Paul serchiaIt’s hard to describe to young LGBT activists what it was like 20 years ago when our friends and lovers were dying every week, slipping like water through our desperate clenched fists. There were no HIV/AIDS meds and no one cared – especially not the federal government. But we found ways to take care of ourselves and to love bravely as if dancing in a minefield, as Paul Monette used to say.

Paul Serchia was one of those who refused to give up on life, who gave to and honored others, even as cancer added to his burden of living with HIV/AIDS. Indeed, he had hoped to ride as a “Positive Pedaler” in the 2010 AIDS/LifeCycle8. Paul died last Tuesday, March 2. He was 52.

Please click inside to read remembrances from ACT UP/LA’s Peter Cashman, Jim Key from the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, and a blog post by Paul about his struggle with cancer.


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Andrew OgilvieAndrew Ogilvie, a Los Angeles-based board member of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, attended the recent Creating Change conference in Dallas with his husband, Cary Davidson, chair of the board of Equality California. At a recent reception in West Hollywood, we chatted about how individuals don’t need to wait to be rallied by organizations – if they see a need, they just step up and pitch in. As an illustration, Andrew told the story of one Creating Change session where two gay Iraqis explained how they had asylum – but how badly they were being treated by Catholic Charities. A bunch of people immediately asked how they could help.

But the story also raised another significant, but hidden issue – the involvement of antigay faith-based institutions such as Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army in doing aid work through government contracts – in 1991 60% of the Catholic Charities’ budget came from government contracts. But, as Andrew’s story shows – and recent history points out (here, here and here) – Catholic Charities is a powerful force with apparently little governmental oversight as to how their religious views impact services to LGBT people and people with HIV/AIDS.

Please click inside for more on Catholic Charities and Andrew’s story.


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National Strategy posterI have not been reticent about criticizing Barack Obama, especially when it comes to his failure to move quickly on HIV/AIDS. But now we may be turning a corner. The final draft of a National Strategy on AIDS – crafted by a diverse group of 34 experts and stakeholders – is expected to be released Friday.

This follows the first meeting of the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS convened on Feb. 2 – see the 90 minute video of the meeting post on the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy webpage.

That was followed five days later with the release of the President’s Budget on HIV/AIDS. And that was followed three days later – on Feb. 10 – by an announcement that Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) was rescinding enforcement of its 24-month cumulative cap on short-term and emergency housing assistance under the Ryan White program – the first step in a broader review of Ryan White housing policies. Please click inside for more on all of this.


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Watson headshotLongtime LGBT ally Congressmember Diane E. Watson (D-CA) formally announced Thursday that she is not seeking re-election. She wants Karen Bass, the outgoing Speaker of the California Assembly and another pro-LGBT ally, to replace her representing California’s 33rd Congressional District.

Please click inside to read Watson’s openly gay legislative deputy Charles Stewart’s description of how his boss told her staff she was retiring and some recollections from me about Watson going to the matt for people with HIV/AIDS.


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Phill Wilson hsHealth and Human Services’ Secretary Sebelius announced the members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and included are Mario Pérez, Director of the LA County’s Office of AIDS Programs and Policy (OAPP), Phill Wison, founder and Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute, and actor Rosie Perez.

Click inside to find out who else is on the council.


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Bienestar AIDS medsBIENESTAR, the Latino HIV/AIDS and social services organization, is collecting life-saving medications to be sent to earthquake-devastated Haiti. This collection will take place February 1st. through February 5th at all BIENESTAR centers.

The medications can be donated and dropped off at a BIENESTAR center near you (see the list below). These medications should be unexpired, not require refrigeration and preferably sealed.

Medications needed more urgently: Antiretrovirals, Medications to treat Opportunistic Infections, Antifungals, Antivirals, Antibiotics, Antiparasite drugs, Antiallergics and Pediatrics.

Monetary donations can be made through AIDS Healthcare Foundation – click on DONATIONS, and in honor of HAITI. Please click inside to see the drop-off locations and more ways to donate.


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Gloria Nieto smilingThe California storms, the Prop 8 trial and me

By Gloria Nieto

I just had to turn Twitter off. I cannot read one more Prop 8 tweet. Maybe I can read something on Facebook or I will check later today with all the updates. It has just become too hard for me to watch and listen.

There is thunder and lighting and rain outside. The dogs are out in back with me, playing around, making it seem as if nothing is wrong if I stay out in my office and turn off the world.

What the hell kind of activist am I to do this? Hiding in my backyard away from the rest of the world is not something I usually seek out. I finally figured it out this past weekend while driving to Oregon. The Prop 8 election severely wounded my soul.

Please click inside to read the rest of Gloria’s insightful personal essay.


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Artists give back screeningOkay, time out. It’s understandable that we’re all getting a little overwhelmed here: the federal Prop 8 trial; a conservative Republican winning Teddy Kennedy’s Massachusetts senate seat; the horror in Haiti; torrential rains in SoCal hitting the fire-areas hard; and for good measure – the Yes on 8 folks are absurdly suing the Courage Campaign over their farcical Prop8TrialTracker logo – which Calitics just dubbed “Logogate.”

But one of the stories we’re missing in this constant barrage of news is this one: a scientific model based on transmission of HIV among men in San Francisco predicts a coming surge of drug-resistant strains of HIV over the next five years, according to NewScientist.com.

What can you do? Well, a group called Artists Give Back is hosting a screening of the haunting Oscar-winning film Philadelphia Thursday night, with screenwriter Ron Nyswaner planning on being in attendance. If you’re an old ACT UPer, you might remember that Michael Callen and the Flirtations sang in the film and one of Tom Hanks’ friends was David Drake of “The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me.” If you are young and have NO IDEA what the big deal is/was about HIV/AIDS – this is a pre-drug cocktail mainstream version of a real-life incident. Or if you’re a fan of Bruce Springsteen or Neil Young, you might remember how these straight men captured so profoundly the grief of being a gay dead man walking, clinging to a life wasting away. And you might understand why we promised never to forget. Click inside for more info on the event, on the UCLA study and a concern about ADAP funding cuts to jails.


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Light a candle - Haiti“Light a candle for these souls and for Haiti. Lord help us” – Steve La Guerre, leader of SEROvie

HIV/AIDS Clinic in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Hit Hard by Earthquake; How You Can Help
By Myles Helfand

A quick note on some HIV/AIDS-related news trickling out of Haiti in the aftermath of this week’s devastating earthquake: A key HIV/AIDS clinic in Haiti, the GHESKIO facility in Port-au-Prince, has been severely damaged but most of its staff is accounted for and OK, according to a message from Jean W. Pape, M.D., the director of the facility. Please click inside to read this cross-post from an HIV positive-focused publication called The Body.

UPDATE: THE ADVOCATE IS REPORTING THAT THE AIDS GROUP SEROVIE LOST 14 PEOPLE. THE INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HAS SET UP A SPECIAL PAGE HERE WHERE YOU CAN GET INFORMATION AND HELP.


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6W10SCHWARZEN.highlight.prod_affiliate.4.JPGGov. Arnold Schwarzenegger submitted his proposed budget for 2010-11 on Friday, designed to close a $19.9 billion gap over the next 18 months. His budget called for revenues and budget cuts, and a re-definition of the state’s relationship with the federal government – the Wall Street Journal says Schwarzenegger is looking for a federal bailout.

Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency and called the legislature into a focused special session to prevent the shortfall from growing and to avoid further cuts. However – the governor not only spared the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), but gave an $87.5 million increase from the general fund.

Here’s the video – and inside find more about ADAP and the full transcript of Schwarzenegger’s remarks with a Q& A with reporters.


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Zelda AIDS posterIn 1984, before Rock Hudson came out as a gay man with AIDS, actress Zelda Rubinstein was the poster-mother for HIV/AIDS awareness.

Literally. An Los Angeles County AIDS awareness campaign featured her as “mother” in an LA Cares billboard campaign with Rubinsteain warning her Village People-wanna be son, “Don’t forget your rubbers” as he made his way into a world where it was “raining men.” Those billboards were ubiquitous all over the unincorporated portion of LA County where gays, seniors and renters were campaigning to become the new city of West Hollywood.

Rubinstein was best known as the eccentric spiritual medium Tangina Barrons who played a key minor role in the Steven Spielberg-co-written, co-produced movie Poltergeist in 1982. There was something very comforting about her presence as “mother” during those very difficult times when AIDS was snatching away gay men like the creepy Beast in that film.

RadarOnline.com reported today “the sad news that Rubinstein, 76, has been taken off of life support following the failure of two of her major organs.” Please click inside for more on Rubinstein. But here’s a short video – shot in 2007 at a screening of the film Poltergeist that illustrates her wonderful sense of humor.


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Obama on healthcareThis week, a compromise is expected to be hammered out to reconcile the US Senate and House versions of what will surely being touted as a landmark healthcare reform bill. President Obama is hoping to have the bill on his desk by Jan. 19 when he delivers his State of the Union address.

And right now, it looks like LGBTs and people with HIV/AIDS may be left out – without a murmur of protest from the LGBT community. Please click inside to see how this could effect the AIDS Drug Assistance Program and read the story of one gay man with AIDS who almost lost his ADAP and insurance coverage over a $9 cost of living increase. Meanwhile – here’s a little refresher on the back and forth over the public option – courtesy Rachel Maddow:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy


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Gov ArnoldCalifornia Assemblymember Dave Jones and 37 of his colleagues, as well as LGBT and HIV/AIDS activists, have been concerned about “blue penciled” funding cuts for the state AIDS Drug Assistant Program in the January budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The state is facing a $21.7 billion deficit.

Tuesday Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the California Congressional delegation, urging them not to include any unfunded mandates that the state just can’t afford to pay. This is one discussion I haven’t heard during the healthcare debate – (apart from all the other states angry over Nebraska’s sweetheart deal in the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s concession to get Ben Nelson’s vote). I thought you might want to read Schwarzenegger’s plea.


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Uganda - david BahtiUganda’s Ministers of Parliament will debate the Anti Homosexuality Bill 2009 today, according to The Times of London. The bill, which calls for the death penalty for gay sex, was first introduced last October by David Bahati, 36, a Christian MP with ties to the US-based Christian Right group known as “The Family.”

The bill – dubbed “kill the gays bill” by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow – has stirred up outrage among LGBT, human rights and progressive groups around the world – though Christian evangelicals with the potential power to influence the author and kill the bill seem to have only issued tepid statements of opposition without any observable action. Click inside to read the story, including new statements of opposition from the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and Ellen DeGeneres.


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ADAP - Dave JonesWhat California AIDS activists fear the most may be about to happen: it appears that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has “blue penciled” cuts to the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Assemblymember Dave Jones, who chairs the Assembly Health Committee, held a special public hearing Dec. 1 in Los Angeles regarding ADAP funding. Today he issued a letter, signed by 37 colleagues, asking the governor to restore the cuts before he submits his budget next month. Click inside to read more about the letter, the hearing and what faces AIDS activists in California. UPDATED: ASSEMBLYMEMBER JONE’S FULL LETTER AT THE END OF THE POST


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Jeffrey King cpTen years ago, Jeffrey King and a small group of Black gay men got together to discuss what was not being discussed: their real lives. The group created a safe space, met regularly at the legendary Jewel’s Catch One and, focusing on health and wellness, grew into In the Meantime Men, a grassroots non-profit that now speaks out and stands up for Black gay men in Los Angeles and California.

Last Saturday they celebrated their 10th anniversary at the Vintage Hollywood Private Club on West Washington Boulevard. Click inside to read Jeffrey King’s comments about the organization and about racism and homophobia – and find out about their upcoming Kwanzaa event on Dec. 29.


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capitolLogoCapitol Drugs, the much-honored pharmacy with a long history of helping people with HIV/AIDS, is holding a free H1N1 Vaccine Clinic Saturday, Dec. 12 from noon-4:00pm at their pharmacy at 8578 Santa Monica Blvd., in West Hollywood. Phone: 310-289-1125.

The H1N1 virus – sometimes called “swine flu” though it has nothing to do with swine or pigs –is a virulent new strain that has already killed 57 people in LA County since the outbreak last April, according to a Nov. 9 report on the KCET website:

Dr. Alonzo Plough, the director of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Program for the L.A. County Health Department, said officials are extremely concerned about the potential for a crisis in Los Angeles.

“We’ve had a large number of outbreaks each week—a lot of them school based—at a frequency we usually see much later in the flu season,” he said. “It’s troubling to see this number this early in the flu season.”

Health officials in L.A. County and around the nation warn that the virulent flu strain could sicken and kill record numbers of people. “We have virtually half of our 4,000 member health department working exclusively on H1N1,” Plough said. “It’s a very large public health concern.”

President and CEO Ruth Tittle says they only have 100 units available which will go to people on a first come-first-serve basis, according to the guidelines given to them by the LA County Department of Public Health.

The people who need to get the vaccine are:

Pregnant women; Caregivers; Parents and siblings of children under 6 months old; Children and young adults age 6 months to 24 years; Adults age 25 to 65 with health conditions that put them at a higher risk such as Asthma, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Kidney Disorders, HIV and Health Care and Emergency Medical Service Personnel.


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John perez bass kevinCalifornia Assembly Speaker-elect John A. Pérez laughes when asked to name his key advisors.

“I just put together the votes!” Perez, who represents the 46th District, says by phone from Sacramento Thursday night after the legislative session ended.

For many LGBTs watching the difficult race for the speakership, the moment of victory was savored in the unity walk with Speaker Karen Bass arm-in-arm with Perez and his rival, Assemblymember Kevin de Leon after the unanimous vote in the Democratic Caucus late in the afternoon. After all the sadness and anger over the passage of Prop 8, here was Bass, the first woman Speaker and a strong supporter of marriage equality, effecting the beginning of a gracious transition of power to another person of color making history – John A. Perez, who becomes California’s first openly gay Speaker of the Assembly. Click inside for my interview with Perez, as well as comments from LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the openly gay Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party, Eric Bauman.


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HIV testingThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services just its decision to cover HIV screening for Medicare beneficiaries. The decision is effective immediately. Click inside to read more – including reaction from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and UPDATED WITH REACTIONS FROM the New York based-Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Elders, and Los Angeles pharmacy owner Ruth Tittle.


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Ambassador Eric GoosbyOn Friday, December 4 at 9:30 a.m. ET, (6:30 a.m. PST) the Kaiser Family Foundation is hosting a live webcast of a town hall-style discussion with Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator.

Webcast viewers may submit questions for Ambassador Goosby anytime before 5 p.m. ET (2:00pm PST) TODAY to ask@kff.org. Please click inside to read how Goosby may hold the key to stopping the “Kill the Gays” bill in Uganda.


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