September 5th, 2007
Gay couple beats the clock to get married in Iowa
DES MOINES, Iowa—Sean Fritz snapped his cell phone shut Aug. 31 and turned to his partner. He shouted an address and sprinted toward a car. “Let’s go.” The race to get married was on. Full Story
Editorial
The Center on Halsted has been rightly applauded for organizing a meeting Aug. 30 to discuss issues related to youths on North Halsted Street’s gay bar strip. Full Story
The Aug. 22 report in Chicago Free Press, “Ruppert lawyers attack City’s stance,” raised serious concerns in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities about the City of Chicago’s stance towards the 14th Amendment. Full Story
Nation Report
School board dumps gay-inclusive family video
EVESHAM, N.J.—A video depicting same-sex parents will not be used as part of the third-grade curriculum this school year in Evesham, N.J. Full Story
Maine court OKs joint adoption by lesbian couple
PORTLAND, Maine—The Maine Supreme Judicial Court overturned a lower court decision Aug. 30, opening the door for a lesbian couple to adopt two siblings who have been in their care for six years. Full Story
Court rules Indiana lesbian can adopt in Colorado
DENVER—Two Indiana women are believed to be the first to jointly adopt children under a new Colorado law. Mary Ross and her partner, Jeannie DiClementi, finalized their adoption of Morgan DiClementi Ross, 4, and Evinn DiClementi Ross, 2, Aug. 28. Full Story
Man says he didn’t drug alleged rape victims
WEST CHESTER, Pa.—A tow truck driver accused of drugging and sexually assaulting several men testified last week that he had sex or other intimate encounters with his accusers, but he said the activities were consensual and denied having drugged them. Full Story
FDA moving to speed approval of new HIV drug
WASHINGTON—A new HIV-fighting drug from Merck & Co. appears superior to options for patients who have stopped responding to available drugs, federal regulators said Aug. 31. Full Story
University of Pittsburgh to open AIDS research center
PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has been awarded a $16-million federal grant to learn more about the virus that causes AIDS and help develop new drugs to fight the disease. Full Story
Opinion
I have to plead a certain naiveté about this business of restroom sex. I have never solicited anyone for sex in a public restroom; nor, to the best of my knowledge, has anyone ever solicited me. Should I be hurt that no one ever did? Full Story
Why the Larry Craig story is worse than we think
It’s easy to sneer at Larry Craig. Maybe too easy. He practically has a target tattooed on his forehead—or perhaps I should say on his ass. It’s fun to sling arrows at that target. It’s such an easy one to hit. So, well, wide. Full Story
Freetime
Midlife Crisis No. 178: Where are the Jews?
A group of over 100 GLBT activists recently attended the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) diversity summit in Las Vegas to form a strategy of inclusion for minority groups in the future. The five caucuses attending the event were Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, GLBT and Women’s caucuses. Full Story
1970. The only outlets in Chicago where you can buy the Advocate magazine are at the Bookstore, 3202 N. Clark St.; Paperback Center, 6, N. Clark St.; Haven Books, 5550 N. Broadway, 2927 N. Broadway and 7614 N. Ashland; Redig Books, 5 W. Randolph St.; and Post Office News, 37 W. Monroe St. Full Story
Princess Aurora arrives spitting bolts of sunlight from the Crack of Dawn searing across our bed sheets to light up the Crack of Ass. And within that ass-crack can either be found the DNA of the previous night’s debauchery or pizza crust crumbs from the “I’m totally alone, everybody hates me, I might as well fall face down into this Domino’s box and inhale” solo pity-party pizza binge. Full Story
“Cinematic: Classic Film Music Remixed” (Six Degrees) takes the concept of remixing vintage recordings and applies it to music from movie soundtracks. Full Story
“Deliverance: Deluxe Edition” (Warner Brothers)—Four male friends take a trip on “just about the last wild, untamed, unpolluted, un-fucked up river in the South,” and it becomes a journey that will forever change their lives. Full Story
Dining
With all the back to school shopping I’m certain that you’ve been doing, time flies by quickly. Get that trusty old wall calendar hanging on the fridge and mark down the dates for the following events. Full Story
Home
Secrets of stress-relieving interior design
We all know stress is bad for us. In fact, about 64 percent of us say we are actively trying to reduce the amount of stress in our lives, according to the American Psychological Association. Full Story
More News
The story was barely out last week when Mitt “The Human Weathervane” Romney dumped his old buddy Larry Craig faster than you can say “flip flop.” Full Story
The changing face of the Lakeview community was the topic of an impassioned meeting at the Center on Halsted Aug. 30 as business owners, community leaders, police and activists came together to discuss the needs of youth in the area. Full Story
AFC launches push for city housing funds
The AIDS Foundation of Chicago has launched a campaign intended to increase funding for housing for persons with HIV/AIDS in Chicago by $1.5 million. Full Story
Craig resigns under pressure from fellow Republicans
BOISE, Idaho—Larry Craig was already considering retirement from a long career of serving Idaho in Congress, repeatedly telling loyal Republicans he’d share his plans later this month on whether he would seek another Senate term. Full Story
Kansas governor adds bias protection for state’s gay employees
TOPEKA, Kan.—Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and people who’ve undergone sexual reassignment surgery are now covered by a policy prohibiting discrimination in hiring and other employment decisions in much of Kansas state government. Full Story
Prosecutors: Man confessed to 1977 slaying
Cook County prosecutors said Aug. 28 that a 46-year-old-man allegedly confessed to a 1977 murder, saying that he killed a classmate because the boy had made an unwanted homosexual advance. Full Story
Lesbian priest nominated for bishop in Chicago
Episcopal Church officials in Chicago said Aug. 28 that an openly lesbian priest is one of the final five candidates to become bishop of the Chicago diocese, drawing praise from advocates of full inclusion in the denomination. Full Story
Black minister finds new calling after coming out
BOULDER, Colo.—His calling was clear to him, even as a young child. Rev. Benjamin Reynolds played with action figures, but he wasn’t killing bad guys like most of his 6-year-old peers were. Full Story
Presidential candidates weigh in on Iowa judge’s marriage ruling
DES MOINES, Iowa—An Iowa county judge’s ruling knocking down the state’s same-sex marriage ban stirred up the presidential race last week as Republicans jostled to stake out a position with the state’s conservative voters in mind. Full Story
Camilla Taylor, a Lambda Legal attorney based in Chicago who helped successfully argue the case for gay and lesbian marriage rights in Iowa, said Aug. 31 she’s optimistic that the Iowa Supreme Court will uphold those rights. Full Story
Freestyle: Arts, Entertainment & Lifestyle
Wonderful Woman: An interview with Lynda Carter
Following sold out, record-breaking runs in San Francisco and Los Angeles, singer and actress Lynda Carter brings her critically acclaimed cabaret act, “An Intimate Evening with Lynda Carter,” to Chicago for a limited time. Full Story
To this day, 54 years later, the brother in “The Brother” remains the poster boy for betrayal. To save his life and wife, David Greenglass informed on his sister Ethel and brother-in-law Julius Rosenberg, trusting dupes who in 1953 were infamously electrocuted as the spies who gave the bomb to the Russians. Full Story
The ethereal sounds of Marissa Nadler fill Ronny’s Bar, 2101 N. California, at 9 p.m., with Picastro and Angel Olsen. Call (773) 278-7170. Full Story
Healthy harvest Bounty for body and mind
Want to go au naturale after the gym? Naked Juice has got nothing to hide—all-natural, 100-percent juice, no added sugar, no added preservatives. Full Story
Special: Fall Preview
Lyric’s 2007-2008 season spans the centuries
Lyric Opera of Chicago this season transports audiences to settings ranging from ancient Egypt to Los Alamos, presenting traditional works by Puccini and Verdi as well as a relatively new piece about the atomic bomb. Full Story
Chicago’s more than 200 art museums and galleries are providing a banquet of visual offerings this fall. Many galleries are mounting special exhibits for the 12th annual Chicago Artists Month in October, but Chicago’s growing arts activity proceeds continuously throughout the season starting with Sept. 7 openings at nearly 50 galleries. Full Story
Homo harvest: the fall 2007 music preview
Each autumn brings an abundant harvest of live music to the Chicago area. The fall of 2007 is no exception. The following is a line-up of highlights of the season that should appeal to GLBT music lovers from all walks of life. Full Story
FreeView: Movies you wont want to miss
“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. Full Story