Top Stories
Court Again Blocks HUD’s Homelessness Overhaul
Politico reports: A federal judge on Friday once again struck down an effort by the Trump administration to dramatically restructure $4 billion in federal funding for people experiencing homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s efforts to modify the so-called Continuum of Care Program aims to shift much of the funding, which is distributed to local organizations, from permanent housing assistance to temporary housing and services. The new funding model being championed by HUD Secretary Scott Turner is a shift from a decadeslong “housing first” policy. McElroy wrote in the Friday ruling that the court’s review found that HUD’s issuance […]
Lesbian couple sue casino after alleged brutal anti-gay attack
A married lesbian couple is suing MGM Resorts International after a brutal anti-LGBTQ+ assault outside the MGM Grand Detroit allegedly left one woman with a traumatic brain injury; they allege security staff stood by and did nothing to help. According to the lawsuit, Chelsi Way, her wife Celia Haueter, and Way’s brother and his partner were waiting for valet service after a concert in June 2025 when they were approached by two men. One of the men allegedly began filming the group before shouting homophobic slurs, mocking pronouns, and launching a violent attack. Haueter was knocked unconscious for around five […]
Rudy Giuliani launches bizarre anti-trans rant over Zohran Mamdani’s child care plan
The name on every disgraced politician’s lips is gonna be … Mamdani. In a nonsensical rant worthy of an IRL “alright, grandpa, let’s get you to bed,” former New York City mayor and flop presidential also-ran Rudy Giuliani used his soap box (also known as his web show America’s Mayor Live) to lambast current mayor Zohran Mamdani. In a segment uploaded on August 5, 2026, Giuliani suggested that Mamdani’s plan for expanding universal pre-K was actually a ploy to turn children transgender. (That’s actually putting it delicately. In reality, Giuliani, like manyRepublicans, made explicit and violent references to children’s genitals in order to […]
Local News
Human Trafficking Awareness and Violence Against Women Forum Happens August 13
he Commission on the Status of Women warmly invites you to attend the Violence Against Women and Girls: Human Trafficking Forum on August 13, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at 575 Administration Drive, Suite 117C, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. This forum will explore the scope and impact of human trafficking and multiple forms of violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and exploitation. It serves as a public forum to raise awareness and promote prevention of human trafficking and gender-based violence. The forum will bring together survivors, advocates, service providers, and community leaders to share testimony, examine systemic challenges, and highlight effective […]
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
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
San Francisco named the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, but US cities are sliding
San Francisco has been ranked the world’s best city for LGBTQ+ life, though the study warns that American cities are slipping overall amid the political climate under Donald Trump. The finding comes from the 2026 Sexually Liberal City Index, compiled by adult entertainment platform Erobella, which scored 41 cities worldwide across four areas: sex-work law, LGBTQ+ life, reproductive health and adult lifestyle. San Francisco topped the LGBTQ+ category specifically, scoring 70 out of 100, ahead of Manchester on 62 and Cologne on 61. The city was praised for its enduring community infrastructure, from the Castro to its Pride traditions, and the […]
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 […]
