Local

Rehoboth officials accused of ‘hassling’ businesses

Code enforcement officer creates stir over visit to Aqua Grill

Published

15 years ago

May 17, 2011

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Rehoboth Beach (Blade file photo)

A code enforcement officer in Rehoboth Beach, Del., became the target of a radio talk show host last weekend after the officer told the gay bar and restaurant Aqua Grill that it violated a local ordinance for flying a flag two inches too low over the sidewalk next to its entrance.

The civilian enforcement officer informed Aqua’s manager of the code violation on May 13 after determining that a flag with the inscription “Open – Welcome to Beautiful Baltimore Avenue” dipped below an 80-inch minimum height restriction for flags extending into public spaces, according to Aqua Grill co-owner Joe Maggio.

“He said we were being cited and we would receive a letter in the mail,” said Maggio, who told the Blade he couldn’t confirm over the weekend whether the bar would be fined for the height violation.

“He could have come in and said, ‘hey, it needs to be raised two inches.’ And we would have been happy to pull out a drill and move it,” said Maggio.

The popular bar and restaurant decided instead to have someone shear off the bottom of the flag with a pair of scissors to comply with the height restriction, Maggio said.

A city official said on Monday said Aqua Grill wasn’t fined and that the enforcement officer only issued a warning, saying the city would give the establishment time to correct the infraction.

But news of the enforcement action created a stir when an Aqua Grill customer present during the visit by the enforcement officer posted an account of the incident on Facebook.

Sussex County radio host Dan Gaffney joined gay supportive Delaware State Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach) and other Aqua Grill customers in criticizing the city for appearing to be hurting local businesses through unnecessary regulations.

“This is stupid beyond belief,” Schwartzkopf wrote on Facebook. “In this economy, they are hassling businesses? I thought it might’ve been the American flag but we are talking about an ‘Open’ sign!”

Rehoboth Beach City Manager Gregory Ferrese said on Monday that the code enforcement officer has found violations of the height restriction for flags in 29 businesses so far this year. He said no specific type of business was being singled out in the enforcement action and that all businesses contacted so far have been given warning notices rather than a fine.

Ferrese and the city’s public works director, Mel Craig, who is gay, told the Blade that enforcement of the height regulation for flags hanging over public spaces like sidewalks was prompted by complaints from the public.

“I’ve gotten hit in the face by flags on a windy day when I walk down the sidewalk,” Craig said.

“If a kid gets hit in the eye with a flag, that’s a big deal,” said Ferrese.

According to Ferrese, city regulatory officials determined that the city is required to enforce the flag height restriction in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, a federal law. The law, among other things, requires cities and towns to make sure the “path of travel” along public spaces such as sidewalks doesn’t include a potential obstruction for people with disabilities, including blind people.

An ADA official with the U.S. Justice Department in Washington, which enforces the statute, said the law and the regulations implementing it make no specific mention of flags, only that local jurisdictions should ensure that sidewalks and other public spaces don’t create a hazard for disabled people.

Jacques LeClair, owner of Rehoboth’s Proud Book Store, said he was among the first businesses approached by code enforcement officer Bobby Edmonds about flying his own flag below the height restriction.

“He was very polite. I got a letter from his office saying I was in violation,” LeClair said. “They gave me a period of time to correct it. I corrected it.”

LeClair added, “It’s not that they are picking on any one person or business. They are picking on everyone.”

Chris Beagle, a Rehoboth real estate agent and Aqua Grill customer, said the flag enforcement visit at Aqua raised concern within the local LGBT community because of its timing. He noted that it came on the first day Aqua opened for business for the 2011 beach season.

Beagle noted it also came eight months after Aqua’s other owner, Bill Shields, was mistakenly arrested and finger printed for allegedly violating another ordinance that prohibits restaurants and bars from allowing customers to stay on outdoor patios after 11 p.m.

Police raided 12 establishments for the patio violation during a crackdown last year that took place mostly over Labor Day weekend. Authorities now admit that Aqua was among just two or three of the establishments that were incorrectly targeted for the crackdown.

Shields said a Rehoboth Beach police officer who arrested him refused to listen to his attempt to explain that Aqua and other establishments that were in business before the patio ordinance was enacted are exempt from the ordinance through a grandfather clause.

Rehoboth’s police chief later acknowledged that the officer made a mistake by arresting Shields, saying the officer wasn’t aware that Aqua was exempt from the ordinance. Police later dropped the charge, but Shields said authorities have yet to follow through with a promise to expunge his arrest record.

With that as a backdrop, Beagle said the code enforcement visit to Aqua over the flag issue last weekend was “really bad timing” and a development that could give the impression to the LGBT community that a gay business is being targeted.

“It was very disheartening to see this happen on opening night,” said Beagle, who was present at the bar and saw Edmonds arrive wearing a jacket with the inscription “Code Enforcement.”

Maggio said he and other business owners and longtime residents of Rehoboth, both gay and straight, are “fed up” with what they view as an anti-business attitude in a city whose economy is dependent on small businesses.

He said he and others dissatisfied over the city’s regulatory policies are supporting gay businessman Thomas McGlone, an investment adviser, who is running against longtime Rehoboth Mayor Samuel Cooper in the city’s Aug. 13 mayoral election.

Cooper disputes claims that he is anti-business. He has said he supports local laws and regulations that prevent bars and other entertainment establishments from spoiling Rehoboth’s status and tradition as a family-oriented vacation destination.

Two of the city’s six elected commissioners, Dennis Barbour, who is gay, and Pat Coluzzi, who is lesbian, say they favor a balance between regulations needed to prevent disruptive businesses and assurances that businesses aren’t hurt by overregulation.

The two have spoken out against the patio crackdown last year and called for regulatory changes.

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District of Columbia

Anti-LGBTQ violence prevention efforts highlighted at D.C. community fair

Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs organized May 8 event

Published

9 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

(Washington Blade photo by Ernesto Valle)

Detailed advice on how LGBTQ people can avoid, defend themselves against, and prevent themselves and loved ones from becoming victims of violence, with a focus on domestic and intimate partner violence, was presented at a May 8 LGBTQIA+ Safety in Numbers Community Fair.

The event, organized by the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, included five workshop sessions and information tables set up by 14 LGBTQ-supportive organizations and D.C. government agencies or agency divisions, including the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s LGBT Liaison Unit and the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center.

Also playing a lead role in organizing the event was the D.C. LGBTQIA+ Violence Prevention and Response Team, or VPART, a coalition of D.C. officials and leaders of community-based organizations that work with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

The event was held in meeting space in the building where the Office of LGBTQ Affairs is located at 899 N. Capitol St., N.E.

The workshop topics included de-escalation training on healthy relationships, bystander intervention, self-defense training, violence prevention grants, and suicide prevention.

“This will be a public safety and violence prevention event where community partners will educate attendees on various methods of violence intervention and trauma-informed practices,” according to a statement released by the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs prior to the start of the event.

The statement adds, “We will have live demos, interactive games, and workshops focused on strategies for self-defense, protecting vulnerable communities, increasing access to mental health resources, providing tools for recognizing domestic violence/intimate partner violence signs in intimate relationships, and assistance for substance abuse.”

Sonya Joseph, associate director of engagement for the Office of LGBTQ Affairs, told the Washington Blade that studies have shown rates of domestic or intimate partner violence are higher in the LGBTQ community than in the community at large.

“Domestic violence and intimate partner violence are two very big prevalent issues in the LGBTQ community,” she said, adding that some of the workshops at the event would be providing “training on healthy relationships and how to recognize and prevent intimate partner violence and the signs of it.”

About 35 to 40 people attended the workshop sessions.

Experts specializing in violence impacting the LGBTQ community have said domestic violence refers to violence among people in domestic relationships that can include spouses but also siblings, parents, cousins, and other relatives. Intimate partner violence, according to the experts, refers to violence perpetuated by a partner in a romantic or dating relationship.

These D.C. based organizations or agencies that participated in the LGBTQIA+ Safety in Numbers event, and which can be contacted for assistance, include:

• Defend Yourself

• DC LGBTQ+ Community Center

• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

• Joseph’s House

• Us Helping Us, People into Living, Inc.

• MCSR (formerly known as Men Can Stop Rape)

• MPD LGBT Liaison Unit

• Volunteer Legal Advocates

• DC SAFE

• Destination Tomorrow

• D.C. Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants

• Life Enhancement Services

• ONYX Therapy Group

• U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C.

Rehoboth Beach

Celebrated performer Rose Levine plays Rehoboth on May 15

Freddie’s to host Fire Island legend

Published

11 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

Rose Levine performs May 15 at Freddie’s in Rehoboth Beach.

Rose Levine is a celebrated entertainer best known for her longstanding performances in Cherry Grove, Fire Island, since 1955 where she has become a beloved fixture of the community’s vibrant arts and nightlife scene. With a career spanning decades, Levine has captivated audiences with her cabaret singing shows full of charisma, classic numbers, humor, and unmistakable stage presence—proving that some stars don’t fade, they simply get better lighting.

Levine is also closely associated with the legendary Fire Island Invasion of the Pines, the annual Fourth of July spectacle in which performers and revelers make their grand (and gloriously over-the-top) entrance by boat from Cherry Grove to Fire Island Pines, now a 50-year tradition. Her role in launching and sustaining this tradition has helped make it one of the most iconic—and entertaining—events of the summer season.

A consummate storyteller, Levine brings audiences along for a glittering ride through entertainment history. Rose will sing her Broadway melodies by Jerry Herman, Irving Berlin, Cy Coleman, Cole Porter, and others. With music direction by Mark Hartman the one-night-only event will celebrate Levine’s legendary life in drag, featuring signature crowd-pleasers and celebrity stories. A friend of Broadway composer Jerry Herman, she shares delicious stories of legends like Ethel Merman and recalls a young Barbra Streisand before she became Barbra Streisand while both performing at the famed singing contests at Greenwich Village’s famed Lion nightclub before her big break at the Bon Soir. Her shows are a mix of music, mischief, and memories of old New York and Fire Island — back when Cherry Grove didn’t even have electricity, but somehow still had better nightlife than most cities today.

Her legendary Fire Island home, Roseland, has hosted its fair share of unforgettable gatherings (and likely a few stories that can’t be printed in a family newspaper), making it a cornerstone of the community’s social scene. Levine splits her time between Manhattan and her summer perch on Fire Island—though audiences across the country are grateful she travels.

In fact, she performs at The Green Room and 54 Below in Manhattan, Cherry Grove in Fire Island, Act 2 and The Palm in Puerto Vallarta, Red Dot Cabaret in Hudson, N.Y., and now Freddie’s in Rehoboth Beach—because retirement, frankly, sounds boring. Her place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest continuously performing drag queen in the world only adds to the legend and gives her bragging rights she fully intends to use.

And now, Rehoboth—consider yourself warned.

Don’t miss Rose Levine live on May 15 at Freddie’s Beach Bar. Dinner begins at 6:30 p.m., with the show at 7 p.m. Come for the cocktails, stay for the stories, and leave wondering how one person can have that many fabulous decades.

Levine’s legacy is defined not only by her remarkable career, but by her ability to connect with audiences across generations—usually while making them laugh, gasp, and occasionally blush. Don’t miss this show.

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

12 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP