OREGON S GAY/LESBIAN/BI/TRANS NEWSMAGAZINE
AUGUST 21 2009
PAGE 3
b y M a rty Davis
[just o u t
It's Business Time
AUGUST 21. 2009
As Summer Starts to Wind Down. Big Ups to Our Small
Businesses
I ey look, Bill Dickey
cover
of Just Out. W h a t’s he doing there?
Well, why not? From the day I
bought this paper I’ve heard again and again
that readers, certain readers, want to see more
hot men on the cover. W ith that thought in
mind, I happily defy anyone to tell me who
is hotter, more valued and more im portant to
this community than Bill Dickey.
His overall hotness, however, is not
why Dickey’s on this particular cover. H e’s
here because he represents— and represents
well— the endurance, the fortitude, the
generosity and the stamina of the gay and
lesbian small business owner.
Small business owners provide the
majority of jobs in Oregon. Small business
owners work long and hard to provide wages,
pay taxes, provide health insurance and im
prove the viability and well-being of our
neighborhoods.
Small business owners
improve
previously unloved buildings and bring
personality to
neighborhoods.
Small
business owners place brightly colored
flowerpots on the street and serve you your
m orning coffee and pastry. Small business
owners prepare your tasty meals and hire
charm ing and friendly servers with whom
we flirt and smile.
Small business owners must compete in
pricing with large out-of-state corporations
with massive buying power. W hile cutting
costs and overhead to remain on par with
product pricing, small business owners strive
to excel in customer service goals.
Small business owners, especially in the
gay, lesbian, bi and trans community, contrib
ute over and over to community causes and
events. They sponsor, they give, they donate;
the next day they are asked by another group
or organization to do it all over again. Auc
tions, dinners, walks, runs—if an event rep
resents a cause, chances are good that a small
n
business owner helped fund the endeavor.
Small business owners, contrary to what
the Oregon legislature might have you be
lieve, pay above and beyond their share of
taxes. They pay into employees’social security
and unemployment insurance funds. Small
business owners pay city, county and state
taxes and fees. In Portland there are even
T ri-M et taxes that fall upon the shoulders of
the small business owner. In good economic
times, and in tough economic times, small
business owners fill the state tax coffers.
And that brings us back to Bill Dickey,
and why he’s on the cover of Just Out.
Because he deserves to be.
ow a moment for introductions,
please. I’d like everyone to meet the
newest addition to the Just Out staff,
M aria Council. Many of you know Maria as
Empress M aria XXXVI. Many more of you
will come to know her as “the woman at Just
Out who takes care o f things.” Maria will be
wearing many hats— or perhaps I should say
wigs— at Just Out. One very im portant aspect
o f her position is reflected in the title shown
on her business card: Calendar Editor. As
might be expected from a calendar editor,
M aria is in charge of the calendar, both the
print and Web site versions.
Just Out maintains the most comprehen
sive calendar of events in the gay, lesbian,
bi and trans community. We publicize your
events, at no charge, in our print edition
calendar as well as on the Web site. Entries
received too late for the paper are added
daily to the Web site calendar. In addition,
community events are often blogged about
at justout.com. In order to do all o f this we
need to hear from you first. This brings us
back to Maria. You need to know her. Call
her, write, email her, Facebook her. Let Just
Out help you grow and promote your events
and activities.
Maria’s responsibilities do not end with
N
Walk-In Clinic for Guys Who have Sex with Guvs
K n o w y o u r status. Protect each other
the calendar. She’ll be the voice that answers
the phone and, often, your inquiries. She’ll
become a resource to our advertisers; she’ll
be the one who answers the questions and
provides assistance when your advertising
representative is out helping another client.
Maria will send you billing invoices and
gently remind you when they are due. Maria
will become your best friend. You’re going
to enjoy working with her. For those who
will learn that currying her favor is impor
tant— chocolates are recommended.
s we were finishing up the August 7
issue, word came that the downtown
Eagle was closing. Speculation was
that Casey’s would likely follow. The closure
of the Eagle came as no surprise; to nearly all
patrons the once-revered Eagle was gone the
day the curtain fell on the upper West Burn
side location. Sure enough, word soon came
that Casey’s, too, would indeed close; in its
place, perhaps an underage bar. On the heels
of the Casey’s-Eagle departure we now know
that The Dirty Duck is closing, likely gone by
the time most o f you read this.
Sadly the closure o f these two bars will
garner a largely “so w hat” shrug from most
folks. Casey’s never drew an identity crowd
and there are few to miss that club. The Dirty
Duck, however, was home to generations of
bears, bikers, leather folk and all their assort
ed friends and fans. This was headquarters to
a great many people and it will be missed.
Knowingly or not, we all suffer a bit o f a
loss when we lose a gay bar, book store, coffee
shop or other venue that we call our own.
The loss of these two bars is one more chip,
chip, and chip away at our uniqueness, our
identity, our culture and our community.
Just Out publishes next on September 4,
the Friday of Labor Day weekend. Hard to
imagine, isn’t it? Summer is on the wane.
Enjoy the remaining weeks ahead and we’ll
see you O u t &. About soon. M
\
T h u r s d flV S
oui L uan C í N ü
B r ia n R a m sa y ,
P r in c ip a l B ro k er
R e a lty T r u s t G r o u p , I n c
C ondos, Lofts, Tbwnhomes, C om m ercial & Foreclosures
Pearl D istrict, D ow n tow n , South W aterfront
5 0 3 .4 1 6 .3 3 8 0
R ea lE sta tein th eP ea rl.co m
R ealty T rust
g r o u p
-
tj
Area GLBT Boutiques, Eateries and
Services Weather the Financial Climate
- and Connect with Consumers
NEWS
Dirty Duck Ducks Out, the Eagle and
Casey s “Imagine” Something New
TO HER HEALTH
OHSU Studies Explore Contraception
and More
MARCHING ON?
Assessing the Local Role in the National
Equality March
» ARTS 8 CULTURE
21
OUT AND ABOUT
27
LOST AND FOUND
Bluewater Productions Publisher Darren
G. Davis Takes Comic Approach to Life
SISSYBOY COMES BACK
WITH STYLE
Before taking their drag terrorist troupe
show to the Big Apple, Sissyboy graces
the Holocene stage one more time
BLOW PONY GALLOPS TO
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THE RIVER
COLUMNISTS
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naftoH 3701 E. 4th Plain
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For more information call (360) 397-8098
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