Harvey Milk

The San Diego City Council unanimously approved changing the name of Blaine Avenue in the historically LGBT neighborhood of Hillcrest to Harvey Milk Street. The name change will honor the late civil rights activist, who was the first openly gay elected official in the United States.

San Diego is the first city in the U.S. to honor Milk by naming a street after him. Already, there are schools and various community centers named after Milk.

City commissioner and chairman of the Harvey Milk GLBT Historic Task Force of San Diego County, Nicole Murray Ramirez, told San Diego LGBT Weekly, “This victory was eight years in the making. We had tried to name Centre Street in front of the Center … but we dropped it because of opposition.”

Blaine Avenue, the street whose name will be replaced, is located two blocks from Cleveland Avenue near the San Diego LGBT Community Center.

During the public comment section of the Council meeting only one person, James Hartline, spoke against the motion. Several high-profile LGBT community leaders spoke or were in attendance during the historic city council meeting, including Dwayne Crenshaw, executive director of San Diego LGBT Pride; Susan Jester, cofounder of AIDS Walk in San Diego and former president of the San Diego chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans; Stampp Corbin, San Diego LGBT Weekly publisher and former co-chair for LGBT issues of the Obama for America Campaign of 2008; as well as ACLU and San Diego Pride board member Stephen Whitburn.

The motion to approve the project was made by openly gay Councilman Todd Gloria who represents District 3 where the street will be located. The motion was seconded by Councilman Carl DeMaio, who is also gay and who represents District 5. DeMaio is currently a leading candidate for mayor of San Diego.

Councilwoman Lori Zapf accidentally voted against the measure but quickly corrected her vote. Council President Tony Young allowed the Council to vote a second time so Zapf could be recorded as having voted in favor of the name change.

“I am so sorry I have just received a text that a friend of mine had passed and I am a little shaken up,” the councilwoman said to her colleagues and members of the public. Previously, Zapf had been criticized for anti-LGBT emails sent to LGBT equality opponent and activist, James Hartline during her campaign for city council in 2010. Zapf has since changed her position and become friendly to policies supporting LGBT equality.

An unveiling ceremony marking the name change is scheduled for May 22 at 5 p.m. to also commemorate Harvey Milk’s birthday.

In addition to forwarding the cause of gaining equal rights for LGBT San Franciscans, Californians and Americans, Milk famously fought and beat a ballot initiative that would have barred gays, lesbians and bisexual people from teaching in California’s public schools.

Harvey Milk was a member of the San Francisco City and County Board of Supervisors. He was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone Nov. 27, 1978. The assassin, Dan White was also a member of the Board of Supervisors – but one who had resigned days before killing Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Milk. White was acquitted of murdering the two officials by using what became known as the “Twinkie Defense” (temporary insanity due to overconsumption of high-sugar junk food).

Marti Emerald

The Fox Canyon Neighborhood Association’s newsletter, Fox Canyon Voice provides residents with news, information and opportunities about their neighborhood. Highlights of May’s newsletter include:

Coffee with Marti, Saturday, May 19, 12- 2 p.m., at 4787 Castle Ave., Fox Canyon – an opportunity to get to know and talk to Councilwoman Marti Emerald.

In other news the City Council voted to approve a new ordinance approving urban farming and the keeping of chickens. This means roosters are still illegal to keep in urban settings, due to the noise and the possibility that they might be kept for fighting, so residents are urged to get rid of their roosters.

Around the neighborhood, the City of San Diego through SDG&E has begun to change the street lights from the old yellow type to the white/light-blue type. These new street lights give pedestrians better visibility and discernment of colors at night.

For more information on these stories and other Fox Canyon neighborhood news contact the Fox Canyon Neighborhood Association, Inc., 4916 Lantana Drive, San Diego, 92105, (619) 282-2788, foxcanyon.org.

San Diego LGBT Weekly has been nominated for the 2012 PrideNation People’s Choice Award for “Best Publication.”

PrideNation Radio is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, and inaugurating the PrideNation People’s Choice Awards as a way to recognize listeners’ favorite individuals, organizations and businesses throughout the San Diego LGBT community.

San Diego award nominations are still open and can be made at pnnawards.com.

DynCorp contract machine-gunners

Despite the repeal of DADT, occurrences of alleged anti-LGBT hate crimes/incidents within the Department of Defense (DOD) has continued according to the LGBT nonprofit DOD FED GLOBE.

As part of a campaign to highlight this problem, DOD FED GLOBE is looking for volunteers to tell their stories of harassment as past and/or present employees of the DOD, including servicemembers, civil servants and contractors. The film, entitled ENDA NOW, will be distributed through the Internet and aims to put a human face on the suffering caused to real people by the actions of homophobic colleagues, supervisors and other ranking superiors.

The film will highlight incidents like the DOD contractor who was removed from his contract and secretly blacklisted for displaying pictures of himself and his husband at work.

Other recent incidents include a gay enlisted Marine who was murdered, a U.S. Army lesbian officer verbally and physically attacked by the most senior enlisted person in her command, and a civil servant stationed overseas harassed and threatened with being sent home, without his legally married European husband.

Lisa Kove, executive director of DOD FED GLOBE stressing the importance of the film said, “Historically societies can and have created unjust laws that are condoned and implemented by the highest authorities. Yet the laws that provide protection from discrimination are often under enforced. This is especially true in the DOD. The DOD has a horrendous track record in diversity. We need ENDA NOW for all. We must tackle this discrimination from within the federal workforce by coming out with our stories.”

Kove continues, “When the victims complain they are often treated as ‘trouble makers’ and reprisal actions take place. Those designated to investigate and protect reflect the modified version of a famous saying, ‘See no evil hear no evil report no evil do nothing.’ The system is dysfunctional.”

By contrast, a recently released report by The Williams Institute found that 86 percent of all federal contractors protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 55 percent on the basis of gender identity. The combined total represents almost one-half of all federal contractors with LGBT protections, amounting to more than $249 billion in federal spending.

“Over the past three years, the Williams Institute, Center for American Progress and the Human Rights Campaign have built a larger and stronger record in support of this LGBT contractor policy than has ever been built in favor of any non-discrimination executive order in the history of the United States,” said Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work.

In February 2012, Freedom to Work launched a campaign targeting a Fairfax, Va. military contractor, DynCorp International LLC, for allowing anti-gay harassment in the workplace and failure to have policies in place that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Washington Blade reported that DynCorp has since updated its non-discrimination policy to include protections for LGBT workers.

Despite this high profile case, Kove insists that more needs to be done. “These events could have been mitigated had the White House and DOD allowed LGBT employees to be recognized as a legitimate diversity group. That is why we need a full film on ENDA NOW distributed for free throughout the Web,” Kove said.

Filming for ENDA NOW is ongoing and anyone interested should contact Lisa Kove on 619-347-9357 or by email at Lisa.Kove@yahoo.com.

This article is based on Lisa Kove’s opine as the executive director of the LGBT 501C3 nonprofit DOD FED GLOBE and it is not her intent to reflect the views of her employer the Department of Defense (DOD).

Celebrate 21 years of love at San Diego’s premiere restaurant tasting benefitting Mamas Kitchen featuring distinctive dishes by more than 55 top chefs. Mama’s Day 2012 is this Friday, May 11 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency, La Jolla.

Two key new features of the event are a VIP Cabana Lounge featuring a demo with Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien and Ian Ward, a mixologist from Snake Oil.

Progressive San Diego (PSD), an organization that works to create a more equitable and sustainable society in the San Diego region by promoting progressive candidates and policies, has announced the results of its endorsement process for candidates who sought their endorsement for the June 5 primary election.

A notable exception is the “no endorsement” for San Diego City Council District 3 and the failure of Todd Gloria to receive PSD’s endorsement this time around. In a press release PSD stated that they are, “… deeply concerned that Todd is not a bona fide progressive. For instance, he strongly supports the expansion of the Convention Center without any financial protections for taxpayers and without any credible evidence of benefits for anyone other than downtown hoteliers. He also actively campaigned against the creation of the Latino/Immigrant Empowerment District for the new council district delineated by the San Diego Redistricting Commission.” PSD have invited Gloria to a follow-up meeting.

PSD endorsements

• Congressional District 52: Scott Peters and Lori Saldaña.

• Congressional District 53: Susan Davis.

• State Assembly District 78: Toni Atkins.

• State Assembly District 79: Sid Voorakkara, Pat Washington and Shirley Weber.

• San Diego City Mayor: Bob Filner.

• San Diego City Council District 3: No Endorsement.

• San Diego City Council District 7: Mat Kostrinsky.

• San Diego City Council District 9: Marti Emerald

• San Diego Unified School Board District A: John Lee Evans.

• San Diego Unified School Board District D: Richard Barrera.

• San Diego Unified School Board District E: Marne Foster.

• San Diego Community College Board District B: Bernie Rhinerson.

• Chula Vista City Council Seat 3: Pamela Bensoussan.

• Chula Vista City Council Seat 4: Mary Salas.

For more information about the endorsements or about PSD contact Cory Briggs at 619-221-9280.

14th Annual Cinco de Mayo Fundraiser\Source: Imperial Court de San Diego

Numbers nightclub will be hosting the 14th Annual Cinco de Mayo 2012 charity fundraising event Saturday, May 5. Presented by Selena Diamond, Carlos Silva and friends with the Imperial Court de San Diego the event will feature the annual Mr., Ms. and Miss Cinco de Mayo contest and will benefit the programs of the Imperial Court de San Diego, a non-profit, public benefit charity organization in its 40th year of service.

There will be a Mexican buffet dinner served at 6 p.m. which will include enchiladas, tamales, rice, beans, desserts and more. The show will follow at 6:30 p.m. with special guest emcees and entertainment.

A $10 donation is requested and tickets are available in advance. For more information please contact Selena Diamond or Carlos Silva at 619-540-8727 or email at grinsil@yahoo.com. Numbers is located at 3811 Park Blvd. in Hillcrest.

Juan Vargas

The San Diego Democrats for Equality (SDDE) has announced their endorsements and other actions taken at a recent meeting. Among key highlights the club announced that it had rescinded its “acceptable” rating for Juan Vargas in Congressional District 51 due to “… his key role in blocking Sen. Kehoe’s bill to expand access to abortion services.”

The club then elected to endorse Denise Ducheny for District 51.

For a complete list of SDDE’s endorsements and other actions visit LGBTweekly.com.

The San Diego Gay Men’s Chorus (SDGMC) will be hosting a fundraiser May 5 at 7p.m., at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. Encore: Sizzle and Spice, a fundraiser to benefit the growth of SDGMC was inspired by their recent popular show, Olé Olé! Olé!

The evening will follow Olé’s Latin culture theme and food will be catered by Patricio Esquivel. There will be a fully-loaded bar, silent and live auctions and music by the chorus. The honorary chair of the event is San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. The honorary co-chairs include Congressman Bob Filner, state Sen. Christine Kehoe, state Assemblyman Marty Block, District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, County Supervisor Ron Roberts, Councilwoman Marti Emerald, Councilman Todd Gloria, Councilman Tony Young and Councilman Sheri Lightner.

SDGMC Board President Cheri Curtis said, “We’re very excited about taking the chorus to a new level with this fundraising and entertainment event. It will definitely be a first-rate, must-attend affair every year.”

All proceeds from this event will go to help the SDGMC. Tickets for the event are $75 for general admission and $125 for special VIP tickets. Tickets are available on the chorus Web site at sdgmc.org. For more information, visit sdgmc.org or call 1-877-296-7664.

LGBT parents are among those being urged to encourage their high school-age budding actors to participate in preliminary auditions for the 2012 Globe Honors and The Road to the Jimmy Awards, an annual competition recognizing excellence in high school theater. The event will take place May 5, 6 and 7 at The Old Globe.

Presented annually by The Old Globe, and this year in association with Broadway/San Diego, final rounds will take place May 21 at 8 p.m. on the Donald and Darlene Shiley stage in The Old Globe Theatre and conclude with the announcement of the winners.

There is no fee to participate in the Globe Honors and The Road to the Jimmy Awards program. High school students may compete in one of four categories: outstanding achievement in Musical Theatre, Spoken Theatre, Technical Theatre and Leading Role in a High School Musical.

Winners of all Globe Honors categories will receive $1,000 scholarships and the winners of the musical, spoken and technical theater categories will participate in a two-day trip to Los Angeles, where they will go behind the scenes at the Center Theatre Group; see a production of War Horse at the Ahmanson Theatre; and visit the historic Pantages Theatre. The Leading Actor and Actress in a High School Musical winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to participate in The Old Globe – 2012 Globe Honors and The Road to the Jimmy Awards, the National High School Musical Theater Awards-The Jimmy Awards (NHSMTA) competition to be held June 25 at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway.

For audition requirements, visit TheOldGlobe.com/GlobeHonors