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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 15, 1995)
9 ▼ « o p tem bor 1 5 . 1 9 0 5 T Just o u t national news Portland Center Stage Announces the G.A.L.A.* Series Five Spectacular Productions Our 1995-96 Season Runs October - April Featuring the world premier of Comfort and Joy by Jack Heifner, a comedy about Tony and Scott, in love and in Los Angeles at the holidays, and what happens when their families come to call... and... From the Mississippi Delta by Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland, the story of a remarkable African-American woman's journey from poverty to personal power... A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, the immortal fantasy of romance in the fairy-enchanted forest; a co production with choreographer Robert Davidson... The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard, fearful villagers force compromises that may change Miss Helen’s life as an artist - and as an independent woman... Private Lives by Noël Coward, martinis, cigarette holders, a moonlit terrace, the South of France...need “oui” say more? Tuesday nights at 7:00pm, with receptions following at area restaurants with the cast and fellow G.A.L.A. members. . .Series tickets begin at just $49.50 for all five shows and receptions. . .Call 5 0 3 . 2 7 4 * ^ 5 for information and reservations just out * G a v a n d L e s b i a n A u d i e n c e s Illinois OKs lesbian adoptions NEA funds NAMES quilt display A year-long legal battle by two lesbian couples seeking to adopt their children ended Aug. 24 when a Cook County judge granted their petition. The judgment order follows an Illinois Appellate Court ruling in July which held that unmarried couples, including gay men and lesbians, have the same adoption rights as married and single par ents under Illinois law. One of the couples, Kay and Deb (not their real names), seeks to adopt jointly their three-year-old daughter, whom Kay conceived via anonymous donor insemination. The couple have shared re sponsibility for the child since her birth. They want the joint adoption to secure a legal relation ship between the child and Deb without disturb ing the parental rights of Kay. The second couple, Kathy and Mary (not their real names), are seeking the joint adoption of Kathy’s two children, one of whom was con ceived via donor insemination and one of whom was adopted. The National Endowment for the Arts has made the first major contribution toward the October 1996 display of the entire NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, D.C. The NEA’s $20,000 donation kicks off an aggressive fund raising campaign for the display. It is estimated the 19% display will be twice as large as the last showing of the entire quilt four years ago, and over 23 times larger than the first display in 1987. Almost 45,000 panels will lie on the National Mall, stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. The quilt will weigh 60 tons and will cover an area the size of 27 football fields. Keith Haring work to grace chapel A large bronze altarpiece, the last major work completed by Keith Haring before his death in 1990, will be the cornerstone of the AIDS Memo Queer youth complete leadership training Last month, 25 youth activists from across the United States completed a week-long Youth Leadership Train ing Institute, sponsored by the Na tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The participants were chosen from among 140 applicants. The NGLTF Youth Institute was created to increase the confidence, skills and leadership abilities of the participants. Each person attending the Institute committed to applying the skills learned at the training to a specific project back home. Work shop topics included: alliance build ing, conflict resolution, hotlines, statewide/rural networks, youth organizing in the age of HIV/ AIDS, public speaking, Internet activism and organizing by and for people of color. Medi-Cal to pay fur experimental AIDS treatment Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, now provides full reimbursement coverage for the human growth hormone Serostim. Used to combat wasting in people with AIDS, Serostim is the first product made available through the Food and Drug Administration’s Treatment Investiga tional New Drug program to be covered by Medi- Cal . Impoverished Californians living with AIDS wasting will now have access to this treatment. Currently, nine other state Medicaid programs, and more than 25 private insurers across the country, authorize reimbursement for Serostim on a case-by-case basis. Medi-Cal, the second- largest Medicaid provider in the country, is the first to authorize full reimbursement across the board. Results of phase III clinical studies show that patients taking Serostim gained an average of 6.6 pounds of lean body mass during the 12-week protocol. Additionally, patients who gained lean body mass had improved strength and endurance as measured by their performance on treadmill tests. People interested in accessing Serostim under the Treatment IND program should call the Serostim Access Line at 1-800-714-2437. rial Chapel being built in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral. The chapel will hold approximately 30 people. It was conceived as a place of solace and medita tion for people whose lives have been affected by AIDS. In addition to the Haring altarpiece, the chapel will house a changing display of panels from the NAMES Project quilt, a changing display of work by artists living with AIDS, and a large hand-bound “Book of Remembrances,” memori alizing friends and loved ones through donations. Congress placates homophobe Republican members of Congress, making good on a Newt Gingrich promise, have scheduled a special hearing so that Lou Sheldon, lobbyist for the right-wing Traditional Values Coalition, can air his views on school programs created to address violence and discrimination against gay and les bian youth. Staff of Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Economic and Educational Opportu nities Committee, responding to inquiries from the Human Rights Campaign Fund, confirmed that Sheldon would get his hearing by Thanksgiving. Sheldon once called for men, women and chil dren with HIV/AIDS to be confined in concentra tion camps. Those remarks appeared in an inter view published in the Nov. 26, 1989, issue of The Los Angeles Times. He has also backed a number of anti-sexual-minority initiatives in California. _ __________________________ ,__________________________________________ Compiled by Kristine Chatwood 4