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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1998)
july 17.1 VaxGen Inc.’s AIDSvax is the focus of the three-year test, which incorporates volunteers in more than 30 cities across the country, including New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and St. Louis. Volunteers were chosen from groups considered to be at high risk for exposure to HIV, including gay men. Some volunteers will receive a placebo, while others will receive entists say is not danger ous because it carries no live HIV. T he vaccine uses only the outer coat ing of the virus, which researchers hope will train the immune system to recognize and eradi cate the most common subtypes of HIV. VaxGen has pro duced two trial vaccines: one for strains predomi nant in the United States and one for southeast Asia. Study organizers are seeking permission from Thailand’s Health Ministry to begin test ing there. About 25 potential HIV vaccines have been tested worldwide, but no others have advanced to this level of testing, known as a Phase III trial. Daniel T. Reiner, VaxGen chief operating officer, maintains that 99.5 percent of people vaccinated in smaller AIDSvax tests produced strong levels of antibodies, an encouraging sign. B efore Y ou I nvest Y our M oney , I nvest I n A P hone C all . Following comments by Armey and Lott comparing homosexuality to kleptomania and other treatable illnesses, the Cathedral of Hope invited the duo to visit its congregation. Neither of the politicians responded to the invitation. Gephardt’s hour-long speech touched on other topics important to the sexual minorities community, like A ID S funding and anti- discrimination laws. Such issues, he said, will continue to be held back by red tape as long the G O P maintains a majority in the House. For the first time in 16 years, a great number of taxpayers can ben efit directly from the major Taxpayer Reform Act of 1997. It's important to start planning now to take full advantage of these new opportunities. I’m committed to helping indi viduals, domestic partners, couples and families understand their financial options. FLOREID WALKER (503) 2 3 *6 0 3 6 1-800487-6626 C atholic C hurch R evises P osition on G ay C hildren Voiccnuil:(503) 291-7713 http://www.waddcll.com nder pressure from more conservative forces in the church, the National Confer ence of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Mar riage and Family Life has revised the document Always O ur Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents o f H om osexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers. Activists say the changes tone down the message of outreach and under standing expressed by the document’s first edi tion, which was released in October 1997. In a July 1 press release, Dignity/USA Executive Director Charles L. Cox said, “Our hope has been replaced with concern and fear that the pastoral sensitivity that once marked Always Our Children may have been replaced with a dogmatic, legalistic approach in the church’s ministry to homosexual persons.” Get the Facts. It’s your Money. Its your Future. The “Facts on Saving and Investing Campaign.” is a national effort to encourage investor education, it represents many of the values that Waddell & Reed has strongly supported for over 60 years. • Americans need financial education. • It’s never to early to begin estimating your retirement needs. • It’s important to set realistic expectations. • We should teach our children to save. • Start small, think big and know your rights and responsibilities as an investor. B G ephardt B lasts L ott , A rmey and the GOP T he Business Wire reports that U.S. House of Representatives M inority Leader Richard Gephardt spent some time in Dallas at the M etropolitan Community C hurch’s Cathedral of Hope July 2. He used the opportunity with the predomi nantly lesbian and gay audience to criticize anti queer comments made recently by U .S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Majority Leader Dick Armey, both Republicans. “Mr. Lott’s and Mr. Armey’s comments are a shame and are certainly not my views or the views of the majority o f the House of Representatives," Gephardt insisted. FINANCIAL SERVICES U G ates ’ L argess B enefits V accine E ffort ill Gates, Microsoft founder and, with a net worth in excess of $50 billion, one of the richest people in the world, has decided to share a little of his wealth with the International A ID S Vaccine Initiative. T he William H. Gates Foundation is donating $1.5 million to the group, reports United Press International. Upon making his contribution, Gates stated, “As parents, and as believers in science and technology, we make this gift with the hope that a safe, accessible vaccine can be developed to end A ID S for all time.” IAVI’s president, Dr. Seth Berkley, described the organization’s role as one of fostering collab oration between industry, international agencies and governments working to produce an HIV vaccine. Waddell & Reed Get the facts to make the most of your financial future. For more Information call your local Waddell & Reed financial advisor. He added: “The original version of Always Our Children was not perfect, and the latest revi sion makes it even more imperfect. Each of the changes represents a capitulation to the conser vative voices in the church.” T he Dignity/USA statement fell short of identifying the specific changes, but did ques tion why the document, which was well- received by Catholic families, needed to be changed at all. Founded in 1969, Dignity/USA is the nation’s largest organization of Catholic les bians, gay men, bisexuals, trans people and their supporters. Widdell & Reed ffumui amca Floreid Walker - Senior Financial Advisor 500 N.E. Multnomah. Suite 278 Portland. OR 97232 (503) 291-7713 The government agencies and their partners that organized this campaign have not endorsed any particular firms, brokers, products, or services. NGLTF T akes on N ew F ield O rganizers he National Gay and Lesbian Task Force announced July 8 it has hired Alexis Sainz and Dan Hawes as field organizers. Sainz’s background focused on queer youth and people of color issues, while Hawes has been a labor organizer. Sainz is a graduate of NGLTFs 1995 Youth Leadership Institute, the first queer youth train ing program of its kind in the country. Sainz’s focus will be primarily on youth and family issues and will include coordinating the task force’s annual Youth Leadership Institute, which is scheduled this year for August 5 to 9. Hawes will serve as NGLTFs staff coordina tor of the Federation of LG B T Statewide Political Organizations. In addition, he will pro vide technical assistance and support to activists across the country on a variety of issues. T ■ C om piled by W IL L O ’BRYAN and I n g a S o ren sen he 'S • N ew purchase • 1 0 0 % eq u ity loans • P re-q u alificatio n by p h o n e o r fax • Refinance/cash o u t • Pre-approved loans • R esid en tial, co m m ercial & in v estm en t property • A p p o in tm en ts at your co n v en ien ce Office 297-9900 Evenings/Weekends 780-1561 “I ’m available when you arelr ” Colleen Weed AAA MORTGAGE A d v o c a te s 1900 S. W. W ilsbire Street • P ortlan d . Oregon 9 7 2 2 S 13