Local

Reagan adviser, Log Cabin supporter Bob Bonitati dies at 79

Accompanied president to Hilton Hotel on day of assassination attempt

Published

9 years ago

November 15, 2017

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Bob Bonitati, gay news, Washington Blade

Bob Bonitati died at age 79. (Photo by Tony Burns)

Robert “Bob” Bonitati, a longtime government affairs specialist in Washington who worked as White House special assistant to President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and served as a behind-the-scenes adviser to Log Cabin Republicans in the 1990s, died Oct. 31 in Tampa, Fla. He was 79.

His friend Phil Sparrow said during his retirement in recent years he spent summers in Rehoboth Beach, Del., and winters at his home in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Sparrow said Bonitati was participating in an experimental cancer treatment protocol in Tampa at the time of his passing.

A write-up about his career prepared by Sparrow and his longtime friend Robert Kabel says Bonitati, a native of Bridgeport, Conn., graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in political science. It says he did graduate work at Arizona State University and the University of Tennessee.

While at Tennessee he met then-U.S. Sen. Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) and worked on Baker’s re-election committee before joining Baker in 1967 as his Senate chief of staff. Among the positions he held after leaving his Senate job for the private sector was heading the government affairs office for the Airline Pilots Association for six years.

According to Sparrow and Kabel’s write-up, Bonitati joined the Reagan White House as a Special Assistant to the President, where he served as White House liaison to organized labor.

The write-up says Bonitati was with Reagan on March 30, 1981 at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the president delivered a speech to the Building Trades Union.

“As they were walking out of the hotel together to return to the White House Bob was stopped momentarily by a friend just as the President exited and was shot,” says the write-up. “Bob credited his friend with saving his life.”

Minutes later Reagan was rushed to George Washington University Hospital where doctors said a gunshot wound by would-be assassin John Hinckley came close to taking his life.

Bonitati lived at the time in D.C.’s Dupont Circle area and had a wide range of Washington friends, both Republicans and Democrats, people who knew him said. Following his White House job he became part owner of a flower shop while working for the Kamber Group, a prominent public relations and government affairs firm. He later joined The Hawthorne Group, another public affairs firm.

Kabel and Rich Tafel, who served as president of the national gay group Log Cabin Republicans in the 1990s, said Bonitati played an important role as an informal, behind-the-scenes adviser to Log Cabin.

“We opened our D.C. office in 1993, and Bob was a key adviser for Log Cabin and me in the 1990s,” Tafel said. “He gave great advice, great strategy. He was particularly helpful to me, especially in the early years when I was new to D.C.”

Kabel said that in marked contrast to the current toxic, highly partisan atmosphere in Washington, Bonitati was a product of the old school mold where Republicans and Democrats were able to engage in bipartisan efforts to get things done in Congress.

“Bob enjoyed his many years as a visitor and then in retirement as a homeowner in Rehoboth and Ft. Lauderdale,” Sparrow and Kabel said in their write-up. “He was a longtime supporter of CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBT community center in Rehoboth,” the two said.

“Bob Bonitati was an amazing man who did good in his life and who made friends wherever he went,” said friend Peter Rosenstein. “He was a Republican who I could talk and communicate with. He was a member of a Republican Party that seems to no longer exist. He was a decent man who cared about people. Bob, may you rest in peace, knowing you brought joy and smiles to many during your life and that you will be remembered and missed each day by all of them.”

Bonitati is survived by his sister, Peggy Person of Tampa, Fla.; his niece, Sandra Butte; his nephew, Richard Person, and his great nephew, Ryan Butte. Sparrow and Kabel said he is also survived by “many wonderful friends in Rehoboth Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Washington, D.C.”

A Celebration of Life for Bonitati was scheduled to be hosted by family members, Sparrow and friends on Dec. 2 from 5-7 p.m. at the Vantage View Condominium where Bonitati lived at 2841 North Ocean Blvd. in Ft. Lauderdale. Plans for a Celebration of Life in Rehoboth and D.C. were expected to be announced in the near future.

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Baltimore

Popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s to temporarily close after owner’s death

Ron Singer passed away on July 7

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Leon’s Backroom Bar in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Jessica Gallagher for the Baltimore Banner)

By WESLEY CASE | Leon’s Backroom, Baltimore’s oldest gay bar, temporarily shut down after service on Wednesday night, according to a post on the business’s Instagram page.

The announcement comes a little more than a week after the death of the Mount Vernon bar’s owner, Ron Singer, who died at 66 on July 7.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

Local

Comings & Goings

New garden center offers array of products in Rehoboth

Published

2 days ago

July 17, 2026

Peter Rosenstein

Bay Laurel Home & Garden is located just outside Rehoboth on Route 1.

The Comings & Goings column is about sharing the professional successes of our community. We want to recognize those landing new jobs, new clients for their business, joining boards of organizations and other achievements. Please share your successes with us at [email protected].

Congratulations to Stuart Ortel and Scott Marker, and Dave Lyons and Rick Hardy, on the recent opening of their garden center on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, in the former Farmer Girl site. It is called Bay Laurel Home and Garden and debuted earlier this year. The four owners are all well known to the denizens of Rehoboth Beach.

Stuart and Scott have been active members of the Rehoboth Beach community since 1999. Stuart is a landscape architect, and has established relationships with many local folks in the building and landscape industry. When this opportunity for Bay Laurel Home & Garden presented itself, and they had the perfect team of people in place, he and Scott were committed to making it a reality. So, when Scott and Stuart introduced this opportunity to create a new garden center to Dave and Rick, they embraced the chance to cultivate a business where beautiful plants, inspiring home and garden products, and outstanding customer service come together. Dave and Rick knew about owning a business in Rehoboth as they previously owned Coho’s Market, where they discovered firsthand the value of serving their community, and the rewards of running a locally owned business.

The garden center launched with a refreshed brand identity, updated merchandising, and expanded product lines, all designed to create an inspiring and welcoming environment for your home. Bay Laurel Home & Garden offers a beautifully appointed garden center and curated home and gift shop.

The new center features a full nursery with annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees, and seasonal selections; a garden center offering pottery, fountains, and garden ornamentation, and essential tools and garden supplies. It has a garden shop featuring unique indoor/outdoor furnishings and accessories, and a gift shop featuring botanical and coastal style items for home and entertaining.

Rehoboth Beach

Celebrate Pride in Rehoboth Beach this weekend

‘A vital space for community, healing, and connection’

Published

4 days ago

July 15, 2026

Thomas Weaverling

Rehoboth’s Pride festivities kick off Friday. (Washington Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

Pride in Rehoboth Beach is kicking off this week on Friday, July 17, with events happening throughout the weekend.

“Rehoboth Beach Pride is more than a festival — it is a vital space for community, healing, and connection,” said David Mariner, director of Sussex Pride, which organizes many of the events.

The weekend will begin with the Grand Opening & Community Preview from 1-4 p.m. on Friday, July 17, celebrating the opening of Novus Medical Services and the new Sussex Pride Community Center.

This will be followed by an Interfaith Pride Service at 6 p.m. at the Metropolitan Community Church Rehoboth to gather for healing and the affirmation of queer spirituality with Rev. Carla Christopher, chair of Sussex Pride Faith.

Members of the community are then invited to head over to join the Rehoboth Beach Bears at the Pines to have dinner, mingle, and give back to local initiatives.

End the first night of Pride in Rehoboth at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub with music by DJ Joey P from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.

Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. inside the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. A full list of events is available at rehobothbeachpride.org.

Roxy Overbrooke will host on the main stage as live performances take place throughout the day, featuring music from DJ MK and Tribe 9 Entertainment.

The festival will include educational workshops, community meetups, and a raffle dedicated to raising funds for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth across Delaware.

Feature workshops include panels discussing topics such as unhoused LGBTQ+ youth in Delaware, the needs of trans and non-binary youth, as well as the increase in HIV and syphilis diagnoses amid federal budget cuts, in a panel moderated by Blade Editor Kevin Naff.

Saturday night will also feature an evening comedy and entertainment show at the Convention Center presented by the Gay Women of Rehoboth. Performers will include comedians Suzanne Westen h oefer and Karen Mills as well as musician Kristen Merlin. Tickets are available at gaywomenofrehoboth.org.

The Rehoboth Beach Pride Ride will take place at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 19, hosted by the Dykes on Bikes Rehoboth Beach Women’s Motorcycle Club, starting at Lefty’s.

Goolee’s Drag Brunch will also take place on Sunday from 12-2 p.m at Goolee’s Grille. This is a family-friendly event hosted by Regina Cox and Ruby, featuring Aurora Sterling, Michelle Leigh Sterling, Scarlet St. Cartier, and Joanna Blue. Tickets can be purchased online.

Pride in Rehoboth will conclude at 2 p.m. with the official Rehoboth Beach Pride Closing Party at Aqua Bar & Grill, celebrating the venue’s landmark 20th anniversary with DJ Biff until 7 p.m.

Due to an influx of visitors for the summer season, those coming from out-of-town are encouraged to use the Park & Ride.