Local
Top 10 local news stories of 2009
Among last year’s biggest stories locally were tales of great victories and heartbreaking losses.
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Ziegfeld’s/Secrets reopens: Ziegfeld’s/Secrets, the popular gay nightclub that offers drag entertainment and nude male dancers, reopened in March in a warehouse building in the city’s Buzzard’s Point section at 1824 Half St., S.W. It became the first of two of the eight LGBT clubs displaced by the Washington Nationals baseball stadium to reopen. The Glorious Health Club, which bills itself as a men’s spa and art gallery, reopened in the summer at 2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E. Gay activists have complained that city zoning laws and restrictions against nude dance entertainment in most parts of the city have made it difficult for the other gay adult-oriented clubs displaced by the stadium to find a new location. Most of the clubs had been located on the unit block of O St., S.E., which operated as an adult gay entertainment enclave for more than 25 years.
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Evidence challenged in Robert Wone case: Aug. 2 marked the third anniversary of the murder of prominent Washington attorney Robert Wone, who was stabbed to death in the Dupont Circle home of three gay friends. The friends — attorney Joseph Price, public relations executive Victor Zaborsky and massage therapist Dylan Ward — have been charged with obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and evidence tampering in connection with Wone’s murder. But authorities have yet to charge anyone with the murder itself. The case continued to capture the attention of local gays as prosecutors and defense attorneys sparred over evidence expected to be presented at trial, which is scheduled to begin May 10.
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Cleveland beats D.C. in bid to host Gay Games: Leaders of the Gay Games, the world’s largest international LGBT sporting event, voted in September to select Cleveland over D.C. and Boston as the host city for the 2014 Gay Games. The quadrennial event draws 12,000 athletes and about 80,000 spectators for more than a week of Olympic style athletic competition, bringing millions of dollars in revenue to the host city. Stunned officials with Metropolitan Washington Gaymes, Inc. and Team D.C., the two groups that spent nearly six years promoting D.C. as a candidate to host the 2014 games, were present in Cologne, Germany, when the Federation of Gay Games announced its decision. A Gay Games official told the Washington Blade that Cleveland won because Ohio and surrounding states are less advanced in LGBT rights than D.C. and Boston, and holding the Gay Games there would provide a boost to efforts in the region to promote LGBT equality through the universal appeal of sporting events.
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LGBT groups lose D.C. Council earmark grants: The City Council in July eliminated $1 million in city grants for four LGBT organizations, forcing the organizations to cut their budgets and, in some cases, lay off staff members. Council Chair Vincent Gray (D-At Large) said the elimination of the grants was part of a decision to end all earmarked, or non-competitive, grants for more than 100 non-profit organizations in the city. The four LGBT groups that lost the grants included the D.C. Center, which was set to receive a $500,000 grant to help it purchase a building; the Center’s Crystal Meth Project, which expected to receive a $150,000 earmarked grant; the Mautner Project for lesbian health, which expected to receive separate grants of $150,000 and $60,000; and Transgender Health Empowerment, which was slated to receive a grant of $150,000.
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Trans woman’s stabbing death alarms activists: An unidentified man fatally stabbed a transgender woman as she and a friend were walking to a transgender services center near Second and Q streets, N.W., on Aug. 26. D.C. police investigated the murder as a possible hate crime targeting Tyli’a ‘NaNa Boo’ Mack, 21, because she was transgender. The incident prompted transgender activists associated with the D.C. group Transgender Health Empowerment to organize a rally at the site of Mack’s murder to raise the visibility of what they called a growing number of local hate crimes targeting transgender people. Police said the assailant stabbed another transgender woman who was walking with Mack at the time of the incident. The second victim suffered non-life-threatening wounds, police said.

The Lambda Rising bookstore will close this month after a 35-year run. (DC Agenda photo by Aram Vartian)
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Panic defense duped prosecutors, activists say: Police and prosecutors’ handling of the September 2008 beating death of gay bar patron Tony Randolph Hunter became a rallying cry for LGBT activists in July 2009, when a grand jury lowered charges against an 18-year-old man arrested in the case from manslaughter to misdemeanor assault. Activists accused D.C. police and prosecutors of being unduly influenced by defendant Robert Hannah’s claim that he punched Hunter several times in self-defense after Hunter allegedly grabbed Hannah’s crotch and butt in a sexually suggestive way. Hunter fell onto the street as a result of the assault and sustained a fatal brain injury when his head hit the pavement. The activists called Hannah’s crotch-grabbing claim an attempt to use the so-called “gay panic defense” as an alibi for anti-gay violence. A friend of Hunter’s, who was present during the assault near a Northwest D.C. gay bar, said Hunter never touched Hannah and that the assault was unprovoked. But prosecutors have said the friend gave conflicting accounts of what happened and was an unreliable witness. To the dismay of activists, a D.C. Superior Court grand jury lowered charges against Hannah from a single count of felony manslaughter to a misdemeanor assault, to which he pleaded guilty. A judge sentenced him to the maximum penalty of 180 days in jail, a sentence that some activists called a miscarriage of justice in an incident that led to a gay man’s death.
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Parson leaves GLLU, police chief faces criticism: Gay D.C. Police Sgt. Brett Parson, who served as commander of the department’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, transferred to a new position in October as a supervisory patrol officer in the Sixth Police District. Parson’s departure from the GLLU came at a time when LGBT activists charged that Police Chief Cathy Lanier was dismantling the unit. Lanier said she is enacting a plan to decentralize and expand the GLLU and other special police units by recruiting more officers to become affiliated with the units while continuing to work as regular patrol officers in one of the seven police districts. But LGBT organizations, including Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence and the D.C. Trans Coalition, have said Lanier effectively dismantled the GLLU before launching her decentralization plan.
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Local HIV/AIDS cases rise 22 percent: A report released in March by the city’s HIV/AIDS administration showed the number of reported HIV or AIDS cases in the city increased 22 percent between 2006 and 2007. Similar to previous reports on HIV prevalence in the city, the report found that men who have sex with men account for the largest number of people living with the disease: 36.9 percent. People who contracted HIV/AIDS through heterosexual contact comprised 28.1 percent of the living HIV/AIDS cases, the report found. The report found that about 3 percent of the city’s population over age 12 had HIV or AIDS as of Dec. 31, 2007, making the District’s AIDS numbers the highest in the nation based on the number of cases per 100,000 people. HIV/AIDS Administration Director Dr. Shannon Hader said the figures placed the city alongside African countries like Uganda in terms of HIV/AIDS prevalence.
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Washington Blade, Lambda Rising close: Just weeks after celebrating the paper’s 40th anniversary, the Washington Blade was shuttered by parent company Window Media on Nov. 16 following a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing. Former Blade employees regrouped and founded the DC Agenda, publishing the first issue four days after the Blade’s closure. A month later, the owners of Lambda Rising bookstore announced in December that the store would close its doors for good in January, ending more than 35 years of service as the city’s preeminent LGBT bookstore. The store’s co-owner and founder, Deacon Maccubbin, 66, said he plans to retire and that he and his domestic partner of 32 years, Jim Bennett, decided they’d rather close the store than sell it to a new owner who might change its focus and mission. Maccubbin said he and Bennett were also closing the Lambda Rising store in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
one
D.C. Council, mayor approve same-sex marriage: D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty on Dec. 18 signed a bill allowing same-sex marriages to be performed in the nation’s capital in an action hailed by activists as an historic milestone in the city’s LGBT rights movement. The bill signing came three days after the City Council voted 11-2 to give its final approval of the legislation, the Religious Freedom & Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009. Most political observers believe the Democratic-controlled Congress will allow the measure to become law following a required congressional review of 30 legislative days, which is expected to be completed in March. Noting that Congress has authority to overturn D.C. laws at any time, not just during the 30 legislative day review, same-sex marriage opponents have vowed to continue urging Congress to kill the law. They also have vowed to continue to seek to overturn the law through a D.C. voter initiative or referendum. The opponents have challenged an election board ruling that an initiative or referendum cannot be held on the marriage bill because it would violate the D.C. Human Rights Act.
World Pride 2025
Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride
Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.
The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.
Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.
District of Columbia
$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC
Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.
With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.
Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.
The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.
“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”
In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.
“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”
He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.
Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.
“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.
At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.
In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.
“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement
Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.
So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.
District of Columbia
Welcome home: DC LGBTQ Center opens its doors to healing and hope
The 6,671 square foot DC LGBTQ Center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events, and community support groups, all under one roof.

On a sunny spring day in Washington’s Shaw neighborhood, the once empty Holzbeierlein Bakery warehouse now showcases energy, pride, and the sounds of chosen family coming closer together. After years in a less-than-perfect space on 14th Street, the DC LGBTQ community finally has a new home at the DC LGBTQ Center—and Executive Director Kimberley Bush says it’s more than a building. It’s a promise.
That promise, Bush explained to the Washington Blade on April 26—the day of the new LGBTQ Center’s opening—may change depending on who is being uplifted by the DC Center, but at its core remains the same goal: a thriving LGBTQ community in the nation’s capital. The commitment to the DC LGBTQ community is able to grow more connected and stronger, she explained, as more resources, space, and funding become available for the DC Center.
“This is a glorious home,” Bush said, beaming as groups of community members walked in under the giant inflatable rainbow at the Center’s doors. “It’s our new home. Today was a whole day of welcome home. This space has been an amazing endeavor for a long time, one that we’ve always known we’ve needed. This is space that we need for our LGBT siblings in need—and it’s amazing when your intentions match your efforts.”
The DC Center has long worked to “educate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate, and connect” the LGBTQ community from its former location at the Reeves Center. But now, in its new space at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., these efforts are more visible, accessible, and impactful than ever before.
“This space is a model that is new, that we are creating,” Bush said as groups of DC Center supporters chatted with Etta James’s “At Last” filling the hallways. “There is, I believe, no other LGBTQ+ community center in the country that not only has its own life and supportive services in its building, but is also co-housed with other organizations. A lot of community centers try and do it all, but that’s not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring everybody together under one roof, to be able to have that whole life supportive services center like one-stop shopping. We didn’t want to take over anything anyone else did. We don’t want to take away the dollars those organizations have to do what they do for the community. We want us all to be together. So that’s what we are. We’ve been able to now expand into almost 7,000 square feet of space.”

The new DC Center features a variety of functional spaces designed to meet the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community. It includes office space for up to nine additional partner organizations, creating a hub for collaboration and support. Local and integral LGBTQ organizations like SMYAL, Team DC, and HIPS are some of the groups taking advantage of the space.
“People can be spread out,” Bush said about the opportunity for these LGBTQ-specific organizations to have a dedicated office in the Center. “We are on a grander scale, so we have a grander number of individuals that we can positively and effectively take care of. We [as members of the DC LGBTQ Center] can’t provide everything someone needs, but we can be an outpost for other organizations. Because we’ve expanded, we are able to expand the love, kindness, and support we can give our siblings.”
Additional support, Bush explained, is made possible by the intentional design of the new DC Center. Specialized rooms meet critical needs—from an HIV and STI testing room to therapy spaces and a boutique offering professional attire for job interviews. While the DC Center may not provide every service directly, it offers a shared space where partner organizations can step in and support the community—all under one roof.
“Often people are not able to go here, here, and here, to get what those gaps in life are creating,” she said. “To bridge them in one space just gives that person the opportunity to have less on their heart and their mind in regards to what they need to take care of themselves.”
In addition to being able to provide a space for instrumental elements of protecting the safety and well-being of the DC LGBTQ community, the Center also has a food pantry, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to assist those without a permanent address, and a spacious kitchen.
This, she explained, is why this space is so monumental to providing the DC LGBTQ community the resources they need in a succinct and approachable way.

“By bridging those gaps and having as much as we can here means you’re in one space to get your needs met,” she added. “From sexual health needs, in terms of testing, counseling, and what have you, to mental and behavioral health needs. You can get food, you can get clothing, you can shower. You can store some of your things here. That is such an ease off of your mind to where now you can breathe.”
After stepping into the Center’s director role in 2022, Bush said that she often sees her “siblings” within the community make a better life for themselves starting by walking through the front doors. Sometimes the following steps take more time and resources than for others, but regardless of what it takes, Bush emphasized the goal is to alleviate some stress and make tomorrow an approachable reality.
“I have the amazing opportunity to interact with our community members, our siblings, on a regular basis,” she said. “Often I see them when they first walk in our door. Sometimes they walk in unhappy, sometimes devastated, or they walk in not in a good space. When they come in and invite us in to hear their stories, when they want to share what’s going on with them so we can learn how to best care, love, and support them, it’s incredible. We make a POA, a plan of action, outlining how to take care of them and what that’s going to take.”
Walking through the Center, it is hard to not notice the smiles coming from everyone’s faces—from volunteers, board members, community members, and those seeking assistance. The DC Center, with its rainbow murals and shining floors, has become a beacon of hope for many LGBTQ Washingtonian residents in need. For some, Bush explained, that can be as simple as having a space for solace in a city that seems to have no shortage of stressors.
“The space is made for anyone who’s in need, and even if you’re not,” she said. “This is a place for you to come and be peaceful. A place for you to come and have a cup of tea, not to pay a thing, or have to talk to anybody. You can just sit here and have a cup of tea.”
The more she spoke about the space, it became clear that providing a space for LGBTQ people to be is just as important as providing spaces for the services to take place. The DC LGBTQ Center invites people to not only find what they need to make themselves better in a literal sense but also allows them to simply exist. It is rare for a city to provide this kind of refuge from the constant motion that life demands. And that can be life-changing, she says.
“I will say, ‘How are you today? How are you feeling today?’ ‘How are you’ and ‘how are you feeling’ are two different things, but I do want to know how you’re feeling. If you don’t answer me, that’s good. You know? That’s perfect,” Bush said. “This space is built for everyone, especially for trans and non-binary folk, and for our brown and Black folk. It’s a space for those who just need a space to be.”
In a world that often erases or overlooks LGBTQ people, especially trans, non-binary, Black, and brown community members, the simple act of being seen and cared for can be revolutionary. The DC Center aims to be a place for LGBTQ people to be themselves—not to force them to prove anything or lead them to speak, but to truly be themselves. That quiet affirmation of ‘allowing to be’ can plant the seed to a better, more authentic life.

“One thing that I love to hear, and it makes me feel so good, because they say it in a way that’s just like you and I would say it, or anyone would say it, but sometimes they may not have thought they would say it. They would say, ‘See you tomorrow. See you later.’ This is a person who may not have had tomorrow in their mind. Where you and I say that all the time, but for a lot of our people, our siblings, who come to us, that may not be a thing for them. But when they come in our doors, receive the care and the love and the support and kindness, but then they walk out and they say, ‘See you tomorrow,’ and we do see them tomorrow! I can tell you that this response not only drives me to do this work, because this is good work and I’m very fortunate and privileged to be here, but it’s hearing that out of someone’s mouth. That’s it. That’s all I need.”
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Books4 days ago
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
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U.S. Federal Courts3 days ago
Second federal lawsuit filed against White House passport policy
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Opinions4 days ago
We must show up to WorldPride 2025 in D.C.
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District of Columbia3 days ago
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time