Jones has a lifetime 100% on the Equality California scorecard. On World AIDS Day last December, Jones, who chairs the Assembly Health committee, held an important hearing in Los Angeles to discuss the impact of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget cuts on critical HIV/AIDS funding – especially the threatened cuts to ADAP.

The free event is from
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Eleven Restaurant and Nightclub,
 8811 Santa Monica Blvd, in West Hollywood. 
Drinks and light appetizers will be served

The host committee includes: Diane Abbitt, Steve Afriat, Roberta Bennett, John Cleary, Cary Davidson, Hon. John J. Duran, John Gile, Joe Guardarrama, Lorri Jean, Barry Karas, Geoff Kors, Dana Perlman, Brian Pendleton, Hon. Jeff Prang, Chris Roberts, Alan Uphold. rsvpfordavejones@gmail.com.

Paul Schindler of Gay City News covered the talk before the audience of 100-150 people. Here’s an excerpt:

“When asked afterward whether his confidence at the district court level is about winning the general argument or more narrowly restoring the right to marry in California, Boies said he was uncertain, acknowledging that Walker might well reach a decision fashioned to survive review by the Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court. Even at this first stage, then, politics are not absent from the judicial equation.”

Olson and Boies said they anticipate returning to the court for closing arguments either later this month or in April. However, there are still a number of matters to be settled, including continuing discovery issues. Last Friday, on March 5, U.S. Magistrate Joseph Spero ordered Equality California, Californians Against Eliminating Basic Rights, an ACLU campaign committee and the No on Prop 8 umbrella campaign to produce all documents “that contain, refer or relate to arguments for or against Proposition 8″ – though they may withhold private communications between their Core Group.  The order is similar to one Spero gave the ProtectMarriage/the Yes on 8 defendant-interveners.

The order – which can be read in full here –- notes how each of the groups identify their Core Group.

Californians Against Eliminating Basic Rights (CAEBR), for instance, was created by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and Chad Griffin’s political consulting firm to raise funds and help with messaging for the No on Prop 8 campaign – including $500,00 from actor Brad Pitt. CAEBR declares that they have already complied with the order (see declaration here).

The court notes that Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors argues that, because EQCA “is a nonparty and because it worked to oppose Proposition 8, its internal campaign communications are not relevant and production would be unduly burdensome. Doc #546 at 7- 10. The ACLU argues the documents proponents seek are irrelevant and privileged. Doc #543 at 11-18.”

Kors’ declaration to the court is here. Kors tells LGBT POV that, “We are still reviewing our options with counsel.”  UPDATE: KORS SAYS EQCA IS APPEALING SPERO’S RULING TO JUDGE WALKER.

The deadline to produce the documents is March 31. That might significantly delay closing arguments if the order is appealed – though the court of appeals and even the US Supreme Court hae issued their decisions very quickly in this case.

In his order, Spero says:

“While the intent of those who voted against Proposition 8 is not relevant, the mix of information available to voters who supported Proposition 8 is relevant under FRCP 26 to the questions of intent and state interest. That mix of information includes arguments considered and ultimately rejected by voters, including arguments against Proposition 8. As was the case with the proponents, the documents and communications at issue may shed light on the meaning and impact of the messages that were sent to the voters. Thus, the subpoenaed documents are relevant and must be produced to the extent the documents are not privileged and contain, refer or relate to arguments for or against Proposition 8.”

The scope of the First Amendment privilege – as defined by the Ninth Circuit and clarified in a subsequent footnote – is:

“In the context of an initiative campaign, a campaign “private, organization may assert a First Amendment privilege over internal campaign communications concerning the formulation of campaign strategy and messages * * * among the core group of persons engaged in the formulation of campaign strategy and messages.” Id at 1165 n12 (emphasis in original). Despite the ACLU’s argument to the contrary, Doc #543 at 16, nothing in Perry limits footnote 12’s application to “the specific circumstance of the requests served by plaintiffs on Proponents and to the structure of the Yes on 8 campaign.” The footnote does not determine definitively who belongs in the core group of persons; instead, the footnote provides guidance for the court to make the final determination who is a member of a campaign organization’s core group. Id. That guidance is applicable to the instant dispute. Accordingly, the court will apply the First Amendment privilege to communications about strategy and messages internal to each No on 8 group’s core group. The privilege applies only to communications within a campaign organization — communications between or among independent campaign organizations are not covered by the First Amendment privilege.”

After a February 25 hearing on the issue, EQCA submitted a declaration defining the Core Group for the umbrella No on 8 – Equality for All campaign. That raised questions for Spero:

“(1) which individuals were sufficiently involved in the development of strategy and messages that they should be included in each organization’s core group; and (2) the application of the First Amendment privilege to the No on 8 groups.”

Spero credited these people as EQCA’s Core Group:

John Duran, Cary Davidson, Tim Hohmeier, Deb Kinney, Diane Abbitt, Jim Abbott, Dave Baron, Xavier Barrera, Brandon Brawner, Betsy Butler, Jody Cole, Larry Colton, Doug Dombek, Jeff Haber, Mike Hutcheson, Roslyn Jones, Tom Maddox, Shannon Minter, James Nguyen, Jeff Orr, Dennis Rasor, Jaime Rook, Rick Saputo, Linda Scaparotti, Eric Siddall, Alan Uphold (members of Equality California’s board of directors); Jean Adams, Ali Bay, Ian Barrera, Jim Carroll, Maya Scott-Chung, Liam Cooper,

Doug Flater, Joe Goldman, Daniel Gould, Kendra Harris, Ted Jackson, Kaitlin Karkos, Alice Kessler, Seth Kilbourn, Hannah Johnson, Geoff Kors, Erica Liscano, Shumway Marshall, Randy Medenwald, Miranda Meisenback, Trina Olson, Michelle Ortiz, Zorina Price, Leanne Pittsford, Jennifer Sample, George Simpson, Sean Sullivan, Sarah Tomastik and Clarence Williams (Equality California staff members engaged in the formulation of strategy and messages); and assistants to the named individuals acting on the named individuals’ behalves.”

Spero declined to include certain individuals associated with the Equality California Institute.

Spero OKed these people in Elizabeth Gill’s declaration for the ACLU’s Core Group:

“Elizabeth Gill, Paul Cates, Matthew Coles, Rebecca Farmer, Shayna Gelender, Maya Harris, Ashley Morris, Gigi Pandian, Skylar Porras, Catrina Roallos, Laura Saponara (employees of the ACLU who worked to defeat Proposition 8); and assistants to the named individuals acting on the named individuals’ behalves.”

Both Kors and the ACLU noted that Equality for All was formed in 2005 “to fight against any proposition that would limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.” The group originally include a coalition of about 35 organizations – “which registered Equality for All as a political action committee with the State of California. During the Proposition 8 campaign, Equality for All had an executive committee, a campaign committee and campaign staff.  Proponents did not serve Equality for All with a document subpoena.”

In a March 3 declaration, Kors identifies the “Equality for All executive committee, campaign committee, campaign staff and consultants” as its Core Group, but Spero said, did not identify the roles those individuals played. Spero wrote:

“Accordingly, the court lacks a basis to include these individuals in Equality for All’s core group, Spero said, while noting that the March 3 Kors declaration does “support through explanation” the inclusion of the campaign consultants and consulting firms. Thus Spero OKs the following as Equality for All’s Core Group:

Dale Kelly Bankhead, Heather Carrigan, Cary Davidson, Oscar de la O, Sue Dunlap, Michael Fleming, Patrick Guierrero, Maya Harris, Dan Hawes, Dennis Herrera, Delores Jacobs, Lorri L Jean, Kate Kendall, Geoff Kors, Steve Mele, Joyce Newstat, Tawal Panyacosit Jr, Rashad Robinson, Marty Rouse, Kevin Tilden and Andy Wong (the Equality for All executive committee); Steve Smith, Lilia Tamm, Molly Weedn and other employees of Dewey Square Group, LLC; Maggie Linden, Lindsey Nitta, Eddie Fernandez, Kris Hanson and other employees of Ogilvy Public Relations; Chad Griffin, Mark Armour and other employees of Amour Griffin Media Group, Inc; Kasey Perry and other employees of Perry Communications; Yvette Martinez and Javier Angulo of Progressive Strategy Partners LLC; Patrick Guerriero and James Dozier of Gill Action; Adam Freed; Joe Rodota; Guy Cecil; Rick Claussen; Gale Kaufman; Nick Donatiello; Phyllis Watts; Thalia Zepatos; Steve Mele and other employees of M L Associates LLC; Kimberly Ray; Marjan Philhour; Stephanie Berger and other employees of Berger Hirschberg; Shayna Elgin; Mary Pat Bonner and employees of The Bonner Group; John Gile; Thom Lynch; Larry Huynh and other employees of Blackrock Associates LLC; Alice Huffman of A C Public Affairs Inc; Wendy Liao and other employees of the I W Group; Justin Garrett and other employees of Logo Online/MTV Networks; Chris Nolan and other employees of Spot-On; Suzanne Stanford and other employees of Ofrenda; Eric Jaye of Storefront Political Media; David Binder and other employees of Binder Research; and Celinda Lake and other employees of Lake Associates; and assistants to the named individuals acting on the named individuals’ behalves.”

Spero goes on:

“The court has determined a core group for each No on 8 group as well as Equality for All and must now decide how to apply the First Amendment privilege to the relevant campaign communications. Communications solely within a No on 8 group’s core group are privileged under the First Amendment….For example, whether a communication between Geoff Kors and Maya Harris is privileged may depend on whether Geoff Kors was communicating in his Equality California or Equality for All capacity. But because the effort required by such an inquiry might amount to an undue burden on the No on 8 groups under FRCP 45(c)(1), the court will not require production of any communications about strategy and messages between core group members who belong to that core group, regardless of the capacity in which the core group member is communicating. Thus, members of the Equality for All core group may assert a privilege over responsive communications solely within the Equality for All core group – even if there is an argument that one of the parties to the communication was not participating in his or her capacity as a member of that particular core group.”

So the court finds that “the First Amendment privilege covers communications regarding strategy and messages within each No on 8 group’s core group as defined” but privilege does not cover communications between separate organizations.”

Because of the possible undue burden placed on third parties, the court also narrowed the discovery of electronic documents:

First, the No on 8 groups shall only be required to review electronic documents containing at least one of the following terms: “No on 8;” “Yes on 8;” “Prop 8;” “Proposition 8;” “Marriage Equality;” and “ProtectMarriage.com.”

Second, Equality California shall only be required to search its central email server for responsive electronic documents, identified in the March 3 declaration of Geoff Kors as the Microsoft Exchange email server….This restriction, however, does not apply to paper documents” – meaning the No on 8 groups must turn over paper documents that “contain, refer or relate to arguments for or against Proposition 8.”

I’m no lawyer so I may be reading this wrong  – but I did notice a few names missing from the approved lists – most notably David Bohnett, a primary donor to the No on Prop 8 campaign. Michael Fleming, who is named, works for the David Bohnett Foundation but I have a sneaking suspicion David may have emailed Geoff Kors directly from time to time. And while Lilia Tamm is named as protected in conjunction with Dewey Squares – Eden James and Julia Rosen from the Courage Campaign – who were so instrumental in organizing and operating BloggersAgaint8 – are not listed.

Indeed, this could lead to a whole other area of legal considerations –– ie to what extent, if any,  might privilege extend to bloggers who strategize with a political campaign?

Sapphire also talks about how at first she refused the advances of openly gay director Lee Daniels – until she saw the artistry of “Monsters Ball. She also talks about the casting of Gabourey Sidibe, the brilliance of Mo’Nique – who just won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as the monster mother, as well as the process of bringing the book to film.

Please grab a cup of tea and settle back to enjoy this wonderful, illuminating conversation.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Molina said:

“Cecilia’s service to the public and especially to underrepresented communities make her the ideal candidate for this award. She has a track record of success in creating high-paying jobs and in building more affordable housing—two things the City of Los Angeles direly needs—while simultaneously demonstrating a solid commitment for the environment.”

Cecilia Estolano – who came out at 14 in 1980 when she was a sophomore in high school – currently serves as Chief Strategist of State and Local Initiatives for “Green for All,” – a national environmental advocacy group founded by Van Johnson. Estolano said this when she joined the organization:

“Green For All is a national leader in promoting quality green jobs for underserved communities. I’m delighted to introduce their work to Los Angeles, while promoting LA’s best practices around family-supporting, green-construction, and clean-tech manufacturing jobs to the rest of the nation.”

Prior to Green For All, Estolano served as Chief Executive Officer of the Community Redevelopment Agency for the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) for about 3 ½ years where she was responsible for a budget of over $700 million in 32 redevelopment project areas. Among her accomplishments at CRA/LA, per Molina’s press release:

“she revamped the city’s housing department and adopted a Healthy Neighborhoods policy as a blueprint for incorporating sustainability throughout CRA/LA’s practices, programs, and projects.  In addition, Estolano was instrumental in establishing a $42 million Land Acquisition Fund with the goal of initiating investment and development in underserved markets like South Los Angeles.  She also functioned as a key negotiator for the city’s landmark Clean Water Act settlement.”

Estolano also served on President-Elect Obama’s Presidential Transition Team as Deputy Chair of the Environmental Protection Agency Review Team – having served in the Clinton Administration as a Senior Policy Advisor with the EPA.

When Estolano left the CRA, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said:

“I commend Cecilia Estolano and the many accomplishments achieved by the CRA under her steady leadership. Over the past few years, we have seen ambitious redevelopment ideas come to fruition in some of our most distressed communities. Cecilia was at the forefront of our efforts to create a clean tech corridor and it was her unwavering commitment to provide living wage jobs for hard-working Angelenos that resulted in project labor agreements.  Cecilia has been a public servant in the truest sense and the City of Los Angeles is grateful for her service.

I wish her the best of luck at Green For All and look forward to seeing the virtuous work she will accomplish in the future.”

The LA Weekly scoffed at Villaraigosa’s praise in an in-depth piece entitled: “City Hall’s Revenge on Cecilia Estolano.” The sub-head read: “Villaraigosa and his boys pushed out the one woman who topped them all.”

An excerpt from the story:

Photo by Gary Leonard for The LA Weekly

“Estolano had transformed an agency notorious for using eminent domain to pursue top-down projects that ignored the communities it claimed to be fixing. Under her, the department became modernized and gained respect. Thought to be a better manager and smarter than the mayor, she was so well-regarded that the Obama administration tried to woo her away.

Yet just a few weeks before Villaraigosa used Estolano’s ideas to promote Los Angeles — and himself — in Copenhagen, sources say Villaraigosa’s administration secretly forced her out of her job, using the occasion of a petty dustup.

The mayor insists and Estolano initially claimed that she left voluntarily. But sources told the Weekly that she was pushed out.”

The Weekly also quoted numerous experts on how good Estolano was at her job:

“Cecilia was the first person in the history of the CRA to come up with a real, deep strategy for creating jobs for the city,” says agency commissioner Madeline Janis, who has worked with four different CRA CEOs. “Her passion was lifting Los Angeles out of the recession.”

And:

“Among her admirers, Estolano earned the respect of a top union leader and close mayoral ally, AFL-CIO head Maria Elena Durazo, who e-mailed the Weekly saying, “She recognizes that job creation should not be our community’s only goal in economic development; we must ensure that new jobs created by public investment are good middle-class jobs, not dead-end poverty jobs. Her support of the construction-careers policy led to a national model for creating career ladders for the unemployed living in blighted neighborhoods.”

The Weekly has a reputation as a pugnacious critic of Mayor Villaraigosa and in a November 25, 2009 exit interview with the LA Downtown News, Estolano denied the nature of the disagreement – but didn’t discuss being forced out.

Q: It’s been reported that there was a dispute between you and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa over a plan to move the agency into a different, city-owned building.

A: That’s actually totally inaccurate. We wanted to move into a city-owned building and they didn’t have space for us. We thought Figueroa Plaza would work.

As I reported for IN Los Angeles magazine when Estolano was first appointed to the CRA ( and served with then CRA Commissioner and current openly gay Assembly Speaker John Perez, Villaraigosa’s cousin), she and Villaraigosa have a history:

Estolano has known Villaraigosa “for a very long time,” she told IN. She was his appointee on the California Coastal Commission when he was speaker of the California Assembly. She backed his first run for mayor against former Mayor Jim Hahn and was on his transition team when he won last year.”

Now why all this background on what might perhaps otherwise just be a nice congratulatory pat-on-the-back photo-cap? Because – just a wild guess here – but Molina may be mentoring Estolano to be her replacement as supervisor from the First District. Or possibly another political position. Latina power.

I first met Estolano in the early 1990s when she and Conrado Terrazas headed Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos. During her stint in the city attorney’s office, I pressed her about running for the state Legislature or Congress – but she said she was more interested in creating a family with longtime partner Priya Sridharan, also an attorney, with whom she had a daughter, Shireen. The couple now has three children.

I think elected office just cries out for Estolano – who is both charming and an action-oriented policy wonk. She didn’t spring into those CRA or Clinton Administration positions without lots of hard work. A graduate of Boalt Hall School of Law, Estolano holds an M.A. in Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UCLA and has an undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard-Radcliffe Colleges. She served as Mayor Tom Bradley’s environmental policy advisor before her 1993-1995 stint at the EPA. Then she was of counsel at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher [Ted Olson's law firm, BTW] with expertise in land use, zoning, redevelopment, and municipal law and environmental regulatory issues.

From 2002 to 2005, Estolano served as special assistant city attorney for City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, where she was the city’s top negotiator in a landmark Clean Water Act settlement. While there, she shepherded the city’s Equal Benefits Ordinance with Councilmember Eric Garcetti’s office and advocated strongly to severe ties between the LAPD and the Boy Scouts.

According to the LA Times, Molina is expected to seek re-election in 2010 for another four year term – after which she plans to retire. By then Estolano’s kids will be old enough to be in school for a good part of the day – which may enable their mom to run for Molina’s seat. Just a thought.

The center, which says it serves over 9,000 visitors and hosts more than 400 event events each month, is asking the cash-strapped city for a $1 million credit bailout.

The Chronicle says the center has been “city-subsidized” to the tune of $12.3 million – which may be one reason why the center might get its credit line:

“The thinking: The city has already spent about $5.7 million on the building at Market and Octavia streets and needs to “make sure it doesn’t go under,” said Supervisor David Campos, who along with fellow gay Supervisor Bevan Dufty is seeking approval of a $1 million “mortgage relief” fund.”

But that may not be sufficient funding since the center owes nearly $3 million on its mortgage, according to a new report by the Board of Supervisors budget analyst.

Many LGBT activists around California remember the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center as the venue where on September 19, 2003 then-Gov. Gray Davis signed the historic expanded domestic partnership legislation AB 205 or The California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003.

From the Chronicle:

“Clearly, it’s unprecedented,” Campos said of the bailout proposal. “But I do believe there is something unique about the role the LGBT Center plays – not only in the life of the community, but the entire city.”

Located at the gateway to the Castro district, the LGBT Center and its staff of 24 offers everything from counseling and job training to HIV prevention and arts programs. Of its $1.8 million budget, $777,000 consists of city contracts.

But the center has never made the money it expected from renting out rooms to community groups, and with the recession there has been a drop-off in contracts and in contributions from foundations and individuals.

One casualty of the pinch was the mortgage, which is two months in arrears.

LGBT Center Executive Director Rebecca Rolfe says the nonprofit has furloughed workers, reduced benefits and cut programs, but it hasn’t stopped the bleeding.

Hence, the “mortgage payment reserve fund” – starting with a $157,500 loan from the city’s general fund. It would be “replenished” as needed with another $866,250.

If approved by the Board of Supervisors and the mayor, the bailout would be the first time the city has used its general fund to guarantee mortgage payments on behalf of a nonprofit, according to the budget analyst’s report.

Dufty says the center’s mortgage holder, First Republic Bank, insisted that the city put up some money before it would redo the center’s loan.

“Yes, it’s a bad time” for the city to have to come up with funding, Dufty said. “But for the dollar amount, I think we’re getting a tremendous benefit.”

The US Census Bureau will host a forum in West Hollywood this evening to discuss the new Census form, answer questions from community members, and speak about how census data are used.  The event is open to the public and will take place at 6:30pm to 8:30pm at Plummer Park, Rooms 5 & 6, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood.

2010’s Census is the first time that the government will collect data on same-sex married spouses, Matt Weinstein, a Census Partnership Specialist assigned to the LGBT community in Southern California, told LGBT POV. The resulting data will provide information on the number of married same-sex couples and unmarried cohabitating same-sex couples.  In previous censuses, if a same-sex couple indicated that they were married, they were reclassified as “unmarried partners” in official tabulations.

The Census relies on self-identification, Weinstein said.  Cohabitating same-sex couples who consider themselves married can identify as such on the form, regardless of whether or not they live in a state that legally recognizes their relationship. “This year, people will be counted exactly how they identify their relationship,” said Weinstein.  “My hope is that on this census, we’ll get an even higher number of same-sex couples willing to come out and be counted.”  Historically, many same-sex couples selected “roommate” as their relationship identity, effectively hiding their LGBT identities from the study.

The impact of LGBT census data looms large for our community.  “Census data have done more to make LGBT families and their needs visible than any other source of data we have,” said Lee Badgett, Research Director at the Williams Institute at UCLA, the country’s leading think tank on sexual orientation law and public policy.  Williams has released numerous studies using census data, including “Census Snapshot: California Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Population” (2008); “Same-Sex Spouses and Unmarried Partners in the American Community Survey” (2008); and a series of studies detailing the demographics of LGB Californians who identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, African-American, and Latino.  These publications are available here.

Census numbers can debunk stereotypes about LGBT people, Weinstein said.  Of the 25,173 same-sex couples in LA County who identified themselves in the 2000 Census, 47% of these same-sex couples LA County were living “outlying” parts of the County.  Likewise, 47% of those 25,000 couples included at least one person of color.  So people are starting to realize that LGBT Angelenos aren’t all white dudes living in WeHo.

Weinstein is part of a network of specialists throughout the country who are working with LGBT communities nationwide to encourage participation with the Census.  He estimates that 10-20 Census employees specifically focus on outreach to the LGBT community; in addition, other Census workers include LGBT outreach in their purviews. In addition to LA County, LGBT specialists are working in cities including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Dallas, San Francisco, Kansas City and Cleveland.

West Hollywood is only the latest stop on the LGBT Census outreach in SoCal.  Two weekends ago, the Census team presented a bilingual English-Spanish event in Highland Park with the Latino Equality Alliance, MALDEF, and the Williams Institute, focusing on LGBT Latino community issues and the Census.  Last night, they presented an event with API-Equality at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.  LGBT-focused census information events have also taken place San Louis Obispo, Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, and Victorville.  Similar events are planned for the San Fernando Valley, Frenso, Modesto, Salinas, and San Diego County.

Some important categories are missing from the 2010 Census form: it doesn’t not ask specific questions about sexual orientation or have gender options other than male and female.  (The method for counting same-sex couples matches the gender of the designated “1st person” in the household with that of her/his spouse or partner).  “As far as I’m aware, there was no concerted effort to add questions on sexual orientation and gender identity in advance of 2010,” said Weinstein.  “But certainly, the wave of high-profile and widespread advocacy we’re seeing this year is a new thing.  And speaking as a community member, I hope that the people who are getting engaged now stay engaged with the Census beyond 2010, helping the Bureau to do a better job gathering and reporting information about our community.”

The Task Force is currently running a project called Queer the Census.  Click on the link for further insights about how to maximize your political power when completing your Census form.  They’ve even created a cool (and free) sticker to affix to your form, proclaiming your sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or ally status and asking the Census Bureau to include these categories in future censuses.

Census data is powerful.  Census numbers are used to determine political representation in Congress and state legislatures, and are also used to allocate and distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to state, county, and local governments.

Census questions and categories change from decade to decade.  For example, until the 2000 Census, respondents were required to select only one category to describe their racial identity.  See USA Today: “Multiracial no longer boxed in by the Census.”

Weinstein sent me this list of five things that everyone should know about the 2010 Census:

” 1. It’s Safe. All Census forms and personally identifiable information are kept completely confidential for 72 years. They don’t get shared with any other government agencies (including the military, the IRS, or immigration), and they’re not subpoenable under the Patriot Act. 2010 Census information will be made public—for genealogical purposes—on April 1st, 2082.

“2. It’s Easy. The 2010 Census is “short-form” only, and should take 10 minutes or less to complete.

“3. It’s Important. Census numbers are used to determine political representation in Congress and state legislatures, and are also used to allocate and distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds to state, county, and local governments.

“4. Everyone Counts. The Census is a count of everyone who is residing in the United States on April 1st, 2010, regardless of citizenship or legal status. It is vital that our communities participate, and help ensure a complete count of all people this year.

“5. The Census is hiring! We are currently hiring hundreds of thousands of door-to-door census-takers in communities all across the country. These temporary jobs are part-time or full-time with flexible hours, and pay well. If you are interested in applying for a Census job, please call our toll-free jobs line at (866)-861-2010, or visit www.2010censusjobs.gov”

Census forms are due back on April 1.

Here’s an excerpt from the 2,636-word cover story:

“Suddenly everyone wanted to know if Hayes himself was gay and how he felt about playing a gay character. Faced with the very real prospect of jeopardizing his chance at landing straight roles down the road, he started reciting stock answers, variations on what he told the Detroit Free Press early on: “When I play a gay character I want to be as believable as possible. And when I’m playing a straight character I also want to be as believable as possible. So the less that people know about my personal life, the more believable I can be as a character.” And Hayes never pretended to be something he wasn’t; he never walked some pretty woman down the red carpet or faked a straight relationship.

[cut]

And there’s the press. To this day he feels burned by a story that ran in this magazine in anticipation of the series finale of Will & Grace. Titled “Sean Hayes: The Interview He Never Gave,” the one-page “Q&A” was a clip job of quotes he’d given to other publications through the years that made him look rather silly for pretending no one knows he’s gay. Hayes’s sexuality had become an open secret in Hollywood, but he’d refused repeated offers to be interviewed by the magazine, and the then-editors of The Advocate felt entitled to the real story. Understandably, that didn’t sit well with Hayes. “Really? You’re gonna shoot the gay guy down? I never have had a problem saying who I am,” he states. 

“I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never,” he insists.

OK – time out for a second. Doesn’t that line “I am who I am” remind you of “I Am What I Am” from “La Cage aux Folles” – maybe sung by Gloria Gaynor? OK – maybe a little less defiantly.

However, I can attest to the truth of what Hayes is saying in that every time I saw him at a benefit involving “Will & Grace,” he was always surrounded by gay boys in tuxedos.  Did I think he was gay? Absolutely. Did wish he would have been more forthright in his interviews with MSM when we needed more stars like Ellen DeGeneres? You bet. On the other hand, Wilson Cruz – a terrific actor who is still popular long after “My So-Called Life” – was also having a hard time getting jobs- and there was such a backlash against Ellen, it took an animated fish film loved by children to bring her back. Only Sir Ian McKellen has done really well and he’s British. So I couldn’t really blame Hayes for his apparent personal “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

That said, I wish The Advocate had asked Hayes more about his acting. I think he was absolutely extraordinary playing Jerry Lewis (pictured) in the TV bio pic “Martin and Lewis” – another project with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron who are producing him and Kristin Chenoweth in “Promises, Promises.” I mean – the guy’s got chops!

Craig Zadan told The Advocate that Hayes can sing, too:

“Zadan, for one, isn’t holding back praise. Nobody had really heard him sing before, he says. But then at a 2008 reading for backers, Zadan recounts, Neil Simon, the legendary playwright behind the book to Promises, Promises, called him over to rave, Do you know why this show hasn’t been revived in 40 years? Because it took 40 years to find Sean Hayes.

My feeling is, if Promises is as big a hit as I hope it will be, it’s a career-changing performance, Zadan says. Everybody knows [that Sean is] talented, but this shows the enormity of what he can do. What it leads to in terms of future roles I think is huge.”

I had some fun recently with the premise of “Promises, Promises.” Here’s an excerpt:

“[T]he plot of “Promises, Promises” – based on the award-winning Billy Wilder film “The Apartment” starring Jack Lemon and Shirley MacLaine – has at its core the societal acceptability of extra-marital affairs. Now coming off of covering the historic federal challenge to the constitutionality of Prop 8 where the ProtectMarriage side went on and on about the sanctity of marriage and how historically the purpose of marriage is the procreation of children – this show promises to be an laugh-out loud ode to heterosexual hypocrisy.”

So now we can all enjoy an openly gay actor singing and playing an ambitious straight guy with an ethical dilemma, falling in love with a woman who has been done wrong.  This should be fun on all sorts of levels.

From HRC:

Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend

Officiant: Rev. David K. North, Pastor of Holy Redeemer of Metropolitan Community Churches, College Park, MD

About the Couple: Angelisa and Sinjoyla, both African-American women who reside in Ward 8 of the District, were the first in line to register for a marriage license, and will be the first lesbian couple to legally wed in the nations capital. Angelisa (age 47) and Sinjoyla (age 41) have been together for 12 years and have two children.

Reginald (Reggie) Stanley and Rocky Galloway

Officiant: Rev Sylvia E. Sumter, Pastor of Unity of Washington, DC

About the Couple: Reggie and Rocky, both African-American, are long-time residents of the District. They are both 50 years old and have two children. Reggie and Rocky will be married immediately following Angelisa and Sinjoyla. Participating in their ceremony will be Jim Cullion (the best man) and Cherrie McCoy (the best woman).

Rev. Elder Darlene Garner and Rev. Lorilyn Candy Holmes

Officiant: Rev. Dwayne Johnson, Pastor of Metropolitan Community Churches, Washington, DC

About the Couple: Rev. Elder Darlene and Rev. Candy, both African-American, were both born in D.C. and are currently residents of Laurel, MD. Each serve in leadership roles in the MCC Church and have been active in the D.C. community for more than 20 years. Darlene (61) and Candy (53), are mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, and will celebrate their legal wedding ceremony immediately following Reggie and Rocky.

Here are some photos taken by the extraordinary Cathy Renna:

Here’s an excerpt on how the station describes the ceremony on their website:

“One bride wore a knee-length lace dress and pearls. The other bride wore a yellow shirt and white suit. And when a pastor pronounced them “partners in life this day and for always” Tuesday they hugged and smiled as wedding guests and nearly a dozen TV cameras and reporters looked on.

Tuesday was the first day same-sex couples could marry in Washington. Brides Angelisa Young and Sinjoyla Townsend were the first of three couples taking the plunge in morning ceremonies at the offices of the Human Rights Campaign, which does advocacy work on gay, lesbian and transgender issues.

“You are my rock. My life. My love,” Townsend said.

It was a day they thought would never come.

“I love you today, tomorrow, forever — I love you,” Young said.”

The Washington Post featured an extraordinary preview of the couple. Here’s an excerpt:

Young and Townsend don’t know why anyone would want to read about them. They’re boring people — a community outreach coordinator (Young) and a D.C. government supervisor (Townsend). They read, they shoot pool, they occasionally go dancing, they walk the dog. Townsend, 41, paints and has filled their Southeast Washington home with art. Young, 47, is a bubbly Lucille Ball type. They complement each other. What more is there to say?

But maybe Mildred and Richard Loving, the Virginia couple whose marriage ultimately ended anti-miscegenation laws in 1967, also thought they were boring. There are people who seek out fame, and there are people whose boring lives get sewed up into the fabric of history and become accidental celebrities. Maybe, someone suggests to Young and Townsend, their lives will become part of historical record. Forty years from now people will wonder who they were.

DC Agenda and HRCbackstory will have updates throughout the day.

Here’s how the day began:

On Sunday, Frontiers In LA news writer Peter DelVecchico went on the “Fitzgerald in West Hollywood” tour of places frequented by Fitzgerald, including the famous the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Here are photos and notes from his tour.

Tour guide Adrienne Crew, Los Angeles liaison for the Dorothy Parker Society, led a walking tour of sites frequented by seminal American author F. Scott Fitzgerald when he resided in Hollywood during the mid to late 1930s.

A strip mall featuring a McDonald’s, a Chase bank branch, a payday loan place and various other businesses now occupies the southwest corner of Crescent Heights and Sunset, former site of the Gardens of Allah Hotel. The hotel, where guests tended to stay for weeks or months in a collection of bungalows surrounding a pool said to be shaped like the Black Sea, was party ground zero and erstwhile home for the boozing, bohemian creative elite during the 1930s and 40s, including in addition to F. Scott Fitzgerald, legendary author and wit Dorothy Parker, actress Tallulah Bankhead and a host of others. According to Adrienne, the hotel was just over the line between the city of Los Angeles, with its strict alcohol and other regulations, and the County of Los Angeles, which she described as much more lenient.

A statue, retaining wall and some shrubbery now occupy the southwest corner of the former Gardens of Allah site, where the quarters Fitzgerald rented were located.

1400-1414 Havenhurst, known as “La Ronda” during Fitzgerald’s time, was what Adrienne called a “satellite” to the Gardens of Allah, which was located directly to the rear. La Ronda and the Gardens shared a parking lot, and residents passed freely between the two. Humorist Robert Benchley, Bette Davis and Cary Grant all lived here at various times.

1401-1407 Havenhurst, the “Jefferson,” was another Gardens of Allah “satellite.” Humorist, author and screenwriter S. J. Perelman once resided here.

1471-1475 ½ Havenhurst, the “Andalusia,” was not an F. Scott Fitzgerald haunt, but was, Adrienne said, the first and most influential courtyard-style apartment building in Southern California.

1477-1479 Havenhurst. This unassuming apartment building was once Bette Davis’ home.

8221 Sunset, the Chateau Marmont Hotel, where Fitzgerald often went to visit friends.

1403-1407 Laurel, where Fitzgerald lived from May-November 1940. Lucille Ball lived across the hall.

1449 Hayworth, where Fitzgerald’s long-time lover, Hollywood gossip columnist Sheilah Graham lived. Fitzgerald died of a heart attack here on December 21, 1940.

Greenblatt’s Deli on Sunset just east of Crescent Heights, where Fitzgerald’s last meal came from. Adrienne suspects it was a pastrami sandwich.