San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is considering canceling the Castro District's annual Halloween festivities in the future after a shooting wounded nine people and left another person injured, the Associated Press reported. Gunfire broke out Oct. 31 during a massive street party after a bottle was thrown during a confrontation involving two groups of young people. The city took over the once-unsanctioned party four years ago after police recorded five stabbings and several assaults in a 2002 crowd of 500,000 people.
Frank Murkowski, the governor of Alaska, called a special session of the state legislature—over the objections of Lt. Gov. Loren Leman—to determine how the state should pay court-ordered benefits for same-sex domestic partners of state employees and retirees, according to The Advocate. The state is facing a Jan. 1 deadline.
Conservative columnist Ann Coulter is in hot water over voting, according to CNN. Apparently, Coulter will not cooperate in an investigation into whether she voted in the wrong precinct, so the case will probably be turned over to prosecutors, Palm Beach County\'s elections chief said.
The group GenderPAC released a statement decrying the lack of FBI hate-crime statistics related to gender identity. Earlier this month, the 2005 FBI national hate-crime statistics were released, which cited 8,380 reported offenses motivated by race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or disability. 'These [ numbers ] paint a distorted picture of what life is like for gender non-conforming and transgender people across the country,' said Riki Wilchins, Executive Director of GenderPAC.
In New Jersey, a poll has shown that the majority of adults feel that same-sex couples should have all the rights different-sex married couples enjoy—but also showed a majority supporting civil unions over marriage. In a statement, Kevin Cathcart of Lambda Legal—which represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking same-sex marriage—said that 'We aren't surprised by these initial numbers, because we've been through this before in Massachusetts ... Let's not race to the wrong conclusion before the full debate has taken place.' The New Jersey Supreme Court recently found that the state unconstitutionally discriminated against same-sex couples but deferred to the state legislature in naming the unions.
In Tennessee, Love in Action, a Memphis ex-gay ministry, has settled a lawsuit with the state over its treatment program, the Associated Press reported. According to the deal, the state agreed that Love in Action's facilities did not need to be licensed and agreed to pay the organization's attorneys' fees and expenses. In return, the ministry agreed that its employees would not administer or regulate the medications of program participants.
The New York City-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( IGLHRC ) , in collaboration with AsylumLaw.org, announced the launch of a new free online library that will document human rights abuses against LGBT people and people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.
Hyatt Regency Boston is sponsoring a contest for a trip to Paris. To celebrate the opening of the Museum of Fine Arts' 'Fashion Show: Paris Collections 2006' exhibit, the hotel is offering the chance for two to win a trip to France that includes round-trip airfare for two on Air France and a three-night stay at the famed Park Hyatt Vendome. ( 'Fashion Show' runs Nov. 12-March 18 and features designers such as Valentino and Chanel. ) See hyattregencyboston.com or e-mail hyattboston@hyatt.com .
A gay-straight alliance is meeting at Century High School in Bismarck, N.D.,—and the organization is apparently causing quite a stir. According to KXMB.com, Century High School Principal Mike Heilman has stressed that even though the school is providing a meeting space, the alliance 'is not endorsed by the school district and is not provided with any school resources.'
A former Manhattan hotelier, Thomas W. Muscatello, and a prominent retail executive, Joseph L. Capozzoli, have created a business called the Historic Homestead Hospitality, LLC, in upstate New York, according to a press release. The 11-room historic home—which is being heavily marketed to the GLBT community—has recently been renovated and will be open to the public on Nov. 1 for long-term stays. E-mail Liddane@aol.com or call 518-854-3403.
In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will implement new regulations allowing people to use its public restrooms consistent with their gender expression, 365Gay.com reported. The agreement with The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund ends a complaint filed with the New York City Commission on Human Rights involving a 70-year-old transsexual who was arrested three times by transit police for using the women's restroom at Grand Central Terminal.
Philadelphia and Pennsylvania accepted four of eight prestigious Odyssey Awards, presented annually by the Travel Industry of America ( TIA ) to organizations attaining new levels of excellence, at a dinner in Boca Raton, Fla. Among other things, the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation won the Domestic SeeAmerica Marketing award for the Philadelphia: Get Your History Straight and Your Nightlife Gay campaign.
In a revolutionary policy change, the Bush administration is giving public school districts broad new latitude to expand the number of single-sex classes and even schools, The New York Times reported. The new regulations, announced by the Education Department, will allow districts to create single-sex schools and classes as long as enrollment is voluntary; however, school districts that choose this option must also make coeducational schools and classes of 'substantially equal' quality available for members of the excluded sex.
The Little Dog Laughed, a play that began at New York City's Cort Theatre in late October, explores the very Hollywood topic of closeted movie stars, The Advocate reported. The comedy, which many are predicting to be a smash on Broadway, stars Tom Everett Scott, Johnny Galecki ( from TV's Roseanne ) and Julie White.
The mayor of Pahokee, Fla., has come out but says he is no activist, according to Towleroad.com . J.P. Sasser has been mayor of the small town of for three terms. However, he has only come out recently, telling the Sun-Sentinel that 'I am not a gay mayor. I am a mayor who is gay. And it's nobody's business.'
The Director of the Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military at the University of California-Santa Barbara announced that the think tank will change its name to the Michael D. Palm Center. The name change will honor Palm, a philanthropist and activist who has donated $1 million through his foundation.
The granddaughter of social activist Cesar Chavez was slated to speak at Equality Maryland's annual Jazz Brunch, according to The Washington Blade. Not surprisingly, Christine Chavez had planned to discuss how coalitions can help promote social reform.
The International Gay & Lesbian Leadership Conference—which will take place Nov. 16-19 in Houston—offers senior-level, openly LGBT leaders from the public and non-governmental sectors a chance to share ideas and best practices on the challenges and opportunities they face today. See www.victoryfund.org .
Showing an increasing interest in the GLBT demographic, 175 Fortune 500 companies actively courted the gay dollar through advertising last year, compared with 19 in 1994, according to an item in USA Today. In addition, dozens of cities that are now attempting to woo gay travelers include Miami, Dallas, and even Bloomington, Ind.
