Local
Ebbin backs gay candidate’s opponent in Va. delegate race
Levine running for 45th District seat
Mark Levine (Photo courtesy of Mark Levine)
State Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria), one of two openly gay members of the Virginia Legislature, has endorsed one of four candidates challenging gay rights attorney and talk show host Mark Levine, who’s running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.
Levine, who served as legislative counsel to gay former U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), is running for the 45th District seat in the House of Delegates, which includes parts of Alexandria and smaller sections of Arlington and Fairfax counties.
Ebbin said he decided to endorse Alexandria government official Craig Fifer in the June 9 Democratic primary because “he has the skills and experience to make a difference for LGBT people and all voters in the 45th District.”
The winner of the primary is expected to easily win in the November general election in the solidly Democratic district.
Levine has said during campaign appearances that his legislative experience in Congress working for Frank on a wide range of issues and his long record of support and advocacy for progressive causes makes him the best-qualified candidate for the seat.
“I respect Adam,” Levine told the Blade on Wednesday. “But I don’t think anyone could doubt that I have done far more for the LGBT community than anyone else in this race.”
Levine points to his work in representing groups pushing for marriage equality legislation in several states and jurisdictions, including California and D.C. Among other things, Levine represented D.C.’s Gertrude Stein Democratic Club in filing a court brief opposing an effort to place D.C.’s same-sex marriage law on the ballot in a voter referendum in 2010.
The 45th District seat became open earlier this year when incumbent Del. Rob Krupicka (D) announced he would not seek re-election. None of the five candidates running for the seat have widespread name recognition. Levine’s role as a talk show host on radio and cable TV and his unsuccessful run last year for a U.S. House seat in Northern Virginia gives him more name recognition most of his opponents, according to political observers.
The other candidates, in addition to Levine and Fifer, are considered progressive Democrats who support LGBT rights. They include Larry Altenburg, Julie Jakopic, and Clarence Tong. No Republican candidate had entered the race for the GOP nomination as of this week.
Baltimore
The fight to save one of Baltimore’s last gay bars
Leon’s closed in July after its owner’s death
By JULIE SCHARPER and WESLEY CASE | Soon after Jim Becker came out as gay in 1967, he ducked into a Mount Vernon bar called Leon’s.
In the dark, smoky bar, men used pseudonyms for fear of being outed, as homosexual acts were illegal in Maryland. Bartenders, wary of vice squad raids, would blow a whistle if couples leaned in for a kiss.
But to Becker, arriving at Leon’s was a kind of homecoming. He could explore his identity, connect with other gay men and build community in the anxious years before the 1969 Stonewall uprising, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ rights movement.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Protest Pizza owners say community has expressed support
Gay activist Randy Downs said he and his business and life partner Ricky Bennett are grateful for the support they have received from the Dupont Circle community after they released a video showing a suspect breaking into their recently opened pizza shop and taking money from a cash register shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing black clothing with his face covered, smashing the glass front door of Protest Pizza, located at 1633 ½ P St., N.W. The video, which Downs and Bennett provided to D.C. police, also shows the suspect climbing over the bar to get to a cash register, which he opened to take out cash.
A D.C. police report obtained by the Washington Blade lists the incident as a Burglary in the Second Degree and says the owners reported “approximately $78 in cash” was taken from the cash register. The report says the incident is not listed as a suspected hate crime.
Downs told the Washington Blade that after he and Bennett reported the break-in and theft on social media, they received an overwhelming showing of support from neighbors and others, including business owners, from across the nation.
“The break-in was upsetting, but it is not what will define Protest Pizza,” Downs said. “What defines us is how quickly people showed up,” he told the Blade. “One person came looking for a cash register; our community saw a gathering place worth protecting. The response reminded us that Protest’s real value was never in the register.”
Downs said he and Bennett, who live around the corner on the section of 17th Street, N.W., near several other bars and restaurants, including the gay bar JRs are located, opened Protest Pizza in November 2025.
“Ricky and I built Protest Pizza as a positive, welcoming, queer owned neighborhood restaurant and bar — a space for protest and joy,” he said.
A D.C. police spokesperson said police offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the type of burglary and theft that occurred at Protest Pizza. Police say anyone with information to help solve this type of crime should call the police tipline at 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Advocates honored at Engendered Spirit Awards
Annual ceremony held at conclusion of Trans Pride DC
The 2026 SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the conclusion of the day-long Trans Pride DC: Encore.
Honorees included D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs Deputy Director Vida Rangel; the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc.; and Connor Keuntje, CLP, CLPC.
Trans Pride DC: Encore was held throughout Saturday with several workshop sessions and a virtual conversation with actress and advocate Dominique Jackson.
The annual Engendered Spirit Awards were renamed the “SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards” in honor of SaVanna Wanzer, founder of D.C. Trans Pride. Wanzer died on April 24 of this year.
Speakers at the ceremony included Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Bianca Sprague, executive director of D.C. Trans Pride.
“The intent behind this award and honoring members of our communities, organizations, and allies, is to really elevate all of the work that they’re doing to provide resources, tools, learning opportunities and connections: centering trans folks, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals,” Sprague said.
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