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Comings & Goings
Etzkorn joins board of Cosmos Club Historic Preservation Foundation
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 Lars Etzkorn on joining the board of the Cosmos Club Historic Preservation Foundation. Etzkorn had previously served as its legal adviser. The board is dedicated to stewardship of the club’s historic building, the Townsend House, and to promoting preservation in the Dupont Circle and Massachusetts Avenue neighborhoods.
On joining the board Etzkorn said, “It’s an honor to work with such esteemed people to preserve a historic treasure, the Townsend House, as well as to help in the rest of the board’s mission.”
Etzkorn has a legal practice that focuses on estate and life planning, trust and estate administration, charitable giving and governance. He works with individuals and families, and with local and national cultural, education and health organizations. He began his career as counsel with the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and has served as counselor to the vice chair at the Interstate Commerce Commission. Etzkorn also served in senior and cabinet appointments for four mayors in two cities — for Bosley and Harmon in St. Louis and Williams and Fenty in D.C. Etzkorn is Secretary of the Board of the Downtown DC Foundation; serves on the National Advisory Council of the Gephardt Institute for Civic and Community Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis; and is a member of the board of Dumbarton Arts & Education.
Etzkorn earned his undergraduate degree in history from Washington University and graduated cum laude from the Saint Louis University School of Law.
Congratulations also to Michael Anthony Vazquez, MTS, on founding The Maiden Group, a social impact agency and research and consulting firm facilitating partnerships that serve as a vanguard against autocracy and in pursuit of an inclusive democracy. He said, “Out of years of labor, long discussions with friends, coalition partners, and advisors, I launched The Maiden Group to provide a focused space to facilitate cross-sector engagement and strategic deployment in response to the rise of autocracy and the threats posed by Christian Nationalists and their associates. The Maiden Group is but one member of an ecosystem in the fight to not only preserve democracy, but to bring into being the inclusive democracy that we dream of, even if we have never lived it. Through an ethic of shared work, or what mujerista theologians call en conjunto, I believe we can not only stop the threats we are facing, but also create the world we dream of.”
Vazquez currently serves as an adviser at Public Private Strategies. He formerly served as the Religion & Faith Director at the Human Rights Campaign; Senior Communications Strategist at the USAID Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; and Founder of Brave Commons.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from Weber State University, Ogden, Utah; and his master’s of Theological Studies from the Divinity School at Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth Summer Kickoff Party set for May 15 with Ashley Biden
The Washington Blade’s 19th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 15 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Ashley Biden, daughter of President Joe Biden, has joined the list of speakers, the Blade announced. She will accept an award on behalf of her brother Beau Biden for his LGBTQ advocacy work as Delaware attorney general. (Her appearance was rescheduled from last year.)
The event, to be held this year at Diego’s (37298 Rehoboth Ave. Ext.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient will be introduced at the event.
The event will also feature remarks from state Rep. Claire Snyder-Hall. New CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Dr. Robin Brennan and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Diego’s.
A suggested donation of $25 is partially tax deductible and includes a drink ticket and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.
District of Columbia
Curve magazine honors Washington Blade publisher
Lynne Brown named to 2026 Power List
Washington Blade Publisher Lynne Brown has been named to the 2026 Curve Power List celebrating LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals in North America who are blazing trails in their chosen fields.
“From sports and entertainment icons to corporate leaders and lawmakers, these individuals are breaking barriers, challenging norms, and shaping the future,” Curve Foundation/Curve magazine said in announcing this year’s list, which includes ABC newscaster Robin Roberts, comedian/actress Hannah Einbinder, and singer/actress Renee Rapp, among others.
Brown has worked for the Washington Blade for nearly 40 years. She was named publisher in 2007 before becoming a co-owner in 2010.
“I am honored to be recognized by Curve magazine during Lesbian Visibility Week,” Brown said. “Receiving this Curve honor is twofold. I was an early subscriber to Curve. I enjoy the product and know its history. Its journalism, layout and humorous features have inspired me.
“As an owner/publisher, receiving recognition from a similar source acknowledges my work and efforts, with a sincerity I truly appreciate. Franco Stevens, the publisher of Curve, is a business person of duration, experience, and purpose. The fact that they are in the media business, and honoring me and my publication makes it a tiny bit sweeter.”
Nominations for the Curve Power List come from the community: peers, mentors, fans, and employers.
Curve explained the significance of the list in its announcement: “An annual, publicly nominated list of impactful LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary changemakers is crucial in current times to counter discrimination, legislative rollbacks, hostility, and the invisibility of queer women within mainstream and marginal spaces and endeavors. Such a list also fosters encouragement and solidarity, and elevates voices and achievements—from high-profile roles to under appreciated areas of life.”
Rehoboth Beach
Auction of Rehoboth’s Blue Moon canceled
Details on sale of iconic bar, restaurant not disclosed
The Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach, Del., has been an iconic presence in the local LGBTQ community for four decades but its status remains murky after a sheriff’s auction of the property was abruptly called off on Tuesday.
The property was listed for sale in December. At that time, owner Tim Ragan told the Blade that he is committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Ragan said in December. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney were separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale were listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They were listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price was not publicly disclosed.
But then, earlier this year, the Blue Moon real estate listing turned up on the Sussex County Sheriff’s Office auction site. The auction was slated for Tuesday, April 21 but hours before the sale, the listing changed to “active under contract” indicating that a buyer has been found but the sale is not yet final. As of Wednesday morning, the listing has been removed from the sheriff’s auction site.
Ragan didn’t respond to Blade inquiries about the auction. Back in December, he told the Blade, “It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” noting that he turns 70 this year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed, nor was the sale price.
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