California

Activists to picket at The Beverly Hills hotel over owner Brunei's homophobic policies

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Supporters of LGBT equality and workers’ rights plan to protest today at the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows.

Activists aim to call attention to hotel owner Brunei’s homophobic policies, and the protest is timed to coincide with ASEAN conference in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

Broad coalition opposes Medi-Cal rate cuts

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A broad-based coalition of California’s health care providers announced late Wednesday that they have come together to invest in a joint statewide campaign called “We Care for California” to support successful implementation of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) in California and to oppose further rate cuts to California’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal.

Long Beach seminar to teach gay and lesbian couples about taxes, estate planning

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Because of inequality, gay and lesbian couples face different obstacles that opposite-sex couples when it comes to taxes and estate planning.

Wendy Hartmann, a tax and estate-planning lawyer who specializes in LGBT issues, will speak this weekend about how to overcome those obstacles. She will talk about domestic partnership laws, estate planning and tax issues as they apply to gay and lesbian couples.

Move over, West Hollywood - Silver Lake is the true gay mecca

Could gays of the 1980s imagine what it would be like to be gay in 2013? From the Supreme Court pondering marriage equality to NFL players weighing how best to come out, the way we're gay today is nothing like it's ever been before.

And for that modern gay man, West Hollywood may not be the mecca it once was. Instead, young gays are flocking to Silver Lake and other low-key Eastside neighborhoods.

Frank Rodriguez argues as much: "The gay ghetto is dead," he declares to me one morning, gesturing at his phone. "This," he says, "is what's replaced it."

WeHo lesbian bar is closing

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The Palms Bar, long celebrated as a gathering place for West Hollywood’s lesbian community, will close in the coming months, according to its managers.

The bar, at 8572 Santa Monica Blvd. west of La Cienega, has been in business nearly 50 years. In a Facebook posting, its managers said The Palms is closing “for no other reason than the new property owners have decided to redevelop the property.”

Drew Barrymore to host GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – Acclaimed actress Drew Barrymore will host the 24th annual GLAAD Media Awards on Saturday in Los Angeles.

The glittering ceremony complete with the red carpet treatment will take place at the JW Marriott in downtown Los Angeles.

Grammy Award-winning recording artist Kelly Rowland will perform.

Former President Bill Clinton will receive the Advocate for Change Award, and entertainment attorney Steve Warren will receive the Stephen F. Kolzak Award.

Health officials dispel rumors of meningitis in San Diego’s gay community

SAN DIEGO – Local health officials are disputing a media report that meningitis has been found in San Diego’s gay community, and trying to quell rumors.

An uptick in meningitis cases has been documented in the gay communities of New York City and Los Angeles. Seven men who have sex with men (MSM) have died in New York City since 2010, and at least two MSM have died in Los Angeles since December. Some LGBT activists and community leaders are concerned and trying to prevent further infections or deaths.

Three EQCA-sponsored bills clear committees with bipartisan support

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Three Equality California-sponsored bills focused on reducing discrimination and improving the health and equality of LGBT Californians have passed their respective committees with broad, bipartisan support.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Cultural Competency for Health Care Providers Act (AB 496), authored by Assemblymember Richard Gordon, passed the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee by a bipartisan vote of 10-1-1.

At least two gay men have died of meningitis in L.A. in the past 15 months

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – At least two gay men are among the 13 people who have died of meningitis in Los Angeles County in the past 15 months.

Brett Shaad, 33, of West Hollywood died Saturday night after being removed from life support. The lawyer fell ill on Monday, April 8, and didn’t go to an emergency room until Wednesday, April 10. He was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, an inflammation of the lining around the brain, and lapsed into a coma on Thursday and was later declared brain dead.

Ninth Circuit panel to hear appeal of California law banning "ex-gay therapy"

SAN FRANCISCO – The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today will hear the challenge to California’s law that bans “ex-gay therapy” for minors.

Senate Bill 1172 was signed into law last fall by Gov. Jerry Brown, who praised the measure for protecting LGBT young people from dangerous practices called conversion therapy and reparative therapy. The therapy uses shame, verbal abuse and same-sex aversion techniques, and the success rate is considered nil.

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