Local
Comings & Goings
JEL Creative becomes Brunch Digital
The ‘Comings & Goings’ column chronicles important life changes of Blade readers.
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].
Josh Levie (Photo courtesy Levie)
Congratulations to Josh Levie who has just rebranded his business formerly JEL Creative and re-launched it as Brunch Digital. Levie has built the company over the last 10 years and currently has six full-time employees and three interns working for him.
He said, “I launched Brunch Digital as an open invitation for a truly inclusive experience for both my employees and client partners. Brunch is about a team, really a community, coming together to work on projects with people we would want to have over for brunch. I see everything I do as an adventure, and it’s one I want to take with my friends, colleagues, and client partners.”
One of Brunch Digital’s first projects was the development of all of the brand identity (including the mural on the bar’s patio) and website for the new LGBT sports bar, Pitchers DC. Other area nonprofits and businesses Levie has developed branding and web design for include: Pride Fund to End Gun Violence, Duplex Diner, Hummingbird Inn (LGBT-owned BnB in Easton, Md.), George Washington University’s Annual LGBT Health Forum, and LUNA+EISENLA media. Brunch Digital has developed a strategic partnership with RJ Whyte Event Production, another LGBT-owned business offering event experiences for high-profile events in the area including the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s annual RAMMY Awards Gala, and Wooly Mammoth Theatre among others. Levie grew up the D.C. area and only left when he went to college earning his bachelor’s in psychology from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa.
Congratulations also to Nick Martin who began his new position as director on the Public Affairs team at Forbes Tate Partners (FTP). He brings to them nearly a decade of experience combining policy, politics, and grassroots advocacy, specializing in healthcare issues. The FTP team has a history of working with government officials, C-Suite executives from Fortune 100 companies, and leaders of some of America’s most dynamic organizations. According to its website, “Our knowledge of the complex anatomy of government decision-making processes opens doors to our clients across the nation’s capital and around the country. We have developed and continue to maintain productive working relationships with local, state, national, and international policymakers that allow us to provide successful, integrated solutions for our clients.”
Martin’s experience includes having worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs, focused on implementation of the Affordable Care Act and MACRA. Working with a variety of different stakeholder groups, he also developed engagement strategies around open enrollment, delivery system reform, and public health crises. Additionally, he advised the Secretary of Health and Human Services and senior HHS officials on the priorities of industry and advocacy organizations before the department. He has also worked as a member of the grassroots field team at the Human Rights Campaign. Most recently he led communications and outreach efforts for the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care. He is a graduate of Northeastern University, where he received a degree in international affairs. He is a native of upstate New York and has called Washington, D.C. home for many years.
Nick Martin (Photo courtesy of Martin)
District of Columbia
Blade welcomes fall intern
Alexis McLean is student at University of North Florida
The Washington Blade this week welcomed Alexis McLean as its fall intern.
Alexis is studying political science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. She is interning with the Blade as part of a continued partnership with the Washington Center.
“I am looking forward to spending my time in the fall with the Washington Blade, as this is a new experience for me,” said Alexis. “I have not experienced any journalist jobs in the past so this would be my first time, and I am excited to better my writing and communications skills with this internship.”
Alexis’s internship with the Blade ends in early December.
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Blade welcomes fall intern
PHOTOS: Miss Gay Old Bay
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
San Francisco, long a queer safe haven, remains competitive for homebuyers
Calendar: August 28-September 3
‘Teenage Sex and Death’ has never been more entertaining
Actor Tim Curry dies at 80
