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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 4, 2010)
OREGON S LESBIAN/GAY/BI/TRANS/QUEER NEWSMAGAZINE JUNE 4 2010 2010 GAY PRIDE 1 -Jj Ì ?ì <we&lside/ Pianisi/ ! »■ 1 1 |W L Our professionals will arrange your delivery couxueu. BA N H KR O SEA Doug Beebe + Tom Cotter Brokers Doug 503.471.3479 Tom 503.471.3405 YOUR DOMESTIC PARTNER resting station run by the HIV Day Center, as well as the presence of Kaiser Permanente, conducting health assessments for seniors. But it’s the things that are missing that have raised some eyebrows— namely familiar thoroughfares. Changes in this year’s Portland Pride Parade have yielded the most concern from the community, after an already altered route announced in March was shelved for a new one that ditches Stark Street for Burnside, and doesn’t provide any visibility in the heart o f Downtown Portland, specifically Pioneer Courthouse Square. Debra Porta, Pride Northwest board president, addressed those concerns June 1 in an open letter to Portland’s LGBTQjcommu- nity (reprinted, along with the parade route, on p. 41), citing external policies around the permitting process as the primary reason for the revised route. “Much to our surprise, these policies did not favor the new route that, based upon a preliminary approval by the city, we an nounced in March,” explained Porta. “We were not made aware o f these policies at the time, nor did the city inform us of them until after the announcement had been made.” Porta related that Pride Northwest did not believe the change to be all that signifi cant, “especially as the parade will now travel down the major east/west artery o f the city and the businesses on Stark Street can con tinue to have their block party, which gener ates revenue for struggling businesses during this [tough] economy.” Internally, Pride Northwest viewed the switch as a debunking o f a presupposed visibility stigma—that to march by Pioneer Square, and Pioneer Square alone, provided an opportunity to “challenge the notions of those outside our community about who we are, as a community.” “It is partly to educate our straight neigh bors, but it is first and foremost a community celebration for us by us to which we invite the rest o f the city,” said Porta. “Pride is not about what ‘they’ think of us, it’s about what we think of ourselves. In the opinion of the current board, having the parade on one street or another should not determine our opinion o f who we are as a community.” Also missing this year will be the on-site HIV testing previously conducted by the Multnomah County Health Department. This is the result of both an increase in community HIV testing capacity—through clinics like the M C H D ST D Clinic and the Men’s Wellness Center, as well as budget cuts to M C H D ’s STD , HIV and Hepatitis C programs. “We are focusing our outreach and test ing efforts on reaching people who are less likely to test,” explained M C H D Health Educator Molly Franks. “From data we’ve collected the past few years, we know that most people who have tested at our Pride booth are people who test routinely and ac cess the existing testing resources.” M C H D will be conducting a survey at Pride to gather information that will inform their decision-making about offering testing services at future Pride events, and will have a booth with sexual health promotion infor mation, games and activities. But for all its metamorphoses, Portland Pride 2010 remains rooted in a commu nity-wide celebration of individuality, self- expression, fun, food, awareness and visibil ity for the LGBTQ_community in its many fabulous incarnations. It’s these facets of our community that paint the bigger picture. Up close, you may see imperfections, but at a distance, the image becomes clear. Pride is everywhere. J K KNOW YOUR STATUS Free & confidential HIV rapid tests for gay & bisexual men ( 503 ) Don Duncan owner V Teleflora 642-9992 1 - 800 - 356-1884 Aloha Market Centre 20455 SW TV Highway www.westsideflorist.net CALL us for all PDX Open Houses! CALL for a value report on any neighborhood! EveryPortlandHome.com THE source for Buyers & Sellers! Accounting for Non-Profits is a stable, self-directed organization that, through responsive education and service, empowers the non-profit community with operational stability and independence. Let us help your non-profit with: • Accounting and Bookkeeping • Federal and State Income Tax Preparation • Technology consulting, including hardware and software selection, implementation & maintenance • Budget development and monitoring • Board and staff financial training • Business Development J acolyn C. W heatley is a local Certified Public Accountant with over 18 years o f experience serving the accounting and technology needs o f small to medium sized N on p rofit Organizations. P.O. Box 82071, Portland, OR 97282 • 5 0 3 -8 0 3 -3 6 9 7 • jc w c p a @ g m a il.c o m Quality Training - Great Wages - Superb Benefits The N ECA -IBEW Electrical Training Center will be accepting applications for m c V'ocw Limited Energy Technicians When-. 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