Top Stories
3rd Annual Topeka Pride Showcases Resistance in Challenging Year
This Pride season, following a difficult first half of the year for trans residents in the state, Kansans are coming together to send an unequivocal message: LGBTQ people are part of the fabric of our local communities, we are proud, and we are here to stay, no matter what. As Topeka Pride enters its third annual – and what is expected to be its largest ever – Pride Palooza celebration, Caleb Soliday (he/him), who serves as the organization’s president, sat down with GLAAD to talk about the significance of this year’s festivities. “We’re like the United Way, but like the United […]
Right-wingers mock trans student tased by UCF police after demanding not to be misgendered
An altercation between juveniles and a transgender student at the University of Central Florida last year ended with the student being tased and pepper-sprayed. Campus police ultimately arrested the student, whose legal surname is Vick but whose preferred name is not publicly known, on charges of resisting arrest. Ultimately, a scheduled trial for Vick was cancelled, and the state dropped its case. But more than a year after the incident, right-wing influencers and media have seized on newly released police footage to attack the mental health of a transgender person. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The […]
Gay rights advocate who had first same-sex wedding in Quebec dies
Michael Hendricks, the Canadian gay rights advocate whose legacy spans HIV/AIDS-era remembrance and a landmark marriage equality fight in Quebec, has died aged 84. Hendricks died via medical assistance on 18 July after living with a degenerative lung disease, and is survived by his husband, René Leboeuf, as reported by Fugues. During the HIV and AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s, the couple fought for LGBTQ+ rights and worked with other activists and the City of Montreal to create a permanent memorial to the people of Quebec who had died of AIDS. Their efforts resulted in Parc de l’Espoir, built […]
Local News
Positive Images Social Saturday Happened August 8 at Healdsburg Beach
Join Positive Images and Sonoma County Regional Parks for a Rainbow River day at Healdsburg Veterans Memorial Beach for swimming, and some fun in the sun on August 8th from 12-2pm This is an all ages, family focused event. For questions, please reach out to joy@posimages.org
Wake Up Sonoma Meets with Sonoma Valley High School Superintendent About Pride Flag Removal
On July 22, Board members, David, Josette and Lisa met with Superintendent Jason Sutter, who continues to be invested in listening to the community, hearing us out, and working within his role and capacity. Below is a summary of our meeting.He has scheduled the presentation of two possible flag policies for September. This will give the Superintendent time to work with administrators, staff, and students to develop the draft policies. He would also be surprised if the issue is fully resolved in September. Board policies often require multiple revisions, and because two drafts will be presented to the Board, the […]
Arts & Entertainment
Now at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol: “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World”
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the WorldOne Week Only Starts Friday July 24 3:50 pm & 5:45 pm If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it. Celebrated best-selling poet, Pulitzer Prize-winner, lover of dogs and long walks in the woods, openly queer but intensely private, Oliver was America’s unlikely contemporary mystic, stalking the ponds and forests of Cape Cod for nearly fifty years in order to open herself – and her readers – to the known and unknowable world. From a lonely childhood to literary fame, Oliver’s life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the […]
State News
When San Francisco “went absolutely bonkers” over a gay vigilante group
“Nothing disgusts me more than a f**got on the sideline.” So said the Rev. Ray Broshears, the collar-clad leader of the Lavender Panthers, a gay vigilante group enlisted by Broshears to combat attacks on gay and trans people in San Francisco during the 1970s. Broshears aggressive tactics and publicity-seeking gained the group some mainstream headlines and probably account for its prominent place in the history of the “Gay Liberation” movement today, when other community-based responses to police harassment and gay-bashing have been lost. The controversial and self-styled gay “reverend” was a master at provocation. “I believe in confrontation politics,” Broshears […]
California budgets $26 million to protect access to gender-affirming care from federal attacks
In a win for trans people, their families, and healthcare providers in the state, California has passed a new budget that includes funds to protect gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare from federal funding interference. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the budget, which was the result of extensive lobbying from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, including TransFamily Support Services. “This historic investment will help keep care accessible, support the providers doing this lifesaving work, and remind trans young people that California will not abandon them,” said Kathy Moehlig, director of TransFamily Support Services. The 2026-27 budget sets aside $26 million to support gender-affirming care access […]
