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Posted 6/16/2009
Longtime local LGBT activist joins Judy Shepard atop Black Tie bill - From the Dallas Voice
Atkinson
The Black Tie Dinner Board of Directors announced this week that activist and community volunteer Steve Atkinson has been chosen as the recipient of the 2009 Kuchling Humanitarian Award.
Laurie Foley, 2009 Black Tie co-chair, praised Atkinson as “unselfish in his commitment to work for full equality for GLBT individuals.”
She added, “Without a doubt, Steve’s life reflects the ideals of the Kuchling Humanitarian Award. Acting entirely in a volunteer capacity, Steve has devoted his life to the betterment of the GLBT community and has achieved superior results.” Foley said.
For his part, Atkinson said this week he is “very excited and very humbled” to be chosen to receive the award.
“I was totally surprised, and it was a very nice surprise,” he said. “This means a whole lot to me. I have always viewed the Kuchling Award as kind of the ‘biggie’ in our community. So many great people have received the award — people I love and respect and admire, people who are personal heroes of mine, mentors and good friends.”
Atkinson said he is especially honored to receive the award when he looks at it in historical context.
“Any kind of recognition I have ever received has always made me think of our history, and the big picture, and how proud I am of what we have accomplished,” Atkinson said. “I am so proud to have been a part of that, but I am just one of many. It’s not just about me, but about all the groups I have been involved with and all the people I have worked with over the years,” he said.
Atkinson also said it is gratifying to be recognized by the community he loves so dearly.
“I really do think we have the best LGBT community anywhere. It just means so much to me,” he said. “This community really is way, way up there on the list of things that are most important in my life. There’s my husband, my family and friends, and then this community. It is all sort of overwhelming, but in a very good way, to get this recognition.”
Foley said Atkinson has “served as a shining example of leadership” for more than 16 years.
“From walking the streets of Dallas for political campaigns or holding a placard to protest injustice, he has worked tirelessly to move the GLBT community toward full equality at the local, state and national levels,” she said.
Locally, Atkinson has led the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas, Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance and Leadership Lambda.
He has also helped raise funds for the community as a past board member of Black Tie Dinner, a committee chair for AIDS Lifewalk, and chair for the 2009 AIDS Interfaith Network Bloomin’ Ball.
Since 2002, Atkinson has served in numerous positions on the Human Rights Campaign’s local steering committee.
Louise Young, who has worked in several different organizations with Atkinson, praised his commitment to the community.
“Steve has made an enormous difference over the years to our LGBT community — in Dallas, in Texas and on a national level. He is one of those rare individuals who has the passion to drive change and the organizational skills to ensure his leadership actions are effective,” Young said.
“Steve’s dedication to our community continues to motivate and inspire us,” she added.
On a statewide level, Atkinson served as co-chair for Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas (now Equality Texas) and has worked on numerous legislative issues affecting the LGBT community.
Anne Fay, national co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, called Atkinson “a stellar volunteer for the Human Rights Campaign both locally and nationally.”
She continued, “He is politically astute and understands what are the important issues facing our community and how we move from point A to point B to reach our desired goals.
“Because Steve has been so intimately involved with other local and state GLBT organizations, HRC has benefited and ultimately has delivered more targeted results,” Fay said. “We are all thrilled that Steve is being recognized as the consummate advocate by Black Tie Dinner.”
Atkinson is also co-chair of HRC’s Board of Governors. Before serving as co-chair, he was Lobby Day Task Force co-chair and served on the nominations committee, public policy committee, board of governors executive committee and performance management committee.
Professionally, Atkinson is a realtor at Keller Williams Realty in Dallas. He and his partner of 20 years, local artist Ted Kincaid, were married in California in July 2008.
Black Tie co-chair Ron Guillard said Atkinson’s work “has truly improved life for GLBT individuals in Dallas. His efforts led to the adoption of nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies at Dallas Area Rapid Transit, and the city of Dallas, which benefit all Dallas residents, as well as specific protections for students and faculty of the Dallas Independent School District.”
Guillard added, “Steve was one of the leading organizers to establish nondiscrimination ordinances to provide protections for the GLBT community employed by these public entities. Though this process took years to accomplish, Steve never gave up hope, and succeeded at what many were certain was a lost cause.”
The Kuchling Humanitarian Award has been presented each year since 1983 as part of the Black Tie Dinner event. Black Tie officials said the award is given to “local individuals who have made extraordinary gifts of their time and talents on behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.”
The 2008 recipients were attorney Rebecca Covell and community historian Phillip Johnson.
The 2009 Black Tie Dinner will be held Oct. 3 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel. The theme for this year’s event ia “Courage. Hope. Inspiration.”
Also during the dinner, Judy Shepard will receive the 2009 Elizabeth Birch Award. Shepard is the mother of anti-gay hate murder victim Matthew Shepard.
This year’s event also features a raffle for a Mercedes-Benz 2010 GLK350 SUV, underwritten by Silver Sponsor Park Place Motorcars Bedford and Park Place Motorcars Dallas. For more information about Black Tie Dinner, the car raffle or this year’s event, call 972-733-9200, ext. 1 or go online to www.blacktie.org.
Posted 5/22/2009
Triangle region beat 100,000 new jobs goal, partnership says; more coming?
Posted: Today at 10:59 a.m.
Updated: Today at 12:30 p.m.
Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Having exceeded the goal of adding 100,000 new jobs over five years that was set in 2003, leaders of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership are preparing a new plan through 2014.
Titled “Staying on Top: The Shape of Things to Come,” the RTRP leadership unveiled the plan Thursday morning at its annual regional briefing for business and government leaders.
The region appears to be off to a good start. Despite the global economic recession, Charles Hayes, president and chief executive officer of the RTRP was introduced to the beat of James brown, and he said the recruitment pipeline for new jobs and expansions is brimming with opportunity.
“Why did I choose James Brown’s ‘I Feel Good; this morning? Well, I do feel good, even in economic times like this,” Hayes told the crowd. “Let me tell you why.
“Since April we have added 17 companies to our portfolio of businesses considering relocating or expanding here. Those companies represent $1.7 billion in new investment and nearly 6,500 new jobs for our region. This activity comes on the heels of a record-breaking 2008, when companies announced $1.3 billion in new capital investments and nearly 6,000 new jobs.
“So, even in tough times, I feel good because I believe there is simply no place in the world better positioned for economic recovery than right here – The Research Triangle Region of North Carolina.”
Primary goals of the new plan include:
• “Expanding the region’s world-leading life sciences and technology clusters and selected new, emerging clusters.
• “Enhancing and preserving the superior quality of life and competitive business climate that enables the region to attract the talent and investment that companies need to continue being successful.
• “Engaging regional leaders and partner organizations in ensuring the region’s economic competitiveness.”
According to the RTRP’s latest report, the 13-county region added 110,224 new jobs between 2003 and 2008. Counties included are: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake and Warren.
“These results demonstrate the strength of our diverse, knowledge-based economy and affirm that sound, long-range strategic planning brings measurable benefits to our region through good times and bad,” Hayes said at the event, referring to the original “Staying on Top” plan.
Employment grew in all the counties but Warren, which lost 407 jobs, the partnership reported.
Wake added the most jobs (67,781) followed by Durham (14,258), Johnston (9,214) and Orange (5,663)).
The region did lost some 2,500 manufacturing jobs over the past five years, a decline of 2.9 percent. But Hayes noted that nationwide manufacturing jobs fell by 6.9 percent in the same time period.
“Though we’re a technology region, our manufacturing economy has held up well when viewed in a national context,” Hayes said.
Most job growth occurred in healthcare, he added.
Despite the economic slowdown in 2008, the region did secure $1.3 billion in new investments that could create nearly 6,000 jobs, Hayes added. Those included $362 million from IBM for a new data center and a $300 million expansion by Merck at its Durham facility.
According to the partnership, other investments and jobs included:
• $445 million from informatics companies (1,048 jobs)
• $374 million in life sciences (1,059 jobs)
• $251 million in advanced medical care (587 jobs)
Posted 5/15/09
Update on $8000 Tax Credit Being used for Downpayment on FHA LOANS
HUD issued a mortgagee letter 2009-15 on May 11, 2009 regarding using the $8K tax credit as funds for down payment and closing costs on the purchase of a principal residence for a FHA insured mortgage. The letter was pulled.
HUD has submitted a revision to the OMB today for review. When the OMB signs off HUD will issue a revised mortgagee letter.
What I do know:
- HUD is going to allow this credit to be used as an acceptable source of funds
- the money will be "advanced" in either a second mortgage or short term loan using only the tax credit from the IRS as collateral
- the agencies that can advance are still up in the air
- what FHA will require to document is up in the air
- all the above could be revised :)
- I will keep you posted as I know more. Please remember that when and if HUD issues this letter we will still need to wait on our investors to decide their positions as to the change.
Posted 3/26/09
"San Francisco Housing Market Instantly Hot
In another sign that the US economy is turning the corner, the San Francisco housing market has almost instantly become hot.
Bay Area CBS News 5 reports "there are now signs of a serious real estate rebound in San Francisco." Their news story headline? "Mini-Boom."
"This is not some kind of spin from the real estate brokers. We absolutely have hard numbers to back this up," claims reporter Hank Plante of News 5. "In the last 2 weeks in San Francisco there have been more homes sold than in the previous 6 months."
One 40-year veteran agent claims he has never seen activity like he saw last week. On one home alone he received 42 offers. That house sold for $100,000 over the listing price.
Another house in the same neighborhood had 10 offers on it. It was listed for $525,000 and just sold for $608,000. And Plante reports several more examples of almost instant sales in this resurgent market with none of the examples being foreclosures.
Real estate expert Brendon DeSimone claims that evidently, "buyers have been waiting, they've been saving their money and waiting. The foreclosures have come and driven the prices down. With affordable monthly payments now, buyers are coming back in."
With those low prices, "pent up demand has now been unleashed, even at the high-end," continued Plante. For instance, waterfront real estate developer Alan Mark describes their "amazing run since the beginning of the year. We've had 50 [high-end waterfront condo] sales in 2009 and 30 in the last 30 days."
We'll add this incredible observation to our growing list of strong recovery signs."
Posted 3/23/09
Oklahoma realtors, insurance agents target same-sex couples
State law prevents gay marriage, but doesn’t address sharing property
BY JOHN A. WILLIAMS
Only a few states have passed laws allowing gay marriage or civil unions and giving certain rights to domestic partners or same-sex couples. Oklahoma is not among those states.
Terri Hamby, a Liberty Mutual insurance representative in Edmond, has turned to a Web site aimed at same-sex couples to draw new customers. PHOTO BY DAVID MCDANIEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
But while family law may not apply, domestic partners in Oklahoma have legal rights when it comes to insurance policies and mortgages.
"A coworker in another Liberty Mutual office suggested that I sign up on this Web site as a marketing tool,” said Terri Hamby, an insurance sales representative in Edmond.
Hamby said she has written policies for gay partners in the past who were surprised they could get the same insurance rate as married couples.
Liberty Mutual corporate spokesman Glenn Greenburg said the insurance company recognizes domestic partnerships.
"We provide fair treatment and treat everyone with dignity and respect,” he said.
Oklahoma does not legally require insurance companies to provide coverage for domestic partnerships, said Marc D. Young, assistant insurance commissioner with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. "Nor does it legally prohibit insurance companies from providing coverage either,” he said.
In an effort to attract same-sex homebuyers, Chuck Breckenridge, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Tulsa, has turned to the same Web site as Hamby.
"Anybody can come off the street and buy a house together. They don’t have to be legally married as long as they both qualify,” he said.
Holly Van Auken, a Realtor with the Dillard Group in Norman, also bought space on the same Web site.
Posted 2/15/2009
Foreclosures changing the way Realtors do business
TRI-CENTRY REALTY-Century 21 Inc. says the housing market is beginning to pick up slightly. There are more than 500 homes on the market in Camden County. (Tribune & Georgian photo/Susan Respess)
By Susan Respess
Published: Friday, February 13, 2009 9:49 AM EST
Job losses, underemployment, budgeting problems and a slipping economy have turned the residential real estate market upside down in Camden County, real estate brokers say.
Real estate companies have been training agents to expand their sales skills to include selling short and marketing foreclosed and bank-repossessed houses, something that rarely occurred a year ago.
"So many people are walking away from their homes," said LaVonda Turner, broker for Watson Realty Corp. in Kingsland. "They have been transferred, lost their jobs, or can no longer afford their homes."
Turner estimates that three to four out of 10 houses on the market are foreclosed homes, most of them valued at $200,000 or less.
"What's really sad is that we are having to offer foreclosures," said Carrie Paulk-Gay, sales manager for Century 21-Tri City Realty in St. Marys. "I don't want people to think we are capitalizing on others' misfortunes. We've been here for 30 years and had maybe two to three foreclosures a year. Now, it's most of our listing."
Paulk-Gay said the company is handling about five foreclosure sales a month.
"Probably the major influx of foreclosures began in July or August last year," she said. "We saw it coming, regrouped, and I had all my agents trained."
Agents had been accustomed to selling homes for owners in routine transactions that required 30 days or less for a closing. Now, they're meeting with homeowners who are in mortgage crisis, in arrears on their payments and need to sell a house short - when the outstanding loan on a property is greater than the market value - just to avoid foreclosure.
In a short sale, Turner said, the homeowner is headed to foreclosure, has had the home on the market for several months and can prove hardship and an inability to make mortgage payments. If a short sale is successful, the homeowner avoids foreclosure and salvages his credit, she said. And the lender loses money.
Real estate agents must get the lender's (not the homeowner's) acceptance of an offer and contract on a short sale.
Agents also work with lenders who have repossessed houses, and the negotiation process with lender and lien-holders can take 60 days or more before a buyer can close on one of those listings.
"It takes a lot of patience," Paulk-Gay said. "It takes time to clear titles, clear liens."
And although foreclosure notices are advertised for four weeks prior to an auction on the courthouse steps, Turner said most of the mortgage companies take the property back because bids are not high enough.
"People don't realize it, but we do have a huge responsibility," Turner said. "We do the clean-out on these homes. We may go in and find a house full of stuff the owners did not want to take. They may have trashed the house."
In a lot of foreclosures, she said, real estate agents are expected to spend their own money up front to clear out a house and make repairs and then send invoices to the mortgage company. Sometimes the mortgage companies have failed and the agents were not reimbursed, she said.
"But you can't just quit," Turner said of the real estate business. "You have to keep going. I know that things are going to be better. Traffic from buyers is picking up."
Jim Hancock, president of Hancock Appraisal Service Inc. in Kingsland since 1992, said the county is oversupplied in homes for sale.
"It's a crazy market right now," said Hancock. "It's going to get to the point that foreclosures will start affecting values," he said.
"They say you can't use a foreclosure sale as a comparable sale," Hancock said. "But if a bank sells a house, the value can be used."
Hancock said the county's residential property values dropped about 6 percent over the past year. Home sales dropped from about 1,500 in 2007 to 500 in 2008, he said. And there are 506 listings on the market now, he said.
"You can say we have a year's worth of inventory," he said.
Paulk-Gay said she's suggesting that some owners who can afford it delay putting their homes on the market. "People get angry when foreclosures are in their neighborhoods" because of the effect on property values. But she remains positive.
"I would not have wanted to deal with these foreclosures a year ago," she said. "I feel like a car salesman, telling the bank, 'can you take $40,000 on an $80,000 lot?' But the only way the economy is going to come back is if we absorb these things."
Posted 02/02/09
Equality Advocates names new director
by Jen Colletta
EQUALITY ADVOCATES INCOMING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LYNN ZEITLIN
slideshow After a nearly six-month search, LGBT legal organization Equality Advocates Pennsylvania has chosen its new leader.
The organization announced today that Lynn Zeitlin, a local corporate and real-estate lawyer, will take over as executive director of the organization effective Feb. 9.
Zeitlin, who served on the Equality Advocates board several years ago, currently works in the real-estate department at Ballard, Spahr, Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP.
Equality Advocates’ previous executive director, Stacey Sobel, who took over from founding executive director Andrew Park in 2001, stepped down in August for personal reasons, and interim executive director Pam Leland has headed the group since then.
“The board has a unique opportunity to expand on the success of our two previous executive directors,” said Doug Metcalfe, board spokesperson. “Lynn’s commitment to our mission of direct legal services, policy reform and education, her leadership style, her extensive professional experience and her knowledge of Pennsylvania’s political, donor and advocacy landscape positions the organization not only to continue our work across Pennsylvania on behalf of the LGBT community, but expand it.”
Zeitlin, who is openly gay, graduated from the former Beaver College in 1963 and received her law degree from Villanova University in 1978.
Zeitlin has lent her talents to numerous local organizations, such as the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the Anti-Defamation League, the Head of the Schuylkill Regatta, the Philadelphia Bar Association and Liberty City Democratic Club, and served as a board member at Equality Forum.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Lynn’s caliber and experience,” said EAP board president Virginia Gutierrez. “Lynn brings a wealth of experience, a visionary leadership style and a passion for equal rights. The board is looking forward to partnering with Lynn to move the organization forward.”
Zeitlin said she was initially drawn to Equality Advocates because of its “triple mission of direct legal services, education and policy reform.”
She said her firm does a lot of pro-bono work, which has allowed her to see firsthand the struggles of many city residents, including those in the LGBT community.
“As an attorney, I’m very aware of the need for legal services for people who cannot afford to pay legal fees, and certainly in the LGBT community there are many people who need services and have nowhere to go to hire a lawyer,” she said. “Hopefully they know to call Equality Advocates to get the help that they need.”
Zeitlin noted that education is an integral component in bringing about viable policy reform in Pennsylvania. She said she’s always surprised to learn that many LGBT Pennsylvanians aren’t aware that — excluding a handful of jurisdictions such as Philadelphia — it’s legal to fire someone in the state simply for being gay.
“A lot of times that comes as a complete shock to a lot of people, and they should be aware of the need to correct that by legislation and help Equality Advocates move toward that goal,” she said. “Policy reform has to be a grassroots effort and we need to identify affinity groups who share our mission of establishing full equality under the law for all LGBT people and their families, children and their extended families. This is a great chance to make a huge difference, particularly in light of what we’re seeing on a national level, which is, from my perspective, a very exciting, energized group of people after Proposition 8 passed in California who see the movement toward full equality and full rights for LGBT people as the 21st-century civil-rights movement.”
Zeitlin said that in the coming months, she will work with LGBT community leaders and state legislators to bolster support for a statewide nondiscrimination bill and the re-inclusion of the LGBT community into the state’s hate-crimes law. Zeitlin said she will also strive to fend off efforts to pass an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution banning same-sex marriage.
“The Pennsylvania state legislature has a very strong rightward bend, and it’s very difficult to get legislation passed that helps with any opening-up or liberalization of rights,” Zeitlin said. “However, I think things are changing and I think that’s not an excuse to fail to make the effort to get our views known. I’m a firm believer that people will listen to you if you make a case that is sensible and fair. I think a lot of people in the straight world will be at least accepting of the concept that fairness includes employment rights, includes housing rights, includes education rights for everyone.”
Zeitlin encouraged members of the local LGBT community to contact Equality Advocates if they need assistance and urged those who want to lend their time or services to the mission of Equality Advocates to do so.
“We’re going to try and make a real effort to expand our volunteer base and our donor base, so we need all the help we can get across the state of Pennsylvania to accomplish our goals.”
Posted 01/27/09
Why Real Estate Brokerage Remains a Strong Industry
by jphilipre
The chatter has has been for years that the rise of the Internet would have real estate agents suffer the same plight as that of travel agents and stock brokers and be passed over in favor of discount, do it yourself websites. If people can find a home on the Internet, the reasoning was, why would they need an agent? Certainly, non-traditional brokerage, for sale by owner websites and discount models have become prominent, but they have not supplanted brokers. In an efficient market, if the efficacy of those models were so strong, one would expect brokerage to suffer a mortal wound.
And yet real estate brokerage has not declined. One can even make a case that brokers themselves have harnessed the net enthusiastically, with blogs and personal websites with home search functions. With apologies to Mikey and Life Cereal, they like it. How can this be? I’ll offer my observations here.
You can’t click on a house and buy it. You have to see it, walk through it, smell it, and sit in it. And few do that without a licensee present.
Few do that without a licensee present because most buyers don’t want the seller around when they look.
Even when the seller is present, most of the time they are deplorable salespeople. I have an interest in a non-traditional company. Believe me, commission “savings” is more than counterbalanced by ineptitude, lack of objectivity, and absence of professional advice. Many a seller has lost tens of thousands in sales price in order to save a few thousand in fees. Penny wise, pound foolish.
A trip or a security can be purchased online in 5 minutes. Real estate takes weeks and sometimes months.
Travel and securities don’t require an appraisal, title search, certificates of occupancy or engineer inspections.
Travel and securities are cash transactions that can be done with a click; real estate is seldom a cash transaction and even when it is, it requires far more due diligence. See prior bullet point.
At the risk of sounding Darwinist, overall real estate professionals are a tough and resourceful sort. This is a hard business. Brokers and agents the world over embraced the new technology and made it an advantage. They adapted, survived, and many thrive, even in this down market.
In the same vein, good agents sell more property than mediocre agents. Good agents won’t take a pay cut to work for a discounter. Better agents work where they’ll earn more.
Brokerage is more than bird-dogging for a house. Who saw the house first is immaterial, and handling the shifting landscape of the transaction requires representation. People know that a few percentage points is a bargain for what they get in return, anecdotal horror stories aside.
Interestingly, some of the non-traditional enterprises such as Foxton’s and Iggy’s House that endeavored to harness the net and gain market share via discounting failed spectacularly. The market is efficient; these concerns should have thrived if the models were viable. They weren’t. If the Internet were going to kill our business, it would have years ago. Until people can buy real estate for $500 immediately without seeing it, consumers will need our services. And that is a good thing.
Posted 01/06/09
Picking the next "hot" neighborhood
By Margaret Jackson
The Denver Post
Posted: 01/06/2009 12:30:00 AM MST
Updated: 01/06/2009 01:30:06 AM MST
Jeremy Martin carries suitcases into his home on West Second Avenue in Denver's Baker neighborhood Monday. (Photos by Karl Gehring, The Denver Post )The signs of a hot neighborhood are clear. Trendy new restaurants, salons and eclectic shops start cropping up.
But identifying an up-and-coming area before the masses arrive takes foresight and a little luck.
Broker Paul Tamburello of Distinctive Properties has spent years working in the Lower Highland neighborhood east of Federal Boulevard between downtown and the West Highland area near 32nd Avenue and Lowell Boulevard. He subscribes to what is known as the "barbell theory."
"You want to look at the area between two ends of a barbell," he said. "West Highland had already gentrified and was doing well, and Riverfront was about to explode onto the scene."
He also suggests looking at where artists and the gay population are concentrating: "They tend to take more risks and are willing to go into neighborhoods that are emerging."
Lon Welsh, managing broker of Your Castle Real Estate, analyzes Metrolist data to determine the status of a neighborhood. He said a good leading indicator is the number of distressed properties in a neighborhood.
If a neighborhood is still grappling with a high number of bank-owned properties, values are pushed down and owner-occupants take their houses off the market.
"Eventually, it reaches a peak, and the prices bottom out," Welsh said. "Then the owner-occupants start to sell. They all start putting their houses on the market in good condition, and the prices bounce back relatively rapidly."
That may be the time to buy, but the theory is not foolproof.
"Trying to predict it is like catching a falling knife," Welsh said. "Not every neighborhood will hit bottom at the same time."
Jack O'Connor of Prestige Real Estate looks at the inventory of a neighborhood — the number of homes for sale — to determine whether it's on the way up or down.
"If the inventory is low in a particular area, that's the place to buy because the likelihood of prices going up is substantial," he said.
Only licensed real-estate agents have access to multiple-listing-service statistics, so how can the rest of us make an educated guess?
"I look for innovative new projects and renovations of existing properties," said Dee Chi rafisi, an agent at Kentwood City Properties. "I have joked in the past and said if you see a lot of construction Dumpsters and Porta-Johns, you know you are in the next hot area."
Gretchen Faber, broker manager of the Kentwood Co. in Cherry Creek, said walkability is critical.
"Look for neighborhoods that are close to other really great places with amenities and have some room for properties to be improved," she said. "Baker is a neighborhood that I love, and it's always been sort of a hidden gem. Jefferson Park is going to be a great neighborhood with the proximity to downtown and the Highlands."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What to look for
How to find Denver's real estate boom areas, according to local agents:
Barbell theory: Look between two hot neighborhoods, Paul Tamburello says.
Distressed property: Owner-occupied houses hit the market at the bottom, and Lon Welsh says that pushes prices back up.
Follow the risk-takers: Tamburello says the art and gay communities tend to be the first into a burgeoning area.
Or the portable toilets: Dee Chirafisi looks for renovation projects as an indicator. Gretchen Faber says areas nearby get caught in the upswing.
Posted 12/23/2008
FOR FIRST TIME, PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURAL COMMITTEE INVITES LGBT GROUP TO PERFORM IN 56TH INAUGURAL PARADE
OIA Newswire
Talent From Across America To March In Parade From Capitol To White House
WASHINGTON - Today, in keeping with its commitment to hold inaugural events that celebrate our common values and reflects the diversity and history of our great nation, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden's Inaugural Committee officially extended an offer to the Lesbian and Gay Band Association to march in the 56th Inaugural Parade. Members of that group will join representatives from across the country and our Armed Forces in the historic parade down Pennsylvania Avenue following President-elect Obama's swearing-in ceremony on the steps of the Capitol.
This marks the first time that an openly LGBT group has been invited to participate in an Inaugural Parade.
"I am honored to invite these talented groups and individuals to participate in the Inaugural Parade," said President-elect Obama. "These organizations embody the best of our nation's history, diversity and commitment to service. Vice President-elect Biden and I are proud to have them join us in the parade."
Organizations wishing to participate in the parade submitted an application to the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC), which then assisted the Presidential Inaugural Committee in reviewing all of the groups' applications. All told, 1,382 organizations applied to participate, setting a new standard for interest in marching in the parade.
The Lesbian and Gay Band Association is a musical organization comprised of concert and marching bands from cities across America that provides a network of lesbian and gay bands.
The Presidential Inaugural Committee was assisted in its selection process by a group of experienced military musicians, who utilized their expertise to help assess the presentation skills of marching bands, musical acts and drill teams.
All participants in the Inaugural Parade are responsible for paying for their own lodging and transportation to and from Washington, D.C. The Committee has been working closely with area governments and civic organizations to facilitate access to affordable accommodations and would like to encourage citizens from across the country to reach out and help the Lesbian and Gay Band Association raise the necessary resources to participate in this historic event.
If you are interested in finding out more about supporting the Lesbian and Gay Band Association and their participation in the 56th Inaugural Parade, please visit www.gaybands.org. [12/10/08]
Posted 12/23/2008
The first safe haven for GLBT middle schoolers is set to open in Milwaukee.
A Dec. 17 article posted at the Web site of U.S. News and World Report said that the new school was approved by the Milwaukee Board of Education, and follows the establishment, four years ago, of the Alliance School, a Milwaukee high school that, like New York City’s Harvey Milk School, is intended as a safe educational environment for GLBT students.
Like the Harvey Milk and Alliance high schools, the new middle school will also be open to straight students.
The article said that approval for the new, GLBT-safe middle school was unanimous, albeit via procedure rather than by vote: the issue was not advanced to a vote or tabled for further study, and so passed.
The school is expected to open next year; applicants are able to sign up right away.
The move follows the failure, last fall, of a similar proposal for GLBT high school students in Chicago. That plan, the article said, did not even make it to the school board, due to community opposition to a gay-safe school.
The Chicago chief of schools, Arne Duncan, favored such a school, a point that conservatives recalled upon Duncan recently being named as President-Elect Obama’s pick for Secretary of Education.
Harvey Milk High School also attracted controversy, the article said, with demonstrators protesting the school’s opening in 2003.
But the Alliance school in Milwaukee excited little controversy, and the new middle school is expected to follow suit.
Milwaukee Public Schools director of school innovation Marty Lexmond was cited in the article as saying that a GLBT-safe middle school is warranted because gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth are asserting their identities earlier now than in the past.
Such students are often targeted for harassment by their peers, and even by teachers and other school staff. According to GLBT student advocacy organization GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network), more than one-fifth of GLBT students experience physical attacks while at school; more than 86 percent endure name-calling and other verbal abuse.
According to the GLSEN Web site a significant fraction of GLBT students drop out because they are too afraid to continue attending school.
Straight students who are perceived to be gay or lesbian are also targeted for abuse.
In several states where anti-bullying legislation has been proposed, such laws have been attacked by religious and social conservatives as providing "special rights" to gay youth, or as promoting a so-called "gay lifestyle."
Lexmond cited the Alliance high school as an invaluable resource for GLBT students, suggesting that without a gay-safe environment in which to learn, many of those young people would have left school altogether.
Posted 12/18/2008
Phoenix to allow hospital visitation by domestic partners
by Scott Wong -
The Arizona Republic
Phoenix has become the second city in Arizona to grant hospital-visitation rights to unmarried gay or straight couples who live together.
The City Council on Wednesday unanimously voted to create a domestic-partner registry, following in the footsteps of Tucson, which launched a similar program in 2003.
The registry guarantees only that domestic partners have the right to visit each other in Phoenix hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers and other health-care facilities.
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Beginning Feb. 9, each qualified couple that pays a $50 administrative fee will receive a domestic-partner certificate.
Backers argued that the registry was necessary because domestic partners often are prevented from seeing their loved one over disputes with the patient's family.
Larissa Nelson Roberts told the council that such a registry would have made it easier for her partner, Shelli, to visit her in a Phoenix hospital a decade ago after an unexpected surgery to remove a cancerous growth in her breast.
The 6-0 vote was praised by members of the Valley's gay community, which was dealt a fierce blow by the passage of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in the November election. Arizona voters approved Proposition 102, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman.
"It's a nice way to still be able to move forward and promote public policy that really will strengthen all families, including gay and lesbian families," said Sam Holdren, spokesman for gay-rights group Equality Arizona, which had several dozen members in attendance at Wednesday's meeting.
Only one person publicly spoke in opposition to the registry.
Austin Nimocks of the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian group in Scottsdale that advocates for traditional family values, said the registry was unnecessary and called scenarios where domestic partners are barred from seeing their loved ones "a non-existent circumstance."
Nimocks pointed out that unmarried couples already can meet with a lawyer to execute a power of attorney or health-care directive, which also give domestic partners the authority to visit one another in the hospital or make medical decisions.
But Roberts, who was just 27 when she had her surgery, said few people have considered what would happen if they were faced with a medical emergency. And even fewer can afford the legal fees associated with drafting medical documents.
"Most people don't think about or have the money to draw up the contracts," Roberts said after the vote.
Councilmembers Maria Baier, Peggy Neely and Thelda Williams were absent for the vote.
But those present said ensuring that domestic partners can visit one other during end-of-life and other serious medical situations amounted to a basic human right.
"During a medical emergency, there is a state of chaos that happens, and partners aren't able to see their loved ones," Councilman Michael Nowakowski said. "This piece of paper will allow them to do that."
For information, call the Phoenix Equal Opportunity Department at 602-261-8242.
Posted 12/12/2008
Gays part of Alameda
holiday home tour NEWS
by Seth Hemmelgarn
Phil McPherson and David Gaskin stand in front of their Christmas tree with one of four of their cats, Maude, at their home in Alameda. Photo: Lydia Gonzales
As David Gaskin shows you around outside his house at the end of a quiet Alameda cul-de-sac, there isn't much of a hint at what's behind the brown fence and lattice, adorned with trumpet vine, that hide the home he shares with Phil McPherson, his husband.
But when he opens the front door, it's clear what makes the house special.
"This is why we bought this place – that view," Gaskin said, indicating the lagoon flowing behind their house. A visitor takes in the view through sliding glass doors that open onto a back yard filled with trees and plants.
Inside the room, which features African tribal masks and animal skulls, there's also a Christmas tree decorated with 130 mucecas – small blue, purple, and green paper mache dolls from San Miguel de Allende, the Mexican town where the couple lived and ran a guesthouse complex for four years.
The house, built in 1965, is one of the five homes featured on the 38th annual Alameda Holiday Home Tour on Friday, December 12, and Saturday, December 13.
The island city in the East Bay has a population of about 70,000.
The tour benefits Alameda Family Services, which assists individuals and families through counseling, Head Start, high school health centers, and the only teen homeless shelter in Alameda County. The event raised about $40,000 last year.
On December 12, there will be a candlelight preview from 6 to 11 p.m. that includes the tour, a light supper, and dancing. Tickets are $75.
The December 13 tour, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., includes a holiday tea, and a Christmas artisan boutique and a gourmet gift shop will be open to the public. Tickets are $30.
Winkie Campbell-Notar, the home tour's publicity chair, called the couple's house "amazing."
"It's the first time we've had a more modern house on the tour," Campbell-Notar said. After all the work they've done, "it's going to really inspire a lot of people to see just how nice they've made it."
Gaskin, 67, and McPherson, 80, who had a contemporary furniture store called Work Wonders at 471 Castro Street from 1977 to 1982, met in Chicago in 1974 when they were both working for San Francisco-based Winfield Design Associates.
They were married in March 2004, just hours before the state Supreme Court stopped the marriages that Mayor Gavin Newsom had started allowing in February. The couple did not wed this year when same-sex marriage was legal before the passage of Prop 8.
The couple bought the house on Tarryton Isle in August 2007 for $863,000. They were living in San Francisco and had looked for a place in the East Bay for more than two years, but they'd never given much thought to living in the city of Alameda. Once they saw the house, though, they knew they had found the right place.
Still, some changes needed to be made. The kitchen and dining room were too small for their style of entertaining, and there was a large white brick fireplace separating the living room and dining room.
McPherson redesigned the home, the couple hired an architect to draw up the plans, and they hired a contractor who worked with them for about five months.
They added a new kitchen and pantry and tore down the fireplace, allowing them to open up the dining and living rooms into one large space that's 18 feet wide and 33 feet long, divided only by an entertainment center that's about three feet high.
They also converted the family room of the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house into a library. McPherson uses one of the bedrooms as a studio for his artwork. They did some of the work, such as installing the living room flooring and the kitchen cabinets, themselves.
The couple have named their home Casa de los Gatos (Home of the Cats), in honor of their three large tabbies – Max, Maude, and Benni – and one "runt" of undetermined breed – Louisa – who spent a recent afternoon lazily circling through the house via the patio doors, occasionally taking a break on a chair or under the Christmas tree.
The couple learned of the home tour when, about six months ago, a real estate agent came by to see what kind of progress they were making, and Gaskin said when she saw it, she remarked that the tour usually features homes such as grand Victorians, but rarely mid-century tract houses such as theirs, and she said she thought people would enjoy seeing what they had done.
Gaskin and McPherson are one of two gay couples with homes on the tour. The other couple was not available for comment.
For more information on the tour, visit alamedaholidayhometour.info, or call (510) 629-6208.
Posted 11/25/2008
Happily ever after? Amendment 2 stokes debate
Jennifer Rich
The Florida Marriage Amendment is hitting close to home for some and Destin is not divorced from the issue of defining what marriage is or should be.
Amendment 2 on the Florida ballot states that, “This amendment protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife and provides that no other legal union that is treated as marriage or the substantial equivalent thereof shall be valid or recognized.”
Local pastors have been voicing their opinions on the Amendment and extending their ideals to others in the community.
“Yes, I am encouraging my people to vote in favor of the Amendment,” Pastor Paul Kummer at Grace Lutheran Church in Destin told The Log. “We put an insert in the bulletin about voting YES!”
Pastor Steve and Jackie Vaggalis at Destiny Worship Center also inserted fliers into their worship guides Sunday urging members of the congregation to vote “Yes” on Amendment 2.
On the other side of the issue, opponents say the lines between church and state are becoming too blurry.
Local Realtor, Kelly Klein of Red Hot Realty, who has found her niche market among gay men, lesbian, bisexual and transgender clients, says that the issue is receiving too much government attention.
“I am against the Amendment,” said Klein, who advertises herself as a lesbian real estate agent. “Everyone should be treated fairly and equally.”
Klein’s take on marriage is that it is “a church decision to combine a man and a woman.” The Santa Rosa Beach resident feels that gay individuals should be entitled to the same privileges in their relationships as heterosexual couples.
“It is not about banning gay marriages, it is about sustaining and protecting what God has made marriage. The amendment does not take any existing right or benefits away from anyone in domestic partnerships in Florida. We feel very strongly about it,” Kummer said.
It will take a 60 percent majority vote to change what the Florida constitution allows at the altar.
“I don’t think it needs to be a defined in government,” Klein said.
Posted 9/30/2008 - Gay Realtor Information
Gay couple: "We're being harassed"
Posted by Janie Porter
Spring Hill, Florida ? There aren't many openly same-sex couples in Spring Hill.
But Perry Hogg and Jesse Worf, a gay couple who have been together for more than two decades, say they've never had a problem.
That is, until they moved to their current home on Masada Lane.
For the last two years, they say they've been embroiled in a red-hot feud with the neighbors who live behind them.
Hogg says it began on Christmas Eve of 2006, when their neighbor confronted him to say he was disturbed because he'd seen the two men naked in their bedroom.
"He said, 'We don't approve of your lifestyle. We don't agree with it. And put drapes up on your house,'" Hogg recalled.
Tampa Bay's 10 contacted the neighbor, who said that he was, indeed, very disturbed to see the couple in their bedroom. He denies telling the couple that he disagreed with their lifestyle.
Hogg says another disagreement had to do with the sprinklers. He recalls hearing the sprinklers on in the backyard. He says he peeked outside to make sure they weren't his, since someone in the neighborhood had been calling on anyone who used sprinklers outside of approved hours.
Again, Hogg said the neighbor lashed out.
"He said, 'That's right I'm watering my [expletive] yard, and there's not a [expletive] thing you can do about it, you faggot,'" Hogg recalled. "I was so stunned."
The neighbor denies ever using those words.
Since then, Hogg and Worf believe their neighbors have been targeting them by filing multiple complaints with code enforcement and the homeowners association.
Since moving in, the couple has spent more than $100,000 in renovations and decorating.
Brand-new hardwood floors were put in, a new roof was put on and a new backyard lanai was erected. The couple even flew in an interior decorator to pick out their pricey antique furniture.The 4,000 square foot home is dripping in ornate décor.
Though the couple admits to having some minor code enforcement violations outside (such as a hedge that's 12 inches taller than the HOA allows), they believe their neighbors are using the system to harass them.
"The problem is there are still vestiges of discrimination of people based on their sexual orientation," said Becky Steele of the Tampa Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "And it's hard for those to die out. You can't really change how people think about each other, but hopefully you can change how people act towards each other."
Steele said the case could be tough to prove in a court of law, but she suggested Hogg and Worf contact a lawyer if the situation worsens.
"Everyone is entitled to the quiet enjoyment of their property," Steele explained. "If a neighbor interferes to the point that they're becoming what the law considers a 'nuisance,' then they can go to court."
For now, Hogg and Worf are not going to court. Instead, they're going to their realtor's office. Their house is up for sale, and they're hoping to get out of the neighborhood.
"We would just like to be left alone," Worf said.
Janie Porter, Tampa Bay's 10 News
Posted 9/30/2008
What's at Stake in Rochester
By: PAUL SCHINDLER
From GayCityNews
Democrat Rick Dollinger hopes to return to the State Senate by defeating incumbent Republican Joe Robach.
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
A State Senate race in the Rochester area that pits a Republican incumbent against a challenger who is himself a former state senator is shaping up to be one of the hardest fought in a campaign year when Democrats finally hope to gain control of the Legislature's upper chamber after more than 40 years in the minority.
The Democrats need to pick up just two seats in the 62-member Senate to take the majority, and in Rick Dollinger, who served in the Senate from 1992-2002 and earlier held posts in Monroe County and his home community of Brighton, the party sees a strong shot at a pick-up.
In past election cycles, the Empire State Pride Agenda, the state's LGBT rights lobby, has worked hard to demonstrate bipartisan bona fides, throwing support to both Republicans and Democrats when their votes could be counted on in the Legislature. Having concluded that continued GOP control of the Senate blocks for the foreseeable future enactment of two key pieces of legislation already approved by the Democratic Assembly and supported by Governor David A. Paterson - a marriage equality law and the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) protecting transgendered New Yorkers - ESPA has abruptly abandoned that tradition and is actively working to help flip the Senate.
Dollinger was the first endorsement the Pride Agenda made since the September 9 primary.
"Rick Dollinger is not only going to vote for our issues in Albany, but he is also going to be a strong voice within the Democratic caucus in the Senate for those issues," explained Alan Van Capelle, ESPA's executive director. "I have 100 percent confidence in that."
Indeed, in March, when Dollinger had only recently entered the race, he took pains to explain to Gay City News that his support for marriage equality was not only a political choice, but as well one tied to a traditional upbringing not always associated with gay rights advocacy.
"I come from a big Catholic family and I think the concept of couples who are committed to each other being able to have that commitment recognized is an important one," he said. "How can anybody be against more families, more stable relationships, more stable family households? It's both the logical thing to do and the right thing to do."
Dollinger's posture on key legislative concerns of the LGBT community could not stand in sharper contrast to that of the Republican incumbent, Joe Robach. An opponent of both marriage equality and GENDA, Robach, in 2002, his final year in the State Assembly, was one of only 27 of the 150 members who voted against the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, the state gay rights law, just as it finally crossed the Albany finish line.
Despite that voting record, however, Robach has managed to keep his face and his name in front of LGBT voters in the district. He's attended ESPA dinners in Rochester and events at local gay community social service organizations. Part of his visibility is based on a calling card his membership in the Senate majority affords him - substantial member item funds to dole out each year to organizations in his district. Robach has been diligent about making sure that some of those dollars end up in organizations serving the LGBT community.
Sue Cowell and Tom Ferrarese, both top board members at the Gay Alliance of Genesee Valley, and Mark Siwiec, a leading local realtor whose life partner is Duffy Palmer (who works in the Paterson administration and, like Cowell, is a former ESPA board co-chair) all mentioned the incumbent's steering of as much as $25,000 a year to an LGBT youth services program in Rochester. Ferrarese explained that the youth program is regarded as a national model for efforts of its kind and would likely be able to replace the resources Robach provides if they were unavailable from him.
Still, in a program running on a budget of about $300,000, a contribution of $25,000 is something that will get an elected official noticed - and likely appreciated. Cowell, Ferrarese, and Siwiec all acknowledged the funds have bought Robach considerable goodwill.
"A lot of non-political people did not understand that he was not voting with us," Ferrarese said.
Cowell, Ferrarese, and Siwiec, strong supporters of Dollinger, are working to sharpen the contrast between Robach's image and his politics, Siwiec most aggressively, saying, "We're not interested in being bribed with $25,000."
This may be a year in which the political arguments are easier to make; with the high visibility of the drive for marriage equality in New York, many LGBT voters understand the importance of who controls the Senate. Cowell and Ferrarese said that even many in the community who were earlier cool to making marriage a top gay goal recognize that it has now become a basic question of equal rights, whatever one's personal feelings about the institution.
And, added Cowell, it doesn't hurt a bit that Patricia Martinez - whose suit to have her wife, whom she married in Canada, covered by her community college employer's benefits program led to a statewide precedent that out-of-state gay marriages must be recognized and to Governor Paterson's dramatic May directive that all state agencies fall in line with that court order - lives in Rochester.
"We saw more marriage support as the Martinez case became more prominent," said Cowell, who also credited ESPA's Marriage Ambassador program with providing new opportunities for locals to get involved in gay politics.
There are signs Dollinger is rallying the LGBT community to his side. Siwiec helped organize an LGBT fundraiser for Dollinger last week that drew about 85 people paying $100 a head. Campaign spokesman Sean Hart said that gay and lesbian volunteers are a visible part of a ground team that now numbers more than 100.
Meanwhile, New York's Log Cabin Republicans, who at a Manhattan fundraiser last week emphasized that their support for legislative candidates would be targeted and selective this year, did not respond to a call seeking comment on the race.
The arguments that LGBT leaders are making in favor of Dollinger mirror those made more generally on the Democrat's behalf - that Joe Robach is not the man you may think he is. Dollinger's campaign ads have explicitly tied his opponent to the GOP, which has a roughly 30,000 voter deficit in terms of party registrations. Robach's conservatism on gay rights initiatives is matched by his staunch opposition to a woman's right to choose and stem cell research and his advocacy for gun owners' rights.
"Robach's completely out of synch with the majority of voters in his district," said Senator Eric Schneiderman, an Upper West Side Democrat, who noted that about a third of the district is made up of people of color. "Once they realize how conservative he is, he can't win."
Van Capelle has reduced the point to a pithier sound bite: "There's a Rochester Joe and an Albany Joe."
This is precisely the sort of distinction Democrats will likely have to drive home if Dollinger is to win. A Siena College poll released September 24 found Robach up by 11 points, 49-38 percent, with 13 percent undecided.
Dollinger's supporters pointed to some positives in the poll. Schneiderman noted that for an incumbent to fall below 50 percent this late in the campaign often spells trouble, especially one who grabbed 70 percent of the vote last time out.
In the same poll, Obama was crushing McCain 59-33, showing the basic Democratic strength in the district. A strong African-American turnout for the Democratic presidential nominee would increase the Democratic yield considerably over 2006.
Dollinger is also likely to be boosted by an expected campaign stop by Paterson, who is reported to be making this race an exception to his general disinclination to travel into incumbent senators' districts to campaign against them.
One wild card in the race is the support Dollinger enjoys from Responsible New York, a political action committee that billionaire gadfly Tom Golisano has funded to the tune of $5 million to unseat incumbents of both parties who have incurred his wrath.
In a primary contest involving a Buffalo-area Assembly Democrat, Golisano's team showed just how tough they are willing to play, raking Sam Hoyt over the coals - and giving him the political scare of his life - with allegations that a woman Hoyt admitted having an affair with five years ago was a legislative intern at the time. At this stage in the campaign, it's not known how hard that same crew is willing to come at Robach.
Robach's campaign did not respond to a call seeking comment for this story.
Posted 8/13/2008
North Carolina State University in Raleigh has a permanent on campus GLBT Student and Faculty Center. This Center was formed in the Fall of 2007and had it's grand opening January 2008, but does not seem to be broadly known about nor broadly supported throughout the total Raleigh / Wake County Community.
"With the creation of this center and dedicated staff, NC State has achieved a huge milestone in addressing the needs of the GLBT community" said Justine Hollingshead, director of The GLBT Center at NCSU.
"We want the center to be educational for the entire campus community, not just one segment of the population," says Dr. Jose Picart, NC State's vice provost for diversity and African-American affairs. "Diversity by nature is not necessarily harmonious, so we need to make diversity - and this center - part of the fabric of the university. It must be welcoming not only to the GLBT community, but to everyone. “We hope the center's activities and outreach will tell people that this is a good environment for all students."
We are located in Talley Student Center. The main functions of the Center are to:
Provide a safe and welcoming space for the GLBTQI and ally communities.
Serve as a resource center.
Educate the GLBTQI and larger university communities.
Represent the GLBTQI community and serve as its advocate.
Promote ally development through Project SAFE and other programs.
Great things are happening at NC State! Please bookmark this website, http://www.ncsu.edu/student_affairs/glbt/ , as a resource for information.
Justine Hollingshead, director
The GLBT Center at NCSU
1202B/C Talley Student Center
NC State University
Raleigh, NC 27695
919.513.9742 main line
919.513.3144 fax line
GLBTcenter@ncsu.edu
Reminder, the NCSU students and other Raleigh / Wake County University and College Students will be soon arriving back to Raleigh. As a TOTAL RALEIGH GLBT COMMUNITY, we should be welcoming these younger people to Raleigh and maybe organizing some broad 2008 community activities to introduce them to the resources and people that can assist them while they are continuing their life journey and education here.
Posted 8/11/2008
Gay-friendly, not gay-centric
by Justin Schmid -
Special for the Republic
When Dan and Ouida Lewis opened Sassy Glasses eight years ago, they didn't set their sights on Phoenix's gay community. But the store quickly established a loyal gay and lesbian following that continues to make a huge impact on their bottom line.
Sassy Glasses isn't alone in looking to attract a hefty slice of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, which spends more than $600 billion nationwide and has a median household income of $94,000, according to studies by Simmons Market Research.
In Arizona, the 2000 U.S. census, the most recent for which this information is available, found 12,332 same-sex couples, the 15th-highest in the U.S.
Local retail stores, restaurants and even real-estate agents are finding success appealing to the community at large while ensuring that the gay population feels at home.
Dan Lewis estimates that the gay community constitutes 30 to 50 percent of Sassy Glasses' clientele, based on customer responses to how they heard about the boutique. But this wasn't by design.
The Lewises made a concerted effort to market to the gay community only after Sassy Glasses opened its doors and the couple took careful note of their customers. Since then, their clientele has been a key factor in many decisions.
When the Lewises moved their store, they worked with the owners of Haus Modern Living to make an appealing new space that borders on stark.
Lewis believes the open, airy design gives Sassy Glasses a modern, trendy touch that appeals to his clients.
Sassy Glasses also runs advertisement in publications serving the gay community. The boutique brands itself through risque ads that Lewis said wouldn't fly in mainstream publications.
"The ads I'd run in Echo (a magazine targeting metro Phoenix's gay community) aren't what we'd want in The Arizona Republic," he said.
Scott Jeffrey, chairman of the Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, agreed that advertising in gay-focused publications is an effective method.
"Across the board, the gay community has said, 'I'm heavily influenced by ads in publications geared toward me,' " he said.
Still, there's a dearth of information about the local gay population.
The chamber is addressing that gap by conducting a survey to learn more about its member businesses and the community as a whole.
Jeffrey hopes the results will help chamber members become more prosperous and enhance the chamber's reputation as a resource for better understanding the business side of the gay community.
The survey includes demographic and psychographic questions that will assess spending habits, values, reading habits and interests.
Realtors Veronica Bruton and Jenni Westphal don't need survey results to convince them of the value of advertising in gay-themed publications.
Bruton estimates that 95 percent of her business comes from the gay community, and targeted advertising is a big part of the reason.
"That would be where most of our marketing dollars go," she said.
Restaurateur Mark Howard, though, relegates advertising to the back of his playbook.
The majority owner of Fez On Central knows that his restaurant is a hit with the gay population, but he considers that more a reflection of his "urban" approach: a diverse staff, sleek design, quality food and being available at the hours his customers demand.
He even made Fez dog-friendly, offering a patio section complete with water bowls and dog treats.
Howard said young professionals of all orientations are eager to "have something to call their own."
Fez is riding that wave, and he sees local businesses as a way for Phoenix residents to build the sense of community that pervades older, more-established cities.
Part of that community feel involves getting people to mingle and making people of all orientations feel welcome.
"Urban restaurants are not just about your experience," Howard said. "You engage with other people. Customers create the fun."
Posted 8/07/2008
We are family
Joining Hearts returns to the Civic Center for its 21st year
By ROB BECK
MORE INFO:
Joining Hearts 21
July 26, 4 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Atlanta Civic Center, 395 Piedmont Ave.
678-318-1446, www.joininghearts.org
Official Joining Hearts After Party
July 26, 10 p.m.
WETbar, 960 Spring St.
404-745-9494, www.wetbaratlanta.com
Joining Hearts-Benefiting Party
July 26, 10 p.m.
Heretic, 2069 Cheshire Bridge Road
404-325-3061, www.hereticatlanta.com
C2 Production’s Joining Hearts-Benefiting Tea Dance
July 27, 6 p.m.
Opera, 1150-B Peachtree St.
www.c2productions.biz
JOINING HEARTS won’t be at the Piedmont Park pool this year as it was in 2006 and 2007, but event Chair Kerry Loftis expects the annual fundraiser’s famous atmosphere of fun to prevail as it returns to the Atlanta Civic Center on July 26.
“I think it’ll still be the same spirit,” says Loftis, an Atlanta realtor who first came on board with the fundraiser as a volunteer bartender in 2001.
“It’s like a big family reunion, and it’s one of the highlights of everyone’s summer,” he says.
This year, the Joining Hearts board welcomes Los Angeles DJ Roland Belmares to man the turntables at the annual throwdown, which benefits AID Atlanta’s housing program and Jerusalem House. Loftis says that some partiers may miss the pool, but there are certain benefits to hosting the party at the Civic Center.
“It does allow us to have more attendees,” Loftis says. “Last year, we were right at our max attendance level with right around 1,700 people at the pool. The Civic Center gives us the ability to have more attendees this year than normal.”
The more the merrier is certainly true when it comes to both the crowds at the party and meeting the group's fundraising goals, both of which Loftis hopes will break records this year.
“Last year, we raised $82,500, which brings us to, in our 20-year history, a total of $866,500,” Loftis says. “This year, we would really like to hit the $1 million mark for our historical donations. With the state of the economy the way it is right now, we’re not sure if that will happen or not, but we would at least like to be able to donate $100,000 this year.”
So far, Joining Hearts is ahead of schedule on both ticket sales and contributions already in the coffers, he adds.
THAT’S MUSIC TO THE EARS of Tracy Elliott, executive director of AID Atlanta. The organization’s housing program has been a recipient of Joining Hearts proceeds since the event's inception, and Elliott’s grateful for the important role it plays in AID Atlanta’s work.
“It’s very focused on one specific need among the many needs created by HIV and AIDS: preventing homelessness among AIDS-affected people and families,” Elliott says. “This is a huge unmet need.”
And Loftis and the rest of the board are dedicated to continuing meeting that need.
“One hundred percent of our ticket sales and our donations from the bar goes strictly to our beneficiaries,” he says.
For his part, DJ Belmares is grateful for the role he’s able to play in providing housing assistance to Atlantans in need.
“It’s always nice to play for a charity,” he says. “Number one, I think it’s only right to give something back in some small way to a community that has supported me all this time. And number two, when you know that the organization you are doing it for in turn does so much good for the local community, how can you not want to be a part of it?”
THIS YEAR’S PLAN is to take Joining Hearts above and beyond its past incarnations by creating more awareness of the event through promotional pre-events, which have taken place in recent weeks at venues including WETbar, Blake’s and the Heretic. Loftis says this is the result of some new blood within the planning committee.
“Probably 60 percent of our board is all new members, and we had all come to the consensus that we really need to push the event in order to take it to the next level,” he says. “Last year was our biggest as far as donations, we had $10,000 just as tips from the bar, and we had a record number of attendance.
"After last year, we just saw that this thing is really starting to grow and get bigger and bigger, and we need to restructure things and try to continue that growth.”
In addition to the promotional events and the main party itself, there are a few peripheral events centered on Joining Hearts weekend, including WETbar’s official after party with DJ Bryan Pfeiffer. In addition, the Heretic will donate a portion of the door proceeds from its July 26 evening with John Miller to Joining Hearts, and C2 Production’s Chris Coleman presents a Joining Hearts-benefiting tea dance on July 27 at Opera.
The C2 party is also the Atlanta stop of the 2008 Global Groove Tour, and features local DJ David Knapp at the tables.
“It just kind of came together, and everybody’s really excited about doing both events under one roof,” Coleman says.
PART OF JOINING Heart’s appeal is that attendees can get down with out-of-towners without having to leave Atlanta. Loftis hopes to play up that aspect even more this year with a national advertising campaign. He says Atlanta Pride’s relocation this year and the recent closing of a number of the city’s gay nightlife venues seems to have decreased party traffic coming into the city.
“One reason we did that is to try to bring some out-of-town dollars back to Atlanta,” he says. “We just tried to promote nationally, to give a lot of the people that used to come to Atlanta to hang out during the summer a reason to come back and enjoy our community.”
There are so many factors that contribute to Joining Hearts’ ongoing success, but Loftis says the key to its long life is the fact that at its heart, Joining Hearts is an organization people just want to be part of.
“It’s a very fun volunteer organization,” he says. “I think that’s what helped sustain us all these years, that once people get involved with it, they enjoy it and continue coming back every year.”
Posted 7/19/2008
ABC honored for first same-sex union
Network ranks with highest ratings of GLBT characters
Published Thursday, 17-Jul-2008 in issue 1073
NEW YORK CITY (AP) – The union between the gay characters Kevin and Scotty in the season finale of ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” helped the network win the highest praise Sunday from an advocacy group that pushes for more visibility of such characters on television.
It was the first wedding ceremony of two gay or lesbian characters in a prime-time scripted series, said the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. ABC has had other historic moments, including introducing a gay character to “Soap” in 1977, having a gay teen in “My So-Called Life” and Ellen DeGeneres coming out on “Ellen,” as well as in real life.
ABC ranked highest among the broadcast networks in hours where gay and lesbian characters were portrayed, with FX topping the 10 cable networks monitored, GLAAD said.
ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Corp. and FX by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
“We know that programming to lesbian and gay viewers is good business and these are two networks that realize the social and economic benefits of including images of our community in their programming,” said Damon Romine, GLAAD’s director of entertainment media.
FX was praised for “Nip/Tuck,” which GLAAD said had one gay, lesbian or bisexual character in every episode. “Rescue Me” had a minor storyline with a gay couple having a commitment ceremony and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” had a transgender character.
Fox, also owned by News Corp., and NBC both had “failing” grades from GLAAD. While GLAAD was pleased by the inclusion of gay characters on “House” and the games “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” the group didn’t like a “New Amsterdam” episode where two lesbian characters fell in love with a straight man.
GLAAD is pushing NBC to include more gay characters, particularly after the prominent lesbian doctor Kerry Weaver left “ER.”
Posted 6/24/2008
Top Cities for Young Adults Reported By
Carolyn and Rob Abbott
Youthful spirit and economic vitality go hand in hand. Communities with large concentrations of young adults are more likely to prosper, according to a new bizjournals study. The correlation is driven home by the study's comparison of metropolitan areas that skew young or old.
Group No. 1 consists of the 11 major markets where more than 25 percent of all residents are 18 to 34 years old. Group No. 2 contains 14 metros where fewer than 22 percent are young adults. Here's how they match up:
-- The young markets have been experiencing population growth of 2.1 percent per year since 2000. That's seven times the growth rate of 0.3 percent for the old markets.
-- The annual rate of job growth is 1.9 percent in the young metros compared to 0.4 percent in their older counterparts.
-- Personal income is climbing at a median pace of 3.4 percent per year in the young markets. The corresponding figure is 2.8 percent on the old side.
It's clear that having a high percentage of young adults can be an indicator of economic success. It tells marketers where to concentrate their efforts, entrepreneurs where to start businesses, and college graduates where to look for work.
But which markets offer the best prospects for people in the 18-34 age range these days? Bizjournals sought the answer by analyzing growth patterns, income levels and other key statistics to rank the nation's 67 largest metros as BEST PLACES FOR YOUNG ADULTS. These are the five places currently offering the best job opportunities for young adults:
-- 1. Raleigh: This is the only market to finish in the top 10 in three key categories: population growth, job growth, and the percentage of young adults with college degrees. Raleigh is also blessed with a relatively low cost of living.
-- 2. Austin: Twenty-nine percent of Austin's residents are between the ages of 18 and 34. That's the heaviest concentration of young adults in any major metro.
-- 3. Washington: The District of Columbia can be an expensive place to live, but paychecks for workers in their 20s and 30s are among the highest in the nation.
-- 4. Las Vegas: The economy has slowed in Las Vegas in recent months, yet it remains the national leader in job growth since 2002, averaging 4.9 percent per year.
-- 5. Phoenix: The unemployment rate for 18- to 34-year-olds in Phoenix is 5.4 percent. That's three full percentage points below the U.S. average for the same age group.
Rounding out the TOP TEN in bizjournals' rankings of employment prospects for young adults are Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Seattle, Orlando and Houston. Bizjournals analyzed 67 major metropolitan areas, searching for qualities that would appeal to workers in their 20s and early 30s. THE FORMULA gave the highest marks to places with strong growth rates, moderate costs of living, and substantial pools of young college-educated adults with jobs.
The Sunbelt dominates the upper echelon in the national rankings. Eight of the 20 best markets for young adults are in the South, and seven are in the West.
Four of the five remaining slots are occupied by Eastern communities, while Minneapolis-St. Paul is the only Midwestern metro to make the top 20. The competition to attract new and recent graduates to these labor markets is intensifying, partly because young adults are getter choosier. "College-educated young people are looking for greater control over where they live," concluded a 2006 study by The Segmentation Co., a national research firm that surveyed 1,000 adults between the ages of 25 and 34. All of these respondents held college degrees and had lived in at least two communities since leaving school.
Quality-of-life issues are of prime importance to these mobile young workers. They told The Segmentation Co. that they're looking for places that offer strong professional opportunities, have good schools, and are affordable and clean. The same factors were important components of bizjournals' 10-part formula, which analyzed each market's job-growth rate, education levels, and median rents, among other indicators.
The least desirable market for young adults, according to bizjournals, is New Orleans, sitting dead last in 67th place. New Orleans, which is still struggling to recover from the damage inflicted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, has the worst long-term rates of job and population growth in the study.
From: bizjournals - by G. Scott Thomas
Posted 6/17/2008
CNBC Touts Gay Marriage as California's Economic Savior
'Squawk on the Street' segment praises court decision for potential of miniscule financial impact on ailing state.
By Jeff Poor
Business & Media Institute
6/16/2008 3:54:39 PM
Even financial journalists have found a way to promote a liberal social agenda, as CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” showed in a June 16 segment praising the California Supreme Court for legalizing same-sex marriage.
“This time around, one study expects over 100,000 gay couples will tie the knot, providing a boost to California’s ailing economy hit hard by the real estate foreclosure meltdown,” CNBC Silicon Valley Bureau Chief Jim Goldman said.
Goldman cited data from the pro-gay Williams Institute, a division of the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. According to its Web site, the Williams Institute “advances sexual orientation law and public policy through rigorous, independent research and scholarship, and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public.”
“Overall, they’ll have about a $684-million boost to the economy over the next three years,” Williams Institute Research Director Lee Badgett told CNBC.
California’s gross domestic product was $1.55 trillion in 2007. The potential “boost” – an average of $228 million annually – would add a little over 1/100th of 1 percent (0.0147 percent) to the California economy. That’s not exactly the economic salvation the Williams Institute has been touting and which has been reported by U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, the Associated Press and others. The New York Times even called it a “potential windfall” on June 14.
“New partnerships, new revenue – as California prepares to say ‘I do’ to a flood of same-sex weddings,” Goldman added.
Still, Goldman warned the state could miss out on this economic impact if Californians decide to amend the state constitution on November 4 to reverse the court’s decision and limit marriage to a union between one man and one woman.
“And indeed, the celebrations and ceremonies will begin later today, but all of this could come to a screeching halt come November when a ballot measure seeks to reverse all this,” Goldman warned. “But, in between now and then – we’re talking big-time bucks – lots of money for a lot of vendors looking for a host of new ways, well, to generate some cash.”
Posted 6/10/2008
Northern Trust to finance new Gay & Lesbian Community Center 'Campus' in Wilton Manors
News release:
GAY & LESBIAN COMMUNITY CENTER (GLCC)
The GLCC Board of Directors is pleased to announce receipt of loan commitment from the prestigious banking institution, Northern Trust, to finance the purchase of the property being referred to as "The Campus". This remarkable property, located at 2040 North Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors, Florida will be the new home for the GLCC (Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida) and is now scheduled to close on June 27, 2008. Loan commitment and completion of thorough inspections by the GLCC mark the end of the "due diligence" period in the contract and sends a clear signal the GLCC is proceeding to close on the purchase of this property.
This historic transaction and contract is being managed on behalf of the GLCC by attorney William Karney, of Moraitis, Cofar, Karney and Moraitis on a pro-bono basis, as a service to our LGBT community. The GLCC recognizes and thanks the efforts of its Finance and Building Committee members, particularly Nicole Mannarino, GLCC Treasurer; Tyler Healis, GLCC Building Committee Chair; and Dale Russell GLCC Board Member and our lead pro-bono realtor on the project whose Century 21 Hansen Realty commission will be donated to the GLCC. This project has required a tremendous amount of time and effort on the part of a dedicated team, which will have a profound and positive impact on our community for years to come.
The seller and current owner of the GLCC's future Wilton Manors home is operating a "federally mandated secured facility". The seller's security process prevents the public from visiting the property prior to closing, without prior approval. Please respect the seller's need for security and do not trespass-- for property tour information please contact Paul Hyman, GLCC Executive Director at 954-463-9005 or phyman@glccsf.org.
The GLCC Board of Directors expresses their overwhelming appreciation to the entire community for its ongoing support and will continue to provide updates-- as frequently as possible, given contract restrictions-- until the successful closing on this property is completed.
Posted 5/15/2008
Agents focus on serving the gay community - GAY REALTOR
By Eric Veronikis - From the Central Penn Business Journal
Some real estate agents in Central Pennsylvania have developed a niche market within the gay community, with the hope of tapping into a profitable market.
"The gay community is intelligent and financially stable. They know what they want. They are straight-forward," said Kate Uholik, an agent with Jack Gaughen Realtor ERA in Lower
Paxton Township, Dauphin County.
Uholik, an agent in the Harrisburg area for 25 years, said she depends on word-of-mouth referrals to garner business in the gay community. She also is a sponsor of an annual golf tournament organized by members of the gay community and run by a gay staff. Uholik could not estimate how much of her business comes from the gay community.
Gay clients don't gravitate to specific parts of the region, she said. They look for real estate all over Central Pennsylvania, she said.
The gay community chooses real estate based on economics, the type of houses they want and, in some cases, the school district the house is located in, said Ray Davis, an agent who works with a significant base of gay clients. Davis is an agent with Camp Hill-based ReMax Realty Associates Inc.
"As the general population has become more accepting of gay men and women in recent years, the gay men and women I have worked with have been much less concerned about ‘what the neighbors think' than they may have been 15 or more years ago," Davis said.
Davis markets to gay men and lesbians the same way he gets his name out to every other community. For example, if agents want to build clienteles of people who love historic houses, they should get involved with an organization such as The Historic Harrisburg Association, Davis said. The same applies to the gay community, he said.
He advertises in his church's bulletin and hosts regular events, such as neighborhood yard sales.
"Support events that support the gay community," Davis said. "Advertise or be a sponsor at those events. Advertise in publications that target the gay and lesbian community."
Gay men and lesbians want real estate agents who understand their needs and can get the job done, which is no different than any other customer, he said.
They want to find agents they can develop a comfort zone with, Uholik said.
"Then they don't have to explain anything about their lives," Uholik said. "They want someone to treat them equally."
Sue Waldner and Joy Verner didn't search for a real estate agent who markets to the gay community when they bought their house on North Fifth Street in Harrisburg. It just turned out that he was gay.
The partners found Ray Davis through word-of-mouth and saw his name on for-sale signs throughout the city. Davis has been their agent ever since.
Waldner and Verner have lived in the city for more than 10 years, but they want to move to the West Shore for their kids, Waldner said.
"I think we moved here originally because it was less expensive. We liked the city because there was more to do in the city," Waldner said. "We are leaving the city specifically for another school district."
Amanda Hankey, a 28-year-old lesbian, bought a house four years ago in West York. She wants to sell her house and look for another in two to three years, she said.
Hankey and her gay friends buy real estate based on their finances, job locations and other typical factors, she said.
However, Hankey may try to move to an area where there is a larger gay population. She is considering Washington, D.C., she said.
"Gays do congregate to a certain extent," Hankey said. "I will consider using a gay Realtor or one who markets to the gay community in the future. I think they have a better grasp on locations of more gay-friendly areas."
Posted 4/23/2008
Cleaning house
Sharing a home requires special legal maneuvers for gay couples
From the Washington Blade - Gay Realtor News
STEVEN M. SUSHNER
Despite recent declines in home values, most Americans still have the majority of their wealth tied up in their homes, and gay and lesbian couples are no exception. As a gay real estate attorney, I have handled thousands of refinance and purchase transactions, many for gay and transgender clients. Because federal, and many times state, laws do not protect our relationships, I see some common errors in dealing with gay and lesbian property ownership. The following are the four most common mistakes gay and lesbian couples make and how to fix them.
It’s all in the title. By far the biggest mistake a gay person can make with property is thinking that your house will pass to the person you want.
Gay and lesbian couples can title properties two different ways. The first option is “tenants in common,” in which, upon the death of the first partner, the first partner’s share of the property passes pursuant to the will of deceased partner, or if there is no will, pursuant to a pre-determined state formula (which likely does not include your partner).
The second option, the one nearly every gay couple should use is called “joint tenants” or more formally “joint tenants with right of survivorship.” If you own your property as joint tenants, upon the death of the first partner, the property automatically and instantly becomes the property of the other partner.
Be careful, however. If you own the home as joint tenants, the IRS assumes that the value of the entire home falls in the estate of the first person to die unless the surviving partner can prove their contribution.
Take Action: Confirm how you hold title. If you are uncertain, it’s important that you do not delay and find the original deed or a copy (your local title company can obtain one for a nominal fee) and read it. If you do not see the words “joint tenants,” then you own the property as tenants in common. Consult a local real estate attorney or title company and have a new deed drafted and recorded in the local recorder of deeds office. If you own more than one house, make sure that you do this for each property. But be advised that many jurisdictions charge transfer taxes.
Don’t take it for granted. Most couples purchasing houses require the income of both partners to afford the monthly payments. In the event that one partner dies, the other is often forced to sell the property. The best way to prevent the surviving partner from having to sell the property is for each partner to purchase life insurance.
Take Action: Purchase a life insurance policy to cover the balance of the mortgage. However, because we cannot marry, it may make sense for estate tax reasons to own the policy on each other. Consult a financial adviser for details. In addition, every time you refinance or purchase a new property, make sure that you revisit life insurance needs to ensure that you have enough coverage and for a sufficient period of time.
MANAGING UNCLE SAM. For married couples, determining which partner’s account the mortgage payment comes from simply doesn’t matter. For gay and lesbian couples, however, the decision can be worth thousands of dollars. The partner who actually makes the mortgage payments and property taxes is the one who may take the deduction.
Take Action: Have the partner with higher income (and higher tax bracket) pay the mortgage payment and property taxes. For estate tax reasons, it’s important that the partner paying the mortgage payment and property taxes do so from an account that is solely in the higher income-earning partner’s name. The other partner can contribute by paying for non-tax deductible expenses. (As an aside, this same strategy works for charitable deductions as well.)
Reviewing your safety net. Do not presume that because you both own the house your insurance automatically covers you both in the event of fire or other claim. Insurance companies do not discriminate in adding additional owners to property insurance, but you won’t be covered if you don’t ask.
Take Action: Dig out your homeowner’s insurance policy and make certain that both partners’ names are listed as insureds. This is particularly important if one partner has come into the relationship after the house was purchased or if the mortgage is only in one partner’s name. If you cannot find your policy or are uncertain, call your insurance agent for a copy. Ask the agent to identify where you can find both partners’ names in the policy. Make sure to check every time your policy renews and every time the insurance company sends a rider.
Posted 3/31/2008
Out Gay North Carolina Canidate Runs in North Carolina - Not really real estate related but an intersting read anyway.
Neal takes campaign one voter at a time By Mark Binker
Staff Writer
Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008 3:00 am
Credit: Joseph Rodriguez/News & Record
Jim Neal at a meeting in Statesville in March.
Jim Neal
Age: 51
Family: Divorced, two children
Education: Bachelor’s in business administration, UNC-Chapel Hill; MBA, University of Chicago.
Hometown: Born in Greensboro; lives in Chapel Hill.
Occupation: Investment adviser
Favorite movie: “To Kill a Mockingbird”
Exercise: Tennis. “I didn’t play for years, then last summer I took it back up.” Related Links
Hear more from Neal (Mmedia)
GREENSBORO - Between stump speeches and coffee stops, Jim Neal spends his campaign day folded into the front passenger seat of a Ford Escape hybrid, shoes off and feet on the dash.
"I hate shoes," Neal said as the small truck pulled out of a parking lot and onto Market Street, hitting the road for a recent event in Davidson .
To some degree, all candidates for statewide office spend time on the road, talking to gatherings large and small. But Neal has embraced a road warrior mentality as a hallmark of his campaign.
The Chapel Hill Democrat is one of two leading contenders for his party's nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole this fall. To beat Dole, Neal said, he needs to practice in-person campaigning on a grand scale, winning over voters one at a time, hoping they will, in turn, win over their friends and neighbors.
"People joke, 'Oh, that Jim Neal, he'll drive and go talk to any group of three people.' You're damned right I will," Neal said.
To be fair, it doesn't have to be a group of three. Neal chats up just about anyone who will shake his hand , regular folks such as cashiers at a coffee shop, janitors taking a smoke break and individuals he happens to meet along the street. His campaign plans appearances in at least 70 counties across the state before the May 6 primary.
"It's very heartfelt," said Michael Lawson , a Democratic official from Charlotte who l eads the state party's African American Caucus . Neal asked Lawson to introduce him around the CIAA tournament in Charlotte.
"He insisted upon shaking the last person's hand everywhere he went," Lawson said.
* * *
Neal is a first-time candidate, but he's not new to politics. He has been a fundraiser for presidential candidates and raised money for the likes of Erskine Bowles , now president of the UNC system who six years ago campaigned against Dole himself.
Although he jokes with audiences that "If you want a politician, for goodness' sake vote for someone else," Neal has honed to a fine point the most quintessential of political skills: the stump speech.
Almost always it features early on the fact that his mother's family worked in Revolution Mill in Greensboro, that because of his grandmother's asthma his family moved into the McAdoo Heights neighborhood and his mother switched from the mill school to the city school system.
There, he recounts, she was teased as a "linthead," a derogatory term for mill workers.
"That incident in my mom's life is one I've never forgotten," Neal told the seven people gathered at Summit Coffee and Tea in Davidson a couple of weeks ago. "It's kept me rooted to where I came from."
For much of his adult life, Neal has wandered from his roots. His father moved the family to South Carolina when he was 16. Neal returned to North Carolina when he attended UNC-Chapel Hill.
After graduation in 1978, he went to Wall Street, worked for Goldman Sachs, got an MBA from the University of Chicago and later worked as an investment banker at firms such as Salomon Brothers, Bear Stearns and E.F. Hutton.
Neal plays up this experience in business, telling audiences he has insight into how the "real world" works and credentials as a problem solver.
He also talks about a less financially secure time in his life.
"I've stood in an unemployment line and had to look up and say, 'How am I going to get out of this hole?' " Neal told a gathering at Charlotte Energy Solutions, a store that hawks rain barrels, Segways, compost grinders and the like.
"That's something that a lot of people in this country have done," Neal said the next day, talking to Democrats in Catawba County. "But not a lot of people running for office would talk about it."
Back in his truck, he explains that those hard times came when he was in his 30s, after his divorce. Real estate investments he made lost their value, and he was a single parent, a stay-at-home dad raising two kids. Eventually a federal tax lien was placed against his home that took years to satisfy.
Although he laughs at being called a "wealthy investment banker," Neal is financially secure enough to loan his campaign $120,000 — the last such loan he can afford to make, he said.
His campaign operates hand-to-mouth, spending most donations that come in within days. He says it's unclear whether he'll be able to do the kind of television advertising that can be critical to a statewide campaign. T he presidential primary has pushed up the price of television advertising, and voters' attention is focused elsewhere.
Neal insists that he's investing instead in an "old-fashioned, grass-roots campaign," one that seems predicated on shaking every hand he can find as he crosses the state.
* * *
On his way out of the coffee shop in Davidson, Neal gets a reminder from his volunteer staffer, who was worried they would be late for their next three stops of the evening.
"This next one we can only spend 15 minutes," pleads Harrison Jobe , a Greensboro native and a UNC-CH sophomore.
"OK," said Neal, tossing his suit jacket into the back of his truck.
"Are you going to promise me — 15 minutes?" Jobe asks.
"I never make promises I can't keep," Neal replies, a smile crossing his face. It's a well-worn routine. Neal has become notorious with his staff for dragging out visits even when the campaign schedule demands punctuality.
Some of the time seems to get made up in missed meals. Neal claims to have lost 15 pounds since hitting the road in earnest late last year.
"I didn't have 15 pounds to lose," he mused. "Today, I've had one meal and too much of this," Neal said, holding up a freshly filled cardboard coffee cup at eight minutes past 8 p.m.
He makes up for the missed calories with stops at Bojangles. His penchant for the fast-food chain's ham biscuits might serve not only to bolster his calorie count but also to help establish his local culinary cred, fighting the carpet-bagging accusation that opponents can level at him.
"Well, you know, he just moved back here in '06," Greensboro state Sen. Kay Hagan, Neal's chief Democratic rival, told a Triangle television station this month. "I think I will have the name recognition. I've served in the state government for 10 years now."
The topic is a sensitive one because all Democrats in the race say the incumbent, Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole, has spent too little time in North Carolina.
Neal brushes off the criticism, saying he's always been rooted "in North Carolina values." And were he any other candidate, this might be the most challenging part of the campaign for him to navigate.
But the fact that he has a shot at becoming the state's first openly gay U.S. Senate candidate might just be trickier.
* * *
"It's the oddest monicker to have wrapped around your neck," Neal said of the "openly gay" reference.
Neal doesn't hide his sexuality, but it's not something he gets asked about during appearances much, if at all. And he would like to avoid being a "cause candidate," celebrated only for his sexuality rather than his policy positions.
The initial flurry of attention that being an "out" candidate brought him in the fall seems to have died down in North Carolina, but it's something that out-of-state reporters pick up on when he travels for fundraisers.
In one interview with the Village Voice that has become infamous — Neal says he was misquoted and his comments taken out of context several times — Neal acknowledges that he was married to a woman long before he came to terms with being gay.
"Yes, I was a breeder," he said, using a slang term popular in gay culture for heterosexuals.
Neal has told interviewers with gay media that he doesn't want people to vote for or against him because he's gay.
"It's not a good reason," Neal told the online site QUEERTY .
Still, the headline of a news release touting a group of house party fundraisers for Neal was titled "New Poll Shows Gay Candidate in Dead Heat for U.S. Senate."
Further down in the news release, he said:
"I've traveled all over the state. Voters want to know where I stand on the issues and how I'm going to represent North Carolina. They don't ask about my sexual orientation."
Whether Neal's sexuality will be a liability for voters is an open question , perhaps one only the May 6 primary can answer in full.
Contact Mark Binker at (919) 832-5549 or mark.binker @news-record.com
Posted 3/24/2008
'Will & Grace' star's home listed for $9 million
Agents say slump not hurting L.A.'s Hancock Park
Ruth Ryon, Los Angeles Times
Sunday, March 23, 2008
(03-23) 04:00 PDT Los Angeles -- Sean Hayes, who played Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom "Will & Grace," must have gotten word that the housing slump hasn't hurt sales in the upper tiers of the market. He has listed his Los Angeles home at close to $9 million, according to area real estate agents.
The house, built in 1930, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms in 5,700 square feet. The gated, English Country-style home in the Hancock Park section also has an English garden, manicured grounds and an outdoor fireplace - great for alfresco dining.
There is a living room with bay windows, a formal dining room with walnut floors and crown molding, a cook's kitchen with a butler's pantry, and a family room/media room and library/study overlooking the pool.
The master bedroom suite has a fireplace and French windows. The master bathroom has white marble floors and a Juliet balcony. There are two other en suite bedrooms, a separate guesthouse and an office.
Hayes, 37, appeared in the recent comedy-drama "The Bucket List," in which Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman portray two men dying of cancer who meet when they share a hospital room.
In "Will & Grace," Hayes played a gay friend of lawyer Will Truman, played by Eric McCormack. Debra Messing played interior decorator Grace Adler, Will's roommate, and Megan Mullally played Karen Walker, a tipsy socialite.
Each of the stars won an Emmy (Mullally won two), and the show won 17 Emmys during its 1998-2006 run.
Posted 3/23/2008
Carrollton mayor faces anti-gay challenger
By John Wright of Dallas Voice
Photo provided by Dallas Voice
Mayor Becky Miller is again under fire for riding in Dallas’ gay Pride parade in 2006.
Miller’s appearance in the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade led to a petition signed by 75 residents that was submitted to the City Council last year. The petition, which demanded that city officials refrain from such appearances in the future, was never acted on by the council.
Now, Miller’s only challenger in the May 10 election, former City Councilman Ron Branson, has resurrected the issue on his campaign Web site.
“I guess I could participate in a controversial parade, but I would never plaster ‘Carrollton Mayor’ on the side of my vehicle,” Branson’s Web site, www.runwithron.com, states under the section titled, “Why Run For Mayor?”
Contacted this week, Branson said he believes city officials should be free to participate in any parade they want as individuals, but not as representatives of Carrollton.
“I think it’s pretty important to stay away from controversial issues like that,” Branson told Dallas Voice. “It’s just not a lifestyle that I endorse.”
Branson, who left the council for health reasons in 2006, reportedly has attracted little support for his mayoral bid, and he isn’t accepting campaign contributions.
Miller, who’s seeking her second term as mayor, said she’s secured all the big-name endorsements in the race. Miller said Branson was divisive when he served on the council and is running because he personally dislikes her.
What does this mean for me?
“I just don’t think that he really has a chance of winning,” Miller said. “I have the support of the people.”
Miller’s support includes those who rallied around her after the petition was submitted to the council last April in response to her appearance in the parade. About 50 people showed up at City Hall to express their opposition to the petition, while only one spoke in favor of it.
“People have been supportive of me because I’ve said that I represent everybody in the community, and I will not judge people,” said Miller, who has a lesbian aunt. “I think everybody’s moved past that [the parade issue]. I don’t understand why some of them don’t want to let it go.”
Miller said she didn’t appear in Dallas’ 2007 gay Pride parade because of a prior commitment. She said she’d like to be in the parade again but may not due to threats that were made against her and her family following her appearance in 2006.
“I just don’t know whether it’s worth the hassle of having to deal with people who are so hateful,” Miller said, declining to elaborate on the alleged threats. “They were some scary times for me.”
Miller was asked to appear in the parade by friend and supporter Bob McCranie, an openly gay Carrollton real estate agent.
McCranie started the Carrollton Project, an LGBT equality group, in September 2006 after his sexual orientation became a contentious issue in that year’s city elections.
McCranie said he was kicked off the campaigns of two City Council candidates in 2006 because he’s gay. When another candidate McCranie supported won, the loser criticized his opponent in an e-mail for accepting help from “gay Bob” and the “big sissy.”
The Carrollton Project, which organized the opposition to last year’s petition, now has 35 to 40 members and meets monthly, McCranie said.
McCranie said the fact that Miller hasn’t drawn a more formidable opponent this year is a positive sign for Carrollton. Three other incumbent councilmembers are running unopposed.
“This election didn’t bring in the opposition like we thought it would,” McCranie said. “I think the city is going in a really good direction.”
McCranie said he believes the 2009 Carrollton city elections will attract more candidates, because there will be three open seats vacated by sitting councilmembers due to term limits.
“I think most people who are eyeing a seat on the council are going to wait until next time, when it’s a free-for-all,” McCranie said. “I hope in the next election we can change the face of the city and have a lot of diversity.”
Posted 3/19/2008
Surprise development aims at gay retirees
Tony Lombardo
The Arizona Republic
Like a lot of baby boomers, gay and lesbian retirees are looking for a safe, fun place to live out their autumn years.
But Arizona's retirement offerings might not cut it for many, because of a lack of like-minded residents or a fear of coming out to the neighbors.
Out Properties LLC, a St. Louis development firm, hopes to change that by marketing a unique lifestyle to this niche group it calls "gayby boomers," or gay baby boomers. It plans to build a resort community, Marigold Creek, in Surprise catering to gay retirees.
"For some people, this might be the very first time in their entire life they've been able to live somewhere where they can be themselves," said Debi Purvis, principal with Out Properties.
The group is a division of Aventurs Development, and Marigold Creek is its first gay and lesbian retirement development.
Such communities exist or are in the works in Florida, California and New Mexico. But Marigold Creek is considered the first community of its kind in Arizona.
It will sit on 32 acres on San Ysidro Road east of 163rd Avenue northeast of Grand Avenue and will include 190 condos and homes ranging from $249,000 to $850,000. The first units are expected to open by fall 2009.
Mayor Lyn Truitt is a fan of the concept.
"We're not a community that puts up barriers," he said. "Rather, we take them down."
Purvis said Surprise had the best combination of location and community in the Valley.
"We knew it was an emerging, vibrant community and got such great feedback from people that said the community was growing and interested in the arts, and lots of different types of people living in the community," she said.
Though anyone will be able to buy at Marigold Creek, it is being designed with gay retirees in mind.
Tucson resident Frances Coleman, 53, understands the need.
"The really big advantage is, you don't have to go back into the closet and squish yourself," she said. "You can live with your partner and not have to pretend you're roommates."
Coleman launched a senior group four years ago for Wingspan, a Tucson-based outreach center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. She said she has encountered many retirees who chose to settle down in gated communities but kept their sexuality a secret.
"As a gay person, you're constantly coming out to people in every single venue - or constantly hiding, if that's how you live," she said.
Doug Beckwith, 56, lives in Chandler's Sun Lakes. While he enjoys the community, he sees the advantages of a place like Marigold Creek.
"We spent our whole lives always being different and being outcasts," he said. "It would be kind of nice to live in a place where everyone else had gone through the same experience."
Marigold Creek's sales pitch hits on that very point.
"Imagine a place where your neighbors are just like you. They share your interests and have similar lifestyles," an online statement reads. "Everyone is welcome, accepted and safe."
In many ways, Marigold Creek mirrors other upscale retirement communities like Surprise's Sun City Grand. The gated development will have a fitness center, a spa, pools, a poolside bar and grill, a travel club and walking trails. It will also feature a theater and cabaret, and a spiritual center.
But existing communities don't always work for gays, said Steve Donovan, a local Realtor and member of the Arizona Gay Realtor Alliance.
Donovan said he has known many members of the gay community who moved into existing Valley retirement developments, only to be disappointed and move away.
"They realized that wasn't the best choice, because it was not really geared toward that lifestyle," Donovan said.
Beckwith, dean and executive director of Axia College of the University of Phoenix, said he has talked for years with friends about the benefits of a gay retirement project.
"It would be nice to have neighbors who you wouldn't have to explain to why you weren't married or didn't have grandkids," he said.
The "buzz" has been building about Marigold Creek, said Scott Jeffery, chairman of the Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
"We'll see how the market responds, to see if there is a specific need for it," he said.
Purvis said the company is ahead of projections, securing commitments on 40 units.
And while Donovan said many of his past clients tended to gravitate to homes near downtown Phoenix, he could see Surprise as a viable place for more mature clients.
"Surprise is a great area, and it's up-and-coming," Donovan said.
Like all retirement communities, it won't be for everyone.
Commercial real estate broker Tom Snyder, 64, said he will remain in central Phoenix.
"I could never live in a Sun City or anything . . . it's just too far out for me," said Snyder, treasurer of the gay and lesbian chamber.
Out Properties is only in the early planning stages with the city, Surprise senior planner Janice See said. The City Council eventually must sign off on zoning and land use changes to allow a higher density, she said. But based on preliminary talks, the project sounds favorable, See said.
Veronica St. Claire, chief executive of the Gay & Lesbian Association of Retiring Persons Inc., is pushing for a similar development in Palm Springs, Calif.
RainbowVision Properties Inc. is nearing the second anniversary of its community in Santa Fe, N.M. Similar to Marigold Creek, it features mixed housing options and assisted living. Roughly 70 percent of residents are from the gay and lesbian community, the rest "allies," said Jane Steinberg, its national director of marketing and sales.
RainbowVision is nearing construction on a condo project in Palm Springs, and is working on developments in San Francisco and Vancouver.
Posted 02/01/2008
Time to move to Midtown?
Economic trends make gayborhood more affordable, real estate experts say
By MATT SCHAFER
FEB. 1, 2008
More from this author
MATT SCHAFER
Atlanta’s allure of a slick, Midtown lifestyle draws hundreds to the city every month, but with many incomes affording only a postage stamp-sized apartment, some gay men and lesbians choose homes in suburbia and commute into town. With a slacking economy and shrinking national housing market, now may be the time to consider that move into Midtown, some real estate experts say.
Housing prices across the country are down 1.8 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors, as home inventories skyrocket due to a slow down in the economy, failure of the sub-prime mortgage industry and the resulting effect of lenders tightening their credit rules. The resulting buyer’s market offers a better chance to find that dream apartment, condo or home in the heart of the city on a budget.
It’s not that that Atlanta home market is in a shambles, said Brandy Miner, director of community and marketing for the Georgia Association of Realtors. But interest rates and inventory levels could mean a window of opportunity.
“I think it is a great time to move to Midtown,” Miner said. “Interest rates are at a historic low and home prices are holding steady, and those things almost historically never happen at the same time.”
The association reported seeing buyers with good credit qualify for loans in the 5.75 percent range. That could drop lower depending upon the actions of the Federal Reserve, which controls the rates that banks lend money to each other.
“For Sale” and “For Rent” signs pepper the streets surrounding Piedmont Park, the heart of gay Atlanta. Signs that didn’t linger in this sought-after neighborhood two years ago now stay longer.
“I personally think that single family homes in Midtown are undervalued. If you were to buy the same house in a place like Virginia Highlands, Ansley Park or Morningside, you would probably pay 15 percent more,” said Adam Ellis of Harry Norman Realtors. “I believe that will change this year, but right now I would say they are undervalued.”
Others, like Andy Scarano, hope low-interest rates might attract more buyers. Scarano is selling his 1920s brick bungalow on Monroe Street by himself.
“I’m not in a hurry to sell,” Scarano said. “I don’t have to move for a new job or anything like that, our family has just outgrown the house.We decided to try our luck without an agent for a while and see if we can sell it ourselves.
“Also because we don’t have an agent it gives us a little room to negotiate,where once I get an agent I’m not willing to come off my price,” he added.
While Midtown as a whole saw a 4 percent price increase in home value last year, there are bargains to be had.
“I’m single, and I bought a one-bedroom, one-bathroom two years ago after doing a lot of looking,” said Miner of the Georgia Association of Realtors. “Today, there are two-bedroom units in my complex [Terraces at Peachtree] that sold for what I paid for a one-bedroom.”
While the few units available in the gayfriendly Metropolis and Spire Midtown, both located on Peachtree Street, don’t come cheap, values change on a buildingby- building basis, especially on Midtown’s northern borders. A small studio in the 1280 West high-rise at the corner of West Peachtree Street and 16th Street went on the market initially listed at $165,900, according to MLS Information, a real estate resource. Currently that property is listed for $99,900.
A unit in the established Buckhead condo Peachtree Battle, within biking distance of Piedmont Park, went up for sale in January last year listed at $107,000, according to MLS Information. The owners slashed the list price to $87,500, and after 176 days on the market finally accepted an offer of $85,000. In total, eight of 12 units that stayed on the market or sold in 2007 in that complex sold for an average of $7,000 less than the initial asking price after 71 days on the market.
Georgia ranked seventh in the nation when it came to foreclosure rates in 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a nationwide datatracking company, with the bulk of the foreclosures coming in Metro Atlanta. A total of 99,578 homes, or nearly 1.6 percent of all homes in Georgia, reported being in some state of foreclosure last year.
Besides being able to buy a foreclosed home, often at a reduced rate, foreclosures increase the housing inventory, giving buyers more choices when house hunting, and take renters off the market.
When there is an increase in the number of homes on the market, typically the number of renters decrease. A recent study by CNN Money noted that Atlanta’s average rent dropped 12.8 percent in 2007, leveling off with an average of $884 per month. That drop may not be reflected directly in rates, but apartment complexes are offering more and more incentives to draw in new tenants.
“I’m not necessarily sure if I’m seeing a drop in rent, as much as I’m seeing an increase in specials, like one month free,” Wendy Silver said. Silver is a professional apartment hunter with A & A Apartment locators and works with many renters in Midtown, she said.
Silver said most complexes saw a slow November and December. “Obviously that would build up a lot of vacancies. I’ve seen things as crazy as giving away a DVD player or an iPod,” Sliver said before joking, “I think one place would have rubbed my feet every night for a month if I moved in.”
One complex that throws on extras to attract tenants is The Heights at Cheshire Bridge, a gay-friendly complex within walking distance of the Heretic and the Wild Mustang. The Heights offers free cable, internet, a wash dry and fold service, trash pick up on Monday and Friday and recently added a free continental breakfast.
Renters don’t always have to move in order to get a better deal. Many complexes are willing to negotiate to keep tenants with good track records once a lease run out, because it’s easier to keep a good tenant than to find a new one.
But not all Midtown properties have to roll out the red carpet for new tenants, especially those that have an upscale reputation. Post Properties, owners of Post Parkside, reported not dropping rents or adding extra incentives.
“We are still seeing a lot of traffic in the Midtown area,” said Janie Maddox, senior vice-president. “We are certainly not part of the trend of dropping rates.”
Posted 12/27/2007
More gays pick Galveston as spot to live and relax
Visitor's center, church, businesses catering to Isle's growing group
By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
With its laid-back lifestyle and low cost of living, Galveston promises to become the gay tourist mecca and residential center of the South, said activist-publisher Laura Villagran, who earlier this month opened the city's first gay and lesbian visitor's center.
Long known for its vibrant bar scene and raucous Splash Day celebrations, Galveston in recent years has become home to a growing gay and lesbian professional class. Now, real estate agents say, the city is poised to become a retirement haven for graying gays who, like their heterosexual counterparts, succumb to the lure of sun and surf.
In recent years, signs of a growing gay presence have appeared in Galveston, a city of 57,000 that boosters boast couples tolerance with a quirky small-town charm.
Last year, Harbor Metropolitan Community Church, catering to gay worshippers, opened on 39th Street. This year, roughly 8,000 revelers turned out for the summer Splash Day celebration on East Beach and, in October, throngs jammed the Strand for the city's first gay pride festival.
Liberal residents
Now, Villagran's visitor's center, which functions as a travel agency and clearing house for tips on entertainment, real estate, health services and gay-friendly businesses, occupies a prominent spot near the heart of the city's tourist district.
A recent Houston-area survey by Rice University sociology professor and pollster Stephen Klineberg found Galveston residents the region's most liberal on the key issue of gay marriage. Forty-five percent of island participants believed such marriages should be given legal status. Elsewhere in the Houston area, no more than 33 percent agreed, and in Montgomery and Fort Bend counties, the total dropped to about 25 percent.
Lawyer-real estate agent David Bowers experienced such apparent tolerance first-hand when, during his bid for a third term on City Council in 1998, he was denounced in a newspaper advertisement as a homosexual. Bowers, who was running unopposed, was unfazed.
"It was amazing," said Bowers, who later made an unsuccessful bid for mayor. "What was heartening about the whole experience was that many straight families called me in support. They were very concerned that someone in Galveston would run that ad. The whole community was embarrassed."
'Couldn't afford prejudice'
Curtiss Brown, a longtime Galveston political observer who has lived on the island more than three decades, suggested that scrutinizing the island through a prism of gay life is "putting a magnifying glass on an elephant."
"It's more broad than that," he said, arguing that the city's history as an immigration port and its devastating 1900 hurricane contributed to a far-reaching tolerance. "We learned that we just couldn't afford prejudice."
Although anti-gay sentiment occasionally has surfaced — in 1999 a Houston minister led a protest at a newly opened gay beachfront motel — gay-straight relations in the city generally have been harmonious.
OutSmart magazine editor Tim Brookover, a Galveston native, observed that the island city long has had a gay presence, "but people didn't recognize it or talk openly about it."
Villagran said people increasingly "are coming out of the closet, so to speak, and choosing to live openly as gays."
"As time has gone by, as history has played out, there's been much less stigma," said Trey Click, editor and publisher of The Parrot, an island entertainment monthly. "People have recognized that it's not — oh my God! — the gays have come to ruin the world. During the last 10 years, there's been a big increase in gay-owned property."
Real estate sales up
Phil DeMarco, owner of the gay-oriented Lost Bayou Guesthouse, noted that at least four other homes within two blocks of his bed and breakfast are owned by gays. And real estate agent V.J. Tramonte confirmed that sales to gays and lesbians have speeded up in the past two or three years.
Bowers, who currently works as a real estate agent, placed the city's gay population at 10 percent.
Gay real estate agent Eldredge Langlinais, a former Houston resident who also owns the Pink Dolphin Bar and heads the gay Krewe of Banner Mardi Gras group, said many gays are attracted by the city's large stock of older homes. And, as many are childless, he said, they have the financial resources to restore more derelict properties.
"I first bought a weekend cottage in 1978," he said. "When I crossed the causeway — the ambience, the different look, the palm trees, the older houses and, of course, the water — I'd know immediately that I was somewhere else."
Posted 12/20/2007
Gay Man Elected To Fort Worth Council
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Fort Worth, Texas) Real estate agent Joel Burns has become the first openly gay member of Fort Worth City Council in a race that was marked by homophobia.
Burns defeated school trustee Juan Rangel Jr. a fellow Democrat, in a runoff election Tuesday.
During the campaign Republicans tried to use Burns' sexuality as a wedge issue.
Fort Worth City Councilman Chuck Silcox told a GOP audience to vote for candidate Chris Turner for city council because he is both straight and a Republican, unlike his opponent.
"This is an excellent time to have Republicans get out and support a Republican: Chris Turner," Silcox told a group of about 50 at a Fort Worth Republican Women's Club meeting and a forum for Republican state House District 97 candidates. "We have two people of opposite partisan politics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexual orientations.
"I didn't tell you which one was homosexual," Silcox said as the crowd laughed. Pointing to Turner, Silcox continued: "He's married to a female, and the other's married to a male. You make your own mind up."
At the time Burns said he was not surprised Republicans were trying to use his sexuality as an issue.
"We live in the state of Texas, and I have a partner that I live with, who is a partner of 15 years," Burns said. "It is unfortunate that Mr. Silcox and Mr. Turner want to bring partisanship to a nonpartisan race."
Burns had strong support from the Victory Fund which helps LGBT candidates attain office and from the Stonewall Democrats. He also had the endorsement of the Star-Telegram newspaper.
On November 6, voters narrowed the field to the two Democrats, Burns and Rangel.
He won with 54 percent of the vote, despite a low turnout. About 14 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the runoff, down from 18 percent in the Nov. 6 election.
Burns replaces Wendy Davis on council, who resigned to run for the Texas Senate in 2008.
At his victory party Tuesday night Burns told the Star-Telegram that he intends to maintain his predecessors' liberal positions.
"My goal is to be the kind of city councilman the district has seen in the likes of [former Mayor] Ken Barr and Wendy Davis, by getting up and working hard every day," he told the paper.
Burns acknowledged the help he received from the gay community.
"If you’re running for office in Tarrant County, you need the support of Stonewall Democrats," he said in a statement to 365Gay.com.
"Joel Burns was a dynamic candidate and he will be a terrific councilmember," said Jon Hoadley, Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats.
Posted 12/11/2007 - Savannah, Georgia
More businesses marketing to gay and lesbian consumers
Exchange | Business | Intown
Dana Clark Felty | Sunday, December 2, 2007 at 12:30 am
Gary Hall is the owner of Wright Square Cafe at 21 West York St. and stands outside of the cafe on Tuesday. Hunter McRae/Savannah Morning News
Gary Hall left the big city six years ago for the same reasons many mid-career baby boomers do.
"I just got fed up with the traffic there like everybody else," said Hall, owner of Wright Square Cafe.
The former Atlanta resident chose Savannah for its climate and proximity to the coast. The fact that the city was not a "gay mecca" like some major cities wasn't a concern.
"I just didn't care," he said.
Gay communities across the country have been credited with revitalizing and restoring historic inner-city neighborhoods.
Leaders in the local gay community recently circulated an Oct. 30 article from the New York Times on the decline of gay enclaves in major cities, which appear to be dying out as same-sex couples move to suburbs and smaller cities.
New York transplant-turned-Savannah Realtor Richard Gourley believes coastal cities such as Savannah will benefit as gay baby boomers look for a place to launch new businesses or retire.
"They want a gay community and they want to live where there's a large gay population, but they're not necessarily looking for bars and loud music and strip clubs and things of that sort," he said. "They just want to know they're in an environment that's accepting."
The number of reported same-sex couples has risen dramatically in the South and western mountain states, according to a recent study.
The report released in November by the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the UCLA School of Law found that the number of reported U.S. same-sex couples had quadrupled to nearly 780,000 nationwide between 1990 and 2006.
The east south central states of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee saw a combined increase of more than 800 during that 16-year period.
"The U.S. population is moving south and west but this growth tells that it is not just a case of migration. It tells you that same-sex couples are being more open and visible," senior research fellow Gary Gates told Reuters.
Local entrepreneur Larry Hodges sees a growing market in Savannah among businesses trying to market to same-sex couples, generally believed to have a greater expendable income.
Since launching the online business guide gaysavannah.com, Hodges has attracted more viewers and advertisers each year.
"It's really been successful for us," said Hodges, an owner of Radius Media Group and marketing director for Mopper-Stapen Realtors. "People who want to market themselves to the gay community is a segment that's really growing."
Gaysavannah.com features a guide of gay-owned and "gay friendly" businesses and groups. Listings range from Realtors and restaurants to attorneys and pet sitters.
Based on e-mail responses, Hodges believes many of the people viewing the site are tourists and newcomers to Savannah.
"People want to know where can I get a gay friendly Realtor, where to stay and where to eat," Hodges said.
The First City Network also publishes a monthly newsletter that lists more than 150 businesses, organizations and churches marketing to the gay community. Started in 1985, the group claims to be the first advocacy group for gays and lesbians in the state.
Gourley, who serves on the board, said the group has been effective in providing information and support to the gay community during the past 22 years.
When it comes to real estate, fewer same-sex couples see a need to surround themselves with other same-sex couples, he said.
"When people come from Chicago or New York, one of the first things I tell them is, 'Look, we don't have a gay ghetto here. We are all over this city.' "
Gourley believes the creation of a local gay businesses association would help the city learn better how to cash in as baby boomers retire.
"This is a wonderful end destination. People should be coming to Savannah and know it has a strong gay community," he said.
"There are many gay-owned businesses here and there should be support for that."
Posted 11/29/2007
'Gayborhoods' gaining buzz in SLC ( Salt Lake City )
Debut of term in mayoral debate could be another sign of Utah's growing gay population
By Rosemary Winters
From the The Salt Lake Tribune
Mayor-elect's progressive proposals promote fairness, gay community leaders saySalt Lake City's mayoral race is over - with Ralph Becker's landslide triumph. But the buzz of a "gayborhood" unfolding in the Marmalade area west of Capitol Hill is still ringing.
It was likely the only new vocabulary word tossed at Becker and his opponent, Dave Buhler, during their slew of debates. For many Utahns, it also may have been the first revelation that the reddest of red states has "gayborhoods."
Some people point to the 9th and 9th area as a prime example. Q Salt Lake Editor Michael Aaron, whose article in the gay and lesbian magazine primed the debate question, argues that Marmalade has eclipsed the Avenues to become the capital's "gayest" gayborhood. He says you can even find gay enclaves in South Salt Lake and West Valley City.
So what is a gayborhood?
In big cities, a gayborhood might center on a business district with bars, stores and restaurants catering to or owned by members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community, but in Salt Lake City it has come to mean simply a neighborhood with a higher concentration of GLBT residents.
Marina Gomberg, director of membership and outreach at the Utah Pride Center, which is located in Marmalade, emphasizes that a "gayborhood" is not an exclusive thing.
"We've worked so hard to feel like we belong, we wouldn't want anyone else to feel that feeling
of not having anywhere to go," she says. "The GLBT community embraces diversity as do many other communities."
It's not a new term, either. Philadelphia's entrenched gay district is known simply as "The Gayborhood."
But the debut of "gayborhood" into mainstream political debate here could be another indicator of Utah's growing - and increasingly "out" - GLBT population.
From 1990 to 2006, Utah's per-capita households headed by same-sex couples sprang from 38th in the nation to 14th, according to a study released this month by the Williams Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The author, Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at the institute, also ranked the nation's 50 largest cities by same-sex couples per thousand households, using 2000 Census counts and an average of 2004-2006 data from the American Community Survey.
Salt Lake City isn't one of the top 50, but if it had been included, Gates says, it would have hit No. 13 in 2000 and vaulted to No. 8 in 2006, knocking Washington, D.C., down to No. 9 for density of households headed by same-sex couples.
Surprisingly, Gates found that conservative areas such as Utah, which passed a voter-approved constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in 2004, experienced the greatest gains in the number of same-sex couples. He attributes that leap to a general migration trend among the entire U.S. population to the West and the South, but also to a growing number of GLBT people who are "out."
And the public debate about Utah's Amendment No. 3 may have pushed more GLBT people to be open about their sexuality, Gates says, in hopes of raising awareness.
"Despite that vote, perhaps [GLBT] people in smaller social circles are experiencing higher levels of acceptance - even in Utah," Gates says, "[and especially] in certain areas like Salt Lake City that don't necessarily vote the same" as the rest of the state.
Many of the nation's best-known gay districts are experiencing identity crises as gay residents move to other neighborhoods, no longer needing to live in so-called gayborhoods to experience social acceptance, according to a recent report in The New York Times.
But in conservative Utah, GLBT residents likely still gravitate to more liberal urban neighborhoods - and Salt Lake City is becoming increasingly progressive as evidenced by Becker's blowout of Buhler, continuing the capital's three-decade-plus streak of electing Democratic mayors.
"This downtown area has always been so diverse," says real estate broker and Salt Lake City Planning Commissioner Babs De Lay, who prefers the term "more diverse neighborhood" to "gayborhood."
"I sell a lot of downtown condominiums. We have a higher percentage of gay buyers than maybe out in the suburbs," she notes. "Instead of 10 percent of the population being gay, we might have 20 percent" downtown.
Take Marmalade, so named for its historic orchards and street names such as Apricot. The popular and historically diverse neighborhood is nearly synonymous with West Capitol Hill, running from 300 North to 800 North and 300 West to the Capitol's west side.
Q Salt Lake's Aaron, who is gay and has lived in Marmalade since 1991, estimates up to a third of the neighborhood is GLBT. The Utah Pride Center is a natural gathering spot for the community and, in July, it began hosting Café Marmalade, a coffeehouse/GLBT library on the street level of the center's office building.
Aaron was drawn to the area because of its multifaceted diversity and proximity to downtown. He also was able to buy, in 1990, a boarded-up, 1918 bungalow for $29,900 and renovate it for another $20,000.
"Gayborhoods just kind of happen," says Aaron, who credits the gay community with leading home makeovers in the Avenues and West Capitol Hill in the '80s and beyond.
"Gay people tend to gravitate toward where their community is, where the arts center is, where the better restaurants are," he says. They "tend to flee places like Bountiful and Sandy to go to places where more progressive people will surround them."
And Marmalade is about to get even hipper - and perhaps more gay - with the construction of Rick Howa's mixed-use project along 300 West from 500 North to 600 North, Aaron noted in Q Salt Lake last year, precipitating the gayborhood debate question.
The $50 million project, also called "Marmalade," will feature 90 high-end condos and 50,000 square feet of shops, service-oriented businesses and eateries. Preference is being given to locally owned businesses, says De Lay, who is handling the condo sales.
It could mean another influx of gay home buyers or gay-owned businesses, but De Lay and Vasilios Priskos, The Marmalade's commercial broker, say they aren't marketing specifically to the GLBT community.
But "does the gay population in the area have an influence on our [commercial] tenants? Absolutely," says Priskos, broker at Internet Properties. Same-sex couples "usually have two incomes and they spend money. They're a demographic that's interesting in the area."
He adds, "It's just a great, great diverse neighborhood." Counting our blessings
200 things to be thankful for in gay Atlanta
By LAURA DOUGLAS-BROWN
Nov. 16, 2007
As you sit around the Thanksgiving table counting your blessings, don't forget to put the best of life in gay Atlanta on your list. Sure, we live in a blue oasis in an increasingly red state. Sure, we're still fighting to pass a gay-inclusive hate crimes law. Sure, the bars close earlier now than they once did.
But just like the relative who everyone always complains about but still fiercely loves and can’t wait to see during the holidays, we can’t imagine our lives without this city. Here are some of the people, places and things that add up to make Atlanta the undisputed gay mecca of the South:
1 of the gayest intersections anywhere: It may not be the Castro, but the Midtown intersection of 10th and Piedmont rivals any in the country for the sheer volume of gay people and gay and gay-friendly businesses that pass through every day. Want to imagine what life would be like if we were the majority? Spend some time hanging out here for a taste.
33 gay bars, including a few that target lesbians all or some nights of the week: Like big DJs? Country music? Leather? Hip-hop? Drag? Bears? Sports? Or, dare we say it in the male-heavy bar scene, women who like women? Whatever your gay nightlife niche, there’s a bar for you in Atlanta. Or several.
7 great nights of partying each week: Atlanta may not quite live up to its reputation as “the city too busy too hate,” but it’s definitely a city too busy to sleep. From the long list of gay bars to gay nights at mainstream venues, there’s something cool to do all week in gay Atlanta — even on “school nights”! The options only increase any time there’s a holiday that gives us an extra day off to recover from our revelry; just check the nightlife column on page 30 of this issue for special events on Thanksgiving Eve. Who knew that was a gay holiday?
10 out elected officials: November's vote brought the tally of out gay and lesbian officials in Georgia to nine; add in Riverdale City Councilmember Michele Bruce, one of the country's few openly transgender office holders, and GLBT people are finally taking our place at the political table. Bruce faces a Dec. 4 runoff election in her bid for a second term; check out Georgia Equality's website (www.georgiaequality.org) if you want to support her campaign or learn other ways you can help “build a fair-minded majority” in Georgia.
3 LGBT political groups: Whether your political tastes favor the gay Atlanta Stonewall Democrats, Log Cabin Republicans or bipartisan Georgia Equality, Atlanta has thriving organizations to help tap the strength of the gay vote. Following politics not really your thing? At least check in with these groups near Election Day to make sure you cast your ballot for candidates who support your equality.
3 legal groups fighting for your rights: When it comes time to fight for domestic partner benefits, strike down an anti-gay law, defend gay-straight alliances in state schools, or protect a lesbian mom's right to adopt, we know Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office, the ACLU of Georgia, and the attorneys who make up the Stonewall Bar Association have our backs.
8 local governments that offer domestic partner benefits to their employees: The list definitely needs to grow, but we’re thankful for the strong statement on fairness made by these local governments who allow gay employees to include their life partners on their insurance: Atlanta, Athens-Clarke County, Decatur, DeKalb County, Doraville, East Point, Fulton County and Pine Lake.
1 awesome inner city park: Piedmont Park is the unofficial backyard of gay Atlanta, and we’re thankful for it during big events like Pride and the AIDS Walk, and just when we want an accepting place to feast on eye candy while we jog, walk our dogs or sunbathe.
2 great Pride Festivals: Atlanta Pride, the city’s annual huge gay party, er, commemoration of the Stonewall Riots, packs Piedmont Park for three days at the end of June and ranks among the biggest Pride festivals in the country. Black Gay Pride hits on Labor Day Weekend, drawing tens of thousands for fun and fellowship in what may be the nation’s biggest celebration of its kind.
6 more big gay weekends/weeks: Atlanta Pride and Black Gay Pride aren’t the only big queer weekends (or weeks) in Atlanta. Check out these other major LGBT festivals throughout the year: partying in Atlanta’s black gay scene during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, gay sports tournaments over Memorial Day, summer’s new MondoHomo queer arts fest, and a fall schedule packed with Southern Comfort, the nationally known transgender conference; the recently concluded Out on Film festival of gay cinema; and the new LGBT Literary Fest in October. And this list only scratches the surface.
12 diverse AIDS service organizations: The dozen organizations that benefit from the annual AIDS Walk Atlanta aren’t the only HIV agencies in the city, but they represent a broad spectrum of efforts to fight the virus through prevention, education, treatment and services. Need help managing your medications, tools for lobbying your lawmakers to increase HIV funding, or even help feeding yourself or your pets? Look no further than these groups that are always happy to lend a hand.
1 lesbian health organization: Founded as the Atlanta Lesbian Cancer Initiative, the Atlanta Lesbian Health Initiative now takes a broader approach, supporting lesbians with cancer while also sponsoring programs to help women increase their overall health and fitness. Gorged too much on Turkey Day? Consider their incredibly popular lesbian-oriented Weight Watchers meetings.
23 gay sports groups: Looking to get some exercise with like-minded folks? Atlanta’s gay and gay-inclusive sports leagues range from softball, soccer, rugby and flag football, to bowling, billiards, roller derby and groups for outdoor enthusiasts. Butch or femme, there's no reason you can’t be part of one of these teams.
2 gay or lesbian bookstores: Yes, we mean the kind that actually sells books! Charis Books & More, the lesbian/feminist bookstore in Little Five Points, and Outwrite Bookstore & Coffeehouse, the gay/lesbian shop in Midtown, provide a wide range of queer titles, plus function as unofficial community centers through readings, writers groups and helping support other organizations. Add to these gay variety stores that include books, like Brushstrokes, and independent bookstores like Wordsmiths that include lots of gay titles and programming, and it all adds up to a thriving literary and social scene.
3 gay business networking groups: The Atlanta Executive Network, the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and OutWorks have you covered for business networking and community building. Everyone is welcome at friendly meetings that range from lunchtime discussions to cocktails and more structured programs.
3 groups for gay families with kids: MEGA Family Project is the biggest, hosting regular events, play dates and even an annual summer trip. Gay Fathers of Atlanta also offers support, and an Atlanta chapter of COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere) is currently forming. The gayby boom is well under way!
7 (at least!) dilapidated neighborhoods rescued and refurbished by gays: — Midtown, Grant Park, East Atlanta Village, Kirkwood, East Point, Castleberry District, Glenwood Park … We could go on and on, but there’s a clear reason Atlanta real estate agents know their clients can follow the rainbow flags to the next up-and-coming neighborhood.
21 (or so) fabulous drag queens and kings (and dozens of not quite fabulous ones!): From legends like Charlie Brown and Bubba D. Licious to newer faces like Genre and Chase Daniels, we couldn’t begin to offer a real count of all gender-bending Atlantans ready to don heels (or facial hair) to entertain the queer masses. Many also give generously of their time to support non-profit groups, helping to add to the total of…
52 chances to party with a purpose: OK, it's not quite an exact count, but if there's anything gay Atlanta loves more than a good party, it's a good party for a good cause. Set for Dec. 2, the upcoming Toy Party, the biggest annual event by For the Kid in All of Us, is the perfect example of how we party and give back. There are plenty of other opportunities profiled in every issue of Southern Voice — at least an average of one per week, and often more.
2 Great gay publications: It’s a shameless plug, we admit, but we’re thankful each week to bring you Southern Voice and David Magazine — your award-winning lesbian and gay newspaper, which will soon celebrate its 20th anniversary, and the region's best gay nightlife and entertainment magazine. We’re thankful to all of you for creating such wonderful communities for us to cover, and grateful for the trust you put in us week after week.
Posted 11/9/2007
Burns heads to runoff in Fort Worth
By John Wright Staff Writer
Nov 8, 2007
Gay candidate is top vote-getter in general election field of 6
Joel Burns
FORT WORTH — Tarrant County is one step closer to having its first openly gay elected official.
Joel Burns was the leading vote-getter — with 37.5 percent — on Tuesday, Nov. 6, in the six-candidate race for the District 9 seat on the Fort Worth City Council.
Burns, a 38-year-old openly gay real estate agent and city zoning commissioner, advanced to a runoff against Juan Rangel, who finished second with 23.4 percent of the vote. Burns captured 1,608 votes to Rangel’s 1,006.
The runoff is tentatively scheduled for Dec. 11.
“It was a great result,” Burns told Dallas Voice on Wednesday. “I was very excited to come in not only first but so far ahead of all the other people.”
Candidate Chris Turner, whose name had been used in an anti-gay attack on Burns during the race, finished third with 18 percent of the vote.
The attack came in the form of comments by District 3 City Councilman Chuck Silcox during a meeting of the Fort Worth Women’s Club that also was a forum for Republican state House candidates on Oct. 24.
“This is an excellent time to have Republicans get out and support a Republican,” Silcox told the crowd. “We have two people of opposite partisan politics, opposite philosophical persuasions and opposite sexual orientations.”
“I didn’t tell you which one was homosexual,” Silcox added, pointing to Turner. “He’s married to a female, and the other’s married to a male. You make your own mind up.”
Neither Turner nor Silcox returned phone calls from Dallas Voice seeking comment about the matter. But Turner’s business partner, Craig Murphy, denied Turner was behind the comments.
Regardless, Burns said he believes the incident cost Turner votes.
“What was said by Mr. Silcox hurt Mr. Turner, and Mr. Turner’s failure to respond to it hurt Mr. Turner,” Burns said.
Burns said he is extremely confident about his chances in the runoff against the 60-year-old Rangel, who is currently a member of the Fort Worth school board. Rangel also did not return a phone call.
“I feel very, very good going forward,” Burns said. “I think I’ll finish in as strong a first place in the runoff as I did in the first election.”
Burns acknowledged that if he wins, he’ll make history for the growing LGBT community in Tarrant County. But he said it’s not something he thinks about too much. Instead, he said the focus of his campaign is building safe neighborhoods, economic development and transportation planning.
“I think about it only when people bring it up to me,” Burns said.
“I’m running to represent everyone. In all honesty, I literally forget that.”
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition November 9, 2007 - Gay Realtor
Posted 11/8/2007
Gay seniors cherish enclave
Straight residents could upset condo apple cart
Straight residents could upset condo apple cart
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