August 1, 2007
'Messed Up' Performers say local gay group cancelled show and didn't pay them
A Brooklyn, N.Y.-based rap group has alleged that Chicago gay activist Marc Loveless left them stranded in Chicago when a fundraising concert he promoted fell apart. Full Story
Editorial
Last weekend Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), representatives of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office, North Halsted Street business leaders and residents joined 23rd District Chicago Police Department Cmdr. Gary Yamashiroya and other 23rd District police on a late-night neighborhood beat walk on Halsted and Belmont. Full Story
I just finished reading Jennifer Vanasco’s article on “Grilling the Candidates” (CFP July 18). Seems to me that she had sadly forgotten that the GLBT community also consists of bisexual and transgender people. I understand that she had a need to get just certain questions answered by the candidates at their August 9 debate, but it may do some good to understand that all of the issues she brought up also affects bisexual and transgender Americans, in some cases worse than how it affects gays and lesbians. Full Story
Nation Report
Vermont legislators appoint commission on marriage
MONTPELIER, Vt.—The leaders of the Vermont House and Senate announced the appointment of a commission July 25 to decide whether the legislature should consider allowing gay marriage in the state. Full Story
Judge says partnership doesn’t void alimony
LOS ANGELES—A judge ordered a California man to continue paying $1,250 a month in alimony to his former wife, even though she’s in a registered domestic partnership with another woman. Full Story
Arizona police investigate possible hate crime
MESA, Ariz.—A police investigation is under way in Scottsdale, Ariz., after a 27-year-old Phoenix man told police he was punched in the jaw after leaving an establishment. Full Story
Michigan court rules in favor of same-sex benefits policy
LANSING, Mich.—The Michigan Supreme Court ruled July 25 against 17 taxpayers who filed a lawsuit challenging the Ann Arbor school district’s same-sex benefits policy. Full Story
Court hears arguments on harassment policy
CINCINNATI—A federal appeals court heard arguments July 25 from a religious liberty group that opposed mandated anti-harassment training at an eastern Kentucky high school. Full Story
Gay man charged with trying to have wife killed
RENO, Nev.—A Reno man with six children has been arrested on charges he tried to hire a hit man to kill his wife so he could avoid a messy divorce and live with his new boyfriend, police said. Full Story
Judge chastises lawmaker over fraudulent petitions
CINCINNATI—A judge lashed out at a state lawmaker during a court hearing for two women who worked with the politician in an unsuccessful bid to repeal a city ordinance that protects gays and lesbians from discrimination. Full Story
Feds raid marijuana clinics in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES—Federal agents raided 10 marijuana clinics July 25, the same day city leaders introduced a measure calling for an end to the crackdown on the dispensaries allowed under state law. Full Story
Opinion
Relationships by Jennifer Vanasco
My friend Alex is bitter about relationships. “Whatever you do,” she said last night, “is fucking fucked.” She explained that at the moment she saw no winning. Relationships trapped you and made you personally smaller; or they took away all your energy; or they cut you off from all other sources of support; or they were wellsprings of pain and tension, regret and remonstration. Full Story
A gay and lesbian community? by Paul Varnell
No one doubts that gay men and lesbians constitute a single political movement. We have political goals in common: the right to marry, the right to serve in the military, tax and benefit equality for couples, the right to adopt children. In addition, we all face the ever-present possibility of discrimination and prejudice by governments, churches, employers and neighbors, which we have a common interest in reducing. Full Story
Freetime
Midlife Crisis No. 173: puftyflops doogandrofs
One thing I’ve learned about America is that a politician’s success or failure is determined by how successfully he/she/it can scapegoat a minority. The Republicans are good at this—George W. Bush was elected president twice after his Texas Goon Squad convinced enough gullible Americans that “Gay Marriage” was No. 1 on God’s Shit-List. Full Story
“Inside the Actors Studio: Barbra Streisand” (Shout Factory)—If ever there was a subject on Bravo’s “Inside the Actors Studio” that would promise a sizable gay audience, it was the 2004 broadcast on which Barbra Streisand found herself at the mercy of effusive and endlessly cloying host James Lipton. Full Story
In this spaced-out mercurial madness of mid-summer, Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love” plays in our head as we navigate uncharted galaxies of romance. “I’ve been told that you’ve been bold, With Harry, Mark and John,” he drones. “Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday to Thursday, With Harry, Mark and John…satellite of love." Full Story
1976 Chicago celebrates Lesbian Pride Week with events ranging from demonstrations of weightlifting, karate and self-defense to a talk on health issues at Women in Crisis Can Act (WICCA) at 1139 W. Webster. Festivities also include a poetry night at the Lesbian Feminist Center, 3523 N. Halsted—now the location of Lakeview’s favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Las Mananitas. Full Story
Among his assorted (and sordid) professional accomplishments, Sean “Puff Daddy” “P. Diddy” “Diddy” Combs (or whatever alias he’s going by these days) helped to make it acceptable (almost expected) for the producer to shine as brightly as (sometimes brighter than) the artist he’s producing. Full Story
More News
Want to have a bit of fun? Well, then before going on, jot down your list of the Top 10 divas of all time. Got it? Now let’s see how your choices compare with the list voted on by readers of Britain’s Gay Spy. Full Story
Burke praises diversity, GLBT lawyers at Sidetrack
Some 150 attendees heard Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke discuss the evolving diversity of the legal profession at the third annual Lawyers for Diversity Mid-Summer Barbecue July 26 at Sidetrack in Lakeview. Full Story
Political leaders meet with Youth Pride Center members
Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Rep. Constance “Connie” Howard (D-Chicago), and Alds. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Rey Colon (35th) and Walter Burnett, Jr. (27th) met last week with members of the Youth Pride Center, 637 S. Dearborn St. Full Story
Whole Foods Market opens at Center on Halsted
Group plans GLBT halfway house to aid with recovery
A newly formed housing organization is working to open a GLBT-specific halfway house for community members who are in recovery from drug or alcohol abuse. Full Story
Conjugal visits approved for Mexico City GLBT prisoners
MEXICO CITY—Mexico City’s prison system has begun allowing gay conjugal visits, bowing to a recommendation by the country’s National Human Rights Commission, the commission has announced. Full Story
Italian gay groups protest arrest for kiss near Colosseum
ROME—Italian gays plan public “kiss-ins” near the Colosseum to protest the detention of two men by police for kissing in front of the famous Rome monument, gay rights groups said July 28. Full Story
Massachusetts OKs marriage for New Mexico gay, lesbian couples
BOSTON—Gay couples from New Mexico can now marry in Massachusetts because their home state has not explicitly banned same-sex marriage, according to a decision by a top state records official. Full Story
Ohio court says domestic violence laws apply despite gay marriage ban
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Unmarried couples can be prosecuted under Ohio’s domestic violence laws even though the state bans gay marriages, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled July 25. Full Story
Art
or most of us, stained glass is associated with pietistic church windows or the nostalgia of Tiffany lamps. But stained glass artist Brian Butterfield pushes stained glass in new directions. Full Story
Freestyle
In the mid-1960s, Ken Kesey and his group of friends, the “Merry Pranksters,” drove across the country in a school bus attempting to create art out of everyday life. In their current powerful revival of Dale Wasserman’s “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” adapted from Kesey’s seminal book, Open Eye Productions effectively does the opposite. Full Story
Dance Gavin Dance, A Skyelit Drive, Latehatehero, Blinded Black and Kenotia play Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Call (773) 281-4444. Full Story
Music
Patti Smith has more than a little experience covering other people’s material. Her extraordinary cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” from her groundbreaking 1975 debut record “Horses,” is still the stuff of legend, and rightfully so. It’s the kind of rendition that can bring on palpitations to the faint of heart. Ditto for her reading of The Byrds’ “So You Want To Be (A Rock and Roll Star),” from the “Wave” album. Full Story
Cinema
“The Simpsons Movie” (20th Century Fox)—Gratuitous gay kissing cops aside, “The Simpsons Movie” packs in more laughs per minute than non-kissing faux-gay firemen “…Chuck and Larry” could ever hope for and makes the transition from small to large screen with ease. Full Story
Dining
It seems strange to think that the tiny jars and bags of herbs and spices stocked on the shelves of the local supermarket once fueled worldwide exploration, conquests, battles—yes, spice wars. Full Story
New kids on the block are worth checking out
Maybe it’s the rainy spring followed by the summer heat, but it seems as if new dining spots are popping up all over town. In Uptown alone, two places opened within a week of each other. Full Story
Home
(ARA)—Building your kitchen seemed like it would be fun and easy until you discovered that inconvenient, load-bearing beam, or how enormous the room felt when you knocked down that wall. Now you’ll have to spend a fortune on custom cabinets to deal with these pesky problems, right? Full Story