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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 2009)
OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE APRIL 17 2009 PAGE 3 3 bp Mart/ Davis Full steam ahead VOL. 26 NO. 12 Victories for marriage equality, a request for submissions, and a special thank you APRIL 17. 2009 INSIDE» »Feature re you, or is someone you know, plan ning to go to college or career training in the fall? Did you know Just Out offers scholarships to gay, lesbian, bi, and trans identified students, and/or to the children of gay parents? Working with Equity Foundation, Just Out accepts applications A and awards scholarships annually to de serving undergraduate students. To learn more about qualifying, please visit www. equityfoundation.org. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2009. One of the primary sources of funding for our scholarship program is Just Out's Gay Skate Nights at Oaks Park. Gay Skate benefits the community in many ways: funds for scholarships, food donations for Esther’s Pantry and by creating a safe, energetic, fun, family-friendly venue for everyone to attend. The next Gay Skate is Monday, April 20. Map and details can be found at www.justout.com. Hope to see you there. Seriously, we play ABBA and do the Hokey-Pokey. Don’t even think about missing this. Just Out is also currently accepting sub missions for our annual Amateur Photo Contest. I wrote about this in the last issue and sent you to the website for complete details. You didn’t find them there, did you? It seems there was a slight glitch in posting—the glitch being that I forgot to do it. This has been corrected, and all the info, including categories, is or will soon be available at www.justout.com. The key points to remember are amateurs only; no digital submissions; prints required; photos not returned. The deadline is May 29. You submit a picture, we’ll find a category. Priz es? Of course, there will be prizes—good ones, too. n the slow news week category, a small, fussy storm breezed about Portland on April 15. Pink Martini bandleader Thomas Lauderdale petulantly announced that he was miffed at Mayor Sam Adams and his plans to demolish the Memorial'Coliseum, replacing it with a tee-ball court, or some such thing. Lauderdale expressed concern that Adams “wasn’t listening” to concerned I Portland citizens. Guess what, Thomas? Adams doesn’t have to listen. You yourself assured that course of action when you stood on the steps of City Hall, insisting loudly and proudly that Adams was above reproach and accountability to the people of Portland. You gave him a free pass, Thomas. Now you expect him to listen? n this space in the April 3 issue, I stated that I was closing the door on the prob lems of 2009’s first quarter. I was putting these difficult months behind us and start ing the New Year over. I’m holding myself to that statement-with one exception. Lost in the media flurry over the March departures of a few Just Out staffers was one important acknowledgment. Yes, lost in the blog posts and news reports was any mention of the staff who stayed and did not quit. Lost, overlooked, was any reference to the tenacity and strong character of those who did not depart when times got tough. I owe a tremendous thank you to Larry Lewis, Lynda Wilkinson, Justin Taylor, Chris Kramer and Li Li, the staffers who stayed when others didn’t. I thank them all profusely for their efforts and hard work, for banding together as a team—a team determined to ride out the rough times as one. Joining us since is Amanda Schurr, whom you met last issue, and Laura At kinson, who appeared as if from nowhere and became our Just Out miracle worker. I anticipate being able to add another staff writer to the mix fairly soon. That is my closing for this issue, then, to offer the biggest and most heartfelt thanks possible to the Just Out staff, for a dedi cation to this paper and the community. Thanks to them, we’re heading into the 2009 Pride season with energy, ideas and enthusiasm. It is, indeed, a happy New Year. w THE GAYS ARE GARDENING jo’s resident “sassy gardener” LeAnn Locher talks to green thumbs in Portland’s GLBT community I »News ; 5 QfiA WITH BASIC RIGHTS OREGON’S JEANA FRAZZINI j 7-11 NORTHWEST BRIEFS A timely symposium on same-sex marriage; Red Cross and Q_Center team up for a CPR class; Black/ African-American PFLAG makes its debut; Portland authors explore their Mama issues : 12-13 POORING OVER IT: REPORT EXAMINES POVERTY IN THE GLBT COMMUNITY | »Arts 6 Culture i 19-22 OUT 8 ABOUT j 26 FILM Three worth checking out at the Salem Film Fest. i 27 DANCE James Kudelka choreographs “Hush” for Oregon Ballet Theatre. BLAINE TRUITT COVERT irst there were none, then there were two, now there are four. Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Iowa: These are America’s Fab Four. These states, com monwealths, lead the nation in the ongo ing quest for marriage equality. In all four, same-sex couples now enjoy equal, legal marriage rights and protections. In our own backyard, Washington State passed a measure on April 15 to expand the state’s domestic partnership law to include “ev erything but marriage.” The bill would give additional spousal rights and benefits to domestic partners, including same-sex couples and unmarried senior heterosexual couples. On April 16, on the heels of momentum in Washington, New York Governor David Paterson (D) proposed new legislation in his state, advocating for same-sex marriage. Paterson stated, “Marriage equality is about basic civil rights and freedom. That is why we stand together today to embrace civil rights for every New Yorker.” Today there are four; soon there will be more. And the game plan in Oregon? What’s the strategy for dealing with the results of Ballot Measure 36, the passage of which resulted in a constitutional amendment effectively banning same-sex marriage in Oregon? How do we work around that gi ant boulder in the road? Turn to page 5 to see what Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director Jeana Frazzini has to say. PIONEER SPIRIT Affordable Flowers & Fresh Designs HOSPITAL T he L eotard S tore is Administrative Assistants' Day - C oming O ut with I ntegrative Wed. April 22 Let Pioneer Spirit design the perfect bouquets M edicine (503) 284.9244 for your great office staff! www.thelcotard.com Affordable r Fresh • Convenient Offering your pet a balanced approach to health and nutrition. Treatment and prevention of disease through conventional and holistic medicine. 503.285.2337 607 NE Lombard St. • T < '/ * 4 Everthing for Dance & More 29 Nina Celeste Ou net/Design er 541.844.4828 Mon - Fri 10 am - 5 pm , The Cart at Pioneer Courthouse Square JUST DUCKY: A PORTLAND INSTITUTION’S COLORFUL HISTORY »Columnists 25 LIVING OUT LOUD Kathryn Martini considers the “B” in GLBT 30 REMEMBER TO BREATHE Nick Mattos on a City of Transplants 37 MS. BEHAVIOR Sink Your Teeth Into Compassion
