Mayor Gainey Appoints Out Trans Latina Maria Montaño as Press Secretary, Unveils Letterhead With Pronouns

Maria Montaño

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey made a landmark announcement today, sharing that he has appointed Maria Montaño as his Press Secretary. Montaño is an experienced communications professional who brings a lot of talent and wisdom to the position. She also happens to identify as a proud trans, queer, Latinx woman. Montaño is possibly the highest ranking […]

Call To Action: Stop Chambersburg from Repealing Local Non-Discrimination Ordinance

The newly elected Borough Council in Chambersburg plans to vote on Monday, January 24 to repeal a local non-discrimination ordinance just four months after it was enacted. From PennLive The ordinance, which extends protections against discrimination to gay, transgender or genderqueer people in employment, housing and public accommodations, was passed in October by the then-Democratic […]

PYC Statement on Former LGBTQ Nonprofit Leader John Dawe’s Sentencing for Sexual Abuse

I am glad to see the Pennsylvania Youth Congress coming forward with a clear, concise record of their efforts to hold sexual predator John Dawe and the LGBTQ adults who enabled him accountable for sexual violence inflicted on our youth. This has been known for years. These organizations are no better than the Catholic Church […]

How Starbucks Helped Me Endure the Pandemic. Until Now.

I used to smirk at people who sat in line, engines idling, for long periods of time at a local Starbucks. I could park, go in, place my order, use the bathroom, collect my order, and walk out while they sat there just waiting. My wife and I spent a lot of time at Starbucks. […]

Pittsburgh’s LGBTQ Blog Nominated Five Consecutive Years for GLAAD Awards as ‘Outstanding Blog’

Outstanding Blog GLAAD awards

This is pretty nifty, as they say – our blog has been nominated five consecutive years (2018-2022) in the Outstanding Blog category of the national GLAAD Media Awards. We won the category in 2019. And our work is valued enough that we’ve been back multiple times. The category is competitive and I’m honored to be amongst […]

Watch: Yolanda Renee King, MLK’s granddaughter, talks with Rev Al Sharpton about her activism

The best thing of the weekend was this exchange. When Yolanda Renee King said “Hi Uncle Al, thank you for having me on your show,” my heart swelled. Reverend Al Sharpton is an emotionally accessible man and journalist, but this was a new level of how generations fuel each other. Watching both of them smile […]

Here You Go, Steelers

Steelers Fight Song

I am not a fan of the Steelers, most specifically because of Ben Roethlisberger’s history as a sexual predator and the team’s embrace of the ‘he found Jesus/wife/kids’ solution to the fallout. I’ve been quite glad to see that amidst all of the hoopla about his retirement, the stories of his sexual violence are still […]

Do You Have a Hard Copy of the 2003 ‘Voices for a New Tomorrow’ Needs Assessment?

If you were active in the regional community around 2003 (pre-Delta era) – I’d like to talk with you. In January 2003, Persad Center published a community needs assessment in conjunction with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center (now the Pittsburgh Equality Center) and The Seven Project. The researchers were Dr. Sandra Quinn and Dr. […]

This Blog Celebrates Our Sweet Sixteen Today

Most blogs are abandoned within 90 days. Those that endure typically last 2-3 years. That works out to my blog being 5-8 “generations” removed from the blogs someone launches as a New Years resolution in 2022. I don’t remember celebrating my actual sweet 16, but it was certainly not like the movies. I was all […]

My Quest to be Pittsburgh Famous in 2022

Twitter Pittsburgh

Content Note: this is a frivolous distraction theme. If taken too seriously, please do not email me to explain why I am ridiculous or don’t deserve more Twitter followers of fame. Phooey on you.  Back in the late 90’s, my employer had us doing a daily radio talk show from (then) WESA on the your […]