Local
Ruby Corado describes D.C. civil case as ‘persecution’
Casa Ruby founder claims board approved transfer of $400,000 in funds
(Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers translated this interview from Spanish into English.)
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Casa Ruby founder Ruby Corado told the Washington Blade on Friday during an interview in the Salvadoran capital the allegations that D.C. officials have made against her amount to “persecution.”
“This is persecution,” Corado said during an interview at a San Salvador coffee shop. “At the end of the day I am interested in people knowing all these things, because I am a human rights activist and what is happening to Ruby Corado should be an alarm for any human rights defender.”
The D.C. Department of Human Services on Sept. 24, 2021, informed Casa Ruby it was not going to renew its annual $850,000 grant that, among other things, funded Casa Ruby’s emergency “low-barrier” shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth and adults. Corado during the interview with her in El Salvador said Casa Ruby remained open and was not in debt, even though she said the D.C. government did not pay the organization for six months.
“The staff was always paid, because the organization’s principal mission is giving work to all of those people that nobody wants to employ,” she said. “The government as of today owes us around a million dollars for services we provided and we have never been reimbursed, no newspaper has said this.”
The Office of the D.C. Attorney General in a civil complaint it filed in D.C. Superior Court on July 29, 2022, alleged Corado violated the city’s Nonprofit Corporations Act in connection with its financial dealings. D.C. Superior Court Judge Danya Dayson later placed Casa Ruby under receivership.
She named the Wanda Alston Foundation, a D.C.-based organization that provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth, as the city’s receiver. The Wanda Alston Foundation in a preliminary report it filed on Sept. 13 said Casa Ruby “should be dissolved.”
An amended civil complaint the Office of the D.C. Attorney General filed in D.C. Superior Court on Nov. 28 alleges Corado withdrew more than $400,000 of Casa Ruby funds for unauthorized use in El Salvador.
The amended complaint, among other things, includes three new defendants to what legal observers say is the equivalent of a D.C. government lawsuit against Corado and Casa Ruby. The new defendants are limited liability companies that Corado created and controls. They include a new version of Casa Ruby called Casa Ruby LLC, doing business as Moxie Health; Pneuma Behavioral Health LLC; and Tigloballogistics LLC, doing business as Casa Ruby Pharmacy.
The amended complaint notes Corado claimed the new companies — and especially the pharmacy — were part of Casa Ruby’s mission, but she never received the Casa Ruby board of directors’ approval to create them. The attorney general’s office has said the board rarely met and failed to provide any oversight of Corado’s actions.
According to the amended complaint, Corado transferred large sums of money from Casa Ruby to these companies. And at some point she transferred funds from the new companies to her own personal bank account.
Both the original complaint and the amended complaint allege Corado transferred as much as $500,000 of Casa Ruby’s funds to create what she said was a new Casa Ruby in El Salvador that the board approved. But the earlier and amended complaints allege the board never authorized the El Salvador operation.
The amended complaint says Corado between April 2021 and September 2022 transferred more than $400,000 from two Casa Ruby related accounts “to accounts she held under her birth name in two El Salvador banks.” It says the Casa Ruby board “never authorized any of these transfers.”
Corado told the Blade she feels targeted because she always tells the truth. Corado added people are distracted from the truth because of a system that benefits from “lies and defamation.”
“People know my work and have seen me working and because of this there are many people who continue to support me,” she said.
The Blade in March 2021 interviewed Corado about the opening of Casa Ruby in El Salvador.
“Our work at Casa Ruby is to avoid suffering and [to offer] support through alliances, that is why we aim to share the programs for migrants that work in Washington because we have seen that they work,” she said during an interview from Casa Ruby’s new office in San Salvador, on March 18, 2021. “We will do a little more work here in El Salvador so that the LGBTQ community has greater access to these opportunities.”
Corado said part of this work included the purchase of a restaurant and nightclub in order to create jobs for LGBTQ people. Corado also opened a shelter “with limited resources, not like what had been done in Washington” and offered makeup classes and other workshops that allowed clients to learn skills to support themselves.
Corado said she began these projects with money she obtained through the sale of her home in D.C. and through her own salary. Corado categorically denied allegations that she withdrew more than $400,000 from Casa Ruby’s bank accounts without the board’s approval.
“I have everything documented in writing, where [the board] approved my salary and also where the $400,000 was approved,” said Corado.
Corado said the board always knew about the El Salvador project, which she said was part of her strategy for Casa Ruby to expand its work outside the U.S. to countries that include Guatemala and Nicaragua. Corado also denied the allegation the majority of Casa Ruby employees were paid less than $15 an hour, which is less than the D.C. minimum wage as of July 1, 2021.
The minimum wage on that date rose to $15.20 an hour.
“Does the prosecutor want to spend resources investigating Ruby Corado and throwing away her work — as they have wanted to do for the last eight years — instead of feeding the needy,” said Corado. “Let them do it.”
“The project that I presented was a priority that President Biden had, which was giving money to NGOs to ensure that people don’t continue to migrate,” added Corado. “I didn’t invent anything that wasn’t already on the agenda.”
Corado noted she was among the LGBTQ and intersex activists who met with Biden in 2021.
“I went and I talked about what the barriers were,” she said. “One of them is local government relationships with the community.”
Corado said she has “more information that she cannot reveal,” but stressed she will do it through the court system. Corado told the Blade she was afraid to speak up because she did not want to jeopardize Casa Ruby’s funding.
The next court hearing in the Casa Ruby civil case is scheduled to take place on Jan. 6, and Corado is expected to attend.
‘I never kissed anyone’s ass’
Corado was born in El Salvador.
She said one of the reasons she decided to open Casa Ruby in the country was because she needed to “heal inside” and “take care of myself” from the trauma she said she suffered during the country’s civil war, from her life on the streets of D.C. and from the loss of several people close to Casa Ruby.
She said she had issued reports about hate crimes in D.C. and the Office of the Attorney General did not work with her. Corado said she once told D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine during a meeting that she did not think he was doing enough to help the city’s LGBTQ community.
“I was on this man’s black list from that moment on,” Corado said.
Corado once again described Racine’s allegations and the tweets he made against her as baseless, and she has made her opinion to the judge known.
“I never kissed anyone’s ass. I don’t expect these people now, after 30 years, to come and approve my work,” Corado emphasized.
The office of D.C. Attorney General Racine released a statement to the Blade in response to questions about Corado’s accusations. “We opened an investigation after public reporting in the Washington Post on July 17th suggested Casa Ruby had engaged in serious violations of the District’s nonprofit laws, which our office is responsible for enforcing,” the statement read. “Our complaint, and the remarkable amount of evidence we’ve uncovered in just a short time, speaks for itself.”
Corado also said she continues to receive death threats, and her car was vandalized when she was last in D.C.
“I was staying with a friend and someone came to the apartment wanting to hurt or kill me,” she said. “I don’t know.”
Lou Chibbaro, Jr. contributed to this story.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s ‘Poodle Beach’ to be honored with historical marker
Delaware Public Archives to hold ceremony June 27
The Delaware Public Archives is set to unveil a new State of Delaware Historical Marker recognizing Rehoboth’s Poodle Beach Saturday, June 27, at 9 a.m. The unveiling will take place at the corner of Prospect Street and the South Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The unveiling ceremony is free and open to the public and will include remarks from members of the community, government officials, and representatives from the Delaware Public Archives.
Located at the southern end of the boardwalk near Queen Street, Poodle Beach is one of the most famous sections of Rehoboth Beach, having served as a gathering place for the LGBTQ community for decades.
The Delaware Public Archives said that, “The marker recognizes the site’s longstanding role in the social and cultural history of both Rehoboth Beach and the State of Delaware.”
The petition to have Poodle Beach recognized with a historical marker was started by a group of Rehoboth Beach residents in June 2020 and was officially approved in December 2020.
Although the origins of where Poodle Beach got its name are unknown, its history can be traced back to du Pont heiress and well-known lesbian Louisa Carpenter. Carpenter and her LGBTQ group of friends would travel to ‘Carpenter Beach’ toward Dewey Beach in the19 30s and ‘40s.
Over time, the beach grew in popularity and began to be used predominantly by gay men in the following decades. It wasn’t until the ‘80s when the beach spread back toward the boardwalk as people stopped making the journey to Carpenter beach.
Poodle Beach was initially called “Lazy Gay Beach” because gay men got tired of walking so far from the boardwalk to get to Carpenter Beach.
There are multiple theories that explain how the name ‘Poodle Beach’ came to be. One of the most popular is the ‘Two cousin theory’ where it is rumored that a pair of cousins would drive up from Maryland and bring their poodle dogs onto the beach.
Poodle was also the site of the popular Labor Day weekend drag volleyball games that were started in 1988 and ended with COVID in 2020.
District of Columbia
McDuffie concedes to Lewis George in D.C.’s mayoral primary
Democratic Socialist presumed winner while official vote count continues
D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) emerged as the presumed winner in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary for D.C. mayor as her lead opponent, former Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D-At-Large) conceded the race Thursday, June 18.
Both Lewis George and McDuffie have strong records of support for the for the LGBTQ community, and local LGBTQ rights activists appeared divided in their support between the two mayoral candidates.
“Earlier this morning, I called Councilmember Janeese Lewis Geroge to congratulate her on her victory and wish her success as she prepares for the general election,” McDuffie said in a statement. “The campaign may be over, but the work of building a safer, more affordable, more prosperous city continues,” he said
It its most recent release of the official first-choice vote count at 1:54 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, the D.C. Board of Elections reported Lewis George had 55,214 votes or 52.87 percent of the vote. McDuffie had 38,033 votes, or 36.42 percent.
Each of the five other Democratic mayoral candidates had less than 4 percent of the vote, including Rini Sampath, who self-identifies as queer, who had 3.093 votes or 3.02 percent.
With about 75 percent of D.C. voters registered a Democrats, Lewis George’s status as the apparent Democratic nominee makes here the odds-on favorite to win the general election in November. Board of Elections records show that no Republican candidate ran for mayor in the D.C. Republican primary on June 16 and one Statehood Green Party candidate — Robert G. Gross — ran unopposed. The latest vote count shows he received 312 votes from registered Statehood Green Party members.
With Lewis George running as a democratic socialist and left leaning “progressive” candidate and McDuffie running as a more moderate Democrat on a wide range of issues, LGBTQ activists, like voters in general, appear to backed either of the two on non-LGBTQ issues since both are strongly supportive of the LGBTQ community, including transgender-related issues.
Lewis George received the endorsement of the Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.s largest local LGBTQ political group.
D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large), who supported Lewis Geroge for mayor, emerged as the apparent winner in the race for D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. He received 62.9 percent of the vote in a five-candidate race. His closest opponent, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), who conceded the race to White, received 21.52 percent of the vote. White and Pinto have been longtime supporters of the LGBTQ community.
In other races, D.C. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, received 76.51 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race, making him the clearcut winner in the primary.
In the Ward 1 D.C. Council race, where five LGBTQ supportive candidates were competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Brianne Nadeau, who is not running for re-election, community activist Aparna Raj, who identifies as bisexual, has emerged as the apparent winner with 46.91 percent of the vote. Her closest opponent, gay candidate and LGBTQ rights advocate Miguel Trindade Deramo, had 20.63 percent.
D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) and Councilmember Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3) ran unopposed for re-election in the primary and emerged as winners. Also emerging as apparent primary winners were Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), with 74.4 percenter of the vote, and D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb, with 90.4 percent.
In the At-Large D.C. Council race where nine Democrats were competing for the seat being vacated by incumbent Anita Bonds, who is retiring, local pharmacist and community activist Oye Owolewa, who was endorsed by Capital Stonewall Democrats, was leading with 33.89 percent
In the special election to fill the other At-Large Council eat that under the city’s Home Rule Charter must go to a non-Democrat, former Councilmember Elissa Silverman was leading with 54.87 percent of the vote in a three-candidate race. Incumbent Doni Crawford, who was temporarily appointed to the seat, was in second place with 24.09 percent.
At least 14 known LGBTQ candidates were among several dozen candidates competing for seats on the D.C. Democratic State Committee in the June 16 primary.
Longtime local gay Democratic activist and Ward 8 community leader Philip Pannell emerged as the apparent winner in the race for D.C. Democratic National Committee, one of the two highest-level State Committee positions, along with the National Committeewoman post. Pannell received 40,073 votes or 49.32 percent of the vote, according to the latest vote count.
Coming in second place in the National Committeeman race was gay Democratic activist David Meadows, who had 34,875 votes or 42.92 percent. The third candidate in the race, Mike Panetta, had 5,904 votes or 7.27 percent.
The winners couldn’t immediately be determined in the races where most of the other LGBTQ State Committee candidates were running. Two of the presumed winners who had a sufficient number of votes to win prior to the final vote count were trans candidate Vida Rangel for the Ward 1 Democratic Committeewoman seat; and Stevie McCarty for the Ward 2 Democratic Committeeman seat.
District of Columbia
Pride is here!
Parade, festival, parties planned for 51st annual D.C. celebration
The 51st annual Capital Pride is already underway with parties and events throughout D.C. The Capital Pride Parade and Capital Pride Festival are the two large signature events slated for this weekend, though there are many other LGBTQ Pride celebrations planned for venues throughout the city in the days to come.
Friday, June 19
The Capital Pride Alliance and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs are hosting the LGBTQ+ Women’s Symposium at Arlo Washington DC (333 G St., N.W.) with sessions scheduled from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and a day party from 3-7 p.m. The symposium brings together community leaders and advocates for panel discussions and dialogue. RSVP for the free event on capitalpride.org.
The RIOT! Official Capital Pride Opening Party is scheduled for 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m. at Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., N.E.). Bob the Drag Queen will be running a DJ set and Myki Meeks scheduled as the headlining performer. Area DJs and performers include: Bambi, Baphomette, Bumper, Cake Pop!, Connor, DJ Ed Bailey, DJ Diyanna Monet, Evry Pleasure, Jakknife Complex, Mari Con Carne, Pussy Noir and WessTheDJ. Advance tickets run from $49-$59 and will be $69 at the door. Capital Pride General and VIP pass packages also include admission and can be purchased on capitalpride.org. The event is 18+.
KINETIC Presents is holding a Pride opening party, UNCUT XXL: Heavy Load from 10 p.m.-4 a.m at A.i. Warehouse (530 Penn St. N.E.). There will be music by Alex Acosta, Felipe Lira and Mitch Ferrino. Tickets are $80.33-$96.62 + fees on Eventbrite. The event is 21+.
Saturday, June 20
A Capital Pride Family Fun Festival will be held at Stead Park (1625 P St., N.W.) from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The event is designed for families and children with games, crafts, glitter tattoos, hair tinsel, story time, an inflatable obstacle course, and more. The event is free and especially designed for children ages 2-10, though is open to everyone.
The Crack of Noon Parade Brunch is scheduled for 12-3 p.m. at Viceroy Washington DC (1430 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.). It is an all-you-can-eat gourmet brunch with mimosas. Tickets for the event are limited and range from $75-$90 or as a part of the VIP package available on capitalpride.org. The event is 21+.
The 17th Street Pride Block Party will run concurrently with the Capital Pride Parade from noon-10 p.m. on 17th St., N.W. between P and S streets. The event is presented by Absolut.
The Capital Pride Parade is one of the largest in the region and is expected to draw tens of thousands of participants and spectators. The annual parade is scheduled for 3-7:30 p.m. and will move through the Shaw, Logan Circle, Downtown and Penn Quarter neighborhoods. The parade is anticipated to begin at 14th Street and T Street, N.W. and end at Pennsylvania Avenue and 9th Street, N.W. The event is free to spectate and open to people of all ages, however, there are grandstand bleachers set up at Franklin Park (957 14th St., N.W.) for a shaded, seated spot for $40 in advance. Tickets for the grandstand bleachers are available on capitalpride.org. Monroe Alise and David Archuleta are serving as the parade grand marshals.
The Official Capital Pride Women’s Party, ELIX-Her, is slated for 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at Decades DC (1219 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) The multi-floor event has a different “vibe” for each floor: Latin/reggaeton/Caribbean, house/dance/pop, and hip-hop/rap/afro/reggae musical genres. Tickets are $32.15-$42.59 + fees and can be purchased on capitalpride.org. The event is 21+.
The MIXTAPE Pride Party is scheduled for 10 p.m. at the 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) with DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer. Tickets are $45.65 and are available on ticketmaster.com. The dance party is 21+.
KINETIC Presents partners with Capital Pride to produce the Official Main Event party, Toy Land, from 10 p.m.-4 a.m at Echostage (2135 Queens Chapel Rd., N.E.). Toy Land is 18+ and features music by GSP and Matt Suave. There will be a special performance by Alaska from “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Tickets are $63.35-$69.15 and available on ticketmaster.com.
Sunday, June 21
The Capital Pride Festival is scheduled for 12-10 p.m. on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. The event will include food courts, multiple beverage gardens, vendors, community organizations, games, art, performances, dancing and more. Donations are appreciated by organizers, but the event is free. There are designated beverage garden areas for attendees 21+, but the majority of the festival is open to people of all ages. The Capital Pride Concert on the main stage of the festival runs from 1-8 p.m. with a sunset dance party with DJ Tracy Young planned for 8-10 p.m. The stage is at the east end of the festival on Pennsylvania Ave. at 3rd Street. The event is free and open to the public, but VIP passes for an area near the stage for attendees 21+ are available on capitalpride.org and range from $230-$290 or as a part of a $450 Capital Pride VIP package. Concert headliners include Maren Morris, Myki Meeks, Leikeli47 and Harrison. Other performers include Carlos Ova Dupress, Kora Edge, Ruepratt, RenRiot, Vagenesis, Kitty Lovelace, Ari Voxx, RAYSHARD, Bryce Bowyn, the 2026 Capital Pride royal court, Lisa Lisa, Ms. DC Black Pride and Destiny B. Childs. An accessibility zone is available with ASL interpretation and accessible seating.
KINETIC’s discoVERS closing party is scheduled from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. at SAX (734 11th St., N.W.). Music is provided by Alexis Tucci and Clinton Foster. Tickets are $41.76-$69.46 + fees and are available at kineticpresents.com. The event is 21+.
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