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City poised to approve gay marriage bill

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Council member David Catania called on the Archdiocese to adopt what has been dubbed the ā€˜San Francisco-Georgetownā€™ compromise over how the Catholic Church could provide health insurance and other benefits to same-sex partners of employees. (Photo by Michael Key)

The D.C. City Council drew national attention this week as it made final preparations for the first of two votes on a same-sex marriage bill next Tuesday that observers say was expected to pass by a margin as wide as 11 to 2.

Council insiders said there was no surge in phone calls or e-mails to the Council over the past week in response to national media reports about a warning about the bill from the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.

Archdiocesan officials said they would stop operating city funded social service programs that help as many as 68,000 needy people unless the Council makes changes in the bill allowing the group Catholic Charities to deny same-sex spousal benefits to its employees.

ā€œI hear everybody in the press talking about it, but we havenā€™t heard anything at all,ā€ said Jason Shedlock, chief of staff to Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), who chairs the committee that approved the bill earlier this month.

In a separate development, opponents of the same-sex marriage bill, led by a Maryland minister, filed suit against the city in D.C. Superior Court to contest a decision two weeks ago by the cityā€™s election board rejecting a proposed voter initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the District.

The election board ruled that the proposed ballot initiative would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination based on sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage opponents say they have the funds to appeal the ruling all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court should they lose in Superior Court.

Shedlock said Mendelson and Council member David Catania (I-At-Large), the author of the bill, had yet to receive an answer as of Monday to a letter they sent to Archbishop Donald Wuerl, head of the Washington Archdiocese, suggesting a compromise solution to the churchā€™s objection to the marriage bill.

In statements last week, Archdiocesan officials said providing spousal benefits to their employeesā€™ same-sex married spouses would violate church teachings that marriage must be restricted to a man and a woman.Ā  Church officials have asked the Council to add a provision in the marriage bill to amend the cityā€™s Human Rights Act to exempt groups like Catholic Charities from having to provide equal employee benefits to same-sex couples.

The Council has refused the request, saying it would be unfair to single out gay or lesbian employees for discrimination.

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District of Columbia

D.C. LGBTQ community to gather for post-election dialogue

Dec. 12 event to address federal workersā€™ rights, immigration, more

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More than 80,000 people joined the 2017 Equality March for Unity & Pride following Donald Trumpā€™s 2016 victory. As Trump prepares to return to power, the local community is gathering to talk resistance and resilience. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Several leading LGBTQ organizations in D.C. are coming together to make sense of the recent election and to discuss the future of advocacy and resilience as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. 

With Republicans in firm control of the federal government after winning majorities in the House and Senate, many are concerned about attacks on the LGBTQ community, including Trumpā€™s pledge to ban trans people from serving in the military. In addition, many LGBTQ federal workers have expressed concerns about being targeted for reassignment or termination, as outlined in Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for Trumpā€™s second term.

In response, D.C.ā€™s LGBTQ community is coming together for an event on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.) featuring an array of speakers who will address issues, including: anticipated policy shifts; community resilience strategies; legal rights; immigration advocacy; and federal workersā€™ rights. 

The event, titled, ā€œCharting Our Future: LGBTQ+ Advocacy & Resilience in a Changing Landscapeā€ is free; visit washingtonblade.com/future to RSVP.

The event is being hosted by the Washington Blade and includes community partners: the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition, HME Consulting & Advocacy, Eaton DC, DC LGBTQ+ Community Center, Capital Pride Alliance, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs. Heidi Ellis of the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition will moderate. A list of speakers will be released later this week.

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District of Columbia

Casa Ruby receiver files for bankruptcy

Jan. 21 deadline set for creditors, former employees to apply for reimbursement

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Ruby Corado is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10. (Blade file photo)

In a little-noticed development, the Wanda Alston Foundation, which assumed control over the operations of the D.C. LGBTQ community services group Casa Ruby in August 2022 under a court-appointed receivership role, filed a petition on Aug. 27 of this year to place Casa Ruby in bankruptcy.

The petition, filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia, says Casa Ruby has estimated liabilities to at least 50 creditors of more than $1 million and estimated assets of between $0 and $50,000.

Nick Harrison, an attorney representing the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services to homeless LGBTQ youth, said Casa Ruby currently has no known financial assets, including cash.

He said the bankruptcy petitionā€™s estimated assets of up to $50,000 are based on a pending lawsuit that the Alston Foundation filed against eight former Casa Ruby board members and Casa Rubyā€™s founder and former executive director Ruby Corado in December 2022. The lawsuit accuses the board of violating D.C.ā€™s nonprofit corporation law by failing to exercise oversight over Casa Rubyā€™s operations that led to its financial collapse and shutdown in 2022.

The lawsuit calls on the court to require Corado and the former board members to pay ā€œrestitution, compensatory damages, punitive damages, receivership fees and expenses, court costs, attorneysā€™ fees, and expenses, and any other relief the court deems necessary and proper.ā€

A D.C. Superior Court judge on May 1, 2023, dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Alston Foundation against all but one of the former Casa Ruby board members but did not dismiss the case against Corado.

The Alston Foundation has appealed the ruling dismissing the lawsuit, and the case is now pending before the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The lawsuit also alleges that the board failed to adequately oversee the actions of Corado, who pleaded guilty in July of this year to a charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors.

The charge to which Corado pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for D.C. says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 ā€œin taxpayer-backed emergency COVID relief fundsā€ awarded to Casa Ruby to ā€œprivate offshore bank accounts for her personal use,ā€ according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorneyā€™s office.

Corado, who initially denied the allegations against her, is currently staying with a family member in Rockville, Md., in a home detention arrangement following her arrest by the FBI on March 5 of this year. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 10.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya A. Dayson stated that her decision to dismiss the lawsuit against seven of the eight former board members was based on her interpretation of D.C. law. She said she believes the law holds that members of an organizationā€™s board of directors can only be held liable for harming an organization like Casa Ruby if they ā€œintentionally, rather than negligently, inflicted harm on Casa Ruby.ā€

The judge said she did not dismiss the case against one of the board members because the lawsuit presents evidence that the board member received some financial benefits from Corado.

In a legal brief filed with the appeals court, the Alston Foundation attorneys state that evidence shows the Casa Ruby board members ā€œwere deliberately indifferent or ā€˜willfully blindā€™ to the alleged wrongful conduct of the nonprofitā€™s executive director amounting to actual knowledge on their part that inaction would harm the nonprofit, ultimately and forcibly leading to its financial inability to continue operation.ā€

The former board members have declined requests for comment on the lawsuit.

Harrison, the attorney representing the Alston Foundation in the bankruptcy filing, said anyone who is owed money by Casa Ruby has until Jan. 21 to file a ā€œproof of claimā€ form with the bankruptcy court to be eligible to be compensated if funds become available.

At the time of Casa Rubyā€™s shutdown, the organizationā€™s employees were among those who said they were not paid in the months or weeks prior to the shutdown.

Asked what prompted the Alston Foundation to file the bankruptcy petition on behalf of Casa Ruby, Harris said, “Filing the bankruptcy petition ensures that a trustee with the appropriate expertise can wrap up the remaining issues while allowing the Wanda Alston Foundation to stay focused on its core mission.” 

U.S. Bankruptcy Court records show that one of the officials in charge of collecting proof of claim forms for those owed money is Mark E. Albert, a court appointed Trustee for the bankruptcy filing. Court records show he can be reached at 202-728-3020.

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Rehoboth Beach

Adult suspect pleads guilty to Rehoboth Beach hate crime

Case pending for five juveniles charged in targeting women for harassment

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(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct in connection with an Aug. 17 incident in which five juveniles and one adult were arrested for allegedly targeting three women for harassment on a street in Rehoboth Beach based on their perception of the victimsā€™ sexual orientation.

Lt. Mark Sweet, a spokesperson for the Rehoboth Beach Police Department, said the adult suspect in the case, Jerome Charleston, was sentenced to a fine of $100 plus court costs at a Sept. 18 arraignment in which he pleaded guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct.

A statement released by Rehoboth police at the time of the incident says it occurred on Saturday, Aug. 17, at 2 a.m. at Baltimore Avenue and Second Street. The statement says three women flagged down a police officer after a vehicle drove past them and then came to a stop.

According to the statement, five juveniles exited the vehicle and approached the women, making statements that their behavior in public was not appropriate. During the exchange, the statement continues, one of the juveniles fired an Airsoft gun at the women and all five returned to the vehicle and fled the area.

Airsoft guns are replica guns designed to shoot non-metallic projectiles. No injuries were reported in the incident.

The police statement says officers in nearby Dewey Beach located the vehicle and apprehended the five juveniles and an adult driving the vehicle.

ā€œOnce in custody, it was determined that the only reason the suspects stopped to confront the victims was due to their perception of the victimsā€™ sexual orientation,ā€ the Rehoboth police statement says.

The police statement says three of the juveniles arrested in the case, two of whom were 15 years old and the other 14, were from Rehoboth Beach. It says another youth, age 14, was from nearby Lewes, and the other, at age 15, was from nearby Blades, Del.

The statement says each of the juveniles was charged with Aggravated Menacing, a felony; and the misdemeanor counts of Offensive Touching, Conspiracy in the Third Degree, Disorderly Conduct, and a Hate Crime.

Charleston, the only adult in the case, was charged with Disorderly Conduct, which is a misdemeanor.

The Washington Blade couldnā€™t immediately determine the status of the case against the juveniles. Police spokesperson Sweet said those cases were still pending and Rehoboth Police could not comment further on those cases.

In most jurisdictions, including Delaware, juvenile cases are kept confidential and are not part of the public court records.

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