by Peter DelVecchio, Karen Ocamb and Daniel batalla

Swine Flu Health and Travel Alerts

Public health officials are walking a fine line between expressing serious concern and provoking alarm over a deadly new strain of swine flu. On April 29, the World Health Organization said a global outbreak of the disease is imminent and the Centers for Disease Control recommended that Americans cease all “nonessential” travel to Mexico.

President Barack Obama said that while there is “obviously a cause for concern ... it’s not a cause for alarm."

While health officials note that they expect deaths from the outbreak, the CDC reports that 36,000 people die from regular seasonal flu-related causes every year in the United States. (See cdc.gov for more.)

The swine flu virus—now also called H1N1 because it is spread through human-to-human contact and not through foods such as pork—was brought to the United States by a dozen Catholic preparatory high school students from Queens, N.Y., who were in Cancun, Mexico, for spring break.

Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, director of communicable disease control and prevention at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH), told Frontiers in L.A. that people with compromised immune systems—such as people with HIV/AIDS—are not at greater risk for catching the new flu, but may experience a more severe illness.

Kim-Farley says, “We don’t want to be alarmist about” the disease since, as of April 29, there have been no confirmed cases in the county. The state and local declarations of a state of emergency primarily mean they are on heightened alert and are “pre-positioning” their compliment of 600,000 doses of Tamiflu, which will be used as a prophylactic for first responders and then to treat severe cases.

Kim-Farley says people must practice respiratory hygiene to prevent the spread of the disease: Wash your hands frequently; don’t touch your hands to your nose, eyes or mouth; cover your nose and mouth if you sneeze or cough; if you’re ill, stay home; and if you have a compromised immune system and come into contact with someone who is ill, seek medical attention.

The flu symptoms are fever, runny nose, lethargy, sore throat, lack of appetite, nausea, coughing and diarrhea.

“We are asking people to practice good health behaviors out of respect for your own health, as well as respect for the well-being of others,” he says. The U.S. government is “taking an abundance of caution to stay ahead of this … and watching closely how it continues to evolve. Flu strains do have the tendency to mutate so we’re watching it very carefully.”

As Frontiers goes to press, Kim-Farley says there are no recommendations to cancel large gatherings such as Long Beach Pride. But, he cautions, “this is changing day by day … and if we start seeing a lot of disease, that might change.” People with questions should call 211 (not 911) for up-to-date information.

The DPH website will be continually updated (publichealth.lacounty.gov), and the department also has a YouTube channel at youtube.com/lapublichealth.
—K.O

Stonewall Endorsements for Special Election May 19

It’s hard to imagine, but there’s another election coming up. This one is on May 19, and it could send gay-favorite Judy Chu to Congress.

Stonewall Democratic Club has strongly endorsed Chu in her 32nd Congressional District race, as well as African-American leader Curren D. Price for state Senate District 26, Jack Weiss for Los Angeles city attorney, Paul Koretz for L.A. City Council and Angela J. Reddock and Robert Nakahiro for L.A. Community College board of trustees. (Visit the group’s website for recommendations on the ballot initiatives: stonewalldems.org/1_ELECTIONS.html.)

Meanwhile, local LGBT history was made during the California Democratic Convention April 24-26 in Sacramento when Eric Bauman, the highly regarded openly gay chair of the Los Angeles Democratic Party, was elected vice chair of the California Democratic Party. His easy elevation may have been temporarily overshadowed, however, by news that Art Torres, the outgoing chair of the state party, quietly came out during a dinner in his honor. During the private event, Torres, who has long been rumored to be gay, thanked his longtime partner, Gonzalo Escudero. But some people with whom Frontiers spoke—while confirming that Torres did publicly thank Escudero—refused to classify the acknowledgement as a formal “coming out.”

San Francisco Sen. Mark Leno was less coy, telling the Bay Area Reporter, “I was very pleased to see it, of course, and it was appropriate for Art to do it. No one blinked, and everyone cheered.” —K.O.

Out Rabbi Denise Eger, 49, of West Hollywood’s LGBT-oriented Reform synagogue, Congregation Kol Ami, a prominent same-sex marriage proponent, will become the first woman and first openly gay person to head the Board of Rabbis of Southern California when she assumes the board’s presidency May 11, the Jewish Daily Forward reports.

Villaraigosa on Immigration, Boy Scouts, Other Issues

Despite an uptick in Republican calls to “round up” and deport undocumented immigrants or deny them healthcare, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa—who supports “fair and comprehensive immigration reform”—adamantly told Frontiers in L.A. recently that the LAPD will not report crime victims, witnesses or those stopped for minor violations to the INS.

“It’s unfortunate that some people would argue that doctors and nurses and teachers should report the sick, the needy, the children of our state because of their status,” Villairagosa said in a wide-ranging interview (the majority of which appeared in issue 27.26), adding that crime has decreased because of community cooperation.

On severing ties between the Boys Scouts of America and the Explorer Program at the LAPD, Villaraigosa said “it’s been frustrating” since his own commissioners have “a reluctance to make these changes until they can see if it can work at the Fire Department.” That program is still being developed.

Villaraigosa also said he supports holding a constitutional convention to “fix” the “broken” system of government—including the initiative process that allowed passage of Proposition 8.

“The idea that we can take away a fundamental right to liberty and happiness so easily goes against the grain of what our constitution should be about. It’s about expanding rights—not limiting them,” the mayor said. —K.O.

House Passes Hate-Crimes Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 on April 29 by a margin of 249-175, with 18 Republicans voting in favor and 17 Democrats opposed.

The bill, often referred to as the Mathew Shepard Act, adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the federal hate crimes legislation. President Barack Obama urged “both sides of the aisle to act on this important civil rights issue by passing this legislation to protect all of our citizens from violent acts of intolerance—legislation that will enhance civil rights protections, while also protecting our freedom of speech and association.” The bill now goes to the Senate.

Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) led the floor debate on the Democratic side, with impassioned speeches by openly gay members Barney Frank (D-MA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

Among the conservative Republicans expressing opposition was Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) who said that Matthew Shepard’s “very unfortunate” murder on Oct. 7, 1998, was committed during a robbery and to describe it as a hate crime was “really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.” Shepard’s mother, Judy Shepard, was in the gallery. During their trial, Shepard’s killers admitted knowing Matthew was gay.

After an Internet fury erupted, Foxx said “hoax” was a “poor choice of words” but pointed to an ABC 20/20 episode in which Elizabeth Vargas interviewed the killers, which many rejected as “revisionist history.” —K.O.

Vid Pick

Star of TV (Maude, Golden Girls), stage and film (Mame), gay icon Bea Arthur died of cancer at 86 on April 25. For a 1970s video of Arthur and closeted actor Rock Hudson doing a tongue-in-cheek number about recreational drug use, visit tinyurl.com/2rurb2. ‘Twas a campier, less uptight era.

Sal Guarriello remembered

The Rev. William Wolfe looked out over the pews packed with a rainbow of participants at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in West Hollywood and chuckled. “He has done something I never thought would happen,” the priest said of Sal Guarriello, whose funeral mass Wolfe was celebrating. “He has filled this church with people.”

Among those there to honor Guarriello, the straight 90-year-old West Hollywood Councilmember who died suddenly on April 16, were scores of LGBT people, including gay religious leaders, as well as Guarriello’s colleagues—new Mayor Abbe Land, Mayor Pro Temp John Heilman and Councilmembers Jeff Prang and John Duran.

Wolfe singled out one of the New Testament’s Beatitudes as specifically referring to Guarriello: Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God. “A large part of the job of someone in public life is keeping the peace,” Wolfe said. “I think Sal was a reconciler.”

Guarriello’s nephew Michael Satriano remembered him more as a sometimes stubborn man with irrepressible integrity. “Guarriello” in Italian, he said, means “little warrior.”

“He was no little warrior,” said Prang, remembering his friend. “He was a mighty warrior.”

Guarriello was particularly mighty when fighting for seniors, veterans, people with HIV/AIDS and gays and lesbians.

Perhaps the most moving moment of the mass was the acknowledgement of Guarriello’s council deputy, Donna Saur, “his confidant, caregiver and companion” who would “kick his ass whenever necessary,” and the most important woman in Guarriello’s life, next to his late wife Rita. Saur received a sustained and impassioned standing ovation.

After the Mass, a fleet of Sheriff’s deputies led a caravan of mourners to review one of Guarriello’s greatest achievements, the Veterans Memorial on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The City Council will appoint a successor by May 17. —K.O.

GLAAD Celebrates 20th Anniversary

On April 25, GLAAD celebrated the 20th anniversary of their Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The star-studded event brought out the who’s who of Hollywood A-listers … and Kathy Griffin.

“This event 20 years ago had 200 people," outgoing GLAAD President Neil Giuliano told Frontiers in L.A. “Now were expecting 3,000.” Later Giuliano told the crowd, “Now is our time, your time, to be more visible and louder than ever.”

Host Coco Peru’s outrageous banter lightened somber moments, including tributes to Carl Walker Hoover, the 11-year-old boy who hanged himself because of anti-gay taunting. Ellen DeGeneres, honored for ”outstanding talk show episode," dedicated her award to the boy and acknowledged her own standing ovation. “I feel very fortunate I have this kind of love,” she said.

“God doesn’t ever get it wrong, but the church often does,” out Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson said, accepting the Stephen F. Kolzak Award. “This is not going to be easy. And you and I need to toughen up…We can stay in this fight because we know how it’s going to end. I have no doubt about it.”

Superstar Jennifer Holiday closed the evening with “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls. —D.B.

25th Anniversary of AIDS Scientific Study

The mid-afternoon gathering at the Akasha restaurant in Culver City on April 26 was bittersweet, poignant, homey and, well, funny in a way only AIDS survivors can be.

Mounted prominently on the back wall was a banner with the words “In Memorium” over scores of numbers representing people in the Los Angeles cohort of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) who had died. On an adjacent table was a collage representing “the Jack Shack”—scads of naked men posed to inspire participants to emit fluids necessary to the scientific study, the oldest HIV cohort study in the world.

The crowd of 200 included L.A. Men’s Study (LAMS) participants, staff and supporters such as longtime AIDS activist Brenda Frieberg, AIDS Project Los Angeles Executive Director Craig Thompson (APLA put on the party) and David Bohnett, whose foundation supports AmFar, which has given $1 million to research projects based on LAMS/MAC data. Bohnett also honored his later partner, Judge Rand Schrader, who 25 years ago helped recruit some of the 1,600-2,000 L.A. gay men for the historic longitudinal study.

“What you have done has made a vital impact on the study of AIDS,” Bohnett told the crowd.

Intimately probed and investigated twice a year—and after death—the participants received nothing in return but free parking at UCLA. Even their courage has been unheralded. Participant Michaeljohn Horne told Frontiers in L.A. that when the study was introduced in the mid-late 1980s (in Frontiers, among other outlets), two AIDS-hysteria initiatives were on the California ballots, scaring many gay men from signing up for fear their names would be divulged.

“In the late 1980s, we identified three groups of particular importance to understanding HIV infection,” Principle Investigator Roger Detels told Frontiers. “[One:] Individuals who, despite repeated exposure to HIV-infected individuals through receptive anal intercourse with many different partners, did not become infected. This group is particularly important because something about them allows them to resist infection. [Two:] Individuals who, although infected, do not progress to AIDS in the absence of treatment. These men clearly have a mechanism for controlling the HIV in their bodies. [And three:] Individuals with very low levels of CD4 cells (less than 50) who survive for two years or more. These individuals are surviving in the absence of their adaptive immune system and are, presumably, relying on their innate immune system.”

Continuing study, Detels said, has enabled researchers to identify “genetic and immunologic factors which are associated with ‘resistance’ to HIV infection” that could lead to “a type of nontraditional vaccine.”

LAMS’ contributions include identifying that HIV viral load can be used to predict subsequent progression of disease and successful treatment; demonstrating that HAART is effective in preventing AIDS and delaying progression of HIV; and identifing risk factors such as the role played by recreational drugs that helped develop behavioral intervention strategies.

But on this afternoon, “the family” celebrated each other and especially LAMS staff members Dennis Miles and May Hitka, dubbed “Queen of the Intrusive Digit.” —K.O.

Accused ‘Craigslist Killer’ May Have Targeted Men

Philip Markoff, the 22-year-old Boston University medical student accused of murdering one woman and assaulting and robbing another in upscale Boston hotels after soliciting the women for massage or sexual encounters through Craigslist, may also have targeted men, NBC reported April 27.

A Boston professional who told NBC’s Jeff Rossen he wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job said Markoff responded to his Craigslist ad under “male for t,” which means “males for transsexuals.” The man said Markoff sent him explicit photos and also called him “babe” and asked him, “What are you doing tonight?” in e-mail sources say was sent from a Yahoo! account for “sexaddict5385.”

The man’s information could cause authorities to expand their investigation, according to Rossen. To date, police have focused only on finding other female victims of Markoff, but may now have to include men. —P.D.

Vid Pick

This spot called “No Offense,” featuring controversial beauty queen Carrie Prejean, is taken from part of Miss California's reply to openly gay Miss USA judge Perez Hilton when Prejean said, "No offense,” but she supports marriage only between a man and a woman. Now she is part of the National Organization for Marriage's $1.5 million ad campaign to persuade voters in the Northeast to vote against marriage equality. tinyurl.com/czharj

Same-Sex Nuptials Begin in Iowa

Same-sex couples began tying the knot in Iowa on April 28, the New York Times reports. Iowa’s Supreme Court, acting unanimously, ruled in favor of marriage equality April 3.

Three states, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa, now permit gays to wed. On April 7, Vermont’s Legislature overrode Republican Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a marriage equality bill that takes effect in September. New York’s Democratic Gov. David Paterson introduced marriage equality legislation in that state’s legislature on April 16. New Hampshire’s Senate narrowly passed a bill on April 29, as did Maine’s Senate on April 30. Both now return to their respective Houses for votes before being sent to governors who have not said they would sign the marriage bills.

In Iowa, protests some expected given polls showing most Iowans opposed to same-sex marriage generally failed to materialize, although a few demonstrators did appear at some rural recorders’ offices.

Chuck Hurley, head of the conservative Iowa Family Policy Center, said he and other marriage equality opponents were unhappy that the legislature adjourned April 26 without considering any measure to amend the Iowa Constitution to undo the court’s ruling. —P.D.

100

days into the obama presidency (as of April 29), we’ve seen the new chief executive encounter a dismal economy, two wars, pirates, an obstructionist opposition, a flu outbreak and a new puppy. LGBT people are pleased with greater access and major appointments but, as EqualityGiving.org notes, there has been “no change yet” on legal protections for LGBT people.

Specter Switches to the Democratic Party

Citing the probability of being defeated by a social conservative in the upcoming Pennsylvania primary, longtime moderate Republican Sen. Arlen Specter announced April 28 that he was leaving the GOP for the Democratic Party. He also stressed that he “will not be an automatic 60th vote,” referring to the number of votes required—with the expected seating of Minnesota’s Al Franken—to make the senate “filibuster-proof.”

Specter opposes labor’s Employee Free Choice Act, for instance, which Majority Leader Harry Reid now says will be refashioned to gain Specter’s support, the Washington Post reports.

President Obama promised Specter his “full support” in the Democratic primary, which upset some who believed a progressive candidate would beat right-wing former Congressman Pat Toomey. The Human Rights Campaign gave Specter a 70 percent rating on LGBT issues last year in their 110th Congressional Scorecard. —K.O.

Quote - Unquote

“Lovedy has been a much-loved and cherished friend and leader for many years.”

—Stonewall Democrats’ Jeff Book regarding the April 21 death of LGBT activist Lovedy Brydon, who will be honored at the Women’s National Basketball Association Los Angeles Sparks’ opening game on June 6.

“I am a moral politician … I believe in human rights, and I believe in civil unions. But we have to say ‘No’ to same-sex marriage in D.C.”

—Former Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry—an ex-convict who’s been divorced four times—at an April 28 rally protesting the D.C. City Council’s 12-0 resolution to recognize same-sex marriages.

“In no small part, Dr. Kameny’s work, and other leaders like him, made it possible for me to stand here today.”

—Openly gay John Berry, at his April 23 swearing-in as the federal Office of Personnel Management’s director, regarding LGBT activist Dr. Frank Kameny, fired from federal employment in 1957 for being gay, as reported in the Advocate.

As of 7:16 a.m., April 28

American Deaths in Iraq: 4,278 icasualties.org

American Wounded in Iraq: 31,215 antiwar.com/casualties

Iraqi Dead since 2003: 91,586-99,991 iraqbodycount.org

Cost of War: $664,060,000,000+ costofwar.com

National Debt: $11,199,250,172,098.57 brillig.com/debt_clock

U.S. Trade Deficit: $210,335,000,000+
americaneconomicalert.org/ticker_home.asp