

“

I’d like to remember the Edie Windsor story, how one woman with few connections managed to create the legal case that ultimately overturned DOMA.” —Noah Kitty, Rabbi and Executive Director of Congregation Etz Chaim

“

I think the fact that Marriage Equality is spreading like wild fire is THE story of the year! We continue to win.”

— Meredith L Ockman, SE Regional Director of NOW; VP Florida NWPC & President of S. Fla Women’s Health Foundation

“

Although the coming out stories of the past year touched me deeply, I was most disturbed by the accelerated campaign of oppression witnessed in the Soviet Union, Egypt, Uganda, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere. The division between the “haves” and the “have nots” includes LGBT people who enjoy enormous freedom and our sisters and brothers who are brutalized and murdered.

— Brian McNaught, noted columnist, author and LGBT activist

“

The story of the year for 2014 is Marriage Equality. On Jan 6th, Florida became the 36th State, plus the District of Columbia to allow Gay Marriage. This time last year, there were only 18 States that had legalized Gay Marriage. As we enter 2015, almost 70 percent of LGBT Americans live in a Marriage Equality State.”

— Lee Rubin, Blogger and Community Organizer

Visit SFGN.com/SpeakOut to see more of this week’s responses.

Send an Email to Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com if you know of a LGBT community leader that should be or wants to be a part of this list. soflagaynews //

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lifestyle cars

2015 Nissan Juke Curvy and Nervy

Steve Siler

I love weird shit, weird people, and especially weird cars. And the Nissan Juke NISMO RS is about as weird as cars get these days. Just like your nephew that dresses up as Thor and believes it, this Napoleonic runabout thinks it’s a freakin’ GT-R, and I’m not about to tell it it’s not.

What’s a GT-R, you ask? It’s Nissan’s insane, $100K supercar, and needless to say, it’s a lot faster than the Juke NISMO RS. That said, the Juke NISMO RS brings it when it comes to performance, with a raucous, 210-hp turbo engine, razor-sharp steering and handling that’s as flat as Kansas. An automatic transmission is optional, but with a manual shifter this perfect—seriously, it’s everything—I can’t imagine wanting it.

The interior is pretty intense, too, with small info screens everywhere, black leather and suede upholstery, and hardshelled front seats that are straight out of a racecar, the latter requiring you to sit over their edges lest you bruise your ass on the way in (I learned this the hard way). And of course, the styling reflects this NISMO’s overly exuberant personality, with huge black wheels, smoked lamps, aggressive grille-work and body skirts, and occasional red accents. Completely polarizing yet whimsically adorable, the Nissan Juke NISMO is a character looking for a driver ballsy enough to drive it.

ke

Ju 2015 Nissan

Base Price: $$28,845 Power: 1.6-liter 4-cylinder (215 hp, 210 lb-ft of torque) Transmission: 6-speed manual Fuel Economy, city/hwy mpg (EPA est): 25/31

Interest FREE Financing Available! * MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT

DORAL

FORT LAUDERDALE

OR YOU COULD BUY:

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Renowned automotive journalist Steve Siler pioneered automotive writing for the GLBT community in 1998 and currently contributes auto news and reviews to Car and Driver Magazine, Yahoo Autos, The New York Daily News, Autoblog, Details, and many more. You can follow his adventures on Twitter/Instagram: @silerroad.

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lifestyle history

HOMO HISTORY 101 FLORIDA EDITION

Pier Angelo

1528-1600: In 1528 Spanish explorer Alva Nunez makes the earliest written account of effeminate Indians in Florida who “go about dressed as women and do women’s tasks” – In 1566 Guillermo, a French interpreter in Florida is accused of being a traitor and a great sodomite. He is murdered by the Spaniards. Spanish and French accounts from those days refer to male homosexuals whom they call: amarionados, bardaches, effemines, hermaphrodites and mariones. In the late 1600 Coreal wrote that among the Florida Indians the men were much inclined to sodomy, did women’s work and cross dressed. In 1613 Francisco de Pareja, a Spanish missionary, records “the likelihood of sodomy between native men and of sexual acts between native women.”

1800–1900: After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, the Territorial Legislature enacted laws against fornication, adultery, bigamy, and incest, as well as against “open lewdness, or...any notorious act of public indecency, tending to debauch the morals of society.” Florida’s first specific sodomy law, which was enacted in 1868 and made sodomy a felony, read: “Whoever commits the abominable and detestable crime against nature, either with mankind or with beast, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison not exceeding twenty years.”

1900–1960: The general attitude about homosexuality in Miami mirrored many other cities’ across the country. Though gay nightlife in the city had enjoyed the same boisterous existence as other forms of entertainment in the 1930s, by the 1950s, the city government worked to shut down as many gay bars as possible and enacted laws making homosexuality and cross-dressing illegal.

From 1956 to 1966, the Johns Committee of the Florida Legislature

Same-sex sexual activity remained illegal in Florida until 2003, when the United States Supreme Court struck down all sodomy laws.

actively sought to root out homosexuals in state employment and in public universities across the state, publishing the inflammatory “Purple Pamphlet,” which portrayed all homosexuals as predators and a dire threat to the children of Florida. In the 1960s The Miami Herald ran several stories implying the life of area homosexuals as synonymous with pimps and child molesters, and the local NBC television station aired a documentary titled “The Homosexual” in 1966 warning viewers that young boys were in danger from predatory men.

1960–2000:

In 1971, the Florida Supreme Court struck down the “crime against nature” statute as unconstitutionally vague. The court retained the state’s prohibition on sodomy by ruling that anal and oral sex could still be prosecuted under the lesser charge of “lewd and lascivious” conduct.

The public image of homosexuals changed with liberalized social attitudes of the late 1960s. Though gay life in Miami was intensely closeted, and bars were subject to frequent raids, Christ Metropolitan Community Church—a congregation for gay and lesbian Christians in Miami—was founded in 1970 as a religious outlet, attracting hundreds of parishioners. The 1972 Democratic National Convention was held in Miami, featuring, for the first time, a public speech about the rights of gay men and lesbians by openly gay San Francisco political activist Jim Foster. Jack Campbell opened the Miami branch of Club Baths in 1974. When it was raided, he made sure that all charges against those arrested were dropped, filed a lawsuit against the Miami Police Department prohibiting further harassment, and received a formal apology from the police. Even the depiction of gay men and lesbians in

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the local newspaper had changed to that of a silent, oppressed minority. By 1977, Miami was one of nearly 40 cities in the U.S. that had passed ordinances outlawing discrimination against gay men and lesbians. In 1977, partly due to the anti-gay Save Our Children campaign led by Anita Bryant in Miami, the Florida Legislature passed a law specifically prohibiting homosexuals from adopting children. In 1997, Equality Florida was established, becoming the largest statewide LGBT rights lobby organization.

2000-2014: Same-sex sexual activity remained illegal in Florida until 2003, when the United States Supreme Court struck down all state sodomy laws. The passage of the Florida Amendment 2 in Nov. 4, 2008, by a vote of 61.9 percent in favor and 38.1 percent opposed, banned both same-sex marriage and civil union in the state. Despite that setback, a major victory for LGBT rights occurred on November 25, 2008 when Judge Cindy S. Lederman declared the ban on homosexuals adopting children violated the equal protection rights under the Florida Constitution.

In 2009, Miami Beach held its first gay pride parade ever.

2014-2015: On Friday December 19th 2014 the U.S. supreme Court refused to step into Florida’s fight over same sex marriage opening the doors for gay and lesbian couples to marry starting Jan. 6, 2015.

If you want to learn more about your gay heritage and those who paved the way, through activism, sacrifice, courage and civil disobedience to give us a better and freer life you can visit The Stonewall Museum & Archives in Wilton Manors. We should all know who our gay heroes are and be thankful for what they did on our behalf.

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SouthFloridaGayNews

lifestyle bata’s beats My Album of the Year

The London Sessions

by Mary J. Blige

John Bata The London Sessions - Mary J. Blige’s triumphant return from first note to last is my top pick for album of the year — just in time, because 2014 was dismal in the Long Play format (also known as the LP).

It was a risk to leave the U.S. where soul has been less than par for a while now thanks to pop stars and producers like Drake, Max Martin, Minaj, et al.

Blige packed her suitcase and headed to the U.K. for inspiration. It shows how intuitive she is. I guess tracks about Anacondas were not touching her soul.

The results from these recordings are at times thrilling. “Therapy” the first track on the album, is the “Rehab” of 2014/15. In a recent interview Blige acknowledges that she was a fan of Amy Winehouse and felt a connection to her honesty in her lyrics and style of music and found it to be an inspiration for much of this album. Blige spent the summer in London even meeting with Winehouse’s family, which I am sure they appreciated.

Blige who was born in the Bronx in ‘71 has consistently had an aching honesty in her lyrics — and they are exceptional on this album. She describes lying awake, “between two and four” on “Whole Damn Year.” Here again, she touches on topics that are relatable and modern but her sound and vocals vary depending on what type of song she is singing not unlike a painter who chooses which brushes to use.

She sings confidently and stylistically from what sounds like other more distant eras when things were less complicated — and still manages to maintain her own identity.

Her voice flows effortlessly through the first three songs which are ballads which each have unique and distinctive styles, reminding one what a real soul singer sounds like and it feels like she is untouchable and on a different level than other’s in this genre.

“Right now” feels like just that — right now. This is where popular dance music is headed again. Ditching E.D.M. for the straight up down to earth realness of R & B and House Music. You can thank Disclosure for that last bit because they produced several songs on this album and are also partly responsible for bringing good proper house music back to the forefront where it should be. But let’s also thank Blige for being bold and taking a chance and doing something that not many popular artists have done recently.

Again, on “Whole Damn Year”, a standout track about a painful breakup, she channels Terrence Trent D’Arby who was kind of always channeling Michael Jackson. “Nobody But You” feels like it is destined to be a hit single. There are few living singers that could or should even be mentioned in the same breath. This is Mary’s time, again, as it should be. I predict Grammys in the arms of Mrs. Blige come February of 2016 and for once maybe someone who deserves them. Happy New Year.

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F O R

SFGNITES

T H E

J.W. Arnold

jw@prdconline.com

THU FILM

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W W W . S F G N . C O M

iami City Ballet presents Twyla Tharp’s jazzy “Nine Sinatra Songs” this weekend at the Arsht Center as part of Program II: “Hear the Dance.”

The Stonewall Museum & Archives, in partnership with Congregation Etz Chaim in Wilton Manors, presents a screening of an updated version of “Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House,” tonight at 8 p.m. at the Classic Gateway Theatre, 1820 Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. The documentary, originally released in 2002, chronicles the story of New York Jewish lesbians Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz, considered the grandmothers of the same-sex marriage movement. Berman and Kurtz will participate in a discussion following the screening. Tickets are $15 at Stonewall-Museum.org.

FRI

EXHIBIT

1/9

The Pride Center at Equality Park in Wilton Manors hosts the opening night reception for local photographer Kaz Takahashi’s exhibition, “Seniors into the Wild,” from 5 – 7 p.m.

Takahashi, a sports photographer, took photos of local seniors and then edited their likenesses into photographs taken in the wild. Examples of the whimsical portraits include a man swimming with manatees and another man hanging out on an ice floe with a baby seal. The exhibition will be on view at the Schubert Building of the Pride Center, 2042 N. Dixie Highway, through Feb. 8. For more information, go to PrideCenterFlorida.org.

SAT

DANCE

1/10 SUN

Miami City Ballet, under the artistic direction of Lourdes Lopez, continues its 2014-15 season with Program II: “Hear the Dance,” from George Balanchine’s quote, “See the music, hear the dance.” The centerpiece of the program is Twyla Tharp’s energetic setting of “Nine Sinatra Songs,” featuring costumes by Oscar de la Renta. The company will also offer audiences Paul Taylor’s “Mercuric Risings” and Balanchine’s “Symphony in Three Movements,” set to music by Igor Stravinsky, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 9-11 at Miami’s Arsht Center.

Tickets start at $25 at MiamiCityBallet.org.

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TELEVISION

1/11 MON

THEATER

HBO’s hit dramedy, “Looking,” chronicling the lives of three single gay men living in San Francisco, returns to television tonight for Season 2 at 10 p.m. Gay life—and the fleeting search for love and happiness—is complex for 30-somethings Patrick, Augustin and Dom, portrayed on the show by Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez and Murray Bartlett. Catch up on all eight episodes of Season 1 during a four-hour marathon beginning at 6 p.m. and leading up to the premiere. Check local cable providers for channels and show times.

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1/12 TUE

Audiences will get a rare opportunity tonight at 7:30 p.m. to observe the laborious process playwrights follow to develop their works.

The Jan McArt New Play Reading Series at Lynn University in Boca Raton will present a staged reading of local award-winning gay playwright Michael McKeever’s new play, “Daniel’s Husband.” The final version of the play will receive its world premiere later this spring by Island City Stage in Fort Lauderdale.

The reading will be held in the Wold Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10. For more information, go to Lynn.edu.

SouthFloridaGayNews

EXHIBIT

1/13

“Who’s Fooling Who” is a new exhibit on view daily through Feb. 10 at the Studio 18 Gallery, 1101 Poinciana Dr. in Pembroke Pines. The exhibit, called “an exploration of the deceptive,” features artists who either use materials in an unusual way or create works that examine “the unlooked at,” visually provoking the viewer to engage. The show will also highlight the local work of No More Tears, an organization that provides support for immigrant domestic abuse survivors. Free admission. For more information, go to PPines. com/ArtsForCommunityEngagement.

South Florida Symphony Orchestra

Continuous Crescendo

Tickets: SouthFloridaSymphony.org 954-522-8445

Jan 15, 7:30 pm Delray Center for the Arts Jan 18, 7:30 pm Amaturo Theater, Broward Christopher Taylor, piano Ravel: Boléro Barber: Piano Concerto Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Feb 3, 8:00pm Fla Atlantic U, Boca Raton Feb 6, 7:30pm First Baptist Church Fort Lauderdale Favorite Beatles Songs Performing with the South Florida Symphony Orchestra

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Only tickets purchased through Stonewall Museum support the organization’s important mission to preserve and share LGBT history. soflagaynews //

SouthFloridaGayNews // SFGN.com // 1.7.2015 //

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a&e film

HBO’s ‘Looking’ Returns

Raul Castillo (Richie) offers a look ahead at season two David-Elijah Nahmod Raul Castillo

Raul Castillo as Richie, Jonathan Groff as Patrick, on Looking

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When we last saw Patrick (Jonathan Groff ) and Richie (Raul Castillo), the young, seemingly star-struck gay couple on HBO’s serial Looking, they were taking a “break” from each other. Viewers were aghast--a week or two earlier, the guys seemed to have cemented their relationship. In one of the most lovely and lyrical episodes from Looking’s first season, Patrick and Richie took a day off from their jobs and spent a very romantic afternoon walking around San Francisco together. They learned more about the city they call home, and more about each other. What happened? And more importantly, what will happen? Tune in tomorrow, as they say in TV land.

On January 11, “Looking” returns for it’s second season. Patrick and Richie will be back, but are they back together?

“I love the element of surprise, so I’m not going to say,” Raul Castillo said, speaking to SFGN by phone from Los Angeles.”

But the actor did promise that Richie would have strong story lines as Looking progressed. “We’ll get to know more about his background, his family,” Castillo promised.

“Viewers will learn a little bit more about his history, pre-dating San Francisco.”

Castillo, who is straight, feels perfectly at ease portraying the romantic scenes required of his character. He has no issues with kissing Jonathan Groff, his gay costar. “There’s more stubble with a man,” he said with a laugh. “Other than that there’s no difference. Portraying relationships are tricky and complicated either way, with a

man or with a woman. When you have a great scene partner, it’s the easiest and most fun thing in the world.”

Castillo takes great pride in his Latino heritage. “I’m a member of the Labyrinth Theater Company in New York,” he said.

“It was a Latino company which began in the early 90s but it quickly became multicultural. I’ve been involved as an actor and a playwright since 2006.”

At it’s website, Labyrinth describes itself as “a home for diverse theater artists and the daring and visceral work they create.”

One of Castillo’s plays has found it’s way to the Windy City. Between You, Me and the Lampshade will premiere at Teatro Vista in Chicago in April 2015. The play is described as “hilarious and searing”, and tells the story of a single mom with a teenaged son in South Texas. Complications ensue when they take in an undocumented immigrant who breaks into their trailer.

Castillo is excited about the play, and about Looking’s second season. “It’s going to reflect the change in the writers,” he said.

“They’re doing a beautiful job.”

Castillo described Looking for potential new viewers who might not have tuned in for the freshman year. “It’s a very realistic portrayal of the romantic and social lives of a group of men in San Francisco who happen to be gay.”

Look for Looking to return on HBO on January 11. Episodes will also stream at www. hbo.com and at HBO On Demand.

David-Elijah Nahmod is an American/Israeli half-breed who has lived in New York City and Tel Aviv. Currently in San Francisco, his eclectic writing career includes LGBT publications, SF Weekly & monster magazines.

A survivor of childhood gay conversion therapy, he lives with PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Facebook: David-Elijah Nahmod, author Twitter: @DavidElijahN

SouthFloridaGayNews

a&e music

Well-Strung Makes Classical Music Sexy

J.W. Arnold

Pho Productions

The gay, all-male string quartet Well Strung appears Jan. 15 at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach.

Move over One Direction because there’s another boy band touring the country.

Well, they are a string quartet, but they play the music of Madonna, Lady Gaga and Ke$ha—in addition to Bach, Beethoven and Brahms—and they’re hot, too.

Violinists Edmund Bagnell and Chris Marchant, violist Trevor Wadleigh and cellist Daniel Shevlin are Well-Strung, the gay all-male string quartet that is making classical music cool, and they’re coming to West Palm Beach’s Kravis Center on Thursday, Jan. 15.

“We are all classically-trained,” explained Bagnell in between the quartet’s daily rehearsals, “but, I would say we are also products of our generation. We like pop music and have that sensibility about how pop would present itself.”

Despite their provocative publicity photos and the clever double entendre behind their name, he is quick to add, “I don’t think we’re ‘trying’ to make classical music sexy. It’s tricky to define.”

For many people, classical music can seem distant to audiences, he said, and the quartet is willing to do anything that makes the music more personal, relevant and, yes, fun.

The Kravis Center program is titled “Popssical,” and offers exactly the

signature mash-up of musical styles the group has staked out since its founding in Provincetown in 2012. Without revealing the entire playlist, he did promise some Mozart and Madonna, Beethoven and Black-Eyed Peas. Oh, and there’s even a musical tribute to One Direction.

Bagnell does note that the quartet’s tastes, like most performers, have broadened. While Pink might be thought of as their current “artist-in-residence,” they are always trying new arrangements, most written themselves, and expanding their classical repertoire, as well.

The boys are based in New York and spend a lot of time together, between rehearsals and their busy touring schedule.

And, they largely manage to avoid the drama that many groups encounter, especially for an all-gay band.

“We know each other so well at this point, we can anticipate what our individual reactions will be to pretty much any given situation. We’re like brothers, but things can bubble up,” Bagnell said.

For now, the four guys of Well-Strung are enjoying their growing fame. They performed for a national television audience on “The Today Show” and feel their unique approach to programming will continue to propel their careers.

Well-Strung performs on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. Tickets are $28 at Kravis.org. soflagaynews //

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The Lion King Jan. 7 to Feb. 1 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The all-time Disney favorite comes to life on stage with actors playing out the roles of lions and other African animals on the plains.

Tickets $40.42 to $91.16. Call 954-462-0222 or visit BrowardCenter.org.

* Sinatra Sings Sinatra Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Frank Sinatra’s 100 years is celebrated by his son, Frank Sinatra, Jr., joined

by Lee Musiker and the Palm Beach Pops.

Tickets $33 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

Fully Committed Jan. 8 to Feb. 1 at the Broward Center for the broward county Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. John Manzelli stars in this one-man show as the highly stressed maître d’ at a hot C* Don Williams restaurant. Tickets $45. Call 954-462-0222 or Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE visit BrowardCenter.org.

Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. The country singer is known for his hits, “Good Ole Boys Like Me,” Audra McDonald “It Must Be Love,” “Amanda,” and more. Tickets Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE $37.50 to $57.75. Call 954-462-0222 or visit Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. The awardParkerPlayhouse.com. winning actress and singer performs with Seth Rudetsky. Tickets $51.50 to $126.50. Call 954* An Evening with the Stars of Doo Wop 462-0222 or visit ParkerPlayhouse.com.

Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. Performances by The Flamingos, Eugene Pitt, Tony Middleton palm beach county & the Willows, Jay Siegel’s Tokens, Harold Winley’s Clovers, and Jimmy Clanton. Tickets $39.15 to $57.75. Call 954-462-0222 or visit * The Beach Boys: Fifty Years of “Fun, ParkerPlayhouse.com.

Fun, Fun” Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Memories of Elvis in Concert Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Coral Springs Center for Palm Beach. The band returns with original the Arts, in Coral Springs. An ode to the great members, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston.

Elvis Presley with impeccable impersonator, Tickets $30 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Chris MacDonald, from The King’s fringed Kravis.org.

Las Vegas number to his iconic snarl. Tickets $28.62 to $48.82. Call 954-344-5999 or visit Catch a Rising Star: Mike Marino CoralSpringsCenterfortheArts.com.

Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. at the Delray Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Known as * Winter Jam 2015 “New Jersey’s Bad Boy,” his brand of comedy is Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. at the BB&T Center, One Panther a unique experience. Tickets $20. Call 561-243Parkway in Sunrise. Skillet headlines the tour’s 7922 or visit DelrayCenterfortheArts.org.

20th year, joined by Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, Building 429, For King & Country, and * Legends more. Tickets $10. Call 954-835-7000 or visit Jan. 8 to 19 at the AmericanAirlines Arena, TheBBTCenter.com.

601 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey present a unique * Janis Siegel and Shelly Berg show, featuring a unicorn, pegasus, and wooly Jan. 14 at 7:45 p.m. at the Broward Center for mammoth too. Tickets $16 to $75. Call 786-777the Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort 1000 or visit AAArena.com.

Lauderdale. Gold Coast Jazz presents music from Shelly Berg and Janis Siegel, of The Manhattan * ‘70s Soul Jam Transfer. Tickets $45. Call 954-462-0222 or visit Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the BrowardCenter.org.

Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Get your groove on with * John Prine The Stylistics, The Spinners, and The Main Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE Ingredient ft. Cuba Gooding. Tickets $20 and Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. The guitar finger- up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org. picking singer songwriter is known for hits such as “Dear Abby” and “Angel From Montgomery.” * Gino Vannelli & John Secada Tickets $43 to $63. Call 954-462-0222 or visit Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the ParkerPlayhouse.com.

Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The two musical powerhouses hit * An Evening With Graham Nash the stage together. Tickets $25 and up. Call 561Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. at Parker Playhouse, 707 NE 832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. A third of Crosby, Still & Nash, the legendary performer comes to * The Clothesline Muse with Nnenna Fort Lauderdale. Tickets $38.50 to $58.50. Call Freelon 954-462-0222 or visit ParkerPlayhouse.com.

Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Little Piggies Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Starting Through Jan. 18 at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler at the clothesline, the story of women bringing Drive in Fort Lauderdale. When a family tries up their family from poverty, joined by vocalist to discuss their deceased uncle’s inheritance, Freelon. Tickets $30. Call 561-832-7469 or visit tempers flare in this comedy. Tickets $25. Call Kravis.org.

954-678-1496 or visit ThePlayGroupLLC.com.

* Kristóf Baráti, Violin Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. The young Hungarian violinist stops in Florida before his Carnegie Hall debut.

Tickets $33 and up. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

Datebook

Theater Christiana Lilly

Calendar@SFGN.com

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* Jimmy Webb Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Performing since the age of 16, the songwriter is known for writing “MacArthur Park,” “Galveston,” “Worst That Could Happen,” and more. Tickets $45. Call 561-832-7469 or visit Kravis.org.

* An Evening with Arturo Sandoval Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Cuban AMerican music is celebrated by the trumpeter, joined by Albita, Willy Chirino, Amaury Gutierrez, and the Frost School of Music’s big band. Call 305-949-6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.

James Gavin’s Stormy Weather: The Music of Lena Horne Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. Mary Wilson of The Supremes performs hits from the jazz icon. Tickets $49.50. Call 800-745-3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org. * Hear the Dance Jan. 9 to 11 at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. The Miami City Ballet performs Sinatra, Taylor/Schubert, and Balanchine/ Stravinsky. Tickets $20 to $97. Call 305-949-6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.

* Tiempo Libre Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. The threetime Grammy nominated group performs Afro* Well-Strung Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Kravis Center for the Cuban tunes. Tickets $40 and $45. Call 800-745Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West 3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org.

Palm Beach. The young, all-male quartet of string musicians put their own modern twist on * Mendelssohn and Mahler classical music. Tickets $28. Call 561-832-7469 Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. James Conlon leads the or visit Kravis.org.

New World Symphony, featuring violinist James Ehnes. Tickets $67.25 to $118.25. Call 305-949* La Boheme Jan. 16 to 18 at the Kravis Center for the 6722 or visit arshtcenter.org.

Performing Arts, 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach. Giacomo Puccini’s classic * Blue Suede Shoes: The Ultimate Elvis tale of love between Rodolfo and Mimi -- the Bash inspiration behind Broadway’s “Rent” -- is Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural performed in Italian with English subtitles Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura. Scot Bruce above the stage. Tickets $25 and up. Call 561- is young Elvis while Mike Albert performs The King from the ‘70s in this tribute to Presley’s 832-7469 or visit Kravis.org. music. Tickets $40 and $45. Call 800-745-3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org.

Free Friday Concerts Fridays at 7:30 p.m. at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave. in Delray Beach. Amaluna Enjoy live music from the comfort of your picnic Through Jan. 25 at Sun Life Stadium, 347 Don blanket or lawn chair every week, for free! Call Shula Drive in Miami Gardens. Cirque du Soleil does it again with a mesmerizing performance 561-243-7922 or visit DelrayArts.org. of an island of women whose lives are disrupted when a group of sailors are shipwrecked Shenandoah Jan. 7 to March 1 at the Delray Square Performing onto Amaluna. Tickets $75 to $445. Visit Arts, 4809 W. Atlantic Ave. in Delray Beach. A CirqueDuSoleil.com.

Virginia farmer struggles to keep his family together and alive during the throes of the Civil PAMM Outdoor Music Series War in the American answer to “Fiddler on the Third Thursdays at the Perez Art Museum Miami, Roof.” Tickets $37.50. Call 561-880-0319 or visit 101 W. Flagler St. in Miami. Come out for live music from DJs and musicians by the bay. Drink DelraySquareArts.com. specials available. Free with museum admission.

Call 305-375-3000 or visit PAMM.org.

My Old Lady Through Jan. 11 at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St. in West Palm Beach. A man The Big Show from New York inherits a Parisian apartment, Fridays and Saturdays at 9 p.m. at Just the Funny and down on his luck, he’s forced to live with Theater, 3119 Coral Way in Miami. A collection his tenants, and old woman and her daughter. of comedy mixing the likes of improvisation and Tickets $62. Call 561-514-4042, ext. 2 or visit sketches. Tickets $12. Call 305-693-8669 or visit JustTheFunny.com.

PalmBeachDramaworks.org.

miami-dade county * An Intimate Evening with Art Garfunkel Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St. in Aventura.

Garfunkel performs with guitarist Tab Laven.

Tickets $39 to $75. Call 800-745-3000 or visit AventuraCenter.org.

SouthFloridaGayNews

The Star Spangled Girl Jan. 8 to 25 at the SandBox at Miami Theater Center, 9816 NE Second Ave. in Miami Shores.

In its 15th season, Mad Cat Theatre Company presents its version of the Neil Simon play set in the ‘60s, taking it forward to 2066. Tickets $30.

Visit MadCatTheatre.org. * Denotes New Listing

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Datebook

Community Christiana Lilly Calendar@SFGN.com

broward county GayWrites

Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Stonewall Library, 1300 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. Come join us and write your memoir, poem, blog, novel or short story. Free. Email garri1@earthlink.net

Survivor Support

First and third Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Broward Health Imperial Point Hospital cafeteria, 6401 N. Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. Find support from counselors and peers who have lost loved ones to suicide. Call the Florida Initiative for Suicide Prevention at 954-384-0344 or visit FISPOnline.org

Gender Bender Youth Group

Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at SunServe Campus, 1480 SW Ninth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. A group for LGBT youth 13 to 21 to discuss gender, gender expression, binary systems, friendship, family and whatever else comes up! Free. Visit SunServeYouth. com

PFLAG

Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs and Southwest Ranches. A support group for parents of LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and locations

SunServe Youth Group

Tuesdays and Thursdays in Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches, Coral Springs and Hollywood.

A support group and night of fun for LGBT youth 13 to 21. Free. Visit SunServeYouth.com for dates and times.

* The Radical Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement

Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Activities Center at Deerfield Century Village East, 3501 West Drive in Deerfield Beach. Brian Jones, a social justice advocate, actor, and educator, discusses the civil rights movement and its continuing impact.

Donation $5 suggested. Call 917-344-0798 or visit DeerfieldProgressiveForum.org

* Challenges to New Jim Crow

Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ft Lauderdale, 3970 NW 21st Ave. Oakland Park.

Activist Rebecca Doggett discusses racism, crime, and mass incarceration in the modern era. Free. Call Rebecca Doggett at 673-651-6396 or Bob Bender at 954-531-1928.

* Author Presentation: Lance Ringel’s “Flower of Iowa”

Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Stonewall National Museum – Wilton Manors Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors. Ringel will read excerpts from his novel, the story of an American soldier in World WAr I who finds himself in a growing attraction with a British soldier. Free. Call 954-763-8565 or visit stonewall-museum.org.

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* Al Capone Birthday Dinner

Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. at NYY Steak, 5550 NW 40th St. in Coconut Creek. Deirdre Capone leads a four-course dinner and shares stories of her legendary uncle.

Guests will receive a signed copy of her book, “Uncle Al Capone.” Tickets $125. RSVP to NYY Steak at 954-935-6699.

A Flamboyance of Flamingos

Through Jan. 7 at Tedds ART Works, 2422 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Artists Diane Delorey and Francisco Sheuat showcase artwork inspired by flamingoes. Call 703-269-8244 or visit Facebook. com/TeddsARTWorks.

“Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House”

Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Classic Gateway Theatre, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. A screening of the documentary and then a discussion with Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz, who are affectionately known as the great-grandmothers of the gay marriage movement. Tickets $15. Visit Stonewall-Museum.org.

* British Treasures: The Musical Magic of British Composers

Collector Car Public Auction

Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. at the Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave. in West Palm Beach. The Ecco Trio will perform works by Purcell, Handel, Britten, Vaughn Williams, and others to coincide with the museum’s “Pastures Green” exhibit. TIckets $3 members and $5 non-members after museum admission. Call 561-832-5196 or visit norton.org.

Technology Tips and Tricks Workshop

Second Thursday Opening: Chama Cylinder Vases of Maya Highlands

Jan. 9, 10, 11 at War Memorial Auditorium, 800 NE Eighth St. in Fort Lauderdale. More than 300 vintage cars over three days. Tickets $19.15. Call Dave Rupp 561-533-7945 or Georgia 561-779-0302, visit FtLauderdaleAuction.com.

Jan. 10 at 10 a.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Bring your iPad, iPhone or Mac laptop and learn how to navigate this technology. Free. Call 954-463-9005 or visit PrideCenterFlorida.org.

Point-in-Time Orientation

Homeless

Count

Jan. 13 for north region, Jan. 14 central region, Jan. 15 south region from 6 to 8 p.m. Be a part of the homeless count in Broward County from Jan. 26 to 28, 2015. Email Jennifer@HandsOnBroward.org.

Toastmasters

Mondays 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Learn the art of public speaking with positive reinforcement and encouragement from your peers. Call Ted Verdone at 954-566-2074 or email tedverdone@comcast. net.

Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Pride Center, 2040 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors. Do you know your STD status? Get tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in a safe environment.

Call 954-566-3553 or email freeHIVtest@ pridecenterflorida.org.

palm beach county

Jan. 9 to 11 at the Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave. in Lake Worth. The annual film festival is back, filled with screenings, workshops, and parties. Cal 561-296-9382 or visit LakeWorthPlayhouse.org.

Safety and Sounds

Jan. 10 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Sunset Cove, 20405 Amphitheater Circle in Boca Raton. A community event with live demonstrations, exhibitors, and a two-hour show by The Flyers. Free. Visit Facebook. com/SunsetCoveAmphitheater.

Mondays at 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. Join the Gay Men’s Chorus as they practice every week. Free. Call 561-5339699 or visit CompassGLCC.com

Out of the Closet NA Group

Mondays at 7 p.m. at Lambda North, 18 S. J St. in Lake Worth. A support and discussion group for LGBT recovering addicts. Visit LambdaNorth.net.

Queer Alternatives

Jan. 8 at 6 p.m. at the South Florida Science Museum, 4801 Dreher Trail North in West Palm Beach. Join Ashley Hampton, president of the Palm Beach County Archaeological Society, for wine and discussion of the museum’s mummies exhibit.

Tickets $5 members, $15 non-member. Call 561832-1988 or visit SFScienceCenter.org. soflagaynews //

LDUB Film Festival

Voices of Pride

STD/STI Testing

* Mummies and Merlot

Jan. 8 from 5 to 7 p.. at the Griffin Gallery of Art, 608 Banyan Trail in Boca Raton. Pieces excavated from Mayan tombs and palaces are on display in this exhibit opening. Exhibit runs through Feb. 1, 2015.

Free. Call 561-994-0811 or visit GriffinGallery.net.

Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m. at Compass GLCC, 201 N. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth. An all encompassing social group, those 18 to 29 who consider themselves to be lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual, questioning, or anything in between are welcome to join! Free. Call 561-533-9699 or visit CompassGLCC.com.

SouthFloridaGayNews

Coming Into Fashion: A Century of Photography at Conde Nast

Through Feb. 15 at the Norton Museum of Art, 1451 S. Olive Ave. in West Palm Beach. From the publishing house that prints famed magazines Vogue, Glamour, W, and Vanity Fair are 150 images from 80 of the world’s best fashion photographers.

Admission $12. Call 561-832-5196 or visit Norton. org.

miami-dade county * Miami Jewish Film Festival

Jan. 15 to 29 throughout Miami. Dozens of films from around the world portraying Jewish history and culture throughout time. Visit MiamiJewishFilmFestival.org.

Maximizing your Membership Benefits

Jan. 8 from 10 to 11 a.m. at the LGBT Visitor Center, 1130 Washington Ave. in Miami Beach.

Learn more about the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and network with other businesses. Free. RSVP to 305-673-4440, GayBizMiami.com, or rsvp@gaybizmiami.com.

Arsht Center Farmers Market

Mondays from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Parker and Vann Thomson Plaza for the Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. in Miami. Purchase fresh food from local farmers, including fruits, vegetables, meats, prepared foods, as well as chefs, live music, and cooking demonstrations. Free. Visit ArshtCenter.org/en/ Visit/Dining.

Rainbow Circle

Mondays from 6 to 8 p.m. at the University of Miami Flipse Building #302, 5665 Ponce de Leon Drive in Coral Gables. An open discussion about coming out, relationships, peer pressure, bullying, depression and more. Free. Visit Pridelines.org.

Sex Talk

Second and fourth Thursdays at Pridelines, 9525 NE Second Ave. #401 in Miami Shores. Conduct outreach events, record video messages, participate in a series of performances, and organize special events with a purpose. Free. Visit Pridelines.org.

* Denotes New Listing

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SFGN Classified$ To place a Classified Ad, call Cindy Curtis at 954.530.4970 or visit SFGN.com

assisstance

business opportunity

LOUNGE/BAR: The Copa in Ocala, Marion County, on busy 301/441 highway. 6,000 sq. ft, 3/4 of an acre, dance floor, circular bay, separate summer bar, formerly restaurant, $449,000 Monsees Realty 352-591-1513

catering NEW ENGLAND CATERING SERVICES Catering for all occasions: personal, corporate, social events. 20 years plus experience. Providing everything from SOUP to NUTS. Your menu, my creation, EVERYBODY MATTERS. Call Dave @954-806-7743 or email ctonlyme068@yahoo. com

home & garden

HUSBAND FOR RENT! Is he procrastinating home repairs? He says he will do it tomorrow??

After the football game?? We fit right in - in the house or the yard, small or big jobs: tile, dry wall, paint, plumbing, roof leaks, broken furniture, irrigation, fences, and more!It doesn’t cost to hassle us to see the work - so why wait?

Neat, clean work for a reasonable price. Call Haim at 954-398-3676, sidnalll@yahoo.com

POOL SERVICE Mention this ad and receive your first month

cleaning services

attorneys

FREE!

CLEAN IT RIGHT! The best cleaning for your buck. 1BD $60, 2BD $70, 3BD $80 and up. Excellent rates & references. 10 years in business. Serving Broward, North MiamiDade & S. Palm Beach. Call Manny 954-560-4443

help wanted

Holistic Health, Wellness & Spiritual Coach

CERTIFIED HYPNOTIST Holistic Life and Nutrition Coach Personal Trainer Spiritual Life Coach and Minister Reiki/Energy/Chakra Healer Couples/Relationship Coach Addiction Coach

954.641.8315 • WWW.COACHBILLFORLIFE.COM

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licensed massage

INCREDIBLY AWESOME BODYWORK IN WPB In-calls at a private studio 15 minutes west of PBIA. Intuitive, experienced licensed massage therapist offers affordable rates 7 days, early to late. ASK ABOUT WEEKLY SPECIALS!Calls only 561-2548065 for the very best massage experience you can get HANDS DOWN! #MA51008

some restrictions apply

Serving Broward Since 1999

Call for a free estimate: 954-367-7007 Web: www.skimmerspools.com Email: skimmerspoolservice@gmail.com

CHIEF ACCOUNTANT- CENTERLINK CenterLink, known as the premiere resource provider for LGBT community centers, is looking for a Chief Accountant to oversee all accounting operations/ functions. We need somebody with a B.S/B.A. in Accounting; 3-5 years progressive managerial accounting experience; and a strong knowledge of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and financial analysis ratios and tools. If you are self-motivated, able to multi-task, and have insane attention to detail then we want to talk with you! Email your resume to denise@lgbtcenters.org.

COACH BILL FOR LIFE

HARRY’S ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL - Additions, renovations, service upgrades, breaker panels,FPL undergrounds, code violations, A/C wiring, ceiling fans, recessed, security & landscaping, lighting, pools, pumps, Jacuzzis, water heaters, FREE PHONE ESTIMATES 954-522-3357 Lic & Ins. www. harryelectrician.com

help wanted ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Ft. Lauderdale business since 1956 seeking professional, experienced & honest Adm Asst.

Bookkeeping background helpful. E-mail: kj1@ bellsouth.net

counseling

electrician

home & garden MASSAGE BY DENNIS $50/90 MIN (DELRAY BEACH) I give a fantastic Swedish massage for $50/90 min, out calls higher. 20 years experience, all clients are welcome including seniors, as human beings we all need to be touched in a therapeutic, loving, and nurturing way. I do body work without the attitude. Please call me at 561-502-2628.

POLICY SPECIALIST(F/T)-LBGT HEALTHLINK Do you have a passion for helping people? Experience developing, drafting and publishing articles and content blog articles, periodic opinion editorials, biweekly news communications, and other communications? Can you multi-task and work in a fast-paced environment? Have a Bachelors or an MPH? Do you know major public health resources useful to education and adoption of enhanced health policies? If the answer is ‘YES’ then submit your resume and cover letter to denise@ lgbtcenters.org.

professional services THIRD GENERATION PAINTING: Quality work by an experienced, reliable professional. Fully insured, free estimates, excellent references.

Painting, plastering, wallpaper removal, color coordinating and more. Call Steve at 954-804-6026 or email twilopainter@aol.com AFFORDABLE AWESOME MASSAGE BY JIM Offering Swedish, Deep Tissue, Sports and LomiLomi Massage for Men; in a very comfortable, relaxed and Private Massage Studio, NOW conveniently located in Wilton Manors on NE 26th Street, with plenty of free parking. Same Day appointments are welcome; please call Jim, 954-600-5843 email: info@massagebyjim.com or visit my website for testimonials, rates and more. GREAT OPENING SPECIAL NOW AVAILABLE! www.massagebyjim.com Licensed and Certified MM22293

SOCIAL MEDIA /PROJ.SPEC-HEALTHLINK Are you a hotshot with great organizational skills, a real interest in LGBT wellness, and desire to really make a difference on a national project? LGBT HealthLink is looking for one superstar to round out our small team.

The ideal project specialist will have strong skills in a variety of office software, be self-motivated, good at prioritization, great at details, have substantive experience in cross-cultural workspaces, and LOTS of social media chops (do you know what a Klout score is?

Do you often find yourself thinking in 140 characters?).

Submit your resume, social media handles and cover letter to denise@lgbtcenters.org.

tax prep

piano lessons

WANT TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE PIANO? Learn from an experienced teacher. All levels and ages welcome. Learn to play classical, popular, jazz, or show tunes. Visit www.edwinchad.com or call 954-826-9555 for more information. soflagaynews //

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SouthFloridaGayNews

HAROLD J BLOTCHER,EA - Tax Preparation and Representation for Individuals and Small Business.

Help with Same Sex Marriage Issues. Call 781-3635519 or 561-429-3592 or visit our website at www.haroldjblotchertaxes.com

pets/supplies

spiritual

roommates ROOMMATE NEEDED Gay, mature man & 2 cats looking for roommate to share a 3bd duplex with myself & another roommate.

Private room w/shared bath. Full use of house & all utilities included. Clean, friendly atmosphere. W/D on premise. NO SMOKERS or party animals, otherwise all are welcome. Credit/Background Check ($50 fee).

Located on north side of Wilton Manors, min from Wilton Drive. Room is furnished, but unfurnished poss. $525/month (a deposit would be required but can be done in installments). Avail 2/1. Call Richard Sedlak 954-296-5633 or email sedlaki1@comcast.net

real estate

home improvement

Now Hiring!

SEND RESUME TO GRATITUDEHOMECARE@GMAIL.COM SEND RESUME TO GRATITUDEHOMECARE@GMAIL.COM

LARGE FURNISHED 2/2 CONDO ON INTERCOASTAL - 1st Flr, corner unit, very private.

Completely renovated, S/S, granite, tile, impact windows. 2 spaces in garage. Boating, pets OK. Asking $369k. Call 941-286-6146

weddings

Serving the LGBT Community

Parks Chapel Beachside www.SouthFloridaGayWeddings.net soflagaynews //

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SFGN Poster # 1

local name, global coverage

January 7th, 2015

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