What a tough year for Joe Sestak and Dan Onorato. Philly and Pittsburgh Pride are on the same days. Onorato made the good call to attend Pittsburgh's event, but Sestak is in Philly.
Sestak is sending a surrogate to Pgh, but I think it might speak volumes as to whom he sends. As I said earlier in the year, I truly think his failure to attend the Steel City Stonewall endorsement event cost him the endorsement. Of course, it could be the decision to endorse Specter that impelled him to stick with Philly. Who knows?
I spoke with Bill Peduto last night and he confirmed he's attending (he was out of the country last year). I think there were years when Bill was the only politician who attended. How far we've come ...
In other news, you may have already known this-- word went out a couple days ago -- but county executive Dan Onorato will be speaking at the PrideFest opening ceremonies on June 13. I'm guessing he's got a little ways to go before he's as comfortable touring gay bars as, say, Ed Rendell. But combined with steps being taken by the county to provide domestic partner benefits, it's progress.
This is simply not true. Whomever is sharing this "word" is grossly misleading the masses ... Onorato spoke at Pride LAST YEAR. Not a decade ago. Here's the photo:
Why is it news that he's coming AGAIN to his hometown Pridefest?
Could it be that his campaign might want him at this event to get the very critical support of Philly progressives?
The problem is the pinkwashers aren't content to just put him out there as the best choice. They have to build this entire fairyland where he's the great hope for homosexuals, when we all know the best we can hope for is that he won't do anything too awful. It makes me want to vomit that he gets credit for a commission saying domestic partner benefits are a good thing. It really makes me want to vomit that good journalists like Chris Potter rarely if ever mention the fact that Onorato's failure to act on this for six+ years caused City employees of the 911 Center to lose benefits. To be fair, that falls on the shoulders of Mayor Murphy and City Council, too.
But for crying out loud ... we are supposed to turn cartwheels and clap our hands with glee because our Chief Executive comes to Pridefest again? Girl, please.
Speaking of which, Luke didn't show last year and sent the City HRC Chair in his stead. Anyone taking bets that he'll blow it off again until he's up for election?
Yes, my standards for progress are higher than Chris Potter's, but it isn't his family's health insurance in the balance, is it?
The state Ethics Commission and the city Ethics Hearing Board will not review Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's nomination of his brother to the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority board, despite requests sent by local officials.
Mayor Ravenstahl nominated his brother, newly elected state Rep. Adam Ravenstahl, to the Alcosan board on May 19, the day after his brother won the special election to the 20th District state House seat, which includes the North Side.
My employer won't let me hire my brother to work for me or have any role in the organization over which I have influence. This just ILLUSTRATES the very influence Peduto and Shields are worried about Lukey having over the ALCOSAN board.
OK, folks, so finally we see some payoff from the Allegheny County Anti-Discrimination ordinance in practical terms.
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued new rules requiring grant recipients to comply with local anti-discrimination laws.
Traditionally, HUD requires all applicants for competitive grant funding to comply with all applicable federal fair housing and civil rights requirements including those expressed in Fair Housing Act; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Now HUD will further stipulate that applicants and their sub-recipients must comply with state or local laws proscribing housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It is estimated there are approximately 20 states and the District of Columbia that have laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation discrimination. In addition, 12 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.
HUD?s General Section will not consider an applicant?s submission if they fail to meet minimum thresholds which will now include being able to demonstrate that they have not been charged with a systemic violation of state or local law proscribing discrimination in housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
This means all local HUD grant recipients will be forced to comply with the City and County ordinances that protect these classes. I once sat on a HUD revew committee and several of the applicants were faith based organizatons so it will be fascinating to watch the various loopholes shake themselves out in light of this far-reaching federal mandate.
It also adds some teeth to local Section 8 voucher recipients who might encounter, shall we say, resistance, from landlords who don't want to move a gay family into their property (they aren't supposed to have a choice to reject applicants, but let's be serious).
This is like a federal matching grant in its awesome implications. None of these grant recipients can sidestep the local law by playing the federal Fair Housing Act card. Inspiring news for local fair housing advocates who have worked tirelessly to build these (and other protections) into local ordinances, place by place while the Fair Housing Act itself is what needs to change. HUD can't change legislation, but this powerful move sends positive signs about future directions when the Act comes up for reauthorization.
My hat is off once again to Allegheny County Council for paving the way to ensure fair housing for economically vulnerable folks in the County.
One last fact. Some HUD grant recipients play ball in multiple counties. The easiest thing to implement will be program wide non-discrimination rather than cherry picking locations that don't have these expansive protections. We'll see what happens ...
We've all heard about the ridiculous/offensive/hateful decision of BP to spend millions ($50 I believe) on a PR campaign, $50 million that would clean up a lot of dying birds and sealife. Or lost compensate people for lost income. You get the point.
Here in Pittsburgh, we have a mini-version of corporate bullshit that values public relations over the welfare of human beings, namely their employees. American Eagle, thy name is corporate meanie.
AE was the corporate sponsor for a childcare center on the Southside to the tune of $200 K. Imagine how wonderful it would be for a corporation with lots of below-living-wage employees to have access to quality childcare!
Then imagine a 90 day notice saying it is closing! My friends on Facebook have been frantic to find a substitute. But still, this cost cutting move saves jobs, right?
What a slap in the face this little tidbit must be ...
American Eagle Outfitters announced Thursday it won the right to name a new North Shore entertainment complex and the venue's Ohio-based developer said apartments and condos could be its next project.
Construction on the $12 million indoor-outdoor complex dubbed Stage AE began in April. It's expected to be completed in the fall with enough outdoor seating for up to 5,500 people and indoor seating for 2,400 people.
<snip>
State taxpayers will chip in $2.5 million to build the entertainment complex, or about 21 percent of the overall construction cost. The Steelers declined to discuss the terms of American Eagle's contribution.
"I can't disclose those to you. We made an agreement with all of our parties not to do that," said Mark Hart, the Steelers' director of business.
An American Eagle spokeswoman also declined to disclose how much the company paid the Steelers for the naming rights. She said the multi-year agreement is the first time the company paid for naming rights.
So naming rights = good PR. Closure of daycare = unessential PR? Even if enrollment of AE employees has been declining, how does that justify 90 days notice? Clearly, some AE bureacrat didn't even have the compassion to allow the parents enough time to find decent substitutes.
Or they just don't care. Screw working class parents and their Target outfits. There's money to be made from folks who have disposable income for concerts, not diapers. Imagine when they roll out the Black and Gold bedazzled AE baseball caps?
I wonder if the "state taxpayers" realize the costs of daycare closures. Inevitably, people are going to leave the workforce because they can't find childcare. I'm sure productivity is almost zero for the harried parents. And what about the actual AE employees who have just been completely bitch slapped by heartless overlords that were lured to the Southside Works with public money in the first place?
Maybe they'll get to stand outside the new concert venue and listen to the music?
I wonder if this new "NorthShore" complex is going to employ Northside residents?
Major suckitude failure, American Eagle. You are the worst company in Pittsburgh right now.
post to come on saturday on the recent reg changes at HUD and what they mean for folks here in Pgh and Allegheny County. also makes the push for statewide nondiscrimination HB 300 soooo important for affordable housing.
The Yuma Mayor doesn't think limp wristed men don't belong in the military. The first casualty of the Iraq War speaks out ...
These hateful words are absolutely inconsistent with the unbending physical and mental courage that I encountered among all of the men and women with whom I served, whether gay or straight. Many members in my unit knew I was gay ? and this simple truth never once came in the way of our ability to do our job. It didn?t stop Navy corpsman Brian Alaniz from heroically coming to my aid after I stepped on a landmine, earning me the dubious distinction of being the first casualty in the Iraq War. Minutes later, he would become the second casualty of the war. Since then, we have stood by each other ? literally ? as we learned to walk again with our new prosthetic legs.
Because of my injuries, my wrist might not be as strong as it once was, but my fidelity to this country and its founding ideals has never once wavered. Gay and lesbian service members have always fought to defend this country ? soon, we will be able to do so as equals. On the next Memorial Day, I ask Al Krieger to remember our sacrifices, too.
If you even consider going to Arizona, you are not invited to my summer soirees.
According to the Human Rights Commission, the Joint Commission, the largest organization that accredits hospitals nationwide, announced recently that, in the future, all hospitals in America will need to have a non-discrimination policy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Once the new rules are in place, "the horror stories" of loved ones being met with hostility at the worst of times and of people being denied care, will be a thing of the past, HRC President Joe Solmonese said. This news coincides with a report the HRC released today, showing that among 200 of the nation's largest hospitals, 93 percent do not have fully-inclusive non-discrimination policies that protect all LGBT people
Interesting news, but compliance could take years and count on faith based hospitals opting out.
Dr. Jillian Weiss is someone I admire greatly. I've been in touch with her for months, trying my best to contribute to the passage of the Employment Non Discrimination Act on the federal level. I was part of the ground troops getting commitments from our local electeds and I've written about it quite a bit.
So it is sad to realize that it won't happen. Coming on the heels of the Dyke and Trans March, two groups disproportionately impacted be economic issues, its particularly disheartening. Jillian has some insight as to what has gone so wrong.
Gay Inc. made a decision in the early 2000's to move away from targeting traditional civil rights movement discrimination, and concentrate almost exclusively on marriage equality via the "good as you" theme. I believe the thinking was that the campaign for marriage equality would drag the rest along in its wake.
That agenda came from our advocacy leaders, who live in an environment insulated from most LGBT people in terms of economics, education and culture. But most LGBT people are also not necessarily prepared to do such analysis in understanding why their advocacy leaders would push them into marriage equality as the number one issue.
Discrimination was moved way down the list in the hierarchy. It was never abandoned, but it limped along.
Marriage equality as a lead issue has proved largely a bust, having been stripped away from Americans in 31 states, in every single state in which it has been placed on the ballot. It has been quietly rotated out for a while, while we lick our wounds and regroup. But the philosophy behind it, the "good as you" philosophy, has not changed.
ENDA, and other non-discrimination measures do not fit with the world-view of "good as you." It requires making the argument that we are victims of oppression, and require liberation, something which I think most gay leaders do not feel.
You really need to read the whole thing to grasp the magnitude of the analysis. It reminds me of Senator Daylin Leach's decision to move ahead with marriage legislation when a group of us practically begged him to take up the Senate version of HB 300. He was not interested because his people out east thought marriage was the better issue. That was just sad.
Gay Inc has taken some hits, especially from the grassroots groups across the nation. Where Pittsburgh falls in this regard is open to debate. A lot of power and influence is vested in a few hands, but I don't see the grassroots folks agitating for access. The divide is wide. That leaves a lot of room for continued misunderstanding and failure to coalesce.
I strongly encourage you to read Jillian's piece. We need to wrestle with these issues locally. And if the House does take action, we need to pay close attention to Jason Altmire.
