MARCH 17, 2017 VOLUME 48 ISSUE 11 AMERICAS LGBT NEWS SOURCE WASHINGTONBLADE.

COM

Trumpcares devastating
impact on those with HIV
Concerns over PrEP
coverage, treatment
of trans patients
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
The Republican plan to repeal
and replace Obamacare with the
American Health Care Act continues
to worry advocates seeking to ensure
access to health care for LGBT people
and people with HIV a concern that
arecent report from the Congressional
Budget Oce has validated.
According to CBO, 14 million
people would lose insurance
coverage in 2018 if the American
Health Care Act were to become
law as a result of the elimination
of the individual mandate under
Obamacare. But that number would
climb to 21 million in 2020, then to
24 million in 2026 following repeal
of the Medicaid expansion under
Obamacare. In 2026, CBO estimates
52 million people would be
uninsured, compared with 28 million
who would lack insurance that year
under current law.
As President Trump pushes for
the proposal and continues to call
Obamacare a disaster, a major source
of fear for advocates of LGBT people
and people with HIV is the rollback of
PRESIDENT TRUMPs eort to repeal the ACA is raising concerns among HIV and transgender
CONTINUES ON PAGE 14 patients.

Judge releases Casa Ruby attacker

Visitor arrested after smashing door,
assaulting employee
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Tuesday released a 20-year-
old man from jail pending trial and ordered him to stay away
from the LGBT community center Casa Ruby following his
arrest one day earlier for allegedly smashing the centers
front door and assaulting and threatening a transgender
employee.
3 OTHER LGBT CENTERS VANDALIZED IN
DISTURBING TREND, PAGE 15
D.C. police on Monday charged Andrew J. Cook of
Southeast Washington with destruction of property, simple
assault, and making threats to do bodily harm in connection
with an incident on Sunday afternoon, March 12, at the Casa
Ruby oces at 2822 Georgia Ave., N.W.
A police arrest adavit says Cook told a transgender
woman he allegedly assaulted during the incident, Ill kill D.C. police charged Andrew J. Cook with
destruction of property, simple assault and
making threats to do bodily harm.
CONTINUES ON PAGE 15 PHOTO COURTESY OF CASA RUBY

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0 4 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017
Blade to launch
newspaper in Los Angeles
The Washington Blade, the nations rst LGBT newspaper, last week announced
plans to launch a new publication, the Los Angeles Blade, on March 24.
The Los Angeles Blade will cover Los Angeles and California news, politics,
opinion, arts and entertainment and will feature national and international
coverage from the Washington Blades award-winning reporting team. Troy
Masters, a veteran of LGBT media, was named publisher and editor of the
new venture. Veteran Los Angeles journalist Karen Ocamb was named senior
contributing writer.
More than ever before, the health, safety and well being of every LGBTQ
American and immigrant depends upon media outlets dedicated to nding and
reporting the most important LGBTQ news, Masters said. For that reason, I
am now working with the Washington Blade, an internationally respected and
LGBTQ-owned media brand that has served and supported the community for
nearly 50 years.
With exclusive access to the best and brightest LGBTQ writers and reporters
in the nation, the Los Angeles Blade has us covered from WeHo to Dupont Circle,
and from freeway to Beltway.
Masters has worked in LGBT media for nearly 30 years. He founded Lesbian
and Gay New York, or LGNY, in 1989. It was relaunched as Gay City News in
2002. He left Gay City News in 2015, where he worked as associate publisher, to
relocate to Los Angeles and launch the Pride LA.
Were excited to bring the Blades nearly 50-year commitment to journalistic
excellence to Los Angeles, said Washington Blade Editor Kevin Na, who will
serve as national editor of the Los Angeles Blade. Weve assembled a top-notch,
experienced team that knows and loves L.A. and they will deliver compelling
stories, breaking news as well as advertising solutions for local businesses.
The rst edition of 20,000 copies will hit the streets March 24 at Los Angeles-
area bars, restaurants, gyms and other locations popular with area LGBT
residents. It will begin on a bi-weekly schedule with plans to publish weekly
in the near future. Visit losangelesblade.com for updated local, national and
international news and features.
For more information, call Troy Masters at 917-406-1619.
STAFF REPORTS
Gay ex-mayor pleads guilty in meth-for-sex case
A Fairfax County Circuit Court judge startled onlookers on Monday when she ordered
the gay former mayor of Fairfax City, R. Scott Silverthorne, held in jail while he awaits
sentencing in June after he pled guilty to one count of distributing methamphetamine.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
LO CA L N E W S
Silverthorne was arrested last August in a police sting operation after he provided
methamphetamine to an undercover detective posing as a willing sex partner in
exchange for what he thought would be permission to participate in an orgy with other
men at a hotel in Tysons Corner, Va.
Police said they targeted Silverthorne for the sting after learning through sources that
he was allegedly distributing meth through a gay sex hook-up website in exchange for
sexual encounters. The Washington Post reported that a prosecutor identied the site
in court on Monday as Bare Back Real Time.
Circuit Court Judge Grace Burke Carroll scheduled a sentencing hearing for Silverthorne
on June 9. But instead of allowing him to remain free on his own recognizance while
awaiting sentencing, as he has since the time of his arrest, she ordered him held in
custody immediately.
Less than a week after his arrest in August Silverthorne announced his resignation as
mayor. He had been elected to a third term as mayor three months before his arrest.
He served nine terms on the Fairfax City Council, from 1990 to 2008, before winning
election as mayor.
His arrest shocked colleagues in the city government and many of his constituents,
who have praised him as a dedicated public ocial credited with bringing about positive
change in Fairfax City.
LGBT activists in Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County, said they were not aware
that Silverthorne was gay and that he had not been involved with LGBT advocacy groups
during his tenure in public oce.
Silverthornes attorney, Brian Drummond, told the Washington Blade in August that
nearly all of Silverthornes colleagues on the Fairfax City Council and others who knew
him in Fairfax political circles knew he is gay.
It was the worst kept secret in Fairfax, Drummond said. He had actually come out
some years ago but didnt make a great announcement.
Drummond couldnt immediately be reach this week to determine if he thought the
judge might have sent him to jail prior to sentencing because of a bias against him
based on his sexual orientation.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
House panel kills LGBT protections in D.C. schools bill
The Republican-controlled U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform last week voted to kill an amendment to a D.C. school voucher bill calling for
protecting LGBT students from discrimination in private and religious schools that
receive government funding.
Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) introduced the amendment at a March 10
committee markup hearing on a bill reauthorizing the Scholarships for Opportunity
Results Act, known as SOAR.
Congress rst passed the controversial SOAR Act in 2003 to provide federal funds for
school vouchers to pay the tuition for low-income D.C. students to enroll in private and
religious schools. The law only applies to D.C.
Some LGBT activists have opposed the voucher program because it provides
government funds for religious schools that are exempt from the citys Human Rights
Act, which bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity among
other categories of protections.
Watson Colemans amendment called for inserting the terms sexual orientation and
gender identity into the list of protected classes under the SOAR Act.
The committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jason Chaetz (R-Utah), defeated the
amendment by a vote of 22 to 17. Those voting no included 22 of the 24 Republicans
who sit on the committee. Two of the GOP members, Rep. William Hurd (R-Texas) and
Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) did not vote.
On the Democratic side, 17 of the 18 Democrats on the committee vote for the
amendment. Rep. Gerald Connelly (D-Va.) did not vote.
Among those voting for the amendment was Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.)
who is allowed to vote in committee but not on the House oor. Norton has been a
longtime supporter of LGBT rights.
Stephanie Franklin, a spokesperson for the D.C. Oce of Human Rights, which
enforces the citys Human Rights Act, said the act would apply to non-religious private
schools receiving SOAR Act funds through student tuition.
Franklin said the OHR has interpreted the Human Rights Act to also apply to religious
schools under certain circumstances. She said the act would allow religious schools to
limit hiring of employees and the acceptance of students to those who are members of
their schools religious denomination.
But she said once an employee is hired or a student is accepted the Human Rights
Act could in some circumstances prevent the schools from discriminating against such
employees or students.
However, we must decide on a case-by-case basis, Franklin said.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM T:9.75 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 0 5

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0 6 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017
Two credible gay candidates may run for Md. guv
Madaleno, McIntosh
considered Annapolis insiders
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
Maryland State Sen. Richard Madaleno
(D-Montgomery County), the rst out gay
member of that body, raised eyebrows last
week when he told the Baltimore Sun hes
considering running next year for governor
against Republican incumbent Larry Hogan.
Madalenos expression of interest in the
race for governor came four months after
Maryland State Del. Maggie McIntosh
(D-Baltimore City), whos an out lesbian,
announced in November that she was
considering running either for governor
or state comptroller.
LGBT activists in Maryland, who have
been strong supporters of both Madaleno
and McIntosh, would be placed in an
awkward position if both lawmakers
emerge as candidates in the Democratic
primary for governor in the spring of 2018.
Other Maryland Democrats who have
expressed interest in running for governor
are considered strong supporters of
LGBT rights, creating a potential primary
contest in which LGBT voters would have
to choose among friends.
Among them are Baltimore County
Executive Kevin Kamenetz, Prince Georges
County Executive Rushern Baker, former
Anti-LGBT hate crimes in D.C. up 59% in 2016
Grand jury hands down
indictments in trans
murder case
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
The number of anti-LGBT hate crimes
in the District of Columbia increased
last year by 59 percent, from 37 cases
reported in 2015 to 59 reported in 2016,
according to the citys annual bias-related
crime report.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Acting
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham,
who released the report at a news
conference last week, reiterated the
citys commitment to combat hate crimes
against each of the eight categories of
bias that the report monitors each year.
The release of the report came two days
after a D.C. Superior Court grand jury handed
down an 18-count indictment against three
men who have been charged with the July 4,
2016 shooting death of transgender woman
Gay state. Sen. RICH MADALENOis
considering a run for governor.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY JEFF SURPRENANT
NAACP national CEO Benjamin Jealous,
and U.S. Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.).
Jerey Slavin, the gay mayor of
Somerset, Md., and the third vice chair
of the Maryland Democratic Party, said
Deeniquia Dee Dee Dodds, 21.
Five of the counts, including rst-
degree felony murder while armed,
robbery while armed, conspiracy and
assault with a dangerous weapon, are
listed in the indictment as hate crimes
based on Dodds actual or perceived
gender identity or expression.
Defendants Jolonta Little, Monte T.
Johnson, and Cyheme Hall each pled
not guilty at an arraignment on Friday
morning. The three are being held
without bond and are scheduled to return
to court for a status hearing on April 20.
In the citys hate crimes report released
March 10, the category of an individuals
Ethnicity/National Origin emerged as
the largest percentage jump in hate
crimes (300 percent) from three in 2015
to 12 in 2016, the report shows.
Religion based hate crimes
represented the second largest
percentage increase (260 percent) from
ve in 2015 to 16 in 2016.
The report shows that although hate
crimes targeting people based on their
Gender identity/Expression and Sexual
both Madaleno and McIntosh would be
viewed as highly credible and qualied
contenders should they formally declare
their candidacy for governor.
They are Annapolis insiders, Slavin
said. They are policy wonks and they
have huge followings, he said. And they
have been recognized leaders in a wide
range of issues and areas. No one could
say they are a single-issue candidate.
McIntosh, 68, began her tenure in the
Maryland House of Delegates in 1995
when she was appointed to ll a vacant
seat after the incumbent resigned to take
another job. She was elected to a full, four-
year term two years later and has won re-
election every four years since that time.
She currently serves as chair of the
House of Delegates Appropriations
Committee, which is considered one
of the chambers most important
committees, and previously has served
as chair or a member of committees
considered important.
Madaleno, 51, rst won election to the
Maryland Legislature in 2002 for a seat
in the House of Delegates 18th District in
Montgomery County. He won election to the
State Senate from that same district in 2006.
As a budget analyst prior to entering
the legislature, Madaleno has emerged
as a recognized expert on scal matters
as a lawmaker. He currently serves as vice
chair of the State Senates Budget and
Taxation Committee.
Orientation came in third and fourth place
in the percentage increase last year, they
continued their multi-year trend of comprising
the largest number of hate crime cases.
The number of anti-transgender hate
crimes (gender identity/expression)
increased by 90 percent last year from
10 in 2015 to 19 in 2016, the report shows.
The number of anti-gay, lesbian or bisexual
related hate crimes (sexual orientation)
increased by 48 percent, from 27 in 2015
to 40 in 2016, according to the report.
The number of race-related hate
crimes dropped from 19 reported in 2015
to 14 in 2016, the report shows.
The other categories include:
Disability zero in 2015, one in 2016
Political Aliation two in 2015, two in
2016
Homelessness zero in 2015, one in
2016
In Washington, D.C. we value diversity
and inclusivity and want all of our
residents and visitors to feel safe, Bowser
said at the news conference, which was
held in the citys Historic Synagogue at
600 I Street, N.W.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
LO CA L N E W S
Out of all the other candidates
mentioned, Maggie and Rich know the ins
and outs of Annapolis better, said Slavin.
Patrick Wojahn, the gay mayor of
College Park, Md., said he has known
McIntosh and Madaleno through his
former role as an ocial with the
statewide LGBT group Equality Maryland
and considers them highly qualied for
the oce of governor.
I think its great if not just one but two
openly LGBT people run for governor,
said Wojahn. I think they are both great.
Added Wojahn: I have not decided who to
support. Im looking at all of the candidates.
Maryland transgender advocate Dana
Beyer, who ran an unsuccessful challenge
against Madaleno in the 2014 Democratic
primary, said Madalenos and McIntoshs
entrance into the governors race would
be a good thing for LGBT rights.
I think its great that two qualied and
credible LGBT candidates are considering
running for governor, said Beyer, who
noted she too has yet to decide who she
will support.
If McIntosh and Madaleno enter the
gubernatorial race they would not be the
rst openly LGBT candidates to do so. In
2014, then Maryland State Del. Heather
Mizeur (D-Montgomery County) gave up her
seat to run in the Democratic primary for
governor. She lost to then Lt. Gov. Anthony
Brown who subsequently lost in the general
election to GOP contender Hogan.
No matter your race, your faith, your
sexual orientation, your gender identity, your
background you should be able to live, work
and play in Washington, D.C. without fear of
violence or discrimination, she said.
Bowser and Newsham, who Bowser
nominated last month to be the citys
permanent police chief, called on those
who feel they may be victims of a hate
crime to report those crimes to police.
We want to make it absolutely clear
that we value the Districts diversity and
that we will not tolerate hatred in our
community, Newsham said.
Acting D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson,
who oversees the police special liaison
units, including the LGBT Liaison Unit,
said police analysts consider it unclear
whether the actual number of hate
crimes in the city increased or whether
more victims are reporting those crimes.
He noted that in 2015 every ocer on the
force participated in a re-training course
on bias-related crimes to enable them
to better understand how to recognize
such crimes and encourage citizens to
report them.
W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM
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S.D. guv signs rst anti-LGBT law of 2017
Allows agencies to
deny child placement
to gay parents
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard
has signed into law a measure allowing
taxpayer-funded adoption agencies
to deny services and child placement
to LGBT families out of religious
objections, making him the rst governor
in 2017 to sign an anti-LGBT law.
Daaugard signed the measure,
Senate Bill 149, with little fanfare
Friday after the Republican-controlled
legislature approved it by signicant
margins. The new law prohibits the state
from taking adverse action against child
placement agencies that discriminate
against LGBT families, including the
elimination of tax-exemptions, the
imposition of nes, the cancelation of
contracts or discrimination against the
agency in a state benet program.
Laura Durso, vice president of the
LGBT research and communications at
the Center for American Progress, said in
a statement Daugaard signed legislation
shamefully targeting LGBT parents and
vulnerable kids.
SB 149 allows religiously aliated
foster care and adoption agencies to
Sen. Hassan denounces Trumps anti-trans attacks
Students subjected
to devastating levels
of bullying
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Frustration with President Trump was
palpable at the Human Rights Campaigns
annual spring convention last week as
speakers, including Sen. Maggie Hassan
(D-N.H.), criticized his administration for
actions against the LGBT community.
The newly seated New Hampshire
Democrat lambasted Trump in a keynote
speech before an estimated 400 peopleat
the convention for, among other things,
his Cabinet choices, whom she said were
consistent opponents of LGBT equality.
Hassan had particularly harsh words
for U.S. Attorney General Je Sessions,
sayinghes already harmed LGBT people by
revoking along with Trumpthe Obama-era
guidance from the Justice and Education
South Dakota Gov. DENNIS DAUGAARD
(R-S.D.) signed an anti-LGBT law
turn away qualied LGBT parents and
single moms who simply want to start
families and give young people a safe,
loving home, Durso said. Same-sex
couples are six times as likely to foster
than dierent-sex couples are, and this
bill proves once again that opponents
of equality are happy to put children at
risk and deny them permanent homes to
further their anti-LGBT agenda.
Many child placement agencies are
faith-based organizations, such as Catholic
adoption agencies, but the new lawmakes
no distinction between agencies that are
religious or otherwise aliated.
According to the Associated Press,
Daugaard said before signing the bill he
was concerned private child-placement
Departments assuring transgender kids
have access to restrooms in schools
consistent with their gender identity.
So lets be clear: Every student
deserves the right to learn in an inclusive,
safe environment, but there is clear
evidence that transgender students are
subjected to devastating levels of bullying
and discrimination in schools, Hassan
said. Our government should be focused
on ensuring that all students are safe and
it is unacceptable that the administration
would prioritize rolling back protections
for our most vulnerable students.
Pledging to continue her work in the
U.S. Senate as an LGBT rights supporter,
Hassan touted her vote in 2009 as a state
legislator in favor of marriage equality
legislation, which made the Granite
State among the rst in the country to
allow same-sex couples to marry.
One day after the Republican-
controlled legislature in New Hampshire
tabled legislation that would have
expanded transgender rights, Hassan
also expressed disappointment that her
agencies could be subject to a lawsuit
if they denied placement to people in a
protected class, such as members of the
LGBT community. He said he hopes the
new law would forestall that.
Catholic adoption agencies in
Massachusetts, Illinois, California and D.C.
ended adoption services after lawmakers
in those jurisdictions enacted marriage
equality, saying they couldnt place
children withLGBT parents. Although the
organizations said they were forced to
close because of same-sex marriage, they
ended services on their own.
Last year, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder
signed into law similar legislation allowing
agencies to deny child placement toLGBT
families for religious reasons. Other
states that have similar laws, according
to the AP, areNorth Dakota and Virginia.
Libby Skarin, policy director of the ACLU
of South Dakota, said in a statement shes
deeply disappointed Daugaard signed
the measure despite pleas from these
organizations to vetoit.
This discriminatory legislation takes
South Dakota in the wrong direction, and
sends the message that our leaders are
more concerned with the desires of religious
agencies than the rights of individuals and
children in our state, Skarin said.
Daugaards decision to sign the anti-
LGBT measure into law contrasts with
his veto last year of legislation that would
have allowed South Dakota schools to
deny transgender kids access to the
home state didnt take the opportunity to
expand rights for LGBT people.
Im disappointed that yesterday the
New Hampshire House voted to table
legislation designed to enact additional
protections for transgender citizens in
our state, but I know that legislators will
continue ghting for transgender rights,
Hassan said.
Speakers addressed attendees of the
Human Rights Campaigns spring equality
convention at the Renaissance Hotel in
D.C. the day after the organization led a
citizen lobby in which the estimated 400
supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in
support of LGBT rights.
A member of the Human Rights Campaign
Foundation board, Michael Smithson,
invoked the administration during his
remarks, correcting his terminology
to regime after being corrected by have to tell you, no matter what state I
attendees. When he asked whos angry,
handsfrom nearly every attendee went up.
Smithson got the same responsefrom the
audience when he asked whos afraid, and,
nally, whos red up.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
public restroom consistent with their
gender identity.
Local and national child welfare experts
sent letters opposing SB 149, such asThe
Adoption Exchange, Child Welfare League
of America, National Association of Social
Workers and Voice for Adoption. Others
who opposed the measure were family law
experts and South Dakota pediatricians.
James Esseks, director of the ACLUs
LGBT Project, said in a statement
Daugaards decision to sign the bill is
deeply troubling because its only
one of many bills moving through
state legislatures across the country
that authorizes taxpayer-funded
discrimination against LGBT Americans.
These laws run contrary to one of
our core American values: The rule of
law, which means we are all held to and
protected by the same laws, Esseks
added. These religious exemptions laws
run contrary to this belief by encouraging
people to pick and choose which laws
they are going to follow based on their
religious beliefs.
Other states that are considering anti-
LGBT bills that would allow discrimination in
the name of religious freedom areTexas,
which is considering Senate Bill 892 and
House Bill 1805; Oklahoma, which is
considering House Bill 1507; and Alabama,
which is considering Senate Bill 145.
The Washington Blade has placed a
request with Daugaard seeking comment
on his decision to sign the legislation.
Chad Grin, president of the Human
Rights Campaign, told the audience the
LGBT community is under siege under a
president whos hell-bent on undoing all
our progress seen under President Obama.
We have a temporary tenant in the
White House, but hes temporary, and our
job is ultimately to evict that tenant down
the street, Grin said.
Acknowledging just about everyone
predicted LGBT people would be in a far
dierent place today after the election,
Grin said he recently got a call from
2016 Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton thanking him for the LGBT
communitys support during the campaign.
She wanted you to know what it meant
for her...to see such profound turnout,
such energy from our community,
Grin said. She actually said, Chad, I
went to, I saw HRC stickers and hats and
logos. They were on the front row, they
were behind me on stage, they were on
rope lines. I saw your folks everywhere
and Im grateful.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
DeVos meets with transgender rights advocates
Move follows withdrawal
of Obama-era guidance
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Representatives from a trio of
LGBT organizations and families with
transgender kids met last week with
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in the
aftermath of the Justice and Education
Departments revoking Obama-era
guidance assuring transgender students
access to the bathroom consistent with
their gender identity.
Mara Keisling, executive director
of National Center for Transgender
Equality, said the meeting came about
as a result of the Trump administration
rescinding the guidance, which informed
discriminating against transgender
students would violate Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972.
They made an arbitrary, political,
ideological decision to hurt trans youth,
so we wanted to talk to them about
enforcing the law that theyre statutorily
required to enforce, Keisling said.
The meeting was set up as a result of
eorts by Equality Michigan, which is the
state LGBT group for DeVos home state
of Michigan and where she once served
as head of the Michigan Republican
Party. According to Equality Michigan,
the Education Department informed the
organization on Friday she had agreed to
the meeting.
Stephanie White, executive director of
Equality Michigan, said her organization
sought out the meeting to convey the
profound negative consequences of the
withdrawal of the guidance protecting
transgender students.
We also ensured that the secretary
heard from transgender students and
their parents directly about the impact of
discrimination and harassment at school,
White said. We wanted her to understand
that these are life and death issues for
transgender young people across the
country and that we will not waver or
compromise in our commitment to
ensuring that every student, regardless of
their gender identity, is provided with equal
protection and opportunity to thrive.
In a statement, DeVos said shes
grateful for the opportunity to speak
with families and LGBT rights supporters
about their concerns, thoughts, fears
and suggestions.
Every school and every school leader has
a moral responsibility to protect all students
and ensure every child is respected and can
learn in an accepting environment, DeVos
said. I remain committed to advocating
for and ghting on behalf of all students.
Todays meeting was compelling, moving
and welcomed, and part of an ongoing
dialogue with families and students
throughout the country.
Discussion consisted of two consecutive
meetings one between DeVos and
transgender families, the other between
DeVos and representatives from LGBT
groups which eachlasted about an hour,
sources familiar with the meeting said.
Those in attendance at the latter meeting,
according to sources, included DeVos
and four Education Department ocials
as well representatives from GLSEN, the
National Center for Transgender Equality
and Equality Michigan.
Eliza Byard, executive director of
GLSEN, said in a statement LGBT groups
addressed the immediate consequences
of withdrawing the guidance and ways
that she might be able to mitigate the
pain, fear, and confusion that decision
has caused.
Above all, we ensured that DeVos
heard directly from us that we will not
budge or compromise when it comes to
the full support and protection that all
of our children, including LGBTQ youth,
deserve from this administration, from
the Department of Education and from its
Oce for Civil Rights, Byard said.
The meeting, Keisling said, yielded no
rm policy commitments. Nonetheless,
Keisling said it was a good rst meeting
because its always good when people
are willing to sit down and talk, when
people are willing to be told that what
they did was really bad.
Right now, were limited in what we can
do with the federal government, but this
was one thing we could do, Keisling said.
We could bring families, and that was
really the important thing here. I think so
many people were just outraged that they
took a policy that had taken a decade or
more to craft and do the groundwork,
and then just threw it out in less a week of
Attorney General Sessions being in oce.
He came into oce and immediately
started shooting at trans people, and she
was only in oce a couple weeks more
than that.
Transgender rights supporters insist that
even without an armative ruling from
the Supreme Court, the prohibition on sex
discrimination under Title IX based on legal
precedent bars schools from discriminating
against transgender students or denying
them access to the restroom consistent
with their gender identity.
According to media reports in the
Washington Post and the New York Times,
DeVos objected to rescinding the non-
discrimination guidance for transgender
students before ultimately agreeing to
allow it to happen. U.S. Attorney General
Je Sessions needed her consent to move
forward because the guidance was issued
jointly by both their departments and
President Trump had to intercede, forcing
DeVos to accept the revocation of the
guidance or else resign, the Times reported.
Keisling said DeVos didnt say anything
about objections she had to withdrawing
the guidance because the meeting wasnt
focused on the process getting there,
but protecting transgender students
going forward.
Ive heard the rumors, too, that she time of her conrmation, encountering
was against and Sessions for it, but the
bottom line is she signed, Keisling said.
He signed it, she signed it, so it doesnt
really matter to me whether she wanted
to sign it because she signed it.
The meeting, Keisling said, was
with DeVos as opposed to Sessions
or White House ocials because the
Obama-era guidance came from the
Education Department and the Education
Department would be responsible for
putting it back in place.
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 0 9
A trio of LGBT advocates met with Betsy
DeVos over withdrawing guidance protecting
trans students.
PHOTO BY GAGE SKIDMORE; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
Thats where the guidance is, thats who
has to enforce Title IX and thats who allegedly
cares about students, Keisling said, adding
she was unsure if any eort was made for
LGBT groups to meet with Sessions.
None of the LGBT groups issued any
notice the meeting would take place
prior to the time it happened, although
the Education Department did include a
notice on DeVos weekly schedule shed
meet with Equality Michigan leadership
and parents in a closed press meeting.
After the meeting GLSEN issued a general
news statement, followed by the National
Center for Transgender Equality.
Keisling said not issuing a public notice
prior to the DeVos meeting is consistent
with the practice of her organization,
which she said typically doesnt promote
meetings with administration ocials.
Were there to actually get work done,
not to have a photo op, Keisling said. I
wouldnt have wanted this to be a photo
op. In fact, I probably wouldnt have gone
if this was a photo op. Were not in the
business of making people feel better
after they do something bad, so that
wasnt about it. This was about having her
listen to families.
A controversial gure whos reviled
by many in the LGBT community, DeVos
has faced criticism before and after the
in her few rst days in oce protesters,
including a gay refugee from Afghanistan
turned citizen, who followed her until she
entered her vehicle during a visit to a D.C.
public school.
Cathy Renna, a GLSEN spokesperson,
referred to DeVos public schedule when
asked why the organization issued no
statement about the meeting prior to
the time it took place. White said the
organization has a general practice of not
issuing notices for meetings.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
I N T E RNA TI O N A L NEWS
Caribe Armativos House of Peace (Casa de Paz in Spanish) in Soledad, Colombia.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Colombia LGBT group opens
four Houses of Peace
SOLEDAD, Colombia A Colombian LGBT advocacy group has opened four
Houses of Peace (Casas de Paz in Spanish) in support of the implementation
of a peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia.
Caribe Armativo announced last September that it would open four Houses of
Peace in Soledad, a city that is located adjacent to Barranquilla, Cinega in Magdalena
Department, Carmen de Bolvar in Bolvar Department and Maicao, a town in La
Guajira Department that is less than 10 miles from the Venezuelan border.
The announcement took place less than three weeks before Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC Commander Rodrigo Timochenko
Londoo signed a peace agreement in the city of Cartagena that specically
acknowledged LGBT Colombians as victims of the conict and called for their
participation in the countrys political process. Caribe Armativo Director
Wilson Castaeda, who is one of three Colombian LGBT rights advocates who
participated in the peace talks that took place in Havana, was among the more
than 2,500 people who attended the ceremony.
Colombian voters on Oct. 2, 2016, narrowly rejected the agreement against
the backdrop of anti-LGBT rhetoric from religious and conservative groups
that opposed it. Santos and Londoo on Nov. 24, 2016, signed a second peace
agreement which also contains LGBT-specic references in the Colombian
capital of Bogot.
Lawmakers late last year passed a controversial law that provides amnesty to
FARC rebels who carried out minor crimes during the conict.
The guerrillas have moved into resettlement areas the Colombian government
created under the agreement, although the FARC has criticized them because of
a lack of food and water and basic infrastructure. The guerrillas also began to
disarm earlier this month under U.N. supervision.
The Houses of Peace opened in late November.
Each house has a regular schedule of events, workshops and meetings at
which LGBT groups, trans women and local residents can discuss preventing
violence, ghting the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other issues.
Caribe Armativo Director Wilson Castaeda told the Washington Blade the
project will last four years.
He said each of the four houses costs 7 million Colombian pesos ($2,333.73) a
month in terms of rent, the salaries of those who manage them and event facilitators
and basic materials. Castaeda told the Blade that Caribe Armativo uses some of
this money to pay for transportation and food for visitors who are poor.
It is LGBT peoples contribution to the construction of peace, Saul Castellar
of Caribe Armativo told the Blade on Monday during an interview at his oce
in the city of Barranquilla.
Ludwin Cabas, a business owner who manages the House of Peace in
Soledad, agreed.
The House of Peace is a space to help to those people who, in one form or
another, had problems during the armed conict in Colombia, he told the Blade
on Tuesday during an interview in Soledad as Castellar listened.
It is not only for the LGBT community, but also for the aected population,
added Cabas.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 1 3
Mariela Castro: Marriage does not stop hate crimes
The daughter of Cuban President Ral Castro on Saturday said hate crimes remain a
problem in countries that have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples.
EFE reported Mariela Castro, who directs Cubas National Center for Sexual Education
that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, made the comments in the Mexican
city of Guadalajara after organizers of a lm festival honored her for her work to
promote LGBT-specic issues on the Communist island. The Spanish news agency said
hate crimes were among the topics about which she specically spoke.
We dont like to copy anyone, said Mariela Castro as she discussed why Cuba has
yet to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, according to EFE. We want to be
creative and look for what truly ts into the possibility of social acceptance and our
reality.
Mariela Castro, who is former Cuban President Fidel Castros niece, has publicly
spoken in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.
She and Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry, were in the audience when
Tico Almeida, the gay Cuban American president of Freedom to Work, gave a speech in
Havana last May that focused on the issue and other LGBT-specic advocacy eorts in
the U.S. Mariela Castro later had lunch with Almeida and Wolfson.
LGBT rights advocates who work independently of Mariela Castro and CENESEX in
December 2015 launched a campaign that urged Cubans to sign a petition in support of
marriage rights for same-sex couples. They hoped it would spur members of the Cuban
National Assembly to publicly debate the issue at their annual meeting last December.
The meeting began slightly more than a month after Fidel Castro died.
Mariela Castro, who is a member of the National Assembly, has not spoken publicly in
support of the campaign that appears to have stalled.
The main goal is not marriage; it is one of the goals, she said in Mexico, according to
EFE. For us the main goal is to achieve equal opportunities, which was achieved in the
process of working on discrimination against women.
Gays and lesbians can legally marry in Mexico City and several states in Mexico, Puerto
Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and a number of islands in the Caribbean
that include Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saba.
Same-sex couples have been able to enter into civil unions in Chile since October
2015. The countrys president, Michelle Bachelet, has pledged to introduce a marriage
bill in the Chilean Congress later this year.
Independent Cuban activists with whom the Blade routinely speaks say they are
ostracized and face harassment and even arrest for publicly criticizing Mariela Castro
or her fathers government. Reported rates of violence based on sexual orientation and
gender identity on the Communist island are nevertheless lower than in Brazil, Colombia
and other Latin American countries in which gays and lesbians can legally marry.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS
Pope Francis to visit Colombia
CARTAGENA, Colombia The Vatican on March 10 announced that Pope Francis will
travel to Colombia in September.
Francis is scheduled to arrive in the Colombian capital of Bogot on Sept. 6. He is
expected to visit the cities of Villavincencio, Medelln and Cartagena before returning to
Rome on Sept. 11.
To have the pope with us for four days, to know that he is coming exclusively to
Colombia and that he will guide us as Colombians through our faith is a privilege that
lls us with gratitude, said Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday during
a press conference in Bogot with Cardinal Rubn Salazar, who is the archbishop of
Bogot, and other ocials from the Vatican and the Colombian Roman Catholic Church.
We of course rejoice for the millions of Colombians who profess the Catholic faith but
also for all of those who see the great spiritual leader of our time in his image and in
his words.
Pope John Paul II visited Bogot, Medelln, Cartagena and several other Colombian
cities in 1986. Pope Paul VI traveled to Bogot in 1968.
MICHAEL K. LAVERS

1 4 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017
Advocates fear impact of ACA repeal on HIV, trans patients
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
Medicaid, which as health coverage for low-
income Americans provides care for more
than 40 percent of people with HIV and many
transgender people.
CBO estimates the American Health
Care Act would decrease direct spending in
Medicaid by $880 billion over the 2017-2026
period resulting in14 million fewer Medicaid
enrollees by the end of that period.
Carl Schmid, deputy director of the
AIDS Institute, said he couldnt overstate
the calamity passage of the American
Health Care Act would mean for people
with HIV.
I hate to use the word devastating,
other people have used it, Schmid said.
The CBO score is not surprising at all
because its what we had said that the
biggest impact, theyre really cutting
back, scaling back coverage in Medicaid.
Theyre removing all these people from
the Medicaid rolls.
Schmid said the American Health Care
Act would also remove the Medicaid
requirements that the states provide
10 essential health benets, including
prescription drugs, which means we
dont know what the states will provide
to people with HIV.
Also at risk under the plan, Schmid said,
is access to preventative services, like HIV
testing, or access to PrEP as a means of
HIV prevention for low-income people on
Medicaid.
PrEP is covered by most plans right
now, Schmid said. Medicaid plans and
qualied health plans. If people dont
have coverage, they cant access the
medications, and the federal governments
not paying for PrEP by the CDC or the Ryan
White program. Ryan White is just for
people who are HIV positive.
One aspect of Obamacare that
LGBT supporters value is Section 1557,
which prohibits discrimination on the
basis of sex in health care. The Obama
administration interpreted that provision
to bar discrimination in health care
against transgender people, including
by denying them gender reassignment
surgery. A court order has enjoined
enforcement of that regulation, but
advocates insist transgender people can
sue under the underlying law if they face
discrimination in health care.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the
National Center for Transgender Equality,
said the provision is safe for the time
being because it couldnt be eliminated
through the budget reconciliation process
planned for the American Health Care
Act, but nonetheless transgender people
would face other problems.
That really doesnt matter because the
repeal bill would make it so much harder
for trans people to get insurance though
the continuous coverage requirement,
U.S. House Speaker PAUL RYAN (R-Wis.)
originated the American Health Care Act
before Trump endorsed it.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
the gutting of Medicaid and several
other aspects, that protecting from
discrimination would move to a lesser
concern, Keisling said. Trans people
would be among those most hurt.
In the individual market, CBO estimates
the Republican plan would reduce
premiums by an average of 10 percent,
but theres a wide uctuation in estimated
payments for older people and younger
people. For a person making $26,500 a
year, the yearly net premium would be
$1,450 if that person were 21 years old,
$2,400 if that person were 40 years old and
$14,600 if that person were 64 years old.
Under the legislation, premiums for
older people could be ve times larger
than those for younger people in many
states, but the size of the tax credits for
older people would only be twice the size
of the credits for younger people.
CBO estimates the American Health
Care Act would result in greater cost
savings than Obamacare for the federal
government. Under the Republican
proposal, the agency projected a
reduction in the federal decits by by
$337 billion over the 2017-2026 period.
White House Press Secretary Sean
Spicer defended the American Health Care
Act on Tuesday by dismissing the CBOs
estimates that the number of uninsured
people would increase, asserting its
estimate during the Obama era that 24
million people would have coverage under
Obamacare in 2016 was way o.
They were o by 13 million people
over 50 percent, Spicer said. In fact,
only 10.4 million people were actually
covered. Reports now suggest that that
number has dwindled down to 9 million.
CBO coverage estimates are consistently
wrong and, more importantly, did not take
into consideration the comprehensive
nature of the three-pronged plan to
repeal and replace Obamacare with the
American Health Care Act.
The second prong to the
administrations approach to health
care reform is regulatory relief aimed
at reducing costs by 10 percent in the
individual markets. The third is additional
legislation to undo Obamacare that cant
be done through the regulatory process,
which only requires a majority vote for
passage in the U.S. Senate as opposed to
60 votes to overcome as a libuster.
Phill Wilson, CEO of The Black AIDS
Institute, said in a statement the White
House attack on the CBOs calculations is
spin because the American Health Care
Act will increase premiums, reduce benets
and replace subsidies with tax credits.
Particularly if youre a person living
with HIV/AIDS, a poor person, a person
with other chronic illnesses, or an older
American regardless of what lie the
administration or the Congress tries to
sell to you ask yourself this: Is my health
insurance likely to be more robust, better
and cheaper under the new plan than
it was under the Aordable Care Act?
Wilson said. Then mobilize accordingly.
Under questioning from CNNs Jim
Acosta, Spicer conceded millions of
people wont have health coverage as a
result of the American Health Care Act,
but insisted you have to look at the
current situation.
If you could bring down cost and
choices and allow people to nd a plan
that t their budget, that was tailored
to their needs, there is actually a higher
likelihood that they will nd something
that they want at a price that they can
aord as to right now, which is I get
a plan that Im forced to buy that has a
deductible that I cant aord, but Ive got
a cute little plastic card that I can wave
around, Spicer said.
Schmid rejected the argument health
care plans cant be used now because
premiums and deductibles are too high,
noting for many people, such as those
on Medicaid, its either this coverage or
nothing at all.
We agree that there are problems with
high deductibles, Schmid said. Thats
why we want to repair the Aordable
Care Act, but taking away coverage from
people is even worse. And he mixes
up Medicaid. Medicaid doesnt have
premiums and deductibles and so thats
the biggest problem. They keep on saying
it doesnt work. You have deductibles.
Well, thats only the qualied health plans.
Medicaid doesnt have premiums, doesnt
have deductibles. They have minor co-
pays and theyre limited by law, and
theyre minimal.
As part of an eort to derail repeal,
Democrats, including Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have
sought to vilify the proposal by calling
it Trumpcare much like Republican
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
NATIONAL NEWS
opponents of Aordable Care Act
dubbed the Democratic plan Obamacare
a nomenclature President Obama
ultimately accepted as his own.
Spicer, however, sought to put some
distance between Trump and the
Republican proposal by rejecting the
Trumpcare label for the American Health
Care Act, saying the issue at hand isnt
labels, but health care reform.
The Obama administration didnt label
it Obamacare, they called it the ACA,
Spicer said. I mean, this is the American
Health Care Act. The president is proud of
it. The president is proud of the fact that
were working with Congress. But this is
a bill that is not his, its a joint eort that
weve worked with the House and the
Senate on. Hes proud of it. Hes proud
of the impact that its going to have on
American patients. So I dont think this
is about labels and names, this is about
getting a job done.
The oce of U.S. House Speaker Paul
Ryan (R-Wis.), who was the originator
of the American Health Care Act before
Trump endorsed it, didnt respond to the
Washington Blades request to comment
on the impact the plan would have on
LGBT people and people with HIV.
Gregory Angelo, president of the Log
Cabin Republicans, said hed withhold
formal comment on the American Health
Care Act, citing on ongoing review of the
American Health Care Act on LGBT people
and people with HIV.
I will say that I continue to get messages
from LCR members across the country
whose premiums have skyrocketed
or whose healthcare plans have been
canceled as a result of Obamacare,
Angelo said. Clearly there has to be a
better way.
Because of opposition on all sides,
passage in the Republican-controlled
Congress will be an uphill ght.
Democrats, including the conservative
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) seem locked
in opposition to the American Health Care
Act. On the other side of the aisle, the far-
right House Freedom Caucus opposes the
measure because it doesnt go far enough,
as do Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Rand
Paul (R-Ky.), whose states have enacted
some version of the Medicaid expansion.
Schmid said he doesnt think the current
version of the American Health Care Act
would make it through Congress, saying
Republicans are running scared over
the prospects of the bill becoming law.
I think what theyll do is make some
changes, but I dont see how this is going
to pass even in the House, let alone the
Senate, Schmid said. Its ripping coverage
away from people with health care, and we
cant do that. What we say is people with
HIV need consistent care, and you cannot
risk taking away their medications or health
care. Not even for a single day.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
N E WS
LGBT community centers vandalized in disturbing trend
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
In addition to the attack at D.C.s Casa
Ruby, at least three LGBT community
centers have been vandalized in recent
attacks that could be part of a national
trend of rising hate seen since President
Trumps election.
Inthe last few weeks, vandals smashed
a window at the oce ofEquality Florida in
Orlando, the city where last year a shooter
took the lives of 49 people and wounded
53 others at a gay nightclub, and windows
were smashed at the headquarters in
Asbury Park of the New Jersey LGBT
Garden State Equality.
In Tulsa, Okla., 13 shots were red froma
pellet gun at theEquality Center on Monday
just hours before a man came into the
lobby yelling profanities and anti-LGBTQ
rhetoric at front-desk sta. According
to Tulsa World, the Equality Center had
never been the target of vandalism in the
12 years since Oklahomans for Equality
moved into the building.
Were getting reports like this from
all over the country, Toby Jenkins, the
Equality Centers executive director, was
quoted as saying. Gay community centers
being vandalized; welcoming churches
being vandalized; gay businesses being
vandalized. Now its happened in Tulsa.
The trend of attacks on LGBT centers
echoes anti-Semitic attacks since the
inauguration of President Trump, who ran
Attacker released, ordered to stay away from Casa Ruby
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 01
your mother fucking ass! Yall tranny
mother fuckers think somebody wont
fuck yall up!
Casa Ruby founder and executive
director Ruby Corado told the Washington
Blade Cook had been an occasional visitor
to Casa Ruby over the past several weeks
and was known to employees and some
clients. Corado said Cook identied as
being straight and had expressed interest
in meeting transgender women who go
to Casa Ruby for various services.
By law we cannot tell non-LGBT people
not to come in, Corado said.
Corado said witnesses told her Cook
became violent during the March 12
incident when he was asked to leave
because he was bothering people there.
Acting D.C. Police Lt. Brett Parson, who
oversees the police LGBT Liaison Unit, said
ocers investigating the case agged it as
a possible anti-transgender hate crime.
But during a presentment hearing in
Superior Court on Tuesday, March 14,
prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys oce did
not list the incident as a hate crime and led
a campaign rooted in animosity toward
minority groups, such as Muslims and
immigrants. Trump also won with the
support of white nationalists like David
Duke, who as former Imperial Wizard
of the Ku Klux Klan has advocated anti-
Semitic and racist ideology.
The anti-Semitic attacks have been
especially prominent in recent weeks. Last
month, bomb threats forced evacuations
at Jewish schools and community centers
on a single day in 11 states. Within
the course of one week, nearly 100
tombstones were found overturned at a
Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia and more
than 150 tombstones were vandalized ata
St. Louis Jewish cemetery.
Other minority groups are also facing
attacks. Just this week in Washington
State, a man still not apprehended by
law enforcement shot a Sikh man in his
driveway after telling him to go back
to your country. The incident is being
investigated as a hate crime.
Accompanying the vandalism at the
LGBT community centers is ongoing
violence against transgender people,
which has existed long before Trump
took oce. At least seven transgender
women, six black, have been murdered
so far in 2017.
Daniel Pinello, a political scientist at
the City University of New York, said
the attacks on LGBT centers as well
as mosques and synagogues are no
surprise because the nationis so deeply
Ruby Corado said the attack on the center
temporarily shattered her eorts to make
Casa Ruby a safe space for vulnerable
members of the LGBT community.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
just one of the three police charges against
Cook felony destruction of property.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jelahn Stewart,
a spokesperson for the oce, said
prosecutors routinely le the most
serious charge against a defendant in a
divided after Trumps election.
Pinello said the Womens March on
Washington marked a high point of overt
opposition to the new president and
demonstrationscontinueon the left, such
as the newly formed anti-Trump Indivisible
movement. But these progressive
demonstrations, Pinello said, could
provoke their own backlash on the right.
As a result, mosques and synagogues
and LGBT centers provide ready targets
for whatever rage ares up among
ultra-conservatives, Pinello said. Their
retaliation is particularly rife when
the opportunity for signicant policy
changes bythenew administration seems
on the verge of beingsquandered because
of too many daily hiccups by Donald
Trump and the White House. In truth, I
wouldnt be surprised if these homophobic
and anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks
continue at abrisk pace as the Indivisible
and related movements openly progress
in response to the current regime.
Facing calls to denounce the anti-Semitic
attacks, Trump has repudiated them on
repeated occasions, most notably last
late monthat the beginning of his speech
before a joint session of Congress.
Recent threats targeting Jewish
Community Centers and vandalism of
Jewish cemeteries, as well as last weeks
shooting in Kansas City, remind us that
while we may be a nation divided on
policies, we are a country that stands
united in condemning hate and evil in all
case like this when it rst comes to court.
She said additional charges could be led
later, including a possible designation as
a hate crime, when the case goes before
a grand jury for an indictment.
Stewart noted that the felony
destruction of property charge was
more serious than the charges of simple
assault and making threats to do bodily
harm, which are misdemeanors.
During the March 14 hearing Judge Sean
Staples agreed to a defense request that
Cook be released on his own recognizance
on the condition that he stays away from
the block on which Casa Ruby is located
and from all Casa Ruby employees and
clients. Cook had been held overnight in
jail following his arrest on Monday.
The judge also ordered Cook to return
to court on April 3 for a preliminary
hearing, where prosecutors are required
to present evidence showing probable
cause exists that Cook committed the
oense with which he is charged.
The police arrest adavit says the
trans woman who was assaulted, who
is identied as Victim 1, told police Cook
became angry because he believed the
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 1 5
its forms, Trump said.
Kelly Love, a White House spokesperson,
said in response to the Washington Blades
request for comment on the attacks on
LGBT centers Trumps condemnation of
bigotryextends to this vandalism.
President Trump condemns hate and
evil in all of its very ugly forms, including
attacks against the LGBT community,
Love said.
Amid the attacks on LGBT centers, Jewish
cemeteries and mosques, a Quinnipiac
poll published Thursday found Americans
believe hate is on the rise in the United
States since the election of President
Trump. The poll found 63 percent of
American voters believethe level of hatred
and prejudice has increased and 77
percent of voters think prejudice against
minority groups in the U.S. is a very
serious or somewhat serious problem.
The poll found concern about anti-
Semitism in particular has jumped in the
last month. The poll found 70 percent
of American voters believe the specic
issue of prejudice against Jewish people
is a very serious or somewhat serious
problem. Thats up from 49 percent in a
Feb. 8 Quinnipiac University Poll.
American voters, the poll found, are
divided on President Donald Trumps
response to bomb threats against Jewish
community centers and vandalism of
Jewish cemeteries. The poll found 37
percent of Americans approve and 38
percent disapprove.
women and others at Casa Ruby had
been talking about him.
It says thats when he shouted anti-
transgender names and made threats
against those present in the room where
the altercation unfolded.
Victim 1 states the altercation
became physical when Suspect 1 [Cook]
approached her and hit her in the head
with his index nger, the adavit says.
Suspect 1 then walked away from Victim
1, grabbed a bar of soap from a table
and threw it at Victim 1, hitting her right
shoulder. No injury resulted.
According to the adavit, Cook then
exited the building, and a witness to the
incident immediately locked the door.
Another witness quoted Cook saying as
he walked out of Casa Ruby, Ill fuck this
place up! Ill make sure none of yall have
a place to go!
Minutes later Cook returned and kicked
the door frame, causing damage, the
adavit says. It says he then grabbed a
brick and threw it at the double pane glass
door, shattering the exterior layer of glass.
 Keep your promise to protect each other. WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

16 M A R C H 17, 2017 BA LT I MO RE N E W S

Chase Brexton to host LGBT health events

The LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care is slated to
host four events from March 25-30 to recognize LGBT Health Awareness Week.
The activities we have planned are about visibility and building community,
said Nate Sweeney, executive director of the LGBT Health Resource Center. We
want to provide a safe space and lessen the stigma that many in the LGBTQ
community face when trying to obtain fair and inclusive health care.
On March 25, there will be a BreastFest Cancer Screening at American
Wills & Trusts Radiology Services (3700 Fleet St., Suite 110, in Baltimore). BreastFest provides

Powers of Attorney Living Wills lesbian, same-gender-loving, bisexual and queer women over 40 with breast
cancer screenings by appointment. This event is trans inclusive for anyone in
Partnership & Prenuptial Agreements need of breast tissue screening.
March 28 will feature a Trans vs. Bureaucracy Workshop from 6-8 p.m. at
(240) 778-2330 (703) 536-0220 Chase Brextons Mount Vernon Center (rst oor community room; 1111 N.

www.PartnerPlanning.com Charles St.). This workshop provides documents and counsel for trans patients
of Chase Brexton who are navigating the legal processes of name/gender
marker change. The workshop will include a round-table discussion to share
Serving the LGBT Community the personal narratives of trans individuals and their experiences navigating
bureaucracy.
in DC/MD/VA since 1983 Bisexual Speed Dating will take place on March 29 from 6-9 p.m. at Flavor (15 E.
Centre St. in Baltimore). This evening event aims to bring bi people together for
potential friendship or romance. There is a $10 cover, with proceeds supporting

Lawrence S. Jacobs/McMillan Metro, PC LGBT cancer screenings.

On March 30, there will be a screening of You Are Not Alone on from
6-9 p.m. at Chase Brextons Mount Vernon Center. You Are Not Alone is an
award-winning documentary featuring stories of gay black men struggling with
depression. The lm will be followed by a discussion of the lm, battling stigma
and building community. The event is free.
Sweeney adds, It is important for people to have the opportunity to be with
those who are going through the same thing or have similar experiences. That
is why our events this year are centered on particular identities within our
community. We are thrilled to be working with great partners like FreeState
Justice, the Center for Black Equity, the Baltimore Transgender Alliance, Baltimore
TransMen Inc, the STAR TRACK program at University of Maryland and others to
not only bring attention to some of the health disparities that our communities
face, but to do something about it.
Speak with our preplanning adviSor,
Jamie arthurS at (202) 966-6400 or email
Jamie.arthurS@dignitymemorial.com
Town hall meeting on PrEP on tap
A town hall meeting on HIV Prevention and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)
will take place on March 29 from 6:30-8 p.m. at First and Franklin Presbyterian
Church, 210 W. Madison St. in Baltimore.
The event, hosted by AIDS Action Baltimore, is intended for men who have sex
5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW DC (202) 966-6400 www.JosephGawlers.com with men and for transgender individuals. The latest information on preventing
HIV and the use of PrEP will be oered and discussed. Food and refreshments
ADVERTISIN G be
will P provided.
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Serving Our Community for 35 years

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Frederick Center celebrates 5 years with Carnival

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The Frederick Center will celebrate its fth anniversary with a carnival
fundraiser on Saturday, March 18 from 7-11p.m, at the Delaplaine Arts Center,
FamiLY | eState PLaNNiNG | emPLoYmeNt | immiGratioN 40 Carroll St. in Frederick. Elegant attire, masks and costumes are encouraged
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at tor N e YS at L aw d C | m d | va One drink token is included per person then a cash bar.
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3 0 1 . 8 9 1 . 2 2 0 0 S P - L aw. C o m STEVE CHARING
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Apps and Drink Selections - 5-7PM March 17, 18,19

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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

18 M A R C H 17, 2017 H E A LT H N E W S

March is Bisexual Health Awareness Month

ATLANTA Bisexual individuals comprise nearly half of those who identify as

LGBT, but only about 28 percent of bisexuals disclose their sexuality, according
to the Movement Advancement Project. This can lead to signicant health
disparities, which led the Bisexual Resource Center to denote March as Bisexual
Health Awareness Month, the Georgia Voice reports.
The Project, located in Boston, launched Bisexual Health Awareness Month in
2014 with the intention to raise awareness of social, health and economic issues
that aect the bisexual community.
The rst campaign theme, Bi the Way, Our Health Matters Too! encompassed

quick & free hiv testing

mental health, sexual health, nutrition and sexual violence, said spokesperson
Laura DelloStritto. The campaign was so eective in engaging people to share
statistics and resources that the BRC continues to celebrate Bisexual Health

free safe sex kit

Awareness Month each March.
The 2017 theme is social health, including friends, family, partners and
community. Each week, the Project tunes its social media channels to feature
statistics, resources and action steps related to each topic, Georgia Voice reports.

info about PrEP

DelloStritto said bisexual individuals are more likely to suer mood and anxiety
disorders, and be more economically disadvantaged, than gay and lesbian people.
Bisexual women in particular face disparities such as higher rates of cancer,

locations in baltimore,
heart disease and obesity, compared to heterosexual women. Bisexual men are
also less likely to get tested for HIV, according to Human Rights Campaign.

U.K. group: lesbians need cervical screenings

columbia, glen burnie, & LONDON LGBT groups are warning lesbians they have been misinformed if

easton
theyve been told they dont need cervical screenings, the Daily Telegraph reports.
According to LGB&T Partnership, an alliance of gay non-prots, 37 percent of
women who have sex with women have been told they dont need screenings.
About half of all eligible lesbian and bi women have never had pap smears,
Partnership sta reports.
The human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes most cervical cancers,
is passed through intimate skin-to-skin contact. The partnership surveyed
women on their experiences with sexual health care as part of the inaugural
National Lesbian and Bisexual Womens Health Week, which aims to highlight
that lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women (WSW) are
experiencing a range of health inequalities and both face barriers to accessing
health care and are having poor experiences when they do.
(WSW) lack acknowledgement both in mainstream society and LGBT communities,
and to the NHS we are largely invisible, writes Elizabeth Barker in the forward of
a new report published in November. It is unacceptable that (WSW) continue to
experience discrimination and that thoughtlessness compromises our health care.
Other issues highlighted by the partnerships report are that 21 percent
of bisexual women and 12 percent of lesbians reported a long-term mental
health problem, compared with4 percent of heterosexual women, and that 29
percentof lesbian and bisexual women report more binge drinking compared
with12 percent in the general population of women, the Telegraph reports.

New online resource for U.K. gay, bi men

LONDON Two leading charities have launched an online counseling service
for gay and bisexual men to get support around drugs, sex and alcohol, Pink
News, a British LGBT news outlet, reports.
Terrence Higgins Trust and London Friend launched the new service via
Friday/Monday, a website that oers information about sex and drugs for gay
and bisexual men.
The new project includes an online support group and one-to-one virtual counseling,
which the charities hope will make it easier for men in rural areas to access support.

chasebrexton.org/POWER
People will be able to see their counselor on the screen, or up to 10 people in
a support group, while they talk through their issues around drugs or alcohol.
Cary James, head of Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins Trust, said, Were
delighted to be working with London Friend to deliver this important and much

410-837-2050 x8813
needed project. Mainstream services often dont meet the needs of gay men
whose drug and alcohol use is linked to their sex life, according to Pink News.
The project was awarded funding by the Public Health England HIV Prevention
Innovation Fund. Find out more and sign up on the Friday/Monday website at
fridaymonday.org.uk.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

F I T NES S M A R C H 17, 2017 19

Right after your workout

Recovery work begins while
youre still at the gym Educated at Brown, Harvard,
and Johns Hopkins
When we exercise, were putting Washingtonian Magazine Top Doc
our bodies through a traumatic
experience. Thousands of micro- US News & World Report
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Hydrate: In addition to the eight cups of water per day that your body needs
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Recovery drinks: Once your workout is over, you want to start replenishing
as quickly as you can. Remember those micro-tears? You want as much time
for your body to repair those as possible. Consuming a post-workout drink
that includes protein and BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) will kick start that
recovery process. Additionally, youll have used a great deal of your fuel reserves,
so carbohydrate intake is critical as well. Aim for a ratio of 3:1 carbohydrates to
protein after your workout to replenish and rebuild.
Compression gear: Post workout your muscles will begin to tighten up. The
next day, you may even be so sore that you struggle to get out of bed. The
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Active recovery: One of the most overlooked aspects of recovery is what we
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wake up to incredible soreness and say, Theres no way I can train today. That,
is the biggest mistake you can make. Your soreness will only get worse as your
muscles tighten throughout the day. Active recovery is about pushing through
the rst few minutes of discomfort on another session of some kind and nding
that the exercise makes you limber and loose and feeling better than ever.
Great forms of active recovery include yoga, running, swimming, cycling and
more. None of these forms of workout should be used exclusively, but instead
are really quality bounce-back days to allow your body to prepare for its next
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2 0 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017
The Trump Doesnt Care Act
Millions stand to lose
coverage under new
health plan
PETER ROSENSTEIN is a D.C.-based LGBT rights
and Democratic Party activist. He writes regularly
for the Blade.
Among the lies Donald Trump told
on the campaign trail were those about
what he would do about repealing and
replacing the Aordable Care Act. Those
lies or as Kellyanne Conway calls them
alternative facts continued well after
he was elected into the rst weeks of his
new administration when he admitted he
didnt know what the hell he was doing
when it came to healthcare.
We all remember his bluster during
the campaign when he declared he will
have a replacement for the ACA, which
will give healthcare to everyone and it will
be cheaper and better. On Jan. 15, the
Washington Post reported, President-
elect Donald Trump said in a weekend
interview that he is nearing completion
of a plan to replace President Obamas
signature health-care law with the goal of
insurance for everybody, while also vow-
ing to force drug companies to negotiate
directly with the government on prices in
Medicare and Medicaid. Then on Jan. 18 it
was reported Speaking with Axios, Trump
applied a bit more restraint regarding the
prospects of his plans promise to provide
every American with health care. Well, we
want people taken care of ... There will be
nobody dying on the streets in a Trump
administration. Finally on Feb. 28, Trump
said, Now, I have to tell you, its an unbe-
lievably complex subject, and added, no-
body knew health care could be so compli-
cated. Well Trump didnt know but every
American and individual involved in work-
ing on and passing the Aordable Care
Act, and even Republicans who couldnt
gure out a replacement for it in the past
six years, knew.
On March 7, Speaker of the House
Paul cant add Ryan (R-Wisc.) and his
Republican colleagues introduced their
secret congressional plan to repeal and
replace the ACA, which they call the
American Healthcare Act. I have dubbed
it the Trump Doesnt Care Act since the coverage that didnt have it before and re-
president has now said he fully supports
it. This legislation takes money from the
poor and gives it to the rich. It will mean
less healthy children and families so the
rich can get a cut in their taxes. TheCon-
gressional Budget Oce estimate shows
14 million will lose their healthcare next
year and 24 million by 2026. Even with
this possibility, Tea Party Republicans are
indicating they wont be satised until ev-
ery poor person loses their healthcare.
No one really debates the fact the Af-
fordable Care Act needs tweaking. But the
axe Republicans are taking to it if this bill
were to pass as introduced, which based
on comments by a number of Republican
senators is highly unlikely, would be cata-
strophic to millions.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
IN S IDE L G B T W ASH I N G T O N
The parts of the bill causing the most
concern for Republican senators are the
changes to the Medicaid program. There
are 31 states that expanded their Med-
icaid programs under the ACA, which
extended new coverage to nearly 11 mil-
lion low-income adults. If you end or cut
that program drastically it would leave
many of those millions of people with-
out healthcare. That is a real problem for
many GOP governors and the senators
like Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) from red states.
The Ryan bill would overhaul the
whole program, which covers more than
70 million people, by sending states a
xed amount of money per enrollee,
known as a per-capita cap. GOP Sen.
Lisa Murkowski said, her party must nd mkey@washblade.com
a fair and humane way to treat those
who gained coverage through Medicaid
expansion. She added, In Alaska, weve
got 27,000 people that are now eligible for
CREATIVE DESIGN/PRODUCTION
ally have no place else to turn and so Im
trying to gure out a way that treats these
people in a fair and humane manner.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on
the Senate Finance Committee, said, the
intra-party division over Medicaid was a
problem. Hatch added, The Democrats
arent going to help us. So it is a problem.
It can only be hoped with the release
of this bill the millions of Americans who
got their insurance through the ACA will
nally realize electing a billionaire with no
understanding of government or health-
care was a mistake. Voting for Trump, or
not voting, and putting this bully who be-
lieves it is OK to lie your way to the top
in business or government in the White
House is turning out to be a disaster.
E DIT OR IA L CA RT O O N
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 11
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WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
V I E W PO I N T
TCMs Robert Osborne loved movies like no other
Affable host connected
us to cinematic world
KATHI WOLFE, a writer and poet, is a regular
contributor to the Blade.
Movies are your church! a date told me
once when she couldnt get my attention
away from The Philadelphia Story, which
was playing on Turner Classic Movies.
Robert Osborne, the charming, eru-
dite, but never pompous, primary host
of Turner Classic Movies was the high
priest for all of us who worship the silver
screen from queers like me growing up
in small towns to drag queens in urban
gay bars to hetero suburban grandmoth-
ers. Osborne, 84, died on March 6 in his
O U R B USI NES S MATTERS
A defeated politicians job search and its symbolism
LGBT cultural acceptance
and civic assimilation is an
adjustment for some
MARK LEE is a long-time entrepreneur
and community business advocate. Follow
on Twitter: @MarkLeeDC. Reach him at
OurBusinessMatters@gmail.com.
Former North Carolina Gov. Pat Mc-
Crory announced last week that he was
having diculty acquiring a new job.
The once-popular governor indicated
that the controversy surrounding pas-
sage of HB2, requiring transgender per-
sons to use the bathroom corresponding
to the biological sex indicated on their
birth certicate when at schools and gov-
ernment buildings, had created obstacles
for him on the job market as a result of
his backing the bill.
Despite an unexpectedly strong ballot
sweep by Republicans in the November
sleep in his New York City home, theater
director and producer David Staller told
the Los Angeles Times.
The LA Times, the Washington Post and
other publications reported that Staller
was Osbornes life partner for 20 years.
Osbornes New York Times obituary
described Staller as a longtime friend.
When asked why this term was used to
describe Staller, Richard Sandomir, who
wrote the obit, told the Times public edi-
tor, I reached out to David Staller and
ultimately close friend was how he said
he wanted to be identied. (The Wash-
ington Post obituary ran a correction that
said Staller was a friend.) Its dicult to imagine a planet without
The mystery surrounding Osbornes life
seems tting. Sitting in our living rooms,
lying in bed, our eyes glued to TCM, it felt
as if we knew Osborne. It seemed as if
Osborne, our aable uncle, boyfriend, or
pal, had stopped by to banter wittily one-
on-one with us about the movies. What
did it matter if we didnt know about his
personal life? If we thought (hoped) that
someone who so knew and loved Tinsel
Town and its stars was queer? In a mere
election, including a surprisingly sizable
rejection of Hillary Clintons presidential
campaign, McCrory became the Tar Heel
States rst top oceholder to lose a re-
election bid since 1850. His defeat was at-
tributed to the unpopular bathroom law
he vehemently supported.
McCrory lamented in an interview last
Friday that the issue has impacted me
to this day, even after I left oce. People
are reluctant to hire me, because, oh my
gosh, hes a bigot.
The signicance of McCrorys described
dilemma is not that he will remain unable
to nd satisfactory employment, or that
he should be denied the opportunity to
earn a living to the benet of himself and
his family, despite continuing to double-
down on his advocacy for the law. His ac-
knowledgment, however, does serve as a
signier of the broad-based armation
of LGBT equality nationwide.
North Carolina businesses, joined by re-
gional and national companies alongside
other private sector enterprise and organi-
zations, have led the still-continuing eort
to overturn the law, which has reportedly
cost the state hundreds of millions of dol-
lars in revenue and the loss of thousands of
jobs. The NCAA, as it had previously threat-
ened in other jurisdictions, announced the
cancelation of all championship events
one or two-minute intro to All About
Eve, Osborne not only brought Margo
Channing into our homes, he made us
feel as if we had a personal connection to
Bette Davis.
There are (and will be) other movie
hosts. Alec Baldwin, Drew Barrymore
and Ben Mankiewicz, among others, have
talked knowledgeably and amusingly
about movies on TCM. Yet, its hard to
think of anyone who is as sophisticated,
urbane or in love with movies as Osborne
was. Former Washington Post TV critic
Tom Shales aptly called him an avatar
of erudition. As Staller told the LA Times,
told CBSs Sunday Morning. I said, Oh,
him. He made the choice to call it a day,
and he wants everyone to know that hell
see them at the after party.
Osborne, who was with TCM from its
launch in 1994, was a Hollywood Reporter
columnist. He was dubbed the ocial bi-
ographer of the Academy Awards for the
books that he wrote on the Oscars. For the
past 11 years, Osborne greeted celebs as
they entered the red carpet at the Oscars.
He grew up in Colfax, Wash., a small
scheduled for the state through 2022 at an
estimated quarter-billion-dollar economic
detriment, unless the law is repealed.
Strong polled majorities and super-
majorities of Americans now support
wide-ranging LGBT civil protections along
with marriage equality. Even bathroom
selection self-determined by gender iden-
tity enjoys nationwide majority endorse-
ment, as the country takes a closer look
at, and grows more comfortable with, the
issue. At least 19 states and more than
100 cities extend a complement of legal
protections to transgender persons.
Those achievements in the arena of
LGBT equality and acceptance have been
won less by government mandate and
more by public persuasion. Although
comprising only a modest four-percent
of the U.S. population for all LGBT com-
munity components combined, with a
limited corresponding degree of political
clout, the pace toward full equality most
everywhere continues to accelerate.
This relatively rapid communal success
poses a fundamentally unfamiliar conun-
drum for many, especially older gays and
lesbians with memories of a time in histo-
ry and an experience of hardship largely
foreign to those younger today.
The challenge for some is not only to
fully embrace the substantially broad at-
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 2 1
town. All everyone talked about there
was crops, he told interviewers. Id see
Clifton Webb and Gene Tierney in Laura
and Bette Davis in All About Eve, he told
the New York Times, and Id think, those
people are so much more interesting
than what Im living around in this town.
Osborne was friends with Bette Davis,
Olivia de Havilland and many other stars.
Though he loved them, he sometimes
spoke his mind. When he rst met Davis,
he wondered if hed made the wrong im-
pression. It was in 1977, and he urged her
to see Star Wars.
She said, I hate that kinda movie, he
but its really good, And she said, I HATE
that kind of movie! And I said, I cant be-
lieve you would say something as stupid
as that!... I looked at her, and I knew I had
her. And thats what she was waiting for:
A challenge. And we were friends from
then on.
Our celluloid dreams of Fred and
Ginger, Bette and Joan, Audrey and Kate
are essential to us. Thank you, Robert, for
connecting us with our dreams. R.I.P.
tainment of equal treatment and civic
acceptance, but to also transition from
old patterns of estrangement to accept-
ing cultural assimilation. Identity politics
will undoubtedly lessen and divergent at-
titudes will certainly increase, requiring a
communal adjustment in perspective re-
garding what it means to be gay.
If not, well merely mimic McCrorys whin-
ing with our own vocalized victimization.
Are there items on the gay agenda
that still need attention? Sure. But the
victories that have been won surpass
any illusory conveyance via conventional
edict or collective instruction by society at
large. Government is never the provider
of genuine equality, only the lagging indi-
cator that the citizenry has authentically
evolved before the bureaucracy.
Diversication whether regarding life-
style preferences, geographic residency,
or political positions will increasingly
become self-evident along the way. That
will require a shift in thinking, an allowance
for dierences, and a seeming break-up
of longstanding cultural identity. We wont
think the same any more than we look alike.
It should become something we cel-
ebrate, not something we begin to fear.
Pat McCrory may have been unpre-
pared for the new culture in which he nds
himself, but theres no reason we should.
 2 2 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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Campers at Synetic Theater this summer will learn and perform The Wild and Wacky Wizarding
World of Wiley Skylar!

PHOTO COURTESY OF SYNETIC THEATER

O to summer camp
MANY SCHOOLS, THEATERS AND MORE OFFER LGBT-AFFIRMING OPTIONS
By MARIAH COOPER
mcooper@washblade.com

Although winter weather is hanging on
tight at the close of the season, summer
is rapidly approaching. Instead of ghting
to nd ways to entertain the kids at home,
local camps have done the hard work for
you. Kids can ride horses, learn beauty
tricks, conduct science experiments or
perform in a musical. With programs
for all types of interest, the only battle is
choosing which camp to try this summer.
Adventure Theatre oers Summer
Musical Theater Camp for grades one-six
in Glen Echo Park for a two-week session
and for grades six-12 in Wintergreen Plaza
for a three-week session. This summer
campers will Campers will perform
Return of the Glass Slipper, Thwacked!
and Tom Sawyer among others. D.C area
theater professionals and artists guide
campers in daily rehearsals. Family and
friends can watch the completed shows
at the end of the camp session. Grades
six-12 can choose from Contemporary
Musical Theater Study and On-Camera
Musical Theater Study. Contemporary
Musical Theater Study includes a day trip
to New York City. Sessions for grades
one-six range from $800-850. Grades six-
12 sessions range from $1,200-1,330. For
details, visit adventuretheatre-mtc.org.
The Beauvoir School (3500 Woodley
Rd., N.W.) splits its camp programs into
age-appropriate activities. Fireies (Rising
Pre-K), Blue Jays (rising Kindergarten),
Box Turtles (rising rst graders), Koalas
(rising second-third Graders), Broad
Bears (rising fourth-fth graders) and
CITs (rising sixth-12 graders). Each level
focuses on a type of program from art to
outdoor activities. CITs prepare students
to become counselors by giving them
hands-on leadership experience with
campers. Blue Jays, Box Turtles and
Koalas can also choose a Make-Your-
Own Camp option that lets campers pick
their A.M. and P.M. activities. A swimming
option is also available. For a list of prices,
visit summer.beauvoirschool.org.
Camp RimRock for Girls (343 Camp Rim
Rock Rd., Yellow Spring, W.Va.) is a sleep-
away camp for girls in rising rst grade
through rising 10th grade. General camp
is for rising second through 10th graders.
Campers can participate in horseback
riding, sports, aquatics, performing arts
and arts and crafts. General Camp sessions
is for two-week sessions for $2,750 or four-
week sessions for $5,000. Riding Speciality
Camp is for rising fourth through 10th
graders. This program focuses only on
horseback riding for one week for $1,500.
Mini Camp is also available for rst time
sleep-away campers in rising rst, second
and third grade for $1,500. For a list of
dates, visit camprimrock.com.
Circle Yoga (3838 Northampton St.,
N.W.) oers programs for children ages
6-12 for full-day camp and children
ages 4-7 for half-day camp. Children
can participate in yoga and movement,
crafts and creative arts, group games,
camp songs, relaxation and journaling.
Full-day camp is from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and
is $365 per week. Half-day camp is from
9 a.m.-noon and is $250 per week. For
information, visit circleyoga.com.
Green Acres School (11701 Danville
Dr., North Bethesda, Md.) oers Kreative
Kangaroos for pre-K students which lets
them engage in outdoor play, swimming,
dancing and carpentry. Junior camp is for
kindergarten through second grade and
activities include drama, music, dance,
swimming and cooking Senior camp is
for grades three through six and includes
robotics, rock band, workshop, lmmaking,
photography and cooking. For a list of pricing
and session times, visit greenacres.org.
The Lowell School (1640 Kalmia Rd.,
N.W.) oers programs for campers starting
at age 2-15. Best Buddies is for rising
rst and second graders and programs
include African Drum Fun, Beginning
Robotics, among others. Summer Stage
is for rising third-eigtht graders and
includes Gotta Have Glee, a program that
focus on popular music like Taylor Swift
and The Lion King. Tweens N Teens is
for ages 12-14 and has programs such
as Gaming and Apps Basics and Amazing
Race, which challenges campers to nd
little-known locations in and around D.C.
For a complete list of sessions, programs
and prices, visit lowellschool.com.
Synetic Theatre (1800 S Bell St.,
Arlington, Va.) lets campers stage and
perform an original play, The Wild and
Wacky Wizarding World of Wiley Skylar!
The play was written for the campers with
original musical numbers and an original
score. There is one summer intensive
session for students 12-18 from June 12-
23 for $350. Multiple sessions are available
for students 6-14 for $900. Camp Creation
and Imagination is for children ages 4-6
from June 12-23 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuition
is $400 and includes snack. A.M. care and
lunch add-ons are available for all programs
except summer intensive. For more details,
visit synetictheater.com/camps.
Washington Performing Arts has
Capital Jazz Camp from June 26-July 8 for
children in rising grades three through
eight with minimum one-year instrumental
experience. Capital Strings Camp is from
June 26-July and is for children in rising
grades three through six. No experience is
required. Capital Voices Camp runs from
July 10-21 and is for children in grades four-
12 with basic vocal training experience.
Summer Steps with Step Afrika is for rising
campers in grades four-12 with basic
dance experience. Each camp is $350 and
locations vary. For more information, visit
washingtonperformingarts.org.
The YMCA in D.C. has camp programs
for a traditional experience such as
sports, theater, art, swimming, dance and
technology. Campers wanting a more
specialized course can register for beauty
school, creative writing, gardening,
among numerous other programs. Camp
Letts (4003 Camp Letts Rd., Edgewater,
Md.) is the YMCAs sleep-away camp
which oers activities such as horseback
riding and kayaking. For more details on
camp programs and for a list of prices,
visit ymcadc.org and campletts.org.
 24 M A R C H 17, 2017 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM G A Y F A MI LI E S

Sign up for one of our knit or crochet classes!

Gayby has dozens of funny T-shirts and onesies for children of rainbow parents.

PHOTO COURTESY OF GAYBY

PFLAG promotes the equality and well-being of gay, lesbian, bisexual,

We are family
RESOURCES OFFER HUMOR, SOLIDARITY, ADVICE AND MORE
and transgendered persons, their families and friends through:
Support to cope with an adverse society. By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Education to enlighten an ill-informed public.
Advocacy to end discrimination and secure equal civil rights.
Its not a pleasant topic, but its an
Trained facilitators lead the Arlington Support Group and confidentiality is maintained. For important one. LGBTQ Intimate
further information about the Arlington Support Group, contact us at arl.pflag@gmail.com. Partner Violence: Lessons for Policy,
Our groups meet on the second Sunday of each month, from 3 4:30pm at the Unitarian Practice and Research by Adam
Messinger, was released in January.
Universalist Church in Arlington, at George Mason Drive & Route 50.
Messinger, assistant professor of
A.L.Y. is a group for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and Questioning Youth and Allies in justice studies at Northeastern Illinois
grades 7-12. Our goal is to give LGBTQ youth a safe place to gather. Trained facilitators lead the University, examined about 600 research
youth group. Confidentiality maintained. For more info, contact: aly.pflagdc@gmail.com. publications on the topic spanning a 40-
year period for what he claims is the
Our Washington DC Chapter of PFLAG may be reached at 202-638-3852. rst book to review nearly all published
research on LGBT intimate partner
violence. The book promises key
ndings and theories weaving together
the voices of those touched by (LGBT
intimate partner violence) with broader
patterns through survey research
and identifying notable gaps in the
literature and important avenues for
future research. It retails for $65 and is
available on Amazon.
On a lighter note, Gayby oers baby
and toddler apparel with slogans and
graphics such as I love my lesbiaunt, I
love my moms, daddy is my princess
and raised by bears and perhaps the
piece de resistance Id be older if I
hadnt been frozen. T-shirts and onesies
are available for babies, toddlers and
kids. Most are $28. There are even two
designs (I heart my dads and I heart my
202.319.8541 www.lgbtc.com Se habla espanol
~ moms) for dogs. Details at gayby.lgbt.
Out former Glee star Chris Colfer,
author of the bestselling kids series The
Land of Stories, has released a teen
novel called Stranger Than Fanction,
which follows four college-bound friends
as they gear up for a cross-country road
trip, their last hurrah before life sets them
out on dierent journeys. The 304-page
book explores themes of gender and
sexual orientation. It retails for $18.99 but
Amazon is currently running a discount.
And as always, Rainbow Families
oers various resources for local LGBT
families. Upcoming events include
Playdates & Playmates in Bethesda
and Gaithersburg on March 25; in D.C.,
Laurel and Fairfax County on April 1;
in Alexandria and Bowie on April 8 and
more. Its Maybe Baby series continues
through spring for those considering a
family. An adoption support group will
be held on Sunday, April 2. Details at
rainbowfamilies.org.
Its not new, but one of the best books
weve seen on LGBT families is the 2013
book Family Pride: What LGBT Families
Should Know about Navigating
Home, School and Safety in Their
Neighborhoods by Michael Shelton.
Its readable, practical and has a bounty
of great information. Used copies are
available on Amazon starting at a penny.
G A Y F A MI LI E S WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
Inspiring events
A S.C. COURT RULING, AN ALLY-RUN GRANT PROGRAM AND
MORE OFFER HOPE FOR GAY FAMILIES
By DANA RUDOLPH
This time of year is often a hard one. Where
I live, any day might be a snow day, with my
son home from school and the sidewalks
needing to be shoveled.
The usual routine of laundry and groceries
and dinner doesnt stop. In recent weeks, too,
I have been distracted by the news stories of
a government chipping away at the rights of
LGBT people, immigrants and others. How
not to be overwhelmed by it all? Here are
some of stories about LGBT families making
the past few weeks just a bit warmer.
A U.S. District Court in South Carolina has
ruled that it is unconstitutional for the state
to refuse to put same-sex spouses on their
childrens birth certicates. The plaintis,
Casy and Jacqueline Carson, are a lesbian
couple who married in Washington, D.C.,
before their home state of South Carolina
recognized marriage for same-sex couples.
When Jacqueline gave birth, they indicated
on hospital forms that they were married,
but then received birth certicates naming
Jacqueline as the mother with no father
listed in the space for the other parent.
The state had previously said it would only
issue birth certicates with both same-sex
spouses if they got adoptions or court orders,
an extra burden not required of dierent-
sex spouses. The couple could not aord
this. Casy is a National Guard veteran who
left active duty in 2013 because of a serious
injury. Jacqueline is a teacher.
Without Casy on the birth certicates
they had trouble getting her Veterans
Administration and Social Security benets
for their children. Additionally, they worried
that Casy could be kept from getting either
routine or emergency medical care for the
twins and that their children would feel
stigmatized when they were old enough to
understand their birth certicates.
They led a lawsuit last May, backed by
Lambda Legal and South Carolina Equality. In
her ruling Feb. 15, Judge Mary Geiger Lewis
wrote that the states action violates their
rights under the 14th Amendment and their
fundamental right to marriage and other
protected liberties.
This decision makes me hopeful for the
outcome of another case that could have
even greater visibility. The National Center
for Lesbian Rights last month appealed to
the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to overturn
an Arkansas Supreme Court decision that
denied same-sex parents the right to be on
their childrens birth certicates.
To assist, Family Equality Council is
preparing a Voices of Children amicus brief,
seeking stories from older or adult children
of same-sex parents in any state who have
M A R C H 17, 2017 25
or had birth certicates without both same-
sex parents listed. They prepared a similar
brief for the winning federal marriage
equality cases in years past; seeing them Family Building through:
do so again gives me hope. If you would
like to contribute, contact Director of State Adoption
Policy Denise Brogan-Kator at denisebk@
familequality.org. Donor Agreements
Im also inspired by the nearly 800 parents
of transgender children, part of HRCs new, Surrogacy
nationwide Parents for Transgender Equality
Council, who sent a letter to President Donald
Serving the LgBt coMMunity for ALMoSt 20 yeArS. noW in Dc, MD & vA!
Trump condemning the Justice Departments
announcement that it will no longer try to 827 Woodside Parkway Silver Spring, MD 20910
overturn a district courts hold on protections
for transgender students that were
p: 301.221.9651 f: 240.491.9551
instituted by the Obama administration. The jfairfax@jenniferfairfax.com www.jenniferfairfax.com
departments action means the hold stays in
place and the protections remain in limbo.
Finally, a story of allies. After spouses
Becky and Kipp Fawcett depleted their
savings adopting their children, they wanted
to help other families who might be facing
even greater nancial obstacles, Becky told
me in a phone interview. She hoped to oer
her services as a publicist pro bono to an
DentalBug.com
adoption-grant organization. She discovered, Cosmetic, Implants, Sleep Apnea, Sedation
however, that none of the organizations she
found welcomed same-sex or single parents, CALL TODAY WEEKEND HOURS MULTILINGUAL
and all charged application fees. Those
werent the kind of organizations she wanted We believe we can make the
to support. She and Kipp therefore decided dental experience better.
to start helpusadopt.org, an equality-based
adoption grant program.
Since 2007, they have awarded 208 grants
of $,500 to $15,000, for a total of more
than $1.8 million dollars, to those seeking
to complete an adoption. Grantees have
included same-sex and single parents as well
as dierent-sex and trans parents. We take
our diversity very seriously here, she says. DentalBug Sta 2016-2017
A total of 16 percent of their grant money
has gone to LGBT parents and shed like to ADVERTISING
increase that number. They#1award grants
PROOF ISSUE DATE: 02.11.16 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: PHIL ROCKSTROH (prockstroh@washblade.com)
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The media is full of stories that
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and warranties. DDS
lose and still have allies. Most importantly,
whether we are LGBT parents or parents of
LGBT children or both, we are strengthened
by the bonds of love and family. Nothing is
going to change that.
DANA RUDOLPH is the founder and publisher 1221 Mass. Ave, NW 202.628.7979 (Free Parking)
of Mombian (mombian.com), a GLAAD Media
Award-winning blog and resource directory for 703 D Street, NW 202.628.1288
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2 6 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Making waves on the airwaves
NEW 1A HOST JOSHUA JOHNSON TALKS ABOUT HIS JOURNALISM LENS,
HOW HE BALANCES TOPICS AND WHAT ITS LIKE TO SUCCEED AN NPR LEGEND
It was last Halloween weekend when
Joshua Johnson got the call that hed been
named Diane Rehms successor.
Rehm, who began her eponymous
National Public Radio call-in show in
1979, retired in December and as of Jan.
2, WAMU broadcasts a new show, 1A in
what had been The Diane Rehm Shows
timeslot.
Johnson subbed for Rehm two days
last September and shadowed her
another day. Based in San Francisco for
the last six-and-a-half years where he was
morning news host for KQED while also
teaching podcasting at the University of
California (Berkeley), Johnson was in Palm
Springs visiting friends with Joe Gallagher,
his boyfriend of a year and a half, when
he got the call. He says its a moment hed
been working toward since age 6.
This wave of peace washed over me
and I just got very calm, says the 36-year-
old South Florida native. It was like my
sts nally unclenched after weeks of
waiting. I didnt have that moment of,
Oh my God, Im going to do the show. It
was just kind of like, Finally Ive been
waiting on this for my entire life and now
its going to happen.
1A is a live, two-hour daily WAMU
radio program distributed nationally by
NPR each weekday at 10 a.m. that seeks
to provide deep conversation about the
thorniest issues of our time delivered
with insight, intimacy and personality. Its
both a new, freestanding show but also
a successor to the Rehm show, whose
legacy of civil dialogue and analysis its
team hopes to continue.
Producers were initially almost certain
theyd hire a woman to succeed Rehm.
We werent 100 percent sure, but you
know, sort of in the high 80s or 90s, says
Rupert Allman, 1As executive producer.
Johnson won the search team over,
Allman says, with his huge relatability.
There was something about his own
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
JOSHUA JOHNSON says launching a new daily two-hour radio show is a mountain of work even
under the best of circumstances.
curiosity and his manner that was really
appealing, he says. Especially the idea
that he was very much interested in
civil dialogue, taking time to develop
arguments and not always chasing
the next shiny ball. Those pieces came
together and the stars began to align and
that was it.
Nobodys universally loved in this era
of Internet trolling, but early signs are
strong for Johnson. 1A is being carried
on 204 stations with more expected in
April (The Diane Rehm Show was carried
on 198) and WAMU says the show was the
No. 1 regional performer in its time slot
throughout January, the latest month for
which gures were available. WAMU says
VOLUME 48 ISSUE 11
PHOTO COURTESY OF NPR
it expects the show will have a weekly
audience of about 2.5 million soon based
on early numbers.
Johnson, as loquacious as youd expect,
sat with the Blade in a WAMU conference
room on Feb. 16. His comments have
been edited for length.
WASHINGTON BLADE: How do you
feel its going so far?
JOSHUA JOHNSON: Its going well. Very,
very busy. Theres no lack of things to talk
about for sure, but its good. Launching
a national show, any new show, is a
heavy lift to say the least, but we have an
amazingly good team and weve had lots
of support from listeners and stations.
MARCH 17, 2017 PAGE 27
Weve found interesting ways to talk about
whats going on in the world and to divert
from the headlines that have everyones
attention to talk about other topics that
may be getting lost in the shue around
the new administration. And weve also
found ways to take a breath and just do
topics that are fun or dierent as a little
relief from the top of the news cycle, so I
think its been good.
BLADE: Whats your strategy to turn
this into more of a Johnny Carson-to-
Jay Leno kind of succession as opposed
to, say, a Pat Sajak kind-of thing?
JOHNSON: The only thing we can do
is control each days program and thats
what I try to focus on. I never worry
about the 37 years that came before me.
Thats Dianes legacy and thats solid and
done. . If you worry too much about the
distant future, you miss the opportunity
to really knock out today.
BLADE: Has the learning curve been
about what you thought it would be?
JOHNSON: I tried to come in with very
few expectations other than it would be
really, really hard and it has been. .
But weve gone down from me working
like 16-17-hour days to more like 12-13,
so thats a big step forward. Its just a
mountain of work even under the best of
circumstances.
BLADE: Whats been your favorite
episode so far?
JOHNSON: I dont have one. We did
a Sunday show a few weeks ago on the
immigration ban and we just let stations
air it if they wanted to. But we probably
havent done my favorite show yet or
even conceived of it. I think for me to
start grabbing onto favorites at this point
would set the bar too low for what we
CONTINUES ON PAGE 38

2 8 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017 Q U E E RY : 2 0 Q U E ST I O N S F O R V I N T E ST A
VIN TESTA
How long have you been out and who
was the hardest person to tell?
I have been out since February 2010. I
was a junior in college and (sigh) I came
out on Facebook. I was fortunate to
have supportive family and friends, so I
would say the hardest person to tell was
myself. So many people knew before I
was condent and comfortable enough
to say it.
Whos your LGBT hero?
My clich LGBT heroes are Ellen and
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY RuPaul Ellen for her kindness and Ru
for his courage. But my true heroes are
those who came before us and actually
By JOEY DiGULIELMO had to ght for equality Marsha P.
joeyd@washblade.com Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Harvey Milk, etc.
Though hes in St. Petersburg, Fla., on St. Patricks Day proper for a work Whats Washingtons best nightspot,
conference, Vin Testa, president of the Dignity Washington board, says it was past or present?
important for the local LGBT-arming Catholic group to have a presence in I will always have a place in my heart for
Washingtons ocial St. Patricks Day parade Monday. Apex because it was my rst D.C. gay
He says despite the cold, the reception they got from the crowd was bar experience. Since that closed, I have
wonderful. enjoyed Cobalt and Town the most.
People were cheering and waving and they made us feel very welcome,
says the 27-year-old Wallingford, Conn., native (whos one-quarter Irish). Describe your dream wedding.
It was Dignity Washingtons third time in the parade. A big wedding at the National Cathedral
Its very important for people to know that LGBT-identifying people want followed by a reception full of dancing
to be part of the greater church community, Testa says. We practice our and celebration. And a sushi chef.
faith just as any other Catholic would.
Testa says he used to see St. Patricks Day as a party opportunity when he What non-LGBT issue are you most
was younger. He still likes to remember to wear green and enjoys the spirit of passionate about?
the day. Having grown up Catholic, Testa found Dignity online while looking Any issue that involves resistance
for arming churches. He makes announcements at each weeks Mass, held against the new regime.
every Sunday at 6 p.m. at St. Margarets Episcopal Church (1820 Connecticut
Ave., N.W.). Details at dignitywashington.org. What historical outcome would you
Testa teaches 11th grade math and special ed at D.C. Public Schools. A change?
former Blade most eligible single, Testa is now seeing someone but leaves The outcome of the 2016 election.
it at that. He lives in Capitol Heights, Md., and enjoys dancing and kickball (Is
eating a hobby?) in his free time. Whats been the most memorable pop
culture moment of your lifetime?
The death of Michael Jackson. I
remember exactly where I was, who I
was with and how people around me
began to react.
On what do you insist?
Respect and timeliness.
What was your last Facebook post or
Tweet?
At the time I write this, it was homage to
my mother for International Womens
Day, indicating how hard she has worked
to get where she is today.
If your life were a book, what would
the title be?
You Wouldnt Believe it But its True
202.747.2077
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
If science discovered a way to change
sexual orientation, what would you
do?
Convince Justin Timberlake to change.
What do you believe in beyond the
physical world?
I would like to believe that we encounter
all those who left the physical world
before us. Part of me also believes
in reincarnation and having several
chances in the world.
Whats your advice for LGBT
movement leaders?
Unite. When you say equality for all,
mean it. Dont ght for gay, white, cis-
male equality, while ignoring women, the
transgender community, people of color,
etc. We can only rise when we lift each
other.
What would you walk across hot coals
for?
Student loan forgiveness.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you
most?
Its not a stereotype its more of a
truth but Im tired of the racism within
the LGBT community. Sometimes its
veiled by preference; other times its
quite blatant.
Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
I have loved To Wong Foo for years,
but even more so since I got to meet
Julie Newmar a couple of years ago at
RuPauls DragCon. She signed a picture
for me and I had her write, To Vin,
Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar.
Whats the most overrated social
custom?
Bachelorette parties (sans gay men) at
gay clubs.
What trophy or prize do you most
covet?
If I werent a teacher, I would be an actor,
so I covet the Oscar.
What do you wish youd known at 18?
I wish I had known that it was OK to
come out then, instead of later.
Why Washington?
I always say that Washington is the
perfect amount of city. It has an excellent
balance of busyness and history. I also
have never felt more comfortable,
condent and more loved than I have
since Ive been in Washington.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
T HE ATE R
DEBRA MONK as Mrs. Elva Miller in Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing.
Signatures Mrs. Miller more
than a one-note joke play
By PATRICK FOLLIARD
Her voice was accurately compared to
roaches scurrying across a trash can lid,
but that never stopped Mrs. Elva Miller
from singing her heart out. And despite or
because of her lousy voice and matronly
appearance, she became a singing
phenomenon recording bad covers
of contemporary pop hits during the
increasingly turbulent mid-to-late 1960s.
Prior to cutting four albums (the rst,
Mrs. Millers Greatest Hits, sold more
than 250,000 copies over three weeks in
1966), 50-something Mrs. Miller lived a
quiet life with her much older husband
in conservative Claremont, Calif., where
she sang in the choir and occasionally
recorded hymns and childrens songs at
her own expense. Then an enterprising
record producer recognized the comic
possibilities of her bad voice and secured
Mrs. Miller a contract with Capitol Records
to make albums featuring train wreck
interpretations of Downtown, Moon
River, Monday, Monday and more. The
public ate it up for a while.
In James Lapines entertaining new
play with music Mrs. Miller Does Her
Thing, now making its world premiere at
Signature Theatre, the playwright/director
pits his real-life title character against the
changing times. While those around her
are aected by the burgeoning sexual
revolution, black power and anti-war
movements, Mrs. Miller (Debra Monk)
remains unchanged. She adheres to the
older values of country, God and family.
Backed by a trio of initially squeaky clean
jingle singers (Kaitlyn Davidson, Kimberly
Marable, and Jacob ben Widmar), Mrs.
Miller is on a roll. Her popular albums
lead to night club dates, TV appearances
including The Ed Sullivan Show, and a
USO tour in Vietnam with Bob Hope. The
matronly dressed lady with the neatly set
dark hair and ever present handbag who
wails in shrill, vaguely operatic tones is
T H E U.S. A I R F O R C E BA N D
M A R C H 17, 2017 29
PHOTO BY MARGOT SCHULMAN
easily mocked. But is she in on the gag?
The show is lled with great 60s tunes
FREE CONCERTS
played by a terric four-piece band led schlesinger concert hall
by Matt Hinkley perched up high behind
a scrim. Wonderfully campy productions nova community college
numbers like Mrs. Millers take on Nancy alexandria, virginia
Sinatras anthem These Boot Are Made
for Walking are choreographed by Josh
Prince. Her improbably whimsical nightclub
costumes ranging from fringes and go-go
boots to green beret and camouage dress
award-winning drummer
peter erskine
come compliments of Jennifer Caprio.
But Mrs. Miller is not a one-note joke
piece. When her caterwauling grows a
little tiresome, Monk is suddenly bathed
thursday, march 23
in a warm spotlight and switches to her
true clear and melodic singing voice
demonstrating how Mrs. Miller hears her
own voice. Its both touching and a relief.
Deftly staged by Lapine, the quirky
biographical dramedy boasts an
engaging and dynamic book. Lapine has
won three Tony Awards for Best Book of a
Musical three times, for Into the Woods,
Falsettos and Passion. Hes known
for collaborating with out composers
Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.
The interesting material is further
elevated by Monks captivating, textured
performance. She makes it clear that
behind the nice manners and tight smile
lies something much more complicated.
Surrounding the preternaturally
upbeat Mrs. Miller are her sad sack
niece Joelle (Rebekah Brockman) who
blossoms from wallower to a socially
conscious feminist, and Simon (Corey
Mach), her sunny accompanist-turned-
conicted weed-smoking producer. And ~SAVE THE DATE!~
theres her casually bigoted husband
played brilliantly by Tony winner Boyd The final Jazz Heritage Series concert
Gaines who grows increasingly frail and
miserable tucked away in a Claremont of the season is April 20th.
nursing home.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM for FREE tickets, please visit:
MRS. MILLER DOES HER THING
www.usafband.eventbrite.com
Through March 26
Signature Theatre all concerts begin at 8 p.m.
4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington
$40-99
703-820-9771
Sigtheatre.org
www.usafband.af.mil
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 0 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017 O U T & A BO U T

24 hours at MGM National Harbor

Amenity-rich urban resort wows
By KEVIN NAFF
kna@washblade.com

MGMs new National Harbor is a stunning piece of modern architecture just outside D.C.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MGM NATIONAL HARBOR

The proximity of MGMs National
Harbor casino and hotel to D.C. makes
it the perfect choice for a quick getaway.
And if youre looking for high-end
restaurants and retail, a stunning spa
and tness center, a selection of indoor/
outdoor bars, or a state-of-the-art
theater, then you wont be disappointed.
Oh, theres a casino, too.
A piece of advice before planning your
visit: Skip Friday and Saturday, when the
casino draws large crowds. Visit on a
Thursday or Sunday for a quieter, easier
time of enjoying the many amenities
here. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon
and departed Friday after lunch. Heres
how I spent a 24-hour staycation:
THURSDAY
1 p.m. Check-in. The hotels second-
oor lobby overlooks a bustling ground-
oor atrium and oers a VIP check-in
lounge complete with Champagne and a
buet of snacks. Its clear from the outset
that this will be a pampered, high-end
experience with ve-star service. Opt for
a spacious one-bedroom corner suite
with oor-to-ceiling windows overlooking
D.C.s monuments. Its perhaps the only
time bumper-to-bumper trac on the
Beltway below wont stress you out, as
you take in the citys monuments and the
planes taking o at National Airport. A
peerless view of D.C.
1:30 p.m. Lunch at National Market, a
food hall dining concept featuring nine
upscale casual eateries, including Amos
Los Tacos, Bahn Mi Vietnamese Kitchen
and Honeys Fried Chicken and Donuts. I
opt for a sandwich from the District Deli
but only eat half because the culinary
options here are impressive dont ll
up on lunch.
2:30 p.m. A workout at the tness
center, where cardio equipment is
arranged in front of those oor-to-ceiling
windows. Who needs TV when you have
this view? All the latest cardio equipment
is featured, along with free weights and a
separate yoga studio. Dab your sweat on
chilled towels.
4 p.m. After a shower and catching up
on work (free WiFi in all rooms, natch), I
meet my husband for a stroll around the
expansive outdoor promenade, which
circles the perimeter of the casino and
ends in the back of the property where
a towering video screen and upbeat
music greet us on an unseasonably
warm February day. We stop for a game
of outdoor Bocce and watch a group of
tourists play a round of corn hole. There
are several outdoor bars and lounge
areas and, again, that view of the city.
6:30 p.m. Next on our itinerary: a
hand-crafted cocktail at Felt, a lounge in
the center of the casino action featuring
friendly mixologists, comfy couches and
cocktails mixed tableside. There are
oversized TVs for watching games and
live music and DJs are featured later in
the evening.
With a little liquid courage, we hit the
casino oor for some poker and roulette.
All the usual slots and table games are
here, from separate areas for high-end
gamblers (we met a guy who just lost
$30,000) to penny slots. After winning
$20, were late for dinner.
8 p.m. Dinner at Voltaggio Brothers
Steak House. This is a splurge for sure,
with lets starting at $50 and appetizers
around $20. Dont be intimidated by the
impressive wine list as a wine steward
will guide you. The setting is quiet and
comfortable, meant to replicate a home;
the food features Maryland inuences.
Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are best
known for their stint on Top Chef; their
CONTINUES ON PAGE 31
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
O UT & A B O UT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30
Volt restaurant in Frederick, Md., remains
a culinary hotspot. The steak house at
MGM oers a range of cuts, including
American Wagyu strips and at irons and
dry-aged ribeyes, NY strips and T-bones.
We opt for eight-ounce prime lets and
the sauces sound so tempting that we
order all three: house-steak sauce, beer-
naise and sea bean chimichurri.
The big-eye tuna starter is a take on
steak tartar and not to be missed. An
array of sides is oered a la carte; the
young broccoli is grilled perfectly with
charred lemon and garlic aioli, but the
potato gratin steals the show with gruyere
and thyme. After all that, were too full for
dessert. If theres a quibble here and,
really, its minor the service is on the
aggressive side. We had four servers
helping us, they were all terric, but a
tad obtrusive. In all, a ve-star dining
experience. Make a reservation for a
special occasion and expect to spend a
few hundred dollars with wine.
10 p.m. After lingering over dinner, we
decide to walk o some of those calories
and stroll through the busy casino and
again outside on the promenade before
heading to a comfy king-size bed in our
MGMs spa oers an array of services and the locker rooms feature steam, sauna and hot tubs.
nearly 1,000-square-foot suite. The
room features modern dcor and those
windows wrap around to the bathroom
and into a massive shower the size of
some city bedrooms.
FRIDAY
7 a.m. After a restful sleep, we order
room service from a menu devised by
celebrity chef and Chopped veteran
Marcus Samuelson. We opt for the
yogurt and egg white omelette, which
are delivered within 30 minutes, hot and
delicious.
9 a.m. Its o to the spa for a 50-minute
rebalancing massage. After changing
into a plush terry robe, Im escorted to
the gentlemens waiting area featuring
leather lounge chairs, big-screen TVs and
the days newspapers. There are several
massage options, including a sports
massage, hot stone and something
called sensational fusion massage with
percussive movement and customized
ow. Will have to go back and try that
one. After your massage, retreat to the
locker room area where youll nd a
eucalyptus steam room, dry sauna and
hot tub. Showers are spacious and feature
all the products you need to get cleaned
PHOTO COURTESY OF MGM NATIONAL HARBOR
up for the day. The spa is immaculate and
well appointed featuring Clarins skincare
products.
11 a.m. Property tour. By now Ive
seen most of the resort, but am curious
about the specialty suites and, of course,
the theater thats already attracting A-list
performers like Sting, Bruno Mars and, of
course, Cher (March 17-26; Aug. 31-Sept.
10) .
With 3,000 seats, theres not a bad
vantage point in the theater, which
features a hydraulic system enabling
all sorts of seating congurations, from
boxing in the round to stadium-style for
concerts. If you can spring for the private
box seats, youll nd your own bar and
catering and the option to watch from
your perch above or to move up front and
watch from the oor. Because of MGMs
connection to its Vegas properties, the
National Harbor location is drawing
big-name talent to this intimate venue.
Where else can you see such big names
in such a small setting?
If youre a high-roller or looking for a
spectacular way to wow clients, consider
booking one of the MGMs suites. The
presidential suite is nearly 2,500 square
feet with two king bedrooms and plenty of
dining and lounge space. The chairmans
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 3 1
suite is a whopping 3,210 square feet and
a one-of-a-kind place to impress clients.
12:30 p.m. Lunch at Marcus. After an
indulgent 24 hours, its time to go but not
before a quick lunch at Marcus. Start with
Aunt Mabels cornbread and the deviled
eggs with duck salame and chicken
cracklin. Sammys chicken and waes
are tempting, but we opt for slightly more
sensible salads. The service is friendly and
ecient and the dcor bright and upbeat.
The modern American menu oers pork
chops, blackened catsh, steak frites,
paella, burgers and more.
MGM National Harbor is an impressive
addition to this growing area of P.G.
County that already oers Tanger outlets
and the nearby Gaylord property. Theres
a free shuttle to both from MGM. If
youre not a gambler, this modern urban
resort features plenty to do. The outdoor
lounge areas will surely be popular
Sunday Funday destinations all spring
and summer and with so many dining
options, you can try a dierent restaurant
on subsequent visits. Keep an eye on the
theater schedule its impressive and
diverse (Sarah Silverman performs April
22; Ricky Martin is here May 5-6, followed
by the Temptations and Four Tops on
May 13; Idina Menzel arrives July 9).
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

LIVE 32 MA R C H 17, 2017 O U T & A BO U T

the
UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

YOUNG
DUBLINERS
W/ JOHN BYRNE BAND
THURSDAY MARCH 16
By MARIAH COOPER

SOULE
MONDE
FEAT. RUSS LAWTON & RAY PACZKOWSKI
OF ANASTASIO BAND
FRIDAY MARCH 17
SAT, MARCH 18
A GREAT BIG WORLD PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN G. YOUNG

AN EVENING WITH IAN & CHAD

W/ ALLIE MOSS Reel Armations hosts double bill
SUN, MARCH 19
AN EVENING WITH Reel Armations screens BWOY and The Watermelon Woman at Human
RHONDA VINCENT AND THE RAGE Rights Campaign (1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.) on Friday, March 24.
THURS, MARCH 23 BWOY tells the story of a man (Anthony Rapp) who becomes involved in an
LAITH AL-SAADI W/ SARAH BORGES online love aair with a young, Jamaican man (Jimmy Brooks). The lm is written
and directed by John G. Young. Classic lesbian lm The Watermelon Woman PHOTO BY BRIAN WALMER; USED WITH PERMISSION
THURS, MARCH 23 screens from 9:30-11:30 p.m. The lm, restored for its 20th anniversary, stars
LIVE NATION & THE HAMILTON PRESENT Cheryl Dunye as she begins researching an actress, known as the Watermelon
YACHT ROCK REVUE Woman, and discovers the actress was a lesbian. Stevie Nicks, Hearts
(AT THE FILLMORE SILVER SPRING) Rayceen Pendarvis hosts both screenings. General admission tickets are $12.
Ann Wilson to perform
VIP tickets are $25 and include VIP seating, one complimentary cocktail, beer
FRI, MARCH 24 NIGHT I or wine and movie candy or popcorn. For more information and to purchase
RED BARAAT tickets, visit reelarmations.org. Legendary rock divas Stevie Nicks and
FESTIVAL OF COLORS Ann Wilson of Heart visit the area with
W/ GANAVYA AND SHILPA RAY their respective tours.
Nicks brings her 24 Karat Gold Tour
SAT, MARCH 25 NIGHT II to Royal Farms Arena (201 W Baltimore
RED BARAAT St., Baltimore) on Sunday, March 26 at
FESTIVAL OF COLORS 7 p.m. Nicks will perform hits from her
W/ DJ AYES COLD AND THE KOMINAS work as a solo artist and from Fleetwood
Mac, along with deeper album cuts she
TUES, MARCH 28
hasnt performed live on other tours.
CHUCK PROPHET Tickets range from $49-150. For details,
& THE MISSION EXPRESS visit royalfarmsarena.com/events/detail/
AND THE BOTTLE ROCKETS stevie-nicks.
Wilson drops by the Birchmere (3701
THURS, MARCH 30
Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria, Va.) on
AN EVENING WITH Wednesday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. She
BRASS-A-HOLICS will perform Heart hits as well as her own
FRI, MARCH 31 recordings. Tickets are $110.
THE HAMILTON LIVE AND WPA PRESENT For more information, visit birchmere.com.
THE KNIGHTS
& CHRISTINA COURTIN PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BOULDER PHILHARMONIC Dierent Drummers
W/ HOLLY BOWLING: A PART OF celebrates gay composers
THE 2017 SHIFT FESTIVAL OF
AMERICAN ORCHESTRAS Shift Festival unites North American orchestras D.C.s Dierent Drummers presents its
SAT, APRIL 1 Glitter and be Gay concert celebrating
RODNEY CROWELL W/ SCOTT MILLER The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) and Washington Performing Arts LGBT composers at the Church of the
present Shift: A Festival of American Orchestra March 28-April 1. Epiphany (1317 G St., N.W.) on Saturday,
SUN, APRIL 2 Orchestras collaborate to spotlight North American orchestras of all sizes. The March 25 at 7 p.m.
THE HILLBENDERS PRESENT Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Knights and North Music from LGBT composers from
THE WHOS TOMMY: A BLUEGRASS OPRY Carolina Symphony will perform. On Tuesday, March 28 at 10 a.m. there will also dierent centuries and spanning various
be a free symposium at the Library of Congress featuring a group of panelists styles will be performed. Composers
discussing the challenges orchestras face. whose work will be honored include
Tickets are $25 for the performances. For a list of show times and more details, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Ronald
visit kennedy-center.org. Fallas, Julie Giroux, Jennifer Higdon, Elton
John and more. Tickets are $20.
THEHAMILTONDC.COM
For more information, visit dcdd.org.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
FI L M
Beauty and the Beast is a clever update on the 1991 animated movie of the same name.
Live-action Beauty oers
rst out Disney character
By BRIAN T. CARNEY
Disneys live action remake of its
animated 1991 blockbuster Beauty and
the Beast is thoroughly enchanting and
the story is queerer than ever.
The new version will never replace
the bold originality of the rst animated
movie to be nominated for the Oscar
for Best Picture, but a strong cast and a
rewritten book oer some fresh insights
into the old French fairy tale.
The new script by Stephen Chbosky
and Evan Spiliotopoulos eshes out some
of the stock characters and lls in some
of the plot holes from Linda Woolvertons
original story. For example, Belles father
Maurice is now an artist who has been
forced to ee Paris. In addition to her love
of reading, Belle is now an inventor who
tries to teach the girls who are barred
from the village school. The Enchantress
plays a bigger role in the story and more
is revealed about the Beasts family and
the lives of the servants who become
enchanted along with their master.
The Academy Award-winning score by
Alan Menken (music) and the late Howard
Ashman (lyrics) remains largely intact and
still dazzles. Menkens music soars and
Ashmans quicksilver lyrics are witty and
insightful. Several new songs are added:
the wistful How Does a Moment Last
Forever for Maurice, which is beautifully
reprised by Celine Dion during the closing
credits; the moving Days in the Sun for
the enchanted objects; and the power
ballad Evermore for Beast, which is
nicely reprised by Josh Groban in the
closing credits. The lyrics for the new
numbers by Tim Rice are pedestrian but
eective, but Menkens new melodies t
seamlessly into the score.
The only musical misstep is the dreadful
pop remix of the title song sung by Ariana
Grande and John Legend over the middle
section of the closing credits.
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sequences blend seamlessly with the CGI. room & luxe bath and a fully finished lower level with rec
Unfortunately, the climactic ght between rom, 4th bedroom, storage area and full bath. This one is
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But the transformation sequences are
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amazing, the enchanted objects are
fascinating and Be Our Guest is a
surreal delight. The big musical numbers
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in the village are also well staged, even if
the human actors arent always as limber
as their animated counterparts.
The cast is uniformly excellent. Emma
Watson and Dan Stevens are well matched
as the title pair. Their emotional journey
Call Joe, Your Working Broker.
is detailed and nuanced and their comic
timing is equally superb. Kevin Kline is
excellent as the reconceived Maurice;
Belles overprotective father gains a tragic
backstory and learns a lesson from his
brave and resourceful daughter.
Luke Evans is remarkably restrained as
Gaston. He begins the lm as a boorish
decommissioned soldier who is as bored
as Belle with provincial life. Only gradually
does he become the villainous monster LICENSED IN DELAWARE & MARYLAND
who commits Maurice to an insane asylum
and leads the torch-wielding villagers in
the attack on the Beasts
PROOF castle.
#1 ISSUE DATE: 11.07.14 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
The enchanted objects are indeed
truly enchanted, both in human and
REVISIONS
CGI form. During the closing credits,
REDESIGN
theyre displayed side by side which is
TEXT REVISIONS
IMAGE/LOGO REVISIONS
great fun. No one can ever truly replace
NO REVISIONS
Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Potts, but Emma
Thompson oers a credible rendition of
the title song and gets some interesting
new dialogue. Ian Mc Kellen and Ewan
McGregor are perfect as Cogsworth and
Lumiere. As Madame Garderobe and
Maestro Cadenza (a new character), Country Kitchen
Audra McDonald and Stanly Tucci bring Transla ion:
TranslaT
both humor and a needed touch of Ducks with blue ribbons will haunt your dreams.
pathos to the haunted castle. VALERIE M. BLAKE, Associate Broker, GRI
Dupont Circle Office 202.243.7700 (o) 202.246.8602 (c)
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM Valerie@DCHomeQuest.com www.DCHomeQuest.com
PROOF #1 ISSUE DATE: 02.17.2017 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: BRIAN PITTS (bpitts@washblade.com)
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

3 4 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017 A RT S & CU LT U RE

This Week in the Arts provided by CultureCapital.com

DANCE
Russian National Ballet Theatre:
Chopiniana and Carmen. Mar 18. The
Sleeping Beauty. Mar 19. GMU Center
for the Arts. cfa.gmu.edu.
Dance Metro DC. Mar 18-Mar 19.
Dance Place. danceplace.org.
UP! Dance Project. Mar 18. Joy
of Motion. Jack Guidone Theater.
joyofmotion.org.
MUSIC
Loston Harris. Mar 18. AMP.
Nufonia Must Fall ampbystrathmore.com.
Mar 18. Washington Performing Arts at GW Lisner Auditorium. WNO: Champion. Thru Mar 18.
washingtonperformingarts.org. NSO: Bruckners First Symphony/
A tender love story between a robot and a human comes magically to life Mozarts Third Violin Concerto. Thru
through the imagination of scratch DJ/music producer Kid Koala. Mixing live Mar 18. WNO: Stars of Tomorrow:
puppet theater, video, string quartet, electric ukulele, turntables, percussion, The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists
and sound eects, Koala has adapted his own, beloved graphic novel for a in Concert. Mar 17. Kennedy Center.
multi-sensory experience. kennedy-center.org.
Ethan Foote. Mar 22. Strathmore.
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Mar 21-Mar 22. Kennedy Center.
strathmore.org.
Cameron Carpenter and
kennedy-center.org. the International Touring
The sensational and hilarious all-male dance troupe performs in drag and Organ. Mar 23. Washington
en pointe. Dance enthusiasts and casual audiences alike will be amazed and Performing Arts. Strathmore.
entertained by the technical skill and uproarious antics of the Trocks. washingtonperformingarts.org.
Emerson String Quartet. Mar
Fickle: A Fancy French Farce 19. Smithsonian Associates. Baird
Thru Mar 26. Olney Theatre Center. Auditorium. smithsonianassociates.org.
olneytheatre.org. Dan: St. Patricks Day Celebration.
Prepare for disguises, mistaken identities, palace intrigues and improbable Mar 17. GMU Center for the Arts.
romance in this delightful comic romp that ends, of course, in more than one cfa.gmu.edu.
surprising marriage. Don Pasquale. Mar 18-Mar 26.
In Series. GALA Hispanic Theatre.
Tim Doud: Prologue inseries.org.
Thru Apr 1. gallery Neptune & Brown. Kruger Brothers and Kontras
galleryneptunebrown.com. Quartet. Mar 19. Music of Amy
Prologue is Tim Douds rst solo exhibition in Washington, DC to feature his oil Beach: Three by Three. Mar 22.
and charcoal portraits spanning twenty years. When creating each work, Doud National Gallery of Art. nga.gov.
develops an up close and intimate relationship with the sitter while remaining Axelrod String Quartet. Mar
traditional in his practice of drawing and painting directly from life. 18-19. Smithsonian Associates.
Museum of American History.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTON PERFORMING ARTS smithsonianassociates.org.
Brahms Requiem. Mar 18.
National Philharmonic. Strathmore.
nationalphilharmonic.org.
Hanka G., Jazz Soul Singer. Mar
THEATRE Ragtime. Thru May 20. Fords Theatre.
fords.org.
17. The Embassy Series. Embassy of
Slovakia. embassyseries.org.
Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing. Thru Mar Parade. Thru Apr 8. Keegan Theatre. Amid a Crowd of Stars. Mar
26. Midwestern Gothic. Thru Apr 30. keegantheatre.com. 19. Cathedral Choral Society.
Signature Theatre. signature-theatre.org. An Evening of Kyogen: Shigeyama Washington National Cathedral.
Three Sisters. Thru Apr 23. No Kyogen Troupe. Mar 21. Library of cathedralchoralsociety.org.
Sisters. Thru Apr 23. Studio Theatre. Congress. loc.gov. John Eaton. Mar 19. The Barns.
studiotheatre.org. The Second City: Were All in This wolftrap.org.
Ex Machina/Robert Lepage: Needles Room Together. Mar 22-Mar 26. The
and Opium. Thru Mar 18. Teatro El
Pblico: Antigonn, un contingente
Barns. wolftrap.org.
Rock of Ages. Mar 17-Apr 1. Reston
MUSEUMS
pico. Mar 21-Mar 22. Sundance Community Players. CenterStage at National Archives. Amending
Institute: Theater by Palestinians: RCC. restonplayers.org. America. Thru Sep 4.
Where Can I Find Someone Like You, Back to Methuselah: As Far As archivesfoundation.org.
Ali? Mar 23-Mar 24. Shear Madness. Thought Can Reach. Mar 23-Apr 16. National Gallery of Art. Della Robbia:
Thru Jun 11. Kennedy Center. Washington Stage Guild. Undercroft Sculpting with Color in Renaissance
kennedy-center.org. Theatre. stageguild.org. Florence. Thru Jun 4. The Woodner
Collections: Master Drawings from
Seven Centuries. Thru Jul 16. nga.gov.
National Geographic. @NatGeo: The
Most Popular Instagram Photos. Thru
Apr 30. Earth Explorers. Thru Sep 10.
nglive.org.
National Museum of Women in
the Arts. Bold Broadsides and Bitsy
Books. Thru Mar 17. New Ground:
The Southwest of Maria Martinez and
Laura Gilpin. Thru May 14. nmwa.org.
National Portrait Gallery. Bill Viola: The
Moving Portrait. Thru May 7. One Life:
Babe Ruth. Thru May 21. npg.si.edu.
Kreeger Museum. RE-VISION: Looking
anew at the art of Philip Johnson and
the design of The Kreeger. Thru Jul 29.
kreegermuseum.org.
Library of Congress. World War I:
American Artists View the Great War.
Thru May 5. Mapping a Growing
Nation: From Independence to
Statehood. Thru Sep 1. loc.gov.
GALLERIES
The Art League. March Open Exhibit.
Thru Apr 2. Netted: Morphological
State of Our Urban Space. Thru Apr 2.
theartleague.org.
Waverly Street Gallery. Somerset
Artists Exhibition. Thru Apr 8.
waverlystreetgallery.com.
Zenith Gallery. Rejuvenate with Art:
Celebrating 39 Years. Mar 17-Apr
29. Into The Woods. Thru Apr 29.
zenithgallery.com.
Glen Echo Park. New Fiber Arts
Instructors. Thru Apr 1. Sara Dittrich:
Arrhythmia of the Body. Thru Apr 2.
Walt Bartman: Journey. Mar 18-Apr 2.
glenechopark.org.
Goethe-Institut. Games and Politics
(Spiele und Politik). Thru Mar 29.
goethe.de.
Korean Cultural Center DC. Making It
New: Perspectives on Korean Heritage
in Art. Thru Mar 27. koreaculturedc.org.
Studio 3700. Modern Makers, Modern
Quilts. Thru Mar 27. arlingtonarts.org.
AND MORE...
Cinematsuri. Mar 19-Mar 23.
National Cherry Blossom Festival.
E St. Cinema.
nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.
Northern Virginia Jewish Film Festival.
Mar 23-Apr 2. JCCNV. Angelika Film
Center & Cafe at Mosaic. jccnv.org.
Death Records from the
Numerical Identication System.
Mar 23. National Archives.
archivesfoundation.org.
Physicist Lawrence Krauss: Why Are
We Here? Mar 22. Smithsonian
Associates. Baird Auditorium.
smithsonianassociates.org.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
D I N IN G
Cherry blossom-inspired cocktails are all the rage this month in Washington.
Cherry tree buds inspire
creative local cocktails
By KRISTEN HARTKE
Its been a tough winter for the cherry
blossom trees, getting a variety of mixed
signals from Mother Nature as to when
they should pop. Luckily for the rest of
us, the bars and restaurants of D.C. are
lling their menus with cherry blossom-
inspired goodies.
Ironically, this means that often food
and drinks are avored with cherries,
despite the fact that cherries arent
actually in season for a few more
months, although a few restauranteurs
are bucking that trend. But, hey, whos
quibbling? Think spring, no matter what
the weather may bring.
Start with the Cherry Blossom Pub
(1843 and 1841 Seventh St., N.W.), a new
seasonal pop-up by mixology maestro
Derek Brown that overtakes his two Shaw
bars, Mockingbird Hill and Southern
Eciency. Youll nd a more esoteric take
on the cherry blossom theme here, with a
primary focus on Japanese-inspired drinks
and food, including a cocktail that feels like
an updated take on those Melonball drinks
that were all the rage back in the 80s,
blending unltered sake with Midori and
Green Chartreuse liqueurs and cucumber
melon, and a pork cutlet served on white
bread with wasabi mustard.
Chef Michael Schlows various
properties will be highlighting cherries
across their menus. At Casolare (2505
Wisconsin Ave., N.W.) in Glover Park, look
for a housemade gelato sundae topped
with the luscious Amarena cherries from
Italy, while, over at Altra Strada (475 K
St., N.W.) in D.C. and also 2911 District
Ave. in Fairfax, Va.), newly installed
executive pastry chef Alex Levin, lately of
Osteria Morini, has created an almond-
crusted tartlet lled with seasonal fruit
and accompanied by vanilla bean gelato
and more Amarena cherries.
For a sparkling and herbaceous cocktail
M A R C H 17, 2017 35
Spotlight
on Directors
This spring, the Kennedy Center is shining a spotlight
on thrilling productions helmed by some of the worlds
most brilliant and acclaimed directors.
that is more spring-forward than cherry-
focused, head to Georgetowns 1789
Restaurant (1226 36th St., N.W.) for the
Sparkling Sumire (violet in Japanese),
which concentrates on oral combinations
in the celebration of the arrival of spring.
Look for jasmine tea-infused Dolin Blanc
vermouth and Creme de Violette liqueur
topped o with prosecco and citrus.
For something that actually tastes of
the season, head to Tredici Enoteca at
the St. Gregory Hotel (2033 M St., N.W.)
for the Evolution, combining cherry Antigonn,
blossom-infused botanical gin with brut un contingente pico
Champagne, fresh citrus, agave nectar
and hibiscus dust, garnished, of course,
with a cherry blossom. Teatro El Pblico (Cuba) Plus a collaboration
Highlighting a Lenten season culinary
custom, chef David Guas oers Sour Antigonn, with Sundance Institute
Cherry Hot Cross Buns at Bayou Bakery, un contingente pico Theatre Program
Coee Bar & Eatery (901 Pennsylvania
Ave., S.E.), packed with cherries and spice
Directed by Carlos Daz theater by
March 21 & 22
and dripping in sugary glaze. Have it with Palestinians
one of their signature Bloody Marys
not because it has anything to do with World premiere, Sabab Theatre (Kuwait)
US premiere
cherry blossoms, just because theyre Petrol Station
spicy and delicious. Written and directed by
Where Can I Find
The focus at Bourbon Steak at Four Sulayman Al Bassam Someone Like You, Ali?
Seasons Hotel (2800 Pennsylvania March 23 & 24
Ave., N.W.) is far more Japanese, and, March 2426
unsurprisingly, places the emphasis
on meat, with a side of sake. Chef Joe Thtre des Bouffes du Nord (France) Creative Tensions:
Palma is highlighting a Duo of Japanese Battlefield HOME
Wagyu steaks, with each cut representing Directed by Peter Brook March 25
a dierent prefecture, Miyazaki and
Kagoshima. Presented in a traditional
March 29April 2
Bento box crafted from the Sakura wood
of cherry blossom trees, the beef is
accompanied by two special sakes: Junmai tICKEtS ON SALE NOW!
Daigingo Hattannishiki, a food-friendly
sake with notes of banana, melon and star
tKC.CO/DIRECtORS | (202) 467-4600
anise, and Evoluzione Crazy Milk Nigori, a Tickets also available at the Box Office.
creamy sake brewed at the foot of Mount Groups call (202) 416-8400.
Katsuragi, with a avor reminiscent of For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
coconut and lychee, with a touch of vanilla.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
International Theater is underwritten by HRH Foundation.
Additional support for International Theater is provided by the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater.
International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of
KRISTEN HARTKE is a D.C.-based food
and beverage writer. Follow her kitchen
the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.
adventures on Twiiter, @khartke.

3 6 M A RCH 1 7 , 2 017
E-mail calendar items to calendars@washblade.
com two weeks prior to your event. Space is lim-
ited so priority is given to LGBT-specic events
or those with LGBT participants. Recurring
events must be re-submitted each time.
TODAY
Cher kicks o her spring residency at
MGM National Harbor (101 MGM National
Ave., Oxon Hill, Md.) tonight at 8 p.m. Her
other show dates include March 19-20,
March 23 and March 25-26. Tickets range
from $125-686. For more information,
visit ticketmaster.com.
Caribbean jazz band Eastern Standard
Time gives a St. Patricks Day performance
at Lost & Found (1240 9th St., N.W.)
tonight from 8-11 p.m. No cover. For
details, visit facebook.com/estmusic.
Acre121 (1400 Irving St., N.W.) hosts
Luck of the Irish, a St. Pattys Day party,
from 8 p.m.-1 a.m. tonight. Rock bands
Mr. Blonde and Black Dog Prowl will
perform. There will be drink specials and
green beer. For more information, visit
facebook.com/acre121.
U Street Music Hall (1115 U Street
N.W.) celebrates its seventh anniversary
with a set by Black Coee and DJ Lisa
Frank. Doors open at 10 p.m. The show
is 18 and over. Cover is $20. For more
details, visit ustreetmusichall.com.
SATURDAY, MARCH 18
The Imperial Court of Washington
has its Black and Blue Ball at the D.C.
Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) today from
6-9:30 p.m. The annual event honors the
Prince and Princess Royale. Tickets are
$20. All proceeds benet the charities
My Sisters Place, CrossOver Healthcare
Ministries, Pets with Disabilities and
Rainbow Families. Formal attire is
encouraged. For more information, visit
facebook.com/imperialcourtdc.
The D.C. Center presents Gay Nightlife
in D.C.: Past and Present, today from
noon-2 p.m. This interactive workshop
will discuss gay nightlife past and present
and how identity plays a role in the club
atmosphere. Food will be provided. Space
is limited and registration is required. For
more information, visit thedccenter.org/
events/gay-nightlife-in-dc-past-present.
Gay/Bash is at Trade (1410 14th St.,
N.W.) tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. There
will be performances by Moon Baby,
Summer Camp, Salvadora Dali, Jaxknife
and Jane Saw. The Barber Streisand spins
tracks. Donna Slash hosts. There will be
shows at 11:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. There is
no cover. For details, search Gay/Bash
on Facebook.
The Ladies of Lure host Bare: Military
Style at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight
from 10 p.m.- 3 a.m. DJ Keenan and DJ Jai
Syncere will play music. There will be drink
specials. Cover is $7 before midnight and
$10 after. For more information, visit
facebook.com/lurewdc.
DJ LISA FRANK spins at U Street Music Hall on Friday, March 17.
Code Redux Play Party is at Glorious
Health Club (2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.)
tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Admission is
$25 and includes a free drink ticket. Fetish
dress code is required. For more details,
visit facebook.com/codedc.
Chaotic Events presents American
Horror Party, an American Horror
Story theme party, at Blind Whino (700
Deleware Ave., S.W.) tonight from 7 p.m.-
3 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress
up based on the themes from any of the
six seasons. Cash prizes are available for
best costume. Online general admission
is $20 and $25 at the door. For details,
visit facebook.com/thechaoticevents.
18th & U Duplex Diner (2004 18th St.,
N.W.) hosts a Washington Improv Theater
Fundraiser Drag Brunch today from 1-3
p.m. Tickets are $35 and includes one
brunch entre and one champagne cocktail
or glass of pinot grigio. $15 of proceeds
benet Washington Improv Theater. There
will also be drink specials. Performers
include Goldie Grigio and other surprise
performers. Brent Wingate hosts. DJ Khelan
Bhatia plays music. For more information,
visit facebook.com/ughcomedy.
SUNDAY, MARCH 19
Perrys (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts
its weekly Sunday Drag Brunch today
from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95
for an all-you-can-eat buet. For more
details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
MONDAY, MARCH 20
La Ti Do performs The 90s at Bistro
Bistro (1727 Connecticut Ave., N.W.)
tonight from 8-10 p.m. The group will
perform music dedicated to the 90s.
Christopher Richardson is this months
feature performer. Poet Drew Anderson
also performs. Don Mike Mendoza and
Regie Cabico host. General admission is
$15 at the door. Tickets are $10 at the door
with receipt from Bistro Bistro. Student
and senior tickets are $7 with ID. Non-
performing LTD alumni tickets are $5. For
more information, visit latido.wixsite.com.
TUESDAY, MARCH 21
Gay Mens Chorus of Washington
has its Open Mic Night: Divapalooza, a
showtune singa-along, at Cobalt (1639 R
St., N.W.) tonight from 8-11 p.m. Sheet
music will be provided but guests can
bring their own for the accompanist,
Alex Tang. Drink specials will be
available. For details, visit facebook.com/
gaymenschorusofwashington.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W.)
hosts its FUK!T Packing Party from
7-9 p.m. tonight. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org or greenlanterndc.com.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22
CAGLCC hosts its ninth annual LGBT
Mega Networking and Social Event at
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight from
6:30-8:30 p.m. Thousands of LGBT
professionals will gather together to nd
connections and recruit new employees.
Admission is free but registration is
required. Visit caglcc.org for details.
OutWrite presents Warrior Poets:
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
CA LE N D A R
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRANK
Speaking as Resistance at Petworth
Citizen (829 Upshur St., N.W.) tonight from
7-9 p.m. Queer poets Taylor Johnson,
Danielle Reed and PeaceJah will read. For
more information, visit facebook.com/
outwritedc.
The Lambda Bridge Club meets at 7:30
p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St.,
S.E.) for duplicate bridge. No reservations
required and new comers welcome. If
you need a partner, call 703-407-6540.
THURSDAY, MARCH 23
Organist Cameron Carpenter brings
his International Touring Organ to
the Music Center at Strathmore (5301
Tuckerman Ln., North Bethesda, Md.)
tonight at 8 p.m. The program includes
Oblivion by Piazzolla, Naiades
and Carillon de Westminister by
Vierne, among others. Tickets range
from $35-75. For more details, visit
Washingtonperformingarts.org.
Bachelors Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.)
holds a happy hour today from 5-7:30
p.m. All drinks are half price. There will
be pool, video gaming systems and
cards. Admission is $5 after 9 p.m. DJ
Bling, DJ Freaky and DJ Tim-Nice will
play music. For more information, visit
bachelorsmill.com.
The D.C. Anti-Violence Project hosts a
meeting at the D.C. Center (2000 14th St.,
N.W.) tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. The project
works to reduce violence against LGBT
individuals through community outreach,
education and assisting members of anti-
LGBT violence. For more details, visit
thedccenter.org

WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BO OK S
FBI/Mob showdown set in
90s strip club makes for
suspenseful tale
TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER has been reading
since she was 3 years old.She lives in Wisconsin
with two dogs and 12,000 books. Reach her at
bookwormsez@yahoo.com.
Im telling!
If you were ever a child, that whine is
familiar to you. It indicated a tattletale
nearby, a secret spilled to Mom and
somebody about to be in trouble.
Whatever. Annoying as it was, Im
telling never hurt much more than your
pride then. Today, as in the new book
Scores by Michael D. Blutrich, serious
snitching can get a guy killed.
How does it happen that a gay man
would own a mainstream strip club?
It was, says Michael Blutrich, a long
story that started after he opened his
law rm and, in search of an investment,
purchased an L.A. nightclub. Believing
that the success of his California business
could transfer to New York, he recalled
the excitement of a private banker who
claimed hed always wanted to own an
upscale strip club.
Being a closeted gay man, that wasnt
exactly Blutrichs dream, but the idea
niggled at his brain. Partnering with the
banker and others, they began looking
for a building and batting ideas around.
Scores was born, with a planned
opening on Halloween night, 1991.
And then the maa arrived.
In order to operate, the partners were
told, they would need protection, which
would involve some of New Yorks biggest
maa families in a sort of symbiotic
relationship, plus a grand-a-week kickback.
It would also involve skirting Big Apple laws
SHIFT your expectations.
M A R C H 17, 2017 37
SHIFT your senses.
SHIFT your spirit.
IMAGE COURTESY OF BENBELLA BOOKS
for as long as possible, because Scores
would be the citys rst and most notorious
upscale gentlemens club and there were
rules against what a customer would nd
inside those Upper East Side doors.
Because of the novelty and the
entertainment it oered, Scores was
successful more successful than
Blutrich had ever thought. He rode a
wave that made him a rich and semi-
famous man, at least until the FBI caught
up with him and made him an oer he
couldnt refuse.
And, of course, thats far from the
end of the tale. Whats left to say about
Scores involves rompishness, humor,
surprisingly heart-pounding chapters, a
little Goodfellas, a little Boogie Nights
and quite a bit of fun.
That last appeal comes in the form March 27April 1, 2017
of overgrown tales, courtesy of author
Michael D. Blutrichs memories of what Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
happened inside his gentlemens club
every evening for nearly ve years. Boulder Philharmonic
with Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance
Readers who remember the most
infamous discos of the 70s will nd North Carolina Symphony
something familiar in that, updated to the
1990s but no less outrageous. The Knights
with San Francisco Girls Chorus
But this book isnt all party: Blutrich
delightfully drops names, including many Concerts only $25!
youll recognize, but hes deadly serious
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story is one youve got to read.
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PRESENTED BY
its there, but not as much as youd think
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Generous support of the SHIFT Festival is provided through a matching grant from
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and by Michael F. and Nomi K. Neidorff and The Centene Charitable Foundation.
SCORES: HOW I OPENED THE HOTTEST
STRIP CLUB IN NEW YORK CITY, WAS SHIFT is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities,
an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
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OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MAFIA Betsy and Robert Feinberg, Morton and Norma Lee Funger, and Daniel R. Lewis.
INFORMANTS IN FBI HISTORY SHIFT is presented in association with JFKC: A Centennial Celebration of John F. Kennedy.
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328 pages

3 8 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017
Johnson says broadcast bug bit around age 6
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
want to be. I dont think what weve done
in our rst month will compare to what
well be doing a year from now or ve
years from now.
BLADE: When things are crazy, do
you get energized or stressed by that?
JOHNSON: Probably a little bit of both.
I tend to be the kind of person that the
crazier things are around me, the calmer
I get, which is how I survived breaking
news. But you have to be on the outer
edge of your comfort zone in order to
grow, so I just accepted that that was
going to be the way it was going to be
some days or maybe even most days.
BLADE: Was it hard to leave San
Francisco?
JOHNSON: It was really, really hard
but this opportunity was worth it.
BLADE: Have you had any time to
explore Washington much yet?
JOHNSON: No. I live a few blocks from
the station here in Van Ness, so I walk to
work because I cannot take a snow day.
And everything I need is right here, the
grocery store, the gym and so on. Once
I get a better handle on the workload, Ill
be able to get out more and see the city.
BLADE: Were you intimidated to
accept?
JOHNSON: Not really. . I think I was
more grateful and humble. I felt very
ready. Like, Yeah Ive been preparing
for this for 30-plus years.
BLADE: You say you had this dream
since age 5 or 6. How was this type of
thing even on your radar at that age?
JOHNSON: Well, Kermit the Frog
played a reporter on Sesame Street.
. I grew up seeing Ed Bradley on 60
Minutes or Bernard Shaw on CNN or
Dwight Lauderdale on my local Miami
ABC station. Seeing those black men
doing what I wanted to do just instantly
clicked for me. I always had an anity
for broadcasting. I just didnt know what
form it would take.
BLADE: So was it something you
chose or did it choose you?
JOHNSON: Well, it has to be both. Just
because destiny knocks doesnt mean
you have to answer. It went through a
lot of permutations of whether I would
answer or how I would answer and then
eventually it became that one thing that I
knew if I didnt go after, Id regret the rest
of my life.
BLADE: Had you been a big listener
of The Diane Rehm Show?
JOHNSON: Yeah, I listened to her in
South Florida on the station where I grew
up, WLRN. I never thought Id be her
successor, but yeah, I listened to her for
years.
BLADE: How do you decide on the
balance between meat-and-potatoes
news topics and lighter stu?
JOHNSON: I dont think its a matter of
balancing lightness against substance.
The show we did on country music was
very substantive. What were always
trying to gure out is what is it about
todays show that a fan would tell their
friends, You gotta listen to todays 1A. I (called him out). But I can do it in a way
Why? How do you answer that? if you
start there and work backwards, you can
build a great show. So even if its a lighter
topic like country music today or the
Grammy Awards or the Super Bowl, we
never want it to feel like, OK everybody,
we know life is really hard so were just
gonna give you some sugar and candy for
an hour. Thats not good enough. Even
if its not politics or not some trouble-in-
the-world topic, it still has to be time well
spent. Plus, I get bored easily, so I get
tired of talking about the troubles of the
world all day. . It cant be all sugar but it
cant be all steak.
BLADE: Some people are saying
theres been more sugar though lately.
The Super Bowl show got some ak.
JOHNSON: It depends whose table
youre dining at. I think there are dierent
ways to talk about dierent things. I
did have a listener who got very snooty
about the Super Bowl show . but there
are many aspects to a cultural event like
that that are worthy of discussion. Just
because people listen to NPR doesnt
mean they dont watch football and just
because they listen to NPR doesnt mean
they dont like pop music.
BLADE: True, but hasnt NPR always
sort of been that hub where you could
get something you couldnt just get
anywhere else? If ESPN is doing round-
the-clock sports coverage, do we really
need to hear about sports on NPR too?
JOHNSON: But we dont talk about the
Super Bowl like ESPN would talk about it.
We didnt get caught up in stats and whos
up and whos down. We talked about
it more broadly, about what was going
on in Houston and sort of the politics
around the event, the cost of buying an
ad there and so on. We tried to make it
really fun. One thing public media serves
is to give people a diverse view on the
world. Anybody who thinks public media
is designed to be all meat and potatoes
all the time has clearly never heard Car
Talk or Wait Wait Dont Tell Me.
These are just wonderful shows that are
about interesting things that make life
worthwhile and we cant pretend that
doesnt matter.
BLADE: Does the 1A format give
you more opportunity to weigh in than
other journalism posts youve had?
JOHNSON: No. My job is still to be an
analyst of the days events. This is not
the Joshua Johnson show. Its not my
platform to tell you what I think about the
news. Im still a reporter. But that doesnt
mean I cant call out inconsistencies. The
other day we had a guest who kind of
fudged an answer on climate change and
we cant allow the current political climate
that hews to evidence and fact and not
just my belief.
BLADE: Theres so much obfuscation
in partisan discussions, though. How
do you press people for clarity without
sounding partisan, at least at times?
JOHNSON: The way weve been doing
it what we do works. You do your
homework, you do smart shows, you
ask smart questions and you dont worry
about whether people like you or are
comfortable with it. Im here to perform
a service as a journalist. For me to start
worrying about it now is to doubt the very
reasons I came here. Facts still matter,
the truth is still the truth and there are
still such things as facts. People know and
understand what the NPR standard is and
outlets that dont follow that standard
I dont need to worry about people who
deal in that kind of foolishness.
BLADE: How do you decide if youre
going to pick up a thread after a break
or not?
JOHNSON: It depends whats coming
up after the break. If we have a guest we
need to get to or we have other questions
that segue into that thought. Being in
the studio is basically air trac control
because we have guests in the studio,
remote guests, my script, my questions,
Im watching the clock, I have a timer that
counts down to certain elements, then
I have another screen that shows me
e-mails and Tweets and Facebook posts
and if we receive a voicemail during the
show, we can play that. I have my laptop,
which has more communication, Im in
touch with the control room and the
newsroom upstairs and its all happening
at once. There are all these dierent
elements that I have to make balance
so its a lot of plate spinning. It will be
dierent every single day and I have to
gure out in the moment what were
going to next and if its duplicative of what
we just said, how much time we have left
and so on.
BLADE: How many people work on
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A RT S & E N T E RT A I N ME N T
the show and are any of them veterans
of Dianes show?
JOHNSON: I think we have 11. Two
of them were former producers on her
team. The rest are new hires.
BLADE: Do you anticipate getting
more mileage out of the Trump
administration than you otherwise
would have?
JOHNSON: Theres more to life in
Washington so I dont look to any one
sector of the news as my bread and
butter. Also, public radio is very
committed to the idea of localism so
to eclipse all of that because then youre
basically saying that localism doesnt
matter anymore so we keep that all in
perspective.
BLADE: Even though 1A is
distributed throughout the country,
doesnt it seem slightly odd considering
WAMUs push for live and local to have
brought you in from San Francisco?
Some listeners were predicting a
Washington person. Do you know how
many names were in the hat?
JOHNSON: I dont. Ive heard dierent
numbers but I honestly dont know nor
do I know who they were. As for live and
local, we are live and we are a program
from WAMU. I think its important to the
DNA of public radio that local stations
are a provider of national programming
(gives examples). We are Washingtons
NPR station and we think the ability of
WAMU to produce shows like 1A and
Big Listen is something we can be
proud of. (Allman says Johnsons outsider
status was a plus. [We liked that] he
wasnt from D.C., is not wowed by the
Beltway. He brings a completely dierent
perspective on the country. He gives the
audience something new, someone they
didnt know so it doesnt just seem like
the business of shuing people around.)
BLADE: You seem a bit more abrupt
than Diane. Do you agree?
JOHNSON: I try not to be. If I interrupt,
I try to apologize for it unless theyre
just going o the deep end. I try to be as
respectful as I can but that doesnt mean
we have time to let everybody nish their
thought.
BLADE: How serious are you and
your boyfriend? Any plans for him to
move out here eventually as well?
JOHNSON: He owns a barbershop in
San Francisco so there are some moving
parts wed have to gure out. For now,
were doing the bicoastal thing. Well
make it work.
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
BO OK S
PHOTO FROM THE BRADY HANDY COLLECTION; COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
A long-lost work by WALT WHITMAN has been rediscovered. The celebrated writer lived in
Washington for a decade.
Jack Engle novel considered
major literary nd
By KATHI WOLFE
Buried literary treasures arent often
found.
But last summer Zachary Turpin,
a graduate student at the University
of Houston, discovered Life and
Adventures of Jack Engle, a lost novel
by Walt Whitman that had appeared in
1852 as a serial in The Sunday Dispatch,
a New York newspaper. The story of an
orphans adventures was published three
years before Leaves of Grass, perhaps,
the most original, unclassiable work
of American literature. On Feb. 20, Jack
Engle was published online by the Walt
Whitman Quarterly Review and its being
released by the University of Iowa Press.
Previously, Turpin had found some
lost articles by Whitman on health and
lifestyle. Discovering, another work by
Whitman was surreal, he said in an
e-mail to the Blade, I doubt anyone has
thought, Today I will uncover a lost novel
by one of the worlds greatest writers.
But the discovery wasnt glamorous,
Turpin said. Its the end result of month
after month of slow ... searches through
online archives and databases what
scholar Stephen Ramsay calls, the
hermeneutics of screwing around.
Its a bit like falling in love, he said. I
M A R C H 17, 2017 39
Les Ballets
trockadero
de Monte Carlo
tory dobrin, Artistic director
Parody and
virtuosic technique...
in glittering tandem.
-The New York Times
didnt know what I was looking for until
I found it.
Whitman represents an ethos that he
helped establish, Turpin said, a uniquely
diverse, open and inclusive denition of
what it means to be an American. In his
preface to the rst edition of Leaves of
Grass, Whitman said, The United States
themselves are essentially the greatest
Photo by Sascha Vaughan
poem. Here is not merely a nation but a
teeming nation of nations.
Jack Engle reminds us that in the
1850s, Whitman was unsure of what he
was going to be in this world (a novelist?,
journalist? poet?), Turpin said.
Its fair to say that Whitman was queer,
though that term wouldve meant nothing
to him then, Turpin said. Nineteenth
century sexuality was far less categorized
than it is today.
Whitman, at age 43 in 1862, came to
Washington, D.C., to volunteer as a nurse
in hospitals during the Civil War. Kim
March 21 & 22 | Opera House
Roberts, founding editor of Beltway Poetry with the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra
Quarterly, said in an e-mail to the Blade
that these were pivotal years for Whitman.
He stayed for 10 years ... working tICKEtS ON SALE NOW!
as a government clerk, writing over
100 new poems as well as frontline KENNEdy-CENtEr.Org | (202) 467-4600
journalism, making life-long friends, Tickets also available at the Box Office.
having experiences that would change
him profoundly, Roberts said.
Groups call (202) 416-8400.
For all other ticket-related customer service inquiries, call the Advance Sales Box Office at (202) 416-8540.
Whitman, Roberts said, wrote that he
considered his years in D.C. to be the
greatest privilege ... and most profound Support for Ballet at the Kennedy Center is generously provided by Elizabeth and Michael Kojaian.
lesson of my life.
 WASHINGTONBLADE.COM

4 0 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 P H O T O S BY MI CH A E L KE Y

The Gay Mens Chorus of Washington held performances of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying over the weekend at the Lincoln Theatre.
WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
A UT O S
VW CC R-Line, Lexus GS
among snappiest 2017 models
By JOE PHILLIPS
With all the hullabaloo over crossovers,
its easy to forget sedans still rule in many
showrooms. This goes double for sport
sedans with their souped-up engines and
snappy styling.
VW CC R-LINE EXECUTIVE
$38,000
Mpg: 22 city/31 highway
0-to-60 mph: 6.5 seconds
Once upon a time, VW created the ill-fated
Phaeton, a superb machine, to be sure, but
with a stratospheric price tag. When that
agship amed out, the more aordable CC
sport sedan became the automakers premier
ride. With head-turning looks, the CC (Comfort
Coupe) mixes sleek, two-door styling with four-
door functionality. Its not boxy, like the Jetta,
Passat or even that spitre GTI tuner. But the
CCs swoopy rear means less headroom and
legroom for back-seat passengers. And the
low-ground clearance may remind some folks
especially arthritic Boomers of scooching
in and out of go-kart racers. Still, this is a
drivers car, with a jazzy turbo, solid brakes and
enough verve to liven up any daily commute.
Two trim levels: base-level Sport and premium
R-Line Executive. While both oer plenty
of standard features, the Executive adds a
panoramic sunroof, steering-wheel paddle
shifters and heated, power-folding side
mirrors. Sure, leather is available, but the
leatherette (high-end vinyl) upholstery feels
just as nice, is easier to clean and earns you
some PETA-friendly cred.
LEXUS GS 350
$51,000
Mpg: 19 city/26 highway
0-to-60 mph: 5.7 seconds
With just a few karate chops to the sheet
metal, Lexus now oers some of the trendiest
designs on the road. This includes a bold
grille thats edgy enough to be menacing. It
M A R C H 17, 2017 41
LEXUS GS 350
works well on the GS 350, amping up this cars
sport-sedan bona des. So do the engine and
exhaust notes that can be piped directly into
the cabin. Turn o that extra vroom, though,
and this is a quiet cruiser with virtually no road
noise or vibration. The interior is subtle chic,
despite some plastic trim, with easy-to-use
controls and well-padded seats. A 12-speaker
stereo is standard, but upgrade to the
17-speaker Mark Levinson system for more
bliss. Another plus: the 12.3-inch, widescreen
infotainment display is huge and sits high on
the dashboard for easy viewing. Following an
industry trend, safety features that were once
optional are now de rigueur. This includes
collision warning with emergency braking and
pedestrian detection. While handling is nimble,
its not as taut as some Euro contenders. For
that, youll need to plunk down an extra $4,000
for the F Sport model.
BMW 540i xDRIVE
$57,000
Mpg: 20 city/29 highway
0-to-60 mph: 4.9 seconds
If aliens typed sport sedan into their
social media feed, the redesigned BMW 5
Series would likely pop up rst. Or at least it
should, considering the space-age looks
especially in the cabin and the gazillion
high-tech gizmos. Longer and taller than
before, the new model reduces heft by using
lots of lightweight aluminum, magnesium
and high-strength steel. While the base 530i
has a capable four-cylinder, the 540i boasts a
twin-turbo six-cylinder with a lusty 335-hp. Its
a blast to drive fast, especially when adding
all-wheel drive (xDrive) and the M Sport
package, with 20-inch wheels and lower
suspension. Inside, the infotainment system
includes gesture and voice controls, as well as
a head-up display on the windshield. For rear-
seat entertainment, two 10.2-inch screens
are attached to the back of the front seats.
The standard seating is nicely bolstered, but
you can switch it out for 20-way front seats
with massage function. And the audio can
be upgraded to a boo 1,400-watt Bowers
& Wilkins surround-sound stereo. Of course,
tossing in all those options can ratchet up the
price yowza! another $25,000.
4 2 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

ackermanbrown.com
W A SH I NGTO N B LA DE.C OM
REALESTATE
A rising tide lifts region in February
But leaves out more
expensive jurisdictions
By TED SMITH
D.C. areas housing market contin-
ues to sizzle in February, exclaimed the
March 10 post from Real Business Intel-
ligence. And it indeed looked like good
news for the regional market: Median
prices for February were at the highest
level in 10 years, as was sales volume
(total dollar amount sold), and num-
bers of closed sales, pending sales, and
new listings.
But dig a little deeper into these statis-
Attorneys that are OUTthinking |OUTspoken |OUTdoing
tics and some interesting facts emerge:
First, median prices in the District itself
decreased from February 2016, as did
median prices for Alexandria City and
Falls Church City. More signicantly, the
only jurisdictions where median prices
increased from the previous February all
started with 2016 median prices lower
than the median price of $537,000 for
homes in D.C. in February 2016, while
the two jurisdictions (in addition to D.C.)
where median prices declined both start-
ed with February 2016 median prices
higher (or approximately equal) to the
D.C. 2016 median.
Further, there were 2,395 February
sales with medians that increased from
2016, while only 695 sales in higher-
priced jurisdictions where median prices
decreased from February 2016, a gure
representing just 22.6 percent of all the
February sales.
Of course, there are always more buy-
ers for lower-priced homes, but these
gures also suggest that more buyers
are looking for homes in jurisdictions
where good values are still to be found.
So, buyers, take a hint: Youve still a
month or so before the spring market
MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 4 3
starts heating up, and these February g-
ures show where you might obtain some
good values.
TED SMITH is a licensed Realtor with Real Living
| at Home specializing in mid-city D.C. Reach
him at TedSmithSellsDC@rlathome.com and
follow him on Facebook.com/MidCityDCLife,
Youtube.com/TedSmithSellsDC or @TedSmith-
SellsDC. You can also join him on monthly tours
of mid-city neighborhood open houses, as well
as monthly seminars geared toward rst-time
homebuyers. Sign up at meetup.com/DCMidCi-
ty1stTimeHomeBuyers.
4 4 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

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SP-Law. com. Steve 703-861-4422.
SIMPLE
AFFORDABLE
PROVEN RESULTS
CALL TODAY TOPLACE YOUR AD
202.747.2077
 DEADLINES
All Classified Ads
SHARE ADS ARE FREE. - Including Regular & Adult -
Place your housing to share Must Be Received
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*25 words or less prints free - anything more is $1/word. in That Weeks Edition of
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4 6 MA RCH 1 7 , 2 017 W A SH I N G T O N BLA D E . CO M

VOLUNTEERS OPEN HOUSE / DC

GAY SEXUALITY PROJECT
Are you happy in your
sexual life, and over 35,
then be part of the Gay
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CLEANING
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HOME IMPROVEMENT
British Remodeling Handyman
Local licensed company with over 25
years of experience. Specializing in
bathrooms, kitchens & all interior/
exterior repairs. Drywall, paint,
electric & wallpaper.
Trevor 703-303-8699.
MOVERS
OUR GUYS AROUND
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PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIEDS ONLINE
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TREE SERVICE
BRANCHES TREE EXPERT
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com. Angies List Award
Winner.
SHARE / DC
CAPITOL HILL SHARE, 2 blocks
from H Street, $700, utilities included.
1 mo. deposit, looking for a clean
quiet roommate. Call 202-746-2307.
SHARE / VA
MALE HOUSEMATE $850/MTH
+1/3Utils wanted for 3 BR, 3 BA home
in South Arlington, Street Parking.
walk to Crystal City Metro. Call Ron
703-684-8016.
LINDEN, VA GWM, Prefer
mature, male. 3 BR/2 BA
Fully Furnished home
on Blue Mountain with 2
LRs, WIFI, small pool and
hot tub soon, 2 garages,
carport. Great outdoor
living area. Minutes
to the Appalachian
trail. $500/month +
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rphlipper@aol.com.
RENT / MD
BALTIMORE-CHARLES ST.
2nd Floor. Newly renovated, 2
BR/1BA, all new appliances, includes
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OPEN HOUSE: Sunday, March
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20001.www.thelangstonlofts.com.
SALE / MD
LOVELY 2BR LOFT Residence in
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shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Bike,
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BODYWORK
Always FREE to listen and reply to ads!
DEADLINES
All Classified Ads
- Including Regular & Adult -
Must Be Received
By Mondays at 5PM
washingtonblade.com
LUCAS IS BACK
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240-462-8669.
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W A SH I N GTO NB LAD E.C OM MA RCH 1 7 , 2 0 1 7 4 7

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