Top Stories
Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Is Still Destroying Lives
September 20 marks five years since Congress repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Under DADT, openly gay and lesbian people were barred from military service. Those already in the military but found to “demonstrate a propensity or intent to engage in homosexual acts” were expelled. After it was introduced in 1993, over 13,000 service(…)
Intersex Woman Jailed as a Man in Miami Files $5 Million Lawsuit
An intersex woman who was held in a men’s prison in Miami has filed a $5 million (€4.4 million) lawsuit. Fiordaliza Pichardo, originally from Dominican Republic, was arrested three years ago at Miami’s international airport on a decades-old drug trafficking charge that was later dismissed. She was initially booked as a female at the Metro(…)
Defying odds, Jim Gray challenging Rand Paul in Kentucky
Recognizing that Jim Gray would be a different kind of Washington politician if elected to the U.S. Senate takes only a brief encounter. In a legislative chamber filled with soapbox orators — arguably including his opponent Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) — the candidate stands out with a modest demeanor and a soft-spoken Kentucky drawl. But Gray —(…)
Local News
Out Lesbian Sheryl Bratton Named County Administrator
Sonoma County supervisors have selected a out lesbian from within their own ranks to be the next county administrator, taking over for Veronica Ferguson when she steps down in October. Sheryl Bratton, the assistant county counsel and a 24-year county employee, is set to take the helm of the largest local government, including a workforce(…)
Burning Man Safety Chief is None Other Than Out Gay Gabe Kearney, Petaluma Councilman
There are legions of “Burners” from Sonoma County and the North Bay. Gabe Kearney is one of the relatively few professionals. “This is year 11 for me,” the affable, 34-year-old Petaluman said from the opulence of an air-conditioned office/home created within a shipping container. Most everyone at Burning Man this week lives in a(…)
Petaluma’s Mystic Theatre Cancels Concert By Anti-gay Reggae Artist
Petaluma’s Mystic Theater has canceled scheduled a September show by reggae artist Sizzla whose lyrics insight violence against the LGBTQI Community and who makes anti-gay statements during performances. He first emerged onto the Jamaican dancehall scene in the late ‘90s, and quickly became notorious for incorporating hateful lyrics into his songs. The North Bay LGBTQI(…)
Occidental Area Health Center Celebrates 40 Years of Service
It is with great pride that West County Health Centers celebrates over forty years of providing comprehensive, quality, and accessible health care services to the communities of western Sonoma County, beginning at the Occidental Area Health Center in 1976. It is a great honor to care for our communities and provide a trusted “medical(…)
Arts & Entertainment
Book Review: ‘Darling Days’ by iO Tillett Wright
I took another swing at her shoulder out of embarrassment, but she pushed my hand away and kept laughing. These are the sweet moments. The times when I recognize what I see in other kids with their parents when they’re buying chocolate lollipops or driving past us after school. These are the darling days when(…)
Book Review: ‘They May Not Mean To, But They Do’ by Cathleen Schine
Cathleen Schine’s They May Not Mean To, But They Do is a novel about reasonably pleasant people to whom nothing much happens except time, in all its ordinariness and brutality. That starts off as a weakness but, by the book’s end, turns into its core strength. Given the Philip Larkin epigram that also lends the(…)
State News
Former Employee Files Suit Against Trader Joe’s for Alleged Sexual Orientation Discrimination
A former Store Manager (or, Store “Captain” in Trader Joe’s parlance) has filed a sexual orientation discrimination lawsuit against the Company. In her lawsuit, Sandy Holm, a long term 15-year employee, alleges that her former supervisor, Regional Vice-President Caroline Judd, fired her because she is gay. The lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles County(…)
Equality California Endorses 11 Pro-Equality Candidates in Federal, State and Local Races
Equality California today announced the endorsements of 11 strong pro-equality candidates for Congress, the California Legislature and local offices throughout the state. “Equality California has been able to accomplish the things it has because of its work with the LGBT and allied elected officials with whom it collaborates in Washington, D.C., Sacramento and around the(…)
