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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
•
August 1, 2008 www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com
HIV
7 3596 σε
Dental Services
Home Delivered Meals
Home Health Care Hospice Care
Medical Case Management Medical Laboratory Testing •
Medical Transportation Mental Health Counseling
Nutritional Counseling • Outpatient Primary Medical Care Prescription Medication Assistance
.
Substance Abuse Treatment • Transitional Housing Assistance ⚫
•
40
If you or someone you
know is living with HIV/AIDS
the Ryan White Programs
offer free medical and
social support services to
eligible persons who are
uninsured or underinsured
in Northeast Ohio.
38 39 40 41
we can
help.
KAIZAAD KOTWAL
For additional information about eligibility, services and local service providers:
216-348-3986
www.cuyahogacounty.us/ryanwhite
All inquiries are strictly confidential.
Unambigously fun
Ace and Gary, the Ambiguously Gay Duo, thrust themselves into the spotlight at the 25th annual Doo-Dah Parade.
Held annually on July 4, the parade traipsed through Columbus' Short North and Victorian Village neighborhoods, spreading liberal, anti-war and other messages as it
went.
Ace and Gary are featured in Robert Smigel's cartoons, seen during Saturday Night Live. Joining them in the parade were the local cast of Rocky Horror and scores of drag kings and queens.
The zany procession is sometimes described as gayer than the Pride parade, a week earlier. -Kaizaad Kotwal
Services are funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Information provided by: The Cuyahoga Regional HIV Services Planning Council.
Everyone Needs a Little
Fairy Tail!
NTO
THE
WOODS
Fully Staged Musical
Matt Joslyn, Director
Robert Franz, Music Director Music by the Mansfield Symphony An Amazing and Talented Cast
Renaissance Theatre located off I-71 between Cleveland and Columbus.
INTO THE WOODS at Appleseed Outdoor Amphitheatre is Ohio's newest outdoor theatrical experience!
The Tony Award winning musical Into the Woods is an intricate tale of multiple fairy-tale characters crossing paths in the wood, and exploring what happens after happily ever after.
Locally produced by Renaissance Performing Arts Assoc., Inc., Into the Woods will performed in two great venues!
Renaissance Theatre
138 Park Ave. West Mansfield, OH
Aug. 8 & 9 @ 8pm Aug. 10 @ 3pm
Carton Service Packaging Insights
419-522-2726 Presented by News Journal
One of Life's Necessities
www.astic.co
Appleseed Outdoor Amphitheatre
2179 St. Rt. 603 Ashland, OH Aug. 14, 15 & 16 @ 8pm
www.mansfieldtickets.com
THERMODISC
Sponsored by
K.E. McCartney & Associates Duane Getz, Inc.
Neighbor dispute turns ugly with anti-gay epithets
by Anthony Glassman
Cleveland Anti ay haras
to threats of
onths as next-a
rs 6.
ned
an increased their verpassaults. Rocco Crisafi, born and raised in Cleveland's Old Brooklyn neighborhood, bought his house on Flowerdale Avenue in late 1989, five years after getting a bachelor's degree in political science from Cleveland State University.
According to Crisafi, neighbors next door and across the street routinely yell anti-gay epithets at him when he is in his front yard. The house next door is owned by Betty Raz, who lives there with her partner John Kolar. Her son Kenneth lives in the upstairs unit of the house, which has been in the family for decades.
Across the street lives Mary Lou Faughner, an elderly widow.
The harassment has continued for years, and in 2004 Crisafi sent letters to the mayor and other city officials asking for assistance. He never received a reply.
Most recently, Crisafi talked with Cleveland City Councilor Kevin Kelley, whose Ward 16 includes Old Brooklyn.
Kelley speaks well of Crisafi, noting that he hosted two Crime Watch meetings at his home that were well attended.
"The meeting he had was appropriate, a lot of neighbors showed up," Kelley said. "He and some of his neighbors are working to keep things together."
Kelley is referring Crisafi's conflict with his neighbors to mediation, and at press time was trying to speed up the process.
While the harassment has been predominantly verbal, Raz's other son threatened him at the beginning of June.
According to the police report, Crisafi was sitting in his front yard while Kolar was edging his grass. Some of the clippings were falling onto Crisafi's property.
Crisafi told him to clean up the clippings, and David Raz, son of Betty Raz, came over to Crisafi and yelled, “I'm tired of you
bothering my mom and her boyfriend."
Crisafi said David Raz `alled up his fist threateningly. while Kol and Raz denied 1 threat.
A month later, while Crisafi was edging nis driveway, police were gain called, this time by the neighbors, o accused him of trespassing.
'He and some of his neighbors are working to keep things together.'
The police reports make no mention of bias motivation, although they note menacing, which is one of the offenses that fall under Cleveland's ethnic intimidation ordinance.
Ethnic intimidation in Cleveland covers sexual orientation in addition to the categories of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, ethnic group, Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status.
Were anyone to be charged with menacing, an ethnic intimidation enhancement would automatically increased the severity of the charge one degree.
"This harassment has been going on for nearly eight years, and still nothing has changed with these people, so I'm taking more action by involving more people to demonstrate that this type of situation needs to stop and this behavior is uncalled for," Crisafi said.
"I'm a local guy here in Old Brooklyn and have done much to establish myself as a person of responsibility and a person who gives to his community," he noted.