Category Archives: California

Gay athletes help with condom distribution

condoms, gay news, safe sex, Washington Blade

(Photo by Inga via Wikimedia Commons)

LOS ANGELES — Several LGBT intramural sports leagues in Los Angeles are partnering with the city’s Department of Public Health to distribute the official “L.A. Condom,” handed out from a 40-foot-long “condom mobile” that made its debut at Long Beach Pride. They hope to hand out 1 million and one condoms by the end of the year, LGBT Weekly reported Monday.

Last June, L.A. County Public Health’s Division of HIV and STD Programs announced the winners of its first-ever condom contest to design an official Los Angeles-branded condom wrapper. The contest received about 500 entries with more than 185,000 online votes cast, LGBT Weekly reported.

An estimated 2,000 new HIV infections occur annually in L.A. County, the article said. In 2011, the Department of Public Health reported more than 47,500 new cases of chlamydia, more than 9,500 new cases of gonorrhea and nearly 1,800 new cases of syphilis.

The L.A. Sex Symbol program is funded by the County of Los Angeles, Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This initiative is intended to increase condom use, drive awareness of HIV and STD prevention, and provide information about HIV/AIDS and STD treatment and care, LGBT Weekly said in its report.

Harvey Milk airport terminal proposed

Harvey Milk, California, San Francisco, Castro District, gay news, Washington Blade

Harvey Milk (Photo by Daniel Nicoletta via Wikimedia Commons)

SAN FRANCISCO—Bay Area Reporter on Tuesday reported city officials are considering a proposal to rename a terminal at San Francisco International Airport after the late gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

City Supervisor David Campos in January proposed that officials rename the entire airport as Harvey Milk San Francisco International Airport. The newspaper reported LGBT San Franciscans and others were divided on the plan, while Mayor Ed Lee also publicly questioned it.

The Bay Area Reporter said Campos and Lee agreed to allow a committee to determine which terminal should be named in honor of Milk as part of a compromise proposal.

“Everyone does agree we need to honor Harvey Milk,” Campos told the newspaper. “It is an important legacy there that should be recognized.”

California gay community center expands

rainbow flag, LGBT, gay news, Washington Blade

(Photo by essygie via Creative Commons)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — An LGBT community center in Palm Springs, Calif., has broadened its base and services, mydesert.com, a Gannett news agency in the region, reported last week.

Under new leadership, the LGBT Community Center of the Desert plans to implement a valley-wide LGBT health needs assessment survey, start a multi-million-dollar capital campaign to buy or build a new home for the Center and more, the report said.

Five months after assuming leadership as interim executive director, Gary Costa was voted April 16 as the permanent director, mydesert,com reported.

Conversion therapy debated in California

(Photo via Wikimedia)

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court in California last week grappled with a proposed ban on so-called conversion therapy that claims to be able to change a minor’s sexual orientation and whether the issue was one of free speech or a mere regulation of medical treatment, the Los Angeles Times reported.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals considered two lower-court rulings that reached opposite conclusions about the constitutionality of the new state law which would penalize licensed health professionals who engage in “ex-gay” therapy, the paper said.

The California law banning so-called conversion therapy, the first of its kind in the country, was supposed to have taken effect in January. But therapists and families challenged it, and the 9th Circuit put it on holding pending a ruling, which is expected in a few months, the Times reported.

Health officials monitoring meningitis cases

Brett Shaad, meningitis, gay news, Washington Blade

Brett Shaad, 33, died earlier this month from meningitis, prompting fears of a new outbreak.

SAN DIEGO — Health officials in several major cities have made recommendations to gay and bi residents in recent weeks about getting vaccinated against the meningitis that has killed seven men in New York since 2010 and two in Los Angeles since December.

In San Diego County seven cases of meningitis have been reported but that’s considered lower than normal, the San Diego Gay & Lesbian News reported last week. None of them involved men who have sex with men (MSM), the paper reported citing officials from the San Diego County Health & Human Services Agency.

Toronto Public Health officials have urged residents there to get vaccinated if they plan on traveling to New York City, the Toronto Star reported last week, despite no known cases in Canada.

Officials in Dallas say they’re “monitoring” the disease, which results in an inflammation of protective membranes around the brain and spinal column and can result in headaches, flu, fever and nausea.

“We did not ring the bell quick enough with HIV,” said Bret Camp, a regional director with AIDS Healthcare Foundation Texas in a comment to Dallas Voice, a gay paper there.

In Washington, Whitman-Walker Health is advising all gay and bi men who “meet the criteria set forth by the New York City Department of Health” to be vaccinated.

The criteria are: “any gay man or MSM who is at least 18 years of age, regardless of HIV status and has had intimate contact with a man they met through a website (Manhunt, Adam4Adam, etc.), ditial application (Grindr, Scruff, etc.), a bar or a party since Sept. 1, 2012 or plan such contact in the future.”

Whitman-Walker patients can request the vaccine from their individual provider. Non-Whitman-Walker patients should contact their provider to be vaccinated.

Trans inclusion clarified for insurance providers

transgender, caduceus, medicare, gay news, Washington Blade, health

(Image public domain)

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s Department of Managed Health Care has issued guidance clarifying the obligations of the state’s health plans under the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act, the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News reported last week.

The department confirmed that the state’s Insurance Non-Discrimination Act of 2006 guarantees all people the right to access coverage for medically necessary care regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, the article said. It also said patients who are denied coverage can appeal the decision for review by the department.

A 2008 study conducted by Transgender Law Center found that an alarmingly high rate of transgender patients were denied coverage for essential health care: 15 percent were outright denied gender-specific care such as pap-smears or prostate exams just because they were transgender, the San Diego Gay and Lesbian News reported.

Calif. court to consider gay conversion therapy

scales of justice, gay news, Washington Blade

There’s a showdown in California between supporters and opponents of gay conversion therapy. (Photo by Mbiama via Wikimedia Commons)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — This week a federal appeals court in California was expected to review whether the state’s attempt to ban the practice of gay “conversion” therapy for minors tramples on the rights of families to seek psychotherapy and counseling, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday. It will also consider whether attempts to ban the practice improperly threatens professional therapists who risk losing their licenses and livelihoods if they can no longer practice legally.

A group of therapists and parents challenged the law in January, arguing it interferes with religious practices and violates free speech rights by barring discussions between young patients and their counselors. The case has created a legal standoff between a state’s power to regulate what it considers harmful conduct by licensed professionals and supporters of the practice who say parents have a right to follow their beliefs in arranging such therapy for their children, the Mercury News reported.

D.C. health officials quiet meningitis fears

Dr. Saul Levin (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. health officials maintain they have not seen an increase in meningitis cases amid growing concerns over a potential epidemic in New York City.

“The District of Columbia Department of Health closely monitors meningitis cases in the District,” Dr. Saul Levin, interim director of the D.C. Department of Health, said in a statement. “While we have not seen an increase from meningitis, as a public health official and physician, I strongly recommend people living with HIV or those that travel to the New York area frequently, consult with their physician regarding a meningitis vaccination.”

Levin’s statement came after the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene noted four new cases of meningitis among men who have sex with men have been reported since the beginning of the year. The DOHMH said 22 meningitis cases have been reported in the five boroughs since 2010 with seven of them fatal.

New York City officials recommended MSM who “regularly have intimate contact with other men” they met online, through an app or at a bar or party receive a meningitis vaccine. The New York State Department of Health on March 25 expanded the list of those whom they said should receive the vaccine to include MSM with HIV/AIDS and those who have engaged in the aforementioned activities since Sept. 1, 2012.

“The City Council is working with the Health Department to make sure that New Yorkers know how to protect themselves from invasive meningococcal disease,” New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said. “While the rise in cases of the disease commonly known as meningitis is concerning, particularly for men who are HIV-positive or who have sex with men, vaccines and treatments are available.”

GMHC last month offered two free meningitis vaccine clinics with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. It also echoed city health officials’ recommendations that any MSM of any HIV status who is at least 18 years old and has had intimate contact with a man since last September (or plan to have such interactions in the future) should get vaccinated.

Ray Martins, chief medical officer of Whitman-Walker Health, told the Washington Blade his organization typically doesn’t stock the meningitis vaccine because it is not commonly used outside of those who need to have it before they attend college.

Whitman-Walker can order it and receive it the next day for anyone who requests it. Health insurance companies typically cover the vaccine, but it costs between $100-$150 for those who are uninsured.

“We haven’t encouraged a vaccine at all,” Martins said. “There have been a number of personal patients at Whitman-Walker who’ve requested it.”

Headaches, fever and a stiff neck are the most common symptoms associated with meningitis. It is spread through respiratory droplets or oral secretions, and the incubation period is typically between three and seven days.

“[If you’ve] shared a cup with someone, you’d be at high risk or if you coughed within three feet of someone for a long period of time you’d be at risk,” Martins said. “People in the same household, roommates or intimate sexual contact are those who are typically more at risk.”

Martins spoke with the Blade three days after Brett Shaad, an attorney from West Hollywood, Calif., died from meningitis at a Los Angeles hospital.

His best friend, Cory B. Savage, denied media reports that Shaad attended the annual White Party in Palm Springs before he developed meningitis symptoms. He also strongly criticized West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran’s comments during a Friday press conference that he said suggested the disease is “a gay disease.”

“Everyone is treated for meningitis when they go to college, so this is not a new bacteria,” Savage told the Blade. “This is something that’s very commonly known.”

Martins echoed this message.

“It’s not a gay disease,” he said. “It just happens to be spreading in the gay community.”

LGBT research pioneer to be honored

Caitlin Ryan, Family Acceptance Project, gay news, Washington Blade

Caitlin Ryan (Photo courtesy of Renna Communications)

SAN FRANCISCO — A pioneer in LGBT physical and mental health will be honored by the American Psychiatric Association at its annual meeting next month, the Windy City Times reported citing a press release.

Caitlin Ryan, a social worker, researcher and policy expert who worked to establish a national network of LGBT health and mental health providers, will receive the John E. Fryer Award in May. The APA will present it with the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists after its namesake who played a crucial role in persuading the APA to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in 1973.

Ryan co-authored the first guidelines on AIDS policy for elected officials, co-authored the first clinical care guidelines for LGBT youth and conducted seminal research that established the role families play in the health and well being of LGBT children among many other accomplishments, the press release said.

Travel: Gay summer getaways

Wonderland Weekend, gay travel, gay news, Washington Blade

A recent Wonderland Weekend pool party. (Photo courtesy Wonderland Weekend)

This summer, trade shoveling snow for bead tossing in New Orleans, swap Beltway traffic for roping a sexy cowboy in New Mexico or trade the humdrum neighborhood bar for the opening of the world’s largest gay nightclub in Vegas. Here are a few scintillating ideas to flirt with before packing your bags for your summer vacation.

Bear Town Weekend

Portland

June 6-9, Portland hosts the 18th annual Bear Town Weekend, where an average of 400 bears and bear lovers come out to celebrate at events such as the Pirate’s Booty UnderBear Dance, Taste of Portland, the “Shed the Shirt” T-Shirt Exchange, Bingo with the Sisters and the Mr. Oregon Bear Breakfast. The registration for all events is $125. Some other events to check out that weekend include the Rose Festival and Portland’s Fleet Week.

beartownweekend.com

Where to stay: The Jupiter Hotel is the host hotel for Bear Town weekend

Queer Walking Tours

Toronto

Looking to do something active this summer? The Toronto Queer Walking Tours company was created to highlight how the gay community has evolved over time to inhabit different parts of Toronto. You will have the opportunity to walk neighborhoods such as Allan Gardens and Gay Village, with tour stops at the Glad Day Bookstore, Village gay bars and the Canadian Gay Lesbian Archives. The mission of the company is “through knowledge and education we can better understand what makes up a queer community and how the past has changed the way we see ourselves and others.” The tours run year long and range from $10-$20, or hire a private tour guide, which starts at $50.

torontoqueerwalkingtours.com

Where to stay: The Delta Chelsea Hotel Downtown is located near the Village

Out at Universal Studios

Los Angeles

Out at Universal, gay travel, gay news, Washington Blade

A recent Out at Universal event in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy Universal)

Party promoter Tom Whitman is throwing the ninth annual Out at Universal/Wonderland party, which takes place at Universal Studios Theme Park on June 8. Explore your wild side by trying some of the Universal Studios attractions, such as Transformers 3D The Ride, the Simpsons Ride and Jurassic Park The Ride, all of which will be open to guests. The main dance party takes place from 10 p.m.-4 a.m., which is hosted by Club Papi, Masterbeat and Tom Whitman Presents. The presale price for the Out at Universal/ Wonderland party pass is $85. Other events during Wonderland Weekend include an exclusive Beverly Hills estate pool party, Saturday afterhours and a Sunday tea dance.

wonderlandweekend.com

Where to stay: The SLS Hotel in West Hollywood is located near the gay nightlife

Krave Massive

Las Vegas

If you are thinking of visiting Vegas this summer, it would be wise to do so on June 15, where the world’s largest gay nightclub will be unveiled. Located in downtown Las Vegas, Krave Massive will be an astonishing 80,000 square foot venue, which will feature five individually themed dance rooms, a state-of-the-art sound system, huge video walls, along with high-tech special effects. What separates this gay nightclub from the rest is that it is not only a dance space, but it will also be home to a gay comedy club, a retail store, a multi-purpose room, a lesbians-only dance lounge, as well as the country’s only LGBT movie theater.

kravemassive.com.

Where to stay: The Wynn Las Vegas has its own dedicated LGBT concierge

Olivia Travel

(Photo by Tina Silano; courtesy Olivia Travel)

San Francisco-based Olivia Travel bills itself as the world’s “premier provider of lesbian cruise, resort and adventure vacations.” It has several lavish summer trips planned including a cruise to Ireland and the Scotland British Isles (July 18-25), a Provence-to-Burgundy Riverboat Cruise (July 30-Aug. 6), several exotic fall adventures and a wide array of 2014 trips planned as well.

Visit Olivia.com for full details. Or call 800-631-6277 or 415-962-5700. Monthly payment plans are available.

Gay Rodeo

Sante Fe, N.M.

During the weekend of Aug. 9-11, the New Mexico Gay Rodeo Association presents its 22nd annual Zia Regional rodeo, which consists of events like bull riding, steer wrestling, bareback bronco riding and calf-roping. Witness some of the light-hearted camp events, including wild drag steer-riding, steer decorating and a comical display of putting underwear on goats. The weekend comes to a close with a dance at a local bar or host hotel. Tickets are around $25 for the two-day event.

nmgra.com

Where to stay: Host hotel TBD

Northalsted Market Days

Chicago

On Aug. 10-11, visitors to Chicago will be able to experience the largest two-day street fair in the Midwest. The Northalsted Market Days event spans six city blocks and features about 40 musicians, including Olivia Newton-John, The Pointer Sisters and Karmin. This live music festival is free, with a suggested donation of $8. The event draws a lively, upscale crowd featuring more than 400 food and arts and crafts vendors.

northalsted.com.

Where to stay: The Amalfi Hotel is located 4 miles from Northalsted

Tropical Heat and Womenfest

Key West, Fla.

Key West, Tropical Heat, gay travel, gay news, Washington Blade

A Tropical Heat pool party in Key West. (Photo courtesy Key West Business Guild)

In a city where the chief of police is gay and rainbow flags wave proudly throughout the island, it only makes sense for Key West to be the host of two hot week-long summer parties: one for the girls and one for the boys. Tropical Heat takes place Aug. 15-18, and became known for its clothing-optional pool parties and snorkeling trips. Events taking place this year include toga parties, a wild drag show, “not your grandmother’s bingo”, a dungeon fetish party and the “Name Our Cock” fundraiser, which benefits Key West wildlife.

tropicalheatkw.com

The 31st annual Womenfest takes place Sept. 3-8, where an estimated 5,000 women participate in weeklong arts and music events. Womenfest has become a popular spot for women’s groups, such as Sister Funk and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls. Each night, lesbian bands play at four or five nightclubs, which are free. There are sunset dinner cruises, clothing-optional snorkeling and kayaking, a comedy show at the Cuban-owned San Carlos Institute and mechanical bull-riding at Cowboy Bills Honky Tonk Saloon.

womenfest.com/

Where to stay: Alexander’s Guesthouse is a gay and lesbian resort

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