Local
Police, prosecutors pledge renewed fight against hate crimes
Police Chief Cathy Lanier. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier and officials with the United States Attorney’s Office and the Office of the D.C. Attorney General called for improvements in the city’s juvenile justice system as a means of addressing a sharp increase in hate crimes targeting the LGBT community.
Lanier and the other officials answered questions and pledged to redouble efforts to combat anti-LGBT hate crimes at an April 14 town hall meeting sponsored jointly by the D.C. group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence, the Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs, the Office of the D.C. Attorney General and the D.C. Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit.
GLOV Chair A.J. Singletary opened the meeting, held at the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 14th and U Streets, N.W., by reviewing recent D.C. police crime statistics showing that hate crimes in the city targeting LGBT people increased by 40 percent over the past year.
“This troubling increase in hate crimes against the LGBT community must be stopped,” he said. “GLOV is committed to ensuring the District government is doing all that it should to protect our community, and we must ensure that the community is doing what it can to protect itself.”
Singletary and GLOV Vice Chair Hassan Naveed told of GLOV’s programs aimed at educating LGBT people on steps they can take to avoid being targeted for a hate crime and how best to respond when threatened with anti-LGBT violence. Details of the group’s anti-violence programs can be accessed at glovdc.org.
Lanier and Robert Hildum, deputy D.C. Attorney General for public safety, said a large number of hate crimes targeting the LGBT community are committed by juveniles, who, upon arrest, must be processed through a juvenile justice system they described as flawed. The strict privacy rules required under D.C.’s juvenile justice laws often prevent D.C. police from properly investigating crimes of violence by sometimes barring them from questioning youth charged in crimes.
In addition to Singletary and Naveed, others speaking at the town hall were Andrew Barnett, executive director of the LGBT organization Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL); Chris Farris, former GLOV co-chair; and Wendy Pohlhaus, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney for External Affairs.
Pohlhaus said the U.S. Attorney’s office, which prosecutes criminal cases in D.C., must carefully decide which cases should be prosecuted as hate crimes based on the language in the city’s hate crimes statute.
“It’s sometimes hard for the community to understand that the government must prove that a crime was committed because of hatred or prejudice” in order to successfully prosecute a case as a hate crime, she said.
Singletary said it was significant that much of the top brass of the police department attended the town hall meeting, including Deputy Chief Diane Groomes and the heads of the police units that oversee the GLLU.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
ROSENSTEIN: Chavous for Democratic D.C. Council-at-Large
I don’t see the point in a relationship
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Trans parent charged with kidnapping, allegedly fled to Cuba with child
Inside the lonely world of MAGA gay men
Wagons ho! High-class, head-turning haulers
Rorschach stages ‘Dragon Play’ in unlikely, raw space
‘Big Mistakes’ an uneven – but worthy – comedic showcase
