Local

Fenty pledges to meet with AIDS activists after sit-in arrests

Published

16 years ago

December 11, 2009

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has agreed to meet with representatives of an AIDS group coalition that staged a sit-in outside his office Dec. 1 as part of a World AIDS Day protest.

Two people with the group D.C. Fights Back were arrested during the sit-in after they refused to obey a police order to stop blocking an entrance in the John A. Wilson city hall building.

Christine Campbell, vice president for national advocacy at Housing Works, which pushes for subsidized housing programs for low-income people with HIV/AIDS, said her group joined the protest because the city has failed to reduce a three-year waiting list for AIDS-related housing in the District.

She said repeated meetings with officials at the city’s Department of Health and the mayor’s office resulted in “nothing happening,” prompting the groups to stage the sit-in to demand a meeting with the mayor.

“The system has to be fixed if we’re actually going to have better health outcomes here in the District,” she said. “We knew a woman who was [number] 382 on the waiting list and she called to get an update on where she was,” Campbell said. “They said, ‘We’re not giving numbers anymore.’ They’ll tell someone who applies for housing now that there are about this many people on the list and you’ll have to wait about three to five years.”

Dena Iverson, a spokesperson for the Department of Health, said her office was “continuing its efforts to maximize funding for housing assistance and [will] work with those waiting for housing to help them access services or other potential routes to stable housing situations.”

Michael Kharen, a spokesperson for the city’s AIDS office, said the waiting list for a federally funded AIDS housing program stands at about 500 names. He said there are other housing assistance programs for people with AIDS in addition to the federally funded one, and the city is taking steps to place people in need into those programs.

Related Topics:Adrian Fenty AIDS Christine Campbell Department of Health HIV Housing Works World AIDS Day

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

Published

1 hour ago

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

9 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

1 day 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.