Local
Rehoboth evacuated as Hurricane Sandy arrives
Presidential campaigns put on hold; Md. marriage events cancelled
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image of Hurricane Sandy off the southeastern United States at around 10a.m. this morning. (Public domain NASA image courtesy LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC)
The resort town of Rehoboth Beach, Del., which has a large gay population, was ordered evacuated Sunday night and the town’s mayor declared a storm emergency as Hurricane Sandy approached the Delaware coast.
Rehoboth Police Chief Keith Banks told the Blade late Monday morning that flooding so far has been limited to two downtown streets closest to the beach, but he said serious wind and flood damage could occur when the brunt of the storm hits the town Monday night and Tuesday.
“The town is closed down,” he said. “We have officers on patrol to make sure everyone is safe and property is protected.”
Camp Rehoboth, an LGBT community center and advocacy organization, and Proud Bookstore, the town’s gay bookstore, are among the businesses and organizations located within the evacuation zone. Both are located less than two blocks from the beach and could potentially be affected by flooding.
“We’re getting steady rain and occasional heavy gusts of wind,” said gay Democratic activist Peter Schott, who lives just outside the Rehoboth town limits and not in the evacuation zone.
“Friends are checking on each other,” he said. “We’re hoping for the best.”
Andy Staton, the gay candidate for a seat in the Delaware Senate in the Rehoboth area, said he has suspended his campaign for the next day or two and arranged for supporters to take down his campaign signs.
“We are concerned that signs and other objects could become projectiles and could cause some harm,” he said.
Staton said that, like Schott, he lives outside the town limits and was not required to evacuate his home.
“We put out a notice from our campaign Sunday night urging people to be safe,” he said.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell issued a statewide order early Monday closing all of the state’s highways and roads to non-emergency vehicles until the most serious effects of the storm subside.
As Rehoboth residents hunkered down in the midst of the storm, President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney each announced the hurricane prompted them to put their campaigns on hold for Monday and Tuesday.
Obama returned to Washington from campaign appearances in various states, saying he would work with federal emergency officials to ensure that disaster relief programs were put in place in states hit hardest by the storm.
In D.C. and the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs, all federal and local government offices were ordered closed to the public, with only essential workers such as emergency personnel expected to report for work. Public schools and the Metro subway and bus system were also closed on Monday due to the impact of the storm.
Organizers of other election-related events also announced cancellations and postponements.
Among the events cancelled for Monday night was a D.C. fundraiser for Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the group leading the campaign for Maryland’s marriage equality law in a statewide referendum on Nov. 6. The event was scheduled to take place at Busboys and Poets restaurant at 14th and V Streets, N.W.
Outdoor tables and chairs at Trio’s Restaurant in Dupont Circle were secured ahead of Hurricane Sandy. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
- JR’s facade on 17th Street, N.W., remains covered in Halloween decorations ahead of Hurricane Sandy (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
New York Avenue in Northwest Washington. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
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