GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

August 29, 2008

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

letterstotheeditors

Ohio City businesses add security

To the Editors:

We were all shocked to hear of the attack on Jon Brittain as reported in the August 15 Gay People's Chronicle. Jon is a friend to many and his attack is of concern to the residents and business owners of Ohio City.

Only one week earlier, Ohio City's Franklin-Clinton Block Club established a safety committee to work with area bars, restaurants, businesses and neighbors to improve safety in northern Ohio City. Richard Husarick of A Man's World/Toolshed/ Crossover and David Peifer of Club Cleveland were active participants at our first meeting where we developed plans to improve lighting and work with the police on increased security patrols.

Since then, area neighbors and bar owners have identified over 40 street lights that were not working and, with help from Sue Doerfer of the Cleveland LGBT Center and our councilman's office, the city was notified. I am pleased to say that with their help, many have been replaced and are now operational.

Bar and business owners have added security by increasing their own lighting, hiring off duty security, and offering to escort patrons to their cars. We are also investigating a security camera system for the neighborhood.

In these last few weeks, committee members talked with the Second District commander and representatives of Community Policing to request more police presence to the area. The LGBT Center and Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization

(BRAVO) provided us with "Be Alert, Be A standing ovation Safe" pamphlets which are being provided to area bars and to neighbors for distribution.

Violence and crime against the LGBT community is not just an Ohio City problem or even a Cleveland problem. It's all over. We encourage you to enjoy yourselves when you visit the neighborhood, but as with any urban center, please be aware of your surroundings and play safe. If you see something suspicious or if an incident occurs, immediately report it to the police.

When one talks of diversity and urban neighborhoods, Ohio City is the real thing. You will find historic Victorian mansions and cottages, new townhouses, restaurants, and the famous West Side Market as well as the CMHA housing project mentioned in the Chronicle article. Ohio City is also home to many gay bars and businesses and has one of the highest concentrations of gay couple households of any Cleveland neighborhood.

We encourage you to enjoy our neighborhood and its bars, restaurants, stores and clubs.

If you would like to know more about Ohio City and to check out our calendar of events, please visit www.ohiocity.com or www.ocnw.org. If you live in the area and would like to attend our block club meeting, please join us at 7 pm on the fourth Thursday of the month at Fairview Gardens at West 32nd St. and Franklin Blvd.

Michael Flickinger, Co-Chair Franklin-Clinton Block Club Safety Committee Cleveland

communitygroups

To the Editors:

Recently I finished reading Marcia Gallo's history of the Daughters of Bilitis and the lesbian rights movement in the U.S., and it makes me realize how much I want to echo Paul Zeitzew's August 15 letter praising former Gay People's Chronicle publisher Martha Pontoni.

Okay, Martha, you're not as old as some of those early pioneers, but you're in their spiritual/existential company. It took a special brand of courage, chutzpah, and willingness to suffer financial uncertainly to publish an LGBT newspaper in the '70s and early '80s. It meant opening oneself as a target from outside the community, and being able to manage the inevitable tensions and squabbles within the community.

Publishing any newspaper generally means that someone will always complain of too little coverage of one thing, too much coverage of another, and the failure to mention a name or event. Publishing an LGBT paper, for an impassioned community, can be especially challenging.

The fact that you did so for over 20 years, and always with grace and savvy, is a testament to you as a person. The fact that you kept getting each issue out, reporting on LGBT news and events that touched all of us, is a testament to the lasting impact you've had on an entire community, for an entire generation. Thank you-and right now, only a standing ovation will do.

Earl Pike, Executive Director AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland

Additions expand Lesbian Festival lineup

by Chris Cozad

Kirkersville, Ohio-The 19th annual Ohio Lesbian Festivals just keeps getting better.

The festival is delighted to announce the late addition of God-des & She and the Hot

Ohio Lesbian Festival

Cha Chas to the day stage. The festival will take place at Frontier Ranch in Kirkersville on Saturday, September 13.

These late additions are on top of an

already rockin' lineup featuring Bitch & Ferron, Judith Casselberry & JUCA, comedian Kelli Dunham, Nervous but Excited and an amazing lineup of home-grown Ohio performers including Tracy Walker, Sistah Ngoma, Donna Mogavero, Alexis Antes, Robin Stone and Early Girl.

If that is not enough, last year the festival added the Limelight Stage to showcase local performance artists and entertainers. The 2008 Limelight Stage is presented by Viva Valezz and features burlesque, kings, belly dancing, spoken word and more.

Still not convinced the festival has something for everyone? For 2008 the Festival has added yet another performance venue.

A Spoken Word Salon will run throughout the day and feature local and nationally knows spoken word artists, poets and authors.

Festival gates open at 11 am and the fun continues until 2 am, concluding with with an After Hours Party deejayed by local Ohio favorites DJ Carol, Mamma Sutra and DJ Ororo.

Frontier Ranch is located at 8836 York Rd. near U.S. 40, 1⁄2 mile west of Kirkersville, Ohio and 15 miles east of Columbus.

For more information, to volunteer or the purchase tickets, visit www.OhioLBA.org.

Chris Cozad is the chair of the Ohio Lesbian Festival.

CLAW names 5 to board; gives away $14K

by Robert Miller

Cleveland-The Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend is very proud to announce it has elected five community leaders to its board of directors.

The new members are John Beckman

GayPeoplesChronicle.com

of Columbus, Dave Watt of Kalamazoo, Mich., Jeff Willoughby of Chicago, Randy Wrisinger of Detroit, and Mike Zuhl of Pittsburgh. All five have played significant roles in CLAW's success over

Cleveland Leather Awareness Weekend

the years, as sponsors, coordinators, educators and fundraisers.

Each will be coordinating part of CLAW 8 next year, along with Cleveland directors Dennis McMahon, Tina McCay, Richard Randa, Jack Galileo, Jimmy DeLong and Clay Angus; and CLAW Chairman Robert Miller, who is from southwest Michigan.

The CLAW board distributed $14,000 to very worthy charities including the Cleveland LGBT Center, the AIDS Task Force of Cleveland, the Leather Archives and Museum, Mama Reinhart's Emer-

gency Breast Care Fund, Camp Sunrise, Equality Ohio and the North Coast Men's Chorus.

The board also established an endowment, which will be an interest-bearing

investment in the future of CLAW so that the fundraising and volunteer efforts will continue past the lives of the current organizers. To date, CLAW has donated over $125,000 to community charities. CLAW 8 will be held at the Wyndham Hotel and surrounding areas in downtown Cleveland on April 23-26, 2009. Tickets and hotel rooms will be available beginning in October. Book your room early if you want to be at the Wyndham.

CLAW is also looking for people willing to help plan and coordinate the 2009 installment. For more information, contact CLAW through their website, www.clawinfo.org. ✓

Robert Miller is the chairman and cofounder of CLAW.

GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

Publishing the News of Ohio's LGBT Community since 1985 Volume 24, Issue 5

Publisher: Martha J. Pontoni

Managing Editor: Patti Harris Associate Editor: Brian DeWitt Editorial Board: Brian DeWitt, Christine Hahn, Patti Harris, Martha Pontoni

Staff Reporters: Anthony Glassman, Eric Resnick

Reporters & Writers:

Kaizaad Kotwal, Bob Roehr, Rex Wockner

Art Director: Christine Hahn

Photographers: Janet Macoska, Becky McMahon

Advertising Manager: David A. Ebbert Advertising Sales: Ginger Needham National Advertising:

Rivendell Media 212-242-6863 David A. Ebbert 216-631-8646 ext. 10 DisplayAds@ChronOhio.com

1070-177X

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