Local

D.C. Center signs lease for new space

After three months of negotiations with city officials 15-year lease signed on Reeves Center space

Published

13 years ago

March 27, 2013

Michael Sessa and David Mariner in front of what is to be the new D.C. Center. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

After three months of negotiations with city officials, the D.C. LGBT Community Center on March 23 signed a 15-year lease to rent space in the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 14th and U streets, N.W.

Michelle Ross, the LGBT Center’s vice president and chair of its Relocation Committee, said the lease-signing clears the way for the center to arrange for an extensive renovation of the first floor, storefront space that will be the center’s new home.

“Our projected move-in date range is toward the end of June,” Ross said.

She said a start-up date for the construction has yet to be set, but center officials expect the work to begin soon.

Center President Michael Sessa told the Blade earlier this month that shortly after the D.C. Department of General Services accepted the center’s proposal for renting the space through a competitive bidding process, the center discovered more renovation work would be needed than originally expected.

Among other things, a long-standing rat infestation problem requires that the entire space be gutted and redone. Under a provision in the lease that the DGS informed the center about at the outset, the tenant must accept the space “as is” and be responsible for the cost of any repairs and renovation work.

However, Sessa said DGS didn’t inform the center until later in the process that it would be responsible for a monthly fee of $1,500 over and above the $4,000 rent to cover utilities and maintenance services.

Ross told the Blade on Tuesday that through negotiations with the center, DGS agreed to drop the utilities and maintenance fee in exchange for adjusting the rent to $4,500 per month.

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

Published

11 hours 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

19 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

2 days 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.