Local
D.C. Center lands $25,000 donation
Crew Club contribution to help renovate new space in Reeves building
‘We decided it was important for the Center to be there for all of us in the community,’ said Crew Club owner D.C. Allen (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)
The owners of the Crew Club, a D.C. health club and sauna that caters to gay men, presented the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community with a $25,000 donation on Tuesday at a reception to kick-off a fundraising drive to help finance the center’s move to a new home.
Center Vice President Michelle Ross, who heads the center’s relocation committee, said the donation by the Crew Club through it co-owners D.C. Allen and his husband, Ken Flick, provides a major boost in raising the estimated $75,000 needed to renovate the LGBT Center’s new space in the city’s Reeves Center municipal building at 14th and U streets, N.W.
Ross and D.C. Center President Michael Sessa have said the 15-year lease the Center just signed with the city to rent space in the highly desirable location at the Reeves Center required that they accept the space “as is” and pay for getting it ready for occupancy.
Although the renovation work needed is more extensive than originally anticipated, the two said community supporters like Allen and Flick and other donors along with supporters who are providing pro bono work related to the renovation should make it possible to complete the project by late June, Ross said.
“We decided it was important for the center to be there for all of us in the community,” Allen told the Blade.
Allen said he and Flick have been impressed with the center’s varied programs that help support a diverse cross section of the LGBT community, including programs for LGBT military veterans and LGBT immigrants and those seeking U.S. political asylum. Sports and career development programs as well as addiction and recovery related efforts, including the center’s longstanding crystal meth program, are among many other center activities, Allen said.
“We felt it was extremely important that this not drag on and that they start their renovation and get in there as soon as possible,” he said.
Ross is urging members of the community to visit the center’s website for details of the renovation plans, including floor plans and drawings prepared by an architect and interior designer who are helping with the project. The renovation plans can be viewed at www.thedccenter.org/home.
The need to find a new home for the center surfaced after center officials were told they would have to leave their current space at 1318 U St., N.W., because the building in which they are located will soon be taken down to make way for a new high-rise office building.
The renovation and design plans shown on the center’s website call for naming rooms after large donors and displaying permanent plaques on the walls of the new space bearing the names of contributors.
“Be a permanent part of the Center and purchase a piece of history,” the site says.
Maryland
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
Gay county executive candidate pushing for equitable pay, safer streets, and cleaner environment
By TALIA RICHMAN | During a meet-and-greet at Poolesville Memorial United Methodist Church, Evan Glass got his loudest applause of the night with a plan he acknowledged was decidedly unsexy.
“Day one, I’ll hire a director of permitting services,” the county executive candidate said.
Doing so, he added, is a step toward easing the regulatory burdens that can stifle small businesses in Montgomery County.
The only problem? At least one of his fiercest competitors is making a similar pledge.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
‘Ahead of the Curve’ documentary screening, ‘Queeroke’ among events
2026 Lesbian Visibility Week North America will take place from April 20-26.
This year marks the third annual Lesbian Visibility Week, run by the Curve Foundation. A host of events take place from April 20-26.
This year’s theme is Health and Wellness. For the Curve Foundation, the term “lesbian” serves as an umbrella term for a host of identities, including lesbians, bisexual and transgender women, and anyone else connected to the lesbian community.
The week kicks off with a flag-raising ceremony on April 19. It will take place in New York, but will be livestreamed for the public.
“Queeroke” is one of the events being held around the country. It will take place at various participating bars on April 23.
As You Are, an LGBTQ bar in Capitol Hill, is one of eight locations across the U.S. participating. Their event is free and 21+.
On April 24, the D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center will hold a screening of “Ahead of the Curve,” a documentary about the founder of Curve, Franco Stevens. The event is free with an RSVP.
April 25, is Queer Women in Sports Day. And on April 26, several monuments in New York will be illuminated.
Virtual events ranging from health to sports will be made available to the public. Details will be released closer to the start of Lesbian Visibility Week. Featured events can be found on the official website.
Some ways for individuals to get involved are to use #LVW26 and tag the official Lesbian Visibility Week account on social media posts. People are encouraged to display their lesbian flags, and businesses can hand out pins and decorate. They can also reach out to local lawmakers to encourage them to issue an official Lesbian Visibility Week.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker Health to present ‘Pro Bono Excellence’ award to law firm
Health center set to celebrate 40th anniversary of legal services program
Whitman-Walker Health, the D.C.-based community healthcare center that specializes in HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ-related health services, announced it will present its annual Dale Edwin Sanders Award for Pro Bono Excellence to the international law firm McDermott Will & Schulte at a May 6 ceremony.
“This year’s award is especially significant as it coincides with the 40th anniversary of Whitman-Walker Health’s Legal Services Program, marking it as the nation’s longest running medical-legal partnership,” a statement released by Whitman-Walker says.
“As a national leader in public health, Whitman-Walker celebrates our partnership with McDermott to strengthen the health center and to enable Whitman-Walker to reach more medical and legal clients,” the statement adds.
“McDermott’s firm-wide commitment to Whitman-Walker’s medical-legal partnership demonstrates a shared vision to serve those most in need,” Amy Nelson, Whitman-Walker’s director of Legal Services, says in the statement. “Our work protects individuals and families who face discrimination and hostility as they navigate increasingly complex administrative systems,” Nelson said.
“Pro bono legal services – like that of McDermott Will & Schulte – find solutions for people who have no place else to turn in the face of financial and health threats,” she added.
“Our partnership with Whitman-Walker Health is a treasured commitment to serving our neighbors and communities,” Steven Schnelle, one of the law firm’s partners said in the statement. “We are deeply moved by Whitman-Walker’s unwavering dedication to inclusion, respect, and equitable access to health care and social services,” he said.
The statement notes that the award for Pro Bono Excellence honors the legacy of the late gay attorney Dale Edwin Sanders. It says Sanders’s pro bono legal work for Whitman-Walker clients “shaped HIV/AIDS law for more than four decades by securing key victories on behalf of individuals whose employment and patient rights were violated.”
It says the Whitman-Walker Legal Services program began during the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s at a time when people with AIDS faced widespread discrimination and often needed legal assistance. According to the statement, the program evolved over the years and expanded to advocate for transgender people and immigrants.
Whitman-Walker spokesperson Lisa Amore said the presentation of the Dale Edwin Sanders Pro Bono Excellency Award will be held at the May 6 fundraising benefit for Whitman-Walker’s Legal Services Program. She said the event will take place at the offices of the DC law firm Baker McKenzie and ticket availability can be accessed here: https://www.whitman-walker.org/gtem-2026/
Evan Glass is leaning on his record. Is that enough for Montgomery County’s top job?
D.C. bar, LGBTQ+ Community Center to mark Lesbian Visibility Week
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Calendar: April 10-16
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
