LOS ANGELES
10,000 Participate In AIDS Walk LA
The 34th annual AIDS Walk Los Angeles attracted approximately 10,000 participants last month in Downtown Los Angeles. The walk to end AIDS by raising money for AIDS research, is a 6.2-mile fundraising that began and ended at L.A. City Hall in Grand Park. Various celebrities attended the opening ceremony alongside West Hollywood council member John Heilman and Congresswoman Maxine Waters to name a few.
The proceeds from the walk benefit APLA Health, a nonprofit, federally qualified health center serving more than 15,000 people annually. APLA Health provides 20 services from 16 locations in Los Angeles County including medical, dental and mental health care; counseling and management for the use of antiviral drugs to prevent HIV/AIDS, commonly known as PrEP; health education and HIV prevention; and screening and treatment for people with sexually transmitted diseases.
WEST HOLLYWOOD
CSW Names Newly Elected Board Members
The Board of Directors of Christopher Street West (CSW), the 501(c)3 non-profit that produces the annual LA Pride Festival and Parade, has announced the election of five new volunteer board members who will begin their two-year terms effective immediately. New members joining the CSW Board of Directors this year include: Jake Brooks-Harris, President of MKG West, Experiential Marketing; Candie Davidson-Goldbronn, Associate Senior Vice President, Foundation Operations for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; Craig Greiwe, Senior Vice President and Head of Digital for Rogers & Cowan; Tracy Paaso, Director of Membership & Events for the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and Johanna Padilla, Linkage & Retention Coordinator at Trans Wellness Center. A new executive director, Madonna Cacciatore, was appointed earlier this year.
PALM SPRINGS
LGBT Veteran Memorial Dedicated In Cathedral City
The first official LGBT Veteran Memorial in the Country was dedicated in Cathedral City last month. The ceremony was attended by several military veterans and lawmakers. Assembly member Eduardo Garcia, pushed bill AB 2439 for the dedication back in August of this year. The Assembly voted in overwhelming support of Garcia’s AB 2439, the legislative measure proposing the classification and applauded the City’s longstanding history of recognizing veterans and promoting equality.
SAN DIEGO
Gay Church Worker Resigns After Being Harassed
San Diego gay pastoral worker Aaron Bianco, of St. John Evangelist Catholic Church in San Diego, resigned after being harassed for being gay. Bianco submitted his resignation to Bishop Robert McElroy stating that he endured physical and emotional violence from groups like Church Militant and LifeSite News for the past year and a half. The harassment included slashed tires, death threats, attacks outside mass, and hundreds of letters, phone calls and emails. He decided to resign his post after personal information was leaked on a conservative Catholic website, which include pictures of his family and his home address. Bishop McElroy emphasized his support for Bianco and called the threats made towards the parishioner reprehensible.
LONG BEACH
2nd Highest Rate Of Chlamydia And Gonorrhea
Long Beach recently released its 2017 STD report, and health officials are concerned when the city was rated the second highest rate of chlamydia and gonorrhea in California. The number of sexually transmitted diseases increased for the third consecutive year, according to data from the city’s Department of Health and Human Services. Data show that gay men are among those driving the increasing STD rates. Health officials believe that one of the reasons for the increase include attrition at the federal level of funding for STD education and prevention programs.
