Washington:
Legislation in Washington state known as the strippers’ bill of rights, which advocates say includes the
most comprehensive statewide protections in the nation, was signed into law on March 25th. The AP
Reports. “Gov. Jay Inslee signed the measure, which creates safer working conditions for people in the
adult entertainment industry and makes it possible for the clubs to sell alcohol. “Strippers are workers,
and they should be given the same rights and protections as any other labor force,” bill sponsor Sen.
Rebecca Saldaña of Seattle, said in a news release. “If they are employed at a legal establishment in
Washington, they deserve the safeguards that every worker is entitled to, including protection from
exploitation, trafficking, and abuse.” The new law requires training for employees in establishments to
prevent sexual harassment, identify and report human trafficking, de-escalate conflict and provide first
aid.”
“Washington state advocates for queer, reproductive, and civil rights stand ready to fight school
districts that violate the privacy or rights of students in Washington schools based on Initiative 2081,
which sailed through the State Legislature this session with little resistance alongside two other
initiatives from Let’s Go Washington, a conservative group funded by multi-millionaire Brian
Heywood.” According to The Stranger. “Essentially re-hashing this 2014 Louisiana law, I-2081, the
so-called “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” allows parents to “examine” instruction materials, obtain student
records, and opt their kids out of certain classroom activities. Danni Askini, executive director of
Gender Justice League, said concerned members of the community may think that passing the initiative
instead of launching a ballot measure campaign against it meant Democrats were throwing queer
people under the bus, but that hasn’t been her experience. The LGBTQ caucus has actively sought
input from the start, she said. She strongly suspects the courts will get involved.”
Remember Michael Soto? He was the guy that was hired as the new CEO/President of the GSBA
(Greater Seattle Business Association) in November 2021. Turns out, he was ousted (for allegations of
impropriety) from the head of Equality Arizona in 2022 (after he signed the GSBA Contract). Soto
resigned from GSBA, 6 months later. Soto has quietly returned to Equality Arizona, an organization
that he doomed. According to Phoenix New Times, “His return to the organization has made some
former Equality Arizona employees and LGBTQ+ advocates uncomfortable, leaving them to say that
people should be made aware of what happens inside nonprofits and also be the ones to make decisions
of who represents them at the state capitol. But Soto did not leave his position in Arizona. Instead, in
the same month he signed the contract with GSBA, he also negotiated a bonus and backpay of more
than $60,000 with Equality Arizona, according to the grievance letter filed with the organization’s
board. At one point, when Equality Arizona rebranded its website in March 2022, Soto was still listed
as the nonprofit’s executive director. He allegedly told staff at GSBA that he wasn’t sure why Equality
Arizona wouldn’t remove him from the website, and assured them that he was no longer working as the
organization’s executive director, At the same time, though, Soto was telling his staff in Arizona a
different story. Soto said the job at GSBA was just a “contract,” and was not permanent. That isn’t true,
according to the GSBA.”
Tacoma Police reported a staggering increase in hate crimes last year, particularly targeting the LGBTQ
community. Police investigated more than 30 incidents in 2023. Fox 13 Reports. “It’s disturbing, and
it’s not surprising,” said Tacoma-raised Matthew Wilson reacting to the news. “This is a battle that
we’ve been going through for quite a while.” Wilson is the executive director of Oasis, Pierce County’s
sole drop-in center for LGBTQ youth.
OpenAI announced that it is bringing openly LGBTQ CEO Sam Altman back to the board of directors
following his dramatic ouster in November, according to Geekwire. OpenAI, makers of ChatGPT, conducted an independent review that found a “breakdown in trust” between the prior board and
Altman — which did not arise from concerns around product safety, the pace of development, finances,
or statements to stakeholders, according to the review. “WilmerHale found that the prior Board acted
within its broad discretion to terminate Mr. Altman, but also found that his conduct did not mandate
removal,” according to a summary of the review posted to OpenAI’s blog.
Two couples in their early twenties now face a hate crime charge for vandalizing and stealing from a
Spokane Valley church in June. KREM Reported. Under Washington’s current hate crime law,
vandalism of private property such as the church is a Class C felony. Thursday Washington’s legislature
passed a bill which will amend the law to include vandalism.
The Washington State LGBTQ Commission, a state agency created in 2019, is creating a Youth
Advisory Council which will advise the Office of the Governor. In a newsletter released on Monday,
the commission encouraged interested residents of the state to apply online by March 11. Advisory
council members will be between the ages of 13 and 25 and will be paid a stipend by the state. The
commission hopes that creating relationships between state leadership and LGBTQ+ young people will
empower disenfranchised queer people across the Evergreen State.
Congrats to Rain City Fit owner, Ben Koenigsberg, who was revealed as Rupaul Drag Race Season 15
winner, Sasha Colby’s new man. According to The Advocate, they met in Hawaii during Pride. All
the Best!
Justin Cline, the colorful, outspoken founder of Full Tilt Ice Cream, died early morning of March 2nd
at Valley Medical Center. He was 49. A few weeks prior, on February 5, he suffered a massive heart
attack, sending him to the hospital and rendering him unable to run his nearly two-decade-old ice
cream shop. We send condolences to his family.
Editor Picks for April:
English
Artswest Playhouse
4/4 to 28
Tickets: artswest.org
Disco Inferno, a Benefit for SMC/SWC
Seattle Marriott Waterfront
4/13
Tickets: seattlechoruses.org
Fortune Feimster-Live Laugh Love
Moore Theater
4/13
Tickets: stgpresents.org
Bianca Del Rio-Dead Inside
Paramount Theater
4/17 @ 8p
Tickets: stgpresents.org
Oregon:
An off-duty bartender who ordered a patron not to use the women’s bathroom and shoved the woman
when she tried to explain her gender identity was found guilty of second-degree bias crime and
harassment charges. The Oregonian Reports. The confrontation, captured on surveillance camera
footage, showed Cassie McIntyre pushing customer Riis Larsen, a transgender woman, outside the
women’s restroom at Jake’s Place. McIntyre apologized in court and volunteered to stay away from
another neighborhood bar so Larsen would have a place to go without worry. Her defense attorney,
Henry Oostrom-Shah, said McIntyre hoped to find an LGBTQ nonprofit that would accept her
community service.
According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), a man broke in around 5 a.m. into the Grotto
Monastery, where its friars reside. The executive director of The Grotto, Chris Blanchard, said the
suspect, who was identified as 57-year-old Paul Joseph Yauger, came onto the property and broke
security cameras before shattering the front windows of the monastery. NewsChannel 8 reports.
Yauger was then arrested and booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center. He has been
charged with burglary, criminal mischief and trespassing. There are no reports of injuries.
The owners of a LGBTQ-friendly business in downtown Bend say they are being targeted after having
their Pride flag stolen at least seven times since last summer. Surveillance footage from Turtle Island
Coffee Shop Feb. 4 and Feb. 18 shows someone taking the flag that was hanging outside. “I think the
majority of folks definitely like alcohol substances are involved. I also don’t think that that is like a free
ticket to hate,” co-owner Beth Brady told KOIN-TV.
A month-long display of queer art opened with a reception Friday at the Art Department. The display is
joint effort between the art supply store at 245 Commercial St. N.E., and Salem Capital Pride, which
says its mission is “to educate, celebrate, and connect the LGBTQ+ community and our allies
throughout the Central Willamette Valley.” According to The Salem Reporter, Artists were invited to
submit pieces for This is Queer! Art Show, artists that show “what being Queer means to you as an
artist. This can be your queer journey, how your queer identity impacts your art, your struggles or joys,
or a general idea of what queerness is.”
It was 20 years ago when Portland took San Francisco’s lead and issued marriage licensed to gay
couples. By April, a Multnomah County Circuit Judge moved the issue up to the Oregon Supreme
Court. In November, Oregon voters approved a ban with Measure 36, 57% to 43%. In May 2014, this
state amendment was banned and found unconstitutional by US District Court Judge Michael
McShane.
Congratulations! Pride Beaverton’s Kate Kristiansen was recently recognized by the City of Beaverton
for her efforts in organizing Pride Beaverton. According to ShoutOut, “Kate Kristiansen is a local
volunteer, advocate and member of LGBTQIA+ community.Seeing a need, Kate gathered local Queer
and supportive leaders and friends to develop Pride in the Park and the Pride Beaverton annual parade
for the LGBTQIA+ community and the City of Beaverton Thanks to Kate and the Pride Beaverton board’s hard work, Pride Beaverton had over 15,000 attendees at the June 2023 celebration.” Posting on her Facebook page Kate thanked those who worked with her, “Tonight I was awarded ‘the
Best of Beaverton’ at the Beaverton State of the City presentation. It’s tremendously humbling to stand
with the others that were honoured – thank you for thinking of me with these fine folx. Additionally,
while my name is on the paper, the board of Pride Beaverton, all of the folx that work hard to support
us and love others no matter who they chose to love belong right there with me. Thank you all.”
Happy 50th Anniversary to Portland Saturday Market!
Editor Picks for April:
Profile Theatre Gala: Honoring Bill Dickey
The Loft at 8th Ave
4/5 @ 6:30p
Tickets: profiletheatre.org
RCSA (Rose City Softball Association) 30th Anniversary Party
CC Slaughters
4/6 @ 3p.
HOLLY NEAR – SINGER IN THE STORM
The Alberta Rose Theatre
April 10 @ |7pm
TICKETS: https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/88579565/
Experience Bolivia Carmichaels
Darcelle XV
4/14 @ 6p.
Tickets: Eventbrite
Bianca Del Rio-Dead Inside
April 15-Portland, OR @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
April 16-Eugene, OR @ Mcdonald Theatre
Drag Church
MCC Portland
4/18 @ 7p
Human/Nature: A Cascade Showcase
Alberta Abbey
4/20 @ 8p
Tickets: Eventbrite
Montana:
Editor Picks for April:
WCC Speaker Series: John Lithgow
Wachholtz College Center
4/8 @ 7:30p
Tickets: wccmt.org
Montana Drag Wrestling
Zoomtown Arts
4/13 @ 7:30p
Tickets: showroom.zoomtownarts.org
2024 Livingston Drag Show
Park County Fairgrounds
4/30 @ 8p.
Tickets: aspenmt.org
WCC Speaker Series: Henry Winkler
Wachholtz College Center
4/24 @ 7:30p
Tickets: wccmt.org
Idaho:
On March 11th, Idaho House Republicans voted to block taxpayer’s money from even coming close to
funding gender-affirming care. And not for underage Idaho youth, we’re talking about grown adults
here. Boise Public Radio reports. Medicaid enrollees would no longer have access to things like
puberty blockers or cross sex hormones under the proposal. It could also block such treatments for the
60,000 people covered under the Idaho state employee insurance plan. Rep. Julianne Young (R-
Blackfoot), who sponsors the bill, said a transgender person can still pay for these themselves if they
choose.
Body camera footage recently released to the public has ignited a debate over censorship and the role
of law enforcement in libraries. The footage shows Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris searching a
local library for a young adult novel, “Identical” by Ellen Hopkins, which he deemed “obscene.”The
sheriff has defended his actions, stating his concern lies with protecting children from “inappropriate”
materials. He has not elaborated further on what legal basis, if any, he believes could be used to remove
material from the library. Reckon Reports. “Our staff and patrons are facing difficulties,” Cassie
Robertson, the communications coordinator for North Idaho’s Community Library Network, told the
Idaho Statesman in September. “It has evolved into a focal point during our board meetings, presenting
a definite and ongoing challenge for us.”
Senate Bill 1362 (S1362) failed to pass the House Education Committee after the majority of testimony
opposed it, leading to a long discussion over the specific language used in the legislation. S1362 would
ban third-party flags and banners from Idaho public schools; this includes – but is not limited to – sports
teams, political organizations, and LGBTQ+ movements. The latter of which was the original
inspiration behind the bill’s creation. According to KVTB, “In US history, there are flags and banners that are worth unpacking with your students,” Rep. Soñia R. Galaviz (D-Boise) said. “The banners that
were used during the civil rights movement, during the Chicano movement, the Gadsden flag. When
I’m teaching American history, I do have to display them.” Sen. Trakel clarified his intention with the
term “display” is to include prominent placement that confirms an educator’s personal beliefs. He did
not intend to hinder classroom instruction. The bill does not outline that clear distinction.
The committee would need a two-thirds vote to reopen S1362 for discussion.
Editor Picks for April:
LipsLinc Prestents: Bad Barbies
Visual Arts Collective-Garden City
4/13
Tickets: visualartscollective.com
Second Sunday Slay
Balcony Club Boise
4/14
Tickets: Eventbrite
Clutch’s 2nd Birthday
Clutch Nampa
4/16
California:
On February 29, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Haywood Gilliam denied Aetna’s motion to dismiss a
case alleging discrimination against LGBTQ people seeking fertility treatment coverage nationwide.
According to a NWLC’s Press Release, The lawsuit, originally filed in April 2023, by the National
Women’s Law Center (NWLC), Katz Banks Kumin LLP, and Altshuler Berzon LLP, argues that
Aetna’s policy on fertility treatment coverage creates significant barriers for LGBTQ people. The
policy forces them to pay more and wait longer to access the fertility benefits covered by their health
plans. The lawsuit alleges that Aetna’s policy violates Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which
prohibits discrimination in health care based on sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity.
Rates of chlamydia and syphilis dropped dramatically among men who have sex with men and
transgender women after San Francisco began offering them prescriptions for antibiotics to take after
having unprotected sex, according to a report released in early March. SF Chronicle Reported. In
October 2022, San Francisco became the first city in the country to develop guidelines for providing
doxy-PEP, short for doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis. Taking 200 mg of the antibiotic, ideally
within 24 hours of having unprotected sex, is meant to prevent chlamydia, syphilis or gonorrhea, all of
which are bacterial infections.
The speaker at an early March San Ramon Valley Unified meeting read from a clutch of papers stapled
together, her words clear and precise as she quoted a passage from the book “The Almost Moon.” Her
remarks — specifically, reading out loud explicit passages from library books — have joined the playbook for a public comment campaign aimed at school boards and designed to attack policies that
protect LGBTQ students and staff. They’re not dissimilar to the battles waged against some
government bodies by neo-Nazis, who ambush public meetings with hate speech, usually on virtual
platforms. The SF Chronicle Reported. There was no board discussion of banning or censoring books
at Tuesday’s board meeting, though there was one resolution supporting School Library Month and
another supporting National Day of Silence, which recognizes bullying and harassment faced by queer
students. Both events are in April.
Some Elk Grove Unified School District parents feel like they were kept in the dark about an LGBTQ+
club they said a third-grade teacher started on Pleasant Grove Elementary School’s campus near
Sacramento. The teacher went into classrooms and told students he was creating the UBU, pronounced
you be you, club as a safe space for LGBTQ students. The Elk Grove Unified School District gave
CBS13 this statement: “EGUSD is aware of the UBU club at Pleasant Grove Elementary but the club
is currently on pause while the District reviews all pertinent policies and practices that relate to
before/after school clubs.” CBS13 spoke with a legal expert who said the UBU club will need to abide
by the same rules as all the other school clubs, and if the district notifies parents about other clubs, it
would need to do the same in this case.
The Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, a chartered chapter of the local Democratic Party, filed an
ethics complaint against District 1 supervisorial candidate Marjan Philhour today, alleging that she
misspent campaign funds and violated campaign-contribution limits. According to MissionLocal,
Philhour denied any wrongdoing, and said the complaint was a last-minute attempt to muddy the waters
before the March 5 election.
Prosecutors in San Francisco said they will proceed with a new trial for James Rickleffs after his
convictions for the 2012 bondage and poppers murder and robbery of gay hairstylist Steven “Eriq”
Escalon were overturned by an appellate court last year, according to the Bay Area Reporter. Rickleffs,
57, was sentenced to 50 years to life in prison in 2019 after a jury found him guilty of killing and
robbing Escalon in his Diamond Heights apartment in the early morning of June 12, 2012, hours after
the pair met at a bar in The Castro. He was found dead later that morning bound and gagged, with a
drug-laced scarf stuffed into his mouth.
Opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6.4 billion plan to build mental health treatment beds and
housing today conceded that his ballot measure, Proposition 1, is likely to pass. As reported by the SJ
Inside. Proposition 1 is a two-part ballot initiative. It includes a bond to build treatment facilities and
permanent supportive housing for people with mental health and addiction challenges. It also proposes
changes to a longstanding tax on personal incomes over $1 million, known as the Mental Health
Services Act, by requiring counties to spend 30% of that revenue on housing instead of other services.
CNN Reports, the world’s largest brewer may have lost as much as $1.4 billion in sales because of the
backlash to its brief partnership with a transgender influencer to promote Bud Light beer. Anheuser-
Busch InBev (BUD) reported record revenues for 2023 but said its “full growth potential was
constrained” by its US business, where sales were hurt by a boycott of Bud Light over a sponsored
Instagram post with Dylan Mulvaney. In North America, organic revenue, seen as the best measure of
operating performance, plunged $1.4 billion last year as beer sales by volume tumbled in the region,
primarily due to a decline in Bud Light sales in the United States. Beer makes up the lion’s share of AB
InBev’s revenue.
What started as an idea by Brian Poth and Nick Vargas is now a safe haven for thousands in the South
Valley. “I was actually stopped in the street, and somebody said I would not be here unless I found the
support and the support group at The Source,” Vargas told ABC7 Action News. The Source LGBTQ+
Center opened eight years ago and is now the largest Center between Los Angeles and Sacramento, providing multiple resources and supporting over 24,000 in 2023. Poth and Vargas are two of the nine
leaders selected as recipients of the 2024 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award Grant of $350K.
Catch, a seafood restaurant in San Francisco’s Castro District, is closing after 22 years, as first reported
by Hoodline. The restaurant known for its beer-battered fish-and-chips, mussels and cioppino-inspired
seafood stew closed after its final dinner service on March 9, owner Sanjay Gujral told SFGATE.
Gujral, who bought Catch from original owner David Weiss in 2007, has decided to retire.
Editor Picks for April:
Berkeley Rep Ovation Gala
4/13 @ 5:30pm
Ritz-Carlton San Francisco
Tickets: Berkeleyrep.org/support/ovation-gala/
Bianca Del Rio-Dead Inside
April 19-Sacramento, CA @ Crest Theatre
The Stud Reopening
4/20
The Stud (1123 Folsom St)
Coming Up in May:
Tick, Tick -Boom
May 10- June 9th
NCTC San Francisco
Tickets: nctcsf.org