National
Mitchell Gold criticizes successor company for shutdown of business
Blames investment firm, PNC Bank for closure of iconic furniture brand

Mitchell Gold, co-founder of the furniture manufacturing and retail company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams that abruptly shut down its operations two weeks ago nine years after Gold and his business partner Bob Williams sold it to The Stephens Group investment firm, says the shutdown was unnecessary and could have been prevented.
“This shutdown did not have to happen,” Gold told the Washington Blade in a statement. “PNC Bank had a dispute with the MGBW owners, The Stephens Group, that turned into adults acting irresponsibly,” he said.
“The Stephens Group issued a statement that this was out of their control, and that simply was and is not accurate,” Gold said. “They own and control the company. They are a family-owned equity investment firm with tons of money from Little Rock, Arkansas,” he said, adding that the firm had the resources to keep the Gold + Williams operation up and running.
A spokesperson for the Stephens Group said the firm would have no comment on Gold’s statement, saying the company stands by the statement it issued last week announcing it had closed the Gold + Williams stores and factories.
“We invested in Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams (the ‘Company’) in 2014 in full support of the company’s priorities, solid vision, and unique offerings,” the statement says. “Recently, we invested another $20 million to restructure the Company to support its operations and set the business up for success moving forward,” the statement continues.
“Unfortunately, shortly after this restructuring, the Company’s lender withdrew its support for the Company’s operations, forcing Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams to cease its manufacturing operations and liquidate the business,” it says. “The Stephens Group knows that the Company has done the best it could in a very challenging situation and empathizes with all those who are impacted.”
Gold, who identifies the lender as PNC Bank, says in his statement that he believes The Stephens Group was fully capable of arranging for a bridge loan to enable the company to continue operating.
A spokesperson for PNC Bank also declined to comment on Gold’s claim that PNC Bank may also have been responsible for the Gold + Williams company shutdown.
“We do not comment on specific customer accounts or issues,” the spokesperson said in a short statement. “Like most banks, we make lending decisions based on regular reviews of client creditworthiness,” the statement says.
The Gold + Williams company was founded in 1989 initially by Gold and a short time later Williams joined Gold as a partner. Both identify as gay and are longtime LGBTQ rights advocates.
The Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams company expanded its operations from a single furniture store in D.C. to the operation of 24 high-end furniture stores across the country and three factories in North Carolina before the two sold the majority controlling shares of the company to The Stephens Group in 2014. Gold said the sale was finalized in 2015.
“They were in control and had oversight of the company as it got into deep financial trouble,” Gold said of The Stephens Group. He said a significant part of the business was with interior designers, who ordered products for their clients after designing space for the clients’ homes.
“Either they or their client paid for the merchandise and now, they very probably might not get it and have to fight to get their money back,” Gold said. “It is just not fair,” he said.
“Although the Stephens Group has already lost many millions, they could at the very least put in place a bridge loan to get the company up and running under the extremely competent leadership of Chris Moye with my support to get it to a place where they can be financed out if that is ultimately their desire,” Gold concludes.
Chris Moye began as the Gold + Williams CEO on March 27 of this year.
New York
Two teens shot steps from Stonewall Inn after NYC Pride parade
One of the victims remains in critical condition

On Sunday night, following the annual NYC Pride March, two girls were shot in Sheridan Square, feet away from the historic Stonewall Inn.
According to an NYPD report, the two girls, aged 16 and 17, were shot around 10:15 p.m. as Pride festivities began to wind down. The 16-year-old was struck in the head and, according to police sources, is said to be in critical condition, while the 17-year-old was said to be in stable condition.
The Washington Blade confirmed with the NYPD the details from the police reports and learned no arrests had been made as of noon Monday.
The shooting took place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, mere feet away from the most famous gay bar in the city — if not the world — the Stonewall Inn. Earlier that day, hundreds of thousands of people marched down Christopher Street to celebrate 55 years of LGBTQ people standing up for their rights.
In June 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, members of the LGBTQ community pushed back, sparking what became known as the Stonewall riots. Over the course of two days, LGBTQ New Yorkers protested the discriminatory policing of queer spaces across the city and mobilized to speak out — and throw bottles if need be — at officers attempting to suppress their existence.
The following year, LGBTQ people returned to the Stonewall Inn and marched through the same streets where queer New Yorkers had been arrested, marking the first “Gay Pride March” in history and declaring that LGBTQ people were not going anywhere.
New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, whose district includes Greenwich Village, took to social media to comment on the shooting.
“After decades of peaceful Pride celebrations — this year gun fire and two people shot near the Stonewall Inn is a reminder that gun violence is everywhere,” the lesbian lawmaker said on X. “Guns are a problem despite the NRA BS.”
New York
Zohran Mamdani participates in NYC Pride parade
Mayoral candidate has detailed LGBTQ rights platform

Zohran Mamdani, the candidate for mayor of New York City who pulled a surprise victory in the primary contest last week, walked in the city’s Pride parade on Sunday.
The Democratic Socialist and New York State Assembly member published photos on social media with New York Attorney General Letitia James, telling followers it was “a joy to march in NYC Pride with the people’s champ” and to “see so many friends on this gorgeous day.”
“Happy Pride NYC,” he wrote, adding a rainbow emoji.
Mamdani’s platform includes a detailed plan for LGBTQ people who “across the United States are facing an increasingly hostile political environment.”
His campaign website explains: “New York City must be a refuge for LGBTQIA+ people, but private institutions in our own city have already started capitulating to Trump’s assault on trans rights.
“Meanwhile, the cost of living crisis confronting working class people across the city hits the LGBTQIA+ community particularly hard, with higher rates of unemployment and homelessness than the rest of the city.”
“The Mamdani administration will protect LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers by expanding and protecting gender-affirming care citywide, making NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city, and creating the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.”
U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court upholds ACA rule that makes PrEP, other preventative care free
Liberal justices joined three conservatives in majority opinion

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday upheld a portion of the Affordable Care Act requiring private health insurers to cover the cost of preventative care including PrEP, which significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion in the case, Kennedy v. Braidwood Management. He was joined by two conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown-Jackson.
The court’s decision rejected the plaintiffs’ challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s reliance on the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force to “unilaterally” determine which types of care and services must be covered by payors without cost-sharing.
An independent all-volunteer panel of nationally recognized experts in prevention and primary care, the 16 task force members are selected by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to serve four-year terms.
They are responsible for evaluating the efficacy of counseling, screenings for diseases like cancer and diabetes, and preventative medicines — like Truvada for PrEP, drugs to reduce heart disease and strokes, and eye ointment for newborns to prevent infections.
Parties bringing the challenge objected especially to the mandatory coverage of PrEP, with some arguing the drugs would “encourage and facilitate homosexual behavior” against their religious beliefs.
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