Connect with us

Local

Crew Club donates $10,000 to Casa Ruby

Honoring ‘great work’ of facility

Published

on

DC Allen, Crew Club, gay news, Washington Blade

DC Allen said he and his husband and business partner Ken Flick believe Casa Ruby provides an important service to the LGBT community. (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

A contingent of 14 members of the staff of the Crew Club, a D.C. health club and spa that caters to gay men, presented a $10,000 check to the local LGBT social services center Casa Ruby on Monday.

Crew Club co-owner DC Allen said the staff members presented the check after Casa Ruby founder and executive director Ruby Corado took them on a tour of the Casa Ruby facilities, including one of the group’s residential facilities for homeless LGBT youth.

Allen said he and his husband and business partner Ken Flick believe Casa Ruby provides an important service to the LGBT community and they wanted to make the donation to help Corado and her staff continue “the great work that they do.”

At a meeting he hosted last November for representatives of several local LGBT organizations at the Crew Club’s building on 14th Street, N.W., Allen noted the Crew Club has contributed to LGBT groups since it has been in business for the past 20 years and plans to continue doing so.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

Published

on

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.

View on Threads
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)
Continue Reading

Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

Published

on

(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.”

Continue Reading

Maryland

Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated

Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Popular