BY PAULO MURILLO
WEST HOLLYWOOD
BIG GAY STARBUCKS CLOSES AFTER 27 YEARS
The Starbucks located at 8595 Santa Monica Boulevard, in the Ramada Plaza, closed last month after operating on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Westmount Drive since it first opened its double doors in 1995. According to corporate, the West Hollywood location known as The Big Gay Starbucks is amongst 16 other locations that are closing due to safety and security concerns. The closure was a huge blow to a community that is still recovering over the loss of the 24-Hour Fitness Sport gym.
LOS ANGELES
LA LGBT CENTER JOINS CALL TO RENAME MONKEYPOX
A coalition of LGBTQ+ legal and health organizations sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demanding the implementation of a more robust federal response to the burgeoning spread of the Monkeypox Virus (hMPXV)—including greatly expanding access to testing, gaining wider access to available vaccines, and renaming “monkeypox” to “hMPXV” to combat stigma. hMPXV cases reported in the United States are mostly amongst gay and bisexual men, men who have sex with men (MSM), and the transgender community. The rate of infection and unmet needs will slowly push California to become the epicenter of the virus. Though hMPXV is known to have a short incubation period and is not fatal, fear of the virus is growing.
PALM SPRINGS
ANTI-LGBT CONGRESSMAN WANTS GAY VOTE
Republican congressman Rep. Ken Calvert is changing his tune on his anti-LGBTQ+ views to win votes in the redrawn district boundaries that put him in a more liberal gay challenger Will Rollins in the November election. Calvert has a history of opposition to LGBTQ+ equality over his 30-year tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives, resulting in low scores on the Human Rights Campaign’s Congressional Scorecard. He once used a gay opponent’s sexuality against him. Under the previous district map, his district, the 41nd, was heavily Republican. Now, with redistricting having taken place after the latest U.S. Census, his district is the 41st, with an even split between Democrats and Republicans. Calvert says he now supports marriage equality, which he had previously opposed, and doesn’t think the 2015 Supreme Court decision that established equal marriage rights nationwide should be overturned.
SAN DIEGO
PRIDE FESTIVAL ATRACTS RECORD NUMBERS
The Pride Festival held in Balboa Park last month attracted record numbers following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The two-day pride event drew as many as 55,000 people, including 6,000 volunteers to this year’s San Diego Pride. Fernando Lopez, executive director of San Diego Pride, estimated Saturday’s Pride parade in Hillcrest drew some 250,000 people.
LONG BEACH
BROADWAY CORRIDOR TO GET LGBT HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION
Mayor Robert Garcia and City Councilwoman Cindy Allen want to officially recognize the neighborhoods in and around the Broadway corridor, and their place in Long Beach’s LGBTQ history, by designating the area as an official historic district. The city has historically served as a safe haven for queer people throughout the region, particularly along the Broadway corridor. “The Broadway corridor in Long Beach is historic and an important place in local LGBTQ+ history,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in last month, press release.
Besides Alamitos Beach, the historic district would likely include Bluff Park, Bluff Heights and the East Village.
