Top Stories
Supreme Court Will Decide if Civil Rights Laws Have Broad Religious Exemptions
The Supreme Court is taking on a new clash between gay rights and religion in a case about a wedding cake for a same-sex couple in Colorado. The justices said Monday they will consider whether a baker who objects to same-sex marriage on religious grounds can refuse to make a wedding cake for a gay(…)
Mike Pence and Donald Trump Turn Their Backs on Pride
As many of us commemorated the 48th anniversary of the historic Stonewall Inn-surrection during our month of Pride, the Trump administration chose to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of an extremist right-wing group, Focus on the Family, as Vice President Mike Pence addressed the group in its Colorado Springs location promising “you have(…)
Protests From Within the LGBTQ Community Block Pride Events Across the Country
Protests marked Pride celebrations in major cities across the country last weekend, with LGBTQ people both marching in and blocking Pride parades to get across political messages including objections to police, corporations, institutional racism, and Israel. New York City In New York City, 12 people carrying signs that read “No Cops, No Banks” were(…)
Local News
Petaluma Startup Fights Fake News
Last Thursday, in a garage tucked away on Edith Street, three Petalumans launched a startup that aims to redefine how news is consumed. The startup is Tribeworthy, a website that allows users to rate the overall trustworthiness of news articles, a process coined by its founders as “crowd-contested media.” Users have the option of rating(…)
Santa Rosa’s Luther Burbank Center for the Arts to Get $4.7M Facelift
The Luther Burbank Center for the Arts will undergo a $4.7 million renovation and upgrade beginning this month, it was announced today by the Board of Directors of the non-profit Luther Burbank Memorial Foundation, which owns and operates the center.Plans for the 43 year-old building include increased ADA accessibility, a new roof, new paint, and(…)
Key Jobs That Don’t Pay Enough to Live in Sonoma County
A new report by SmartAsset (https://smartasset.com/mortgage/the-income-needed-to-pay-rent-in-the-largest-cities) looked at the rental housing market in major cities in the United States and calculated what annual salary someone has to make in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment. For San Francisco, where two-bedrooms go for $5,043 per month, that figure was $216,219. Considering that San Francisco’ss median household(…)
United Express Returns with Flights Based at Sonoma County Airport
Under cloudy skies, a United Express jet touched down at Sonoma County’s airport Thursday following a 17-minute flight from San Francisco, marking the return of one of the world’s largest airlines to Wine Country and the continuing expansion of the regional airport. With United’s addition, Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport now offers 13 daily flights(…)
Arts & Entertainment
Frameline Film Review: “Rebels On Pointe”
The ballet world is generally seen as a little self-serious, to say the least. But there are exceptions to any rule. Case in point, or should I say pointe: Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. The New York comedy-ballet company is the subject of Montrealer Bobbi Jo Hart’s engaging documentary Rebels on Pointe. The(…)
Frameline Film Review: “Signature Move”
Two women meet and fall in love, despite parental disapproval and their own personal roadblocks. Needless to say, the story of Signature Move, a SXSW world premiere, is far from novel. But vivid details can animate almost any old chestnut, and many of the variations on this timeworn tale help to give the film its(…)
State News
Equality California: New Healthcare Repeal Bill is “Immoral”
In response to the Senate’s just-released bill that would repeal portions of the Affordable Care Act, Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur issued the following statement: “The bill unveiled today by the Senate isn’t just mean, as Donald Trump himself admits about the House version, it’s immoral. If passed, it will have a devastating impact(…)
California Legislative LGBT Caucus to Celebrate June as Pride Month and Honors Outstanding LGBT Individuals
The California Legislative LGBT Caucus will celebrate June 2017 as Pride Month with the adoption of House Resolution 41 during Assembly Floor Session and Senate Resolution 46 during Senate Floor Session Monday, June 19. As part of the ceremony, the Caucus will honor 10 LGBT individuals and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus in appreciation(…)
