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Longtime D.C. resident Eric Lease dies at 66

Long-time D.C. resident worked as general contractor

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Miles "Eric" Lease (submitted photo)

Miles “Eric” Lease (submitted photo)

Miles “Eric” Lease, a home improvement contractor and well-known figure in the D.C. gay community since the late 1960s, died June 27 at his home in Northwest Washington. He was 66.

His longtime friend Stephen Crowley said friends weren’t sure about the exact cause of death but he believes it was related to a heart ailment.

Lease was born and raised in Ford City, Pa., where he graduated from Ford City High School and attended Kutztown University in nearby rural Pennsylvania. Crowley said Lease moved to Atlantic City, N.J., in the late 1960s and lived there for a short period of time before moving to D.C.

“Eric was a successful and talented general contractor, who was very well-known in Washington, D.C.,” according to information released by his family through the Welch Funeral Home in Pennsylvania.

“Eric was an avid traveler, having extensively traveled a lot in Europe,” the family write-up says. “Eric enjoyed collecting antiques and camping, and was an animal lover. He was the proud owner of two dogs and three cats.”

Crowley said he and Lease became a couple in 1968 when he met Lease at a party in Washington shortly after Lease moved to D.C. Although the relationship ended several years later, the two remained close friends for the past 46 years, Crowley said.

“Eric was known to just about everybody who went to the gay bars and who were part of Washington’s longtime gay community,” Crowley said. “He was very visible and he was probably the nicest person anybody ever met.”

In his work as a contractor, Lease established a large clientele in a home renovation business that he owned and operated in the D.C. area, Crowley said. Crowley said Lease was especially proud of the renovation work he did on his own home on Iowa Avenue just off of 14th Street, N.W.

At various times Lease worked in collaboration with organizers of antique shows, providing carpentry and structural space in which the antiques were displayed, Crowley said.

“He was really good at what he did,” said Crowley.

Lease is survived by his mother, Marian Artman Lease of Ford City; his sister, Marjorie Guthrie of Kittanning, Pa.; his niece, Jennifer McKelvey of Stephens City, Va.; and a great-nephew Gavin McKelvey.

A private funeral service was held in Pennsylvania.

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Australia

Australian prime minister re-elected

Anthony Albanese marched in 2023 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Screen capture via ABC News Australia/YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday won re-election.

Albanese’s Labor Party defeated the Liberal Party that Peter Dutton led.

Dutton, who lost his seat in parliament, quickly conceded to Albanese, who is the first Australian prime minister to win re-election in 21 years. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, a lesbian who represents South Australia in the Australian Senate, on Saturday introduced Albanese at his victory party.

“Today the Australian people have voted for Australian values; for fairness, aspiration, and opportunity for all, for the strength to show courage in adversity, and kindness to those in need,” said Albanese. “Australians have voted for a future that holds true to these values.”

(9News Australia)

Albanese has been prime minister since 2022. In 2023 he became the first Australian prime minister to march in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

Voters re-elected Albanese less than a week after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Liberal Party won the country’s federal election. The Trump-Vance administration’s global tariffs are among the issues that factored into both country’s votes.

“Congratulations to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on his victory in Australia’s federal election,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio on X. “Australia is a valued U.S. friend and a close partner.”

“We look forward to continuing to promote freedom and security in the Indo-Pacific and around the world,” he added.

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Virginia

Va. LG opposed marriage equality affirmation bill in handwritten note

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

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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.

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World Pride 2025

D.C. liquor board extends drinking hours for WorldPride

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

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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.

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