February 20, 2008
Chicago Force gets ready to kick off 2008 season
Meg Mauer, 31, of Evanston, has always been into sports. She played rugby when she was at the University of Iowa and is currently the third-ranked female bodybuilder in the U.S. She also owns her own gym. Full Story
Opinion
Jorge, my building super, sat on my couch the other afternoon, having tea and pie. My building’s heat was out again, but this time the problem was serious: The boiler had cracked. Jorge was waiting for a mechanic of some kind to come... Full Story
Amid the publicity given to the shootings last week at Northern Illinois University, you may have missed the sad little story of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old Oxnard, California, eighth-grader who was shot and killed in a school classroom by a fellow student... Full Story
Nation Report
Maryland lawmakers debate gay marriage equality
ANNAPOLIS, Md.—Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gander became the state’s first statewide elected official Feb. 14 to endorse gay and lesbian marriage equality, telling legislators that he believes the current laws are discriminatory... Full Story
Quinn denies being in anti-gay altercation
CLEVELAND—Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn denied Feb. 13 that he was involved in an altercation on New Year’s Day in which a man claimed on an emergency phone call that Quinn made a slur at him... Full Story
Judge rules school can restrict hate speech
SAN DIEGO—A federal judge has rejected a claim that the Poway Unified School District violated a teenager’s First Amendment rights by pulling him out of class for wearing a T-shirt with an anti-gay slogan... Full Story
Pair sentenced for hate graffiti and starting fire
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—Two Pacifica men will serve time in jail for the damage they caused to a Pacifica high school. Twenty-year-old Robert Polk Jr. and 21-year-old Daniel Walsh were sentenced to 90 days in jail Feb. 11 after pleading... Full Story
Montana man gets 20 years for assaulting gay men
MISSOULA, Mont.—A 20-year-old Missoula man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for severely beating another man last May. Christopher Newrider pleaded guilty last month to felony assault and kidnapping in the attack... Full Story
Corrections official in flap over anti-gay emails
BOSTON—A paralegal with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections has been suspended with pay after allegedly sending derogatory and obscene e-mails to the head of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority... Full Story
Judge overturns Texas ban on selling sex toys
FORT WORTH, Texas—A federal appeals court has overturned a Texas statute outlawing sex toy sales, leaving Alabama as the state with the strictest ban on such devices... Full Story
Rhode Island leader plans gay divorce legislation
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island House Majority Leader Gordon Fox says he’ll file a bill in the state’s legislature that would allow married gay couples to divorce... Full Story
Editorial
We’ve launched national and global campaigns against poverty, against nuclear and chemical weapons, against all manner of diseases. Is it time to get serious about a campaign to eradicate violence? And if not now, after a string... Full Story
In 1998, I came out as a gay elected official—a Superior Court judge—in North Carolina, when there were exactly four gay officeholders in the entire state. Despite calls for my ouster (having gay sex was still a felony) I served... Full Story
Home
Michigan designers turn salvage into homes
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—For a new home, this 2,200-square-foot ranch overlooking the Flat River north of Lowell boasts a lot of history... Full Story
Experts offer tips to ‘green’ homes
It’s easier than you think to paint your house “green.” Simple changes can save resources and energy—and perhaps slow global warming. A growing demand for energy efficiency topped findings from the American Institute of Architects’... Full Story
Auto
2008 Chicago Auto Show thrills crowds with concepts, ‘green’ models and muscle
The Chicago Auto Show this week wrapped its 100th edition February 17. The largest auto show in the nation, the 2008 edition offered floor displays of hundreds of the sportiest, flashiest and most innovative cars from manufacturers from around the world... Full Story
Dodge Challenger heats up auto show
After a 35-year absence, the Dodge Challenger soon will be tearing up the roadways again. Chrysler LLC reintroduced the legendary pony car at the Chicago Auto Show held over the past two weeks... Full Story
German company bringing Yes! to U.S.
German automaker Funke & Will AG plans to sell its two-door Yes! Roadster in North America for the first time starting this summer, the company announced at the Chicago Auto... Full Story
VW enters U.S. minivan market with Routan
Determined to increase U.S. sales, Volkswagen AG is entering the minivan market with the Volkswagen Routan, introduced Feb. 6 at the Chicago Auto Show... Full Story
GM boasts an active GLBT employees group
Adam Bernard is jokingly refereed to by co-workers and friends as a “corporate spy.” Bernard, 44, is associate director of competitor intelligence for General Motors. He is responsible for identifying threats from competing... Full Story
Sexy new Audi S5 has power and great looks
Two-door cars aren’t popular these days because practical-minded consumers prefer the versatile cargo and passenger spaces found in hatchbacks, some sedans, sport utility vehicles and crossover SUVs... Full Story
Mercury dealers fear Ford may let brand go
SAN FRANCISCO—Ford Motor Co. executives won’t guarantee that the Mercury brand will be around forever, but they told a group of dealers Feb. 10 that new Mercury products are coming... Full Story
Art
Big shoulders: Chicago History Museum puts art about the city on display
The Chicago History Museum has mounted an exhibition of 80 paintings and drawings by Chicago artists or art otherwise associated with Chicago. The show, which opened last October, was originally scheduled to close in January but museum... Full Story
Marchers mourn slaying of 15-year-old gay student
About 1,000 people marched Feb. 16 in Oxnard, Calif., in tribute to a gay Oxnard teenager who was shot to death in his school computer lab after he was criticized by another student for being gay. Full Story
Stroger Hospital supporters call for more funds in this year’s budget
Medical professionals and community activists gathered downtown on Presidents Day for a rally calling attention to the dire budget problems facing Cook County’s health care system. Full Story
News
Folks in Loudoun County, Va., just outside our nation’s capital, can rest easier now that their school superintendent, prompted by a vigilant parent, has stood up to yet another attempt by penguins living alternative lifestyles to indoctrinate... Full Story
Anti-gay groups try to stop marriage rights in California
SAN FRANCISCO—As California’s highest court prepares to take up a case seeking to legalize same-sex marriage, two groups that failed to get gay marriage bans on the state ballot two years ago are trying again, one with backing from a prominent Christian... Full Story
State panel finds civil unions slights gays in New Jersey
MOUNT LAUREL, New Jersey—A commission established to study same-sex civil unions in New Jersey has found in its first report that civil unions create a “second-class status” for gay couples, rather than giving them equality... Full Story
Presbyterian court rules against ordaining gay and lesbian ministers
LOUISVILLE, Ky.—The highest court of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) ruled last week that there are no exceptions to the church’s ban on ordaining non-celibate gays and lesbians... Full Story
Hoosiers rally for GLBT rights
About 300 people rallied in support of GLBT rights at the Indiana Statehouse Feb. 18. Organized by Indiana Equality, a statewide group that advocates for GLBT equality, the protesters urged Indiana lawmakers to pass legislation banning discrimination... Full Story
Israel’s AG approves adoptions by gay couples
JERUSALEM—Israel’s attorney general has decided that same-sex couples can adopt children, a victory for Israeli gays that has infuriated the country’s conservative religious establishment... Full Story
Freetime
Midlife Crisis No. 199: in a gadda da buddha, baby
I recently read an interview with k.d. lang in the Shambhala Sun Magazine where she talks about her Nyingma Buddhist practice with teacher Lama Chodak Gyatso Nubya and how her beliefs influenced her new album “Watershed.” Around the same time... Full Story
PISCES: You have tricked your self into seeing what you want to see. Believing that someone will change, or wanting them to be something they’re not will only leave you disappointed. Get real about this before you decide to make any commitments. More
Back in the day: Moments in Chicago’s GLBT history
1973: Dr. Lonnie Myers speaks on the subject of VD at the monthly Mattachine Midwest membership meeting. He also discusses the possibility of starting a new clinic for gays. More
“The Bubble” (Strand Releasing)—Three young Israelis—fashion designer Lulu (Daniela Wircer), gay café manager Yali (Alon Friedmann) and gay music store clerk and soldier Noam (Ohad Knoller)—share a flat in “the bubble” that is known as modern day Tel Aviv. They are involved in a resistance... Full Story
CFP reviews "Kansas City Trucking Co." & "The Best of Francis Sagat, Vol. 2". Full Story
Freestyle: arts, entertainment & lifestyle
Bunny hopping: Basics for on the slopes and in the chalet
Moguls. Powder. The conditions sound promising from Wisconsin’s southeastern ski resorts. So hasten to the hills, because while March brings the best conditions on the big mountains of Colorado, Utah and Montana, the month can bring slush and mush... Full Story
Released just a week apart during the winter of 2008, the new albums by Sheryl Crow and Idina Menzel speak volumes about modern pop music, particularly by female vocalists. Even before you listen to a note, the titles of both discs say an earful... Full Story
Feb. 27: Crystal Castles and Health perform at 9 p.m. at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace. Call (773) 478-4408. More
The 2007 Academy Award-nominated short films (Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International)—Voters have their work cut out for them, and I’m not talking about the presidential election, either. Those qualified to vote for the Academy Awards... Full Story
Theater
This masterful production of R.C. Sherriff’s World War I classic offers the kind of gripping immediacy that only intimate theater at its best can deliver. The Griffin Theatre Company has taken an old gem, scaled it perfectly to suit its setting... Full Story
Northlight Theatre’s “Gee’s Bend” is presented as an evening focusing on a unique art form—quilting. While quilt work decorates the periphery of Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s script, she focuses instead on a more traditional, multi-decade look at the civil rights... Full Story
The musical “La Cage aux Folles” is perhaps best known for the drag anthem “I Am What I Am,” but there are nuggets laced throughout this 1983 work by legendary Broadway lyricist/tunesmith Jerry Herman (“Hello Dolly” and... Full Story
Dining
Near West Side’s Powerhouse serves up rich food and a rich experience
There’s something undeniably masculine about the Powerhouse restaurant. It is located on the ground floor of a Near West Side Beaux Arts-style building that used to house the coal-fired generators and boilers that provided the juice for... Full Story