Local

Furloughed employee: Tea Party Republicans holding us ‘hostage’

Signs of shutdown seen, felt throughout D.C.

Published

12 years ago

October 4, 2013

Level One and Cobalt offered special furlough prices to furloughed federal employees on Thursday, Oct. 3. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Nick Vera, an administrative technician at the National Institutes for Health, has spent a lot of time resting and working on home projects since he was furloughed on Tuesday when the federal government partially shut down. The Kensington, Md., resident who is deaf also went for a bike ride during the day on Thursday to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather that has enveloped the D.C. metropolitan area in recent days.

“I enjoy working with people every day,” Vera told the Washington Blade through an interpreter during the monthly Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Employees of the Federal Government (GLOBE) happy hour that took place at Cobalt in Dupont Circle on Thursday night. “I’m missing people; I’m now missing pay.”

Signs of the partial government shutdown that has left more than 800,000 federal employees furloughed abound throughout D.C.

The lesbian-owned Pizza Paradiso, which has restaurants in Dupont Circle, Georgetown and Alexandria, will offer a $2 beer special to any furloughed federal employee who shows their government identification during the shutdown. JR.’s on 17th Street, N.W., has a similar offer, while nearby Level One referenced furloughed employees in a sign outside its Dupont Circle location on Thursday that advertised $6 burgers.

The shutdown inspired a number of team names during Nellie’s weekly trivia night on Wednesday. These include “Turned-Away NIH Cancer Kids,” “Cruz Makes a Boehner Shutdown, Too” and “Obamacare Killed the Panda Porn Star.”

Ken, a furloughed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration staffer who did not give the Blade his last name, has been with the agency since 1993. He told the Blade during the Federal GLOBE happy hour that he took a long bike ride on Wednesday.

He, like Vera, has also tackled some household chores.

“That’s all I really can do,” Ken said. “We couldn’t take any work home with us and that’s really what’s left for me to do.”

Dennis Palaganis, a D.C. resident who has been a software engineer at the Department of Homeland Security since May, has also done errands he’s “ignored for a long time” since he was furloughed on Tuesday. He told the Blade he has also reconnected with people and spent a lot of time on Facebook since the partial government shutdown.

“It wasn’t really something I had prepared for,” Palaganis said during the Federal GLOBE happy hour. “I didn’t have a bucket list of things that I wanted to do—oh in case of shutdown do these things. I’m just kind of playing it by ear.”

The furloughed federal employees with whom the Blade spoke on Thursday all blamed Congress – and Tea Party Republicans in particular – for the partial government shutdown.

“Their style of government is not geared toward compromise,” Palaganis said, referring to their efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act known as Obamacare that took effect on Tuesday. “They’re basically holding the federal workers and contractors hostage.”

Federal GLOBE President Len Hirsch, who has worked for the Smithsonian for 24 years and is currently furloughed, said members of Congress whom he described as “jerks” are “playing games with the” U.S. economy and its ability to help people around the world. He also lamented the impact the shutdown will have on police officers, security guards, cafeteria workers, gift shop clerks and others with less financial means than he.

“They’re being made to pay an awful price for the egos of a bunch of our senators and Congress people,” Hirsch told the Blade. “That’s just not right.”

Furloughed employees with whom the Blade spoke were not optimistic they would return to work in the coming days or even weeks.

“I think it’s going to go on for a little while,” said Mark Lerro, a Capitol Hill resident who has worked with the Transportation Security Agency for five years.

Observers have begun to note it is possible President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other congressional leaders could reach a deal to fund the federal government around the Oct. 17 debt ceiling deadline.

Vera told the Blade he is “hopeful” as he discussed the meeting between Obama, Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that took place at the White House on Wednesday. He added, however, he feels it is “really hard to predict” when he and other furloughed federal employees will return to work.

“Both parties and the president really have to come together,” Vera said. “I’m going to wait and see.”

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FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

Winsome Earle-Sears constitutionally required to sign HB 174 as Senate president

Published

4 hours ago

May 4, 2025

Staff reports

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears speaks at CPAC in 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last year in a handwritten note indicated her opposition to marriage rights for same-sex couples when she signed a bill that affirmed marriage equality in the state.

Brandon Jarvis of Virginia Scope on May 1 published Earle-Sears’s note on House Bill 174, which state Del. Rozia Henson, a Prince William County Democrat who is gay, introduced.

The Virginia Senate passed HB 174 by a 22-17 vote margin, and the state constitution required Earle-Sears to sign it as the chamber’s president. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed the measure into law after it received bipartisan support.

“As the lieutenant governor, I recognize and respect my constitutional obligation to adhere to procedures set out in the constitution of Virginia,” wrote Earle-Sears in her note. “However, I remain morally opposed to the content of HB 174 as passed by the General Assembly.”

Earle-Sears, a former U.S. Marine who served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2002-2004, in 2021 became the first woman elected Virginia’s lieutenant governor. Activists have criticized her for her opposition to LGBTQ rights in Virginia.

She sparked controversy last year when she misgendered state Sen. Danica Roem (D-Manassas), who is transgender, on the Senate floor. Earle-Sears has also spoken at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Earle-Sears is running to succeed Youngkin as governor once his term ends in January 2026. She will likely face former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who previously represented Virginia’s 7th Congressional District.

John Reid, a conservative talk show host who is openly gay, last month secured the Republican nomination to succeed Earle-Sears as lieutenant governor. Youngkin has called for Reid to end his campaign amid reports that he posted “pornographic content” on social media.

Reid has strongly denied the reports.

World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

Gay bars, other liquor-serving establishments can stay open 24 hours

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Venus Valhalla performs at Pitchers. Liquor-serving establishments in D.C. will be able to remain open for 24 hours during WorldPride. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which regulates liquor sales for the city’s bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other establishments licensed to serve alcoholic beverages, has approved extended hours for alcohol service and sales during the days when most WorldPride events will be held in the nation’s capital.

In a May 2 announcement, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the board, said the extended liquor serving and sales hours for WorldPride will take place beginning Friday, May 30, through 4 a.m. Monday, June 9.

Although the official schedule for WorldPride events shows the events will take place May 17-June 8, most of the large events, including a two-day Pride street festival, parade, and concert, were expected to take place between May 30 and June 8.

According to the ABCA announcement and an ABCA spokesperson, liquor servicing establishments with the appropriate license can stay open for 24 hours and serve alcoholic beverages from 6 a.m. through the day and evening until 4 a.m., with no liquor sales allowed from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. during the May 30-June 9 period.

The ABCA announcement says liquor serving establishments must apply for the extended hours option and pay a $100 registration fee by a deadline on May 27.

Sources familiar with the liquor board have said the board has for many years approved the extension of liquor serving and sales hours for important events and for certain holidays such as New Year’s Eve.

At the time it approved the extended hours for WorldPride the liquor board also approved extended hours during the time when games for a World Cup soccer tournament will be held in the city on June 18, June 22, and June 26.

It couldn’t immediately be determined how many of D.C.’s 22 LGBTQ bars plan to apply for the extended drinking hours. David Perruzza, owner of the Adams Morgan gay bar Pitchers and its adjoining lesbian bar A League of Her Own, said he will apply for the 4 a.m. extended hours option but he does not intend to keep the two bars open for the full 23 hours.

Under the city’s current alcoholic beverage regulations, licensed liquor serving establishments may serve alcoholic beverages until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.

World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

Published

2 days ago

May 2, 2025

Michael K. Lavers

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.