Local
Bachelor’s Mill license remains in ‘limbo’
Popular gay bar has been closed since October
The co-owner of a company called Halo LLC that began negotiations to buy D.C.’s Bachelor’s Mill gay bar in 2017 said the “deal fell through” last June and he is unsure who currently holds the once popular bar’s liquor license.
In a little-noticed development, the Bachelor’s Mill located at 1102-1104 8th St., S.E. near the Washington Navy Yard closed its doors on Oct. 10, 2018, according to Courtney Williams, editor and publisher of the online local LGBT newsletter Community Life in the DMV.
Michel Daley, who owns Halo LLC with his business partner Jewell Elliot, said he and Elliot decided to discontinue plans to open their own club called Halo in the Bachelor’s Mill building after the building was sold in a foreclosure auction in June 2018.
He said his and Elliot’s plans were to buy the building at the same time they purchased the liquor license from Bachelor’s Mill owner David J. Lewis. Lewis couldn’t immediately be reached for comment this week.
The Bachelor’s Mill has catered to a mostly black gay clientele since it first opened in 1981 in another building at 8th and E Streets, S.E. The club moved to its location near the Navy Yard in 1988. Williams said Lewis acquired the club in 2007.
“This came as a surprise considering that during the week before closing the club kicked off a week of activities celebrating new management,” Williams said. He said a sign appeared on the building shortly after the club’s closing saying the building was up for leasing.
Aaron King, a spokesperson for the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, known as ABRA, told the Blade last week that ABRA records showed that the Bachelor’s Mills ownership and liquor license had been transferred to Halo LLC, but he could not provide a date for when that happened.
King also sent the Blade documents showing that Halo LLC had applied for placing the club’s license in ABRA’s office for “safekeeping,” a status that is required to prevent a license from being revoked if the business is no longer operating.
He sent the Blade another document showing that the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board approved a Temporary Operator’s Retail Permit to allow Halo LLC to operate the club on a temporary basis while it was in the process of acquiring the liquor license through a transfer from Bachelor’s Mill.
Daley told the Blade on Tuesday that an ABRA official declined to accept a check from Halo LLC for payment for placing the license in safekeeping, saying that Bachelor’s Mill owner Lewis appeared to have applied for the safekeeping status.
Asked whether he and his partner have any plans to open their club Halo in the Bachelor’s Mill building, Daley said, “We don’t plan to do that. Our involvement is gone.” But after pausing he added, “In theory, we can reinstate it if we had a conversation with the current owner.”
A spokesperson for Northeast Management Consulting LLC, the company that bought the Bachelor’s Mill building in June, declined to comment on the company’s plans for the building or whether it would allow a bar or club to continue operating there.
A gay man was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Saamel and Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate Sanchez-McCray, 42, was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray shot to death inside a home in Petersburg.
Sanchez-McCray’s brother, Jamal Mitchell Diamond, in a public statement the Washington Blade received from Equality Virginia and GLAAD, said Sanchez-McCray was not transgender as initial reports indicated.
“Our family has always embraced the fullness of who he was. He used the names Saamel, Shyyell, and Mable interchangeably, and we honor all of them. There is no division within our family regarding how he is being represented — only a shared commitment to preserving his truth with love and respect,” said Diamond.
“He was also deeply committed to community work through Nationz Foundation, where he worked and completed multiple state-certified programs to support marginalized communities,” added Diamond. “That work meant a great deal to him.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
Markwayne Mullin confirmed as next DHS secretary
Gay man murdered in Va.
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
