Local

Popular Rehoboth bar closes

Cloud 9 was a popular LGBT restaurant, bar and dance club in downtown Rehoboth

Published

13 years ago

November 15, 2012

Peter Schott

Cloud 9 (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Cloud 9, a popular LGBT restaurant, bar and dance club in downtown Rehoboth Beach, closed its doors for the last time on Oct. 28. The Rehoboth Avenue establishment opened in 1993 when John Berdini, a popular Blue Moon bartender and manager, and several partners saw a business opportunity on Rehoboth Avenue. The business was owned by Glenn Thompson until Berdini and his partners bought it in the mid 1990s. Thompson was also the owner of the popular Renegade, a dance bar on Route One, and several bars in D.C.

Because the new owners are expected to change the building, it will lose its dance hall license. It is not clear what the new owner will do with the space.

Berdini, who is straight, saw Rehoboth as a blossoming gay resort in need of an in-town venue for the LGBT community. Richard Barnett, author of “The Discreet Charms of a Bourgeois Beach Town,” said that Cloud 9 restaurant, which catered to straight as well as gay patrons, played a great role in making the straight community more accepting of the LGBT community during a period when a number of people in town, including the mayor, were concerned about the presence of a gay establishment right across the street from Town Hall.

Steve Fallon, owner of the retro gift shop, Gidget’s Gadgets, said that the closure of Cloud 9 reflects a change in Rehoboth, in which more and more establishments are catering to the LGBT community on Route One.

Related Topics:Cloud 9 Gidget's Gadgets John Berdini Rehoboth Beach Richard Barnett Steve Fallon

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

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January 17, 2026

Michael Key

Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond march in the 2026 Inauguration Parade on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.

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*The LGBTQ contingent in the inaugural parade in Richmond, Va. pass by the review stand on Jan. 17, 2026. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)*

Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

Published

23 hours ago

January 17, 2026

Staff reports

(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.

Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.

“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”

Maryland

Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated

Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs

Published

2 days ago

January 16, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Merrick Moses, a violence prevention coordinator, works at the Pride Center of Maryland in Baltimore. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.

The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.

By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.