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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2008)
page 3 justiout by Marty Davis J Swimming with Sharks ' newsmagazine MARCH 7, 2008 VOL. 25 NO. 9 Don't dismiss the strength of our opposition isten. will be holding monthly focus meetings with com Arts and Culture Editor Jim Radosta. Each month Can you hear it? Can you feel it? There munity groups and organizations. We want and I’d mail him a check, and that was about it for it is again. It’s that hlankey-hlank theme need your feedback on setting the direction for the Stephen and 1. But he was such a valued writer and song from Jaws. You know the one, the rapidly changing times facing print media in gener song that’s meant to alert you to lurking danger. Yup, cue the sound guy and stay out of al and gay and lesbian papers in specific. We will was so appreciated for his contributions to Just Out that the staff included him and his partner of 11 the water. The sharks are swimming around us of our community. We envision meetings with years, Drew McWilliams, in our annual holiday dinners. These dinners, unfortunately, too often again. representatives from our advertisers, the faith com included long, narrow tables, and it seems that This past week brought word of legal challenges to munity, political activists, social organizations and bar Stephen and Drew were always at one end, while I recently won civil rights for Oregon’s gay and lesbian owners, to name a few. If you’d like to be included, was at the other. Missed opportunities, for certain. community. First came word of attempts to repeal please send an e-mail to marty@justout.com and Tears, candor and painful honesty filled the Oregon’s new domestic partnership laws, followed briefly describe your area of interest. hold several meetings, each focused on one aspect March 3 memorial service for this 34-year-old man. by threats against our recently enacted nondiscrim ination legislation. To round out this trifecta of Stephen’s friends and family acknowledged his life here’s a lot on the Just Out community plate right now. Here’s your heads-up that it’s again time for openly of the question many were asking: Why did the Alliance Defense Fund has filed an appeal to T long struggle with bipolar disorder. Drew spoke the annual Just Out Amateur Photo Contest. he leave? “Because," spoke Drew, answering his Judge Michael Mosman’s decision in the heated Complete rules and deadlines will pop up shortly, but own question, “the magnitude of his pain blinded Lemons vs. Bradbury case. The case will now be now is the time for you to be thinking of your winning him to that which he was leaving behind.” heard by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals entry. As we did last year, all entries will be part of a In talking with Drew, he shared with me his at a date to be determined. monthlong display at Q Center. Last year we covered knowledge that those who have bipolar disorder What’s this all mean? It means that now is not the walls with photos. It was simply great. Winning sometimes find themselves dealing with unbearable the time to get comfortable and complacent. Now photos will be displayed in the June 13 Pride issue of pain. Stephen worked heroically to manage his ill is not the time to take anything for granted, and Just Out and widely distributed at Pride events. ness. Drew’s hope for all who knew Stephen is that mean-spiritedness, it was announced March 6 that now is definitely not the time to be dismissive of On the subject of Q Center, our “women seeking they find comfort and pride in the incredible work women” Bunco games have become very popular. Stephen did for so many years as a writer and as an Yes, “they" need to collect a lot of signatures. So popular and successful, in fact, that we are individual. Yes, “they” don’t appear to be that organized nor expanding the games to include a “men seeking Stephen was an avid fan of songwriter Joni have good leadership within the state. Yes, “they” men” version. Our first night is scheduled for Mitchell. A treasured song from his collection was couldn’t pull out the signatures required before, and April 13 at Q Center. Check future issues of the played for those in attendance at his service. I, for yes, they need even more now. paper and the blog for additional details. one, left with a new appreciation for these simple these efforts against us. Don’t do it. Don’t be dismissive or underestimate Finally, if you now are, or plan to be, a college yet meaningful lyrics from “Big Yellow Taxi”: the strength or willpower of the opposition. That student with financial would be a guaranteed strategy for loss. www.justout.com for information on the Just Out Don’t it always seem to go Scholarship Fund. It won’t be that long before we That you don’t know what you've got near the deadline for 2008 applicants. Till its gone Do plan on spending some money. Do plan on volunteering and donating some time. Do plan on needs, please check hearing a lot from Basic Rights Oregon as it leads the charge. Again. he Just Out staff received news Feb. 29 of the Goodbye, Stephen, take care. © your teacher picked). Forward, forward, back, back, T back. Forward, forward, forward. passing was startling enough, but it was made even Contributions can be made to MORRISON C hild AND * FAMILY S ervices for the Stephen Blair Memorial Staff more heartbreaking with the realization that Stephen, Appreciation Fund. Please mail your donation to on the previous evening, had ended his own life. Development Office—SBMSAF, Morrison Child and Titink of it as a dance (with the despised partner ould you like a voice in the next 25 years of Just W death of Stephen Blair, one of our most popular and talented freelance writers. The news of the Out7 . Uh, how about the next couple or three? I cannot say that I knew Stephen well. I’d see As part of our 25 th anniversary preparations, Just Out him in the office now and then, hanging out with Family Services, 1500 N.E. Irving St. Suite 250, Portland, OR 97232. reflections • A Los Angeles County jury has found an HIV-infected woman liable for damages because she didn't reveal her HIV status until after a nurse treating her had suffered a scalpel cut during a minor surgical procedure. • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Ohio, may lose its eligibility for Medicare reimbursements for allegedly refusing to treat a man because he had AIDS. This is a direct violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The hospital plans to contest the decision. • As Congress begins hearings on lifting the ban on gays and lesbians in the military, the far right has already launched an attack on the propaganda front. Federal legislators and the Joint Chiefs of Staff have received copies of the homophobic video The Gay Agenda. 22 ALMOST FAMOUS Tians musician signals new era for rock stardom NEWS 6-17 NORTHWEST HRC holds nondiscrimination workshop; Wilgus complex faces BOLI charges; Unity Project expands mission; Meaningful Care Conference educates medical practitioners; $65 million left to Pride Foundation; It’s My Pleasure seeks new owner; HIV advocacy training held; Just Out infiltrates anti-gay conference; BRO prepares to defend equality bills; forum addresses issues affecting queer homeless youth 18-19 NATIONAL Gay teen remembered in California; California Supreme Court hears same-sex marriage case; partnering with Boy Scouts might violate nondiscrimination policy; black, gay lawmaker comes out in Connecticut; vigils in Florida honor hate crime victims; queer community center in New York gains tax exemption 20-21 WORLD Cuban culture minister supports same-sex marriage; another anti-gay attack in Jamaica; Euro commission warns Netherlands on discrimination; Dutch would be OK with gay prime minister; Romania considers same-sex marriage ban; Swedish court: Lesbians can buy puppies; Israel OKs gay adoption; Olivia Newton- John to perform at Sydney Mardi Gras; eight men jailed in Egypt on homosexuality charges ARTS & CULTURE 40-41 FILM Girls Rock! documentary showcases feisty young campers 43 BOOKS Biting the Apple delves into the lure of pleasure 15 Years Ago in Just Out... volume 10 number 8, march 1,1993 • Norway's proposed law legalizing gay and lesbian marriage should pass Parliament this spring and take effect July 1, says the Oslo gay newspaper Blikk. FEATURE • More than 700 African-American gay men and lesbians gathered in Long beach, Calif., over President's Day weekend for the sixth annual National Black Gay and Lesbian Conference sponsored by the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. • The trial of Susan Soen, who has been charged with filing false reports in a series of apparently staged hate crimes.directed at Azalea Cooley, has been delayed for about a year. • Shoppers at Nature's Fresh Northwest are leaving with more than groceries these days. As part of the Stand Up Portland project, Nature's shopping bags feature "10 things I can do every day to celebrate diversity." • The Oregon Speak Out Project has become part of Equity Foundation and now plans to speak out in Washington and Idaho as well. The project, which began last fall, hopes to combat the Oregon Citizens Alliance and its offshoots by educating the public about gay, lesbian and bisexual issues. 44 NIGHTLIFE Sisters are second to nun 45 PEOPLE Air America host headlines at Equity Foundation benefit COLUMNS 14 SASSY GARDENER Growing Your Dinner 31 EPIQUEEREAN Put a Li’l Italian in You 33 MS. BEHAVIOR Out of Control 37 OUT GOING The Blushing Domestic 39 CORNER VIEW Seven Days of “Scene” 46 JIM'S CLOSET The Big Top *9* . 1/ A#7 ? ! If <o LU o 2
