Local
Baltimore Eagle ready to fly again
Final hearing on liquor license set for Sept. 22
The newly renovated exterior of Baltimore’s Eagle bar. (Washington Blade photo by Steve Charing)
Since the iconic leather bar the Baltimore Eagle closed its doors in December 2012, its path to reopening has been bumpy to say the least. But after years of delays, the bar owners and managers have navigated myriad obstacles and are poised to reopen soon following extensive renovations that have increased the area of the original bar and added a restaurant, store and entertainment area.
It wasn’t easy getting to this point.
Unforeseen problems with the building’s structure and huge amounts of trash were discovered soon after the building, located at 2022 N. Charles Street, was purchased by local developers Ian Parrish and Charles Parrish for $300,000. Walls had to be gutted and ceilings torn down. Delays in electrical line installation as well as other impediments were identified.
As a result, the 180-day requirement to complete construction was not met to satisfy the Baltimore Liquor Board, which denied the owners the license transfer in April 2015 following a contentious hearing the previous month.
Previous liquor boards had routinely waived the requirement when circumstances warranted, but a 2013 audit revealed corruption and other irregularities within the liquor board. The new board, appointed by then-Gov. Martin O’Malley and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake was given the charge to crack down on “zombie” licenses as well as other improprieties. The new commissioners rejected the arguments from the Parrishes and their attorney.
Undaunted, the project pushed on. “No other developer in this region wanted to touch the Baltimore Eagle project, and we still aim to prove them wrong,” Parrish told the Blade last November. “This team is moving forward. We’re spending over a million dollars to reconstruct the Baltimore Eagle because this building and this business are good for this city, because our neighbors want to go back to work, and because the loyal patrons of the Eagle are still hoping to return.”
As a back up, the Parrishes, who are longtime allies of the LGBT community, as well as the rest of the team, purchased the existing liquor license from Charles Bowers, the owner of the Club Hippo, which closed its doors last fall.
The team, which had been hired to oversee the business in advance of the opening, designed a new concept for the Baltimore Eagle and construction continued while the decision was being appealed.
After mobilizing the community and working with nearby community associations, the Baltimore Eagle is poised to reopen soon. It received its entertainment license, and the final hearing to approve the liquor license transfer is set for Sept. 22.
“The applications have been submitted, reviewed and accepted by the Baltimore Liquor Board. The hearing is the final hurdle,” said Charles King, Baltimore Eagle General Manager. “We have backing by the Charles North Community Association, The Charles Village Civic Association and The Old Goucher Community Association, and there is an MOU in place as well that we have negotiated.” King said the attorney, Stephan Fogelman, told him that he sees no further barriers to reopening.
Besides Charles King, Robert Gasser is the food services and maintenance manager. John Gasser is the liquor store manager. Greg King is the Eagle Leathers store manager; they are all partners in the business. Miles Crakow is the director of social media and public relations.
“The bar itself will not just be one bar, but rather a collection of bars, restaurants, a leather and adult retail store, a package goods store, a lounge featuring a collection of leather community history and artifacts, and an event space inspired by Bohemian romance and cabaret nostalgia that will bring the NYC and Montreal music scene to Baltimore, all on multiple levels and taking a much larger footprint than the previous Eagle,” Crakow says.
He emphasizes that “the leather bar is the heart and soul of The Eagle’s rebirth and it will stand shoulder to shoulder with the other new businesses, all supporting each other.”
In addition, the Baltimore Eagle hired internationally trained master chef Ed Scholly who works at the Culinary Institute of Baltimore. He will operate the food program for at least a year, and catering will be available in the event space upstairs.
The opening date has not been set but it is expected in the near future. To thank the community for its patience, the owners are offering opportunities to purchase gift cards at reduced prices, collector silver pins, T-shirts and other memorabilia. Visit TheBaltimoreEagle.com or The Baltimore Eagle on Facebook for details and updates.
“We are so thrilled to open our doors very soon,” Charles King told the Blade. “We’re just finishing up construction before we get final inspections and permits. This has been the longest road of our lives, but we know it leads to an amazing place. I know the community will embrace our new venue and concepts. Details are so important, and we hope to impress even the most discerning guest. The best thing is that the LGBTQ community will have a brand new place to eat, drink and play and the leather community will once again have a home to be proud of.”
Community members share the enthusiasm. “With other LGBT bars closing in the area, the real significance is that the Baltimore Eagle will reopen,” Rodney Burger, longtime leather columnist and vice president of the Baltimore leather club Shipmates, told the Blade. “This will be a new Baltimore Eagle. Those who are looking for the old dark dive bar will be disappointed. As the LGBT community has changed so has the Baltimore Eagle.”
He added, “I hope the community supports the new Baltimore Eagle. The new owners are very excited that once again the Baltimore Eagle can be a safe space and gathering place for our community and a place where new memories can be made. I can’t wait.”
Virginia
DOJ seeks to join lawsuit against Loudoun County over trans student in locker room
Three male high school students suspended after complaining about classmate
The Justice Department has asked to join a federal lawsuit against Loudoun County Public Schools over the way it handled the case of three male high school students who complained about a transgender student in a boys’ locker room.
The Washington Blade earlier this year reported Loudoun County public schools suspended the three boys and launched a Title IX investigation into whether they sexually harassed the student after they said they felt uncomfortable with their classmate in the locker room at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn.
The parents of two of the boys filed a lawsuit against Loudoun County public schools in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria. The Richmond-based Founding Freedoms Law Center and America First Legal, which White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller co-founded, represent them.
The Justice Department in a Dec. 8 press release announced that “it filed legal action against the Loudoun County (Va.) School Board (Loudoun County) for its denial of equal protection based on religion.”
“The suit alleges that Loudoun County applied Policy 8040, which requires students and faculty to accept and promote gender ideology, to two Christian, male students in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,” reads the press release.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in the press release said “students do not shed their First Amendment rights at the schoolhouse gate.”
“Loudoun County’s decision to advance and promote gender ideology tramples on the rights of religious students who cannot embrace ideas that deny biological reality,” said Dhillon.
Outgoing Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and outgoing Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in May announced an investigation into the case.
The Virginia Department of Education in 2023 announced the new guidelines for trans and nonbinary students for which Youngkin asked. Equality Virginia and other advocacy groups claim they, among other things, forcibly out trans and nonbinary students.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in February launched an investigation into whether Loudoun County and four other Northern Virginia school districts’ policies in support of trans and nonbinary students violate Title IX and President Donald Trump’s executive order that prohibits federally funded educational institutions from promoting “gender ideology.”
District of Columbia
Capital Pride announces change in date for 2026 D.C. Pride parade and festival
Events related to U.S. 250th anniversary and Trump birthday cited as reasons for change
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. based group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, has announced it is changing the dates for the 2026 Capital Pride Parade and Festival from the second weekend in June to the third weekend.
“For over a decade, Capital Pride has taken place during the second weekend in June, but in 2026, we are shifting our dates in response to the city’s capacity due to major events and preparations for the 250th anniversary of the United States,” according to a Dec. 9 statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.
The statement says the parade will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026, with the festival and related concert taking place on June 21.
“This change ensures our community can gather safely and without unnecessary barriers,” the statement says. “By moving the celebration, we are protecting our space and preserving Pride as a powerful act of visibility, solidarity, and resistance,” it says.
Ryan Bos, the Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President, told the Washington Blade the change in dates came after the group conferred with D.C. government officials regarding plans for a number of events in the city on the second weekend in June. Among them, he noted, is a planned White House celebration of President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and other events related to the U.S. 250th anniversary, which are expected to take place from early June through Independence Day on July 4.
The White House has announced plans for a large June 14, 2026 celebration on the White House south lawn of Trump’s 80th birthday that will include a large-scale Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event involving boxing and wrestling competition.
Bos said the Capital Pride Parade will take place along the same route it has in the past number of years, starting at 14th and T Streets, N.W. and traveling along 14th Street to Pennsylvania Ave., where it will end. He said the festival set for the following day will also take place at its usual location on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., between 2nd Street near the U.S. Capitol, to around 7th Street, N.W.
“Our Pride events thrive because of the passion and support of the community,” Capital Pride Board Chair Anna Jinkerson said in the statement. “In 2026, your involvement is more important than ever,” she said.
District of Columbia
Three women elected leaders of Capital Pride Alliance board
Restructured body includes chair rather than president as top leader
The Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based group that organizes the city’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced it has restructured its board of directors and elected for the first time three women to serve as leaders of the board’s Executive Committee.
“Congratulations to our newly elected Executive Officers, making history as Capital Pride Alliance’s first all-women Board leadership,” the group said in a statement.
“As we head into 2026 with a bold new leadership structure, we’re proud to welcome Anna Jinkerson as Board Chair, Kim Baker as Board Treasurer, and Taylor Lianne Chandler as Board Secretary,” the statement says.
In a separate statement released on Nov. 20, Capital Pride Alliance says the restructured Board now includes the top leadership posts of Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary, replacing the previous structure of President and Vice President as the top board leaders.
It says an additional update to the leadership structure includes a change in title for longtime Capital Pride official Ryan Bos from executive director to chief executive officer and president.
According to the statement, June Crenshaw, who served as acting deputy director during the time the group organized WorldPride 2025 in D.C., will now continue in that role as permanent deputy director.
The statement provides background information on the three newly elected women Board leaders.
• Anna Jinkerson (chair), who joined the Capital Pride Alliance board in 2022, previously served as the group’s vice president for operations and acting president. “A seasoned non-profit executive, she currently serves as Assistant to the President and CEO and Chief of Staff at Living Cities, a national member collaborative of leading philanthropic foundations and financial institutions committed to closing income and wealth gaps in the United States and building an economy that works for everyone.”
• Kim Baker (treasurer) is a “biracial Filipino American and queer leader,” a “retired, disabled U.S. Army veteran with more than 20 years of service and extensive experience in finance, security, and risk management.” She has served on the Capital Pride Board since 2018, “bringing a proven track record of steady, principled leadership and unwavering dedication to the LGBTQ+ community.”
• Taylor Lianne Chandler (Secretary) is a former sign language interpreter and crisis management consultant. She “takes office as the first intersex and trans-identifying member of the Executive Committee.” She joined the Capital Pride Board in 2019 and previously served as executive producer from 2016 to 2018.
Bos told the Washington Blade in a Dec. 2 interview that the Capital Pride board currently has 12 members, and is in the process of interviewing additional potential board members.
“In January we will be announcing in another likely press release the full board,” Bos said. “We are finishing the interview process of new board members this month,” he said. “And they will take office to join the board in January.”
Bos said the organization’s rules set a cap of 25 total board members, but the board, which elects its members, has not yet decided how many additional members it will select and a full 25-member board is not required.
The Nov. 20 Capital Pride statement says the new board executive members will succeed the organization’s previous leadership team, which included Ashley Smith, who served as president for eight years before he resigned earlier this year; Anthony Musa, who served for seven years as vice president of board engagement; Natalie Thompson, who served eight years on the executive committee; and Vince Micone, who served for eight years as vice president of operations.
“I am grateful for the leadership, dedication, and commitment shown by our former executive officers — Ashley, Natalie, Anthony, and Vince — who have been instrumental in CPA’s growth and the exceptional success of WorldPride 2025,” Bos said in the statement.
“I look forward to collaborating with Anna in her new role, as well as Kim and Taylor in theirs, as we take on the important work ahead, prepare for Capital Pride 2026, and expand our platform and voice through Pride365,” Bos said.
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