Florida Agenda

By James Michaels

In just nine short years, St. Pete Gay Pride has become the largest gay pride event in the state of Florida with nearly 100,000 people expected to attend this year from around the country. The streets will be packed, the beaches will be packed and there will be plenty of opportunities to show your pride this weekend.

Within a relatively short amount of time, St. Pete Pride has grown into one of the largest Pride events in the southeast. What started as a few thousand native Floridians and a couple city blocks on Central Avenue has become an international attraction, spanning eight blocks and attracting tens of thousands of people.

St. Pete Pride weekend is more than just a few hours on the hot streets of Central Avenue and, of course, you don’t want to miss the Pride Prominade, but there is so much packed into four days (Thursday, June 23rd – Sunday, June 26th) of showing your pride to the world.

Official Pride Events

Thursday, June 23rd, from  6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Stonewall Commemorative Reception at the Museum of Fine Arts, 255 Beach Drive, N.E., St. Petersburg – The Stonewall Commemor-ative Reception is St. Pete Pride’s sponsor and friends’ reception. Fine food and beautiful art will be provided for those who have helped make St. Pete Pride a successful organization. Exhibitions on display will be “The Human Touch: Contemporary Art from the RBC Wealth Management Collection” and “New Folk: Contemporary Self-Taught Art from the Collection”.

Friday, June 24th, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Pride in Fashion at the Macy’s in Tyrone Square Mall, 6901 22nd Ave North, St. Petersburg. Join celebrity guests, including two-time Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir and Alexis Mateo, from RuPaul’s Drag Race. See the latest trends in fashion, including the famous Papi Underwear models and enjoy complimentary hors d’oeuvres and champagne provided by Barefoot Wine and Bubbly. Weir will also be on hand to autograph copies of his new autobiography “Welcome to My World.” A $10 suggested donation to the event is requested which Macy’s will return with a $10 gift card to be used on merchandise. All proceeds benefit St. Pete Pride.

Friday, June 24th starting at 9 p.m., Jagermeister Pre-Party at Georgie’s Alibi, 3100 3rd Ave N. in St. Petersburg. A night of fun with great music, special entertainment, drink specials, giveaways and more. Come out and kick-start the weekend fun. Included will be some of the stars of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Shangela, Alexis Mateo and the legendary Lady Bunny.

Saturday, June 25th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., St. Pete Pride Street Festival & Promenade in the Grand Central District of Central Avenue between 21st and 28th Streets in St.

Petersburg. Don’t miss one of the best parties of the year in Tampa Bay and celebrate the diversity of St. Petersburg and Central Florida. Floats from organizations, clubs, social groups and businesses will be decked out in rainbow colors for the annual St. Pete Pride Promenade starting at 9 a.m. The parade will feature LGBT activist and founder of Metropolitan Community Church, Rev. Troy Perry, this year’s Grand Marshal and Alexis Mateo from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Following the parade, vendors from across the state will line Central Avenue to celebrate their commitment to diversity.
Saturday, June 25th from 3 p.m. to midnight, Ice Party at the Postcard Inn on the Beach, 6300 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach. The best way to cool off after St. Pete Pride. A cool dip in the biggest pool on St. Pete Beach with hot bodies dumping cold ice on you. Or a frolic in the Gulf. Join D.J. Luis Perez and thousands of hot new friends on Postcard’s private beach for drinks, dancing, fireworks and more at the inaugural ICE Party. $20 Saturday Resort Pass required for admission.

Saturday, June 25th from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., Heatwave Party for Women at the Postcard Inn on the Beach 6300 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach. Girls know how to have fun too so the conference facility at Postcard Inn will be converted into a disco, complete with a huge (and incredibly romantic) second story deck overlooking the beautiful property and the Gulf of Mexico. $20 Heatwave Party ticket required for admission (additionally serves as your Resort Pass for admission to the Ice Party).

Sunday, June 26th from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m., Tropical T-Dance at the Flamingo Resort, 4601 34th Street in St. Petersburg. Come party around the pool for the hottest t-dance in town. Drink specials, drag queens, hot male strippers and the Florida sun ensure that the party never ends. Come dance the afternoon away at St. Pete Pride’s Official Closing Party.

Other Pride Events at the Flamingo Resort

June 24 to 27 at the Flamingo Resort, 4601 34th St. S. in St. Petersburg. No resort pass to buy to attend and plenty of extra parking. Come party around the pool for the hottest t-dance in town. Drink specials, drag queens, hot male strippers and the Florida sun ensure that the party never ends. Come dance the afternoon away at St. Pete Pride’s Official Closing Party.
Thursday, June 23 from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Miss Flamingo Pride Contest at the Flamingo Resort, 4601 34th St. S in St. Petersburg, Come show your support for the Miss Flamingo Pride Contest. Winners get to ride in the Saint Pete. Pride Promenade the following day.

Friday, June 24th from 6 to 9 p.m., Flamingo Pride Kick-Off Party with the Double M Band performing live poolside.
Saturday, June 25th, ride the Flamingo Express from Flamingo Resort to their depot on Central Avenue and 28th Street ($1 each way) and see the St. Pete Pride Promenade then cool off at the largest pool party in Florida at Flamingo Resort. Deejays, drag shows, male dancers, food, drinks and fun.

Also …
Saturday, June 25th starting at 6:30 p.m. at Georgie’s Alibi, 3100 3rd Ave N. in St. Petersburg. Performing live will be Yara Sofia, Alexis Mateo and Lady Bunny. Sunday, June 26th, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Party at the Beach at the, Postcard Inn on the Beach 6300 Gulf Boulevard, St. Pete Beach. Deejays Jeffrey and CK keep the party going with all-day parties going. Sponsored by Outings and Adventure. The cost is $10.

Gay Pride Lives On In Wilton Manors

By James Michaels

For the first time, the City of Wilton Manors is sponsoring the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade which will be held this Sunday, June 19th. This move followed the collapse of Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale, which organized the annual festival and parade for the previous 11 years.

Up until 1998, Pride South Florida held their annual PrideFest in June; however, that year, citing cooler temperatures and dryer weather plus the possibility of taking advantage of the annual South Florida tourist season, Pride South Florida decided to move the annual PrideFest to the month of February.

Upon Pride South Florida’s announcement, a group of people got together for lunch at Georgie’s Alibi and decided to form a second gay pride organization, Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale, and to hold their own gay pride festival and parade in the month of June. They also decided that, instead of holding their festival in the convention center or a park, they would hold the festival on Wilton Drive with the parade itself going through the festival. Finally, in order to better honor the Stonewall Riots, they decided to name their event the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade.

Several other people joined the group, and soon John Boteler, Rocky Bowell, Karl Clark, Terry DeCarlo, Joel Geary, Gretchen Hasselkoff, Bill Huelsman, Bob Kecskemety, Dale Madison, Terry Norman and Tony Ramos started to plan the first Stonewall Street Festival and Parade, scheduled for Sunday, June 25, 2000, hoping to attract 5,000 participants.

Planning for the first festival did not go off without a hitch. For one thing, none of the people involved had any experience in holding an event the size and scope of a gay pride parade and festival. Second, all the paperwork required to create a non-profit organization had yet to be approved, so the first festival operated under the cooperation of the Poverello Center. Also, there was some resistance from the Wilton Manors City Commission about holding a gay pride event on Wilton Drive, which was, itself, under construction with widening, repaving and putting in center median strips and the State of Florida’s Department of Transportation had to give their final approval for totally opening Wilton Drive for both the festival and  regular car traffic.

Tensions ran high, but the state ultimately gave their approval the week before the festival. Finally, there was some community resistance and some organizations that had normally participated in gay pride events rejected the idea of a second gay pride event being held in the area and refused to participate.

Making fun of South Florida’s notorious afternoon rain storms and heat, Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale provided “rain insurance” to participants in the form of rainbow-painted umbrellas which were for sale.

The parade ran from Fort Lauderdale High School north to Dixie Highway. The festival, which had a carnival theme, ran only from NE 6th Avenue

to NE 9th Avenue. The Wilton Manors Police Department estimated that 7,500 people attended the first Stonewall and the afternoon June rains held out until right after the festival ended.

The second year (2001), the festival expanded from NE 21st Court to NE 9th Avenue. Police estimated 10,000 people attended that year despite the rain which started about 1 hour before the scheduled end of the festival.

Each year, attendance in the festival grew and the crowds got used to – and even expected – the afternoon rains and the high temperatures. In 2002, the festival was all but totally rained out and in 2009 the temperature in the parking lot at the Shoppes of Wilton Manors was recorded at 104 degrees.

Last year, 2010, an estimated 20,000 people attended Stonewall. Though the attendance was the largest ever, the festival lost $30,000. The Stonewall organizers faced last minute expenses and an early morning lightning storm kept the tent company from setting up the festival in time. The overnight weather delay meant that the street bars and ticket booths weren’t completed – only two of the eight bars were complete before the festival and parade started. (The bars are the single largest income producer for the festival.)

Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale attempted to pay the entire debt they owed, but were only able to garner another $10,000 to pay their creditors. Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale officially closed their doors on October 31, 2010, being one of four gay pride organizations in the U.S. to shut down last year.

The City of Wilton Manors was determined to keep the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade alive. In late 2010, the city put out a notice to private promoters to take over the festival. The contract was awarded to Miami-based Wedner & Friends Special Events Management and Marketing, which has an extensive track record in producing GLBT festivals and parties. The combination festival and parade, which has free admission, takes place this Sunday, June 19th, from 4 to 9 p.m.

Timothy Ray Brown Appears to be First Person “Cured”

Photo: Timothy Ray Brown is nicknamedthe “Berlin Patient

By James Michaels

BERLIN, GERMANY – This June 5th will be the 30th anniversary of the disease we now call AIDS. It was on that date that the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reported an unusual case of five gay Los Angeles men who were suffering from a strange form of pneumonia. Because of the connection with the gay men, the disease was originally referred to as GRIDS (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome).

At first, being diagnosed with AIDS was the equivalent of an immediate death sentence; however, through the last three decades various drugs and drug combinations (often referred to “drug cocktails”) allowed people living with the HIV/AIDS virus to lead a long and fruitful life, with the virus almost undetectable, as long as the patient continued to take the drugs. An actual “cure” for AIDS, however, has been elusive. Scientists have been studying immunity to HIV since the disease was discovered 30 years ago, as it soon became apparent that a small percentage of people seemed to be naturally resistant.

Now, after 30 years comes word of a patient who appears to be the first person in the world to have actually been cured of the disease. Nicknamed the “Berlin Patient,” he is Timothy Ray Brown, 45, originally from Seattle and currently lives in the San Francisco area. He first tested positive for HIV in 1995. Doctors believe they cured Brown’s HIV infection via a stem cell transplant that contained cells that were impervious to the HIV infection. While living in Berlin, Brown received a stem cell transplant back in 2007 as a treatment for his leukemia. Before the transplant, he received chemotherapy treat eradicated most of his immune cells, and received further immunosuppressive drugs to prevent his body from rejecting the stem cells.

But these were no ordinary stem cells – a mutation found in just one percent of Caucasians in Northern and Western Europe causes CD4 cells to lack the CCR5 receptor, a receptor necessary for earlystage HIV to infect CD4 immune system cells. (People with this mutation are more immune to HIV infection.) Scientists believe the mutation arose in the Middle Ages; some experts have suggested it spread in response to the Black Plague, while others have pointed to smallpox as more likely. Survivors of that era developed a genetic mutation which has been passed down to their heirs called a “CCR5 delta-32 deletion”. Scientists believe those who have one copy of the CCR5 gene enjoy some resistance against HIV, but not total immunity. That seems to be the case in about 10 to 15 per cent of those descended from Northern Europeans. Those who inherit two copies of this so-called “immune gene,” one from each parent, seem to have strong immunity to HIV. That’s the case in an estimated 1 per cent of people descended from Northern Europeans, with Swedes being the most likely candidates. It means today, if both of your parents have this mutation, your body lacks the “doorway” for HIV to enter. Brown says that he quit taking his HIV medication the day that he got the transplant and hasn’t had to take any since.

Through the years since the transplant, Brown’s progress had been reported in medical journals and other media outlets. The Wall Street Journal first reported the story on November 7, 2008, declaring that the patient “appears to have won the battle with AIDS”. The following month, the New York Times wrote, “the man has been free of the virus for 20 months”. Last December, the patient’s doctors reported in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Blood, that tests “strongly suggest that the cure of HIV has been achieved in this patient.”

The various reports referred to the patient simply as the “Berlin Patient” and Brown’s personal identity had not been known until Brown himself made the revelation, claiming “I’m cured of HIV. I had HIV but I don’t anymore.”

Brown is being studied closely by AIDS researchers in Northern California, where he now lives. Their goal is to try to replicate Brown’s reported success in other patients. As difficult as that might be, he represents new hope for an outright cure that wasn’t there before. Brown’s story does have some setbacks.

Brown suffered some neurological problems that affected his motor skills; however, he is improving. Also, the same procedure had been previously tried on other patients who did not survive.

Researchers warn that while Brown’s recovery is indisputable, it by no means indicates that a cure for AIDS has been discovered. The findings, however, open the door for further review and optimism in the frustrating battle that has raged against HIV/AIDS for three decades.

There are a number of hurdles.

For one thing, some experts have cautioned that HIV could still be lurking somewhere in Brown’s body and are referring to Brown’s treatment as being more of a “functional cure”.

There’s also the risk – and difficulty – of doing stem cell transplants, and the relative paucity of donors. Donating stem cells is a bit more invasive than a standard blood donation, and finding a good fit between donors and recipients isn’t easy.

AIDS pioneer scientist, Dr. Paul Volberding, cautioned, “The Berlin Patient is a fascinating story; it’s not one that can be generalized. You don’t want to go out and get a bone marrow transplant and the bone marrow transplants themselves carry a real risk of mortality.” But Volberding added, “He [Brown] hasn’t had a recurrence now for several years of the virus and that hasn’t happened before in our experience.”

By JAMES MICHAELS

The Board of Directors for Stonewall Pride Inc. (d.b.a. Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale) has voted to cease operations and dissolve the organization effective Dec. 31. PGFL has been the organization which, for the past 11 years, hosted the Stonewall Street Festival and Parade and, in 2009, the Wicked Manors Halloween street party on Wilton Drive.

In late 2008, when the current board took office, they discovered that the organization owed more than $10,000 to the I.R.S. due to the previous board’s failure to file the proper paperwork with the government.

They made arrangements and had been making payments to the I.R.S.

This past July, it was reported that the annual Stonewall Street Festival and Parade left the organization $30,000 in debt. At that time, PGFL immediately cancelled plans for Wicked Manors. The organization vowed to hold fundraisers to pay off the creditors but the I.R.S. seized the organization’s bank accounts, and money raised from the first fundraiser went directly to the government.

Attorney Greg Kabel assisted Stonewall Pride on a pro-bono basis to negotiate with the creditors and assisted in collecting money still owed to the organization. They were able to collect enough money to pay off the debt to the I.R.S., with an additional $10,000 to pay the creditors from the June festival, still leaving a balance of $20,000.

The board realized they would not be able to hold additional fundraisers to pay off the remaining debt and raise approximately another $40,000 to hold a Stonewall Festival in 2011 and decided to dissolve the organization.

Recently, the City of Wilton Manors decided to form an events committee which will exclusively handle the organization of events on The Drive and hire a professional promotion company to handle these events for the city.

The Stonewall Pride board voted to donate its remaining physical assets, which included cases of soda, cups, water, juices, paper products, bar and electrical equipment and decorations to The Pride Center at Equality Park. PGFL also voted to give its registered trademark of Wicked Manors to the Pride Center for their use in the future.

By JAMES MICHAELS

For over a quarter-century, John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk in Madeira Beach has offered festivities for the whole family at the annual Seafood Festival. Dedicated to fishermen lost at sea, this year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 30 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 31 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to the event is free.

The many features of the event include an Art & Craft Show with 60 local and regional artists, tons of fresh local seafood, a fish cutting competition, a “real” haunted house, more than 150 unique shops, live music, a street dance in the village, a fishing expo, an environmental area and a children’s area. A children’s Halloween costume contest will take place on Saturday at 3 p.m. and trick or treating will take place throughout the hours of the event. All costume contest participants will receive a prize.

Florida Blood Services will also be on site to collect donations.

Parking for the festival is available both in John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk and off-site. The convenient, 325- space parking structure is easily accessible from the 129th and 131st Avenue entrances to the Village.

Free additional parking is available at Madeira Beach Middle School with free shuttle service to and from John’s Pass Village.

The Seafood Festival is organized by the John’s Pass Village Association. Sponsors include The City of Madeira Beach, The St. Petersburg Times, Bright House Networks, and Budweiser.

For more information, please contact Suzanne King at (727) 322-5217 or SuzFest@gmail.com, or visit our website at www.JohnsPassFestivals.com. Seafood Festival

California Gay Couples Continue to Wait

By JAMES MICHAELS

On Monday, August 16, 2010, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put an emergency stay to prevent the issuing same-sex marriage licenses in the state of California which was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, August 18.

On August 4, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker overturned the marriage ban known as Proposition 8. Vaughn ruled that Prop.

8 was unconstitutional stating that banning same-sex marriage in California violated the Constitutions’ equal protection and due process rights. However, his ruling put a stay on his order to allow time for proponents of Prop. 8 to pursue an appeal.

The three-judge appellate court panel said it wanted to consider the constitutionality of the state’s same sex ban. Sponsors of Prop. 8 petitioned the court to block gay marriages to resume until a determination from the appellate court could be made. They claimed that allowing same-sex marriages to resume while the case was being appealed could cause legal chaos if Prop. 8 was eventually upheld.

Lawyers favoring dropping Prop. 8 stated that they are encouraged that eventually the ban on gay marriage in the state would be permanently dropped and that they would not appeal the appellate court’s stay decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, they added they are will to take the constitutionality of Prop. 8 to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Oral arguments both for and against dropping Proposition 8 are scheduled to begin on December 6.

Retail Chain Faces Community Ire

by JAMES MICHAELS

LGBT activists has designated a national day of protest against neighborhood Target Department Stores for Saturday, August 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sporadic protests have already been held in numerous cities throughout the United States. Organizers are upset with the Target Corporation for making a contribution to MN Forward, a political organization supporting Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer. Emmer is known for opposing gay rights and especially gay marriage.

Earlier this year in January, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in a 5-to-4 decision that the government can not ban donations to political organizations made by corporations with the court claiming is was a case of free speech. The dropping of the ban did not include direct corporate donations to individual candidates.

Target’s donation was $100,000 in cash and another $50,000 in goods and services. Both Target and Best Buy, another retailer which made a $100,000 donation to MN Forward, had previously rated a 100% from the HRC Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index.

“Target has been a champion for workplace equality for many years,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese in a written statement. “That’s why their recent donation to MN Forward was so at odds with their sterling reputation as a great employer for LGBT people.

The fact that their political contribution was used to advance an anti-equality candidate was extremely hurtful to all fair-minded Americans.”

Target responded with: “Target understands the concerns of the HRC. We have had multiple conversations with the HRC during the past few weeks and will continue our constructive dialogue. Target respects the work of the HRC and appreciates our partnership with them over the years. We hope to continue to work with the HRC in a spirit of mutual cooperation.”

Target said that its decision to support MN Forward was based solely on helping to elect candidates who make lower taxes, jobs and economic issues a top priority.

Target’s chief executive, Gregg Steinhael also sent a statement to Target employees saying that the company is genuinely sorry about the donation and vowed to review the process in which political donations are decided.

Since the revelation of the donation, gay-rights activists have called for demonstrations outside of Target stores throughout the country and to destroy Target Visa credit cards. At first, Target stock has lost over $1.3 billion with the threat of a nationwide boycott, a loss of 3.5% but has since risen to pre-boycott levels.

Other research showed that Target has a history of supporting anti-gay causes. Abe Sauer wrote in The Awl that “The truth is not that Target and its leadership have suddenly turned on their commitment to gay rights. It’s more that it never really existed to begin with. Further research shows that Target has funneled significant funding to the most socially conservative of Republicans and that it boasts a frightening culture of anti-gay candidate support from Target’s own stable of top executives.”

The progressive-leaning MoveOn.org has joined in calling for a boycott of Target.

As a side note, Tom Emmer’s Democratic opponent for Minnesota governor is Mark Dayton whose family founded Dayton-Hudson Department stores which owns Target.

At press time, questions to Target corporate media relations department went unanswered.