BY PAULO MURILLO
LOS ANGELES
GAY BATHHOUSE MIDTOWNE SPA CLOSES AFTER 50 YEARS
Midtowne Spa Los Angeles has closed with little to no fanfare after servicing gay, bisexual, queer, and men who have sex with men (msm) for the past 50 years. The gay bathhouse located at 615 Kohler Street in Los Angeles was founded in 1972 according to their Yelp page. This is the end of the last Midtowne Spa standing in Southern California and across the nation. “It’s with great sadness that we announce that Midtowne Spa Los Angeles will be closing permanently on Monday, December 19th at 8:00 a.m.,” reads a special announcement by Midtowne Spa. WEHO TIMES reported back on September 20th that Midtowne Spa Los Angeles property, home to the historic sex bathhouse, went up for sale earlier that month.
ORANGE COUNTY
AUTHORITIES INVESTIGATE ANTI-LGBTQ BOMB THREATS
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department announced that anti-LGBT bomb threats made against San Juan Hills High School, a teacher, and the Capistrano Unified School District were determined to be fraudulent. The threats were made in response to a Fox News report about a teacher at the school who was alleged to have sexually explicit material in their classroom. An individual named Zamina Tamaro claimed to have placed multiple bombs in the teacher’s classroom and also threatened other locations within the school, the superintendent’s home, and a residence believed to be the teacher’s home (but which was later determined to be incorrect). The email also contained violent and threatening language against the teacher and the school, expressing anti-LGBT anger at what was perceived as the promotion of sexually explicit and inappropriate material to students.
LOS ANGELES
LA LGBT CENTER CELEBRATES SIGNING OF THE RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT
Following President Joe Biden’s signing of the landmark Respect for Marriage Act last month, Joe Hollendoner, CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said in a press release that “… While we take the day to celebrate, tomorrow brings another day of fighting in the trenches of state legislatures. Our rights are being attacked almost daily, via hundreds of pieces of legislation in state houses that aim to criminalize transgender people, erase us from history books, and even force some of us back into the closet. We must stand together and protect the most vulnerable among us.”
PALM SPRINGS
CATHEDRAL CITY, PALM SPRINGS GET PERFECT HRC SCORE
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) gave Cathedral City and Palm Springs a perfect score of 100 in the 2022 Municipal Equality Index. Cathedral City also earned a perfect score in 2018 and 2022. This is the highest recognition by HRC and comes after a thorough review of policies and practices including having both a police department liaison as well as a city executive officer liaison for the LGBTQ+ community. The MEI scorecard examined the laws, policies, and services of municipalities and rates them on the basis of their inclusivity of LGBTQ+ people who live and work there. HRC’s Scorecard rated 506 municipalities throughout the United States with at least one municipality in each of the 50 states.
WEST HOLLYWOOD
NEW GAY BAR OR BAR OPENS AT FORMER GOLD COAST BAR SPACE
The City of West Hollywood welcomed new gay bar, OR Bar, located at 8228 Santa Monica Blvd., which took the place of historical Gold Coast Bar. Shortly after their grand opening last month, the self-proclaimed upscale bar faced a community backlash after photos surfaced of their drinks menu showing cocktail prices ranging from $20 to $24, making it the highest in WeHo. After the backlash OR Bar made some adjustments. Prices were cut by $3—$5 dollars off of their well drinks and they added a hoppy hour. Snacks that were also reduced from $9 to $8.
